Chapter 30 The Debt Paid

The coin came on the hundred-and-tenth day, and it came in the basket that Mistress Tull brought up the lane, and the basket had butter and bread and salt, and at the bottom of the basket, under the butter, was a tin, and the tin was brass, and the tin had a lid, and the lid was open, and in the tin was eleven pounds and nine shillings and fourpence. Mistress Tull stood in the yard with her basket on her arm and her walking stick in her hand, and she said, "I have the coin." "I have a hall," said Kessin. "I have the coin," said Mistress Tull. "And the coin is for the hall." "The coin is for the hall," said Kessin. "The coin is for the hall," said Mistress Tull. "And the hall is owed the coin." "The hall is owed the coin," said Kessin. "The hall is owed eleven pounds and nine shillings and fourpence," said Mistress Tull. "The hall is owed eleven pounds and nine shillings and fourpence," said Kessin. "I have carried it up the lane," said Mistress Tull. "And the lane is long, and the basket is heavy, and the coin is the coin." "The coin is the coin," said Kessin. "Then the hall has the coin," said Mistress Tull. "Then the hall has the coin," said Kessin. Turrel came out from the kitchen with the lamp, and she took the tin from Mistress Tull, and she opened the lid, and she looked at the coin, and she said, "It is the coin." "It is the coin," said Kessin. "It is the coin," said Turrel. "And it is the debt." "It is the debt," said Kessin. "It is the debt," said Turrel. "And the debt is paid." "The debt is paid," said Kessin. "Then the hall has paid the debt," said Mistress Tull. "The hall has paid the debt," said Kessin. "Then the hall is the hall," said Mistress Tull. "Then the hall is the hall," said Kessin. Kessin took the tin from Turrel, and she took the coin, and she counted it, and the coin was eleven pounds and nine shillings and fourpence, and she set it on the table, and she took the ledger, and she opened the ledger to the page, and the page was almost full, and she took a new page, and she wrote on the new page. She wrote: paid the debt of eleven pounds and nine shillings and fourpence, on the hundred-and-tenth day, from Mistress Tull, of the mill house, and the debt is gone, and the hall has the coin, and the hall has the board, and the hall has the debt, and the hall has paid the debt. She put the pen down, and she looked at the line, and the line was small and neat and kept in a hand that had been patient for a long time, and she looked at the table, and the tin was on the table, and the coin was in the tin, and the board was on the wall, and the tenth card was white. "Then the hall has paid the debt," said Turrel. "Then the hall has paid the debt," said Kessin. "Then the hall is the hall," said Turrel. "Then the hall is the hall," said Kessin. Mistress Tull took the basket from the yard wall and she put her hat on and she took her walking stick, and she said, "The miller has the bread, and the miller has the butter, and the miller has the salt." "The miller has the bread, the butter, and the salt," said Kessin. "The miller has the bread, the butter, and the salt," said Mistress Tull. "And the miller has the coin." "The miller has the coin," said Kessin. "And the coin is the debt," said Mistress Tull. "The coin is the debt," said Kessin. "And the debt is paid," said Mistress Tull. "The debt is paid," said Kessin. "Then the hall is the hall," said Mistress Tull. "Then the hall is the hall," said Kessin. She put the basket on the cart and she took the cart and she went out through the gate, and the cart wheels turned on the iron, and the iron was the iron, and the wood was the wood, and the lane was the lane, and the mud was the mud, and the rain was going down, and the sun was over the mill, and the hedge was green, and the cart went away down the hill, and the hall had the coin, and the hall had the debt, and the hall had paid the debt. Peth stood at the foot of the wheel with his case, and he looked at the table, and the tin was on the table, and the coin was in the tin, and he said, "The hall has paid the debt." "The hall has paid the debt," said Kessin. "Then the hall has four years of work," said Peth. "Then the hall has four years of work," said Kessin. "Then the hall has one year of work," said Peth. "And the hall has three years of work to go." "Three years of work to go," said Kessin. "And the hall has twelve cards," said Peth. "Twelve cards," said Kessin. "And the hall has a white card," said Peth. "A white card," said Kessin. "And the hall has a seventh name coming," said Peth. "A seventh name coming," said Kessin. She put the pen down and she took the ledger and she put it on the shelf, and she went to the yard, and the yard was quiet, and the rain was going down, and the sun was over the mill, and the hedge was green, and the road was mud, and the board had twelve cards on it, and the tenth was white, and the hall had paid the debt, and the hall was the hall. Brin came in through the gate at six with the cart, and the cart had come from Gillanwick, and the cart was muddy, and Brin took his hat off and set it on the wheel, and he said, "The hall has paid the debt." "The hall has paid the debt," said Kessin. "The hall has paid the debt," said Brin. "And the hall has been owed for four years." "The hall has been owed for four years," said Kessin. "Then the hall has not been owed for four years," said Brin. "The hall has not been owed for four years," said Kessin. "Then the hall will not be owed for five years," said Brin. "The hall will not be owed for five years," said Kessin. "Then the hall will be owed for six years," said Brin, and he said it the way a man says it who has been owed for twenty years and has never once asked for coin. "Then the hall will be owed for six years," said Kessin. "And the hall will pay the debt next year," said Brin. "The hall will pay the debt next year," said Kessin. He put his hat on and he took the cart and he went out through the gate, and the cart wheels turned on the iron, and the lane went away down the hill, and the mud was cold, and the sun was going down behind the mill, and the board had twelve cards on it, and the tenth was white, and the hall had paid the debt, and the hall was the hall, and the seventh name was coming. ---