At the very end of the village , the main part of the road became more of a lane , and a lane that was not often used . It seemed true that it had once been well kept , but years of neglect had done little to encourage traffic . The ditches on either side were dry , but the road edges were still perilously close to being overhung by ragged hedgerows .

Peter could see nothing beyond the first bend , but he guessed that the lane wound up the hill behind the village and further still around behind the copse in which he had spent his first night in the place sleeping , when he had lost his way in the dark. He grinned at the thought that he had been so close to his destination without knowing it.

-- Righto , he said to himself . At least you look a bit more presentable now than you did then. He still felt the pleasant glow that he had developed when drinking coffee with Jane and the bath and change of clothes had made a great difference to his outlook on life .

-- Time to face the dragon , he thought , and struck out briskly along the lane and up the steepening hill. As he strode up the hill the road became even more overhung with tree branches , and it occurred to him that a car might have difficulty in negotiating the ruts that seemed to be getting deeper . It was as if modern transport had passed the area by.

Turning the last bend around the copse , he stopped suddenly , for there in front of him was a very large set of iron gates , with a very large padlock attached to a heavy chain . The gates , slightly skewed , hung from two large pillars each of which was surmounted by a fairly weather worn coat of arms . Peter had no idea what the arms stood for , but he was able to translate for himself the Latin motto inscribed on a scroll supporting them . It read Verba Volent Scripta Manent .

-- Interesting , thought Peter , something literary instead of the usual threat or encouragement to arms or else a religious platitude . Sort of fits with the gates . They don't seem to be keeping anyone out !

There was a massive gap in the wall that should have abutted the gate pillars , where the stones had fallen back inwards , a gap one could drive a truck through if one wished . So Peter was able to step around the left hand pillar , avoid the heap of stone , and rejoin a weed spotted gravel drive . It curved to the right in a long sweep upward , around another clump of trees that grew luxuriantly on the hillside .

Following the drive around it , Peter came to a halt as a large building came into view . It was impressive in its size , with a large portico at the end of the driveway leading to the front door . Three stories high for most of the building , it had neat clean lines and elegant Georgian windows , though half of them seemed to be like empty eyes in the fine facade. The outer shell looked sound , and the roof seemed to be whole .

-- What a pity, he spoke half aloud to himself .

-- A pity ? A voice from behind him startled him , and he whirled around .

-- I didn't hear you come up there , he said .

-- You weren't meant to . I like to know that I have the drop on any intruders .

-- You seem to have the drop on me , said Peter , noting the brace of rabbits that hung on her belt and looking nervously at the shot gun she was carrying.

The women who faced him was in her late thirties or early forties , simply dressed in a set of bib and brace overalls over a blouse , the legs tucked into high rubber boots . She wore no make -up , and her hands , though holding the shotgun with an easy , relaxed grip , were roughened by work and looked very strong and capable .

-- Believe me , he said . I'm not dangerous . I came here to see if there was a job going . Ernie the milkman and Jane in the craft shop both said that there might be .

-- Why haven't you tried the sweets factory ? They probably have vacancies .

-- Not really interested in working inside a factory . Done it a couple of times but it isn't my thing . I prefer to work in the open.

-- Experience ? The voice , though abrupt , was not unfriendly .

-- Not a lot . I've been knocking around Europe and England , just doing odd jobs for a bit of cash .

-- Likely to stay around here long ?

-- Maybe , maybe not . Depends on whether I get a reasonable job .

-- What can you do ?

-- I can turn my hand to most things . Always been fond of gardening , can do most plumbing jobs. I can change a light bulb , but I'm not an electrician.

-- Painting ?

-- Had some time with that . Not my favourite job , but I can do it .

-- Well , you're honest , anyway . I could use a handyman , for a while at least . Want the job ?

-- I've got no references , but I do have identification .

Peter produced his passport , took out his wallet and handed over anything that might serve for identification. The woman scrutinised the passport carefully , then handed back all his stuff.

-- You have credit cards , I see .

-- Yes, but I try to keep myself going with earnings from odd jobs .

He smiled and added:

-- I don't have a return ticket , so I have to keep enough for a fare home to Oz if I get tired of travelling .

-- Careful , then , are you ?

-- I try to be.

-- All right , just come up to the house. You can see what I might be needing in a handyman and decide whether you think you can cope . I don't want anyone working for me who's incapable of doing what I ask . Fair warning here and now , I can't pay much .

-- Fair enough , said Peter . If I think I can't handle things here , I suppose there's always the sweets factory . But I'd like to do some outside work too , and I'm not too bad in the gardens .

-- You'll find plenty of that to do if you want , but there are things inside that take priority . Anyway , come on up and we'll see if we can settle on something .

She gestured to him to lead the way up the overgrown drive.