When Troy did not return，Bathsheba felt neither happiness nor sadness. She had no hope for the fu-ture. She was sure that one day he would return，and spend the rest of her money. Then they would have to sell the farm. She could do nothing to prevent it.

One Saturday at Casterbridge market，a stranger came up to her. ‘I must tell you，ma'am，’he said，‘your husband is dead. ’

‘No，it can't be true！’gasped Bathsheba. Darkness came over her eyes，and she fell. But not to the ground. Boldwood，who had been standing in a corner watching her，ran forward to catch her.

‘Tell me more，’he said to the stranger，as he held the unconscious girl gently in his arms.

‘The police found her husband's clothes on the beach. He must have been swimming，and drowned off the Budmouth coast. ’

There was a strange excitement in Boldwood's face，but he said nothing. He carried her to a private room at the hotel，where she could rest until she felt well enough to ride home.

When she arrived home，still feeling weak and confused，Liddy had already heard the news. ‘Shall we get some black clothes made for you，ma'am？’said the maid，hesitating a little.

‘No，Liddy. It isn't necessary. You see，I think he may still be alive. I feel—I think I'm sure he's alive！’

But the following Monday Troy's death was reported in the local newspaper. A witness had seen him in deep water，shouting and waving for help. And when his clothes and his watch，found on the beach，were delivered to the farmhouse，Bathsheba began to doubt that he was alive. She opened the back of his watch case and took out the curl of golden hair.

‘He was Fanny's and she was his，’she said to herself. ‘They should be together. I mean nothing to either of them. Why should I keep her hair？’She held the curl over the fire. ‘No，I won't burn it，I'll keep it in memory of her，poor thing！’

Through the autumn and winter Bathsheba's life was more peaceful She no longer took such an interest in the farm，and very sensibly appointed Gabriel Oak her farm manager. He had already been doing the job unofficially，and now would be paid for it. At last his good qualities were being recognized. Gabriel's luck had certainly changed. Boldwood could not concentrate on farming these days either. His wheat and hay had all been so damaged by the rain that it was worthless. Weatherbury people were shocked by the changes they had no-ticed recently in Farmer Boldwood. Soon he himself realized that something must be done，and arranged for Gabriel to manage his farm too. So Gabriel was responsible for both the important farms in the area，while their owners sat alone in their lonely farmhouses.

After a time Boldwood started to hope that one day，if Bathsheba remarried at all，she would marry him. He tried to maintain a friendly，businesslike relationship with her，keeping his love for her out of sight，until the right moment came to propose again. He had no idea how long he would have to wait to marry her，but he was prepared to wait for the rest of his life.

The right moment did not come until the following summer when most of the Weatherbury people attended the great sheep fair at. Greenhill. Gabriel was there with Bathsheba's and Boldwood's sheep，and so were both his employers. This year a travelling circus put up its tent and offered the public a horse-riding show. Most of Bathsheba's farm workers were already in the tent，when Bathsheba herself arrived to see the show. At the back of the tent，behind a curtain，were the circus riders，and one of them，pulling on his boots，was Sergeant Troy.

After being rescued，Troy had decided to stay on the ship and work as a sailor，but he was not happy with this travelling life，and finally returned............