He waffles for a little while, but then admits that if he did promise, then they will indeed get married. Meanwhile, Fanny goes to see Troy, calling up to his barracks window from the outside and reminding him that he’s promised to marry her. He gave her a little money then, and she now sends him the money back with a letter telling him that she’s going to be married to Sergeant Francis Troy, but asks him to keep this news quiet. Gabriel had run into the girl on his way into town, and she had looked scared and desperate. It’s soon discovered that Fanny Robbin ran off with her lover, a soldier in another town. Tonight there’s two pieces of news: first, the Bailiff Pennyways has been caught stealing, and second, Fanny Robbin, Bathsheba’s youngest servant, is missing. He goes to Warren’s Malt-house, where a number of the farm hands, including Jan Coggan, Matthew Moon, Henery Fray, Joseph Poorgrass, and Laban Tall often gather to gossip and discuss town affairs. Cool and unflustered, she says she needs a shepherd, and hires Gabriel. Impressed, the mistress of the farm rides over and unveils herself: it’s Bathsheba. On his way to the job fair, he comes across a fire, and takes charge of the disorganized farmhands trying to put it out: he manages to save it. He goes off in search of employment as a bailiff or even shepherd, and hears that there’s work to be had near Weatherbury. Gabriel settles his debts and is left penniless. Soon after that, Gabriel wakes in the middle of the night to find that one of his over-eager dogs has chased his entire flock of sheep across the fields, and they’ve fallen over a cliff to their deaths, destroying his entire life’s savings.

Not long after, Gabriel hears that Bathsheba has left for Weatherbury: her uncle has died and she is going to take over as mistress of his farm. But Bathsheba soon arrives and races after Gabriel, who is immediately cheered-but Bathsheba only wanted to say that she can’t bear him imagining she has many suitors when she’s independent and doesn’t want to marry anyone. Hurst, tells Gabriel that her niece has already had a host of suitors.

Gabriel begins to fall in love with her, and finally musters up the courage to go to her aunt’s house and ask for her hand in marriage. She’s embarrassed and would rather have nothing to do with him, but soon after that he falls asleep in his cottage without leaving a window open to let out smoke from his fire, and Bathsheba saves him just in time. Later he sees her ride sidesaddle, not exactly ladylike, and when he finally meets the lady- Bathsheba Everdene-in person, he lets slip that he saw her. One day he catches sight of a woman in a carriage and, while she thinks she’s alone, he watches her admire herself in her mirror. Far From the Madding Crowd opens with a description of farmer Gabriel Oak, a man just out of youth who has established himself as a sheep-farmer in the past year, putting all of his savings into the livestock.

Far from the madding crowd story