Dick o' the Fens; A Tale of the Great Eastern Swamp, by George ManvilleFenn. 

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A number of the actors in this tale speak in a broad LincolnshireFenland dialect, which may make it a little hard for some readers. Someof the more unusual words are annotated in square brackets. 

The Squire sees the gradually encroaching bog and marsh in his land, andrealises that with drainage he could reclaim this as good farm land. Onthe other hand some of the locals would rather see the fen remain, alongwith their various occupations, and the wonderful and fragile wet-landnatural history. When digging begins there are a number of nastyincidents--torching of houses, malicious woundings of horses and cows, gunshot wounds to humans, and even murders. 

A constable is called in, and takes a dislike to Dick, the Squire's son, and to his friend Tom. He tries to pin the blame on them. At timeseven Dick's father is inclined to think that way, too. But eventuallythe culprit is found. There are the tense moments typical of thisauthor, and you will perhaps learn a lot about fenland natural history. A good read, and better still to listen to it. NH

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DICK O' THE FENS; A TALE OF THE GREAT EASTERN SWAMP, BY GEORGE MANVILLEFENN. 

CHAPTER ONE. 

IN THE FEN. 

Dick Winthorpe--christened Richard by order of his father at the Hall--sat on the top of the big post by the wheelwright's door. 

It was not a comfortable seat, and he could only keep his place bytwisting his legs round and holding on; but as there was a spice ofdifficulty in the task, Dick chose it, and sat there opposite TomTallington--christened Thomas at the wish of his mother, FarmerTallington's wife, of Grimsey, the fen island under the old dyke. 

Tom Tallington was seated upon one side of a rough punt, turned up tokeep the rain from filling it, and as he was not obliged to hold on withhis legs he kept swinging them to and fro. 

It was not a pleasant place for either of the lads, for in front of themwas a ring of fire where, upon the ground, burned and crackled and fumeda quantity of short wood, which was replenished from time to time byMark Hickathrift, the wheelwright, and his lad Jacob. 

At the first glance it seemed as if the wheelwright was amusing himselfby making a round bonfire of scraps, whose blue reek rose in the countryair, and was driven every now and then by the wind over the boys, whocoughed and sneezed and grumbled, but did not attempt to move, for therewas, to them, an interesting feat about to be performed by thewheelwright--to wit, the fitting of the red-hot roughly-made iron tirein the wood fire upon the still more roughly-made wheel, which had beenfitted with a few new spokes and a fresh felloe, while FarmerTallington's heavy tumbril-cart stood close by, like a cripple supportedon a crutch, waiting for its iron-shod circular limb. 

"Come, I say, Mark, stick it on, " cried Dick Winthorpe; "we want to go. "

"'Tarn't hot enough, my lad, " said the great burly wheelwright, rollinghis shirt sleeves a little higher up his brown arms. 

"Yes, it is, " said Tom Tallington. "You can see it all red. Why don'tyou put it on cold, instead of burning the wood?"

"'Cause he can't make one fit, and has to burn it on, " said Dick. 

The wheelwright chuckled and put on some more wood, which crackled androared as the wind came with a rush off the great fen, making thescattered patches of dry reeds bend and whisper and rustle, and rise andfall, looking in the distance of the grey, black, solemn expanse likethe waves of the sea on a breezy day. 

"Oh! I say, isn't it choky!" cried Tom. 

"Thou shouldstna sit that side then, " said the wheelwright. 

"Hoy, Dave!" shouted Dick Winthorpe. "Hi, there: Chip, Chip, Chip!" hecried, trying to pat his leg with one hand, the consequence being thathe overbalanced himself and dropped off the post, but only to stay downand caress a little black-and-white dog, which trotted up wagging itsstump of a tail, and then beginning to growl and snarl, twitching itsears, as another dog appeared on the scene--a long, lank, rough-haired, steely-grey fellow, with a pointed nose, which, with his lean flanks, gave him the aspect of an animal of a vain disposition, who had tried tolook like a greyhound, and failed. 

This dog trotted out of the wheelwright's workshop, with his coat fullof shavings and sawdust, and lay down a short distance from the fire, while the little black-and-white fellow rushed at him, leaped up, andlaid hold of his ear. 

"Ha, ha! look at old Grip!" cried Tom Tallington, kicking his heelstogether as the big dog gave his ears a shake, and lay down with hishead between his paws, blinking at the fire, while his little assailantuttered a snarl, which seemed to mean "Oh you coward!" and trotted awayto meet a tall rugged-looking man, who came slouching up, with longstrides, his head bent, his shoulders up, a long heavy gun over hisshoulder, and a bundle of wild-fowl in his left hand, the birds bangingagainst his leather legging as he walked, and covering it with feathers. 

He was a curious, furtive-looking man, with quick, small eyes, a smoothbrown face, and crisp, grizzly hair, surmounted by a roughly-made cap offox-skin. 

He came straight up to the fire on the windy side, nodded and scowled atthe wheelwright as the latter gave him a friendly smile, and then turnedslowly to the two boys, when his visage relaxed a little, and there wasthe dawning of a smile for each. 

"What have you got, Dave?" cried Dick, laying hold of the bunch ofbirds, and turning them over, so as to examine their heads and feet;and, without waiting for an answer, he went on--"Three curlews, twopie-wipes, and a--and a--I say, Tom, what's this?"

Tom Tallington looked eagerly at the straight-billed, long-legged, black-and-white bird, but shook his head, while Chip, the dog, who hadseated himself with his nose close to the bunch, uttered one short sharpbark. 

"I say, Dave, what's this bird?" said Dick. 

The man did not turn his head, but stood staring at the fire, and said, in a husky voice, what sounded like "Scatcher!"

"Oh!" said Dick; and there was a pause, during which the fire roared, and the smoke flew over the wheelwright's long, low house at the edge ofthe fen. "I say, " cried Dick, "you don't set oyster-catchers in the'coy. "

"Yow don't know what you're talking about, " growled the man addressed. 

"Why, of course he didn't, " cried Tom Tallington, a stoutly-built lad ofsixteen or seventeen, very much like his companion Dick, only a littlefairer and plumper in the face. "They ain't swimmers. "

"No, of course, not, " said Dick. "Kill 'em all at one shot, Dave?"

The man made no answer, but his little dog uttered another short bark asif in assent. 

"Wish I'd been there, " said Dick, and the dog barked once more, afterwhich the new-comer seemed to go off like a piece of machinery, for hemade a sound like the word "kitch, " threw the bunch of birds to thewheelwright, who caught them, and dropped them in through the openwindow of the workshop on to his bench, while Dave jerked his gun offhis shoulder, and let the butt fall between his feet. 

Just then the wheelwright roared out, with one hand to his cheek:

"Sair--_rah_! Ale. Here you, Jake, go and fetch it. "

The short thickset lad of nineteen, who now came from behind the housewith a fagot of wood, threw it down, and went in, to come back in a fewmoments with a large brown jug, at the top of which was some froth, which the wind blew off as the vessel was handed to the wheelwright. 

"She's about ready now, " said the latter. "You may as well lend a hand, Dave. "

As he spoke, he held out the jug to the donor of the birds, who onlynodded, and said, as if he had gone off again, "Drink;" and propping thegun up against the crippled cart, he took off his rough jacket and hungit over the muzzle. 

In kindly obedience to the uttered command, the big wheelwright raisedthe brown vessel, and took a long draught, while Dave, after hanging uphis jacket, stood and looked on, deeply interested apparently, watchingthe action of the drinker's throat as the ale went down. 

Jacob, the wheelwright's 'prentice, looked at the ale-jug with one eyeand went on placing a piece of wood here and another there to keep upthe blaze, while Dick went and leaned up against the cart by the gun. 

Then the jug was passed, after a deep sigh, to Dave, who also took along draught, which made Jacob sigh as he turned to go for some morewood, when he was checked by a hollow growl from Dave, which came out ofthe pot. 

But Jacob knew what it meant, and stopped, waiting patiently till Davetook the brown jug from his lips, and passed it to the apprentice, letting off the words now:

"Finish it. "

Jacob was a most obedient apprentice, so he proceeded to "finish it, "while the wheelwright and Dave went to the workshop, and as he wasraising the vessel high Tom Tallington stooped, picked up a chip of woodfrom a heap, gave Dick a sharp look, and pitched it with so good an aimthat it hit the jug, and before the drinker could lower it, Tom hadhopped back against the cart, striking against the gun, and nearlyknocking it down. 

"I see yow, Masr' Dick, " said Jacob, grinning; "but yow don't get none. Ale arn't good for boys. "

"Get out!" cried Dick; "why, you're only a boy yourself. 'Prentice, 'prentice!"

"Not good for boys, " said Jacob again as he finished the last dropperseveringly, so that there should be none left; and then went indoorswith the jug. 

"Dick--I say, " whispered Tom as, after slipping one band into the bigopen pocket of the hanging coat, he drew out a well scraped and polishedcow-horn with a cork in the thin end. 

Chip, the dog, who was watching, uttered a remonstrant bark, but theboys paid no heed, being too intent upon the plan that now occurred toone, and was flashed instantaneously to the other. 

"Yes, do, " whispered Dick. "How much is there in it?"

"Don't know; can't see. "

"Never mind, pitch it in and let's go, only don't run. "

"It would be too bad, " said Tom, laughing. 

"Never mind--we'll buy him some more powder. In with it. "

"No, " said Tom, hesitating, though the trick was his suggestion. 

Dick snatched the powder-horn from his companion, gave a hasty glance atthe workshop, from which came the clink of pincers, and pitched the hornright into the middle of the blaze. 

Chip gave a sharp bark, and dashed after it, but stopped short, growlingas he felt the heat, and then went on barking furiously, while the twoboys walked off toward the rough road as fast as they could, soon to bebeyond the reach of the wheelwright's explosion of anger, for theyregretted not being able to stop and see the blow-up. 

"What's your Chip barking at?" said the wheelwright, as the two menwalked out, armed with great iron pincers, the wheelwright holding apair in each hand. "What is it, Chip?"

The dog kept on barking furiously, and making little charges at thefire. 

"There's summat there, " said Dave in a low harsh voice. "Where's theyboys?"

"Yonder they go, " said the wheelwright. 

"Then there's summat wrong, " said Dave, taking off his fox-skin cap andscratching his head. 

An idea occurred to him, and he ran to his coat. 

"Hah!" he ejaculated in a voice that sounded like a saw cutting wood andcoming upon a nail; "keep back, Chip! Here, Chip, boy; Chip! They'vethrowed in my powder-horn. "

"Eh!" cried the wheelwright. 

Pop! went the horn with a feeble report, consequent upon there beingonly about a couple of charges of powder left; but it was enough toscatter the embers in all directions, and for a few moments all stoodstaring at the smoking wood in the midst of which lay the great irontire, rapidly turning black. 

Dave was the first to recover himself. 

"Come on, " he shouted, and, pincers in hand, he seized the heated ring, the wheelwright followed suit, the apprentice joined, and lifting theglowing iron it was soon being hammered into its place round the smokingwheel, the soft metal bending and yielding, and burning its way till, amidst the blinding smoke, it was well home and cooling and shrinking, this part of the business being rapidly concluded by means of buckets ofwater brought by Jacob, and passed along the edge of the wheel. 

"I say, Tom, it wasn't half a bang, " said Dick as the two lads rantowards home with the wind whistling by their ears. 

"No, " was the panted-out reply; "but I say, what will old Dave say?"

"I don't care what he says. I shall give him a shilling to buy somemore powder, and he can soon make himself another horn. "

CHAPTER TWO. 

THE GREAT FEN DRAIN. 

"Yes, it's all right, Master Winthorpe, " said Farmer Tallington; "butwhat will the folks say?"

"Say! What have they got to do with it?" cried Squire Winthorpe. "Youboys don't make so much noise. I can't hear myself speak. "

"Do you hear, Tom, howd thy row, or I'll send thee home, " said thefarmer; "recollect where you be. "

"Yes, father, " said, the lad. 

"It wasn't Tom; it was me, " said Dick quietly. 

"Then hold your tongue, sir, " cried the squire. "Now look here, MasterTallington. If a big drain is cut right through the low fen, it willcarry off all the water; and where now there's nothing but peat, we canget acres and acres of good dry land that will graze beasts or growcorn. "

"Yes, that's fine enough, squire, " said Tom's father; "but what will thefen-men say?"

"I don't care what they say, " cried the squire hotly. "There are aboutfifty of us, and we're going to do it. Will you join?"

"Hum!" said Tom Tallington's father, taking his long clay-pipe from hislips and scratching his head with the end. "What about the money?"

"You'll have to be answerable for a hundred pounds, and it means yourown farm worth twice as much, and perhaps a score of acres of good landfor yourself. "

"But it can't be good land, squire. There be twenty foot right down o'black peat, and nowt under that but clay. "

"I tell you that when the water's out of it, James Tallington, all thatwill be good valuable land. Now, then, will you join the adventurers?"

"Look here, squire, we've known each other twenty year, and I ask theeas a man, will it be all right?"

"And I tell you, man, that I'm putting all I've got into it. If it werenot right, I wouldn't ask you to join. "

"Nay, that you wouldn't, squire, " said Farmer Tallington, taking a gooddraught from his ale. "I'm saaving a few pounds for that young dog, andI believe in you. I'll be two hundred, and that means--"

"Twice as much land, " said the squire, holding out his hand. "Spokenlike a man, Master Tallington; and if the draining fails, which it can'tdo, I'll pay you two hundred myself. "

"Nay, thou weant, " said Farmer Tallington stoutly. "Nay, squire, I'lltak' my risk of it, and if it turns out bad, Tom will have to tak' hischance like his father before him. I had no two hundred or five hundredpounds to start me. "

"Nor I, " said the squire. 

"May we talk now, father?" said Dick. 

"Yes, if you like. "

"Then, " cried Dick, "I wish you wouldn't do it. Why, it'll spoil allthe fishing and the 'coy, and we shall get no ice for our pattens, andthere'll be no water for the punt, and no wild swans or geese or duck, and no peat to cut or reeds to slash. Oh, I say, father, don't drainthe fen. "

"Why, you ignorant young cub, " cried the squire, "do you suppose you arealways to be running over the ice in pattens, and fishing and shooting?"

"Well, no, not always, " said Dick, "but--"

"But--get out with your buts, sir. Won't it be better to have solidland about us instead of marsh, and beef and mutton instead of birds, and wheat instead of fish?"

"No, I don't think so, father. "

"Well, then, sir, I do, " said the squire. "I suppose you wouldn't likethe ague driven away?"

"I don't mind, father, " said Dick laughing. "I never get it. "

"No, but others do, and pains in their joints, and rheumatics. I say, Tallington, when they get as old as we are, eh?"

"Yes, they'll find out the difference, squire; but do you know, that'show all the fen-men'll talk. "

"Let 'em, " said the squire; "we've got leave from the king's magistratesto do it; and as for the fen-men, because they want to live like frogsall their lives, is that any reason why honest men shouldn't live likehonest men should. There, fill up your pipe again; and as for thefen-men, I'll talk to them. "

There was a bonny fire in the great open fireplace, for winter was fastcoming on, and the wind that had been rushing across the fen-land andmaking the reeds rustle, now howled round the great ivy-clad chimney ofthe Hall, and made the flame and smoke eddy in the wide opening, andthreaten every now and then to rush out into the low-ceiled homely room, whose well-polished oak furniture reflected the light. 

The two lads sat listening to the talk of their elders, and after a timetook up the work that had been lying beside them--to wit, some netting;but before Dick had formed many meshes he stopped to replenish the fire, taking some awkward-looking pieces of split root which were as red asmahogany, and placing them upon the top, where they began to blaze witha brilliant light which told tales of how they were the roots ofturpentine-filled pines, which had been growing in the ancient forestthat existed before the fen; and then taking from a basket half a dozendark thick squares of dried peat and placing them round the flamingembers to keep up the heat. 

"I say, Tom, " said Dick in a low voice, "I don't think I should care tolive here if the fen was drained. "

"No, " replied Tom in the same tone, "it would be a miserable place. "

"Now, Tom, lad, home!" said the farmer, getting up. "Good-night, squire!"

"Nay, I won't say good-night yet, " cried the squire. "Hats and sticks, Dick, and we'll walk part of the way home with them. "

As they left the glowing room with its cosy fire, and opened the halldoor to gaze out upon the night, the wind swept over the house andplunged into the clump of pines, which nourished and waved upon theToft, as if it would root them up. The house was built upon a roundedknoll by the side of the embanked winding river, which ran sluggishlyalong the edge of the fen; and as the party looked out over the gardenand across the fen upon that November night, they seemed to be ashore inthe midst of a sea of desolation, which spread beneath the night skyaway and away into the gloom. 

From the sea, four miles distant, came a low angry roar, which seemed torouse the wind to shout and shriek back defiance, as it plunged into thepines again, and shook and worried them till it passed on with an angryhiss. 

"High-tide, and a big sea yonder, " said the squire. "River must be fullup. Hope she won't come over and wash us away. "

"Wesh me away, you mean, " said Farmer Tallington. "You're all right upon the Toft. 'Member the big flood, squire?"

"Ay, fifteen years ago, Tallington, when I came down to you inHickathrift's duck-punt, and we fetched you and Tom's mother out of thetop window. "

"Ay, but it weer a bad time, and it's a good job we don't hev suchfloods o' watter now. "

"Ay 'tis, " said the squire. "My word, but the sea must bite to-night. Dick here wanted to be a sailor. Better be a farmer a night like this, eh, Tallington?"

"Deal better at home, " was the reply, as the door was closed behindthem, shutting out the warmth and light; and the little party went downa path leading through the clump of firs which formed a landmark formiles in the great level fen, and then down the slope on the far side, and on to the rough road which ran past Farmer Tallington's littlehomestead. 

The two elder friends went on first, and the lads, who had been togetherat Lincoln Grammar-School, hung behind. 

To some people a walk of two miles through the fen in the stormydarkness of the wintry night would have seemed fraught with danger, themore so that it was along no high-road, but merely a rugged track madeby the horses and tumbrils in use at the Toft and at Tallington's Fenfarm, Grimsey, a track often quite impassable after heavy rains. Therewas neither hedge nor ditch to act as guide, no hard white or drab road;nothing but old usage and instinctive habit kept those who traversed theway from going off it to right or left into the oozy fen with its blacksoft peat, amber-coloured bog water, and patches of bog-moss, green insummer, creamy white and pink in winter; while here and there amongstthe harder portions, where heath and broom and furze, whose roots werematted with green and grey coral moss, found congenial soil, were longholes full of deep clear water--some a few yards across, others longzigzag channels like water-filled cracks in the earth, and othersforming lanes and ponds and lakes that were of sizes varying from aquarter of a mile to two or three in circumference. 

Woe betide the stranger who attempted the journey in the dark, the trackonce missed there was death threatening him on every hand; while hiscries for help would have been unheard as he struggled in the deep blackmire, or swam for life in the clear water to find no hold at the sidebut the whispering reeds, from which, with splashings and whistling ofwings, the wild-fowl would rise up, to speed quacking and shriekingaway. 

But no thoughts of danger troubled the lads as they trudged on slowlyand moodily, the deep murmur of their elders' voices being heard fromthe darkness far ahead. 

"Wonder what old Dave said about his powder-flask?" said Tom, suddenlybreaking the silence. 

"Don't know and don't care, " said Dick gruffly. 

There was a pause. 

"I should like to have been there and heard Old Hicky, " said Tom, againbreaking the silence. 

"Yah! He'd only laugh, " said Dick. "He likes a bit of fun as well aswe do. "

"I should have liked to see the fire fly about. "

"So should I, if he'd thought it was Jacob, and given him what he callsa blob, " said Dick; "but it wasn't half a bang. "

"Well, I wish now we hadn't done it, " said Tom. 

"Why?"

"Because Dave will be so savage. Next time we go over to his placehe'll send us back, and then there'll be no more fun at the duck 'coy, and no netting and shooting. "

"Oh, I say, Tom, what a fellow you are! Now is Dave Gittan the man tolook sour at anybody who takes him half a pound of powder? Why, he'llsmile till his mouth's open and his eyes shut, and take us anywhere. "

"Well, half a pound of powder will make a difference, " said Tomthoughtfully. 

"I'll take him a pound, " said Dick magnificently. 

"How are you going to get it?"

"How am I going to get it!" said Dick. "Why, let Sam Farles bring itfrom Spalding; and I tell you what, I won't give him the pound. I'llgive him half a pound, and you shall give him the other. "

"Ah!" cried Tom eagerly; "and I tell you what, Dick--you know that oldlead?"

"What! that they dug up when they made the new cow-house?"

"Yes, give him a lump of that, and we'll help him melt it down somenight, and cast bullets and slugs. "

"Seems so nasty. Father said it was part of an old lead coffin that oneof the monks was buried in. "

"Well, what does that matter? It was hundreds of years ago. Davewouldn't know. "

"And if he did he wouldn't mind, " said Dick. "All right! we'll take himthe lead to-morrow. "

"But you haven't got the powder. "

"No, but Hicky goes to Ealand to-morrow, and he can take the money tothe carrier, and we can tell Dave we've sent for it, and he knows he canbelieve us, and that'll be all right. "

There was another pause, during which the wind shrieked, and faroverhead there came a confused gabbling noise, accompanied by thewhistling of wings, a strange eerie sound in the darkness that wouldhave startled a stranger. But the boys only stood still and listened. 

"There they go, a regular flight!" said Dick. "If Dave hears them won'the wish he'd got plenty of powder and lead!"

"Think the old monks'll mind?" said Tom. 

"What! that flock of wild-geese going over?"

"No-o-o! Our taking the lead. "

"Oh! I say, Tom, you are a chap, " cried his companion. "I know youbelieve in ghosts. "

"No, I don't, " said Tom stoutly; "but I shouldn't like to live in yourold place all the same. "

"What! because it's part of the old monastery?"

"Yes. The old fellows were all killed when the Danes came up the riverin their boats and burned the place. "

"Well, father and I aren't Danes, and we didn't kill them. What stuff!"

"No, but it's not nice all the same to live in a place where lots ofpeople were murdered. "

"Tchah! who cares! I don't. It's a capital old place, and you neverdig anywhere without finding something. "

"Yes, " said Tom solemnly, "something that isn't always nice. "

"Well, you do sometimes, " said Dick, "but not often. But I wouldn'tleave the old place for thousands of pounds. Why, where would you getanother like it with its old walls, and vaults, and cellars, and thickwalls, and the monks' fish-ponds, and all right up on a high toft withthe river on one side, and the fen for miles on the other. Look at thefish. "

"Yes; it's all capital, " said Tom. "I like it ever so; but it isprecious monky. "

"Well, so are you! Who cares about its being monky! The old monks werejolly old chaps, I know. "

"How do you know? Sh! what's that?"

"Fox. Listen. "

There was a rush, a splash, a loud cackling noise, and then silence savefor the wind. 

"He's got him, " cried Tom. "I wish we had Hicky's Grip here; he'd makehim scuffle and run. "

"Think it was a fox?" said Tom. 

"Sure of it; and it was one of those old mallards he has got. Come on. Why shouldn't the fox have duck for supper as well as other people?"

"Ah, why not?" said Tom. "But how do you know the monks were jolly oldchaps?"

"How do I know! why, weren't they fond of fishing, and didn't they makemy ponds? I say, let's have a try for the big pike to-morrow. I sawhim fly right out of the water day before yesterday, when it rained. Oh, I say, it is a shame!"

"What's a shame?" said Tom. 

"Why, to do all this draining. What's the good of it?"

"To make dry fields. "

"But I don't want any more dry fields. Here have I been thinking foryears how nice it would be, when we'd done school to have all the run ofthe fen, and do what we liked, netting, and fishing and shooting, andhelping Dave at the 'coy, and John Warren among the rabbits. "

"And getting a hare sometimes with Hicky's Grip, " put in, Tom. 

"Yes; and now all the place is going to be spoiled. I say, are we goingright home with you?"

"I suppose so, " said Tom. "There's the light. Old Boggy'll hear usdirectly. I thought so. Here he comes. "

There was a deep angry bark at a distance, and this sounded nearer, andwas followed by the rustling of feet, ending in a joyous whining andpanting as a great sheep-dog raced up to the boys, and began to leap andfawn upon them, but only to stop suddenly, stand sniffing the air in thedirection of the old priory, and utter an uneasy whine. 

"Hey, boy! what's the matter?" said Tom. 

"He smells that fox, " said Dick triumphantly. "I say, I wish we'd hadhim with us. There! he's got wind of him. I wish it wasn't so dark, and we'd go back and have a run. "

"Have a run! have a swim, you mean, " said Tom. "Why, that was in one ofthe wettest places between here and your house. I say, how plainly youcan hear the sea!"

"Of course you can, when the wind blows off it, " said Dick, as helistened for a moment to the dull low rushing sound. "Your mother hasput two candles in the window. "

"She always does when father's out. She's afraid he might get lost inthe bog. "

"So did my mother once; but it made father cross, and he said, next timehe went out she was to tie a bit of thread to his arm, and hold the end, and then he would be sure to get home all right. Why, there's ajack-o'-lantern on the road. "

"That isn't a jacky-lantern, " replied Tom, looking steadfastly first atthe two lights shining out in the distance, and then at a dim kind ofstar which seemed to be jerking up and down. 

"Tell you it is, " said Dick shortly. 

"Tell you it isn't, " cried Tom. "Jacky-lanterns are never lame. Theynever hop up and down like that, but seem to glide here and there like ahoney-bee. It's our Joe come to meet us with the horn lantern. It'shis game leg makes it go up and down. "

"Dick!" came from ahead. 

"Yes, father, " shouted the lad; and they ran on to where the squire andFarmer Tallington were awaiting them. 

"We'll say `good-night' now, " said the squire. "Here, Dick, Farmer'sJoe is coming on with the lantern. Shall we let him light us home?"

"Why, we should have to see him home afterwards, father, " said Dickmerrily. 

"Right, my lad! Good-night, Tallington! You are in for your twohundred, mind. "

"Yes, and may it bring good luck to us!" said the fanner. "Good-nightto both of you!"

"Good-night!"

Dick supplemented his "good-night" with a pat on the head of the greatsheep-dog, which stood staring along the track, and snuffing the wind;and then he and his father started homeward. 

"I shall come over directly after breakfast, Dick, " shouted Tom. 

"All right!" replied Dick as he looked back, to see that the lantern hadnow become stationary, and then it once more began to dance up and down, while the two lights shone out like tiny stars a few hundred yards away. 

"They've got the best of it, Dick, " said the squire. "Why, we werenearly there. Let's make haste or your mother will be uneasy. Phew!the wind's getting high!"

CHAPTER THREE. 

A STORMY NIGHT. 

It was a tremendous blast which came sweeping over the sea, and quitechecked the progress of the travellers for the moment, but they pressedon, seeming to go right through the squall, and trudging along sturdilytowards home. 

"I begin to wish someone had put a light in the window for us, Dick, "said the squire at the end of a few minutes' walking. "It's gettingterribly dark. "

Dick said, "Yes, " and thought of the thread, but he made no allusion toit, only laughed to himself and tramped on. 

"By the way, how uneasy that dog seemed!" said the squire as theytrudged on with heads bent, for they were facing the blast now. 

"Yes, father; we passed a fox. "

"Passed a fox! Why, you couldn't see a fox a dark night like this. "

"No, but I could smell him, father, and we heard him catch a duck. "

"Ah! I see. And did the dog scent out the fox?"

"Yes, I think so, and that made him whine. "

"Come along, my lad. Let's get on as fast as we can. It's growingblacker, and I'm afraid we shall have some rain. "

No rain fell, but the sky was completely clouded over and the darknessseemed to grow more and more intense. The wind kept increasing inviolence and then dying out, as if it came in huge waves which sweptover them and had a great interval between, while as the rush and roarof the gusts passed there came the deep hoarse murmur of the distantsea. 

"Dick, " said the squire suddenly, "you are so young that you can hardlyfeel with me, but I want someone to talk to now, and I may as well tellyou that I am going to risk a great deal of money over the draining ofthe fen. "

"Are you, father?"

"Yes, my lad, and I have been feeling a natural shrinking from the risk. To-night sweeps all that away, for in spite of having lived here somany years as I have, I never before felt how needful it all was. "

"Do you think so, father?"

"Indeed I do, my lad, for anything more risky than our walk to-night Ihardly know. What's that?"

The squire stopped short and grasped his son's arm, as, after a furiousgust of wind, the distant murmur of the sea seemed to have beenoverborne by something different--a confused lapping, trickling, andrushing noise that seemed to come from all parts at once. 

"I don't know, father, " said Dick, who was slightly startled by hisfather's manner. "Shall we go on?"

"Yes, " said the squire hoarsely. "Let's get home quick. "

They started on again, walking fast, but at the end of a minute Dickuttered a cry. 

"We're off the road, father. Water!"

As he spoke he was ankle-deep, and in taking a step to catch his son'sarm, Squire Winthorpe felt the water splash up around him. 

"Can you see the lights at the Priory, Dick?" he said sharply. 

"No, father. "

"We can't be off the path, " said the squire. "Is it boggy and softunder you?"

"No, father--hard; but I'm in the water. "

"It's hard here too, " said the squire, trying the ground with his feet;"and yet we must be off the road. Stand fast, my boy; don't move. "

"Are you going away, father?" said Dick. 

"No, only a few yards, boy. I want to see where we got off the track, whether it's to the right or left. "

"It's so dark, " said Dick, "I can hardly see my hand. Mind how you go, father; there are some deep bog-holes about here. "

"Then you stand fast, my boy. "

"Hadn't you better stand fast too, father?"

"And both perish in the wet and cold, my boy! No. I'll soon find theroad. It must be close by. "

Not a tree or post to guide him, nothing but the thick darkness on allsides, as Squire Winthorpe cautiously moved one foot before the other, keeping one upon solid ground while he searched about with the other, and as he moved _splash_--_splish_--_splash_, the water flew, strikingcold to his legs, and sending a chill of dread to his very heart. 

"It's very strange, " he cried; "but don't be frightened, Dick. We shallbe all right directly. "

"I'm not frightened, father, " replied the boy. "I'm puzzled. "

"And so am I, my lad, for I did not know we could find such solid bottomoff the road. Ah!"

"What's the matter, father?"

"I told you not to move, sir, " roared the squire, for he had heard aslight splash on his right. 

"I couldn't help it, father; my foot seemed to slip, and--why, here'sthe road!"

"There?" cried the squire eagerly. 

"Yes, father, and my foot's slipped down into a big rut. "

"Are you sure, boy?"

"Sure! Yes, father, it _is_ the road. I say, what does it mean?"

The answer was a quick splashing sound, as Squire Winthorpe hurried tohis son's side and gripped his arm, to stand there for a few momentslistening and thinking as he realised the meaning of the strangerushing, plashing noise that came from all round. 

"I know, " cried Dick suddenly; "the sea-bank's broke, and we're going tohave a flood. "

"Yes, " said the squire hoarsely; "the bank has gone, my boy. "

"Hadn't we better push on, father, before it gets any deeper?"

"Stop a moment, Dick, " said the squire, "and let me try to think. Home's safe, because the Priory's on the Toft; but there's Tallingtonand his wife and boy. We must try and help them. "

"Come on, then, father!" cried Dick excitedly. 

"No, Dick, that will not do; we shall only be shutting ourselves up tooand frightening your mother to death. We must get home and then on toHickathrift's. He has a big punt there. "

"Yes, father, but it hasn't been mended. I saw it this afternoon. "

"Then he has wood, and we must make a raft. Come on. Here: your hand. "

For a few minutes there was nothing heard but the rushing of the windand the _splash, splash_ of the water, as they pressed on, the squirecautiously trying to keep one foot by the rut which had guided his son, and, when it became intangible, seeking for some other means to keepthem from straying from the submerged road in the darkness, and goingoff to right or left into the bog. 

It was a terrible walk, for they had a full mile to go; and to thesquire's horror, he found that it was not only against the wind but alsoagainst the sharply running water, which was flowing in from the sea andgrowing deeper inch by inch. 

As if to comfort each other father and son kept on making cheery remarksapropos of their rough journey. Now it was Dick, who declared that thewater felt warmer than the air; now it was the squire, who laughinglysaid that he should believe now in blind men being able to find theirway by the touch. 

"For I'm feeling my way along here famously, Dick. "

"Yes, father, only it seems such a long way--ugh!"

"What is it, boy?"

"One foot went down deep. Yes, I know where we are. "

"Yes, close home, my boy, " cried the squire. 

"No, no; half a mile away by the sharp turn, father; and I nearly wentright down. We must keep more this way. "

The squire drew his breath hard, for he knew his son was right, as theroad proved when they turned almost at right angles and plashed onthrough the water. 

Half a mile farther to go and the current rushing on! It had been onlyover their ankles, now it was above their knees, and both knew that atthis rate it would be waist-deep, if not deeper, before they could reachthe high ground at home. 

"It is very horrible, Dick, my lad, " cried the squire at last as theykept on, with the water steadily and surely growing deeper. 

"Oh, I don't mind, father! We shall get on so far before it's over ourheads that we shall be able to swim the rest of the way. You can swim, father?"

"I used to, my lad; perhaps I have not forgotten how. But I am thinkingof the people about. I wonder whether Hickathrift has found it out. "

"I dare say he's in bed, father, " said Dick. 

"That's what I fear, my boy; and then there's John Warren. "

"He'll get up the sand-hills, father. "

"If he knows in time, my boy; but Dave Gittan has no place to flee to. "

"He has his little boat, father; and Chip would warn him if he has goneto bed. I know what he'd do then. "

"What, my lad?"

"Pole himself along to John Warren and fetch him off, and come on to theToft. "

"Mind, take care, we're going wrong, " cried the squire excitedly, as heslipped and went in right up to his waist, but Dick clung to his hand, threw himself back, and with a heavy splash the squire managed to regainthe hard road off whose edge he had slipped. 

"We must go slower, father, " said Dick coolly. "You pull me back if Igo wrong this way and I'll pull you. I say, isn't it getting dark!"

The squire made no answer, but feeling that their case was growingdesperate, and if they did not progress more rapidly they would be insuch deep water before they could reach the Priory that it would beimpossible to keep the track, and they would be swept away, he pushedon, with the result that in a few minutes Dick had a narrow escape, slipping right in and coming up panting, to be dragged back, and standstill quite confused by his total immersion. 

"We must get on, Dick, my boy, " said his father; "the water's growingterribly deep, and it presses against us like a torrent. Forward!"

They recommenced their journey, wading on slowly over what seemed to bean interminable distance; but no sign of the dark village or of theisland-farm in the fen appeared, and at last the water deepened so thata chilly feeling of despair began slowly to unnerve the squire and sethim thinking that theirs was a hopeless case. 

"Be ready, Dick, " he whispered, as, after a tremendous puff of windwhich stopped them for the moment, he once more pressed on. 

"Ready, father?" panted Dick. "What for?"

"We may have to swim directly. If it gets much deeper we cannot forceour way. "

"Oh, we shall do it!" cried the boy; "we must be close there now. "

"I fear not, " said the squire to himself. "Hold on, boy!" he criedaloud. "What is it?"

"Water's--up to my--chest, " panted Dick; "and it comes so fast here--it's--it's too strong for me. "

"Dick!" cried the squire in agony. 

"I must swim, father, " cried Dick. 

"And be swept away!" cried the squire hoarsely. "Heaven help me! whatshall I do?"

He had gripped his son tightly in his agony, and they stood together fora few moments, nearly swept off their feet by the swirling current, whena bright idea flashed across the squire's mind. 

"Quick, Dick! don't speak. Climb on my back. "

"But, father--"

"Do as I bid you, " roared the squire, stooping a little, and bendingdown he made of one hand a stirrup for his son's foot, who, the nextmoment, was well up on his back. 

"That's better, boy, " panted the squire. "You are safe, and your weightsteadies me. I can get on now; it can't be far. "

As he spoke a light suddenly flashed up a couple of hundred yards ahead, and gleamed strangely over the water like a blood-red stain. 

Then it died out, but flashed up again and increased till there was aruddy path of light before them, and behind the glow stood up the trees, the long, low Priory and the out-buildings, while figures could be seenmoving here and there. 

"I know, " cried Dick. "I see, father. They've lit a bonfire to show uswhich way to go. Ahoy!"

"Ahoy!" came back in a stentorian shout, and something was thrown uponthe fire which dulled it for the moment, but only for it to flash up ina tremendous blaze, with the sparks and flames of fire rushing towardsthem. 

"Ahoy!" came the shout again. 

"Ahoy!" answered Dick. 

"That will do, my boy, " panted the squire. "The water's gettinghorribly deep, but I can manage now, for I can tell which way to go. "

"Little more to the left, father, " cried Dick. 

"Right, boy!"

"No, no, father, " shrieked Dick; "left!"

"I meant you are right, my lad, " said the squire, moving on, with thewater growing deeper still, while the stentorian voice kept utteringcheering shouts to them, which they answered till they were only aboutfifty yards away, when it became plain that someone was coming to meetthem, splash, splash, through the water, with a pole in his hand. 

The figure, though only head and half his body were visible above theplashing water, looked large, and for a few moments in his confusionDick was puzzled; but he realised who it was at last, and cried:

"Why, it's old Hicky!"

He was right; and just in the veriest time of need the great blacksmithreached the fainting squire, and grasping his arm breasted the waterwith him; and in another minute they were ascending the slope, with thewater shallowing, till they reached a blazing fire, where Mrs Winthorpeclasped husband and son to her breast!

"All right, wife!" cried the squire. "Glad you are here, Hickathrift!All your people too?"

"Yes, squire, all safe here; but we're uneasy like about Dave o' the'Coy and John Warren. "

"But they've got the boat, " cried Dick. 

"Yes; I hope they're safe, " said the squire. "Hickathrift, my lad, thatwas a brave thought of yours to light that fire. It saved our lives. "

"Nay, squire, " said the big fellow; "it was no thowt o' mine--it was thymissus put it into my yead. "

The squire gave his wife a look as she stood there in the midst of agroup of shivering farm-servants, and then turned to the wheelwright. 

"The boat, " he said--"did you come in the boat?"

"Ay, squire. She leaks a deal, but I thrust an owd pillow in the hole. But I nigh upon lost her. My Grip woke me howling, for we were abed. Ijumped out and ran down, thinking it was the foxes after the chickens, and walked right into the water. I knowed what it meant, and got overto the saw-pit, and just caught hold of the boat in the dark as it wasfloating away. Then I got my leaping-pole and run her under the window, and made my missus give me a pillow to stop the leak 'fore I could baleher out. Then Jacob come, and we got the missus down and poled heralong here, but was nearly swept by. "

"You're a good fellow, Hickathrift, " cried the squire. "Wife, get outsome hollands; we're perished. Have a glass, my man; and then we mustgo in the punt to Grimsey and get the Tallingtons out. We're all righthere, but Grimsey Farm will soon be flooded to the bed-room windows. Light a lanthorn, some one, and put in a spare candle. You'll go withme, Hickathrift?"

"Ay, squire, to the end of the world, if thou bids me; but I tell ye--"

He stopped short. 

"Well, what, man? Here, drink!"

"Efter yow, squire, " said the big fellow sturdily. "I tell ye that nomortal man, nor no two men, couldn't take that punt across to Grimsey inthe dark to-night. We should be swept no one knows wheer, and do nogood to them as wants the help. "

"But we can't leave them to drown, man!" cried the squire. 

"No; we can't do that, and we wean't, " cried Hickathrift. "They'll getright on the roof if the bed-rooms gets full; and while we're waitingfor day we'll have the punt hauled up. Jacob'll howd the light, andI'll see if I can't mend the hole. You've got a hammer and some nailsin the big barn?"

"Yes, " said the squire; "yes, you are right, my man--you are right. Come, Dick: dry clothes. "

There was nothing else to be done; and as the bonfire was kept blazingthe punt was hauled up, and in the midst of the howling wind and therush of the water Dick stood looking on, his heart full as he thought ofTom Tallington asking his help away there in the darkness; while tap, tap, tap went the wheelwright's hammer, after his saw had rasped off athin piece of board. 

"That'll do it, " he cried at last; and the punt was placed ready forlaunching when the day showed. 

Meanwhile the squire gave orders for the fire to be kept well alight;and fagots of wood and straw trusses were piled on, with the odds andends of broken farming implements and worn-out wooden shedding that hadbeen the accumulation of years. 

The result was that the flames rose high over the wild weird scene, gilding the wind-tossed pines and staining the flood for far, whilethere was so much excitement in thus sitting up and keeping the fireblazing that it would have been real enjoyment to Dick had he not beenin a constant state of fret and anxiety about his friends. 

For, living as he did in that island of good elevated land in the greatwild fen where inhabitants were scarce, everybody was looked upon as anintimate friend, and half the lad's time was spent at the bottom of theslope beyond the ruinous walls of the old Priory, watching the water tosee how much higher it had risen, and to gaze out afar and watch for thecoming of boat or punt. 

In truth, though, there was only one vessel likely to come, and that wasthe flat-bottomed punt belonging to Dave, who worked the duck-decoy farout in the fen. The people on the sea-bank had a boat; but they werefive miles away at least, and would not venture on such a night. 

"What should I do?" thought Dick as he walked down to the edge of thewater again and again. "If Tom is drowned, and Dave, and John Warren, they may drain the fen as soon as they like, for the place will not bethe same. "

The night wore on; and Mrs Winthorpe made the people in turn partake ofa meal, half supper, half breakfast, and, beyond obeying his father'sorders regarding dry clothes, Dick could go no further. He revoltedagainst food, and, feeling heartsick and enraged against the wheelwrightfor eating a tremendous meal, he once more ran down to the water's edge, to find his father watching a stick or two he had thrust in. 

"Tide has turned, Dick, " he said quietly; "the water will not rise anyhigher. "

"And will it all run off now, father?"

The squire shook his head. 

"Some will, " he replied; "but the fen will be a regular lake till thesea-bank has been mended. It must have been rough and the tide veryhigh to beat that down. "

"Will it come in again, then?" asked Dick. 

"Perhaps: perhaps not. It's a lucky thing that I had no stock down atthe corner field by the fish-stews. If they had not been up here in thehome close, every head must have been drowned. "

"Do you think the fish-ponds are covered, father?"

"Five or six feet deep, my boy. "

"Then the fish will get out. "

"Very likely Dick; but we've something more important to think aboutthan fish. Hark! what's that?" and he listened. 

"Ahoy!" roared Hickathrift from just behind them. "Hear that, squire?"

"Yes, my lad, I heard a cry from off the water. "

Just then came another faint hail from a distance. 

"That's Dave, " said Hickathrift, smiling all over his broad face; "anyone could tell his hail: it's something between a wild-goose cry and thesqueak of a cart-wheel that wants some grease. "

The hailing brought out everybody from the house, Mrs Winthorpe's firstinquiry being whether it was the Tallingtons. 

"Pitch on a bit more straw, Dick, " cried the squire; and the lad seizeda fork and tossed a quantity on the fire, while the wheelwright stirredup the embers with a pole, the result being that the flames roared uptremendously, sending out a golden shower of sparks which were sweptaway before the wind, fortunately in the opposite direction to thehouse, towards which the squire darted one uneasy glance. 

"Ahoy!" shouted the wheelwright, and there was a fresh response whichsounded weird and strange, coming as it did from out of the black wallof darkness seen beyond the ring of ruddy light which gleamed upon thewater. 

"They'll get here easily now, " said the squire from the very edge of theflood, as he tossed out a piece of wood, and saw that it was floatedsteadily away. "The current is slack. "

He could not avoid shuddering as he thought of the way in which it hadpressed upon him as he waded toward the island with Dick upon his back;but the memory passed away directly as a fresh hail came from off thewater; and as the group looked out anxiously and listened for the splashof the pole, they at last saw the fire-light shining upon a figure whichgradually came gliding out of the darkness. At first it seemed strange, and almost ghastly; but in a few more moments those who watched couldsee that it was Dave o' the 'Coy in his fox-skin cap standing up in hislittle white punt and thrusting it along by means of a long pole, whilea man sat in the stern. 

"Yon's John Warren along wi' him, " cried Hickathrift. "I thowt they'dbe all right. Come on, lads, clost in here, " he shouted; and withoutmaking any reply, the strange-looking man in the bows of the boat pulledher along till the prow struck upon the flooded grass, and he threw arope to the wheelwright. 

"Got your gun, Dave?" cried Dick eagerly. 

The man turned his head slowly to the speaker, laid the pole across theboat, which was aground a dozen feet from the dry land, stooped, pickedup his long gun, and uttered a harsh--

"Kitch!"

As he spoke he threw the gun to the wheelwright, who caught it andpassed it to Dick, while the second man handed Dave another gun, whichwas sent ashore in the same way. Then, taking up the pole, Dave placedit a little way before him, and leaped ashore as actively as a boy, while the second man now advanced to the front, caught the pole as itwas thrown back, and in turn cleared the water and landed upon the dryground. 

"Glad to see you safe, Dave, " said the squire, holding out his hand. "Glad to see you, too, John Warren. You are heartily welcome. "

The two men took the squire's hand in a limp, shrinking manner; andinstead of giving it a hearty grip, lifted it up once, looking at it allthe time as if it were something curious, and then let it fall, andshuffled aside, giving a furtive kind of nod to every one in turn whooffered a congratulation. 

They were the actions of men who led a solitary life among the birds andfour-footed animals of the great wild fen, and to be made the heroes ofan escape seemed to be irksome. 

Just then there was a diversion which took off people's attention, andseemed to place them more at ease. A sharp quick yelp came from theboat, followed by a bark, and, plainly seen in the fire-light, a coupleof dogs placed their paws on the edge of the little vessel, raised theirheads to the full stretch of their necks, and with cocked-up ears seemedto ask, "What's to be done with us?"

"Hi! Chip, Chip! Snig, Snig! Come, boys, " shouted Dick, patting hisleg; and the dogs barked loudly, but did not stir. 

"Come on, you cowards!" cried Dick. "You won't get any wetter than Idid. "

"Here!" said Dave; and Chip leaped over and swam ashore, gave himself ashake, and then performed a joy dance about Dick's legs. 

This time there was a dismal howl from the punt, where the second dogwas waiting for permission to land. 

"Come on!" said the second man, a frowning, thoughtful-looking fellow ofabout fifty, the lower part of whose face was hidden by a thick beard--agreat rarity a hundred years ago--and the other dog leaped into thewater with a tremendous splash, swam ashore, rushed at Chip, and therewas a general worry, half angry, half playful, for a few moments beforethe pair settled down close to the fire, as if enjoying its warmth. 

"This is a terrible misfortune, Dave, " said the squire. 

"Ay; the water's out, mester, " said the man in a low husky way. 

"How did you escape?"

"Escape?" said Dave, taking off his fox-skin cap and rubbing his head. 

"Seed the watter coming, and poonted ower to the Warren, " said thesecond man, thrusting something in his mouth which he took out of abrass box, and then handing the latter to Dave, who helped himself to apiece of dark-brown clayey-looking stuff which seemed like a thick pastemade of brown flour and treacle. 

"I wish you men would break yourselves of this habit, " said the squire. "You'll be worse for it some day. "

"Keeps out the cold and ager, mester, " said the second man, thrustingthe box back in his pocket. 

"Then you've been waiting at the Warren?"

"Ay, mester. Me an' him waited till we see the fire, and thowt thehouse hed kitched, and then we come. "

"It was very good of you, my lads, " said the squire warmly. "There, getin, and the mistress will give you some bread and cheese and ale. "

"Arn't hungry, " growled the second man. "Can'st ta yeat, Dave, man?"

"Ah!" growled Dave, and he slouched round, looking at the ground, andturned to go. "Gimme mai goon, " he added. 

"The guns are all right, Dave, " cried Dick. "I've got 'em. I say, JohnWarren, will the rabbits be all drowned?"

"Drowned, young mester! Nay, not they. Plenty o' room for em up in theruns where the watter won't come. "

"But the foxes, and hares, and things?" cried Dick. 

"Them as has got wings is flied awayer, " growled the second man; "themas has got paddles is swimmed; and them as can't find the dry patches isgone down. "

After this oracular utterance John o' the Warren, who took his popularname from the rabbit homes, to the exclusion of his proper surname ofSearby, tramped heavily after his companion to the Priory kitchen, wherethey both worried a certain amount of bread and cheese, and muttered toone another over some ale, save when Dick spoke to them and told them ofhis anxieties, when each man gave him a cheery smile. 

"Don't yow fret, lad, " said Dave. "Bahds is all reight. They wean'thoort. Wait till watter goos down a bit and you an' me'll have raresport. "

"Ay, and rabbuds is all reight too, young mester, " added John Warren. "They knows the gainest way to get up stairs. They're all happed upwarm in their roons, ready to come out as soon as the watter goos down. "

"But how did it happen?"

"Happen, lad!" said the two men in a breath. 

"Yes; what caused the flood?"

"Oh, I d'n'know, " growled Dave slowly. "Happen sea-bank broke to showfolk as fen warn't niver meant to be drained, eh, John Warren?"

"Ay, that's it, lad. Folk talks o' draaning fen, and such blather. Can't be done. "

"I say, John, I don't want the fen drained, " whispered Dick. 

"Good lad!" growled John Warren; and then Dave shook his head at theale-mug, sighed, and drank. 

"But don't let father hear what you say, because he won't like it. "

"Nay, I sha'n't say nowt, " said Dave. 

"Nay, nor me neither, only natur's natur, and floods is floods, " addedJohn Warren; and he too shook his head at the ale-mug, and drank. 

"Now, then, " cried the squire, coming quickly to the door, "Hickathriftand I are going in the big punt to see if we can help the Tallingtons;the stream isn't so strong now. Are you men going to try to help us?"

"Get Farmer Tallington out?" said Dave. "Ay, we are coming. "

"Let me come too, father, " cried Dick. 

"No, my lad, I'm afraid I--"

"Don't say that, father; let me go. "

"No no, Dick, " cried Mrs Winthorpe, entering the kitchen, for she hadbeen upon the alert. "You have run risks enough to-night. "

"Yes; stay and take care of the women, Dick, " said his father. 

Dick gave an angry stamp on the floor. 

"Mother wants me to grow up a coward, " he cried. "Oh, mother, it's toobad!"

"But, Dick, my boy, " faltered the poor woman. 

"Let the boy come, wife, " said the squire quietly; "I'll take care ofhim. "

"Yes, and I'll take care of father, " cried Dick, rushing at his motherto give her a sounding kiss, and with a sigh she gave way, and followedthe party down to the water's edge. 

CHAPTER FOUR. 

A JOURNEY BY PUNT. 

There was still a furious current running on the far side of the Toft, as, well provided with lanterns, the two punts pushed off. On the sidewhere the two last comers landed it had seemed sluggish, for an eddy hadhelped them in; but as soon as they were all well out beyond the pinesthe stream caught them, the wind helped it, and their task was not toget towards Grimsey, but to retard their vessels, and mind that theywere not capsized by running upon a pollard willow, whose thin bareboughs rose up out of the water now and then, like the horrent hair ofsome marine monster which had come in with the flood from the sea. 

"We've done wrong, Hickathrift, " said the squire after they had beenborne along by the current for some distance; "and I don't understandall this. I thought that when the tide had turned, the water would haveflowed back again through the gap it must have broken, instead of stillsweeping on. "

"Ay, " said the great wheelwright, who was standing in the bows with hislong leaping-pole in his hand; "I do puzzle, squire. I've been lookingout for a light to show where Grimsey lies, for here, in the dark, it'swatter, watter, watter, and I can't see the big poplar by Tallington's. Hi! Dave, where's Grimsey, thinks ta?" he shouted. 

"Nay, I don't know. "

"Can you make it out, John Warren?"

"Nay, lad, I'm 'bout bet. "

"Then, squire, if they can't say, I can't. What shall we do?"

"We must wait for daylight, " said the squire, after peering into thedarkness ahead for some time. "We shall be swept far past it if we goon. Can you hold the punt with your pole?"

"Nay, no more'n you could a bull with a bit o' tar band, mester. We munkeep a sharp look-out for the next tree, and lay hold of the branchesand stop there. D'ye hear, lads?"

"Aye, what is it?" came from the other boat. 

"Look out for the next tree, and hing on till daylight. "

Dave uttered a grunt, and they floated on and on for nearly a quarter ofan hour before Dick uttered a loud "Look out!"

"I see her, my lad, " cried Hickathrift; and he tried to give the boat agood thrust by means of his pole; but though he touched bottom it wassoft peat, and his pole went down, and the next moment they werecrashing through the top of a willow, with the boat tilting up on oneside and threatening to fill; but just as the water began to pour in, there was a whishing and crackling noise as it passed over the obstacleand swung clear, with Hickathrift holding on to a branch with all hismight. 

"Look out! Can you tek howd, lad?" came from the other boat, which camegliding out of the darkness, just clear of the tree. 

As it came on, Dick caught the pole Dave held out to him and checked theprogress of the little punt; but he had miscalculated his strength asopposed to the force of the current, and after a jerk, which seemed tobe tearing his arms out of their sockets, he was being dragged out ofthe boat, and half over, when his father seized him round the hips. 

"Can you hold on, Dick?" cried the squire. 

"A--a little while, " panted the lad. 

"Get howd o' the pole, mester, " shouted Warren from the other boat. 

"I can't, man, without loosing the boy. We shall have to let you go. "

"Let go, then, " growled Dave; "we can find our way somehow. "

"Nay, " shouted Hickathrift. "Howd hard a minute till I've made fasthere. I'm coming. "

As he spoke he was busy holding on to the elastic willow branch with onehand, while with the other he drew the rope out of the boat's head, and, with a good deal of labour, managed to pass it round the bough and makeit fast. 

"There, she's all right, " he cried, stepping aft carefully, the boatswaying beneath his huge weight. "Now, squire, I mun lean ower thee toget howd o' the pole. Eh! but it's a long way to reach, and--"

"Mind, man, mind!" cried the squire, "or we shall fill with water; we'rewithin an inch now. "

"Nay, we sha'n't go down, " cried Hickathrift, straining right over thesquire and Dick, and sinking the stern of the boat so far that his facekept touching the water, and he had to wrench his head round to speak. "There, I've got howd o' the pole, and one leg hooked under the thwart. Let go, Mester Dick; and you haul him aboard, squire, and get to theother end. "

It needed cautious movement, for the boat was now so low that the waterrushed over; but by exerting his strength the squire dragged Dick away, and together they relieved the stern of the pressure and crept forward. 

"Now Dave, lad, haul alongside, and make your rope fast to thering-bolt, " cried Hickathrift; and this was done, the punt swung behind, and the great Saxon-like fellow sat up laughing. 

"Is it all safe?" cried the squire. 

"Ay, mester, so long as that bough don't part; but I've got my owd earfull o' watter, and it's a-roonning down my neck. But say, mester, it'sa rum un. "

"What is, my lad?"

"Why, it wur ony yesday I wur saying to my Jacob as we'd get the poontmended, and come out here with the handbills and brattle [lop] all thewillows anywhere nigh, so as to hev a lot to throost down about ourplaace to grow. Now, if we'd done that there'd ha' been no branch tolay hold on here, and we might ha' gone on to Spalding afore we'dstopped. Eh, but howding on theer made me keb. "

[Keb: pant for breath. ]

"Are you hurt, Dick?" said the squire. 

"N-no, I don't think I'm hurt, father, " replied Dick, hesitatingly;"only I feel--"

"Well, speak, my lad; don't keep anything back. "

"Oh, no, I won't keep anything back, father!" said Dick, laughing; "butI felt as if I'd been one of those poor fellows in the Tower that theyused to put on the rack--all stretchy like. "

"Mak' you grow, Mester Dick, " said Hickathrift, "mak' you grow into agreat long chap like me--six foot four. "

"I hope not, " said the squire, laughing. "Draw the line this side ofthe six feet, Dick. There: the stiffness will soon pass off. "

They sat talking for a time, but words soon grew few and far between. The two fen-men swinging in their boat behind had recourse to the brassbox again, each partaking of a rolled-up quid of opium, and afterwardscrouched there in a half drowsy state, careless of their peril, whilethe squire and his companions passed their time listening to the rush ofthe water and the creaking of the willow bough as it rubbed against theside of the boat, and wondered, as from time to time the wheelwrightexamined the rope and made it more secure, whether the branch would giveway at its intersection with the trunk. 

The darkness seemed as if it would never pass, whilst the cold nowbecame painful; and as he heard Dick's teeth begin to chatter, thewheelwright exclaimed:

"Look here, young mester, I ain't hot, but there's a lot o' warmth comesout o' me. You come and sit close up, and you come t'other side, squire. It'll waarm him. "

This was done, and with good effect, for the lad's teeth ceased theircastanet-like action as he sat waiting for the daylight. 

No word was spoken by the men in the little punt, and those uttered inthe other grew fewer, as its occupants sat listening to the varioussounds that came from a distance. For the flood had sent thenon-swimming birds wheeling round in the darkness, and every now andthen the whistling of wings was quite startling. The ducks of all kindswere in a high state of excitement, and passed over in nights or settleddown in the water with a tremendous outcry, while ever and again apeculiar clanging from high overhead gave warning that the wild-geesewere on the move, either fleeing or attracted by some strange instinctto the watery waste. 

But morning seemed as if it would never come, and it was not until hoursupon hours had passed that there was a cessation of the high wind, and afaint line of light just over the water, seaward, proclaimed that thedawn could not be far away. 

"Can you see where we are?" said the squire, as it began to growlighter. 

"Ay, it's plain enough now, mester, " was the reply; "and yonder'sGrimsey. "

"I can see Tom, " said Dick just then; "and there's Farmer Tallington, and all the rest, right on the top of the roof. "

In a few minutes more all was plain enough, and the reason apparent whythe people at Tallington had not shown a light in the course of thenight or done anything else to indicate their position, for it wasevident that they had been driven from below stairs to the floor above, and from thence to the roof, where they must have sat out the eveninghours, perhaps doubtful of how long the place would last before it wasswept away. 

So intent had the squire and Dick been in watching for the dawn, thatthe gradual cessation of the flowing water had passed unnoticed; but itwas plain now that the surface of the wide expanse out of which the Toftrose, with the old Priory buildings a couple of miles away, was nowunruffled by the wind, and that the current had ceased to flow. 

But for this the party of rescue in the two punts would not have beenable to reach the inundated farm, for it was only here and there that afirm place could be found for the poles, which generally sank deeply inthe peat covered by the water to an average depth of about eight feet. 

In the course of half an hour the boats were close up to the reed thatchof the great farm-house, a rope made fast to the chimney-stack, and MrsTallington, the farmer, Tom, a couple of maids and three men weretransferred to the boats, all stiff and helpless with the cold. 

"I don't mind now, " said Tom, shivering as he spoke. "A boat isn't muchof a thing, but it will float, and all last night it seemed as if theold house was going to be swept away. "

"Are these your horses?" said Dick, pointing to a group ofdejected-looking animals standing knee-deep in company with some cattle, about a quarter of a mile away. 

"Yes, and our cows, " replied Tom, shivering. "Oh, I say, don't talk;I'm so cold and hungry!"

All this time Hickathrift was diligently using the pole in the largerboat, and Dave leading the way in the other, both being well laden now, and progressing fairly fast toward the Toft, which stood up like anisland of refuge in the midst of the vast lake, dotted here and therewith the tops of trees. At times the poles touched a good firm tuft ofheath or a patch of gravel, and the boat received a good thrust forward;at other times, when the bottom was soft, Hickathrift struck the waterwith it right and left as he stood up in the prow, using it as a kind ofpaddle. 

Before they were half-way on their journey the sun came out from acloud, just at the edge of the inundation; and with it and the prospectof warmth and food at the Priory, everybody's spirits began to rise. 

"Might have been worse, neighbour, " shouted the squire. "You sold allyour sheep last week. "

"Ay, " said the farmer from Dave's punt; "and we might all have beendrowned. It's a sore piece of business; but it shows a man what hisneighbours are, and I won't murmur, only say as you do, it might havebeen worse. "

"And thank God for sparing all our lives!" said the squire, taking offhis hat. 

"Amen!" said Farmer Tallington, and for a time there was nothing heardbut a sob from Mrs Tallington and the splashing of the poles. 

But two boys could not keep silence long with the sun shining and theplace around wearing so novel a guise; and Dick soon burst out with:

"Look, Tom; look at the teal!"

He pointed to a flock forming quite a patch upon the water some hundredsof yards away. 

"Ay, " said the squire; "it's good for the wild-fowl, but bad for us. The sooner the place is drained now, neighbour, the better, eh?"

"Ay, squire, you're right; but how are we to get rid of all thiswatter?"

"Ah, we must see, " said the squire; and Dave and John Warren exchangedglances and shook their heads. "The sooner the draining works arecommenced the better. "

"Toft Fen wean't niver be drained, mester, " said Dave in a low voice, ashe rested his pole in the punt and stood there looking as if he believedhimself to be a prophet. 

"Oh, you think so, do you, Dave?" said the squire quietly. "I daresayhundreds of years ago, before the sea-wall was made, some men said thatno farming could be done in the fen, but the sea has been kept out forall these years. "

"Ay, but it's come through at last in its natural way, mester, " saidJohn Warren. 

"Yes, John, " said the squire: "but we men who think how to live, makenature work for us, and don't work for nature. So we're going to turnthe sea off the land again, and drain the fresh water off as well, so asto turn this wild waste into fertile land. Do you hear, Dick?"

"Yes, father, I hear, " said the lad; and he looked at Dave and JohnWarren, in whose boat he was, and read incredulity there; and as hegazed over the inundated fen, and thought of fishing, and shooting, andboating there, he felt himself thoroughly on the fen-men's side, while, feeling ashamed of this, he bent over the boat side, scooped up somewater in his hand and drank, but only to exclaim, "Ugh!"

"Ah! what does it taste like, Dick?" said the squire. 

"Half salt, father. "

"Then it is the sea broke in, " said the squire. "Ahoy! all right!" heshouted, standing up and waving his cap. "Shout, Dick, and let yourmother see you're here. Come, cheer up, Mrs Tallington; there's a warmwelcome for you yonder from the wife; the water will soon go down, andwe're going to try and protect ourselves from such mischief comingagain. "

The squire was right; there was a warm welcome waiting for the homelessneighbours, to whom, after a good, snug, and hearty breakfast, everything looked very different from what it had seemed during the longdark stormy watches of the night. 

[Wall, in fen-lands, the artificial bank or ridge of clay raised to keepback river, drain, or sea. ]

CHAPTER FIVE. 

THE ROMAN BANK. 

It was like standing on a very long low narrow island, with thepeculiarity that one side was sea, the other inland lake. The sun shonebrilliantly, and the punt in which the squire, Farmer Tallington, Dave, Warren, Hickathrift, and the two lads had come was lying on the innerside of the sandy ridge covered with thin, wiry, harsh grass. 

This ridge formed the island upon which they stood, in company with somesheep and cattle which had instinctively made their way to the highground as the water rose. 

The tide was down now; a great deal of the water had drained away, andthe party were standing by a great breach in the bank through which athigh-tide during the storm the sea had made its way. 

"I can't quite understand how it could have broken through here, " saidthe squire; "but I suppose it was quite a small crack at first, and thewater soon washed it bigger. "

There was a great channel at their feet, cut clean through theembankment; and though the party were standing amongst the sand, theycould see that the bank which protected the fen from the sea, and ran upalongside of the river, running inland, was formed of thick clay, mattedwith the long roots of the grass. 

"Who was it made this great bank, father?" said Dick. 

"Your old friends you read about at school, they say, the Romans, first;but of course it has been added to since. Well, neighbour, we can do nogood by ourselves. We must call together the adventurers, and it cansoon be mended and made stronger than it was at first. Let's go back. Unless we have a gale, no more water will come through this. It's yearssince I've been here. If one had taken a look round one would have seenthe weak spot. "

They re-entered the punt, and Hickathrift poled them back, beingrelieved in turn by Dave and Warren, by whose solitary cottage theypaused--a mere hut upon a sandy patch, standing like an island out ofthe watery waste, and here he elected to stay with the rabbits whichfrisked about and showed their cottony tuft tails as they darted downinto their holes. 

"How about your cottage, Dave?" said the squire, shading his eyes as helooked across the flooded fen. 

"Wet, " said Dave laconically. 

"Yes, there are four feet of water yonder, I should say. You will haveto stop at the Toft for the present. "

"Not I, mester, " said the rough fellow. "I don't mind a drop o'watter. "

"Not to wade through, perhaps, my man; but you can't sleep there. "

"Sleep in my boat, " said Dave laconically. "Won't be the first time. "

"Do as you please, " said the squire quietly; and he turned to talk toFarmer Tallington. 

"I say, Dave, " whispered Dick, "you're just like an old goose. "

"Eh?" said the man with his eyes flashing. 

"I mean being able to sleep on the water floating, " said Dick, laughing, and the angry look died out. 

It was plain enough that the water had sunk a good deal already, but thefarmers had to face the fact that it would be weeks before the fen wasin its old state, and that if the breach in the sea-wall were not soonrepaired, they might at any time be afflicted with a similar peril. 

But notice was sent to those interested, while the farmers here andthere who held the patches of raised land round the borders of the fenobeyed the summons, and for about a month there was busy work going onat the sea-wall with spade and basket, clay being brought from pitsbeneath the sand upon the sea-shore, carried up to the breach, andtrampled down, till at last, without further mishap, the gap in theembankment was filled up strongly, and the place declared to be safe. 

Of those who toiled hard none showed so well in the front as Dave o' the'Coy, and John Warren, and the squire was not stinted in his praise oneday toward the end of the task. 

"Wuck hard, mester!" said Dave. "Enough to mak' a man wuck. JohnWarren here don't want all his rabbits weshed away; and how am I tomanage my 'coy if it's all under watter. "

"Ah, how indeed!" said the squire, and he went away; but Dick stayedbehind with Tom Tallington, and sat upon the top of the embankment, laughing, till the rough fen-man stood resting on his spade. 

"Now then, what are yow gimbling [grinning] at, young mester?" he said. 

"At yow, Dave, " said Dick, imitating his broad speech. 

"Then it arn't manners, lad. Thowt you'd been to school up to townyonder to larn manners both on you?"

"So we did, Dave, and a lot more things, " cried Dick. "How to know whenanyone's gammoning. "

"Gammoning, lad?" said Dave uneasily. 

"Yes, gammoning. You don't want the flood done away with. "

"Not want the flood done away wi'!"

"No; and you don't want the fen drained and turned into fields. "

"Do yow?" said Dave fiercely, and he took a step nearer to the lad. 

"No, of course not, " cried Dick. "It would spoil all the fun. "

"Hah!" ejaculated Dave, as his yellow face puckered up with a dry smile, and in a furtive way which fitted with his fox-skin cap he turned andgave John Warren a peculiar look. 

"When may we come over to the 'coy, Dave?"

"When you like, lads. Soon as the watter's down low enough for us towork it. "

"It's sinking fast, Dave, " said Tom. "It's all gone from our gardennow, and the rooms are getting dry. "

"Ay, but my pipes are covered still, and it'll be a good month, my lads, 'fore we can do any good. But I might ha' took you both out in the puntfor a bit o' shooting if you hadn't played that game on me, and spoiledmy horn and wasted all my powder. "

"Ah, it was too bad, Dave; but there are a couple of fine large horns athome I've saved for you, and we've bought you a pound of powder. "

"Nay, I sha'n't believe it till I see 'em, " said Dave. "I did mean tohev asked you lads to come netting, but I can't ask them as playstricks. "

"Netting! What, the ruffs?"

"Ay, I weer thinking about heving a try for 'em. But I shall give itup. "

"Dave, you promised me a year ago that you'd take us with you some time, and you never have, " cried Dick. 

"Nay, did I though?"

"Yes; didn't he, Tom?"

"Nay, yow needn't ask him; he'll be sewer to say yes, " said Dave, grinning. 

"Look here, " cried Dick, "I'm not going to argue with you, Dave. Areyou going to take us?"

"Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't alldrownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled. "

"Oh, they won't be!" cried Dick. "When will you go?"

"When the watter's down, my lad. "

"It's low enough now. There are plenty of places where you can spreadyour nets. "

"Ay, but plenty of places don't suit me, my lad. You wait a bit andwe'll see. Get John Warren to tek you ferreting. "

"Yes, that will do, " cried Tom. "When are you going, John?"

The man addressed shook his head. 

"Rabbuds don't want no killing off. Plenty on 'em drownded. "

"Why, " cried Dick, "it was only the other day you said that none werehurt by the flood. "

"Did I, Mester Dick? Ah, yow mustn't tek no notice o' what I say. "

"But we shall take notice of what you say, " cried Tom. "I don't believehe has any ferrets left. "

"Ay, bud I hev. Theer I'll tek you, lads. Why don't thou tek 'em wi'you, Dave, man? Let un see the netting. "

Dave smiled in a curious way, and then his eyes twinkled as he lookedfrom one to the other. 

"Well, you wait a week, lads, and then I'll fetch you. "

"To see the netting?"

"Ay. In another week there'll be a deal more dry land, and the ruffsand reeves'll be ower in flocks, I dessay. If they aren't, we'll tryfor something else. "

"Hooray!" cried Dick; and that evening there was nothing talked of butthe projected trip. 

CHAPTER SIX. 

THE DEPARTING FLOOD. 

The water sank slowly and steadily, leaving dry patches here and thereall over the fen; but the lake-like parts far exceeded the dry land, andtwo or three fields still contained so much water that the squire setmen to work to cut a drain to carry it away. 

"Kill two birds with one stone, Dick, " he said. "It will be useful byand by. "

At the time Dick did not understand what his father meant; but it wassoon evident when all hands were hard at work cutting down through thepeat to make the dyke. For, instead of digging in the ordinary way, themen carefully cut down through what was not earth, but thickwell-compressed black peat, each piece, about ten inches square andthree or four thick, to be carefully laid up like so much open brickworkto drain and dry. 

Good store for the next winter's fuel, for it was peat of fine qualitystored up by nature ages before, and not the soft brown mossy stufffound in many places, stuff that burns rapidly away and gives out hardlyany heat. This peat about the Toft was coal's young relative, andburned slowly into a beautiful creamy ash, giving out a glow of warmththat was wanted there when the wind blew from the northern sea. 

The two lads watched the process with interest--not that it was anythingnew, for they had seen it done a hundred times; but they had nothingelse to do that morning, having tired themselves of gazing at the flocksof birds which passed over to the feeding grounds laid bare by thesinking water. It had been interesting to watch them, but Dave had notkept his word about the netting; the decoy had not been worked; andgunning was reserved for those of elder growth. So that morning, thoughthe great lakes and canals among the reeds were dotted with birds, thelads were patiently watching the cutting of the little drain. 

Six men were busy, and making steady progress, for the peat cut easily, the sharp-edged tools going through it like knives, while the leader ofthe gang busied himself from time to time by thrusting down asharp-pointed iron rod, which always came in contact with sand andgravel a few feet down. 

"No roots, my lad?" said the squire, coming up. 

"No, mester, " said the labourer. "I don't think--well, now, only thinkof that!"

He was thrusting down the iron rod as he spoke, and the point stuck intosomething that was not sand or gravel, while upon its being thrust downagain with more force it stuck fast, and required a heavy jerk to dragit out. 

"That seems to be a good one, " said the squire, as the lads watched theprocess with interest. 

"Shall we hev it out, mester?"

"Have it out! Oh, yes!" said the squire; and a couple of hours werespent widening the drain at that part, so as to give the men room towork round what was the root of an old tree, just as it had been growingin the far-distant ages, before the peat began to rise over it to nineor ten feet in thickness. 

It was a long job, and after the great stump had been laid bare, axeshad to be used to divide some of the outlying roots before it wasfinally dragged out by the whole force that could be collected by thehole, and finally lay upon the side. 

"Just like the others, Dick. There must have been a tremendous firehere at one time. "

"And burned the whole forest down?"

"Burned the whole of the trees down to the stumps, my lad, and then thepeat gradually formed over the roots, and they've lain there till wecome and dig them out for firewood. "

"And they haven't rotted, father, although they have been under the peatand water all this time. "

"No, my boy; the peat is a preservative. Nothing seems to decay underthe peat. Why, you ought to have known that by now. "

"I suppose I ought, " said Dick rather dolefully, for he was beginning towake up to the fact of what an enormous deal there was in the world thathe did not know. 

As he spoke, he picked up some of the red chips of the pine-root whichhad been sent flying by the strokes of the axe, to find that they werefull of resin, smelling strongly of turpentine. 

"Yes, it's full of it, " said the squire; "that's one reason why the woodhas kept without rotting. Here you two boys may as well do somethingfor your bread and butter. "

Dick said something to himself answering to nineteenth-century Bother!and awaited his father's orders. 

"You can drag that root up to the yard. Get a rope round it and haul. Humph, no! it will be too heavy for you alone. Leave it. "

"Yes, father, " said Dick with a sigh of relief, for it was more pleasantto stand watching the men cutting the peat and the birds flying over, orto idle about the place, than to be dragging along a great sodden massof pine-root. 

"Stop!" cried the squire. "I don't want the men to leave their work. Go and fetch the ass, and harness him to it. You three donkeys can dragit up between you. "

The boys laughed. 

"I'm going up the river bank. Get it done before I get back. "

"Yes, father, " cried Dick. "Come along, Tom. "

The task was now undertaken with alacrity, for there was somehow asuggestion to both of the lads of something in the nature of fun, inconnection with getting the ass to drag that great root. 

The companions ran along by the boggy field toward the farm buildings onthe Toft, to seek out the old grey donkey, who was at that momentcontemplatively munching some hay in a corner of the big yard, in whosestone walls, were traces of carving and pillar with groin and arch. 

Now some people once started the idea that a donkey is a very stupidanimal; and, like many more such theories, that one has been handed downto posterity, and believed in as a natural history fact, while donkey orass has become a term of reproach for those not blessed with too muchbrain. 

Winthorpe's donkey was by no means a stupid beast, and being thoroughlyimbued with the idea that it was a slave's duty to do as little work ashe possibly could for those who held him in bonds, he made a point ofgetting out of the way whenever he scented work upon the wind. 

He was a grey old gentleman, whose years were looked upon as tremendous;and as he stood in the corner of the yard munching hay, he now and thenscratched his head against an elaborately carved stone bracket in thewall which took the form of a grotesque face. 

Then his jaws stopped, and it was evident that he scented something, forhe raised his head slightly. Then he swung one great ear round, andthen brought up the other with a sharp swing till they were both cockedforward and he listened attentively. 

A minute before, and he was a very statue of a donkey, but after a fewmoments' attentive listening he suddenly became full of action, andsetting up his tail he trotted round the yard over the rotten peat andling that had been cut and tossed in, to be well trampled before mixingwith straw and ploughing into the ground. He changed his pace to agallop, and then, still growing more excited, he made straight for therough gate so as to escape. 

But the gate was fastened, though not so securely but that it enteredinto a donkey's brain that he might undo that fastening, as he had oftenundone it before, and then deliberately walked off into the fen, wheresucculent thistles grew. 

This time, however, in spite of the earnest way in which he applied histeeth, he could not get that fastening undone; and, after striking at itviciously with his unshod hoof, he reared up, as if to leap over, butcontented himself with resting his fore-legs on the rough top rail, andlooking over at the free land he could not reach; and he was in thisattitude when the two lads came up. 

"Hullo, Solomon!" cried Dick. "Poor old fellow, then! Did you knowwe'd come for you?"

The donkey uttered a discordant bray which sounded like the blowingbadly of a trumpet of defiance, and backing away, he trotted to the farend of the yard, and thrust his head into a corner. 

"Where's the harness?" said Tom. 

"In the stone barn, " was the reply; and together the lads fetched therough harness of old leather and rope, with an extra piece for fasteningabout the root. 

"I say, Dick, he won't kick that root to pieces like he did the littletumbril, " said Tom, who for convenience had placed the collar over hisown head. 

"Nor yet knock one side off like he did with the sled, " replied Dickwith a very vivid recollection of one of Solomon's feats. "Now, then, open the gate and let's pop the harness on. Stop a minute till I get astick. "

"Get a thick one, " said Tom. 

"Pooh! he don't mind a thick stick; he rather likes it. Hicky says itloosens his skin and makes him feel comfortable. Here, this will do. Must have a long one because of his heels. "

"Oh, I say, Dick, look at the old rascal; he's laughing at us!"

It really seemed as if this were the case, for as the lads entered theyard Solomon lowered his head still more in its corner, and looked atthem between his legs, baring his gums the while and showing his whiteteeth. 

"Ah, I'll make him laugh--_gimble_, as old Dave calls it--if he gives usany of his nonsense! Now, you, sir, come out of that corner. Give methe collar, Tom. "

As Dick relieved his friend of the collar, and held it ready to put overthe donkey's head, though they were at least a dozen yards away, Solomonbegan to kick, throwing out his heels with tremendous force and thenstamping with his fore-feet. 

"Isn't he a pretty creature, Tom? He grows worse. Father won't sellhim, because, he says, he's an old friend. He has always been myenemy. "

"You always whacked him so, " cried Tom. 

"No, I didn't; I never touched him till he began it. Of course I wantedto ride him and make him pull the sled, and you know how he ran after meand bit me on the back. "

"Yes, I know that somebody must have ill-used him first. "

"I tell you they didn't. He's always been petted and spoiled. Why, that day when he kicked me and sent me flying into the straw I'd gone togive him some carrots. "

"But didn't you tickle him or something?"

"No, I tell you. A nasty ungrateful brute! I've given him apples andturnips and bread; one Christmas I gave him a lump of cake; but nomatter what you do, the worse he is. He's a natural savage, fathersays; and it isn't safe to go near him without a stick. "

"Well, you've told me all that a dozen times, " said Tom maliciously. "It's only an excuse for ill-using the poor thing. "

"Say that again and I'll hit you, " cried Dick. 

"No, you won't. Here, give me the harness again and I'll put it on, only keep back with that stick. That's what makes him vicious. "

"How clever we are!" cried Dick, handing back the collar. "There: goand try. "

"Ah, I'll show you!" said Tom, taking the collar with its hames andtraces attached, and going up toward the donkey, while Dick stood back, laughing. 

"Take care, Tom; mind he don't bite!"

"He can't bite with his hind-legs, can he?" replied Tom. "I'll mind. Now, then, old fellow, turn round; I won't hurt you. "

Solomon raised his tail to a horizontal position and held it outstiffly. 

"Don't be a stupid, " cried Tom; "I want your head, not your tail. "

Dick burst into a roar of laughter, but Tom was not going to be beaten. 

"You leave off laughing, " he said, "and go farther back with that stick. That's right. Now, then, old boy, come on; turn round then. "

_Whack_!

Poor Tom went backwards and came down a couple of yards away in asitting position, with the collar in his lap and an astonished look inhis countenance. 

"Oh, I am sorry, Tom!" cried Dick, running up. "You, Solomon, I'll halfkill you. Are you hurt, Tom?"

"I don't know yet, " said the lad, struggling up. 

"Where did he kick you?" cried Dick, full of sympathy now for hisfriend. 

"He didn't kick me at all, " said Tom dolefully. "I was holding thecollar right out and he kicked that, but it hit me bang in the front andhurt ever so. "

"Let me take the harness; I'll get it on him. "

"No, I won't, " cried Tom viciously. "I will do it now. Here, give methat stick. "

"Why, I thought you said I ill-used him!"

"And I'll ill-use him too, " said Tom savagely, "if he doesn't come andhave on his collar. Now, then, you, sir, come here, " cried Tom sharply. 

By this time the donkey had trotted to another corner of the yard, wherehe stood with his heels presented to his pursuers, and as first one andthen the other made a dash at his head he slewed himself round andkicked out fiercely. 

"This is a nice game, " cried Dick at last, when they were both gettinghot with the exercise of hunting the animal from corner to corner, andthen leaping backward or sidewise to avoid his heels, "Now, just youtell me this, who could help walloping such a brute? Hold still willyou!"

But Solomon--a name, by the way, which was given him originally from itsresemblance to "Solemn-un, " the latter having been applied to him byHickathrift--refused to hold still. In fact he grew more energetic andplayful every minute, cantering round the yard and dodging his pursuersin a way which would have done credit to a well-bred pony, and thechances of getting the collar on or bit into his mouth grew more andmore remote. 

"I tell you what let's do, " cried Dick at last; "I'm not going to runmyself off my legs to please him. I've got it!"

"I wish you'd got the donkey, " grumbled Tom. "I don't see any fun inhunting him and nearly getting kicked over the wall. "

"Well, don't be in a hurry, " said Dick; "I know how to manage him. Here, catch hold of this harness. I know. "

"You know!" grumbled Tom, whose side was sore from the donkey's kickupon the collar. "What are you going to do?"

"You shall see, " cried Dick, busying himself with the wagon rope he hadbrought, and making a loop at one end, and then putting the otherthrough it, so as to produce an easily running noose. 

"What are you going to do with that?" asked Tom. 

"Hold your noise, " whispered Dick; "he's such an artful old wretch Idon't know that he wouldn't understand us. I'm going to make you drivehim round by me, and then I'm going to throw this over his head andcatch him. "

"I don't believe you can, " cried Tom. 

"Well, you'll see. There, that'll do. I'm ready; take the stick andmake a rush at him. That will drive him round near me, and then we'lltry. "

Tom laid down the harness, took the stick and made the rush at Solomon. The latter kicked out his heels and cantered round by Dick, who threwhis noose, but failed to lasso the donkey, who took refuge in anothercorner. 

"Never mind, " cried Dick, gathering up the rope, "I shall do it nexttime. Now, then--I'm ready. Drive him back again. "

Tom made another rush at the obstinate animal, which cantered off again, working considerably harder than it would if it had submitted patientlyto being bitted. This time he gave Dick a better chance, and the boythrew the rope so well that it seemed as if it must go over thecreature's head. But Solomon was too sharp. He shied at the rope andtossed his head aside; but though he avoided the noose and escaped it sofar, as he plunged he stepped right into it, tightened it round hisfore-legs, and the next instant fell over at one end of the rope, kicking and plunging as he lay upon his side, while at the other end ofthe rope there lay Dick upon his chest. For he had been jerked off hisfeet, but held on to the rope in spite of the donkey's struggles. 

"I've got him, Tom; come and lay hold, " panted Dick as the donkey made adesperate plunge, got upon his legs, and then fell down again upon theloose ling and straw, kicking out as if galloping. 

This gave Dick time to rise, and, seeing his opportunity, he ran to thegate and passed the slack rope round, drew it tight, and shouted to Tomto come and hold on. 

Just as Tom caught hold of the rope the donkey rose again and made aplunge or two, but only to fall once more, slacking the rope to such anextent that the boys were able to haul in a couple of yards more andhold on, stretching Solomon's legs out and drawing them so tightly thathe uttered a piteous cry like the beginning of a bray chopped off short. 

"Do you give in, then?" cried Dick. 

The donkey raised his head slightly and let it fall again, gazing wildlyat his captors, one of whom rushed round, avoided a feeble kick, and satdown upon the helpless animal's head. 

"Now, " cried Dick, "we've got him, Tom; and I've a good mind to play thedrum on his old ribs till he begins to sing!"

"Don't hit him when he's down, " said Tom. "It isn't English. "

"I wasn't going to hit him, " said Dick. "He's a prisoner and has givenin. Bring me the bit. "

Solomon opened his mouth to utter a bray; but Dick put the stick betweenhis teeth, and he only uttered a loud sigh. 

"Ah! now you're sorry for being such a brute, are you?" cried Dick. "Come along, Tom. "

"I'm coming, only the things have got all mixed, " was the reply. 

"Give 'em to me, " cried Dick. "That's it. Now, then, you sit on hisneck, Tom, and then I'll get up. And look here, you, sir, " he added tothe donkey, "you come any more of your games, and I'll knock your headoff!"

Solomon's flanks heaved, but he lay quite still, and did not resentTom's rather rough treatment as he bestrode his neck and sat down. Onthe contrary, he half-raised his head at his master's command, sufferedthe bit to be thrust between his teeth and the head-stall to be buckledon, after which Tom leaped up. 

"Take the rope from about his legs now, Tom, " cried Dick. 

"Suppose he kicks!"

"He won't kick now, " cried Dick. "He'd better! Here, you hold the reinand I'll take it off. "

"No, I'll do it, " said Tom sturdily; and going cautiously to work heunknotted the rope and drew it away, the donkey lying quite motionless. 

"Now, then, Sol, get up!" cried Tom. 

The donkey drew his legs together, leaped to his feet, shook himselftill his ears seemed to rattle, and uttered a sound like a groan. 

"He is beaten now, " said Dick. "Come and put on the pad and well go. That's right; buckle it on. "

Tom obeyed, and the rough scrappy harness was fixed in its place, whileSolomon twitched his ears and rolled them round as if trying to pick upnews in any direction. 

"He won't kick now, will he?" said Tom. 

"Not unless he feels a fly on his back, and then he'll try to kick itoff. "

"Why, he couldn't kick a fly off his back if he tried, " said Tom. 

"No, but he'd try all the same. Look out!--there he goes!"

Tom leaped aside, for the donkey kicked out fiercely for a few moments. 

"Why, there are no flies now!" said Tom. 

"Must be. Look out!--he's going to kick again!"

The donkey's heels flew out, and Tom made a feint of punching hiscompanion's head. 

"How clever we are!" he cried. "Just as if I didn't see you ticklinghim to make him kick!"

"Tickle him!" said Dick laughing. "Why, I wasn't tickling him when hekicked up in the corner there. But come along or we shall never getthat log up to the yard, and father won't like it. Now, Sol! Open thegate, Tom. "

Tom opened the gate, and with Dick holding the rein the donkey walkedalong by his side as meekly as if he had never kicked or shown his teethwith the intention of biting in his life. The rope was doubled up andthrown over his back; and when they had gone a few yards Dick, withoutpausing, made a bit of a jump and struggled on to the animal's back, getting himself right aft, as a sailor would say, so that it seemed asif at any moment he might slip off behind. 

But Solomon made no objection; he just twitched and wagged his tail fora moment or two, and then put it away out of sight. For the donkeychained, or rather harnessed, became an obedient slave--a very differentcreature from the donkey free. 

When they reached the dyke where the men were standing delving out thepeat, it was to find a group of three fresh arrivals in the persons ofHickathrift the wheelwright, Dave, and John Warren, and all in earnestconverse upon some subject. 

"Yow may say what yow like, " cried Dave, "but fen-land's fen-land, andmeant for the wild birds. "

"And rabbuds, " put in John Warren. 

"Ay, lad, and rabbuds, " assented Dave; "and it weer nivver meant to growcorn and grass. Yow can't do it, and yow'll nivver make fen-landfields. It's agen natur. "

"So it is to ride in a cart or on a sled, lad, " said Hickathriftgood-humouredly; "but I make 'em, and folk rides in 'em and carriesthings to market. "

"Ay, but that's different, " said Dave. "Fen-land's fen-land; and youcan't dree-ern that. "

"You can't dree-ern that, " said John Warren, nodding his head in assent. 

"Well, they'll drain these fields, at all events, " said Hickathrift. "Yow can't say they weant do that. "

"I say fen-land's fen-land, " reiterated Dave, taking off his fox-skincap and rubbing his ear viciously; "and it can't be dree-ernt. "

"Ah! you two are scarred about your 'coy and your rabbud-warren, " criedHickathrift good-humouredly. "I wish they'd dree-ern the whole placeand have roads all over it, so as to want carts and wains. "

"Nay, they nivver will, " said Dave sourly. "Tek to makkin' boats andpunts, mun. Them's best. "

"Hullo, Dave!" cried Dick; "how about the ruffs and reeves? You saidyou'd take me to the netting. "

"Well, haven't I come for you, lad?" said Dave quietly. 

"Have you? Oh, Tom, and we've got this old stump to draw away! I can'tgo now, Dave. "

"There's plenty o' time, lad. I'm not going back yet Hicky's got to puta bit o' plank in my boat 'fore I go back. "

"Come on, Tom, and let's get it done, " cried Dick. "Here, give us therope. "

He took the rope, fastened it to one of the roots, and then joined thetraces together, and tied the rope about them. 

After this the donkey was turned so that his head was toward the sharpslope, leading to the Priory on the Toft, and a start was made. That isto say, the donkey tightened the traces, stuck his hoofs into theground, tugged for a minute without moving the stump, and then gave up. 

"Why, Mester Dick, yow'll have to get root on a sled or she weant move. "

"Oh, we'll do it directly!" cried Dick. "Here, Tom, you give a goodshove behind. Now, then, pull up!"

Tom thrust with all his might, while Dick dragged at the donkey'shead-stall, and once more, after offering a few objections, Solomontightened the traces and rope, and tugged with all his might, but theroot did not move. 

"Yow weant move her like that, I tell you, lad, " said Hickathrift. 

"Won't I!" cried Dick angrily; "but I just will. You Tom, you didn'thalf push. "

"Shall I give her a throost?" said the wheelwright, smiling. 

That smile annoyed Dick, who read in it contempt, when it was onlyprompted by good temper. 

"We can do it, thank you, " cried Dick. "Now, Tom, boy, give it a heave. Pull up, Solomon. "

Tom heaved, but Solomon refused to "pull up;" and after his latedisappointments, and his discovery that the root was heavier than he, ittook a great deal of coaxing to get him to stir. At last, though, justas Hickathrift was coming up good-temperedly to lend his aid, it seemedas if the donkey anticipated a tremendous blow from the long staff thewheelwright carried, for he made a plunge, Dick took tightly hold of therein and gave it a drag, and Tom sat down on the great root, to followHickathrift's example and roar with laughter, in which the men who weredelving peat joined, while Dave and John Warren, men who took life in avery solemn manner, actually smiled. 

For Solomon's sudden plunge, joined to Dick's drag at the head-stall, showed that it was quite time a new fit out of harness was provided, inasmuch as the old leather gave way in two or three places, and thedonkey, with nothing on but his collar, was off full gallop, feelinghimself a slave no longer, while Dick, after staggering backwards for ayard or two, came down heavily in a sitting position, and in a very wetplace. 

"Yes, it's all very well to laugh, " said Dick, getting up and lookingruefully at the broken bridle and bit which he held in his hand; "butsee how cross father will be. "

"And look where old Solomon has gone!" cried Tom. "I say, how are we tocatch him? Ha! ha! ha! Only look!"

Everyone but Dick joined in the laugh, for Solomon was rejoicing in hisliberty, and galloping away toward the fen, shaking his head, andkicking out his heels; while every now and then he stretched out hisneck, grinned, and bit at the wind, for there was nothing else to bite. 

"Nice job we shall have!" grumbled Dick. "Oh, I say, Tom, we are in amess. "

"Oh, there's nowt the matter, Mester Dick!" said Hickathriftgood-temperedly, as he picked up the broken harness and examined it. "Why, I could mend all this in less than an hour with some wax-ends anda brad-awl. "

"Yes, but will you, Hicky?"

"Of course I will, my lad. Theer, don't look that how. Go and catchthe Solemn-un, and me, and Dave, and John Warren'll get the root up tothe yard for you. "

"Will you, Hicky?" cried the boys joyfully. "Oh, you are a good oldfellow! Come on, Tom, and let's catch Solomon. "

The harness was thrust aside by the wheelwright, ready to take home, andthen at a word the two fen-men came forward, and together they rolledthe awkwardly-shaped root over and over toward the farm; while, oncesatisfied that the pine-root was on its way, Dick gave his companion aslap on the shoulder, and moistened his hand to get a better grip of hisstick. 

"Get a stick, Tom, " he said. "I don't want to drum old Solomon's ribs;but I'm just in the humour to give it him if he plays any of histricks. "

That was just what the donkey seemed determined upon. He had been shutup for a fortnight in the yard, and hardly knew how to contain himself, as he bounded along in a way he never attempted when he was not free. There were spots which he knew of where succulent thistles and waterplants grew, and after a long course of dry food he meant to enjoy afeast. 

The boys shouted as they ran, and tried to get ahead; but the more theyshouted the more Solomon kicked up his heels and ran, performing aseries of capers that suggested youth instead of extreme old age. 

"We shall never get him, " cried Tom as he panted along. 

"We must catch him, " cried Dick, making a furious rush to head off thefrolicsome animal, which seemed as if he thoroughly enjoyed teasing hispursuers. 

Dick was successful in turning the donkey, but not homeward, and hestopped short unwillingly as he saw the course taken. 

"I say, Dick, isn't it soft out there?"

"Soft! Yes. Mind how you go!"

This advice would have been thrown away upon Solomon, though, had hecomprehended it, the effect might have been beneficial. For, whateverknowledge the donkey might have possessed about the flood, he did notrealise the fact that since he last tickled his palate with the spinousthistle--an herb which probably assumed to his throat the flavour thatpepper does to ours--there had been a considerable depth of water overthe fen, and that it was very soft. The result was, that while the ladsstopped short, and then began to pick their way from tussock to tussock, and heather patch to patch, Solomon blundered on, made a splash here, abit of a wallow there, and then a bound, which took him in half-way uphis back; and as he plunged and struck out with fore-legs and heels, hechurned up the soft bog and made it softer, so that he sank in and in, till only his spine was visible with, at the end, his long neck andgreat grey head, upon which the ears were cocked out forward, while anexpression of the most intense astonishment shone out of his eyes. 

"Oh, Tom, what shall we do?"

_He-haw_--_he-yaw_--_he-yaw_!

Solomon burst out into the most dismal bray ever heard--a long-drawnmisery-haunted appeal for help, which was prolonged in the mostastounding way till it seemed to be a shrill cry. 

"I don't know, " responded Tom, wiping the tears out of his eyes. 

"Oh, come, I say, " said Dick, "it isn't anything to laugh at!"

"I know it isn't, " cried Tom; "but I can't help it. I feel as if I mustlaugh, and--Ha! ha! ha!"

He burst into a tremendous peal, in which his companion joined, foranything more comic than the aspect of the "Solemn-un" up to his neck inthe bog it would be hard to conceive. 

"Here, this won't do, " cried Dick at last, as he too stood wiping hiseyes. "Poor old Sol, we mustn't let you drown. Come on, Tom, and let'shelp him out. "

How Dick expected that he was going to help the donkey out he did notsay; but he began to pick his way from tuft to tuft, avoiding the softplaces, till he was within twenty feet of the nearly submerged animal, and then he had to stop or share his fate. 

"I say, Tom, I can't get any farther, " he cried. "What shall we do?"

"I don't know. "

"What a fellow you are!" was the angry reply. "You never do know. OldSol will be drowned if we don't look sharp. The bog is twenty feet deephere. "

"Can't he swim out?"

"Can't you swim out!" cried Dick. "What's the good of talking likethat? You couldn't swim if you were up to the neck in sand. "

"But he isn't up to his neck in sand. "

"But he's up to his neck in bog, and it's all the same. "

"Ahoy! what's matter?" came from a couple of hundred yards away; and thelads turned, to see that it was Hickathrift shouting, he and the othershaving just succeeded in taking up the root to its destination. 

"Ahoy! Bring the rope, " shouted Dick. 

"He-haw--haw--haw--haw!" shouted the Solemn one dismally, as if toemphasise his young master's order. 

"Why, how came he in there?" cried Hickathrift, trotting up with therope, but picking his way carefully, for the peat shook beneath hisfeet. 

"He went in himself, " cried Dick. "Oh, do get him out before he sinks!Make a noose, and let's throw it over his head. "

"We shall pull his head right off if we do, " said Hickathrift, butbusily making the noose the while. 

"Oh, no, I don't believe you would!" cried Tom. "He has got an awfullystrong neck. "

"It won't hurt him, " said Dave, who came up slowly with the rest. 

"Well, there's no getting it under him, " said the wheelwright; "he'dkick us to pieces if we tried. "

"I'll try, " said Dick eagerly. 

"Nay, I weant let you, " said Hickathrift. "I'll go my sen. "

"It weant bear thee, neighbour, " said John Warren warningly. 

"Eh? wean't it? Well, I can but try, mun. Let's see. "

The good-natured wheelwright went cautiously towards where Dick wasstanding waiting for the rope; but at the third step he was up to hismiddle and had to scramble out and back as fast as he could. 

"I'm too heavy, " he said; "but I'll try again. All right, I'm comingsoon!" he added as the donkey uttered another dismal bray. 

But his efforts were vain. Each time he tried he sank in, and at last, giving up to what was forced upon him as an impossibility, he coiled upthe rope to throw. 

"Thou mun heave it over his head, my lad. Don't go no nigher to him; itisn't safe. "

He threw the rope, and Dick caught the end and recoiled it preparatoryto making a start over the moss. 

"Nay, nay, stop!" shouted Hickathrift. 

"I must go and try if I can't put it round him, Hicky, " cried Dick. 

"Come back, thou'lt drownd thysen, " shouted Dave excitedly. 

"No, I won't, " said Dick; and picking his steps with the greatest care, he succeeded in stepping within ten yards of the donkey, which made adesperate struggle now to get out and reach him, but without success;all he did was to change his position, his hind-quarters going downlower, while his fore-legs struck out into the daylight once or twice inhis hard fight for liberty. 

"Now, my lad, heave the rope over his head, and we'll haul him out, "cried Hickathrift. 

But Dick paid no heed. He saw in imagination the poor animal strangledby the noose; and with the idea that he could somehow get alongside, hestruck out to the left, but had to give up, for the bog was more fluidthere. 

On the other side it was even worse, and Dick was about to turn andshout to the men to try if they could not get the punt up alongside, when a fresh struggle from Solomon plainly showed him that the animalmust be rescued at once or all would be over. 

Dick made one more trial to get nearer, in spite of the cries andadjurations of those upon the firmer ground; but it was useless, andstruggling to a tuft of dry reed, he balanced himself there and gatheredup the rope, so as to try and throw the loop over the donkey's head. 

As he held it ready there was another miserable bray, and the ladhesitated. 

"It means killing him, " he muttered. "Poor old Solomon! I never likedhim, but we've had so many runs together. "

His hand dropped to his side with the rope, and he tottered, for thereed tuft seemed to be sinking. 

Solomon brayed again and fought desperately to free himself, but sanklower. 

"Heave, Dick, heave!" shouted Tom. 

"Throw it over, my lad! throw it over, or thou'lt be too late!" criedthe wheelwright; but Dick did not move. His eyes were fixed upon thedonkey's head, but his thoughts were far back in the past, in sunny dayswhen he had been riding by the edge of the fen to the town, or down tothe firm sand by the sea, where Solomon always managed to throw him andthen gallop off. Then there were the wintry times, when the donkey'shoofs used to patter so loudly over the frozen ground, while now--

Perhaps it was very childish, for Dick was a strongly built lad ofsixteen, and had his memory served him truly it would have reminded himof that terrible kick in the leg which lamed him for a month--of theblack-and-yellow bruise upon his arm made by the vicious animal's jawsone day when he bit fiercely--of that day when he was pitched overSolomon's head into the black bog ditch, and had to swim out--of a dozenmishaps and injuries received from the obstinate beast. But Dickthought of none of these, only of the pleasant days he had had with theanimal he had known ever since he could run; and, whether it werechildish or not, the tears rose and dimmed his eyes as he stood theregazing at what seemed to be the animal's dying struggles, and thinkingthat it would be kinder to let him drown than to strangle him, as hefelt sure they would. 

"Why don't you throw, Dick?" cried Tom again in an excited yell that washalf drowned by Solomon's discordant bray, though it was growing morefeeble as the struggles were certainly more weak. 

All at once Dick started and his eyes grew more clear. It was not atthe warning shout of the wheelwright, nor the yell uttered by the othermen, but at the action of the sufferer in the bog. For, feeling himselfsurely and certainly sinking lower, the donkey made one more tremendouseffort, extricating his fore-legs and beating the fluid peat with themtill it grew thinner, and with neck outstretched and mouth open it sankmore and more back, till head and legs only could be seen. 

Dick did it unconsciously. His eyes were fixed upon the strugglingbeast, but his ears were deaf to the shouts behind him. All he heardwas the dismal bray enfeebled to a groan so full of despair that the ladthrew the rope, and in throwing lost his balance, fell, and the nextmoment was struggling in the mire. 

He tried to rise, but it was impossible, and as he fought and struggledfor a few moments it was to find that the bog was growing thinner andthat the patches about him, which looked firm, were beginning to sink. 

Was he too going to drown? he asked himself, and something of thesensation he had felt on the night of the flood came over him. 

Then he felt a snatch, and a voice like thunder brought him to himself. 

"Howd tight, lad!"

The next moment Dick felt himself gliding over the soft bog, anddirectly after Dave had hold of one of his hands and drew him to a placeof safety before running back to the rope. 

"All together, lads! Haul!"

There was a shout and a tremendous splashing, and Dick Winthorpestruggled to his feet, wiping the black fluid bog from his eyes, to seeSolomon hauled right out, slowly at first, then faster and faster, tillhe was literally run over the slippery surface to where there was firmground. 

"I got it over his head, then?" said Dick huskily. 

"Ay, lad, and over his legs too, " cried Hickathrift, as he bent down andloosened the noose. "Eh, bud it's tight. That's it!"

He dragged the rope off, and the donkey lay perfectly motionless for afew moments, but not with his eyes closed, for he seemed to be gloweringround. 

"Is he dying, Hicky?" said Dick. 

"Nay, lad; yow can't kill an ass so easy. Seems aw reight. There!"

The last word was uttered as the donkey suddenly struggled up, gavehimself a tremendous shake, till his ears rattled again as the bog waterflew; and then stretching out his neck as if he were about to bray, hebared his teeth and made a fierce run at the wheelwright. 

But Hickathrift struck at him with the rope, and to avoid that, Solomonworked round, made a bite at Dick, which took effect on his wet coat, tearing a piece right out. Then he swerved round like lightning andthrew out his heels at Tom, tossed up his head, and then cantered off, braying as he went, as if nothing had been the matter, and makingstraight for the yard. 

"Well, of all the ungrateful brutes!" cried Tom. 

"Ay, we might just as well hev let him get smothered, " said thewheelwright, joining in the laughter of the others. "Didn't hurt you, did he, Mester Dick?"

"No, Hicky. Only tore my coat, " replied Dick, turning reluctantly up tothe house, for he was wet and now felt cold. 

"I say, Dick, what about the netting?" cried Tom. 

The lad looked piteously at Dave and his companion of the rabbitwarren--two inseparable friends--and felt that his chance of seeing theruffs and reeves captured was very small. 

"Are you going--to-day, Dave?" he faltered. 

"Nay, lad, " said Dave dryly, "yow've had enough o' the bog for one day. Go and dry thysen. I'll coom and fetch thee to-morrow. "

So the lads went up to the house, the men returned to their draining, and the wheelwright walked slowly away with Dave and John Warren. 

"Let's run, Dick, " said Tom, who was carrying the rope; "then you won'tcatch cold. "

"Oh, I sha'n't hurt, " said Dick, running all the same; and in passingthe yard they closed the gate, for Solomon was safe inside; but as theyreached the house, where Mrs Winthorpe stood staring aghast at herson's plight, Solomon burst forth with another dismal, loud complaining:"_He-haw_!"

CHAPTER SEVEN. 

THE FEN-MAN'S WAGES. 

Dave did not keep his promise the next day, nor the next; but DickWinthorpe had his attention taken up by other matters, for a party ofmen arrived and stopped with their leaders at the Toft, where they wererefreshed with ale and bread and cheese, previous to continuing theirjourney down to the seaside. 

The squire and Farmer Tallington accompanied them down to theirquarters, which were to be at a disused farm-house close to the mouth ofthe little river; and incidentally Dick learned that this was the firstparty of labourers who were to cut the new lode or drain from near theriver mouth right across the fen; that there was to be a lock with gatesat the river end, to let the drain-water out at low tide, and that thebanks of the drain were to be raised so as to protect the land at thesides from being flooded. 

Fen people from far and wide collected to see the gang, and to watch thesurveyors, who, with measuring chain and staves and instruments, busiedthemselves marking out the direction in which the men were to cut; andthese fen people shook their heads and shrugged their shoulders, whilemore than once, when Squire Winthorpe addressed one or the other, Dicknoticed that they were always surly, and that some turned away withoutmaking any answer. 

"Never mind, Dick, " said the squire laughing. "Some day when we'vegiven them smiling pastures and corn-fields, instead of water and bogand ague, they will be ashamed of themselves. "

"But--"

"Well, but what, sir?" said the squire as the lad hesitated. 

"I was only going to say, father, isn't it a pity to spoil the fen?"

The squire did not answer for a few moments, but stood frowning. Thesevere look passed off directly though, and he smiled. 

"Dick, " he said gravely, "all those years at a good school, to come backas full of ignorance and prejudice as the fen-men! Shame!"

He walked away, leaving Dick with his companion Tom Tallington. 

"I say, " said the latter, "you caught it. "

"Well, I can't help it, " said Dick, who felt irritated and ashamed. "Itdoes seem a pity to spoil all the beautiful pools and fishing places, and instead of having beds of reeds full of birds, for there to benothing but fields and a great ugly drain. Why, the flowers, andbutterflies, and nesting places will all be swept away. What do we carefor fields of corn!"

"My father cares for them, and he says it will be the making of thispart of the country. "

"Unmaking, he means, " said Dick; and they went on to watch theproceedings of the strange men who had come--big, strong, good-tempered-looking fellows, armed with sharp cutting spades, and forwhose use the lads found that a brig had come into the little river, andwas landing barrows, planks, and baskets, with a variety of otherarticles to be used in the making of the drain. 

"I'm afraid we shall have some trouble over this business, Tallington, "said the squire as they went back. 

"Well, we sha'n't be the only sufferers, " said the farmergood-humouredly. "I suppose all we who have adventured our few poundswill be in the people's black books. But we must go on--we can't stopnow. "

The next day Tom came over, and the lads went down towards thefar-stretching fen, now once more losing a great deal of the water ofthe flood. 

They passed the Solemn one apparently none the worse for his bath, forhe trotted away from the gate to thrust his head in the favourite cornerby the old corbel in the wall, and look back at them, as if as ready tokick as ever. 

"Poor old Solomon!" said Dick laughing, "I should have been sorry if hehad been lost. "

"Oh, never mind him, " cried Tom; "is old Dave coming over to fetch us?Why, Dick, look!"

"I can't see anything, " said Dick. 

"Because you're not looking the right way. There! Now he's behind thatbed of reeds a mile away. "

"I see!" cried Dick. "Why, it is Dave, and he's coming. "

The lads ran down to the edge of the fen, and made their way to the endof a long, open, river-like stretch of water, which was now perfectlyclear, so that everything could be clearly distinguished at the bottom;and before long, as they walked to and fro, they caught sight of alittle shoal of small fish, and soon after of a young pike, with hisprotruding lower jaw, waiting for his opportunity to make a dash at someunfortunate rudd, whose orange fins and faintly-gilded sides made him adelectable-looking morsel for his olive-green and gold excellency thetyrant of the river. 

"He's coming here, isn't he?" said Tom, gazing out anxiously over thereedy waste. 

"Yes; I can see his old fox-skin cap. He's coming safe enough. "

"Oh, Dick!" cried his companion. 

"Well! What?"

"The powder. You've never given him the powder, and he'll be as gruffas can be. Has he had the horn?"

"Had two, " said Dick, watching the approaching punt, which was stillhalf a mile away, and being poled steadily in and out of the windingwater-lane, now hidden by the dry rustling reeds which stood coveredwith strands of filmy conferva or fen scum. 

"But he hasn't had the powder we promised him. "

"No, " said Dick loftily; "not yet. "

"Why, you haven't brought it, Dick!"

"Haven't brought it, indeed! Why, what's this, then?"

He drew a bottle from his pocket, took out the cork, and poured a littleof its contents into his hand--dry, black grains, like so much sablesand, and then poured it back and corked it tightly. 

"You are a good fellow, Dick; but I haven't paid my share. "

"I don't want your share, " said Dick loftily. "Father gave mehalf-a-crown the other day. "

"I wish my father gave me half-crowns sometimes, " sighed Tom; "but heisn't so rich as yours. "

"There, don't bother about money!" cried Dick. "Let's think about thebirds. Hooray! here he comes! Hi, Dave!"

Sound travels easily over water, and the decoy-man must have heard thehail, but he paid no heed, only kept on poling his punt along, thrustingdown the long ash sapling, which the fen-men used as punt-pole, staff, and leaping-pole in turn; and then as the boat glided on, standing erectin her bows like some statue. 

"Now, what a dried-up old yellow mummy he is!" cried Dick. "He can seeus, but he's pretending he can't, on purpose to tease us. Look at that!He needn't have gone behind that great reed patch. It's to make usthink he is going down to your place. "

"Let's run down and meet him, " said Tom eagerly. 

"No, no; stop where you are. If he sees us go down there he'll doubleback directly and come here. He's just like an old fox. I know. Comealong!"

Dick started up and ran in the same direction as Dave had taken with thepunt before he disappeared behind the reed-bed. Tom followed, and theyraced on along the edge till a clump of alders was reached. 

"Pst! Tom, round here, " whispered Dick; and leading the way he doubledback, following the long low bed of swamp-loving wood, and keeping inits shelter till they were once more opposite to the spot where Daveshould have landed. 

There, still hid among the trees, Dick stooped down in a thick bed ofdry reeds, pretty close to the water, and in full view of the roughwinding canal leading far and wide. 

"Let's hide for a few minutes, " said Dick chuckling. "You'll see he'llcome here after all. "

The lad had a good idea of Dave's ways, for before they had beenwatching many minutes there was the splashing of the pole heard in thewater, and the rustling of the reeds, but nothing was visible, and Tombegan to be of opinion that his companion had been wrong, when all atonce the reeds began to sway and crackle right before them, and beforeTom recovered from his surprise the punt shot right out of the middle ofthe long low wall of dried growth, and in answer to a vigorous thrust ortwo from the pole, glided across to within a dozen yards of where thelads crouched. 

"Come on, Tom!" said Dick, and they stepped out at once so suddenly thatthe decoy-man, in spite of his self-control, started. A curious smilepuckered his face directly and he stood staring at them. 

"Why, you have been a long time, Dave, " cried Dick. 

"Long, boy?"

"Yes, long. You asked us to come over and see the netting. "

"Ay, so I did, boy; but there soon wean't be no netting. "

"Then come on and let's see it while there is some, " cried Dick. "Whenwe used to be home from school you always said we were too young. Youcan't say that now. "

"Ay, bud I can, " said the man with a dry chuckle. 

"Then don't, " said Dick. "You've brought your gun there!" he criedjoyfully. 

"Ay, I've brote my gun, " said Dave; "but I hevven't any powder. "

"Yes, you have, Dave, " cried Dick, tugging the wine-bottle from hispocket. "Here's some. "

"Eh? Is that powder or drink?" said the man, taking the bottle andgiving it a shake. "It arn't full, though. "

"No, it isn't full, " said Dick in a disappointed tone; "but there's awhole pound, and it's the best. "

"Ah, well, I daresay it'll do, " said Dave slowly. 

"Load the gun, then, and let's have a shot at the snipes as we go, " saidTom. 

"Nay, she wean't go off till she has had a new flint in. I'm going toknap one when I get back. "

"Jump in, then, " cried Dick. "I'm going to pole her across. "

"Nay, I don't think it's any use to-day. "

"Why, Dave, this is just the sort of day you said was a good one fornetting. "

"Did I, lad?"

"Yes; didn't he, Tom? And what's that wisp of birds going over thewater, yonder?"

"Quick, in wi' ye, lads!" cried the decoy-man, with his whole mannerchanged. "The right sort. Look, lads, another wisp! See how low theyfly. They mean feeding. "

The boys leaped into the punt, and Dick was about to seize the pole, butDave stopped him. 

"Nay, lad, let me send her across. Save time. "

"Then may I have a shot at the first heron I see?"

"Nay, nay; don't let's scar' the birds, lad. It's netting to-day. We'll shute another time when they wean't come near the net. "

Dick gave way, and Dave took the pole, to send the light punt skimmingover the water, and in and out among the reed-beds through which, puzzling as they would have been to a stranger, he thrust the vesselrapidly. They were full of devious channels, and Dave seemed to preferthese, for even when there was a broad open piece of water in front heavoided it, to take his way through some zigzag lane with the reedsbrushing the boat on either side, and often opening for himself a waywhere there was none. 

The man worked hard, but it seemed to have no effect upon him; and whenthe lads were not watching him and his energetic action, there wasalways something to take up their attention. Now a heron would rise outof one of the watery lanes, gaunt, grey, and with his long legsstretched out behind to look like a tail as his great flap wings beatthe air and carried him slowly away. 

Then with a loud splash and cackling, up would spring a knot of ducks, their wings whirring as they rapidly beat the air in a flight wonderfulfor such a heavy bird. Again a little farther and first one and thenanother snipe would dart away in zigzag flight, uttering their strange_scape, scape_. And all tempting to a lad who sat there within touch ofa long heavy-looking gun, which had been cleaned and polished till everypart was worn. 

But he had been told that it was not charged and that the flint-lock wasin a failing condition; and besides, Dick felt that it would bedishonourable to touch the gun now that it was almost trusted to hiscare. 

In spite of Dave's ability and knowledge of the short cuts to the partof the fen where he lived, it took him nearly three-quarters of an hourto punt across, where the lads landed upon what was really an island inthe fen, though one side ran pretty close up to some fairly dry landfull of narrow water-lanes and pools, all favourite breeding ground forthe wild-fowl. 

The boys leaped out while Dave fastened the punt to an old willow trunk, and, quite at home in the place, went on first to a rough-looking housenearly hidden among alders and willows, all of which showed traces ofthe flood having been right up, submerging everything to a depth ofthree to four feet. 

"Hullo, Chip! Chip! Chip!" cried Tom, and the decoy-man's littlesharp-looking dog came bounding to them, to leap up, and fawn and whine, full of delight at seeing human faces again. 

There was the twittering and piping of birds, and the scuffling, scratching noise made by animals in a cage, as they reached theroughly-fenced yard, more than garden, about Dave's cottage, the boyseager to inspect the birds, the ferrets, the eel-spear leaning againstthe reed thatch, and the brown nets hung over poles, stretching frompost to post, as if to dry. 

"Why, it's months sin' you've been to see me, " said Dave. 

"Well, whose fault's that?" said Dick sharply. "I say, Dave, these netsare new. "

"Ay, every one of 'em. Made 'em all this summer. "

"Didn't you get lots of things spoiled when the flood came?" cried Tom. 

"N-no, lad, no. Nearly had my birds drownded, but I got 'em atop of thethack yonder. "

"But hasn't your cottage been dreadfully wet?" asked Dick, who waspoking his finger in a cage full of ferrets. "I say, what are JohnWarren's ferrets doing here?"

"Doin' nothing, and waiting to be took out, that's all, lad. "

"But wasn't your place horribly wet?"

"What care I for a drop o' watter?" said Dave contemptuously. 

"Look here, Dick, at the decoys, " cried Tom running to a large wickercage in which were four of the curious long-legged birds known as ruffsand reeves. 

"Was six, " said Dave. "I lost two. "

"How?"

"Fightin', lad. I niver see such bonds to fight. Gamecocks is babiesto 'em. I'm going to try a new improved way of ketching of 'em bychallenging the wild ones to fight. "

"Never mind about them, " said Dick eagerly; "are you going to startnow?"

"Ah! you're so precious eager to begin, lad, " said Dave; "but whenyou've been sitting out there on the boat for about a couple of hoursyou'll be glad to get back. "

"Oh, no, we sha'n't!" cried Dick. "Now, then, let's start. "

"Ay, but we've got to get ready first. "

"Well, that's soon done. Shall I carry the birds down to the boat?"

"Nay; we wean't take them to-day. I've sin more pie-wipes than ruffs, so let's try for them. "

He went round to the back of the hovel and took from the roof a cagewhich the lads had not yet seen, containing seven green plovers, andthis was carried to the boat, where the frightened birds ran to and fro, thrusting their necks between the wicker bars in a vain attempt toescape. 

This done, a bundle of net, some long stout cord, and poles werecarefully placed in the stern, after which Dave went into his cottage tobring out a mysterious-looking basket, which was also placed in thestern of the boat. 

"That's about all, " said the man, after a moment's thought; andunfastening the punt after the boys were in, he pushed off, but only toturn back directly and secure the boat again. 

"Why, what now, Dave?" cried Dick. "Aren't you going?"

"Going, lad! yes; but I thowt if we caught no bohds you might like me toshute one or two. "

"Well, we've got the gun and plenty of powder. "

"Ay, lad; but I've lost my last flint, and I've got to knap one. "

The boys followed him ashore, leaving the plovers fluttering in thecage, and Dave went inside his cottage, and returned directly with ahammer and a piece of flint, which he turned over two or three times soas to get the stone in the right position, as, taught by longexperience, he struck a sharp blow. 

Now Dave, the duck-decoy-man of the fens, knew nothing about lines offracture or bulbs of percussion as taught by mineralogists, but he knewexactly where to hit that piece of flint so as to cause a nicesharp-edged flake to fly off, and he knew how and where to hit thatflake so as to chip it into a neat oblong, ready for his gun, thosepresent being ignorant of the fact that they were watching workmanshipsuch as was in vogue among the men who lived and hunted in England inthe far-distant ages of which we have no history but what they have leftus in these works. Dave Gittan chipped away at the flint just as theancient hunters toiled to make the arrow-heads with which they shot theanimals which supplied them with food and clothing, the flint-kniveswith which they skinned and cut up the beasts, and the round sharp-edgedscrapers with which they removed the fat and adhering flesh as theydressed and tanned the skins to make them fit to wear. 

Dave chipped one gun-flint very accurately, failed to make a second, butwas triumphant with the third attempt, and fitting it exactly in thelock of his piece with a piece of leather at top and bottom, he loadedthe gun with a great deal of ceremony, measuring the powder with a tinycup which fitted over the top of his powder-horn, and his shot with thesame vessel, so many times filled. 

These rammed down in place with some rough paper on the top, and theramrod measured to see whether it stood out the right distance from thebarrel, the pan was primed and closed, and the gun carefully laid readyfor use. 

"There, " cried Dave in an ill-used tone, "I don't know why I'm tekkin'all this trouble for such a pair o' young shacks as you; but comealong. "

"It's because he likes us, Dick, " said Tom merrily. 

"Nay, that I don't, " cried Dave. "I hate the lot of you. Not one ofyou'll be satisfied till you've spoiled all my fen-land, and made it aplace where nivver a bird will come. "

"Why, I wouldn't have it touched if I could help it--St! Dave, whatbird's that?" said Dick. 

"Curlew, " replied Dave in a low voice, whose tones were imitated by thelads as the boat was softly punted along. "See them, boys!"

He nodded in the direction they were going, towards where a number ofbirds were flying about over some patches of land which stood just overthe level of the water. Now they looked dark against the sky, now theydisplayed feathers of the purest white, for their flight with theirblunted wings was a clumsy flapping very different to the quiver andskim of a couple of wild ducks which came by directly after and droppedinto the water a quarter of a mile ahead. 

"You come and see me next spring, my lads, and I'll show you wherethere's more pie-wipes' eggs than ever you found before in your lives. "

"But you'll take us one day to the 'coy, Dave?" said Dick. 

"Nay, I don't think I can, " said Dave. 

"But it's my father's 'coy, " said Dick. 

"Ay, I know all about that, " said the man harshly; "but it wean't bemuch good to him if he dree-erns the fen. "

Dave's voice was growing loud and excited, but he dropped it directlyand thrust away without making the slightest splash with his iron-shodpole. 

As they came near one bed of reeds several coots began to paddle away, jerking their bald heads as they went, while a couple of moor-hens, which as likely as not were both cocks, swam as fast as their long thinunwebbed toes would allow them, twitching their black-barred white tailsin unison with the jerking of their scarlet-fronted little heads, andthen taking flight upon their rounded wings, dragging their long thintoes along the top of the water, and shrieking with fear, till theydropped into the sheltering cover ahead. 

Snipes flew up from time to time, and more curlews and green ploverswere seen, offering plenty of opportunities for the use of the gun, asthe punt progressed till a long low spit of heathery gravel, about fortyfeet in length and five wide, was reached, with a patch of reeds acrossthe water about a couple of hundred yards away. 

"Is this the place?" cried Dick excitedly; and upon being answered inthe affirmative--"Now, then, what shall we do first?"

"Sit still, and I'll tell you, lads, " was the stern reply, as Dave, nowall eagerness, secured the boat and landed his net and poles. 

"Don't tread on her, my lads, " he said. "Now help me spread her out. "

He showed them how to proceed, and the net, about a dozen yards inlength, was spread along the narrow spit of land, which was only about afoot wider than the net, at whose two ends was fixed a pole as spreader, to which lines were attached. 

The net spread, the side nearest to the water was fastened down withpegs, so adjusted as to act as hinges upon which the apparatus wouldturn, while as soon as this was done Dave called for themysterious-looking basket. 

This being produced from the punt and opened was found to contain abouta dozen stuffed peewits, which, though rough in their feathers, werevery fair imitations of the real things. 

These were stuck along the edge of the net outside and at either end. 

"Now for the 'coys, " cried Dave, and Tom brought the cage of unfortunatepeewits, who had a painful duty to perform, that of helping to leadtheir free brethren into the trap that was being laid for them. 

Each of these decoy-birds was quickly and cleverly tethered to a pegalong the edge of the net upon the narrow strip of clear land, a stringbeing attached to one leg so long as to give them enough freedom toflutter a little among the stuffed birds, which seemed to be feeding. 

"There!" cried Dave, when all was ready; and at a short distance nothingwas visible but the group of birds fluttering or quiescent, for the netwas wonderfully like the ground in colour. "There, she's ready now, mylads, so come along. "

He bade Dick thrust the punt along to the bed of reeds; and as the laddeftly handled the pole, Dave let out the line, which was so attached tothe ends of the poles that a vigorous pull would drag the net rightover. 

It was quite a couple of hundred yards to the reeds, through which thepunt was pushed till it and its occupants were hidden, when, havingthrust down the pole as an anchor to steady the little vessel, the linewas drawn tight so as to try whether it would act, and then kept just sotense as to be invisible beneath the water, and secured to the edge ofthe punt. 

"That ought to bring them, lads, " said Dave, with his eyes twinklingbeneath his fox-skin cap, after beating a few reeds aside so that theycould have a good view of where the unfortunate peewits fluttered at thepegs. 

"But suppose they don't come?" said Tom. "I know if I was a piewipe Iwouldn't be cheated by a few dummies and some pegged-down birds. "

"But then you are not a piewipe, only a goose, " said Dick. 

"Hist!" whispered Dave, and placing his fingers to his mouth he sent outover the grey water so exact an imitation of the green plover's cry thatDick looked at him in wonder, for this was something entirely new. 

_Pee-eugh, pee-eugh, pee-eugh_! And the querulous cry was answered froma distance by a solitary lapwing, which came flapping along in a greathurry, sailed round and round, and finally dropped upon the littlenarrow island and began to run about. 

"You won't pull for him, will you, Dave?" whispered Dick. 

Dave shook his head, and the boys watched as from time to time the manuttered the low mournful cry. 

"Wonder what that chap thinks of the stuffed ones?" whispered Dick. 

"Why don't the live ones tell him it isn't safe?" said Tom. 

"Don't know; perhaps they're like old Tom Tallington, " said Dick:"whenever they get into a mess they like to get some one else in ittoo. "

"You say that again and I'll hit you, " whispered Tom, holding up hisfist menacingly. 

"Hist!" came from Dave, who uttered the imitation of the peewit'swhistle again, and a couple more of the flap-winged birds came slowlyover the grey-looking water, which to anyone else, with its patches ofdrab dry weeds and bared patches of black bog, would have seemed to be aterrible scene of desolation, whereas it was a place of enchantment tothe boys. 

"They come precious slowly, " said Dick at last. "I thought that therewould have been quite a crowd of birds, like you see them sometimes. Look at the old bald-heads, Tom. "

He pointed to a party of about half a dozen coots which came slowly outof the reeds and then sailed on again as if suspicious of all being notquite right. 

Then there was another little flock of ducks streaming over the fen inthe distance, and their cries came faintly as they dashed into thewater, as if returning home after a long absence. 

"There goes a her'n, " whispered Tom, who was not very good at seeingbirds and worse at telling what they were. 

"'Tisn't, " cried Dick; "it's only a grey crow. "

"If you two go on chattering like that we shall get no birds, " said Davesharply. "What a pair o' ruck-a-toongues you are; just like two owdwomen!"

"Well, but the birds are so long coming, " said Dick; "I'm getting thecramp. I say, Dave, are there any butterbumps [bitterns] close here?"

"Plenty; only they wean't show theirsens. Hah!"

They had been waiting a couple of hours, and the peewit's cry had beenuttered from time to time, but only a straggler or two had landed uponthe strip of land. Dick had been eager to capture these, but Dave shookhis head. It wasn't worth while to set the net and peg out decoys andstales, he said, to catch two pie-wipes that weren't enough for a man'sdinner. 

So they crouched there in the punt, waiting and growing more cold andcramped, fidgeting and changing their positions, and making waves seemto rise from under the boat to go whispering among the reeds. 

Every now and then Tom uttered a sigh and Dick an impatient grunt, whileat these movements Dave smiled but made no other sign, merely watchingpatiently. His eyes glittered, and their lids passed over them rapidlyfrom time to time; otherwise he was as motionless as if carved out ofold brown boxwood, an idea suggested by the colour of his skin. 

"I say, " said Dick at last, as there were tokens in the distance of theday coming to an end with mist and fine rain, "I am getting so hungry!Got anything to eat, Dave?"

"When we've done, lads. "

"But haven't we done? No birds will come to-day. "

Dave did not answer, only smiled very faintly; and it seemed as if thelad was right, for the sky and water grew more grey, and though thestuffed birds appeared to be diligently feeding, and those which weretethered hopped about and fluttered their wings, while the two free onesran here and there, flew away and returned, as if exceedingly mystifiedat the state of affairs on that long, narrow strip of land, Dave's callsseemed to be as vain as the snares he had made. 

"I wonder whether these birds break their shins in running over themeshes of the net!" said Dick after a long yawn. "Oh, I say, Dave, there's no fun in this; let's go!"

"Hist! pee-eugh, pee-eugh!" whistled Dave loudly, and then in quite alow tone that sounded distant, and this he kept up incessantly and witha strange ventriloquial effect. 

The boys were all excitement now, for they grasped at once the cause oftheir companion's rapid change of manner. For there in the distance, coming down with the wind in scattered flight and as if labouringheavily to keep themselves up, appeared a flock of lapwings pretty wella hundred strong. 

"Hooray! At last, Tom!" cried Dick. "Will they come and settle on thenet, Dave?"

"Not a bird of 'em if thou keeps up that ruck, " whispered the manexcitedly. 

The next minute he was imitating the cry of the peewit, and it wasanswered from the distance by the birds coming along, while the twostragglers which had been hanging about so long now rose up, circledround, and settled again. 

"Look at them!" whispered Dick. "Lie low, Tom; they're coming. "

Both lads were on the tiptoe of expectation, but it seemed as if theywere to be disappointed, for the flock came on slowly, uttering itsquerulous cries, and circled round as if to pass over, but they wereevidently still attracted by the decoy-birds, and hesitated and flew toand fro. 

"Oh, if they don't light now!" said Dick to himself. "They're going, "he sighed half aloud, and then he seized Tom's arm in his excitement, and gripped it so hard that the boy nearly cried out, and would havedone so but for the state of eagerness he too was in. 

For after farther signs of hesitation and doubt, all of which were infavour of the flock going right away, one of them seemed to give aregular tumble over in the air, as if it were shot, and alighted. Another followed, and another, and another, till, to the intenseexcitement of the occupants of the boat among the reeds, the long, lowspit of gravel, almost level with the water, became alive with birdsrunning here and there. 

It was on Dick's lips to cry, "Now, Dave, pull!" but he could not speak, only watch the thin, keen, yellow man, whose eye glittered beneath hisrough hairy cap as he slowly tightened the line, drawing it up till itwas above the surface of the water, which began to ripple and play aboutit in long waves running off in different directions. There was sogreat a length that it was impossible to draw it tight without movingthe spreader poles; and as the lads both thought of what theconsequences would be if the line broke, the movement at the ends of thelong net spread the alarm. 

There was a curious effect caused by the spreading of the wings of thebirds, and the whole island seemed to be slowly rising in the air; butat that moment the water hissed from the punt right away to where theflock was taking flight, and as the line tightened, a long filmy waveseemed to curve over towards them. By one rapid practice-learned drag, the net was snatched over and fell on to the water, while a great flockof green plovers took flight in alarm and went flapping over reed-bedand mere. 

"Oh, what a pity!" cried Dick, jumping up in the boat and stamping hisfoot with rage. 

"And so near, too!" cried Tom. 

"Sit down, lads, " roared Dave, who was dragging the pole out of theground, and the next moment he was thrusting the light boat along overthe intervening space, and the more readily that the bottom there wasonly three or four feet below the surface, and for the most part firm. 

"Why, have you caught some?" cried Dick. 

The answer was given in front, for it was evident that the net hadentangled several of the unfortunate birds, which were flapping thewater and struggling vainly to get through the meshes, but drowningthemselves in the effort. 

The scene increased in excitement as the boat neared, for the birdsrenewed their struggles to escape, and the decoys tethered on the islandto their pegs leaped and fluttered. 

In an incredibly short time the skilful puntsman had his boat alongsidethe net, and then began the final struggle. 

It was a vain one, for one by one the plovers were dragged from beneathand thrust into a large basket, till the net lay half-sunk beneath thesurface, and the feeble flapping of a wing or two was all that could beheard. 

The boat was dripping with water and specked with wet feathers, and asolitary straggler of the plover flock flew to and fro screaming as ifreproaching the murderers of its companions; otherwise all was still asDave stood up and grinned, and showed his yellow teeth. 

"There!" he cried triumphantly; "yow didn't expect such a treat asthat!"

"Treat!" said Dick, looking at his wet hands and picking some feathersfrom his vest, for he and Tom after the first minute had plungedexcitedly into the bird slaughter and dragged many a luckless bird outof the net. 

"Ay, lad, treat!--why, there's nigh upon fourscore, I know. "

Dick's features had a peculiar look of disgust upon them and his browwrinkled up. 

"Seems so precious cruel, " he said. 

Dave, who was rapidly freeing his decoy-birds and transferring them tothe cage, stood up with a fluttering plover in one hand. 

"Cruel!" he cried. 

"Yes, and treacherous, " replied Dick. 

"Deal more cruel for me to be found starved to death in my place someday, " said Dave. "Pie-wipes eats the beedles and wains, don't they?Well, we eats the pie-wipes, or sells 'em, and buys flour and bacon. Get out wi' ye! Cruel! Yow don't like piewipe pie!"

"I did, and roast piewipe too, " cried Dick; "but I don't think I shallever eat any again. "

"Hark at him!" cried Dave, going on rapidly with his task and packing uphis stuffed birds neatly in their basket, drawing out his pegs, and thenrolling up and wringing the wet net before placing it in the punt, andwinding in the dripping line which he drew through the water from thereed-bed. "Hark at him, young Tom Tallington!"--and he uttered now apeculiarly ugly harsh laugh--"young squire ar'n't going to eat any morebacon, 'cause it's cruel to kill the pigs; nor no eels, because they hasto be caught; and he wean't catch no more jacks, nor eel-pouts, nor yeteat any rabbud-pie! Ha--ha--ha--ha--ha!"

"Look here, Dave!" cried Dick passionately, "if you laugh at me I'll shysomething at you! No, I won't, " he shouted, seizing the cage; "I'lldrown all your decoys!"

"Ay, do!" said Dave, beginning to use the pole. "You're such aparticular young gentleman! Only, wouldn't it be cruel?"

"Ha--ha--ha!" laughed Tom. 

"Do you want me to punch your head, Tom?" roared Dick, turning scarlet. 

"Nay, lads, don't spyle a nice bit o' sport by quarrelling, " said Dave, sending the boat rapidly homeward. "I wean't laugh at you no more, Mester Dick. I like you for it, lad. It do seem cruel; and sometimeswhen I weer younger, and a bud looked up at me with its pretty eyes, asmuch as to say, `don't kill me!' I would let it go. "

"Ah!" ejaculated Dick with a sigh of relief. 

"But what did that bud do, lad? If it was a piewipe, go and killhundreds o' worms, and snails, and young frogs; if it was a heron, spearfish and pick the wriggling young eels out of the mud. No, lad, itwean't do; buds is the cruellest things there is, pretty as they are--all except them as only eats seeds. Everything 'most is cruel; but ifthey wasn't the world would get so full that everything would starve. We've got say fourscore pie-wipes--not for fun, but for wittles--andwhat's fourscore when there's thousands upon thousands all about?"

"Why, Dave, you're a philosopher!" said Dick, who felt relieved. 

"Yes, " said Dave complacently, but with a very foggy idea of the meaningof the word; "it's being out so much upon the water. Now, there's anice couple o' ducks swimming just the other side o' them reeds, as alad might hit just as they rose from the water when we come round thecorner; and I'd say hev a shot at 'em, Mester Dick--on'y, if I did, itwould hurt your feelings. "

Dick was silent for a moment or two as he tried to keep down his humannature. Then he spoke out:

"I beg your pardon, Dave, after what you did for us. May I take up thegun?"

"Ay. Steady, lad!--keep her head over the stem, and I'll turn the boatround and send you along gently. Now you lie down on your chesty andrest the barr'l on the net, for she's too heavy for you to handle. Thenwait till the ducks rise, and let go at 'em. "

There was another interval full of excitement; the punt was sent quietlytoward the end of the reed-bed; and in obedience to his instructionsDick knelt ready to fire--Tom watching him enviously, and wishing itwere his turn. 

Nearer, nearer, with the punt allowed to go on now by the force of thelast thrust given to it, till the last patch of reed was cleared; andthere, not twenty yards away, swam a fine shieldrake and four ducks. 

As the punt glided into sight there was a splashing and whirring ofwings, a great outcry, and away went the birds. 

"Now, lad!" cried Dave; and the gun was fired with a deafening report. But no feathers flew--no unfortunate duck or drake dropped, broken-winged, into the water. The only living being injured was Dick, who sat up rubbing his shoulder softly. 

"I say, " he said, "how that gun kicks!"

"Yes, " said Dave dryly, "I put a big charge in her, my lad; but it was apity to waste it. "

"I couldn't help missing, " said Dick. "They were so quick. "

"Nay, you wouldn't try to hit 'em, lad, because you thought you'd hot'em, " said Dave, chuckling; and Tom laughed, while Dick sat and nursedthe gun in silence, till the punt was poled ashore and its contentslanded. 

"Now, " said Dave, "I've got a rabbud-pie as I made mysen. Come and heva bit, lads; and then you shall take home a dozen pie-wipes apiece. It'll be moonlight, and I'll soon punt you across. "

That pie, in spite of the rough surroundings, was delicious; and Dickforgot to pity the poor rabbits, and he did not refuse to take his dozenlapwings home for a welcome addition to the next day's dinner. 

"You see, Tom, " he whispered, "I think I was a little too particular. Good-night, Dave, and thank you!" he shouted. 

"Good-night, lads--good-night!" came off the water. Then there was asplash of the pole, and Dave disappeared in the moonlit mist whichsilvered the reeds, while the boys trudged the rest of their way home. 

CHAPTER EIGHT. 

THE DRAIN PROGRESSES. 

The number of workers increased at the sea-bank, quite a colony growingup, and Dick paid several visits to the place with his father to see howbusily the men were delving, while others built up what was termed a_gowt_--a flood-gate arrangement for keeping out the sea at high water, and opening it at low, so as to give egress to the drain-water collectedfrom the fen-land. 

Both lads were eager enough to be there to witness the progress of theworks at first; but after going again and again, they voted the wholething to be uninteresting, and no more worth seeing than the digging ofone of the ditches on the farms at home. 

And certainly there was no more difference than in the fact that theditches at home were five or six feet wide, while the one theadventurers were having cut through the fen-land would be forty feet, and proportionately deep. 

So the big drain progressed foot by foot, creeping on as it were fromthe sea-shore, an innocent-looking channel that seemed valueless, butwhich would, when finished, rid the land of its stagnant water, and turnthe boggy, peaty soil of the fen into rich pasture and corn-land, whereas its finest produce now was wild-fowl and a harvest of reeds. 

"We're getting on, neighbour, " said the squire to Farmer Tallington oneevening. 

"Ay, but it's slow work, " said Tom's father. "It'll be years beforethat lode is cooten. "

"Yes, it will be years before it is finished, " said the squire, "certainly. "

"Then, what's the good of us putting our money in it, eh? It'll do usno good, and be robbing our boys. "

"Then why don't you leave off, father?" said Tom stoutly. "DickWinthorpe and I don't want the fen to be drained, and we don't want tobe robbed. Do we, Dick?"

The two elders laughed heartily, and the squire was silent for a fewminutes before he began to speak. 

"The drain's right, neighbour, " he said gravely. "Perhaps you and Iwill reap no great benefit from it; though, if we live, we shall; butinstead of leaving to our boys, when they take up our work, neighbour, either because we are called away to our rest or because we have grownold, these farms with so much good land and so much watery bog, we shallleave them acre upon acre of good solid land, that has been useless tous, but which will bear them crops and feed their beasts. "

"Yes, " said Farmer Tallington, "there's something in that, but--"

"Come, neighbour, look ahead. Every foot that drain comes into the fenit will lower the level, and we shall see--and before long--our farmland grow, and the water sink. "

"Ye-es; but it's so like working for other people!"

"Well, " said the squire laughing, "what have you been doing in that halfacre of close beside your house?"

"That! Oh, only planted it with pear-trees so as to make a bit of anorchard!"

"Are you going to pick a crop of pears next year, neighbour?"

"Next year! Bah! They'll be ten years before they come well intobearing. " [This was the case with the old-fashioned grafting. ]

"So will the acres laid bare by the draining, " said the squire smiling, "and I hope we shall live to see our boys eating the bread made fromcorn grown on that patch of water and reeds, along with the pears fromyour trees. "

"That's a clincher, " said the farmer. "You've coot the ground fromunder me, neighbour, and I wean't grudge the money any more. "

"I wish father wouldn't say _coot_ and _wean't_!" whispered Tom, whoseschool teaching made some of the homely expressions and bits of dialectof the fen-land jar. 

"Why not? What does it matter?" said Dick, who was busy twisting thelong hairs from a sorrel nag's tail into a fishing-line. 

"Sounds so broad. Remember how the doctor switched Bob Robinson forsaying he'd been _agate_ early. "

"Yes, I recollect, " said Dick, tying a knot to keep the hairs fromuntwisting; "and father said he ought to have been ashamed of himself, for _agate_ was good old Saxon, and so were all the words our people usedown here in the fen. I say, what are they talking about now?"

"Well, for my part, " said the squire rather hotly, in reply to somecommunication his visitor had made, "so long as I feel that I'm doingwhat is right, no threats shall ever stop me from going forward. "

"But they seem to think it arn't right, " said the farmer. "Those in thefen say it will ruin them. "

"Ruin! Nonsense!" cried the squire. "They'll have plenty of good landto grow potatoes, and oats, instead of water, which produces them aprecarious living from wild-fowl and fish, and ruins no end of them withrheumatism and fever. "

"Yes, but--"

"But what, man? The fen-men who don't cultivate the soil are very fewcompared to those who do, and the case is this. The fen-land is growingabout here, and good land being swallowed up by the water. Five acresof my farm, which used to be firm and dry, have in my time becomewater-logged and useless. Now, are the few to give way to the many, orthe many to give way to the few?"

"Well, squire, the few think we ought to give way to them. "

"Then we will not, " said the squire hotly; "and if they don't knowwhat's for their good, they must be taught. You know how they willstick to old things and refuse to see how they can be improved. "

"Ay, it's their nature, I suppose. All I want is peace and quietness. "

"And you'll have it. Let them threaten. The law is on our side. Theywill not dare. "

"I don't know, " said Farmer Tallington, scratching his head as theywalked out into the home close. "You see, squire, it wean't be openenemies we shall have to fear--"

"The Winthorpes never feared their enemies since they settled in theseparts in the days of King Alfred, " said Dick grandly. 

"Hear, hear, Dick!" cried his father, laughing. 

"No more did the Tallingtons, " said Tom, plucking up, so as not to bebehindhand. 

"Nay, Tom, my lad, " said the farmer, "Tallingtons was never fightingmen. Well, squire, I thought I'd warn you. "

"Of course, of course, neighbour. But look here, whoever sent you thatcowardly bit of scribble thought that because you lived out here in thislonely place you would be easily frightened. Look here, " he continued, taking a scrap of dirty paper out of his old pocket-book; "that bit ofrubbish was stuck on one of the tines of a hay-fork, and the shaftdriven into the ground in front of my door. I said nothing about it toyou, but you see I've been threatened too. "

He handed the paper to Farmer Tallington, who read it slowly and passedit back. 

"Same man writ both, I should say. "

"So should I--a rascal!" said the squire. "Here, Dick, don't say a wordto your mother; it may alarm her. "

"No, father, I sha'n't say anything; but--"

"But what? Speak out. "

"May I read it--and Tom?" he added, for he saw his companion's eagerlooks. 

"Well, yes, you've heard what we've been talking about--what neighbourTallington came over for. "

"Yes, father, " said Dick, taking the piece of paper, and feeling veryserious, since he knew that it contained a threat. But as soon as hegrasped its contents--looking at them as a well-educated lad for hisdays, fresh from the big town grammar-school--he slapped his thigh withone hand, and burst into a roar of laughter, while his father looked onwith a grim smile. 

"What is it, Dick?" cried Tom eagerly. 

"Here's a game!" cried Dick. "Just look!"

There was not much on the paper, and that was written in a clumsyprinting-letter fashion, beneath a rough sketch, and with another tofinish. 

"Why, here's a hollow turnip and two sticks!" cried Dick aloud; "and--and what is it, Tom?"

 `stope the dyke or yow hev 2 dighe'

"Stop the dyke or you'll have to dig, " said Tom eagerly. "You'll haveto dig! Does he mean dig the ditch?"

"No!" roared Dick; "that's the way he spells die, and that long squarething's meant for a coffin. "

"Yes, Dick, and that's the spirit in which to take such a cowardlythreat--laugh at it, " said the squire, replacing the letter in hispocket-book. "I only wish I knew who sent it. Who's this coming?"

"Why, it's Dave!" cried Tom eagerly, as the man came slowly along one ofthe winding lanes of water in his punt. 

"Oh, yes, I remember!" said the squire; "he was here yesterday and saidhe would come and fetch you, Dick, if you liked to go, over to thedecoy. "

"And you never said a word about it, father! Here, come along, Tom. "

The latter glanced at his father, but read consent in his eyes, and thetwo lads dashed off together. 

"Seems to be letting him idle a deal, " said Farmer Tallingtonthoughtfully. 

"Not it, " said the squire. "They're both very young and growing. Letthem enjoy themselves and grow strong and hearty. They've had a longturn at school, and all this will do them good. "

"Ay, it'll mak 'em grow strong and lusty if it does nowt else, " said thefarmer. 

"And as to the big drain, " said the squire; "we're farmers, neighbour, even if I do work my land as much for pleasure as for profit. "

"Ay, but what's that to do with it?"

"This, " said the squire, smiling; "a man who puts his hand to the ploughshould not look back. "

"That's true, " said Farmer Tallington; "but when he gets a letter to saysome one's going to kill him, and draws coffins on the paper, it'senough to mak' him look back. "

"It's all stuff, neighbour! Treat it as I do--with contempt. "

"Ah! you see you're a gentleman, squire, and a bit of a scholar, and I'monly a plain man. "

"A good neighbour and a true Englishman, Tallington; and I'm glad my sonhas so good and frank a companion as your boy. There, take my advice:treat all this opposition with contempt. "

"Theer's my hand, squire, " said Farmer Tallington. "You nivver gave mea bad bit of advice yet, and I'll stick to what you say--but on onecondition. "

"What's that?" said the squire, smiling. 

"You'll let me grumble now and then. "

Long before Farmer Tallington had parted from the squire at thebeginning of the rough track which led from the Priory to Grimsey, Dickand Tom were down by the water's edge waiting for Dave, who came up witha dry-looking smile upon his face--a smile which looked as if it werethe withered remains of a last year's laugh. 

"How are you, Dave?" cried Dick. "We only just knew you were coming. Are there plenty of ducks?"

"Mebbe. Few like, " said Dave in the slow way of a man who seldomspeaks. 

"_Wuph_! _wuph_!" came from the boat. 

"What! Chip, boy! how are you?" cried Dick, patting the dog, whichseemed to go half mad with delight at having someone to make a fuss overhim, and then rushed to Tom to collect a few more friendly pats andwords. 

"Shall we get in, Dave?" cried Tom. 

"Get in, lad! Why, what for?"

"Now, Dave, don't go on like that, " cried Dick impatiently. "Let's geton, there's a good fellow. I do want to see you work the decoy. "

"Oh, you don't care for that! 'Sides, I want to go to Hickathrift's tosee his dunky pigs. "

"Nonsense! What do you want to see the dunks for?"

"Thinking o' keeping a pig o' my own out thar, lads. It's raytherlonesome at times; and, " he added quite seriously, "a pig would becompany. "

The boys looked at one another and smothered a laugh for fear of givingoffence. 

"What, with a place like a jolly island all to yourself, where you livelike a Robinson Crusoe and can keep tame magpies and anything you like, and your boat, and your dog, and eel-spear?"

"And nets, " put in Tom. 

"And fishing-lines, " said Dick. 

"And gun, " said Tom. 

"Ay, lads, " said Dave gravely; "seems aw reight to you, but it belonesome sometimes when the bootherboomps get running out o' the reedsin the dark evenings and then go sailing high up and round and round. "

"Oh, I should like that!" said Dick. 

"Nay, lad, yow wouldn't. It would scar yow. Then o' soft warm nightssometimes the frogs begins, and they go on crying and piping all roundyou for hours. "

"Pooh!" said Tom; "who'd mind a few frogs?"

"And then o' still nights theer's the will o' the wipses going about anddancing over the holes in the bog. "

"I say, Dave, what is a will o' the wisp really like?"

"What! heven't you niver seen one, lad?" said Dave, as he seated himselfon the edge of the boat. 

"No; you see we've always been away at school. I can remember one ofour men--Diggles it was--pointing out one on a dark night when I wasquite young, and I saw some kind of light, and I was such a littlefellow then that I ran in--frightened. "

"Ay, they do frecken folk, " said Dave, putting a piece of brown gum inhis mouth; "only you must be careful which way you run or you may goright into the bog and be smothered, and that's what the wills like. "

"Like! why, they're only lights, " said Tom. 

"They'm seem to you like lights, but they be kind o' spirits, " said Davesolemnly; "and they wants you to be spirits, too, and come and play with'em, I s'pose. "

"But, Dave, never mind the will o' the wisps. Come on to the 'coy. "

"Nay, it's no use to go there; the nets that goes over the pipes hasbeen charmed [gnawed] by the rats. "

"Yes, I know, " cried Dick, laughing; "and you've put all new ones. Iheard you tell father so, and he paid you ever so much money. He's onlyplaying with us, Tom. "

Dave laughed like a watchman's rattle, whose wooden spring had grownvery weak. 

"Look here, Dave, now no nonsense! Want some more powder?"

"Nay, I don't want no poother, " said Dave. 

"Do you want some lead to melt down? I'll give you a big lump. "

"Nay, I don't want no poother, and I don't want no lead, " said Dave inan ill-used tone. "I can buy what I want. "

"He does want it, Dick. "

"Nay, I don't, lad; and things a man do want nobody asks him to hev. "

"Why, what do you want, Dave?"

"Oh, nowt! I don't want nowt. But there is times when a man's a bitill out there in the fen, and he gets thinking as a drop o' sperrits 'ddo him good. But I d'n know. "

"All right, Dave! I won't forget, " said Dick. "Jump in, Tom. "

"Nay, what's the good?" said Dave. 

"All right, Tom! He's going to take us to the 'coy. "

Tom followed his companion into the boat, the dog leaped in after them, whining with pleasure; and shaking his head and talking to himself, Davefollowed, seized the pole, giving a grunt at Dick, who wanted to presideover the locomotion, and then, with a tremendous thrust, he sent thepunt surging through the water. 

"Nay, I'll pole, " he said. "Get us over sooner, and we can begin work. "

Dick exchanged glances with his companion, and they sat playing with thedog and watching the birds that rose from the reeds or swept by inlittle flocks in the distance, till, after about half an hour's poling, Dave ran the boat into a narrow lane among the uncut reeds, after awarning to be quite still, which the lads observed and the dogunderstood, going forward and crouching down in front of his master, with his eyes glittering and ears quivering with the intense way inwhich he was listening. 

The way through the reeds was long, and in spite of the stealthy way inwhich the boat was propelled, several birds were startled, and flew upquacking loudly, and went away. 

At last, though, they emerged from the dry growth into a little openpool, and crossing this, landed by a low house thatched with reeds andhidden in a thick grove of alders. 

"Now, lads, " said Dave in a whisper, "not a word. Stay here while I goand look. I wean't be long. "

He secured the boat to a stump of wood, and landed, leaving the ladsseated in the punt, and gazing about them. But there was very little tosee, for, save in the direction of the patch of reeds through which theyhad passed, there was a low dense growth of alders and willows runningup to the height of twelve or fifteen feet; and it was beyond this thatthe sport was to be had. 

They had not very long to wait before Dave returned, with Chip the piperat his heels--not that the dog had any musical gifts, but that he wasclever in doing certain duties in connection with a pipe, as will beseen, and to perform these adequately utter silence was required. 

Dave seemed quite transformed. His yellow face, instead of being dulland heavy, was full of anxious lines, his eyes twinkled, his mouthtwitched and worked, and his brown wiry hands were fidgeting about hischin. 

As he came up he held a finger in the air to command silence, and withstooping body and quick alert way he paused till he was close to theboys, and then whispered:

"You couldn't hev come better, lads; there's a boat load of 'em in thepond. "

"What sort?" whispered Dick excitedly. 

"All sorts, lad: widgeons, teal, mallards, and some pochards. Onlymind, if you say a word aloud, or let that theer dog bark, we sha'n'tget a duck. "

Dick clapped his hand over his mouth, as if to ensure silence, and Tomcompressed his lips. 

"Come along, then, boys, and I'll set yow wheer yow can look through ahole in one o' the screens and see all the fun. "

"But can't we help, Dave?" asked Tom. 

"Help, lad! no, not till the ducks are in the net. Then you may. Now, not a word, and come on. "

Dave led the way to the little house, where he filled his pockets withbarley and oats mixed, out of a rough box, and as he did so he pointedto one corner which had been gnawed. 

"Been charming of it, " he whispered. "Eats! Now come, quiet-like;" andhe stepped out and into a narrow path leading through the dense alderwood, and in and out over patches of soft earth which quivered and feltlike sponges beneath their feet. 

Dave glanced back at them sharply two or three times when a rustlingsound was made, and signed to them to be careful. Then once he stoppedin a wider opening and tossed up a feather or two, as if to make sure ofthe way the wind blew. Apparently satisfied, he bent towards the twolads and whispered:

"I'm going to the second pipe. Come quiet. Not a word, and when I mak'room for you, peep through the screen for a minute, and then come away. "

The boys nodded, and followed in silence through a part of the alderwood which was not quite so dense, for here and there patches of tallreeds had grown out of a watery bed, and now stood up seven or eightfeet high and dry and brown. 

Then all at once Dave stopped and looked back at them with a sly kind ofgrin upon his face, as he pointed down to a strong net stretched looselyover some half hoops of ash, whose ends were stuck down tightly in thesoft ground so as to form a tunnel about two feet wide. 

This was over the soft earth, upon which lay the end of the net, tiedround with a piece of cord. A few yards farther on, however, this firstnet was joined to another, and the tunnel of network was arched over anarrow ditch full of water, and this ditch gradually increased in widthas the man led on, and ran in a curve, along whose outer or convex sidethey were proceeding. 

Before long, as the bent-over willows spanned the ditch or "pipe, " as itwas called, the net ceased to come down quite to the ground, its placebeing occupied by screens made of reeds and stakes, and all so placedthat there was room to go round them. 

The boys now noted that the dog was following close behind in a way asfurtive as his master, and apparently quite as much interested as he inwhat was to take place. 

The water ditch increased in width rapidly now till the net tunnelbecame six feet, twelve feet, twenty feet, and, close to the mouth, twenty-four feet wide, while the light ash-poles, bent over and tied inthe middle, were quite twelve feet above the water. 

They were now near the mouth of the curved ditch, whose narrow portionbent round quite out of sight among the trees, while at a signal fromDave they went to a broad reed screen in front, and gazed through anopening, to see stretching out before them, calm and smooth beneath thesoft grey wintry sky, a large pool of about a couple of acres in extent, surrounded by closely growing trees similar to those through which theyhad passed, while at stated intervals were openings similar to that bywhich they stood, in all five in number, making a rough star whose armsor points were ditches or pipes some five-and-twenty feet wide, andcurving off, to end, as above told, sixty or seventy yards from themouth, only two feet wide, and covered right along with net. 

All this was well-known to them before, and they hardly gave it a secondglance. What took their attention were some half dozen flocks ofwater-fowl seated calmly on the smooth surface of the pool and a coupleof herons standing in the shallow water on the other side, one sohitched up that he seemed to have no neck, the other at his full height, and with bill poised ready to dart down at some unfortunate fish. 

Here and there a moor-hen or two swam quietly about flicking itsblack-barred white tail. There were some coots by a bed of reeds, and acouple of divers, one of which disappeared from time to time in the mostbusiness-like manner, and came up at the end of a long line of bubblesmany yards away. 

Nearest to them was a large flock of quite a hundred ordinary wildducks, for the most part asleep, while the others sat motionless uponthe water or swam idly about, all waiting patiently in the secludedpool, which seemed to them a sanctuary, for nightfall, when slugs andsnails would be out and other things in motion, ready to supply themwith a banquet on some of their far-off feeding grounds. The drakeswere already distinct enough from the sober-feathered ducks, but theformer were not in their spring plumage, when they would put on theirbrightest colours and their heads glisten in green and gold. 

Away to the left were a number of flat-looking squatty-shaped pochardswith their brown heads and soft grey backs, while to the right wereplenty of widgeons and another little flock of teal, those prettyminiature ducks, with here and there a rarer specimen, among which werepintails, drakes with the centre feathers of the tail produced likethose of a parroquet. 

The lads could have stopped for an hour gazing at the manners andcustoms of the wild-fowl dotting the lake in happy unconsciousness ofthe enemies so near; but, just as Dick had fixed his eyes upon asolitary group of about a couple of dozen ducks nearly across the pond, he felt a tug behind him, and turning, there was Dave signing to him tocome away. 

Dave made the lads follow him till he could place them in among thetrees with a tuft of reeds before them, which proved sufficient screenand yet gave them a view of part of the pool, and the entrance to thepipe upon whose bank they had been standing. 

"Now, look here, bairns, " he whispered; "if you move or says a word, there'll be no ducks. "

The lads nodded and crouched in their places, while Dave disappearedbehind them, but appeared again close to the screen of reed which hidhim from the birds in the pool. 

Matters were so exciting now as the watchers looked on that Dickrelieved his feelings by pinching Tom's leg, and then holding up hisfist, as if in promise of what was to follow if he made a sound. 

Meanwhile, with Chip close at his heels, Dave went to the farthestscreen and peered through the opening, and after satisfying himself theysaw him thrust one hand into his pocket and make a sign to Chip, whilealmost simultaneously he scattered a handful of the oats and barleyright over the water, the grain falling through the meshes of theoutspread net. 

Just then Chip, in the most quiet matter-of-fact way, made hisappearance on the fore-shore of the pool, and, without barking or takingnotice of the ducks, trotted slowly along toward the entrance to thepipe, leaped over a low piece of wood, and disappeared from sight tojoin his master behind the screen, when the dog was rewarded for what hehad done with a piece of cheese. 

The coming of the dog, however, had created quite a commotion upon thelake, for the knot of two dozen ducks on the other side no sooner caughtsight of him than, uttering a prodigious quacking, they came swimmingand half flying as rapidly as they could toward the mouth of the pipe, to begin feeding upon the oats scattered upon the water. 

"Look at the decoy-ducks, " whispered Dick, and then he watched insilence, for these two dozen were regularly fed wild-fowl which hadbecome so far half tame that, knowing the appearance of the dog to beassociated with corn and other seeds at the mouth of the pipe, they cameat once. 

This was too much for the strangers, which followed them, mingled withthem, and began to feed as well. 

Dave was at this time behind the second screen waiting for Chip, whoshowed himself for a moment or two at the edge of the long water ditch, trotted on towards the second screen, leaped over a low wood bar at theend, and joined his master, to receive a second piece of cheese. 

That white dog was a wonder to the wild ducks, which left off eatingdirectly and began to swim slowly and cautiously up the netted tunnel totry and find out what he was doing. 

Had Chip stopped and looked at them, and barked, they would all havetaken flight, but the dog was too well taught. He was a piper of thehighest quality, and knew his business, which was to show himself for ashort time and then trot on to the next screen and leap over anddisappear just as if he were engaged in some mysterious business of hisown. 

This was too much for the ducks, which cackled and bobbed their heads upand down and swam on, moved by an intense curiosity to find out what wasChip's particular game. 

But Chip's proceedings were stale to the decoy-ducks, who had seen himso often that they cared nothing, but stopped behind to partake of thefood, while quite a hundred followed their leaders up the pipe in happyignorance of the meaning of a net. What was more, the decoy-ducks oftenfound food at the mouths of the pipes when their wild relatives were offfeeding, and hence they troubled themselves no more. All that wasimpressed upon their small brains was that the appearance of Chip meantfood, and they stayed behind to feed. 

Chip was invisible eating a piece of cheese. Then he appeared againhigher up, trotted on, leaped over the low wood bar, and joined hismaster for more cheese. 

And so it went on, Dave going higher and higher from screen to screen, and the dog slowly following and alternately appearing to anddisappearing from the sight of the ducks, which never of course caughtsight of Dave, who was too well hidden behind the screens. 

At last they were lured on and on so far by the dog that they were wherethe ditch began to bend round more sharply and the pipe was narrowing. This was the time for a fresh proceeding. 

Dave had gone on right up to the farthest screen, and suddenly divedinto a narrow path through the trees which led him, quite concealed fromview, round and back to the first screen. He passed the boys, makingthem a sign to be silent, and then went right round that first screenjust as Chip was appearing far up by the side of the pipe--and the flockof ducks were following--and quickly now showed himself at the mouth ofthe trap. 

The ducks saw him instantly, and there was a slight commotion as he tookoff and held up his hat; but there was no attempt at flight, the birdsmerely swam on rapidly farther toward the end and disappeared round thecurve. 

Dave went quickly on past a screen or two and showed himself again, thecurve of the pipe bringing him once more into view. He held up his hatand the ducks swam on, out of sight once more. 

This was continued again and again, till the ducks were driven bydegrees from where the ditch and its arching of net decreased from eightfeet wide to six feet, to four feet, to two feet, and the flock washuddled together, and safe in the trap that had been prepared for them. 

All at once, while the two lads were watching all these proceedings, Dave came into sight for a moment and waved his hand for them to come, but signed to them at the same time to be quiet. 

It was as well that he did, for otherwise they would have uttered ashout of triumph. 

"We've got 'em, lads, " he said, with his yellow face puckered up withsatisfaction; "but don't make a noise. I like to keep the 'coy quiet. Come along!"

"Is there any fear of their getting away now, Dave?" whispered Dick ashe followed. 

"Yes, to market, " said Dave grimly. 

As they neared the end of the pipe there was a loud cackling andfluttering heard, and the ducks were disposed to make a rush back, butthe sight of the man sent them all onward once more to the end of thepipe, where they were driven to leave the water for the dry land, overwhich the net was spread for the last few yards, forming a giganticpurse or stocking. 

And now a tremendous fluttering and excitement ensued, for as, inobedience to their leader's sign, the lads stopped once more, Davestepped forward rapidly, detached the final portion of the net whichformed the bag or purse from the bent-over ash stick, and twisted ittogether and tied it round, with the result that the birds were all shutup in the long purse and at his mercy. 

Just then Chip performed a kind of triumphal dance, and leaped up atDick and again at Tom before becoming quiescent, and looking up at allin turn, giving his little stumpy tail a few wags, while his wholeaspect seemed to say:

"Didn't we do that well?"

"That's a fine take, my lads, " said Dave in congratulatory tones. 

"Yes, " said Dick, looking down at the frightened birds scuffling overeach other; "but--"

"Nay! don't, man, say that!" cried Dave. "I know, my lad. But wildduck's good to yeat; and they've got to be killed and go to market. Yowwanted to see me ketch the duck, and theer they are. Going to help mekill 'em?"

"No!" cried Dick in a voice full of disgust. But he helped carry thecapture to the boat after the slaying was at an end and the empty shortnet replaced, ready distended at the end of the tunnel or pipe. 

"There we are!" said Dave. "Ready for another flock?"

"And are you going to try for another in one of the pipes over the otherside?"

"Nay, not to-day, my lad, " was the reply. "The 'coy-ducks wean't behungry and come for their food, so we'll wait for another time. "

"Don't the 'coy-ducks ever go right away, Dave?" asked Tom, as the boatwas being quietly poled back. 

"Sometimes; but not often, and if they do some others taks their places, and stops. They get fed reg'lar, and that's what a duck likes. Gooduns to eat, ducks. They mak' nests and bring off broods of young ones, and keep to the pool year after year, and seem to know me a bit; but ifChip here went barking among 'em, or I was to go shooting, they'd soonbe driven away. "

"But do they know that they are leading the wild ducks into the pipe?"said Dick eagerly. 

"_Not_ they. Ducks can't think like you and me. They come to be fed, and the others follow 'em, and then get thinking about Chip and followhim. "

"Does Chip know?" said Tom. 

"Ask him, " said Dave, laughing in his grim, silent way. "I think hedoos, but he never said so. Hello!"

They were passing the edge of a great bed of reeds, and rounding acorner, when they came in sight of three or four teal, and no sooner didthe birds catch sight of them than they began to scurry along the waterpreparatory to taking flight, but all at once there was a rush and asplash, and the party in the boat saw a huge fish half throw itself outof the water, fall back, and disappear. 

"He caught him, " said Dave grimly. "You see, lad, other things 'sidesme ketches the ducks. "

"A great pike!" cried Dick, standing up to try and catch sight of thetyrant of the waters. 

"Ay! One as likes duck for dinner. He'll eat him without picking hisfeathers off. "

"Wasn't it a very big one, Dave?" cried Tom. 

"Ay, lad, a thirty-pounder like enew, " said Dave, working his pole. 

"Dave, shall you know this place again?" cried Dick. 

"Should I know my own hand!"

"Then let's come over and try for that fellow to-morrow or next day. "

"Right, lad! I'll come. We'll set some liggers, and I dessay we canget hold of him. If we can't theer's plenty more. "

"To-morrow, Dave?"

"Nay, I shall be getting off my ducks. Two hundred wants some seeingto. "

"Next day, then?"

"Say Saturday, my lads. That'll give me time to get a few baits. "

So Saturday was appointed for the day with the pike, and the ducks andthe boys were duly landed, the latter to go homeward with four coupleseach, and Dick with strict orders to ask the squire whether he wantedany more, before they were sent off in Hickathrift's car to the town. 

CHAPTER NINE. 

DICK IS CALLED EARLY. 

It was Friday night. Dick had been over with the squire and two orthree gentlemen interested in the great drain, to see how it progressed;and the lad had found the young engineer in charge of the works ready toask him plenty of questions, such as one who had a keen love of thenatural objects of the country would be likely to put. 

The result was that Squire Winthorpe invited him over to the old Prioryto come and make a fishing, shooting, or collecting trip whenever heliked. 

"You are very hospitable, Mr Winthorpe, " he said. 

"Oh, nonsense! Shame if we who bring you people down from London to dous good here in the fens, could not be a little civil. "

This was after the inspection was over, the young engineer at liberty, and he was walking part of the way back with Dick. 

"Well, I must frankly say, Mr--ought I to say Squire Winthorpe?"

"No, no, Mr Marston, " was the laughing reply, "I am only a plainfarmer. It is the fashion down here to call a man with a few acres ofhis own a squire. I'm squire, you see, of a lot of bog. "

"Which we shall make good land, Mr Winthorpe, " said the engineer. "ButI was going to say it will be a treat to come over from my lonelylodgings to some one who will make me welcome, for I must say the commonpeople here are rather ill-disposed. "

"Only snarling, " said the squire. "They daren't bite. They don't likeany alterations made. Take no notice of their surly ways. The sorenesswill soon wear off. Cruel thing to do, Mr Marston, turn a piece ofswamp into a wholesome field!"

They both laughed, and soon after parted. 

"I rather like that young fellow, Dick, " said the squire. "Knows a dealabout antiquities. Little too old for a companion for you, but peoplewho collect butterflies and nettles and flowers generally mix regardlessof age. "

"Do you think the people about will interfere with the works, father?"said Dick, as they trudged along homeward. 

"No, I don't, Dick, " said the squire. "I should like to catch them atit. "

Dick went to bed that night very tired, and dropped asleep directly, thinking of Dave and the expedition to set trimmers, or "liggers" asthey called them, and he was soon in imagination afloat upon the lanesand pools of water among the reeds, with Dave softly thrusting down hispole in search of hard places, where the point would not sink in. Thenhe dreamed that he had baited hook after hook, attached the line to ablown-out bladder, and sent it sailing away to attract the notice ofsome sharking pike lurking at the edge of one of the beds of reeds. 

Then he dreamed that the sun was in his eyes as it went down in a richglow far away over the wide expanse of water and rustling dried reed, where the starlings roosted and came and went in well-marshalled clouds, all moving as if carefully drilled to keep at an exact distance one fromthe other, ready to wheel and turn or swoop up or down with the greatestexactness in the world. 

That dreamy imagination passed away, and he became conscious that he washaving his morning call, as he termed it, and for which he alwaysprepared when going to bed by pulling up the blind and drawing aside thewhite curtains, so that the sun who called him should shine right inupon his face. 

For the sun called Dick Winthorpe when he shone, and as the lad lay uponhis side with his face toward the window the sun seemed to be doing hismorning duty so well that Dick yawned, stretched, and lay with his eyesclosed while the glow of red light flooded his room. 

"Only seem to have just lain down, " he grumbled, keeping his eyes moretightly shut than ever. "Bother! I wish I wasn't so drowsy when it'stime to get up!"

At last he opened his eyes, to stare hard at the light, and then with acry full of excitement, he threw off the clothes and leaped out of bed, to rush to the window. 

"Oh!" he ejaculated; and darting back to the bed-side he hurried on histrousers, opened his door, and the next moment his bare feet padded overthe polished oak floor as he made for his father's room and thumped atthe door. 

"Father, quick!--father!"

"Hallo! Any one ill?" cried the squire, for thieves and burglars wereknown only by repute out there in the fen. 

"Tallington's farm's in a blaze!" cried Dick, hoarsely. 

He heard a thump on the floor, a hasty ejaculation from his mother, andthen ran back to his own room to finish dressing, gazing out of hiswindow the while, to see that the bright glow about Grimsey wasincreasing, and that a golden cloud seemed to be slowly rising upthrough the still air. 

"Now, Dick!" shouted his father, "run down and rouse up the people atthe cottages. "

Dick ran out, and down past the old Priory ruins, to where a cluster ofcottages, half-way to Hickathrift's, were occupied by the people whoworked upon the farm; and, distant as the fire was, he could yet see theruddy glow upon the water before him. 

Half-way there, he heard a shout:

"Who's there!"

It was in a big bluff voice, which Dick recognised at once. 

"That you, Hicky? Fire! fire!"

"Ay, my lad, I was coming to rouse up the folk. You go that end, I'lldo this. Hey! Fire! Fire!"

He battered cottage door after cottage door, Dick following his example, with the result that in their alarm the people came hurrying out likebees whose hive has been disturbed by a heavy blow. 

There was no need to ask questions. Every man, while the women began towail and cry, started for the Tallingtons' farm; but they were broughtup by a shout from the squire. 

"What are you going to do, men?" he cried. 

"The fire!"--"help!"--"water!"--rose in a confused babble. 

"Back, every one of you, and get a bucket!" cried the squire. "You, Hickathrift, run into the wood-house and bring an axe. "

"Aw, reight, squire!" cried the wheelwright, and in another minute everyman was off at a trot following Dick's father, and all armed with aweapon likely to be of service against the enemy which was rapidlyconquering the prosperous little farm at Grimsey. 

Two miles form a long distance in a case of emergency, and before theparty were half-way there they began to grow breathless, and there was adisposition evinced to drop into a walk. One or two of those in advancechecked their rate, others followed, and for the next two or threehundred yards the rescuers kept to a foot-pace, breathing heavily thewhile, and speaking in snatches. 

"Which is it, Dick--the house or the great stack?"

"I can't see, father, " panted the lad; "sometimes it seems one, sometimes both. "

"Stacks, squire, I think, " cried Hickathrift. "I don't think house isafire yet, but it must catch the thack before long. "

The faint sound of a dog barking at a distance now reached their ears, but it was evidently not from the direction of the farm, and thesquire's thoughts were put into words by Dick, who, as he looked on nowbetween his father and the wheelwright, exclaimed in a hoarse voice:

"Why, father, don't they know that the place is on fire?"

"Nay, that they don't, " cried the wheelwright excitedly. "They're allasleep. "

"Let's run faster, " cried Dick. 

"No. We have a long way to go yet, " cried the squire, "and if we runfaster we shall be too much exhausted to help. "

"But, father--oh, it is so dreadful!" cried Dick, as in imagination hepictured horror after horror. 

"Can you run, Dick--faster?"

"Yes, father, yes. "

"I can't, " panted Hickathrift; "I've growed too heavy. "

"Run on, then, and shout and batter the door. We'll get up as quicklyas we can. "

"Ay, roon, Master Dick, roon!" cried the wheelwright. "Fire's ketchedthe thack. "

Dick doubled his fists, drew a long breath, and made a rush, which tookhim fifty yards in advance. Then he trotted on at the same pace as theothers; rushed again; and so on at intervals, getting well ahead of therest. But never, in the many times he had been to and fro, had he sothoroughly realised how rough and awkward was the track, and how long ittook to get to Grimsey farm. 

As he ran on, it was with the fire glowing more brightly in his face, and the various objects growing more distinct, while there was somethingawful in the terrible silence that seemed to prevail, in the midst ofwhich a great body of fire steadily rose, in company with a cloud ofsmoke, which was spangled with tiny flakes that seemed to be of gold. Tree, shed, barn, and chimney-stack, too, seemed to have been turned tothe brilliant metal; but to the lad's great relief he saw that thewheelwright was wrong, the "thack" had not caught, and so far the housewas safe, though the burning stacks were so near that at any moment theroof of the reed-thatched house might begin to blaze. 

At last there was a sound--one that might have been going on before, butkept by the distance from reaching Dick's ear--a cock crowed loudly, andthere was a loud cackling from the barn where the fowls roosted. 

Then came the lowing of a cow; but all was perfectly still at the house, and it seemed astounding that no one should have been alarmed. 

Only another hundred yards or so and the farm would be reached. Dickhad settled down to a much slower speed. There was a sensation as ifthe fire that shone in his face had made his breath scorching, so thatit burned his chest, while his feet were being weighted with lead. 

"Tom!" he tried to shout as he drew near; but his voice was a hoarsewhisper, and it seemed to be drowned by the steady beat of the feetbehind upon the road. 

"Tom!" he cried again, but with no better result, as he staggered on bythe wide drain which ran right up to the farm buildings from the bigpool in the fen where the reeds were cut. 

And now that full drain and the pool gleamed golden, as if they too wereturned to fire, as Dick pushed by, realising that the hay-stack, thegreat seed-stack, and the little stack of oats were blazing together, not furiously, but with the flame rising up in a steady silent mannerwhich was awful. 

There was a rough piece of stone in the way, against which Dick caughthis foot and nearly fell; but he saved himself, stooped, and picked upthe stone; and as he panted up to the long low red-brick farm, he hurledit through a window on his left, and then fell up against, more thanstopped at, the door, against which he beat and kicked with all hismight. 

The crashing in of the leaded pane casement had, however, acted like thekey which had unlocked the silent farmstead. 

Tom Tallington rushed to the window. 

"Who's--"

He would probably have said "that, " but he turned his sentence into thecry of "Fire! fire!"

The alarm spread in an instant. Farmer Tallington's window was thrownopen; and as he realised all, he dashed back, and then the rest of theparty came panting up, and Hickathrift cried, "Stand clear, MesterDick!"

He threw himself against the door, to burst it open, just as the farmercame down, half carrying his wife wrapped in a blanket, and Tom ran out, to dart down to the end of the long low building where a second tenementformed the sleeping-place of the two men and a big lad who worked uponthe farm. 

They were already aroused, and came out hurrying on their clothes, whilethe squire and Hickathrift got out the women, who, with Mrs Tallington, were hurried into a cart-shed. 

"Why, neighbour, you'd have been burned in your bed!" cried the squire. "Now, lads, all of you form line. "

"She's caught now!" shouted Hickathrift, who had been round to the back. 

"Then we must put it out, " said the squire, as he busily ranged his men, and those of Farmer Tallington, so that they reached from the nearestpoint of the big drain to the corner of the farm, and in a double line, so that full buckets of water could be passed along one and returnedempty along the other. 

"Hickathrift, you go and dip. "

"Ay, ay, squire!" roared the great fellow, and he rushed down to thewater's edge like a bull, while the squire went to the other end. 

"Neighbour, " cried Farmer Tallington excitedly, "you'll go on, wean'tyou? I must get in and bring out a few writings and things I'd like tosave. "

"Here, Tom, let's you and me get out the clothes and things. "

"Yes, and the small bits of furniture, boys, " cried the squire. "Now, my lads, ready!"

There was a general shout from the men, who fell into their places withthe promptitude that always follows when they have a good leader. 

"Get all you can out in case, " shouted the squire; "but we're going tosave the house. "

"Hurrah!" shouted the men as they heard this bold assertion, which thesquire supplemented by saying between his teeth, "Please God!"

"Bring up that ladder, " cried the squire--"two of them. "

These were planted against the end of the house, and none too soon, forthe corner nearest the burning stacks was beginning to blaze furiously, and the fire steadily running up, while a peculiar popping and cracklingbegan to be heard as the flames attacked the abundant ivy which mountedquite to the chimney-stack. 

"Ho! ho! ho! ho!" came now from the front of the cart-shed in a regularbellowing cry. 

"What is it, wench--what is it?" cried Farmer Tallington, as he hurriedout of the burning house, laden with valuables, which he handed to hisquiet business-like wife. 

"My best Sunday frock! Oh, my best Sunday frock!" sobbed the red-facedservant lass. 

"Yes, and oh my stacks! and oh my farm!" cried her master, as he ranback into the house after a glance at the squire, who, in the midst of aloud cheering, stood right up with one foot on the ladder, one on thethatched roof, and sent the first bucket of water, with a good spreadingmovement, as far as he could throw it, and handed back the bucket. 

The flames hissed and danced, and there was a rush of steam all alongthe ridge, but the water seemed to be licked up directly. 

Another was dashed on and the bucket passed back, and another, andanother; but the effect produced was so little that, after distributingabout a dozen which the wheelwright sent along the line, making the menwork eagerly, as he plunged the buckets into the drain and brought themdripping out, the squire shouted, "Hold hard!" and descended to changethe position of the long ladder he was on by dragging out the foot tillit was at such an angle that the implement now lay flat upon the thatch, so that anyone could walk right up to the chimney-stack. 

"Now, then!" cried the squire, mounting once more. "We want anotherflood just now, my lads, but as there isn't one we must make it. "

"It arn't safe, " muttered one of the men. "See theer, lad!"

The others needed no telling, as the speaker, who had followed thesquire on to the roof so as to be within reach, now felt the flamesscorch him, though what he had alluded to was the top of the ladderwhich was beginning to burn where it lay on the burning thatch, andcrackling and blazing out furiously. 

_Whizz-hizz_ rose from the water as the first bucket was thrown withsuch effect that the ladder ceased to burn, and, undismayed by the smokeand flame that floated towards him, the latter in separated patches witha strange fluttering noise, the squire scattered the water from hisadvantageous position, and with good effect, though that part of thehouse was now burning fast, the fire having eaten its way through thethatch into the room below. 

Meanwhile, as the burning stacks made the whole place light as day, Dickand Tom rushed in and out of the house, bringing everything of valueupon which they could lay their hands, to pass their salvage to MrsTallington and the women, who stored them in a heap where they seemedsafe from the flames. 

"Look at that, Tom!" cried Dick, as he paused for a few moments to getbreath, and watch his father where he stood high up on the burning roof, like some hero battling with a fiery dragon. 

"Yes, I see, " said Tom in an ill-used tone. 

"Isn't it grand?" cried Dick. "I wish I was up there. Don't it makeone proud of one's father?"

"I don't see any more to be proud of in your father than in mine, " saidTom stoutly. "Your father wouldn't dare to go into that burning houselike mine does. See there!"

This was as Farmer Tallington rushed into the house again. 

Dick turned sharply upon his companion. 

"There isn't time to have it out now, Tom, " he said in a whisper; "but Imean to punch your head for this, you ungrateful beggar. Afraid to gointo the house! Why, I'm not afraid to do that. Come on!"

He ran into the house and Tom followed, for them both to come out againbearing the old eight-day clock. 

"Its easy, that's what it is, " said Dick. "Hooray, father!" he shouted, "you'll win!"

It did not seem as if the squire would win, for though he was graduallybeing successful in extinguishing the burning thatch, the great waves offire which came floating from the blazing stacks licked up the moistureand compelled him from time to time to retreat. 

Fortunately, however, the supply of water was ample, and, thanks to theway in which Hickathrift dipped the buckets and encouraged the men as hepassed them along, the thatch became so saturated that by the time quitea stack had been made of the indoor valuables there seemed to be achance to leave the steaming roof and attack the burning stacks. 

This was done, the ladder being left ready in case of the thatchcatching fire again; and soon the squire was standing as close as hecould get to the nearest stack, and sending in the contents of thebuckets. 

There was no hope of saving this, but every bucket of water promised tokeep down the great flashes of fire which floated off and licked at thefarm-house roof as they passed slowly on. 

It was a glorious sight. Everything glowed in the golden light, and afiery snowstorm seemed to be sweeping over the farm buildings, as theexcited people worked, each dash of water producing a cloud of steamover which roared up, as it were, a discharge of fireworks. 

For some time no impression whatever appeared to be made, but no onethought of leaving his position; the squire and those nearest to himwere black and covered with perspiration, their faces shining in thebrilliant light, and the leader was still emptying the buckets of water, when Farmer Tallington ran up to him. 

"Let me give you a rest now, " he cried. 

"Nay, neighbour, I'll go on. "

The friendly altercation seemed to be about to result in a struggle forthe bucket, when Dick, who had been in one of the back rooms, camerunning out of the house shouting:--

"The stable--the stable is on fire!"

This caused a rush in the direction of the long low-thatched building onthe other side of the house, one of a range about a yard. 

There was no false alarm, for the thatch was blazing so furiously, thatat a glance the lookers-on saw that the stable and the cart lodgeadjoining were doomed. 

"Did any one get out the horses?" roared Farmer Tallington. 

There was no answer, and the farmer rushed on up to the burning buildingthrough tiny patches of fire where the dry mouldering straw was setalight by the falling flakes. 

The squire followed him, and, seeing them enter the dark doorway, Dickand Tom followed. 

It was a long low building with room for a dozen horses; but only twowere there, standing right at the end, where they were haltered to therough mangers, and snorted and whinnied with fear. 

Each man ran to the head of a horse, and cut the halters, lit by theglow that came through a great hole burned in the thatched roof, fromwhich flakes of fire kept falling, while the smoke curled round and upthe walls and beneath the roof in a silent threatening way. 

It was easy enough to unloose the trembling beasts; but that was allthat could be done, for the horses shivered and snorted, and refused tostir. 

Both shouted and dragged at the halters; but the poor beasts seemed tobe paralysed with fear; and as the moments glided by, the hole in theroof was being eaten out larger and larger, the great flakes of burningthatch falling faster, and a pile of blazing rafter and straw beginningto cut off retreat from the burning place. 

"It's of no use, " cried Farmer Tallington, after trying coaxing, mainforce, and then blows. "The roof will be down directly. Run, boys, run!"

"You are coming too, father?" cried Tom. 

"Yes, and you, father?" cried Dick. 

"Yes, my lads; out with you!"

"Try once more, father, " said Dick. "The poor old horses!"

"Yes, but run!" cried the squire. "I must run too. Off!"

There was a rush made through the burning mass fallen from the roof;and, scorched and half-blind, they reached the door half-blocked by theanxious men. 

"Safe!" cried the farmer. "Here: where's squire?"

As the words left his mouth there was a fierce snorting and trampling, and those at the door had only just time to draw back, as the two horsesdashed frantically out, and then tore off at full gallop across theyard. 

"Winthorpe!" cried Farmer Tallington. "This way!"

"Father!" cried Dick in an agonised voice, following the farmer into theburning building; but only to be literally carried out by his companion, as they were driven back by a tremendous gush of burning thatch and woodwhich roared out of the great doorway consequent upon a mass of the rooffalling in. 

As soon as he could recover himself, Dick turned to rush in again; buthe was checked by Hickathrift. 

"Stand back, bairn! art mad?" he cried. "Not that way. "

Dick staggered away, and nearly fell from the tremendous thrust given tohim by the big wheelwright, and as he regained his equilibrium, it wasto see Hickathrift with something flashing in his hand, making for theother end of the stable, which was as yet untouched. 

A few blows from the axe he carried made the rough mud wall collapse, and, without a moment's hesitation Hickathrift forced his way throughthe hole he had broken, and from which a great volume of smoke began tocurl. 

Dick would have followed; but Tom clung to his arm, and before he couldget free, during what seemed to be a terribly long period of suspense, the wheelwright appeared again, and staggered out, bearing theinsensible body of the squire. 

For a few minutes there was a terrible silence, and Hickathrift totteredfrom the man he had left where he had dragged him on the ground. 

For the wheelwright was blinded and half strangled by the smoke, andreeled like a drunken man. 

He recovered though, directly, and seized a bucket of water from one ofthe men. With this he liberally dashed the squire's face, as Dick kneltbeside him in speechless agony, and grasped his hand. 

For a few minutes there was no sign. Then the prostrate man uttered alow sigh, and opened his eyes. 

"Dick!" he said, as he struggled up. 

"Yes, father. Are you much hurt?"

"No, only--nearly--suffocated, my boy; but--but--Oh, I remember! Thehorses?"

"They're safe, neighbour, " cried Farmer Tallington, taking his hand. 

"Mind the knife!" cried the squire. "I remember now. I was obliged tobe very brutal to them to make them stir. "

He looked down at the small blade of the pocket-knife he held, closed itwith a snap, and then stared about him at the people in a vacantconfused way. 

Several of the men, led by Hickathrift, began to carry pails of water tothe burning stable, and this building being so low, they were not longin extinguishing the flames. 

Hardly had they succeeded in this before the shrieks of the womengathered together in a low shed drew their attention to the fact thatthe roof of the house was once more blazing, and this seemed to rousethe squire again to action, for, in spite of Hickathrift wanting to takehis place, he insisted upon re-climbing the ladder when the buckets ofwater were once more passed along till all further danger had ceased, and the farm-house escaped with one room seriously damaged and one sideof the thatched roof burned away. 

The men still plied the buckets on the burning stacks, but only with theidea of keeping the flames within bounds, for there was nothing else tobe done. One rick was completely destroyed; the others were fierycores, which glowed in the darkness, and at every puff of wind sent up acloud of glittering, golden sparks, whose course had to be watched lesta fresh fire should be started. 

And now the excitement and confusion died out as the fire sank lower. The women returned to the house, and the men, under the farmer'sdirection, carried back the household treasures, while Mrs Tallington, with the common sense of an old-fashioned farmer's wife, spread a goodbreakfast in the kitchen for the refreshment of all. 

It was a desolate scene at daybreak upon which all gazed. Thehalf-burned roof of the farm-house, the three smoking heaps where thethree stacks had stood, and the stable roofless and blackened, while theplace all about the house was muddy with the water and trampling. 

"Yes, " said Farmer Tallington ruefully, "it'll tak' some time to set allthis straight; but I've got my house safe, so mustn't complain. "

"Yes; might have been worse, " said the squire quietly. 

"Ay, neighbour, I began to think at one time, " said Farmer Tallington, "that it was going to be very much worse, and that I was going to haveto bear sad news across to the Toft; but we're spared that, squire, andI'm truly thankful. Feel better?"

"Better! oh yes, I am not hurt!"

Just then Dick asked a question:

"I say, Mr Tallington, wasn't it strange that you didn't know of thefire till I came?"

"I suppose we were all too soundly asleep, my lad. Lucky you saw it, orwe might have been burned to death. "

"But how did the place catch fire?"

"Ah!" said Farmer Tallington, "that's just what I should like to know. --Were you out there last night, Tom?" he added after a pause. 

"No, father, I wasn't near the stacks yesterday. "

"Had you been round there at all?" said the squire. 

"No, not for a day or two, neighbour. It's a puzzler. "

"It is very strange!" said the squire thoughtfully; and he and FarmerTallington looked hard at each other. "You have had no quarrel withyour men?"

"Quarrel! No. Got as good labourers as a man could wish for. So haveyou. "

"Yes, I have, " said the squire; "but those stacks could not catch fireby accident. Has anybody threatened you?"

"No, " replied the farmer thoughtfully. "No! Say, neighbour--no, theywouldn't do that. "

The wheelwright had come up, and stood listening to what was said. 

"What do you mean?" said the squire. 

"Oh! nothing. 'Tisn't fair to think such things. "

"Never mind! Speak out, man, speak out!"

"Well, I was wondering whether some one had done this, just as a hintthat we were giving offence by joining in the drain business. "

"No, no!" cried the squire indignantly. "People may grumble and bedissatisfied; but, thank Heaven, we haven't any one in these parts badenough to do such a thing as that, eh, Hickathrift?"

"I dunno 'bout bad enew, " said the big wheelwright; "but strikes meFarmer Tallington's right. That stack couldn't set itself afire, andget bont up wi'out some one striking a light!"

"No, no!" said the squire. "I will not think such a thing of anyneighbour for twenty miles round. Now, Mr Tallington, come over to myplace and have a comfortable meal; Mrs Tallington will come too. "

"Nay, we'll stop and try to put things right. "

"Shall I lend you a couple of men?"

"Nay, we'll wuck it oot oursens, and thank you all hearty for whatyou've done. If your farm gets alight, neighbour, we'll come over asyou have to us. "

"May the demand never arise!" said the squire to himself, as he and hisparty trudged away, all looking as blackened and disreputable a set asever walked homeward on an early winter's morn. 

Dick had made a good meal, and removed the black from his face afterdeciding that it would not be worth while to go to bed, when, as he wentdown the yard and caught sight of Solomon, he stopped to stare at thecunning animal, who seemed to be working about his ears like semaphores. 

"I've a good mind to make him take me for a long ride!" said Dick tohimself. "No, I haven't. Somehow a lad doesn't care for riding adonkey when he gets as old as I am. "

He walked away, feeling stiff, chilly, and uncomfortable from theeffects of his previous night's work, while his eyes smarted and ached. 

"I'll go over and see how old Tom's getting on, " he said as he lookedacross the cheerless fen in the direction of Grimsey, where a faint lineof smoke rose up toward the sky. "Wonder who did it!"

_Plash_! _plash_! _plash_! _plash_!

He turned sharply, to see, about a hundred yards away, the figure ofgaunt, grim-looking Dave standing up in his punt, and poling himselfalong by the dry rustling reeds, a grey-drab looking object in agrey-drab landscape. 

Then, like a flash, came to the lad's memory the engagement made to goliggering that day, and he wondered why it was that he did not feel moreeager to have a day's fishing for the pike. 

_Pee-wit_! _pee-wit_! came from off the water in a low plaintivewhistle, which Dick answered, and in a minute or two the decoy-man poledhis boat ashore, smiling in his tight, dry way. 

"Now, then, young mester, " he said, "I've got a straange nice lot o'bait and plenty o' hooks and band, and it's about as good a day forfishing as yow could have. Wheer's young Tom o' Grimsey?"

"At home, of course!" said Dick in a snappish way, which he wondered athimself. 

"At home, o' course?" said Dave quietly as he stood up in the boatresting upon the pole. "Why, he were to be here, ready. "

"How could he be ready after last night?" said Dick sharply. 

Dave took off his fox-skin cap after letting his pole fall into thehollow of his arm, and scratched his head before uttering a lowcachinnatory laugh that was not pleasant to the ear. 

"Yow seem straange and popped [put out of temper] this morning, youngmester. Young Tom o' Grimsey and you been hewing a bit of a fight?"

"Fight! no, Dave; the fire!"

"Eh?" said the man, staring. 

"The fire! Don't you know that Grimsey was nearly all burned down lastnight?"

Dave loosened his hold of his pole, which fell into the water with asplash. 

"Grimsey! bont down!" he exclaimed, and his lower jaw dropped and showedhis yellow teeth, but only to recover himself directly and pick up thepole. "Yah!" he snarled; "what's the good o' saying such a word asthat? He's a hidin' behind them reeds. Now, then, lad, days is short!Coom out! I can see you!"

He looked in the direction of a patch of reeds and alders as he spoke, and helped himself to a pill of opium from his box. 

"Tom Tallington isn't there, Dave!" cried Dick. "I tell you there was abad fire at Grimsey last night!"

"Nay, lad, you don't mean it!" cried Dave, impressed now by the boy'searnestness. 

"There was! Look! you can see the smoke rising now. "

Dave looked as the lad pointed, and then said softly:

"Hey! bud theer is the roke [smoke or vapour] sewer enough!"

"Didn't you see it last night?"

"Nay, lad; I fished till I couldn't see, for the baits, and then wenthome and fitted the hooks on to the bands and see to the blethers, andthen I happed mysen oop and went to sleep. "

"And heard and saw nothing of the fire?"

"Nay, I see nowt, lad. Two mile to my plaace from here and two milefrom here to Grimsey, mak's four mile. Nay, I heered nowt!"

"Of course you wouldn't, Dave! The light shone in at my window and wokeme up, and we were all there working with buckets to put it out!"

"Wucking wi' boockets!" said Dave slowly as he stared in the directionof Tallington's farm. "Hey, but I wish I'd been theer!"

"I wish you had, Dave!"

"Did she blaaze much, mun?"

"Blaze! why, everything was lit up, and the smoke and sparks flew inclouds!"

"Did it, though?" said Dave thoughtfully. "Now, look here, lad, " hecontinued, taking out his tobacco-box; "some on 'em says a man shouldn'ttak' his bit o' opium, and that he should smoke 'bacco. I say it'swrong. If I smoked 'bacco some night I should set my plaace afire, 'stead o' just rolling up a bit o' stoof and clapping it in my mooth. "

"I don't know what you mean, Dave, " cried Dick. 

"Then I'll tell'ee, lad. Some un got smoking his pipe in one of theystables, and set it afire. "

"No, no; some one must have set fire to the stacks. "

"Nay!" cried Dave, staring in the lad's face with his jaw dropped. 

"Yes; that was it, and father thinks it was. "

"Not one o' the men, lad; nay, not one o' the men!" cried Dave. 

"No, but some one who doesn't like the drain made, and that it was doneout of spite. "

Dave whisked up his pole and struck with it at the water, sending itflying in all directions, and then made a stab with it as if to strikesome one in the chest and drive him under water. 

"Nay, nay, nay, " he cried, "no one would do owt o' the soort, lad. Nay, nay, nay. "

"Ah, well, I don't know!" cried Dick. "All I know is that the stackswere burnt. "

"Weer they, lad?"

"Yes, and the stables. "

Dave made a clucking noise with his tongue. 

"And the house had a narrow escape. "

"Hey, bud it's straange; and will Tallington hev to flit [move, changeresidence] then?"

"No; the house is right all but one room. "

"Eh, bud I'm straange and glad o' that, lad. Well, we can't gooliggering to-day, lad. It wouldn't be neighbourly. "

"No, I shouldn't care to go to-day, Dave, and without Tom. What are yougoing to do?"

"Throost the punt along as far as I can, and when I've gotten to the endo' the watter tie her oop to the pole, and walk over to see the plaace. "

"I'll come with you, Dave. "

"Hey, do, lad, and you can tell me all about it as we go. Jump in. "

Dick wanted no second invitation, and the decoy-man sent the punt alongrapidly, and by following one of the lanes of water pursued a deviouscourse toward Grimsey, whose blackened ruins now began to come intosight. 

Dick talked away about the events of the night, but Dave became more andmore silent as they landed and approached the farm where people weremoving about busily. 

"Nay, " he said at last, "it weer some one smoking. Nobody would hev setfire to the plaace. Why, they might hev been all bont in their beds. "

Tom Tallington saw them coming and ran out. 

"Why, Dave, " he cried, "I'd forgotten all about the fishing, but wecan't go now. "

"Nay, we couldn't go now, " said the man severely. "'Twouldn't beneighbourly. "

Tom played the part of showman, and took them round the place, whichlooked very muddy and desolate by day. 

"I say, Dick, do you know how your father made the horses come out?" hesaid, as they approached the barn, which had been turned into a stable. 

"Hit 'em, I suppose, the stupid, cowardly brutes!"

"No; hitting them wouldn't have made them move. He pricked them withthe point of his knife. "

"Did he, though?" said Dave, who manifested all the interest of one whohad not been present. 

At last he took his departure. 

"Soon as you like, lads, " he said; "soon as it's a fine day. I'll savethe baits, and get some frogs too. Big pike like frogs. Theer'sanother girt one lies off a reed patch I know on. I shall be ashoreevery day till you're ready. "

He nodded to them, and pushed off. 

"You won't go without us, Dave?" said Dick, as the boat glided away. 

"Nay, not I, " was the reply; and the boys watched him till he poled inamong the thin dry winter reeds, through which he seemed to pass in ashadowy way, and then disappear. 

CHAPTER TEN. 

A TRIMMERING EXPEDITION. 

A stormy time ensued, lasting about a fortnight, during which thedraining business was hindered; but, upon the whole, the progress madewas steady, for a number of men were now employed, and the fen people, who visited the outfall now and then, began to realise what kind of dykeit was that would run across the great swamp. 

At last one evening, as the lads had wandered down to Hickathrift's, andwere talking to the great bluff wheelwright as he worked away with hisaxe at roughly shaping the shaft of a sledge, Dave came silently up, followed by the little decoy-dog; and the first knowledge of hispresence was given by an attack made upon Hickathrift's big lurcher, which, after showing its teeth angrily, settled down, and seemed to lookscornfully at the little animal, before closing its eyes as if to go tosleep. 

"Hallo, Dave!" cried the lads together; "want us?"

"Nay, I don't want you, my lads. "

"Well, then, we want you, " cried Tom. 

"Eh?"

"To take us out after the pike, as you promised. "

"Nay, it would be too cold, and you wouldn't like it. "

"How do you know, Dave?" cried Dick. "Come, when shall we start?"

"Well, " said Dave, looking about him as if in search of a good piece ofwood which might prove useful, "I dunno. You lads do as you likes; butif I wanted to go, I sud say as the weather was nicely sattled, andstart to-morrow morning. "

The hour was settled, as well as the weather, and after obtaining therequisite permission the lads were punctual to their time, and foundDave waiting in his punt, upon whose thwart he was seated gravely tyinga hook on to a stout piece of twisted horse-hair. 

"Got everything ready, Dave?" cried Dick. 

"Ay, lad; all ready. "

"So are we. Look, Dave, " cried Dick, swinging up the big basket hecarried, "pork-pie, bread and cheese, and a lump of bacon, and--"

Dave's face twitched as he listened, but he did not speak, only waited;till, after waiting awhile to whet the man's anxiety, Dick added:

"And a big bottle of beer. "

"Oh, I don't want no beer!" grumbled Dave. "Watter's good enough forme. "

"Let's leave it behind, Tom, " said Dick archly. "It will only be heavyin the boat. "

"Nay, put it in, " said the man with a dry look. "Mebbe the fish wouldlike a drop. Mak' 'em bite. "

The boys laughed, and stepped into the punt, which was soon gliding overthe dark waters that lay in pools and winding lane-like canals, Dave, inhis fox-skin cap, standing up in front and handling the pole, the boyscarefully examining the contents of the boat. 

"What's in that bucket, Dave?"

"Never mind; you let it alone, " said Dave gruffly; and Dick dropped thenet he was raising from the pail. 

"Well, let's look at the basket, Dave. "

"Nay; I wean't hev my hooks and lines tangled up just after I've laid'em ready. Yow two wait and see when we get acrost to wheer the pikelays. "

"Oh, very well!" said Dick in a disappointed tone. "I would have shownyou what we've got in our basket. "

"I know what you've got yow telled me, " retorted Dave. "I don't want tolook at vittles; I want to taste 'em. "

There was a pause, while Dave worked steadily away with his pole. 

"I shall be glad when the summer comes again, " said Tom. 

"So shall I, " cried Dick. 

"Theer, I towd you so, " cried Dave. "I knowed you'd find it ower cowd. Let's go back. "

"Go on with you!" cried Dick; "who said it was cold? I want the summer, because of the sunshine, and the reeds and rushes turning green again, and the birds. "

"There's plenty o' birds, " said Dave. 

"Yes, but I mean singing birds, and nesting, and flowers, and thewarmth. "

"Theer, I towd you so. You are cowd, " cried Dave. 

"When I'm cold I'm going to use the pole, " said Dick. "I say isn't itdeep here, Dave?"

"Ay, theer's some deep holes hereabouts, " said the man, trying in vainto reach the bottom with his long pole. "They wean't dree-ern they in ahurry, Mester Dick. "

"Good job too, Dave! We don't want our fishing spoiled. Now, then, howmuch further are you going?"

"Strite across to wheer we saw that big pike rise, my lad. "

"Shall we catch him, Dave?"

"Mebbe yes; mebbe no, my lad. If he wants his dinner, and we sets itdown by his door stoop, he'll tek it. If he's hed his dinner he wean'ttouch it. "

"Then let's make haste and get there before dinnertime, " cried Tom. "Pole away, Dave. "

"Nay, we've got to go quiet-like, my lad. We don't want to scare thefish, and send 'em to the bottom to lie sulky. Nice wisp o' duck yon. "

He nodded to a long string of wild-fowl flying low over themelancholy-looking water, and they were watched till they disappeared. 

"Caught any more in the 'coy, Dave?" asked Dick. 

"Few, lad, few. Not enew to tek' to market. Me and John Warren sent'em wi' the rabbits. "

"Ah! he promised us a day with the ferrets. Let's stir him up, Tom. Now, Dave, do let's begin. "

The man shook his head and smiled as if he were enjoying the tantalisingprocess he put the boys through, and kept on poling till they were quitea couple of miles from the Toft, when he suddenly laid down his longpole, and seated himself in the boat by the big basket. 

"Now, " he said, "if you want to see you shall see;" and he began to takeout carefully so many short fishing-lines, the hook in each case beingcarefully stuck in between the osiers so as not to catch. To every oneof these lines was attached a bladder, save and except four, which werebound to as many black and compressed pieces of cork, which looked as ifthey had been washed ashore after doing duty as buoys to somefishermen's nets. 

"Theer we are: ten of 'em, " said Dave smiling as if he were anticipatingthe pleasure he would feel in getting some monster tyrant pike upon thehook. "You, young Tom Tallington, pass me that theer boocket. "

Tom lifted the bucket, which stood at the side, covered over with someold pieces of netting, and placed it between Dave's knees in the spotfrom which he removed the basket. 

"Now you can both hev a look, " he said with a sly glance from one to theother. "Hey, little boys, then; hey, little boys: back yow go!"

This was to a couple of frogs, which had been in the water the bucketcontained, but had climbed up the side, to try and get through themeshes of the net, but only to force their heads through and hold onwith their claws. 

Dave poked one of the frogs with his finger, but the little reptileswelled itself out, and took hold more tightly of the net. 

"Here, let go, will you!" cried Dick, taking the frog between hisfingers gently enough; but the little creature clung more tightly, andbegan to squeal loudly, till it was dislodged and dropped into the pail, the other being shaken free, and falling with a splash beside hisfellow, when there was a tremendous commotion in the pail; for, beside acouple more frogs, there were about a dozen small fishes scurrying aboutin the water. 

"Theer, " cried Dave, looking up; "what do you say to them for bait, eh?"

"Why, they're gudgeons, Dave!" cried Dick. 

"Ay, lad, gudgeons. "

"Where did you get them?" asked Tom. "There are no gudgeons in the fenwaters. "

"Not as I iver see, " said Dave with his quiet laugh. "I went rightacross to Ealand, and then walked four mile with my net and that boocketto Brader's Mill on little Norley stream and ketched 'em theer, andcarried 'em all the way back to the boat--four mile. For, I says, Ishould like they boys to ketch a big pike or two, and gudgeons is bestbaits I know. "

"Better than roach and rudd, Dave?"

"Ay, or perch, or tench, or anything. Carp's a good bait; but you can'talways ketch carps. "

"You are a good chap, Dave!" cried Tom. 

"Ay, that I am, lads. I say, though, talk 'bout ketching; hev thesquire and Farmer Tallington ketched the chap as sat fire to Grimseystables?"

"Nobody set fire to Grimsey stables, " said Tom. "It was to the stacks. "

"Nay, lad, I knows better than that, " cried Dave, shaking his head. "Why, didn't I see with my own eyes as roof weer all bont off the top o'stable, and doors gone. "

"Yes; but the stable caught fire from the stacks, " said Dick. 

"Yah! how could it? Why, it's reight the other side o' the house. "

"Well, couldn't the sparks and flames of fire float over and set lightto the thatch?" cried Dick. 

"Set fire to the thack!" said Dave. "Ah, well, I warn't theer! But hevthey ketched him?"

"No, and not likely to. There, never mind Tallington's stacks; let'stry for the pike. "

"Ay, lads, we will, " said Dave, and, plunging his hand into the bucket, he took out a transparent gudgeon, whose soft backbone was faintlyvisible against the light; then carefully passing the hook through itstough upper lip, he dropped it over the side of the boat into the waterdirectly. 

"Theer, lads, " he said; "now over with that blether. "

Dick seized the line, and as the gudgeon swam off he dropped the bladderover the side, and it was slowly towed away. 

"I wish fishing wasn't so precious cruel, " said Tom, as he watched thebladder dance upon the surface, while the punt was slowly thrust awayfrom the neighbourhood of the reed-bed, where the big pike was supposedto lie. 

"'Tisn't cruel, " said Dick. 

"'Tis. How should you like to be that gudgeon with a hook in yourmouth, or the pike when he's caught?"

"Sarve him right for killing all the little fishes, " growled Dave, punting gently along. 

"Why did you come fishing?" said Dick sharply. 

"'Cause I like it, " said Tom frankly; "but it's cruel all the same. Oh, look! Look!"

They were about fifty yards from where the line with its buoy had beenput over the side, and as Tom had casually looked back he had seen thebladder give a bob, and then begin to skim along the surface. 

"Well, I can see, " said Dick, "it's the gudgeon swimming fast. "

"Nay, " said Dave, ceasing to pull; "something's got it. I shouldn'twonder if it's the big pike. "

The lads breathlessly watched the bladder go skimming along. Every nowand then it gave a bob or two, and then on it went farther and fartherfrom them toward a patch of reeds all broken down and shattered by thewind and lying by itself quite a hundred yards from where the bait hadbeen dropped in. 

"Is it the big pike, Dave?" said Dick eagerly. 

"Dunno, " was the laconic reply. "Mebbe 'tis, mebbe 'tisn't. "

"You'll give it time, Dave, " cried Tom excitedly, forgetting all hisprevious qualms. 

"Ay, we'll give him time, " said Dave with his face tightened so that theruddy portion of his lips had disappeared, and his mouth was representedby what seemed to be a scar extending right across the lower portion ofhis countenance. "Who's going to hook him out?"

"I will, " cried Dick quickly. "No, you shall have first go, Tom. "

"May I?" cried the lad, flushing. 

"Yes; go on. Where's the big hook, Dave?"

"Why, s'pose I forgot it, " said Dave slowly. 

"You haven't, " said Dick. "There's the stick, " and he picked up a shortstaff. 

"Ay, lad, bud there be no hook. "

"Now, none of your old games, Dave, " cried Dick; "just as if we didn'tknow! Come, out with it! You've got it in your pocket. "

Dave chuckled, and produced a hook made by bending round a piece of thiniron rod and sharpening the point. 

This hook he inserted in the staff and handed to Dick, who immediatelypassed it to Tom, the latter standing up ready to hook the line when thetime should come. 

But that was not yet, for the floating bladder was more than a hundredyards away, and still skimming along. 

"Be a long time making up his mind to swallow it, " said Dave, slowly andsoftly reducing the distance between them and the buoy, and then pausingwhile they were still fifty yards away. 

"He has stopped now, " said Dick in a hoarse whisper as the bladdergleamed quite white a few yards away from the reeds, and gently rose andfell in the ripple caused by the wind. 

"Why, he's gone!" said Tom in a disappointed tone. 

_Bob_ went the bladder as if to contradict him, giving one sharpmovement, and then remaining still once more. 

"Nay, he hasn't gone, " said Dave. "Give him a bit more time. We'll setanother while we're waiting. "

As he spoke he laid the pole across the head of the punt, and quicklybaiting another of his hooks, dropped it over the boat side away fromthe direction in which they had to go; and after checking it once ortwice till the bait took the right course, he let it go. 

Meanwhile, the lads were impatiently watching the bladder, which nowremained perfectly still; and in imagination they saw a monstrous pikeswallowing the unfortunate gudgeon which bore the hook. 

"Theer!" said Dave, rising and taking up his pole. "He've hed plentytime now. Get the basket ready, young squire Dick. Think it'll holdhim?"

"If it won't we'll curl him round, Dave, " said the lad, laughing. "NowTom, don't miss. "

The boat approached slowly, and Tom was awkwardly placed; but Dave wasprepared for this, and after giving the little vessel a sharp impulse hethrust down the pole to the bottom, and checked the head, so that thestern swung round and gave Tom a fair chance, which he stood ready toseize as the boat drew nearer. 

They were soon only about ten yards away, and the bladder remained somotionless that the lads' hearts sank with disappointment, for it seemedas if the bait had been left. 

"Look out, lad!" said Dave, however, for his quick eyes had detectedwhat was about to happen, and he gave the boat a tremendous thrust justas the bladder glided rapidly away. 

Tom bent down and made a dart with his hook, and so earnestly that hewould have gone overboard had not Dick caught him in the nick of time. 

"Missed him, " he cried. 

"Here, this awayer, " cried Dave. "You was a chap!" and he held up hispole with the line over it. For when Tom missed, his opportunity came, the boat gliding so near that he dropped the pole down over the line, and a tremendous disturbance of the water began. 

Tom rushed forward, leaned over the side, and deftly hooked the linewhich ran through to the bladder as Dave drew away his pole. 

"It's a monster! Oh Dick!" cried Tom, as he drew the bladder in. "Now, then, catch hold of the line as I draw it in. "

"Yah! Why yow make as much on it as if it weer one o' they longstudggins, or a big porpus pig, " growled Dave, laughing, as Dick securedthe line. "Haul him in. "

"I say! 'Tisn't a very big one, Tom; but he's strong, " said Dick, pulling the captive to the side, for his companion to gaff and lift intothe boat. "Why, it's a perch!"

A perch it was--a fine one with ruddy fins and boldly-barred sides, and, though fine for his kind, less than three pounds in weight. 

"I thowt that was what he was, " said Dave, laughing, "when I sin himskim that theer blether along. Pop him in the basket, lads, and let'sget all the rest of the liggers out, or we shall make a poor time ofit. "

He plied the pole vigorously and soon stopped to let the boat glidetowards an opening in the reeds, where a long water-way ran in. Hereanother buoyed bait was left, and then they went on to lay another andanother, the old decoy-man, with the knowledge bought by very longexperience, selecting choice spots till the whole set were disposed ofin the course of an hour, over a space far exceeding a mile. 

"We shall never recollect where they were all set, Dave, " said Dick atlast, as he stood up looking back along the side of one of the big poolsto which they had made their way through what resembled a little riverrunning among the reeds and joining two great pools together. 

"You wouldn't, " grumbled the man; "but p'raps I may. Now let's goreight back, and see if theer's any on, or--don't you think, lads, it's'bout time to try and ketch me?"

Dick stared. 

"He means he wants you to try if he'd take a corner of the pie, Dick, ifyou offered it to him as a bait, " cried Tom laughing, while Dave'syellow visage developed into something like a grin. 

"Ay, that's it, lad--I feel as if I could coot a loaf in two, and eathalf wi'out winking. Nay, wait and I'll throost the boat up to yontrees. Hey, look at that!"

He shaded his eyes, and gazed at a large flock of birds flying asclosely together, apparently, as starlings, and hundreds upon hundredsin number. They were flying swiftly at a good height, when all at once, as if by a signal, they changed their direction, and, with the accuracyof drilling, darted down in a great bird stream straight for the earth, disappearing behind a low patch of willows. 

"Golden plovers!" cried Dick, excitedly. "Oh, Dave, if you were therewith a gun!"

"Ay, lad, and I'm here wi' a pole, " said Dave. "Niver mind, I may get afew perhaps wi' my net. Now, then, never mind the pie-wipes; let's wipethat theer pie. "

He rapidly thrust the boat along till it was close to the side of themere, where he anchored it with his pole and then leaned over and washedhis hands, which he dried upon a piece of rag. 

"Are your hands fishy, Tom?" said Dick. 

"No--I washed them. "

"Well, then, cut some bread. "

The next minute the pie was falling to pieces, the bread undergoing achange, and the ale sinking rapidly in the stone bottle. After whichthe basket was found to contain a certain number of apples, which wereconverted into support for the active human beings in the boat, with theresult that the basket was tapped upside down on the edge to get rid ofa few crumbs before the empty pie-dish and stone bottle were replaced, and the whole tucked away so as to leave all clear. 

"Now, lads, I think we ought to do some wuck, " cried Dave, seizing thepole. "I thought so, " he added; "I knowed there'd be something here. "

"Eh!" cried Tom. 

"Don't you see?" said Dick. "There, that bladder's fifty yards fromwhere it was laid down. "

"Hundered, " said Dave, plying his pole. "'Fraid it's another peerch. "

Dave was wrong, for as they approached the bladder it went off with aswift dart, and there was a swirl in the water which indicated that abig fish must be on. 

A good ten minutes' chase ensued before Dick was able to hook the line. 

"I've got him, " he cried: "a monster!"

It certainly was a large pike of probably ten or twelve pounds, but inspite of its struggles it was drawn close in, with Dave smiling tightlythe while, and ending with a broad grin, for as, in the midst of theintense excitement connected with their capture, Tom took the line andDick leaned forward to gaff the pike, there was a struggle, a splash, the fish leaped right out of the water, and was gone. 

"Hey, but why didn't thou whip the hook into him?" cried Dave. 

"I was trying to, " said Dick ruefully; "but just as I touched his sidehe wagged his tail and went off!"

"Niver mind, lad, " cried Dave. "Let's look at the line. Ah, I thowt asmuch! Hook's broke. "

"Any chance of catching him if we threw in again?" said Tom. 

"Nay, he isn't worth trying for. Mebbe he'd bite; mebbe he wouldn't. He's gone the gainest [nearest] way to his hole. Let's try the next. "

The buoy attached to this was not in the place where it had been left, and for a few minutes the lads looked round in a puzzled way, till, witha grim smile, Dave thrust the boat close up to a reed patch, when, justas the punt began to rustle against the long crisp water-grass, asplashing was heard inside somewhere, and after parting the growth withhis pole Dave stood aside for his companions to see that the bladderattached to the line had been drawn in for some little distance, andthen caught in the midst of a dense tangle, beyond which a good-sizedfish was tugging to get away. 

It needed some effort to force the boat to where the fish was churningup the water; but at last this was effected, and this time, by leaningforward and holding Tom's hand as a stay, Dick managed to gaff thecaptive and lift it into the boat. 

"A beauty!" said Tom, as they gazed at the bronze, green-spotted sidesof the ferocious fish, whose fang-armed jaws closed with a snap upon thehandle of the gaff, from which a strong shake was needed to detach it. 

"Yes, but not a quarter as big as the one which got away. "

"Nay, " growled Dave, "there weren't much differ, lads. "

Whatever its size, the pike, a fish of several pounds weight, was placedalongside of the perch, upon which, by hazard or natural ferocity, it atonce fastened its peculiarly hooked back-teeth, making it almostimpossible to loosen its hold when once its jaws were closed; but thediscussion which followed upon this was interrupted by the sight of thenext bladder sailing away into the broadest part of the pool which theynow entered. 

"There's a big one howd o' that bait, my lads, " said Dave, "and he'llgive us a race. Shall we leave him?"

"Leave him! no, " cried the lads together. 

"Ah, you heven't got to pole!" said Dave thoughtfully, as he gazed atthe bladder skimming along a couple of hundred yards away. 

"Then let me do the poling, " cried Dick eagerly, "I'm not tired. "

"Nay, " said Dave quietly, "neither you nor me can't do no poling theer. Watter's nigh upon twenty foot deep, and a soft bottom. Pole's no usetheer. "

"What shall we do then?"

"I weer thinking, lad, " said Dave, following the direction taken by thebladder. "He's a makkin for yon way through the reeds into next pool. "

"Then let's go there and stop him, Dave, " cried Dick. 

"Ay, lad, we will. Round here by the side. Longest way's sometimesgainest way. "

Dick looked blank upon seeing the boat's head turned right away from thefish that was caught. Dave saw it, and handed him the pole. 

"Give her a few throosts, lad, " he said. 

Dick seized the pole and thrust it down into the water lower and lowertill his hands touched the surface. 

He tried again and again, but there was no bottom within reach, and thelad handed back the pole. 

"Why, you knew it was too deep here!" he cried. 

"Ay, I knowed, lad, " said Dave, taking the pole; "but yow wouldn't hevbeen saddisfied wi'out trying yoursen. "

He proceeded to row the punt now for a few yards, till, apparentlyknowing by experience where he could find bottom, he thrust down thepole again, gave a few vigorous pushes, and was soon in shallow water. 

It was a bit of a race for the river-like opening, but Dave sent thepunt along pretty merrily now, while the bladder came slowly along fromthe other direction till it was only about fifty yards away, when therewas a series of bobs and then one big one, the bladder which gleamedwhitely on the grey water going down out of sight. 

Dave ceased poling, and all watched the surface for the return of thebladder, as whale-fishers wait for the rising of the great mammal thathas thrown his flukes upward and dived down toward the bottom of thesea; but they watched in vain. 

A minute, two minutes, five minutes, then quite a quarter of an hour, but no sign of the submerged buoy. 

"Yow two look over the sides, " said Dave. "I'll run her right overwhere the blether was took down. "

Dave sent the punt along slowly, and the lads peered down into the darkwater, but could see no bladder. 

"She'll come up somewheers, " said Dave at last, sweeping the surfacewith his keen eyes, and then smiling in his hard, dry, uncomfortableway, as he looked right back over the way by which they had come, andnodding his head, "There she is!" he said. 

Sure enough there lay the bladder on the surface forty yards behind themperfectly motionless. 

"Yow take howd o' this one, young Tom Tallington, " said Dave; and thelad prepared to hook the line as the punt was carefully urged forward. 

"Take care, Tom!" whispered Dick excitedly. "Now, now! Oh, what afellow you are!"

Tom did not dash in the hook when his companion bade him, but all thesame he managed to do it at the right time, catching the line just belowthe bladder, and then stooping to seize it with his hand ready for thestruggle which was to ensue. 

Both boys were flushed with excitement, and paid no heed to the grimsmile upon their companion's face--a smile which expanded into a grin asthe line came in without the slightest resistance, and the lads lookedat each other with blank dismay. 

"Clap the line in the basket, Mester Dick, " said Dave; "he's took thebait and gone. "

"Why, what a big one he must have been!" cried Tom. 

"Ah, he would be a big one!" said Dave with a chuckle, as he urged thepunt rapidly on; "them as gets away mostlings is. "

"Didn't you feel him a bit, Tom?" asked Dick. 

"No, he had gone before I touched the line, " was the reply. 

It was very disappointing; but there were the other trimmers to beexamined, and though it would have puzzled a stranger, Dave went backwith unerring accuracy to the next one that had been laid down. 

This did not seem to have moved; and as it was drawn in, the bait wasswimming strongly and well. 

"Let him go, Dick, " said Tom. 

"Well, I was going to, wasn't I?" was the reply. "There you are, oldchap, only got a hole in your gristly lip. "

He dropped the gudgeon into the water, and it lay motionless for amoment or two, and then darted downward as the punt glided on. 

Another trimmer, and another, and another, was taken up as it wasreached, all these with the baits untouched, and the disappointed lookgrew upon the boys' faces. 

"I thought we should get one on every hook, " said Tom. "Ar'n't we goingto catch any more?"

"Why, you've got two, " said Dave. 

"Well, what are two, Dave?" cried Dick. 

"More'n I've got many a day, " said the man. "I often think I'd like apike to stuff and bake; but lots o' times I come and I never get one. There's one for you yonder. "

"Is there--where?" cried Tom. 

Dave nodded in the direction of the little bay they were approaching, and it was plain to see that the bladder had been drawn close in to theboggy shore. 

"Oh, he's gone!" cried Tom. "I don't believe there's one on. "

Tom was wrong, for upon the spot being reached the bladder suddenlybecame, as it were, animated, and went sailing along bobbing about onthe surface, then plunging down out of sight, to come up yards away. 

"There's a niste one on theer, lads, " said Dave. "Yow be ready with thehook, Mester Dick, and yow kneel down ready to ketch the line, young TomTallington. "

It was quite a long chase; the bladder bobbing and dancing away tillDave forced the punt pretty near, and by a back stroke Dick caught theline, drew it near enough for Tom to seize, when there was a tremendoussplash and plunge, and Tom fell backwards. 

"Gone!" cried Dick in a passion of angry disappointment. 

"Gone!" said Tom dolefully, "and I'd nearly got him over the side!"

"Ay, that's the way they gooes sometimes, " said Dave, sending on theboat. "Put the band in the basket, lads. Better luck next time. "

"Why, the line's broken!" cried Dick, handing it to its owner. 

"Sawed off agen his teeth, " said Dave, after a glance. "Theer, put 'emaway, lad. He's theer waiting to be ketched again some day. Theer'sanother yonder. Nay, he hesn't moved. "

This one was taken up, and then others, till only two remained, one ofwhich was set where the great pike had been seen which took down theduck. One had not been touched, but had had the bait seized and gnawedinto a miserable state; another bait was bitten right off cleanly closeto the head; while another had been taken off the hook; and one bait hadprobably been swallowed, and the line bitten in two. 

"We are having bad luck, " cried Dick dolefully. "I thought we shouldget a basket full. "

"I didn't, " said Dave. "Nivver did but once. Here, we'll tak' yon lastone up first, and come back along here and tak' up the big one, and gothruff yon reed-bed home. "

"Big one!" said Tom. 

"You don't think he's on, do you?" cried Dick. 

"Hey, lad, how do I know! Mebbe he is. "

"Then let's go at once, " cried Dick excitedly. 

"Nay, nay, we'll try yon one first, " said Dave, for both the remainingtrimmers were in sight, and though not where they had been laid down, they seemed to be no farther off than a lively bait and the wind mighthave taken them. 

"Theer, lads, yow'll hev to be saddisfied wi' what yow've got. No moreto-day. "

"Oh, very well!" said Dick; "but I wish we'd got something more to eat. "

"There's one on, " said Tom excitedly, as they neared the most remote ofthe two trimmers. 

"How do you know?"

"Saw it bob. "

"Yah! It doan't move. "

Dick glanced at Dave, whose face was inscrutable, and then the bladderseemed to be motionless, and as if Tom's "bob" was all imagination. Once more it seemed to move slightly, but it was nothing more than thebait would cause. 

"In wi' it, lads, " cried Dave. "You, young Tom. I wean't stop. Ketchit as we go by. "

Tom reached over and thrust in the hook, just catching the line as thetrimmer seemed to be gliding away. 

"Something on, " he shouted, as he got hold of the line with his hands, and threw down the hook into the boat. For there was a strong sturdystrain upon the cord; and but for the progress of the boat beingchecked, either the line would have been broken, or Tom would have hadto let go. 

"Why, you've got hold of a stump!" cried Dick. "What shall we do, Dave--cat the line?"

"Howd on, lads, steady! Ah, that's moved him!"

For just then, in place of the steady strain, there were a series ofshort sharp snatches. 

"Eel, eel!" cried Dick; and at the end of a few minutes' exciting play, a huge eel was drawn over the side of the boat, tied up in quite a knot, into which it had thrown itself just at the last. 

"Coot the band close to his neb, " [mouth or beak] said Dave, and thisbeing done, and the line saved from tangling, the captive untwisteditself, and began to explore the bottom of the boat, a fine thick fellownearly thirty inches long, and the possibility was that it might escapeover the stern, till Dave put a stop to the prospect by catching itquickly, and before it could glide out of his hand, throwing it into thebasket, where the pike resented its coming by an angry flapping of thetail. 

"That's better, " said Dick, placing the trimmer in the other basket. "Isay, Dave, would a fellow like that bite?"

"Nigh tak' your finger off: they're as strong as strong. Say, lads, shall we go home now, or try the other ligger?"

"Oh, let's get the last!" cried Dick; "there may be something on it. "

Dave nodded, and poled steadily over to where the last trimmer lay offthe reedy point, and perfectly motionless, till they were within tenyards, when there was a heavy swirl on the water, and the bladder divedunder, reappeared a couple of dozen yards away, and went off rapidlyalong beside the reed-bed. 

"Is that another perch?" cried Tom, as Dave began to ply his polerapidly, and the boat was urged on in pursuit. 

"Nay, that's no perch, " cried Dave, who for the first time lookedinterested. "It's a pike, and a good one. "

"Think it's that monster that took down the duck?" cried Dick. 

"Nay, lad, I d'know, " said the decoy-man; "all I say is that it be agirt lungeing pike o' some kind. "

Dave plied his pole, and the boys, in their excitement, turned each ahand into an oar, and swept it through the water as the pursuit was keptup, for the bladder went sailing away, then stopped, and as soon as thepunt drew near was off again. Sometimes it kept to the surface, but nowand then, when in places where Dave's pole would not touch the bottom, no sooner did the punt glide up, than there was an eddying swirl, andthe bladder was taken down out of sight. 

Once or twice Dick made a dash at it with the hook, but each time tomiss, and they were led a pretty dance. 

"He's a girt big un, lads, a very girt big un, " said Dave, as he restedfor a moment or two with the end of the pole in the water, waiting forthe bladder to reappear, and then rowed the punt softly in the directionin which it was gliding. "Says, shall a give 'em up?"

"No, no, " cried Dick. "Here, lend me the pole. I'll soon catch him. "

Dave smiled, but did not give up the pole. 

"Nay, lad, I'll ketch up to un. Wait a bit; fish'll be tired 'fore DaveGittans. "

The pursuit continued in the most exasperating way, and to an onlookerit would have been exceedingly absurd, since it seemed as if the man andhis companions were off oh the great mere with its open spaces of waterand islands of reeds, and lanes through them like so many little crookedcanals, in pursuit of a white pig's-bladder tied round the middle tomake it double. There it would lie till the boat neared, and then offit went with a skim that took it twenty, thirty, or forty yards. Nexttime the boat neared, instead of the skim it would begin to dance as ifin mockery, bobbing down whenever Dick reached over with his hook, andalways keeping out of his reach, just as if a mocking spirit directedall its movements and delighted in tantalising them. Again, after along run over the deep water, it would be quite still, and the puntwould be sent forward so cautiously that the capture seemed to be amoral certainty; but so sure as Dick crept to the extreme end of thepunt and reached out, there was a tremor for an instant visible on thewater and the bladder disappeared. 

"He must be a monster!" cried Dick, whose face was scarlet. "Oh, Dave, do go more quietly this time!"

"Let me try!" cried Tom, making a snatch at the hook. 

"No! I'll have him, " said Dick. "I wouldn't miss this chance for theworld!"

"Ay, I'll goo up quiet-like, " said Dave, pausing to give himself anopium pill before resuming his task. "Yow be quicker this time, lad--abold dash and you'll get him!"

The double-looking bladder seemed now to be quite divided in two, forthe string had grown tighter in being drawn through the water, and as itlay quite still, about forty yards from them, it looked a task that achild might have done, to go up to it softly and hook the string. 

"Now!" said Dave as he propelled the boat stern foremost by working thepole behind as a fish does its tail. 

"Oh! do get it this time, Dick!" panted Tom as he knelt in the boat. 

"One quick dash, Mester Dick, and you hev it!"

Dick did not answer, but lay prone upon his chest well out over thestern of the boat, holding on with one hand, the hook stretched out overthe water, ready, his heart beating and his eyes glittering withexcitement. 

As the punt glided on Dick's face was reflected in the dark amber-tintedwater--for there was not a ripple made--but he saw nothing of the glassysurface; his eyes were riveted upon the gleaming white bladder, intowhich the string had cut so deeply. 

Another moment or two and he would be within striking distance, but aglance at his hook showed that, perhaps from looseness in its socket, the point was turned too much away. 

He had barely time to turn it, as the moment arrived to strike, andstrike he did, just as the bladder was plunging down. 

A yell came from behind him from Dave!

A groan from Tom!

Dick rose up in the boat with a feeling of misery and disappointment, such as he had never before experienced, for he was perfectly consciousof what he had done. The bladder had been snatched under so quickly, that when he struck, instead of the hook going beneath and catching thestring, the point had entered the bladder. He had even felt the check, and knew that he had torn a hole in the side. 

"Hey, but yow've done it now, Mester Dick!" said Dave, laying the poleacross the boat and sitting down. 

"I couldn't help it, Dave. I did try so hard!" pleaded the lad. 

"And you wouldn't let me try--obstinate!" grumbled Tom. 

"Deal better you'd have done it, wouldn't you!" cried Dick in anexasperated tone. 

"Done it better than that!" cried Tom hotly. 

"Nay, yow wouldn't, lad, " said Dave coolly. "It's a girt big un, andhe's too sharp for us. Well, it's getting on and we may as well gohome. He's gone! Blether wean't come to the top no more!"

"But will he take a bait again, Dave?" said Dick; "I mean, if we comeanother time. "

"Will yow want any dinner to-morrow, lad?" said Dave, laughing. "Ay, he'll tek a bait again, sure enough, and we'll hev him some day! Theer, it's getting late; look at the starnels sattling down on the reeds!"

He pointed to the great clouds of birds curving round in the distance ashe stooped and picked up the pole, ready to send the punt homewards, forthe evening was closing in, and it would be dark before they reached theshore. 

"What's that?" cried Tom suddenly, as he swept the surface of the water, and he pointed to a faint white speck about twenty yards away. 

"Hey? Why, it is!" cried Dave. "Tek the hook again, Mester Dick, lad;there's a little wind left yet in th' blether, and it's coom oop!"

"Let me!" cried Tom. 

"Shall I do it, lad?" said Dave. 

"No, let me try this once!" cried Dick. "Or, no; you try, Tom!"

Tom snatched at the staff of the hook, but offered it back to hiscompanion. 

"No, Dick, " he said; "you missed, and you've a right to try again!"

"No, you try!" said Dick hurriedly, as he thrust his hands in hispockets to be out of temptation. 

"Nay, let Mester Dick hev one more try!" cried Dave; and the lad tookthe staff, went through all his former manoeuvres, struck more deeplywith the staff, and this time, as he felt a check, he twisted the hookround and round in the string, and felt as if it would be jerked out ofhis hand. 

"Twist un again, mun! Get well twissen!" cried Dave; and as the ladobeyed, the punt, already in motion, was for a short distance literallydrawn by the strong fish in its desperate efforts to escape. 

"Let me come this time, young Tom Tallington!" cried Dave. 

"No, no; I'll help!" cried Tom. 

"But I shouldn't like you to lose this un, lads. Theer, go on andcharnsh it. You get well howd o' the band while young squire untwissesthe hook. He's 'bout bet out now and wean't mak' much of a fight!"

Tom obeyed, and Dick, who was trembling with excitement, set the hook atliberty. 

Meanwhile the fish was struggling furiously at the end of some fifteenfeet of stout line; but the fight had been going on some time now, andat the end of a few minutes, as Dave manoeuvred the punt so as to easethe strain on the line, Tom found that he could draw the captive slowlyto the surface. 

"Tak' care, Mester Dick, throost hook reight in his gills, and in wi' unat onced. "

Dick did not reply, but stood ready, and it was well that he did so, foras Tom drew the fish right up, such a savage, great, teeth-armed pair ofjaws came gaping at him out of the water, that he started and stumbledback, dragging the hook from its hold. 

But before he could utter a cry of dismay there was a tremendous sputterand splash, for Dick had been in time, and, as the fish-hook wasbreaking out, had securely caught the pike with the gaff. 

The next moment, all ablaze in the evening light with green, and gold, and silver, and cream, the monster was flopping on the floor of thepunt, trying frantically to leap out, and snapping with its jaws in away that would have been decidedly unpleasant for any hand that wasnear. 

The monster's career was at an end, though. A heavy blow on the headstunned it, and a couple more put it beyond feeling, while the occupantsof the boat stood gazing down at their prize, as grand a pike as isoften seen, for it was nearly four feet long, and well-fed and thick. 

"Look at his teeth!" cried Tom excitedly; "why, there's great fangs fullhalf an inch long. "

"Yes, and sharp as knives!" cried Dick. 

"Ay, he've hed nice games in his time here, lads!" said Dave, grinningwith pleasure. "I'm straange and glad you've caught him. Many's thetime I've sin him chase the fish and tak' down the water-rats. One dayhe hed howd of a big duck. He got it by its legs as I was going along, and the poor thing quacked and tried to fly, but down it went d'reckly. Big pike like this un'll yeat owt. "

"And if he got hold of them with these hooked teeth, Dave, they wouldn'tget away. "

"Nay, lad, that they wouldn't. He'd take a pike half as big as hissen, if he got the charnsh. "

"Well, he won't kill any more, " cried Dick triumphantly. "Oh, Tom, ifwe had lost him after all!"

"I'd reyther hev lost a whole tak' o' duck, lads, " said Dave, shakingeach of his companions' hands warmly. "There'll be straange games amongall the fishes and birds here, because he's ketched. Look at him!Theer's a pike, and they're a trying to dree-ern all the watter off fromthe fens and turn 'em into fields. Hey, lads, it'll be a straange badtime for us when it's done. "

"But do you think it will take off all the water, and spoil the fen, Dave?" said Tom. 

"Nay, lad, I don't, " said Dave with sudden emphasis. "It's agen nature, and it wean't be done. Hey and we must be getting back. "

He plunged the pole into the water as he spoke, and it seemed to growblacker and blacker, as they talked pike over their capture, till theshore was reached, and the prize borne to Hickathrift's workshop, wherea pair of big rough scales showed that within a few ounces the pikeweighed just what Dave guessed, to wit two stone and a half oldLincolnshire weight of fourteen pounds to the stone, or thirty-fivepounds. 

CHAPTER ELEVEN. 

MR. MARSTON'S NARROW ESCAPE. 

The wintry weather passed away with its storms and continuous rains andfloods, which hindered the progress of the great lode or drain, and thencame the spring sunshine, with the lads waking up to the fact that hereand there the arums were thrusting up their glossy-green spathes, thatthe celandines were out like yellow stars, and that the rustling reedsleft uncut had been snapped off and beaten down, and had rotted in thewater, and that from among them the young shoots of the fresh crop werebeginning to peep. 

Bold brisk winds swept over the fen and raised foamy waves in the meres, and the nights were clear and cold, though there had been little frostthat year, never enough to well coat the lakes and pools with ice, sothat the pattens could be cleaned from their rust and sharpened atHickathrift's grindstone ready for the lads at the old Priory andGrimsey to skate in and out for miles. But, in spite of the cold, therewas a feeling of spring in the air. The great grey-backed crows weregetting scarce, and the short-eared owls, which, a couple of monthsbefore, could be flushed from the tufts in the fen, to fly off lookinglike chubby hawks, were gone, and the flights of ducks and peewits hadbroken up. The golden plovers were gone; but the green peewits werebusy nesting, or rather laying eggs without nests--pear-shaped eggs, small at one end, large at the other, thickly blotched and splashed withdark green, and over which the birds watched, ready to fall as if withbroken wing before the intruder, and try to lure him away. 

Many a tramp over the sodden ground did the lads have with Dave, whogenerally waited for their coming, leaping-pole in hand, and then tookthem to the peewits' haunts to gather a basketful of their eggs. 

"I don't know how you do it, Dave, " said Dick. "We go and hunt forhours, and only get a few pie-wipes' eggs; you always get a basketful. "

"It's a man's natur, " said Dave. 

"Well, show us how you know, " said Dick, shouldering his leaping-pole, and pretending to hit his companion's head. 

"Nay, lad, theer's no showing a thing like that, " said Davemysteriously. "It comes to a man. "

"Gammon!" cried Dick. "It's a dodge you've learned. "

Dave chuckled and tramped on beside the lads, having enough to do toavoid sinking in. 

"She's reyther juicy this spring, eh? They heven't dree-ernt her yet, "said Dave with a malicious grin. "See there, now, young TomTallington, " he cried, stepping past the lad, and, picking up a coupleof eggs in spite of the wailing of their owners, as they came nappingclose by, the cock bird in his glossy-green spring feathers, and a longpendent tuft hanging down from the back of his head. 

"How stupid!" cried Tom. "I didn't see them. "

"Nay, you wouldn't, " said Dave, stepping across Dick, who was on hisleft; "and yow, young squire Dick, didn't see they two. "

"Yes, I did, Dave, I did, " cried Dick. "I was just going to pick themup. "

"Pick' em up then, " cried Dave quietly; "where are they then?" Dicklooked sharply round him; but there was not an egg to be seen, and herealised that Dave had cheated him, and drawn him into a declarationthat was not true. 

He was very silent under the laughter of his companions, and felt it allthe more. 

They went on, the lads sometimes finding an egg or two, but nearly allfalling to Dave, who, as if by unerring instinct, went straight to thespots where the nests lay, and secured the spoil. 

Now and then a heron flew up, one with a small eel twining about itsbill; and more than once a hare went bounding off from its form amongthe dry last year's grass. 

"We want Hickathrift's dog here, " cried Dick. 

"What for, lad? what for?" said Dave, laughing. 

"To catch the hares. "

"Nay, yow want no dog, " said Dave. "Easy enough to catch hares. "

"Easy! How?" cried Tom. 

"Go up to 'em and catch 'em, " said Dave coolly. 

"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed Dick, and his companion joined in. "I should liketo see you catch a hare, Dave. "

"Shouldst ta, lad? Very well, wait a bit. "

They tramped on, with Dave picking up an egg here, a couple there, in away that was most exasperating to the boys, whose luck was very bad. 

"I never saw such eyes, " said Tom. "I can't see the eggs like he can. "

Dave chuckled as if he had a rattlesnake in his throat, and they went onfor a while till Dick stopped suddenly, and pointed to the side of oneof the fen ponds. 

"That isn't a heron, " he said. 

"No. One o' them long-legged ones--a crane, " said Dave. "Gettingstraange and scarce now. Used to be lots of 'em breed here when mygrandfather was a boy. Nay, nay, don't scar' him, " he cried, checkingDick, who was about to wave his hands. "Niver disturb the birds wi'outyou want 'em to eat or sell. Now, then: yonder's a hare. "

"Where?" cried Tom. "I can't see it. "

"Over yonder among that dry grass. "

"There isn't, " said Dick. "I can't see any hare. "

"Like me to go and catch him, young Tom?"

"Here, I'll soon see if there's a hare, " cried Dick; but Dave caught himby the shoulder with a grip of iron, and thrust the pole he carried intothe soft bog. 

"I didn't say I was going to run a hare down, " he said. "Theer's a hareyonder in her form. Shall I go and catch her?"

"Yes, " said Dick, grinning. "Shall I say, `Sh!'"

"Nay, if thou'rt going to play tricks, lad, I shall howd my hand. Ithowt yow wanted to see me ketch a hare. "

"Go on, then, " said Dick, laughing; "we won't move. "

Dave chuckled, swung his basket behind him as if hung by a strip ofcow-hide over his shoulder, and walked quietly on, in and out among thetufts of heather and moss, for some five-and-twenty yards. 

"He's laughing at us, " said Dick. 

"No, he isn't. I've heard Hickathrift say he can catch hares, " repliedTom. "Look!"

For just then they saw Dave go straight up to a tuft of dry grass, stoopdown and pick up a hare by its ears, and place it on his left arm. 

The boys ran up excitedly. 

"Why, Dave, I didn't think you could do it!" cried Dick. 

"Dessay not, " replied the decoy-man, uttering his unpleasant laugh. "Theer, she's a beauty, isn't she?"

The hare struggled for a moment or two, and then crouched down in theman's arm, with its heart throbbing and great eyes staring round at itscaptors. 

"Kill it, Dave, kill it, " cried Tom. 

"Kill it! What for? Pretty creatur', " said Dave, stroking the hare'sbrown speckled fur, and laying its long black-tipped sensitive earssmoothly down over its back. 

"To take home. "

"Nay, who kills hares at the end of March, lad? Hares is mad in March. "

"Is that why it let you catch it, Dave?"

"Mebbe, lad, mebbe, Mester Dick. Theer, hev you done stroking her?"

"No. Why?"

"Going to let her run?"

"Wait a bit, " cried Dick. 

"Tek her by the ears, lad, and putt thy hand beneath her. That's theways. "

Dick took the hare in his arms, and the trembling beast submittedwithout a struggle. 

"How did you know it was there?" said Tom. 

"How did I know she was theer! Why, she had her ears cocked-uplistening, plain enough to see. Theer, let her go now. She's got awife somewheers about. "

"_She's_ got a wife! Why don't you say _He_?" cried Dick. "Now, Tom, I'm going to let him go; but he won't run, he's a sick one. You'll see. Anyone could catch a hare like this. "

He carefully placed the hare upon the ground, holding tightly by itsears. 

"There, " he cried; "I told you so! Look how stupid and--Oh!"

The hare made one great leap, and then hardly seemed to touch the groundagain with its muscular hind-legs; but went off at a tremendous rate, bounding over heath and tuft, till it disappeared in the distance. 

"There's a sleepy sick one for you, Mester Dick!" cried Dave. "Now, then, goo and ketch her, lad. "

"Well, I never!" cried Dick. "I say, Dave, how do you manage it? Couldyou catch another?"

"Ay, lad, many as I like. "

"And rabbits too?"

"Nay, I don't say that. I hev ketched rabbuds that ways, but not often. Rabbud always makes for his hole. "

As he spoke he walked back to where he had left his pole standing in thebog earth, and they trudged on again to where a lane of water impededtheir further progress. 

"Too wide for you, lads?" said Dave. 

"No, " replied Dick, "if it's good bottom. "

"Good bottom a little higher up here, " said Dave, bearing off to theleft. "Now, then, over you go!"

Dick, pole in hand, took a run without the slightest hesitation, forDave's word was law. He said there was good bottom to the lane ofwater, and he was sure to know, for he had the knowledge of his fatherand grandfather joined to his own. If it had been bad bottom Dick'sfeat would have been impossible, for his pole would have gone downperhaps to its full length in the soft bog; as it was, the end of thepole rested upon gravel in about three feet of water, and the lad wentover easily and describing a curve through the air. 

"Look out!" shouted Tom, following suit, and landing easily upon theother side; while Dave took off his basket of plovers' eggs by slippingthe hide band over his head, then, hanging it to the end of his pole, heheld it over the water to the boys, who reached across and took ittogether on their poles, landing it safely without breaking an egg. 

The next minute, with the ease of one long practised in such leaps, Daveflew over and resumed his load. 

Several more long lanes of water were cleared in this way, Dave leadingthe boys a good round, and taking them at last to his house, pretty wellladen with eggs, where he set before them a loaf and butter, and lit afire. 

"Theer, you can boil your eggs, " he said, "and mak' a meal. Mebbeyou're hungry now. "

There was no maybe in the matter, judging from the number of slices ofbread and butter and hard-boiled plovers' eggs the lads consumed. 

Over the meal the question of the draining was discussedsympathetically. 

"No fish, " said Dick. 

"No decoy, " said Tom. 

"No plovers' eggs, " said Dave. 

"No rabbiting, " said Dick. 

"No eeling, " said Tom. 

"No nothing, " said Dave. "Hey bud it'll be a sad job when it's done. But it arn't done yet, lads, eh?"

"No, it isn't done yet, " said Dick. "I say, where's John Warren? Ihaven't seen him for months. "

"I hev, " said Dave. "He's a breaking his heart, lads, about big drain. Comes over to see me and smoke his pipe. It'll 'bout kill him if hisrabbud-warren is took awaya. Bud dree-ern ar'n't done yet, lads, eh?"

Squire Winthorpe was of a different opinion that night when Dick reachedhome after seeing Tom well on his way. 

"They're going on famously now, " he said to Mrs Winthorpe, who wasrepairing the damage in one of Dick's garments. 

"And was the meeting satisfied?"

"Yes, quite, " said the squire. "We had a big meeting with the gentlemenfrom London who are interested in the business, and they praised youngMr Marston, the engineer, wonderfully fine young fellow too. "

Dick pricked up his ears. 

"I thought Mr Marston was coming to see us a deal, father!" he said. 

"He's been away during the bad weather when the men couldn't work--up intown making plans and things. He's coming over to-night. "

"And do the people about seem as dissatisfied as ever about the work?"said Mrs Winthorpe. 

"I don't hear much about it, " said the squire. "They'll soon settledown to it when they find how things are improved. Well, Dick, plentyof sport to-day?"

"Dave got plenty of pie-wipes' eggs, father. I didn't find many. "

"Got enough to give Mr Marston a few?"

"Oh, yes, plenty for that! What time's he coming?"

"About eight, I should think. He's coming along the river bank afterhis men have done. "

"And going back, father?"

"Oh no! he'll sleep here to-night. "

The squire went out to have his customary look round the farmsteadbefore settling down for the night, and Dick followed him. The thrusheswere piping; sounds of ducks feeding out in the fen came off the water, and here and there a great shadowy-looking bird could be seen flappingits way over the desolate waste, but everywhere there was the feeling ofreturning spring in the air, and the light was lingering well in thewest, making the planet in the east look pale and wan. 

Everything seemed to be all right. There was a loud muttering among thefowls at roost. Solomon laid back his ears and twitched the skin of hisback as if he meant to kick when Dick went near the lean-to shedsupported on posts, thatched with reeds and built up against an oldstone wall in which there were the remains of a groined arch. 

Everything about the Toft was at peace, and down toward thewheelwright's the labourers' cottages were so still that it was evidentthat some of the people had gone to bed. 

The squire went on down the gravel slope, past the clump of firs, and bythe old ivied wall which marked the boundary of the ancient priory, when, after crossing a field or two, they came to the raised bank whichkept the sluggish river within bounds. 

"Looks cold and muddy, father, " said Dick. 

"Yes, not tempting for a bathe, Dick; but some day I hope to see a rivernearly as big as that draining our great fen. "

"But don't you think it will be a pity, father?"

"Yes, for idle boys who want to pass their lives fishing, and for menlike Dave and John Warren. Depend upon it, Dick, it's the duty of everyman to try and improve what he sees about. "

"But natural things look so beautiful, father!"

"In moderation, boy. Don't see any sign of Mr Marston yet, do you?"

"No, father, " replied Dick after taking a long look over the desolatelevel where the river wound between its raised banks toward the sea. 

"Can't very well miss his way, " said the squire, half to himself. 

"Unless he came through the fen, " said Dick. 

"Oh, he wouldn't do that! He'd come along by the river wall, my boy;it's longer, but better walking. "

The squire walked back toward the house, turning off so as to approachit by the back, where his men were digging for a great rain-water tankto be made. 

The men had not progressed far, for their way was through stones andcement, which showed how, at one time, there must have been either aboundary-wall or a building there; and as they stood by the opening thelatter was proved to be the case, for Dick stooped down and picked up apiece of ancient roofing lead. 

"Yes, Dick, this must have been a fine old place at one time, " said thesquire. "Let's get back. Be a bit of a frost to-night, I think. "

"I hope not, father. "

"And I hope it will, my boy! I like to get the cold now, not when theyoung trees are budding and blossoming. "

They went in, to find the ample supper spread upon its snowy cloth andthe empty jug standing ready for the ale to be drawn to flank the pinkyham, yellow butter, and well-browned young fowl. 

"No, wife, no! Can't see any sign of him yet, " said the squire. "Dick, get me my pipe. I'll have just one while we're waiting. Hope he hasnot taken the wrong road!"

"Do you think he has?" said Mrs Winthorpe anxiously. "It would be verydangerous for him now it is growing dark. "

"No, no; nonsense!" said the squire, filling his pipe from the stonetobacco-jar Dick had taken from the high chimney-piece of the cosy, low, oak-panelled room. 

It was a curious receptacle, having been originally a corbel from thebottom of a groin of the old building, and represented an evil-lookinggrotesque head. This the squire had had hollowed out and fitted with aleaden lid. 

"Think we ought to go and meet him, father?" said Dick, after watchingthe supper-table with the longing eyes of a young boy, and then takingthem away to stare at his mother's glistening needle and the soft greyclouds from his father's pipe. 

"No, Dick, we don't know which way to go. If we knew we would. Perhapshe will not come at all, and I'm too tired to go far to-night. "

Dick bent down and stroked Tibb, the great black cat, which began topurr. 

"Put on a few more turves, Dick, and a bit or two of wood, " said hismother. "Mr Marston may be cold. "

Dick laid a few pieces of the resinous pine-root from the fen upon thefire, and built up round it several black squares of well-dried peatwhere the rest glowed and fell away in a delicate creamy ash. Then thefir-wood began to blaze, and he returned to his seat. 

"'Tatoes is done!" said a voice at the door, and the red-armed maidstood waiting for orders to bring them in. 

"Put them in a dish, Sarah, and keep them in the oven with the dooropen. When Mr Marston comes you can put them in the best wooden bowl, and cover them with a clean napkin before you bring them in, " said MrsWinthorpe. 

"Oh, I say, mother, I am so hungry! Mayn't I have one baked potato?"

"Surely you can wait, my boy, till our visitor comes, " said MrsWinthorpe quietly. 

Dick stared across at the maid as she was closing the door, and a lookof intelligence passed between them, one which asked a question andanswered it; and Dick knew that if he went into the great kitchen therewould be a mealy potato ready for him by the big open fireplace, withbutter _ad libitum_, and pepper and salt. 

Dick sat stroking the cat for a few minutes and then rose, to go to thelong low casement bay-window, draw aside the curtain, and look out overthe black fen. 

"Can't see him, " he said with a sigh; and then, as no notice was takenof his remark, he went slowly out and across the square stone-paved hallto the kitchen, where, just as he expected, a great potato was waitingfor him by the peat-fire, and hot plate, butter, pepper, and salt wereready. 

"Oh, I say, Sarah, you are a good one!" cried Dick. 

"I thought you'd come, Mester Dick, " said the maid; and then, with astart, "Gracious! what's that?"

"Sea-bird, " said Dick shortly, and then he dropped the knife and ranback to the parlour, for another cry came from off the fen. 

"Hear that, father!" cried Dick. 

"Hear it! yes, my lad. Quick! get your cap. My staff, mother, " headded. "Poor fellow's got in, p'r'aps. "

The squire hurried out after Dick, who had taken the lead, and as theypassed out of the great stone porch the lad uttered a hail, which wasanswered evidently from about a couple of hundred yards away. 

"He has been coming across the fen path, " said the squire. "Ahoy! don'tstir till we come. "

"Shall we want the lantern, father?" cried Dick. 

"No, no, my lad; we can see. Seems darker first coming out of thelight. "

A fresh cry came from off the fen, and it was so unmistakably the word"Help!" that the squire and his son increased their pace. 

"Ahoy, there!" cried a big gruff voice. 

"Hickathrift?"

"Ay, mester! Hear that! some un's in trouble over yonder. "

The wheelwright's big figure loomed up out of the darkness and joinedthem as they hurried on. 

"Yes, I heard it. I think it must be Mr Marston missed his way. "

"What! the young gent at the dreeaning! Hey, bud he'd no call to be outtheer. "

"Where are you?" shouted Dick, who was ahead now and hurrying along thetrack that struck off to the big reed-beds and then away over the fen tothe sea-bank. 

"Here! help!" came faintly. 

"Tak' care, Mester Dick!" cried Hickathrift as he and the squirefollowed. "Why, he is reight off the path!"

"I'll take care!" shouted Dick. "Come on! All right; it isn't verysoft here!"

Long usage had made him so familiar with the place that he was able toleave the track in the darkness and pick his way to where, guided by thevoice, he found their expected visitor, not, as he expected, up to hismiddle in the soft peat, but lying prone. 

"Why, Mr Marston, you're all right!" cried Dick. "You wouldn't havehurt if you had come across here. "

"Help!" came faintly from the prostrate traveller, and Dick caught hisarm, but only to elicit a groan. 

"Well, he is a coward!" thought Dick. "Here, father! Hicky!"

"Rather soft, my boy!" said the squire. 

"Ay, not meant for men o' our weight, mester, " said the wheelwright; andthey had to flounder in the soft bog a little before they reached thespot where Dick stood holding the young man's cold hand. 

"He has fainted with fright, father, " said Dick, who felt amused atanyone being so alarmed out there in the darkness. 

"Let me tackle him, mester, " said the wheelwright. 

"No; each take a hand, my lad, " said the squire, "and then let's movetogether for the path as quickly as possible. "

"Reight!" cried Hickathrift, laconically; and, stooping down, they eachtook a hand, and half ran half waded through the black boggy mud, tillthey reached the path from which the young man had strayed. 

"Poor chap! he were a bit scar'd to find himself in bog. "

"Pity he ventured that way, " said the squire. 

"Here, Mr Marston, you're all right now, " said Dick. "Can you get upand walk?"

There was no answer, but the young man tried to struggle up, and wouldhave sunk down again had not the squire caught him round the waist. 

"Poor lad! he's bet out. Not used to our parts, " said Hickathrift. "Here, howd hard, sir. Help me get him o' my back like a sack, and I'llrun him up to the house i' no time. "

It seemed the best plan; and as the young man uttered a low moan he washalf lifted on to Hickathrift's broad back, and carried toward thehouse. 

"Run on, Dick, and tell your mother to mix a good glass of hollands andwater, " said the squire. 

Dick obeyed, and the steaming glass of hot spirits was ready as thewheelwright bore in his load, and the young man was placed in a chairbefore the glowing kitchen fire. 

"My arm!" he said faintly. 

"You wrenched his arm, Hicky, " said Dick, "when you dragged him out. "

"Very sorry, Mester Dick. "

"Ugh!" cried the lad, who had laid his hand tenderly on their visitor'sshoulder. 

"What is it?" cried Mrs Winthorpe. 

"Blood. He has been hurt, " said Dick. 

"Shot! Here, " said the young man in a whisper; and then his head sankdown sidewise, and he fainted dead away. 

Mr Marston's faintly-uttered words sent a thrill through all present, but no time was wasted. People who live in out-of-the-way places, farfrom medical help, learn to be self-reliant, and as soon as SquireWinthorpe realised what was wrong he gave orders for the injured man tobe carried to the couch in the dining parlour, where his wet jacket wastaken off by the simple process of ripping up the back seam. 

"Now, mother, the scissors, " said the squire, "and have some bandagesready. You, Dick, if it's too much for you, go away. If it isn't:stop. You may want to bind up a wound some day. "

Dick felt a peculiar sensation of giddy sickness, but he tried to masterit, and stood looking on as the shirt sleeve was cut open, and the youngman's white arm laid bare to the shoulder, displaying an ugly wound inthe fleshy part. 

"Why, it's gone right through, mother, " whispered the squire, shakinghis head as he applied sponge and cold water to the bleeding wounds. 

"And doctor says there's veins and artrys, mester, " said Hickathrift, huskily. "One's bad and t'other's worse. Which is it, mester?"

"I hope and believe there is no artery touched, " said the squire; "butwe must run no risk. Hickathrift, my man, the doctor must be fetched. Go and send one of the men. "

"Nay, squire, I'll go mysen, " replied the big wheelwright. "Did'st seehis goon, Mester Dick?"

"No, I saw no gun. "

"Strange pity a man can't carry a gun like a Chrishtun, " said thewheelwright, "and not go shutin hissen that way. "

The wheelwright went off, and the squire busied himself binding up thewounds, padding and tightening, and proving beyond doubt that no arteryhad been touched, for the blood was soon nearly staunched, while, justas he was finishing, and Mrs Winthorpe was drawing the sleeve on oneside so as to secure a bandage with some stitches, something rolled onto the floor, and Dick picked it up. 

"What's that, Dick--money?"

"No, father; leaden bullet. "

"Ha! that's it; nice thing to go through a man's arm, " said the squireas he examined the roughly-cast ragged piece of lead. "We must look forhis gun to-morrow. What did he expect to get with a bullet at a timelike this? Eh? What were you trying to shoot, Marston?" said thesquire, as he found that the young man's eyes were open and staring athim. 

"I--trying to shoot!"

"Yes; of course you didn't mean to bring yourself down, " said thesquire, smiling; "but what in the world, man, were you trying to shootwith bullets out here?"

The young engineer did not reply, but looked round from one to theother, and gave Mrs Winthorpe a grateful smile. 

"Do you recollect where you left your gun?" said Dick eagerly, for thethought of the rust and mischief that would result from a night in thebog troubled him. 

"Left my gun!" he said. 

"Never mind now, Mr Marston, " said the squire kindly. "Your things arewet, and we'll get you to bed. It's a nasty wound, but it will soon getright again. I'm not a doctor, but I know the bone is not broken. "

"I did not understand you at first, " said the young engineer then. "Youthink I have been carrying a gun, and shot myself?"

"Yes, but never mind now, " said Mrs Winthorpe, kindly. "I don't thinkyou ought to talk. "

"No, " was the reply; "I will not say much; but I think Mr Winthorpeought to know. Some one shot me as I was coming across the fen. "

"What!" cried Dick. 

"Shot you!" said the squire. 

"Yes. It was quite dark, and I was carefully picking my way, when therewas a puff of smoke from a bed of reeds, a loud report, and I seemed tofeel a tremendous blow; and I remember no more till I came to, feelingsick and faint, and managed to crawl along till I saw the lights of thefarm here, and cried for help. "

"Great heavens!" cried the squire. 

"Didn't you see any one?" cried Mrs Winthorpe. 

"No, nothing but the smoke from the reeds. I feel rather faint now--ifyou will let me rest. "

With the help of Dick and his father the young engineer was assisted tohis bed, where he seemed to drop at once into a heavy sleep; and, satisfied that there was nothing to fear for some time, the squirereturned to the parlour looking very serious, while Dick watched himintently to see what he would say. 

"This is very dreadful, my dear, " whispered Mrs Winthorpe at last. "Have we some strange robber in the fen?"

"Don't know, " said the squire shortly. "Perhaps some one has a spiteagainst him. "

"How dreadful!" said Mrs Winthorpe. 

"One of his men perhaps. "

"Or a robber, " cried Dick excitedly. "Why, father, we might get Daveand John Warren and Hicky and some more, and hunt him down. "

"Robbers rob, " said the squire laconically. 

"Of course, my dear, " said Mrs Winthorpe; "and it would be dreadful tothink of. Why, we could never go to our beds in peace. "

"But Mr Marston's watch and money are all right, my dear. Depend uponit he has offended one of the rough drain diggers, and it is an act ofrevenge. "

"But the man ought to be punished. "

"Of course, my dear, and we'll have the constables over from town, andhe shall be found. It won't be very hard to do. "

"Why not, father?"

"Because many of the men have no guns. "

"But they might borrow, father?"

"The easier to find out then, " said the squire. "Well, one must eatwhether a man's shot or no. History does not say that everybody wentwithout his supper because King Charles's head was cut off. Mother, draw the ale. Dick, tell Sarah to bring in those hot potatoes. I'mhungry, and I've got to sit up all night. "

There proved to be no real need, for the squire's patient slept soundly, and there was nothing to disturb the silence at the Toft. But morningfound the squire still watching, with Mrs Winthorpe busy with herneedle in the dining parlour, and Dick lying down on the hearth-rug, andsleeping soundly by the glowing fire. For about four o'clock, afterstrenuously refusing to go to bed, he had thought he would lie down andrest for a bit, with the result that he was in an instant fast asleep, and breathing heavily. 

By breakfast-time Farmer Tallington had heard the news, and was overwith Tom, each ready to listen to the squire's and Dick's account; andbefore nine o'clock Dave and John Warren, who had come over toHickathrift's, to find him from home, came on to the Toft to talk withDick and Tom, and stare and gape. 

"Why, theer heven't been such a thing happen since the big fight wi' thesmugglers and the king's men, " said Dave. 

To which John Warren assented, and said it was "amaazin'. "

"And who do you think it weer?" said Dave, as he stood scratching hisear; and upon being told the squire's opinion, he shook his head, andsaid there was no knowing. 

"It's a bad thing, Mester Dick, bringing straangers into a plaace. Yownivver know what characters they've got. Why, I do believe--it's aturruble thing to say--that some of they lads at work at big dree-ernhevven't got no characters at all. "

"Here be Hickathrift a-coming wi' doctor, " said John Warren. 

And sure enough there was the doctor on his old cob coming along the fenroad, with Hickathrift striding by his side, the man of powder anddraught having been from home with a patient miles away when Hickathriftreached the town, and not returning till five o'clock. 

"He'll do right enough, squire, " said the doctor. "Young man like he issoon mends a hole in his flesh. You did quite right; but I suppose thebandaging was young Dick's doing, for of all the clumsy bungling I eversaw it was about the worst. "

Dick gave his eye a peculiar twist in the direction of his father, whowas giving him a droll look, and then they both laughed. 

"Very delicately done, doctor, " said the squire. "There, Dick, as hehas put it on your shoulders you may as well bear it. "

"Ah, let him!" said the doctor. "Now, what are you going to do?" hesaid aloud; "catch the scoundrel who shot Mr Marston, and get himtransported for life?"

"That's what ought to be done to him, " said John Warren solemnly, as helooked straight away over the fen. 

"Ay, " said Dave. "How do we know but what it may be our turn orHickathrift's next? It's a straange, bad thing. "

"I must talk it over with Mr Marston, " said the squire, "when he getsbetter, and then we shall see. "

CHAPTER TWELVE. 

THE PATIENT'S FRIENDS. 

Mr Marston declared that he had not the most remote idea of havinggiven any of his men offence, and then looked very serious about thequestion of bringing over the constables from the town to investigatethe matter. 

"It may have been an accident, Mr Winthorpe, " he said; "and if so, Ishould be sorry to get any poor fellow into trouble. "

"Yes, but it may not have been an accident, " said the doctor. 

This was in the evening, the doctor having ridden over again to see howhis patient was getting on. 

"Heaven forbid, sir, " said Marston warmly, "that I should suspect anyman of such a cowardly cruel deed! Impossible, sir! I cannot recallhaving done any man wrong since I have been here. My lads like me. "

"How do you know that?" said the squire dryly. "Men somehow are not_very_ fond of the master who is over them, and makes them fairly earntheir wages. "

"Well, sir, I don't know how to prove it, " said Marston, who was lyingon a dimity-covered couch, "but--"

"Hallo!" cried the squire, leaping up and going to the window, as a loudand excited buzzing arose, mingled with the trampling of feet, whichsounded plainly in the clear cold spring evening. 

"Anything wrong?" said the doctor. 

"Why, here's a crowd of a hundred fellows armed with sticks!" cried thesquire. "I believe they've got the rascal who fired the shot. "

"No!" said the doctor. 

"Father! Mr Marston!" cried Dick, rushing up stairs and into thevisitor's bed-room; "here are all the drain-men--hundreds of them--MrMarston's men. "

"Not hundreds, young fellow, " said Marston smiling, "only one, if theyare all here. What do they want? Have they caught anyone?"

"No, sir. They want to see you. I told them you were too bad; but theysay they will see you. "

"I'll go and speak to them and see what they want, " said the squire. "Is it anything about paying their wages?"

"Oh dear, no!" said Marston. "They have been paid as usual. Shall I godown to them, doctor?"

"If you do I'll throw up your case, " cried the doctor fiercely. "Blessmy soul, no! Do you think I want you in a state of high fever. Stopwhere you are, sir. Stop where you are. "

"I'll go, " said the squire, "before they pull the house down. "

For the men were getting clamorous, and shouting loudly for Mr Marston. 

The squire descended, and Dick with him, to find the front garden of theold farm-house full of great swarthy black-bearded fellows, everyonearmed with a cudgel or a pick-axe handle, some having only the parts ofbroken shovels. 

"Well, my lads, what is it?" said the squire, facing them. 

A tremendous yell broke out, every man seeming to speak at once, andnothing could be understood. 

"Hullo, Hickathrift! You're there, are you?" said the squire. "What dothey want?"

"Well, you see, squire, " began the wheelwright; but his voice wasdrowned by another furious yell. 

"Don't all speak at once!" cried Dick, who had planted himself upon arough block of stone that had been dug out of the ruins and placed inthe front of the house. 

There was something so droll to the great band of workmen in a merestripling shouting to them in so commanding a way, that they all burstinto a hearty laugh. 

"Here, let Hicky speak!" cried Dick. 

"Yes!--Ay!--Ah!--Let big Hickathrift speak!" was shouted out. 

"Keep quiet, then, " said the wheelwright, "or how can I! You see, squire, " he continued, "the lads came along by my place, and they saidsome one had put it about that one of them had fired a shot at the youngengyneer, and they're all popped about it, and want to see Mr Marstonand tell him it isn't true. "

"You can't see Mr Marston, my lads, " said the squire. 

Here there was a fierce yell. 

"The doctor says it would do him harm, " continued the squire, "and youdon't want to do that. "

"Nay, nay, we wean't do that, " shouted one of the men. 

"But I may tell you that Mr Marston says that he does not believethere's a man among you who would do him any harm. "

"Hooray!" shouted one of the men, and this was followed by a roar. "Wewouldn't hurt the ganger, and we're going to pay out him as did. "

There was a tremendous yell at this, and the men nourished their weaponsin a way that looked serious for the culprit if he should be discovered. 

"Ay, but yow've got to find out first who it was, " said Hickathrift. 

"Yes, and we're going to find out too, " cried one rough-looking fellowstanding forward. "How do we know as it warn't you?"

"Me!" cried Hickathrift, staring blankly. 

"Ay, yow, " roared the great rough-looking fellow, a man not far short ofthe wheelwright's size. "We've heered all on you a going on and peckingabout the dree-ern being made. We know yow all hates our being here, sohow do we know it warn't yow?"

The man's fierce address was received with an angry outburst by the men, who had come out on purpose to inflict punishment upon some one, and intheir excitement, one object failing, they were ready to snatch atanother. 

It was perhaps an insensate trick; but there was so much of the frankmanly British boy in Dick Winthorpe that he forgot everything in thefact that big Hickathrift, the man he had known from a child--the greatbluff fellow who had carried him in his arms and hundreds of times madehim welcome in that wonderland, his workshop, where he was always readyto leave off lucrative work to fashion him eel-spear or leaping-pole, orto satisfy any other whim that was on the surface--that this old friendwas being menaced by a great savage of a stranger nearly as big ashimself, and backed by a roaring excited crowd who seemed ready for anyoutrage. 

Dick did not hesitate a moment, but with eyes flashing, teeth clenched, and fists doubled, he leaped down from the stone, rushed into the midstof the crowd, closing round the wheelwright, and darting between thegreat fellow and the man who had raised a pick-handle to strike, seizedhold of the stout piece of ash and tried to drag it away. 

"You great coward!" he roared--"a hundred to one!"

It was as if the whole gang had been turned to stone, theirself-constituted leader being the most rigid of the crowd, and he staredat Dick Winthorpe as a giant might stare at the pigmy who tried tosnatch his weapon away. 

But the silence and inert state lasted only a few seconds, before theblack-bearded fellow's angry face began to pucker up, his eyes halfclosed, and, bending down, he burst into a hearty roar of laughter. 

"See this, lads!" he cried. "See this! Don't hurt me, mester! Say, lads, I never felt so scared in my life. "

The leader's laugh was contagious, and the crowd took it up in chorus;but the more they laughed, the more angry grew Dick. He could not seethe ridiculous side of the matter; for, small as was his body incomparison with that of the man he had assailed, his spirit had swollenout as big as that of anyone present. 

"I don't care, " he cried; "I'll say it again--You're a set of greatcowards; and as for you, " he cried to the fellow whose weapon he hadtried to wrest away, "you're the biggest of the lot. "

"Well done, young un--so he is!" cried the nearest man. "Hooray foryoung ganger!"

The men were ready to fight or cheer, and as ready to change their moodas crowds always are. They answered the call with a stentorian roar;and if Dick Winthorpe had imitated Richard the Second just then, andcalled upon the crowd to accept him as their leader, they would havefollowed him to the attempt of any mad prank he could have designed. 

"Thank ye, Mester Dick!" said Hickathrift, placing his great hand uponthe lad's shoulder, as the squire forced his way to their side. "Ialways knowed we was mates; but we're bigger mates now than ever we wasbefore. "

"Ay, and so 'm _I_, " said the big drain delver. "Shake hands, young un. You're English, you are. So 'm I. He's English, lads; that's what heis!" he roared as he seized Dick's hand and pumped it up and down. "So'm I. "

"Hooray!" shouted the crowd; and, seeing how the mood of all waschanged, the squire refrained from speaking till the cheering was dyingout, when, making signs to the men to hear him, he was about to utter afew words of a peacemaking character, but there was another burst ofcheering, which was taken up again and again, the men waving their capsand flourishing their cudgels, and pressing nearer to the house. 

For the moment Dick was puzzled, but he realised what it all meantdirectly, for, looking in the same direction as the men, it was to seethat the young engineer had disregarded the doctor's orders, and wasstanding at the open window, with his face very pale and his arm in asling. 

He waved his uninjured arm to command silence, and this being obtained, his voice rang out firm and clear. 

"My lads, " he cried, "I know why you've come, and I thank you; but thesepeople here are my very good friends, and as for the squire's son andthe wheelwright there, they saved my life last night. "

"Hooray!" roared the leader of the gang frantically; and as hiscompanions cheered, he caught hold of Hickathrift's hand, and shook itas earnestly as if they were sworn brothers. 

"As to my wound, " continued the engineer, "I believe it was an accident;so now I ask you to go back home quietly, and good-night!"

"Well said, sir; good-night to you!" roared the leader as the window wasclosed. "Good-night to everybody! Come on, lads! Good-night, youngun! We're good mates, eh?"

"Yes, " said Dick, shortly. 

"Then shake hands again. We don't bear no malice, do us? See, lads. We're mates. I wean't laugh at you. You're a good un, that's what youare, and you'll grow into a man. "

The great fellow gave Dick's hand another shake that was very vigorous, but by no means pleasant; and then, after three roaring cheers, thewhole party went off, striking up a chorus that went rolling over thefen and kept on dying out and rising again as the great sturdy fellowstramped away. 

"I'm not an inhospitable man, doctor, " said the squire, as the formershook hands to go, after giving orders for his patient to be kept quiet, and assuring the squire that the young fellow would be none the worsefor the adventures of the night--"I'm not an inhospitable man, but onehas to think twice before asking a hundred such to have a mug of ale. Ishould have liked to do it, and it was on my lips, but the barrel wouldhave said no, I'm sure. Good-night!"

"Now, sir, " said the squire as soon as he was alone with his son, "whathave you got to say for yourself?"

"Say, father!" replied Dick, staring. 

"Yes, sir. Don't you think you did about as mad and absurd a thing asthe man who put his head into the lion's jaws?"

"I--I didn't know, father, " replied Dick, who, after the exultationcaused by the cheering, felt quite crestfallen. 

"No, of course you did not, but it was a very reckless thing to do, and--er--don't--well, I hope you will never have cause to do it again. "

Dick went away, feeling as if his comb had been cut, and of course hedid not hear his father's words that night when he went to bed. 

"Really, mother, I don't know whether I felt proud of the boy or vexedwhen he faced that great human ox. "

"I do, " said Mrs Winthorpe smiling, but with the tears in hereyes--"proud. "

"Yes, I think I did, " said the squire. "Good-night!"

"Don't you think some one ought to sit up with Mr Marston?"

"No: he is sleeping like a top; and after our bad time with himyesternight, I mean to have some sleep. "

Five minutes after, the squire's nose proclaimed that it was the hour ofrest, and Dick heard it as he stole from his bed-room, to see how thewounded man was; and this act he repeated at about hourly intervals allthrough the night, for he could not sleep soundly, his mind was so busywith trouble about the injury to their visitor's arm, and the wonderwhich kept working in his brain. Who was it fired that shot?

The doctor was right; the wounded man's arm soon began to mend; butnaturally there was a period when he was unable to attend to his duties, and that period was a pleasant one for Dick Winthorpe, inasmuch as itwas the commencement of a long friendship. 

John Marston was for going back to his lodgings near the outfall or_gowt_ as it was termed; but the squire and Mrs Winthorpe would nothear of it, and to the boys' great delight, he stayed. 

He was an invalid, but the right kind of invalid to make a pleasantcompanion, for he loved the open air, and was never happier than when hewas out with the boys and Dave or John Warren, somewhere in the fen. 

"It's all gammon to call him ill, and for the doctor to keep coming, "said Tom Tallington. 

"Oh, he is ill!" said Dick; "but you see he's only ill in one arm. "

Dick had only to propose a run out, and John Marston immediately seemedto forget that he was a man, became a boy for the time being, andentered into the spirit of their pursuits. 

One day it was pike-fishing, with Dave to punt them about here and thereamong the pools. At another time ordinary tackle would be rigged up, and Dave would take them to some dark hole where fish were known toswarm, and for hours the decoy-man would sit and watch patiently whilethe three companions pulled up the various denizens of the mere. 

One bright April morning Dave was seen coming out of the mist, lookinggigantic as he stood up in his boat; and his visit was hailed withdelight, for the trio had been wondering how they should pass that day. 

"Morning, Dave!" said Marston as the fen-man landed slowly from hisboat, and handed Dick a basket of fresh ducks' eggs. 

"Morn', mester! Tak them up to the missus, Mester Dick. They be allnoo-laid uns. Straange thick haar this morn, " he continued, wiping thecondensed mist from his eyelashes. "Re'glar sea-haar. " [sea-fog--mistfrom the German Ocean. ]

"Take those eggs up to mother, Tom, " said Dick imperatively. 

"Sha'n't. I know! You want to be off without me. "

"Hallo, young fellow!" said the squire cheerily. "What have you gotthere--eggs?"

"Yes, mester, fresh uns for the missus. "

"I'm going in, and I'll take them, " said the squire, thus disposing ofthe difficulty about a messenger. "There's a canister of powder foryou, Dave, when you want some more. "

"Thanky kindly, mester. I'll come and get it when I'm up at house. "

The squire nodded and went on, but turned back to ask when Mr Marstonwas going over to the works, and upon hearing that it was in theafternoon, he said he would accompany him. 

"And how's your lame arm, mester?" said Dave as soon as the squire hadgone. 

"Getting better fast, Dave, my man. "

"And with two holes in it, mester?"

"Yes, with two holes in it. "

"But are they both getting better?"

"Why, you've been told a dozen times over that they are!" cried Dick. 

"Nay, Mester Dick, I know'd as one hole was getting reight, but MesterMarston here nivver said as both weer. I'm straange and glad. Heeredaught yet 'bout him as did it?"

"No, my man, and don't want to. "

"Hark at that, Mester Dick! Why, if any one had shot at me, and hot meas they did him, I'd have found him out somehow afore now. Mebbe Ishall find this out mysen. "

"Why, you're not trying, Dave. "

"Not trying, lad! Nay, but I am, and I shall find him yet some day. Look here, boys. If you want to find out anything like that, youmustn't go splashing about among the reeds, or tug-slugging through thebog-holes, or he hears you coming, and goos and hides. You must sitdown among the bushes, and wait and wait quiet, like a man does when hewants to get the ducks, and by-and-by him as did it comes along. DessayI shall catch him one of these days, and if I do, and I've got my polewith me, I'll throost him under water and half-drownd him. "

"Never mind about all that, Dave. What are you going to do to-day?"cried Dick. 

"Me, lad! Oh, nowt! I've brote a few eggs for the missus, and I shalltak' that can o' powder back wi' me, and then set down and go on makkinsoom new coy-nets. "

"That's his gammon, Mr Marston, " cried Dick. 

"Nay, nay, mester, it's solemn truth. "

"'Tisn't; it's gammon. Isn't it, Tom?"

"Every bit of it. He's come on purpose to ask us to go out with him. "

"Nay, nay, nay, lads, " said Dave in an ill-used tone. "I did think o'asking if Mester Marston here would like to try for some eels up in thelong shallows by Popley Watter, for they be theer as thick as herrin', bubblin' up and slithering in the mud. "

"Let's go, then, Mr Marston. Eel-spearing, " cried Dick. 

"But I could not use an eel-spear, " said the young engineer, smiling. 

"But Tom and I could do the spearing, and you could put the eels in thebasket. "

"When you caught them, " said Marston, laughing. 

"Oh, we should be sure to catch some! Shouldn't we, Dave?"

"Ay, theer's plenty of 'em, mester. "

"Let's go, then, " cried Dick excitedly; "and if we get a whole lot, we'll take them over to your men, Mr Marston. Come on!"

"Nay, but yow weant, " said Dave, with a dry chuckle. 

"Why not?"

"Mester Hickathrift has got the stong-gad to mend. One of the tines isoff, and it wants a noo ash pole. "

"Here, stop a moment, " said Marston, laughingly interrupting a groan ofdisgust uttered by the boys; "what, pray, is a stong-gad?"

"Ha--ha--ha!" laughed Tom. "Don't know what a stong-gad is!"

"Hold your tongue, stupid!" cried Dick indignantly, taking the part ofhis father's guest. "You don't know everything. What's a dumpyleveller? There, you don't know, and Mr Marston does. "

"But what is a stong-gad?" said Marston. 

"Eel-spear, " said Dick. "How long would it take Hicky to mend it?"

"'Bout two hours--mebbe only one. I could mak' a new pole while heforged the tine. "

"Come along, then. Hicky will leave anything to do it for me. "

"Nay, he's gone to market, " said Dave. 

"Yes; I saw him pass our house, " said Tom. 

"What a shame!" cried Dick. "Here, I say, what's that basket for in thepunt?" he added eagerly. 

"Why, he's got a net, too, and some poles, " cried Tom. "Yah! he meantto do something. "

"Why, of course he did, " cried Dick, running down to the boat. "Now, then, Dave, what's it to be?"

"Oh, nowt, Mester Dick! I thought to put a net in, and a pole or two, and ask if you'd care to go and get a few fish, but Mester Marston's toofine a gentleman to care for ought o' the sort. "

"Oh, no, I'm not!" said Marston. "I should enjoy it, boys, above allthings. "

"There, Dave, now then! What is it--a drag-net?"

"Nay, Mester Dick, on'y a bit of a new. "

"But where are you going?"

"I thowt o' the strip 'tween Long Patch and Bootherboomp's Roostens. "

"Here, stop a moment, " cried the engineer. "I've heard that namebefore. Who was Mr Bootherboomp?"

"Hi--hi--hi! hecker--hecker--hecker. Heigh!"

That does not express the sounds uttered by Dave, for they were morelike an accident in a wooden clock, when the wheels run down and finishwith a jerk which breaks the cogs. But that was Dave's way of laughing, and it ended with a horrible distortion of his features. 

"I say: don't, Dave. What an old nut-cracker you are! You laugh likethe old watchman's rattle in the garret. Be quiet, Tom!"

"But Mr Bootherboomp!" roared Tom, bursting into a second fit oflaughter. 

"It's butterbump, Mr Marston. It's what they call those tall brownbirds something like herons. What do you call them in London?" saidDick. 

"Oh, bitterns!"

"Yes, that's it. Come on!"

"Nay, " said Dave; "I don't think you gentlemen would care for such poorsport. On'y a few fish'. "

"You never mind about that! Jump in, Mr Marston. Who's going topole?"

"Nay, I'll pole, " said Dave. "If yow mean to go we may as well gettheer i' good time; but I don't think it's worth the trouble. "

"Get out! It's rare good fun, Mr Marston; sometimes we get lots offish. "

"I'm all expectation, " said Marston as Dave smiled the tight smile, which made his mouth look like a healed-up cut; and, taking the pole, began to send the punt over the clear dark water. "Shall we find any ofthose curious fish my men caught in the river the other day?"

"What curious fish were they?" asked Dick. 

"Well, to me they seemed as if so many young eels had grown ashamed ofbeing so long and thin, and they had been feeding themselves up andsqueezing themselves short, so as to look as like tench as possible. "

"Oh, I know what you mean!" cried Tom. "Eel-pouts! they're just abouthalf-way between eels and tench. "

"Nay, yow wean't catch them here, " said Dave oracularly. "They lives inmuddy watter in rivers. Our watter here's clean and clear. "

It was a bright pleasant journey over the mere, in and out of the lanesof water to pool after pool, till Dave suddenly halted at a canal-likespot, where the water ran in between two great beds of tender-growingreeds, which waved and undulated in the soft breeze. Here he thrustdown his pole and steadied the punt, while he shook out his light netwith its even meshes, securing one end to a pole and then letting theleaden sinkers carry it to the bottom before thrusting the punt over tothe other side of the natural canal, to which he made fast the secondend of the net in a similar way, so that the water was sealed with alight fence of network, whose lower edge was close to the black ooze ofthe bottom, held there by the leaden sinkers of the foot line, the topline being kept to the surface by a series of tightly-bound littlebundles of dry rushes. 

"Theer, " said Dave as soon as he had done, his proceedings having beencarefully watched; "that un do!"

"Will the fish go into that net?" said Marston. 

"Nay, not unless we mak 'em, mester, " said Dave, smiling. "Will they, Mester Dick?"

"Not they, " cried Dick. "Wait a minute, Mr Marston; you'll see. "

Dave took his pole and, leaving the net behind, coasted along by theshore of the little island formed by the canal or strait, which ran in, zigzagging about like a vein in a piece of marble; and after about aquarter of an hour's hard work he forced the punt round to the otherside of the island, and abreast of a similar opening to that which theyhad left, in fact the other end of the natural canal or lane, here abouttwelve or fourteen feet broad. 

"Oh, I see!" said the engineer. "You mean to go in here, and drive thefish to the net at the other end. "

"That's the way, Mr Marston, " said Tom Tallington. "Wait a bit, andyou'll see such a haul. "

"Perhaps of an empty net, Mr Marston, " said Dick with a grin. "Perhapsthere are none here. "

"You set astarn, mester, " said Dave. "I'll put her along, and you tak'one side, Mester Dick; and you t'other, young Tom Tallington. "

The boys had already taken up two long light poles that lay in the boat, and standing up as Dave sent the boat along slowly and making a greatdeal of disturbance with his pole, they beat and splashed and stabbedthe water on both sides of the boat, so as to scare any fish which mighthappen to be there, and send them flying along the lane toward the net. 

This was a comparatively easy task, for the coming of the boat wassufficient as a rule to startle the timid fish, which in turn scaredthose in front, the beating with the poles at either side sendingforward any which might be disposed to slip back. 

There was more labour than excitement in the task; but the course alongthe lane of water was not entirely uneventful, for a moor-hen wasstartled from her nest in a half-liquid patch of bog, above which rosequite a tuft of coarse herbage; and farther on, just as Dick thrust inhis pole to give it a good wriggle and splash, there was a tremendousswirl, and a huge pike literally shot out of the water, describing anarc, and after rising fully four feet from the surface droppedhead-first among the tangled water-weeds and reedy growth, through whichit could be seen to wriggle and force its way farther and farther, thewaving reeds and bubbling water between showing the direction in whichit had gone. 

"Hooray, Dave! a forty-pounder!" cried Dick. "Push the punt in and wecan easily catch him. "

"Not you, " said Dave stolidly; "he'll get through that faster than wecould. "

"But, look, look! I can see where he is. "

"Nay, he'll go all through theer and get deeper and deeper, and it'smore wattery farther on. He'll go right through theer, and come out theother side. "

"But he was such a big one, Dave--wasn't he, Mr Marston?--quite fortypounds!"

"Nay, not half, lad, " said Dave stolidly, as he thrust the boat on. "Beat away. We'll come and set a bait for him some day. That's the wayto catch him. "

Dick uttered an angry ejaculation as he looked back towards where hecould still see the water plants waving; and in his vexation he raisedhis pole, and went on with the splashing so vigorously, and, as legalfolks say, with so much _malice prepense_, that he sent the water flyingover Dave as he stood up in the bows of the punt. 

Tom chuckled and followed suit, sending another shower over thepuntsman. Then Dick began again, the amber water flying and sparklingin the sunshine; but Dave took no notice till the splashing became toopronounced, when he stopped short, gave his head a shake, and turnedslowly round. 

"Want to turn back and give up?" he said slowly. 

Dick knew the man too well to continue, and in penitent tones exclaimed:

"No, no, go on, Dave, we won't splash any more. "

"Because if there's any more of it--"

"I won't splash any more, Dave, " cried Dick, laughing, "It was Tom. "

"Oh, what a shame!"

"So you did splash. Didn't he, Mr Marston?"

"I don't want to hear no more about it, Mester Dick. I know, " growledDave. "I only says, Is it to be fishing or games?"

"Fishing, Dave. It's all right; go on, Tom; splash away gently. "

"Because if--"

"No, no, go on, Dave. There, we won't send any more over you. "

Dave uttered a grunt, and forced the boat along once more, while Marstonsat in the stern an amused spectator of the boys' antics. 

Everything now went on orderly enough, till they had proceeded a longway on, in and out, for a quarter of a mile, when at a word from Davethe splashing and stabbing of the water grew more vigorous, the puntbeing now pretty close to the net, the irregular row of bundles ofrushes showing plainly. 

And now Dave executed a fresh evolution, changing the position of thepunt, for instead of its approaching end on, he turned it abreast, sothat it pretty well touched the reedy sides of the canal, and with thepoles now being plied on one side, the boat was made to approach moreslowly. 

"Now, mester, you'd better stand up, " said Dave. 

"Yes, Mr Marston, stand up, " cried Dick. "Look!"

Marston rose to his feet, and as he looked toward the entrance where thenet was spread there was a wave-like swell upon the surface, which mighthave been caused by the movement of the boat or by fish. 

There was no doubt about its being caused by fish, for all at once, close by the row of rush bundles, there was a splash. Then, as theyapproached, another and another. 

"They're feeling the net, " cried Dick excitedly. 

"Ay, keep it oop, lads, or they'll come back, " cried Dave, making thewater swirl with his pole, which he worked about vigorously. 

Even as he spoke there came another splash, and this time the sunflashed upon the glittering sides of the fish which darted out and fellover the other side of the top line of the net. 

"There goes one, " shouted Tom. 

"Ay, and theer goes another, " said Dave with a chuckle as he forced theboat along slowly. 

And now, as Marston watched, he saw that the irregular line of rushbundles which stretched across the mouth of the canal was changing itsshape, and he needed no telling that the regular semicircular form itassumed was caused by the pressure of a shoal of fish seeking to escapeinto the open mere, but of course checked by the fragile wall of net. 

"There must be a lot, Tom, " cried Dick excitedly. "Look, Mr Marston!There goes another. Oh, Dave, we shall lose them all!"

This was consequent upon another good-sized fish flying out of thewater, falling heavily upon one of the rush floats, and then dartingaway. 

"Nay, we sha'n't lose 'em all, " said Dave coolly. "Some on 'em's safeto go. Now, then, splash away. Reach over your end, young TomTallington, or some on 'em 'll go round that way. "

Tom changed his place a little, to stand now on what had been the frontof their advance, and thrusting in his pole he splashed and beat thenarrow space between him and the dense boggy side, where the sphagnumcame down into the water. 

Dick followed suit at the other end, and Dave swept his pole sidewise asif he were mowing weeds below the surface. 

"Oh!" cried Dick, as he overbalanced himself, and nearly went in fromthe stern. He would have gone headlong had not Mr Marston made abound, and caught him as he vainly strove to recover his balance. 

The effort was well timed, and saved him, but of course the consequencesof jumping about in a boat are well-known. The punt gave such a lurchthat Dave almost went out, while, as for Tom, he was literally jerked upas from a spring-board, and, dropping his pole, he seemed to be taking avoluntary dive, describing a semicircle, and going down head-first, notinto the narrow slit between him and the boggy shore, but right into thesemi-fluid mass of sphagnum, water, and ooze, where he disappeared tohis knees. 

Tom's dive sent the boat, as he impelled it with his feet, a couple ofyards away; and for a moment or two those who were in it seemed halfparalysed, till a roar of laughter from Dick, who did not realise thedanger, roused Dave to action. 

For the dense mass, while fluid enough to allow Tom to dive in, was notsufficiently loose to let him rise; and there he stuck, head downwards, and with his legs kicking furiously. 

"Now if we was to leave him, " said Dave sententiously, "he wouldn'tnever be no more trouble to his father; but I suppose we must pull himout. "

"Pull him out, man? Quick, use your pole!"

"Ay, I'm going to, mester, " said Dave coolly. "Theer we are, " hecontinued, as he sent the end of the punt back to where poor Tom's legswent on performing a series of kicks which were sometimes like thosemade by a swimming frog, and at others as if he were trying to walkupside down along an imaginary flight of aerial stairs. 

The time seemed long, but probably it was not half a minute from thetime Tom dived into the bog till the young engineer seized him by thelegs and dragged him into the boat, to sit upon the bottom, gasping, spitting, and rubbing the ooze from his eyes. But it was a good twominutes before he was sufficiently recovered to look round angrily, andin a highly-pitched quavering voice exclaimed:

"Look here: who was it did that?"

"Nobody, " roared Dick. "Oh, I say, Tom, what a game! Are your feetwet?"

Tom turned upon him savagely, but everyone in the boat was laughing, andhis countenance relaxed, and he rose up and leaned over the side of theboat to wash his face, which a splash or two relieved from the pieces ofbog and dead vegetation which adhered. 

"I don't mind, " he said. "Only you wouldn't have found it a game ifyou'd been there. "

"Let's get back quickly, " said Mr Marston, "or the boy will catchcold. "

"Oh, it won't hurt me!" cried Tom. "Let's catch the fish first. Theynever get cold. "

"Yes: let's haul the net out first, " said Dick. "Tom won't mind aducking. "

"Ay, we're going to hev out the net, " said Dave. "Splash away, my lad. That'll keep away the cold. "

Poor Tom's feet had not been wet, but as he stood up with the watertrickling from him, a couple of streams soon made their way down thelegs of his trousers into his boots. This was, however, soon forgottenin the excitement of the hauling. 

For, after a fresh amount of splashing, though Dave declared the fishhad all come back, the punt was run pretty close up to one side, thelines and pole taken on board, and the punt thrust toward the otherside. 

Before they reached it the bobbing of the rush floats and thesemicircular shape of the top line showed plainly enough that there werea good many fish there; and when Dave had secured the lines at the otherend, removed the poles, and by ingenious manipulation drawn on thebottom line so as to raise the cord, it was not long before the netbegan to assume the shape of a huge bag, and one that was pretty heavy. 

Every now and then a swirl in the water and a splash showed where somelarge fish was trying to escape, while sometimes one did leap out andget away. Then the surface would be necked with silvery arrows asswarms of small-fry appeared flashing into sight and disappearing, theselittle bits of excitement growing less frequent as the small fish foundtheir way over the top of the net, or discovered that the meshes werewide enough to allow them to pass through. 

"How is it, Dave, that all the little fish like to keep to the top ofthe water, and the big ones out of sight down at the bottom?" said Dick. 

Dave chuckled, or rather made a noise something like a bray. 

"S'pose you was a fish, young mester, wouldn't you, if you was a littleone, keep nigh the top if you found going down to the bottom among thebig uns meant being swallowed up?"

"Oh, of course!" cried Dick. "I forgot that they eat one another. Look, Mr Marston, that was a pike. "

He pointed excitedly to a large fish which rose to the surface, justshowing its dark olive-green back as it curved over and disappearedagain, making the water eddy. 

"They do not seem to have all gone, Dave, " said Mr Marston. 

"Nay, theer's a few on 'em left, mester, " replied Dave. "Now, my lads, all together. That's the way. "

The lines were drawn, and the weight of the great bag of meshes provedthat after all a good fair haul had been made, the net being drawn closeto the boat and the bag seeming to shrink in size till there was a massof struggling, splashing fish alongside, apparently enough to far morethan fill a bushel basket. 

"What are you going to do?" asked Mr Marston, who was as excited now asthe boys, while Dave worked away stolidly, as if it was all one of themost commonplace matters for him. 

"Haul the net into the boat, " cried Tom. 

"Nay, my net would break, " said Dave. "There's a lot of owd rushes androots, and rotten weeds in it. "

"I don't believe there are, Dave, " said Dick. "It's all solid fish. "

"Nay, lad, but net'll break. Let's hev out some of the big uns first. "

"Look! there's a fine one, " cried Dick, making a dash at a large fishwhich rose out of the writhing mass, but it glided through his hands. 

"Howd hard!" said Dave. "You lads go th'other side o' the punt or weshall capsize. Let me and the London gentleman get them in. "

"Oh!" groaned Tom. 

"No, I've only one hand to work with, " said Marston, who saw thereasonableness of the old fen-man's remark, for the side of the boat hadgone down very low once or twice, and the effect of dragging a portionof the laden net on board might have been sufficient to admit the water. "I'll give way, and act as ballast. "

"No, no!" cried Dick. "You help, Mr Marston. "

But the young engineer remained steadfast to his proposal, and seatedhimself on the other side. 

"Better let me lade out a few o' the big uns, Mester Dick, " said Dave, "while you lads hold on. "

The boys hardly approved of the proposal, but they gave way; and eachtaking a good grip of the wet net, they separated toward the head andstern, while Dave stayed in the middle, and taking off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves close to the shoulder, and then plunging his armsin among the swarm of fish he brought out a good-sized pike of six orseven pounds. 

This was thrown into the basket, to flap furiously and nearly leap out, renewing its efforts as another of its kind was thrown in to keep itcompany. 

"Is there a very big one, Dave?" cried Dick. 

"Nay; nought very big, " was the reply. "Draw her up, my lads. That'sreight. "

As Dave spoke he kept on plunging his hands into the splashing andstruggling mass of fish, and sometimes brought out one, sometimesmissed. But he kept on vigorously till, feeling satisfied that the netwould bear the rest, he drew the loaded line well over into the boat, and, giving the boys a hint to tighten the line, he plunged in his armsonce more, got well hold, and the next minute, by a dexterous lift, raised the bag, so that its contents came pouring over the edge of thepunt in a silvery, glittering cataract of fish, leaping, gliding, andflapping all over the bottom about his feet. 

Then a few fish, which were hanging by their gills, their heads beingthrust through the meshes, were shaken out, the net bundled up togetherand thrown into the fore part of the boat, and the little party cametogether to gloat over their capture. 

"Theer, lads, " said Dave, coolly resuming his jacket, "you can pitch 'emall into the baskets, all the sizable ones, and put all the little onesback into the watter. I'll throost the punt back, so as young TomTallington can get some dry clothes. "

These latter were the last things in Tom's mind, for just then, as Daveresumed the pole, and began sending the boat quickly through the water, the boy was trying to grasp an eel, which had found the meshes one sizetoo small for his well-fed body, and was now in regular serpentinefashion trying to discover a retreat into which he could plunge, and soescape the inevitable frying-pan or pot. 

Irrespective of the fact that a large eel can bite sharply, it is, aseveryone knows, one of the most awkward things to hold, for the moment agood grip of its slimy body is made, the result seems to be that ithelps the elongated fish to go forward or slip back. And this Tom foundas he grasped the eel again and again, only for it to make a fewmuscular contortions and escape. 

Then Dick tried, with no better effect, the pursuit lasting till theactive fish made its way in among the meshes of the net, when itscapture became easy, and it was swept into the great basket, to set thepike flapping and leaping once more. 

Then the sorting commenced, all the small fish being thrown back toincrease in size, while the rest of the slimy captives went into thebasket. 

There was no larger pike than the one first taken out of the net byDave, but plenty of small ones, all extremely dark in colour, as ifaffected by living in the amber-tinted water, and nearly all these werethrown back, in company with dozens of silvery roach and orange-finned, brightly gilded rudd, all thicker and broader than their relatives theroach. 

Many scores of fish were thrown overboard, some to turn up and float fora few minutes before they recovered their breath, as Tom called it, butfor the most part they dived down at once, uninjured by what they hadgone through, while their largeness fortunate friends were tossed intothe basket--gilded side-striped perch, with now and then a fat-looking, small-eyed, small-scaled tench, brightly brazen at the sides, andlooking as if cast in a soft kind of bronze. Then there were a coupleof large-scaled brilliantly golden carp; but the majority of the fishwere good-sized, broad, dingy-looking bream, whose slimy emanations madethe bottom of the punt literally ask for a cleansing when the basket wasnearly filled. 

By that time the party were well on their way to the Toft, and as theyneared the shore, it was to find the squire waiting to speak to theengineer, while John Warren was close behind with his dog, ready to joinDave, in whose company he went off after the latter had been up to thehouse and had a good feast of bread and cheese and ale. 

That evening the squire and Mr Marston went over to the works to seehow matters were progressing, to find all satisfactory, and the nightpassed quietly enough; but at breakfast the next morning, when some ofthe best of the tench appeared fried in butter, a messenger came over tosee the engineer on his way to the town for the doctor, to announce thatHez Bargle, the big delver, who had been leader of the party who cameover so fiercely about the attack upon Mr Marston, had been found thatmorning lying in the rough hovel where he slept alone, nearly dead. 

The man was sharply examined by the engineer, a fresh messenger in theshape of Hickathrift being found to carry on the demand for the doctor. But there was very little to learn. Bargle had not come up to his work, and the foreman of the next gang went to see why his fellow-ganger hadnot joined him, and found him lying on the floor of the peat-built hutquite insensible, with the marks of savage blows about the head, as ifhe had been suddenly attacked and beaten with a club, for there was nosign of any struggle. 

Mr Marston went over at once with the squire, Dick obtaining permissionto accompany them; and upon their arrival it was to find all the work ata stand-still, the men being grouped about with their sleeves rolled-up, and smoking, and staring silently at the rough peat hovel where theirfellow-worker lay. 

The engineer entered the shelter--it did not deserve the title ofcottage--and the squire and Dick followed, to find the man nearlyinsensible, and quite unable to give any account of how the affair hadhappened. 

The men were questioned, but knew nothing beyond the fact that they hadparted from him as usual to go to their own quarters, Bargle being theonly one who lodged alone. There had been no quarrel as far as MrMarston could make out, everyone he spoke to declaring that the work hadgone on the previous day in the smoothest way possible; and at lastthere seemed to be nothing to do but wait until the great, rough fellowcould give an account of the case for himself. 

The doctor came at last, and formed his opinion. 

"He is such a great, strong fellow that unless he was attacked by two orthree together, I should say someone came upon him as he lay asleep andstunned him with a blow on the head. "

"The result of some quarrel or offence given to one of the men underhim, I'm afraid, " said the engineer with a look of intense vexation inhis eyes. "These men are very brutal sometimes to their fellows, especially when they are placed in authority. Will he be long before heis better?"

"No, " replied the doctor. "The blows would have killed an ordinary man, but he has a skull like an ox. He'll be at work again in a fortnight ifhe'll behave sensibly, and carry out my instructions. "

A couple of days later Bargle was sitting up smoking, when the engineerentered the reed-thatched hut, in company with Dick. 

"Hallo, youngster!" growled the great fellow, with a smile slowlyspreading over his rugged face, and growing into a grin, which accordedill with his bandaged head; "shak' hands!"

Dick obeyed heartily enough, the great fellow retaining the lad's handin his, and slowly pumping it up and down. 

"We're mates, that's what we two are, " he growled. "You ar'n't half abad un, you ar'n't. Ah, mester, how are you? Arm better?"

"Mending fast, my lad; and how are you?"

"Tidy, mester, tidy! Going to handle a spade again to-morrow. "

"Nonsense, man! you're too weak yet. "

"Weak! Who says so? I don't, and the doctor had better not. "

"Never mind that. I want you to tell me how all this happened. "

"He ar'n't half a bad un, mester, " said the injured man, ignoring theremark, as he held on to the boy's hand. "We're mates, that's what weare. See him stand up again me that day? It were fine. "

"Yes; but you must tell me how this occurred. I want to take some stepsabout it. "

"Hey! and you needn't take no steps again it, mester. I shall lay holdon him some day, and when I do--Hah!"

He stretched out a huge fist in a menacing way that promised ill to hisassailant. 

"But do you know who it was?" said the engineer. 

"It warn't him, " growled Bargle, smiling at Dick. "He wouldn't come andhit a man when he's asleep. Would you, mate?"

"I wouldn't be such a coward, " cried Dick. 

"Theer! Hear that, mester! I knowed he wouldn't. He'd hev come up tome and hit me a doubler right in the chest fair and square, and said, `now, then, come on!'"

"Then someone did strike you when you were asleep, Bargle, eh?"

"Dunno, mester; I s'pose so. Looks like it, don't it?"

"Yes, my man, very much so. Then you were woke out of your sleep by ablow, eh?"

"Weer I? I don't know. "

"Tell me who have you had a quarrel with lately?"

"Quarrel?"

"Well, row, then. "

"Wi' him, " said the big fellow, pointing at Dick. 

"Oh, but he would not have come to you in the night!"

"Who said he would, mester?" growled Bargle menacingly. "Not he. He'dcome up square and give a man a doubler in the chest and--"

"Yes, yes, " said the engineer impatiently; "but I want to know who itwas made this attack upon you--this cowardly attack. You say it waswhile you slept. "

"Yes, I s'pose so; but don't you trouble about that, mester. I'm bigenough to fight my bit. I shall drop on to him one of these days, andwhen I do--why, he'll find it okkard. "

Mr Marston questioned and cross-questioned the man, but there was nomore to be got from him. He s'posed some un come in at that theer doorand give it him; but he was so much taken up with Dick's visit that hecould hardly think of self, and when they came away Mr Marston hadlearned comparatively nothing, the big fellow shouting after Dick:

"I've got a tush for you, lad, when I get down to the dreern again--oneI digged out, and you shall hev it. "

Dick said, "Thank you, " for the promised "tush, " and walked away. 

"I don't like it, " said Mr Marston. "Someone shooting at me; someonestriking down this man. I'm afraid it's due to ill-will towards me, Dick. But, " he added, laughing, "I will not suspect you, as Bargle letsyou off. "

CHAPTER THIRTEEN. 

THE SHAKES. 

The time glided on. Bargle grew better; Mr Marston's wound healed; andthese troubles were forgotten in the busy season which the fine weatherbrought. For the great drain progressed rapidly in the bright springand early summer-time. There were stoppages when heavy rains fell; buton the whole nature seemed to be of opinion that the fen had lainuncultivated for long enough, and that it was time there was a change. 

The old people scattered here and there about the edge shook theirheads, especially when they came over to Hickathrift's, and said itwould all be swept away one of these fine nights--_it_ being the newriver stretching week by week farther into the morass; but the flood didnot seem to have that effect when it did come. On the contrary, shortas was the distance which the great drain had penetrated, its effect waswonderful, for it carried off water in a few days which would otherwisehave stayed for weeks. 

Dick said it was a good job that Mr Marston had been shot. 

Asked why by his crony Tom, he replied that it had made them such goodfriends, and it was nice to have a chap who knew such a lot over at theToft. 

For the intimacy had grown; and whenever work was done, reports writtenout and sent off, and no duties raised their little reproving heads tosay, "You are neglecting us!" the engineer made his way to the Toft, ready to join the two boys on some expedition--egg-collecting, fishing, fowling, or hunting for some of the botanical treasures of the bog. 

"I wish he wouldn't be so fond of moss and weeds!" said Tom. "It seemsso stupid to make a collection of things like that, and to dry them. Why, you could go to one of our haystacks any day and pull out a betterlot than he has got. "

Dick said nothing, for he thought those summer evenings delightful. Heand Tom, too, had been ready enough to laugh at their new friendwhenever he displayed ignorance of some term common to the district; butnow this laughter was lost in admiration as they found how he couldpoint out objects in their various excursions which they had never seenbefore, book-lore having prepared him to find treasures in theneighbourhood of the Toft of whose existence its occupants knew naught. 

"Don't you find it very dull out there, Mr Marston, " said MrsWinthorpe one day, "always watching your men cut--cut--cut--through thatwet black bog?"

"Dull, madam!" he said, smiling; "why, it is one continual time ofexcitement. I watch every spadeful that is taken out, expecting to comeupon some relic of the past, historical or natural. By the way, Dick, did that man Bargle ever give you the big tusk he said he had found?"

"No, he has never said any more about it, and I don't like to ask. "

"Then I will. Perhaps it is the tooth of some strange beast which usedto roam these parts hundreds of years ago. "

"I say, Marston, " said the squire, "you'd like to see your great band ofruffians at work excavating here, eh?"

"Mr Winthorpe, " said the young man, "I'd give anything to be allowed tosearch the ruins. "

"Yes, and turn my place upside down, and disturb the home of the poorold monks who used to live here! No, no; I'm not going to have my placeragged to pieces. But when we do dig down, we come upon some curiousold stones. "

"Like your tobacco-jar?" the engineer said, pointing to the old carvencorbel. 

The squire nodded. 

"You've got plenty of digging to do, my lad, " he said, laughing. "Finish that, and then perhaps I may let you have a turn my way. Who'sgoing over to see John Warren?"

"Ah, I wish you would go, " said Mrs Winthorpe, "and take the poorfellow over some things I have ready, in a basket!"

"I'll go, " said Dick. "Hicky will take us in his punt. There'll beplenty of time, and it's moonlight at nine. "

"I'll go with you, Dick, " said Marston. "What's the matter with theman?"

"Our own particular complaint, which the people don't want you to kill, my lad, " said the squire. "Marsh fever--ague. Years to come when it'sswept away by the drainage, the people will talk of it as one of thegood things destroyed by our work. They are rare ones to grumble, andstick to their old notions. "

"But the people seem to be getting used to us now. "

"Oh yes! we shall live it down. "

Dick sat and listened, but said nothing. Still he could not helprecalling how one old labourer's wife had shaken her head and spit uponthe ground as his father went by, and wondered in his mind whether thiswas some form of curse. 

"Tak' you over to the Warren, my lad?" said Hickathrift, as they reachedthe wheelwright's shed, where the big fellow was just taking down a hoeto go gardening. 

"Why, of course I will. Straange niced evening, Mr Marston! Comealong. I'll put on my coat though, for the mist'll be thick to-night. "

Hickathrift took his coat from behind the door, led the way to the placewhere his punt was floating, fastened to an old willow-stump; and assoon as his visitors were aboard he began to unfasten the rope. 

"Like to tak' a goon, sir, or a fishing-pole?"

"No: I think we'll be content with what we can see to-night. "

Hickathrift nodded, and Dick thought the engineer very stupid, for a gunhad a peculiar fascination for him; but he said nothing, only seatedhimself, and trailed his hand in the dark water as the lusty wheelwrightsent the punt surging along. 

"Why, Hickathrift, " cried Mr Marston, "I thought our friend Dave awonder at managing a punt; but you beat him. What muscles you have!"

"Muscles, mester? Ay, they be tidy; but I'm nowt to Dave. I can shovestronger, but he'd ding [beat] me at it. He's cunning like. Always atit, you see. Straange and badly though. "

"What, Dave is?" cried Dick. 

"Ay, lad; he's got the shakes, same as John Warren. They two lay outtogether one night after a couple o' wild swans they seen, and it give'em both ager. "

It was a glorious evening, without a breath of air stirring, and thebroad mere glistened and glowed with the wonderful reflection from thesky. The great patches of reeds waved, and every now and then the weirdcry of the moor-hen came over the water. Here and there perfect cloudsof gnats were dancing with their peculiar flight; swallows were stillbusy darting about, and now and then a leather-winged bat fluttered overthem seeking its insect food. 

"What a lovely place this looks in a summer evening!" said Mr Marstonthoughtfully. 

"Ay, mester, and I suppose you are going to spoil it all with your bigdrain, " said the wheelwright, and he ceased poling for a few moments, asthe punt entered a natural canal through a reed-bed. 

"Spoil it, my man! No. Only change its aspect. It will be asbeautiful in its way when corn is growing upon it, and far more useful. "

"Ay, bud that's what our people don't think. Look, Mester Dick!"

Dick was already looking at a shoal of fish ahead flying out of thewater, falling back, and rising again, somewhat after the fashion offlying-fish in the Red Sea. 

"Know what that means?" said the wheelwright. 

"Perch, " said Dick, shortly. "A big chap too, and he has got one, " headded excitedly, as a large fish rose, made a tremendous splash, andthen seemed to be working its way among the bending reeds. "Might havegot him perhaps if we had had a line. "

Mr Marston made no reply, for he was watching the slow heavy flap-flapof a heron as it rose from before them with something indistinctly seenin its beak. 

"What has it got?" he said. 

Dick turned sharply, and made out that there seemed to be a round knobabout the great bird's bill, giving it the appearance of having thrustit through a turnip or a ball. 

"Why, it's an eel, " he cried, "twisting itself into a knot. Yes: look!"

The evening light gleamed upon the glistening skin of the fish, as itsuddenly untwisted itself, and writhed into another form. Then theheron changed its direction, and nothing but the great, grey beatingpinions of the bird were visible, the long legs outstretched like atail, the bent back neck, and projecting beak being merged in the bodyas it flew straight away. 

Hickathrift worked hard at the pole, and soon after rounding one greatbed of reeds they came in sight of the rough gravelly patch with asomewhat rounded outline, which formed the Warren, and upon which wasthe hut inhabited by John o' the Warren, out of whose name "o'-the" wasgenerally dropped. 

The moment they came in sight there was a loud burst of barking, andSnig, John Warren's little rabbit-dog, came tearing down to the shore, with the effect of rendering visible scores of rabbits, until thenunseen; for the dog's barking sent them scurrying off to their holes, each displaying its clear, white, downy tuft of a tail, which showedclearly in the evening light. 

The dog's bark was at first an angry challenge, but as he came nearerhis tone changed to a whine of welcome; and as soon as he reached thewater's edge he began to perform a series of the most absurd antics, springing round, dancing upon his hind-legs, and leaping up at each inturn, as the visitors to the sandy island landed, and began to walk upto the sick man's hut. 

There were no rabbits visible now, but the ground was honey-combed withtheir holes, many of which were quite close to the home of their tyrantmaster, who lived as a sort of king among them, and slew as many as hethought fit. 

John Warren's home was not an attractive one, being merely a hut builtup of bricks of peat cut from the fen, furnished with a small window, anarrow door, and thickly thatched with reeds. 

He heard them coming, and, as they approached, came and stood at thedoor, looking yellow, hollow of cheek, and shivering visibly. 

"Here, John Warren, we've brought you a basket!" cried Dick. "How areyou? I say, don't you want the doctor?"

"Yah! what should I do with a doctor?" growled the man, scowling at allin turn. 

"To do you good, " said Dick, laughing good-humouredly. 

"He couldn't tell me nothing I dunno. I've got the ager. "

"Well, aren't you going to ask us in?"

"Nay, lad. What do you want?"

"That basket, " said Dick briskly. "Here, how is Dave?"

"Badly! Got the ager!"

"But is he no better?"

"Don't I tell you he's got the ager!" growled the man; and without moreado he took the basket from the extended hand, opened the lid, andturned it upside down, so that its contents rolled upon the sand, anddisplayed the kind-heartedness of Mrs Winthorpe. 

Dick glanced at Marston and laughed. 

"Theer's your basket, " growled John Warren. "Want any rabbuds?"

"No; they're out of season, John!" cried Dick. "You don't want us here, then?"

"Nay; what should I want you here for?" growled the man. "Can't you seeI've got the ager?"

"Yes, I see!" cried Dick; "but you needn't be so precious cross. Good-night!"

John Warren stared at Dick, and then at his two companions, and, turningupon his heel, walked back into the hut, while Snig, his dog, seatedhimself beside the contents of the basket, and kept a self-constitutedguard over them, from which he could not be coaxed. 

"Might have showed us something about the Warren, " said Dick in anill-used tone; "but never mind, there isn't much to see. "

He turned to go back to the boat. 

"I say, Hicky, " he said; "let's go and see Dave. You won't mindpoling?"

"He says I won't mind poling, Mester Marston, " said Hickathrift with achuckle. "Here, come along. "

John Warren had disappeared into the cottage, but as they walked awaysome of the rabbits came to the mouths of their holes and watched theirdeparture, while Snig, who could not leave his master's property, uttered a valedictory bark from time to time. 

"I say, Mr Marston, " cried Dick, pausing, "isn't he a little beauty, tohave such a master! Look at him watching that food, and not touchingit. Wait a minute!"

Dick ran back to the dog and stooped down to open a cloth, when thefaithful guard began to snarl at him and show his teeth. 

"Why, you ungrateful beggar!" cried Dick; "I was going to give you a bitof the chicken. Lie down, sir!"

But Snig would not lie down. He only barked the more furiously. 

"Do you want me to kick you?" cried Dick. 

Snig evidently did, for not only did he bark, but he began to makecharges at the visitor's legs so fiercely that Dick deemed it prudent tostand still for a few moments. 

"Now, then, " he said, as the dog seemed to grow more calm; "just see ifyou can't understand plain English!"

The dog looked up at him and uttered a low whine, accompanying it by awag of the tail. 

"That's better!" cried Dick. "I'm going to pull you off a leg of thatchicken for yourself. Do you understand?"

Snig gave a short, friendly bark. 

"Ah, now you're a sensible dog, " said Dick, stooping down to pick up thecloth in which the chicken was wrapped; but Snig made such a furiousonslaught upon him that the boy started back, half in alarm, half inanger, and turned away. 

"Won't he let you touch it, Mester Dick?" chuckled Hickathrift. 

"No; and he may go without, " said Dick. "Come along!"

They returned to the boat, Snig giving them a friendly bark or two asthey got on board; and directly after, with lusty thrusts, thewheelwright sent the punt along in the direction of Dave's home. 

The evening was still beautiful, but here and there little patches ofmist hung over the water, and the rich glow in the west was fast fadingout. 

"I say, Mr Marston, " said Dick, "you'll stay at our place to-night?"

"No; I must go home, thank you, " was the reply. 

"But it will be so late!"

"Can't help that, Dick. I want to be out early with the men. They cameupon a great tree trunk this afternoon, and I want to examine it when itis dug out. Is that Decoy Dave's place?"

"That's it, and there's Chip!" cried Dick, as the boat neared the shore. "You see how different he'll be!"

Dick was right in calling attention to the dog's welcome, for Chip'sbark was one of delight from the very first, and dashing down to thewater, he rushed in and began swimming rapidly to meet them. 

"Why, Chip, old doggie!" cried Dick, as, snorting and panting with thewater he splashed into his nostrils, the dog came aside, and after beinglifted into the boat gave himself a shake, and then thrust his nose intoevery hand in turn. "This is something like a dog, Mr Marston!"continued Dick. 

"Yes; but he would behave just the same as the other, " said theengineer. 

"Here's Dave, " said Dick. "Hoy, Dave!"

The decoy-man came slowly down toward the shore to meet them, and wavedhis hand in answer to Dick's call. 

"Oh, I am sorry!" cried the latter. "I wish I'd brought him somethingtoo. I daresay he's as bad as John Warren. "

Dave's appearance proved the truth of Dick's assertion. The decoy-mannever looked healthy, but now he seemed ghastly of aspect andexceedingly weak, as he leaned upon the tall staff he held in his hand. 

"We've come to see how you are, Dave, " cried Dick as the boat bumped upagainst the boggy edge of the landing-place. 

"That's kindly, Mester Dick. Servant, mester. How do, neighbour?"

Dave's head went up and down as if he had a hinge at the back; and asthe party landed, he too shivered and looked exceedingly feverish andill. 

"Why, Dave, my man, you ought to see a doctor!" said Mr Marston, kindly. 

"Nay, sir, no good to do ought but bear it. Soon be gone. Only ashivering fit. "

"Well, I'm trying to doctor you, " said the engineer, laughing. "Once weget the fen drained, ague will begin to die out. "

"Think so, mester?"

"I am sure so. "

"Hear that, neighbour?" said Dave, looking at Hickathrift. "Think o'the fen wi'out the shakes. "

"We can't stop, Dave, " cried Dick; "because we've got to get home, forMr Marston to walk over to the sea-bank to-night; but I'll come overand see you to-morrow and bring you something. What would you like?"

"What you heven't got, Mester Dick, " said the fen-man, showing hisyellow teeth. "Bit of opium or a drop o' lodolum. Nay, I don't wantyou to send me owt. Neighbour Hick'thrift here'll get me some when hegoes over to market. "

Hickathrift nodded, and after a little more conversation the partyreturned toward the boat. 

"Straange and thick to-night, Mester Dick, " said Dave. "Be thickersoon. Yow couldn't pole the boat across wi'out losing your way. "

"Couldn't I?" cried Dick. "Oh, yes, I could! Good-night! I want youto show Mr Marston some sport with the ducks some day. "

"Ay; you bring him over, Mester Dick, and we'll hev' a good turn at the'coy. Good-night!"

They pushed off, and before they were fifty yards from the shore theboat seemed to enter a bank of mist, so thick that the wheelwright, ashe poled, was almost invisible from where Mr Marston and Dick wereseated. 

"I say, Hicky, turn back and let's go along the edge of the fog, " criedDick. 

"Nay, it's driftin' ower us, " replied the wheelwright. "Best keep onand go reight through. "

"Go on, then, " cried Dick. "Feel how cold and damp it is. "

"Feel it, Dick? Yes; and right in my wounded arm. "

"Does it hurt much?"

"No; only aches. Why, how dense it is!"

"Can you find your way?"

"Dunno, mester. Best keep straight on, I think. Dessay it'll soon passover. "

But it did not soon pass over; and as the wheelwright pushed on itseemed to be into a denser mist than ever. 

For a long time they were going over perfectly clear water; but soon therustling of reeds against the prow of the boat told that they must begoing wrong, and Hickathrift bore off to the right till the reeds warnedhim to bear to the left. And so it went on, with the night falling, andthe thick mist seeming to shut them in, and so confusing him that atlast the wheelwright said:

"Best wait a bit, Mester Dick. I dunno which way I'm going, and it'slike being blind. "

"Here, let me have the pole!" cried Dick. And going to the front of theboat, the wheelwright good-humouredly gave way for him, with the resultthat the lad vigorously propelled the craft for the space of about tenminutes, ending by driving it right into a reed-bed and stopping short. 

"Oh, I say, here's a muddle!" he cried. "You can't see where you aregoing in the least. "

"Shall I try?" said Mr Marston. 

"Yes, do, please, " cried Dick, eager to get out of his difficulty. "Take the pole. "

"No, thank you, " was the laughing reply. "I cannot handle a pole, andas to finding my way through this fog I could as soon fly. "

_Bang_!

A heavy dull report of a gun from close by, and Hickathrift startedaside and nearly went overboard, but recovered himself, and sat downpanting. 

"Here! hi! Mind where you're shooting!" cried Dick. "Who's that?"

He stared in the direction from which the sound had come, but nothingbut mist was visible, and no answer came. 

"Do you hear? Who's that?" shouted Dick with both his hands to hismouth. 

No answer came, and Hickathrift now shouted. 

Still no reply. His great sonorous voice seemed to return upon him, asif he were enveloped in a tremendous tent of wet flannel; and though heshouted again and again it was without result. 

"Why, what's the matter with your hand, man?" cried Mr Marston, as thewheelwright took his cotton kerchief from his neck, and began to bind itround his bleeding palm. 

"Nowt much, sir, " said the man smiling. 

"Why, Hickathrift, were you hit?"

"S'pose I weer, sir. Something came with a whuzz and knocked my handaside. "

"Oh!" ejaculated Dick; while Mr Marston sat with his heart beating, since in spite of his efforts to be cool he could not help recalling theevening when he was shot, and he glanced round, expecting to see a flashand hear another report. 

Dick seized the pole which he had laid down, and, thrusting it down, forced the punt back from the reeds, and then, as soon as they were inopen water, began to toil as hard as he could for a few minutes till thewheelwright relieved him. Declaring his injury to be a trifle, he inturn worked hard with the pole till, after running into the reedsseveral times, and more than once striking against patches of bog andrush, they must have got at least a mile from where the shot was fired, by accident or purposely, when the great fellow sat down very suddenlyin the bottom of the boat. 

As he seated himself he laid the pole across, and then without warningfell back fainting dead away. 

A few minutes, however, only elapsed before he sat up again and lookedround. 

"Bit sick, " he said. "That's all. Heven't felt like that since one o'squire's horses kicked me and broke my ribs. Better now. "

"My poor fellow, your hand must be badly hurt!" said Mr Marston; whileDick looked wildly on, scared by what was taking place. 

"Nay, it's nowt much, mester, " said the great fellow rather huskily, "and we'd best wait till the mist goes. It's no use to pole. We may begoing farther away, like as not. "

Dick said nothing, but stood listening, fancying he heard the splash ofa pole in water; but there was no sound save the throbbing of his ownheart to break the silence, and he quite started as Mr Marston spoke. 

"How long is this mist likely to last?"

"Mebbe an hour, mebbe a week, " was the unsatisfactory reply. "Bud whenthe moon rises theer may come a breeze, and then it'll go directly. "

Hickathrift rested his chin upon his uninjured hand, and Dick sat downin silence, for by one consent, and influenced by the feeling that somestealthy foe might be near at hand keen-eyed enough to see them throughthe fog, or at all events cunning enough to trace them by sound, theysat and waited for the rising of the moon. 

The time seemed to be drawn out to a terrible extent before there was aperceptible lightening on their left; and as soon as he saw that, thoughthe mist was as thick as ever, Hickathrift rose and began to work withthe pole, for he knew his bearings now by the position of the risingmoon, and working away, in half an hour the little party emerged fromthe mist as suddenly as they had dived in, but they were far wide oftheir destination, and quite another hour elapsed before they reachedthe old willow-stump, where the wheelwright made fast his boat, andassuring his companions that there was nothing much wrong he went to hiscottage, while Mr Marston gladly accompanied Dick to the Toft, feelingafter the shock they had had that even if it had not been so late, awalk down to the sea-beach that night would neither be pleasant nor oneto undertake. 

Dick was boiling over with impatience, and told his father the news themoment they entered the room where supper was waiting. 

"A shot from close by!" cried the squire, excitedly. 

"Yes, Mr Winthorpe, " said the engineer; "and I'm afraid, greatlyafraid, it was meant for me. "

CHAPTER FOURTEEN. 

HICKY'S OPINIONS. 

"Nay, lads, I don't say as it weer the will-o'-the-wisps, only as itmight have been. "

"Now, Hicky, " cried Dick, "who ever heard of a will-o'-the-wisp with agun?"

"Can't say as ever I did, " said the wheelwright; "but I don't see whynot. "

"What stuff! Do you hear what he says, Tom? He says it may have beenone of the will-o'-the-wisps that shot and broke his finger. "

"A will-o'-the-wisp with a gun!" cried Tom. "Ha! ha! ha!"

"Why shouldn't a will hev a goon as well as a lanthorn?" saidHickathrift, stolidly. 

"Why, where would he get his powder and shot?" said Dick. 

"Same place as he gets his candle for his lanthorn. "

"Oh, but what nonsense! The will-o'-the-wisp is a light that movesabout, " cried Dick. "It is not anybody. "

"I don't know so much about that, " said the wheelwright, lifting up hisbandaged hand. "All I know is that something shot at me, and broke myfinger just the same as something shot at Mester Marston. They don'tlike it, lads. Mark my words, they don't like it. "

"Who don't like what?" said Tom. 

"Will-o'-the-wisps don't like people cootting big drains acrost the fen, my lads. They don't mind you fishing or going after the eels with thestong-gad; but they don't like the draining, and you see if it don'tcome to harm!"

"Nonsense!" cried Dick. "But I say, Hicky, you are so quiet about itall, did you see who it was shot at you?"

The big wheelwright looked cautiously round, as if in fear of beingoverheard, and then said in a husky whisper:

"Ay, lads, I seen him. "

"What was he like, Hicky?" said Tom, who suffered a peculiar kind ofthrill as the wheelwright spoke. 

"Somethin' between a big cloud, shape of a man, and a flash of lightningwith a bit o' thunder. "

"Get out!" roared Dick. "Why, he's laughing at us, Tom. "

"Nay, lads, I'm not laughing. It's just what I seemed to see, and it'most knocked me over. "

"It's very queer, " said Dick thoughtfully. "But I say, Hicky, what didthe doctor say to your hand? Will it soon get well?"

"Didn't go to the doctor, lad. "

"Why, what did you do then?"

"Went to old Mikey Dodbrooke, the bone-setter. "

"What did you go to him for?"

"Because it's his trade. He knows how to mend bones better than anydoctor. "

"Father says he's an old sham, and doesn't understand anything aboutit, " said Dick. "You ought to have gone to the doctor, or had him, sameas Mr Marston did. "

"Tchah!" ejaculated Hickathrift. "Why, he had no bones broken. Doctorsdon't understand bone-setting. "

"Who says so?"

"The bone-setter. "

"Well, is it getting better, Hicky?"

"Oh yes! It ar'n't very bad. Going down to the drain?"

"Yes. Mr Marston's found a curious great piece of wood, and the menare digging it out. "

"Don't stop late, my lads, " said the wheelwright, anxiously. "Iwouldn't be coming back after dark when the will-o'-the-wisps is out. "

"I don't believe all that stuff, Hicky, " said Dick. "Father says--"

"Eh! What does he say?" cried the wheelwright, excitedly. 

"That he thinks it's one of Mr Marston's men who has a spite againsthim, and that when there was that shot the other night, it was meant forthe engineer. "

"Hah! Yes! Maybe, " said the wheelwright, drawing a long breath andlooking relieved. "But I wouldn't stop late, my lads. "

"We shall stop just as long as we like, sha'n't we, Tom?"

"Yes. "

"Then I shall come and meet you, my lads. I sha'n't be happy till I seeyou back safe. "

"I say, Hicky, you've got a gun, haven't you?" said Tom. 

"Eh! A goon!" cried the wheelwright, starting. 

"Yes; you've got one?"

"An old one. She's roosty, and put awaya. I heven't hed her out foryears. "

"Clean it up, and bring it, Hicky, " said Dick. "We may get a shot atsomething. I say, you'd lend me that gun if I wanted it, wouldn't you?"

"Nay, nay; thou'rt not big enew to handle a goon, lad. Wait a bit forthat. "

"Come along, Tom!" cried Dick. "And I say, Hicky, bring theforge-bellows with you, so as we can blow out the will's light if hecomes after us. "

"Haw--haw--haw--haw!" rang out like the bray of a donkey with a badcold; and Jacob, Hickathrift's lad, threw back his head, and roared tillhis master gave him a sounding slap on the back, and made him close hismouth with a snap, look serious, and go on with his work. 

"Jacob laughs just like our old Solemn-un, sometimes, " said Dickmerrily. "Come along!"

The morning was hot, but there was a fine brisk breeze from off the sea, and the lads trudged on, talking of the progress of the drain, and theway in which people grumbled. 

"Father says that if he had known he wouldn't have joined theadventure, " said Tom. 

"And my father says, the more opposition there is, the more he shall goon, for if people don't know what's good for them they've got to betaught. There's a beauty!"

Dick went off in chase of a swallow-tail butterfly--one of the beautifulinsects whose home was in the fens; but after letting him come veryclose two or three times, the brightly-marked creature fluttered offover the treacherous bog, a place of danger for followers, of safety forthe insect. 

"That's the way they always serve you, " said Dick. 

"Well, you don't want it. "

"No, I don't want it. Yes I do. Mr Marston said he should like a fewmore to put in his case. I say, they are getting on with the drain, "Dick continued, as he shaded his eyes and gazed at where, a mile away, the engineer's men were wheeling peat up planks, and forming a longembankment on either side of the cutting through the fen. 

"Can you see Mr Marston from here?"

"Why, of course not! Come along! I say, Tom, you didn't think what oldHicky said was true, did you?"

"N-n-no. Of course not. "

"Why, you did. Ha--ha--ha! That's what father and Mr Marston callsuperstition. I shall tell Mr Marston that you believe inwill-o'-the-wisps. "

"Well, so do you. Who can help believing in them, when you see themgoing along over the fen on the soft dark nights!"

"Oh, I believe in the lights, " said Dick, "but that's all I don'tbelieve they shot Mr Marston and old Hicky; that's all stuff!"

"Well, somebody shot them, and my father says it ought to be found outand stopped. "

"So does mine; but how are you going to find it out? He thinkssometimes it's one and sometimes another; and if we wait long enough, mygentleman is sure to be caught. "

"Ah, but is it a man?"

"Why, you don't think it's a woman, do you?"

"No, of course not; but mightn't it be something--I mean one of the--well, you know what I mean. "

"Yes, I know what you mean, " cried Dick--"a ghost--a big tall whiteghost, who goes out every night shooting, and has a will-o'-the-wisp oneach side with a lantern to show him a light. "

"Ah, it's all very well for you to laugh now out in the sunshine; but ifit was quite dark you wouldn't talk like that. "

"Oh yes, I should!"

"I don't believe it, " said Tom; "and I'll be bound you were awfullyfrightened when Hicky was shot. Come, tell the truth now--weren't you?"

"There goes a big hawk, Tom. Look!" cried Dick, suddenly becominginterested in a broad-winged bird skimming along just over the surfaceof the fen; and this bird sufficed to change the conversation, which wasgetting unpleasant for Dick, till they came to the place where the menwere hard at work on the huge ditch, the boggy earth from which, piledup as it was, serving to consolidate the sides and keep them fromflooding the fen when the drain was full, and the high-tide preventedthe water from coming out by the flood-gates at the end. 

Mr Marston welcomed the lads warmly. 

"I've got a surprise for you, " he said. 

"What is it--anything good?" cried Dick. 

"That depends on taste, my boy. Come and see. "

He led the way along the black ridge of juicy peat, to where, in anoblique cutting running out from the main drain, a dozen men were atwork, with their sharp spades cutting out great square bricks of peat, and clearing away the accumulations of hundreds of years from the sidesof what at first appeared to be an enormous trunk of a tree, but which, upon closer inspection, drew forth from Dick a loud ejaculation. 

"Why, it's an old boat!" cried Tom. 

"That it is, my lad. "

"But how did it come there?" cried Dick, gazing wonderingly at the blacktimber of the ancient craft. 

"Who can tell, Dick? Perhaps it floated out of the river at some timewhen there was a flood, and it was too big to move back again, and thepeople in the days when it was used did not care to dig a canal fromhere to the river. "

"Half a mile, " said Dick. 

"No, no. Not more than a quarter. "

"But it doesn't look like a fishing-boat, " said Dick. 

"No, my lad. As far as I can make out, it is the remains of an old wargalley. "

"Then it must have belonged to the Danes. "

"Danes or Saxons, Dick. "

"But the wood's sound, " cried Tom. "It can't be so old as that. "

"Why not, Tom? Your people dig out pine-roots, don't they, perfectlysound, and full of turpentine? This is pine wood, and full ofturpentine too. "

"But it's such a while since the Danes and Saxons were here, MrMarston, " said Tom. 

"A mere yesterday, my lad, compared to the time when the country abouthere was a great pine and birch forest, before this peat began to form. "

"Before the peat began to form!"

"To be sure! Pine and birch don't grow in peaty swamps, but in sandyground with plenty of gravel. Look all about you at the scores of greatpine-roots my men have dug out. They are all pine, and there must havebeen quite a large forest here once. "

"And was that farther back?"

"Perhaps thousands of years before the Danes first landed. The peatpreserves the wood, Tom. Bog is not rotten mud, but the decayed massesthat have grown in the watery expanse. Well, Dick, what do you think ofit?"

"I wish we could get it home to our place to keep as a curiosity?"

"But it would want a shed over it, my lad, for the rain, wind, and sunwould soon make an end of it. "

"Then, what are you going to do?"

"Get it out and up that slope they are cutting, along some planks if wecan, and then fill up the trench. "

The lads inspected the curious-looking old hull, whose aspect seemed tobring up recollections of the history of early England, whenfierce-looking men, half sailors, half warriors, came over from theNorland in boats like this, propelled by great oars, and carrying ashort thick mast and one sail. All the upper portions had rotted away, but enough of the hull remained to show pretty well what its shape musthave been, and that it had had a curiously-projecting place that musthave curved out like the neck of a bird, the whole vessel having borne arough resemblance to an elongated duck or swan. 

The boys were, however, by no means so enthusiastic as the engineer; andas a great figure came looming up behind them, Dick was ready enough towelcome the incident of the man's reminder about the disturbance at theToft. 

"We're mates, we are, " cried the great fellow, holding out his broadhairy hand to take Dick's in his grasp, and shake it steadily up anddown. "I heven't forgot, I heven't forgot. "

"Are you all right again, Bargle?" said Dick, trying in vain toextricate his hand. 

"Yeees. Knock o' the yead don't hot me. See here. "

He slowly drew out of his pocket a great piece of dark-yellow ivory, evidently the point, and about a foot in length, of the tusk of someanimal, probably an elephant. 

"Theer's what I promised you, lad. That's a tush, that is. What yerthink o' that?"

Dick did not seem to know what to think of it, but he expressed hisgratitude as well as he could, and had to shake hands again and againwith the great fellow, who seemed to take intense delight in smiling atDick and shaking his head at him. 

How long this scene would have lasted it is impossible to say; but atlast, as it was growing irksome, there came a shout from the end of thedrain. 

"They've found something else, " said Mr Marston; and the lads needed notelling to hasten their steps, for the finding of _something_ buried inthe peat could not fail to prove interesting; but in this case thediscovery was startling to the strongest nerves. 

As they neared the end of the drain where the men were slowly delvingout the peat, and a section of the bog was before them showing abouttwelve feet of, the wet black soil, Mr Marston stepped eagerly forward, and the group of men who were standing together opened out to let himand his companions pass through. 

Dick shuddered at the object before him: the figure of a man clothedapparently in some kind of leather garb, and partly uncovered from theposition it had occupied in the peat. 

"Some un been murdered and berrid, " growled Bargle, who was closebehind. 

"No, my man, " said Mr Marston, taking a spade and cutting down somemore of the turf, so as to lay bare the figure from the middle of thethigh to the feet. 

"Lemme come, " growled Bargle, striding forward and almost snatching thesharp spade from his leader's hand. 

"Don't hurt it, " cried Mr Marston, giving way. 

"Nay, no fear o' hotting him, " growled Bargle, grinning, and, bending tohis work, he deftly cut away the black peat till the figure stood beforethem upright in the bog as if fitted exactly in the face of the sectionlike some brownish-black fossil of a human being. 

It was the figure of a man in a leather garb, and wearing a kind ofgaiters bound to the legs by strips of hide which went across and acrossfrom the instep to far above the knee. There was a leathern girdleabout the waist, and one hand was slightly raised, as if it had held astaff or spear, but no remains of these were to be seen. Probably thehead had once been covered, but it was bare now, and a quantity of longshaggy hair still clung to the dark-brown skin, the face being halfcovered by a beard; and, in spite of the brown-black leathery aspect ofthe face, and the contracted skin, it did not seem half so horrible asmight have been supposed. 

"Why, boys, " said Mr Marston after a long examination, "this might bethe body of someone who lived as long back as the date when that oldgalley was in use. "

"So long back as that!" cried Dick, looking curiously at the strangefigure, whose head was fully six feet below the surface of the bog. 

"Got a-walking across in the dark, and sinked in, " said Bargle gruffly. 

That might or might not have been the case. At any rate there was thebody of a man in a wonderful state of preservation, kept from decay bythe action of the peat; and, judging from the clothing, the body musthave been in its position there for many hundred years. 

"What's got to be done now?" said Bargle. "We want to get on. "

Mr Marston gave prompt orders, which resulted in a shallow grave beingdug in the peat about fifty yards from where the drain was being cut, and in this the strange figure was carefully laid, ready for exhumationby any naturalist who should wish to investigate farther; and after thiswas done, and a careful search made for remains of weapons or coins, thecutting of the drain progressed; till, after an enjoyable day with theengineer, the boys said good-bye, and tried to escape without having toshake hands with Bargle. 

But this was not to be. The big fellow waylaid them, smiling andholding out his hand to Dick for a farewell grip, and a declaration thatthey were mates. 

About half-way back, and just as it was growing toward sundown, theywere met by Hickathrift, who came up smiling, and looking like a Barglecarefully smoothed down. 

"Thought I'd see you safe back, " said Hickathrift so seriously that afeeling of nervousness which had not before existed made the boys glanceround and look suspiciously at a reed-bed on one side and a patch ofalders on the other. 

"What are you talking like that for?" cried Dick angrily; "just as if wecouldn't walk along here and be quite safe! What is there to mind?"

The wheelwright shook his head and looked round uneasily, as if he toofelt the influence of coming danger; but no puff of smoke came fromclump of bushes or patch of reeds; no sharp report rose from the aldersthat fringed part of the walk, and they reached the wheelwright'scottage without adventure. 

Here Hickathrift began to smile in a peculiar way, and, having only onehand at liberty, he made use of it to grip Dick by the arm, and use himas if he were an instrument or tool for entrapping Tom, with the resultthat he packed them both into his cottage, and into the presence of hiswife, who was also smiling, as she stood behind a cleanly-scrubbedtable, upon which was spread a tempting-looking supper. 

"Here, Hicky, don't! What do you mean?" cried Dick, whom the greatfellow's grip punished. 

"Wittles, " said the wheelwright, indulging in a broad grin. 

"Oh, nonsense! We're off home. Tom Tallington's going to have supperwith me. "

"Nay, he's going to hev his supper here along o' uz, " said Hickathrift. "Didn't I say, missus, I'd bring 'em home?"

"Yes, Mester Dick, " cried Mrs Hickathrift; "and thank ye kindly, dostop. "

"Oh, but we must get back!" cried Dick, who shrank from partaking of thewheelwright's kindly hospitality. 

"Theer, I towd you so, " cried Mrs Hickathrift to her husband, andspeaking in an ill-used tone. "They're used to table-cloths, andsquire's wife's got silver spoons. "

"Nay, nay, never mind the cloths and spoons, Mester Dick; stop and havea bite. "

"But, Hicky--"

"Nay, now, " cried the wheelwright interrupting; "don't thee say thou'rtnot hungry. "

"I wasn't going to, " said Dick, laughing, "because I am horribly hungry. Aren't you, Tom?"

Tom showed his teeth. It was meant for a smile, but bore a wonderfulresemblance to a declaration of war against the food upon the table. 

"Don't be proud, then, lad. Stop. Why, you nivver knew me say Iwouldn't when I've been at your place. "

That appeal removed the last objection, and the boys took off theircaps, sat down with the wheelwright, and Mrs Hickathrift, according tothe custom, waited upon them. 

It is unnecessary to state what there was for supper, and how many timesDick and Tom had their plates replenished with--never mind what--and--itdoes not signify. Suffice it to say that for the space of half an hourthe wheelwright's wife was exceedingly busy; and when at the end of anhour the trio rose from the table, and Hickathrift filled his pipe, bothof his visitors seemed as if they had gone through a process of taming. For though a boy--a hearty boy in his teens--living say anywhere, can, as a rule, eat, in the exception of boys of the old fen-land, where theeastern breezes blow right off the German Ocean, they were troubled withan appetite which was startling, and might have been condemned but forthe fact that it resulted in their growing into magnificent specimens ofhumanity, six feet high not being considered particularly tall. 

It was quite late when the boys reached the Toft, to find the squirestanding outside smoking his pipe and waiting for them. 

"Where have you been, lads?" he said; and on being told, he uttered agood-humoured grunt, and laying his hand upon Tom's shoulder, "Here, " hesaid, "you'd better stop with Dick to-night. They won't be uneasy athome?"

"No, sir, " said Tom naively; "I told father perhaps I should stay. "

"Oh, you did, eh!" said the squire. "Well, you're welcome. If youdon't want any supper, you'd better be off to bed. "

Both lads declared that they did not want any supper, but Mrs Winthorpehad made certain preparations for them which they could not resist, andsomething very like a second meal was eaten before they retired for thenight. 

As a rule, when one boy has a visitor for bed-fellow, it is some timebefore there is peace in that room. Set aside unruly demonstrationswhose effects are broken pillowcase strings, ruptured bolsters, andloose feathers about the carpet, if nothing worse has happened in theway of broken jugs and basins, there is always something else to say atthe end of the long conversation upon the past day's occurrences or themorrow's plans. 

But in this instance it was doubtful whether Dick fell asleep in the actof getting into bed, or whether Tom was nodding as he undressed; sufficeit that the moment their heads touched pillows they were fast asleep, and the big beetle which flew in at the open window and circled aboutthe room had it all to himself. Now he ground his head against theceiling, then he rasped his wings against the wall, then he buzzed inone corner, burred in another, and banged himself up against the whitedimity curtains, till, seeing what appeared to be a gleam of light inthe looking-glass, he swept by the open window, out of which he couldeasily have passed, and struck himself so heavily against the mirrorthat he fell on the floor with a pat, and probably a dint in his steelyblue armour. 

Then came a huge moth, and almost simultaneously a bat, to whirr roundand round over the bed and along the ceiling, while from off the darkwaters of the fen came from time to time strange splashings and uncouthcries, which would have startled a wakeful stranger to these parts. Nowand then a peculiar moan would be heard, then what sounded like adismal, distant roaring, followed by the cackling of ducks, andplaintive whistlings of ox-birds, oyster-catchers, and sandpipers, allof which seemed to be very busy hunting food in the soft stillness ofthe dewy night. 

But neither splash nor cry awakened the sleepers, who were, like BarneyO'Reardon, after keeping awake for a week; when they went to sleep theypaid "attintion to it, " and the night wore on till it must have been oneo'clock. 

The bat and the moth had managed to find their way out of the openwindow at last, and perhaps out of malice had told another bat andanother moth that it was a delightful place in there. At all eventsanother couple were careering about, the moth noisily brushing its wingsagainst wall and ceiling, the bat silently on its fine soft leatherwings, but uttering a fine squeak now and then, so thin, and sharp, andshrill that, compared to other squeaks, it was as the point of a fineneedle is to that of a tenpenny nail. 

The beetle had got over the stunning blow it had received, to someextent, and had carefully folded up and put away its gauzy wings beneaththeir hard horny cases, deeming that he would be better off and safer ifhe walked for the rest of the night, and after a good deal of awkwardprogression he came to the side of the bed. 

It was a hot night, and some of the clothes had been kicked off, so thatthe counterpane on Tom's side touched the floor. In contact with thispiece of drapery the beetle came, and began to crawl up, taking his timepretty well, and finally reaching the bed. 

Here he turned to the left and progressed slowly till he reached thepillow, which he climbed, and in a few more moments found himself infront of a cavern in a forest--a curiously designed cavern, with a cosyhole in connection with certain labyrinths. 

This hole seemed just of a size to suit the beetle's purpose, and heproceeded to enter for the purpose of snuggling up and taking a goodlong nap to ease the dull aching he probably felt in his bruised head. 

But, soundly as Tom Tallington slept, the scriggly legs of a beetle wererather too much when they began to work in his ear, and he started upand brushed the creature away, the investigating insect falling on thefloor with a sharp rap. 

Tom sat listening to the sounds which came through the window and heardthe splashing of water in the distance, and the pipings and quackings ofthe wild-fowl; but as he leaned forward intently and looked through theopen window at the starry sky, there were other noises he heard whichmade him think of sundry occasions at home when he had been awakened bysimilar sounds. 

After a few moments he lay down again, but started up directly, got outof bed, and went to the window to listen. 

The next minute he was back at the bed-side. 

"Dick, " he whispered, shaking him; "Dick!"

"What is it?"

"There's something wrong with the horses. "

"Nonsense!"

"There is, I tell you. Sit up and listen. "

"Oh, I say, what a nuisance you are! I was having such a dream!"

Dick sat up and listened, and certainly a sound came from the yard. 

He jumped out of bed and went with Tom to the open window, but all wasperfectly still round the house, and he was about to return to bed whena dim shadowy-looking creature flew silently across the yard. 

Dick uttered a peculiar squeak which was so exactly like that of a mousethat the bird curved round in its flight, came rapidly up toward thewindow, and hovered there with extended claws, and its great eyesstaring from its full round face. 

The next moment it was flying silently away, but another shrill squeakbrought it back to hover before them, staring in wonder, till, apparently divining that it was being imposed upon, it swooped away. 

"What a big owl!" said Tom in a whisper. "There! Hear that?"

Dick did hear _that_! A low whinnying noise, and the blow given by ahorse's hoof, as if it had stamped impatiently while in pain. 

Directly after there was a mournful lowing from the direction of thecow-house, followed by an angry bellow. 

"That's old Billy, " said Dick. "What's the matter with the things!It's a hot night, and some kind of flies are worrying them. Here, let'sget to bed. "

He was moving in the direction of the bed; but just then there wasanother louder whinnying from the lodge where the cart-horses were kept, and a series of angry stamps, followed by a bellow from the bull. 

"There is something wrong with the beasts, " said Dick. "I'll callfather. No, I won't. Perhaps it's nothing. Let's go down and see. "

"But we should have to dress. "

"No; only slip on our trousers and boots. You'll go with me, won'tyou?"

"Yes, I'll go, " said Tom; "but I don't want to. "

"What! after waking me up to listen!"

"Oh, I'll go!" said Tom, following his companion's lead and beginning todress. 

"Tell you what, " said Dick; "we'll get out of the window and drop down. "

"And how are we to get back?"

"Short ladder, " said Dick laconically. "Come along. Ready?"

"Yes, I'm ready. "

The boys moved to the window, and, setting the example, Dick placed oneleg out, and was seated astride the sill, when the bed-room door wassuddenly thrown open, and the squire appeared. 

"Now, then! What does this mean?" he cried angrily. 

"We heard something wrong with the beasts, father, and we were going tosee, " cried Dick. 

"Heard something wrong with the beasts, indeed! Yes, and I heardsomething wrong with them. Now, then, both of you jump into bed, and ifI hear another sound, I'll--"

The squire stopped short, for there was a piteous whinny from the stableagain. 

"There, father! and old Billy's got something the matter with him too, "cried Dick eagerly, the bull endorsing his statement with a melancholybellow. 

"Why, there is something wrong, then, my boys!" said the squire, angrynow with himself for suspecting them of playing some prank. "Here, let's go down. "

He led the way directly, and lit a lantern in the kitchen beforethrowing back the bolts and going out, armed with a big stick, the boysfollowing close behind, and feeling somewhat awe-stricken at thestrangeness of the proceedings. 

"Hullo, my lads, what is it then?" cried the squire, entering the roughstable, where three horses were fastened up, and all half lying in thestraw. 

One of them turned to him with a piteous whinny, and then the great softeyes of all three of the patient beasts were turned toward them, thelight gleaming upon their eyes strangely. 

"Why, what's this?" cried the squire, holding down the lantern, whoselight fell upon the hocks of the poor beasts. "Oh, it's too cruel! whatsavage has done this!"

As he held down the light the boys hardly realised what had happened. All they could make out was that the light gleamed horribly on thehorses' hind-legs, and Dick exclaimed:

"Why, they must have been kicking, father, terribly!"

"Kicking, my boy!" groaned the squire. "I wish they had kicked themonster to death who has done this. "

"Done this! Has anybody done this?" faltered Dick, while Tom turnedquite white. 

"Yes; don't you understand?"

"No, father, " cried Dick, looking at him vacantly. 

"The poor beasts have been houghed--hamstrung by some cruel wretch. Here, quick!"

He hurried across to the lodge where a favourite cow and the bull weretethered, and as he saw that these poor beasts had been treated in thesame barbarous way--

"Did you hear or see anyone, Dick?" he cried, turning sharply on hisson. 

"No, father. I was asleep till Tom woke me, and told me that the beastswere uneasy. "

"It is too cruel, too cruel, " groaned the squire huskily. "What is tohappen next? Here, go and call up the men. You, Tom Tallington, go androuse up Hickathrift. We may be in time to catch the wretches who havedone this. Quick, boys! quick! And if I do--"

He did not finish his sentence; but as the boys ran off he walked intothe house, to return with his gun, and thus armed he made a hasty surveyof the place. 

By the time he had done, Dick was back with the men, and soon after, Hickathrift came panting up, with Tom; but though a hot search wascarried on for hours, nothing more was found, and by breakfast-time fivereports had rung out on the bright morning air, as Squire Winthorpeloaded his old flint-lock gun with a leaden bullet five times, and putthe poor helpless suffering brutes out of their misery. 

"Three good useful horses, and the best-bred bull and cow in the marsh, squire, " said Farmer Tallington, who had come over as soon as he heardthe news. "Any idea who it could be?"

"No, " said the squire; "thank goodness, no. I don't want to find outthe wretch's name, Tallington, for I'm a hot-tempered, passionate man. "

"It's the drain, neighbour, the drain, " said the farmer, shaking hishead. "Let's be content with the money we've lost, and try to put astop to proceedings before we suffer more and worse. There's them aboutas hev sworn the drain sha'n't be made, and it's the same hands thatfired my stacks and those shots, neighbour. "

"I daresay it is, farmer, " said the squire sternly; "but do you knowwhat it says in the Book about the man who puts his hand to the plough?"

"Ay, I think I know what you mean. "

"And so do you, Dick?" said the squire. 

"Yes, father. "

"Well, my boy, I've put my hand to the plough to do a good, honest, sensible work, and, knowing as I do, that it's a man's duty to go onwith it, I shall stand fast, come what may. "

"And not leave me in the lurch, Mr Winthorpe?" said a voice. 

"No, Marston, not if they hamstring me in turn, " cried the squire, holding out his hand to the young engineer, who had hurried over. "Isuppose I shall get a bullet in me one of these days; but never mind, we've begun the drain. And do you hear, all of you?" he shouted;"spread it about that the fen will be drained, and that if they killedme, and a hundred more who took my place, it would still be done. "

CHAPTER FIFTEEN. 

THE MAN OF SUSPICION. 

There was a good deal of inquiry made about the houghing of SquireWinthorpe's horses, and there was a great deal of excitement before thepoor beasts were skinned, for their hides to go to town to the tanyardand their carcasses were carted away. 

People came from miles in all directions, including all the men who wereat work for Mr Marston--every one to stand and stare at the poor deadbeasts and say nothing. 

Small farmers, fen-men, people from the town, folk from the shore wherethe cockle-beds lay, and the fisher-people who were supposed to liveupon very little fish and a great deal of smuggling. 

Even Dave and John Warren punted themselves over, both looking yellowand thin, and so weak that they could hardly manage their poles; andthey too stared, the former frowning at the bull and shaking his head atthe horses, but wiping away a weak tear as he stood by the cow. 

"Many's the drop of good fresh milk the missus has given me from her, Mester Dick, " he said with a sigh; "and now theer's no cow, no milk, nonothing for a poor sick man. Hey, bud the ager's a sad thing when youhev it bad as this. "

There was a visit from a couple of magistrates, who asked a great manyquestions, and left behind them a squinting constable, who took very badsnuff, and annoyed Dick by looking at him suspiciously, as if hebelieved him to be the cause of all the mischief. This man stopped inthe village at a cottage next to Hickathrift's, from which place he madelittle journeys in all directions, evidently full of the belief that hewas going to discover the people who did all this mischief in theneighbourhood. 

This constable's name was Thorpeley, and he did a great deal of businesswith a brass box and a short black clay-pipe, in which he smoked shortblack tobacco. 

"I don't know, " said Dick one day as he stood with his arms folded, leaning upon Solomon, talking to Tom Tallington and staring at Thorpeleythe constable, who was leaning against a post smoking and staring withone eye at the fen, while with the other he watched the group of threein the Toft farm-yard. 

"Well, I'm sure I don't, " said Tom. "He never goes over to the town tobuy any. "

"And Hicky says nobody fetches any for him, but he always seems to haveplenty though he hasn't any luggage or box or anything. "

"No; I saw him come, " said Tom. "He only had a small bundle in a redhandkerchief!"

"And he keeps on smoking from morning till night. "

"And watching you!"

"Yes. He's always watching me, " cried Dick in an aggrieved tone. "Stand still, will you? Yes, you'd better! You kick, and I'll kickyou!"

This was to Solomon, who had hitched up his back in an arch, laid downhis ears, thrust his head between his fore-legs and his tail between hishind, giving himself the aspect of being about to reach under and bitethe tip of the said tail. But that was not the case, and Dick knew byexperience that all this was preparatory to a display of kicking. 

Solomon may have understood plain English or he may not. This is amatter which cannot be decided. At all events he slowly raised his headand twisted his tail in a peculiar manner, stretched out his neck, andcocking his ears he sighed loudly a sigh like the fag-end of a longbray, all of which seemed to point to the fact that he felt himself tobe a slave in leathern chains, gagged with a rusty bit, and at the mercyof his master. 

"Flies tease him, " said Tom apologetically. "Poor old Sol!"

"Don't touch him!" cried Dick, "or he'll kick you. "

"Poor old Sol!" said Tom again, and this time he approached the donkey'shead. 

"Don't touch him, I tell you! He'll bite if you do! He's in a nastytemper because I would put on his bridle, and I was obliged to persuadehim to be quiet with a pitchfork handle. "

"What a shame!" said Tom. 

"Shame, eh! Just you look here, " cried Dick, and down one of his coarseworsted stockings, he displayed a great bruise on his white leg. "Hedid that three days ago, and he tried to do it again this morning, onlyI was too quick for him. "

"Haugh! haugh-h-haugh!" sighed Solomon in a most dismal tone. 

"Says he's sorry for it!" cried Tom, grinning. 

"Oh, very well then, I'm sorry I hit him with the pitchfork handle. Isay, Tom, I gave him such a whop!"

"Where did you hit him?"

"Where I could. You can't pick your place when you try to hit Solomon. You must look sharp or you'll get it first. "

"But he wouldn't be so disagreeable if you were kind to him, " said Tom. "Poor old Sol, then!"

There was a sharp twist of the donkey's neck, and, quick as lightning, the fierce little animal made a grab at Tom. Fortunately he missed hisshoulder, but he got tightly hold of the sleeve of his coat, and held ontill Dick gave him a furious kick, when he let go. 

"Kick him again, Dick!" cried Tom, who looked very pale. "Ugh! thetreacherous beast!"

"It's his nature, " said Dick coolly, as he resumed his position andleaned over the donkey's back. "He always was so from a foal! Father'salways kind to dumb beasts, and feeds them well, and nurses them whenthey're ill; but he often gives Solomon a crack. I say, look at oldThorpeley; he's watching you now. "

"He isn't; he's looking all round. I say, Dick, you can't tell where heis looking. I wonder what makes any one squint like that!"

"Had one of his eyes knocked out and put in again upside down, " saidDick. 

"Get out!" cried Tom. 

"Haugh, haugh, haugh, haugh, haugh, haugh!" cried Solomon. 

"There, he's laughing at you. I say, Dick, do you think he really doeswatch us?"

"Sure of it. He thinks I houghed the poor horses. I know he does, andhe expects to find out that I did it by following me about. "

"How do you know he suspects you?"

"Because he is always asking questions about our window being open thatnight, and about how I found out there was something the matter with thepoor beasts. I say, Tom, I hate that fellow. "

"So do I, " said Tom in tones which indicated his loyalty to his friend. "Let's serve him out!"

"Oh, but you mustn't! A constable is sworn in. "

"What difference does that make?"

"I don't know, but he is; and he has a little staff in his pocket with abrass crown upon it, and he says, `In the king's name!'"

"Well, let him if he likes. The king in London can't know what we dodown here in the fen. I say, let's serve him out!"

"No, " said Dick, "it might get father into trouble. I say, I know whatI'll do if you like. "

"What, take him out in a boat and upset it?"

"No, lend him Solomon to ride!"

As he spoke Dick looked at Tom and Tom looked at Dick before they bothburst into a hearty fit of laughter. 

"Here, let's get away. He's coming!"

Dick turned to go, but Solomon objected. Possibly he understood whathad been said. At all events he stood fast, and refused to move till, in obedience to a call from his friend, Tom took hold of the bridle anddragged, while Dick made a sudden rush behind, as if to deliver atremendous kick. 

Solomon sighed and consented to move, and, evidently considering himselfmastered, he became amiable, made a playful attempt to bite, and thenstarted off at a canter. 

"Jump on, Tom!" cried Dick. 

The lad wanted no second invitation, but scuffled on to the donkey'sback as it went on, and the trio trotted along for about a hundredyards. 

"Where shall we go?" cried Tom. 

"Straight on. Let's see how Mr Marston's getting along. Here, youride on to the alders' corner and tie up Sol, and then go on. "

"I say: here's the constable coming. " Dick looked back and frowned. 

"There, I told you so!" he cried. "It doesn't matter what I do, thatman watches me. "

"He's only going for a walk. "

"Going for a walk!" cried Dick fiercely; "he's following me. You'll seehe'll keep to me all the time. I should like to serve him out. "

Tom was going to say something else, but his words were jerked out atrandom, and the next died away, for, as if he approved of the smell ofthe salt-sea air, Solomon suddenly whisked his tail, uttered a squeak, and after a bound went off at a tremendous gallop, stretching out like agreyhound, and showing what speed he possessed whenever he liked to putit forth. 

The sudden spring he made produced such comical effects that DickWinthorpe stopped short in the rough track along the edge of the fen, tolaugh. For Tom Tallington had been seated carelessly on the donkey'sback right behind, and turned half round to talk to his companion. Theconsequence was that he was jerked up in the air, and came down again asif bound to slip off. But Tom and Dick had practised the art of ridingalmost ever since they could run alone, and in their early lessons onehad ridden astride the top bar of a gate hundreds of times, while theother swung it open and then threw it back, the great feat being to givethe gate a tremendous bang against the post, so as to nearly shake therider from his seat. 

The jerk was unpleasant, at times even painful; but it taught the ladsto hold on with their legs, and made them better able to display theirprowess in other mounts which were tested from time to time. 

They were not particular as to what they turned into a steed. Sometimesit was Farmer Tallington's Hips, the brindled cow, when she was fetchedfrom the end of the home close to be milked. This would have been oneof the calmest of rides, and afforded plenty of room for both boys toride Knight-Templar fashion, after old Sam had helped them on, but itwas not a ride much sought for, because Hips was not a mollusc. Quitethe contrary: she was a vertebrate animal, very vertebrate indeed, and aride on her back represented a journey upon the edge of a Brobdingnagianblunt saw, set up along a kind of broad lattice covered with a skin. 

There was a favourite old sow at the Toft which was often put inrequisition, but she only carried one. Still it was a comfortable seat, only in the early days of the boys' life that pig's back was wont totickle; and then too she had a very bad habit. 

Of course these rides were not had in the sty, nor yet in the farm-yard, but out along by the edge of the fen, and the enjoyment was nearlyperfect till it was brought to an end, always in the same way, as soonas a nice convenient shallow pool was encountered, for here LadyWinthorpe, as she was called, always lay down for a comfortable wallow, when it was no use to wait for another ride, for the seat became toowet. 

Tallington's ram was splendid when he could be caught, which was notoften; but upon the rare occasions when he did fall captive to the boys'prowess, he had rather a trying time, considering how big he was, andhow thin his legs. But his back was beautiful. The wool formed amagnificent cushion, and a couple of locks could be grasped for securityby the rider, while the attendant, who waited his turn drove with abranch of furze or heather. 

A pole across a stone wall was another splendid aid to horsemanship, see-saw fashion, or turned into a steed for one, by wedging the thickend into a hole and riding the thin end, spring fashion; while, as theyears rolled by and the boys were back from school, an occasional mountwas had upon Saxon, Tallington's old grey horse, falsely said to benearly two hundred. But if he was not, he looked it. 

Of course it was pleasant to be seated on high upon his back, but theride was not exhilarating, for whether he was bound for the ploughedfields, or to harrow, or to fetch home a load, it seemed to make nodifference to Saxon, who always seemed to be examining the ground beforehim with his big dull eyes before he lifted a foot to set it down inadvance. He was a cautious beast, and this may have arisen from hishaving been often bogged. These rides were, then, not much soughtafter, and when Solomon was placed at Dick's disposal he was voted byfar the best, and the donkey was not long in finding that his youngmaster had learned how to ride; as, with his long head he debated how hemight best rid himself of such incubi as Dick and his friend. 

All this is explanatory of the reason why Tom Tallington did not slipoff at Solomon's first bout, but kept on when he came down by hookinghimself, as it were, with his leg and gripping a piece of the donkey'sskin with his hand. 

By these means he regained his perpendicular, but only for a moment, Solomon having at command a perfect battery of ruses for ridding himselfof a rider. No sooner was Tom upright than the donkey gave the whole ofhis skin and muscles a wrench sidewise, which felt as if the seat wasbeing dragged away. 

The consequence was that Tom nearly went off to the right. He was toogood an assman, though, and by a dexterous gymnastic feat he draggedhimself once more upright, when Solemn-un's back suddenly grew round andbegan to treat Tom as if he were a ball. Now he was jerked up; now hewas jerked forward; now he was jerked back--bob--bob--bob--bob--till henearly went off over the tail. There was another bout of kicking, andaway went Tom again forward till he was a long way on toward thedonkey's neck, but only to shuffle himself back to the normal seat uponthe animal, after which, in token of defeat, Solomon went on out ofsight at a rapid canter, leaving Dick laughing till he had to wipe hiseyes. 

"He will be so sore and so cross!" cried Dick, as he walked swiftly on;when, involuntarily turning his head, he saw that the constable wasfollowing him. 

"The idiot!" cried the lad angrily. "Well, he shall have a run for it. "

Setting his teeth and doubling his fists, he bent his head, and startedoff running as hard as he could go, with the result that as he was goingsomewhat after the fashion of a hare making use of his eyes to watch hispursuer, and not looking ahead, he suddenly went round a curve, rightinto Hickathrift's chest, and was caught and held by the bigwheelwright. 

"Why, Mester Dick, what now?"

"Don't stop me, Hicky. I was running because that stupid constablefellow is after me. "

"Hey, and what should make you run away from constable, lad?" saidHickathrift severely. "You've done nowt to be 'shamed on?"

"No, of course not!" cried Dick, shaking himself free. "Did you meetTom Tallington?"

"Ay, iver so far-off, trying to stop old Solomon, and he wouldn't stay. "

Dick nodded and glanced at him; and then, as he ran on again, the ladground his teeth. 

"It's a shame!" he cried. "Why, old Hicky thinks now that there'ssomething wrong. I'll serve that old stupid out for all this; see if Idon't!"

He ran on, getting very hot, and beginning now to abuse Tom Tallingtonfor going so far before he tied up; and at last saw the donkey browsingby the side of a tree, while Tom was well on along the track to thedrain, walking as fast as he could go. 

Solomon pointed one ear at Dick, as he came up, but took no furthernotice, being engaged in picking nutriment out of some scraps of asunlikely looking vegetation as could be found in the fen. Perhaps itwas the thistly food he ate which had an effect upon his temper and madehim the awkward creature he had grown. 

"My turn now, " cried Dick, unfastening the rein, which was tightly tiedwith string to the stout stem of an alder. 

Solomon had cocked one ear at his master as he came up. The animal nowlaid both ears down and began to back so rapidly along the road, keepingthe reins at their full stretch, that it was impossible to mount him, and it was evident that a long battle was beginning, in which the assmight win. 

Dick, however, found an ally in the shape of Grip, Hickathrift'slurcher, who had been evidently off on some expedition upon his ownaccount, and was now hastening to overtake his master. 

Solomon's attention was taken up by Dick, and he did not perceive Gripcoming up at full speed till, with a rush, the dog made a bound at him, and sent him towards Dick, who was dragging at the reins. 

Grip seemed to enjoy the donkey's astonishment as it backed from him andthen wheeled sharply round to deliver a goodly kick; but before thiscould be planted satisfactorily, Dick had mounted and began tugging atthe reins and drumming with his heels in a way there was no resisting, so Solomon went off at a gallop and Grip followed his master. 

At the end of a mile Tom had been passed, and Dick drew up by the firstscrubby willow he reached, to tie up the donkey and leave it for hisfriend; but a glance back showed him the constable returning toward theToft, so the boy stood leaning over Solomon's back, waiting. 

"I don't want to ride, " he said to himself. "Tom can have the donkey, and I'll walk. "

"Why didn't you go on?" cried Tom, as he came up with a very red face. 

"Don't want to be alone, " replied Dick lazily, as he gazed away over thewide-stretching fen-land with the moist air quivering in the glorioussunshine. "I say, Tom, what a shame it seems!"

"What seems a shame?"

"Corn-fields and pastures and orchards are all very well, but the oldfen does look so lovely now!"

"Yes, it does, " said Tom; "and father's horribly sorry he joined in thedraining scheme. He says it's going to cost heaps of money, and then beno good. But come along. "

"Where?" said Dick. 

"I don't know. Where we're going. "

"We're not going anywhere, are we?"

"Well, you are a fellow! Come galloping off here into the fen, and thensay you don't know where we're going!"

"I did it to get away from that Thorpeley. What shall we do?"

"Pst! Look there! What's that?"

"Snake!"

"No; it's an adder. Look!"

"'Tisn't, " said Dick; "it's a snake. Adders aren't so long as that. No, no; don't throw at it. Let's see what it's going to do. "

The reptile was crossing the track from a tuft of alders, and seemed tobe about three feet long and unusually thick, while, as it reached thedense heath and rushes, interspersed with grey coral moss on that side, it disappeared for a few moments, and they thought it had gone; butdirectly after it reappeared, gliding over a rounded tuft of bog-moss, and continued its way. 

"Why, it's going to that pool!" cried Dick. 

"To drink, " said Tom. "No wonder. Oh, I am hot and thirsty! Here, Icould knock him over with a stone easily. "

"Let him alone, " said Dick, who had become interested in the snake'smovements. "How would you like to be knocked over with a stone?"

"I'm not a snake, " said Tom, grinning. 

"Look!" cried Dick, as the reptile reached the edge of one of the manydeep fen pools, whose amber-coloured water was so clear that thevegetation at the bottom could be seen plainly, and, lit up by thesunshine, seemed to be of a deep-golden hue across which every now andthen some armoured beetle or tiny fish darted. 

To the surprise of both, instead of the snake beginning to drink, itwent right into the water, and, swimming easily and well, somewhat afterthe fashion of an eel, sent the water rippling and gleaming toward thesides. 

"Look!" cried Tom. "Oh, what a bait for a pike!" For just then one ofthese fishes about a foot long rose slowly from where it had lainconcealed at the side, and so clear was the water that they could makeout its every movement. 

"Pooh! a pike could not swallow a snake, " said Dick, as the reptile swamon, and the pike slowly followed as if in doubt. 

"Oh, yes, he could!" said Tom, "a bit at a time. "

"Nonsense! Don't make a noise; let's watch. The snake's a yard long, and the pike only a foot. I say, can't the snake swim!"

It could unmistakably, and as easily as if it were quite at home, gliding along over the surface and sending the water rippling away inrings, while the little pike followed its movements a few inches fromthe top so quietly that the movements of its fins could hardly be madeout. 

"Now he'll have him!" said Tom, as the snake reached the far side of thepool, raised its head, darted out its tongue, and then turned and swamback toward the middle, glistening in the sun and seeming to enjoy itsbath. 

But Tom was wrong; the pike followed closely, evidently watching itsstrange visitor, but making no effort to seize it, and at last, quiteout of patience, the lads made a dash forward. 

The result was a swirl in the water, and the fish had gone to somelurking-place among the water plants, while the snake made a dive, andthey traced its course right to the bottom, where it lay perfectlystill. 

They sat down to wait till it came up, but after a time, during whichTom had lamented sorely that he had not killed the snake, which seemedcomfortable enough in its prolonged dive, they both grew tired, andreturned to where Solomon stood making good use of his time and browsingupon everything which seemed to him good to eat. 

"Here, let's go and see how they're getting on with the drain, " saidDick. 

"But we're always going to see how they're getting on with the drain, "grumbled Tom. 

"Never mind! Mr Marston may have had something else dug up. "

"I don't want to see any more old boats; and as for that other thing--Ugh!"

"Never mind! Come along! Perhaps they've found something else. "

"Don't believe it. Are you going to ride?"

"No; you can ride, " said Dick. "I'll walk. "

The heat of the day seemed to make the boys silent as they walked androde in turn, gazing longingly the while over the spreading poolsglistening in the sunshine, with the dragon-flies glancing here andthere upon their gauzy wings which rustled and thrilled as they dartedand turned in their wonderful flight, chasing their unfortunate wingedprey. Every now and then a beautiful swallow-tail butterfly, plentifulonce in these regions, flitted by, inviting pursuit where pursuit wasimpossible; while from the waving beds of giant grass which rose fromthe water and now began to show their empurpled heads, came thechattering of the reed-birds, as if in answer to the chirping of thecrickets in the crisp dark heath. 

"Look at the bulrushes, Tom!" said Dick lazily. And he nodded in thedirection of a patch of the tall, brown, poker-like flowers and leavesof the reed-mace. 

"Oh, yes, look at them!" said Tom sourly. "What a shame it is that weweren't born with wings! Everything grows where you can't get at it. If there's a good nest, it's surrounded by water. "

"Like an island, " assented Dick. 

"The best butterflies are where you can't get them without you go in aboat. "

"You can't catch butterflies out of a boat, " said Dick contemptuously. 

"You could, if you poled it along fast enough. Here, you jump on now. What a hot back old Solomon has got!"

"I daresay he thinks you've got horribly hot legs, " said Dick, laughing. "Here, come along quick!"

"What for?"

"Can't you see!" cried Dick, starting off in the direction of where themen were at work; "there's something the matter. "

Certainly something did seem to be wrong, for the men were hurryingalong the black embankment of the great drain in the direction of thesea; and as the boys reached the spot where the digging had been goingon, the explanation was plain. 

The last time they were there, the men were at work in the bottom of theoozy dike, where a little water lay, soaked out of the sides; but now, right away to the flood-gates, there was a glistening lane of water, theopen ditch resembling a long canal in which a barge could have beensailed. 

"There isn't anything the matter, " said Tom. "They've let the water into try how it goes. "

But when at last they reached the sea end, it was to find Mr Marstonvery busy with his men closing the great gates to keep out the tide, which had risen high and threatened to flood a good deal of low-lyingground. For probably by carelessness the sluice-gate down by the seahad been left open, and the tide had come up and drowned the works. 

The two lads stood looking on for some time, until the gates wereclosed, and then, as the men sauntered away to their lodgings, MrMarston joined them. 

"What did you fill the dike for, Mr Marston?" said Dick. 

"Yes: wasn't it to try how it would go?"

"No, " said the young engineer. "I did not want it filled. The gateswere left open. "

"And what are you going to do now?"

"Wait till the tide's down, so that we can open them and let the waterrun off. "

"You can't do anything till then?"

"We could begin digging farther on, " said Mr Marston; "but as the tidewill soon be going down I shall wait. It is a great nuisance, but Isuppose I must have some accidents. "

The lads stayed with him all the afternoon, waiting till the tide hadturned, and getting a good insight at last into how the drain would act. 

It was very simple, for as soon as the tide was low enough the water ranrapidly from the drain; and that evening the gates were closed tightlyto keep out the next rise, the great dike being quite empty. 

The engineer walked back with the boys, for there was no riding. Theyhad left Solomon tethered where he could get a good feed of grass andtender shoots; but upon reaching the spot when they were ready to returnthere was the tethering line gnawed completely through, and the donkeywas out of sight. 

"Not taken away?" said Mr Marston. 

"No: he has gone home, " said Dick. "That rope wasn't thick enough tohold him. I thought he would get away. "

"Then why not have asked me for a thicker rope, Dick?"

"What's the good! If I had tied him there with a thicker rope, he'dhave bitten through the bridle. He wanted to go back home, and when hedoes, he will go somehow. "

"He seems a wonderful beast, " said Mr Marston, smiling. 

"I don't know about being wonderful. He's a rum one, and as cunning asa fox. Why, he'll unfasten any gate to get into a field, and he'll getout too. He unhooks the doors and lifts the gates off the hinges, andone day he was shut up in the big barn, and what do you think he did?"

"I know, " said Tom; "jumped out of the window. "

"Yes, that he did, " said Dick. "He climbed up the straw till he got tothe window, and then squeezed himself through. "

That evening, after tea, the squire was seated in the orchard where thestone table had been built up under the big gnarled apple-tree, and theengineer was talking to him earnestly as Dick came up from going part ofthe way home with his companion. 

"Shall I go away, father?" asked the lad, as he saw how serious hisfather looked. 

"No, my boy, no. You are getting old enough now to think seriously; andthis draining business will be more for you than for myself--better foryour children than for you. Mr Marston has some more ugly news aboutthe work. "

"Ugly news, father?"

"Yes, Dick, " said Mr Marston; "that was no accident this afternoon, buta wilful attempt made by some miserably prejudiced person to destroy ourwork. "

"But it did no harm, Mr Marston. "

"No, my boy; but the ignorant person who thrust open that gate hoped itwould. If it had been a high-tide and a storm, instead of stopping ourwork for a few hours he might have stopped it for a few weeks. "

"And who do you think it was?" asked Dick. 

"Someone who hates the idea of the drain being made. I have seen theconstable, Mr Winthorpe, " continued Marston. 

"Well, and what does he say?"

"That he thinks he knows who is at the bottom of all these attacks. "

"And whom does he suspect?" cried Dick excitedly. 

"He will not say, " replied the engineer. "He only wants time, and thenhe is going to lay his hand upon the offender. "

"Or offenders, " said the squire drily. 

"Yes, of course, " said the engineer; "but the mischief is doubtlessstarted by one brain; those who carry it out are only the tools. "

Mr Marston had come with the intention of staying for the night at theToft; and after a ramble round the old orchard and garden, and some talkof a fishing expedition into the wilder parts of the fen "some day whenhe was not so busy, " supper was eaten, and in due time Dick went to bed, to stand at his window listening to the sounds which floated off themere, and at last to throw himself upon his bed feeling hot and feverishwith his thoughts. 

"I wish Tom was here to talk to, " he said to himself. "But if I didtalk to him about it he'd only laugh. That constable thinks I'm at thebottom of it all, and that I set the people to do these things, and he'strying to make Mr Marston believe it, and it's too bad!"

He turned over upon one side, but it was no more comfortable than theother; so he tried his back, but the bed, stuffed as it was with thesoftest feathers from the geese grown at the farm, felt hard and thorny;there was a singing and humming noise made by the gnats, and the animalsabout the place were so uneasy that they suggested the idea of somethingwrong once more. 

Then at last a drowsy sensation full of restfulness began to come overthe weary lad, and he was fast dropping off to sleep, when--_Cock-a-doodle-doo_!

A shrill and sonorous challenge came from one of the lodges, which madeDick start and throw one leg out of bed, sit up, and throw himself downagain. 

"Ugh! you stupid!" he cried angrily. "I don't believe I've been asleepyet. "

He seized his pillow, gave it a few savage punches, and lay down again, but only to find himself more wakeful than ever, with the unpleasantfeeling that he was suspected of fighting against his father's plans;and after turning the matter over and over, and asking himself whetherhe should go straight to his father in the morning and tell him, orwhether he should make Mr Marston his confidant, he came to theconclusion that he should not like to, for it might make themsuspicious, and think that he really was concerned in the case. 

Then he resolved to tell Hickathrift and ask his advice, or Dave, orJohn Warren. 

Lastly, he resolved to tell his mother; and as he thought of how shewould take his hand and listen to him attentively, and give him the bestof counsel, he asked himself why he had not thought of her before. 

But he grew more hot and uncomfortable, thinking till his troubled brainseemed to get everything in a knot, and he had just come to theconclusion that he would say nothing to anybody, for the constable'ssuspicions were not worth notice, when there was a sharp rap on thefloor as if something had fallen, and he lay listening with every senseon the strain. 

He had not long to wait, for from beneath his window came a low familiarwhistle. 

"Why, it's Tom!" he thought, starting up in bed; and as he was in theact of gliding out, a second thought troubled him--Tom there in themiddle of the night! And if the squire heard him he would believe theywere engaged in some scheme. 

"Tom!" he whispered, as he leaned out of the open window. 

"Yes. May I come up?"

"No, don't. What do you want? Why have you come over?"

"Nobody knows I've come. I got out of the bed-room window and ranacross. "

"What for?"

"I can't tell you down here, Dick; I must come up. "

He ran away softly over the grass, and came back in a few minutes withone of the short ladders, of whose whereabouts he knew as well as Dick, and planting it against the window-sill, he ran up and thrust in hishead. 

"I say, Dick, " he whispered, "I couldn't sleep to-night, and I went tothe window and looked out. "

"So did I. Well, what of that? Here, be quick and go, or father willhear you, and we shall get into trouble. "

"There's going to be something done to-night. "

"What! the horses again, or a fire?"

"I don't know, only I'm sure I saw two men creep along on their handsand knees down to the water. "

"Pigs, " said Dick, contemptuously. 

"They weren't. Think I can't tell a man from a pig!"

"Not in the dark. "

"I tell you they were men. "

"Pigs!"

"Men! and they went down to the water. "

"To drink, stupid! They were pigs! They look just like men crawling inthe dark!"

"Pigs don't get in punts and pole themselves along the mere!"

"You didn't see two men get in a punt and pole themselves along!"

"No, but I heard them quite plain. "

"Well, and suppose you did, what then?"

"I don't know. Only I couldn't sleep, and I was obliged to come over toyou. "

"And wake me out of a beautiful sleep! What was that you threw in?"

"Stone!"

"Then now go back, and don't come here in the night to get me intotrouble! What's the good of going and dreaming such stuff and thencoming along the dark road to tell me? What's that?"

Tom was going to say _lightning_ as a brilliant flash made their facesquite plain for a moment, but before he could give the word utterancethere was a heavy dull report as of a cannon, which seemed to run overthe surface of the mere, and murmur among the reeds and trees. 

"Why, it's out at sea, " said Tom in a whisper. "It can't be a wreck!"

"I know!" cried Dick excitedly. "Smugglers and a king's ship!"

Just then a window was heard being opened, and the squire's voicespeaking to Mrs Winthorpe. 

"I don't know, " he said; "sounded like a gun. That you, Marston?" hecried aloud as another window was thrown open. 

"Yes. Did you hear a report?"

"Yes. Like a gun out at sea. "

"I heard a slight noise a little while ago, and I was listening when Isaw a flash and heard the report. Mr Winthorpe, I'm afraid there'ssomething wrong again. "

"No, no, man!"

"I'm afraid I must say, Yes, sir. That sound was not off the sea, butmuch nearer the house. Who's that?"

"Hallo! who's on that ladder?" cried the squire, turning sharply roundat the engineer's query. "Tom Tallington?"

"Yes, sir, " faltered Tom. 

"What are you doing here, sir? Is Dick there?"

"Yes, father. "

"What's the meaning of this, sir?"

"We saw a flash, father, and heard a report!"

"Where?" cried Mr Marston. 

"I think it must have been close to the outfall of the big drain, father. "

"There! you hear, " said Mr Marston in a low voice. "There is somethingwrong!"

"Stop a moment, " said the squire sternly. "You, Tom Tallington, why areyou there?"

"Tell him, Tom, " said Dick in a low voice. 

"Speak out, sir, " cried the squire. "What are you whispering there, Dick?"

"I was asking him to tell you, father, " faltered Dick; for their beingcaught like this a second time, and the feeling that he was suspected, troubled the lad sorely at that moment. 

"Once more, then, my lad, " said the squire. "Why are you here?"

"I came to tell Dick, sir, that I had seen two men come from the townway past our place, and that I heard them get into a boat and go awayacross the mere. "

"You saw that?"

"Yes, sir. "

"Well, what of it? Why did you come and tell Dick that?"

"Because I thought there was something wrong, sir. "

"You hear?" said Mr Marston again. 

"Yes, I hear, " muttered the squire, "but I don't like it. These boysknow more than they care to say. "

The squire's window was heard to shut, and his heavy footstep soundedloudly on the floor in the silence of the night, while the two ladsstood listening. 

"What shall we do, Dick?"

"I'm going to dress, " was the reply; and the speaker began to hurry onhis things. "You had better go home. "

"No, " said Tom sturdily; "if I've got you into a hobble I'll stand byyou. But I didn't mean any harm. "

Five minutes later all were standing down in the great stone porch, thesquire with a stout staff and Mr Marston similarly armed. 

The squire looked very hard at the two lads, but he did not speak. Still there was something in his glance, dimly seen though it was in thestar-light, which made Dick wince. It was as if something had risen upbetween father and son; and, rightly or wrongly the lad felt that hisfather was looking upon him with doubt. 

At the end of a few moments Dick mastered his awkwardness, and spoke tohis father as the latter came down from saying a few parting words toMrs Winthorpe. 

"Shall I come with you, father--I mean, shall we?"

"If you like, " said the squire coldly. "Come, Marston. "

Dick made a movement to speak to the latter, but he was staring straightout across the fen in the direction of the draining works, and frettingwith impatience at the delay. 

The next minute a start was made, and the boys were left behind. 

"Mr Marston might have said come, " said Tom in a low sulky voice. 

"They both think we've been at some mischief, " said Dick sadly. 

"Then don't let's go with them. I should have liked to go though. "

"And so we will, " cried Dick angrily. "We'll go and show them thatwe're not afraid to face anybody. I wish people wouldn't be sosuspicious. "

"So do I, " cried Tom. "But I say, Dick, it does look suspicious whenyou're found getting into anybody's house in the middle of the nightwith a ladder. "

"Well, I suppose it does, " replied Dick thoughtfully. 

"Why, my father would have shot at anybody he saw climbing in. I say, are we going?"

"Yes, come along, " cried Dick; and the two lads started off at a rapidpace, following in the tracks of the squire and the engineer, whosevoices could be heard in a low murmur now some way ahead. 

The night was glorious, and the stars were reflected in the face of themere, whose black smooth waters seemed to form an inverted curve tocomplete the arch of spangled glory overhead. From far and near camethe many sounds peculiar to the wild fen, while every now and then therewas a solitary splash, or perhaps a loud flapping and beating of thewater following closely upon the whistling and whirring of wings. 

The lads had an hour's walk before them, and if they wished to keep upwith those in front, an arduous and sharp walk, for it soon becameevident that they were hurrying on at a great rate. 

"We shall have to run directly, " said Dick, after they had been going onfor about twenty minutes. "Hist! what did Mr Marston say?"

"That he must have been mad to stop away from his lodgings to-night, "whispered Tom, who had been a little in advance on the narrow path. "Here, what's that?"

"Somebody on the mere, " cried Dick excitedly. "Hi! ho!"

"Hi! ho!" came from out of the darkness where the splashing of water hadbeen heard, accompanied by the peculiar sliding sound made by drawing apole over the edge of a boat. 

"That you, Dave?"

"Yes, Mester Dick. Hear a noise?"

"Yes. Did you?"

"Something like thunder, and it wakkened me. I think it weer afireball. "

These words were shouted as the man forced the punt along rapidly, tillit was abreast of the rough road track which ran along by the edge ofthe mere. 

"Wheer are you going?" cried Dave as soon as he came close up. 

"Down to the drain-works, " said Tom. 

"Think it fell theer?" asked Dave. 

"Yes: there was a flash of light went up. "

"Hey, bud I'll come wi' you, " said Dave earnestly. "I'd best land here, for I can't get much farther. "

For thereabouts the track went wide of the edge of the mere, and Davewas just landing, talking volubly the while, as the squire and MrMarston pressed on, leaving them behind, when there came another hailoff the water. 

"Why, it's John Warren!" cried Tom. 

"What's matter?"

"We dunno, lad, " shouted back Dave. "Fireball come down, I think. "

"That all?" said the rabbit-catcher. "Any mischief? Don't see nofire. "

"Nay, bud we don't know, " replied Dave. "Squire and engineer chap's onahead, and we're going to see. Coming?"

"Nay, I'm going back to bed again. Busy day wi' me to-morrow. I thowtsomeone was killed. "

There was a faint glimpse of the man and his boat seen for a moment, andthe water flashed in the rays of the stars as he turned; then his voicewas heard muttering, and the splash of his pole came more faintly, whileDave secured and stepped out of the boat, to burst out suddenly in hisgrating unmusical laugh. 

"He, he, he! His, hec, hac! Seems straange and disappointed, lads. Talks as if he wanted someone killed. Now, then, come on. "

By this time the squire and Mr Marston were a long way ahead, and Tomproposed a run to overtake them. 

"Ay, run, lads. Keep up a trot. Dessay I shall be clost behind. "

"Come along!" cried Dick; and they started off along the track, withDave increasing his stride and seeming to skim without effort over theground, his long wiry legs and great strength enabling him to keep upwith the boys, who, whenever they looked back, found him close behind. 

"You needn't mind about me, lads, " he said with a chuckle; "I sha'n't befar. "

They were rapidly gaining upon those in front; knowing this fact fromthe murmur of their voices as they kept up an animated discussion, when, all at once, it seemed as if the squire had begun to talk much morerapidly, and that Mr Marston was replying to him at a terrible rate, their voices becoming blurred and confused, as it were, when Dickrealised what it meant. 

"There's a party of the drain-men coming. Let's run!"

Dick was right, and five minutes after, he and his companions had joineda group gathered round Mr Marston, while Bargle, the big labourer, wastalking. 

"Ay, mester, we _all_ tumbled out, and went away down to the gaats assoon as we'd tumbled out, and they're all knocked down and the waterin. "

"Knocked down!" cried the squire. 

"Ay, " cried another of the men, "far as we could see; one's smashed tobits, and brickwork's all ploughed up. "

"Come along!" said the engineer. "Two of you run on first and getlanthorns. "

The big labourer and another went off back with a heavy trot, and theparty were advancing again when a heavy step was heard behind. 

"Who's that?" said Tom. 

"Me, lad, me, " came back in the thick hearty voice of the wheelwright. "What's amiss?"

They told him. 

"I was straange and fast asleep, " he said, "and didn't hear nowt; but mymissus wakkened me, and I come on. "

"Ay, bud it wakkened me, neighbour, " said Dave, who was busyadministering to himself a pill. "I've slep' badly since I had thatlast touch of ager, and I thowt some un was broosting in the wall, andas soon as I jumped up and looked out, the plaace seemed alive, for allthe birds in the fen were flying round and round, and you could heartheir wings whistling as they flew away. I was scarred. "

Half an hour later they were picking their way along the embankment atthe side of the great drain, now once more filled with salt water, whilewhen they reached the mouth, where a peculiar dank saline odour wasperceptible, the two men who had been flitting before them withlanthorns like a couple of will-o'-the-wisps, went cautiously down thecrumbling bank, followed by the engineer, and the mischief done was atonce plain to see. 

Apparently a powerful blast of powder had been placed in the hollow ofthe stone-work, where the mechanism for opening and closing the greatsluice-gates was fixed, and the result of the explosion was a huge chasmin the stone, and one of the gates blown right off, leaving the way forthe water free. 

A dead silence fell upon the group as the engineer took one of thelanthorns and carefully examined the damage, the squire holding theother light, and peering forward in the darkness till the engineerclimbed back to his side. 

"They've managed it well, " he said bitterly. 

"Well!" cried the squire angrily. "I'm not a harsh man, but I'd give ahundred pounds down to see the wretch who did this lying dead in theruins. "

"Ay, mester, " said Hickathrift in a low hoarse voice; "it be a shaame. Will it spoil the dreern, and stop all the work?"

"Ay, " said Dave, as he stood leaning upon his pole, which he had broughtover his shoulder; "will it stop dreern?"

The two lads leaned forward to hear the answer, and there was a peculiarsolemnity in the scene out there in the wild place in the darkness, merely illumined by the two lanthorns. 

"Stop the drain!" exclaimed the squire hoarsely, and in a voice full ofrage. 

"No, my men, " said the engineer coolly. "It will make a job for thecarpenters and the masons; but if the madman, or the man with the brainsof a mischievous monkey, thinks he is going to stop our great enterpriseby such an act as this, he is greatly mistaken. You, Bargle, be here tomeet me at daylight with a double gang. Get the piles up here at once, and if we work hard we can have the piles in and an embankment up beforethe next tide. A few days' hindrance, Mr Winthorpe, that's all. "

The men broke into a cheer, in which Dave and Hickathrift joined; and asnothing more could be done, the little crowd separated, the men goingslowly back to their huts, while the squire and Marston made for thetrack so as to return, talking earnestly the while. 

"You talked as if the thing were a trifle, " said the squire angrily. "It will cost us hundreds!"

"Yes, but it might cost us thousands if we let the scoundrels know howbig a breach they have made in our works, and they would renew theattack at once. "

"Hah, there's something in that!" said the squire, drawing his breath inangrily through his teeth. "If I only knew who was at the bottom of it!Marston, it must be the work of a gang among your men. "

"Think so?" said the engineer quietly. 

"I do. "

"But why should my men do such a dastardly act?"

"To make the job last longer. "

"Nonsense, my dear sir! We have work before us that will last us foryears, for this drain is only the first of many. "

"Then who is it--who can it be?"

"I think I've got an insight to-night, " said Marston. "Tom Tallingtonsaw a couple of men coming along the road and creep to the edge of themere. "

"True! I had forgotten that, " said the squire sharply. 

"And that shows us that our enemies belong to a party somewhere at adistance, and that we should be wasting time in searching here. Hallo!who's this?"

The exclamation was caused by the appearance of a dark figure comingtowards them from the direction of the Toft. 

"Why, it's Thorpeley, the constable!" said Dick in a whisper to hiscompanion. 

"Oh, it's you!" said the squire gruffly. "Pity you weren't down heresooner. "

"Has it been an explosion, sir?" said the constable in a smooth unctuousvoice. 

"Yes, " said the squire abruptly, and he walked on with the engineer. 

"Ah, I was going on to see!" said the constable; "but as you're allgoing back, I'll go back too. "

No one spoke, but all walked on in silence, for the man's coming seemedto have damped the conversation; but the opportunity for making himselfheard and showing his importance was not to be ignored. 

"They're very clever, " he said in a high voice, so that the squire andMr Marston, who were in front, could hear; "but I've got my hye uponthem. "

"Why didn't you ketch 'em, then, 'fore they did this here?" said Davewith a little laugh. 

"Ay, why didst thou not stop this?" growled Hickathrift. 

"Because the thing was not quite ripe. I shall tak' 'em yet red-handed, and then--"

He paused and rubbed his hands. 

"What then?" asked Dave. 

"Transportation or hanging--one of them, " said the constable with achuckle. 

"Ay, but you heven't found 'em yet, " said Dave, shaking his head. 

"Nay, bud I can put my hand on 'em pretty well when I like. "

"Wheer are they, then?" said Hickathrift excitedly. 

"Ay, wheer are they?" said the constable. "Going about stealthily of anight, creeping behind hedges, and carrying messages one to the other. I know! They think no one suspects them, and that they're going to bepassed over, but I'm set here to find them out, and I've nearly gotthings ready. "

"Look here, my man, " said the engineer, stopping short; "can you say forcertain who's at the bottom of this mischief?"

"Mebbe I can, sir. "

"Then who was it?"

"Nay, " said the constable with a little laugh; "if theer's going to beany credit for takkin of 'em, I mean to hev it, and not give it over tosomeone else. "

"Pish!" ejaculated the squire angrily; "come along! The man knowsnothing. "

"Mebbe not, " said the constable with a sneer. "Mebbe if people treatedpeople proper, and asked them to their house, and gave 'em a lodging anda bit of food, things might hev been found out sooner; but some peoplethinks they know best. "

The squire understood the hint, but he scorned to notice it, and went ontalking sternly to the engineer; but Thorpeley was not to be put downlike that, for he continued:

"Mebbe theer's people in it--old people and young people--as wouldn'tlike to be exposed, but who hev got to be exposed, and--"

"Look here, " said Dick boldly, "if my father won't speak, I will. Doyou mean to say you believe Tom Tallington and I know anything aboutthese cowardly tricks?"

"Nay, I'm not going to show my hand, " said the man. "Wait a bit, andyou'll see. "

"No; you speak out now, " cried Dick. "I won't be suspected by any man. Do you mean to say Tom Tallington and I know?"

"Nay, I shall na speak till proper time comes. I know what I know, andI know what I've seen, and when time comes mebbe I shall speak, and notbefore. "

"He don't know anything, " cried Tom, laughing. "He's a regular sham. "

"Nay, I don't know as boys steals out o' windows at nights, and goescreeping along in the dark, and playing their games as other people getsthe credit on. I don't know nothing. Oh, no!"

"Why, you cowardly--"

Dick did not finish his speech, for at that moment Hickathrift stretchedout one of his great arms, and his big hand closed with a mighty grip onthe constable's shoulder, making the man utter a sharp ejaculation. 

"That'll do, " he growled. "Yow shoot thee neb. Man as says owt againMester Dick here's saying things agen me. "

"What do you mean?" cried the constable. "Are you going to resist thelaw?"

"Nay, not I, " said Hickathrift. "I am a good subject o' the king's. God bless him! But if yow says owt more again Mester Dick, I'll takethee by the scruff and pitch thee right out yonder into the bog. "

"Ay, " snarled Dave, spitting in his hands and giving his staff a twist;"and I'll howd him down till he says he's sorry. "

How the constable was to beg Dick's pardon when held down under theblack ooze and water of the mere was not very evident; but the threathad a good effect, for the man stared from one of the speakers to theother, and held his peace till they reached the Toft. 

The explosion proved to have done more mischief than was at firstsupposed, and necessitated the taking down of all one side of the gowtand the making of a new sluice door. It was all plain enough, as theengineer had surmised upon the first inspection: a heavy charge ofpowder had been lowered down by the miscreants who were fighting againstthe project, and they had probably used a long fuse sufficient to enablethem to get far enough away before the explosion. 

What followed was, however, quite enough to daunt the most determinedfoe, for in place of disheartening the engineer, the mishap seemed tospur him on to renewed exertions. He was on the spot by daybreak, andbefore long a strong dam was made across, to prevent the entrance of thesea-water; the drain was emptied, and while one gang was engaged intaking down the ruined side of the gowt, the rest of the men went onwith the delving, as if nothing had happened, and the dike increased. 

Dick and Tom were down at the works directly after breakfast, but MrMarston took very little notice of them, and it seemed to Dick that theengineer shared the squire's doubts. 

The consequence was, that, being a very natural boy, who, save when atschool, had led rather a solitary life, finding companionship in TomTallington and the grown-up denizens of the fen, Dick, who was by nomeans a model, turned sulky, and shrank within his metaphorical shell. 

"I sha'n't go begging him to talk to me if he doesn't like, " he said toTom; "and if my father likes to believe I would do such things I shallgo. "

"Go where?" said Tom, looking at him wonderingly. 

"I don't know--anywhere. I say, let's find an island and build a hut, and go there whenever we like. "

"But where?--out in the sea somewhere?"

"No, no, I mean such a place as Dave's and John Warren's. You and Icould retreat there whenever we liked. "

Tom stared, and did not seem to grasp the idea for a few minutes; thenhis eyes brightened. 

"Why, Dick, " he cried, "that would be glorious! We could catch andshoot birds, and have our own fire, and no one could get to us. "

"Without a boat, " said Dick slowly. 

"I'd forgotten that, " said Tom thoughtfully. "How could we get there, then?"

"We'd borrow Hicky's punt till we had built one for ourselves. "

"But could we build one?"

"Of course we could, or make one of skins, or a raft of reeds. Thereare lots of ways. "

"But what will your father say?"

"I don't know, " said Dick dolefully; "he thinks I'm fighting againsthim, so I suppose he'll be glad I've gone. "

"But how about your mother?"

Dick paused a few moments before answering. 

"I should tell her as a secret, and she'd help me, and lend me things weshould want. I don't care to be at home now, with everybody looking atone as if there was something wrong. "

"I don't think my father would let me go, " said Tom thoughtfully, "andI'm sure my mother wouldn't; and I say, Dick, isn't it all nonsense?"

"I don't think it's nonsense, " said Dick, who was taking a very morbidview of matters, consequent upon a mistaken notion of his father's ideasand thoughts at that time, and matters were not improved by aconversation which ensued in the course of the next day. 

Dick was in the garden with Tom, paying court to the gooseberry trees, for though fruit by no means abounded there, the garden always supplieda fair amount of the commoner kinds, consequent upon the shelterafforded from the north and bitter easterly sea-winds by the oldbuildings which intervened. 

"Here, I want to talk to you two, " said the squire; and he led the wayinto the house, where Mrs Winthorpe was seated at work, and, probablyby a preconcerted arrangement, to Dick's great disgust she rose and leftthe room. 

"Now, " said the squire, "I don't like for there to be anything betweenus, Dick; and as for you, Tom Tallington, I should be sorry to thinkanything about you but that you were a frank, straightforward companionfor my son. "

"I'm sure, sir--" blundered out Tom. 

"Wait a minute, my lad. I have not done. Now, I'm going to ask you aplain question, both of you, and I want a frank, manly answer. Butbefore I ask it, I'm going to say a few words. "

He drew his tobacco-jar towards him, and took down his pipe, carefullyfilled it, and laid it down again. 

"Now, look here, " he said. "I'm a great believer in keeping faith andbeing true to one another, and looking down with contempt upon atale-bearer, or one who betrays a secret. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir, " said Tom, for Dick felt that he could not speak. "You mean, sir, that you don't like a sneak. "

"That's it, " said the squire; "but I should have liked to hear you saythat, Dick. However, that is what I mean. There are times, though, when lads have been led into connections where things are done of whichthey are heartily ashamed. They have joined in them from the idea thatit was a good bit of fun, or that there was some injustice beingperpetrated, and they have, as they think, joined the weaker side. ButI want you both to see that in such cases as we have had lately it wouldbe weak and criminal to keep silence from the mistaken notion that itwould be cowardly to speak, and betraying friends. "

Dick's face was scarlet, and his bosom swelled with emotion as he feltchoked with indignation at his father suspecting him, while he changedcountenance the more as he saw his father watching him keenly. In factthe more innocent Dick strove to look the worse he succeeded, and thesquire seemed troubled as he went on. 

"Now, my lads, as you are well aware, there are some cowardly outragesbeing perpetrated from time to time; and I want you to answer me atonce--do you either of you know anything whatever about the persons whohave done these things?"

"No, " said Tom at once; and the squire turned to Dick. 

"Now, my boy, " he said, "why don't you speak?"

Dick felt as if he would choke, and with his morbid feeling increasing, he said in a husky voice:

"No, father, I do not know anything either. "

"On your honour, Dick?" said his father, gazing at him searchingly. 

"On my honour, father. "

"That will do, " said the squire in a short decisive tone. "I must ownthat I thought you two knew something of the matter. I suspected youbefore that meddling, chattering idiot shared my ideas. But now there'san end to it, and I shall go to work to find out who is fighting againstus, since I am sure that you two boys are quite innocent. That willdo. "

"Father doesn't believe me, " said Dick bitterly as soon as they werealone. 

"Nonsense!" cried Tom. "Why, he said he did. "

"Yes, but I could see it in his eyes that he did not I know his looks sowell, and it does seem so hard. "

As if to endorse Dick's fancy, the squire passed them an hour afterwardsin the garden and there was a heavy frown upon his countenance as heglanced for a moment at his son, who was, of course, perfectly ignorantof the fact that his father was so intent upon the troubles connectedwith the drain, and the heavy loss which would ensue if the schemefailed, that he did not even realise the presence of his boy. 

It was enough, though, for Dick; and he turned to his companion. 

"There, " he said, "what did I tell you? Father doesn't believe me. ButI know what I'll do. "

"What will you do--run away from home?" said Tom. 

"Like a coward, and make him feel sure that I knew all this and told alie. No, I won't. I'll just show him. "

"Show him what?"

"That I'm innocent. "

"Yes, that's all very well; but how are you going to do it?"

"Find out the people and let him see. "

"Yes, but how?" cried Tom eagerly, as he knocked an apple off one of thetrees and tried to take a bite, but it was so hard and green that hejerked it away. 

"I don't know yet; but someone does all these cowardly things, and Imean to find it out before I've done. "

"Oh, I am disappointed!" said Tom dolefully. 

"Disappointed! Why? Won't you help me?"

"Yes, I will. But I thought we were going to find an island of our ownsomewhere out in the mere, where no one ever goes, and have no end offun. "

"And so we will, " said Dick eagerly. "We could keep it secret, andthere would be the sort of place to be and watch. "

"What, out there?"

"To be sure! Whoever does all this mischief comes in a boat, I'm sureof that, and he wouldn't suspect us of watching, and so we could catchhim. "

Tom screwed up his face in doubt, but the idea of starting a sort ofhome out there in the middle of the wild fen-land had its fascinations, and the plan was discussed for long enough before they parted that day. 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN. 

ANOTHER TRIP. 

The two lads had left the grammar-school in the county town about a yearbefore in consequence of a terrible outbreak of fever; and, MrsWinthorpe declaring against their going back, they had been kept athome. But though several plans had been proposed of sending them foranother year's education somewhere, the time had glided by, the businessof the draining had cropped up, and as the lads proved useful at times, the school business kept on being deferred, to the delight of both, theelongated holiday growing greatly to their taste. Even though they werebackward from a more modern point of view, they were not losing much, for they were acquiring knowledge which would be useful to them in theirfuture careers, and in addition growing bone and muscle such as wouldmake them strong men. 

Hence it was that the time glided pleasantly on, with the two ladsfinding plenty of opportunities for the various amusements whichgratified them when not occupied in some way about the farms. 

It was a few days after the conversation with the squire that Tomproposed a turn after the fish in Hickathrift's boat. 

"We could pole ourselves without Dave; and let's ask Mr Marston tocome. It's a long time since he has had a holiday. "

Dick's brow was overcast, and he wore generally the aspect of a boy whohad partaken of baking pears for a week, but his face cleared at this, and he eagerly joined in the plan. 

"We'll get Hicky to lend us his boat, and pole down as far as we can, and then run across to Mr Marston. "

Their preparations did not take long, and though they were made beforethey knew whether they could have the punt, they did not anticipate anyobjections, and they were right. 

Hickathrift was busy sawing, but he looked up with a broad grin, andleaving his work went down with them to the water side. 

"Course I'll lend it to you, lads, " he said. "Wish I could come wi'you. "

"Do, then, Hicky. It's a long time since we've had a fish. "

"Nay; don't ask me, " was the reply. "I wean't leave the work. Ay, budit's nice to be a boy, " he added, with a smile. 

"Couldn't you do your work afterward?" cried Tom. 

"Nay, nay, don't tempt a poor weak fellow, " he cried. "I'm going to dothat bit o' sawing 'fore I leave it. Now, theer, in wi' you!"

The boys made another appeal to the great fellow to come; but he wasstaunch. Still he uttered a sigh of relief as he gave the punt atremendous thrust from the bank into deep water, where it went rustlingby the willow boughs and over the wild growth where the pink-blossomedpersicaria sent up its pretty heads. 

"If we had pressed Hicky a little more, I believe he would have come, "said Dick. 

"No, he wouldn't. He never will when he says he won't. "

Just at that moment Hickathrift was muttering to himself on the bank, ashe watched the boat. 

"Straange thing, " he said, "that a girt big man like I am should allusfeel like a boy. I wanted to go wi' they two straange and badly. Iwill go next time. "

Taking it in turns, the boys sent the punt quickly over the amber water, the exercise in the bright sunshine chasing the clouds from Dick'scountenance, so that before they reached their intended landing-place onthe edge of the mere, as near as they could go to the spot where MrMarston's men were at work, he was once more his old self, laughing, reckoning on the fish they would catch with the trimmers that lay ready, and forgetting for the time all about the plots to injure the drain andits projectors. 

There was a low patch of alders at the spot where they intended to land, and Dick was just about to run the punt close in, when he suddenlyceased poling and stood motionless staring before him. 

"What's the matter?" cried Tom. 

There was no answer, in fact none was needed, for at that moment Tom'seyes fell upon the object which had arrested his companion's action, towit, the flabby, unpleasant-looking face of Thorpeley, the constable, that individual being seated by the low bushes smoking his pipe in aposition where he must have been watching the lads ever since theystarted. 

Dick's teeth gave forth a peculiar gritting sound, and then, thrustingdown the pole, he ran in the punt, leaped on to the quivering shore withthe rope, fastened it to a bush, and signed to Tom to follow. 

The man said nothing, but there was a curiously aggravating leering grinupon his countenance as he sat taking in every movement on the part ofthe boys, who walked away rapidly with the full knowledge that they werefollowed. 

"Don't look back, Tom, " said Dick between his teeth. "Oh, how I shouldhave liked to give him a topper with the pole!"

"I wish old Dave was here to pitch him in the water, " growled Tom. 

"Did you ever see anything so aggravating? He's following us. I canhear his boots. Don't take any notice. Let's go on fast as if hewasn't there. "

"I don't know that I can, " grumbled Tom. "I feel alloverish like. "

"Feel how?"

"As if I couldn't do as I liked. My head wants to turn round and lookat him, my tongue wants to call him names, and my toes itch, and myfists want to feel as if it would be like punching a sack of corn to hithim in the nose. "

"Come along!" cried Dick, who was too angry to laugh at his companion'sremarks. "Let's make haste to Mr Marston. "

As they reached the works the first man they encountered was big Bargle, who stuck his spade into the soft peat and came slowly up theembankment, to stand wiping his fist on his side, before opening it andholding it out, smiling broadly the while. 

He shook hands with both lads, and then went back to his work smiling;and as they walked on they could hear him say confidentially to allaround him:

"We're mates, we are, lads; we're mates. "

The engineer was coming towards them; and as they met, Dick unfolded hisplan, but before he had half-finished his words trailed off, and hestopped short. For the severe countenance before him checked hisutterance. 

"No, " said Mr Marston, shortly. "I am too busy. Good day!"

He went on to speak to his men, and Dick looked at Tom with a dismalexpression of countenance which spoke volumes. 

"Come along back!" he said. 

Tom obeyed without a word, and glancing neither to the right nor left, the two boys walked heavily back over the dry surface of the quakingbog, so as to reach their boat. 

Before they had travelled half-way they met Thorpeley, who leered atthem in a sinister way, and, as they passed on, turned and followed at adistance. 

"Look here, Dick, " whispered Tom, "let's give him something to thinkabout. Come along!"

Tom started running as if in a great state of excitement, and Dickfollowed involuntarily, while after a momentary hesitation the constablealso began to run. 

"I say, don't go that way, " said Dick, as his companion struck off tothe left. "Bog's soft there. "

"I know: come along! Keep on the tufts. "

Dick understood Tom's low chuckling laugh, which was just like that of acuckoo in a bush, and divining that the object was to reach the boat bya detour, he did not slacken his speed. 

Long familiarity with the worst parts of the fen enabled the lads topick their way exactly, and they went on bounding from tuft to tuft, finding fairly firm ground for their feet as if by instinct, though veryoften they were going gingerly over patches of bog which undulated andsprang beneath their tread, while now and then they only savedthemselves from going through the dry coat of moss by making atremendous leap. 

They had pretty well half a mile to run to reach the boat by the alderbush, and the constable soon began to go heavily; but he was sosatisfied that the boys had some sinister design in view, and weretrying to throw him off their scent, that he put forth all his energies, and as Dick glanced back once, it was to see him, hat in hand, toilingalong in the hot sun right in their wake. 

"You'd better not go round there, Tom, " said Dick as they approached apatch of rushes. "It's very soft. "

"I don't care if I go in; do you?" was the reply. 

"No, I don't mind, " said Dick sadly. "I don't seem to mind anythingnow. "

"Come along then, " cried Tom; "and as we get round let's both look backand then try to keep out of sight--pretend, you know. "

They reached the patch of tall rushes and reeds, which was high enoughto hide them, and giving a frightened look back at their pursuer, plunged out of sight. 

"Oh, I say, isn't it soft?" cried Dick. 

"Never mind: some people like it soft, " said Tom. "Follow me. "

He had arranged his plan so deftly that while keeping the patch of reedsbetween them and their pursuer, Tom managed, with no little risk ofgoing through, to reach a second patch of the marsh growth, behind whichhe dodged, and threw himself down, Dick following closely; and they werewell hidden and lay panting as the constable came round the first patch, glanced round, and then made for a third patch still more to the left, and beyond which was quite a copse of scrubby firs. 

"Ho--ho--ho!" laughed Tom in a low voice, as he nearly choked withmirth, for all at once there was a splash, a shout, a strange wallowingnoise, and as the lads parted and peered through the rushes they couldsee that the constable was down and floundering in the bog. 

"Oh, Tom, " cried Dick, struggling up, "he'll be smothered!"

"Sit down; he won't. It'll be a lesson to him. "

"But suppose--"

"No, don't suppose anything. He'll get out right enough. "

The constable had a hard struggle for a few minutes, and doubtless wouldhave got out sooner if he had worked a little more with his brains; butfinally he crawled to firmer ground, just as a scuffle began betweenDick and Tom, the former being determined to go to his enemy's help, thelatter clinging to him with all his might to keep him back. 

"Now, come along down to the boat. We can get nearly there before hesees us, " whispered Tom. 

"But do you think he will get back safe?"

"Of course he will. He won't try to run any more. "

Dick took a long look at the constable to see that he was really out ofdanger, and feeling satisfied at last that there was nothing to mind, hefollowed Tom once more, the two managing so well that after losing sightof them altogether for some time, their inquisitive pursuer had themortification of seeing them enter the punt and push off, leaving him tomake a long and tedious circuit, crawling part of the way, and when hestood erect, wanting as he was in the boys' experience, making very slowprogress to the regular track. 

As soon as the excitement was over, and the boat reached once more, Dick's gloomy feelings came back, and but for his companion's efforts hewould have relapsed into a mournfully depressed condition, which wouldhave done little towards making their trip agreeable. 

Tom, however, worked hard, and using the pole with vigour he drove thepunt along, till Dick roused up from a fit of musing on his father'ssevere looks and Mr Marston's distant manner, to find that they wereclose to Dave's home. 

"Why have you come here?" he cried. 

"To see how he is, " replied Tom; and, thrusting down his pole, he soonhad the punt ashore. 

"Why, he isn't at home!" said Dick. 

His words proved correct, for the punt was missing, and unless it lay onthe other side of an alder patch or was drawn out to be repaired, themaster must have it far away somewhere on the mere. 

It need not be supposed that the two lads were troubled with morecuriosity than is the property of most boys of their age, because theylanded and looked round, ending by going up to the fen-man's hut andentering. 

It was not a particularly cleanly place, but everything there, dealingas it did with Dave's pursuits, had its attraction, from the gun hangingupon a couple of wooden pegs to the nets and lines above the roughbed-place, with its sheep-skins and dingy-looking blanket. 

"I should like to take the gun and have a turn by ourselves, " said Dick, gazing at the long rusty piece longingly. 

But it remained untouched, and, returning to the boat, the boys pushedoff and made for the more remote portion of the fen, passing from oneopen lake to another as they followed the long meandering lanes ofwater, in and out among reed-beds and alder patches, islands ofbog-plants, islets of sedge, and others where the gravel and sandenabled the purple heather and lavender ling to blow profusely, incompany with here and there a little gorgeous orange-yellow furze. 

The hours went by, and the sun was declining fast as they neared atlength a spot which had attracted them for some time past. It waseither a little promontory or an isthmus, where the ground was strongenough for fir-trees to flourish, and this promised dry ground, wood, and a good site for a little hut if they set one up. 

Dick brightened at the sight, for there was a cheering notion in hismind that he was going to find rest, peace, and happiness here in alittle home of his own making, to which he could retire from the worldto fish, shoot, and eat the fruits he would be able to gather in theseason. 

In short, Dick Winthorpe, being in a marsh, was suffering from a sharpfit of goose, such as attacks many boys who, because matters do not goexactly as they like at home, consider that they are ill-used, and longfor what they call their freedom--a freedom which is really slavery, inasmuch as they make themselves the bond-servants of their sillyfancies, and it takes some time to win them back. 

The clump of firs here, which they had before seen at a distance, surpassed their expectations, for it was a good-sized island, far fromthe shore, and promised fishing, fowling, and security frominterruption, for it was not likely that any one would venture there. 

But the evening was rapidly coming on, and the punt's head was turnedhomewards, the distance they had come proving startling, as they begannow to feel that they were very hungry, and that they had hours of workbefore them before they could reach the Toft. 

"Not many fish to land, " said Dick rather dismally. 

"Why, you wouldn't fish!" replied Tom. "Never mind, we've found theisland. Shall we build a place?"

Dick's reply was in the affirmative, and for the next two hours theydebated on the subject of what they should take over, and how soon, andso passed the time away till after dark, when, being still quite a milefrom home, there came the sharp report of a gun, and then they fanciedthat they heard a cry. 

"Why, who can be shooting now?" said Dick in an awe-stricken whisper. "Is anything wrong?"

"I don't know. Look! look!"

Tom whispered these words, and pointed in the opposite direction, to alambent light which seemed to be moving slowly over the marshy edge ofthe mere. 

The light was in a portion of the shore where the mere narrowed; and thetwo lads let the boat drift as they sat and watched, each thinking ofthe place in the light of experience. 

"Why, Tom, that can't be a boat, " whispered Dick. 

"Boat! No, it's land there. "

"Land! It's soft bog that nobody could walk on!"

"Then it couldn't be a boat. Why, it's a will-o'-the-wisp. "

"Yes, " said Dick, after a sceptical pause, during which he watched thelambent light as it played about in a slow fantastic way, just as if itwere a softly-glowing lantern carried by a short-winged moth, which usedit to inspect the flowering plants as it sought for a meal. "Let's goover and look at it. "

"No, no! no, no!" whispered Tom excitedly. 

"Why not? Are you afraid?"

"No, not a bit; but I don't want to go. I'm tired and hungry. I don'tbelieve you want to go either. "

"Yes, I do, " said Dick eagerly. "I feel as if I wanted to go, but mybody didn't. "

"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed Tom, but very softly, as he kept his eyes fixed onthe distant light. "That's a nice way of backing out of it. Why, you're as much afraid as I am, only I'm honest and you're not. "

"Yes, I am, " whispered Dick. "I'm as honest as you are, and I'll showyou that I am. There, I should feel afraid to go by myself. "

"Will you go if I go with you?"

Before Dick could answer there was a long, low, piteous cry from theother direction, that from whence they had heard the shot. 

"I say, what's that?" whispered Tom in an awe-stricken tone. 

"I don't know. It sounds very queer. There it is again. "

"Is it a bird?" whispered Tom. 

"No. I never heard a bird cry like that. "

"What is it then--a fox trapped?"

"Nobody would trap the foxes, and it can't be a rabbit, because thatwould be a squeal. "

The cry came again over the dark water of the mere, and sounded sostrange and weird that Dick shivered. 

"It's something queer, " said Tom huskily. "Take the pole and let's getaway. Don't make a noise. "

"But--"

"No, no; don't stop. We don't know what it is. Perhaps it's one ofthose things Hicky talks about that he has heard sometimes. "

"Father says it's all nonsense, and there are no such things in thefens. "

"He'd better say there are no will-o'-the-wisps to lead people astray, "whispered Tom. 

"He doesn't say that. He says there are jack-o'-lanterns, but theydon't lead people astray--people go astray to try and catch them. "

"Hist! there it is again!" said Tom, gripping his companion's arm, asthe long piteous cry came faintly over the water. "It is somethinghorrible!"

"It isn't, " said Dick. "It's someone in distress. "

"People in distress never cry out like that. "

"Why, Tom, it's that Thorpeley stuck in the mud somewhere; and it's ourdoing. "

"It's his own if he is stuck there. But I don't believe it is. Why, it's two miles nearer home than where we left him. "

"Then it's somebody else in trouble, " said Dick excitedly. 

"It isn't. Let's go home. "

Tom was, as a rule, no coward; but he was faint and tired, and the veryfact of being seated out on the dark waters with the gloom so thick thatthey could see but a short distance, and with an unnatural-looking lighton one side and a strange marrow-thrilling cry coming on the other, wasenough to startle stouter-hearted lads than he, and he held more tightlyto his companion as Dick seized the pole. 

"Let's get back home, " he said again. 

"You said I was afraid to go to the will o' the wisp, " said Dickstoutly. "You're afraid to go now and see what it is makes that noise. "

"Well, I can't help it, " said Tom appealingly; "but if you go I shall gowith you. There, listen! Isn't it horrible!"

He spoke as the cry came again faintly but piteous in the extreme. 

Dick drove the pole down into the soft bottom of the mere and sent thepunt surging through the water, determined now to go straight to thespot whence the cry seemed to come; and, guided by the sound, he toiledaway for about ten minutes before giving way to Tom, who worked hard toreach the place. 

For, once the two lads had taken action, they seemed to forget theirnervous dread, while what was more encouraging to them to proceed wasthe fact that as they reduced the distance the cries gradually seemed tobe more human, and were evidently those of some person in peril or greatdistress. 

It was a weird strange journey over the water now, the excitement lentby their mission seeming to change the aspect of all around. The reedswhispered, the patches of growth looked black, and every now and thenthey disturbed some water-fowl, whose hurried flight seemed suddenly tohave become mysterious and awe-inspiring, as if it were a creature ofthe darkness which had been watching their coming and had risen to hoverround. 

But there was the cry again and again, sometimes faint and distant, sometimes sounding as if close at hand, and, as is often the case, apparently varying in position to right or left as it was borne by thesoft night wind. 

"We cannot go any farther, " cried Dick at last as he drove the boat inamongst the broad belt of reeds which fringed the edge of the mere. 

"Yes, we can. There's a way here, " cried Tom excitedly, pointingthrough the gloom to his left where there was an opening. "Coming!" heyelled as the cry rose once more. 

Dick backed the boat out, with the reeds whistling and rustlingstrangely, and the next minute he had it right in the gloomy opening, which proved to be quite a little bay, where, at the end of a few goodthrusts of the pole, the prow of the punt bumped up against thequivering moss. 

The two boys got out cautiously; the pole was driven down into the peat, and the boat made fast; and then they paused and listened for the nextcry. 

Everything now was perfectly silent, not so much as the whisper of areed or the whir of the wing of a nightbird fell upon their ears; and atlast, in an awe-stricken whisper, Tom said:

"Hicky is right. It was something strange from out of the marsh. Let'sget away. "

Dick was stouter-hearted than his companion, and lifting his voice heshouted, and then stood silent. 

"Help! help!" came faintly in reply. 

"There!" cried Dick turning sharply. "It's a man. "

"Think so?"

"Why, of course! Come along! Here, I can see where we are now. "

"Yes, I think I know where we are, " whispered Tom. "But is it safe togo after it?"

"You mean after _him_, " said Dick. "Yes, it's pretty firm here--yes, it's all right. We're amongst heath and bilberry as soon as we get bythis bit of bog. Hoy! shout again, " he cried as he plodded oncautiously, with his feet sometimes sinking in the bog, sometimesfinding it pretty firm. 

But there was no answer; and though as far as was possible Dick walkedin the direction of the sound, the guidance was of the mostunsatisfactory nature, and at the end of a minute or two they listenedagain. 

"It must be that Thorpeley regularly bogged, " said Dick at last, and acurious shiver ran through him. "I hope he hasn't sunk in. "

"He couldn't, " said Tom. "I know this part. It's all firm groundbetween the water and the track to the sea. "

"I can't quite make out where we are, " said Dick, staring about him. 

"I can. There's the big alder clump, and beyond it there's the riverwall. " [Mud embankment. ]

"So it is. Yes, I know now. Why, it is all firm about here, and nobodycould be bogged unless he got into a hole. Ahoy!"

He shouted once more, but there was no answer; and when he raised hisvoice again it was only for the sound to seem to come back, just as ifthey were shut up in some large room. 

"He must be hereabout, " said Dick. 

"Shall we find our way back to the boat?" said Tom in a doubting tone. 

"I don't know, but if we don't we could walk home in half an hour. Comealong. Ahoy!"

Still no answer; and in spite of his companion's suggestions and strangedoubts Dick kept on hunting about in the darkness among the patches ofalders and the heath that here grew freely. For, save in places, theground was sandy and firm, and, dark as it was, they had no difficultyin making out the watery spots by their faint gleam or the differentcharacter of the growth. 

They shouted in turns and together, listening, going in differentdirections, and all to no purpose. Not a sound could they get in reply;and at last, with a curious feeling of horror stealing over him, compounded of equal parts of superstition and dread lest the personwhose cry they had heard had sunk in the mire of some hole, Dickreluctantly gave way to Tom's suggestion that they should go back to theboat. 

"I knew it was something queer, " whispered Tom. "If we had gone on, weshould have been led into some dangerous hole and lost. "

"Don't believe it, " said Dick, as they trudged slowly back, utterlyworn-out and hoarse with shouting. 

"You're such a doubting fellow!" grumbled Tom. "If it had been anybodyin distress we should have found him. "

"Perhaps, " said Dick sadly. "It's so dark, though, that we might havepassed him over. "

"Nonsense!" cried Tom; "we were sure to find him. There wasn't anybody. It was a marsh cry, and--oh!"

Tom uttered a yell and went headlong down, with the effect of sostartling his companion that he ran a few steps before he could recoverhis nerve, when he returned to extend his hand to Tom, who rosetrembling, while Dick stood staring aghast at the dark figure lyingextended among the heath, and over which his friend had stumbled. 

"Why, Tom, it's Thorpeley!" cried Dick, as he went down on one knee andpeered into the upturned face. "Mr Thorpeley, Mr Thorpeley!" hecried; "what's the matter?"

There was no reply. 

"It must have been him, " whispered Dick. "He had lost his way. "

"Then let him find it again, " grumbled Tom, "instead of watching us. "

"But perhaps there is something the matter. Mr Thorpeley, MrThorpeley!"

Dick laid his hand upon the man's shoulder and shook him, but there wasno response. 

"Is he dead?" said Tom in an awe-stricken whisper. 

"Dead!" cried Dick, leaping up and shrinking away at the suggestion. "No, he can't be. He's quite warm, " he added, going down on his kneeagain to shake the recumbent man, who now uttered a low groan. 

"What shall we do, Dick?" said Tom huskily. "I hate him, but we can'tleave him here. "

"Well, " said Dick, "I'm not very fond of him, but it would be likeleaving anybody to die to go away now. We must carry him down to theboat. "

"Come on then, quick!"

Dick placed his hands beneath the constable's arms and locked hisfingers across his breast, while Tom turned his back as he got betweenthe man's legs, stooped in turn, and proceeded to lift them as if theywere the handles of a wheel-barrow. 

"Ready?"

"Yes. "

"Then both together. "

The two lads lifted the constable, staggered along a few yards, and sethim down again. 

"Oh, I say!" groaned Tom. "Isn't he heavy?"

"Come and try this end, " retorted Dick. "He's an awful weight. We mustgo a few yards at a time, and we shall do it yet. Now then. "

"Stop a minute, " said Tom, who had picked up a handful of moss, and wasrubbing one hand. "I--it's warm and sticky, and--oh, Dick, he'sbleeding. "

Dick lowered the insensible man down again, and, shuddering with horror, stepped to his companion's side. 

Then kneeling down he tried to examine the spot pointed out by Tom, tofind out as well as was possible in the dim light that the constable wasbleeding freely from one leg. 

"Dick, what shall we do?" cried Tom piteously. 

"Why, what would anybody do if he had cut his finger?" cried Dickmanfully, as he undid his neckcloth and doubled it afresh. 

"I don't know, " cried Tom, who was sadly scared. 

"You don't know! Suppose you had cut your finger, wouldn't you tie itup?"

"Yes, I suppose so, " faltered Tom, whom the situation had completelyunnerved. 

"Take off his neckerchief while I tie this on, " said Dick, whom theemergency had rendered more helpful. "How can he have hurt himself likethis?"

As he spoke he busied himself in tightly bandaging the man's leg, andadded to the bandage the cotton cloth that Tom handed to him. 

"I think that has stopped it, " said Dick. "Now then, we must carry himdown. "

"But we shall sink into the bog with him, " faltered Tom. 

"No, we sha'n't if we are careful. Now, then, are you ready?"

"I don't like to try and lift him now, " said Tom. "It's so horrible. The man's bleeding to death. "

"More shame for you to stand still and not try to help him, " said Dickhotly. "Here, you come and carry this end. "

Tom hastened to obey, heedless of the fact that the task would be theharder; and setting to with a will, the lads carried their load a fewyards before setting it down again to rest. 

This time, in spite of Tom's appeal not to be left alone, Dick went onfor a bit so as to explore and make sure of the best way to get back tothe boat, and not without avail, for he was able, in spite of thedarkness, to pick out the firmest ground, his knowledge of the growth ofthe fen and its choice of soil helping him. 

But it was a long and painful task. The lads were faint and terriblyhungry. They had been working hard for several hours propelling thepunt, and the load they were carrying would not have been an easy onefor a couple of stout men. Still, by means of that wonderful aid tosuccess, perseverance, they at last got past bog and water-pool, patchof sphagnum, bed of reed, and slimy hollow, where the cotton rushesnourished, and reached the belt of waving reeds which separated themfrom the water. 

It was not done without tremendous effort and a constant succession ofrests; but they stood there at last bathed in perspiration, and waitingfor a few minutes before lifting the sufferer into the boat. 

Up to this time they had been so busy and excited that they had notpaused to ask the question: How was it that the man had been wounded?but as they lifted him carefully into the boat, Tom being in and Dickashore, they both burst out with the query, as if moved by the samespring. 

"I know, " said Dick, as the truth seemed to flash upon him. "Some onemust have shot him. "

Tom had taken up the pole and was just about to force the boat alongwhen this announcement seemed to paralyse him, and he stood therethinking of what had taken place before. 

"Why, Dick, " he whispered, "isn't it very horrible?"

"Don't talk, " cried his companion, entering the boat; "let's get home. "

The pole plashed in the water, which rippled against the bows, and oncemore they glided over the surface, just as the injured man uttered a lowgroan. 

"We sha'n't be very long, " said Dick, kneeling down and carefullyfeeling whether the kerchiefs he had bound round the leg were fulfillingtheir purpose. "Are you in much pain?"

"Pain!" groaned the man. "Hah! Give me some water. "

There was no vessel of any kind in the punt, and Dick had to scoop upsome water in the hollow of his hand, and pour it between the injuredman's lips, with the result that he became sufficiently refreshed to situp a little and begin muttering. 

Dick now took the pole, and it was Tom's turn to try and administer alittle comfort in the shape of words as to the time that would elapsebefore they could reach the Toft; but the only result was to produce anangry snarl from their patient. 

"How does he seem?" Dick asked, as Tom went to his relief. 

"Better not ask him. "

"Why not?"

"Perhaps he'll bite you. He nearly did me. I say, how much farther isit?"

"Take another quarter of an hour. Oh, I shall be glad, Tom! Workhard. "

Tom looked in his companion's face, and uttered a low laugh, as hetoiled away at the poling, and that laugh seemed to say more than adozen long speeches. Then there was nothing heard for some time but theregular plash and ripple of the water, as it was disturbed by pole andpunt, while the darkness seemed to increase. At the same time, though, the hopes of the two lads rose high, for, standing as it were alone inthe midst of the black darkness, there was a soft yellow light. Atfirst it was so dull and lambent that it suggested thoughts of thewill-o'-the-wisp. But this was no dancing flame, being a steady glow inone fixed spot, and Tom expressed his companion's thoughts exactly as heexclaimed:

"There's Hicky's old horn lanthorn!"

A few minutes more and the big bluff voice of the wheelwright was heardin a loud hail. 

This was answered, and the sounds roused the wounded man. 

"Nearly there?" he said hoarsely. 

"Very close now, " replied Dick; and snatching the pole from Tom he droveit down vigorously, making a tremendous spurt to reach the patch of oldpollard willows by the landing-place, on one of whose old posts thelanthorn had been hung, and beyond which could now be seen the light inthe Hickathrifts' cot. 

"Why, I was a-coming swimming after you, lads, " shouted Hickathrift. "You scarred me. Squire's been down twiced to see if you'd got back, and the missus is in a fine way. "

"Don't talk, Hicky, " shouted back Dick. "Is Jacob there?"

"Ay, lad. Why?"

"You'll want help. Look here, send for the doctor. "

"Doctor, lad?"

"Yes; I know. Let Jacob go and tell my father, and he'll send down theold cob. Thorpeley's hurt badly. "

They heard a low whistle, then the wheelwright's orders given sharply tohis apprentice, followed by the dull _thud, thud_ of his boots as he ranoff; and directly after the punt glided in and its bow was seized by thebig strong hand upon which the soft glowing light of the horn lanthornshone. 

"Hey, but what's the matter with the man?" cried Hickathrift. "We'vebeen wondering why he didn't come back. "

"I don't know, only we heard a shot, " said Dick excitedly; "and then weheard someone calling for help, and found him lying ashore. "

"Let me get a good howd on him, " said the wheelwright; and with one footin the boat he passed his great arm under the constable and lifted himout as tenderly as if he had been a child. 

But, gentle as was the wheelwright's act, it roused the injured man, whoseemed to be driven into a fit of fury by the pain he suffered, and heburst into a torrent of bad language against Hickathrift and the twoboys, which he kept up till he had been carried into his lodging andlaid upon his bed. 

"Hey, lads, " said the wheelwright with a low chuckle, as he walked downwith the boys to where the lanthorn still hung upon the willow-stump, the care of the constable having been left to the women; "he don't seemto hev lost his tongue. "

"But he's very bad, isn't he?" said Dick anxiously. 

"I should say no, " replied Hickathrift. "Man who's very badly don'tcall people. "

"But his leg?"

"Ay, that's badly. I give the hankycher a good tighten up, and that hothim, so that he had to howd his tongue. "

"That made him hold his tongue, Hicky?"

"Ay, lad. I med him feel that if he didn't shoot his neb, I'd pulltighter, and so he quieted down. Now, tell us all about it. "

"Give us some bread and butter first, Hicky; we're nearly starved. "

"Hey, lads, " cried the wheelwright. "Here, coom in to missus and--"

Hickathrift's speech was cut short by the coming of the squire, whohurried up. 

"Here, boys, " he cried; "what's all this?"

Dick told all he knew, and the squire drew a long breath and turned bythe light of the lanthorn to gaze first in the lads' faces, and then tospeak to the wheelwright. 

"This is bad, Hickathrift, " he said hoarsely. 

As he spoke he gazed searchingly at the great workman. 

"Ay, squire; it is a straange awkard thing. "

Mr Winthorpe gazed in his great frank face again; and then, with hislips compressed, he went to the bed-side of the injured man. 

"Bad business, " said Hickathrift; "but lads mustn't starve because aconstable's shot. Coom along. Here, missus, let's hev bit o'--Nay, she's gone to see the neighbours, and hev a bit o' ruckatongue. " [Agossip. ]

That did not much matter, for Hickathrift knew the ways of his ownhouse; and in a very short time had placed a loaf and a piece of coldbacon before the hungry boys. 

This they attacked furiously, for now that they were relieved of theresponsibility of the injured man, their hunger had asserted itself. But they had not partaken of many mouthfuls before they heard thesquire's voice outside, in hurried conversation with Hickathrift. 

"Yes, I sent him off directly on the cob, " the squire said; "but it mustbe some hours before the doctor can get here. "

"Think he's very badly, squire?" came next, in Hickathrift's deep bass. 

"No, not very bad as to his wound, my lad; but this is a terriblebusiness. "

"Ay, mester, it is trubble. Straange thing to hev first one man shotand then another. Say, squire, hope it wean't be our turn next. "

"Go on eating, Tom, " whispered Dick, setting the example, and cutting aslice for his companion, while Tom hacked the bread. 

"I'm hard at work, " said Tom thickly. "I shall eat as much as ever Ican, and make mother give Hicky a piece o' chine. "

"So will I, " said Dick; "and a couple o' chickens. "

The hungry lad had taken a piece of pink-fleshed bacon upon his fork, and was about to transfer it to his mouth, when he stopped short withhis lips apart and eyes staring, while Tom let fall his knife and thrusthis chair back over the stone floor. 

They had been eating and listening to the conversation outside, till itreached its climax in the following words:

"What, man? You don't know what he says. "

"What he says!" chuckled the wheelwright. "Ay, I heerd what he said; awhole heap o' bad words till I checked him, and let him feel he'd besthowd his tongue. "

"But you know what he says about who shot at him?"

"Nay, but if he says as it were me, I'll go and pitch him into thewatter. "

"You did not hear, then?" cried the squire, huskily. "Hickathrift, hesays it was done by those boys!"

"What!" roared the wheelwright. 

"It's a lie, father!" shouted Dick, recovering himself and running out. "Here, ask Tom. "

"Why, of course it's a lie, " cried Tom. 

"But that man says--" cried the squire. 

"Yah!" shouted Hickathrift angrily, "they never shot him; they heven'tgot no goon. "

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. 

UNDER CLOUDS. 

Thorpeley was not badly hurt, so the doctor said when he came; but, asusual, he added, "If it had been an inch or two more to the right animportant vessel would have been divided, and he would have bled todeath. "

But if the constable was not badly wounded, though the injury caused bya bullet passing through his leg was an ugly one, the reputations ofDick Winthorpe and Tom Tallington had received such ugly wounds thattheir fathers found it difficult to get them cured. 

For Thorpeley stuck to his first story, that he suspected the two boysto be engaged in some nefarious trick, and he had watched them from thetime they borrowed the wheelwright's punt. He went on to describe howhe had offended them by keeping his eye upon their movements, and toldhow they had tried to smother him by leading him into a dangerousmorass, while just at dusk, as he was watching their boat, he saw themstart towards him, and evidently believing that they were unseen fromwhere they had tied their punt, they had deliberately taken aim at himand shot him. 

The squire questioned him very sharply, but he adhered to everything. He swore that he saw them thrust the punt away, and go into the mistydarkness; and then when they had heard his cries, they came back andlanded, evidently repentant and frightened, and then helped him down tothe boat. 

"But, " said the squire, "it might have been two other people in a puntwho shot at you. "

"Two others!" shouted the man; "it weer they, and I heered 'em laughingand bragging about it as I lay theer in the bottom o' the boat nearly ina swownd, bud I could hear what they said. "

This charge was so serious that, as a matter of course, there was amagisterial inquiry, which was repeated as soon as the constable wassufficiently well to limp into the justice-room in the little town wherehe had been removed as soon as the doctor gave permission, theneighbourhood of the Toft and Hickathrift having grown uncomfortablywarm. 

At that last examination the magistrates shook their heads, and, afterhearing a great deal of speaking, decided that Thorpeley must have beendeceived in the darkness, and the charge was dismissed. 

In those days the law had two qualities in an out-of-the-way place thathave pretty well died out now. These qualities were laxity andseverity--the disposition to go to extremes; and in this case some ideaof the way in which the work of petty sessions was carried on will begrasped when it is told that after the examination the chairman of thebench of magistrates, an old landholder of the neighbourhood, shookhands with the squire, and then less freely with Farmer Tallington. 

"Look here, you two, " he said; "we've let off these two young scamps;but you had better send them to sea, or at all events away from here. "

"I don't understand you, sir, " said the squire hotly. 

"I can't help that, " was the gruff reply. "You take my advice. Send'em away before there's more mischief done. I sha'n't let 'em off nexttime. "

Hickathrift, who had watched all the proceedings, heard these words; andas the two lads trudged home beside him, with the squire and FarmerTallington in front, he told them all that had been said. 

Dick said nothing, but Tom fired up and exclaimed angrily, while thewheelwright kept on talking quietly to the former. 

"Niver yow mind, lad; we don't think you shot at him. It's some o' theylads t'other side o' the fen. They comes acrost and waits their chance, and then goes back, and nobody's none the wiser. Niver you mind whatowd magistrit said. Magistrit indeed! Why, I'd mak' a better magistritout of owd Solomon any day o' the week. "

It was kindly spoken; but if there is a difficult thing to do it is to"never mind" when the heart is sore through some accusation that ranklesfrom its injustice. 

"Yes, Tom, " said Dick, when they were about half-way home; "they'dbetter send us away. "

He looked longingly across the fen with its gleaming waters, wavingreeds, and many-tinted flowers; and as he gazed in the bright afternoonsunshine it seemed as if it had never looked so beautiful before. To anagricultural-minded man it was a watery waste; but to a boy who hadpassed his life there, and found it the home of bird, insect, fish, andflower, and an ever-changing scene of pleasure, it was all that could becalled attractive and bright. 

"I'm ready to go, " said Tom sturdily; "only I don't know which to do. "

"Which to do!" cried Dick, with his face growing red, and his eyesflashing. "Why, what do you mean?"

"Whether to go for a soldier or a sailor. "

"Haw! haw!"

Hickathrift's was a curious laugh. At a distance it might have beentaken for a hail; but a fine heron standing heel-deep in the shallowwater took it to be a cry to scare him, so spreading his great flapwings, and stooping so as to get a spring, he flew slowly off withoutstretched legs, while the squire and Farmer Tallington looked back tosee if they had been called. 

"What are you laughing at?" said Tom angrily. 

"Yow, lad, yow. Why, you arn't big enew to carry a goon; and as forsailing, do you think a ship's like a punt, and shoved along wi' apole!"

"Never mind, " grumbled Tom. "I'm not going to stop here and besuspected for nothing. "

"Nay, nay, don't you lads talk nonsense. "

"It's no nonsense, Hicky, " said Dick bitterly. "I've made up my mind togo. "

"Nay, nay, I tell thee. Thou wean't goo, lads. "

"Indeed but we will, " cried Dick energetically. 

"What, goo?"

"Yes. "

"Height awayer?"

"Yes, right away. "

"Then what's to become of me?" cried the wheelwright excitedly. 

"Become of you! Why, what's it got to do with you?" cried Tom surlily. 

"Do wi' me! Why, iverything. What's the good o' my punt? what's thegood o' me laying up a couple o' good ash-poles for you, and putting abit o' wood up chimney to season, so as to hev it ready for new solesfor your pattens [skates] next winter. Good, indeed! What call hev youto talk that clat?"

"You're a good old chap, Hicky, " said Dick, smiling up at the bigfellow; "but you can't understand what I feel over this. "

"Hey, bud I can, " cried the wheelwright quickly; "you feel just the sameas I did when Farmer Tallington--Tom's father here--said I'd sent him inhis bill after he'd sattled it; and as I did when my missus said I'dtook half a guinea outer money-box to spend i' town. I know, lads. Yes, I know. "

"Well, I suppose it is something like that, Hicky, " said Dick sadly. 

"Ay, joost the same; bud I didn't tell Farmer Tallington as I should gofor a soldier, and I didn't turn on my wife and tell her I should go tosea. "

Dick was silent the rest of the way home, but he shook hands verysolemnly with Tom, and Tom pressed his hand hard as they parted at thefarm. Then Dick went on beside the wheelwright, while the squire walkedswiftly ahead, evidently thinking deeply. 

There was a meaning in that grip of the hand which Hickathrift did notunderstand; but he kept on talking cheerily to the lad till they wereclose up to the Toft, when, just as the squire turned in and stopped forDick to join him, the wheelwright shook hands with the lad. 

"Good day, Mester Dick!" he said aloud; and then in a whisper:

"Don't you go away, lad, for if you do they'll be sure to say it was yowas fired the shot. "

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. 

PREPARATIONS FOR FLIGHT. 

The squire was very quiet over the evening meal, but he looked across atDick very sternly two or three times, and the lad did not meet his eye. 

For certain plans which he had been concerting with Tom wore so strangean aspect in his eyes that he felt quite guilty, and the old frank lightin his face seemed to have died out as he bent down over his supper, andlistened to his father's answers to his mother about the proceedings ofthe past day. 

Bed-time at last, and for the first time since he had returned Dick wasalone with his mother, the squire having gone to take his customary lookround the house. 

"Good-night, mother!" said Dick in a low sombre manner, very differentto his usual way. 

Mrs Winthorpe did not answer for a moment or two, but gazed full at herson. 

"And so the magistrate thought you guilty, Dick?" she said. 

"Yes, mother, " he flashed out, "and--"

"Ah!" exclaimed Mrs Winthorpe, flinging her arms about his neck. "That's my boy who spoke out then. Dick, if you had spoken out likethat to your father and everyone they would not have suspected you for amoment. There, good-night! It will all come right at last. "

Dick said "good-night" to his father, who gave him a short nod, and thenthe lad went slowly up to his room, to sit on the edge of the bed andthink of the possibility of building a hut out there in the island theyhad found in the fen, and then of how it would be if he and Tom did so, and went there to live; and when he had debated it well, he askedhimself what would be the use, and confessed that it would be allnonsense, and that he had been thinking like a child. 

"No, " he said; "I'm no baby now. All this has made a man of me, and TomTallington is right; we must go and begin life somewhere else--where theworld will not be so hard. "

"He will not be here for an hour yet, " he thought; so he employedhimself very busily in putting together the few things he meant to takeon his journey into that little-known place beyond the fen, where therewere big towns, and people different to themselves; and as Dick packedhis bundle he tried to keep back a weak tear or two which would gatheras if to drop on the lavender-scented linen, that reminded him of herwho had that night called him her boy. 

But there was a stubborn feeling upon him which made him viciously knottogether the handkerchief ends of his bundle, and then go and stand atthe window and watch and listen for the coming of Tom. 

For he had made up his mind to go with Tom if he came, without him if hefailed, for he told himself the world elsewhere would not be so hard. 

One hour--two hours passed. He heard them strike on the old eight-dayclock below. But no Tom. 

Could he have repented and made up his mind not to keep faith, or wasthere some reason?

Never mind, he would go alone and fight the world, and some day peoplewould be sorry for having suspected him as they did now. 

He laughed bitterly, and stepped to the open window bundle in hand. Hehad but to swing himself out and drop to the ground, and trudge awayinto that romantic land--the unknown. Yes, he would go. "Good-bye, dear mother; father, good-bye!" he whispered softly; and the next momentone foot was over the window-sill, and he was about to drop, when amiserably absurd sound rose on the midnight air, a sound which made himdart back into his room like some guilty creature, as there rang out thestrange cry:

"He--haw, he--haw!" as dismal a bray as Solomon had ever uttered in hislife; and for no reason whatever, as it seemed, Dick Winthorpe went backand sat upon his bed thinking of the wheelwright's words:

That if he went away people would declare he fired the shot. 

"I can't help it, " cried Dick at last, after an hour's bitter strugglethere in the darkness of the night; and once more he ran to the window, meaning to drop out, when, as if he saw what was about to take place, Solomon roused the echoes about the old buildings with another dismalbray. 

"Who can run away with a donkey crying out at him like that!" said Dickto himself; and in spite of his misery, he once more seated himself uponthe bed-side and laughed. 

It was more a hysterical than a natural laugh; but it relieved DickWinthorpe's feelings, and just then the clock struck two. 

Dick sat on the bed-side and thought. He was not afraid to go--far fromit. A reckless spirit of determination had come over him, and he wasready to do anything, dare anything; but all the same the wheelwright'swords troubled him, and he could not master the feeling that it would bepainful for the constant repetition to come to his mother's knowledge, till even she began to think that there must be some truth in thematter, and he would not be there to defend himself. 

That was a painful thought, one which made Dick Winthorpe rise and goand seat himself on the window-sill and gaze out over the fen. 

From where he was seated his eyes ranged over the portion where thedrain was being cut; and as he looked, it seemed to him that all histroubles had dated from the commencement of the venture by his father, and those who had joined in the experiment. 

Then he thought of the evening when Mr Marston had been brought inwounded, and the other cases which had evidently been the work of thoseopposed to the draining--the fire at Tallington's, the houghing of thehorses, the shots fired, the blowing up of the sluice-gate. 

"And they think I did it all, " he said to himself with a bitter laugh;"a boy like me!"

Then he began considering as to who possibly could be the culprit, andthought and thought till his head ached, and he rose sadly and replacedthe articles in his bundle in the drawer. 

"I can't go, " he said softly. "I'll face it out like a man, and theymay say what they like. "

He stood looking at his bed, with its white pillow just showing in thefaint light which came through the open window, but it did not tempt himto undress. 

"I can't sleep, " he said; "and perhaps, if I lie down, I may not hearTom coming, if he comes. Why is one so miserable? What have I done?"

There was no mental answer to his question, and he once more went softlyacross the room, and sat in the window-sill to gaze out across the fen. 

How long he had been watching he could not tell, for his brain feltdazed, and he was in a half-dreamy state, when all of a sudden he grewwakeful and alert, for right away out over the mere he saw a faint gleamof light which flashed upon the water and then expired. 

For a moment he thought that it might have been the reflection of astar, but it flashed out again, and then was gone. 

The marsh lights always had a strange fascination for him, and thisappearance completely changed the current of his thoughts. A fewmoments before and they were dull and sluggish, now they were allexcitement; and he sat there longing for the next appearance when, as ofold, he expected to see the faint light go dancing along, as a mothdances over the moist herbage, disappearing from time to time. 

He strained his eyes, but there was no light, and he was beginning tothink that it was fancy, when he heard a faint rustling apparentlyoutside his door; and as he listened, he felt that someone must be goingdown stairs. 

Then there was complete silence for a few minutes, and he was ready tothink that both the light and the sound were fancy, when all doubts wereset at rest, for the door below opened and someone passed out. 

It was still very dark, in spite of a faint sign of dawn in thenorth-east; but the watcher had no difficulty in making out the figurewhich passed silently along in the shadow of the house, and closebeneath him, to be that of his father. 

What did it mean? Dick asked himself as he sat there holding hisbreath, while he watched intently, and saw his father steal from placeto place in the most secretive manner, taking advantage of bush, wall, and outbuilding, and every now and then pausing as if gazing out acrossthe fen. 

"I know, " thought Dick, as a flash of comprehension came across hisbrain. "He saw that light, and he is watching too. "

The thought was quite exciting. 

The reaction as depressing, for directly after he very naturally said tohimself: "My father would not get out of bed to watch awill-o'-the-wisp. "

But suppose it was not a will-o'-the-wisp, but a light!

He sat thinking and trying to trace which way his father had gone; andas far as he could make out, he had gone right down to the nearest spotto the water, where, about a hundred yards away, there was fair landing, by one of the many clumps of alder. 

Dick had just come to the conclusion that he ought not to watch hisfather, who was angry enough with him as it was, and who would be moresuspicious still if he again caught him at the window dressed, and hewas about to close it, after wondering whether anyone would be on thewater with a light--Dave, for instance--and if so, what form of fowlingor netting it would be, when there was a low hiss--such a sound as ismade by a snake--just beneath his window. 

"Dick!"

"Hallo!"

"Couldn't come before. Ready?"

"No, " said Dick shortly, for the plan to run away seemed now to belongto some project of the past. 

"I couldn't come before, " whispered Tom. "I was all ready, but fatherdid not go to bed for ever so long; and when at last I thought it wasall right, and was ready to start, I heard him go down and open theback-door. "

"And go out?" whispered Dick. 

"Yes. How did you know?"

"I didn't know, but my father has done just the same. "

"Oh!"

"Did yours come back?"

"No, " said Tom; "and I daren't start for ever so long. But I've comenow, so let's start off quick. "

"Which way did your father go?"

"I don't know, but we're wasting time. "

"Did he take the boat?"

"How should I know? I didn't see him go. I only heard. Come, are youready?"

"No, " said Dick hoarsely, and not prepared to tell his companion that hehad repented. "How can we go now with them both somewhere about? Theywould be sure to catch us and bring us back. "

It was a subterfuge, and Dick's face turned scarlet, as he knew by theburning sensation. The next instant he had felt so ashamed of hispaltry excuse that he blurted out:

"I sha'n't go. I'm sorry I said I would. It's cowardly, but I don'tmean to go--there!"

The hot tears of vexation and misery stood in his eyes as he made thisconfession, and rose up prepared to resent his companion's reproacheswith angry words; but he was disarmed, for Tom whispered hastily:

"Oh, Dick, I am so glad! I wouldn't show the white feather and playsneak, but I didn't want to go. It seemed too bad to mother and father. But you mean it?"

"Yes, I mean it!" said Dick, with a load off his breast. "I felt thatit would be like running away because we were afraid to face a charge. "

"Hooray!" cried Tom in a whisper. "I say, Dick, don't think me acoward, but I am so glad! I say, shall I go back now?"

"No; stop a bit, " whispered Dick, with his heart beating, and a strangesuspicion making its way into his breast. For in an incoherent vaguemanner he found himself thinking of Farmer Tallington stealing out ofhis house in the middle of the night. He had a boat, as most of the fenfarmers had, for gunning, fishing, and cutting reeds. What was he doingon the water at night? For it must have been he with a light. 

Then a terrible suspicion flashed across him, and the vague ideas beganto shape themselves and grow solid. Suppose it was Farmer Tallingtonwho had been guilty of--

Dick made a strong effort at this point to master his wanderingimagination, and forced himself to think only of what he really knew tobe the fact, namely, that Farmer Tallington was out somewhere, and thatthe squire was out too. 

"My father must have come to meet yours, Dick, " whispered Tom at thatpoint. "I know they suspect there's something wrong, and they have gonedown to watch the drain, or to meet Mr Marston. "

"Yes, " said Dick, in a tone which did not carry conviction with it. "That must be it. "

"What shall we do? Go back to bed?"

"Ye-es, we had better, " said Dick thoughtfully. "I say, Tom, we havedone quite right. We couldn't have gone away. "

"Hist! did you hear that?"

For answer Dick strained out of the window. He had heard that--a suddensplashing in the water, a shout--and the next moment there was a flashwhich cut the darkness apparently a couple of hundred yards away, andthen came a dull report, and silence. 

The boys remained listening for some moments, but they could not hear asound. The signs of the coming morning were growing plainer; there wasa faint twittering in some bushes at a distance, followed by the sharpmetallic _chink chink_ of a blackbird; and then all at once, loud andclear from the farm-yard, rang out the morning challenge of a cock. 

Then once more all was still. There was no footstep, no splash of polein the water. 

For a few minutes neither spoke, but listened intently with every nerveupon the strain; and then with a catching of the breath as he realisedwhat had gone before, and that he had seen his father steal carefullydown in the direction of the mere, Dick sprang from the window andgripped his companion by the arm. 

"Tom, " he gasped, "quick! come on! Some one else has been--"

He would have said _shot_, but his voice failed, and with a cold chillof horror stealing over him he remained for a few moments as ifparalysed. 

Then, with Tom Tallington close behind, he ran swiftly down towards themere. 

CHAPTER NINETEEN. 

THE NEW HORROR. 

They did not know exactly where to go, for the guidance afforded by asound is very deceptive, but there had been the splash of water, so thatthe shot must have been from somewhere at the foot of the Toft, downwhere the meadow land gave place to rough marsh, bog, and reedy water. 

Dick listened as he ran; but there was no splash now--no sound offootstep. 

As the lads advanced the dawning light increased, and a startled birdflew out from the bushes, another from a tuft of dry grass; and oncemore there was the _chink_--_chink_ of a blackbird. The day wasawakening, and Dick Winthorpe asked himself what the dawn was to show. 

It was still dark enough to necessitate care, and over the mere as theyneared it a low mist hung, completely screening its waters as theyvainly attempted to pierce the gloom. 

Plash, plash through the boggy parts of the mere fringe, for Dick hadnot paused to follow any track, stumbling among tufts of grass and marshgrowth, they hurried on with eager eyes, longing to shout, but afraid, for there was a growing horror upon both the lads of having to beshortly in presence of some terrible scene. 

They neither of them spoke, but mutually clung together for support, though all the time there was a strange repugnance in Dick's breast ashe now began to realise the strength of the suspicion he entertained. 

But if they dared not shout, there was some one near at hand ready toutter a lusty cry, which startled them as it rang out of the gloom fromaway down by the labourers' cottages and the wheelwright's. 

"Ahoy! Hillo!" rang out. 

"Hillo, Hicky!" yelled Tom. "Here!"

"Where away, lads?" came back; and then there was the dull low beat offeet, and they heard the wheelwright shout to his apprentice to followhim. 

The two little parties joined directly, to stand in the mist all pantingand excited, the wheelwright half-dressed, and his bare head rough fromcontact with the pillow. 

"Hey, lads, " he cried, "was that you two shouting?"

Dick tried to speak, but he could not frame a word. 

"No; we heard it from somewhere down here, " panted Tom. 

"I heered it too, " cried Jacob, "and wackened the mester. "

"Ay, that's a true word, " cried Hickathrift. "What does it mean?"

"Hicky, " panted Dick in piteous tones, "I don't know--I'm afraid I--myfather's out here somewhere. "

"Hey! The squire?" cried Hickathrift with a curious stare at first oneand then the other. "Yow don't think--"

He paused, and Dick replied in a whisper:

"Yes, Hicky, I do. "

"Here, let's search about; it's getting light fast. Now, then, " criedthe wheelwright, "yow go that way, Jacob; I'll go this; and you twolads--"

"No, no, " said Dick. "It must be somewhere close by here, near thewater. Let's keep together, please. "

"Aw reight!" muttered the wheelwright; and following Dick they went asclose to the water's edge as they could go, and crept along, with thebushes and trees growing more plain to view, and the sky showing onedull orange fleck as the advance guard of the coming glory of the morn. 

They went along for a couple of hundred yards in one direction, butthere was nothing to be seen; then a couple of hundred yards in theother direction, but there was nothing visible there. And as the lightgrew stronger they sought about them, seeing clearly now that theghastly figure Dick dreaded to find was nowhere as far as they couldmake out inshore. 

"Hillo!" shouted Hickathrift again and again; "squire!"

There was no reply, and the chill of horror increased as the feelingthat they were searching in vain out and in pressed itself upon all, andthey knew that the man they sought must be in the water. 

"Here, howd hard, " cried Hickathrift. "What a moodle head I am! You, Jacob, run back and let loose owd Grip. "

The apprentice ran back as hard as he could, and the group remained insilence till they saw him disappear behind the shed. Then there was aloud burst of barking. 

Hickathrift whistled, and the great long-legged lurcher came boundingover the rough boggy land, to leap at his master and then stand panting, open-mouthed, eager, and ready to dart anywhere his owner bade. 

"Here, Grip, lad, find him, then--find him, boy!"

The dog uttered one low, growling bark, and then bounded off, hurryinghere and there in the wildest way, while the boys watched intently. 

"Will he find him, Hicky?" said Dick huskily. 

"Ay, or anyone else, " said the wheelwright, who alternately watched thedog, and swept the surface of the mere wherever the mist allowed. 

"There! Look at that!" he cried, as, after a minute, the dog settleddown to a steady hunt, with his nose close to the ground, and rapidlyfollowed the track lately taken by someone who had passed. 

"But perhaps he is following our steps!" said Dick excitedly. 

"Nay, not he. Theer, what did I tell you?" cried Hickathrift as the dogsuddenly stopped by the water, opposite to a thick bed of reeds a dozenyards or so from the bank. 

Dick turned pale; the wheelwright ran down to the edge of the mere; andas the dog stood by the water barking loudly, Hickathrift waded inwithout hesitation, the boys following, with Grip swimming and snortingat their side, and taking up the chase again as soon as he reached thereeds. 

It was only a matter of minutes now before the dog had rushed on beforethem, disappeared in the long growth, and then they heard him barkingfuriously. 

"Let me go first, Mester Dick, " said Hickathrift hoarsely. "Nay, don't, lad. "

There was a kindly tone of sympathy in the great fellow's voice, butDick did not give way. He splashed on through the reeds, his positionhaving placed him in advance of his companions, and parting the tallgrowth he uttered a cry of pain. 

The others joined him directly, and stood for a moment gazing down atwhere, standing on the very edge of the mere, Dick was holding up hisfather's head from where he lay insensible among the reeds, his facewhite and drawn, his eyes nearly closed, and his hands clenched andstretched out before him. 

Hickathrift said not a word, but, as in similar cases before, he raisedthe inanimate form, hung it over his shoulder, and waded back to firmground. 

"Hey, Mester Dick, " he said huskily, as he hurried towards his cottage, "I nivver thowt to hev seen a sight like this. "

"No, no, " cried Dick; "not there. "

"Yes, I'll tak' him home to my place, " whispered Hickathrift. "You'dscare your mother to dead. Here, Jacob, lad, don't stop to knock or askquestions, but go and tak' squire's cob, and ride him hard to town fordoctor. "

"Tell my father as you go by, Jacob, " cried Tom excitedly; and as theapprentice dashed off, Tom's eyes met those of Dick. 

"Don't look so wild and strange, Dick, old chap, " whispered the ladkindly; and he laid a hand upon Dick's shoulder, but the boy shrank fromhim with a shudder which the other could not comprehend. 

Hickathrift shouted to his wife, who had risen and dressed in hisabsence, and in a short time the squire was lying upon a mattress withHickathrift eagerly searching for the injury which had laid him low; butwhen he found it, the wound seemed so small and trifling that he lookedwondering up at Dick. 

"That couldn't have done it, " he said in a whisper. 

The wheelwright was wrong. That tiny blue wound in the strong man'schest had been sufficient to lay him there helpless, and so near deaththat a feeling of awe fell upon those who watched and waited, and triedto revive the victim of this last outrage. 

It was a terrible feeling of helplessness that which pervaded the place. There was nothing to do save bathe the wounded man's brow and moistenhis lips with a little of the smuggled spirit with which most of thecoast cottages were provided in those distant days. There was no bloodto staunch, nothing to excite, nothing to do but wait, wait for thedoctor's coming. 

Before very long Farmer Tallington arrived, and as he encountered Dick'seyes fixed upon him he turned very pale, and directly after, when hebent over the squire's couch and took his hand, the lad saw that hetrembled violently. 

"It's straange and horrible--it's straange and horrible, " he said: "onlyyesterday he was like I am: as strong and well as a man can be; whilenow--Hickathrift, my lad, do you think he'll die?"

The wheelwright shook his head--he could not trust himself to speak; andDick stood with a sensation of rage gathering in his breast, which madehim feel ready to spring at Farmer Tallington's throat, and accuse himof being his father's murderer. 

"The hypocrite--the cowardly hypocrite!" he said to himself; "but weknow now, and he shall be punished. "

The boy's anger was fast growing so ungovernable that he was about tofly out and denounce his school-fellow's father, but just then a hastystep was heard outside, and a familiar voice exclaimed:

"Where is my husband?"

The next minute Mrs Winthorpe was in the room, wild-eyed and pale, butperfectly collected in her manner and acts. 

"How long will it be before the doctor can get here?" she said hoarsely, as she passed her arm under the injured man's neck, and pressed her lipsto his white brow. 

"Hickathrift's lad went off at a hard gallop, " said Farmer Tallington ina voice full of sympathy. "Please God, Mrs Winthorpe, we'll save himyet. "

Dick uttered a hoarse cry and staggered out of the room, for the man'shypocrisy maddened him, and he knew that if he stayed he should speakout and say all he knew. 

As he reached the little garden there was a step behind him, a hand waslaid upon his shoulder, another grasped his arm. 

"I can't talk and say things, Dicky, " said Tom in a low half-chokingvoice; "but I want to comfort you. Don't break down, old fellow. Thedoctor will save his life. "

This from the son of the man whom he believed to have shot his father!and the rage Dick felt against the one seemed to be ready to fall uponthe other. But as his eyes met those of his old school-fellow andcompanion full of sorrowful sympathy, Dick could only grasp Tom's hands, feeling that he was a true friend, and in no wise answerable for hisfather's sins. 

"Ay, that's right, " said a low, rough voice. "Nowt like stickingtogether and helping each other in trouble. Bud don't you fret, MesterDick. Squire's a fine stark man, and the missus has happed him upwaarm, and you see the doctor will set him right. "

"Thank you, Hicky, " said Dick, calming down; and then he stood thinkingand asking himself how he could denounce the father of his old friendand companion as the man who, for some hidden reason of his own, was theplotter and executor of all these outrages. 

At one moment he felt that he could not do this. At another there wasthe blank suffering face of his father before his eyes, seeming to askhim to revenge his injuries and to bring a scoundrel to justice. 

For a time Dick was quite determined; but directly after there camebefore him the face of poor, kind-hearted Mrs Tallington, who hadalways treated him with the greatest hospitality, while, as he seemed tolook at her eyes pleading upon her husband's behalf, Tom took his handand wrung it. 

"I'm going to stick by you, Dick, " he said; "and you and I are going tofind out who did this, and when we do we'll show him what it is to shootat people, and burn people's homesteads, and hough their beasts. "

Dick gazed at him wildly. Tom going to help him run his own father downand condemn him by giving evidence when it was all found out!Impossible! Those words of his old companion completely disarmed himfor the moment, and to finish his discomfiture, just then FarmerTallington came out of the cottage looking whiter and more haggard thanbefore. 

He came to where the wheelwright was standing, and spoke huskily. 

"I can't bear it, " he said. "It is too horrible. Might hev been me, and what would my poor lass do? Hickathrift, mun, the villain who doesall this must be found out. "

"Ay, farmer, but how?"

"I don't know how, " said the farmer, gazing from one to the other. "Ion'y know it must be done. If I'd gone on this morning I might havefound out something, but I went back. "

Dick gazed at him searchingly, but the farmer did not meet his eyes. 

"I've been straange and fidgety ever since my fire, " continued thefarmer; "and it's med me get out o' bed o' nights and look round forfear of another. I was out o' bed towards morning last night, and as Ilooked I could see yonder on the mere what seemed to be a lanthorn. "

"You saw that?" said Dick involuntarily. 

"Ay, lad, I saw that, " said the farmer, rubbing his hands togethersoftly; "and first of all I thowt it was a will-o'-the-wisp, but itdidn't go about like one o' they, and as it went out directly and cameagain, I thought it was some one wi' a light. "

"What, out on the watter?" said Hickathrift. 

"Yes, my lad; out on the watter, " said the farmer; "and that med me sayto mysen: What's any one doing wi' a light out on the watter at thistime? and I could on'y think as they wanted it to set fire to some one'splaace, and I couldn't stop abed and think that. So I got up, and wentdown to the shore, got into my owd punt, and loosed her, and went outtorst wheer I'd seen the light. "

"And did you see it, mester?" said Hickathrift. 

"Nay, my lad. I went on and on as quietly as I could go, and round thereed-bed, but all was as quiet as could be. "

"Didn't you see the poont?" said the wheelwright. 

"What punt?" said Tom sharply. 

Hickathrift looked confused. 

"Poont o' him as hed the light, I meant, " he said hurriedly. 

"Nay, not a sign of it, " said Farmer Tallington; "and at last I turnedback and poled gently home, keeping a sharp look-out and listening allthe way, but I niver see nowt nor heered nowt. But if I'd kept out onthe waiter I should p'raps have seen and saved my poor owd neighbour. "

"You might, mebbe, " said the wheelwright thoughtfully; while, aftergazing in the faces of the two men and trying to read the truth, Dickturned away with his suspicions somewhat blunted, to go to his mother'sside, and watch with her till the sound of hoofs on the rough track toldthat the messenger had returned. 

CHAPTER TWENTY. 

THE DOCTOR'S DICTUM. 

Dick leaped up and came to the window as soon as he heard the beating ofthe horse's hoofs; and to his great joy, as the mounted man turned thecorner he saw that it was the doctor, whom he ran down to meet. 

"Hah, my lad! here is a bad business!" exclaimed the doctor as hedismounted. "Well, come, they cannot say this was your doing. Youwouldn't shoot your own father, eh?"

"Oh, pray, come up, sir, and don't talk, " cried Dick excitedly. "Poorfather is dying!"

"Oh, no, " said the doctor; "we must not let him die. "

"But be quick, sir! You are so long!" cried Dick. 

"Don't be impatient, my lad, " said the doctor smiling. "We folks haveto be calm and quiet in all we do. Now show me the way. "

Dick led him to the room, the doctor beckoning Hickathrift to follow;and as soon as he reached the injured man's side he quietly sent MrsWinthorpe and Dick to wait in the next room, retaining the greatwheelwright to help him move his patient. 

The time seemed interminable, and as mother and son sat waiting, everyword spoken in the next room sounded like a moan from the injured man. Mrs Winthorpe's face appeared to be that of a woman ten years older, and her agony was supreme; but like a true wife and tender mother--ah, how little we think of what a mother's patience and self-denial are whenwe are young!--she devoted her whole energies to administering comfortto her sorely-tried son. 

A dozen times over Dick felt that he could not keep the secret thattroubled him--that he must tell his mother his suspicions and ask heradvice; but so sure as he made up his mind to speak, the fear that hemight be wrong troubled him, and he forebore. 

Then began the whole struggle again, and at last he was nearer than everto confiding his horrible belief in their neighbour's treachery, whenthe doctor suddenly appeared. 

Dick rose from where he had been kneeling by his mother's side, and shestarted from her seat to grasp the doctor's hand. 

She did not speak, but her eyes asked the one great question of herheart, and then, as the doctor's hard sour face softened and he smiled, Mrs Winthorpe uttered a piteous sigh and clasped her hands together inthankfulness to Heaven. 

"Then he is not very bad, doctor?" cried Dick joyfully. 

"Yes, my boy, he is very bad indeed, and dangerously wounded, " repliedthe doctor; "but, please God, I think I can pull him through. "

"Tell me--tell me!" faltered Mrs Winthorpe piteously. 

"It is a painful thing to tell a lady, " said the doctor kindly; "but Iwill explain. Mrs Winthorpe, he has a terrible wound. The bullet haspassed obliquely through his chest; it was just within the skin at theback, and I have successfully extracted it. As far as I can tell thereis no important organ injured, but at present I am not quite sure. Still I think I may say he is in no immediate danger. "

Mrs Winthorpe could not trust herself to speak, but she looked herthanks and glided toward the other room. 

"Do not speak to him and do not let him speak, " whispered the doctor. "Everything depends upon keeping him perfectly still, so that nature maynot be interrupted in doing her portion of the work. "

Mrs Winthorpe bowed her head in acquiescence, and with a promise thathe would return later in the day the doctor departed. 

Dick found, a short time after, that the news had been carried to theworks at the drain, where Mr Marston was busy; and no sooner did thatgentleman hear of the state of affairs than he hurried over to offer hissympathy to Mrs Winthorpe and Dick. 

"I little thought that your father was to be a victim, " he said to thelatter as soon as they were alone. "I have been trying my hand to fixthe guilt upon somebody, but so far I have failed. Come, Dick, you andI have not been very good friends lately, and I must confess that I havebeen disposed to think you knew something about these outrages. "

"Yes, I knew you suspected me, Mr Marston. "

"Not suspected you, but that you knew something about them; but I begyour pardon: I am sorry I ever thought such things; and I am sure youwill forgive me, for indeed I do not think you know anything of the kindnow. "

Dick quite started as he gazed in Mr Marston's face, so strangely thatthe engineer wondered, and then felt chilled once more and stood withoutspeaking. 

Mr Marston took a step up and down for a few moments and then turned toDick again. 

"Look here, my lad, " he said. "I don't like for there to be anythingbetween us. I want to be friends with you, for I like you, RichardWinthorpe; but you keep on making yourself appear so guilty that yourepel me. Speak to me, Dick, and say out downright, like a man, thatyou know nothing about this last affair. "

Dick looked at him wildly, but remained silent. 

"Come!" said Mr Marston sternly, and he fixed the lad with his eye;"there has been a dastardly outrage committed and your father nearlymurdered. Tell me plainly whether you know whose hand fired the shot. "

No answer. 

"Dick, my good lad, I tell you once more that I do not suspect you--onlythat you know who was the guilty party. "

Still no answer. 

"It is your duty to speak, boy, " cried Mr Marston angrily. "You arenot afraid to speak out?"

"I--I don't know, " said Dick. 

"Then you confess that you do know who fired at your father?"

"I did not confess, " said Dick slowly. "I cannot say. I only think Iknow. "

"Then who was it?"

No answer. 

"Dick, I command you to speak, " cried Mr Marston, catching his arm andholding him tightly. 

"I don't know, " said Dick. 

"You do know, cried Mr Marston angrily, and I will have an answer. Noman's life is safe, and these proceedings must be stopped. "

For answer Dick wrested himself free. 

"I don't know for certain, " he said determinedly, "and I'm not going tosay who it is I suspect, when I may be wrong. "

"But if the person suspected is innocent, he can very well prove it. Ah, here is Tom Tallington! Come, Tom, my lad, you can help me herewith your old companion. "

"No, " cried Dick angrily, "don't ask him. "

"I shall ask him, " said Mr Marston firmly. "Look here, Tom; our friendDick here either knows or suspects who it was that fired that shot; andif he knows that, he can tell who fired the other shots, and perhaps didall the other mischief. "

"Do you know, Dick?" cried Tom excitedly. 

"I don't know for certain, I only suspect, " said Dick sadly. 

"And I want him to speak out, my lad, while he persists in trying tohide it. "

"He won't, " said Tom. "He thinks it is being a bit of a coward to telltales; but he knows it is right to tell, don't you, Dick?"

"No, " said the latter sternly. 

"You do, now, " said Tom. "Come, I say, let's know who it was. Here, shall I call father?"

"No, no, " cried Dick excitedly, "and I won't say a word. I cannot. Itis impossible. "

"You are a strange lad, Dick Winthorpe, " said the engineer, looking atthem curiously. 

"Oh, but he will speak, Mr Marston! I can get him to, " cried Tom. "Come, Dick, say who it was. "

Dick stared at him wildly, for there was something so horrible to him inthis boy trying now to make him state what would result in his father'simprisonment and death, that Tom seemed for the moment in his eyes quitean unnatural young monster at whose presence he was ready to shudder. 

"How can you be so obstinate!" cried Tom. "You shall tell. Who wasit?"

Dick turned from him in horror, and would have hurried away, but MrMarston caught his arm. 

"Stop a moment, Dick Winthorpe, " he said. "I must have a few words withyou before we part. It is plain enough that all these outrages aredirected against the persons who are connected with the drainage scheme, and that their lives are in danger. Now I am one of these persons, andto gratify the petty revenge of a set of ignorant prejudiced people whocannot see the good of the work upon which we are engaged, I decline tohave myself made a target. I ask you, then, who this was. Will youspeak?"

Dick shook his head. 

"Well, then, I am afraid you will be forced to speak. I consider it tobe my duty to have these outrages investigated, and to do this I shallwrite up to town. The man or men who will be sent down will be of adifferent class to the unfortunate constable who was watching here. Now, come, why not speak?"

"Mr Marston!" cried Dick hoarsely. 

"Yes! Ah, that is better! Now, come, Dick; we began by being friends. Let us be greater friends than ever, as we shall be, I am sure. "

"No, no, " cried Dick passionately. "I want to be good friends, but Icannot speak to you. I don't know anything for certain, I onlysuspect. "

"Then whom do you suspect?"

"Yes; who is it?" cried Tom angrily. 

"Hold your tongue!" said Dick so fiercely that Tom shrank away. 

"I say you shall speak out, " retorted the lad, recovering himself. 

"For your father's sake speak out, my lad, " said Mr Marston. 

Dick shook his head and turned away, to go back into the wheelwright'scottage, where, suffering from a pain and anguish of mind to which hehad before been a stranger, he sought refuge at his mother's side, andshared her toil of watching his father as he lay there between life anddeath. 

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE. 

TROUBLE GROWS. 

The next fortnight was passed in a state of misery, which made DickWinthorpe feel as if he had ceased to be a boy, and had suddenly becomea grown-up man. 

He wanted to do what was right. He wished for the man who had shot hisfather in this cowardly way to be brought to justice; but he was notsure that Farmer Tallington was the guilty man, and he shrank fromdenouncing the parent of his companion from childhood, and his father'sold friend. 

Mr Marston came over again and tried him sorely. But the more DickWinthorpe thought, the more he grew determined that he would not speakunless he felt quite sure. 

It was one day at the end of the fortnight that Mr Marston tried himagain, and Dick told him that his father would soon be able to speak forhimself, and till then he would not say a word. 

Mr Marston left him angrily, feeling bitterly annoyed with the lad, but, in spite of himself, admiring his firmness. 

Dick stood in the road gazing after him sadly, and was about to retracehis steps to the old house, to which his father had been carefullyborne, when, happening to glance in the direction of the track leadingto the town, he caught sight of Tom coming along slowly. 

Dick turned sullenly away, but Tom ran before him. 

"Stop a minute, " he cried; "let you and me have a talk. I don't want tobe bad friends, Dick. "

"Neither do I, " said the latter sadly. 

"But you keep trying to be. "

"No, I do not. You try to make me angry with you every time we meet. "

"That's not true. I want to have you do your duty and tell all youknow. Father says you ought, as you know who it was. "

"Have you told your father, then?"

"Yes, I told him to-day, and he said you ought to do your duty andspeak. "

"Your father said that?"

"Yes: and why don't you--like a man. "

Dick's brow grew all corrugated as if Black Care were sitting upon theroof of his head and squeezing the skin down into wrinkles. 

"Come, speak out, and don't be such a miserable coward. Father says youdon't speak because you are afraid that whoever did it may shoot you. "

Dick's brow grew more puckered than ever. 

"Now, then, let you and me go over and see Mr Marston and tell himeverything at once. "

Dick looked at the speaker with a feeling of anger against him for hisobstinate perseverance that was almost vicious. 

"Now, are you coming?"

"No, I am not. "

"Then I've done with you, " cried Tom angrily. "Father says that a ladwho knows who attacked his parent in that way, and will not speak out, is a coward and a cur, and that's what you are, Dick Winthorpe. "

"Tom Tallington, " cried Dick, with his eyes flashing, "you are a fool. "

"Say that again, " said Tom menacingly. 

"You are a fool and an idiot, and not worth speaking to again. "

_Whack_!

That is the nearest way of spelling the back-handed blow which TomTallington delivered in his old school-fellow's face, while thestraightforward blow which was the result of Dick Winthorpe's fistdarting out to the full stretch of his arm sounded like an echo; and thenext moment Tom was lying upon the ground. 

There was no cowardice in Tom Tallington's nature. Springing up he madeat Dick, and the former friends were directly after engaged indelivering furious blows, whose result must have been rather serious forboth; but before they had had time to do much mischief, each of the ladswas gripped on the shoulder by a giant hand, and they were forced apart, and held beyond striking distance quivering with rage, and each seeingnothing but the adversary at whom he longed to get. 

"Hey, lads, and I thowt you two was such friends!" cried the herald ofpeace, who had sung truce in so forcible and convincing a way. 

"Let go, Hicky! He struck me. "

"Yes; let me get at him, " cried Tom. "He knocked me down. "

"And I'll do it again a dozen times, " panted Dick. "Let go, Hicky, Itell you!"

"Nay, nay, nay, lads, I wean't let go, and you sha'n't neither of youfight any more. I'm ashamed of you, Mester Dick, with your poor fatherlying theer 'most dead, and the missus a-nigh wherritted to death wi'trouble. "

"But he struck me, " panted Dick. 

"And I'll do it again, " cried Tom. 

"If you do, young Tom Tallington, I'll just pick you up by the scruffand the breeches and pitch you into the mere, to get out as you may; sonow then. "

Tom uttered a low growl which was more like that of a dog than a humanbeing; and after an ineffectual attempt to get at Dick, he draggedhimself away to kneel down at the first clear pool to bathe his bleedingnose. 

"Theer, now, I'll let you go, " said Hickathrift, "and I'm straange andglad I was i' time to stop you. Think o' you two mates falling out andfighting like a couple o' dogs! Why, I should as soon hev expected tosee me and my missus fight. Mester Dick, I'm 'bout 'shamed o' yow. "

"I'm ashamed of myself, Hicky, and I feel as if I was never going to behappy again, " cried Dick. 

"Nay, nay, lad, don't talk like that, " said the big wheelwright. "Why, doctor says he's sewer that he can bring squire reight again, and whatmore do you want?"

"To see the man punished who shot him, Hicky, " cried Dick passionately. 

"Ay, I'd like to see that, or hev the punishing of him, " saidHickathrift, stretching out a great fist. "It's one o' they big shacks[idle scoundrels, from Irish _shaughraun_] yonder up at the dree-ern. I'm going to find him out yet, and when I do--Theer, go and wesh thyfaace. "

Dick was going sadly away when a word from Hickathrift arrested him; andturning, it was to see that the big fellow was looking at himreproachfully, and holding out a hand for him to grasp. 

"Ay, that's better, lad, " said the wheelwright smiling. "Good-bye, lad, and don't feight again!"

The result of this encounter was that Dick found himself without acompanion, and he went day by day bitterly about thinking how hard itwas that he should be suspected and ill-treated for trying to spare Tomthe agony of having his father denounced and dragged off to jail. 

Constables came and made investigations in the loose way of the time;but they discovered nothing, and after a while they departed to do dutyelsewhere; but only to come back at the end of a week to re-investigatethe state of affairs, for a large low building occupied by about twentyof the drainers was, one windy night, set on fire, and its drowsyoccupants had a narrow escape from death. 

But there was no discovery made, the constables setting it down toaccident, saying that the men must have been smoking; and once more thefen was left to its own resources. 

Mr Winthorpe grew rapidly better after the first fortnight, and Dickwatched his convalescence with no little anxiety, for he expected tohear him accuse Farmer Tallington of being his attempted murderer. ButDick had no cause for fear. The squire told Mr Marston that he hadseen a light on the mere, and dreading that it might mean an attempt toburn down some barn, he had gone out to watch, and he had just made outthe shape of a punt on the water when he saw a flash, felt the shock, and fell helpless and insensible among the reeds. 

This was as near an account as he could give of the affair, for theinjury seemed to have confused him, and he knew little of what had takenplace before, nothing of what had since occurred. 

"But your life has been spared, Mr Winthorpe, " said Marston; "and someday I hope we shall know that your assailant and mine has received hisdue. "

"Ay, " said the squire; "we must find him out, for fear he should spoilour plans, for we are not beaten yet. "

"Beaten! no, squire, " said the engineer; "we are getting on faster thanever, and the success of the project is assured. "

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO. 

AFTER A SPACE. 

The time rolled on. The drain-making progressed, and for a while therewas no further trouble. Mr Winthorpe improved in health, but alwaysseemed to avoid any allusion to the outrage; and after the constableshad been a few times and found out nothing, and the magistrates of theneighbourhood had held consultation, the trouble once more dropped. 

Dick Winthorpe always lived in apprehension of being examined, andpressed to tell all he knew, but his father never said a word, to hisgreat relief, and the matter died out. 

"I can't take any steps about it, " Dick said to himself, "if my fatherdoesn't;" and there were times when he longed to speak, others when hewished that he could forget everything about the past. 

"Yow two med it up yet?" Hickathrift used to ask every time he sawDick; but the answer was always the same--"No. "

"Ah, well, you will some day, my lad. It arn't good for boys to makequarrels last. "

There was no more warm friendship with Mr Marston, who, whenever hecame over to the Toft, was studiously polite to Dick, treating him as ifhe were not one whose friendship was worth cultivating, to the lad'sgreat disgust, though he was too proud to show it; and the result wasthat Dick's life at the Toft grew very lonely, and he was driven to seekthe companionship of John Warren and his rabbits, and of Dave with hisboat, gun, and fishing-tackle. 

Then all at once there was a change. The outrages, which had ceased fora time, broke out again furiously; and all through the winter there werefires here and there, the very fact of a person, whether farmer orlabourer, seeming to favour the making of the drain, being enough tomake him receive an unwelcome visit from the party or parties whoopposed the scheme. 

So bad did matters grow that at last people armed and preparedthemselves for the struggle which was daily growing more desperate; andat the same time a feeling of suspicion increased so strongly thatthroughout the fen every man looked upon his neighbour as an enemy. 

But still the drain grew steadily in spite of the fact that Mr Marstonhad been shot at twice again, and never went anywhere now without abrace of pistols in his pocket. 

One bright wintry morning John Warren came in with a long tale of woe, and his arm in a sling. 

It was the old story. He had been out with his gun to try and get awild-goose which he had marked down, when, just in the dusk, abouthalf-past four, he was suddenly startled by a shot, and received thecontents of a gun in his arm. 

"But you'd got a gun, " said Hickathrift, who was listening with Dick, while Tom Tallington, who had business at the wheelwright's thatmorning, stood hearing all. "Why didst na let him hev it again?"

"What's the use o' shuting at a sperrit?" grumbled John Warren. "'Sides, I couldn't see him. "

"Tchah! it warn't a sperrit, " said Hickathrift contemptuously. 

"Well, I don't know so much about that, " grumbled John Warren. "If itweern't a sperrit what was to mak my little dog, Snig, creep down in thebottom of the boat and howl? Yow mark my words: it's sperrits, that'swhat it is; and it's because o' that theer dreern; but they needn'tshute at me, for I don't want dreern made. "

"Going over to town to see the doctor, John?" said Dick. 

"Nay, lad, not I. It's only a hole in my arm. There arn't nowt thematter wi' me. I've tied it oop wi' some wet 'bacco, and it'll all growoop again, same as a cooten finger do. "

"But someone ought to see it. "

"Well, someun has sin it. I showed it to owd Dave, and he said it weerall right. Tchah! what's the good o' doctors? Did they cure my ager?"

"Well, go up and ask mother to give you some clean linen rag for it. "

"Ay, " said the rabbit-trapper with a grim smile, "I'll do that. "

So John Warren went to the Toft, obtained the clean linen rag, butrefused to have his wound dressed, and went off again; while the squireknit his brow when he returned soon after, and, taking Dick with him, poled across in the punt to see Dave and make him promise to keep asharp look-out. 

A week passed away, and the frost had come in so keenly that the icepromised to bear, and consequent upon this Dick was at the wheelwright'sone evening superintending the finishing up of his pattens, as theycalled their skates. Hickathrift had ground the blades until they wereperfectly sharp at the edges, and had made a new pair of ashen soles forthem, into which he had just finished fitting the steel. 

"There, Mester Dick, " said the bluff fellow with a grin; "that's a pairo' pattens as you ought 'most to fly in. Going out in the morning?"

"Yes, Hicky, I shall go directly after breakfast. "

"Ay, she'll bear splendid to-morrow, and the ice is as hard and black asit can be. Hello, who's this? Haw-haw! I thowt you'd want yoursdone, " he added, as he heard steps coming over the frozen ground, andthe jingle of skates knocking together. "It's young Tom Tallington, Mester Dick. Come, you two ought to mak friends now, and go and hev agood skate to-morrow. "

"I'm never going to be friends with Tom Tallington again, " said Dicksternly; but he sighed as he said it. 

Just then Tom rushed into the workshop. "Here, " he cried, "DickWinthorpe, come along. I've been to the house. "

"What do you want?" said Dick coldly. 

"What do I want! Why, they don't know!" cried Tom. "Look here!"

He caught Dick by the collar, dragged him to the door, and pointed. 

"Fire!" he cried. 

"Hey!" cried the wheelwright. "Fire! So it is. But there's no houseor stack out theer. "

"Only old Dave's. Father said he thought it must be his place. Comeon, Dick. "

"But how are we to get there?" cried Dick, forgetting the feud in theexcitement. 

"How are we to get there! Why, skate. "

"Will it be strong enough, Hicky?"

"Mebbe for you, lads; but it wouldn't bear me, and I couldn't get alongthe boat nor yet a sled. "

Tom had already seated himself, and was putting on his skates, whileDick immediately began to follow suit, with the result that in fiveminutes both were ready and all past troubles forgotten. The memory ofthe terrible night when his father was shot did come for a moment toDick, but the trouble had grown dull, and the excitement of Dave's placebeing on fire carried everything before it. 

"Poor owd Dave!" said Hickathrift, as he gazed over the mere at the glowin the black frosty night. "He's got off so far. Mebbe it'll be myturn next. Come back and tell me, lads. "

"Yes, yes, " they shouted, as they walked clumsily to the ice edge, Dickfirst, and as he glided on there was an ominous ringing crack whichseemed to run right out with a continuous splitting noise. 

"Will it bear, Hicky?"

"Ay, she'll bear you, lad, only keep well out, and away from the reeds. "

Tom dashed on, and as the wheelwright stood with the group of labourers, who were just beginning to comprehend the new alarm, the two lads wentoff stroke for stroke over the ringing ice, which cracked now and againbut did not yield, save to undulate beneath them, as they kept gatheringspeed and glided away. 

Far ahead there was the ruddy glow, showing like a golden patch upon thedark sky, which overhead was almost black, and glittering with thebrilliant stars. The ice gleamed, little puffs of white powder rose atevery stroke of the skates, and on and on they went, gathering speedtill they were gliding over the ringing metallic surface like arrowsfrom a bow, while as soon as the first timidity had passed away theybegan to feel their feet, and in a few minutes were skating nearly aswell as when the ice broke up last. 

The feud was forgotten, and it had lasted long enough. With a buoyantfeeling of excitement, and a sensation of joy increased by the briskbeat of the freezing wind upon their cheeks, the two lads joined handsin a firm grip, kept time together, and sped on as Lincoln and Cambridgeboys alone can speed over the ice. 

Not that they are more clever with their legs than the boys of othercounties; but from the fact that skating has always been a favouritepastime with them, and that when others were longing for a bit ofbearing ice, and getting it sometimes in a crowded place, the marsh andfen lads had miles of clear bright surface, over which they could careeras a swallow flies. 

Away and away over the open ice, unmarked before by skate-iron andlooking black as hardened unpolished steel, stroke for stroke, strokefor stroke, the wind whistling by them, and the ominous crackingforgotten as they dashed on past reed-bed and bog-clump, keeping to theopen water where they had so often been by punt. 

"His reed-stack must be on fire, " panted Dick as they dashed on. 

"Ay, and his peat-stack and cottage too, " shouted Tom so as to be heardabove the ringing of their skates. "Oh, Dick, if I only knew who it wasdid these things I think I could kill him!"

Dick was silent for a minute, for his companion's words jarred upon him. 

"How much farther is it?" he said at last. 

"Good mile and a half, " said Tom; "but it's fine going. I say, look atthe golden smoke. It must be at Dave's, eh?"

"Yes, it's there, sure enough. Oh, Tom, suppose some one were to burndown the duck 'coy!"

"It wouldn't burn so as to do much harm. Look, there goes a flock ofplovers. "

They could just catch the gleam of the wings in the dark night, as thegreat flock, evidently startled by the strange glare, swept by. 

"I say!" cried Dick, as they dashed on as rapidly as the birdsthemselves. 

"What is it?"

"Suppose poor Dave--"

"Oh, don't think things like that!" cried Tom with a shudder. "He'd beclever enough to get out. Come along. Look at the sparks. "

What Tom called sparks were glowing flakes of fire which floated on, glittering against the black sky, and so furiously was the fire burningthat it seemed as if something far more than the hut and stacks of thedecoy-man must be ablaze. 

And now they had to curve off some distance to the right, for they cameupon an embayment of the mere, so well sheltered from the icy blast thatto have persevered in skating over the very thin ice must have meantserious accident to one, probably to both. 

For a long time past the ice had been blushing, as it were, with thewarm glow from the sky; but now, as they drew nearer and passed a littlecopse of willows, they glided full into the view of the burning hut andstacks, and found that a bed of dry reeds was burning too. At thispoint of their journey the cold black ice was lit up, and as theyadvanced it seemed as if they were about to skim over red-hot glowingsteel. 

"Now, then, " cried Dick excitedly, "a rush--as fast as we can go!"

But they could get on at no greater speed, and rather slackened thanincreased as they drew near to the fire; while a feeling of thankfulnesscame over both as all at once they were aware of the fact that a tallthin figure was standing apparently with its back to them staring at theglowing fire, against which it stood out like a black silhouette. 

"Dave, ho!" shouted Dick. 

The figure turned slowly, and one hand was raised as if to shade theeyes. 

"Dave, ho!" shouted Tom. 

"Ay, ay!" shouted back the man; and the next minute the boys glided upto the firm earth and leaped ashore, as their old fishing and trappingfriend came slowly to meet them. 

"How was it, Dave?" cried Dick. 

"Was it an accident?" cried Tom. 

"Accident! Just such an accident as folks hev as shoves a burningcandle in a corn stack. Just you two slither out yonder straight away, and see if you can see anyone. "

"But there can't be anyone, " said Dick, looking in the directionindicated. 

"Ice wouldn't bear, and they couldn't come in a punt. "

"Nay, they coom i' pattens, " said Dave sharply. "I joost caught a blinkof 'em as they went off, and I let 'em hev the whole charge o' my goon. "

"A bullet?" said Tom huskily. 

"Nay, lad; swan-shot. I'd been out after the wild-geese at the end ofthe bit o' reed-bed here, when I see a light wheer there couldn't be nolight, and I roon back and see what they'd done, and let fly at 'em. "

"And hit them, Dave?" said Dick. 

"Nay, lad, I can't say. I fired and I heered a squeal. Ice wouldn'tbear for me to go and see. "

"Come along, Tom, " cried Dick; and they skated away once more, to curvehere and there in all directions, till a hail from the island took themback. 

"Can't you find 'em?"

"No. "

"Then they must have got away; but they've took some swan-shot wi' 'em, whoever they be. "

"But, Dave, were there two?"

"Don't know, lad. I only see one, and fired sharp. Look ye here, " hecontinued, pointing to the glowing remains of his hut, "I nivver made nodreerns. They might have left me alone. Now they'll come back some dayand pay me back for that shot. All comes o' your father makkin dreerns, Mester Dick, just as if we weren't reight before. "

"It's very, very sad, Dave. "

"Ay, bairn, and I feel sadly. Theer's a whole pound o' powder gone, andif I'd happened to be happed up i' my bed instead of out after theygeese, I should hev gone wi' it, or been bont to dead. Why did theywant to go meddling wi' me?"

"They've been meddling with every one, Dave, " said Tom. 

"'Cept you two, " grumbled Dave. "Theer was my sheepskin coat and a pairo' leggin's and my new boots. "

"Were the nets there, Dave?" asked Dick. 

"Course they weer. Look, dessay that's them burning now. All my shottoo melted down, and my tatoes, and everything I have. "

"Where was the dog?"

"Over at John Warren's. Wasn't well. Nice sort o' neighbour he is tostop away!"

"But he couldn't come, Dave, " said Tom in remonstrant tones. "The icewouldn't bear anyone but us boys. "

"Why, I'd ha' swimmed to him, " growled Dave, "if his place had beenafire. "

"No you wouldn't, Dave. You couldn't when it's frozen. I say, couldn'twe put anything out?"

"Nay, lads. It must bon right away, and then there'll be a clear placeto build again. "

"But, " cried Dick, "a bucket or two, and we could do a good deal. "

"Boocket's bont, " said Dave sadly, "and everything else. They might hevleft me alone, for I hates the dreerns. "

The trio stood watching the fire, which was rapidly going down now forwant of something to burn; but as they stood near, their faces scorched, while the cold wind drawn by the rising heat cut by their ears andthreatened to stiffen their backs. The reeds and young trees which hadbeen burning were now smoking feebly, and the only place which made anyshow was the peat-stack, which glowed warmly and kept crumbling down incream-coloured ash. But when a fire begins to sink it ceases to beexciting, and as the two lads stood there upon their skates, with theirfaces burning, the tightness of their straps stopped the circulation, and their feet grew cold. 

"I say, Dave, " said Dick just then, "what's to be done?"

"Build 'em up again. I builded this, and I can build another, lad. "

"Yes, but I mean about you. What's to be done? The ice won't bear you, and you've got no shelter. "

The rough fellow shook his head. 

"Nay, but it wean't rain, and I can sit close to the fire and keep mysenwarm. "

"But you ought to have some cover. "

"Ay, I ought to hev some cover, and I'll get my punt ashore, and turnher up, and sit under her. "

"And no wraps! Look here, I shall be warm enough skating back. I'lllend you my coat. "

"Nay, nay, lad, " said Dave, with his eyes twinkling, and his facelooking less grim. "Keep on thy coat, lad, I wean't hev it. Thankye, though, all the same, and thou shalt hev a good bit o' sport for that, Mester Dick. But, theer, you two had best go back. "

"But we don't like leaving you, " said Tom. 

"Thankye, lads, thankye. Bud nivver yow mind about me. Look at thetimes I've wetched all night in my poont for the wild-geese, and wi'outa fire, eh? Yow both get back home. Wouldn't bear me to walk wi' ye tosleep in one of the barns at the Toft, would it?"

"I don't think it would, Dave. "

"Nay, it wouldn't, lad; and I don't want to get wet, so off with you. "

The boys hesitated; but Dave was determined. 

"Here, give me a hand wi' my poont, " he said; and going to where it wasmoored, he took hold of the boat, drew it close in, and then, he on oneside, the two lads on the other, they ran it right up ashore, and closeto the glowing peat-stack, where, with a good deal of laughter at theirclumsiness in skates ashore, the punt was turned over, and Dave proppedone side up with a couple of short pieces of wood. 

"Theer, " he said. "Looks like setting a trap to ketch a big bird. I'mthe big bird, and I shall be warm enew faacing the fire. When it goesout I can tak' away the sticks and let the poont down and go to sleep. Come and see me again, lads, and bring me a moothful o' something. Mebbe the ice'll bear to-morrow. "

"We'll come, Dave, never fear, " said Dick, taking out his knife as hereached the ice, and cleaning the mud off his skates, for the ground wassoft near the fire, though hard as iron everywhere else. 

"I don't fear, lads, " said Dave smiling, and letting off hiswatchman-rattle laugh. "It's a bad job, but not so bad as FarmerTallington's stables burning, or squire's beasts heving theer legscooten. I'll soon get oop another house when I've been and seenneighbour Hickathrift for some wood. Now, then, off you go, and seewho's best man over the ice. "

"One moment, Dave, " cried Dick, checking himself in the act of starting. "It was easy enough to come here with the fire to guide us, but we mustknow which way to go back. "

"Ay, to be sure, lad, " cried Dave eagerly. "You mak' straight for yonstar and yow'll be right. That star's reight over the Toft. Now, then--off!"

There was a momentary hesitation, and then the boys struck the icealmost at the same time. There was a ringing hissing sound, mingledwith a peculiar splitting as if the ice were parting from where theystarted across the mere to the Toft, and then they were going at arapidly increasing speed straight for home. 

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE. 

THE QUESTION. 

There are many pleasures in life, and plenty of people to sing thepraises of the sport most to their taste; but it is doubtful whetherthere is any manly pursuit which gives so much satisfaction to an adeptin the art as skating. 

I don't mean skating upon the ornamental water of a park, elbowed here, run against there, crowded into a narrow limit, and abortively trying tocut figures upon a few square feet of dirty, trampled ice, full ofholes, dotted with stones thrown on by mischievous urchins to trywhether it will bear, and being so much unlike ice that it is hardly tobe distinguished from the trampled banks; but skating over miles ofclear black crystal, on open water, with the stars twinkling above likediamonds, the air perfectly still around, but roaring far on high, asJack Frost and his satellites go hurrying on to mow down vegetation andfetter streams; when there is so much vitality in the air you breathethat fatigue is hardly felt, and when, though the glass registers somany degrees of frost, your pulses beat, your cheeks glow, and a faintdew upon your forehead beneath your cap tells you that you arethoroughly warm. How the blood dances through the veins! How the eyessparkle! How tense is every nerve! How strong each muscle! The icelooks like steel. Your skates are steel, and your legs feel the same asstroke, _whish_! stroke, _whish_! stroke! stroke! stroke! stroke! awayyou go, gathering power, velocity, confidence, delight, at the unwontedexercise, till you feel as if you could go on for ever, and beginwishing that the whole world was ice, and human beings had been bornwith skates to their toes instead of nails. 

Some such feelings as these pervaded the breasts of Dick Winthorpe andTom Tallington as they glided along homeward on that night. Every nowand then there was a sharp report, and a hissing splitting sound. Thenanother and another, for the ice was really too thin to bear themproperly, and it undulated beneath their weight like the soft swell ofthe Atlantic in a calm. 

"Sha'n't go through, shall we?" said Tom, as there was a crack as loudas a pistol-shot. 

"We should if we stopped, " said Dick. "Keep on and we shall be on freshice before it breaks. "

And so it seemed. Crack! crack! crack! But at every report and itsfollowing splitting the lads redoubled their exertions, and skimmed at atremendous rate over the treacherous surface. 

At times it was quite startling; but they were growing so inured to theperil that they laughed loudly--a joyous hearty laugh--which rang out tothe music made by their skates. 

They were in the highest of glee, for though they did not revert to itin words, each boy kept thinking of the past quarrel, and rejoicing atits end, while he looked forward to days of enjoyment in companionshipsuch as had gone before. 

The star--one of those in the Great Bear--did them good stead, for itwas easy to follow; and saving that they were always within an ace ofgoing through, they skimmed on in safety. 

From time to time they glanced back to see the glare of the fire dyingout to such an extent that when they were well in sight of the light atthe landing-place which they felt convinced Hickathrift was showing, thelast sign had died out, and just then a loud crack made them forget it. 

"Don't seem to be freezing so hard, does it?" said Tom. 

"Oh, yes, I think so; only we must be going over ice we cracked before. Now, then, let's put on all the speed we can, and go right in to wherethe light is with a rush. "

Tom answered to his companion's call by taking stroke for stroke, andaway they went quicker than ever. The ice bent and swayed and cracked, and literally hissed as they sped on, with the white powder flying as itwas struck off. The metallic ring sounded louder, and the splittingmore intense; but still they passed on in safety till they were withinone hundred yards of where the wheelwright was waiting, when there was asharp report as loud as that of a gun, a crack, and there were noskaters on the surface, only a quantity of broken ice in so much blackwater, and directly after a loud yell rose from the shore. 

"Now, Jacob, out with it!" came in stentorian tones; and then there wasa cracking sound, a great deal of splashing, and the punt was partlyslid along the ice, partly used to break it up, by the two men who wadedby its side, and finally got it right upon the ice and thrust along tillit was close to the place where the lads had broken in. 

"Now, then, where are you?" shouted Hickathrift as he peered around. 

"Here we are, all right, only so precious cold!" cried Dick. "It isn'tvery deep here; only up to your chest. "

"It's up to my chin, " cried Tom with a shiver, "and I'm holding on bythe ice. "

Hickathrift did not hesitate, but waded towards him, breaking opposingsheets of ice with a thump of his fist, and at last, with some littledifficulty, all got ashore. 

"Theer, both of you, run for it to the Toft and get to bed. The missusknows what to do better than I can tell her. Nivver mind your pattens. "

If they had stopped to get them off it would have been a terribly longjob with their rapidly-numbing hands, so they did not pause, butscuffled over the ground in the best way they could to the house, wherehot beds and a peculiar decoction Mrs Winthorpe prepared had a doubleproperty, for it sent them into a perspiration and off to sleep, one ofthe labourers bearing the news to Grimsey that the heir to the house ofTallington would not return that night, consequent upon having become"straange and wet. "

The next morning the boys came down to breakfast none the worse fortheir wetting, to find that Mr Marston was already there looking veryserious. 

He had been told of the burning-out of poor Dave, and he had other newsof his own, that three of the cottages had been fired during the pastnight. 

"And the peculiar part of the business is, " said Mr Marston, "that bigBargle saw the person who fired the last of the houses. "

The engineer looked at Dick as he spoke. 

"Why didn't he catch him then?" said Dick sharply, for Mr Marston'slook annoyed him; "he is big enough. "

"Don't speak pertly, Dick!" said his father sternly. 

"It was because he is so big that he did not catch him, RichardWinthorpe, " said the engineer coldly. "The ice bore the person whofired the places, because he was skating. "

"Skating!" cried Dick, flushing up. 

"Yes, skating!" said Mr Marston. "Bargle says that the man hobbledover the ground in his skates, but as soon as he reached the ice he wentoff like a bird. The ice cracked and splintered, but it seemed to bearhim, and in less than a minute he was out of sight, but Bargle couldhear him for a long time. "

"Well, it wasn't me, Mr Marston, " said Tom, laughing. "I was skatingalong with Dick, but it was neither of us. We went to another fire. "

"Breakfast is getting cold, " said Mrs Winthorpe, who looked troubled, for the squire was frowning, and Dick turning pale and red by turns. 

"Look here, " said the squire suddenly; "I cannot, and I will not, haveunpleasantness of this kind in my house. I must speak plainly, Marston. You suspect my boy of firing your men's huts last night?"

"I am very sorry, Mr Winthorpe, and I do it unwillingly, butappearances are very much against him. "

"They are, " said the squire gravely. 

"I like Dick; I always did like Dick, " said the engineer; "and it seemsto me horrible to have to suspect such a lad as he is; but put yourselfin my place, Mr Winthorpe. Can you be surprised?"

"I am not surprised, Mr Marston, " said Mrs Winthorpe, rising and goingto her son's side. "Dick was out last night skating with Tom here overthe thin ice, and of course it must have been a very light person tocross last night in skates; but you are mistaken. My boy would notcommit such a cowardly crime. "

The moment before, Dick, who was half-stunned by the accusation, andready to give up in despair, leaped to his feet and flung his arms abouthis mother's waist. His eyes flashed and the colour flushed right upinto his brows as he kissed her passionately again and again. 

"You are right, " said the squire. "But speak out, Dick. You did not dothis dastardly thing?"

"No, father, " said Dick, meeting his eyes boldly. "I couldn't. "

"There, Marston, " said the squire; "and I will not insult Tom Tallingtonby accusing him. "

"Oh, no, father! we were together all the time. "

"But I say, " cried Tom, "old Dave said it was a chap in skates who setfire to his place, and he couldn't follow him over the ice. "

"Yes; I'd forgotten, " cried Dick, "and he shot at him. "

"Then I am wrong once more, Dick, " said Mr Marston. "I beg yourpardon. Will you forgive me?"

"Of course I will, Mr Marston, " said Dick huskily, as he took theextended hand; "but I don't think you ought to be so ready to think illof me. "

"And I say the same, Mr Marston, " said Mrs Winthorpe. "My boy iswilful, and he may have been a bit mischievous, but he could not beguilty of such cowardly tricks as these. "

"No, " said Tom, with his mouth full of pork-pie; "of course he couldnot. Dick isn't a coward!"

"I humbly apologise, Mrs Winthorpe, " said Marston, smiling, "and youmust forgive me. A man who has been shot at has his temper spoiled. "

"Say no more, Marston, my lad, " said the squire warmly; "we all forgiveyou, and--breakfast waits. "

The subject was hurriedly changed, Dick being after all able to make agood meal, during which he thought of the past, and of how glad he wasto be friends with Tom Tallington again; and then, as he had his secondhelp of pie to Tom's third, it seemed to him that the same person mustbe guilty of all these outrages, and if so it could not by anypossibility be Farmer Tallington, for he never skated, and even if hecould, he weighed at least sixteen stone, and the ice had broken underthe weight of Tom's seven or eight. 

"We shall find him yet, Marston; never fear, " said the squire; "and whenwe do--well, I shall be sorry for the man. "

"Why?" said Mrs Winthorpe. 

"Because, " said the squire gravely, "I have been so near death myselfthat--there, this is not a pleasant subject to talk about. We willwait. "

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR. 

PREPARING FOR ACTION. 

Hickathrift shook his head; Mrs Hickathrift screwed up her lips, shuther eyes, and shuddered; and the former doubled up his hard fist andshook it in the air, as if he were going to hit nothing, as he gave outhis opinion--this being also the opinion of all the labouring peoplenear. 

"Ay, yow may laugh, Mester Dick, but they'll nivver find out nowt. It'ssperrits, that's what it is--sperrits of the owd fen, them as makes theager, and sends will-o'-the-wisps to lead folkses into the bog. Theydon't like the drain being med, and they shutes and bons, and does allthey can to stop it. "

"You're a great goose, Hicky, " said Dick sharply. "Who ever heard of aghost--"

"I didn't say ghost, my lad. I said sperrits!"

"Well, they're all the same. "

"Nay, nay, ghosts is ghosts, and sperrits is sperrits. "

"Well, then, who ever heard of a spirit going out skating with alantern, or poling about with a punt, or shooting people, or blowing upsluice-gates, or cutting beasts' legs, or setting fire to their houses?Did you?"

"I nivver did till now, Mester Dick. "

"It's all nonsense about spirits; isn't it, Tom?"

"Of course it is, " was the reply. "We're going to catch the spirit someday, and we'll bring him here. "

"Ay, do, " said Hickathrift, nodding his head softly. "Well, I'm gladyou two hev made it up. "

"Never mind about that. Has Dave been over?"

"Ay, lad. Soon as the ice went away and he could get his punt along hecome to me and asked me to get him some wood sawn out; and we done italready. Ice is gone and to-morrow I'm going to pole across and helphim knock up a frame, and he'll do the rest hissen. "

The damage was far more severe at the drainage works; but even here thetraces of the fire soon disappeared, and fresh huts were run up nearerto where the men were at work. 

One thing, however, was noticeable, and that was the action of thesquire, the engineer, and Farmer Tallington--the engineer, after hangingaway for a time, becoming again more friendly, though Dick never seemedat ease in his presence now. 

These three leaders on the north side of the fen held a meeting withdwellers on the west and south, and after long consultation the resultswere seen in a quiet way which must have been rather startling towrong-doer? and those who were secretly fighting to maintain the fenundrained. 

Tom was the first to begin talking about these precautions as he andDick started to go down to the drain one morning early in spring, aftera long spell of bitter miserable weather, succeeded by a continuance offierce squalls off the sea. 

"I say, " he said, "father's got such a splendid new pair of pistols. "

"Has he? So has my father, " said Dick staring. "Are yours mounted withbrass and with brass pans?"

"Yes, and got lions' heads on the handles just at the end. "

"Ours are just the same, " said Dick. "I say, Tom, it won't be verypleasant for the spirits if they come now. Hullo, what does Hickywant?"

The big wheelwright was signalling to them to come, and they turned into his work-shed. 

"Thowt you lads 'd like to see, " he said. "What d'yer think o' them?"

He pointed to a couple of muskets lying on the bench. 

"Are these yours?" said Tom. 

"Yes and no, lads. They're for me and Jacob, and we've got orders to beready at any time to join in and help run down them as does all themischief; but it's a sorry business, lads. Powther and shot's no use. Yow can't get shut of sperrits that ways. Good goons, aren't they?"

The pieces were inspected and the boys soon afterwards started. 

"I don't see much use in our going down here, " said Tom, "for if thereis anything stupid it's the cutting of a drain. It's all alike, justthe same as the first bit they cut. "

"Only we don't have to go so far to see the men at work. I suppose oneof these days we shall have Mr Marston setting up huts for the menabout the Toft. Hist! look out! What's that?"

"Whittrick!" said Tom, running in pursuit of the little animal whichcrossed their path. "There must be rabbits about here. "

"Yes. Do you know what they call whittricks down south?"

"No. "

"Stoats. "

"How stupid!" said Tom after a vain chase after the snaky-looking littlecreature. "They must be very silly people down south. Do they callthem stoats in London?"

"Haven't got any in London--only rats. "

The engineer greeted the lads warmly and went up to the temporary hut heoccupied to fetch his gun, when, in the corner of the room Dick sawsomething which made him glance at Tom. 

"Yes, " said the engineer, who saw the glance; "we're going to show yourfen-men, Master Dick, that we do not mean to be trifled with. I've gotmuskets; and as the law does not help us, we shall help ourselves. Soif anyone intends to come shooting us, blowing up our works, or settingfire to our huts, he had better look out for bullets. "

"But you wouldn't shoot anyone, Mr Marston?" said Tom. 

"Indeed but we would, or any two, sir. It's a case of self-defence. There, Dick, don't look at me as if I were a bloodthirsty savage. Ihave got all these muskets down and shown my men how to use them, and Iam letting it be known that we are prepared. "

"Seems rather horrible, " said Dick. 

"More horrible for your father to be shot, Dick, and for people to beburned in their beds, eh!"

"Ever so much, " cried Tom. "You shoot 'em all, Mr Marston. "

"Precaution is better than cure, Tom, " said the engineer smiling. "Nowthat we are prepared, you will see that we shall not be interfered with, and my arming the men will save bloodshed instead of causing it. "

"Think so, sir?"

"I am sure of it, my lad. Besides, if I had not done something, my menwould not have stayed. Even Bargle said it was getting too warm. Hesaid he was not afraid, but he would not stay. So here we are ready forthe worst: self-defence, my lads. And now let's go and get a few ducksfor dinner. They are pretty plentiful, and my men like them as well asI. "

The result was a long walk round the edge of the fen and the bringingback of a fairly miscellaneous bag of wild-fowl, the engineer havingbecome a skilful gunner during his stay in the wild coast land. 

Mr Marston was right; the preparations made by him and all the farmersround who had an interest in the draining of the fen had the effect ofputting a stop to the outrages. The work went on as the weeks glidedby, and spring passed, and summer came to beautify the wild expanse ofbog and water. There had been storm and flood, but people had slept inpeace, and the troubles of the past were beginning to be forgotten. 

There were plenty of fishing and fowling expeditions, visits to thedecoy with good results, and journeys to John Warren's home for thehunting out of rabbits; but life was beginning seriously for the twolads, who found occupation with Mr Marston and began to acquire therudiments of knowledge necessary for learning to be draining engineers. Sometimes they were making drawings, sometimes overlooking, and atothers studying works under their teacher's guidance. 

But it was a pleasant time, for Marston readily broke off work to jointhem in some expedition. 

One day, as they were poling along, Tom gave Dick a queer look, andnodded in the direction of a fir-crowned gravelly island lying about amile away. 

"When's the Robinson Crusoe business going to begin, Dick?" he said. 

Dick laughed, but it was not a merry laugh, for the memory was a painfulone, and mingled with recollections of times when everyone wassuspicious of him, or seemed to be; and he was fast relapsing into anunhappy morbid state. 

"What was the Robinson Crusoe business?" said Marston; and on beingtold, he laughingly proposed going on. 

"Let's have a look at the place, boys, " he said. "Why shouldn't we havea summer-house out here to come and stay at sometimes, shooting, fishing, or collecting. We cannot always work. "

The pole was vigorously plied, and at the end of half an hour they hadlanded, to find the place just as they remembered it to have been theyear before. There were the bushes, the heath, and heather in thegravelly soil, and the fir-trees flourishing. 

"A capital place!" said the engineer. "I tell you what, boys, we'llbring Big Bargle over, and a couple of men; the wheelwright shall cut ussome posts, rafters, and a door, and we'll make a great hut, and--"

He stopped short at that point and stared, as they all stood in thedepths of the little fir-wood, with the water and reed-beds hidden fromsight. For there, just before them, as if raised by magic, was the verybuilding Mr Marston had described, and upon examination they found itvery dry and warm, with a bed of heath in one corner. 

"Some sportsman has forestalled us, " said the engineer. "One of thefarmers, I suppose, from the other side of the fen. "

They came away, with the lads sharing the same feeling ofdisappointment, for the little island was robbed of all its romance. Itwas no longer uninhabited, and the temptation to have a hut there wasgone. 

"Plenty more such places, boys, " said Mr Marston, "so never mind. We'll hunt one out and make much of it before my drain turns all thiswaste into fertile fields. Now let's get back, for I have a lot to chatover with the wheelwright. "

The next morning Hickathrift was beaming, and he came up to the Toft tocatch Dick, who was feeding Solomon and avoiding his friendly kicks, while he waited for Tom to go over with him to the works. 

"Say, Mester Dick, on'y think of it! Leave that owd ass alone, lad, andlisten to me. "

"What is it, Hicky?"

"Why, lad, I'm a man full o'--what do you call that when a chap wants toget on in the world?"

"Ambition, Hicky. "

"That's it, Mester Dick. I'm full on it, bud I've nivver hed a chance. You see I've had to mend gates, and owd carts, and put up fences. I didnearly get the job to build a new barn, bud I lost it, and all my life'sbeen jobs. "

"And what now?" said Dick warmly. 

"What now, lad! Why, Mester Marston's set me to mak three sets o' smallwatter gates for sides o' the dreern, and I'm to hev money in advancefor the wood and iron work, and my fortune's about made. "

"Hooray, Hicky! I am glad, " cried Dick; and Tom, coming up, wasinitiated into the great new step in advance, and added hiscongratulations. 

"Why, you're carpenter and joiner to the works now, Hicky!" said Dick, laughing. 

"Ay, lad, that's it, and I don't fear for nowt. "

It was less than a fortnight after, that Dick lay asleep one night anddreaming of being in a boat on the mere, or one of its many additionalpools, when he started into wakefulness with the impression that thehouse was coming down. 

"Eh? What is it?" he cried, as there was a heavy thumping on the wallclose to his bed's head. 

"Get up--fire!" came in muffled tones; and bounding out of bed he sawthat there was a lurid light on the water, evidently reflected fromsomething burning pretty near at hand, while there was the distant humof voices, mingled with shrieks and the barking of a dog. 

Dick began hurriedly dressing, and threw open the window, to find thatthe dog was Grip, who was out in the yard barking frantically, as if toalarm the house. 

"What is it, father? Where?" cried Dick. 

"Don't know; not here. Labourers' cottages, I think, " replied thesquire, who was still dressing. Then, as a burst of flame seemed torush up skyward, and a cloud of brilliant sparks floated away, he added, "Dick, my lad, it is poor Hickathrift's turn now. "

He was quite right, for as they ran the few hundred yards whichseparated them from the burning place, it was to find that the poorfellow's house, work-shed, stock of wood, peat-stack, and out-buildingswere in a blaze; even his punt, which had been brought up for its annualrepair and pitching, blazing furiously. 

Hickathrift, Jacob, Mrs Hickathrift, and the farm people were all atwork with buckets, which they handed along from the dipping place by theold willows; but at the first glance the squire saw that it was in vain, and that the fire had taken such hold that nothing could be saved. Bothhe and Dick, however, joined in the efforts, saying nothing but workingwith all their might, the squire taking Jacob's place and dipping thewater, while the apprentice and Dick helped to pass the full bucketsalong and the empty back, for they were not enough to form a doubleline. 

For about a quarter of an hour this was kept up, the wheelwrightthrowing the water where he thought it would do most good; but theflames only roared the louder, and, fanned by a pleasant breeze, fluttered and sent up sparks of orange and gold, till a cask of pitchgot well alight, and then the smoke arose in one dense cloud. 

It was a glorious sight in spite of its horror, for the wood in the shedand the pile without burned brilliantly, lighting up the mere, gildingthe reeds, and spreading a glow around that was at times dazzling. 

"Pass it along quick! pass it along!" Jacob kept saying, probably toincite people to work harder; but it was not necessary, for everyone wasdoing his or her best, when, just as they were toiling their hardest, the wheelwright took a bucket of water, hurled it as far as he could, and then dashed on the empty vessel and turned away. 

"No good, " he said bitterly, as he wiped his face. "Fire joost spits atme when I throw in the watter. It must bon down, squire, eh?"

"Yes, my man, nothing could save the place now. "

"And all my same [lard] in a jar--ten pounds good, " murmured MrsHickathrift. 

"Ay, moother, and my Sunday clothes, " said the wheelwright with a bitterlaugh. 

"And my best frock. "

"Ay, and my tools, and a bit o' mooney I'd saved, and all my stoof. Eh, but I'm about ruined, moother, and just when I was going to get on anddo the bit o' work for the dreern folk. "

The fire seemed to leap up suddenly with a great flash as if toenlighten the great fellow's understanding, but he did not grasp thesituation for a few moments, till his wife, as she bemoaned the loss ofa paste-board and a flour-tub, suddenly exclaimed:

"It's them sperrits of the fen as has done it all. "

"Ay, so it be!" roared Hickathrift. "Ay! Hey, bud if I could git oneof 'em joost now by scruff of his neck and the seat of his breeches, I'd--I'd--I'd roast him. "

"Then it was no accident, Hickathrift?"

"Yes, squire, " said the man bitterly; "same sort o' axden as bont FarmerTallington's stable and shed. Hah, here he is!" he added, as the farmercame panting up with Tom. "Come to waarm theesen, farmer? It's my turnnow. "

"My lad! My lad!" panted the farmer, "I am sorry. "

"Thanky, farmer; but fine words butter no parsneps. Theer, bairn, " hecried, putting his arm round his wife's waist; "don't cry that away. Wearen't owd folks, and I'm going to begin again. Be a good dry plaaceafter fire's done, and theer'll be some niced bits left for yow to heatthe oven when fire's out. "

"And no oven, no roof, no fireside. "

"Hush! hush! bairn!" said the big fellow thickly. "Don't I tell theeI'm going to begin again! What say, Mester Dick? Nay, nay, lad, nay. "

"What did Dick say?" said the squire sharply. 

"Hush, Hicky!" whispered Dick quickly. 

"Nay, lad, I wean't hoosh! Said, squire, as he's got thretty shillingssaved up, and he'd give it to me to start wi'. "

"And so he shall, my man, and other neighbours will help you too. I'llmake Dick's thirty shillings a hundred guineas. "

"Well, I can't do that, Hickathrift, " said Farmer Tallington; "but ifever you want to borrow twenty guineas come to me; and there's my horseand sled to lead wood wheniver you like, and a willing hand or two tohelp. "

Hickathrift turned sharply to say something; but he could only utter agreat gulp, and, turning away, he went a few yards, and leaned his headupon his arm against a willow tree, and in the bright glow of theburning building, whose gilded smoke rose up like some vast plume, theycould see his shoulders heave, while his wife turned to the squire, andin a simple, homely fashion, kissed his hand. 

The squire turned to stop Dick, but it was too late, for the lad hadreached the wheelwright and laid his hand upon his shoulder. 

"Hicky, " he said softly; "be a man!"

"Ay, lad, I will, " said the great fellow, starting up with his eyes wetwith tears. "It isn't the bont plaace made me soft like that, butwhat's been said. "

He had hardly spoken before there was a peculiar noise heard in thedistance, as if a drove of cattle had escaped and were coming along thehard road of the fen; but it soon explained itself, for there wereshouts and cries, and five minutes later Mr Marston and his men, nearlya hundred strong, came running up, ready to assist, and then utter thefiercest of denunciations against those who had done this thing. 

Then there was an ominous silence, as all stood and watched the burningbuilding till there was nothing but a heap of smouldering wood, whichwas scattered and the last sparks quenched. 

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE. 

THE TROUBLES CULMINATE. 

The fire at the wheelwright's lasted people nearly a month for gossip, but Hickathrift would not believe it was the work of spirits now. 

Then came the news of a fresh outrage. The horses employed in bringingstones for certain piers to water-gates were shot dead one night. 

Next, a fresh attempt was made to blow up the sluice, but failed. 

Last of all, the man who was put on to watch was shot dead, and his bodyfound in the drain. 

After this there was a pause, and the work was carried on with sullenwatchfulness and bitter hate. The denunciations against the workers ofthe evil were fierce and long. 

But in spite of all, the drain progressed slowly and steadily. Theengineer was carrying his advances right into the stronghold of thefen-men, who bore it all in silence, but struck sharply again and again. 

"I wonder who is to get the next taste!" said Tom Tallington one day ashe and Dick were talking. 

"No one, " said Dick; "so don't talk about it. The people are gettingused to the draining, and father thinks they'll all settle down quietlynow. "

"How long is it since that poor fellow was shot?"

"Don't talk about it, I tell you, " said Dick angrily. "Three months. "

"No. "

"Nearly. "

Dick was right; nearly three months had gone by since the poor fellowset to keep watch by Mr Marston had been shot dead, and thisculmination of the horrors of the opposition had apparently startled hismurderers from making farther attempts. 

"I tell you what it is, " said Tom, "the man who fired that shot and didall the other mischief has left the country. He dare not stay anylonger for fear of being caught. "

"Then it was no one over our side of the fen, " said Dick thoughtfully. "Perhaps you are right. Well, I'm going to have a good long day in thebog to-morrow. It's wonderfully dry now, and I mean to have a goodwander. What time shall you be ready?"

"Can't go, " said Tom. "I've promised to ride with father over to thetown. "

"What a pity! Well, never mind; we'll go again the next day and have agood long day then. "

"Will Mr Marston go with us?"

"No. I asked him, and he said he should be too busy at present, but hewould go in a fortnight's time. He said he should not want either of usfor a week, so we can go twice if we like. "

Tom smiled as if, in spite of his many wanderings, the idea of a ramblein the fen would be agreeable. 

"Shall you fish?" he said. 

"N-no, I don't think I shall. I mean to have a long wander through theflats away west of the fir island. "

"You can't, " said Tom; "it's too boggy. "

"Not it. Only got to pick your way. Do you think I don't know what I'mabout?"

"Better take old Solomon with you, and ride him till he sinks in, andthen you can walk along his back into a safe place. "

"Then I'd better take another donkey too, and get him to lie down when Icome to another soft place. "

"Ah, I would!" said Tom. 

"I shall, " said Dick. "Will you come?"

"Do you mean by that to say that I am a donkey?" cried Tom half angrily. 

"Yes, when you talk such stupid nonsense. Just as if I couldn't getthrough any bog out here in the fen. Anyone would think I was a child. "

"Well, don't get lost, " said Tom; "but I must go now. "

The boys parted, with the promise that Tom was to come over from Grimseyto breakfast the next morning but one, well provided with lunch; that inthe interim Dick was to arrange with Hickathrift about his punt, andthat then they were to have a thoroughly good long exploring day, rightinto some of the mysterious parts of the fen, Dick's first journey beingso much scouting ready for the following day's advance. 

As soon as Dick was left alone he strolled down to the wheelwright's, having certain plans of his own to exploit. 

"Well, Hicky, nearly got all right?" he said. 

"Nay, nay, lad, and sha'n't be for a twelvemonth, " replied the greatbluff fellow, staring at his newly-erected cottage. "Taks a deal o'doing to get that streight. How is it you're not over at the works?"

"Not wanted for a bit. I say, Hicky, may I have the punt to-morrow?"

"Sewerly, Mester Dick, sewerly. I'll set Jacob to clear her oot a bitfor you. Going fishing?"

"Well--no, " said Dick, hesitating. "I was--er--thinking of doing alittle shooting. "

"What at fend o' June! Nay, nay, theer's no shooting now. "

"Not regular shooting, but I thought I might get something curious, perhaps, right away yonder. "

"Ay, ay, perhaps so. "

"Might see a big pike basking, and shoot that. "

"Like enough, my lad, like enough. Squire going to lend you a goon?"

Dick shook his head, but the wheelwright was busy taking a shaving off apiece of wood, so did not see it, and repeated his question. 

"No, Hicky, I want you to lend me one of those new ones. "

"What, as squire and Mr Marston left for me and Jacob! Nay, nay, lad, that wean't do. "

"Oh, yes, it will, Hicky. I'll take great care of it, and clean it whenI've done. Lend me the gun, there's a good fellow. "

"Nay, nay. That would never do, my lad. Couldn't do it. "

"Why not, Hicky?"

"Not mine. What would squire say?"

"He wouldn't know, Hicky. I shouldn't tell him. "

"Bud I should, lad. Suppose thou wast to shoot thee sen, or blow off aleg or a hand? Nay, nay. Yow can hev the boat, bud don't come to mefor a gun. "

Hickathrift was inexorable, and what was more, he watched his applicantnarrowly, to make sure that Dick did not corrupt Jacob. 

His visitor noticed it, and charged him with the fact. 

"Ay, " he said, laughing, "that's a true word. I know what Jacob is. He'd do anything for sixpence. "

"I hope he wouldn't set fire to the house for that, " said Dick angrily. 

Hickathrift started as if stung, and stared at his visitor. 

"Nay, " he said, recovering himself, "our Jacob nivver did that. He werefast asleep that night, and his bed were afire when I wackened him. Don't say such a word as that. "

"I didn't mean it, Hicky; but do lend me the gun. "

"Nay, my, lad, I wean't. There's the poont and welcome, but no gun. "

Dick knew the wheelwright too well to persevere; and in his heart hecould not help admiring the man's stern sense of honesty; so making uphis mind to be content with some fishing and a good wander in theuntrodden parts of the fen, he asked Hickathrift to get him some baitswith his cast-net. 

"Ay, I'll soon get them for you, my lad, " said Hickathrift. "Get aboocket, Jacob, lad. "

The next minute he was getting the newly-made circular net with itspipe-leads from where it hung over the rafters of his shed, and stridingdown to a suitable shallow where a shoal of small fish could be seen, heranged the net upon his arm, holding the cord tightly, and, givinghimself a spin round, threw the net so that it spread out flat, with thepipe-leads flying out centrifugally, and covering a good deal of space, the leads driving the fish into the centre. When it was drawn a coupleof dozen young roach and rudd were made captives, and transferred to thebucket of water Jacob brought. 

"Fetch that little bit o' net and a piece o' band, lad, " said thewheelwright; and as soon as Jacob reappeared, Hickathrift bound the finenet over the top of the pail, and lowered it by the cord into a deepcold pool close by the punt. 

"Theer they'll be all ready and lively for you in the morning, andyou'll hev better sport than you would wi' a gun. "

Opinions are various, and Dick's were very different to thewheelwright's; but he accepted his rebuff with as good a grace as hecould, and went home. 

The next morning was delicious. One of those lovely summer-times whenthe sky is blue, and the earth is just in its most beautiful robe ofgreen. 

"Going on the mere, Dick?" said his father. "Well, don't get drowned orbogged. "

"Dick will take care, " said Mrs Winthorpe, who was busy cuttingprovender. 

"Tom Tallington going with you?" said the squire. 

"No, father; I'm going alone. "

"I wish you could have come with me, Hicky!" said Dick, as, laden withhis basket of fishing-tackle and provender, he took his place in thepunt. 

"Ay, and I wish so too, " said the wheelwright, smiling, as he drew upand uncovered the pail of bait to set it in the boat. "Bud too busy. Theer you are! Now, go along, and don't stop tempting a man who oughtto be at work. Be off!"

To secure himself against further temptation he gave the punt a pushwhich sent it several yards away; so, picking up the pole, Dick thrustit down and soon left the Toft behind, while the water glistened, themarsh-marigolds glowed, and the reeds looked quite purple in places, sodark was their green. 

Dick poled himself along, watching the water-fowl and the rising heronsdisturbed in their fishing, while here and there he could see plenty ofsmall fish playing about the surface of the mere; but he was not in anangling humour, and though the tempting baits played about in the buckethe did not select any to hook and set trimmers for the pike that werelurking here and there. 

At last, though, he began to grow tired of poling, for the sun was hot;and, thinking it would be better to wait for Tom before he tried toexplore the wild part of the fen, he thrust the punt along, to select aplace and try for a pike. 

This drew his attention to the baits, where one of the little roach hadturned up nearly dead, a sure sign that the water required changing, so, setting down the pole, he took up the bucket, and, lowering it slowlyover the side, he held one edge level with the water, so that the freshcould pour in and the stale and warm be displaced. 

Trifles act as large levers sometimes. In this case for one, a fewdrops of water from the dripping pole made the bottom of the puntslippery; and as Dick leaned over the side his foot gave way, the weightof the bucket overbalanced him, and he had to seize the side of the puntto save himself. This he did, but as he leaned over, nearly touchingthe water, it was to gaze at the bucket descending rapidly, and the fishescaping, for he had let go. 

"What a nuisance!" he cried, as he saw the great vessel seem to turn ofa deeper golden hue as it descended and then disappeared, becominginvisible in the dark water, while the punt drifted away before he couldtake up the pole to thrust it back. 

There was nothing to guide him, and the poling was difficult, for thewater was here very deep, and though he tried several times to find thespot where the bucket had gone down, it was without success. 

"Why, if I did find it, " he muttered, "I shouldn't be able to get it upwithout a hook. "

This ended the prospect of fishing, and as he stood there idly dippingdown the pole he hesitated as to what he should do, ending by beginningto go vigorously in the direction of Dave Gittan's newly-built-up hut. 

"I'll make him take me out shooting, " he said; "and we'll go all overthat rough part of the fen. "

There were very few traces of the past winter's fire visible at Dave'shome as Dick approached, ran his punt on to the soft bog-moss, andlanded, securing his rope to a tree, and there were no signs of Dave. 

He shouted, but there was no reply, and it seemed evident that the dogwas away as well. 

A walk across to Dave's own special landing-place put it beyond doubt, for the boat was absent. 

"What a bother!" muttered Dick, walking back toward the hut, a strongerand better place than the one which had been burned. "Perhaps he hasgone to see John Warren!"

Dick hesitated as to whether he should follow, and as he hesitated hereached the door of the hut and peeped in, to make sure that the dog wasnot there asleep. 

The place was vacant, and as untidy already as the old hut. In onecorner there was a heap of feathers plucked from the wild-geese he hadshot; in another a few skins, two being those of foxes, the cunninganimals making the fen, where hunters never came, their sanctuary. There were traces, too, of Dave's last meal. 

But it was at none of these that Dick looked so earnestly, but at the'coy-man's old well-rubbed gun hanging in a pair of slings cut from someold boot, and tempting the lad as, under the circumstances, a gun wouldtempt. 

Hickathrift had refused to lend him one, badly as he wanted it; and hereby accident was the very thing he wanted staring at him almost as ifasking him to take it. 

And Dave! where was he?

Dave might be anywhere, and not return perhaps for days. His comingsand goings were very erratic, and Dick tried to think that if the manwere there he would have lent him the gun. 

But it was a failure. 

"He wouldn't have lent it to me, " said Dick sadly; and he turned to go. But as he glanced round, there was the old powder-horn upon aroughly-made shelf, and beside it, the leathern bag in which Dave kepthis shot, with a little shell loose therein which he used for a measure. 

It was tempting. There was the gun; there lay the ammunition. He couldtake the gun, use it, and bring it back, and give Dave twice as muchpowder and shot as he had fired away. He could even clean the gun if heliked; but he would not do that, but bring it back boldly, and own tohaving taken it Dave would not be very cross, and if he were it did notmatter. 

He would take the gun. 

No, he would not. It was like stealing the man's piece. 

No, it was not--only borrowing, and Dave would be the gainer. 

Still he hesitated, thinking of his father, of Hickathrift's refusal, ofits being a mean action to come and take a man's property in hisabsence; and in this spirit Dick flung out of the hut and walkedstraight down to the boat, seeing nothing but that gun tempting him asit were, and asking him to seize the opportunity and enjoy a day'sshooting untrammelled by anyone. 

"It wouldn't do, " he said with a sigh as he got slowly into the boat andstooped to untie the rope, when, perhaps, the position sent the bloodrushing to his head. At any rate his wilful thoughts mastered him, andin a spirit of reckless indifference to the consequences he leapedashore, ran up to the hut, dashed in, caught up the powder-horn andshot-bag, thrust them into his pockets, and seizing the gun, he took itfrom its leather slings, his hands trembling, and a sensation upon himthat Dave was looking in at the door. 

"What an idiot I was!" he cried, with a feeling of bravado now upon theincrease. "Dave won't mind, and I want to shoot all by myself. "

He glanced round uneasily enough as he made for the punt, where he laidthe gun carefully down, and, seizing his pole, soon sent the vessel tosome distance from the hut, every stroke seeming to make him breathemore freely, while a keen sensation of joy pervaded him as he glancedfrom time to time at the old flint-lock piece, and longed to be wherethere would be a chance to shoot. 

The day was hot as ever, but the heat was forgotten as the punt was sentrapidly along in the direction of the fir-clump island, for it was outthere that the wilder part of the fen commenced, and the hope that hewould there find the birds more tame consequent upon the absence ofmolestation made the laborious toil of poling seem light. 

But all the same a couple of hours' hard work had been given to thetask, and Dick was still far from his goal, when it occurred to him thata little of the bread and butter cut in slices, and with a good thickpiece of ham between each pair, would not be amiss. 

He laid the pole across the boat, then, and for a quarter of an hourdevoted himself to the task of food conversion for bodily support. 

This done, there was the gun lying there. It was not likely that hewould have a chance at anything; but he thought it would be as well tobe prepared, and in this spirit, with hands trembling from eagerness, heraised the piece and began the task of loading, so much powder, and somuch paper to ram down upon it. 

But he had no paper. It was forgotten, and Dick paused. 

Necessity is the mother of invention. Dick took out hispocket-handkerchief and his knife, and in a few minutes the cottonsquare was cut up, a piece rammed in as a wad, and a measure of shotpoured on the top. 

Another piece of handkerchief succeeded, going down the barrel with thatpeculiar _whish whash_ sound, to be thumped hard with the ramrod at thebottom till the rod was ready to leap out of the barrel again. 

Then there was the pan to open and prove full of powder, and all readyfor the first great wild bird he should see, or perhaps a hare or a fox, as soon as he should land. 

For it was thought no sin to shoot the foxes there in that wild cornerof England, where hounds had never been laid on, and the only chance ofhunting would have been in boats. Foxes lived and bred there year afteryear, and died without ever hearing the music of the huntsman's horn. 

Dick laid the gun down with a sigh, and took up the pole, which he usedfor nearly an hour before, with the fir island well to his left, he ranthe punt into a narrow cove among the reeds which spread before him, and, taking the piece, stepped out upon what was a new land. 

It must have been with something of the feelings of the old navigatorswho touched at some far western isle, that Dick Winthorpe landed fromhis boat, and secured it by knotting together some long rushes and tyingthe punt rope to them. For here he was in a place where the foot of mancould have rarely if ever trod, and, revelling in his freedom and thebeauty of the scene around, he shouldered the piece. 

He would have acted more wisely if he had filled his pockets withprovender from the basket; but he wanted those pockets for the powderand shot, and without intending to go very far from the punt he started, meaning to go in a straight line for some trees he could see at a greatdistance off, hoping to find something in the shape of game before hehad gone far. 

It is very easy to make a straight line on a map, but a difficult featto go direct from one spot to another in a bog. 

Dick did not find it out, for he knew it of old, and so troubled himselfvery little as he plodded on under the hot afternoon sun, now on firmground, now making some wide deviation so as to avoid a pool of blackwater. Then there were treacherous morass-like pieces of dark mirethinly covered with a scum-like growth, here green, there bleached inthe June sunshine. 

It was always hot walking, and made the worse by the way in which, inspite of all his care, his feet sank in the soft soil. At times heplashed along, having to leap from place to place, and then when the wayseemed so bad that he felt that he must return, it suddenly becamebetter and lured him on. 

He panted and perspired, and struggled on, with the gun always ready;but saving a moor-hen or two upon one or other of the pools, and a cootsailing proudly along at the edge of a reed-bed with her little dingyfamily, he saw nothing worthy of a shot. 

Once there was a rustle among the reeds, but whatever made it was gonebefore he could see what it was. Once a great heron rose from a shallowplace, offering himself as a mark; but it took Dick some time to get agood view of the grey bird, and when at last he brought the sight of thegun to bear upon it, the heron refused to remain still, and the muzzleof the piece described two or three peculiar circles. When at last itwas brought steadily to bear upon the mark it was about a hundred yardsaway, and the trigger was not pulled. 

How long Dick had tramped and struggled on through mire and water andover treacherous ground he did not know, but he did not get one chance;and at last, when he stopped short with a horrible sinking sensation inhis inner boy, the only things which presented themselves as being readyto be shot were some beautiful swallow-tailed butterflies, while, savethat the sun was right before him and going down, the lad had not theslightest idea of where he was. 

But he could not stand still, for he was on a soft spot, so he struggledon to where the ground looked more dry, and fortunately for him itproved to be so, and he stood looking round and thinking of going back. 

"I wish I had brought something to eat, " he said, gazing wistfully inthe direction in which he believed the punt lay. 

But it was in vain to wish, so he determined to retrace his steps, fighting against the thought that it would be a difficult task, for toall intents and purposes he had lost all idea of the direction in whichhe had come. It was very hot, though, and the gun was very heavy. Hewas weary too with poling the boat and walking, and but for the romanceof the expedition he would have declared himself fagged out. 

As it was, he thought he would have ten minutes' rest before startingback, so picking out a good dry firm place, he laid the gun down, andthen, seeing how comfortable the gun seemed, he lay at full length uponhis back on the soft heather and gazed straight up at the blue sky. 

Then his eyes wandered to a cloud of flies, long gnat-like creatures, which were beginning to dance over the reeds, and he lay watching themtill he thought he would get up and be on the move. 

Then he thought, as it was so refreshing to be still, he would waitanother five minutes. 

So he waited another five minutes, and then he did not get up, but lay, not looking at the cloud of gnats which were dancing now just over hisface as if the tip of his nose were the point from which they streamedupward in the shape of a plume, for Dick Winthorpe was fast asleep. 

How long it was Dick did not know, only that it was a great nuisancethat that bull would keep on making such a tremendous noise, bellowingand roaring round and round his bed till it annoyed him so much that hestarted up wide awake and stared. 

It was very dark, not a star to be seen; but the bull was bellowing awayin the most peculiar manner, seeming as if he were now high up in theair, and now with his muzzle close to the ground practisingventriloquism. 

"Where am I?" said Dick aloud; and then, as the peculiar bellowing noisecame apparently nearer, "Why, it's the butterbump!"

Dick was right, it was the butterbump, as the fen people called thegreat brown bittern, which passed its days in the thickest parts of thebog, and during the darkness rose on high, to circle round and over theunfortunate frogs that were to form its supper, and utter its peculiarbellowing roar. 

Dick had never heard it so closely before, and he was half startled bythe weird cry. The fen, that had been so silent in the hot June sun, now seemed to be alive with peculiar whisperings and pipings. The frogswere whistling here, a low soft plaintive whistle, and croaking there, while from all around came splashings and quackings and strange criesthat were startling in the extreme to one just awakened from the depthsof sleep to find himself alone in the darkness, and puzzled by thequestion: How am I to get back?

No; return was impossible--quite impossible, and the knowledge wasforced upon him more and more that he had to make up his mind to passthe night where he was, for to stir meant to go plunge into some bog, perhaps one so deep that his escape with life might be doubtful. 

"How stupid I was!" mused Dick. "How hungry I am!" he said aloud. "What a tiresome job!"

He looked around, to see darkness closing him in, not a star visible;but the fen all alive with the sounds, which seemed to increase, for abittern was answering the one overhead, and another at a greaterdistance forming himself into a second echo. 

"I wonder how long it is since I lay down!" thought Dick. 

It might have been four hours--it might have been six or eight. Hecould not tell, only that he was there, and that his mother would be ina horrible state of dread. 

This impressed him so strongly that he was about to start off in a vaineffort to find the boat, but his better sense prevailed, and he remainedwhere he was, wondering whether it would be possible to pass the nightlike that, and, in spite of himself, feeling no little dread of theweird sounds which seemed to come nearer and nearer. 

Then the feeling of dread increased, for, though he could see nothing, certain noises he heard suggested themselves as being caused by strangecreatures--dwellers in the fen--coming nearer to watch him, and amongthem he fancied that there were huge eels fresh from the black slime, crawling out of the water, and winding themselves like serpents in andout among the rough grass and heath to get at him and fix their strongjaws upon his legs. 

Then little four-footed, sharp-teethed creatures appeared to be creepingabout in companies, rushing here and there, while whittricks and ratswere waiting till he dropped asleep to leap upon him and bite him, tearing out little pieces of his flesh. 

His imagination was so active that his face grew wet with horror, till, making an effort over himself, he started right up and angrily stampedhis foot. 

"I didn't think I was such a coward, " he said half aloud; and then, "Ihope poor mother will not be very much alarmed, and I wish TomTallington was here!"

The wish was so selfishly comic that he laughed and felt better, for nowa new idea came to him. 

It was very dark, but the nights were at their shortest now, and itwould be daybreak before three--at least so light that he might ventureto try and regain the boat. 

He stood for a while listening to the noises in the fen; the whisperingand chattering, piping and croaking, with the loud splashings andrustlings among the reeds, mingled with the quacking of ducks and thescuttering of the drakes, while every now and then the bittern utteredhis hoarse wild roar. 

Then, growing weary, he sat down again, and after a time he must havedropped asleep, for he rose feeling quite startled, and stood staring asa peculiarly soft lambent light shone here and there before him. 

It was apparently about fifty yards away, and looked like nothing whichhe had ever seen, for when he had noticed this light before it hadalways been much farther away. 

He knew it was the marsh light, but somehow it seemed more weird andstrange now than ever, and as if all the tales he had heard of it weretrue. 

For there it was coming and going and gliding up and down, as ifinviting him to follow it, while, as he seemed to feel that this was aninvitation, he shuddered and his brow grew cold and dank, for hebelieved that to follow such a light would be to go direct to his death. 

All the old legendary stories crowded into his mind as that light cameand went, and seemed to play here and there for what must have been halfan hour, when it disappeared. But as it passed away he saw another awayto his left, and he was watching this intently when he noticed that farbeyond there was a faint light visible; and feeling that this was thefirst sign of the dawn, he turned to gaze at the will-o'-the-wisp again, and watched it, shuddering as it seemed to approach, growing bolder asit glided away. 

"But that was not dawn--that, " he said, "that faint light!" It wasgrowing stronger and it was nearer, and more like the rising of the sun, or like--yes, it must be fire again. 

Dick's heart leaped, and the chilly feeling of nervous dread and thecoldness of the temperature passed away, to give place to a sense ofexcitement which made his blood dance in his veins and his cheeks flush. 

He was not mistaken--he had had too much experience of late. It wasfire, and he asked himself whose turn it was now, and why, after thelong lapse from outrage, there should be another such a scene as that. 

It was impossible to tell where the fire was, but it was a bigconflagration evidently, for it was lighting up the sky far more thanwhen he first observed it, but whether it was in the direction of hishome or toward the far end of the fen he could not tell. 

He thought once that he might be mistaken, and that it was theforerunner of the rising moon; but he was convinced directly that it wasfire he saw from the way in which it rose and fell and flickered softlyin the sky. 

He must have been watching the glow for quite a couple of hours, and itwas evidently paling, and he was hopefully looking for another light--that of day, when it seemed to him that he could hear the splashing ofwater and the rustling of reeds. 

The sounds ceased and began again more loudly, and at last they seemedto be coming nearer, but passing him by--somewhere about a hundred yardsaway. 

The sounds ceased--began again--ceased--then sounded more loudly; and atlast, with palpitating heart, Dick began to move in the direction of thenoise, for he realised that either there was open water or a canal-likepassage across the bog, which someone was passing through in a boat. 

Dick paused again to listen, but there could be no mistake, the soundswere too familiar, and with voice husky with excitement he put his handto his mouth and uttered a loud hail. 

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX. 

A STARTLING SCENE. 

To Dick Winthorpe's great surprise there was no answer to his cry, andraising his voice again he shouted: "Who's that? Help!"

His voice sounded wild and strange to him out there in that waste, closed in as he was by the darkness, and as he listened he could notrepress a shudder, for everything now had become so silent that it wasterrible. Away to his left there was the faint glow of light--veryfaint now--but everywhere else darkness, and all around him now a deadsilence. His cry had seemed to alarm every moving creature in the fen, and it had crouched down, or dived, or in some way hidden itself, sothat there was neither rustle of body passing through the reeds, splashof foot in the mire, nor beat of pinion in the air. He looked aroundhim half in awe for the strange lights which he had seen gliding hereand there like moths of lambent fire, but they too had disappeared, andstartling as had been the noise he had heard, the silence seemed now soterrible that he turned cold. 

"What a coward I am!" he said to himself at last. "What is there to beafraid about?"

He shouted again, and felt more uneasy, for as his voice died away allseemed more silent than ever, and he drew in a long hissing breath as hegazed vainly in the direction from which the splashing had seemed tocome. 

For quite half an hour all was perfectly still, but he did not move, partly from an intense desire to be certain, partly, it must beconfessed, from a feeling of dread which oppressed him. 

Then there was a rustle and a splash from somewhere behind him, such anoise as a bird might make. Directly after there came from a distancethe scuttering noise made by a duck dabbling its bill in the ooze, andthis was followed by a low _quawk_ uttered by some nocturnal bird, perhaps by one of the butterbumps whose hoarse booming cry had come sostrangely in the earlier part of the night. 

As if these were signals to indicate to the animal life of the fen thatall was right, sound after sound arose such as he had heard before; butthere was one so different that it filled Dick Winthorpe's ears, and ashe listened he seemed to see a man in a punt, who had been crouchingdown among the reeds, rising up softly, and silently lowering a poleinto the water to thrust the boat onward from where it had lain. 

Even if it had been light the reeds and undergrowth would have hinderedhim from seeing anything, and in that darkness the impossibility wasemphasised the more strongly; but all the same the faint splash, thelight rubbing of wood against wood as the pole seemed to touch the sideof the boat, the soft dripping of water, and the silky brushing rustleof the boat among the reeds and withes, joined in painting a mentalpicture upon the listener's brain till it seemed to Dick that he wasseeing with his ears this man in his boat escaping furtively so as notto be heard. 

Dick was about to shout again, but he felt that if he did there would beno answer, and his heart began to beat strangely. 

It was not fear now, but from a sudden excitement consequent upon a lineof thought which suggested itself. 

"Why did not this man answer to his cry--this man who was so furtivelystealing away? Was it from fear of him?"

Undoubtedly fear of being seen and known. 

Dick absolutely panted now with excitement. All feeling of dread passedaway, taking with it the chilly sensation of cold and damp. 

He listened. 

Should he shout again and order him to stop? No; he knew that would beof no use, for, as if to make all more sure, there, as Dick listened, each and every nerve on the strain, was the increasing rapidity of thethrusts made with the pole, as the man evidently thought he was gettingmore and more out of hearing. 

"Who is it?" thought Dick, as he realised that by his accident he haddiscovered what had been hidden from all who had patiently watched. 

It was all plain enough to him now; and as he listened to the soundsdying away and growing lost among the splashings and rustlings made bythe birds, which were recovering their confidence, the excitement quitetook away the lad's breath. 

For there it all was. This wretch--some fen-man from the other side--miles away--had stolen across in the darkness, wending his way along themere channels and over the pools, to commit another dastardly outrage, firing another cottage or stack, and then stolen back, his evil workdone. 

Whose house had been burned?

It must be the huts of the drain-makers. Dick felt sure of that. Hedid not know why, but there was the proof lately painted in the sky. And this base wretch, who could it be? he asked himself. Oh, if hecould but have seen!

Would this be the same man who had been guilty of all these crimes?thought Dick, as he listened and found that the sounds had died out; andnow far away there was a soft faint opalescent light telling him of thecoming morn, and sending a thrill of joy through his breast. For therewould be light and warmth, and the power to find the boat once more, andwith it food. Better still, if he could get to his boat he might followthe wretch who was escaping, and know who it was. 

Dick felt directly that it was impossible, for the man would be beyondpursuit long before he could find his boat; and after listening again hebegan to creep cautiously back to where he had lain down and slept andleft Dave Gittan's gun. 

The dawn was spreading, and it showed the watcher which was the east, and hence taught him that the fire must have been somewhere in thedirection of the Toft, for the glare in the sky was certainly north ofwhere he now stood. 

The dawn spread faster, and the reeds and alders about him began to bevisible; and--yes, there was the gun, all cold to the touch and wet withdew. 

"Not much shooting, " thought Dick as he mentally planned getting back tothe boat, and hurrying across to Dave's hut to replace the piece andsuffer a good scolding. 

"Never mind; I'll give him a pound of powder. What's that?"

Splashing--the rustling of reeds--voices. 

There was no concealment here, and besides the sounds came in a contrarydirection to that taken by the fleeing man. 

"Hoi!" shouted Dick loudly. 

"Hoi! hallo!" came back; and then a well-known voice cried: "Is thatyou, Dick?"

"Yes, father. Here! Ahoy!"

There was more splashing, more talking, and Dick's heart leaped as hefelt that his father had come in search of him, and that he would havean easier task than he had expected in finding his boat. 

As the sounds approached the light increased, and Dick had no difficultyin going to meet them, picking his way carefully through the bog till hefound himself close to a broad channel of reedy water, and here he hadto pause. 

"Where are you?" came from about a hundred yards away. And as heshouted to guide the search party he soon saw through the dim light acrowded punt propelled by two polers, and that there was another behind. 

The next minute the foremost punt was within reach, and Dick steppedfrom a clump of rushes on board. 

"Got anything to eat?" cried Dick, obeying his dominant instinct, andhis voice sounded wolfish and strange. 

"To eat!--no, sir, " cried his father sternly. "What are you doinghere?"

"I lost myself, father, and went to sleep--woke up in the darkness, andcouldn't stir. Morning, Hicky!"

"Wheer's my poont?" said the wheelwright. 

"Close round here somewhere, " said Dick. "Go on and we shall find it. But where was the fire?"

The squire drew a hissing breath between his teeth as if in pain, andyet as if in relief; for it seemed to him that once more he wassuspecting wrongfully, and that if his son had been mixed up with thepast night's outrage he would never have spoken so frankly. 

"The fire, boy!" he said hoarsely; "at the Toft. The place is nearlyburned down. "

"Oh!" ejaculated Dick; and there was so much genuine pain and agony inhis voice that the squire grasped his son's hand. 

"Never mind, Dick; we'll build it up again. "

"Ay, squire, we will, " cried Hickathrift; "and afore long. "

"And what is better, my boy, we saw the wretch who stole off the merelast night and fired the big reed-stack. "

"Yes, father, " cried Dick excitedly. "And I heard him come stealing byhere. "

"You did, Dick?"

"Yes, father--not an hour ago. "

"Marston!" cried the squire, hailing the other boat. 

"Yes. "

"We're right. He came by here an hour ago. Dick heard him. "

"You did, Dick?" cried Mr Marston. 

"Yes, but it was all in the dark, and I couldn't see who it was. "

"That does not matter, my lad, " said the squire. "We know him now, andwe only want to run him down. "

"Know him, father?"

"Yes, boy. It was Dave Gittan. "

"Nonsense!"

Dick burst into a laugh. 

"Why, father, his place was burned too!"

"Yes, boy, to throw us off the scent--the scoundrel! but we shall havehim now. "

Dick sat down in the punt like one astounded, while Hickathrift poledalong the channel till he came to open water, where, just as the sunrose above the horizon, they caught sight of the tied-up boat. 

"We're too many in this, " said Hickathrift, making for the other punt. "You pole this here, and I'll tak' mine. Will you come, squire?"

"Yes, " said Dick's father; and the change being made, the three boatswere now propelled over the sunlit water, where, as the lad gladlyapplied himself to the food he had left behind, he learned something ofwhat had taken place during the night. 

Hickathrift was his informant, for the squire was very stern and silent, and Mr Marston was in one of the other boats, which were manned bydrain-men and farm-labourers, and had for leaders Farmer Tallington andthe engineer, while many were armed with muskets. 

"Is Tom there?" said Dick in a whisper. 

"Ay, lad, he's theer, " said the big wheelwright, "along o' Mr Marston. "

And then in answer to questions he related that Mr Marston had beenover at the Toft, and stopped up watching with the squire for Dick'sreturn, dropping asleep at last, and then awakening suddenly to hear astrange noise among the fowls. 

The squire went out, followed by Mr Marston, and the truth was beforethem. 

"The big stack was afire!" whispered Hickathrift, "and burning so asthey knew it would be impossible to put it out, and just as theyrealised the terrible state of affairs there was the sound of a shot, and then of another and another from somewhere down among the cottages, and directly after the beating of feet, and a party of the labourershurried up, startled from their beds. 

"`Your turn now, squire, ' I says to him, " whispered the wheelwright. 

"`Ay, ' he says, `my turn now. Who fired that shot?'

"`Oh! some un here, ' I says. `We thought we seed him as did it goingoff in the poont, but it was so dark we couldn't be sure. '

"Squire didn't ask no more, for there was too much to do getting outyour moother, lad, and trying to save the furnitur, 'sides throwingwatter on the fire. 

"Bud, theer, it warn't no use. Plaace burned like a bit o' paaper, andwe could do nowt bud save the best o' the things. "

"Did you save the clock?" asked Dick. 

"Ay, lad, I carried it out mysen, just as Mr Marston come oop wi' a lotof his lads, and Farmer Tallington come from t'other way; and we savedall we could, and got out the beasts and horses, but t'owd plaace isbont out. "

"And where is mother?"

"All reight along o' my missus, bless her; and when we see we could dono more, squire began about who done it. "

"Yes: go on. "

"Well, theer's nowt much to say, lad, only that soon as squire knowd whoit weer he--"

"But how did he know who it was?" cried Dick. 

"Some un towd him. "

"Yes, but who told?"

"Him as fired his goon at him when he see'd him by the light o' the firepoling along in his poont. "

"And who was that?"

"Nay, lad, I'm not going to tell thee. Some un as thowt he desarved ashot for setting fire to folks's houses and shooting honest men. Somefolk don't stop to think. If they've got goons in their hands, and seesvarmen running away, they oops wi' the goon and shutes, and that's whatsome un did. Thou'lt know who it weer one day. "

"And he told my father?"

"It weer our Jacob towd squire. He sin his faace quite plain, and thatit weer Dave. "

"Now, Marston, where for next?" shouted the squire, after taking a longlook round over the open water, now illumined by the sun. 

"Try that island yonder, " was the reply. "There's a hut among the lowfir-trees, and I fancy it is his making. "

The boats were turned in the suggested direction, and Dick felt acurious sensation of nervous dread stealing over him as he thought ofseeing that hut not long before, and of how likely it was that MrMarston was right. 

A strange sense of shock and horror came over Dick as he now seemed torealise, for the first time, that he was one of a party engaged inhunting down Dave Gittan, the man who had always been to him as afriend, the companion of endless excursions over the mere; and his heartsank within him as he glanced round in search of an opportunity to landand get away from the horrible pursuit. 

But there was no escape, for he knew that the pursuers would not turnbackward, and he glanced helplessly at where he could see TomTallington's face in the farther of the other boats, and responded tohis wave of the hand. 

There was a stern relentless look in every face he saw, and he thoughtof how his father and Mr Marston had been shot, how first one and thenanother had been nearly burned in his bed, while their property wasdestroyed, and he felt the justice of the severe looks. But all thesame there was a lingering liking for Dave, and he felt disposed tostand up in his defence and say it was impossible that he could havedone these things, though all the time, as he ran over the matters inhis mind, he began to recall various suspicious incidents, and to thinkthat, perhaps, they were right. 

One thing buoyed him up though, and that was the thought that they werenot going straight to the decoy-man's hut, and perhaps through thisdelay he might escape. 

It was a vain hope, one which was swept away directly after, forHickathrift whispered:

"We went straight to his plaace to try and ketch him, but he slippedaway in his poont, and dodged us about in the dark, till Mester Marstonheld out that he was makking for the far part of the fen, and wefollowed him theer, but lost all sound on him, and then you know, MesterDick, we fun you. "

With a stern effort to be firm Dick watched the progress of the punttoward the island that was to have been his abode when he felt huffed athome, and wondered whether Dave were there now. 

"He isn't there, " thought Dick; and he turned to telegraph a look at TomTallington, who he felt sure would be as anxious as himself about Dave'sescape. 

"Do you want Tom Tallington?" said his father, who, though apparentlypaying no attention, had noted every exchange of glances. 

"Yes, father; there is more room here, " said Dick boldly. 

The squire made a sign to Hickathrift, who ceased poling, and the othertwo boats came up on either side. 

"Come in here, Tom, " said Dick eagerly. 

Tom obeyed with alacrity and stepped on board, while in short decisivetones the squire spoke:

"We will divide now, and approach on three sides. You, Marston, andyou, Tallington, get well over so as to command a view all round, forthis man must not escape. "

"Escape! No!" said Farmer Tallington fiercely. 

"If he is there, I don't think he will escape, " said Mr Marstonsternly. 

"Hah!" ejaculated the squire; "that is one reason why I waited for youboth to come up. Now, gentlemen, and you, my good fellows, listen. There must be no violence. "

"No violence, eh!" said Farmer Tallington. "Didn't he bon my place?"

"And shoot me?" said Mr Marston sternly. 

"Yes, and his is evidently the hand which has committed a score ofoutrages, but all the same we must act as if we were the officers of thelaw: seize, bind, and hand him over to justice unhurt. "

There was a low murmur from the drain-men in Mr Marston's boat. 

"Yes, and that is why I speak, " said the squire firmly. "I am leaderhere, and I insist upon this man being taken uninjured. Let the lawdeal with him. It is not our duty to punish him for the crimes. "

There was another low murmur here, but the squire paid no heed and wenton:

"In the first place, not a shot is to be fired. "

"Not if he shutes at us?" cried Farmer Tallington. 

"No: not even if he fires at any of us. If he should draw trigger, rushin and seize him before he has time to reload, and then, with no moreviolence than is necessary, let him be bound. "

"Well, " said Farmer Tallington, "perhaps you're reight neighbour; and aslong as he is punished I don't know as I mind much how it's done. "

"Then we all understand each other, and you, my men, I shall hold youanswerable for any injury this man receives. "

"What! Mayn't us knock him down, squire?" grumbled the big wheelwright. 

"Of course you may, Hickathrift. Stun him if you like; he will be theeasier to bind. "

"Hey, that's better, lads, " cried the wheelwright, brightening up. "Squire's talking sense now. "

"But he'll shoot his sen oop in yon hut, squire, and fire at us andbring us down. "

"There will only be time for one shot, Mr Tallington, " said Marstonquietly, "and we can fetch him out before he has a chance to reload. Mr Winthorpe is right. "

"Oh well, I wean't stick out, " said the farmer rather sulkily; "butDave's a rare good shot and one of us will hev to go home flat on hisback before we get up to yon wood. "

"He will not dare to fire, " said the squire firmly. 

"I do not agree with you, Mr Winthorpe, " said Marston. "The man isdesperate, and he will do anything now to escape. "

"And if he can't, " cried Farmer Tallington, "he'll die like a rat in acorner, biting, so look out. He's got that long gun of his loaded andready for the first man who goes up to yon hut, and that man arn't me. "

"I will go up first, " said the squire quietly; "and he will not dare tofire. "

"Bud he hev dared to fire, mester, " said the wheelwright. 

"Yes, at those who did not see him lurking in some hiding-place, but hewill not dare to fire now. "

"He can't fire, father, " cried Dick excitedly. 

"Why?"

"Because I have his gun here in the boat. "

"What?" cried the squire; and the matter was explained. 

There was no further hesitation. The boats divided as if going to theattack upon some fort, and after giving the others time to get well oneither side of the island, the squire gave Hickathrift orders to go on, and the punt glided swiftly toward the shore. 

"You two boys lie down in the bottom of the boat, " said the squire. 

"Oh, father!" exclaimed Dick, as Tom slowly obeyed. 

"What is it, Dick?"

"It seems so cowardly. "

"It is more cowardly to risk life unnecessarily for the sake ofbravado, " said his father; and then, reading the look upon his son'sface, the squire continued with a sad smile:

"I am captain of this little expedition, Dick, and the captain mustlead. "

Dick never felt half so much inclined to disobey his father before, ashe slowly took his place in the bottom of the punt, while Hickathriftsent it forward so quickly that it was the first to touch the gravellyshore. When the squire sprang out Hickathrift followed him, afterdriving down the pole and securing the boat. 

"I say, Tom, " said Dick. 

"I say, Dick, " replied Tom. 

"Do you think he would be very cross if we went after them? I do wantto see. "

Tom shook his head, and, landing, sat down on the edge of the boat, Dickfollowing and seating himself beside his companion, to watch his fathersteadily approach the hut, of which not so much as a glimpse could beobtained, so closely was it hidden among the trees. 

By this time the squire was half-way to the fir-wood, and Dick couldbear it no longer. 

"How could I meet mother, " he cried angrily, "if I let him go alone likethat?"

"But he can't be shot, " said Tom. 

"No, but he may be hurt, " retorted Dick; and he ran eagerly after hisfather. 

"And so may my father be hurt, " said Tom as soon as he was left alone;and he looked in the direction by which Farmer Tallington must approachthe wood, but no one was visible there, and he ran rapidly after hiscompanion and rejoined him just as he was following his father into thewood. 

The morning sun shone brilliantly without, but as soon as they were inthe wood they seemed to have entered upon a dusky twilight, cut here andthere by brilliant shafts and bands which struck the ground in placesand made broad patches of golden hue. 

No word was spoken, and in the dim wood with the rustling increasing, the scene in some way suggested to Dick the fen during the night when hewas listening to the passing of the punt--evidently Dave's--and he fella-wondering whether the decoy-man was now far away on the other side ofthe mere. 

"That you, squire?" shouted Farmer Tallington from the trees beyond thehut, which now appeared before them, sombre and gloomy, half hidden bythe growth. 

"Yes, we are here, " was the reply. 

"He's in here some'ere's, for his poont's ashore. "

"Where are you?" came from the other side, and, guided by the voices, Marston soon came up, with his men. 

The squire gave a short sharp order, and the two parties separated, soas to surround the little hut. Tom whispered to Dick what he wasalready thinking. 

"Why, Dick, old Dave's as cunning as a rat, and could slip through thereeasy. "

The moment the place was surrounded the squire gave a sharp glance backat his son, stepped forward, stooped down, and entered the low hut. 

Hickathrift was close behind him, and the next moment he, too, haddisappeared. 

"Is he there, Mr Winthorpe?" cried Marston excitedly; and he, too, stepped forward and entered the hut. 

"Why, what's it all mean?" said Farmer Tallington impatiently; and he, too, stepped up to the low doorway and entered. 

"They're tying his hands and feet, Tom, " whispered Dick excitedly; andunable to control himself he ran up to the door, followed by hisschoolmate, but as he did so it was to encounter the squire coming outwith a peculiarly solemn look upon his countenance. 

"Isn't he there, father?" cried Dick wonderingly. 

"Yes, boy--no, " said the squire solemnly, as the others came slowly out. "He managed to crawl here to die. "

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN. 

LAST WORDS. 

It was a solemn party that returned to the Toft that day: three boats, with the last propelled by Hickathrift, towing another behind. Thatlast punt was Dave Gittan's, and in it, later on, the man was taken tohis last resting-place. 

At the inquiry it was found that Dave had been mortally wounded by abullet; and in this state he had managed to force his boat to his hut, and when pursued, to his lurking-place in the farther part of the fen, to lie down and die. 

Who fired the shot which took his life? No one could say. Five bulletswere sent winging to stop his career on the night of his last insaneact, when pretty well everything which would burn upon the Toft wasdestroyed; but whose was the hand which pulled the trigger, and whosethe eye which took the aim, was not divulged. 

Dave had well kept his secret, and struggled hard to stay the advance ofprogress, but fought in vain, and with his fall almost the lastopposition to the making of the great drain died out. 

There were old fen-men who murmured and declared that the place wasbeing destroyed, but for the most part they lived to see that greatdrain and others made, and the wild morass become dry land upon whichthe plough turned up the black soil and the harrow smoothed, and greatwaving crops of corn took the place of those of reed. Meadows, too, spread out around the Toft, and Farmer Tallington's home at Grimsey--meads upon which pastured fine cattle; while in that part of the widefen-land ague nearly died away. 

It was one evening twenty years later that a couple of stalwartwell-dressed men, engineers engaged upon the cutting of another lode ordrain many miles to the north, strolled down from the Toft farm to havea chat with the great grey-haired wheelwright, who carried on a largebusiness now that a village had sprung up in the fen. 

His delight was extreme to see the visitors, and they had hard work toextricate their ringers from his grip. 

"Think of you two coming to see me now! It caps owt. "

"Why, of course we've come to see you, Hicky, " said the taller of thetwo. "How well you look!"

"Well! Hearty, Mester Dick, bless you! and the missus too. Hearty asthe squire and his lady, bless 'em. But your father looks sadly, MesterTom, sir. He don't wear as I should like to see un. He's wankle. "[Sickly. ]

"Rheumatism, Hicky; that's all. He'll be better soon. I say, what'sthat--a summer-house?" said Tom, pointing. 

"That, Mester Tom! Why, you know?"

"Why, it's the old punt!" cried Dick. 

"Ay, it's the owd poont, Mester Dick. What games yow did hev in hertoo, eh?"

"Yes, Hicky, " said Dick with a sigh. "Ah! those were happy days. "

"They weer, lad; they weer. Owd poont got dry and cracked, and of nouse bud to go on the dreern, and who wanted to go on a dreern as hadbeen used to the mere?"

"No one, of course, " said Dick, gazing across the fields and meadowswhere he had once propelled the punt. 

"Ay, no one, o' course, so Jacob sawed her i' two one day, and we sether oop theer i' the garden for a summer-hoose, and Jacob painted hergreen. I say, Mester Dick, ony think, " added Hickathrift, laughingviolently. 

"Think what? Don't laugh like that, Hicky, or you'll shake your headoff. "

"Nay, not I, my lad; but it do mak' me laugh. "

"What does?"

"Jacob's married!"

"No!"

"He is, Mester Dick, and theer's a babby. "

"Never!" said Dick, laughing, to humour the great fellow, who wiped hiseyes and became quite solemn now. 

"Yes, that he hes, Mester Dick, and you'd nivver guess what he's ca'dhim. "

"Jacob, of course. "

"Nay, Mester Dick; he's ca'd him Dave. "

Dick and Tom went down to the wheelwright's again next day to chat overold times--fishing, shooting, the netting at the decoy, and the like;and heard how John Warren had lately died, a venerable old man, whoconfessed at last how he had helped Dave Gittan in some of the outrageswhen the drain was made, because he hated it, and said it would ruinhonest men. 

But it was not to see John Warren's nor Dave Gittan's grave thatHickathrift led the young men to the one bit of waste land left, andthere pointed to a wooden tablet nailed against a willow tree. 

"The squire give me leave, Mester Dick, and Jacob and me buried himtheer when he died. Jacob painted his name on it, rather rough, but thebest he could, and we'd hev put his age on it, as well as the date, ifwe'd ha' known. "

"How old was he, do you think, Hicky?" said Dick. 

"Don't know, sir, but straange and old. "

"But why did you take so much interest in him? You never liked thedonkey. "

"Nay, bud you did, lad, and that was enough for me. "

"Poor old Solomon!" said Dick, smiling at the recollections the roughtablet evoked; "how he could kick!"

"And so you and young Tom--I beg pardon, sir, " said Hicky, "MesterTallington--are going to help Mester Marston wi the big dreerning out inCambridgeshire, eh?"

"Yes, Hicky, ours is a busy life now; but we're beginning to find peoplemore sensible about such matters. Mr Marston was laughing over it theother day, and saying that all the romance had gone out of ourprofession now there was no chance of getting shot. "

"Weer he, now?" said Hickathrift wonderingly. "Think of a man liking tobe shot at!"

"Oh, he does not like to be shot at, Hicky! By the way, though, who wasit shot Dave Gittan? Come, now, you know. "

"Owd Dave Gittan's been buried twenty year, Mester Dick, so let himrest. "

"Rest! Of course; but come--you do know?"

"Yes, Mester Dick, " said the wheelwright stolidly. "I do know, but Isweered as I'd nivver tell, and I'll keep my word. "

"Ah, well, I will not press you, Hicky! It was a sad time. "

"Ay, my lads, a sad time when a man maks war like that again hisbrothers wi' fire and sword, leastwise wi' goon. That theer fen waslike a battlefield in them days, while now it's as pleasant a place tolook upon as a man need wish to see. "

"A lovely landscape, Hicky, " said Dick, gazing across the verdant plain. 

"Ay, lad, and once all bog and watter, and hardly a tree from end toend. "

"A great change, Hicky, showing what man can do. "

"Ay, a great change, Mester Dick, but somehow theer are times when I getlonging for the black watter and the wild birds, and all as it used tobe. "

"Yes, Hicky, " said Dick almost sadly as he saw in memory's mirror thedays of his boyhood; "but this is a world of change, man; we must lookforward and not back. "

"Ay, Mester, Dick, 'cause all's for the best. "

"Yes, Hicky, keep to that--all's for the best! Come, Tom; it's time wesaid good-bye to the old fen!"

THE END.