"Father!" he cried; but there was no reply. "Father!"

Still no response, and he could just make out that the wounded man's eyes were closed. But Scarlett was full of energy now, and, leaping up, he seized Sir Godfrey by the arm, and dragged him by main force to the foot of the great staircase.

"I must get him to the corridor somehow," he thought; and, stooping down, he clasped his arms about him, terribly impeded by the breastplate and backpiece he wore, and then, panting and suffocating, he dragged him up step by step, every one being into a more stifling atmosphere. The increasing heat bathed him with perspiration, and a growing sense of languor made him feel as if each step would be the last.

But, raging and grinding his teeth in his efforts, he toiled on till the topmost step was reached, and there he paused, chilled now by a terrible and despairing sense of his position. The fire had eaten its way upwards, and to drag his insensible burden to the right through the door leading to the servants' apartments, or to the left along the corridor, was on either hand into a burning furnace.

Scarlett Markham sank upon his knees beside his father on the polished oaken floor of the gallery, and giddy now with the heat and exhaustion, his lips cracking, and every breath he drew laden with the poisonous fumes, he felt that all was over, and, with a prayer coming confusedly to his mind, he made a snatch at his father's hand, missed it, and fell sidewise.

But even then there was the natural involuntary effort to save himself from falling headlong backwards from top to bottom of the stairs, and one hand grasped at the balustrade, caught one of the carved oaken pilasters; there was a sharp cracking sound, the stair by his shoulder shot back an inch or two, and a draught of cold revivifying air literally rushed whistling through the orifice.

It was life, energy, hope, renewed courage, all in one, as he gasped and panted and wildly thrust back the loose stair till the way was open; and, gathering strength as the fresh air rushed up into his nostrils on its way to fan the growing flames, he seized his father where he lay on the top of the staircase, drew him towards his breast, and let him drop right into the opening, whose sloping floor made the rest comparatively easy.

But Scarlett worked manfully, lying down beside his father, and edging him along a few feet, before going back to close the opening in the stairs.

He paused for a few moments, feeling now that he was safe, and gazed upon the ruddy smoke clouds, listened to the roar and crackle of the flames, which were now within a few feet; and as he gazed, he could see that the sharp draught rushing by him drove the flame and smoke back, and fanned the former till it glowed more brightly.

But there was no time to lose. Seizing the woodwork, he drew it over his head, to find to his horror that already the heat had warped the wood so that it was hard to move; and, feeling that no time was to be lost, he rolled himself along, forced his father on and on, till the horizontal shallow passage was at an end—a passage already growing heated above where the fire licked the boards, and then, standing upright and breathing freely, he paused to think of his next proceeding.



CHAPTER FORTY FOUR.

IN UTTER DARKNESS.

It was not easy to think and lay plans in such a position as that in which Scarlett Markham found himself. His temples throbbed painfully, his head swam, and at every exertion it seemed to him as if hot molten lead were rolling from side to side of his head. But the cool damp air came by him in a continuous draught, and feeling now that before long the narrow passages and the little chamber beyond must certainly grow heated in the conflagration, perhaps be swept away in the general destruction, he set himself the task of getting Sir Godfrey upon his back, and, after several failures, found that his first step in that direction must be to unbuckle and cast aside the defensive armour his father wore.

This done, the steel falling on the stone floor of the passage with a heavy clang, he once more tried, successfully, and, bending beneath the weight of his load, traversed the narrow passage, with a dull low roar sounding in a muffled way on his left.

The air came fresher and fresher as he pressed on in the intense darkness, till, recalling by an effort of memory every step he and Fred had formerly taken, he felt his way into the little chamber, having drawn his sword and used it for a staff, and to guide his way.

How well he recalled the shape of that little hiding-place, with its dust and cobwebs, and the colourless strands of ivy hanging down! And as he paused here, asking himself whether he should stay for the present, a silent answer was given to his question, for the hand which rested upon the wall felt that the stones were, growing sensibly warm, sufficiently so to suggest that the fire was raging on the other side.

Taking a long breath of the cool fresh air, he had no difficulty in telling which way to turn for the further door, whose half-open edge the extended sword touched directly. Then, grasping it with his hand, it grated heavily as he drew it towards him, passed through the low opening, and knew that he he was at the top of the long narrow descending stairs.

What a terrible depth it seemed as he went down very slowly step by step, but heartened each minute by the feeling that every step took them more out of the reach of the fire, while the steady current of air drawn in from the wilderness and the lake side by the fire within the building, rendered it certain that no flame or suffocating fume could reach them there.

The bottom at last! and Scarlett paused to rest. He was bathed in perspiration, and a curious dull feeling of exhaustion was setting in, but he did not speak; he had set for himself the goal which he must reach, and at which they would rest for the present. After he had bound up his father's wounds, he might recover somewhat, so as to walk a little with assistance; and then the opening at the end of the passage was there, and freedom for them both, if the enemy had gone.

But he had not reached that vault-like refuge yet, and the way seemed to be interminable. The excitement and effort had produced a dull, half stupefying effect upon his senses, and this was growing rapidly now, so much so, that with legs bending beneath him, he dropped his sword, which fell with an echoing clamour upon the stones, and supported himself by the wall.

And now in that pitchy darkness he crept slowly along, with a singular nightmare-like sensation growing upon him; he ceased to have any command of the power of thought, and went on and on, inch by inch, ever ready to sink beneath his burden, but always at the last moment making a desperate effort, and regaining enough strength to go on.

How long it took, how he ever got through his terrible task, he never knew. All that he could ever recall was a feeling of journeying on and on beneath an ever-increasing load, till suddenly the support on either side ceased; he made a desperate effort to save himself, but went down upon his hands and knees, felt that the burden he bore had suddenly rolled from his back, and that his face was resting on the cool damp stones.

Then all was darkness, mental as well as visual, and he sank into a stupor, which lasted he could not tell how long.

The awaking was strange.

Scarlett opened his eyes involuntarily, and looked above him and to right and left. He closed his eyes, and the effect was the same. Then he lay for a time thinking that he must be asleep, and that this was some portion of a dream.

But the sensation of faintness, his aching head, and the sore stiffness of every muscle—so painful that he could hardly move—soon warned him that he was awake, and he set himself to battle with his confused brain, to try and make out where he was, and what it all meant. For, as far as the past was concerned, it was as if a dense black curtain were drawn across his mind, and this great veil he could not thrust aside.

He was cold—he was stiff and sore—he was hungry and feverishly thirsty,—he could realise all these things, but that was all, and he lay thinking and asking himself again and again, "What does it all mean?"

The first hint which his brain seemed to seize upon was given by a low deep sigh which came from close at hand.

Scarlett started up, staring wildly in the direction from which the sound came, while his hands and brow grew moist with terror—a terror which passed away, as a flash of mental light illumined his obscured brain, and he cried aloud—

"Father!"

There was no reply, and Scarlett's horror and dread grew more intense, not from weak foolish imagination, but from the feeling that his father was lying wounded there, perhaps at the point of death, while he, who ought to have been aiding him in every way, must have been selfishly asleep.

The self-shame was not deserved, for nature had been too strong for Scarlett Markham, and it was more the stupor of utter exhaustion to which he had succumbed than sleep.

He crept to where Sir Godfrey lay, and felt for his face, which was cold and clammy, sending a shudder through the fingers which touched the icy brow, and then sought for the region of the heart.

Incongruous ideas of a trivial nature occur to people even in the most terrible times, and it was so here, for as Scarlett's hand sought for his father's breast, he found himself thinking of how good a thing it was that he removed the armour when he took him upon his back.

The heart was beating faintly, but the pulsations could be plainly felt, and this gave Scarlett some little hope, such as was badly needed at this crucial time. But what was he to do? How could he help him? For aught he could tell, they must have been there many hours, and once more a terrible chill ran through the youth, as the thought struck him that his father might be bleeding to death.

And what could he do? He was in utter darkness, and could not tell where the wounds might be.

There was comfort once more in the fresh thought which came, suggested by his experience in the skirmishes in which he had been engaged, and by his duties in tending the wounded.

For he recalled how, in the majority of cases, unless some important vessel was divided, Nature interposed as the great surgeon for the preservation of her children's lives, causing the veins to chill and contract, and the bleeding to cease; and as Scarlett Markham knelt beside his father, and pressed his lips to the icy brow, he prayed that it might be so now, and that his life might be spared.

"Now, what is to be done?" he said to himself, half rising, as if the act he had done had given him refreshment and a new access of thought.

He stood for a few moments thinking, and then, feeling his way about the place, he satisfied himself where the openings out of the little vault lay, his doubt as to which led to the lake being solved by the steps down to where it was formerly water, but which on testing he now found to be firm floor, and by the little heap of rusty arms over which he nearly fell as he crept about.

His first need was light and help for his father, and to obtain these he felt that perhaps it would be best to surrender.

With this aim in view, he made his way back along the passage, kicking against and recovering his sword, and up the flight of narrow stone steps, becoming conscious that the air was growing warmer as he proceeded, and finally that the walls were hot, while straight before him, as he reached the top and tried to penetrate into the chamber, there was a confused pile of heavy stones leaning towards him, as if some party wall or portion of the roof had fallen in that direction, and blocked the way.

He could not stay to investigate, the heat was too great; but the freedom with which he breathed taught him that the ruins had not completely stopped all the chamber, for a steady current of air was flowing past him from below.

He felt instinctively that the fire must have done its work, and that the greater part of the secret passage had been obliterated by the falling ruins, so that he must not look for help from that direction.

Retracing his steps, then, he once more reached the vault, whose coolness was pleasant after the stifling heat above. Then, crossing the dark place, he slowly descended the steps, and went onward with extended hands, feeling his way toward the two entries—the original, and that which had been broken through by the fallen tree.

He had not far to go before a faint light stole down to guide his way, and he reached the spot where the passage was roofed in with dead branches and twigs, and as he reached it, just faintly heard, came the shrill cry of a blackbird—Pink-pink-pink!—from somewhere in the wood above.

A trifle that he would not have heeded at another time, but which now sent a thrill of hope through him, for it told of light and liberty, and help for the sufferer lying in that gloomy vault.

But he wasted no time, passing over the crackling refuse of broken wood and stones which here impeded his way, till almost directly after he had cleared all this, and made a turn, catching sight of the bright star-like light low down by the floor of the passage—the opening that he had made, and by which the water which had been gathering probably for generations had been drained away.

He was soon at the rough wall which stopped the arch, and, going down on one knee, he listened, for peril had made him cautious, besides which the lessons of life he was receiving in his regimental work taught the necessity for being prepared for enemies at every turn.

All seemed to be perfectly still, and as far as he could judge it was early morning, soon after daybreak. The first rays of the sun appeared to be brightening the surface of the lake as he tried to peer through the orifice, and every now and then the cry of the water-fowl and the splash of water endorsed his belief in there being no danger near.

Feeling satisfied that there was no danger, he returned to the broken opening and stopped short as he heard a sharp rustling, followed by a sound that was evidently the sharp utterance of some one impatient at his position, or because one expected did not come.

Did whoever it was know of the existence of the hole through which the faint light streamed down, showing the configuration of the rough branches which covered the broken place? It seemed only probable, and, feeling the necessity for the greater caution, Scarlett stepped slowly and carefully among the broken fragments till he had passed the risky spot, and then hurried on as rapidly as he could till he reached the steps, and, mounting them cautiously, he stood once more in the chamber.

Feeling rapidly about, he uttered a cry of joy, for his hand touched his father's brow; and as it did so, he felt it raised by the burning fingers of the sufferer, who began talking quickly.

"Quick! Which way did they go—Lady Markham—my child Lilian? Why do you not speak? Tell me; they are not in the burning house?"

"Father! don't you know my voice?" whispered Scarlett.

"Know your voice—know you? Yes, yes, my boy. Scar, lad, help me. They must be somewhere here. I am looking for them. Yes, somewhere in the house."

"No, no, father; they are in safety down at the Manor."

"Here, I tell you, sir. Help me to find them. Quick! They are in the burning house and Scar, my boy, is that you?"

Then, seeming to drop off to sleep as his son knelt by him, there was a sigh or two, and then he was breathing regularly, although the inspirations sounded faint and low.

Scarlett could contain himself no longer, but, rising from his knees, he hurried down the few steps and along the lower passage, pausing for a moment before stealing carefully beneath the broken portion of the arched tunnel. For there could be no doubt about the matter: there was a rustling sound somewhere above that did not seem such as would be made by any wild animals likely to haunt the forest, and a certainty was given to his ideas by a low-muttering arising, followed by a hasty ejaculation as of impatience or pain.

So near did this sound, that Scarlett remained motionless in the obscurity of the tunnel arch, afraid to stir for quite an hour, during which he listened, feeling assured that this opening had been discovered by the enemy, and that they had placed a sentry there to trap any one who attempted to escape.

"Oh!" ejaculated Scarlett at last, softly, as what he believed to be enlightenment flashed across his brain. "Why did I not think of that before? Fred Forrester, of course! He remembered our discovery, and he has explained all to his father, with the result that there are sentinels all about, waiting to take every poor wounded wretch who seeks to escape."

It was a painful thought, for it troubled him to think that Fred had been so unprincipled as to betray their old boyish secret.

"He might have been content to fight with his party against ours, and not make use of his knowledge to do his old friends an evil turn."

The feeling of bitter anger mingled with scorn increased as he stood there in weary inactivity, longing to rejoin Sir Godfrey, but dreading to stir, for fear he should bring danger upon his father's head.

And all this time he might be awake, and in grievous suffering; perhaps dying, and feebly stretching out his hands for help, even believing that his son had left him there to die.

Scarlett could bear the agony of his thoughts no longer; at any cost he must pass beneath that opening, and rejoin his father, and to this end he stepped forward softly, to find that he had planted his foot upon a rotten stick fallen from above, and lightly as he trod, the dry, decayed piece of wood parted with a loud noise.

Scarlett turned cold, and the chilly moisture gathered upon his brow and within the palms of his hands.

"It is all over!" he muttered, as his hand went involuntarily to the hilt of his sword; and then he dragged it from its sheath, and raised the point, thinking of how strong his position was, and how few men would dare to descend with that sharp point awaiting the first enemy who came.

Then, half stifled by holding his breath, he began to breathe freely once more, for there came a low sigh from above, then a faint rustling, and then the regular, low breathing of some man asleep.

Scarlett stayed no longer, but stepped quickly across the wood-strewn patch of the floor, and then hastened along the passage, and up the few steps in the total darkness; and after a very little groping about, found himself beside his father, who was sleeping peacefully, while his head was cool, telling how the fever of his wounds had gone down.



CHAPTER FORTY FIVE.

COMPANIONS IN MISFORTUNE.

Scarlett Markham passed some hours by his father's side, listening to his breathing in the darkness, and from time to time taking his hand as a low moan was uttered, accompanied by a restless movement; but as the time passed on, in spite of anxiety and his own weariness and pain, an intense desire for food of some kind kept on attacking him, and each time with more force.

What was he to do?

Had he been alone the task would have been simple. He would have gone at once to the broken archway, waited his opportunity, and crept out. Then he would have done his best to escape, and the worst that could have happened to him would have been seizure by the enemy, who, in spite of party hatred, would have given their prisoner food.

But he felt that he could not take this course, and risk capture, which would mean imprisonment to his father as well.

The difficulty was solved at last by an uneasy movement on Sir Godfrey's part. He seemed to start suddenly from sleep, and, after listening for a few moments, Scarlett said gently—

"Are you in pain, father?"

"Ah, my boy, you there?" said Sir Godfrey, feebly. "I was puzzled and confused. I recollect now. Have I been asleep long?"

"Yes, father, I think so. I cannot tell, for I have been asleep too."

"Where are we?"

Scarlett explained, and from time to time Sir Godfrey uttered a few words of surprise and wonder, till his son had finished.

"I could hardly have thought it possible," he said, as Scarlett ceased. "Then we are so far safe?"

"Yes; but your wounds, father? What am I to do about getting help?"

Sir Godfrey remained silent for a few minutes, and then said quietly—

"I am terribly weak, boy, and in a good deal of pain; but from what I know of such things, I do not think my wounds are either deep or dangerous, and if this is so, nature is the best chirurgeon. But you say there is a way out?"

"Yes, father; and I am afraid that Fred Forrester has given notice, and that it is watched."

"The young villain!" muttered Sir Godfrey, and somehow those words seemed to send a sting through Scarlett's brain.

After a silence, Sir Godfrey went on.

"Well, my boy," he said, "I shall not be able to escape for days to come. You must go and try and make your way to our friends."

"And leave you?"

"Only for a time, my boy, of course. You must find some of our men, and come and get me away."

"I cannot leave you, father;" said Scarlett, firmly; and Sir Godfrey remained silent for a time.

"Thank you, Scar," he said at last; "and of course I do not want to be left. Can you propose any better way, for my thinking powers are very weak?"

Scarlett was silent in turn, and then he said quietly—

"Yes, father; I will wait my chance, steal out, and then contrive to make my way to some cottage where I can get food. I can bring it back, and we can continue to remain here in hiding till you are strong enough to go."

"Not a very pleasant prospect, Scar," said Sir Godfrey, "but I can propose no better."

"I might be able to make my way to the Manor."

"No, no; you must not get help from there, my boy," said Sir Godfrey, hastily.

"Why not, father? My mother and Lilian are there."

"True, Scarlett, but—"

"Mrs Forrester would be only too eager to help us."

"Her husband's enemies?"

"She is affording protection to my mother. Yes," added the lad, after a pause, "I must go there."

Sir Godfrey remained silent.

"Father."

"Yes."

"You frightened me by being so still."

"I was only thinking, Scarlett," replied Sir Godfrey, sadly—"thinking I was wrong to speak as I did. There, I have fought my best, and it is my turn to lie down. I would we were both prisoners in such good hands."

"Then you consent to my going, father?"

There was another pause before Sir Godfrey said in a low, weary voice—

"Yes, my boy; you must throw yourself upon their mercy. This is no time to nurse one's hatred against one's foes. When shall you start?"

"Directly I can get unseen from the opening, for you must have refreshment, father, and it is absolutely necessary that I should be back to-night."

"Heaven's will be done," said Sir Godfrey, softly; and, after a long firm pressure of the hand, he added, "Be careful, my boy; keep your liberty if you can. The king wants the help of every loyal hand."

"And you will not mind my leaving you?"

"No, my boy. I dare say, in my weak state, I shall pass many hours in sleep."

Even then Scarlett felt that he could not go, and it was not until long after, when he felt the absolute necessity of obtaining food and help, that he at last tore himself away, but with the one satisfaction of knowing that Sir Godfrey had dropped into a heavy sleep.

It was while he was once more making his way to the opening that Scarlett realised how faint and weak he, too, was. But, summoning all his energy, he stood at last beneath the opening, trying to make out where the sentinel or sentinels might be.

He drew his sword ready for action, and then, with an impatient movement, restored the weapon to its sheath, realising fully that if he was to succeed, it must be by cunning stratagem, not by blows.

All was silent, but the occasional twitter of some bird. If a watcher was there, he gave no sign of his presence, and quite a couple of hours must have passed away before, utterly tired out, and hearing not the slightest sound, Scarlett determined to venture so far as to get his head above the top of the opening.

No; he felt that would be only to court seizure, for his position would be so disadvantageous that he could not defend himself if he were seized. Besides, he would be betraying his father into the enemies' hands.

In spite of his trouble and anxiety, a smile came upon his lip, as he thought of a plan by which he might make the watcher or watchers discover their presence. He believed thoroughly that he had not so far been heard, and, under that impression, he took hold of one of the hazels above his head, and, trusting to old forest recollections in the days when he had hunted rabbits with Fred Forrester, he shook the bough above him so as to make a sharp rustling noise, and uttered with his compressed lips a sharp screeching sound such as is made by the little white-tailed furry denizen of the wood when trapped or chased by a stoat.

"That will bring him to see," thought Scarlett, as he felt that such a sound would suggest to a foraging soldier a capital addition to his camp-fire supper.

But there was not a sound in reply, and, beginning to doubt his belief that there was a sentry watching, he uttered the shrill squeal again. Then his heart gave a bound, for there was a movement close at hand, as of some one trying to pass through the bushes, but it was not continued; and, while the lad was wondering, there came a low groan.

"No sentinel! Some poor wounded fellow who has crept into the old wilderness for safety," thought Scarlett.

"But will it be an enemy?" he asked himself.

"No; one of ours," his heart replied. "An enemy would have called for help."

"Ah, if I was only as I used to be!" came in a low-muttering tone. "Is he in agin?"

"Nat!" cried Scarlett, the word starting from his lips involuntarily, and without his seeming to have the power to stay it.

"Eh!" came from close by, "who called? Master Scar, that you?"

"Yes, yes," cried Scarlett; and, leaping up, he caught at a bough, which snapped in two, and he dropped down again. But his next attempt was more successful, for he drew himself out, and the next minute was kneeling by his old follower, as Nat lay nearly hidden among the undergrowth.

"I say, don't play tricks, sir," said Nat, feebly. "I aren't dreaming, are I?"

"Dreaming, Nat?"

"I mean, I've been all in a squabble, with things mixed up in my head, and people talking to me, and rabbits squealing, and Master Scar shouting 'Nat,' I aren't asleep now, are I?"

"Asleep now, Nat? No, no, my dear old fellow," cried Scarlett, whose voice sounded thick with emotion. "But you are badly hurt eh?"

"Well, tidy, Master Scar, tidy. They give it to me pretty well. But I'm better now, dear lad; I'm better now. Oh, oh, I say, Master Scar, lad, hit me in both eyes hard. I'm so weak I'm going to blubber like a gal."

"No, no, my dear old Nat," whispered Scarlett. "Keep up, man, keep up. I want you to help me."

"Help you, Master Scarlett? Why, I don't believe I could even pull my sword out of its sheath!"

"But you will soon, Nat," whispered Scarlett, eagerly. "I want your help. My father is wounded, and in hiding close by here."

"The master?"

"Yes, yes."

"Sir Godfrey?"

"Yes, yes, Nat; badly wounded. We were nearly burned in the fire, when the Hall was in a blaze; but we got out, and he is badly wounded, and I was going to try and get food."

"Oh, if that's it," said Nat, feebly, "it's time there was an end to all this nonsense. Here, give's a hand, Master Scar. I must get up."

The poor fellow made an effort, then sank back with a groan.

"Pitchforks and skewers!" he muttered. "Didn't that go through one."

"Lie still, Nat."

"Needn't be afraid, Master Scar," groaned the poor fellow, with a comical look in his young master's face. "I don't think I shall get up yet."

"No; lie still. I'm going to try and steal away to the Manor."

"Eh? Then if you come across my brother Samson, you knock him down, sir. Don't you hesitate a moment. Knock him down."

"Nonsense! Now look here."

"Oh yes, sir, I'm a-looking," said Nat, dismally; "and a pretty dirty face you've got."

"What do you mean?"

"Why, it's all black, as if you'd been—"

"Why, Master Scar, what yer been a-doing to your hair?"

"Hair? My hair?"

"Yes, sir. Them Roundhead vagabonds cut it all off before, but now it's all scorched and singed away."

"Eh? Yes. I suppose so," said Scarlett, sadly. "I did not know, Nat. I suppose it was in the fire."

"And your face all scorched too."

"Is it, Nat? I did feel that it smarted and was sore."

"Why, my poor dear lad, what have you been a-doing of? And me not with you, but lying here like a pig in a sunny hole, pretending I was bad!"

"Hush! not so loud. Never mind the singeing, Nat. There, keep quiet till I come back with some food. Do you want a drink of water?"

"Food? What did you say about some food?"

"I'm going to try and get some, Nat. I am starving."

"Think of that now!" cried Nat, feebly. "Why, I've got some here. Master Scar! Now, let me think. I'm all in a muddle like in the head, and can't tell what's been dreaming and what isn't; but I've got a sort o' notion that some one come in the dark, and talked to me or talked about me, and then said they'd leave me something to eat."

"Dreaming, Nat, my poor fellow! Your loss of blood has made you a little off your head."

"Well, then, if I was dreaming, there aren't nothing to eat, Master Scar. But if I warn't dreaming, there's something close by me here, and—There, Master Scar, it warn't a dream!"

"Nat!" cried Scarlett, joyfully, as the poor fellow feebly brought forth the food Fred and Samson had left. "May—may I take some?" he faltered.

"Take it all, my dear lad, take it all, and yeat it. I couldn't yeat anything now. Shouldn't mind a big mug o' water. That's about my tune."

In spite of himself, Scarlett broke off a piece of the bread cake, and began to eat ravenously.

But he recollected himself directly, and placed some to the wounded man's lips.

"Thank ye, lad, no," said Nat, sadly; "but if you could get me a drop o' water, I'd be 'bliged, for I feel just like a flower a-drying up in the sun."

Poor Nat did not look it, whatever he might feel; but almost before he had ceased speaking, Scarlett had slipped through the hole as the safest way, gone to the opening by the lake, dipped his hat three-parts full of water, and borne it back, placing it safely between two boughs at the side of the top, while he climbed out; and the next minute he was holding the dripping felt to Nat's lips.

"Hah!" ejaculated the poor fellow, feebly; "it's worth being chopped a bit and lying here for the sake of the appetite it gives you."

"Appetite, Nat?" said Scarlett, taking up the bread.

"'Tite for water, lad. That's the sweetest drop I ever did taste, I will say."

"Drink again?"

"Ay, that I will, hearty," whispered Nat; and he partook of another long draught. "There," he said, "now you give me one bit o' that cake to nibble, and you may go. To get food, didn't you say, sir, just now?"

"I want some—for my father, Nat, but—if—I can have some of this?"

"Take it all, my dear lad, take it all. Where is the master, sir?"

Scarlett told him in as few words as possible, and Nat stared at him.

"No, it's of not a bit o' good, Master Scar," he said sadly. "I know you're telling me something, but I bled all the sense out of me, and I can't understand what you mean. Never mind me. I dare say it's all right."

"But, Nat," cried Scarlett, eagerly, as a thought struck him, and he realised that it was useless to try and impress upon the poor fellow about the secret passage, "you are lying out here."

"Yes, sir; not a nice place, but cool and fresh."

"Could you, if I helped you, get down that hole, where my father lies?"

"Sir Godfrey?"

"Yes."

"But you said you were going away somewhere, sir."

"Only to get some food, and you have enough for the day. To-night I'll go out and get more. Do you think you could crawl down?"

"I think I could try, sir, if it comes to that."

"And trying is half the battle, Nat."

"Right, sir; I'll try. That drop o' water seemed to put life in me."

"But—"

Scarlett stopped short, thinking. Some one had been and brought Nat food, for there it was in solid reality, tempting him to eat; and if he took the poor fellow down into the secret passage, it would no longer prove to be a secure hiding-place, for those who missed the wounded man would search perhaps and find.

That did not follow, though. They might think that he had crept away; and besides, the case was desperate, and he must risk it.

"You said, 'But,' Master Scar," said Nat, feebly, after waiting for his young master to go on.

"Nothing, nothing," said Scarlett, hastily, for his mind was made up. "Now then, pass your arms round my neck, clasp your hands together, and hold tightly. I'll draw you out of that place."

"Take the food first, Master Scar. There, stuff it in your wallet, lad."

Scarlett did not hesitate, but placed the precious treasure in the receptacle, and then bent down. Nat obeyed his instructions, and by a strong effort he was drawn out.

"Have I hurt you much, Nat?" said Scarlett, as he gazed through the dim light at the pallid face so close to his.

"Well, sir, not to make much bones about it, tidy, pretty tidy. What next, sir?"

"I want to lower you down through the branches into that hole."

"Eh?" ejaculated Nat, forgetting his weakness and the aching pain he suffered, as he gave quite a start. "No, no, Master Scar, don't do that."

"But you will be safe there for the present, Nat."

"Safe enough, I suppose, sir," groaned the poor fellow.

"Well, let me lay your legs here, and I can slide you down."

"But I aren't dead yet, dear lad. Don't hurry it so fast as that."

"What do you mean?"

"Going to bury me, aren't you, sir?"

"What nonsense, man! There's a long passage there leading to a vault."

"Yes, sir; that's what I thought. Don't do it till I'm quite gone."

In spite of hunger, misery, anxiety, and pain, Scarlett Markham could not refrain from laughing at Nat's perplexed countenance, with so reassuring an effect that the poor fellow smiled feebly in return, took heart, and allowed himself to be slid down through the opening, the task being so well managed that Nat sank on the stone floor, and when Scarlett loosened his hands, he subsided gently against the wall.

Then, after removing a few of the tracks of his passage, the elasticity of the undergrowth and its springing up helping the concealment, Scarlett descended to his henchman's side, and after a pause helped him along the passage right to the vault, where, as soon as he had got rid of his burthen, the lad found his father sleeping calmly.

"Aren't it a bit dark, Master Scar, or be it my eyes?" said Nat, feebly.

"Dark, Nat, quite dark. But you will, I hope, be safe here till we can escape."

"Right, sir. I'll do what you tell me, for I feel just like a big babby now with no legs, and my head all of a wobble, 'cause there's no bone in the neck. Yes, sir, thank ye, sir. Ease my head down gently. That's it. That's it. That's it. That's it. Ah!" the poor fellow kept on repeating to himself, and ended with a low sigh of relief; and when spoken to again there was no reply.

Scarlett's heart seemed to cease beating, and then it gave a leap.

Had he done wrong in getting the poor fellow down there, exhausted as he was? How did he know but that he might have caused the wounds to bleed again?

There was consolation directly after, for he could hear Nat's calm, regular breathing, and, satisfied and relieved, Scarlett stepped now to his father's side to touch him, but found that he too was still sleeping calmly, while for the present it seemed that his duty was to keep guard.

He seated himself on the stone floor, with his back in one of the angles, and listened for a time to the regular breathing; then his ravenous hunger made itself known to such an extent that, after comforting himself with the promise that he would get food that night, he took out and broke a piece off the bread cake, put it back, thought that those by him might require it, and determined to fight down his hunger.

Hunger won the day.

Scarlett made a brave fight, but he was weak; and, try how he would, his hand kept on going to the pocket wallet, and at last he did what was quite necessary under the circumstances—he ate heartily and well; and then, with a guilty feeling; troubling him, he yielded to a second kindly enemy.

The breathing of his two patients was as regular as clockwork, and the silence and darkness seemed to increase, with the result that they acted in a strangely lulling way, and with such potency that, after a time, Scarlett started up, and stared about him at the dense blackness around.

"Have I been to sleep?" he muttered, as he drew himself up a little more tightly, and prepared to keep his black watch firmly and well to the end—that is to say, till the time when he would start at dusk for the Manor.

The next instant he was on his way there, creeping cautiously through the undergrowth, listening to the crackling of the wood he pressed with his feet, and finally making his way to the old house, where he was able to embrace his mother and sister, feeling his cheek wet with their tears, while Mistress Forrester made him up a basket of dainties, such as would invite the appetite of a wounded man.

How delightful it all was! only he had to start back so soon, and as he hurried away, his mother called him back. "Scarlett! Scarlett!" How the words rang in his ears, as he looked back through the darkness—

Scarlett leaped to his feet, with a feeling of shame and contrition.

"I must have been asleep," he exclaimed; and he listened to the breathing once more. "And what a vivid dream that was! How real it seemed!" he added. "I'll go along to the opening, and look out. That will keep me from going to sleep again."

He started down the steps, and climbed out, wondering whether he had slept a minute, an hour, or a day, and to his delight he found and took back with him the provision lately placed there by Fred and Samson.

"Well, we shall not starve," said Scarlett, thankfully, as he began thinking of his dream; but all the same, the voice which had broken in upon him calling his name sounded wonderfully real.



CHAPTER FORTY SIX.

SAMSON DISOBEYS ORDERS.

"Ho! Scar!"

No answer.

"Hoi! Scar Markham!"

The second call was louder, and this time Fred Forrester had thrust his head down the hole, so that his voice went echoing along the passage, and died away in a whisper; but the only effect it had was to produce a low chuckling sound from Samson.

"What are you laughing at, sir?" cried Fred, angrily.

"Only at you, Master Fred, sir."

"How dare—"

"No, no; don't be cross with me, sir. I only felt as you'd have felt if you'd been me, and I'd been you."

"What do you mean?"

"Why, it seemed so rum for us to have slipped down here again, pretending to fish, so as to be laughed at because we hadn't caught any, and for you to turn yourself upside down, with your head in the hole, and your legs up in the air, shouting like that!"

"Don't be a donkey, Samson."

"No, Master Fred; I'll promise you that, faithful like; but it do seem rum. 'Tarn't likely, you know, sir, 'tarn't likely."

"What isn't likely?"

"Why, that aren't, sir. Even if Master Scar is hiding there."

"If? He must be. Nobody else knows of the existence of the place."

"Wouldn't our Nat, sir?"

"No. How could he?"

"Well, sir, I can't say how he could; but he always was a nasty hunting-up-things sort of boy. So sure as I hid anything in my box at home, or anywhere else, he'd never rest till he found it; and as he was hiding away here, he may have hunted out this hole, and took possession like a badger."

"It might be so," said Fred, thoughtfully; and he approached the hole once more.

"'Tarn't no good, Master Fred," said Samson, chuckling. "You might just as well go to a rabbit's hole, and shout down that, 'Hoi! bunny, bunny, come out and have your neck broken.'"

"Don't talk so," said Fred, angrily.

"No, sir, not a word; but you forget that we're enemies now, and that it's of no use to call to Master Scarlett or our Nat to come, because they won't do it. There's two ways, sir, and that's all I can make out, after no end of thinking."

As Samson spoke, he held up his hand, and went back a few yards to reconnoitre.

"Don't see nor hear nothing, Master Fred," he said, as he returned; "but we're making a regular path through the wilderness, so plain that soon every one will see."

"Then we must go for the future to the opening by the lake, and try what we can do there."

"And get wet!"

"What did you mean by your two ways of finding out whether they are there?"

"Well, sir, one's by putting bread and meat bait afore the hole, and coming to see whether it's been taken."

"But we've tried that again and again, and it is taken," said Fred, impatiently. "What's the other way?"

Samson chuckled, and thrust his hand into his wallet, where he made a rattling noise.

"Don't be stupid, Samson," cried Fred, angrily. "What do you mean?"

"These here, sir," cried Fred's follower, drawing something out of the wallet.

"Well, what's that—flint and steel?"

"Tinder box and bit o' candle, Master Fred. That's the best way, after all."

"Samson!" cried Fred, joyously. "I did not think of that. Come along."

"Stop a moment, my lad; don't let's do nothing rash. Just think a bit."

"I've no time to think."

"Ay, but you must, sir. That there's a long hole, and you're thinking of going down it."

"Yes, of course."

"Suppose there's somebody at home?"

"That's just what I hope to find."

"But we shall be like a couple of rabbits running into a fox's hole, and he may bite."

"Not if he knows that we come as friends."

"No, Master Fred, p'raps not; but we're enemies."

"No, we're not, Samson, and you are wasting time."

"Which I don't want to contradict you, Master Fred; but enemies we are by Act o' Parliament, and that you know as well as me."

"Then you are afraid of the adventure?"

"Who says so?" growled Samson.

"I do, sir. So you had better go back, and I'll make the venture alone."

"I wish you was somebody else, Master Fred."

"Why?"

"Oh, I'd know, sir."

"Give me the flint and steel and the candle."

"What for, sir?"

"To light," cried Fred, impatiently.

"Nay, I'm going to light that candle, and I'm going along with you, Master Fred. Why, what would the colonel say if he found out that I'd left you in the lurch?"

"Better leave me than give me a coward for a companion."

"Well, I do call that cruel to a man as only wanted to tell you what a risk it was. Never know'd me to be a coward yet, Master Fred, never! I only wanted you to understand the worst. Come along, sir."

Before Fred could interfere, Samson had taken two or three strides, and then made a leap right on to the dead branches which masked the entrance to the hole. The result was as might be expected; he crashed through feet first, and disappeared.

"Samson!" exclaimed Fred, as he dashed to the opening.

"I'm all right, sir, so far," said the rough fellow, looking up with a grim smile on his face. "That's the worst of being a coward and afraid. It makes you rush at things, instead of taking 'em coolly. Here, let me help you down."

"I can manage," replied Fred, quietly, as he felt annoyed with himself. "Better draw your sword."

"No, sir," said Samson, coolly; "if I do they'll think I'm afraid; and besides, there's no room to give it a good swing for a cut, and the point's blunt since I used it for digging up potatoes."

"No, no; I can get down," said Fred, quickly, as Samson once more offered his help, and the next moment he was also standing in the old passage, peering before him, and listening.

All was as silent as the grave, and a chilly feeling of dread came over the lad, as he wondered whether poor Nat had, after all, only crawled in there to die, just as some unfortunate wounded creature seeks a hole to be at rest.

"What nonsense! when he took the food we put there," he muttered the next moment.

"What say, sir? Shall I strike a light?"

Samson did not wait for an answer to his first question before propounding the second.

"Yes. Go a few steps forward out of the light," whispered Fred, "and then we are not likely to be heard."

"Not from outside," grumbled Samson; "but how about them inside? They'll come down and spit us like black cock on a big skewer."

"What are you muttering about?" whispered Fred, as his companion went forward and knelt down.

"I was only saying, don't blame me if they come down on us with swords that hasn't been used to dig potatoes, Master Fred."

"Let me come by you, and I'll stand on guard while you strike a light."

"No, sir; I shan't," said Samson, gruffly.

"What's that?"

"You heared, sir."

"Yes, I did hear," whispered Fred, angrily; "and please remember, sir, that I am your officer."

"Can't remember that now, Master Fred, only that you're to be took care of. I had strict orders to be always ready to shove my big body in front of you when anybody was going to" (nick, nick) "cut at you" (nick, nick, nick)—"Look at that!—with a sword."

"Who gave you those orders?" said Fred, sharply.

"Your mother, sir, 'fore we" (nick, nick) "started for the wars at first." (Nick, nick) "I shall never get a light."

Samson was down upon his knees, striking a piece of flint sharply upon a thin bar of steel turned over at each end, so as to form a double hook, which the operator grasped in his left hand, while Fred stood gazing straight before him, sword drawn, and the point held over his man's head, ready to receive any attack.

At every stroke with the flint, a number of sparks shone out for a moment, lighting up the striker's face, but though he kept on nicking away, there was no result.

"Why, Samson," whispered Fred, as he mastered a curious sensation of emotion at the man's words, which brought up the memory of a pair of tender, loving eyes gazing into his at the moment of farewell, "you have forgotten the tinder!"

The nicking sound ceased on the instant, and Samson began indignantly—

"Well, I do like that, Master Fred. I mayn't be a scholar, and I never larnt Latin, and that sort of stuff, but I'll grow vegetables and make cider with any man in Coombeland."

"What has making cider to do with tinder, you great oaf!" cried Fred, angrily, so as to hide his emotion.

"Nothing at all, sir; only you seem to think I'm such a bog-walker that I haven't sense to know how to strike a light."

"Well, where is the light? and how can you expect to get one without tinder?"

"I don't. Here's the tinder in a box, but all the sparks are blown over it by the draught."

"Then strike lower man."

"There, then," cried Samson, viciously, as he nicked harder, with the result that one of the tiny sparks, instead of fading out, seemed to remain motionless on the floor. This spark Samson blew till it increased and glowed more brightly, showing his face close to the light, and the point of something yellow being applied to the red glow.

That something yellow, being a pointed match dipped in brimstone, began to melt, and then boil and burst into a blue fluttering flame, which ignited the match; and the next minute Samson held up the lighted candle close to the arched roof of the passage, exclaiming, "There!" in a triumphant tone; and then, "Why, this is only a big drain, Master Fred!"

"Hist! Give me the light," said Fred, as he listened intently.

"Going along here, sir?"

"Yes, of course."

"All right, sir; I'm candlestick," said Samson, making a rattling noise as he replaced the light-engendering apparatus in his pouch.

"No, no; I'll go first," said Fred, impatiently.

"Yes, sir; you shall go first after the light."

"Samson!"

"Yes, sir. What would your mother say, if I let you go straight into danger like this, with me here?"

"Will you recollect that you are a soldier, sir?"

"Of course I will, Master Fred. How is a man to help it, with an iron pot on his head rubbing him bald? Ready, sir?"

"Ready? Yes."

"Then here goes!" said Samson. "Can't expect a man to obey orders when he's underground."

Samson strode on with the candle in his left hand and his sword now in his right, leading the way, with his young master close behind, and their shadows following and seeming to dance on the floor and walls, which glistened here and there with moisture.

They proceeded slowly, Samson twice over hazarding a remark on the dampness, but only to be sternly told to proceed, till at last the little flight of steps appeared leading into the vault, where they came to a sudden halt, for something suddenly flashed in the light of the candle, and a harsh voice cried—

"Stand!"



CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN.

AT THE POINT OF THE SWORD.

Fred Forrester had been expecting the challenge from the moment they began to move, but so suddenly and unexpectedly did it come at last, that he remained for the moment speechless, gazing at the dimly seen figure framed in the arched way, with the light playing upon the sword extended toward his breast.

Samson was the first to speak.

"Take hold of the candle now," he whispered, "and I'll rush him. There isn't room to strike, sir; and I can put aside his point."

"No, no," said Fred, forcing himself to the front, and addressing him who barred the way. "Put up your sword; we are friends."

"Friends!" came back mockingly. "Then put up your own weapon."

"Of coarse," said Fred, quickly sheathing his sword. "I didn't know who might be here. Scar Markham, we're come to help you."

"To help?" said the guardian of the vault, in a voice which sounded strangely hollow in the narrow place. "Is this some fresh treachery?"

"What!" shouted Fred, angrily, as he stepped forward and pressed right up to the point of the sword. Military life and training both were forgotten, and in an instant the lad felt back in the old boyish days sit home, when some sharp contention had taken place between him and his companion.

"Stand back, sir!" said Scarlett, sternly, "or—"

"No, you wouldn't," cried Fred. "Put down your sword. You wouldn't be such a coward. How dare you accuse me of treachery?"

Without a moment's hesitation, the sword-point was dropped, and Fred cried eagerly—

"Now, then, come out into the daylight, and—Oh, what a fool I am! Scar Markham, we've come to help you. I say, where's Sir Godfrey? Is he safe?"

Scarlett tried to answer, but his feelings were too much for him. Hunger, misery, confinement in that dark, depressing place, and the mental agony he had been called upon to bear, rendered him speechless, and he half turned away.

Fred sprang at once to his side, and his quick movement excited Scarlett's suspicion for the moment; but he thrust his sword back into its sheath, and stood there motionless.

"Look here," said Fred, excitedly, "of course, we're enemies, Scar; but we want to help you all the same."

"I suppose we must surrender now," said Scarlett, sadly. "I can do no more. Have you your men outside?"

"No; I haven't got my men outside," cried Fred, in a boyish, petulant way. "Can't you believe me? What am I to say?"

"Nothing, Fred Forrester," replied Scarlett, mournfully. "I believe you, though we can't shake hands now."

"Can't we?" said Fred, in a disappointed tone.

Scarlett shook his head.

"I have held out as long as I could. I thought we might escape; but it was impossible with two wounded men, and I could not get through the lines in search of food."

Fred raised the light above his head, and then bent down over where he could see some one lying on the stone floor.

"Yes; he is asleep," said Scarlett, sadly.

"Is he much hurt?" whispered Fred.

"Terribly; but he is better now, and—"

"Here he is, Master Fred," whispered Samson, as he knelt beside the grim-looking figure of his brother, who seemed to be smiling mockingly in his face. "Nice object, isn't he? Brother to be proud on!"

"Silence!" said Fred, sternly; and at that moment there was an ejaculation, a hasty movement, and Sir Godfrey made an effort to raise himself upon his arm, the light, feeble as it was, dazzling him so that he could not see.

"Scarlett! My boy! Are we prisoners, then?"

"No, Sir Godfrey," cried Fred, hastily; "right or wrong, I'd sooner go and jump off Rill Head into the sea than give you up."

"Ah, my lad," said Sir Godfrey, faintly, "these are sad times; but, for pity's sake, tell me—my wife and child?"

"Quite, quite safe, Sir Godfrey."

"Ah!" ejaculated the wounded man; and then, as he stretched out his hand to Fred, "God bless you for that news!"

Fred eagerly grasped the extended hand, and wrung it, to turn directly after in a shamefaced way toward Scarlett, as if apologising to him for letting his father grasp hands with so bitter a foe.

Scarlett stood gazing sadly at him for a few moments, and then slowly raised his own cold, thin hand, which was literally snatched by Fred, and the lads stood together in silence, neither daring to trust himself to speak.

Fred was the first to break the silence.

"What would it be best for me to do, Sir Godfrey?" he said at last.

"Send for some of your men, my boy, and I will surrender."

"Father!" cried Scarlett, in anguished tones.

"It is not fair to you to keep you shut up in this dreadful place. Let us give up, and—No, you can leave me safely in Fred Forrester's hands. He will not hinder your escape."

"No, father," said Scarlett, sadly, "he will not."

"What do you mean, my boy?"

"You know, father."

"Yes," said Sir Godfrey, after a pause; and his voice sounded sadly weak and broken. "I have prayed to him to escape, Fred; but he would never leave me, and he will not go now."

"No, father! I will not go now," said Scarlett, turning away.

There was silence for a few minutes, and then Fred said slowly, and in a discontented way—

"I'm very sorry, Sir Godfrey, but I'm too stupid to think of anything better. This is a terrible place; but I suppose you must be here till you grow strong enough to walk or ride. We shall have to bring you food and things as well as we can."

"No, my boy," said Sir Godfrey, sadly; "you must not compromise yourself by helping the enemy."

"But, then, I don't feel as if you are an enemy, Sir Godfrey. There, it's of no use; come what may, I will help you."

"Don't want to speak without leave, Master Fred, sir," said Samson, in his gruff tones; "but I've been thinking about my brother here."

"Yes, Samson; quite right," said Fred.

"No, sir, it ain't quite right. He'll be no end of time getting well in a place like this."

"I'm afraid so, Samson."

"Well, sir, why not you and me and Master Scarlett there set to work first dark night, and get 'em away, one at a time, on old Dodder?"

"The pony?"

"Yes, sir."

"But where to, man—where to?"

"Well, sir, I've been thinking about that, and I thought of the Manor, where they'd be comfortable; but that place wouldn't be safe, nor the barns nor stables, nor none of the cottages round."

"No; it would be madness to attempt it."

"But it wouldn't be, if we got 'em to the Rill caves."

"Samson!" cried Fred; "the very place."

"Hah!" ejaculated Samson, drawing along breath, as if perfectly satisfied with himself.

"What do you say, Scarlett, to that?"

"Yes," replied Scarlett, thoughtfully, "if you think it could be done."

"If it could be done," said Sir Godfrey, faintly. "I might live if you could get me there, Scar, my boy. For their sake—for their sake," he added sadly to himself.

"Oh, I know it could be done," said Samson. "If Master Fred makes up his mind to do it, and asks me to help him, it's as good as done. Hear that, you ugly Coombeland ruffian?" he added in a whisper, as he pressed his doubled first in the semi-darkness against his brother's nose.

"Just you wait till I get well," whispered back Nat, doubling his own fist and holding it against Samson's nose in return.

"Yes, and just you wait till I get you well," whispered Samson. "I'd give it to you now, only it would be like hitting at a bit o' clay. Why, you're as soft as boiled bacon! I'd be ashamed to call myself a man!"

"Just you say all that again when I get well," whispered Nat.

"Yes, that I will a hundred times over.—Yes, sir?"

"We must be going now, Samson. Leave what food you have."

"I stood it in the corner there, sir."

"And the flint, steel, tinder, and matches. I wish I had thought to bring more candles. This one will not last very long."

"So you did, Master Fred. Leastwise, I did. There's five there, and one before makes six."

"Hah! that's right," cried Fred, joyfully. "Then, now you can have a light sometimes: and look here, Scar Markham—to-morrow I'll go and look at the Rill caves, and see what can be done, so be ready to escape at a moment's notice. We may come any time now. Good-bye, Sir Godfrey. Lady Markham shall know that you and Scarlett are safe."

"It is compromising yourself, my boy," said Sir Godfrey; "but I cannot say to you forbear."

"Good-bye!"

"God bless you, my lad! and may this war soon cease," added the knight to himself, as his son followed their two visitors to the opening.

"Till we meet again, Scar Markham," whispered Fred, as Samson climbed out first to reconnoitre.

"Till we meet again, Fred," said Scarlett, once more holding out his hand.

"As friends?"

"As enemies in name. Thank you, for my father's sake."

"It's all clear, Master Fred," was whispered down the hole; and, after another word or two of warning to be prepared for a sudden move, Fred seized Samson's extended hand, leaped up out of the hole, and they made their way back to camp unquestioned, while Scarlett Markham crept back to his father's side, to sit there, listening to his breathing, and to think of the possibility of escape to the cavern beneath Rill Head, where perhaps they might end by obtaining a boat to go right away.



CHAPTER FORTY EIGHT.

HOW SAMSON TRIED TO PASS THE SENTINELS.

"Samson!" cried Fred, the next morning, in a fit of excitement, "oh, if we had properly looked over that cave in the old days, and seen what it was like!"

"Well, sir, I s'pose it would have been better, sir. All the nicer, too, for Sir Godfrey, if we'd reg'larly furnished it, and set up a couple of four-post bedsteads, and had down carpets and such."

"Do you mean this for banter, sir?"

"No, sir; I was only thinking it was stoopid of you to talk in that way."

"Samson!"

"Master Fred! How are we to know what's going to happen so as to be prepared? Human folks aren't seeds, as you know what they'll do. If I puts in a bean, it comes up beans; but you never know what we're going to come up."

"Don't ramble on like that. Now, listen to me. We must get them to the cave at once."

"Right, sir."

"Then what shall we do first?"

"First thing's wittling the place, and putting in some stores."

"Now, that sounds sensible. Quite right. We must get some blankets."

"From the Manor, sir?"

"Right again, Samson. And all the food we can. Why, Samson—"

"Yes, sir; I know what you are going to say. We've got to tell the ladies at the old home to hold their tongues, and say nothing to nobody, but go up to the Rill Head with a basket o' wittles, and enjoy themselves, looking at the ships sailing by on the sea, and not eat nothing themselves, but tumble everything down that hole, with blankets and pillows, too, if they like, and do it every day."

"Samson," said Fred, joyously, "I did not think of half that, and I'll never call you a stupid again. The very thing."

"Ah, I am a clever one, I am, sir, when you come to know me. But how are you going to get to the Manor?"

"You will have to go with a message from me to my mother. Yes, this very day; but don't tell them whom the provisions are for, and bid them be very cautious."

"You leave that to me, sir," said Samson. "And now, how are you going to get them to the cave?"

"We shall want a rope."

"I'll have it ready, sir. When?"

"This very night."

"Yes, sir."

"And we'll take them some of our men's caps and cloaks."

"Good, sir, and a pair of shears."

"What for?"

"No use to dress 'em up as our men when they've got long hair. Did you see our Nat, sir?"

"Yes, of course; but what do you mean?"

"Hair sprouted all over his head like a badly cut hedge, sir. He's been trying to grow like a Cav'lier, and he looks more like a half-fledged cuckoo."

"Don't waste time in folly. Can you get over to the Manor this afternoon?"

"Yes, sir, if you get me leave."

"And I will get the caps and cloaks."

"Don't want a donkey, I suppose, sir?"

"No, Samson; we must risk getting our horses there behind the Hall."

"Risky's the name for it, sir."

"Yes; but the poor wounded men cannot walk. We can do it no other way, and at any cost it must be done."

"Will they shoot us if we're caught, sir?"

"Don't talk about it. Leave the consequences, and act."

"Right, Master Fred; but I hope they won't catch and shoot us for being traitors."

"Don't call our act by that ugly name."

"Right, sir; but if we are caught and I am shot, you see if my brother Nat don't laugh."

"Why, man, why?"

"Because he'll say I was such a fool."

"So shall I, Samson, if you talk like that. Now, I cannot ask my father for leave to go across to the Manor without his questioning me as to why I wish you to go. You must get leave to go, so do what is necessary and get off at once."

"Don't you fear about that, Master Fred. And about poor Sir Godfrey, Master Scar, and that brother of mine? They must be terribly hungry."

"They must wait. We cannot go near them to-day. What we left must do, and they will be watching the more eagerly for us, all ready?"

"Then you mean it to-night, sir, without fail?"

"Without fail, Samson. Sir Godfrey must be got away to-night."

"Rope, wittles, blankets, and anything they like," said Samson, as he parted from his master; and after hesitating a little about asking leave to quit the camp, he came to the conclusion that it would be wiser to get permission from his officer to fish, and then, after selecting a spot where the trees overhung the water, steal off through the wood.

This he proceeded to put in force at once, to be met with a stern rebuff from the officer in question, a sour-looking personage, who refused him point-blank, and sent Samson to the right-about, scratching his head.

"This is a nice state of affairs, this is!" he grumbled to himself. "Here's Master Fred, thinking me gone off to carry out his orders, and I'm shut up like a blackbird in a cage. Whatever shall I do? It's no use to ask anybody else."

Samson had another scratch at his head, and then another, and all in vain; he could not scratch any good idea into it or out of it; and at last, in sheer despair, he walked slowly away, with the intention of evading the outposts, and, being so well acquainted with the country round, dodging from copse to coombe, and then away here and there till he was beyond the last outpost, when he could easily get to the Manor.

Now, it had always seemed one of the easiest things possible to get out of camp. So it was in theory—"only got to keep out of the roads and paths, cross the fields and keep to the moor, and there you are."

But when, after making up his mind which way to go, Samson tried to practise instead of theorise, he found the task not quite so easy. His plan was to go out of the park to the south, and then work round to the west; but he had not gone fifty yards beyond the park, and was chuckling to himself about how easy it was, and how an enemy might get in, when, just as he was saying to himself, "Sentinels, indeed! Why, I'd make better sentinels out of turnips!"

"Halt!" rang out, and a man appeared from behind a tree.

"Halt? What for? You know me."

"Yes," said the sentry. "I know you. Can't go out of the lines without a pass."

"What! Not for a bit of a walk?"

"Where's your pass?"

"Didn't get one. No pass wanted for a bit of a ramble."

"Go back."

"Nonsense! You won't turn a man—"

"Your pass, or go back."

"Go back yourself."

Samson took a step forward, and the man blew the match of his heavy piece, and presented it.

"Back, or I fire!" he cried.

"Yes; you dare, that's all!" cried Samson. "Such nonsense!"

But the man was in earnest, that was plain enough; and, seeing this, Samson went growling back, made a long detour, and started again.

This time he thought he had got through the chain of sentinels, and, congratulating himself on his success, he made for a little grove of birch-trees.

"Only wanted a little trying," he said.

"Stand!"

He started back in amazement, for he had walked right up to the muzzle of a firelock, the man who bore it proving more stern and severe than the one he had before encountered.

Samson went back, growling savagely; and this was the first line of sentinels! A second would have to be passed, and beyond that there were patrols of cavalry guarding the camp in every direction.

"Well, Master Fred shan't say I didn't try," he muttered, as he made now for the back of the Hall, where the great groves of trees sheltered the place from the north and easterly winds.

Here he again hoped to be successful, and, feeling assured at last that he had avoided the the sentries, he was about to make for a narrow coombe on ahead, when once more a man stood in his path, and asked for his pass.

"Haven't got it here," said Samson, gruffly.

"Then go back."

"Go back yourself," growled Samson; and, putting in effect a west-country wrestling trick, he threw the sentry on his back, and dashed down the slope toward the coombe. "He daren't go and tell," muttered the fugitive, "for he'd get into trouble for letting me go by."

Bang!

Samson leaped off the ground a couple of feet, and on coming down upon the steep slope, staggered and nearly fell. Not that he was hit, but the bullet sent to stop him cut up the turf close to his legs, and startled him nearly out of his wits.

"I'll serve you out for that, my lad," he muttered, "I shall know you again."

He ran on the faster though, and then to his disgust, found that another sentry was at the bottom of the coombe, and well on the alert, running to intercept him, for the shot fired had spread the alarm.

Seeing this, Samson dodged into the wood that clothed the western side of the coombe, and by a little scheming crept out a couple of hundred yards from where the sentry was on the watch.

"Tricked him this time," said Samson, chuckling, and once more starting, for a bullet whistled by his ear, and directly after there was the report.

But he ran on feeling that he had passed two of the chains of sentries, and that now all he had to do was to clear the mounted patrols.

This he set himself to do with the more confidence that there was no horseman in sight; and, with his hopes rising, he kept on now at a steady trot, which he changed for a walk as he reached the irregular surface of the moor, scored into hundreds of little valleys running into one another, and the larger toward the sea.

"Nothing like a bow, after all," muttered Samson, as he ran. "Shoot four or five arrows while you're loading one of those clumsy great guns. Got away from you this time, my lad. Ay, you may shout," he muttered as he heard a hail. "Likely! You'd have to holloa louder to bring me back, and—Well, now, look at that!" he grumbled, as he got about five hundred yards away, and suddenly found that he was the quarry of two of the mounted men, who had caught sight of him, and were coming from opposite directions, bent on cutting him off. "Well, I think I know this bit o' the country better than you do, and if I aren't mounted on a horse, I'm mounted on as good a pair o' legs as most men, and deal better than my brother Nat's."

He said all this in an angry tone, as he made straight for a patch of woodland at the edge of the moor, when, seeing this, and that the man on foot was steadily running in Samson's track, the two horsemen immediately bore away so as to intercept the fugitive on the further side, and soon disappeared from view.

"I thought you'd do that," said Samson to himself; and he turned sharply round, ran a few yards towards his pursuer, and then turned along one of the courses of a stream, and in a minute was out of sight, but only to double again in quite a different direction along the dry course of another rivulet, which wound here and there to the south.

"Get round 'em somehow," said Samson; and, settling himself into a slow trot, he ran on and on for quite a quarter of an hour, to where the hollow in which he had been running opened out on to open moor all covered with whortleberry and bracken, offering good hiding should an enemy be in sight, and with the further advantage of being only about a mile from the Manor.

"I shall trick 'em now," he said. "Once I've told 'em at the old house, they may catch me if they like; but they won't care to when they see me going back to camp."

"Halt!"

A sword flashed in poor Samson's eyes, and he found that the opening of the dry course was guarded by another mounted man, who spurred up to him and caught him by the collar before he had dashed away a dozen yards.

"Don't choke a fellow. I give in," grumbled Samson, as the man held him, and presented his sword-point at his breast. "There, I won't try to run. It's of no good," he added; and he made no opposition to a strap being thrown round his neck, drawn tight, and as soon as the man had buckled the end to his saddle-bow, he walked his horse slowly back toward the camp.

Before they had gone far, the other two mounted men trotted up, and seemed ready to administer a little correction with the flat of their swords.

"Yes, you do," said Samson, showing his teeth; "and as soon as this bit o' trouble's over, I'll pay you back, or my name aren't what it is."

"Let him alone," said his captor. "Come on, lad."

He spurred his horse to a trot, and Samson ran beside him, while the two others returned to their posts.

As it happened, Fred was riding along the outside of the camp with his father as the prisoner was brought in, and as soon as he saw who it was, the colour flushed to his face, and he felt that it was all over, and that he would have to confess.

"How now, sir!" cried the colonel. "You?"

"Yes, sir. I was only stretching my legs a bit, and this man tried to run me down."

"Are you the man reported by the sentry as trying to desert?"

"Me trying to desert, sir!" cried Samson, indignantly. "Do I look the sort o' man likely to desert, colonel, unless it was to get a good draught o' cider?"

"But you were out of bounds, sir."

"Father," began Fred, who was in agony, "let me—"

"Silence, sir! He is a soldier now, and must be treated as a soldier."

"Yes; don't you say nothing about me, Master Fred, sir. I can bear all I get."

"Go back to your quarters, sir. You are under arrest, mind, I will deal with you to-morrow."

Samson gave Fred a meaning look as he was marched off, and Fred's agony of spirit increased as he asked himself whether he ought not to confide in his father. A dozen times over he was about to speak, but only to hesitate, for he knew that the colonel would sacrifice his friend on the altar of duty, even if he had to sacrifice himself.

"I must save them," muttered Fred, as he went slowly back to his tent. "I am not firm and stern like my father;" and then, as soon as he was alone, he sat down to think of how he was to contrive the escape unaided and alone.

Night came, with his mind still vacillating, for he could see no way out of his difficulty, and, to render his position more difficult, the colonel came to his tent and sat till long after dark chatting about the likelihood of the war coming to an end, and their prospects of once more settling down at the home whose open doors were so near.

"And the Royalists, father? What of them?" said Fred at last.

"Exiles, I fear, my boy, for their cause is lost. They must suffer, as we must have suffered, had our side gone to the wall."

"Father," said Fred, "if you could help a suffering enemy now, would you do it?"

"If it was such help as my duty would allow—yes; if not, no. Recollect, we are not our own masters, but servants of the country. Good night, my boy. I think you may sleep in peace to-night;" and he strode out of the little tent, where his seat had been a horseman's cloak thrown over a box.

"Sleep!" said Fred to himself, "with those poor fellows starving in that hole. I must, I will help them, and ask his forgiveness later on. But how?"

"Pst! ciss!" came from the back of the tent.



CHAPTER FORTY NINE.

SAMSON IS NOT TO BE BEATEN.

"What's that? Who's there?" said Fred, sharply.

"Pst! Master Fred. Don't make all that noise. You'll have the guard hear you."

The mischief was done, for there was the tramp of feet, and directly after a sergeant and his men stopped opposite Fred's tent.

"Must have been somewhere here," said the sergeant, in a deep voice.

"Yes," said Fred, stepping to the tent opening; "it was I, sergeant. I thought I heard some one call."

"No, sir; all's well. Good night, sir."

"Good night."

"You nearly did it that time, Master Fred," whispered Samson. "What made you holloa like that?"

"You, sir. How came you here?"

"Slit a hole in the guard tent, and crept out; that's all, sir. Tent walls are soft enough. Now, then, are you ready?"

"Ready? Yes—no—what can we do?"

"What you said, sir."

"But we cannot take them to the place to starve."

"Who's going to, sir?"

"What do you mean?"

"Only that I crept out o' the tent hour and a half ago, ran down to the Manor—easy enough in the dark—and told 'em what to do as soon as it was light in the morning, and then ran back."

"But the rope?"

"Here it is, sir; wound round me like a belt. Come along, and let's go."

"But the horse—how are we to get Sir Godfrey there?"

"I dunno, sir, only that we've got to try. Come on; we can only make a mess of it."

Fred hesitated no longer; but taking his sword and cloak, he stepped out into the dark night, joined his man, and then stole with him cautiously along the tents to where the horses were tethered. Samson untied the halters which kept them prisoners, and led them silently away over the soft glass.

The task proved more easy than they had expected, for there were no watchers near. Strict ward and watch were kept, but only by those on duty. Those who were off devoted the time to rest and sleep.

All round the camp there was every precaution taken against surprise; but in the interior of the tented space there seemed to be none to interrupt.

"Bridles, saddles?" whispered Fred.

"If we can't do what we want without them, sir, we shan't do it at all," said Samson. "Tie your halter to his head, and leave the horses alone. The two beasts 'll follow us like dogs, and it's all right so long as they don't whinny."

Samson was correct. The two horses followed them like dogs, their hoof tramp being almost inaudible, and they went on through the darkness at a pace which seemed terrible to Fred in its sluggishness, nearly down to the lake, and then round its western end, and in front of the ruined Hall.

"We shall never get them there."

"Oh yes, we shall, if we can get them through the lines, and it's so dark that I don't feel no fear of that. Now, sir, we'll tether them to these two trees, and then get to work."

Fred followed his companion's example, glancing round from time to time, and listening as every sigh of the wind seemed to be the breath of a watcher; and then, tethering his steed, which calmly began to crop the luxuriant grass, Fred started for the wilderness, his sword drawn to feel his way beneath the trees, and at last contrived to reach the spot where they had entered from time to time.

"Shall I go first, Master Fred?" whispered Samson.

"No, no."

"Better let me. I'm thicker-skinned, and it's going to be all feeling, sir."

But Fred would not give up, and, entering the tangled underwood at once, he went cautiously on, till about half-way, when a rush through the bushes brought his heart to his mouth.

"Only rabbit, sir. Keep on," grumbled Samson.

"Think we are going right?"

"Yes, sir, far as I can tell; but it's blind man's work."

Instinct or guess-work, one or the other, led them right to the fallen tree, when the hole was soon discovered, and Fred crept through and dropped into the passage, closely followed by Samson.

"Don't find fault, sir," whispered the latter, as he touched the bottom, "I should ha' done it, only I was took."

"What do you mean?"

"Brought a light."

"Never mind; I can find my way."

"Let me go first, sir."

"No; follow closely, and don't talk now."

"Only this one word, sir," whispered Samson, holding tightly by his master's arm. "When we get 'em safe off, and my brother Nat starts boasting, mind, sir, it was to help Sir Godfrey and Master Scar I came— not him."

"Silence!"

"How like his father he do grow!" muttered Samson; and he obeyed.

Fred wondered to himself that he felt no shrinking at the strange task, before creeping step by step into the utter darkness of this place; but he was strung up now, and determined to carry his task through, come what might.

Never before had the way seemed so long ere he struck his foot against the first short flight of steps; and then, as he reached the top unchallenged, a horrible sense of dread assailed him, for all was as silent as it was dark, and he asked himself what had happened to his friends.

He stood listening, but could hear nothing; and at last he gripped Samson by the shoulder, and whispered—

"What does it mean? Have they gone?"

"That's what I was asking myself, sir. Speak—or shall I? Anybody here?" he said aloud.

There was a whispering echo, nothing more, and Fred felt the cold perspiration ooze from his brow, as he tried to imagine what could have happened since they were there last.

Those moments seemed long-drawn minutes, and then relief came in a long, low sigh; and as that ended, the breathing of a sleeper and a restless movement were plainly heard from the corner of the vault.

"Hist!" whispered Samson; "hear that, sir?"

"Yes; they are asleep."

"No, sir; that behind us?"

"No."

"Listen."

Fred listened intently, and his hand went to the hilt of his sword, for, sure enough, there was the sound of steps coming slowly and cautiously, and as if he who made them listened, along the passage from the direction of the lake.

"Some one tracking us," said Fred, with his lips to his follower's ear. "Stand aside. Don't strike. Let him enter, and then we must seize and gag him when I say 'Now!'"

A pressure of Samson's ear against his lips told of his acquiescence, and they stood, one on each side of the arched opening, waiting as the steps came nearer, apparently more and more cautiously, till the stairway was reached, against which whoever it was stumbled slightly, and then ascended with many pauses, and stepped right inside the vault, breathing heavily, and seeming to listen.

"What shall I do?" thought Fred. "Seize him, or what?"

"Master Fred—Master Fred, do say 'Now', or our chance is gone," said Samson to himself; and as if this was communicated to the young officer by some peculiar sense, he was drawing in his breath previous to giving the word and dashing at their tracker, when a low, piteous voice said half aloud—

"Gone, or he has forgotten us. What shall—"

"Don't you talk like that o' Master Fred, sir," cried Samson, in indignant tones.

"Scar!" cried Fred; and he threw his arms round his boyhood's companion, who uttered a low sigh, and would have sunk to the stony floor but for Fred's support.

"Samson."

"Well, sir, what did he mean by scaring us and talking like that?"

"Have you been outside?"

"No," said Scarlett, in a low, hesitating voice. "I was ill and feverish. I went to the end to get some water, and I think I must have fallen down and slept. I have not slept much, and it has been so long and dark, and I thought you had forsaken us."

"Forsaken you!" cried Fred, reproachfully. "But your father—and Nat?"

"I hardly know; they seem to have done nothing but sleep."

"Don't talk now. Rouse them at once. You must escape."

"Escape? Where?"

"I have provided the refuge for you. Horses are waiting in front of the Hall. Now, let's try and get them out at once."

"In front of the Hall?" said Scarlett, whose weakness seemed to be chased away by his old friend's words.

"Yes."

"Fred, we can get down from the oak chamber into the ruins. A piece of the wall has fallen. Will not that be a better way?"

"Of course," cried Fred. "Then wake them at once."

This was done, and the news of the coming of help conveyed to Sir Godfrey and his man, who rose with pain to their feet; but it soon became evident that the former could not stir a step, though Nat declared he could walk anywhere, and nearly fell on trying to cross the vault.

"It is of no use," said Scarlett; "but I thank you, Fred Forrester, and I can never call you enemy again."

"No," said Sir Godfrey, piteously. "I am too weak to stir; but God bless you, my brave, true boy—never our enemy again."

"Look ye here," said a gruff voice, "I don't know nothing 'bout no other way, so you've got to show me or lead me. I'll hold a strap in my teeth, and some one can lead me by that. What you've got to do, Master Fred, is to set Sir Godfrey well on my back, and I can carry him anywhere. Never mind about that brother o' mine. Chuck him down in any corner, if he won't walk. I aren't going to carry him."

Nat uttered a low grunt, and muttered something out of the darkness about kicking, as, after a vain protest, Sir Godfrey was helped on to Samson's back, the sturdy fellow stooping down, and then rising up with a bit of a laugh.

"Dessay him I was named after was pretty strong; but he couldn't ha' carried you, sir, any better than that."

"My brave-hearted fellow!" said Sir Godfrey, faintly; and he set his teeth hard to keep back a moan of pain.

"Now, then," said Samson, "what sort of a way is it?"

"Just like that we came," said Fred, quickly as he drew Nat's arm over his shoulder.

"Then I don't want no leading," said Samson; "some one go first, and I can feel my way with my ears."

"Go first, Scar," whispered Fred. "Don't speak; only tell him when you reach the stairs. Now, forward!"

"Forward it is, gen'lemen. March! Never mind about that Nat. Got him all right, Master Fred?"

There was a low chuckle by Fred's ear that sounded like one of Samson's, as he answered—"Yes. Go on."

"Go on it is, gen'lemen; give the old donkey the spur, if he won't go."

The long passage was slowly traversed, and then began the toilsome ascent of the stairs leading to the oak chamber, poor Nat being very feeble, and Fred's task hard; but the top was reached at last, and the soft fresh night air blew freely upon the rescuers' heated brows, as, under Scarlett's guidance, they crossed the little room to the corner where the wall had fallen away.

Here greater difficulties began in the getting down to the level of the ground floor, stones giving way, and the darkness adding to the difficulty. Once there was quite a little avalanche of calcined material; but perseverance won, and all stood safely at last on the trampled lawn in front of the ruined Hall.

"Shall we let them rest here for a bit?" whispered Fred.

"No, Master Fred, sir; they must rest on the horses' backs. Come on; they're not fifty yards away."

A low whinny from one of the faithful beasts followed this speech, and the party listened in dread that the sound might have been heard.

"Come on, sir," whispered Samson; "heard or no, now's our time;" and he walked quickly to where the horses were tethered, with the others close behind. "Now, sir," he said in a whisper, "I've got to get you on that horse. If you can put a leg over, do. If you can't—"

Answer came in the shape of a brave effort on Sir Godfrey's part, and the next instant he was sitting erect on the horse's back.

"Hooroar!" whispered Samson. "Now t'other one. Foot in my hands like a lady. Nat, old chap. Ready? Up you go. That's brave. Yah! I forgot as we was enemies. Come along. You lead him, Master Fred, as you would bring him along."

"Can you walk all right, Scar?" whispered Fred.

"Yes. I'll take hold, though, of the horse's mane."

"Ready, Samson?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then, forward, and not a word; we must leave everything to chance. Our only hope is that we may pass between the sentinels, and that the darkness may screen us from their eyes."

A quarter of an hour's slow and careful progress over the soft grassy moor, and then they stopped short, for there was the chink of metal and the sharp stamp of a horse.

"If ours challenge him with a neigh, we are lost," thought Fred, as he stood trembling, and patting his horse's nose.

"Poor old lad, then!" whispered Samson; and, their attention taken by their masters' caressing hands, the brave beasts remained silent, and then moved on till there was a road to be crossed, and Samson halted.

"Can't help it, sir; there's no other way," he whispered; "and it's all stones."

"Forward!" whispered Fred; and they crossed the road, but not without making a sharp sound or two. Then they were once more on the soft turf, and bore away more and more to their right, till Scarlett whispered—

"Are you making for the shore?"

"No; for the Rill Head—the cavern," said Fred.

"Then it must be close here, for we are only a little way from the edge of the cliffs."

Endorsement of his words came in the low roar of a breaking wave from below; and just then the stars peeped out from behind a cloud, and they saw exactly where they stood.

Ten minutes later they were close by the narrow entrance, and as Fred searched for the exact place he uttered a cry of satisfaction, for there by the gaping rift lay two large bundles, whose contents he pretty well guessed.



CHAPTER FIFTY.

BACK TO CAMP.

"Now, Samson," whispered Fred, "we must trust to our horses standing fast."

"You let their halters lie on the ground, sir, and they'll not move," was the reply. "Wait a minute, till I've unrolled the rope from my waist, and then I'm ready."

"What can I do?" said Scarlett, in a low anxious voice.

"Nothing, sir. Now, Master Fred, let's get them two down first off the horses, and they can lie on the grass till we're ready for them. Then, if you think as I do, me being strongest, you'll go down first, while I hold the rope."

"Can you?"

"Can I?" exclaimed Samson, in a tone full of contempt. "Then when you're down, I'll lower down the stuff first, and you take it and cast the rope loose each time; and next, I'll let Sir Godfrey down and Master Scar, and then—"

He stopped short.

"Your brother," said Fred, sharply. "We cannot do better."

Everything was done according to Samson's plans, beginning with the helping down of the two wounded riders, after which Fred took the end of the rope, and was lowered into what, in spite of his determination, seemed to be an awful chasm.

But he had no time to think, for directly he touched the shaley floor, the rope was drawn up, and almost directly after, he was hastily taking from the rope the burdens which it bore, while, to his surprise, Scarlett came next.

"You?" said Fred in his wonder.

"Yes; I thought I could help most here; and it seemed so terrible a place for you to be alone."

"Scar!" whispered Fred, quickly, as a thought struck him, due to Samson's general forethought, "open those bundles, and see if there is anything to get a light."

Sir Godfrey was lowered down, and when Fred was helping Nat to sink gently on the flooring of the cave, the sharp clicking of flint and steel fell upon his ears, and soon after the gloomy place was illumined by a candle stuck in a niche of the rock.

"I wouldn't be longer than 'bout an hour, Master Fred, sir," came down the opening. "We may as well get back safe if we can."