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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Through the Fray, by G. A. Henty
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Through the Fray
+       A Tale of the Luddite Riots
+
+Author: G. A. Henty
+
+Release Date: August, 2005 [EBook #8732]
+Posting Date: July 23, 2009
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THROUGH THE FRAY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Martin Robb
+
+
+
+
+
+THROUGH THE FRAY
+
+A TALE OF THE LUDDITE RIOTS
+
+
+By G. A. Henty
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+My Dear Lads:
+
+The beginning of the present century, glorious as it was for British
+arms abroad, was a dark time to those who lived by their daily labor at
+home. The heavy taxation entailed by the war, the injury to trade,
+and the enormous prices of food, all pressed heavily upon the working
+classes. The invention of improved machinery, vast as has been the
+increase of trade which it has brought about, at first pressed heavily
+upon the hand workers, who assigned all their distress to the new
+inventions. Hence a movement arose, which did much damage and for a time
+threatened to be extremely formidable. It had its ramifications through
+all the manufacturing districts of England, the object being the
+destruction of the machinery, and a return to the old methods of work.
+The troubles which occurred in various parts of the country were known
+as the Luddite Riots, and the secret body which organized them was
+called King or General Lud. In the present story I have endeavored to
+give you an idea of the state of things which prevailed in Yorkshire,
+where, among the croppers and others employed in the woolen
+manufactures, was one of the most formidable branches of the secret
+association. The incidents of the murder of Mr. Horsfall and the attack
+upon Mr. Cartwright's mill are strictly accurate in all their details.
+
+In this story I have left the historical battlefields, across so many
+of which I have taken you, and have endeavored to show that there are
+peaceful battles to be fought and victories to be won every jot as
+arduous and as difficult as those contested under arms. In "Facing
+Death" my hero won such a battle. He had to fight against external
+circumstances, and step by step, by perseverance, pluck, and
+determination, made his way in life. In the present tale my hero's enemy
+was within, and although his victory was at last achieved the victor was
+well nigh worsted in the fray. We have all such battles to fight, dear
+lads; may we all come unscathed and victorious through the fray!
+
+Yours sincerely,
+
+G. A. Henty
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I: A FISHING EXPEDITION
+
+
+It has just struck one, and the boys are streaming out from the
+schoolroom of Mr. Hathorn's academy in the little town of Marsden in
+Yorkshire. Their appearance would create some astonishment in the minds
+of lads of the present generation, for it was the year 1807, and their
+attire differed somewhat materially from that now worn. They were for
+the most part dressed in breeches tight at the knee, and buttoning up
+outside the close fitting jacket nearly under the arms, so that
+they seemed almost devoid of waist. At the present moment they were
+bareheaded; but when they went beyond the precincts of the school they
+wore stiff caps, flat and very large at the top, and with far projecting
+peaks.
+
+They were not altogether a happy looking set of boys, and many of their
+cheeks were stained with tears and begrimed with dirt from the knuckles
+which had been used to wipe them away; for there was in the year 1807
+but one known method of instilling instruction into the youthful mind,
+namely, the cane, and one of the chief qualifications of a schoolmaster
+was to be able to hit hard and sharp.
+
+Mr. Hathorn, judged by this standard, stood very high in his profession;
+his cane seemed to whiz through the air, so rapidly and strongly did
+it descend, and he had the knack of finding out tender places, and of
+hitting them unerringly.
+
+Any one passing in front of the schoolhouse during the hours when the
+boys were at their lessons would be almost sure to hear the sharp cracks
+of the cane, followed sometimes by dead silence, when the recipient of
+the blows was of a sturdy and Spartan disposition, but more frequently
+by shrieks and cries.
+
+That Hathorn's boys hated their master was almost a matter of course. At
+the same time they were far from regarding him as an exceptional monster
+of cruelty, for they knew from their friends that flogging prevailed
+almost everywhere, and accepted it as a necessary portion of the woes
+of boyhood. Indeed, in some respects, when not smarting under the
+infliction, they were inclined to believe that their lot was, in
+comparison with that of others, a fortunate one; for whereas in many
+schools the diet was so poor and bad that the boys were half starved, at
+Hathorn's if their food was simple and coarse it was at least wholesome
+and abundant.
+
+Mr. Hathorn, in fact, intended, and as he quite believed with success,
+to do his duty by his boys. They were sent to him to be taught, and he
+taught them through the medium then recognized as most fitting for
+the purpose--the cane; while, as far as an abundance of porridge
+for breakfast, and of heavy pudding at dinner, with twice a week an
+allowance of meat, the boys were unstinted. He would indeed point
+with pride to his pupils when their parents assembled at the annual
+presentation of prizes.
+
+"Look at them!" he would say proudly. "None of your half starved
+skeletons here--well filled out and in good condition every boy of
+them--no stint of porridge here. It keeps them in good health and
+improves their learning; for, mark you, a plump boy feels the cane twice
+as much as a skinny one; it stings, my dear sir, it stings, and leaves
+its mark; whereas there is no getting at a boy whose clothes hang like
+bags about him."
+
+This was no doubt true, and the boys themselves were conscious of it,
+and many had been the stern resolutions made while smarting in agony
+that henceforward food should be eschewed, or taken only in sufficient
+quantities to keep life together. But boys' appetites are stronger than
+boys' resolutions, and in the end there was never any marked falling off
+in the consumption of viands at Hathorn's.
+
+Like other things punishment fails when administered in excess. There
+was no disgrace whatever in what was common to all, for although some
+of the boys of superior ability and perseverance would escape with a
+smaller amount of punishment than their fellows, none could hope to
+escape altogether. Thus it was only the pain that they had to bear,
+and even this became to some extent deadened by repetition, and was
+forgotten as soon as inflicted, save when a sudden movement caused a
+sharp pain in back or leg. Once in the playground their spirits revived,
+and except a few whose recent punishment incapacitated them for a time
+from active exercise, the whole were soon intent upon their games.
+
+One only of the party wore his cap, and he after a few minutes left the
+others, and went toward a door which led from the playground into the
+road.
+
+"Don't be long, Sankey; come back as soon as you can, you know we agreed
+to go fishing this afternoon."
+
+"All right, Tompkins; I will come back directly I have done my dinner. I
+expect I shall have finished quite as soon as you will."
+
+Edward Sankey, who was regarded with envy by his schoolfellows, was the
+only home boarder at Hathorn's; for, as a general thing, the master
+set his face against the introduction of home boarders. They were, he
+considered, an element of disturbance; they carry tales to and from the
+school; they cause discontent among the other boys, and their parents
+are in the habit of protesting and interfering. Not, indeed, that
+parents in those days considered it in any way a hardship for their boys
+to suffer corporal punishment; they had been flogged at school, and
+they believed that they had learned their lessons all the better for it.
+Naturally the same thing would happen to their sons. Still mothers are
+apt to be weak and soft hearted, and therefore Mr. Hathorn objected to
+home boarders.
+
+He had made an exception in Sankey's case; his father was of a different
+type to those of the majority of his boys; he had lost his leg at the
+battle of Assaye, and had been obliged to leave the army, and having
+but small means beyond his pension, had settled near the quiet little
+Yorkshire town as a place where he could live more cheaply than in
+more bustling localities. He had, when he first came, no acquaintances
+whatever in the place, and therefore would not be given to discuss with
+the parents of other boys the doings in the school. Not that Mr. Hathorn
+was afraid of discussion, for he regarded his school as almost perfect
+of its kind. Still it was his fixed opinion that discussion was, as a
+general rule, unadvisable. Therefore, when Captain Sankey, a few weeks
+after taking up his residence in the locality, made a proposal to him
+that his son should attend his school as a home boarder, Mr. Hathorn
+acceded to the proposition, stating frankly his objections, as a rule,
+to boys of that class.
+
+"I shall not interfere," Captain Sankey said. "Of course boys must be
+thrashed, and provided that the punishment is not excessive, and that it
+is justly administered, I have nothing to say against it. Boys must
+be punished, and if you don't flog you have to confine them, and in my
+opinion that is far worse for a boy's temper, spirit, and health."
+
+So Ned Sankey went to Hathorn's, and was soon a great favorite there.
+Just at first he was regarded as a disobliging fellow because he adhered
+strictly to a stipulation which Mr. Hathorn had made, that he should not
+bring things in from the town for his school fellows. Only once a week,
+on the Saturday half holiday, were the boys allowed outside the bounds
+of the wall round the playground, and although on Wednesday an old
+woman was allowed to come into those precincts to sell fruit, cakes,
+and sweets, many articles were wanted in the course of the week, and
+the boys took it much amiss for a time that Ned refused to act as their
+messenger; but he was firm in his refusals. His father had told him not
+to do so, and his father's word was law to him; but when the boys saw
+that in all other respects he was a thoroughly good fellow, they soon
+forgave him what they considered his undue punctiliousness, and he
+became a prime favorite in the school.
+
+It is due to Mr. Hathorn to say that no fear of interference induced him
+to mitigate his rule to thrash when he considered that punishment
+was necessary, and that Ned received his full share of the general
+discipline. He was never known to utter a cry under punishment, for he
+was, as his school fellows said admiringly, as hard as nails; and he
+was, moreover, of a dogged disposition which would have enabled him,
+when he had once determined upon a thing, to carry it through even if it
+killed him. Mr. Hathorn regarded this quality as obstinacy, the boys as
+iron resolution; and while the former did his best to conquer what he
+regarded as a fault, the boys encouraged by their admiration what they
+viewed as a virtue.
+
+At home Ned never spoke of his punishments; and if his father observed
+a sudden movement which told of a hidden pain, and would say cheerfully,
+"What! have you been getting it again, Ned?" the boy would smile grimly
+and nod, but no complaint ever passed his lips.
+
+There was no disgrace in being flogged--it was the natural lot of
+schoolboys; why should he make a fuss about it? So he held his tongue.
+But Mr. Hathorn was not altogether wrong. Ned Sankey was obstinate, but
+though obstinate he was by no means sulky. When he made up his mind to
+do a thing he did it, whether it was to be at the top of his class in
+order to please his father, or to set his teeth like iron and let no
+sound issue from them as Mr. Hathorn's cane descended on his back.
+
+Ned Sankey was about fourteen years of age. He had a brother and a
+sister, but between them and himself was a gap of four years, as some
+sisters who had been born after him had died in infancy. Ned adored
+his father, who was a most kind and genial man, and would have suffered
+anything in silence rather than have caused him any troubles or
+annoyance by complaining to him.
+
+For his mother his feelings were altogether different. She was a kindly
+and well intentioned woman, but weak and silly. On leaving school she
+had gone out to join her father in India. Captain Sankey had sailed
+in the same ship and, taken by her pretty face and helpless, dependent
+manner, he had fallen in love with her, knowing nothing of her real
+disposition, and they had been married upon their arrival at the
+termination of the voyage. So loyal was his nature that it is probable
+Captain Sankey never admitted even to himself that his marriage had been
+a mistake; but none of his comrades ever doubted it. His wife turned out
+one of the most helpless of women. Under the plea of ill health she had
+at a very early period of their marriage given up all attempt to manage
+the affairs of the household, and her nerves were wholly unequal to the
+strain of looking after her children. It was noticeable that though her
+health was unequal to the discharge of her duties, she was always well
+enough to take part in any pleasure or gayety which might be going on;
+and as none of the many doctors who attended her were able to discover
+any specific ailment, the general opinion was that Mrs. Sankey's ill
+health was the creation of her own imagination. This, however, was
+not wholly the case. She was not strong; and although, had she made an
+effort, she would have been able to look after her children like other
+women, she had neither the disposition nor the training to make that
+effort.
+
+Her son regarded her with the sort of pity, not unmingled with contempt,
+with which young people full of life and energy are apt to regard those
+who are weak and ailing without having any specific disease or malady
+which would account for their condition.
+
+"All the bothers fall upon father," he would say to himself; "and if
+mother did but make up her mind she could take her share in them well
+enough. There was he walking about for two hours this evening with
+little Lucy in his arms, because she had fallen down and hurt herself;
+and there was mother lying on the sofa reading that book of poetry, as
+if nothing that happened in the house was any affair of hers. She is
+very nice and very kind, but I do wish she wouldn't leave everything for
+father to do. It might have been all very well before he lost his leg,
+but I do think she ought to make an effort now."
+
+However, Mrs. Sankey made no effort, nor did her husband ever hint that
+it would be better for herself as well as her family if she did so.
+He accepted the situation as inevitable, and patiently, and indeed
+willingly, bore her burden as well as his own.
+
+Fortunately she had in the children's nurse an active and trustworthy
+woman. Abijah Wolf was a Yorkshire woman. She had in her youth been
+engaged to a lad in her native village. In a moment of drunken folly, a
+short time before the day fixed for their wedding, he had been persuaded
+to enlist. Abijah had waited patiently for him twelve years. Then he had
+returned a sergeant, and she had married him and followed him with his
+regiment, which was that in which Captain Sankey--at that time a young
+ensign--served. When the latter's first child was born at Madras there
+was a difficulty in obtaining a white nurse, and Mrs. Sankey declared
+that she would not trust the child to a native. Inquiries were therefore
+made in the regiment, and Sergeant Wolf's wife, who had a great love for
+children although childless herself, volunteered to fill the post for a
+time. A few months afterward Sergeant Wolf was killed in a fight with a
+marauding hill tribe. His widow, instead of returning home and living on
+the little pension to which she was entitled at his death, remained in
+the service of the Sankeys, who soon came to regard her as invaluable.
+
+She was somewhat rough in her ways and sharp with her tongue; but even
+Mrs. Sankey, who was often ruffled by her brusque independence, was
+conscious of her value, and knew that she should never obtain another
+servant who would take the trouble of the children so entirely off her
+hands. She retained, indeed, her privilege of grumbling, and sometimes
+complained to her husband that Abijah's ways were really unbearable.
+Still she never pressed the point, and Abijah appeared established as a
+permanent fixture in the Sankeys' household. She it was who, when, after
+leaving the service, Captain Sankey was looking round for a cheap and
+quiet residence, had recommended Marsden.
+
+"There is a grand air from the hills," she said, "which will be just the
+thing for the children. There's good fishing in the stream for yourself,
+captain, and you can't get a quieter and cheaper place in all England. I
+ought to know, for I was born upon the moorland but six miles away from
+it, and should have been there now if I hadn't followed my man to the
+wars."
+
+"Where are you going, Master Ned?" she asked as the boy, having finished
+his dinner, ran to the high cupboard at the end of the passage near the
+kitchen to get his fishing rod.
+
+"I am going out fishing, Abijah."
+
+"Not by yourself, I hope?"
+
+"No; another fellow is going with me. We are going up into the hills."
+
+"Don't ye go too far, Master Ned. They say the croppers are drilling on
+the moors, and it were bad for ye if you fell in with them."
+
+"They wouldn't hurt me if I did."
+
+"I don't suppose they would," the nurse said, "but there is never no
+saying. Poor fellows! they're druv well nigh out of their senses with
+the bad times. What with the machines, and the low price of labor, and
+the high price of bread, they are having a terrible time of it. And no
+wonder that we hear of frame breaking in Nottingham, and Lancashire, and
+other places. How men can be wicked enough to make machines, to take the
+bread out of poor men's mouths, beats me altogether."
+
+"Father says the machinery will do good in the long run, Abijah--that it
+will largely increase trade, and so give employment to a great many
+more people than at present. But it certainly is hard on those who have
+learned to work in one way to see their living taken away from them."
+
+"Hard!" the nurse said. "I should say it were hard. I know the croppers,
+for there were a score of them in my village, and a rough, wild lot
+they were. They worked hard and they drank hard, and the girl as chose
+a cropper for a husband was reckoned to have made a bad match of it; but
+they are determined fellows, and you will see they won't have the bread
+taken out of their mouths without making a fight for it."
+
+"That may be," Ned said, "for every one gives them the name of a rough
+lot; but I must talk to you about it another time, Abijah, I have got
+to be off;" and having now found his fishing rod, his box of bait, his
+paper of books, and a basket to bring home the fish he intended to get,
+Ned ran off at full speed toward the school.
+
+As Abijah Wolf had said, the croppers of the West Riding were a rough
+set. Their occupation consisted in shearing or cropping the wool on the
+face of cloths. They used a large pair of shears, which were so set that
+one blade went under the cloth while the other worked on its upper face,
+mowing the fibers and ends of the wool to a smooth, even surface. The
+work was hard and required considerable skill, and the men earned about
+twenty-four shillings a week, a sum which, with bread and all other
+necessities of life at famine prices, barely sufficed for the support
+of their families. The introduction of power looms threatened to abolish
+their calling. It was true that although these machines wove the cloth
+more evenly and smoothly than the hand looms, croppers were still
+required to give the necessary smoothness of face; still the tendency
+had been to lower wages.
+
+The weavers were affected even more than the croppers, for strength and
+skill were not so needed to tend the power looms as to work the hand
+looms. Women and boys could do the work previously performed by men, and
+the tendency of wages was everywhere to fall.
+
+For years a deep spirit of discontent had been seething among the
+operatives in the cotton and woolen manufactures, and there had been
+riots more or less serious in Derbyshire, Nottingham, Lancashire and
+Yorkshire, which in those days were the headquarters of these trades.
+Factories had been burned, employers threatened and attacked, and the
+obnoxious machines smashed. It was the vain struggle of the ignorant
+and badly paid people to keep down production and to keep up wages, to
+maintain manual labor against the power of the steam engine.
+
+Hitherto factories had been rare, men working the frames in their own
+homes, and utilizing the labor of their wives and families, and the
+necessity of going miles away to work in the mills, where the looms were
+driven by steam, added much to the discontent.
+
+Having found his fishing appliances Ned hurried off to the school, where
+his chum Tompkins was already waiting him, and the two set out at once
+on their expedition.
+
+They had four miles to walk to reach the spot where they intended to
+fish. It was a quiet little stream with deep pools and many shadows, and
+had its source in the heart of the moorlands. Neither of them had ever
+tried it before, but they had heard it spoken of as one of the best
+streams for fish in that part. On reaching its banks the rods were put
+together, the hooks were baited with worms, and a deep pool being chosen
+they set to work. After fishing for some time without success they tried
+a pool higher up, and so mounted higher and higher up the stream, but
+ever with the same want of success.
+
+"How could they have said that this was a good place for fish?" Tompkins
+said angrily at last. "Why, by this time it would have been hard luck if
+we had not caught a dozen between us where we usually fish close to the
+town, and after our long walk we have not had even a bite."
+
+"I fancy, Tompkins," Ned said, "that we are a couple of fools. I know it
+is trout that they catch in this stream, and of course, now I think of
+it, trout are caught in clear water with a fly, not with a worm. Father
+said the other day he would take me out some Saturday and give me a
+lesson in fly fishing. How he will laugh when I tell him we have wasted
+all our afternoon in trying to catch trout with worms!"
+
+"I don't see anything to laugh at," Tompkins grumbled. "Here we waste
+a whole half holiday, and nothing to show for it, and have got six or
+seven miles at least to tramp back to school."
+
+"Well, we have had a nice walk," Ned said, "even if we are caught in the
+rain. However, we may as well put up our rods and start. I vote we try
+to make a straight cut home; it must be ever so much shorter to go in a
+straight line than to follow all the windings of this stream."
+
+They had long since left the low lands, where trees and bushes bordered
+the stream, and were in a lonely valley where the hills came down close
+to the little stream, which sparkled among the boulders at their feet.
+The slopes were covered with a crop of short wiry grass through which
+the gray stone projected here and there. Tiny rills of water made their
+way down the hillside to swell the stream, and the tinge of brown which
+showed up wherever these found a level sufficient to form a pool told
+that they had their source in the bogs on the moorland above. Tompkins
+looked round him rather disconcertedly.
+
+"I don't know," he said. "It's a beastly long way to walk round; but
+suppose we got lost in trying to make our way across the hills."
+
+"Well, just as you like," Ned said, "I am game to walk back the way we
+came or to try and make a straight cut, only mind don't you turn round
+and blame me afterward. You take your choice; whichever you vote for I
+am ready to do."
+
+"My shoes are beginning to rub my heels," Tompkins said, "so I will take
+the shortest way and risk it. I don't see we can go far out of our way."
+
+"I don't see that we can," Ned replied. "Marsden lies to the east, so we
+have only to keep our backs to the sun; it won't be down for another two
+hours yet, and before that we ought to be in."
+
+By this time they had taken their rods to pieces, wound up their lines,
+and were ready to start. A few minutes' sharp climbing took them to the
+top of the slope. They were now upon the moor, which stretched away with
+slight undulations as far as they could see.
+
+"Now," Ned said, "we will make for that clump of rocks. They seem to be
+just in the line we ought to take, and by fixing our eyes upon them we
+shall go straight."
+
+This, however, was not as easy to do as Ned had fancied; the ground
+was in many places so soft and boggy that they were forced to make
+considerable detours. Nevertheless the rocks served as a beacon, and
+enabled them to keep the right direction; but although they made their
+way at the best of their speed it was an hour after starting before they
+approached the rock.
+
+When they were within fifty yards of it a figure suddenly rose. It was
+that of a boy some fifteen years of age.
+
+"Goa back," he shouted; "dang yer, what be'est a cooming here vor?"
+
+The two boys stopped astonished.
+
+"We are going to Marsden," Ned replied; "but what's that to you?"
+
+"Doan't ee moind wot it be to oi," the boy said; "oi tell ee ee can't
+goa no further; yoi've got ter go back."
+
+"We shan't go back," Ned said; "we have got as much right to go this way
+as you have. This is not your land; and if it is, we ain't hurting it."
+
+By this time they were at the foot of the pile of rocks, and the lad was
+standing some ten feet above them.
+
+"Oi tell ee," he repeated doggedly, "yoi've got vor to go back."
+
+The boy was so much bigger and stronger than either Ned or his companion
+that the former, although indignant at this interference, did not deem
+it prudent to attempt to climb the crag, so he said to Tompkins: "Of
+course we ain't going back, but we had better take a turn so as to get
+out of the way of this fellow."
+
+So saying they turned to the right and prepared to scout round the rock
+and continue their way; but this did not suit their obstructor.
+
+"If ee doan't go back at oncet oi'll knock the heads off thee
+shoulders."
+
+"We can't go back," Tompkins said desperately, "we are both as tired as
+we can be, and my heel is so sore that I can hardly walk. We shouldn't
+get to Marsden tonight if we were to turn back."
+
+"That's nowt to oi," the boy said. "Oi bain't a-going to let ee pass
+here."
+
+"What are we to do, Ned?" Tompkins groaned.
+
+"Do!" Ned replied indignantly. "Why, go on, of course. Marsden cannot be
+more than three miles off, and I ain't going to walk twelve miles round
+to please this obstinate brute."
+
+"But he is ever so much bigger than we are," Tompkins said doubtfully.
+
+"Well, there are two of us," Ned said, "and two to one is fair enough
+when he is as big as the two of us together."
+
+"We are going on," he said to the boy, "and if you interfere with us it
+will be the worse for you."
+
+The boy descended leisurely from his position on the rocks.
+
+"Oi don't want to hurt ee, but oi've got to do as oi were bid, and if ee
+doan't go back oi've got to make ee. There be summat a-going on thar,"
+and he jerked his head behind him, "as it wouldn't be good vor ee to
+see, and ye bain't a-going vor to see it."
+
+But Ned and Tompkins were desperate now, and dropping their rods made a
+rush together against him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II: THE FIGHT ON THE MOOR
+
+
+The lad threw himself into a position of defense as the two boys rushed
+at him.
+
+"Oi doan't want vor to hurt ee," he said again, "but if ee will have it,
+why, it won't be moi vault;" and swinging his arm round, he brought
+it down with such force upon the nose of Tompkins that the latter was
+knocked down like a ninepin, and, once down, evinced no intention of
+continuing the conflict.
+
+In Ned, however, the lad found an opponent of a different stamp. The
+latter saw at once that his opponent's far greater weight and strength
+rendered it hopeless for him to trust to close fighting, and he worked
+round and round him, every now and then rushing at him and delivering a
+telling blow, and getting off again before his heavy and comparatively
+unwieldy companion could reply.
+
+Once or twice, indeed, the lad managed to strike him as he came in, each
+time knocking him fairly off his feet; but in the fair spirit which at
+that time animated English men and boys of all classes he allowed Ned
+each time to regain his feet without interference.
+
+"Thou bee'st a plucky one," he said, as Ned after his third fall again
+faced him, "but thou bain't strong enough for oi."
+
+Ned made no reply, but nerved himself for a fresh effort. The blows he
+had received had been heavy, and the blood was streaming from his face;
+but he had no idea of giving in, although Tompkins, in spite of
+his calls and reproaches, refused to raise himself beyond a sitting
+position.
+
+"It's no good, Ned," he replied, "the brute is too big for us, and I'd
+rather try to walk home all the way round than get another like the
+last. My nose feels as big as my head."
+
+Ned hardly heard what his companion said. He would have been killed
+rather than yield now, and gathering all his strength he sprang at his
+opponent like a tiger. Avoiding the blow which the boy aimed at him,
+he leaped upon him, and flung his arms round his neck. The sudden shock
+overthrew him, and with a crash both boys came to the ground together.
+
+Ned at once loosened his hold, and springing to his feet again, awaited
+the rising of his opponent. The latter made a movement to get up, and
+then fell back with a cry.
+
+"Thou hast beaten me," he said. "Oi think moi leg be broke."
+
+Ned saw now that as the lad had fallen his leg had been twisted under
+him, and that he was unable to extricate it. In a moment he was kneeling
+before the prostrate lad.
+
+"Oh! I am sorry," he exclaimed; "but you know I didn't mean to do it.
+Here, Tompkins, don't sit there like a fool, but come and help me move
+him and get his leg straight."
+
+Although the boys did this as gently as they could, a groan showed how
+great was the agony.
+
+"Where is it?" Ned asked.
+
+"Aboove the knee somewhere," the lad said, and Ned put his hand gently
+to the spot, and to his horror could feel something like the end of a
+bone.
+
+"Oh! dear, what is to be done? Here, Tompkins, either you or I must go
+on to the town for help."
+
+"It's getting dark already," Tompkins said; "the sun has set some time.
+How on earth is one to find the way?"
+
+"Well, if you like I will go," Ned said, "and you stop here with him."
+
+The lad, who had been lying with closed eyes and a face of ghastly
+pallor, now looked up.
+
+"There be soom men not a quarter of a mile away; they be a-drilling,
+they be, and oi was sot here to stop any one from cooming upon em; but
+if so bee as thou wilt go and tell em oi has got hurt, oi don't suppose
+as they will meddle with ye."
+
+Ned saw now why the lad had opposed his going any further. Some of
+the croppers were drilling on the moor, and the boy had been placed
+as sentry. It wasn't a pleasant business to go up to men so engaged,
+especially with the news that he had seriously injured the boy they had
+placed on watch. But Ned did not hesitate a moment.
+
+"You stop here, Tompkins, with him," he said quietly, "I will go and
+fetch help. It is a risk, of course, but we can't let him lie here."
+
+So saying, Ned mounted the rock to get a view over the moor. No sooner
+had he gained the position than he saw some thirty or forty men walking
+in groups across the moor at a distance of about half a mile. They
+had evidently finished their drill, and were making their way to their
+homes. This at least was satisfactory. He would no longer risk their
+anger by disturbing them at their illegal practices, and had now only to
+fear the wrath which would be excited when they heard what had happened
+to the boy.
+
+He started at a brisk run after them, and speedily came up to the last
+of the party. They were for the most part men between twenty and thirty,
+rough and strongly built, and armed with billhooks and heavy bludgeons,
+two or three of them carrying guns.
+
+One of them looked round on hearing footsteps approaching, and gave a
+sudden exclamation. The rest turned, and on seeing Ned, halted with a
+look of savage and menacing anger on their faces.
+
+"Who be'est, boy? dang ee, what brings ye here?"
+
+Ned gulped down the emotion of fear excited by their threatening
+appearance, and replied as calmly as he could: "I am sorry to say that
+I have had a struggle with a boy over by that rock yonder. We fell
+together, and he has broken his leg. He told me if I came over in this
+direction I should find some one to help him."
+
+"Broaken Bill's leg, did'st say, ye young varmint?" one of the men
+exclaimed. "Oi've a good moinde to wring yer neck."
+
+"I am very sorry," Ned said; "but I did not mean it. I and another boy
+were walking back to Marsden from fishing, and he wouldn't let us pass;
+it was too far to go back again, so of course we had to try, and then
+there was a fight, but it was quite an accident his breaking his leg."
+
+"Did'st see nowt afore ye had the voight?" one of the other men
+inquired.
+
+"No," Ned replied; "we saw no one from the time we left the stream till
+we met the boy who would not let us pass, and I only caught sight of you
+walking this way from the top of the rock."
+
+"If 'twere a vair voight, John, the boy bain't to be blamed, though oi
+be main grieved about thy brother Bill; but we'd best go back for him,
+voor on us. And moind, youngster, thee'd best keep a quiet tongue in thy
+head as to whaat thou'st seen here."
+
+"I haven't seen anything," Ned said; "but of course if you wish it I
+will say nothing about it."
+
+"It were best for ee, for if thou go'st aboot saying thou'st seen men
+with guns and clubs up here on the moor, it ull be the worsest day's
+work ee've ever done."
+
+"I will say nothing about it," Ned replied, "but please come on at once,
+for I am afraid the boy is in terrible pain."
+
+Four of the men accompanied Ned back to the rock.
+
+"Hullo, Bill! what's happened ee?" his brother asked.
+
+"Oi've had a fight and hurted myself, and broke my leg; but it wa'nt
+that chap's fault; it were a vair voight, and a right good 'un he be.
+Doan't do nowt to him."
+
+"Well, that's roight enough then," the man said, "and you two young 'uns
+can go whoam. Marsden lies over that way; thou wilt see it below ye when
+ye gets to yon rock over there; and moind what I told ee."
+
+"I will," Ned said earnestly; "but do let me come up to see how he is
+getting on, I shall be so anxious to know."
+
+The man hesitated, but the lad said, "Let um coom, John, he bee a roight
+good un."
+
+"Well, if thou would'st like it, Bill, he shall coom."
+
+"If thou coom oop to Varley and ask vor Bill Swinton, anyone will show
+ee the place."
+
+"Goodby," Ned said to the boy, "I am so sorry you have got hurt. I will
+come and see you as soon as I can."
+
+Then he and Tompkins set off toward the rock the man had pointed out,
+which by this time, in the fast growing darkness, could scarce be made
+out. They would indeed probably have missed it, for the distance was
+fully a mile and a half; but before they had gone many yards one of the
+four men passed by them on a run on his way down to Marsden to summon
+the parish doctor, for a moment's examination had sufficed to show them
+that the boy's injury was far too serious to treat by themselves.
+
+Tired as the boys were, they set off in his footsteps, and managed to
+keep him in sight until they reached the spot whence Marsden could be
+seen, and they could no longer mistake the way.
+
+"Now, look here, Tompkins," Ned said as they made their way down the
+hill; "don't you say a word about this affair. You haven't got much to
+boast about in it, sitting there on the grass and doing nothing to help
+me. I shan't say anything more about that if you hold your tongue; but
+if you blab I will let all the fellows know how you behaved."
+
+"But they will all notice my nose directly I get in," Tompkins said.
+"What am I to say?"
+
+"Yes, there's no fear about their not noticing your nose," Ned replied.
+"I don't want you to tell a lie. You can say the exact truth. We were
+coming home across the moors; a boy interfered with us, and would not
+let us pass; we both pitched into him, and at last he got the worst of
+it, and we came home."
+
+"But what's the harm of saying that you and he fell, and he broke his
+leg?"
+
+"A great deal of harm," Ned replied. "If it was known that a boy's leg
+got broke in a fight with us it would be sure to come to Hathorn's ears;
+then there would be an inquiry and a row. Like enough he would go up to
+see the boy and inquire all about it. Then the men would suppose that
+we had broken our words, and the next time you and I go out on a fishing
+expedition there's no saying what mightn't happen to us. They are a
+rough lot those moor men, and don't stick at trifles."
+
+"I will say nothing about it," Tompkins replied hastily; "you may rely
+on that. What a lucky fellow you are to be going home! Nothing will
+be said to you for being an hour late. I shall get a licking to a
+certainty. How I do hate that Hathorn, to be sure!"
+
+They now came to the point where the road separated and each hurried on
+at his best speed.
+
+"You are late tonight, Ned," the boy's father said when he entered. "I
+don't like your being out after dark. I don't mind how far you go so
+that you are in by sunset; but, halloo!" he broke off, as he caught
+sight of the boy's face as he approached the table at which the rest of
+the party were sitting at tea; "what have you been doing to your face?"
+
+Captain Sankey might well be surprised. One of the boy's eyes was
+completely closed by a swelling which covered the whole side of his
+face. His lip was badly cut, and the effect of that and the swelling
+was to give his mouth the appearance of being twisted completely on one
+side.
+
+"Oh! there's nothing the matter," Ned replied cheerfully; "but I had a
+fight with a boy on the moor."
+
+"It is dreadful!--quite dreadful!" Mrs. Sankey said; "your going on like
+this. It makes me feel quite faint and ill to look at you. I wonder you
+don't get killed with your violent ways."
+
+Ned made no reply but took his seat at the table, and fell to work upon
+the hunches of thick brown bread and butter.
+
+"I will tell you about it afterward, father," he said; "it really wasn't
+my fault."
+
+"I am sure I don't wish to hear the story of your quarrels and fighting,
+Edward," Mrs. Sankey said; "the sight of you is quite enough to upset my
+nerves and make me wretched. Of course if your father chooses to support
+you in such goings on I can say nothing. Neither he nor you seem to
+remember how trying such things as these are to any one with a broken
+constitution like mine."
+
+Captain Sankey, knowing from experience how useless it was to attempt to
+argue with his wife when she was in this mood, continued to eat his meal
+placidly. Ned seized his mug of milk and water, and took an impatient
+drink of it.
+
+"Is there anything I had better do for my face?" he asked his father
+presently.
+
+"I don't think anything you can do, Ned, will make you presentable for
+the next few days. I believe that a raw beefsteak is the best thing to
+put on your eye, but is not such a thing in the house, and if there
+was, I don't think that I should be justified in wasting it for such
+a purpose. I should say the next best thing would be to keep a cloth
+soaked in cold water on your face; that will probably take down the
+swelling to some extent."
+
+After tea Ned repaired to the kitchen, where Abijah, with much scolding
+and some commiseration, applied a wet cloth to his face, and fastened a
+handkerchief over it to keep it in its place. Then the boy went into the
+little room which his father called his study, where he used to read
+the papers, to follow the doings of the British armies in the field, and
+above all to smoke his pipe in quiet. He laughed as Ned entered.
+
+"You look like a wounded hero, indeed, Ned. Now sit down, my boy, and
+tell me about this business; not, you know, that I have any objection
+to your fighting when it's necessary. My experience is that it is the
+nature of boys to fight, and it is no use trying to alter boys' nature.
+As I have always told you, don't get into a fight if you can help it;
+but, if you once begin, fight it out like a man."
+
+"Well, I couldn't help it this time, father, and I will tell you all
+about it. I promised not to tell; but what was meant by that was that
+I should not tell any one who would do anything about it; and as I know
+you won't, why, of course I can tell you."
+
+"I don't know what you mean in the least, Ned; a promise, whatever it is
+about, is a promise."
+
+"I know, father, but all that was meant in my case was that I would say
+nothing which would cause injury to those to whom I promised; and it
+will do them no injury whatever by telling you in confidence. Besides,
+it is probable you may learn about it in some other way; because,
+unfortunately, I broke the other fellow's leg very badly, and there
+is no saying what may come of it, so I think you ought to know all the
+circumstances."
+
+"Very well, Ned," his father said quietly; "this seems to be a serious
+business. Go on, my boy."
+
+Ned related the whole circumstances, his father saying no word until he
+had finished.
+
+"You have been in no way to blame in the matter, nor could you have
+acted otherwise. The breaking of the boy's leg is unfortunate, but it
+was a pure accident, and even the boy's friends did not blame you in the
+matter. As to the illegal drilling, that is no new thing; it has been
+known to be going on for many months, and, indeed, in some places for
+years. The authorities take but little notice of it. An outbreak of
+these poor fellows would, indeed, constitute a considerable local
+danger. Mills might be burned down, and possibly some obnoxious masters
+killed, but a few troops of dragoons, or half a regiment of light
+infantry, would scatter them like chaff.
+
+"The Irish rebellion thirteen years ago was a vastly more formidable
+affair. There it may be said that the whole country was in arms, and the
+element of religious fanaticism came into play; but in spite of that the
+resistance which they opposed to the troops was absolutely contemptible;
+however, it is just as well that you did not see them drill, because
+now, if by any chance this lad should die, and inquiry were made about
+it, there would be no occasion for you to allude to the subject at all.
+You would be able to say truthfully that finding that he was hurt, you
+went off, and happened to come upon four men on the moor and brought
+them to his assistance."
+
+"I promised to go up to see the boy, father. I suppose that there is no
+harm?"
+
+"None at all, Ned, it is only natural that you should entertain the
+wish; in fact you have injured him seriously, and we must do all in our
+power to alleviate his pain. I will go in the morning and see Dr. Green.
+I shall, of course, tell him that the boy was hurt in a tussle with you,
+and that you are very sorry about it. The fact that he is some two years
+older, as you say, and ever so much stronger and bigger, is in itself
+a proof that you were not likely to have wantonly provoked a fight with
+him. I shall ask the doctor if there is anything in the way of food and
+comforts I can send up for him."
+
+Accordingly, the next morning, the first thing after breakfast, Captain
+Sankey went out and called upon the doctor. Ned awaited his return
+anxiously.
+
+"The doctor says it's a bad fracture, Ned, a very bad fracture, and the
+boy must have had his leg curiously twisted under him for the bone to
+have snapped in such a way. He questions whether it will be possible to
+save the leg; indeed, he would have taken it off last night, but the boy
+said he would rather die, and the men were all against it. By the help
+of half a dozen men he got the bones into their places again, and has
+bandaged the leg up with splints; but he is very doubtful what will come
+of it."
+
+Ned was crying now.
+
+"I would give anything if it hadn't happened, father, and he really
+seemed a nice fellow. He said over and over again he didn't want to hurt
+us, and I am sure he didn't, only he thought he oughtn't to let us pass,
+and as we would go on he had to stop us."
+
+"Well, it can't be helped, Ned," his father said kindly. "It is very
+natural that you should be grieved about it; but you see it really was
+an accident; there was nothing willful or intentional about it, and you
+must not take it to heart more than you can help."
+
+But Ned did take it to heart, and for the next fortnight was very
+miserable. The doctor's reports during that time were not hopeful. Fever
+had set in, and for some days the boy was delirious, and there was no
+saying how it would turn out. At the end of that time the bulletins
+became somewhat more hopeful. The lad was quiet now from the complete
+exhaustion of his strength. He might rally or he might not; his leg was
+going on favorably. No bad symptom had set in, and it was now purely a
+question of strength and constitution whether he would pull through it.
+
+Mrs. Sankey had been kept in entire ignorance of the whole matter. She
+had once or twice expressed a languid surprise at Ned's altered manner
+and extreme quietness; but her interest was not sufficient for her to
+inquire whether there were any reasons for this change. Abijah had
+been taken into Captain Sankey's counsels, and as soon as the fever had
+abated, and the doctor pronounced that the most nourishing food was now
+requisite, she set to work to prepare the strongest broths and jellies
+she could make, and these, with bottles of port wine, were taken by
+her every evening to the doctor, who carried them up in his gig on his
+visits to his patient in the morning. On the third Saturday the doctor
+told Ned that he considered that the boy had fairly turned the corner
+and was on the road to recovery, and that he might now go up and see
+him. His friends had expressed their warm gratitude for the supplies
+which had been sent up, and clearly cherished no animosity against Ned.
+The boy had been informed of the extreme anxiety of his young antagonist
+as to his condition, and had nodded feebly when asked if he would see
+Ned should he call upon him. It was therefore without any feeling of
+trepidation as to his reception that Ned on the Saturday afternoon
+entered Varley.
+
+Varley was a scattered village lying at the very edge of the moor.
+The houses were built just where the valley began to dip down from the
+uplands, the depression being deep enough to shelter them from the
+winds which swept across the moor. Some of those which stood lowest were
+surrounded by a few stumpy fruit trees in the gardens, but the majority
+stood bleak and bare. From most of the houses the sound of the shuttle
+told that hand weaving was carried on within, and when the weather was
+warm women sat at the doors with their spinning wheels. The younger men
+for the most part worked as croppers in the factories in Marsden.
+
+In good times Varley had been a flourishing village, that is to say its
+inhabitants had earned good wages; but no one passing through the bare
+and dreary village would have imagined that it had ever seen good days,
+for the greater proportion of the earnings had gone in drink, and the
+Varley men had a bad name even in a country and at a time when heavy
+drinking was the rule rather than the exception. But whatever good times
+it may have had they were gone now. Wages had fallen greatly and the
+prices of food risen enormously, and the wolf was at the door of every
+cottage. No wonder the men became desperate, and believing that all
+their sufferings arose from the introduction of the new machinery, had
+bound themselves to destroy it whatever happened.
+
+A woman of whom he inquired for John Swinton's cottage told him that it
+was the last on the left. Although he told himself that he had nothing
+to be afraid of, it needed all Ned's determination to nerve himself to
+tap at the door of the low thatched cottage. A young woman opened it.
+
+"If you please," Ned said, "I have come to see Bill; the doctor said he
+would see me. It was I who hurt him, but indeed I didn't mean to do it."
+
+"A noice bizness yoi've made of it atween ee," the woman said, but in
+a not unkind voice. "Who'd ha' thought as Bill would ha' got hurted by
+such a little un as thou be'st; but coom in, he will be main glad to see
+ee, and thy feyther ha' been very good in sending up all sorts o' things
+for him. He's been very nigh agooing whoam, but I believe them things
+kept un from it."
+
+The cottage contained but two rooms. In a corner of the living room,
+into which Ned followed the woman, Bill Swinton lay upon a bed which
+Captain Sankey had sent up. Ned would not have known him again, and
+could scarce believe that the thin, feeble figure was the sturdy, strong
+built boy with whom he had struggled on the moor. His eyes filled with
+tears as he went up to the bedside.
+
+"I am so sorry!" he said; "I have grieved so all the time you have been
+ill."
+
+"It's all roight, young un," the boy said in a low voice, "thar's no
+call vor to fret. It warn't thy fault; thou couldn't not tell why oi
+would not let ee pass, and ye were roight enough to foight rather than
+to toorn back. I doan't blame ee nohow, and thou stoodst up well agin
+me. Oi doan't bear no malice vor a fair foight, not loikely. Thy feyther
+has been roight good to oi, and the things he sends oi up has done oi a
+power o' good. Oi hoap as how they will let oi eat afore long; oi feels
+as if oi could hearty, but the doctor he woin't let oi."
+
+"I hope in a few days he will let you," Ned said, "and then I am sure
+father will send you up some nice things. I have brought you up some of
+my books for you to look at the pictures."
+
+The boy looked pleased.
+
+"Oi shall like that," Bill said; "but oi shan't know what they be
+about."
+
+"But I will come up every Saturday if you will let me, and tell you the
+stories all about them."
+
+"Willee now? That will be main koinde o' ye."
+
+"I don't think you are strong enough to listen today," Ned said, seeing
+how feebly the boy spoke; "but I hope by next Saturday you will be much
+stronger. And now I will say goodby, for the doctor said that I must not
+talk too long."
+
+So saying Ned left the cottage and made his way back to Marsden in
+better spirits than he had been for the last three weeks.
+
+From that time Ned went up regularly for some weeks every Saturday to
+see Bill Swinton, to the great disgust of his schoolfellows, who could
+not imagine why he refused to join in their walks or games on those
+days; but he was well repaid by the pleasure which his visits afforded.
+The days passed very drearily to the sick boy, accustomed as he was to
+a life spent entirely in the open air, and he looked forward with eager
+longing to Ned's visits.
+
+On the occasion of the second visit he was strong enough to sit up
+in bed, and Ned was pleased to hear that his voice was heartier and
+stronger. He listened with delight as Ned read through the books he had
+brought him from end to end, often stopping him to ask questions as
+to the many matters beyond his understanding, and the conversations on
+these points were often so long that the continuance of the reading had
+to be postponed until the next visit. To Bill everything he heard was
+wonderful. Hitherto his world had ended at Marsden, and the accounts of
+voyages and travels in strange lands were full of surprise and interest
+to him. Especially he loved to talk to Ned of India, where the boy had
+lived up to the time when his father had received his wound, and Ned's
+account of the appearance and manners of the people there were even more
+interesting to him than books.
+
+At the end of two months after Ned's first visit Bill was able to walk
+about with a stick, and Ned now discontinued his regular visits; but
+whenever he had a Saturday on which there was no particular engagement
+he would go for a chat with Bill, for a strong friendship had now sprung
+up between the lads.
+
+On Ned's side the feeling consisted partly of regret for the pain and
+injury he had inflicted upon his companion, partly in real liking for
+the honesty and fearlessness which marked the boy's character. On Bill's
+side the feeling was one of intense gratitude for the kindness and
+attention which Ned had paid him, for his giving up his play hours to
+his amusement, and the pains which he had taken to lighten the dreary
+time of his confinement. Added to this there was a deep admiration for
+the superior knowledge of his friend.
+
+"There was nothing," he often said to himself, "as oi wouldn't do for
+that young un."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III: A CROPPER VILLAGE
+
+
+Bad as were times in Varley, the two public houses, one of which stood
+at either end of the village, were for the most part well filled of an
+evening; but this, as the landlords knew to their cost, was the result
+rather of habit than of thirst. The orders given were few and far
+between, and the mugs stood empty on the table for a long time before
+being refilled. In point of numbers the patrons of the "Brown Cow" and
+the "Spotted Dog" were not unequal; but the "Dog" did a larger trade
+than its rival, for it was the resort of the younger men, while the
+"Cow" was the meeting place of the elders. A man who had neither wife
+nor child to support could manage even in these hard times to pay for
+his quart or two of liquor of an evening; but a pint mug was the utmost
+that those who had other mouths than their own to fill could afford.
+
+Fortunately tobacco, although dear enough if purchased in the towns,
+cost comparatively little upon the moors, for scarce a week passed but
+some lugger ran in at night to some little bay among the cliffs on the
+eastern shore, and for the most part landed her bales and kegs in spite
+of the vigilance of the coast guard. So there were plenty of places
+scattered all over the moorland where tobacco could be bought cheap, and
+where when the right signal was given a noggin of spirits could be had
+from the keg which was lying concealed in the wood stack or rubbish
+heap. What drunkenness there was on the moors profited his majesty's
+excise but little.
+
+The evenings at the "Cow" were not lively. The men smoked their long
+pipes and sipped their beer slowly, and sometimes for half an hour no
+one spoke; but it was as good as conversation, for every one knew what
+the rest were thinking of--the bad times, but no one had anything new to
+say about them. They were not brilliant, these sturdy Yorkshiremen. They
+suffered patiently and uncomplainingly, because they did not see that
+any effort of theirs could alter the state of things. They accepted
+the fact that the high prices were due to the war, but why the war was
+always going on was more than any of them knew. It gave them a vague
+satisfaction when they heard that a British victory had been won; and
+when money had been more plentiful, the occasion had been a good excuse
+for an extra bout of drinking, for most of them were croppers, and had
+in their time been as rough and as wild as the younger men were now; but
+they had learned a certain amount of wisdom, and shook their heads over
+the talk and doings of the younger men who met at the "Dog."
+
+Here there was neither quiet nor resignation, but fiery talk and stern
+determination; it was a settled thing here that the machines were
+responsible for the bad times. The fact that such times prevailed over
+the whole country in no way affected their opinion. It was not for them
+to deny that there was a war, that food was dear, and taxation heavy.
+These things might be; but the effect of the machinery came straight
+home to them, and they were convinced that if they did but hold together
+and wreck the machines prosperity would return to Varley.
+
+The organization for resistance was extensive. There were branches in
+every village in West Yorkshire, Lancashire, Nottingham, and Derby--all
+acting with a common purpose. The members were bound by terrible oaths
+upon joining the society to be true to its objects, to abstain on pain
+of death from any word which might betray its secrets, and to carry into
+execution its orders, even if these should involve the slaying of a near
+relation proved to have turned traitor to the society.
+
+Hitherto no very marked success had attended its doings. There had been
+isolated riots in many places; mills had been burned, and machinery
+broken. But the members looked forward to better things. So far their
+only successes had been obtained by threats rather than deeds, for many
+manufacturers had been deterred from adopting the new machinery by the
+receipt of threatening letters signed "King Lud," saying that their
+factories would be burned and themselves shot should they venture upon
+altering their machinery.
+
+The organ of communication between the members of the society at Varley
+and those in other villages was the blacksmith, or as he preferred to be
+called, the minister, John Stukeley, who on weekdays worked at the forge
+next door to the "Spotted Dog," and on Sundays held services in "Little
+Bethel"--a tiny meeting house standing back from the road.
+
+Had John Stukeley been busier during the week he would have had less
+time to devote to the cause of "King Lud;" but for many hours a day
+his fire was banked up, for except to make repairs in any of the frames
+which had got out of order, or to put on a shoe which a horse had cast
+on his way up the hill from Marsden, there was but little employment for
+him.
+
+The man was not a Yorkshireman by birth, but came from Liverpool, and
+his small, spare figure contrasted strongly with those of the tall,
+square built Yorkshiremen, among whom he lived.
+
+He was a good workman, but his nervous irritability, his self assertion,
+and impatience of orders had lost him so many places that he had finally
+determined to become his own master, and, coming into a few pounds at
+the death of his father, had wandered away from the great towns, until
+finding in Varley a village without a smith, he had established himself
+there, and having adopted the grievances of the men as his own, had
+speedily become a leading figure among them.
+
+A short time after his arrival the old man who had officiated at Little
+Bethel had died, and Stukeley, who had from the first taken a prominent
+part in the service, and who possessed the faculty of fluent speech to a
+degree rare among the Yorkshiremen, was installed as his successor, and
+soon filled Little Bethel as it had never been filled before. In
+his predecessor's time, small as the meeting house was, it had been
+comparatively empty; two or three men, half a dozen women, and their
+children being the only attendants, but it was now filled to crowding.
+
+Stukeley's religion was political; his prayers and discourses related to
+the position of affairs in Varley rather than to Christianity. They
+were a downtrodden people whom he implored to burst the bonds of their
+Egyptian taskmasters. The strength he prayed for was the strength to
+struggle and to fight. The enemy he denounced was the capitalist rather
+than the devil.
+
+Up to that time "King Lud" had but few followers in Varley; but the
+fiery discourses in Little Bethel roused among the younger men a
+passionate desire to right their alleged wrongs, and to take vengeance
+upon those denounced as their oppressors, so the society recruited its
+numbers fast. Stukeley was appointed the local secretary, partly because
+he was the leading spirit, partly because he alone among its members was
+able to write, and under his vigorous impulsion Varley became one of the
+leading centers of the organization in West Yorkshire.
+
+It was on a Saturday evening soon after Bill Swinton had become
+convalescent. The parlor of the "Brown Cow" was filled with its usual
+gathering; a peat fire glowed upon the hearth, and two tallow candles
+burned somewhat faintly in the dense smoke. Mugs of beer stood on the
+tables, but they were seldom applied to the lips of the smokers, for
+they had to do service without being refilled through the long evening.
+The silence was broken only by the short puffs at the pipes. All were
+thinking over the usual topic, when old Gideon Jones unexpectedly led
+their ideas into another channel.
+
+"Oive heern," he said slowly, taking his pipe from his mouth, "as how
+Nance Wilson's little gal is wuss."
+
+"Ay, indeed!"
+
+"So oi've heern;"
+
+"Be she now?" and various other exclamations arose from the smokers.
+
+Gideon was pleased with the effect he had produced, and a few minutes
+later continued the subject.
+
+"It be the empty coopbud more nor illness, I expect."
+
+There was another chorus of assent, and a still heartier one when he
+wound up the subject: "These be hard toimes surely."
+
+Thinking that he had now done sufficient to vindicate his standing
+as one of the original thinkers of the village, Gideon relapsed into
+silence and smoked away gravely, with his eyes fixed on the fire, in the
+post of honor on one side of which was his regular seat. The subject,
+however, was too valuable to be allowed to drop altogether, and Luke
+Marner brought it into prominence again by remarking:
+
+"They tell oi as how Nance has asked Bet Collins to watch by the rood
+soide to catch doctor as he droives whoam. He went out this arternoon to
+Retlow."
+
+"Oi doubt he woant do she much good; it be food, and not doctor's stuff
+as the child needs," another remarked.
+
+"That be so, surely," went up in a general chorus, and then a newcomer
+who had just entered the room said:
+
+"Oi ha' joost coom vrom Nance's and Bill Swinton ha' sent in a basin o'
+soup as he got vrom the feyther o' that boy as broke his leg. Nance war
+a feeding the child wi' it, and maybe it will do her good. He ha' been
+moighty koind to Bill, that chap hav."
+
+"He ha' been that," Gideon said, after the chorus of approval had died
+away.
+
+"Oi seed t' young un today a-sitting in front o' th' cottage, a-talking
+and laughing wi' Bill."
+
+"They be good uns, feyther and son, though they tells oi as neither on
+them bain't Yaarkshire."
+
+The general feeling among the company was evidently one of surprise that
+any good thing should be found outside Yorkshire. But further talk on
+the subject was interrupted by a slight exclamation at the door.
+
+"O what a smoke, feyther! I can't see you, but I suppose you're
+somewhere here. You're wanted at home."
+
+Although the speaker was visible to but few in the room there was no
+doubt as to her identity, or as to the person addressed as feyther. Mary
+Powlett was indeed the niece and not the daughter of Luke Marner, but as
+he had brought her up from childhood she looked upon him as her
+father. It was her accent and the tone of her voice which rendered it
+unnecessary for any of those present to see her face.
+
+Luke was a bachelor when the child had arrived fifteen years before in
+the carrier's cart from Marsden, having made the journey in a similar
+conveyance to that town from Sheffield, where her father and mother had
+died within a week of each other, the last request of her mother being
+that little Polly should be sent off to the care of Luke Marner at
+Varley.
+
+Luke had not then settled down into the position of one of the elders of
+the village, and he had been somewhat embarrassed by the arrival of the
+three year old girl. He decided promptly, however, upon quitting the
+lodgings which he had as a single man occupied and taking a cottage by
+himself. His neighbors urged upon him that so small a child could not
+remain alone all day while he was away at Marsden at work--a proposition
+to which he assented; but to the surprise of every one, instead of
+placing her during the day under the care of one of the women of the
+place, he took her down with him to Marsden and placed her under the
+care of a respectable woman there who had children of her own.
+
+Starting at five every morning from his cottage with Polly perched on
+his shoulder he tramped down to the town, leaving her there before going
+to work, and calling for her in the evening. A year later he married,
+and the village supposed that Polly would now be left behind. But they
+were mistaken. When he became engaged he had said:
+
+"Now, Loiza, there's one point as oi wish settled. As oi have told ye,
+oi ha' partly chosen ye becos oi knowed as how ye would maake a good
+mother to my little Polly; but oi doan't mean to give up taking her down
+with me o' days to the town. Oi likes to ha' her wi' me on the roade--it
+makes it shorter like. As thou knowest thyself, oi ha' bin a chaanged
+man sin she coom. There warn't a cropper in the village drank harder nor
+oi, but oi maad oop moi moind when she came to gi' it up, and oi have
+gi'd it up."
+
+"I know, Luke," the girl said, "I wouldna have had ye, hadn't ye doon
+so, as I told ye two years agone. I know the child ha' done it, and I
+loves her for it, and will be a good mother to her."
+
+"Oi knows you will, Loiza, and oi bain't feared as ye'll be jealous if
+so be as ye've children o' your own. Oi shan't love 'em a bit the less
+coss oi loves little Polly. She be just the image o' what moi sister
+Jane was when she war a little thing and oi used to take care o' her.
+Mother she didn't belong to this village, and the rough ways of the men
+and the drink frightened her. She war quiet and tidy and neat in her
+ways, and Jane took arter her, and glad she was when the time came
+to marry and get away from Varley. Oi be roight sure if she knows owt
+what's going on down here, she would be glad to know as her child ain't
+bein' brought oop in Varley ways. I ha' arranged wi' the woman where she
+gets her meals for her to go to school wi' her own children. Dost thee
+object to that, lass?--if so, say so noo afore it's too late, but doon't
+thraw it in moi face arterwards. Ef thou'st children they shalt go to
+school too. Oi don't want to do more for Polly nor oi'd do for moi own."
+
+"I ha' no objection, Luke. I remembers your sister, how pretty and quiet
+she wor; and thou shalt do what you likest wi' Polly, wi'out no grumble
+from me."
+
+Eliza Marner kept the promise she had made before marriage faithfully.
+If she ever felt in her heart any jealousy as she saw Polly growing up a
+pretty bright little maiden, as different to the usual child product
+of Varley as could well be, she was wise enough never to express her
+thoughts, and behaved with motherly kindness to her in the evening hours
+spent at home. She would perhaps have felt the task a harder one had her
+own elder children been girls; but three boys came first, and a girl
+was not born until she had been married eleven years. Polly, who was now
+fourteen, had just come home from her schooling at Marsden for good,
+and was about to go out into service there. But after the birth of her
+little girl Mrs. Marner, who had never for a Varley girl been strong,
+faded rapidly away; and Polly's stay at home, intended at first to last
+but a few weeks, until its mother was about again, extended into months.
+
+The failing woman reaped now the benefit of Polly's training. Her
+gentle, quiet way, her soft voice, her neatness and tidiness, made her
+an excellent nurse, and she devoted herself to cheer and brighten the
+sickroom of the woman who had made so kind an adopted mother to her. Her
+influence kept even the rough boys quiet; and all Varley, which had at
+first been unanimous in its condemnation of the manner in which Luke
+Marner was bringing up that "gal" of his, just as if the place was not
+good enough for her, were now forced to confess that the experiment had
+turned out well.
+
+"Polly, my dear," the sick woman said to her one afternoon when the girl
+had been reading to her for some time, and was now busy mending some of
+the boys' clothes, while baby, nearly a year old, was gravely amusing
+herself with a battered doll upon the floor, "I used to think, though I
+never said so, as your feyther war making a mistake in bringing you up
+different to other gals here; but I see as he was right. There ain't
+one of them as would have been content to give up all their time and
+thoughts to a sick woman as thou hast done. There ain't a house in the
+village as tidy and comfortable as this, and the boys mind you as they
+never minded me. When I am gone Luke will miss me, but thar won't be no
+difference in his comfort, and I know thou'lt look arter baby and be
+a mother to her. I don't suppose as thou wilt stay here long; thou art
+over fifteen now, and the lads will not be long afore they begin to come
+a-coorting of thee. But doan't ee marry in Varley, Polly. My Luke's been
+a good husband to me. But thou know'st what the most of them be--they
+may do for Varley bred gals, but not for the like of thee. And when thou
+goest take baby wi' thee and bring her up like thysel till she be old
+enough to coom back and look arter Luke and the house."
+
+Polly was crying quietly while the dying woman was speaking. The doctor,
+on leaving that morning, had told her that he could do no more and
+that Mrs. Marner was sinking rapidly. Kneeling now beside the bed she
+promised to do all that her adopted mother asked her, adding, "and I
+shall never, never leave feyther as long as he lives."
+
+The woman smiled faintly.
+
+"Many a girl ha' said that afore now, Polly, and ha' changed her moind
+when the roight man asked her. Don't ee make any promises that away,
+lass. 'Tis natural that, when a lassie's time comes, she should wed; and
+if Luke feels loanly here, why he's got it in his power to get another
+to keep house for him. He be but a little over forty now; and as he ha'
+lived steady and kept hisself away from drink, he be a yoonger man now
+nor many a one ten year yoonger. Don't ye think to go to sacrifice your
+loife to hissen. And now, child, read me that chapter over agin, and
+then I think I could sleep a bit."
+
+Before morning Eliza Marner had passed away, and Polly became the head
+of her uncle's house. Two years had passed, and so far Mary Powlett
+showed no signs of leaving the house, which, even the many women in the
+village, who envied her for her prettiness and neatness and disliked her
+for what they called her airs, acknowledged that she managed well.
+But it was not from lack of suitors. There were at least half a dozen
+stalwart young croppers who would gladly have paid court to her had
+there been the smallest sign on her part of willingness to accept their
+attentions; but Polly, though bright and cheerful and pleasant to
+all, afforded to none of them an opportunity for anything approaching
+intimacy.
+
+On Sundays, the times alone when their occupations enabled the youth of
+Varley to devote themselves to attentions to the maidens they favored,
+Mary Powlett was not to be found at home after breakfast, for, having
+set everything in readiness for dinner, she always started for Marsden,
+taking little Susan with her, and there spent the day with the woman who
+had even more than Eliza Marner been her mother. She had, a month after
+his wife's death, fought a battle with Luke and conquered. The latter
+had, in pursuance of the plans he had originally drawn up for her,
+proposed that she should go into service at Marsden.
+
+"Oi shall miss thee sorely, Polly," he said; "and oi doan't disguise
+it from thee, vor the last year, lass, thou hast been the light o' this
+house, and oi couldna have spared ye. But oi ha' always fixed that thou
+shouldst go into service at Marsden--Varley is not fit vor the likes o'
+ye. We be a rough lot here, and a drunken; and though oi shall miss thee
+sorely for awhile, oi must larn to do wi'out thee."
+
+Polly heard him in silence, and then positively refused to go.
+
+"You have been all to me, feyther, since I was a child, and I am not
+going to leave you now. I don't say that Varley is altogether nice, but
+I shall be very happy here with you and the boys and dear little Susan,
+and I am not going to leave, and so--there!"
+
+Luke knew well how great would be the void which her absence would make,
+but he still struggled to carry out his plans.
+
+"But, Polly, oi should na loike to see thee marry here, and thy mother
+would never ha' loiked it, and thou wilt no chance of seeing other men
+here."
+
+"Why, I am only sixteen, feyther, and we need not talk of my marriage
+for years and years yet, and I promise you I shan't think of marrying
+in Varley when the time comes; but there is one thing I should like, and
+that is to spend Sundays, say once a fortnight, down with Mrs. Mason;
+they were so quiet and still there, and I did like so much going to the
+church; and I hate that Little Bethel, especially since that horrible
+man came there; he is a disgrace, feyther, and you will see that
+mischief will come out of his talk."
+
+"Oi don't like him myself, Polly, and maybe me and the boys will
+sometoimes come down to the church thou art so fond of. However, if thou
+wilt agree to go down every Sunday to Mrs. Mason, thou shalt stay here
+for a bit till oi see what can best be done."
+
+And so it was settled, and Polly went off every Sunday morning, and Luke
+went down of an evening to fetch her back.
+
+"Well, what is't, lass?" he asked as he joined her outside the "Brown
+Cow."
+
+"George has scalded his leg badly, feyther. I was just putting Susan
+to bed, and he took the kettle off the fire to pour some water in the
+teapot, when Dick pushed him, or something, and the boiling water went
+over his leg."
+
+"Oi'll give that Dick a hiding," Luke said wrathfully as he hastened
+along by her side. "Why didn't ye send him here to tell me instead of
+cooming thyself?"
+
+"It was only an accident, feyther, and Dick was so frightened when he
+saw what had happened and heard George cry out that he ran out at once.
+I have put some flour on George's leg; but I think the doctor ought to
+see him, that's why I came for you."
+
+"It's no use moi goaing voor him now, lass, he be expected along here
+every minute. Jack Wilson, he be on the lookout by the roadside vor to
+stop him to ask him to see Nance, who be taken main bad. I will see him
+and ask him to send doctor to oor house when he comes, and tell Jarge I
+will be oop in a minute."
+
+Upon the doctor's arrival he pronounced the scald to be a serious one,
+and Dick, who had been found sobbing outside the cottage, and had been
+cuffed by his father, was sent down with the doctor into the town to
+bring up some lint to envelop the leg. The doctor had already paid
+his visit to Nance Wilson, and had rated her father soundly for not
+procuring better food for her.
+
+"It's all nonsense your saying the times are bad," he said in reply to
+the man's excuses. "I know the times are bad; but you know as well as I
+do that half your wages go to the public house; your family are starving
+while you are squandering money in drink. That child is sinking from
+pure want of food, and I doubt if she would not be gone now if it hadn't
+have been for that soup your wife tells me Bill Swinton sent in to her.
+I tell you, if she dies you will be as much her murderer as if you had
+chopped her down with a hatchet."
+
+The plain speaking of the doctor was the terror of his parish patients,
+who nevertheless respected him for the honest truths he told them.
+He himself used to say that his plain speaking saved him a world of
+trouble, for that his patients took good care never to send for him
+except when he was really wanted.
+
+The next day Mary Powlett was unable to go off as usual to Marsden
+as George was in great pain from his scald. She went down to church,
+however, in the evening with her father, Bill Swinton taking her place
+by the bedside of the boy.
+
+"Thou hast been a-sitting by moi bedside hours every day, Polly," he
+said, "and it's moi turn now to take thy place here. Jack ha' brought
+over all moi books, for oi couldn't make shift to carry them and use moi
+crutches, and oi'll explain all the pictures to Jarge jest as Maister
+Ned explained 'em to oi."
+
+The sight of the pictures reconciled George to Polly's departure, and
+seeing the lad was amused and comfortable, she started with Luke, Dick
+taking his place near the bed, where he could also enjoy a look at the
+pictures.
+
+"Did you notice that pretty girl with the sweet voice in the aisle in
+a line with us, father," Ned asked that evening, "with a great, strong,
+quiet looking man by the side of her?"
+
+"Yes, lad, the sweetness of her singing attracted my attention, and I
+thought what a bright, pretty face it was!"
+
+"That's Mary Powlett and her uncle. You have heard me speak of her as
+the girl who was so kind in nursing Bill."
+
+"Indeed, Ned! I should scarcely have expected to find so quiet and tidy
+looking a girl at Varley, still less to meet her with a male relation in
+church."
+
+"She lives at Varley, but she can hardly be called a Varley girl," Ned
+said. "Bill was telling me about her. Her uncle had her brought up down
+here. She used to go back to sleep at night, but otherwise all her time
+was spent here. It seems her mother never liked the place, and married
+away from it, and when she and her husband died and the child came back
+to live with her uncle he seemed to think he would be best carrying out
+his dead sister's wishes by having her brought up in a different way to
+the girls at Varley. He has lost his wife now, and she keeps house for
+him, and Bill says all the young men in Varley are mad about her, but
+she won't have anything to say to them."
+
+"She is right enough there," Captain Sankey said smilingly. "They are
+mostly croppers, and rightly or wrongly--rightly, I am afraid--they
+have the reputation of being the most drunken and quarrelsome lot in
+Yorkshire. Do you know the story that is current among the country
+people here about them?"
+
+"No, father, what is it?"
+
+"Well, they say that no cropper is in the place of punishment. It was
+crowded with them at one time, but they were so noisy and troublesome
+that his infernal majesty was driven to his wits' end by their disputes.
+He offered to let them all go. They refused. So one day he struck upon
+a plan to get rid of them. Going outside the gates he shouted at the top
+of his voice, 'Beer, beer, who wants beer?' every cropper in the place
+rushed out, and he then slipped in again and shut the gates, and has
+taken good care ever since never to admit a cropper into his territory."
+
+Ned laughed at the story.
+
+"It shows at any rate, father, what people think of them here; but I
+don't think they are as bad as that, though Bill did say that there are
+awful fights and rows going on there of an evening, and even down here
+if there is a row there is sure to be a cropper in it. Still you see
+there are some good ones; look at Luke Marner, that's the man we saw in
+church, see how kind he has been to his niece."
+
+"There are good men of all sorts, and though the croppers may be rough
+and given to drink, we must not blame them too severely; they are wholly
+uneducated men, they work hard, and their sole pleasure is in the
+beer shop. At bottom they are no doubt the same as the rest of their
+countrymen, and the Yorkshire men, though a hard headed, are a soft
+hearted race; the doctor tells me that except that their constitutions
+are ruined by habitual drinking he has no better patients; they bear
+pain unflinchingly, and are patient and even tempered. I know he loves
+them with all their faults, and I consider him to be a good judge of
+character."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV: THE WORMS TURN
+
+
+"I say, it's a shame, a beastly shame!" Ned Sankey exclaimed
+passionately as the boys came out from school one day.
+
+Generally they poured out in a confused mass, eager for the fresh air
+and anxious to forget in play the remembrance of the painful hours in
+school; but today they came out slowly and quietly, each with a book in
+his hand, for they had tasks set them which would occupy every moment
+till the bell sounded again.
+
+"Every one says they know nothing about the cat. I don't know whether
+it's true or not, for I am sorry to say some of the fellows will tell
+lies to escape the cane, but whether it is so or not he's no right to
+punish us all for what can only be the fault of one or two."
+
+That morning the cat, which was the pet of Mr. Hathorn and his wife,
+had been found dead near the door of the schoolhouse. It had been most
+brutally knocked about. One of its eyes had been destroyed, its soft fur
+was matted with blood, and it had evidently been beaten to death. That
+the cat was no favorite with the boys was certain. The door between the
+schoolroom and the house was unfastened at night, and the cat in her
+pursuit of mice not unfrequently knocked over inkstands, and the ink,
+penetrating into the desks, stained books and papers, and more than one
+boy had been caned severely for damage due to the night prowlings of the
+cat.
+
+Threats of vengeance against her had often been uttered, and when the
+cat was found dead it was the general opinion in the school that one or
+other of their comrades had carried out his threats, but no suspicion
+fell upon any one in particular. The boys who were most likely to have
+done such a thing declared their innocence stoutly.
+
+Mr. Hathorn had no doubt on the subject. The cane had been going all
+the morning, and he had told them that extra tasks would be given which
+would occupy all their playtime until the offender was given up to
+judgment.
+
+In point of fact the boys were altogether innocent of the deed. Pussy
+was a noted marauder, and having been caught the evening before in a
+larder, from which she had more than once stolen titbits, she had
+been attacked by an enraged cook with a broomstick, and blows had been
+showered upon her until the woman, believing that life was extinct, had
+thrown her outside into the road; but the cat was not quite dead, and
+had, after a time, revived sufficiently to drag her way home, only,
+however, to die.
+
+"I call it a shame!" Ned repeated. "Mind, I say it's a brutal thing
+to ill treat a cat like that. If she did knock down inkstands and get
+fellows into rows it was not her fault. It's natural cats should run
+after mice, and the wainscoting of the schoolroom swarmed with them. One
+can hear them chasing each other about and squeaking all day. If I knew
+any of the fellows had killed the cat I should go straight to Hathorn
+and tell him.
+
+"You might call it sneaking if you like, but I would do it, for I hate
+such brutal cruelty. I don't see how it could have been any of the
+fellows, for they would have had to get out of the bedroom and into it
+again; besides, I don't see how they could have caught the cat if they
+did get out; but whether it was one of the fellows or not makes no
+difference. I say it's injustice to punish every one for the fault of
+one or two fellows.
+
+"I suppose he thinks that in time we shall give up the names of the
+fellows who did it. As far as I am concerned, it will be just the other
+way. If I had known who had done it this morning, when he accused us, I
+should have got up and said so, because I think fellows who treat dumb
+animals like that are brutes that ought to be punished, but I certainly
+would not sneak because Hathorn punished me unjustly. I vote we all
+refuse to do the work he has set us."
+
+This bold proposition was received with blank astonishment.
+
+"But he would thrash us all fearfully," Tompkins said.
+
+"He daren't if we only stuck together. Why, he wouldn't have a chance
+with us if we showed fight. If we were to say to him, 'We won't do these
+extra tasks; and if you touch one of us the whole lot will pitch into
+you,' what could he do then?"
+
+"I will tell you what he could do, Sankey," Tom Room, a quiet, sensible
+boy, replied. "If we were in a desert island it would be all well
+enough, he could not tyrannize over us then: but here it is different.
+He would just put on his hat and go into the town, and in ten minutes he
+would be back again with the six constables, and if that wasn't enough
+he could get plenty of other men, and where would our fighting be then?
+We should all get the most tremendous licking we have ever had, and get
+laughed at besides through the town for a pack of young fools."
+
+Ned broke into a good tempered laugh.
+
+"Of course you are right, Room. I only thought about Hathorn himself.
+Still, it is horribly unfair. I will do it today. But if he goes on with
+it, as he threatens, I won't do it, let him do what he likes."
+
+For some days this state of things continued. There was no longer any
+sound of shouting and laughter in the playground. The boys walked about
+moody and sullen, working at their lessons. They were fast becoming
+desperate. No clue had been obtained as to the destroyer of the cat,
+and the schoolmaster declared that if it took him months to break their
+spirits he would do it.
+
+Ned Sankey had said nothing at home as to his troubles. His father
+noticed that he ran off again as soon as his dinner was over, and that
+he no longer said anything as to the sports in which he was engaged in
+playtime; also, that his lessons occupied him from tea time until he
+went up to bed.
+
+"Anything is better than this," Ned said one day to some of the boys of
+his own age. "In my opinion it's better to have a regular row. What Room
+said was quite true; we shall get the worst of it; but the story will
+then come out, and it will be seen what a beastly tyranny we have been
+undergoing. I tell you, I for one will not stand it any longer, so
+here goes," and he threw his book up into a tree, in whose branches it
+securely lodged.
+
+His comrades followed his example, and the news that Sankey and some
+of the other fellows were determined to put up with it no longer soon
+spread, and in five minutes not a book was to be seen in the playground.
+The spirit of resistance became strong and general, and when the bell
+rang the boys walked into the schoolroom silent and determined, but
+looking far less moody and downcast than usual. Mr. Hathorn took his
+seat at his desk.
+
+"The first class will come up and say their tasks."
+
+Not a boy moved in his seat.
+
+"The first class will come up and say their tasks," the master repeated,
+bringing his cane down with angry emphasis on the desk.
+
+Still no one moved.
+
+"What does this mean?" he shouted, rising from his seat.
+
+"It means, sir," Ned Sankey said, rising also, "that we are determined,
+all of us, that we will learn no more extra tasks. None of us, so far
+as we know, ever touched your cat, and we are not going to submit to be
+punished any longer for a fault which none of us have committed."
+
+"No, no," rose in a general chorus through the schoolroom, "we will do
+no more tasks."
+
+Mr. Hathorn stood petrified with astonishment and white with anger.
+
+"So you are at the bottom of this, Sankey. I will make an example of
+you."
+
+So saying, he took a stride forward toward Ned. In an instant a shower
+of books flew at him from all parts of the room. Infuriated by the
+attack, he rushed forward with his cane raised. Ned caught up a heavy
+inkstand.
+
+"If you touch me," he shouted, "I will fling this at your head."
+
+Mr. Hathorn hesitated. The shower of books had not affected him, but the
+heavy missile in Ned's hand was a serious weapon. In another moment he
+sprang forward and brought his cane down with all his force upon Ned's
+back.
+
+Ned at once hurled the heavy inkstand at him. The schoolmaster sprang on
+one side, but it struck him on the shoulder, and he staggered back.
+
+"You have broken my shoulder, you young scoundrel!" he exclaimed.
+
+"I shouldn't care if I had broken your head," Ned retorted, white
+with passion; "it would have served you right if I had killed you, you
+tyrant."
+
+"One of you go and fetch a constable," Mr. Hathorn said to the boys.
+
+"Let him send his servant. He will find me at home. Mr. Hathorn, I am
+not going to run away, you need not think it. Give me in charge if you
+dare; I don't care what they do to me, but the whole country shall know
+what a tyrant you are."
+
+So saying, he collected his books, put his cap on his head, and walked
+from the schoolroom, the boys cheering him loudly as he went. On
+reaching home he went at once to his father's study.
+
+"I am sorry to say, sir, that there has been a row in the school, and
+Hathorn has threatened to send a constable here after me for throwing an
+inkstand at him."
+
+"Throwing an inkstand!" Captain Sankey exclaimed. "Is it possible?"
+
+"It is quite possible and quite true; he has been treating us shamefully
+for the last ten days; he has been always a cruel brute all along,
+though I never wanted to make a fuss about it, but it has been getting
+worse and worse. Ten days ago some one killed his cat, and I am almost
+sure it was none of the boys, but he chose to believe it was, and
+because he couldn't find out who, he has punished the whole school, and
+all our play hours have been taken up with lessons ever since, and he
+said he would keep on so till he found out who did it, if it was months.
+
+"So at last we could not stand it any longer, and we all agreed that we
+wouldn't do the extra tasks, and that we would stick together when we
+told him so. He rushed at me with his cane, and gave me one with all
+his might, and I threw an inkstand at him, and it caught him on the
+shoulder, and he says it has broken it, and that he would send for a
+constable. So I told him to do so if he dared, and here I am."
+
+"This is a very serious business, Ned," his father said gravely. "In
+the first place, there is something like a rebellion in the school,
+of which, I suppose, you were one of the leaders or he would not have
+singled you out. In the second place, you threw a missile at him, which
+has broken his shoulder, and might have killed him had it struck him on
+the head. I have warned you, my boy, over and over again against giving
+way to that passionate temper of yours, and have told you that it would
+lead you into serious trouble."
+
+"I can't help it, sir," Ned said doggedly. "I've put up with a
+tremendous lot there, and have said nothing about it, because I did not
+wish to give you trouble; but when it came to downright tyranny like
+this I would rather be killed than put up with it. I warned him fairly
+that if he struck me I would throw the inkstand at him, and he brought
+it on himself."
+
+Captain Sankey seeing that in his son's present state of mind talking
+would be useless to him, ordered him to remain in his study till his
+return, and putting on his hat went toward the school. Ned's temper
+had always been a source of anxiety to him. The boy was, no doubt, of a
+passionate nature, but had he had the advantage of a proper supervision
+and care when he was a child the tendency might have been overcome.
+Unfortunately this had not been the case. His mother had left the
+children entirely to the care of ayahs, he himself had been far too
+occupied with his regimental duties to be able to superintend their
+training, while Abijah's hands had been too full with the management
+of the house, which entirely devolved upon her, and with the
+constant attention demanded by Mrs. Sankey, to give them any close
+superintendence. Thus like most children born in India and left entirely
+in the charge of colored nurses, Ned had acquired the habit of giving
+way to bursts of ungovernable passion; for the black nurses have no
+authority over their young charges, unless seconded and supported by
+the firmness of their mothers. In this case no such support had been
+forthcoming.
+
+Mrs. Sankey hated being troubled, and the ayahs always found that any
+complaints to her recoiled upon themselves, for she always took the
+part of her children, and insisted that the fault lay on the side of the
+nurses and not on them. The natural result was, that the ayahs ceased
+to trouble her, and found it easier to allow the children to do as they
+chose, and to give way quietly to Ned's outbursts of passion.
+
+Captain Sankey knew nothing of all this. Ned was very fond of him, and
+was always bright and good tempered when with his father, and it was
+not until he left India and was thrown more with him that Captain Sankey
+discovered how grievously Ned's disposition, which was in other respects
+a fine one, was marred by the habit which had been encouraged by
+indulgence and want of control. Then he set to work earnestly to remedy
+the mischief, but the growth of years is hard to eradicate, and although
+under the influence of the affection for his father and his own good
+sense Ned had so far conquered himself that his fits of passion were few
+and far between, the evil still existed, and might yet, as his father
+felt, lead to consequences which would mar his whole life.
+
+Thinking the matter sadly over, Captain Sankey was proceeding toward the
+school when he met one of the constables. The man touched his hat and
+stopped.
+
+"This be a moighty oonpleasant business, captain," he said; "your boy,
+he ha' been and battered schoolmaister; and t' doctor says he ha' broke
+his collarbone. Oi ha' got to take him afore t' magistrate."
+
+"Very well, Harper," Captain Sankey said quietly; "of course you must
+do your duty. It is a sad business, and I was on my way to the school to
+see if the matter could not be arranged; however, as it has been put in
+your hands it is now too late, and things must take their course; the
+magistrates are not sitting today. I will guarantee that my son shall be
+present at the sitting on Thursday, I suppose that will be sufficient?"
+
+"Yes, oi supposes if you promises to produce him, that will do," the
+constable said. "Oi doan't suppose as nought will come o't; these
+schoolmaister chaps does thrash t' boys cruel, and oi ain't surprised as
+t' little chaps roises ag'in it soometoimes. T'others all seem moighty
+glad o' it: oi heard 'em shouting and, cheering in t' yard as if they
+was all mad."
+
+Captain Sankey shook his head. "I'm afraid the magistrates won't see it
+in that light, Harper; discipline is discipline. However, we must hope
+for the best."
+
+The story that there had been a rebellion among the boys at Hathorn's,
+that the schoolmaster had his shoulder broken, and that Captain Sankey's
+son was to go before the magistrates, spread rapidly through Marsden,
+and the courthouse was crowded at the sitting of the magistrates on
+Thursday.
+
+There were two magistrates on the bench. Mr. Thompson the local banker,
+and Squire Simmonds of Lathorpe Hall, three miles from the town. Several
+minor cases were first disposed of, and then Ned's name was called.
+Captain Sankey had been accommodated with a seat near the magistrates,
+with both of whom he had some personal acquaintance. Ned was sitting by
+the side of the lawyer whom his father had retained to defend him; he
+now moved quietly into the dock, while Mr. Hathorn, with his arm in a
+sling, took his place in the witness box.
+
+Ned had recovered now from his fit of passion, and looked amused rather
+than concerned as the schoolmaster gave his evidence as to the fray in
+the schoolroom.
+
+"I have a few questions to ask you, Mr. Hathorn," Mr. Wakefield, Ned's
+lawyer, said. "Had you any reason for expecting any outbreak of this
+kind among your boys?"
+
+"None whatever," Mr. Hathorn said.
+
+"You use the cane pretty freely, I believe, sir."
+
+"I use it when it is necessary," Mr. Hathorn replied.
+
+"Ah, and how often do you consider it necessary?"
+
+"That must depend upon circumstances."
+
+"You have about thirty boys, I think?"
+
+"About thirty."
+
+"And you consider it necessary that at least fifteen out of that thirty
+should be caned every day. You must have got a very bad lot of boys, Mr.
+Hathorn?"
+
+"Not so many as that," the schoolmaster said, flushing.
+
+"I shall be prepared to prove to your worships," the lawyer said, "that
+for the last six months the average of boys severely caned by this man
+has exceeded sixteen a day, putting aside such minor matters as one,
+two, or three vicious cuts with the cane given at random. It fortunately
+happened, as I find from my young friend in the dock, that one of the
+boys has, from motives of curiosity, kept an account for the last six
+months of the number of boys thrashed every day. I have sent round for
+him, and he is at present in court."
+
+Mr. Hathorn turned pale, and he began to think that it would have been
+wiser for him to have followed Ned's advice, and not to have brought the
+matter into court.
+
+"Your worships," the lawyer said, "you have been boys, as I have, and
+you can form your own ideas as to the wretchedness that must prevail
+among a body of lads of whom more than half are caned daily. This,
+your worships, is a state of tyranny which might well drive any boys to
+desperation. But I have not done with Mr. Hathorn yet.
+
+"During the ten days previous to this affair things wore even more
+unpleasant than usual in your establishment, were they not, sir?
+I understand that the whole of the boys were deprived of all play
+whatever, and that every minute was occupied by extra tasks, and
+moreover the prospect was held out to them that this sort of thing would
+continue for months."
+
+There had already been several demonstrations of feeling in court,
+but at this statement by the lawyer there was a general hiss. The
+schoolmaster hesitated before replying.
+
+"Now, Mr. Hathorn," the lawyer said briskly, "we want neither hesitation
+nor equivocation. We may as well have it from you, because if you don't
+like telling the truth I can put the thirty miserable lads under your
+charge into the box one after the other."
+
+"They have had extra tasks to do during their play time," Mr. Hathorn
+said, "because they refused to reveal which among them brutally murdered
+my cat."
+
+"And how do you know they murdered your cat?"
+
+"I am sure they did," the schoolmaster said shortly.
+
+"Oh! you are sure they did! And why are you so sure? Had they any grudge
+against your cat?"
+
+"They pretended they had a grudge."
+
+"What for, Mr. Hathorn?"
+
+"They used to accuse her of upsetting the ink bottles when they did it
+themselves."
+
+"You did not believe their statements, I suppose?"
+
+"Not at all."
+
+"You caned them just the same as if they had done it themselves. At
+least I am told so."
+
+"Of course I caned them, especially as I knew that they were telling a
+lie."
+
+"But if it was a lie, Mr. Hathorn, if this cat did not upset their ink,
+why on earth should these boys have a grudge against her and murder
+her?"
+
+The schoolmaster was silent.
+
+"Now I want an answer, sir. You are punishing thirty boys in addition to
+the sixteen daily canings divided among them; you have cut off all their
+play time, and kept them at work from the time they rise to the time
+they go to bed. As you see, according to your own statement, they could
+have had no grudge against the cat, how are you sure they murdered her?"
+
+"I am quite sure." Mr. Hathorn said doggedly. "Boys have always a spite
+against cats."
+
+"Now, your honors, you hear this," Mr. Wakefield said. "Now I am about
+to place in the witness box a very respectable woman, one Jane Tytler,
+who is cook to our esteemed fellow townsman, Mr. Samuel Hawkins, whose
+residence is, as you know, not far from this school. She will tell you
+that, having for some time been plagued by a thieving cat which was in
+the habit of getting into her larder and carrying off portions of food,
+she, finding it one day there in the act of stealing a half chicken,
+fell upon it with a broomstick and killed it, or as she thought killed
+it, and I imagine most cooks would have acted the same under the
+circumstances.
+
+"She thought no more about it until she heard the reports in the town
+about this business at the school, and then she told her master. The
+dates have been compared, and it is found that she battered this cat
+on the evening before the Hathorn cat was found dead in the yard.
+Furthermore, the cat she battered was a white cat with a black spot
+on one side, and this is the exact description of the Hathorn cat;
+therefore, your honors, you will see that the assumption, or pretense,
+or excuse, call it what you will, by which this man justifies his
+tyrannical treatment of these unfortunate boys has no base or foundation
+whatever. You can go now, Mr. Hathorn; I have nothing further to say to
+you."
+
+A loud hiss rose again from the crowded court as the schoolmaster
+stepped down from the witness box, and Jane Tytler took his place.
+After giving her evidence she was succeeded by Dick Tompkins in much
+trepidation. Dick was a most unwilling witness, but he produced the
+notebook in which he had daily jotted down the number of boys caned, and
+swore to the general accuracy of the figures.
+
+Mr. Wakefield then asked the magistrates if they would like to hear any
+further witnesses as to the state of things in the schoolroom. They said
+that what they had heard was quite sufficient. He then addressed them on
+the merits of the case, pointing out that although in this case one of
+the parties was a master and the other a pupil this in no way removed it
+in the eye of the law from the category of other assaults.
+
+"In this case," he said, "your worships, the affair has arisen out of
+a long course of tyranny and provocation on the part of one of the
+parties, and you will observe that this is the party who first commits
+the assault, while my client was acting solely in self defense.
+
+"It is he who ought to stand in the witness box; and the complainant
+in the dock, for he is at once the aggressor and the assailant. The law
+admits any man who is assaulted to defend himself, and there is, so far
+as I am aware, no enactment whatever to be found in the statute book
+placing boys in a different category to grownup persons. When your
+worships have discharged my client, as I have no doubt you will do at
+once, I shall advise him to apply for a summons for assault against this
+man Hathorn."
+
+The magistrates consulted together for some time, then the squire, who
+was the senior, said:
+
+"We are of opinion that Master Sankey, by aiding this rebellion
+against his master, has done wrongly, and that he erred grievously in
+discharging a heavy missile at his master; at the same time we think
+that the provocation that he received by the tyranny which has been
+proved to have been exercised by Mr. Hathorn toward the boys under his
+charge, and especially by their unjust punishment for an offense which
+the complainant conceived without sufficient warrant, or indeed without
+any warrant at all, that they had committed, to a great extent justifies
+and excuses the conduct of Master Sankey. Therefore, with a reprimand as
+to his behavior, and a caution as to the consequences which might have
+arisen from his allowing his temper to go beyond bounds, we discharge
+him.
+
+"As to you, sir," he said to the schoolmaster, "we wish to express our
+opinion that your conduct has been cruel and tyrannical in the extreme,
+and we pity the unfortunate boys who are under the care of a man who
+treats them with such cruel harshness as you are proved to have done."
+
+The magistrates now rose, and the court broke up. Many of those present
+crowded round Ned and shook his hand, congratulating him on the issue;
+but at a sign from his father the boy drew himself away from them, and
+joining Captain Sankey, walked home with him.
+
+"The matter has ended better than I expected, Ned," he said gravely;
+"but pray, my boy, do not let yourself think that there is any reason
+for triumph. You have been gravely reprimanded, and had the missile you
+used struck the schoolmaster on the head, you would now be in prison
+awaiting your trial for a far graver offense, and that before judges
+who would not make the allowances for you that the magistrates here have
+done.
+
+"Beware of your temper, Ned, for unless you overcome it, be assured that
+sooner or later it may lead to terrible consequences."
+
+Ned, who had in fact been inclined to feel triumphant over his success,
+was sobered by his father's grave words and manner; and resolved that
+he would try hard to conquer his fault; but evil habits are hard to
+overcome, and the full force of his father's words was still to come
+home to him.
+
+He did not, of course, return to Mr. Hathorn's, and indeed the
+disclosures of the master's severity made at the examination before
+the magistrates obtained such publicity that several of his pupils were
+removed at once, and notices were given that so many more would not
+return after the next holidays that no one was surprised to hear that
+the schoolmaster had arranged with a successor in the school, and that
+he himself was about to go to America.
+
+The result was that after the holidays his successor took his place,
+and many of the fathers who had intended to remove their sons decided
+to give the newcomer a trial. The school opened with nearly the usual
+number of pupils. Ned was one of those who went back. Captain Sankey had
+called on the new master, and had told him frankly the circumstances of
+the fracas between Ned and Mr. Hathorn.
+
+"I will try your son at any rate, Mr. Sankey," the master said. "I have
+a strong opinion that boys can be managed without such use of the cane
+as is generally adopted; that, in my opinion, should be the last resort.
+Boys are like other people, and will do more for kindness than for
+blows. By what you tell me, the circumstances of your son's bringing
+up in India among native servants have encouraged the growth of a
+passionate temper, but I trust that we may be able to overcome that; at
+any rate I will give him a trial."
+
+And so it was settled that Ned should return to Porson's, for so the
+establishment was henceforth to be known.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V: THE NEW MASTER
+
+
+It was with much excitement and interest that the boys gathered in their
+places for the first time under the new master. The boarders had not
+seen him upon their arrival on the previous evening, but had been
+received by an old housekeeper, who told them Mr. Porson would not
+return until the coach came in from York that night.
+
+All eyes were turned to the door as the master entered. The first
+impression was that he was a younger man than they had expected. Mr.
+Hathorn had been some forty-five years old; the newcomer was not
+over thirty. He was a tall, loosely made man, with somewhat stooping
+shoulders; he had heavy eyebrows, gray eyes, and a firm mouth. He did
+not look round as he walked straight to his desk; then he turned, and
+his eyes traveled quietly and steadily round the room as if scanning
+each of the faces directed toward him.
+
+"Now, boys," he said in a quiet voice, "a few words before we begin.
+I am here to teach, and you are here to learn. As your master I expect
+prompt obedience. I shall look to see each of you do your best to
+acquire the knowledge which your parents have sent you here to obtain.
+Above all, I shall expect that every boy here will be straightforward,
+honorable, and truthful. I shall not expect to find that all are capable
+of making equal progress; there are clever boys and stupid boys, just
+as there are clever men and stupid men, and it would be unjust to expect
+that one can keep up to the other; but I do look to each doing his best
+according to his ability. On my part I shall do my best to advance you
+in your studies, to correct your faults, and to make useful men of you.
+
+"One word as to punishments. I do not believe that knowledge is to be
+thrashed into boys, or that fear is the best teacher. I shall expect you
+to learn, partly because you feel that as your parents have paid for you
+to learn it is your duty to learn, partly because you wish to please me.
+I hope that the cane will seldom be used in this school. It will be used
+if any boy tells me a lie, if any boy does anything which is mean and
+dishonorable, if any boy is obstinately idle, and when it is used it
+will be used to a purpose, but I trust that the occasion for it will be
+rare.
+
+"I shall treat you as friends whom it is my duty to instruct. You will
+treat me, I hope, as a friend whose duty it is to instruct you, and who
+has a warm interest in your welfare; if we really bear these relations
+to each other there should be seldom any occasion for punishment. And
+now as a beginning today, boys, let each come up to my desk, one at a
+time, with his books. I shall examine you separately, and see what each
+knows and is capable of doing. I see by the report here that there are
+six boys in the first class. As these will occupy me all the morning
+the rest can go into the playground. The second class will be taken this
+afternoon."
+
+The boys had listened with astonished silence to this address, and so
+completely taken aback were they that all save those ordered to remain
+rose from their seats and went out in a quiet and orderly way, very
+different from the wild rush which generally terminated school time.
+
+Ned being in the second class was one of those who went out. Instead of
+scattering into groups, the boys gathered in a body outside.
+
+"What do you think of that, Sankey?" Tompkins said. "It seems almost
+too good to be true. Only fancy, no more thrashing except for lying and
+things of that sort, and treating us like friends! and he talked as if
+he meant it too."
+
+"That he did," Ned said gravely; "and I tell you, fellows, we shall have
+to work now, and no mistake. A fellow who will not work for such a man
+as that deserves to be skinned."
+
+"I expect," said James Mather, who was one of the biggest boys in the
+school though still in the third class, "that it's all gammon, just to
+give himself a good name, and to do away with the bad repute the school
+has got into for Hathorn's flogging. You will see how long it will last!
+I ain't going to swallow all that soft soap."
+
+Ned, who had been much touched at the master's address, at once fired
+up:
+
+"Oh! we all know how clever you are, Mather--quite a shining genius, one
+of the sort who can see through a stone wall. If you say it's gammon, of
+course it must be so."
+
+There was a laugh among the boys.
+
+"I will punch your head if you don't shut up, Sankey," Mather said
+angrily; "there's no ink bottle for you to shy here."
+
+Ned turned very white, but he checked himself with an effort.
+
+"I don't want to fight today--it's the first day of the half year, and
+after such a speech as we've heard I don't want to have a row on this
+first morning. But you had better look out; another time you won't find
+me so patient. Punch my head, indeed! Why, you daren't try it."
+
+But Mather would have tried it, for he had for the last year been
+regarded as the cock of the school. However, several of the boys
+interfered.
+
+"Sankey is right, Mather; it would be a beastly shame to be fighting
+this morning. After what Porson said there oughtn't to be any rows
+today. We shall soon see whether he means it."
+
+Mather suffered himself to be dissuaded from carrying his threat into
+execution, the rather that in his heart of hearts he was not assured
+that the course would have been a wise one. Ned had never fought in
+the school, but Tompkins' account of his fight on the moor with Bill
+Swinton, and the courage he had shown in taking upon himself the office
+of spokesman in the rebellion against Hathorn, had given him a very
+high reputation among the boys; and in spite of Mather's greater age and
+weight there were many who thought that Ned Sankey would make a tough
+fight of it with the cock of the school.
+
+So the gathering broke up and the boys set to at their games, which were
+played with a heartiness and zest all the greater that none of them were
+in pain from recent punishment, and that they could look forward to the
+afternoon without fear and trembling.
+
+When at twelve o'clock the boys of the first class came out from school
+the others crowded round to hear the result of the morning's lessons.
+They looked bright and pleased.
+
+"I think he is going to turn out a brick," Ripon, the head of the first
+class, said. "Of course one can't tell yet. He was very quiet with us
+and had a regular examination of each of us. I don't think he was at
+all satisfied, though we all did our best, but there was no shouting or
+scolding. We are to go in again this afternoon with the rest. He says
+there's something which he forgot to mention to us this morning."
+
+"More speeches!" Mather grumbled. "I hate all this jaw."
+
+"Yes," Ripon said sharply; "a cane is the thing which suits your
+understanding best. Well, perhaps he will indulge you; obstinate
+idleness is one of the things he mentioned in the address."
+
+When afternoon school began Mr. Porson again rose.
+
+"There is one thing I forgot to mention this morning. I understand that
+you have hitherto passed your play time entirely in the playground,
+except on Saturday afternoons, when you have been allowed to go where
+you like between dinner and tea time. With the latter regulation I do
+not intend to interfere, or at any rate I shall not do so so long as
+I see that no bad effects come of it; but I shall do so only with this
+proviso: I do not think it good for you to be going about the town. I
+shall therefore put Marsden out of bounds. You will be free to ramble
+where you like in the country, but any boy who enters the town will
+be severely punished. I am not yet sufficiently acquainted with the
+neighborhood to draw the exact line beyond which you are not to go, but
+I shall do so as soon as I have ascertained the boundaries of the town.
+
+"I understand that you look forward to Saturday for making such
+purchases as you require. Therefore each Saturday four boys, selected by
+yourselves, one from each class, will be allowed to go into the town to
+make purchases for the rest, but they are not to be absent more than an
+hour.
+
+"In the second place, I do not think that the playground affords a
+sufficient space for exercise, and being graveled, it is unsuitable for
+many games. Therefore I have hired a field, which I dare say you all
+know; it is called 'The Four Acre Field,' about a hundred yards down the
+road on the left hand side. This you will use as your playground during
+the six summer months. I have brought with me from York a box which I
+shall place under the charge of Ripon and the two next senior to him.
+It contains bats, wickets, and a ball for cricket; a set of quoits; trap
+bat and ball for the younger boys; leaping bars and some other things.
+These will give you a start. As they become used up or broken they
+must be replaced by yourselves; and I hope you will obtain plenty of
+enjoyment from them. I shall come and play a game of cricket with you
+myself sometimes.
+
+"You will bear in mind that it is my wish that you should be happy. I
+expect you to work hard, but I wish you to play hard too. Unless the
+body works the brain will suffer, and a happy and contented boy will
+learn as easily again as a discontented, and miserable one. I will give
+you the box after tea, so that you can all examine them together. The
+second and third classes will now stay in; the fourth class can go out
+in the playground with the first. I shall have time to examine them
+while the others are doing their work tomorrow."
+
+There was a suppressed cheer among the boys and Ripon, as the senior,
+said:
+
+"I am sure, sir, we are all very much obliged to you for your kindness,
+and we will do our best to deserve it."
+
+There was a chorus of assent, and then the elder and younger boys went
+out into the playground while the work of examination of the second and
+third classes began.
+
+On the following day lessons began in earnest, and the boys found their
+first impressions of the new master more than justified. A new era
+had commenced. The sound of the cane was no longer heard, and yet the
+lessons were far better done than had been the case before. Then the
+whole work had fallen on the boys; the principal part of the day's
+lessens had been the repeating of tasks learned by heart, and the master
+simply heard them and punished the boys who were not perfect.
+
+There was comparatively little of this mechanical work now; it was the
+sense and not the wording which had to be mastered. Thus geography was
+studied from an atlas and not by the mere parrot-like learning of the
+names of towns and rivers. In grammar the boys had to show that they
+understood a rule by citing examples other than those given in their
+books. History was rather a lecture from the master than a repetition of
+dry facts and dates by the boys. Latin and mathematics were made clear
+in a similar way.
+
+"It was almost too good to last," the boys said after the first
+day's experience of this new method of teaching; but it did last.
+A considerable portion of the work out of school was devoted to the
+keeping up the facts they had learned, for Mr. Porson was constantly
+going back and seeing that their memories retained the facts they had
+acquired, and what they called examinations were a part of the daily
+routine.
+
+In some points upon which Mr. Hathorn had laid the greatest stress Mr.
+Porson was indifferent--dates, which had been the bane of many a boy's
+life and an unceasing source of punishment, he regarded but little,
+insisting only that the general period should be known, and his
+questions generally took the form of, "In the beginning or at the end of
+such and such a century, what was the state of things in England or in
+Rome?" A few dates of special events, the landmarks of history, were
+required to be learned accurately, all others were passed over as
+unimportant.
+
+It was not that the boys worked fewer hours than before, but that they
+worked more intelligently, and therefore more pleasantly to themselves.
+The boys--and there were some--who imagined that under this new method
+of teaching they could be idle, very soon found out their mistake,
+and discovered that in his way Mr. Porson was just as strict as his
+predecessor. He never lost his temper; but his cold displeasure was
+harder to bear than Mr. Hathorn's wrath; nor were punishments wanting.
+Although the cane was idle, those who would not work were kept in the
+schoolroom during play hours; and in cases where this was found to be
+ineffectual Mr. Porson coldly said:
+
+"Your parents pay me to teach you, and if you do not choose to be taught
+I have only to write home to them and request them to take you away. If
+you are one of those boys who will only learn from fear of the cane you
+had better go to some school where the cane is used."
+
+This threat, which would have been ineffective in Mr. Hathorn's time
+never failed to have an effect now; for even Mather, the idlest and
+worst boy there, was able to appreciate the difference between the
+present regime and the last. In a marvelously short time Mr. Porson
+seemed to have gauged the abilities of each of the boys, and while he
+expected much from those who were able' to master easily their tasks,
+he was content with less from the duller intellects, providing they had
+done their best.
+
+After a week's experience of Mr. Porson, Ned gave so glowing an account
+to his father of the new master and his methods that Captain Sankey went
+down to the school and arranged that Charlie, now ten years old, should
+accompany his brother. There were several boys no older than he; but
+Charlie differed widely from his elder brother, being a timid and
+delicate child, and ill fitted to take care of himself. Captain Sankey
+felt, however, after what Ned had told him of Mr. Porson, that he
+could trust to him during the school hours, and Ned would be an active
+protector in the playground.
+
+It was not until a fortnight after the school began that the Four Acre
+Field was ready. By that time a flock of sheep had been turned into it,
+and had eaten the grass smooth, and a heavy horse roller had been at
+work for a day making a level pitch in the center.
+
+It was a Saturday afternoon when the boys took possession of it for the
+first time. As they were about to start in the highest glee, Mr. Porson
+joined them. Some of their faces fell a little; but he said cheerfully:
+
+"Now, boys, I am going with you; but not, you know, to look after you or
+keep you in order. I want you all to enjoy yourselves just in your own
+way, and I mean to enjoy myself too. I have been a pretty good cricketer
+in my time, and played in the York Eleven against Leeds, so I may be
+able to coach you up a little, and I hope after a bit we may be able to
+challenge some of the village elevens round here. I am afraid Marsden
+will be too good for us for some time; still, we shall see."
+
+On reaching the field Mr. Porson saw the ground measured and the wickets
+erected, and then said:
+
+"Now I propose we begin with a match. There are enough of us to make
+more than two elevens; but there are the other games. Would any of the
+bigger boys like to play quoits better than cricket?"
+
+Mather, who felt much aggrieved at the master's presence, said he should
+prefer quoits; and Williamson, who always followed his lead, agreed to
+play with him.
+
+"Now," Mr. Porson said, "do you, Ripon, choose an eleven. I will take
+the ten next best. The little ones who are over can play at trap bat, or
+bowls, as they like."
+
+There was a general approval of the plan. Ripon chose an eleven of the
+likeliest boys, selecting the biggest and most active; for as there had
+been no room for cricket in the yard their aptitude for the game was a
+matter of guesswork, though most of them had played during the holidays.
+Mr. Porson chose the next ten and after tossing for innings, which
+Ripon won, they set to work. Mr. Porson played for a time as long stop,
+putting on two of the strongest of his team as bowlers, and changing
+them from time to time to test their capacity. None of them turned out
+brilliant, and the runs came fast, and the wickets were taken were few
+and far between, until at last Mr. Porson himself took the ball.
+
+"I am not going to bowl fast," he said, "just straight easy lobs;" but
+the boys found that the straight lobs were not so easy after all, and
+the wickets of the boys who had made a long score soon fell. Most of
+those who followed managed to make a few runs as well off Mr. Porson's
+bowling as from that at the other end; for the master did not wish to
+discourage them, and for a few overs after each batsman came to the
+wicket aimed well off it so as to give them a chance of scoring.
+
+The last wicket fell for the respectable score of fifty-four. The junior
+eleven then went in, the master not going in until the last. Only twenty
+runs had been made when he took the bat. In the five balls of the over
+which were bowled to him he made three fours; but before it came to
+his turn again his partner at the other end was out, and his side
+were twenty-two behind on the first innings. The other side scored
+thirty-three for the first four wickets before he again took the ball,
+and the remaining six went down for twelve runs. His own party implored
+him to go in first, but he refused.
+
+"No, no, boys," he said; "you must win the match, if you can, without
+much aid from me."
+
+The juniors made a better defense this time and scored forty before the
+ninth wicket fell. Then Mr. Porson went in and ran the score up to sixty
+before his partner was out, the seniors winning the match by nine runs.
+Both sides were highly pleased with the result of the match. The seniors
+had won after a close game. The juniors were well pleased to have run
+their elders so hard.
+
+They all gathered round their master and thanked him warmly.
+
+"I am glad you are pleased, my boys," he said; "I will come down two
+or three times a week and bowl to you for an hour, and give you a
+few hints, and you will find that you get on fast. There is plenty of
+promise among you, and I prophesy that we shall turn out a fair eleven
+by the end of the season."
+
+The younger boys had also enjoyed themselves greatly, and had been
+joined by many of the elders while waiting for their turn to go in.
+Altogether the opening day of the Four Acre Field had been a great
+success.
+
+The old cake woman who had previously supplied the boys still came once
+a week, her usual time being Wednesday evening, when, after tea, the
+boys played for half an hour in the yard before going in to their usual
+lessons. Ned was not usually present, but he one evening went back to
+fetch a book which he needed. As he came in at the gate of the yard
+Mather was speaking to the woman.
+
+"No, I won't let you have any more, Master Mather. You have broken your
+promises to me over and over again. That money you owed me last half
+ain't been paid yet. If it had only been the money for the cakes and
+sweets I shouldn't ha' minded so much, but it's that ten shillings you
+borrowed and promised me solemn you would pay at the end of the week and
+ain't never paid yet. I have got to make up my rent, and I tell ye if I
+don't get the money by Saturday I shall speak to t' maister about it and
+see what he says to such goings on."
+
+"Don't talk so loud," Mather said hurriedly, "and I will get you the
+money as seen as I can."
+
+"I don't care who hears me," the woman replied in a still louder
+voice, "and as soon as you can won't do for I. I have got to have it on
+Saturday, so that's flat. I will come up to the field, and you'll best
+have it ready for me."
+
+Ned did not hear the last few words, but he had heard enough to know
+that Mather owed ten shillings which he had borrowed, besides a bill for
+cakes. Mather had not noticed him come into the yard, for his back was
+toward the gate, and the noise which the boys made running about and
+shouting prevented him hearing the gate open and close.
+
+"It's a beastly shame," Ned muttered to himself as he went off to
+school, "to borrow money from an old woman like that. Mather must have
+known he couldn't pay it, for he has only a small allowance, and he is
+always short of money, and of course he could not expect a tip before
+the holidays. He might have paid her when he came back, but as he didn't
+I don't see how he is to do so now, and if the old woman tells Porson
+there will be a row. It's just the sort of thing would rile him most."
+
+On the next Saturday he watched with some curiosity the entry of the
+old woman into the field. Several of the boys went up and bought sweets.
+When she was standing alone Mather strolled up to her. After a word or
+two he handed her something. She took it, and said a few words. Mather
+shook his head positively, and in a minute or two walked away, leaving
+her apparently satisfied.
+
+"I suppose he has given her something on account," Ned said to himself.
+"I wonder where he got it. When Ripon asked him last Monday for a
+subscription to buy another set of bats and wickets, so that two lots
+could practise at once, he said he had only sixpence left, and Mather
+would not like to seem mean now, for he knows he doesn't stand well with
+any one except two or three of his own set, because he is always running
+out against everything that Porson does."
+
+A week later Mr. Porson said, at the end of school:
+
+"By the way, boys, have any of you seen that illustrated classical
+dictionary of mine? I had it in school about ten days ago when I was
+showing you the prints of the dress and armor of the Romans, and I have
+not seen it since. I fancy I must have left it on my table, but I cannot
+be sure. I looked everywhere in my library for it last night and cannot
+find it. Perhaps if I left it on the desk one of you has taken it to
+look at the pictures."
+
+There was a general silence.
+
+"I think it must be so," Mr. Porson went on more gravely. "If the boy
+who has it will give it up I shall not be angry, as, if I left it on the
+desk, there would be no harm in taking it to look at the pictures."
+
+Still there was silence.
+
+"I value the book," Mr. Porson went on, "not only because it is an
+expensive work, but because it is a prize which I won at Durham."
+
+He paused a moment, and then said in a stern voice: "Let every boy open
+his desk."
+
+The desks were opened, and Mr. Porson walked round and glanced at each.
+
+"This is a serious matter now," he said. "Ripon, will you come to the
+study with me and help me to search again. It is possible it may still
+be there and I may have overlooked it. The rest will remain in their
+places till I return."
+
+There was a buzz of conversation while the master was absent. On his
+return he said:
+
+"The book is certainly not there. The bookshelves are all so full that
+it could only have been put in its own place or laid upon the table.
+Ripon and I have searched the room thoroughly and it is certainly not
+there. Now, boys, this is a serious business. In the first place, I will
+give a last chance to whoever may have taken it to rise in his place and
+confess it."
+
+He paused, and still all were silent.
+
+"Now mind," he said, "I do not say that any of you have taken it--I have
+no grounds for such an accusation. It may have been taken by a servant.
+A tramp may have come in at the back gate when you were all away and
+have carried it off. These things are possible. And even were I sure
+that it had been done by one of you I should not dream of punishing all;
+therefore for the present we will say no more about it. But in order
+to assure myself and you I must ask you for the keys of your boxes. The
+servants' boxes will also be searched, as well as every nook and corner
+of the house; and then, when we have ascertained for a certainty that
+the book is not within these four walls, I shall go on with a lighter
+heart."
+
+The boys all eagerly opened their trunks and play boxes, searched under
+the beds, in the cupboards, and in every nook and corner of their part
+of the house, and an equally minute search was afterward made in the
+other apartments; but no trace of the book was discovered. For days the
+matter was a subject of conversation among the boys, and endless were
+the conjectures as to what could have become of the dictionary. Their
+respect and affection for their master were greatly heightened by
+the fact that his behavior toward them was in no way altered by the
+circumstances. His temper was as patient and equable as before in the
+schoolroom; he was as cheerful and friendly in the cricket field, They
+could see, however, that he was worried and depressed, though he strove
+to appear the same as usual. Often did they discuss among themselves how
+different the state of things would have been had the loss happened
+to Mr. Hathorn, and what a life they would have led under those
+circumstances.
+
+At the end of a week the happy thought struck Ripon that a subscription
+should be made to buy a new dictionary. The amount was a serious one, as
+they found that the book could not be purchased under two guineas; but
+every boy subscribed to his last farthing. Some promised their pocket
+money for weeks in advance; others wrote home to their parents to ask
+for money, and in ten days the boys had the satisfaction of seeing Ripon
+at the commencement of school walk up to Mr. Porson's desk and present
+him with the handsome volume in the name of all the boys. Ripon had
+taken some pains in getting up an appropriate speech, and it was voted a
+great success.
+
+"Mr. Porson," he said, "in the name of all the boys in the school I beg
+to ask your acceptance of this volume. It cannot have the value to you
+of that which you have lost, as that was a prize; but we hope, that as
+a proof of the respect and affection which we all have for you, and as
+a token of our appreciation of your very great kindness toward us, you
+will accept it in place of the other."
+
+Mr. Porson's face lit up with pleasure.
+
+"My boys," he said, "I am very highly gratified at this proof that I
+have succeeded in my endeavors to make you feel that I am your friend as
+well as your master, and I shall value your gift far more highly than
+my college prize. That was simply the result of my own labor; this is
+a proof of kindness and affection on your parts. I shall value it very
+greatly all my life. And now, as I don't think you will be able to pay
+much attention to your work this morning, and as I have been for some
+days awaiting an opportunity to go over to York, where I have some
+pressing business, I shall start at once, and can just catch the stage,
+and shall get back in time for school tomorrow morning, so you will have
+the day to yourselves."
+
+With a shout of pleasure the boys started off for a long day in the
+cricket field, while Mr. Porson hurried away to catch the stagecoach for
+York.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI: THE THIEF DETECTED
+
+
+Mr. Porson was in his place next morning, having returned only half
+an hour before school began; he looked fagged, and he was scarcely so
+attentive as usual to the lessons, his thoughts seeming to be elsewhere.
+
+"He seems regularly done up with his journey," Ripon said as the boys
+came out of school.
+
+"I think he is upset about something," Ned remarked. "Sometimes he
+hardly seemed paying attention to what was going on, and he did not
+speak as cheerfully as usual. I noticed a sort of change in his voice
+directly he began. I hope nothing wrong has occurred, we were getting on
+so jollily."
+
+When afternoon school began Mr. Porson placed on the desk before him a
+packet done up in brown paper.
+
+"Boys," he said, "I have got my book again."
+
+An exclamation of surprise and pleasure burst from the boys. The mystery
+had weighed heavily on the school, and a look of eager curiosity came
+over every face to hear how the book had been recovered.
+
+"It was found in a bookseller's shop in York," Mr. Porson went on. "I
+myself had inquired at Leighton's here, but with little hope of finding
+it, for no one who stole it would have disposed of it so near home. I
+then wrote to several friends in the large towns, and one of them, a
+clergyman at York, wrote to me two days ago to say that just such a book
+as I had described was on sale in the window of one of the booksellers
+there. It was a second hand copy, but in excellent preservation. The
+flyleaf was missing. On going over yesterday I found that it was
+my book, and was able to prove it by several marginal notes in my
+handwriting.
+
+"The bookseller said at once that it was sent him by a general dealer
+at Marsden who was in the habit of picking up books at sales in the
+neighborhood and sending them to him; he had given eighteen shillings
+for it. This morning I have called upon the man, whose name is White,
+accompanied by a constable. He admitted at once that he had sent the
+book to York, and said that he bought it from some one about a month
+ago. His customer came late, and as White is short sighted, and there
+was only a tallow candle burning in the shop, he said that he should not
+know him again, and could say nothing about his age; however, I shall
+call him in; he is now outside with the constable. I am sure that for
+your own sakes you will not object to his taking a look at you."
+
+Mr. Porson went to the door, and the constable and White entered. The
+chief constable, when Mr. Porson had called upon him to ask for one of
+his men to accompany him to the dealer's, had told him that White bore
+a very bad reputation. He was suspected of being the medium through
+whom stolen goods in that part of Yorkshire were sent up to London for
+disposal. A highwayman who had been caught and executed at York, had in
+his confession stated that this man had acted as his go between for the
+disposal of the watches and other articles he took from travelers, and
+White's premises had then been thoroughly searched by the constables;
+but as nothing suspicious was found, and there was only the unsupported
+confession of the highwayman against him, he had got off scot free.
+
+"I don't think you will get anything out of him, Mr. Porson," the
+constable said. "The fact that he has been trusted by these fellows
+shows that he is not a man to peach upon those with whom he deals;
+and in the next place he would know well enough that if any one were
+convicted of stealing this book he would be liable to a prosecution as
+receiver; and though we could scarcely get a conviction against him, as
+we could not prove that he knew that it was stolen, it would do him no
+good."
+
+The boys all stood up in a line. "I will look at 'em, sir," White said;
+"but, as I have told you, I should not know the man as I bought that
+book from, from Adam. Anyhow none of these little ones couldn't be
+he. If it weren't a man, he were as big as a man. You don't suppose an
+honest tradesman would buy an expensive book like that from a kid."
+
+So saying he placed a pair of horn spectacles on his nose and walked
+round the line.
+
+"I don't see any one here whose face I ever see before as far as I
+knows; but bless you, the man as I bought it of might have had hair
+all over his face, and I be none the wiser looking at him across that
+counter of mine in the dark."
+
+"Thank you," Mr. Porson said; "then it is of no use troubling you
+further. I have got my book back; but I confess that this affords me but
+small gratification in comparison to that which I should feel if I could
+unravel this mystery."
+
+The discovery of the book reopened the interest in the matter, and
+nothing else was talked of that evening in the playground.
+
+"Ripon," Ned said, putting his arm in that of the head boy, "I want
+to tell you a thing that has been in my mind for the last three weeks;
+mind, I don't say that there's anything in it, and I hate to think harm
+of any one. There is another thing; he and I ain't good friends. If
+it hadn't been for that I should have spoken to you before; but I was
+afraid that it would look like a piece of dirty spite on my part; but I
+do think now that as head boy you ought to know, and I want your advice
+whether I ought to say anything about it or not."
+
+"What a long winded chap you are, Sankey! What is it all about?"
+
+"Well, you know, Ripon, when we got up that subscription for the cricket
+things, Mather didn't give anything. He said he had no money."
+
+"No; and he hadn't any," Ripon said, "for I had only the day before
+lent him twopence to buy some string, and he paid me when he got his
+allowance on Saturday."
+
+"Well, a day or two after that I came back after tea for a book that
+I had left behind me, and as I came in at the gate there Mather was
+standing at the corner talking to Mother Brown. He had his back to
+the door, and they didn't see me. She was talking loud and angry and I
+couldn't help hearing what she said."
+
+"Well, what did she say?" Ripon said rather impatiently.
+
+"She said, 'You have disappointed me over and over again, and if you
+don't pay me that ten shillings you borrowed of me last half, and the
+bill for the cakes, by Saturday, I will see the master and tell him all
+about it.' I didn't hear any more; but on the Saturday I saw him go up
+to her in the field and pay her something. Of course I don't know what
+it was; not all, I think, by the manner in which she took it; still, I
+suppose it was enough to content her. About ten days afterward we heard
+the book was missing. It didn't strike me at the time; but afterward,
+when I thought of it, I remembered that the last time Porson brought
+it out was on the Thursday, which was the day after Mather had been
+speaking to Mother Brown. Now, of course, Ripon, I don't actually
+suspect Mather of taking the book; still it is curious its being missing
+just at the time he wanted money so badly. He may have got the money
+from home, or he may have borrowed it from some other fellow."
+
+"No," Ripon said positively, "I am sure Mather has had no letter,
+because I always distribute the letters, and Mather's people never write
+to him; and I am sure there was no fellow in the school had more than
+a shilling or two at the outside at that time. Why didn't you tell me
+before, Sankey?"
+
+"I didn't like to, because every one knows Mather and I are not good
+friends; then I thought perhaps Mather might be able to explain it all
+right, and I should have cut a nice figure if he could; then at the time
+when I thought of it, and had got the dates right, the first excitement
+had died out and I thought we might hear no more of it and it would be
+forgotten; but now that the book has been found and the whole thing has
+come up fresh again I thought it better to tell you all about it and ask
+you what you would advise me to do."
+
+Ripon did not answer for some time; then he said:
+
+"I am sure I don't know, Ned; I will think it over till tomorrow. You
+have not said anything about it to any one else?"
+
+"Not to a soul. I hesitated whether I should tell you or father, but he
+wouldn't understand how boys think of these things so well as you do; so
+I thought as you were head of the school it was best you should know."
+
+"I wish you hadn't told me," Ripon grumbled. "I am sure I don't know
+what's best to do;" and he turned away and began to pace the yard
+moodily up and down.
+
+"The only thing I have decided," he said to Ned the next day, "is to ask
+Mother Brown myself how much Mather paid her. We may as well settle that
+question first."
+
+As this was Wednesday and the cake woman was coming that evening there
+was not long to wait. Ripon chose a time when most of the boys had made
+their purchases and the old woman was alone.
+
+"Don't you give too much tick to any of the fellows, Mother Brown," he
+began. "You know it isn't always easy to get money that's owing."
+
+"I should think not, Master Ripon; I wish they would always pay money
+down as you do. There's Master Mather, he been owing me money ever since
+last half. He borrowed ten shillings of me and promised solemn he would
+pay at the end of the week, and he has only paid five shillings yet, a
+month ago, and that was only 'cause I told him I would tell the
+master about him; there's that five shillings, and seven shillings and
+eightpence for cakes and things; but I have been giving him a piece of
+my mind this afternoon; and if I don't get that other five shillings by
+Saturday, sure enough I will speak to t' maister about it. No one can
+say as Mother Brown is hard on boys, and I am always ready to wait
+reasonable; but I can't abear lies, and when I lent that ten shillings I
+expected it was going to be paid punctual."
+
+"Then he knows you are going to speak to Mr. Porson on Saturday if he
+doesn't pay up another five shillings?"
+
+"He knows it," the old woman said, nodding. "When I says a thing I mean
+it. So he had best pay up."
+
+When Ripon met Ned next day he said: "I talked to her last night. Mather
+paid her five shillings, and she has told him if he doesn't pay her the
+other five by Saturday she will speak to Porson; so I think the best
+plan is to wait till then and see what comes of it. She will tell the
+whole story and Porson will learn it without our interference, and can
+think what he likes about it."
+
+Relieved in mind at finding that there was a prospect of his avoiding
+the decision whether or not to inform the master of his suspicions, Ned
+went to his desk. When afternoon school began Mr. Porson said gravely:
+
+"Boys, when you came back from the field did you all go straight to the
+washing room to wash your hands before dinner?"
+
+There was a chorus of surprised assent.
+
+"I am sorry to tell you that another theft has been committed. A gold
+pencil case has disappeared from my study table. I was using it after
+school. I left it on the table when I went for a stroll before dinner.
+I remember most distinctly laying it down among the pens. I went into my
+study ten minutes ago; and wanting to make a note as to this afternoon's
+work looked for the pencil and it was gone. The window was open as
+usual, and it is possible that tramps passing along the road may have
+come into the garden and have got in at the window. As in the case of
+the book I suspect no one, but two such occurrences as these are very
+uncomfortable for us all. I shall not propose any search this time, for
+had any of you taken it, which I cannot for a moment believe, he would
+not have been careless enough to put it in his pocket, or conceal it in
+his desk or boxes, but would have stowed it away somewhere where there
+would be no chance whatever of its being found. Now let us dismiss the
+subject and go on with our lessons."
+
+While the master was speaking Ripon and Sankey had glanced for a moment
+at each other; the same thought was in both their minds. After school
+was over they joined each other in the yard.
+
+"Was Mather in the washing room with the others?" Sankey asked eagerly.
+
+"He was, but he came up last," Ripon replied. "You know he generally
+saunters along in a lazy way and is the last to get in. So he was today,
+but I don't know that he was later than usual."
+
+"I think, Ripon, we ought to speak to Porson."
+
+"I think so too," Ripon rejoined gravely; "it is too serious to keep to
+ourselves. Any ordinary thing I would not peach about on any account,
+but a disgraceful theft like this, which throws a doubt over us all, is
+another thing; the honor of the whole school is at stake. I have been
+thinking it over. I don't want Mather to suspect anything, so I will go
+out at the back gate with you, as if I was going to walk part of the way
+home with you, and then we will go round to the front door and speak to
+Porson."
+
+The master was sitting on a low seat in the window of his study. Hearing
+footsteps coming up from the front gate he looked round.
+
+"Do you want to speak to me, boys?" he asked in some surprise through
+the open window. "What makes you come round the front way?"
+
+"We want to see you privately, sir," Ripon said.
+
+"Very well, boys, I will open the door for you.
+
+"Now, what is it?" he asked as the boys followed him into the study.
+
+"Well, sir, it may be nothing, I am sure I hope so," Ripon said, "but
+Sankey and I thought you ought to know and then it will be off our
+minds, and you can do as you like about it. Now, Sankey, tell what you
+knew first, then I will tell what Mother Brown said to me on Wednesday."
+
+Ned told the story in the same words in which he had related it to
+Ripon; and Ripon then detailed his conversation with the cake woman, and
+her threats of reporting Mather on Saturday were the debt not paid. Ned
+had already given his reason for keeping silence in the matter hitherto,
+and Ripon now explained that they had determined to wait till Saturday
+to see what came of it, but that after that new theft they deemed it
+their duty to speak at once. Mr. Porson sat with his face half shaded
+with his hand and without speaking a single word until the boys had
+concluded.
+
+"It is a sad business," he said in a low tone, "a very sad business. It
+is still possible that you may have come to false conclusions; but
+the circumstances you have related are terribly strong. I am grieved,
+indeed, over the business, and would rather have lost a hundred books
+and pencil cases than it should have happened. You have done quite
+right, boys; I am greatly obliged to you both, and you have acted very
+well. I know how painful it must be to you both to have been obliged to
+bring so grave a matter to my ears. Thank you; I will consider what is
+the best course to adopt. If it can be avoided, I shall so arrange that
+your names do not appear in the matter."
+
+For some little time after the boys had left him Mr. Porson remained
+in deep thought; then he rose, put on his hat, and went out, first
+inquiring of the servant if she knew where the woman who sold cakes to
+the boys lived.
+
+"Yes, sir; she lives in a little house in Mill Street; it's not a
+regular shop, but there are a few cakes in one of the windows; I have
+bought things there for the kitchen, knowing that she dealt with the
+young gentlemen."
+
+Mr. Porson made his way to Mill Street and easily found the house he
+was in search of. On being questioned the old woman at first showed some
+reluctance in answering his questions, but Mr. Porson said sharply:
+
+"Now, dame, I want no nonsense; I am acquainted with the whole affair,
+but wish to have it from your own lips. Unless you tell me the whole
+truth not a cake will you sell my boys in future."
+
+Thus pressed Mrs. Brown at once related the story of Mather having
+borrowed some money of her; of her threats to report him unless he paid,
+and of his having given her five shillings on the following Saturday,
+saying that he would give her the rest in a few days, but could pay no
+more then; and how, after repeated disappointments, she had now given
+him till Saturday to settle the debt.
+
+"If he didn't pay, sir, I meant to have come to ye and telled ye all
+about it, for I hate lies, and Master Mather has lied to me over and
+over again about it; but seeing that Saturday hasn't come I don't like
+telling ye the story, as he may have meant to keep his word to me this
+time."
+
+"Here are the five shillings which he borrowed of you; as to the other
+money, you will never get it, and I hope it will be a lesson to you; and
+mind, if I find that you ever allow the boys to run an account with you
+further than the following Saturday after it is incurred, you will never
+come into my field or playground again."
+
+Mr. Porson then went to the chief constable's, and after a short
+conversation with him a constable was told off to accompany him. He and
+the master took their station at a short distance from the shop of the
+man White and waited quietly. A little after nine a figure was seen
+coming down the street from the other end. He passed quickly into the
+shop.
+
+"That is the boy," Mr. Porson said.
+
+"Wouldn't it be better, sir," the constable asked, "to wait till the
+deed is completed, then we can lay our hands on White as a receiver?"
+
+"No," Mr. Porson replied, "for in that case the boy would have to appear
+with him in the dock, and that I wish of all things to avoid."
+
+So saying he walked quickly on and entered the shop.
+
+Mather was leaning across the counter while the man was examining the
+pencil case by the light of the candle.
+
+"Five shillings," the man said, "and no more. I was nearly getting into
+trouble over that last job of yours."
+
+"But it's worth a great deal more than that," Mather said. "You might
+give me ten."
+
+"Well, take it back then," the man said, pushing it across the counter.
+
+"Thank you, I will take it myself," Mr. Porson said quietly, as he
+advanced and stretched out his hand.
+
+Mather turned round with a sudden cry, and then stood the picture of
+silent terror.
+
+"As for you," the master said indignantly to the dealer, "you scoundrel,
+if you had your deserts I would hand you over to the constable, who is
+outside the door, as a receiver of stolen goods, and for inciting this
+boy to theft. I heard you offer him a sum of money for it which shows
+that you knew it was stolen; but your time will come, sir, and you will
+hang over the gate of York prison as many a poor wretch far less guilty
+than yourself has done;" for in those days death was the punishment
+of receivers of stolen goods, as well as of these convicted of highway
+robbery and burglary.
+
+"Have mercy, sir, oh, spare me!" Mather exclaimed, falling on his knees.
+"Don't give me in charge."
+
+"I am not going to do so," the master said. "Get up and come with me."
+
+Not a word was spoken on the way back to the school.
+
+Mr. Porson then took Mather into his study, where they remained for half
+an hour. What passed between them was never known. In the morning the
+boys who slept in the room with Mather were surprised to find that his
+bed was empty and the window open. He had gone to bed at half past eight
+as usual, and saying he was sleepy had threatened to punch the head of
+any boy who spoke, so that all had gone off to sleep in a very short
+time. A stout ivy grew against the wall, and some fallen leaves on the
+ground showed them that he had climbed down with the assistance of its
+stem. But why he should have gone, and what on earth possessed him to
+run away, none could imagine. The news ran rapidly through the other
+bedrooms, and brimful of excitement all went down when the bell rang for
+prayers before breakfast. The list of names was called out by the master
+as usual, and the excitement grew breathless as the roll of the third
+class was called; but to the astonishment of all, Mather's name was
+omitted. When the list was concluded Mr. Porson said:
+
+"Mather has left; I grieve to say that I have discovered that it was he
+who stole the book and pencil case. He has confessed the whole to me,
+and he is, I trust, sincerely penitent. He slept last night on the sofa
+in my study, and has gone off this morning by the coach. I have written
+to his parents stating the whole circumstances under which he was driven
+to commit the theft, and that although I could not permit him to remain
+here, I trusted and believed that his repentance was sincere, and that
+it would be a lesson to him through life, and I urged them to give him a
+further trial, and not to drive him to desperation by severity.
+
+"There is a lesson which you may all learn from this. Mather committed
+these crimes because he had borrowed money which he could not repay.
+Most foolishly and mistakenly the woman who supplies you with cakes had
+lent him money and when he could not repay it according to his promise
+to her, threatened to report the case to me, and it was to prevent
+the matter coming to my ears that he took these things. Let this be a
+warning to you, boys, through life. Never borrow money, never spend
+more than your means afford. An extravagance may seem to you but a small
+fault, but you see crime and disgrace may follow upon it. Think this
+well over, and be lenient in your hearts to your late schoolfellow.
+He was tempted, you see, and none of us can tell what he may do when
+temptation comes, unless we have God's help to enable us to withstand
+it, and to do what is right. Now let us fall to at our breakfast."
+
+It was a strangely silent meal. Scarce a word was spoken, even in a
+whisper. It came as a shock to everybody there, that after all the
+dictionary should have been taken by one of their number, and that the
+master's kindness on that occasion should have been requited by another
+robbery seemed a disgrace to the whole school. That Mather, too, always
+loud, noisy, and overbearing, should have been the thief was surprising
+indeed. Had it been some quiet little boy, the sort of boy others are
+given to regard as a sneak, there would have been less surprise, but
+that Mather should do such a thing was astounding. These were probably
+the first reflections which occurred to every boy as he sat down to
+breakfast.
+
+The next impression was how good Mr. Porson had been about it. He might
+have given Mother in charge, and had him punished by law. He might have
+given him a terrific flogging and a public expulsion before all the
+school. Instead of that he had sent him quietly away, and seemed sorry
+for rather than angry with him. By the time the meal was finished there
+was probably not a boy but had taken an inward resolution that there was
+nothing he would not do for his master, and although such resolutions
+are generally but transient, Mr. Porson found that the good effect of
+his treatment of Mather was considerable and permanent. Lessons were
+more carefully learned, obedience was not perhaps more prompt, but
+it was more willing, and the boys lost no opportunity of showing how
+anxious they were to please in every respect.
+
+Ned and his brother were not present when Mr. Porson explained the cause
+of Mather's absence to the others, but they were surrounded by their
+schoolfellows, all eager to tell the news upon their arrival in the
+playground a few minutes before the school began.
+
+Before breaking up in June, Porson's played their first cricket match
+with a strong village team, and beat them handsomely, although, as the
+boys said, it was to their master's bowling that their success was due.
+Still the eleven all batted fairly, and made so long a score that they
+won in one innings; and Mr. Porson promised them that before the season
+ended they should have a whole holiday, and play the Marsden eleven.
+
+Ned enjoyed his holiday rambles, taking several long walks across the
+moors accompanied by Bill Swinton, who had now perfectly recovered. The
+discontent among the croppers, and indeed among the workers in the mills
+generally through the country was as great as ever; but the season was a
+good one; bread had fallen somewhat in price, and the pinch was a little
+less severe than it had been. The majority of the masters had been
+intimidated by the action of their hands from introducing the new
+machinery, and so far the relations between master and men, in that part
+of Yorkshire at any rate, remained unchanged. But although Ned enjoyed
+his rambles he was glad when the holidays were over. He had no friends
+of his own age in Marsden; his brother was too young to accompany him
+in his long walks, and Bill obtained a berth in one of the mills shortly
+after the holidays began, and was no longer available. Therefore Ned
+looked forward to meeting his schoolfellows again, to the fun of the
+cricket field and playground, and even to lessons, for these were no
+longer terrible.
+
+The school reopened with largely increased numbers. The reports which
+the boys had taken home of the changed conditions of things and of their
+master's kindness excited among all their friends an intense longing to
+go to a school where the state of things was so different to that which
+prevailed elsewhere; and the parents were equally satisfied with the
+results of the new master's teaching. Such as took the trouble to ask
+their boys questions found that they had acquired a real grasp of the
+subjects, and that they were able to answer clearly and intelligently.
+The consequence was, the house was filled with its full complement of
+fifty boarders, and indeed Mr. Porson was obliged to refuse several
+applications for want of room. As he had not the same objection as
+his predecessor to receive home boarders, the numbers were swelled by
+eighteen boys whose parents resided in Marsden.
+
+To meet the increased demands upon his teaching powers Mr. Porson
+engaged two ushers, both of them young men who had just left Durham.
+They were both pleasant and gentlemanly young fellows; and as Mr. Porson
+insisted that his own mode of teaching should be adopted, the change did
+not alter the pleasant state of things which had prevailed during the
+past half year. Both the ushers were fond of cricket, and one turned
+out to be at least equal to Mr. Porson as a bowler. Therefore the boys
+looked forward to their match with Marsden with some confidence.
+
+Captain Sankey saw with great pleasure the steady improvement which was
+taking place in Ned's temper. It was not to be expected that the boy
+would at once overcome a fault of such long standing, but the outbursts
+were far less frequent, and it was evident that he was putting a steady
+check upon himself; so that his father looked forward to the time when
+he would entirely overcome the evil consequences engendered by his
+unchecked and undisciplined childhood.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII: A TERRIBLE SHOCK
+
+
+Ned had been looking forward with great anticipations to Michaelmas
+day, upon which the great match was to take place; for he was one of
+the eleven, being the youngest of the boys included in it. An event,
+however, happened which deprived him of his share in the match, and
+caused the day to pass almost unnoticed. On the 20th of September the
+servant came in to Mr. Porson during morning school to say that he was
+wanted. A minute or two later she again re-entered and said that Ned
+and his brother were to go to the master's study. Much surprised at this
+summons they followed her. Mr. Porson was looking exceedingly grave.
+
+"My dear boys," he said, "I have bad news for you. Very bad news. You
+must bear it bravely, looking for support and consolation to Him who
+alone can give it. Dr. Green's boy has just been here. He was sent
+down by his master to say that there has been a serious accident in the
+town."
+
+The commencement of the master's speech and the graveness of his tone
+sent a serious thrill through the hearts of the boys. Mr. Porson would
+never have spoken thus had not the news been serious indeed.
+
+When he paused Ned gave a little gasp and exclaimed, "My father!"
+
+"Yes, Ned, I am grieved to say that it is your brave father who has
+suffered from the accident. It seems that as he was walking down the
+High Street one of Ramsay's heavy wagons came along. A little girl ran
+across the street ahead, but stumbled and fell close to the horses. Your
+father, forgetful of the fact of his wooden leg, rushed over to lift
+her; but the suddenness of the movement, he being a heavy man, snapped
+the wooden leg in sunder, and he fell headlong in the street. He was
+within reach of the child, and he caught her by the clothes and jerked
+her aside; but before he could, in his crippled condition, regain
+his feet, the wheel was upon him, and he has suffered very serious
+injuries."
+
+"He is not dead, sir?" Ned gasped, while his brother began to cry
+piteously.
+
+"No, Ned, he is not dead," Mr. Porson said; "but I fear, my dear boy,
+that it would be cruel kindness did I not tell you to prepare yourself
+for the worst. I fear from what I hear that he is fatally injured, and
+that there is but little hope. Get your hats, my boys, and I will walk
+home with you at once."
+
+There were but few words exchanged during that dismal walk, and these
+were addressed by Mr. Porson to Ned.
+
+"Try to calm yourself, my boy," he said, putting his hand on his
+shoulder, which was shaking with the boy's efforts to keep down his
+convulsive sobs; "try and nerve yourselves for the sake of your father
+himself, of your mother, and the little ones. The greatest kindness you
+can show to your father new is by being calm and composed."
+
+"I will try, sir," Ned said as steadily as he could; "but you don't know
+how I loved him!"
+
+"I can guess it, my boy; for I, too, lost my father when I was just your
+age. God's ways are not our ways, Ned; and be sure, although you may not
+see it now, that he acts for the best."
+
+A little crowd stood gathered near the door. They were talking in low
+tones of the gallant way in which the crippled officer had sacrificed
+himself to save the child. They made way silently for the boys to pass.
+Ned opened the door and entered.
+
+Abijah was in the hall. She was tearless, but her face was white and
+set.
+
+"My poor boy," she said to Ned, "he is in the parlor; he has just been
+asking for you. I am glad you have come. Your mother is in hysterics in
+her bedroom, and is going on like a mad woman. You must be calm, dear,
+for your father's sake."
+
+Ned gave a little nod, and, taking his brother's hand, opened the door
+of the parlor.
+
+Captain Sankey was lying on the hearth rug, his head propped up with
+pillows from the sofa; his face was an ashen pallor, and his eyes were
+closed. The doctor was kneeling beside him, pouring some liquid from a
+glass between his lips. A strong friendship had sprung up between
+the two men, and tears were running fast down the doctor's cheeks. He
+motioned to the boys to approach. They fell on their knees by their
+father's side.
+
+"Sankey," the doctor said in a steady voice, "here are your boys, Ned
+and Charlie."
+
+The eyes of the dying man opened slowly, and he looked at his sons, and
+Ned felt a slight pressure of the hand which he had taken in his own.
+
+"God bless you, my boys!" he said, in a faint whisper. "Ned, be kind to
+your mother; care for her always. She will need all your kindness."
+
+"I will, father," the boy said steadily. "I will take care of mother, I
+promise you."
+
+A faint smile passed over the pale face; then the eyes closed again, and
+there was silence for five minutes, broken only by the sobbing of the
+younger boy. The doctor, who had his fingers on the pulse of Captain
+Sankey, leaned closely over him; then he laid his arm gently down, and
+putting his hand on Ned's shoulder said softly:
+
+"Come, my boy, your father is out of pain now."
+
+Ned gave one loud and bitter cry, and threw himself down by the side of
+the corpse, and gave way to his pent up emotion.
+
+The doctor led the younger boy from the room, and gave him into the care
+of Abijah. Then he returned and stood for awhile watching Ned's terrible
+outburst of grief; then he poured some wine into a glass.
+
+"My boy," he said tenderly, "you must not give way like this or you will
+make yourself ill. Drink this, Ned, and then go up and lie down on your
+bed until you feel better. Remember you must be strong for the sake of
+the others. You know you will have to bear your mother's burdens as well
+as your own."
+
+He helped Ned to his feet and held the glass to his lips, for the boy's
+hand was shaking so that he could not have held it. After drinking it
+Ned stumbled upstairs and threw himself on the bed, and there cried
+silently for a long time; but the first passion of grief had passed, and
+he now struggled with his tears, and in an hour rose, bathed his flushed
+and swollen face, and went downstairs.
+
+"Abijah," he said, in a voice which he struggled in vain to steady,
+"what is there for me to do? How is my mother?"
+
+"She has just cried herself off to sleep, Master Ned, and a mercy it is
+for her, poor lady, for she has been going on dreadful ever since he was
+brought in here; but if you go in to Master Charlie and Miss Lucy and
+try and comfort them it would be a blessing. I have not been able
+to leave your mother till now, and the poor little things are broken
+hearted. I feel dazed myself, sir. Think of the captain, who went out so
+strong and well this morning, speaking so kind and bright just as usual,
+lying there!" and here Abijah broke down and for the first time since
+Captain Sankey was carried into the house tears came to her relief, and
+throwing her arms round Ned's neck she wept passionately.
+
+Ned's own tears flowed too fast for him to speak for some time. At last
+he said quietly, "Don't cry so, Abijah. It is the death of all others
+that was fitted for him, he, so brave and unselfish, to die giving his
+life to save a child. You told me to be brave; it is you who must be
+brave, for you know that you must be our chief dependence now."
+
+"I know, Master Ned; I know, sir," the woman said, choking down her
+sobs, and wiping her eyes with her apron, "and I will do my best, never
+fear. I feel better now I have had a good cry. Somehow I wasn't able to
+cry before. Now, sir, do you go to the children and I will look after
+things."
+
+A fortnight passed. Captain Sankey had been laid in his grave, after
+such a funeral as had never been seen in Marsden, the mills being closed
+for the day, and all the shutters up throughout the little town, the
+greater part of the population attending the funeral as a mark of
+respect to the man who, after fighting the battles of his country, had
+now given his life for that of a child. The great cricket match did not
+come off, it being agreed on all hands that it had better be postponed.
+Mr. Porson had called twice to see Ned, and had done much by his
+comforting words to enable him to bear up. He came again the day after
+the funeral.
+
+"Ned," he said, "I think that you and Charlie had better come to school
+again on Monday. The sooner you fall into your regular groove the
+better. It would only do you both harm to mope about the house here; and
+although the laughter and noise of your schoolfellows will jar upon you
+for awhile, it is better to overcome the feeling at once; and I am sure
+that you will best carry out what would have been his wishes by setting
+to your work again instead of wasting your time in listless grieving."
+
+"I think so too, sir," Ned said, "but it will be awfully hard at first,
+and so terrible to come home and have no one to question one on the
+day's work, and to take an interest in what we have been doing."
+
+"Very hard, Ned; I thoroughly agree with you, but it has to be borne,
+and remember there is One who will take interest in your work. If I were
+you I should take your brother out for walks this week. Get up into the
+hills with him, and try and get the color back into his cheeks again.
+He is not so strong as you are, and the confinement is telling upon
+him--the fresh air will do you good, too."
+
+Ned promised to take his master's advice, and the next morning started
+after breakfast with Charlie. His mother had not yet risen, and indeed
+had not been downstairs since the day of the accident, protesting that
+she was altogether unequal to any exertion whatever. Ned had sat with
+her for many hours each day, but he had indeed found it hard work.
+Sometimes she wept, her tears being mingled with self reproaches
+that she had not been able to do more to brighten her husband's life.
+Sometimes she would break off and reproach the boy bitterly for what she
+called his want of feeling. At other times her thoughts seemed directed
+solely toward the fashion of her mourning garments, and after the
+funeral she drove Ned almost to madness by wanting to knew all the
+details of who was there and what was done, and was most indignant with
+him because he was able to tell her nothing, the whole scene having been
+as a mist to him, absorbed as he was in the thought of his father alone.
+
+But Ned had never showed the least sign of impatience or hastiness,
+meeting tears, reproaches, and inquiries with the same stoical calmness
+and gentleness. Still it was with a sigh of relief that he took a long
+breath of fresh air as he left the house and started for a ramble on the
+moor with his brother. He would have avoided Varley, for he shrank even
+from the sympathy which Bill Swinton would give; but Bill would be
+away, so as it was the shortest way he took that road. As he passed Luke
+Marner's cottage the door opened and Mary came down to the gate. One of
+the little ones had seen Ned coming along the road and had run off to
+tell her. Little Jane Marner trotted along by Polly's side.
+
+"Good morning, Polly!" Ned said, and walked on. He dreaded speech with
+any one. Polly saw his intention and hesitated; then she said:
+
+"Good morning, Master Ned! One moment, please, sir."
+
+Ned paused irresolutely.
+
+"Please don't say anything," he began.
+
+"No, sir, I am not a-going to--at least--" and then she hesitated, and
+lifted up the child, who was about four years old, a soft eyed, brown
+haired little maiden.
+
+"It's little Jenny," she said; "you know sir, you know;" and she looked
+meaningly at the child as the tears stood in her eyes.
+
+Ned understood at once.
+
+"What!" he said; "was it her? I did not know; I had not heard."
+
+"Yes, sir; she and all of us owe her life to him. Feyther wanted to come
+down to you, but I said better not yet awhile, you would understand."
+
+"How did it happen?" Ned said, feeling that here at least his wound
+would be touched with no rough hand.
+
+"She went down to the town with Jarge, who was going to fetch some
+things I wanted. He left her looking in at a shop window while he went
+inside. They were some time serving him as there were other people in
+the shop. Jenny got tired, as she says, of waiting, and seeing some
+pictures in a window on the other side of the street started to run
+across, and her foot slipped, and--and--"
+
+"I know," Ned said. "I am glad you have told me, Polly. I am glad it
+was some one one knows something about. Don't say anything more now, I
+cannot bear it."
+
+"I understand, sir," the girl said gently. "God bless you!"
+
+Ned nodded. He could not trust himself to speak, and turning he passed
+on with Charlie through the village, while Mary Powlett, with the child
+still in her arms, stood looking sorrowfully after him as long as he was
+in sight.
+
+"So thou'st seen the boy?" Luke said, when on his return from work Polly
+told him what had happened. "Thou told's him, oi hope, how we all felt
+about it, and how grateful we was?"
+
+"I didn't say much, feyther, he could not bear it; just a word or two;
+if I had said more he would have broken out crying, and so should I."
+
+"Thou hast cried enoo, lass, the last ten days. Thou hast done nowt but
+cry," Luke said kindly, "and oi felt sore inclined to join thee. Oi
+ha' had hard work to keep back the tears, old though oi be, and oi a
+cropper."
+
+"You are just as soft hearted as I am, feyther, every bit, so don't
+pretend you are not;" and indeed upon the previous day Luke Marner had
+broken down even more completely than Mary. He had followed the funeral
+at a short distance, keeping with Mary aloof from the crowd; but when
+all was over, and the churchyard was left in quiet again, Luke had gone
+and stood by the still open grave of the man who had given his life
+for his child's, and had stood there with the tears streaming down his
+cheeks, and his strong frame so shaken by emotion that Polly had been
+forced to dry her own eyes and stifle her sobs, and to lead him quietly
+away.
+
+"Strange, bain't it, lass; feyther and son seem mixed up with Varley.
+First the lad has a foight wi' Bill Swinton, and braakes the boy's leg;
+then t' feyther sends oop all sorts o' things to Bill, and his son comes
+up here and gets as friendly with Bill as if he were his brother, and
+gets to know you, and many another in the village. Then our Jane goes
+down into t' town and would ha' lost her life if captain he hadn't been
+passing by and saaved her. Then he gets killed. Just gived his life for
+hearn. Looks like a fate aboot it; may be it eel be our toorn next, and
+if ever that lad waants a man to stand beside him Luke Marner will be
+there. And there's Bill too--oi believe that boy would lay down his life
+for him. He's very fond of our Janey--fonder nor her own brothers. He
+ain't got no sister of his own, and he's took to t' child wonderful
+since he got ill. He thowt a soight o' Ned Sankey afore; I doan't know
+what he wouldn't do for him now."
+
+"I don't suppose, feyther, as any of us will be able to do anything for
+him; but we may do, who knows?"
+
+"Ay, who knows, lass? toimes is main bad, and oi doot there will be
+trouble, but oi doan't see as that can affect him no ways, being as he
+is a lad, and having nowt to do with the mills--but oi do hoape as the
+time may come, lass, as we can show un as we knows we owes a loife to
+him."
+
+On the Monday following Ned and Charlie returned to school, and found it
+less painful than Ned had expected. Mr. Porson had taken Ripon aside and
+had told that the kindest way to treat the boys would be to avoid all
+allusion to their loss or anything like a show of open sympathy, but to
+let them settle quietly into their places.
+
+"Sankey will know you all feel for him, Ripon, he will need no telling
+of that."
+
+Ripon passed the word round the school, and accordingly when the boys
+came into the playground, two or three minutes before the bell rang,
+Ned, to his great relief, found that with the exception of a warm silent
+wring of the hand from a few of those with whom he was most intimate,
+and a kindly nod from others, no allusion was made to his fortnight's
+absence or its cause.
+
+For the next month he worked hard and made up the time he had lost,
+running straight home when he came out from school, and returning just
+in time to go in with the others; but gradually he fell into his former
+ways, and by the time the school broke up at Christmas was able to mix
+with the boys and take part in their games. At home he did his best to
+make things bright, but it was uphill work. Mrs. Sankey was fretful and
+complaining. Their income was reduced by the loss of Captain Sankey's
+half pay, and they had now only the interest of the fortune of four
+thousand pounds which Mrs. Sankey had brought to her husband on her
+marriage. This sum had been settled upon her, and was entirely under her
+own control. The income was but a small one, but it was sufficient for
+the family to live upon with care and prudence.
+
+Captain Sankey had made many friends since the time when he first
+settled at Marsden, and all vied with each other in their kindness to
+his widow. Presents of game were constantly left for her; baskets of
+chickens, eggs, and fresh vegetables were sent down by Squire Simmonds
+and other county magnates, and their carriages often stopped at the door
+to make inquiries. Many people who had not hitherto called now did so,
+and all Marsden seemed anxious to testify its sympathy with the widow of
+the brave officer.
+
+Ned was touched with these evidences of respect for his father's memory.
+Mrs. Sankey was pleased for herself, and she would of an evening inform
+Ned with much gratification of the visits she had received.
+
+Ned was glad that anything should occur which could rouse his mother,
+and divert her from her own grievances; but the tone in which she spoke
+often jarred painfully upon him, and he wondered how his mother could
+find it in her heart to receive these people and to talk over his
+father's death.
+
+But Mrs. Sankey liked it. She was conscious she looked well in her
+deep mourning, and that even the somber cap was not unbecoming with her
+golden hair peeping out beneath it. Tears were always at her command,
+and she had ever a few ready to drop upon her dainty embroidered
+handkerchief when the occasion commanded it; and her visitors, when they
+agreed among themselves, what a soft gentle woman that poor Mrs.
+Sankey was, but sadly delicate you know--had no idea of the querulous
+complaining and fretfulness whose display was reserved for her own
+family only.
+
+To this Ned was so accustomed that it passed ever his head almost
+unheeded; not so her constant allusions to his father. Wholly
+unconscious of the agony which it inflicted upon the boy, Mrs. Sankey
+was incessantly quoting his opinions or utterances.
+
+"Ned, I do wish you would not fidget with your feet. You know your dear
+father often told you of it;" or, "As your dear father used to say,
+Ned;" until the boy in despair would throw down his book and rush out
+of the room to calm himself by a run in the frosty night air; while Mrs.
+Sankey would murmur to herself, "That boy's temper gets worse and worse,
+and with my poor nerves how am I to control him?"
+
+Mr. Porson was very kind to him in those days. During that summer
+holiday he had very frequently spent the evening at Captain Sankey's,
+and had formed a pretty correct idea of the character of Ned's mother.
+Thus when he saw that Ned, when he entered the school after breakfast or
+dinner, had an anxious hunted look, and was clearly in a state of high
+tension, he guessed he was having a bad time of it at home.
+
+Charlie had fast got over the shock of his father's death; children
+quickly recover from a blow, and, though delicate, Charlie was of a
+bright and gentle disposition, ready to be pleased at all times, and not
+easily upset.
+
+One morning when Ned came in from school looking pale and white, gave
+random answers to questions, and even, to the astonishment of the class,
+answered Mr. Porson himself snappishly, the master, when school was over
+and the boys were leaving their places, said:
+
+"Sankey, I want to have a few words with you in the study."
+
+Ned followed his master with an air of indifference. He supposed that
+he was going to be lectured for the way he had spoken, but as he said to
+himself, "What did it matter! what did anything matter!"
+
+Mr. Porson did not sit down on entering the room, but when Ned had
+closed the door after him took a step forward and laid his hand on his
+shoulder.
+
+"My boy," he said, "what is it that is wrong with you? I fear that you
+have trouble at home."
+
+Ned stood silent, but the tears welled up into his eyes.
+
+"It can't be helped, sir," he said in a choking voice, and then with
+an attempt at gayety: "it will be all the same fifty years hence, I
+suppose."
+
+"That is a poor consolation, Ned," Mr. Porson rejoined. "Fifty years is
+a long time to look forward to. Can't we do anything before that?"
+
+Ned was silent.
+
+"I do not want you to tell me, Ned, anything that happens at home--God
+forbid that I should pry into matters so sacred as relations between a
+boy and a parent!--but I can see, my boy, that something is wrong. You
+are not yourself. At first when you came back I thought all was well
+with you; you were, as was natural, sad and depressed, but I should
+not wish it otherwise. But of late a change has come ever you; you are
+nervous and excited; you have gone down in your class, not, I can see,
+because you have neglected your work, but because you cannot bring your
+mind to bear upon it. Now all this must have a cause. Perhaps a little
+advice on my part might help you. We shall break up in a week, Ned, and
+I shall be going away for a time. I should like to think before I went
+that things were going on better with you."
+
+"I don't want to say anything against my mother," Ned said in a low
+voice. "She means kindly, sir; but, oh! it is so hard to bear. She is
+always talking about father, not as you would talk, sir, but just as if
+he were alive and might come in at any moment, and it seems sometimes as
+if it would drive me out of my mind."
+
+"No doubt it is trying, my boy," Mr. Porson said; "but you see natures
+differ, and we must all bear with each other and make allowances. Your
+mother's nature, as far as I have seen of her, is not a deep one. She
+was very fond of your father, and she is fond of you; but you know,
+just as still waters run deep, shallow waters are full of ripples, and
+eddies, and currents. She has no idea that what seems natural and
+right to her should jar upon you. You upon your part can scarcely make
+sufficient allowance for her different treatment of a subject which is
+to you sacred. I know how you miss your father, but your mother must
+miss him still more. No man ever more lovingly and patiently tended a
+woman than he did her so far as lay in his power. She had not a wish
+ungratified. You have in your work an employment which occupies your
+thoughts and prevents them from turning constantly to one subject; she
+has nothing whatever to take her thoughts from the past. It is better
+for her to speak of him often than to brood over him in silence. Your
+tribute to your father's memory is deep and silent sorrow, hers is
+frequent allusions. Doubtless her way jars upon you; but, Ned, you are
+younger than she, and it is easier for you to change. Why not try and
+accept her method as being a part of her, and try, instead of wincing
+every time that she touches the sore, to accustom yourself to it. It may
+be hard at first, but it will be far easier in the end."
+
+Ned stood silent for a minute or two; then he said:
+
+"I will try, sir. My father's last words to me were to be kind to
+mother, and I have tried hard, and I will go on trying."
+
+"That is right, my boy; and ask God to help you. We all have our
+trials in this life, and this at present is yours; pray God to give you
+strength to bear it."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII: NED IS SORELY TRIED
+
+
+Among the many who called upon Mrs. Sankey after the death of her
+husband was Mr. Mulready, the owner of a mill near Marsden. He was one
+of the leading men in the place, although his mill was by no means a
+large one. He took rank in the eyes of the little town with men in a
+much larger way of business by means of a pushing manner and a fluent
+tongue. He had come to be considered an authority upon most subjects.
+He paid much attention to his dress, and drove the fastest horse and the
+best got up gig in that part of the country; but it was Mr. Mulready's
+manner which above all had raised him to his present position in the
+esteem of the good people of Marsden. He had the knack of adapting
+himself to the vein of those he addressed.
+
+With the farmers who came into market he was bluff and cordial; with the
+people in general he was genial and good tempered. At meetings at which
+the county gentry were present he was quiet, businesslike, and a trifle
+deferential, showing that he recognized the difference between his
+position and theirs.
+
+With ladies he was gay when they were gay, sympathetic when sympathy was
+expected. With them he was even more popular than with the men, for
+the latter, although they admired and somewhat envied his varied
+acquirements, were apt in the intimacy of private conversation to speak
+of him as a humbug.
+
+There was one exception, however, to his general popularity. There
+was no mill owner in the neighborhood more heartily detested by his
+workpeople; but as these did not mingle with the genteel classes of
+Marsden their opinion of Mr. Mulready went for nothing. The mill owner
+was a man of forty-three or forty-four, although when dressed in his
+tightly fitting brown coat with its short waist, its brass buttons, and
+high collar, and with a low hat with narrow brim worn well forward and
+coming down almost to the bridge of his nose, he looked seven or eight
+years younger.
+
+His hair was light, his trimly cut muttonchop whiskers were sandy, he
+had a bright, fresh complexion, a large mouth, and good teeth, which he
+always showed when he smiled, and in public he was always smiling;
+his eyes were light in color, very close together, and had a somewhat
+peculiar appearance. Indeed there were men who hinted that he had a
+slight cast, but these were, no doubt, envious of his popularity.
+
+Mrs. Sankey had been flattered by his visit and manner; indeed it
+could hardly have been otherwise, for he had expressed a sympathy and
+deference which were very soothing to her.
+
+"It is indeed kind of you to receive me," he had said. "I know, of
+course, that it is not usual for a man who has the misfortune to be
+unmarried to make a call upon a lady, but I could not help myself.
+William Mulready is not a man to allow his feelings to be sacrificed
+to the cold etiquette of the world. I had not the pleasure of the
+acquaintance of that most brave and distinguished officer your late
+husband. I had hoped that some day circumstances might throw me in
+contact with him, but it was not for me, a humble manufacturer, to force
+my acquaintance upon one socially my superior; but, my dear madam, when
+I heard of that terrible accident, of that noble self devotion, I said
+to myself, 'William Mulready, when a proper and decent time elapses you
+must call upon the relict of your late noble and distinguished townsman,
+and assure her of your sympathy and admiration, even if she spurns you
+from the door.'"
+
+"You could not think I should do that, Mr. Mulready," Mrs. Sankey said.
+"It is most gratifying to me to receive this mark of sympathy in my
+present sad position;" and she sighed deeply.
+
+"You are good indeed to say so," Mr. Mulready said in a tone of deep
+gratitude; "but I might have been sure that my motives at least would
+not be misunderstood by a high bred and delicate lady like yourself. I
+will not now trespass on your time, but hope that I may be permitted to
+call again. Should there be anything in which so humble an individual
+could be in the slightest degree useful to you pray command my services.
+I know the responsibility which you must feel at being left in charge of
+those two noble boys and your charming little daughter must be well nigh
+overwhelming, and if you would not think it presumption I would say that
+any poor advice or opinion which I, who call myself in some degree a man
+of the world, can give, will be always at your service."
+
+"You are very good," Mrs. Sankey murmured. "It is indeed a
+responsibility. My younger boy and girl are all that I could wish, but
+the elder is already almost beyond me;" and by the shake of her head she
+testified that her troubles on that score approached martyrdom.
+
+"Never fear, my dear madam," Mr. Mulready said heartily. "Boys will be
+boys, and I doubt not that he will grow up everything that you could
+desire. I may have heard that he was a little passionate. There was a
+trifling affair between him and his schoolmaster, was there not? But
+these things mend themselves, and doubtless all will come well in time;
+and now I have the honor of wishing you good morning."
+
+"Charming manners!" Mrs. Sankey said to herself when her visitor had
+left. "A little old fashioned, perhaps, but so kind and deferential. He
+seemed to understand my feelings exactly."
+
+That evening when they were at tea Mrs. Sankey mentioned the agreeable
+visitor who had called in the afternoon.
+
+"What! William Mulready!" Ned exclaimed; "Foxey, as his hands call him.
+I have heard Bill speak of him often. His men hate him. They say he is a
+regular tyrant. What impudence his coming here!"
+
+"Ned, I am surprised at you," his mother said angrily. "I am sure Mr.
+Mulready is nothing of the sort. He is a most kind and considerate
+gentleman, and I will not allow you to repeat these things you hear from
+the low companions whom your father permitted you to associate with."
+
+"Bill is not a low companion, mother," Ned exclaimed passionately. "A
+better fellow never stood, and Foxey is not kind and considerate. He is
+a brutal tyrant, and I am sure my father, if you will quote his opinion,
+would not have had such a man inside his doors."
+
+"Leave the room, Ned, this moment," his mother exclaimed, more angry
+than he had ever seen her before. "I am ashamed of you speaking to me in
+that way. You would not have dared to do it had your father been alive."
+
+Ned dashed down his scarcely begun bread and butter and flung himself
+out of the room, and then out of the house, and it was some hours before
+he returned. Then he went straight up to his mother's room.
+
+"I beg your pardon, mother," he said quietly. "I am very sorry I spoke
+as I did. I ought not to have done so."
+
+"Very well," Mrs. Sankey said coldly; "then don't do it again, Ned."
+
+Without another word Ned went off to his books. He was grieved and sore
+at heart. He had during his walk fought a hard battle with himself, and
+had conquered. As his temper cooled down he had felt that he had broken
+his promise, that he had not been kind to his mother; felt, too, that
+her accusation was a true one--he would not have dared to speak so to
+her had his father been alive.
+
+"But it was so different then," he had said to himself as the tears
+chased each other down his cheeks. "Father understood me, and cared
+for me, and made allowances. It was worth while fighting against one's
+temper just to have him put his hand on my shoulder and say, 'Well done,
+my boy.' Now it is so different. I will go on trying for his sake; but I
+know it's no good. Do what I will, I can't please her. It's my fault, I
+dare say, but I do try my best. I do, indeed, father," he said, speaking
+out loud; "if you can hear me, I do, indeed, try to be kind to mother,
+but she won't let me. I do try to make allowances, that is, when I am
+not in a passion, and then I go and spoil it all, like a beast, just as
+I did tonight.
+
+"Anyhow," he said to himself as he turned his face homeward again, "I
+will go and tell her I am sorry, and beg her pardon. I don't suppose she
+will be nice, but I can't help that. It's my duty anyhow, and I will try
+and not say anything against Foxey next time she speaks of him."
+
+The latter part of his resolution Ned found it very hard to maintain,
+for Mr. Mulready became a not unfrequent visitor. He had always some
+excuse for calling, either to bring in a basket of fresh trout, some
+game, or hothouse fruit, for, as he said, he knew her appetite was
+delicate and needed tempting, or some book newly issued from the London
+press which he was sure she would appreciate.
+
+After a short time Mrs. Sankey ceased to speak of these visits, perhaps
+because she saw how Ned objected to the introduction of Mr. Mulready's
+name, perhaps for some other reason, and a year passed without Ned's
+being seriously ruffled on the subject.
+
+Ned was now nearly sixteen. He had worked hard, and was the head boy at
+Porson's. It had always been regarded as a fixed thing that he should
+go into the army. As the son of an officer who had lost his leg in the
+service it was thought that he would be able to obtain a commission
+without difficulty, and Squire Simmonds, who had been a kind friend
+since his father's death, had promised to ask the lord lieutenant of
+the county to interest himself in the matter, and had no doubt that
+the circumstances of Captain Sankey's death would be considered as an
+addition to the claim of his services in the army.
+
+Captain Sankey had intended that Ned should have gone to a superior
+school to finish his education, but the diminished income of the family
+had put this out of the question, and the subject had never been
+mooted after his death. Ned, however, felt that he was making such good
+progress under Mr. Porson that he was well content to remain where he
+was.
+
+His struggle with his temper had gone on steadily, and he hoped he
+had won a final victory over it. Mr. Porson had been unwearied in his
+kindnesses, and often took Ned for an hour in the evening in order to
+push him forward, and although he avoided talking about his home life
+the boy felt that he could, in case of need, pour out his heart to him;
+but, indeed, things had gone better at home. Mrs. Sankey was just
+as indisposed as ever to take any share whatever in the trouble of
+housekeeping, but as Abijah was perfectly capable of keeping the house
+in order without her instructions things went on smoothly and straightly
+in this respect.
+
+In other matters home life was more pleasant than it had been. Mrs.
+Sankey was less given to querulous complaining, more inclined to see
+things in a cheerful light, and Ned especially noticed with satisfaction
+that the references to his father which had so tried him had become much
+less frequent of late.
+
+One day in September, when his father had been dead just a year, one
+of the town boys, a lad of about Ned's age, said to him as they were
+walking home from school together:
+
+"Well, Ned, I suppose I ought to congratulate you, although I don't know
+whether you will see it in that light."
+
+"What do you mean?" Ned said. "I don't know that anything has happened
+on which I should be particularly congratulated, except on having made
+the top score against the town last week."
+
+"Oh! I don't mean that," the boy said.. "I mean about Mulready."
+
+"What do you mean?" Ned said, stopping short and turning very white.
+
+"Why," the lad said laughing, "all the town says he is going to marry
+your mother."
+
+Ned stood as if stupefied. Then he sprang upon his companion and seized
+him by the throat.
+
+"It's a lie," he shouted, shaking him furiously. "It's a lie I say,
+Smithers, and you know it. I will kill you if you don't say it's a lie."
+
+With a great effort Smithers extricated himself from Ned's grasp.
+
+"Don't choke a fellow," he said. "It may be a lie if you say it is,
+but it is not my lie anyhow. People have been talking about it for some
+time. They say he's been down there nearly every day. Didn't you know
+it?"
+
+"Know it?" Ned gasped. "I have not heard of his being in the house for
+months, but I will soon find out the truth."
+
+And without another word he dashed off at full speed up the street.
+Panting and breathless he rushed into the house, and tore into the room
+where his mother was sitting trifling with a piece of fancy work.
+
+"I do wish, Edward, you would not come into the room like a whirlwind.
+You know how any sudden noise jars upon my nerves. Why, what is the
+matter?" she broke off suddenly, his pale, set face catching her eye,
+little accustomed as she was to pay any attention to Ned's varying
+moods.
+
+"Mother," he panted out, "people are saying an awful thing about you, a
+wicked, abominable thing. I know, of course, it is not true, but I want
+just to hear you say so, so that I can go out and tell people they lie.
+How dare they say such things!"
+
+"Why, what do you mean, Edward?" Mrs. Sankey said, almost frightened at
+the boy's vehemence.
+
+"Why, they say that you are going to marry that horrible man Mulready.
+It is monstrous, isn't it? I think they ought to be prosecuted and
+punished for such a wicked thing, and father only a year in his grave."
+
+Mrs. Sankey was frightened at Ned's passion. Ever since the matter had
+first taken shape in her mind she had felt a certain uneasiness as to
+what Ned would say of it, and had, since it was decided, been putting
+off from day to day the telling of the news to him. She had, in his
+absence, told herself over and over again that it was no business of
+his, and that a boy had no right to as much as question the actions of
+his mother; but somehow when he was present she had always shrank from
+telling him. She now took refuge in her usual defense--tears.
+
+"It is shameful," she said, sobbing, as she held her handkerchief to
+her eyes, "that a boy should speak in this way to his mother; it is
+downright wicked."
+
+"But I am not speaking to you, mother; I am speaking of other
+people--the people who have invented this horrible lie--for it is a lie,
+mother, isn't it? It is not possible it can be true?"
+
+"It is true," Mrs. Sankey said, gaining courage from her anger; "it is
+quite true. And you are a wicked and abominable boy to talk in that way
+to me. Why shouldn't I marry again? Other people marry again, and why
+shouldn't I? I am sure your poor father would never have wished me to
+waste my life by remaining single, with nothing to do but to look after
+you children. And it is shameful of you to speak in that way of Mr.
+Mulready."
+
+Ned stopped to hear no more. At her first words he had given a low,
+gasping cry, as one who has received a terrible wound. The blood flew
+to his head, the room swam round, and he seemed to feel the veins in
+his temples swell almost to bursting. The subsequent words of his mother
+fell unheeded on his ears, and turning round he went slowly to the door,
+groping his way as one half asleep or stupefied by a blow.
+
+Mechanically he opened the door and went out into the street; his cap
+was still on his head, but he neither thought of it one way or the
+other.
+
+Almost without knowing it he turned from the town and walked toward the
+hills. Had any one met him by the way they would assuredly have thought
+that the boy had been drinking, so strangely and unevenly did he walk.
+His face was flushed almost purple, his eyes were bloodshot; he swayed
+to and fro as he walked, sometimes pausing altogether, sometimes
+hurrying along for a few steps. Passing a field where the gate stood
+open he turned into it, kept on his way for some twenty yards further,
+and then fell at full length on the grass. There he lay unconscious for
+some hours, and it was not until the evening dews were falling heavily
+that he sat up and looked round.
+
+For some time he neither knew where he was nor what had brought him
+there. At last the remembrance of what had passed flashed across him,
+and with a cry of "Father! father!" he threw himself at full length
+again with his head on his arm; but this time tears came to his relief,
+and for a long time he cried with a bitterness of grief even greater
+than that which he had suffered at his father's death.
+
+The stars were shining brightly when he rose to his feet, his clothes
+were soaked with dew, and he trembled with cold and weakness.
+
+"What am I to do?" he said to himself; "what am I to do?"
+
+He made his way back to the gate and leaned against it for some time;
+then, having at last made up his mind, he turned his back on the town
+and walked toward Varley, moving more slowly and wearily than if he was
+at the end of a long and fatiguing day's walk. Slowly he climbed the
+hill and made his way through the village till he reached the Swintons'
+cottage. He tapped at the door with his hand, and lifting the latch he
+opened the door a few inches.
+
+"Bill, are you in?"
+
+There was an exclamation of surprise.
+
+"Why, surely, it's Maister Ned!" and Bill came to the door.
+
+"Come out, Bill, I want to speak to you."
+
+Much surprised at the low and subdued tone in which Ned spoke, Bill
+snatched down his cap from the peg by the door and joined him outside.
+
+"What be't, Maister Ned? what be t' matter with thee? Has owt gone
+wrong?"
+
+Ned walked on without speaking. In his yearning for sympathy, in his
+intense desire to impart the miserable news to some one who would feel
+for him, he had come to his friend Bill. He had thought first of going
+to Mr. Porson. But though his master would sympathize with him he would
+not be able to feel as he did; he would no doubt be shocked at hearing
+that his mother was so soon going to marry again, but he would not
+be able to understand the special dislike to Mr. Mulready, still less
+likely to encourage his passionate resentment. Bill would, he knew, do
+both, for it was from him he had learned how hated the mill owner was
+among his people.
+
+But at present he could not speak. He gave a short wave of his hand to
+show that he heard, but could not answer yet, and with his head
+bent down made his way out through the end of the village on to
+the moor--Bill following him, wondering and sympathetic, unable to
+conjecture what had happened.
+
+Presently, when they had left the houses far behind them, Ned stopped.
+
+"What be't, Maister Ned?" Bill again asked, laying his strong hand upon
+Ned's shoulder; "tell oi what it be. Hast got in another row with t'
+maister? If there be owt as oi can do, thou knowest well as Bill Swinton
+be with thee heart and soul."
+
+"I know, Bill--I know," Ned said in a broken voice, "but you can do
+nothing; I can do nothing; no one can. But it's dreadful to think of.
+It's worse than if I had killed twenty masters. Only think--only think,
+Bill, my mother's going to marry Mulready!"
+
+"Thou doesn't say so, lad! What! thy mother marry Foxey! Oi never heer'd
+o' such a thing. Well, that be bad news, surely! Well, well, only to
+think, now! Poor lad! Well, that beats all!"
+
+The calamity appeared so great to Bill that for some time no idea
+occurred to him which could, under the circumstances, be considered as
+consolatory. But Ned felt the sympathy conveyed in the strong grasp of
+his shoulder, and in the muttered "Well, well, now!" to which Bill gave
+vent at intervals.
+
+"What bee'st going to do vor to stop it?" he asked at last.
+
+"What can I do, Bill? She won't listen to me--she never does. Anything
+I say always makes her go the other way. She wouldn't believe anything I
+said against him. It would only make her stick to him all the more.
+
+"Dost think," Bill suggested after another long pause, "that if we got
+up a sort of depitation--Luke Marner and four or five other steady chaps
+as knows him; yes, and Polly Powlett, she could do the talking--to go to
+her and tell her what a thundering dad un he is--dost think it would do
+any good?"
+
+Even in his bitter grief Ned could hardly help smiling at the thought of
+such a deputation waiting upon his mother.
+
+"No, it wouldn't do, Bill."
+
+Bill was silent again for some time.
+
+"Dost want un killed, Maister Ned?" he said in a low voice at last;
+"'cause if ye do oi would do it for ye. Oi would lay down my life for
+ye willing, as thou knowst; and hanging ain't much, arter all. They say
+'tis soon over. Anyhow oi would chance it, and perhaps they wouldn't
+find me out."
+
+Ned grasped his friend's hand.
+
+"I could kill him myself!" he exclaimed passionately. "I have been
+thinking of it; but what would be the good? I know what my mother
+is--when once she has made up her mind there's no turning her; and if
+this fellow were out of the way, likely enough she would take up with
+another in no time."
+
+"But it couldn't been as bad as if wur Foxey," Bill urged, "he be the
+very worsest lot about Marsden."
+
+"I would do it," Ned said passionately; "I would do it over and over
+again, but for the disgrace it would bring on Charlie and Lucy."
+
+"But there would be no disgrace if oi was to do it, Maister Ned."
+
+"Yes, there would, Bill--a worse disgrace than if I did it myself. It
+would be a nice thing to let you get hanged for my affairs; but let him
+look out--let him try to ill treat Charlie and Lucy, and he will see
+if I don't get even with him. I am not so much afraid of that--it's the
+shame of the thing. Only to think that all Marsden should know my mother
+is going to be married again within a year of my father's death, and
+that after being his wife she was going to take such a man as this! It's
+awful, downright awful, Bill!"
+
+"Then what art thou going to do, Maister Ned--run away and 'list for a
+soldier, or go to sea?"
+
+"I wish I could," Ned exclaimed. "I would turn my back on Marsden and
+never come back again, were it not for the little ones. Besides," he
+added after a pause, "father's last words were, 'Be kind to mother;' and
+she will want it more than he ever dreamed of."
+
+"She will that," Bill agreed; "leastways unless oi be mistaken. And what
+be'st going to do now, lad? Be'st agoing whoam?"
+
+"No, I won't go home tonight," Ned replied. "I must think it over
+quietly, and it would be worse to bear there than anywhere else. No, I
+shall just walk about."
+
+"Thou canst not walk abowt all night, Maister Ned," Bill said
+positively; "it bain't to be thowt of. If thou don't mind thou canst
+have moi bed and oi can sleep on t' floor."
+
+"No, I couldn't do that," Ned said, "though I do feel awfully tired and
+done up; but your brothers would be asking me questions and wondering
+why I didn't go home. I could not stand that."
+
+"No, Maister Ned, oi can see that wouldn't do; but if we walk about for
+an hour or two, or--no, I know of a better plan. We can get in at t'
+window of the school; it bain't never fastened, and bain't been for
+years, seeing as thar bain't been neither school nor schoolers since
+auld Mother Brown died. Oi will make a shift to light a fire there.
+There be shutters, so no one will see the light. Then oi will bring ee
+up some blankets from our house, and if there bain't enough Polly will
+lend me some when oi tell her who they are for. She bain't a one to
+blab. What dost thou say?"
+
+Ned, who felt utterly worn out, assented gladly to the proposal, and an
+entrance was easily effected into the desolate cottage formerly used
+as a day school. Bill went off at once and soon returned with a load of
+firewood; the shutters were then carefully closed, and a fire quickly
+blazed brightly on the hearth. Bill then went away again, and in a
+quarter of an hour returned with Mary Powlett. He carried a bundle of
+rugs and blankets, while she had a kettle in one hand and a large basket
+in the other.
+
+"Good evening! Master Sankey," she said as she entered. "Bill has told
+me all about it, and I am sorry indeed for you and for your mother. It
+is worse for her, poor lady, than for you. You will soon be old enough
+to go out into the world if you don't like things at home; but she will
+have to bear what trouble comes to her. And now I thought you would like
+a cup of tea, so I have brought the kettle and things up. I haven't
+had tea yet, and they don't have tea at Bill's; but I like it, though
+feyther grumbles sometimes, and says it's too expensive for the likes of
+us in sich times as these; but he knows I would rather go without
+meat than without tea, so he lets me have it. Bill comes in for a cup
+sometimes, for he likes it better than beer, and it's a deal better for
+him to be sitting taking a cup of tea with me than getting into the way
+of going down to the 'Spotted Dog,' and drinking beer there. So we will
+all have a cup together. No one will disturb us. Feyther is down at the
+'Brown Cow,' and when I told the children I had to go out on special
+business they all promised to be good, and Jarge said he would see them
+all safely into bed. I told him I should be back in an hour."
+
+While Polly was speaking she was bustling about the room, putting
+things straight; with a wisp of heather she swept up the dust which had
+accumulated on the floor, in a semicircle in front of the fire, and
+laid down the rugs and blankets to form seats. Three cups and saucers,
+a little jag of milk, a teapot, and basin of sugar were placed in the
+center, and a pile of slices of bread and butter beside them, while from
+a paper bag she produced a cake which she had bought at the village shop
+on her way up.
+
+Ned watched her preparations listlessly.
+
+"You are very good, Polly," he said, "and I shall be very glad of the
+cup of tea, but I cannot eat anything."
+
+"Never mind," she said cheerfully. "Bill and I can do the eating, and
+perhaps after you have had a cup of tea you will be able to, for Bill
+tells me you have had nothing to eat since breakfast."
+
+Ned felt cheered by the warm blaze of the fire and by the cheerful sound
+of the kettle, and after taking a cup of tea found that his appetite
+was coming, and was soon able to eat his share. Mary Powlett kept up a
+cheerful talk while the meal was going on, and no allusion was made to
+the circumstances which had brought Ned there. After it was done she sat
+and chatted for an hour. Then she said:
+
+"I must be off now, and I think, Bill, you'd best be going soon too, and
+let Maister Ned have a good night of it. I will make him up his bed on
+the rugs; and I will warrant, after all the trouble he has gone through,
+he will sleep like a top."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX: A PAINFUL TIME
+
+
+When Ned was left alone he rolled himself up in the blankets, placed a
+pillow which Polly had brought him under his head, and lay and looked
+at the fire; but it was not until the flames had died down, and the last
+red glow had faded into blackness that he fell off to sleep.
+
+His thoughts were bitter in the extreme. He pictured to himself the
+change which would take place in his home life with Mulready the
+manufacturer, the tyrant of the workmen, ruling over it. For himself he
+doubted not that he would be able to hold his own.
+
+"He had better not try on his games with me," he muttered savagely.
+"Though I am only sixteen he won't find it easy to bully me; but of
+course Charlie and Lucy can't defend themselves. However, I will take
+care of them. Just let him be unkind to them, and see what comes of it!
+As to mother, she must take what she gets, at least she deserves to.
+Only to think of it! only to think of it! Oh, how bitterly she will come
+to repent! How could she do it!
+
+"And with father only dead a year! But I must stand by her, too. I
+promised father to be kind to her, though he could never have guessed
+how she would need it. He meant that I would only put up, without losing
+my temper, with her way of always pretending to be ill, and never doing
+anything but lie on the sofa and read poetry. Still, of course, it meant
+I was to be kind anyhow, whatever happened, and I will try to be so,
+though it is hard when she has brought such trouble upon us all.
+
+"As for Mulready I should like to burn his mill down, or to break his
+neck. I hate him: it's bad enough to be a tyrant; but to be a tyrant and
+a hypocrite, too, is horrible. Well, at any rate he shan't lord it over
+me;" and so at last Ned dropped off to sleep.
+
+He was still soundly asleep when Bill Swinton came in to wake him. It
+was half past six, a dull October morning, with a dreary drizzling rain.
+Bill brought with him a mug of hot tea and some thick slices of bread
+and butter. Ned got up and shook himself.
+
+"What o'clock is it, Bill?"
+
+"Half past six--the chaps went off to t' mill an hour gone; oi've kept
+some tea hot for ee."
+
+"Thank you, Bill, my head aches, and so do all my bones, and I feel as
+if I hadn't been asleep all night, although, indeed, I must have slept
+quite as long as usual. Can't I have a wash?"
+
+"Yes," Bill said, "thou canst come to our place; but thou had best take
+thy breakfast whilst it be hot. It will waken thee up like."
+
+Ned drank the tea and ate a slice of bread and butter, and felt
+refreshed thereat. Then he ran with Bill to his cottage and had a wash,
+and then started for the town. It was eight o'clock when he reached
+home. Abijah was at the door, looking down the road as he came up.
+
+"Oh! Master Ned, how can you go on so? Not a bit of sleep have I
+had this blessed night, and the mistress in strong hystrikes all the
+evening. Where have you been?"
+
+Ned gave a grunt at the news of his mother's hysterics--a grunt which
+clearly expressed "served her right," but he only answered the last part
+of the question.
+
+"I have been up at Varley, and slept at the schoolhouse. Bill Swinn and
+Polly Powlett made me up a bed and got me tea and breakfast. I am right
+enough."
+
+"But you shouldn't have gone away, Master Ned, in that style, leaving us
+to wait and worry ourselves out of our senses."
+
+"Do you know what she told me, Abijah? Wasn't it enough to make any
+fellow mad?"
+
+"Ay, ay," the nurse said. "I know. I have seen it coming months ago; but
+it wasn't no good for me to speak. Ay, lad, it's a sore trouble for you,
+surely a sore trouble for you, and for us all; but it ain't no manner
+of use for you to set yourself agin it. Least said sooner mended, Master
+Ned; in a case like this it ain't no good your setting yourself up agin
+the missis. She ain't strong in some things, but she's strong enough in
+her will, and you ought to know by this time that what she sets her mind
+on she gets. It were so allus in the captain's time, and if he couldn't
+change her, poor patient lamb--for if ever there were a saint on arth
+he was that--you may be sure that you can't. So try and take it quietly,
+dearie. It be main hard for ye, and it ain't for me to say as it isn't;
+but for the sake of peace and quiet, and for the sake of the little
+ones, Master Ned, it's better for you to take it quiet. If I thought as
+it would do any good for you to make a fuss I wouldn't be agin it: but
+it ain't, you know, and it will be worse for you all if you sets him
+agin you to begin with. Now go up and see your mother, dearie, afore you
+goes off to school. I have just taken her up her tea."
+
+"I have got nothing to say to her," Ned growled.
+
+"Yes, you have, Master Ned; you have got to tell her you hopes she will
+be happy. You can do that, you know, with a clear heart, for you do hope
+so. Fortunately she didn't see him yesterday; for when he called I told
+him she was too ill to see him, and a nice taking she was in when I told
+her he had been and gone; but I didn't mind that, you know, and it was
+better she shouldn't see him when she was so sore about the words you
+had said to her. It ain't no use making trouble aforehand, or setting
+him agin you. He knows, I reckon, as he won't be welcomed here by you.
+The way he has always come when you would be out showed that clear
+enough. But it ain't no use making matters worse. It's a pretty kettle
+of fish as it stands. Now, go up, dearie, like a good boy, and make
+things roight."
+
+Ned lingered irresolute for a little time in the hall, and then his
+father's words, "Be kind to her," came strongly in his mind, and he
+slowly went upstairs and knocked at his mother's door.
+
+"Oh! here you are again!" she said in querulous tones as he entered,
+"after being nearly the death of me with your wicked goings on! I don't
+know what you will come to, speaking to me as you did yesterday, and
+then running away and stopping out all night."
+
+"It was wrong, mother," Ned said quietly, "and I have come to tell you
+I am sorry; but you see the news was very sudden, and I wasn't prepared
+for it. I did not know that he had been coming here, and the news took
+me quite by surprise. I suppose fellows never do like their mothers
+marrying again. It stands to reason they wouldn't; but, now I have
+thought it over, I am sorry I spoke as I did, and I do hope, mother, you
+will be happy with him."
+
+Mrs. Sankey felt mollified. She had indeed all along dreaded Ned's
+hearing the news, and had felt certain it would produce a desperate
+outbreak on his part. Now that it was over she was relieved. The storm
+had been no worse than she expected, and now that Ned had so speedily
+come round, and was submissive, she felt a load off her mind.
+
+"Very well, Ned," she said more graciously than usual, "I am glad that
+you have seen the wickedness of your conduct. I am sure that I am acting
+for the best, and that it will be a great advantage to you and your
+brother and sister having a man like Mr. Mulready to help you push your
+way in life. I am sure I am thinking of your interest as much as my
+own; and I have spoken to him over and over again about you, and he has
+promised dozens of times to do his best to be like a father to you all."
+
+Ned winced perceptibly.
+
+"All right, mother! I do hope you will be happy; but, please, don't let
+us talk about it again till--till it comes off; and, please, don't let
+him come here in the evening. I will try and get accustomed to it in
+time; but you see it's rather hard at first, and you know I didn't
+expect it."
+
+So saying Ned left the room, and collecting his books made his way off
+to school, leaving his mother highly satisfied with the interview.
+
+His absence from afternoon school had, of course, been noticed, and
+Smithers had told his friends how Ned had flown at him on his speaking
+to him about the talk of his mother and Mulready. Of course before
+afternoon school broke up every boy knew that Ned Sankey had cut up
+rough about the report; and although the great majority of the boys did
+not know Mr. Mulready by name there was a general feeling of sympathy
+with Ned, The circumstances of his father's death had, of course,
+exalted him greatly in the eyes of his schoolfellows, and it was the
+unanimous opinion, that after having had a hero for his father, a fellow
+would naturally object to having a stepfather put over him.
+
+Ned's absence was naturally associated with the news, and caused much
+comment and even excitement. His attack upon Mr. Hathorn had become a
+sort of historical incident in the school, and the younger boys
+looked up with a sort of respectful awe upon the boy who had defied a
+headmaster. There were all sorts of speculations rife among them as to
+what Ned had done, there being a general opinion that he had probably
+killed Mr. Mulready, and the debate turning principally upon the manner
+in which this act of righteous vengeance had been performed.
+
+There was, then, a feeling almost of disappointment when Ned walked into
+the playground looking much as usual, except that his face was pale
+and his eyes looked heavy and dull. No one asked him any questions; for
+although Ned was a general favorite, it was generally understood that he
+was not the sort of fellow to be asked questions that might put him out.
+When they went in school, and the first class was called up, Ned, who
+was always at its head, took his place at the bottom of the class,
+saying quietly to the master:
+
+"I have not prepared my lesson today, sir, and I have not done the
+exercises."
+
+Mr. Porson made no remark; he saw at once by Ned's face that something
+was wrong with him. When several questions went round, which Ned could
+easily have answered without preparation, the master said:
+
+"You had better go to your desk, Sankey; I see you are not well. I will
+speak to you after school is over."
+
+Ned sat down and opened a book, but he did not turn a page until school
+was over; then he followed his master to the study.
+
+"Well, my boy," he asked kindly, "what is it?"
+
+"My mother is going to marry Mr. Mulready," Ned said shortly. The words
+seemed to come with difficulty from his lips.
+
+"Ah! it is true, then. I heard the report some weeks ago, but hoped that
+it was not true. I am sorry for you, Ned. I know it must be a sore trial
+for you; it is always so when any one steps into the place of one we
+have loved and lost."
+
+"I shouldn't care so much if it wasn't him," Ned said in a dull voice.
+
+"But there's nothing against the man, is there?" Mr. Porson asked. "I
+own I do not like him myself; but I believe he stands well in the town."
+
+"Only with those who don't know him," Ned replied; "his workpeople say
+he is the worst master and the biggest tyrant in the district."
+
+"We must hope it's not so bad as that, Ned; still, I am sorry--very
+sorry, at what you tell me; but, my boy, you must not take it to heart.
+You see you will be going out into the world before long. Your brother
+will be following you in a few years. It is surely better that your
+mother should marry again and have some one to take care of her."
+
+"Nice care of her he is likely to take!" Ned laughed bitterly. "You
+might as well put a fox to take care of a goose."
+
+"You are severe on both parties," Mr. Porson said with a slight smile;
+"but I can hardly blame you, my boy, for feeling somewhat bitter at
+first; but I hope that, for your own sake and your mother's, you
+will try and conquer this feeling and will make the best of the
+circumstances. It is worse than useless to kick against the pricks.
+Any show of hostility on your part will only cause unhappiness, perhaps
+between your mother' and him--almost certainly between you and her. In
+this world, my boy, we have all our trials. Some are very heavy ones.
+This is yours. Happily, so far as you are concerned, you need only look
+forward to its lasting eighteen months or so. In that time you may hope
+to get your commission; and as the marriage can hardly take place for
+some little time to come, you will have but a year or so to bear it."
+
+"I don't know, sir," Ned said gloomily; "everything seems upset now. I
+don't seem to know what I had best do."
+
+"I am sure at present, Ned," Mr. Porson said kindly--for he saw that the
+boy was just now in no mood for argument--"the best is to try and think
+as little of it as possible. Make every allowance for your mother; as
+you know, my boy, I would not speak disrespectfully to you of her on any
+account; but she is not strong minded. She has always been accustomed
+to lean upon some one, and the need of some one to lean on is imperative
+with her. Had you been a few years older, and had you been staying at
+home, it is probable that you might have taken your place as her support
+and strength. As it is, it was almost inevitable that something of this
+sort would happen.
+
+"But you know, Ned, where to look for strength and support. You have
+fought one hard battle, my boy, and have well nigh conquered; now you
+have another before you. Seek for strength, my boy, where you will
+assuredly find it, and remember that this discipline is doubtless sent
+you for your good, and that it will be a preparation for you for the
+struggle in after life. I don't want you to be a thoughtless, careless
+young officer, but a man earnest in doing his duty, and you cannot
+but see that these two trials must have a great effect in forming your
+character. Remember, Ned, that if the effect be not for good, it will
+certainly be for evil."
+
+"I will try, sir," Ned said; "but I know it is easy to make good
+resolutions, and how it will be when he is in the house as master I
+can't trust myself even to think."
+
+"Well, let us hope the best, Ned," Mr. Porson said kindly; "things may
+turn out better than you fear."
+
+Then seeing that further talking would be useless now, he shook Ned's
+hand and let him go.
+
+The next three or four months passed slowly and heavily. Ned went about
+his work again quietly and doggedly; but his high spirits seemed gone.
+His mother's engagement with Mr. Mulready had been openly announced,
+directly after he had first heard of it. Charlie had, to Ned's secret
+indignation, taken it quietly. He knew little of Mr. Mulready, who had,
+whenever he saw him, spoken kindly to him, and who now made him frequent
+presents of books and other things dear to schoolboys. Little Lucy's
+liking he had, however, failed to gain, although in his frequent visits
+he had spared no pains to do so, seldom coming without bringing with him
+cakes or papers of sweets. Lucy accepted the presents, but did not love
+the donor, and confided to Abijah that his teeth were exactly like those
+of the wolf who ate Little Red Riding Hood.
+
+Ned found much more comfort in her society during those dull days than
+in Charlie's. He had the good sense, however, never to encourage her
+in her expressions of dislike to Mr. Mulready, and even did his best to
+combat her impression, knowing how essential it was for her to get on
+well with him. Ned himself did not often see Mr. Mulready during that
+time. The first time that they met, Ned had, on his return from school,
+gone straight up into the drawing room, not knowing that Mr. Mulready
+was there. On opening the door and seeing him he paused suddenly for a
+moment and then advanced. For a moment neither of them spoke, then Mr.
+Mulready said in his frankest manner:
+
+"Ned, you have heard I am going to marry your mother. I don't suppose
+you quite like it; it wouldn't be natural if you did; I know I shouldn't
+if I were in your place. Still you know your disliking it won't alter
+it, and I hope we shall get on well together. Give me your hand, my lad,
+you won't find me a bad sort of fellow."
+
+"I hope not," Ned said quietly, taking Mr. Mulready's hand and
+continuing to hold it while he went on: "I don't pretend I like it, and
+I know it makes no difference whether I do or not; the principal point
+is, that my mother should be happy, and if you make her happy I have
+no doubt we shall, as you say, get on well together; if you don't, we
+shan't."
+
+There was no mistaking the threat conveyed in Ned's steady tones, and
+Mr. Mulready, as Ned dropped his hand, felt that he should have more
+trouble with the boy than he had expected. He gave a forced laugh.
+
+"One would think, Ned, that you thought it likely I was going to be
+unkind to your mother."
+
+"No," Ned said quietly, "I don't want to think about it one way or the
+other, only I promised my father I would be kind to my mother; that
+means that I would look after her, and I mean to.
+
+"Well, mother," he said in his usual tone, turning to Mrs. Sankey, "and
+how are you this morning?"
+
+"I was feeling better, Ned," she said sharply; "but your unpleasant way
+of talking, and your nonsense about taking care of me, have made me feel
+quite ill again. Somehow you always seem to shake my nerves. You never
+seem to me like other boys. One would think I was a child instead of
+being your mother. I thought after what you said to me that you were
+going to behave nicely."
+
+"I am trying to behave nicely," Ned said. "I am sure I meant quite
+nicely, just as Mr. Mulready does; I think he understands me."
+
+"I don't understand that boy," Mrs. Sankey said plaintively when Ned
+had left the room, "and I never have understood him. He was dreadfully
+spoiled when he was in India, as I have often told you; for in my weak
+state of health I was not equal to looking after him, and his poor
+father was sadly overindulgent. But he has certainly been much better
+as to his temper lately, and I do hope, William, that he is not going to
+cause trouble."
+
+"Oh, no!" Mr. Mulready said lightly, "he will not cause trouble; I have
+no doubt we shall get on well together. Boys will be boys, you know;
+I have been one myself, and of course they look upon stepfathers as
+natural enemies; but in this case, you see, we shall not have to put up
+with each other long, as he will be getting his commission in a year or
+so. Don't trouble yourself about it, love; in your state of health you
+ought really not to worry yourself, and worry, you know, spoils the eyes
+and the complexion, and I cannot allow that, for you will soon be my
+property now."
+
+The wedding was fixed for March. It was to be perfectly quiet, as Mrs.
+Sankey would, up to the day, be still in mourning. A month before the
+time Ned noticed that his mother was more uncertain in her temper than
+usual, and Abijah confided to him in secret that she thought things were
+not going on smoothly between the engaged couple.
+
+Nor were they. Mr. Mulready had discovered, to his surprise, that,
+indolent and silly as Mrs. Sankey was in many respects, she was not
+altogether a fool, and was keen enough where her own interests were
+concerned. He had suggested something about settlements, hoping that
+she would at once say that these were wholly unnecessary; but to his
+surprise she replied in a manner which showed that she had already
+thought the matter over, and had very fixed ideas on the subject.
+
+"Of course," she said, "that will be necessary. I know nothing about
+business, but it was done before, and my poor husband insisted that
+my little fortune should be settled so as to be entirely at my own
+disposal."
+
+But this by no means suited Mr. Mulready's views. Hitherto want of
+capital had prevented his introducing the new machinery into his mills,
+and the competition with the firms which had already adopted it was
+injuring him seriously, and he had reckoned confidently upon the use
+of Mrs. Sankey's four thousand pounds. Although he kept his temper
+admirably under the circumstances, he gave her distinctly to understand,
+in the pleasantest way, that an arrangement which was most admirably
+suitable in every respect in the case of a lady marrying an officer in
+the army, to whom her capital could be of no possible advantage, was
+altogether unsuitable in the case of a manufacturer.
+
+"You see, my love," he argued, "that it is for your benefit as well as
+mine that the business should grow and flourish by the addition of the
+new machinery which this little fortune of yours could purchase. The
+profits could be doubled and trebled, and we could look forward ere long
+to holding our heads as high as the richest manufacturers at Leeds and
+Bradford--while the mere interest in this money invested in consols as
+at present would be absolutely useless to us."
+
+Mrs. Sankey acknowledged the force of his argument, but was firm in her
+determination to retain her hold of her money, and so they parted, not
+in anger, for Mr. Mulready altogether disclaimed the possibility of his
+being vexed, but with the sense that something like a barrier had sprung
+up between them.
+
+This went on for a few days, and although the subject was not mooted,
+Mrs. Sankey felt that unless some concession on her part was made it was
+likely that the match would fall through. This she had not the slightest
+idea of permitting, and rather than it should happen she would have
+married without any settlement at all, for she really loved, in her weak
+way, the man who had been so attentive and deferential to her.
+
+So one day the subject was renewed, and at last an understanding was
+arrived at. Mrs. Sankey's money was to be put into the business in her
+own name. Should she not survive her husband, he was to have the option
+of paying the money to her children or of allowing them the sum of
+eighty pounds a year each from the business. Should he not survive her
+the mill was to be settled upon any children she might have after her
+marriage; should there be no children it was to be hers absolutely.
+
+All this was only arrived at after several long discussions, in all of
+which Mrs. Sankey protested that she knew nothing of business, that it
+was most painful to her to be thus discussing money matters, and that it
+would be far better to leave it in the hands of a solicitor to arrange
+in a friendly manner with him. She nevertheless stuck to her views, and
+drove a bargain as keenly and shrewdly as any solicitor could have done
+for her, to the surprise and exasperation of Mr. Mulready. Had he known
+that she really loved him, and would, if she had been driven to it, have
+sacrificed everything rather than lose him, he could have obtained
+very different terms; but having no heart to speak of, himself, he was
+ignorant of the power he possessed over her.
+
+Bankruptcy stared him in the face unless he could obtain this increase
+of capital, and he dared not, by pressing the point, risk its loss. The
+terms, he told himself, were not altogether unsatisfactory; it was not
+likely that she would survive him. They were of about the same age; he
+had never known what it was to be ill, and she, although not such an
+invalid as she fancied herself, was still not strong. If she did not
+survive him he would have the whole business, subject only to the paltry
+annuity of two hundred and forty pounds a year to the three children.
+If, the most unlikely thing in the world, she did survive him--well, it
+mattered not a jot in that case who the mill went to.
+
+So the terms were settled, the necessary deeds were drawn up by a
+solicitor, and signed by both parties. Mrs. Sankey recovered her
+spirits, and the preparations for the wedding went on.
+
+Ned had intended to absent himself from the ceremony, but Mr. Porson,
+guessing that such might be his intention, had talked the matter gravely
+over with him. He had pointed out to Ned that his absence would in the
+first place be an act of great disrespect to his mother; that in the
+second place it would cause general comment, and would add to the
+unfavorable impression which his mother's early remarriage had
+undoubtedly created; and that, lastly, it would justify Mr. Mulready
+in regarding him as hostile to the marriage, and, should trouble
+subsequently arise, he would be able to point to it in self
+justification, and as a proof that Ned had from the first determined to
+treat him as an enemy.
+
+So Ned was present at his mother's marriage. Quiet as the wedding
+was, for only two or three acquaintances were asked to be present, the
+greater part of Marsden were assembled in the church.
+
+The marriage had created considerable comment. The death of Captain
+Sankey in saving a child's life had rendered his widow an object of
+general sympathy, and people felt that not only was this marriage within
+eighteen months of Captain Sankey's death almost indecent, but that it
+was somehow a personal wrong to them, and that they had been defrauded
+in their sympathy.
+
+Therefore the numerous spectators of the marriage were critical rather
+than approving. They could find nothing to find fault with, however, in
+the bride's appearance. She was dressed in a dove colored silk, and with
+her fair hair and pale complexion looked quite young, and, as every one
+admitted, pretty. Mr. Mulready, as usual, was smiling, and seemed to
+convey by the looks which he cast round that he regarded the assemblage
+as a personal compliment to himself.
+
+Lucy and Charlie betrayed no emotion either way; they were not pleased,
+but the excitement of the affair amused and interested them, and they
+might be said to be passive spectators. Ned, however, although he had
+brought himself to be present, could not bring himself to look as if the
+ceremony had his approval or sanction. He just glared, as Abijah, who
+was present, afterward confided to some of her friends, as if he could
+have killed the man as he stood. His look of undisguised hostility was
+indeed noticed by all who were in church, and counted heavily against
+him in the days which were to come.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X: TROUBLES AT HOME
+
+
+It was not one of the least griefs of the young Sankeys connected with
+their mother's wedding that Abijah was to leave them. It was she herself
+who had given notice to Mrs. Sankey, saying that she would no longer
+be required. The first time that she had spoken of her intentions, Mrs.
+Sankey vehemently combated the idea, saying that neither she nor Lucy
+could spare her; but she did not afterward return to the subject, and
+seemed to consider it a settled thing that Abijah intended to leave.
+Mrs. Sankey had, in fact, spoken to Mr. Mulready on the subject, but
+instead of taking the view she had expected, he had said cheerfully:
+
+"I am glad that she has given notice. I know that she is a valuable
+woman and much attached to you. At the same time these old servants
+always turn out a mistake under changed circumstances. She would never
+have been comfortable or contented. She has, my dear if I may say so,
+been mistress too long, and as I intend you to be mistress of my house,
+it is much better that she should go."
+
+As Mrs. Sankey had certain doubts herself as to whether Abijah would
+be a success in the new home, the subject was dropped, and it became an
+understood thing that Abijah would leave after the wedding.
+
+The newly married couple were absent for three weeks. Until two days
+before their return Abijah remained in the old house with the young
+Sankeys; then they moved into their new home, and she went off to her
+native village ten miles distant away on the moors. The next day there
+was a sale at the old house. A few, a very few, of the things had been
+moved. Everything else was sold, to the deep indignation of Ned, who was
+at once grieved and angry that all the articles of furniture which he
+associated with his father should be parted with. Abijah shared the
+boy's feelings in this respect, and at the sale all the furniture and
+fittings of Captain Sankey's study were bought by a friendly grocer on
+her behalf, and the morning after the sale a badly written letter, for
+Abijah's education had been neglected, was placed in Ned's hand.
+
+"MY DEAR MASTER NED: Knowing as it cut you to the heart that everything
+should go away into the hands of strangers, I have made so bold as
+to ask Mr. Willcox for to buy all the furniter and books in maister's
+study. He is a-going to stow them away in a dry loft, and when so bee as
+you gets a home of your own there they is for you; they are sure not to
+fetch much, and when you gets a rich man you can pay me for them; not as
+that matters at all one way or the other. I have been a-saving up pretty
+nigh all my wages from the day as you was born, and is quite comfortable
+off. Write me a letter soon, dearie, to tell me as how things is going
+on. Your affectionate nurse, ABIJAH WOLF."
+
+Although Ned was a lad of sixteen, he had a great cry over this letter,
+but it did him good, and it was with a softer heart that he prepared to
+receive his mother and her husband that evening. The meeting passed off
+better than he had anticipated. Mrs. Mulready was really affected at
+seeing her children again, and embraced them, Ned thought, with more
+fondness than she had done when they went away. Mr. Mulready spoke
+genially and kindly, and Ned began to hope that things would not be so
+bad after all.
+
+The next morning, to his surprise, his mother appeared at breakfast, a
+thing which he could not remember that she had ever done before, and yet
+the hour was an early one, as her husband wanted to be off to the mill.
+During the meal Mr. Mulready spoke sharply two or three times, and it
+seemed to Ned that his mother was nervously anxious to please him.
+
+"Things are not going on so well after all," he said to himself as he
+walked with his brother to school. "Mother has changed already; I
+can see that she isn't a bit like herself. There she was fussing over
+whether he had enough sugar with his tea, and whether the kidneys were
+done enough for him; then her coming down to breakfast was wonderful. I
+expect she has found already that somebody else's will besides her own
+has got to be consulted; it's pretty soon for her to have begun to learn
+the lesson."
+
+It was very soon manifest that Mr. Mulready was master in his own house.
+He still looked pleasant and smiled, for his smile was a habitual one;
+but there was a sharpness in the ring of his voice, an impatience if
+everything was not exactly as he wished. He roughly silenced Charlie and
+Lucy if they spoke when he was reading his paper at breakfast, and
+he spoke snappishly to his wife when she asked him a question on such
+occasions. Ned felt his face burn, as with his eyes on his plate he
+continued his meal. To him Mr. Mulready seldom spoke unless it was
+absolutely necessary.
+
+Ned often caught himself wondering over the change which had taken place
+in his mother. All the ways and habits of an invalid had disappeared.
+She not only gave directions for the management of the house, but looked
+after everything herself, and was forever going upstairs and down,
+seeing that everything was properly done. However sharply Mr. Mulready
+spoke she never replied in the same tone. A little flush of color would
+come into her cheek, but she would pass it off lightly, and at all times
+she appeared nervously anxious to please him. Ned wondered much over the
+change.
+
+"He is a tyrant," he said, "and she has learned it already; but I do
+think she loves him. Fancy my mother coming to be the slave of a man
+like this! I suppose," he laughed bitterly, "it's the story of 'a woman,
+a dog, and a walnut tree, the more you thrash them the better they will
+be.' My father spent his whole life in making hers easy, and in sparing
+her from every care and trouble, and I don't believe she cared half as
+much for him as she does for this man who is her master."
+
+For some months Mr. Mulready was very busy at his mill. A steam engine
+was being erected, new machinery brought in, and he was away the greater
+part of his time superintending it.
+
+One day at breakfast, a short time before all was in readiness for a
+start with the new plant, Mr. Mulready opened a letter directed in a
+sprawling and ill written hand which lay at the top of the pile by his
+plate. Ned happened to notice his face, and saw the color fade out from
+it as he glanced at the contents. The mouth remained as usual, set in a
+smile, but the rest of the face expressed agitation and fear. The hand
+which held the letter shook. Mrs. Mulready, whose eyes seldom left her
+husband's face when he was in the room, also noticed the change.
+
+"Is anything the matter, William?"
+
+"Oh! nothing," he said with an unnatural laugh, "only a little attempt
+to frighten me."
+
+"An attempt which has succeeded," Ned said to himself, "whatever it is."
+
+Mr. Mulready passed the letter over to his wife. It was a rough piece of
+paper; at the top was scrawled the outline of a coffin underneath which
+was written:
+
+"MR. MULREADY: Sir, this is to give you warning that if you uses the new
+machinery you are a dead man. You have been a marked man for a long
+time for your tyrannical ways, but as long as you didn't get the new
+machinery we let you live; but we has come to the end of it now; the day
+as you turns on steam we burns your mill to the ground and shoots you,
+so now you knows it."
+
+At the bottom of this was signed the words "Captain Lud."
+
+"Oh! William," Mrs. Mulready cried, "you will never do it! You will
+never risk your life at the hands of these terrible people!"
+
+All the thin veneer of politeness was cracked by this blow, and Mr.
+Mulready said sullenly:
+
+"Nice thing indeed; after I have married to get this money, and then not
+to be able to use it!"
+
+His wife gave a little cry.
+
+"It's a shame to say so," Charlie burst out sturdily.
+
+Mr. Mulready's passion found a vent. He leaped up and seized the boy by
+the collar and boxed his ears with all his force.
+
+In an instant the fury which had been smoldering in Ned's breast for
+months found a vent. He leaped to his feet and struck Mr. Mulready a
+blow between the eyes which sent him staggering back against the wall;
+then he caught up the poker. The manufacturer with a snarl like that of
+an angry wild beast was about to rush at him, but Ned's attitude as he
+stood, poker in hand, checked him.
+
+"Stand back," Ned said threateningly, "or I will strike you. You coward
+and bully; for months I have put up with your tyrannizing over Charlie
+and Lucy, but touch either of them again if you dare. You think that you
+are stronger than I am--so you are ever so much; but you lay a finger
+on them or on me, and I warn you, if I wait a month for an opportunity I
+will pay you for it, if you kill me afterward."
+
+Mrs. Mulready's screams had by this time brought the servants into the
+room, and they stood astonished at the spectacle.
+
+Lucy crying bitterly had run to Ned and thrown her arms round him,
+begging him to be quiet. Charlie, hardly recovered from the heavy blows
+he had received, was crying too. Mr. Mulready as pale as death was
+glaring at Ned, while his wife had thrown herself between them. Mr.
+Mulready was the first to recover himself.
+
+"This is a nice spectacle," he said to the servants. "You see that boy
+has attacked me with the poker and might have murdered me. However, you
+can go now, and mind, no chattering about what you have seen.
+
+"And now," he continued to Ned as the door closed behind the servants,
+"out of this house you go this day."
+
+"You don't suppose I want to stay in your house," Ned said passionately.
+"You don't suppose that it's any pleasure to me to stop here, seeing you
+play the tyrant over my mother."
+
+"Oh, Ned, Ned," Mrs. Mulready broke in, "how can you talk so!"
+
+"It is true, mother, he is a tyrant to you as well as to every one
+else; but I don't mean to go, I mean to stop here to protect you and the
+children. He daren't turn me out; if he did, I would go and work in one
+of the mills, and what would the people of Marsden say then? What would
+they think of this popular, pleasant gentleman then, who has told his
+wife before her children that he married her for her money? They shall
+all know it, never fear, if I leave this house. I would have gone to Mr.
+Simmonds and asked him to apply for a commission for me before now, for
+other fellows get it as young as I am; but I have made up my mind that
+it's my duty not to do so.
+
+"I know he has been looking forward to my being out of the way, and his
+being able to do just what he likes with the others, but I ain't going
+to gratify him. It's plain to me that my duty at present is to take care
+of you all, and though God knows how I set my mind upon going into the
+army and being a soldier like my father, I will give it up if it means
+leaving Charlie here under him."
+
+"And do you suppose, sir," Mr. Mulready asked with intense bitterness,
+"that I am going to keep you here doing nothing all your life, while you
+are pleased to watch me?"
+
+"No, I don't," Ned replied. "I shall get a clerkship or something in one
+of the mills, and I shall have Charlie to live with me until he is old
+enough to leave school, and then I will go away with him to America or
+somewhere. As to mother, I can do nothing for her. I think my being here
+makes it worse for her, for I believe you tyrannize over her all the
+more because you think it hurts me. I know you hated me from the first
+just as I hated you. As for Lucy, mother must do the best she can for
+her. Even you daren't hit a girl."
+
+"Oh, Ned, how can you go on so?" Mrs. Mulready wailed. "You are a wicked
+boy to talk so."
+
+"All right, mother," Ned replied recklessly; "if I am, I suppose I am. I
+know in your eyes he can do no wrong. And I believe if he beat you, you
+would think that you deserved it."
+
+So he flung himself down in his chair and continued his breakfast.
+
+Mr. Mulready drank off his tea without sitting down, and then left the
+room without another word; in fact, as yet he did not know what to say.
+
+Almost speechless with passion as he was, he restrained himself from
+carrying out his threat and turning Ned at once from the house. Above
+all things he prized his position and popularity, and he felt that, as
+Ned had said, he would indeed incur a heavy odium by turning his wife's
+son from his doors. Captain Sankey's death had thrown almost a halo over
+his children. Mr. Mulready knew that he was already intensely unpopular
+among the operative class, but he despised this so long as he stood well
+with the rest of the townsmen; but he dared not risk Ned's going to work
+as an ordinary hand in one of the factories; public opinion is always
+against stepfathers, and assuredly this would be no exception. Hating
+him as he did, he dared not get rid of this insolent boy, who had struck
+and defied him. He cursed himself now with his rashness in letting
+his temper get the best of him and telling his wife openly that he had
+married her for her money; for this in Ned's hands would be a serious
+weapon against him.
+
+That his wife's feelings were hurt he cared not a jot, but it would be
+an awkward thing to have it repeated in the town. Then there was this
+threatening letter; what was he to do about that? Other men had had
+similar warnings. Some had defied Captain Lud, and fortified their mills
+and held them. Many had had their property burned to the ground; some
+had been murdered. It wouldn't be a pleasant thing to drive about in the
+country knowing that at any moment he might be shot dead. His mill was
+some little distance out of the town; the road was dark and lonely. He
+dared not risk it.
+
+Mr. Mulready was, like all tyrants, a coward at heart, and his face grew
+white again as he thought of the letter in his pocket. In the meantime
+Mrs. Mulready was alternately sobbing and upbraiding Ned as he quietly
+finished his breakfast. The boy did not answer, but continued his meal
+in dogged silence, and when it was over collected his books and without
+a word went off to school.
+
+Weeks went on, and no outward change took place. Ned continued to live
+at home. Mr. Mulready never addressed him, and beyond helping him to
+food entirely ignored his presence. At mealtimes when he opened his lips
+it was either to snap at Charlie or Lucy, or to snarl at his wife, whose
+patience astonished Ned, and who never answered except by a smile or
+murmured excuse. The lad was almost as far separated from her now as
+from his stepfather. She treated him as if he only were to blame for
+the quarrel which had arisen. They had never understood each other, and
+while she was never weary of making excuses for her husband, she could
+make none for her son. In the knowledge that the former had much to vex
+him she made excuses for him even in his worst moods. His new machinery
+was standing idle, his business was getting worse and worse, he was
+greatly pressed and worried, and it was monstrous, she told herself,
+that at such a time he should be troubled with Ned's defiant behavior.
+
+A short time before the school Christmas holidays Ned knocked at the
+door of Mr. Porson's study. Since the conversation which they had had
+when first Ned heard of his mother's engagement Mr. Porson had seen in
+the lad's altered manner, his gloomy looks, and a hardness of expression
+which became more and more marked every week, that things were going
+on badly. Ned no longer evinced the same interest in his work, and
+frequently neglected it altogether; the master, however, had kept
+silence, preferring to wait until Ned should himself broach the subject.
+
+"Well, Sankey, what is it?" he asked kindly as the boy entered.
+
+"I don't think it's any use my going on any longer, Mr. Porson."
+
+"Well, Sankey, you have not been doing yourself much good this half,
+certainly. I have not said much to you about it, for it is entirely your
+own business: you know more than nineteen out of twenty of the young
+fellows who get commissions, so that if you choose to give up work it is
+your own affair."
+
+"I have made up my mind not to go into the army," Ned said quietly.
+
+Mr. Porson was silent a minute.
+
+"I hope, my dear lad," he said, "you will do nothing hastily about this.
+Here is a profession open to you which is your own choice and that of
+your father, and it should need some very strong and good reason for you
+to abandon it. Come let us talk the matter over together, my boy, not as
+a master and his pupil, but as two friends.
+
+"You know, my boy, how thoroughly I have your interest at heart. If you
+had other friends whom you could consult I would rather have given you
+no advice, for there is no more serious matter than to say anything
+which might influence the career of a young fellow just starting in
+life. Terrible harm often results from well intentioned advice or
+opinions carelessly expressed to young men by their elders; it is a
+matter which few men are sufficiently careful about; but as I know that
+you have no friends to consult, Ned, and as I regard you with more than
+interest, I may say with affection, I think it would be well for you to
+tell me all that there is in your mind before you take a step which may
+wreck your whole life.
+
+"I have been waiting for some months in hopes that you would open your
+mind to me, for I have seen that you were unhappy; but it was not for me
+to force your confidence."
+
+"I don't know that there's much to tell," Ned said wearily. "Everything
+has happened just as it was certain it would do. Mulready is a brute; he
+ill treats my mother, he ill treats Charlie and Lucy, and he would ill
+treat me if he dared."
+
+"All this is bad, Ned," Mr. Porson said gravely; "but of course much
+depends upon the amount of his ill treatment. I assume that he does not
+actively ill treat your mother."
+
+"No," Ned said with an angry look in his face; "and he'd better not."
+
+"Yes, Ned, he had better not, no doubt," Mr. Porson said soothingly;
+"but what I want to know, what it is essential I should know if I am to
+give you any advice worth having, is what you mean by ill treatment--is
+he rough and violent in his way with her? does he threaten her with
+violence? is he coarse and brutal?"
+
+"No," Ned said somewhat reluctantly; "he is not that, sir; he is always
+snapping and snarling and finding fault."
+
+"That is bad, Ned, but it does not amount to ill treatment. When a man
+is put out in business and things go wrong with him it is unhappily too
+often his custom to vent his ill temper upon innocent persons; and I
+fancy from what I hear--you know in a little place like this every one's
+business is more or less known--Mr. Mulready has a good deal to put him
+out. He has erected new machinery and dare not put it to work, owing as
+I hear--for he has lain the documents before the magistrates--for his
+having received threatening letters warning him against doing so. This
+is very trying to the man. Then, Ned, you will excuse my saying that
+perhaps he is somewhat tried at home. It is no pleasant thing for a man
+to have a young fellow like yourself in the house taking up an attitude
+of constant hostility. I do not say that his conduct may or may not
+justify it; but you will not deny that from the first you were prepared
+to receive him as an enemy rather than as a friend. I heard a story some
+weeks ago in the town, which emanated no doubt from the servants, that
+you had actually struck him."
+
+"He hit Charlie, sir," Ned exclaimed.
+
+"That may be," Mr. Porson went on gravely; "and I have no doubt, Ned,
+that you considered then, and that you consider now, that you were
+acting rightly in interfering on behalf of your brother. But I should
+question much whether in such a matter you are the best judge. You
+unfortunately began with a very strong prejudice against this man; you
+took up the strongest attitude of hostility to him; you were prepared
+to find fault with everything he said and did; you put yourself in the
+position of the champion of your mother, brother, and sister against
+him. Under such circumstances it was hardly possible that things could
+go on well. Now I suppose, Ned, that the idea which you have in your
+mind in deciding to give up the profession you have chosen, is that you
+may remain as their champion and protector here."
+
+"Yes, sir," Ned said. "Father told me to be kind to mother, whatever
+happened."
+
+"Quite so, my boy; but the question is, Are you being kind?"
+
+Ned looked surprised.
+
+"That you intend to be so, Ned, I am sure. The question is, Are you
+going the right way to work? Is this championship that you have taken
+upon yourself increasing her happiness, or is it not?"
+
+Ned was silent.
+
+"I do not think that it is, Ned. Your mother must be really fond of this
+man or she would not have married him. Do you think that it conduces to
+the comfort of her home to see the constant antagonism which prevails
+between you and him? Is it not the fact that this ill temper under
+which she suffers is the result of the irritation caused to him by your
+attitude? Do you not add to her burden rather than relieve it?"
+
+Ned was still silent. He had so thoroughly persuaded himself that he was
+protecting his mother, his brother, and sister from Mr. Mulready that he
+had never considered the matter in this light.
+
+"Does your mother take his part or yours in these quarrels, Ned?"
+
+"She takes his part, sir," said Ned indignantly.
+
+"Very well, Ned; that shows in itself that she does not wish for your
+championship, that in her eyes the trouble in the house is in fact
+caused by you. You must remember that when a woman loves a man she
+makes excuses for his faults of temper; his irritable moods, sharp
+expressions, and what you call snapping and snarling do not seem half
+so bad to her as they do to a third person, especially when that third
+person is her partisan. Instead of your adding to her happiness by
+renouncing your idea of going into the army, and of deciding to remain
+here in some position or other to take care of her, as, I suppose, is
+your intention, the result will be just the contrary. As to your sister,
+I think the same thing would happen.
+
+"Your mother is certainly greatly attached to her and owing to her
+changed habits--for I understand that she is now a far more active, and
+I may say, Ned, a more sensible woman than before her marriage--I see no
+reason why Lucy should not be happy with her, especially if the element
+of discord--I mean yourself--were out of the way. As to Charlie, at
+the worst I don't think that he would suffer from your absence. His
+stepfather's temper will be less irritable; and as Charlie is away at
+school all day, and has to prepare his lessons in the evening, there is
+really but slight opportunity for his stepfather treating him with any
+active unkindness, even should he be disposed to do so.
+
+"Did I think, my boy, that your presence here would be likely to benefit
+your family I should be the last person to advise you to avoid making
+a sacrifice of your private wishes to what you consider your duty; but
+upon the contrary I am convinced that the line which you have, with the
+best intention, taken up has been altogether a mistake, that your stay
+at home does vastly more harm than good, and that things would go on
+very much better in your absence."
+
+This was a bitter mortification for Ned, who had hitherto nursed the
+idea that he was performing rather a heroic part, and was sacrificing
+himself for the sake of his mother.
+
+"You don't know the fellow as I do," he said sullenly at last.
+
+"I do not, Ned; but I know human nature, and I know that any man would
+show himself at his worst under such circumstances as those in which you
+hare placed him. It is painful to have to say, but I am sure that you
+have done harm rather than good, and that things will get on much better
+in your absence."
+
+"I believe he is quite capable of killing her," Ned said passionately,
+"if he wanted her out of the way."
+
+"That is a hard thing to say, Ned; but even were it so, we have no
+reason for supposing that he does want her out of the way. Come, Sankey,
+I am sure you have plenty of good sense. Hitherto you have been acting
+rather blindly in this matter. You have viewed it from one side only,
+and with the very best intentions in the world have done harm rather
+than good.
+
+"I am convinced that when you come to think it over you will see that,
+in following out your own and your father's intentions and wishes as to
+your future career, you will really best fulfil his last injunctions and
+will show the truest kindness to your mother. Don't give me your answer
+now, but take time to think it over. Try and see the case from every
+point of view, and I think you will come to the conclusion that what I
+have been saying, although it may seem rather hard to you at first, is
+true, and that you had best go into the army, as you had intended. I am
+sure in any case you will know that what I have said, even if it seems
+unkind, has been for your good."
+
+"Thank you, Mr. Porson," Ned replied; "I am quite sure of that. Perhaps
+you are right, and I have been making a fool of myself all along. But
+anyhow I will think it over."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI: THE NEW MACHINERY
+
+
+It is rather hard for a lad who thinks that he has been behaving
+somewhat as a hero to come to the conclusion that he has been making a
+fool of himself; but this was the result of Ned Sankey's cogitation over
+what Mr. Porson had said to him. Perhaps he arrived more easily at that
+conclusion because he was not altogether unwilling to do so. It was very
+mortifying to allow that he had been altogether wrong; but, on the other
+hand, there was a feeling of deep pleasure at the thought that he could,
+in Mr. Porson's deliberate opinion, go into the army and carry out all
+his original hopes and plans. His heart had been set upon this as long
+as he could remember, and it had been a bitter disappointment to him
+when he had arrived at the conclusion that it was his duty to abandon
+the idea. He did not now come to the conclusion hastily that Mr.
+Porson's view of the case was the correct one; but after a fortnight's
+consideration he went down on New Year's Day to the school, and told his
+master that he had made up his mind.
+
+"I see, sir," he said, "now that I have thought it all over, that you
+are quite right, and that I have been behaving like an ass, so I shall
+set to work again and try and make up the lost time. I have only six
+months longer, for Easter is the time when Mr. Simmonds said that I
+should be old enough, and he will write to the lord lieutenant, and I
+suppose that in three months after that I should get my commission."
+
+"That is right, Ned. I am exceedingly glad you have been able to take my
+view of the matter. I was afraid you were bent upon spoiling your life,
+and I am heartily glad that you have been able to see the matter in a
+different light."
+
+A day or two afterward Ned took an opportunity of telling his mother
+that he intended at Easter to remind Mr. Simmonds of his promise to
+apply for a commission for him; and had he before had any lingering
+doubt that the decision was a wise one it would have been dissipated by
+the evident satisfaction and relief with which the news was received;
+nevertheless, he could not help a feeling of mortification at seeing
+in his mother's face the gladness which the prospect of his leaving
+occasioned her.
+
+It was some time since Ned had seen his friend Bill Swinton, for Bill
+was now regularly at work in Mr. Mulready's factory and was only to be
+found at home in the evening, and Ned had been in no humor for going
+out. He now, however, felt inclined for a friendly talk again, and the
+next Sunday afternoon he started for Varley.
+
+"Well, Maister Ned," Bill said as he hurried to the door in answer to
+his knock, "it be a long time surely sin oi saw thee last--well nigh six
+months, I should say."
+
+"It is a long time, Bill, but I haven't been up to anything, even to
+coming up here. Put on your cap and we will go for a walk across the
+moors together."
+
+In a few seconds Bill joined him, and they soon left the village behind.
+
+"Oi thought as how thou didn't feel oop to talking loike, Moister Ned.
+Oi heared tell as how thou did'st not get on well wi' Foxey; he be a
+roight down bad un, he be; it were the talk of the place as how you
+gived him a clout atween t' eyes, and oi laughed rarely to myself when
+oi seed him come through t' mill wi' black and blue all round 'em. There
+warn't a hand there but would have given a week's pay to have seen it
+done."
+
+"I am afraid I was wrong, Bill," Ned said, feeling ashamed rather then
+triumphant at the thought. "I oughtn't to have done it, but my beastly
+temper got the best of it."
+
+"Doan't say that Maister Ned; he deserves ten toimes worse nor ye gived
+him, and he will get it some time if he doan't mind. Oi tell ee there
+be lots of talk of him, and Captain Lud's gang be a getting stronger
+and stronger. Oi tell ye, t' maisters be agoing to have a bad time on it
+afore long, and Foxey be sure to be one of the first served out."
+
+"Well, don't you have anything to do with it, Bill. You know I have told
+you over and over again that no good can come of such bad doings, and
+that the men will only make matters much worse for themselves. My father
+used to say that no good ever came of mob violence. They may do some
+harm for a time, but it is sure to recoil on their own heads."
+
+"Oi doan't ha' nowt to do wi' it," Bill replied, "cause oi told yer oi
+wouldn't; but oi've some trouble to keep oot o't. Ye see oi am nointeen
+now, and most o' t' chaps of moi age they be in 't; they meet at the
+'Dog' nigh every noight, and they drills regular out on t' moor here,
+and it doan't seem natural for oi not to be in it, especial as moi
+brothers be in it. They makes it rough for me in t' village, and says as
+how I ain't got no spirit, and even t' girls laughs at me."
+
+"Not Polly Powlett, I am sure, Bill."
+
+"No, not Polly," Bill replied. "She be a different sort. A' together it
+be a bit hard, and it be well for me as oi 'm main strong and tough,
+for oi ha' to fight pretty nigh every Saturday. However, oi ha thrashed
+pretty nigh every young chap in Varley, and they be beginning now to
+leave oi alone."
+
+"That's right, Bill; I am sure I have no right to preach to you when I
+am always doing wrong myself; still I am quite sure you will be glad in
+the long run that you had nothing to do with King Lud. I know the times
+are very hard, but burning mills and murdering masters are not the way
+to make them better; you take my word for that. And now how are things
+going on in Varley?"
+
+"No great change here," Bill replied. "Polly Powlett bain't made up her
+moind yet atween t' chaps as is arter her. They say as she sent John
+Stukeley, the smith, to the roight about last Sunday; he ha' been arter
+her vor the last year. Some thowt she would have him, some didn't. He
+ha' larning, you see, can read and wroite foine, and ha' got a smooth
+tongue, and knows how to talk to gals, so some thought she would take
+him; oi knew well enough she wouldn't do nowt of the koind, for oi ha'
+heard her say he were a mischievous chap, and a cuss to Varley. Thou
+know'st, Maister Ned, they do say, but in course oi knows nowt about it,
+as he be the head of the Luddites in this part of Yorkshire.
+
+"Luke Marner he be dead against King Lud, he be, and so be many of
+the older men here; it's most the young uns as takes to them ways; and
+nateral, Polly she thinks as Luke does, or perhaps," and Bill laughed,
+"it's Polly as thowt that way first, and Luke as thinks as she does.
+However it be, she be dead set agin them, and she's said to me jest the
+same thing as thou'st been a-saying; anyhow, it be sartain as Polly
+ha' said no to John Stukeley, not as she said nowt about it, and no one
+would ha' known aboot it ef he hadn't gone cussing and swearing down at
+the 'Dog.'
+
+"I thinks. Maister Ned, as we shall ha' trouble afore long. The men
+ha been drilling four or five years now, and oi know as they ha' been
+saying, What be the good of it when nowt is done and the wages gets
+lower and lower? They have preachments now out on t' moor on Sunday,
+and the men comes from miles round, and they tells me as Stukeley and
+others, but him chiefly, goes on awful agin t' maisters, and says,
+There's Scripture vor it as they owt to smite 'em, and as how tyrants
+owt vor to be hewed in pieces."
+
+"The hewing would not be all on one side, Bill, you will see, if they
+begin it. You know how easily the soldiers have put down riots in other
+places."
+
+"That be true," Bill said; "but they doan't seem vor to see it. Oi don't
+say nowt one way or t' other, and oi have had more nor half a mind to
+quit and go away till it's over. What wi' my brothers and all t' other
+young chaps here being in it, it makes it moighty hard vor oi to stand
+off; only as oi doan't know what else vor to do, oi would go. Oi ha'
+been a-thinking that when thou get'st to be an officer oi'll list in
+the same regiment and go to the wars wi' thee. Oi am sick of this loife
+here."
+
+"Well, Bill, there will be no difficulty about that if you really make
+up your mind to it when the time comes. Of course I should like to
+have you very much. I have heard my father say that each officer has
+a soldier as his special servant; and if you would like that, you see,
+when we were alone together we should be able to talk about Varley and
+everything here just as we do now. Then I suppose I could help you on
+and get you made first corporal and then a sergeant."
+
+"Very well, Maister Ned, then we will look on that as being as good as
+settled, and as soon as thou gets to be an officer oi will go as one of
+your soldiers."
+
+For an hour they walked across the moor, talking about a soldier's life,
+Ned telling of the various parts of the world in which England was at
+that time engaged in war, and wondering in which of them they would
+first see service. Then they came back to the village and there parted,
+and Ned, feeling in better spirits than he had been from the day when he
+first heard of his mother's engagement to Mr. Mulready, walked briskly
+down to Marsden.
+
+For a time matters went on quietly. Few words were exchanged between
+Ned and Mr. Mulready; and although the latter could not but have noticed
+that Ned was brighter and more cheerful in his talk, he was brooding
+over his own trouble, and paid but little heed to it.
+
+The time was fast approaching when he could no longer go on as at
+present. The competition with the mills using the new machinery was
+gradually crushing him, and it was necessary for him to come to a
+determination either to pluck up heart and to use his new machines, or
+to close his mill.
+
+At last he determined to take the former course and to defy King Lud.
+Other manufacturers used steam, and why should not he? It was annoying
+to him in the extreme that his friends and acquaintances, knowing that
+he had fitted the mill with the new plant, were always asking him why he
+did not use it.
+
+A sort of uneasy consciousness that he was regarded by his townsmen as a
+coward was constantly haunting him. He knew in his heart that his danger
+was greater than that of others, because he could not rely on his men.
+Other masters had armed their hands, and had turned their factories into
+strong places, some of them even getting down cannon for their defense:
+for, as a rule, the hands employed with the new machinery had no
+objection to it, for they were able to earn larger wages with less
+bodily toil than before.
+
+The hostility was among the hands thrown out of employment, or who found
+that they could now no longer make a living by the looms which they
+worked in their own homes. Hitherto Mr. Mulready had cared nothing for
+the goodwill of his hands. He had simply regarded them as machines
+from whom the greatest amount of work was to be obtained at the lowest
+possible price. They might grumble and curse him beneath their breaths;
+they might call him a tyrant behind his back, for this he cared nothing:
+but he felt now that it would have been better had their relations
+been different: for then he could have trusted them to do their best in
+defense of the mill.
+
+Having once determined upon defying King Lud, Mr. Mulready went before
+the magistrates, and laying before them the threatening letters he had
+received, for the first had been followed by many others, he asked them
+to send for a company of infantry, as he was going to set his mill to
+work. The magistrates after some deliberation agreed to do so, and wrote
+to the commanding officer of the troops at Huddersfield asking him to
+station a detachment at Marsden for a time.
+
+The request was complied with. A company of infantry marched in and were
+billeted upon the town. A room was fitted up at the mill, and ten of
+them were quartered here, and upon the day after their arrival the new
+machinery started.
+
+Now that the step was taken, Mr. Mulready's spirits rose. He believed
+that the presence of the soldiers was ample protection for the mill,
+and he hoped that ere they left the town the first excitement would
+have cooled down, and the Luddites have turned their attention to other
+quarters.
+
+Ned met Bill on the following Sunday.
+
+"I suppose, Bill," he said, "there is a rare stir about Foxey using his
+new machinery?"
+
+"Ay, that there be, and no wonder," Bill said angrily, "there be twenty
+hands turned adrift. Oi bee one of them myself."
+
+"You, Bill! I had no idea you had been discharged."
+
+"Ay; oi have got the sack, and so ha' my brother and young Jarge Marner,
+and most o' t' young chaps in the mill. Oi suppose as how Foxey thinks
+as the old hands will stick to t' place, and is more afeerd as the young
+uns might belong to King Lud, and do him a bad turn with the machinery.
+Oi tell ye, Maister Ned, that the sooner as you goes as an officer the
+better, vor oi caan't bide here now and hold off from the others, Oi
+have had a dog's loife for some time, and it ull be worse now. It would
+look as if oi hadn't no spirit in the world, to stand being put upon
+and not join the others. T' other chaps scarce speak to me, and the gals
+turn their backs as oi pass them. Oi be willing vor to be guided by you
+as far as oi can; but it bain't in nature to stand this. Oi'd as lief go
+and hang myself. Oi would go and list tomorrow, only oi don't know what
+regiment you are going to."
+
+"Well, Bill, it is hard," Ned said, "and I am not surprised that you
+feel that you cannot stand it; but it won't be for long now. Easter will
+be here in a fortnight, and then I shall see Mr. Simmonds and get him
+to apply at once. I met him in the street only last week, and he was
+talking about it then. He thinks that it will not be long after he
+sends in an application before I get my commission. He says he has got
+interest in London at the Horse Guards, and will get the application
+of the lord lieutenant backed up there; so I hope that in a couple of
+months at latest it will all be settled."
+
+"Oi hope so, oi am sure, vor oi be main sick of this. However, oi can
+hold on for another couple of months; they know anyhow as it ain't from
+cowardice as I doan't join them. I fowt Jack Standfort yesterday and
+licked un; though, as you see, oi 'ave got a rare pair of black eyes
+today. If oi takes one every Saturday it's only eight more to lick, and
+oi reckon oi can do that."
+
+"I wish I could help you, Bill," Ned said: "if father had been alive I
+am sure he would have let you have a little money to take you away from
+here and keep you somewhere until it is time for you to enlist; but you
+see I can do nothing now."
+
+"Doan't you go vor to trouble yourself aboot me, Maister Ned. Oi shall
+hold on roight enow. The thought as it is for two months longer will
+keep me up. Oi can spend moi evenings in at Luke's. He goes off to the
+'Coo,' but Polly doan't moind moi sitting there and smoking moi pipe,
+though it bain't every one as she would let do that."
+
+Ned laughed. "It's a pity, Bill, you are not two or three years older,
+then perhaps Polly mightn't give you the same answer she gave to the
+smith."
+
+"Lor' bless ee," Bill said seriously, "Polly wouldn't think nowt of oi,
+not if oi was ten years older. Oi bee about the same age as she; but she
+treats me as if I was no older nor her Jarge. No, when Polly marries it
+won't be in Varley. She be a good many cuts above us, she be. Oi looks
+upon her jest as an elder sister, and oi doan't moind how much she blows
+me up--and she does it pretty hot sometimes, oi can tell ee; but oi
+should just loike to hear any one say a word agin her; but there be no
+one in Varley would do that. Every one has a good word for Polly; for
+when there's sickness in the house, or owt be wrong, Polly's always
+ready to help. Oi do believe that there never was such a gal. If it
+hadn't been for her oi would ha' cut it long ago. Oi wouldn't go agin
+what ye said, Maister Ned; but oi am danged if oi could ha' stood it ef
+it hadn't been for Polly."
+
+"I suppose," Ned said, "that now they have got the soldiers down in
+Marsden it will be all right about the mill."
+
+"Oi caan't say," Bill replied; "nateral they doan't say nowt to me; but
+oi be sure that some'ats oop. They be a-drilling every night, and there
+will be trouble avore long. Oi doan't believe as they will venture to
+attack the mill as long as the sojers be in Marsden; but oi wouldn't
+give the price of a pint of ale for Foxey's loife ef they could lay
+their hands on him. He'd best not come up this way arter dark."
+
+"He's not likely to do that," Ned said. "I am sure he is a coward or he
+would have put the mill to work weeks ago."
+
+Secure in the protection of the troops, and proud of the new machinery
+which was at work in his mill, Mr. Mulready was now himself again. His
+smile had returned. He carried himself jauntily, and talked lightly and
+contemptuously of the threats of King Lud. Ned disliked him more in this
+mood than in the state of depression and irritation which had preceded
+it. The tones of hatred and contempt in which he spoke of the starving
+workmen jarred upon him greatly, and it needed all his determination and
+self command to keep him from expressing his feelings. Mr. Mulready was
+quick in perceiving, from the expression of Ned's face, the annoyance
+which his remarks caused him, and reverted to the subject all the more
+frequently. With this exception the home life was more pleasant than it
+had been before.
+
+Mr. Mulready, in his satisfaction at the prospect of a new prosperity,
+was far more tolerant with his wife, and her spirits naturally rose with
+his. She had fully shared his fears as to the threats by the Luddites,
+and now agreed cordially with his diatribes against the workpeople,
+adopting all his opinions as her own.
+
+Ned's acquaintance with Bill Swinton had long been a grievance to her,
+and her constant complainings as to his love for low company had been
+one of the afflictions to which Ned had long been accustomed. Now,
+having her husband by her side, it was a subject to which she frequently
+reverted.
+
+"Why can't you leave me alone, mother?" Ned burst out one day when
+Mr. Mulready had left the room. "Can't you leave me in quiet as to my
+friends, when in two or three months I shall be going away? Bill Swinton
+is going to enlist in the same regiment in which I am, so as to follow
+me all over the world.
+
+"Would any of the fine friends you would like me to make do that? I
+like all the fellows at school well enough, but there is not one of them
+would do a fiftieth part as much for me as Bill would. Even you, mother,
+with all your prejudices; must allow that it will be a good thing for me
+to have some one with me who will really care for me, who will nurse
+me if I am sick or wounded, who would lay down his life for mine if
+necessary. I tell you there isn't a finer fellow than Bill living. Of
+course he's rough, and he's had no education, I know that; but it's not
+his fault. But a truer or warmer hearted fellow never lived. He is a
+grand fellow. I wish I was only half as true and as honest and manly as
+he is. I am proud to have Bill as a friend. It won't be long before I
+have gone, mother. I have been fighting hard with myself so that there
+shall be peace and quietness in the house for the little time I have got
+to be here, and you make it harder for me."
+
+"It's ridiculous your talking so," Mrs. Mulready said peevishly, "and
+about a common young fellow like this. I don't pretend to understand
+you, Ned. I never have and never shall do. But I am sure the house will
+be much more comfortable when you have gone. Whatever trouble there is
+with my husband is entirely your making. I only wonder that he puts up
+with your ways as he does. If his temper was not as good as yours is bad
+he would not be able to do so."
+
+"All right, mother," Ned said. "He is an angel, he is, we all know,
+and I am the other thing. Well, if you are contented, that's the great
+thing, isn't it? I only hope you will always be so; but there," he said,
+calming himself with a great effort as his father's last words again
+came into his mind, "don't let's quarrel, mother. I am sorry for what I
+have said. It's quite right that you should stick up for your husband,
+and I do hope that when I go you will, as you say, be more comfortable
+and happy. Perhaps you will. I am sure I hope so. Well, I know I am
+not nice with him. I can't help it. It's my beastly temper, I suppose.
+That's an old story. Come, mother, I have only a short time to be at
+home now. Let us both try and make it as pleasant as we can, so that
+when I am thousands of miles away, perhaps in India, we may have it to
+look back upon. You try and leave my friends alone and I will try and be
+as pleasant as I can with your husband."
+
+Mrs. Mulready was crying now.
+
+"You know, Ned, I would love you if you would let me, only you are so
+set against my husband. I am sure he always means kindly. Look how he
+takes to little Lucy, who is getting quite fond of him."
+
+"Yes, I am very glad to think that he is, mother," Ned said earnestly.
+"You see Lucy is much younger, and naturally remembers comparatively
+little about her father, and has been able to take to Mr. Mulready
+without our prejudices. I am very glad to see that he really does like
+her--in fact I do think he is getting quite fond of her. I shall go away
+feeling quite easy about her. I wish I could say as much about Charlie.
+He is not strong, like other boys, and feels unkindness very sharply.
+I can see him shrink and shiver when your husband speaks to him, and am
+afraid he will have a very bad time of it when I am gone."
+
+"I am sure, Ned, he will get on very well," Mrs. Mulready said. "I have
+no doubt that when he gets rid of the example you set him--I don't want
+to begin to quarrel again--but of the example you set him of dislike
+and disrespect to Mr. Mulready, that he will soon be quite different.
+He will naturally turn to me again instead of looking to you for all his
+opinions, and things will go on smoothly and well."
+
+"I am sure I hope so, mother. Perhaps I have done wrong in helping to
+set Charlie against Mulready. Perhaps when I have gone, too, things
+will be easier for him. If I could only think so I should go away with a
+lighter heart. Well, anyhow, mother, I am glad we have had this talk. It
+is not often we get a quiet talk together now."
+
+"I am sure it is not my fault," Mrs. Mulready said in a slightly injured
+tone.
+
+"Perhaps not, mother," Ned said kindly. "With the best intentions, I
+know I am always doing things wrong. It's my way, I suppose. Anyhow,
+mother, I really have meant well, and I hope you will think of me kindly
+after I have gone."
+
+"You may be sure I shall do that, Ned," his mother said, weeping again.
+"I have no doubt the fault has been partly mine too, but you see women
+don't understand boys, and can't make allowances for them."
+
+And so Ned kissed his mother for the first time since the day when she
+had returned home from her wedding tour, and mother and son parted on
+better terms than they had done for very many months, and Ned went with
+a lightened heart to prepare his lessons for the next day.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII: MURDERED!
+
+
+In spite of Ned's resolutions that he would do nothing to mar the
+tranquillity of the last few weeks of his being at home, he had
+difficulty in restraining his temper the following day at tea. Never had
+he seen his stepfather in so bad a humor. Had he known that things had
+gone wrong at the mill that day, that the new machine had broken one
+of its working parts and had brought everything to a standstill till it
+could be repaired, he would have been able to make allowances for Mr.
+Mulready's ill humor.
+
+Not knowing this he grew pale with the efforts which he made to restrain
+himself as his stepfather snarled at his wife, snapped at Lucy and
+Charlie, and grumbled and growled at everything throughout the meal.
+Everything that was said was wrong, and at last, having silenced his
+wife and her children, the meal was completed in gloomy silence.
+
+The two boys went into the little room off the hall which they used of
+an evening to prepare their lessons for next day. Charlie, who came in
+last, did not abut the door behind him.
+
+"That is a nice man, our stepfather," Ned said in a cold fury. "His ways
+get more and more pleasant every day; such an amiable, popular man, so
+smiling and pleasant!"
+
+"Oh! it's no use saying anything," Charlie said in an imploring voice,
+"it only makes things worse."
+
+"Worse!" Ned exclaimed indignantly; "how could they be worse? Well may
+they call him Foxey, for foxey he is, a double faced snarling brute."
+
+As the last word issued from Ned's lips he reeled under a tremendous box
+on the ear from behind. Mr. Mulready was passing through the hall--for
+his gig was waiting at the door to take him back to the mill, where
+some fitters would be at work till late, repairing the damages to the
+machine--when he had caught Ned's words, which were spoken at the top of
+his voice.
+
+The smoldering anger of months burst at once into a flame heightened by
+the ill humor which the day's events had caused, and he burst into
+the room and almost felled Ned to the ground with his swinging blow.
+Recovering himself, Ned flew at him, but the boy was no match for the
+man, and Mr. Mulready's passion was as fierce as his own; seizing his
+throat with his left hand and forcing him back into a corner of the
+room, his stepfather struck him again and again with all his force with
+his right.
+
+Charlie had run at once from the room to fetch his mother, and it was
+scarcely a minute after the commencement of the outbreak that she rushed
+into the room, and with a scream threw her arms round her husband.
+
+"The young scoundrel!" Mr. Mulready exclaimed, panting, as he released
+his hold of Ned; "he has been wanting a lesson for a long time, and I
+have given him one at last. He called me Foxey, the young villain, and
+said I was a double faced snarling brute; let him say so again and I
+will knock his head off."
+
+But Ned just at present was not in a condition to repeat his words;
+breathless and half stunned he leaned in the corner, his breath came in
+gasps, his face was as pale as death, his cheek was cut, there were red
+marks on the forehead which would speedily become black, and the blood
+was flowing from a cut on his lip, his eyes had a dazed and half stupid
+look.
+
+"Oh! William!" Mrs. Mulready said as she looked at her son, "how could
+you hurt him so!"
+
+"Hurt him, the young reptile!" Mr. Mulready said savagely. "I meant to
+hurt him. I will hurt him more next time."
+
+Mrs. Mulready paid no attention to his words, but went up to Ned.
+
+"Ned, my boy," she said tenderly, "what is it? Don't look like that,
+Ned; speak to me."
+
+His mother's voice seemed to rouse Ned into consciousness. He drew a
+long breath, then slowly passed his hand across his eyes, and lips, and
+mouth. He looked at his mother and seemed about to speak, but no sound
+came from his lips. Then his eye fell on his stepfather, who, rather
+alarmed at the boy's appearance, was standing near the door. The
+expression of Ned's face changed, his mouth became set and rigid, his
+eyes dilated, and Mr. Mulready, believing that he was about to spring
+upon him, drew back hastily half a step and threw up his hands to defend
+himself. Mrs. Mulready threw herself in Ned's way; the boy made no
+effort to put her aside, but kept his eyes fixed over her shoulder at
+his stepfather.
+
+"Take care!" he said hoarsely, "it will be my turn next time, and when
+it comes I will kill you, you brute."
+
+"Oh, go away, William!" Mrs. Mulready cried; "oh! do go away, or there
+will be more mischief. Oh! Ned, do sit down, and don't look so dreadful;
+he is going now."
+
+Mr. Mulready turned and went with a laugh which he intended to be
+scornful, but in which there was a strong tinge of uneasiness. He had
+always in his heart been afraid of this boy with his wild and reckless
+temper, and felt that in his present mood Ned was capable of anything.
+Still as Mr. Mulready took his seat in his gig his predominant feeling
+was satisfaction.
+
+"I am glad I have given him a lesson," he muttered to himself, "and have
+paid him off for months of insolence. He won't try it on again, and as
+for his threats, pooh! he'll be gone in a few weeks, and there will be
+an end of it."
+
+After he had gone Mrs. Mulready tried to soothe Ned, but the boy would
+not listen to her, and in fact did not seem to hear her.
+
+"Don't you mind, mother," he said in a strange, quiet voice, "I will pay
+him off;" and muttering these words over and over again he went out into
+the hall, took down his cap in a quiet, mechanical sort of way, put it
+on, opened the door, and went out.
+
+"Oh! Charlie," Mrs. Mulready said to her second son, who, sobbing
+bitterly, had thrown himself down in a chair by the table, and was
+sitting with his head on his hands, "there will be something terrible
+come of this! Ned's temper is so dreadful, and my husband was wrong,
+too. He should never have beaten him so, though Ned did say such things
+to him. What shall I do? these quarrels will be the death of me. I
+suppose Ned will be wandering about all night again. Do put on your cap,
+Charlie, and go out and see if you can find him, and persuade him to
+come home and go to bed; perhaps he will listen to you."
+
+Charlie was absent an hour, and returned saying that he could not find
+his brother.
+
+"Perhaps he's gone up to Varley as he did last time," Mrs. Mulready
+said. "I am sure I hope he has, else he will be wandering about all
+night, and he had such a strange lock in his face that there's no saying
+where he might go to, or what he might do."
+
+Charlie was almost heartbroken, and sat up till long past his usual
+time, waiting for his brother's return. At last his eyes would no longer
+keep open, and he stumbled upstairs to bed, where he fell asleep almost
+as his head touched the pillow, in spite of his resolution to be awake
+until Ned returned.
+
+Downstairs Mrs. Mulready kept watch. She did not expect Ned to return,
+but she was listening for the wheels of her husband's gig. It was
+uncertain at what time he would return; for when he rose from the tea
+table she had asked him what time he expected to be back, and he had
+replied that he could not say; he should stop until the repairs were
+finished, and she was to go to bed and not bother.
+
+So at eleven o'clock she went upstairs, for once before when he had been
+out late and she had sat up he had been much annoyed; but after she got
+in bed she lay for hours listening for the sound of the wheels. At last
+she fell asleep and dreamed that Ned and her husband were standing at
+the end of a precipice grappling fiercely together in a life and death
+struggle. She was awaked at last by a knocking at the door; she glanced
+at her watch, which hung above her head; it was but half past six.
+
+"What is it, Mary?"
+
+"Please, mum, there's a constable below, and he wants to speak to you
+immediate."
+
+Mrs. Mulready sprang from the bed and began to dress herself hurriedly.
+All sorts of mischief that might have come to Ned passed rapidly through
+her mind; her husband had not returned, but no doubt he had stopped
+at the mill all night watching the men at work. His absence scarcely
+occasioned her a moment's thought. In a very few minutes she was
+downstairs in the kitchen, where the constable was standing waiting for
+her. She knew him by sight, for Marsden possessed but four constables,
+and they were all well known characters.
+
+"What is it?" she asked; "has anything happened to my son?"
+
+"No, mum," the constable said in a tone of surprise, "I didn't know as
+he wasn't in bed and asleep, but I have some bad news for you, mum; it's
+a bad job altogether."
+
+"What is it?" she asked again; "is it my husband?"
+
+"Well, mum, I am sorry to say as it be. A chap came in early this
+morning and told me as summat had happened, so I goes out, and half a
+mile from the town I finds it just as he says."
+
+"But what is it?" Mrs. Mulready gasped.
+
+"Well, mum, I am sorry to have to tell you, but there was the gig all
+smashed to atoms, and there was the little black mare lying all in a
+heap with her neck broke, and there was--" and he stopped.
+
+"My husband!" Mrs. Mulready gasped.
+
+"Yes, marm, I be main sorry to say it were. There, yards in front of
+them, were Mr. Mulready just stiff and cold. He'd been flung right out
+over the hoss' head. I expect he had fallen on his head and must have
+been killed roight out; and the worst of it be, marm, as it warn't an
+accident, for there, tight across the road, about eighteen inches above
+the ground, was a rope stretched tight atween a gate on either side.
+It was plain enough to see what had happened. The mare had come tearing
+along as usual at twelve mile an hour in the dark, and she had caught
+the rope, and in course there had been a regular smash."
+
+The pretty color had all gone from Mrs. Mulready's face as he began his
+story, but a ghastly pallor spread over her face, and a look of deadly
+horror came into her eyes as he continued.
+
+"Oh, Ned, Ned," she wailed, "how could you!" and then she fell senseless
+to the ground.
+
+The constable raised her and placed her in a chair.
+
+"Are you sure the master's dead?" the servant asked, wiping her eyes.
+
+"Sure enough," the constable said. "I have sent the doctor off already,
+but it's no good, he's been dead hours and hours. But," he continued,
+his professional instincts coming to the surface, "what did she mean by
+saying, 'Oh, Ned, how could you!' She asked me, too, first about him;
+ain't he at home?"
+
+"No, he ain't," the servant said, "and ain't been at home all night;
+there were a row between him and maister last even; they had a fight.
+Maister Charlie he ran into the parlor as I was a clearing away the' tea
+things, hallowing out as maister was a-killing Ned. Missis she ran in
+and I heard a scream, then maister he drove off, and a minute or two
+later Maister Ned he went out, and he ain't come back again. When I went
+in with the candles I could see missis had been a crying. That's all I
+know about it."
+
+"And enough too," the constable said grimly. "This here be a pretty
+business. Well, you had best get your missis round and see about getting
+the place ready for the corpse. They have gone up with a stretcher
+to bring him back. They will be here afore long. I must go to Justice
+Thompson's and tell him all about it. This be a pretty kittle of fish,
+surely. I be main sorry, but I have got my duty to do."
+
+An hour later Williams the constable with a companion started out in
+search of Ned Sankey, having a warrant in his pocket for his arrest on
+the charge of willful murder.
+
+The excitement in Marsden when it became known that Mr. Mulready had
+been killed was intense, and it was immensely heightened when it was
+rumored that a warrant had been issued for the arrest of his stepson on
+the charge of murder. Quite a little crowd hung all day round the house
+with closed blinds, within which their so lately active and bustling
+townsman was lying.
+
+All sorts of conjectures were rife, and there were many who said that
+they had all along expected harm would come of the marriage which had
+followed so soon after the death of Captain Sankey. The majority were
+loud in expression of their sympathy with the dead mill owner, recalling
+his cheery talk and general good temper. Others were disposed to think
+that Ned had been driven to the act; but among very few was there any
+doubt as to his guilt. It was recalled against him that he had before
+been in the dock for his assault upon Mr. Hathorn, and that it had been
+proved that he had threatened to kill his master. His sullen and moody
+demeanor at the marriage of his mother told terribly against him,
+and the rumors of the previous quarrel when Ned had assaulted his
+stepfather, and which, related with many exaggerations, had at the time
+furnished a subject of gossip in the town, also told heavily to his
+disadvantage.
+
+Williams having learned from the servant that Ned was in the habit of
+going up to Varley had first made his inquiries there; but neither Bill
+nor Luke Marner, who were, the constable speedily learned, his principal
+friends there, had seen him. Varley was greatly excited over the news of
+the murder. Many of the men worked at Mulready's mill, and had brought
+back the news at an early hour, as all work was of course suspended.
+
+There was no grief expressed in Varley at Mr. Mulready's death, indeed
+the news was received with jubilant exultation.
+
+"A good job too," was the general verdict; and the constable felt that
+were Ned in the village he would be screened by the whole population.
+He was convinced, however, that both Bill Swinton and Luke Marner were
+ignorant of his whereabouts, so genuine had been their astonishment
+at his questions, and so deep their indignation when they learned his
+errand.
+
+"Thou duss'n't believe it, Luke?" Bill Swinton said as he entered the
+latter's cottage.
+
+"No, lad, oi duss'n't," Luke said; "no more does Polly here, but it
+looks main awkward," he said slowly stroking his chin, "if as how what
+the constable said is right, and there was a fight atween them that
+evening."
+
+"Maister Ned were a hot 'un," Bill said; "he allus said as how he had
+a dreadful temper, though oi never seed nowt of it in him, and he hated
+Foxey like poison; that oi allows; but unless he tells me hisself as he
+killed him nowt will make me believe it. He might ha' picked up summat
+handy when Foxey hit him and smashed him, but oi don't believe it of
+Maister Ned as he would ha done it arterward."
+
+"He war a downright bad 'un war Foxey," Luke said, "vor sure. No worse
+in the district, and there's many a one as would rejoice as he's gone to
+his account, and oi believe as whoever's done it has saved Captain Lud
+from a job; but there, it's no use a talking of that now. Now, look
+here, Bill, what thou hast got to do be this. Thou hast got to find
+the boy; oi expect he be hiding somewheres up on t' moors. Thou knowst
+better nor oi wheere he be likely vor to be. Voind him out, lad, and
+tell him as they be arter him. Here be ten punds as oi ha had laying by
+me for years ready in case of illness; do thou give it to him and tell
+him he be heartily welcome to it, and can pay me back agin when it suits
+him. Tell him as he'd best make straight for Liverpool and git aboard a
+ship there for 'Merikee--never moind whether he did the job or whether
+he didn't. Things looks agin him now, and he best be on his way."
+
+"Oi'll do't," Bill said, "and oi'll bid thee goodby, Luke, and thee too,
+Polly, for ye won't see me back agin. Of course I shall go wi' him. He
+haven't got man's strength yet, and oi can work for us both. I bain't
+a-going to let him go by hisself, not loikely."
+
+"Thou art roight, lad," Luke said heartily. "Dang it all, lad, thou
+speak'st loike a man. Oi be sorry thou art going, Bill, for oi loike
+thee; but thou be right to go wi' this poor lad. Goodby, lad, and luck
+be wi' ye;" and Luke wrung Bill's hand heartily.
+
+"I shan't say goodby, Bill," Mary Powlett said quietly. "I don't think
+Ned Sankey can have done this thing, and if he hasn't you will find that
+he will not run away, but will stay here and face it out."
+
+"Then he will be a fool," Luke Marner said. "I tell ee the evidence be
+main strong agin him, and whether he be innocent or not he will find it
+hard to clear hisself. Oi don't think much the worst of him myself if he
+done it, and most in Varley will be o' my way o' thinking. Foxey war a
+tyrant if ever there war one, and the man what was so hard a maister to
+his hands would be loike to be hard to his wife's children."
+
+"Don't speak like that, feyther," Polly said; "murder is murder, you
+know."
+
+"Ay, lass, and human natur be human natur, and it be no use your going
+agin it. If he ha been and ill treated the boy, and I don't doubt as he
+has, thou may'st argue all noight, but thou won't get me to say as oi
+blames him much if he has done it. Oi don't suppose as he meant to kill
+him--not vor a moment. I should think hard of him if oi thowt as how he
+did. He meant, oi reckon, vor to throw his horse down and cut his knees,
+knowing, as every one did, as Mulready were moighty proud of his horse,
+and he may have reckoned as Foxey would git a good shake, and some
+bruises as well, as a scare, but oi doan't believe, not vor a moment, as
+he meant vor to kill him. That's how oi reads it, lass."
+
+"Well, it may be so," Mary assented. "It is possible he may have done
+it, meaning really only to give him a fright and a shake; but I hope he
+didn't. Still if that was how it happened I will shake hands, Bill, and
+wish you goodby and good luck, for it would be best for him to get away,
+for I am afraid that the excuse that he only meant to frighten and not
+to kill him will not save him. I am sorry you are going, Bill, very
+sorry; but if you were my own brother I would not say a word to stop
+you. Didn't his feyther give up his life to save little Janey? and I
+would give mine to save his. But I do think it will be good for you,
+Bill; times are bad, and it has been very hard for you lately in Varley.
+I know all about it, and you will do better across the seas. You will
+write, won't you, sometimes?"
+
+"Never fear," Bill said huskily, "oi will wroite, Polly; goodby, and God
+bless you all; but it mayn't be goodby, for oi mayn't foind him;" and,
+wringing the hands of Luke and Polly, Bill returned to his cottage,
+hastily packed up a few things in a kit, slung it over his shoulder on a
+stick, and started out in search of Ned.
+
+Late that evening there came a knock at the door of Luke's cottage. On
+opening it he found Bill standing there.
+
+"Back again, Bill!--then thou hasn't found him?"
+
+"No," Bill replied in a dejected voice. "Oi ha' hoonted high and low vor
+him; oi ha' been to every place on the moor wheer we ha' been together,
+and wheer oi thowt as he might be a-waiting knowing as oi should set
+out to look for him as soon as oi heard the news. Oi don't think he be
+nowhere on the moor. Oi have been a-tramping ever sin' oi started this
+mourning. Twice oi ha' been down Maarsten to see if so be as they've
+took him, but nowt ain't been seen of him. Oi had just coom from there
+now. Thou'st heerd, oi suppose, as the crowner's jury ha found as Foxey
+wer murdered by him; but it bain't true, you know, Luke--be it?"
+
+Bill made the assertions stoutly, but there was a tremulous eagerness in
+the question which followed it; He was fagged and exhausted. His faith
+in Ned was strong, but he had found the opinion in the town so unanimous
+against him that he longed for an assurance that some one beside himself
+believed in Ned's innocence.
+
+"Oi doan't know, Bill," Luke Marner said, stroking his chin as he always
+did when he was thinking; "oi doan't know, Bill--oi hoape he didn't
+do it, wi' all my heart. But oi doan't know aboot it. He war sorely
+tried--that be sartain. But if he did it, he did it; it makes no
+difference to me. It doan't matter to me one snap ov the finger whether
+the lad killed Foxey or whether he didn't--that bain't my business or
+yours. What consarns me is, as the son of the man as saved my child's
+loife at t' cost of his own be hunted by the constables and be in risk
+of his loife. That's t' question as comes home to me--oi've had nowt
+else ringing in my ears all day. Oi ha' been oot to a searching high
+and low. Oi ain't a found him, but oi ha made oop moi moind whaat I be
+agoing to do."
+
+They had moved a little away from the cottage now, but Luke lowered his
+voice:
+
+"Oi be agoing down to t' town in the morning to give moiself oop vor the
+murder of Foxey."
+
+Bill gave an exclamation of astonishment:
+
+"But thou didn'st do it, Luke?"
+
+"I moight ha' done it for owt thou know'st, Bill. He wer the worst of
+maisters, and, as thou know'st, Bill, oi hated him joost as all the
+countryside did. He's been warned by King Lud and ha' been obliged to
+get the sojers at his factory. Well, thou knowest it was nateral as
+he would drive down last noight to see how t' chaps at t' engine was
+a-getting on, and it coomed across my moind as it wer a good opportunity
+vor to finish un; so ther thou hast it."
+
+Bill gazed in astonishment through the darkness at his companion.
+
+"But it bain't true, Luke? Thou wast talking to me arter thou coom'd out
+of the Coo at noine o'clock, an thou saidst as thou was off to bed."
+
+"Nowt of the koind," Luke replied. "Oi told ye, thou know'st, as I wer
+a-going down to t' toon and oi had got a job in hand. Oi spoke mysterous
+loike, and you noticed as how oi had got a long rope coiled up in moi
+hand."
+
+Bill gave a gasp of astonishment.
+
+"That's what thou hast got to say," Luke said doggedly; "only astead o'
+its being at noine o'clock it war at ten. Oi were just a-slipping owt
+of the cottage, t' others were all asleep and knew nowt aboot moi having
+goone out."
+
+Bill was silent now.
+
+"Oi wish oi had a-thowt of it," he said at last; "oi would ha' doon it
+moiself."
+
+"Oi wouldn't ha' let thee, Bill," Luke said quietly. "He be a friend of
+thine, and oi know thou lovest him loike a brother, and a soight mor'n
+most brothers; but it be moi roight. The captain gave his loife vor moi
+child's, and oi bee a going vor to give mine for his. That will make us
+quits. Besides, thou art young; oi be a-getting on. Jarge, he will be
+a-arning money soon; and Polly, she can get a place in sarvice, and 'ul
+help t' young uns. They will manage. Oi ha' been thinking it over in all
+loites, and ha' settled it all in moi moind."
+
+Bill was silent for a time and then said:
+
+"Ther be one thing agin' it, Luke, and it be this: As we can't hear nowt
+of Maister Ned, oi be a thinking as he ha' made straight vor Liverpool
+or Bristol or London, wi' a view to going straight across the seas or of
+'listing, or doing somewhat to keep out of t' way. He be sure to look in
+t' papers, to see how things be a-going on here; and as sure as he sees
+as how you've gived yourself up and owed up as you ha' done it, he will
+coom straight back again and say as how it were him."
+
+"Maister Ned might ha' killed Foxey in a passion, but not loike this. He
+didn't mean to kill him, but only vor to give him a shaake and frighten
+him. But oi be sartin sure as he wouldn't let another be hoonged in his
+place. So ye see thou'd do more harm nor good."
+
+"Oi didn't think of that," Luke said, rubbing his chin. "That be so,
+surely. He'd be bound to coom back agin. Well, lad, oi will think it
+over agin avore moorning, and do thou do t' same. Thou know'st moi
+wishes now. We ha' got atween us to get Maister Ned off--that be the
+thing as be settled. It doan't matter how it's done, but it's got to be
+done soomhow; and oi rely on thee to maake moi story good, whatever it
+be.
+
+"There can't be nowt wrong about it--a loife vor a loife be fair, any
+way. There be more nor eno' in Yorkshire in these toimes, and one more
+or less be of no account to any one."
+
+"Oi be thy man, Luke," Bill said earnestly. "Whatever as thou sayest oi
+will sweer to; but I would reyther change places."
+
+"That caan't be, Bill, so it bain't no use thinking aboot it. Oi know
+thou wilt do thy best vor Polly and t' young uns. It 'ull be rough on
+her, but it bain't to be helped; and as she will be going away from
+Varley and settling elsewhere, it wouldn't be brought up again her
+as she had an uncle as were a Luddite and got hoong for killing a bad
+maister. Goodnoight, lad! oi will see thee i' t' morning."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII: COMMITTED FOR TRIAL
+
+
+After a talk with Luke Marner early in the morning Bill Swinton went
+down into Marsden to hear if there was any news of Ned. He was soon back
+again.
+
+"Maister Ned's took," he said as he met Luke, who was standing in front
+of his cottage awaiting his return before starting out to renew his
+search for Ned.
+
+"Oi hear, at noine o'clock last noight he walked in to Justice
+Thompson's and said as he had coom to give hisself up. He said as how
+he had been over at Painton, where the old woman as was his nurse lives;
+and directly as the news coom in t' arternoon as Foxey had been killed
+and he was wanted for the murder, he coom straight over."
+
+"That's roight," Luke said heartily; "that settles it. He must ha' been
+innocent or he would ha' bolted straight away, and not coom back and
+gi'd hisself oop to justice. It were only his hiding away as maade oi
+think as he moight ha' done it. Noo in course he will be able to clear
+hisself; for if he was over at Painton, why, he couldn't be here--that
+be plain to any one."
+
+"Oi be aveared, by what t' constable told me, as he won't be able vor to
+prove it. It seems as how he didn't get to Painton till t' morning. He
+says as how he were awalking aboot on t' moor all night. So you see he
+will have hard work vor to clear hisself."
+
+"Then I shall ha' to give meself up," Luke said quietly. "Ye see as
+it can't do him harm now, 'cause he ha' coom back; and ef oi says as I
+killed the man they will open the doors, and he will only have to walk
+out."
+
+"Oi ha' been a-thinking of that as I coom back," Bill said, "and oi
+doan't think as oi see my way clear through it now. Firstly, if Maister
+Ned did it, of course he will hold his tongue and leave 'em to prove it,
+which maybe they can't do; so he has a chance of getting off. But if you
+cooms forward and owns up, he will be saaf, if he did it, to say so at
+once; and so you will have done him harm rather nor good. Vor of course
+he will be able to prove his story better nor you will yourn, and you
+will have put the noose round his neck instead of getting it put round
+yourn. In the second place, it be loike enough as they lawyer chaps
+moight find out as your story weren't true when they coom to twisting
+me inside owt in the box. They might foind as oi war a-swearing false.
+There be never no saying. They moight prove as that bit of rope warn't
+yourn. Polly moight swear as she hadn't been asleep till arter the
+time you said you went out, and that you never moved as long as she war
+awake. Lots of unexpected things moight turn up to show it war a lie and
+then you know they'd drop onto Maister Ned wourse nor ever."
+
+"I doan't believe they would ask you any questions, Bill. When a
+man cooms and says, 'Oi did a murder,' they doan't want to ask many
+questions aboot it. They takes it vor granted as he wouldn't be such a
+fool as vor to say he did it when he didn't. But th' other point be more
+sarous. It be loike enough as t' lad did it, and if he did he will out
+wi' it when oi cooms forward. If oi could get to see him first oi moight
+argue him into holding his tongue by pointing owt that moi loife bain't
+of so much valley as hissen, also that I owe a debt to his feyther."
+
+"Well, oi ha' been thinking it over," Bill said, "and moi opinion is
+thou had best hold thy tongue till the trial. Thou can'st be in the
+court. Ef the jury foind him innocent, of course thou will't hold thy
+tongue; ef they foind him guilty, then thou'lt get up in the court, and
+thou'lt say to the joodge, civil loike:
+
+"Moi lord, the gentlemen of the jury have made a mistake; oi am the
+chap as killed Foxey and oi ha' got a young man here as a witness as moi
+words is true."
+
+"Perhaps that will be the best way, Bill," Luke said thoughtfully. "Oi
+ha' bin thinking how we moight get over Polly's evidence agin me; every
+noight oi will get up regular and coom and ha' a talk wi' you; oi will
+coom out wi'out my shoes as quiet as a cat, and then if Polly sweers
+as oi didn't leave t' house that noight thou can'st sweer as she knows
+nothing at all aboot it, as oi ha' been out every noight to see thee."
+
+So the matter was allowed to stand for the time; and Bill and Luke, when
+they had had their breakfast, went down again to Marsden to hear what
+was going on. Marsden was greatly excited. The sensation caused by the
+news of the murder scarcely exceeded that which was aroused when it was
+heard that Ned Sankey had come in and given himself up. Some thought
+that at the examination which was to take place at noon he would at once
+confess his guilt, while others believed that he would plead not guilty,
+and would throw the burden of proving that he killed his stepfather upon
+the prosecution.
+
+All through the previous day Mrs. Mulready had been the central object
+of interest to the town gossips pending the capture of her son. Dr.
+Green had been in and out of the house all day. It was known that she
+had passed from one fit of hysterics into another, and that the doctor
+was seriously alarmed about her state. Rumors were about that the
+servants, having been interviewed at the back gate, said, that in the
+intervals of her screaming and wild laughter she over and over again
+accused Ned as the murderer of her husband. Dr. Green, when questioned,
+peremptorily refused to give any information whatever as to his
+patient's opinions or words.
+
+"The woman is well nigh a fool at the best of times," he said irritably,
+"and at present she knows no more what she is saying than a baby. Her
+mind is thrown completely off any little balance that it had and she is
+to all intents and purposes a lunatic."
+
+Only with his friend Mr. Porson, who called upon him after the first
+visit had been paid to Mrs. Mulready immediately after her husband's
+body had been brought in, did Dr. Green discuss in any way what had
+happened.
+
+"I agree with you, Porson, in doubting whether the poor boy had a hand
+in this terrible business. We both know, of course, that owing to the
+bad training and total absence of control when he was a child in India
+his temper was, when he first came here, very hot and ungovernable.
+His father often deplored the fact to me, blaming himself as being to
+a great extent responsible for it, through not having had time to watch
+and curb him when he was a child; but he was, as you say, an excellently
+disposed boy, and your testimony to the efforts which he has made to
+overcome his faults is valuable. But I cannot conceal from you, who are
+a true friend of the boy's, what I should certainly tell to no one else,
+namely, that I fear that his mother's evidence will be terribly against
+him.
+
+"She has always been prejudiced against him. She is a silly, selfish
+woman. So far as I could judge she cared little for her first husband,
+who was a thousand times too good for her; but strangely enough she
+appears to have had something like a real affection for this man
+Mulready, who, between ourselves, I believe, in spite of his general
+popularity in the town, to have been a bad fellow. One doesn't like to
+speak ill of the dead under ordinary circumstances, but his character
+is an important element in the question before us. Of course among my
+poorer patients I hear things of which people in general are ignorant,
+and it is certain that there was no employer in this part of the country
+so thoroughly and heartily detested by his men."
+
+"I agree with you cordially," Mr. Porson said. "Unfortunately I know
+from Ned's own lips that the lad hated his stepfather; but I can't bring
+myself to believe that he has done this."
+
+"I hope not," the doctor said gravely, "I am sure I hope not; but I have
+been talking with his brother, who is almost heartbroken, poor boy, and
+he tells me that there was a terrible scene last night. It seems that
+Mulready was extremely cross and disagreeable at tea time; nothing,
+however, took place at the table; but after the meal was over, and the
+two boys were alone together in that little study of theirs, Ned made
+some disparaging remarks about Mulready. The door, it seems, was open.
+The man overheard them, and brutally assaulted the boy, and indeed
+Charlie thought that he was killing him. He rushed in and fetched his
+mother, who interfered, but not before Ned had been sadly knocked about.
+Mulready then drove off to his factory, and Ned, who seems to have been
+half stunned, went out almost without saying a word, and, as you know,
+hasn't been heard of since.
+
+"It certainly looks very dark against him. You and I, knowing the boy,
+and liking him, may have our doubts, but the facts are terribly against
+him, and unless he is absolutely in the position to prove an alibi, I
+fear that it will go hard with him."
+
+"I cannot believe it," Mr. Porson said, "although I admit that the facts
+are terribly against him. Pray, if you get an opportunity urge upon his
+mother that her talk will do Ned horrible damage and may cost him his
+life. I shall at once go and instruct Wakefield to appear for him, if
+he is taken, and to obtain the best professional assistance for his
+defense. I feel completely unhinged by the news, the boy has been such a
+favorite of mine ever since I came here; he has fought hard against his
+faults, and had the makings of a very fine character in him. God grant
+that he may be able to clear himself of this terrible accusation!"
+
+Ned's first examination was held on the morning after he had given
+himself up, before Mr. Simmonds and Mr. Thompson. The sitting was a
+private one. The man who first found Mr. Mulready's body testified to
+the fact that a rope had been laid across the road. Constable Williams
+proved that when he arrived upon the spot nothing had been touched. Man
+and horse lay where they had fallen, the gig was broken in pieces, a
+strong rope was stretched across the road. He said that on taking the
+news to Mrs. Mulready he had learned from the servants that the prisoner
+had not slept at home that night, and that there had been a serious
+quarrel between him and the deceased the previous evening.
+
+After hearing this evidence Ned was asked if he was in a position to
+account for the time which had elapsed between his leaving home and his
+arrival at his nurse's cottage.
+
+He replied that he could only say that he had been wandering on the
+moor.
+
+The case was remanded for a week, as the evidence of Mrs. Mulready
+and the others in the house would be necessary, and it was felt that
+a mother could not be called upon to testify against her son with her
+husband lying dead in the house.
+
+"I am sorry indeed to see you in this position," Mr. Simmonds said to
+Ned. "My friendship for your late father, and I may say for yourself,
+makes the position doubly painful to me, but I can only do my duty. I
+should advise you to say nothing at this period of the proceedings; but
+if there is anything which you think of importance to say, and which
+will give another complexion to the case, I am ready to hear it."
+
+"I have nothing to say, sir," Ned said quietly, "except that I am wholly
+innocent of the affair. As you may see by my face I was brutally beaten
+by my stepfather on the evening before his death. I went out of the
+house scarce knowing what I was doing. I had no fixed intention of going
+anywhere or of doing anything, I simply wanted to get away from home. I
+went on to the moors and wandered about, I suppose for some hours. Then
+I threw myself down under the shelter of a pile of stones and lay there
+awake till it was morning. Then I determined to go to the house of my
+old nurse and to stop there until I was fit to be seen. In the afternoon
+I heard what had taken place here, and that I was accused of the murder,
+and I at once came over here and gave myself up."
+
+"As you are not in a position to prove what you state," Mr. Simmonds
+said, "we have nothing to do but to remand the case until this day week.
+I may say that I have received a letter from Dr. Green saying that he
+and Mr. Porson are ready to become your bail to any amount; but we could
+not think of accepting bail in a charge of murder."
+
+Ned bowed and followed the constable without a word to the cells. His
+appearance had not been calculated to create a favorable impression.
+His clothes were stained and muddy; his lips were swollen, his eyes were
+discolored and so puffed that he could scarcely see between the lids,
+his forehead was bruised and cut in several places. He had passed two
+sleepless nights; his voice had lost its clearness of ring and was low
+and husky. Mr. Simmonds shook his head to his fellow magistrate.
+
+"I am afraid it's a bad case, Thompson, but the lad has been terribly
+ill used, there is no doubt about that. It's a thousand pities he takes
+up the line of denying it altogether. If he were to say, what is no
+doubt the truth, that having been brutally beaten he put the rope across
+the road intending to punish and even injure his stepfather, but without
+any intention of killing him, I think under the circumstances of extreme
+provocation, and what interest we could bring to bear on the matter,
+he would get off the capital punishment, for the jury would be sure to
+recommend him to mercy. I shall privately let Green and Porson, who
+are evidently acting as his friends in the matter, know that I think it
+would be far better for him to tell the truth and throw himself on the
+mercy of the crown."
+
+"They may not find him guilty," Mr. Thompson said. "The jury will see
+that he received very strong provocation; and after all, the evidence
+is, so far as we know at present, wholly circumstantial, and unless
+the prosecution can bring home to him the possession of the rope, it is
+likely enough they will give him the benefit of the doubt."
+
+"His life is ruined anyhow," Mr. Simmonds said. "Poor lad! poor lad!
+Another fortnight and I was going to apply for a commission for him.
+I wish to heavens I had done so at Christmas, and then all this misery
+would have been spared."
+
+As soon as Ned had been led back to the cell Mr. Porson obtained
+permission to visit him. He found him in a strange humor.
+
+"Well, my poor boy," he began, "this is a terrible business."
+
+"Who do you mean it is a terrible business for, Mr. Porson, me or him?"
+
+Ned spoke in a hard unnatural voice, without the slightest tone of
+trouble or emotion. Mr. Porson perceived at once that his nerves were
+brought up to such a state of tension by the events of the preceding
+forty-eight hours that he was scarce responsible for what he was saying.
+
+"I think I meant for you, Ned. I cannot pretend to have any feeling for
+the man who is dead, especially when I look at your face."
+
+"Yes, it is not a nice position for me," Ned said coldly, "just at the
+age of seventeen to be suspected of the murder of one's stepfather, and
+such a nice stepfather too, such a popular man in the town! And not only
+suspected, but with a good chance of being hung for it."
+
+"Ned, my dear boy," Mr. Porson said kindly, "don't talk in that way. You
+know that we, your friends, are sure that you did not do it."
+
+"Are you quite sure, sir?" Ned said. "I am not quite sure myself. I know
+I should have done it if I had had the chance. I thought over all sorts
+of ways in which I might kill him, and I wouldn't quite swear that I did
+not think of this plan and carry it out, though it doesn't quite seem
+to me that I did. I have no very definite idea what happened that night,
+and certainly could give but a vague account of myself from the time I
+left the house till next morning, when I found myself lying stiff and
+half frozen on the moor. Anyhow, whether I killed him or not it's all
+the same. I should have done so if I could. And if some one else has
+saved me the trouble I suppose I ought to feel obliged to him."
+
+Mr. Porson saw that in Ned's present state it was useless to talk to
+him. Two nights without sleep, together with the intense excitement he
+had gone through, had worked his brain to such a state of tension that
+he was not responsible for what he was saying. Further conversation
+would do him harm rather than good. What he required was rest and, if
+possible, sleep. Mr. Porson therefore only said quietly:
+
+"We will not talk about it now, Ned; your brain is over excited with all
+you have gone through. What you want now is rest and sleep."
+
+"I don't feel sleepy, Mr. Porson. I don't feel as if I should ever get
+to sleep again. I don't look like it, do I?"
+
+"No, Ned, I don't think you do at present; but I wish you did, my boy.
+Well, remember that we, your old friends, all believe you innocent of
+this thing, and that we will spare no pains to prove it to the world.
+I see," he said, looking at the table, "that you have not touched your
+breakfast. I am not surprised that you could not eat it. I will see that
+you have a cup of really good tea sent you in."
+
+"No," Ned said with a laugh which it pained Mr. Porson to hear, "I have
+not eaten since I had tea at home. It was only the day before yesterday,
+but it seems a year."
+
+On leaving the cell Mr. Porson went to Dr. Green, who lived only three
+or four doors away, told him of the state in which he had found Ned,
+and begged him to give him a strong and, as far as possible, tasteless
+sedative, and to put it in a cup of tea.
+
+"Yes, that will be the best thing," the doctor replied. "I had better
+not go and see him, for talking will do him harm rather than good. We
+shall be having him on our hands with brain fever if this goes on. I
+will go round with the tea myself to the head constable and tell him
+that no one must on any account be permitted to see Ned, and that rest
+and quiet are absolutely necessary for him. I will put a strong dose of
+opium into the tea."
+
+Ten minutes later Dr. Green called upon the chief constable and told him
+that he feared from what he had heard from Mr. Porson that Ned was in
+a very critical state, and that unless he got rest and sleep he would
+probably have an attack of brain fever, even if his mind did not give
+way altogether.
+
+"I was intending to have him removed at once," the officer said, "to
+a comfortable room at my own house. He was only placed where he is
+temporarily. I exchanged a few words with him after the examination and
+was struck myself with the strangeness of his tone. Won't you see him?"
+
+"I think that any talk is bad for him," the doctor said. "I have put
+a strong dose of opium in this tea, and I hope it will send him off to
+sleep. When he recovers I will see him."
+
+"I think, doctor," the constable said significantly, "it would be a good
+thing if you were to see him at once. You see, if things go against him,
+and between ourselves the case is a very ugly one, if you could get in
+the box and say that you saw him here, and that, in your opinion, his
+mind was shaken, and that as likely as not he had not been responsible
+for his actions from the time he left his mother's house, it might save
+his life."
+
+"That is a capital idea," Dr. Green said, "and Porson's evidence would
+back mine. Yes, I will go in and see him even if my visit does do him
+harm."
+
+"I will move him into his new quarters first," the officer said; "then
+if he drinks the tea he may, if he feels sleepy, throw himself on the
+bed and go off. He will be quiet and undisturbed there."
+
+Two or three minutes later the doctor was shown into a comfortable room.
+A fire was burning brightly, and the tea was placed on a little tray
+with a new roll and a pat of butter.
+
+Ned's mood had somewhat changed. He received the doctor with a
+boisterous laugh.
+
+"How are you, doctor? Here I am, you see, monarch of all I survey. This
+is the first time you have visited me in a room which I could consider
+entirely my own. Not a bad place either."
+
+"I hope you will not be here long, Ned," Dr. Green said, humoring him.
+"We shall all do our best to get you out as soon as we can."
+
+"I don't think your trying will be of much use, doctor; but what's the
+odds as long as you are happy!"
+
+"That's right, my boy, nothing like looking at matters cheerfully. You
+know, lad, how warmly all your old friends are with you. Would you like
+me to bring Charlie next time I come?"
+
+"No, no, doctor," Ned said almost with a cry. "No. I have thought it
+over, and Charlie must not see me. It will do him harm and I shall
+break down. I shall have to see him at the trial--of course he must be
+there--that will be bad enough."
+
+"Very well," the doctor said quietly, "just as you like, Ned. I shall be
+seeing you every day, and will give him news of you. I am going to see
+him now."
+
+"Tell him I am well and comfortable and jolly," Ned said recklessly.
+
+"I will tell him you are comfortable, Ned, and I should like to tell him
+that you had eaten your breakfast."
+
+"Oh, yes! Tell him that. Say I ate it voraciously." And he swallowed
+down the cup of tea and took a bite at the roll.
+
+"I will tell him," Dr. Green said. "I will come in again this evening,
+and will perhaps bring in with me a little medicine. You will be all the
+better for a soothing draught."
+
+"I want no draughts," Ned said. "Why should I? I am as right as
+ninepence."
+
+"Very well. We will see," the doctor said. "Now I must be going my
+rounds."
+
+As soon as he had gone Ned began pacing up and down the room, as he
+had done the whole of the past night without intermission. Gradually,
+however, the powerful narcotic began to take effect. His walk became
+slower, his head began to droop, and at last he stumbled toward the bed
+in the corner of the room, threw himself heavily down, and was almost
+instantly sound asleep. Five minutes later the door opened quietly and
+Dr. Green entered.
+
+He had been listening outside the door, had noticed the change in the
+character of Ned's walk, and having heard the fall upon the bed, and had
+no fear of his rousing himself at his entrance. The boy was lying across
+the bed, and the doctor, who was a powerful man, lifted him gently and
+laid him with his head upon the pillow. He felt his pulse, and lifted
+his eyelid.
+
+"It was a strong dose," he said to himself, "far stronger than I should
+have dared give him at any other time, but nothing less would have
+acted, with his brain in such an excited state. I must keep in the town
+today and look in from time to time and see how he is going on. It may
+be that I shall have to take steps to rouse him."
+
+At the next visit Dr. Green looked somewhat anxious as he listened to
+the boy's breathing and saw how strongly he was under the influence of
+the narcotic.
+
+"Under any other circumstances," he said to the chief constable, who had
+entered the room with him, "I should take strong measures to arouse him
+at once, but as it is I will risk it. I know it is a risk both for
+him and me, for a nice scrape I should get in if he slipped through
+my fingers; but unless he gets sleep I believe his brain will go, and
+anything is better than that."
+
+"Yes, poor lad," the officer said. "When I look at his face I confess my
+sympathies are all with him rather than with the man he killed."
+
+"I don't think he killed him," the doctor said quietly. "I am almost
+sure he didn't."
+
+"You don't say so!" the chief constable said, surprised. "I had not the
+least doubt about it."
+
+"No. Nobody seems to have the least doubt about it," the doctor said
+bitterly. "I am almost sure that he had nothing to do with it; but if
+he did it it was when he was in a state of such passion that he was
+practically irresponsible for his actions. At any rate, I am prepared to
+swear that his mind is unhinged at present. I will go back now and fetch
+two or three books and will then sit by him. He needs watching."
+
+For several hours the doctor sat reading by Ned's bedside. From time to
+time he leaned over the lad, listened to his breathing, felt his pulse,
+and occasionally lifted his eyelid. After one of these examinations,
+late in the afternoon, he rose with a sigh of relief, pulled down the
+blinds, gently drew the curtains, and then, taking his books, went down
+and noiselessly closed the door after him.
+
+"Thank God! he will do now," he said to the chief constable; "but it has
+been a very near squeak, and I thought several times I should have to
+take immediate steps to wake him. However, the effects are passing off,
+and he will soon be in a natural sleep. Pray let the house be kept as
+quiet as possible, and let no one go near him. The chances are he will
+sleep quietly till morning."
+
+The doctor called again the last thing that evening, but was told that
+no stir had been heard in Ned's room, and the same report met him when
+he came again next morning.
+
+"That is capital," he said. "Let him sleep on. He has a long arrears
+to make up. I shall not be going out today; please send in directly he
+wakes."
+
+"Very well," the officer replied. "I will put a man outside his door,
+and the moment a move is heard I will let you know."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV: COMMITTED FOR TRIAL
+
+
+It was not until after midday that the message arrived, and Dr. Green at
+once went in. Ned was sitting on the side of the bed, a constable having
+come off with the message as soon as he heard him make the first move.
+
+"Well, Ned, how are you now?" Dr. Green asked cheerfully as he went to
+the window and drew back the curtains. "Had a good sleep, my boy, and
+feel all the better for it, I hope."
+
+"Yes, I think I have been asleep," Ned said in a far more natural voice
+than that of the previous day. "How did the curtains get drawn?"
+
+"I drew them, Ned. I looked in in the afternoon, and found you fast
+asleep, so I darkened the room."
+
+"Why, what time is it now?" Ned asked.
+
+"Half past twelve, Ned."
+
+"Half past twelve! Why, how can that be?"
+
+"Why, my boy, you have had twenty-two hours' sleep."
+
+Ned gave an exclamation of astonishment.
+
+"You had two nights' arrears to make up for, and nature is not to be
+outraged in that way with impunity. I am very thankful that you had a
+good night, for I was really anxious about you yesterday."
+
+"I feel rather heavy and stupid now," Ned said, "but I am all the better
+for my sleep.
+
+"Let me think," he began, looking round the room, for up till now
+remembrance of the past had not come back again, "what am I doing here?
+Oh! I remember now."
+
+"You are here, my boy, on a charge of which I have no doubt we shall
+prove you innocent. Of course Porson and I and all your friends know
+you are innocent, but we have got to prove it to the world, and we shall
+want all your wits to help us. But we needn't talk about that now. The
+first thing for you to do is to put your head in a basin of water. By
+the time you have had a good wash your breakfast will be here. I told
+my old cook to prepare it when I came out, and as you are a favorite
+of hers I have no doubt it will be a good one. After you have discussed
+that we can talk matters over. I sent my boy down to the school just now
+to ask Porson to come up here in half an hour. Then we three can lay our
+heads together and see what are the best steps to take."
+
+"Let me see," Ned said thoughtfully. "Was I dreaming, or have I seen Mr.
+Porson since I came here?"
+
+"You are not dreaming, Ned; but the fact is, you were not quite yourself
+yesterday. The excitement you had gone through had been too much for
+you."
+
+"It all seems a dream to me," Ned said in a hopeless tone, "a confused,
+muddled sort of dream."
+
+"Don't think about it now, Ned," the doctor said cheerfully, "but get
+off your things at once, and set to and sluice your head well with
+water. I will be back in a quarter of an hour with the breakfast."
+
+At the end of that time the doctor returned, his boy carrying a tray.
+The constable on duty took it from him, and would have carried it into
+Ned's room, but the doctor said:
+
+"Give it me, Walker. I will take it in myself. I don't want him to see
+any of you just at present. His head's in a queer state, and the less he
+is impressed with the fact that he is in charge the better."
+
+Dr. Green found Ned looking all the better for his wash. The swelling
+of his face had now somewhat abated, but the bruises were showing out in
+darker colors than before; still he looked fresher and better.
+
+"Here is your breakfast, Ned, and if you don't enjoy it Jane will be
+terribly disappointed."
+
+"I shall enjoy it, doctor. I feel very weak; but I do think I am
+hungry."
+
+"You ought to be, Ned, seeing that you have eaten nothing for two days."
+
+The doctor removed the cloth which covered the tray. The meal consisted
+of three kidneys and two eggs, and a great pile of buttered toast. The
+steam curled out of the spout of a dainty china teapot, and there was a
+small jug brimful of cream.
+
+The tears came into Ned's eyes.
+
+"Oh! how good you are, doctor!"
+
+"Nonsense, good!" the doctor said; "come, eat away, that will be the
+best thanks to Jane and me."
+
+Ned needed no pressing. He ate languidly at first; but his appetite came
+as he went on, and he drank cup after cup of the fragrant tea, thick
+with cream. With the exception of one egg, he cleared the tray.
+
+"There, doctor!" he said, as he pushed back his chair; "if you are as
+satisfied as I am you must be contented indeed."
+
+"I am, Ned; that meal has done us both a world of good. Ah! here is
+Porson, just arrived at the right moment."
+
+"How are you, Ned?" the master asked heartily.
+
+"I am quite well, sir, thank you. Sleep and the doctor, and the doctor's
+cook, have done wonders for me. I hear you came yesterday, sir, but I
+don't seem to remember much about it."
+
+"Yes, I was here, Ned," Mr. Porson said, "but you were pretty well
+stupid from want of sleep. However, I am glad to see you quite yourself
+again this morning."
+
+"And now," the doctor said, "we three must put our heads together and
+see what is to be done. You understand, Ned, how matters stand, don't
+you?"
+
+"Yes, sir," Ned said after a pause; "I seem to know that some one said
+that Mr. Mulready was dead, and some one thought that I had killed him,
+and then I started to come over to give myself up. Oh! yes, I remember
+that, and then there was an examination before the magistrates. I
+remember it all; but it seems just as if it had been a dream."
+
+"Yes, that is what happened, Ned, and naturally it seems a dream to you,
+because you were so completely overcome by excitement and want of food
+and sleep that you were scarcely conscious of what was passing. Now we
+want you to think over quietly, as well as you can, what you did when
+you left home."
+
+Ned sat for a long time without speaking.
+
+"It seems all confused," he said at last. "I don't even remember going
+out of the house. I can remember his striking me in the face again and
+again, and then I heard my mother scream, and everything seems to have
+become misty. But I know I was walking about; I know that I was worrying
+to get at him, and that if I had met him I should have attacked him, and
+if I had had anything in my hand I should have killed him."
+
+"But you don't remember doing anything, Ned? You cannot recall that you
+went anywhere and got a rope and fastened it across the road with the
+idea of upsetting his gig on the way back from the mill?"
+
+"No, sir," Ned said decidedly; "I can't recollect anything of that at
+all. I am quite sure if I had done that I should remember it; for I seem
+to remember, now I think of it, a good deal of what I did. Yes, I went
+up through Varley; the lights weren't out, and I wondered what Bill
+would say if I were to knock at his door and he opened it and saw what
+a state my face was in. Then I went out on the moor, and it seems to me
+that I walked about for hours, and the longer I walked the more angry I
+was. At last--it could not have been long before morning, I think--I lay
+down for a time, and then when it was light I made up my mind to go over
+and see Abijah. I knew she would be with me. That's all I remember about
+it. Does my mother think I did it?"
+
+Dr. Green hesitated a moment.
+
+"Your mother is not in a state to think one way or the other, Ned; she
+is in such a state of grief that she hardly knows what she is saying or
+doing."
+
+In fact Mrs. Mulready entertained no doubt whatever upon the subject,
+and had continued to speak of Ned's wickedness until Dr. Green that
+morning had lost all patience with her, and told her she ought to be
+ashamed of herself to be the first to accuse her son, and that if he was
+hung she would only have herself to blame for it.
+
+Ned guessed by the doctor's answer that his mother was against him.
+
+"It is curious," he said, "she did not take on so after my father's
+death, and he was always kind and good to her, while this man was just
+the reverse."
+
+"There's never any understanding women," Dr. Green said testily, "and
+your mother is a singularly inconsequent and weak specimen of her sex.
+Well, Ned, and so that is all you can tell us about the way you passed
+that unfortunate evening. What a pity it is, to be sure, that you did
+not rouse up your friend Bill. His evidence would probably have cleared
+you at once. As it is, of course we believe your story, my boy. The
+question is, will the jury believe it?"
+
+"I don't seem to care much whether they do or not," Ned said sadly,
+"unless we find the man who did it. Every one will think me guilty even
+if I am acquitted. Fancy going on living all one's life and knowing that
+everyone one meets is thinking to himself, 'That is the man who killed
+his stepfather'--it would be better to be hung at once."
+
+"You must look at it in a more hopeful way than that, Ned," Mr. Porson
+said kindly; "many will from the first believe, with us, that you are
+innocent. You will live it down, my boy, and sooner or later we may hope
+and believe that God will suffer the truth to be known. At the worst,
+you know you need not go on living here. The world is wide, and you can
+go where your story is unknown.
+
+"Do not look on the darkest side of things. And now, for the present,
+I have brought you down a packet of books. If I were you I would try to
+read--anything is better than going on thinking. You will want all
+your wits about you, and the less you worry your mind the better. Mr.
+Wakefield will represent you at the examination next week; but I do not
+see that there will be much for him to do, as I fear there is little
+doubt that you will be committed for trial, when of course we shall get
+the best legal assistance for you. I will tell him exactly what you have
+said to me, and he can then come and see you or not as he likes. I
+shall come in every day. I have already obtained permission from the
+magistrates to do so. I shall go now and see Charlie and tell him all
+about it. It will cheer him very much, poor boy. You may be sure he
+didn't think you guilty; still, your assurance that you know nothing
+whatever about it will be a comfort to him."
+
+"Yes," Ned said, "Charlie knows that I would not tell a lie to save my
+life, though he knows that I might possibly kill any one when I am in
+one of my horrible tempers; and I did think I was getting over them, Mr.
+Porson!" he broke out with a half sob. "I have really tried hard."
+
+"I know you have, Ned. I am sure you have done your best, my boy,
+and you have been sorely tried; but, now, I must be off. Keep up your
+spirits, hope for the best, and pray God to strengthen you to bear
+whatever may be in store for you, and to clear you from this charge."
+
+That evening when Mr. Porson was in his study the servant came in and
+said that a young man wished to speak to him.
+
+"Who is it, Mary?"
+
+"He says his name is Bill Swinton, sir."
+
+"Oh! I know," the master said; "show him in."
+
+Bill was ushered in.
+
+"Sit down, Bill," Mr. Porson said; "I have heard of you as a friend of
+Sankey's. I suppose you have come to speak to me about this terrible
+business?"
+
+"Ay," Bill said, "that oi be, sir, seeing as how Ned always spake of you
+as a true friend, and loiked you hearty. They say too as you ha' engaged
+Lawyer Wakefield to defend him."
+
+"That is so, Bill. I am convinced of the boy's innocence. He has always
+been a favorite of mine. He has no relations to stand by him now, poor
+boy, so we who are his friends must do our best for him."
+
+"Surely," Bill said heartily; "and dost really think as he didn't do
+it?"
+
+"I may say I am quite sure he did not, Bill. Didn't you think so too?"
+
+"No, sir," Bill said; "it never entered my moind as he didn't do it. Oi
+heard as how t' chap beat Maister Ned cruel, and it seemed to me natural
+loike as he should sarve him out. Oi didn't suppose as how he meant vor
+to kill him, but as everyone said as how he did the job it seemed to me
+loike enough; but of course it didn't make no differ to oi whether so be
+as he killed un or not. Maister Ned's moi friend, and oi stands by him;
+still oi be main glad to hear as you think he didn't do it; but will the
+joodge believe it?"
+
+"Ah! that I cannot say," Mr. Porson replied. "I know the lad and
+believe his word; but at present appearances are sadly against him. That
+unfortunate affair that he had with my predecessor induced a general
+idea that he was very violent tempered. Then it has been notorious that
+he and his stepfather did not get on well together, and this terrible
+quarrel on the evening of Mr. Mulready's death seems only too plainly to
+account for the affair; still, without further evidence, I question if
+a jury will find him guilty. It is certain he had no rope when he went
+out, and unless the prosecution can prove that he got possession of a
+rope they cannot bring the guilt home to him."
+
+"No, surely," Bill assented, and sat for some time without further
+speech; then he went on, "now, sir, what oi be come to thee about be
+this. Thou bee'st his friend and know'st best what 'ould be a good thing
+for him. Now we ha' been a-talking aboot a plan, Luke Marner and oi, as
+is Maister Ned's friends, and we can get plenty of chaps to join us. We
+supposes as arter the next toime as they has him up in coort they will
+send him off to York Castle to be tried at the 'sizes."
+
+"Yes; I have no doubt he will be committed after his next appearance,
+Bill; but what is the plan that you and your friend Luke were thinking
+of?"
+
+"Well, we was a-thinking vor twenty or so on us to coom down at noight
+and break open t' cells. There be only t' chief constable and one other,
+and they wouldn't be no good agin us, and we could get Maister Ned
+owt and away long afore t' sojers would have toime to wake up and coom
+round; then we could hide un up on moor till there was toime to get un
+away across the seas. Luke he be pretty well bent on it, but oi says
+as before we did nothing oi would coom and ax thee, seeing as how thou
+bee'st a friend of his."
+
+"No, Bill," Mr. Porson said gravely. "It would not do at all, and I am
+glad you came to ask me. If I thought it certain that the jury would
+find a verdict of guilty, and that Ned, innocent as I believe him of
+the crime, would be hung, I should say that your plan might be worth
+thinking of; for in that case Ned might possibly be got away till we his
+friends here could get at the bottom of the matter. Still it would be an
+acknowledgment for the time of his guilt, and I am sure that Ned himself
+would not run away without standing his trial even if the doors of his
+cell were opened. I shall see him tomorrow morning, and will tell him
+of your scheme on his behalf. I am sure he will be grateful, but I am
+pretty certain that he will not avail himself of it. If you will come
+down tomorrow evening I will let you know exactly what he says."
+
+As Mr. Porson expected, Ned, although much moved at the offer of his
+humble friends to free him by force, altogether declined to accept it.
+
+"It is just like Bill," he said, "ready to get into any scrape himself
+to help me: but I must stand my trial. I know that even if they cannot
+prove me guilty I cannot prove I am innocent; still, to run away would
+be an acknowledgment of guilt, and I am not going to do that."
+
+On the day appointed Ned was again brought up before the magistrates.
+The examination was this time in public, and the justice room was
+crowded. Ned, whose face was now recovering from the marks of ill usage,
+was pale and quiet. He listened in silence to the evidence proving the
+finding of Mr. Mulready's body. The next witness put into the box was
+one of the engineers at the factory; he proved that the rope which had
+been used in upsetting the gig had been cut from one which he had a
+short time before been using for moving a portion of the machinery. He
+had used the rope about an hour before Mr. Mulready came back in the
+evening, and it was then whole. After it had been done with it was
+thrown outside the mill to be out of the way, as it would not be
+required again.
+
+After he had given his evidence Mr. Wakefield asked:
+
+"Did you hear any one outside the mill when Mr. Mulready was there?"
+
+"No, sir; I heard nothing."
+
+"Any one might have entered the yard, I suppose, and found the rope?"
+
+"Yes; the gates were open, as we were at work."
+
+"Would the rope be visible to any one who entered the yard?"
+
+"It would not be seen plainly, because it was a dark night; but any one
+prowling about outside the mill might have stumbled against it."
+
+"You have no reason whatever for supposing that it was Mr. Edward Sankey
+who cut this rope more than anyone else?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+Charlie was the next witness. The boy was as white as a sheet, and his
+eyes were swollen with crying. He glanced piteously at his brother, and
+exclaimed with a sob, "Oh! Ned."
+
+"Don't mind, Charlie," Ned said quietly. "Tell the whole story exactly
+as it happened. You can't do me any harm, old boy."
+
+So encouraged Charlie told the whole story of the quarrel arising in the
+first place from his stepfather's ill temper at the tea table.
+
+"Your brother meant nothing specially unpleasant in calling your
+stepfather Foxey?" Mr. Wakefield asked.
+
+"No, sir; he had always called him so even before he knew that he was
+going to marry mother. It was a name, I believe, the men called him, and
+Ned got it from them."
+
+"I believe that your stepfather had received threatening letters, had he
+not?"
+
+"Yes, sir, several; he was afraid to put his new machines to work
+because of them."
+
+"Thank you, that will do," Mr. Wakefield said. "I have those letters in
+my possession," he went on to the magistrates. "They are proof that
+the deceased had enemies who had threatened to take his life. Shall I
+produce them now?"
+
+"It is hardly worth while, Mr. Wakefield, though they can be brought
+forward at the trial. I may say, indeed, that we have seen some of them
+already, for it was on account of these letters that we applied for the
+military to be stationed here."
+
+It was not thought necessary to call Mrs. Mulready; but the servant
+gave her evidence as to what she had heard of the quarrel, and as to the
+absence of Ned from home that night.
+
+"Unless you are in a position to produce evidence, Mr. Wakefield,
+proving clearly that at the time the murder was committed the prisoner
+was at a distance from the spot, we are prepared to commit him for
+trial."
+
+Mr. Wakefield intimated that he should reserve his evidence for the
+trial itself, and Ned was then formally committed.
+
+The examination in no way altered the tone of public opinion. The
+general opinion was that Ned had followed his stepfather to the mill,
+intending to attack him, that he had stumbled onto the coil of rope, and
+the idea occurred to him of tying it across the road and upsetting the
+gig on its return. Charlie's evidence as to the savage assault upon
+his brother had created a stronger feeling of sympathy than had before
+prevailed, and had the line of defense been that, smarting under his
+injuries, Ned had suddenly determined to injure his stepfather by
+upsetting the gig, but without any idea of killing him, the general
+opinion would have been that under such provocation as Ned had received
+a lengthened term of imprisonment would have been an ample punishment.
+More than one, indeed, were heard to say, "Well, if I were on the jury,
+my verdict would be, Served him right."
+
+Still, although there was greater sympathy than before with Ned, there
+were few, indeed, who doubted his guilt.
+
+After Ned was removed from court he was taken back by the chief
+constable to his house, and ten minutes later he was summoned into the
+parlor, where he found Charlie and Lucy waiting him. Lucy, who was now
+ten years old, sprang forward to meet him; he lifted her, and for awhile
+she lay with her head on his shoulder and her arms round his neck,
+sobbing bitterly, while Charlie clung to his brother's disengaged hand.
+
+"Don't cry, Lucy, don't cry little woman; it will all come right in the
+end;" but Lucy's tears were not to be stanched. Ned sat down, and after
+a time soothed her into stillness, but she still lay nestled up in his
+arms.
+
+"It was dreadful, Ned," Charlie said, "having to go into court as a
+witness against you. I had thought of running away, but did not know
+where to go to, and then Mr. Porson had a talk with me and told me that
+it was of the greatest importance that I should tell everything exactly
+word for word, just as it happened. He said every one knew there had
+been a quarrel, and that if I did not tell everything it would seem as
+if I was keeping something back in order to screen you, and that would
+do you a great deal of harm, and that, as really you were not to blame
+in the quarrel, my evidence would be in your favor rather than against
+you. He says he knew that you would wish me to tell exactly what took
+place."
+
+"Certainly, Charlie; there is nothing I could want hid. I was wrong to
+speak of him as Foxey, and to let fly as I did about him; but there was
+nothing intended to offend him in that, because, of course, I had no
+idea that he could hear me. The only thing I have to blame myself very
+much for is for getting into a wild passion. I don't think any one would
+say I did wrong in going out of the house after being knocked about so;
+but if I had not got into a passion, and had gone straight to Bill's, or
+to Abijah, or to Mr. Porson, which would have been best of all, to
+have stopped the night, all this would not have come upon me; but I let
+myself get into a blind passion and stopped in it for hours, and I am
+being punished for it."
+
+"It was natural that you should get in a passion," Charlie said stoutly.
+"I think any one would have got in a passion."
+
+"I don't think you would, Charlie," Ned said, smiling.
+
+"No," Charlie replied; "but then you see that is not my way. I should
+have cried all night; but then I am not a great, strong fellow like you,
+and it would not be so hard to be knocked about."
+
+"It's no use making excuses, Charlie. I know I ought not to have given
+way to my temper like that. Now, Lucy dear, as you are feeling better,
+you must sit up and talk to me. How is mother?"
+
+"Mother is in bed," Lucy said. "She's always in bed now; the house is
+dreadful, Ned, without you, and they say you are not to come back yet,"
+and the tears came very near to overflowing again.
+
+"Ah! well, I hope I shall be back before long, Lucy."
+
+"I hope so," Lucy said; "but you know you will soon be going away again
+to be a soldier."
+
+"I shall not go away again now, Lucy," Ned said quietly. "When I come
+back it will be for good."
+
+"Oh! that will be nice," Lucy said joyously, "just as it used to be,
+with no one to be cross and scold about everything."
+
+"Hush! little woman, don't talk about that. He had his faults, dear, as
+we all have, but he had a great deal to worry him, and perhaps we did
+not make allowances enough for him, and I do think he was really fond of
+you, Lucy, and when people are dead we should never speak ill of them."
+
+"I don't want to," Lucy said, "and I didn't want him to be fond of me
+when he wasn't fond of you and Charlie or mother. It seems to me he
+wasn't fond of mother, and yet she does nothing but cry; I can't make
+that out, can you?"
+
+Ned did not answer; his mother's infatuation for Mr. Mulready had always
+been a puzzle to him, and he could at present think of no reply which
+would be satisfactory to Lucy.
+
+A constable now came in and said that there were other visitors waiting
+to see Ned. He then withdrew, leaving the lad to say goodby to his
+brother and sister alone. Ned kept up a brave countenance, and strove
+to make the parting as easy as possible for the others, but both were
+crying bitterly as they went out.
+
+Ned's next visitors were Dr. Green and Mr. Porson.
+
+"We have only a minute or two, my boy," Mr. Porson said, "for the gig is
+at the door. The chief constable is going to drive you to York himself.
+You will go halfway and sleep on the road tonight. It is very good of
+him, as in that way no one will suspect that you are any but a pair of
+ordinary travelers. Keep up your spirits, my boy. We have sent to London
+for a detective from Bow Street to try and ferret out something of this
+mysterious business; and even if we do not succeed, I have every faith
+that it will come right in the end. And now goodby, my boy, I shall see
+you in a fortnight, for of course I shall come over to York to the trial
+to give evidence as to character."
+
+"And so shall I, Ned, my patients must get on without me for a day or
+two," the doctor said. "Mr. Wakefield is waiting to see you. He has
+something to tell you which may help to cheer you. He says it is of no
+legal value, but it seems to me important."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV: NOT GUILTY
+
+
+As soon as Mr. Porson and the doctor had left him Mr. Wakefield
+appeared.
+
+"Well, Sankey, I hope you are not downcast at the magistrates' decision.
+It was a certainty that they would have to commit you, as we could not
+prove a satisfactory alibi. Never mind, I don't think any jury will find
+against you on the evidence they have got, especially in the face of
+those threatening letters and the fact that several men in Mulready's
+position have been murdered by the Luddites."
+
+"It won't be much consolation to me, sir, to be acquitted if it can't be
+proved to the satisfaction of every one that I am innocent."
+
+"Tut, tut! my boy; the first thing to do is to get you out of the hands
+of the law. After that we shall have time to look about us and see if we
+can lay our hands on the right man. A curious thing has happened today
+while I was in court. A little boy left a letter for me at my office
+here; it is an ill-written scrawl, as you see, but certainly important."
+
+Ned took the paper, on which was written in a scrawling hand:
+
+"Sir, Maister Sankey be innocent of the murder of Foxey. I doan't want
+to put my neck in a noose, but if so be as they finds him guilty in
+coort and be a-going to hang him, I shall come forward and say as how I
+did it. I bean't agoing to let him be hung for this job. A loife for a
+loife, saes oi; so tell him to keep up his heart."
+
+There was no signature to the paper.
+
+Ned looked up with delight in his face.
+
+"But won't the letter clear me, Mr. Wakefield? It shows that it was not
+me, but some one else who did it."
+
+"No, Sankey, pray do not cherish any false hopes on that ground. The
+letter is valueless in a legal way. To you and to your friends it may be
+a satisfaction; but it can have no effect on the court. There is nothing
+to prove that it is genuine. It may have been written by any friend of
+yours with a view of obtaining your acquittal. Of course we shall put it
+in at the trial, but it cannot be accepted as legal evidence in any way.
+Still a thing of that sort may have an effect upon some of the jury."
+
+Ned looked again at the letter, and a shade came over his face now that
+he looked at it carefully. He recognized in a moment Bill's handwriting.
+He had himself instructed him by setting him copies at the time he was
+laid up with the broken leg, and Bill had stuck to it so far that he was
+able to read and write in a rough way.
+
+Ned's first impulse was to tell Mr. Wakefield who had written the note,
+but he thought that it might get Bill into a scrape. It was evidently
+written by his friend, solely to create an impression in his favor, and
+he wondered that such an idea should have entered Bill's head, which was
+by no means an imaginative one. As to the young fellow having killed Mr.
+Mulready it did not even occur to Ned for a moment.
+
+As, seated by the side of the chief constable, he drove along that
+afternoon, Ned turned it over anxiously in his mind whether it would be
+honest to allow this letter to be produced in court, knowing that it
+was only the device of a friend, Finally he decided to let matters take
+their course.
+
+"I am innocent," he said to himself, "and what I have got to live for is
+to clear myself from this charge. Mr. Wakefield said this letter would
+not be of value one way or the other, and if I were to say Bill wrote it
+he might insist upon Bill's being arrested, and he might find it just as
+hard to prove his innocence as I do."
+
+The assizes were to come on in three weeks. Ned was treated with more
+consideration than was generally the case with prisoners in those days,
+when the jails were terribly mismanaged; but Mr. Simmonds had written
+to the governor of the prison asking that every indulgence that could be
+granted should be shown to Ned, and Mr. Porson had also, before the
+lad left Marsden, insisted on his accepting a sum of money which would
+enable him to purchase such food and comforts as were permitted to be
+bought by prisoners, able to pay for them, awaiting their trial.
+
+Thus Ned obtained the boon of a separate cell, he was allowed to have
+books and writing materials, and to have his meals in from outside the
+prison.
+
+The days, however, passed but slowly, and Ned was heartily glad when the
+time for the assizes was at hand and his suspense was to come to an end.
+His case came on for trial on the second day of the sessions. On the
+previous evening he received a visit from Mr. Wakefield, who told him
+that Mr. Porson, Dr. Green and Charlie had come over in the coach with
+him.
+
+"You will be glad to hear that your mother will not be called," the
+lawyer said. "The prosecution, I suppose, thought that it would have
+a bad effect to call upon a mother to give evidence against her son;
+besides, she could prove no more than your brother will be able to do.
+If they had called her, Green would have given her a certificate that
+she was confined to her bed and could not possibly attend. However I am
+glad they did not call her, for the absence of a witness called against
+the prisoner, but supposed to be favorable to him, always counts against
+him."
+
+"And you have no clue as who did it, Mr. Wakefield?"
+
+"Not a shadow," the lawyer replied. "We have had a man down from town
+ever since you have been away, but we have done no good. He went up to
+Varley and tried to get into the confidence of the croppers, but somehow
+they suspected him to be a spy sent down to inquire into the Luddite
+business, and he had a pretty narrow escape of his life. He was terribly
+knocked about before he could get out of the public house, and they
+chased him all the way down into Marsden. Luckily he was a pretty good
+runner, and had the advantage of having lighter shoes on than they had,
+or they would have killed him to a certainty. No, my lad, we can prove
+nothing; we simply take the ground that you didn't do it; that he was a
+threatened man and unpopular with his hands; and there is not a shadow
+of proof against you except the fact that he had ill treated you just
+before."
+
+"And that I was known to bear him ill will," Ned said sadly.
+
+"Yes, of course that's unfortunate," the lawyer said uneasily. "Of
+course they will make a point of that, but that proves nothing. Most
+boys of your age do object to a stepfather. Of course we shall put it
+to the jury that there is nothing uncommon about that. Oh! no, I do not
+think they have a strong case; and Mr. Grant, who is our leader, and who
+is considered the best man on the circuit, is convinced we shall get a
+verdict."
+
+"But what do people think at Marsden, Mr. Wakefield? Do people generally
+think I am guilty?"
+
+"Pooh! pooh!" Mr. Wakefield said hastily. "What does it matter what
+people think? Most people are fools. The question we have to concern
+ourselves with is what do the jury think, or at any rate with what they
+think is proved, and Mr. Grant says he does not believe any jury could
+find you guilty upon the evidence. He will work them up. I know he is a
+wonderful fellow for working up."
+
+Mr. Grant's experience of juries turned out to be well founded. Ned, as
+he stood pale, but firm and composed in the dock, felt that his case was
+well nigh desperate when he heard the speech for the prosecution: his
+long and notorious ill will against the deceased, "one of the most
+genial and popular gentlemen in that part of the great county of
+Yorkshire," was dwelt upon. Evidence would be brought to show that even
+on the occasion of his mother's marriage the happiness of the
+ceremonial was marred by the scowls and menacing appearance of this most
+unfortunate and ill conditioned lad; how some time after the marriage
+this young fellow had violently assaulted his stepfather, and had used
+words in the hearing of the servants which could only be interpreted as
+a threat upon his life. This indeed, was not the first time that this
+boy had been placed in the dock as a prisoner. Upon a former occasion
+he had been charged with assaulting and threatening the life of his
+schoolmaster, and although upon that occasion he had escaped the
+consequences of his conduct by what must now be considered as the ill
+timed leniency of the magistrates, yet the facts were undoubted and
+undenied.
+
+Then the counsel proceeded to narrate the circumstances of the evening
+up to the point when Mr. Mulready left the house.
+
+"Beyond that point, gentlemen of the jury," the counsel said, "nothing
+certain is known. The rest must be mere conjecture; and yet it is not
+hard to imagine the facts. The prisoner was aware that the deceased had
+gone to the mill, which is situated a mile and a half from the town. You
+will be told the words which the prisoner used: 'It will be my turn next
+time, and when it comes I will kill you, you brute.'
+
+"With these words on his lips, with this thought in his heart, he
+started for the mill. What plan he intended to adopt, what form of
+vengeance he intended to take, it matters not, but assuredly it was with
+thoughts of vengeance in his heart that he followed that dark and lonely
+road to the mill. Once there he would have hung about waiting for his
+victim to issue forth. It may be that he had picked up a heavy stone,
+may be that he had an open knife in his hand; but while he was waiting,
+probably his foot struck against a coil of rope, which, as you will
+hear, had been carelessly thrown out a few minutes before.
+
+"Then doubtless the idea of a surer method of vengeance than that of
+which he had before thought came into his mind. A piece of the rope was
+hastily cut off, and with this the prisoner stole quietly off until he
+reached the spot where two gates facing each other on opposite sides of
+the lane afforded a suitable hold for the rope. Whether after fastening
+it across the road he remained at the spot to watch the catastrophe
+which he had brought about, or whether he hurried away into the darkness
+secure of his vengeance we cannot tell, nor does it matter. You will
+understand, gentlemen, that we are not in a position to prove these
+details of the tragedy. I am telling you the theory of the prosecution
+as to how it happened. Murders are not generally done in open day with
+plenty of trustworthy witnesses looking on. It is seldom that the act of
+slaying is witnessed by human eye. The evidence must therefore to some
+extent be circumstantial. The prosecution can only lay before juries the
+antecedent circumstances, show ill will and animus, and lead the jury
+step by step up to the point when the murderer and the victim meet in
+some spot at some time when none but the all seeing eye of God is upon
+them. This case is, as you see, no exception to the general rule.
+
+"I have shown you that between the prisoner and the deceased there was
+what may be termed a long standing feud, which came to a climax two or
+three hours before this murder. Up to that fatal evening I think I shall
+show you that the prisoner was wholly in fault, and that the deceased
+acted with great good temper and self command under a long series of
+provocations; but upon this evening his temper appears to have failed,
+and I will admit frankly that he seems to have committed a very
+outrageous and brutal assault upon the prisoner. Still, gentlemen, such
+an assault is no justification of the crime which took place. Unhappily
+it supplies the cause, but it does not supply an excuse for the crime.
+
+"Your duty in the case will be simple. You will have to say whether
+or not the murder of William Mulready is accounted for upon the theory
+which I have laid down to you and on no other. Should you entertain no
+doubt upon the subject it will be your duty to bring in a verdict of
+guilty; if you do not feel absolutely certain you will of course give
+the prisoner the benefit of the doubt."
+
+The evidence called added nothing to what was known at the first
+examination. The two servants testified to the fact of the unpleasant
+relations which had from the first existed between the deceased and the
+prisoner, and detailed what they knew of the quarrel. Charlie's evidence
+was the most damaging, as he had to state the threat which Ned had
+uttered before he went out.
+
+The counsel for the defense asked but few questions in cross
+examination. He elicited from the servants, however, the fact that Mr.
+Mulready at home was a very different person from Mr. Mulready as
+known by people in general. They acknowledged that he was by no means a
+pleasant master, that he was irritable and fault finding, and that his
+temper was trying in the extreme, He only asked one or two questions of
+Charlie.
+
+"You did not find your stepfather a very pleasant man to deal with, did
+you?"
+
+"Not at all pleasant," Charlie replied heartily.
+
+"Always snapping and snarling and finding fault, wasn't he?"
+
+"Yes, sir, always."
+
+"Now about this threat of which we have heard so much on the part of
+your brother, did it impress you much? Were you frightened at it? Did
+you think that your brother intended to kill your stepfather?"
+
+"No, sir, I am sure he didn't; he just said it in a passion. He had been
+knocked about until he could hardly stand, and he just said the first
+thing that came into his head, like fellows do."
+
+"You don't think that he went out with any deliberate idea of killing
+your stepfather?"
+
+"No, sir; I am sure he only went out to walk about till he got over his
+passion, just as he had done before."
+
+"It was his way, was it, when anything put him out very much, to go and
+walk about till he got cool again?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+For the defense Mr. Simmonds was called, and produced the threatening
+letters which Mr. Mulready had laid before him. He stated that that
+gentleman was much alarmed, and had asked that a military force should
+be called into the town, and that he himself and his colleague had
+considered the danger so serious that they had applied for and obtained
+military protection.
+
+Luke Marner and several of the hands at the mill testified to the
+extreme unpopularity of their employer among his men, and said that they
+should never have been surprised any morning at hearing that he had been
+killed.
+
+Dr. Green and Mr. Porson testified very strongly in favor of Ned's
+character. This was all the evidence produced. Mr. Grant then addressed
+the jury, urging that beyond the fact of this unfortunate quarrel, in
+which the deceased appeared to have been entirely to blame and to have
+behaved with extreme brutality, there was nothing whatever to associate
+the prisoner with the crime. The young gentleman before them, as they
+had heard from the testimony of gentlemen of the highest respectability,
+bore an excellent character. That he had faults in temper he admitted,
+such faults being the result of the lad having been brought up among
+Indian servants; but Dr. Green and Mr. Porson had both told them that
+he had made the greatest efforts to master his temper, and that they
+believed that no ordinary provocation could arouse him. But after all
+what did what they had heard amount to? simply this, the lad's mother
+had been married a second time to a man who bore the outward reputation
+of being a pleasant, jovial man, a leading character among his townsmen,
+a popular fellow in the circle in which he moved.
+
+It had been proved, however, by the evidence of those who knew him best,
+of his workpeople, his servants, of this poor lad whom the prosecution
+had placed in the box as a witness against his brother, that this man's
+life was a long lie; that, smiling and pleasant as he appeared, he was
+a tyrant, a petty despot in his family, a hard master to his hands, a
+cruel master in his house, What wonder that between this lad and such
+a stepfather as this there was no love lost. There were scores, ay and
+thousands of boys in England who similarly hated their stepfathers, and
+was it to be said that, if any of the men came to a sudden and violent
+death, these boys were to be suspected of their murder. But in the
+present case, although he was not in a position to lay his finger upon
+the man who perpetrated this crime, they need not go far to look for
+him. Had they not heard that he was hated by his workpeople? Evidence
+had been laid before them to show that he was a marked man, that he had
+received threatening letters from secret associations which had, as was
+notorious, kept the south of Yorkshire, and indeed all that part of
+the country which was the seat of manufacture, in a state of alarm. So
+imminent was the danger considered that the magistrates had requested
+the aid of an armed force, and at the tame this murder was committed
+there were soldiers actually stationed in the mill, besides a strong
+force in the town for the protection of this man from his enemies.
+
+The counsel for the prosecution had given them his theory as to the
+actions of the prisoner, but he believed that that theory was altogether
+wide of the truth. It was known that an accident had taken place to
+the machinery, for the mill was standing idle for the day. It would be
+probable that the deceased would go over late in the evening to see
+how the work was progressing, as every effort was being made to get the
+machinery to run on the following morning.
+
+"What so probable, then, that the enemies of the deceased--and you know
+that he had enemies, who had sworn to take his life--should choose this
+opportunity for attacking him as he drove to or from the town. That an
+enemy was prowling round the mill, as has been suggested to you, I admit
+readily enough. That he stumbled upon the rope, that the idea occurred
+to him of upsetting the gig on its return, that he cut off a portion
+of the rope and fixed it between the two gateposts across the road, and
+that this rope caused the death of William Mulready. All this I allow;
+but I submit to you that the man who did this was a member of the secret
+association which is a terror to the land, and was the terror of William
+Mulready, and there is no proof whatever, not even the shadow not even
+the shadow of a proof, to connect this lad with the crime.
+
+"I am not speaking without a warrant when I assert my conviction that it
+was an emissary of the association known as the Luddites who had a
+hand in this matter, for I am in possession of a document, which
+unfortunately I am not in a position to place before you, as it is not
+legal evidence, which professes to be written by the man who perpetrated
+this deed, and who appears, although obedient to the behests of this
+secret association of which he is a member, to be yet a man not devoid
+of heart, who says that if this innocent young man is found guilty of
+this crime he will himself come forward and confess that he did it.
+
+"Therefore, gentlemen of the jury, there is every reason to believe
+that the slayer of William Mulready is indeed within these walls, but
+assuredly he is not the most unfortunate and ill treated young man who
+stands in the dock awaiting your verdict to set him free."
+
+The summing up was brief. The judge commenced by telling the jury that
+they must dismiss altogether from their minds the document of which the
+counsel for the defense had spoken, and to which, as it had not been
+put into court, and indeed could not be put into court, it was highly
+irregular and improper for him to have alluded. They must, he said,
+dismiss it altogether from their minds. Their duty was simple, they
+were to consider the evidence before them. They had heard of the quarrel
+which had taken place between the deceased and the prisoner. They had
+heard the threat used by the prisoner that he would kill the deceased
+if he had an opportunity, and they had to decide whether he had, in
+accordance with the theory of the prosecution, carried that threat into
+effect; or whether on the other hand, as the defense suggested, the
+deceased had fallen a victim to the agent of the association which had
+threatened his life. He was bound to tell them that if they entertained
+any doubt as to the guilt of the prisoner at the bar they were bound to
+give him the benefit of the doubt.
+
+The jury consulted together for a short time and then expressed their
+desire to retire to consider their verdict. They were absent about half
+an hour and on their return the foreman said in reply to the question of
+the judge that they found the prisoner "Not Guilty."
+
+A perfect silence reigned in the court when the jury entered the box,
+and something like a sigh of relief followed their verdict. It was
+expected, and indeed there was some surprise when the jury retired, for
+the general opinion was that whether guilty or innocent the prosecution
+had failed to bring home unmistakably the crime to the prisoner. That
+he might have committed it was certain, that he had committed it was
+probable, but it was assuredly not proved that he and none other had
+been the perpetrator of the crime.
+
+Of all the persons in the court the accused had appeared the least
+anxious as to the result. He received almost with indifference the
+assurances which Mr. Wakefield, who was sitting at the solicitor's table
+below him, rose to give him, that the jury could not find a verdict
+against him, and the expression of his face was unchanged when the
+foreman announced the verdict.
+
+He was at once released from the dock. His solicitor, Dr. Green, and Mr.
+Porson warmly shook his hand, and Charlie threw his arms round his neck
+and cried in his joy and excitement.
+
+"It is all right, I suppose," Ned said as, surrounded by his friends, he
+left the court, "but I would just as lief the verdict had gone the other
+way."
+
+"Oh! Ned, how can you say so?" Charlie exclaimed.
+
+"Well, no, Charlie," Ned corrected himself. "I am glad for your sake and
+Lucy's that I am acquitted; it would have been awful for you if I had
+been hung--it is only for myself that I don't care. The verdict only
+means that they have not been able to prove me guilty, and I have got
+to go on living all my life knowing that I am suspected of being a
+murderer. It is not a nice sort of thing, you know," and he laughed
+drearily.
+
+"Come, come, Ned," Mr. Porson said cheerily, "you mustn't take too
+gloomy a view of it. It is natural enough that you should do so now,
+for you have gone through a great deal, and you are overwrought and worn
+out; but this will pass off, and you will find things are not as bad as
+you think. It is true that there may be some, not many, I hope, who will
+be of opinion that the verdict was like the Scotch verdict 'Not Proven,'
+rather than 'Not Guilty;' but I am sure the great majority will believe
+you innocent. You have got the doctor here on your side, and he is a
+host in himself. Mr. Simmonds told me when the jury were out of the
+court that he was convinced you were innocent, and his opinion will go a
+long way in Marsden, and you must hope and trust that the time will
+come when your innocence will be not only believed in, but proved to the
+satisfaction of all by the discovery of the actual murderer."
+
+"Ah!" Ned said, "if we ever find that out it will be all right; but
+unless we can do so I shall have this dreadful thing hanging over me all
+my life."
+
+They had scarcely reached the hotel where Mr. Porson, the doctor, and
+Charlie were stopping, when Mr. Simmonds arrived.
+
+"I have come to congratulate you, my boy," he said, shaking hands
+with Ned. "I can see that at present the verdict does not give so much
+satisfaction to you as to your friends, but that is natural enough. You
+have been unjustly accused and have had a very hard time of it, and you
+are naturally not disposed to look at matters in a cheerful light; but
+this gives us time, my boy, and time is everything. It is hard for you
+that your innocence has not been fully demonstrated, but you have your
+life before you, and we must hope that some day you will be triumphantly
+vindicated."
+
+"That is what I shall live for in future," Ned said. "Of course now, Mr.
+Simmonds, there is an end of all idea of my going into the army. A man
+suspected of a murder, even if they have failed to bring it home to him,
+cannot ask for a commission in the army. I know there's an end to all
+that."
+
+"No," Mr. Simmonds agreed hesitatingly, "I fear that for the present
+that plan had better remain in abeyance; we can take it up again later
+on when this matter is put straight."
+
+"That may be never," Ned said decidedly, "so we need say no more about
+it."
+
+"And now, my boy," Mr. Porson said, "try and eat some lunch. I have
+just ordered a post chaise to be round at the door in half an hour. The
+sooner we start the better. The fresh air and the change will do you
+good, and we shall have plenty of time to talk on the road."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI: LUKE MARNER'S SACRIFICE
+
+
+Not until they had left York behind them did Ned ask after his mother.
+He knew that if there had been anything pleasant to tell about her he
+would have heard it at once, and the silence of his friends warned him
+that the subject was not an agreeable one.
+
+"How is my mother?" he asked at last abruptly.
+
+"Well, Ned," Dr. Green replied, "I have been expecting your question,
+and I am sorry to say that I have nothing agreeable to tell you."
+
+"That I was sure of," Ned said with a hard laugh. "As I have received no
+message from her from the day I was arrested I guessed pretty well that
+whatever doubt other people might feel, my mother was positive that I
+had murdered her husband."
+
+"The fact is, Ned," Dr. Green said cautiously, "your mother is not at
+present quite accountable for her opinions. The shock which she has
+undergone has, I think, unhinged her mind. Worthless as I believe him
+to have been, this man had entirely gained her affections. She has not
+risen from her bed since he died.
+
+"Sometimes she is absolutely silent for hours, at others she talks
+incessantly; and painful as it is to tell you so, her first impression
+that you were responsible for his death is the one which still remains
+fixed on her mind. She is wholly incapable of reason or of argument. At
+times she appears sane and sensible enough and talks of other matters
+coherently; but the moment she touches on this topic she becomes excited
+and vehement. It has been a great comfort to me, and I am sure it will
+be to you, that your old servant Abijah has returned and taken up the
+position of housekeeper.
+
+"As soon as your mother's first excitement passed away I asked her if
+she would like this, and she eagerly assented. The woman was in the
+town, having come over on the morning after you gave yourself up, and
+to my great relief she at once consented to take up her former position.
+This is a great thing for your sister, who is, of course, entirely in
+her charge, as your mother is not in a condition to attend to anything.
+I was afraid at first that she would not remain, so indignant was she at
+your mother's believing your guilt; but when I assured her that the poor
+lady was not responsible for what she said, and that her mind was in
+fact unhinged altogether by the calamity, she overcame her feelings;
+but it is comic to see her struggling between her indignation at your
+mother's irresponsible talk and her consciousness that it is necessary
+to abstain from exciting her by contradiction."
+
+Dr. Green had spoken as lightly as he could, but he knew how painful it
+must be to Ned to hear of his mother's conviction of his guilt, and how
+much it would add to the trials of his position.
+
+Ned himself had listened in silence. He sighed heavily when the doctor
+had finished.
+
+"Abijah will be a great comfort," he said quietly, "a wonderful comfort;
+but as to my poor mother, it will of course be a trial. Still, no wonder
+that, when she heard me say those words when I went out, she thinks that
+I did it. However, I suppose that it is part of my punishment."
+
+"Have you thought anything of your future plans, Ned?" Mr. Porson asked
+after they had driven in silence for some distance.
+
+"Yes, I have been thinking a good deal," Ned replied, "all the time
+I was shut up and had nothing else to do. I did not believe that they
+would find me guilty, and of course I had to settle what I should do
+afterward. If it was only myself I think I should go away and take
+another name; but in that case there would be no chance of my ever
+clearing myself, and for father's sake and for the sake of Charlie and
+Lucy I must not throw away a chance of that. It would be awfully against
+them all their lives if people could say of them that their brother was
+the fellow who murdered their stepfather. Perhaps they will always say
+so now; still it is evidently my duty to stay, if it were only on the
+chance of clearing up the mystery.
+
+"In the next place I feel that I ought to stay for the sake of money
+matters. I don't think, in the present state of things, with the
+Luddites burning mills and threatening masters, any one would give
+anything like its real value for the mill now. I know that it did not
+pay with the old machinery, and it is not every one who would care to
+run the risk of working with the new. By the terms of the settlement
+that was made before my mother married again the mill is now hers, and
+she and Charlie and Lucy have nothing else to depend upon. As she is not
+capable of transacting business it falls upon me to take her place,
+and I intend to try, for a time at any rate, to run the mill myself. Of
+course I know nothing about it, but as the hands all know their work the
+foreman will be able to carry on the actual business of the mill till I
+master the details.
+
+"As to the office business, the clerk will know all about it. There was
+a man who used to travel about to buy wool, I know my mother's husband
+had every confidence in him, and he could go on just as before. As to
+the sales, the books will tell the names of the firms who dealt with us,
+and I suppose the business with them will go on as before. At any rate
+I can but try for a time. Of course I have quite made up my mind that I
+shall have no personal interest whatever in the business. They may think
+that I murdered Mulready, but they shall not say that I have profited
+by his death. I should suppose that my mother can pay me some very small
+salary, just sufficient to buy my clothes. So I shall go on till Charlie
+gets to an age when he can manage the business as its master; then if
+no clue has been obtained as to the murder I shall be able to give it up
+and go abroad, leaving him with, I hope, a good business for himself and
+Lucy."
+
+"I think that is as good a plan as any," Mr. Porson said; "but, however,
+there is no occasion to come to any sudden determination at present.
+I myself should advise a change of scene and thought before you decide
+anything finally. I have a brother living in London and he would, I am
+sure, very gladly take you in for a fortnight and show you the sights of
+London."
+
+"Thank you, sir, you are very kind," Ned said quietly; "but I have got
+to face it out at Marsden, and I would rather begin at once."
+
+Mr. Porson saw by the set, steady look upon Ned's face that he had
+thoroughly made up his mind as to the part he had to play, and that any
+further argument would be of no avail. It was not until the postchaise
+was approaching Marsden that any further allusion was made to Ned's
+mother. Then the doctor, after consulting Mr. Porson by various
+upliftings of the eyebrows, returned to the subject.
+
+"Ned, my boy, we were speaking some little time ago of your mother. I
+think it is best that I should tell you frankly that I do not consider
+her any longer responsible for her actions. I tell you this in order
+that you may not be wounded by your reception.
+
+"Since that fatal day she has not left her bed. She declares that she
+has lost all power in her limbs. Of course that is nonsense, but the
+result is the same. She keeps her bed, and, as far as I can see, is
+likely to keep it. This is perhaps the less to be regretted, as you will
+thereby avoid being thrown into contact with her; for I tell you plainly
+such contact, in her present state of mind, could only be unpleasant
+to you. Were you to meet, it would probably at the least bring on a
+frightful attack of hysterics, which in her present state might be a
+serious matter. Therefore, my boy, you must make up your mind not to see
+her for awhile. I have talked the matter over with your old nurse, who
+will remain with your mother as housekeeper, with a girl under her.
+You will, of course, take your place as master of the house, with your
+brother and sister with you, until your mother is in a position to
+manage--if ever she should be. But I trust at any rate that she will
+ere long so far recover as to be able to receive you as the good son you
+have ever been to her."
+
+"Thank you," Ned said quietly. "I understand, doctor."
+
+Ned did understand that his mother was convinced of his guilt and
+refused to see him; it was what he expected, and yet it was a heavy
+trial. Very cold and hard he looked as the postchaise drove through the
+streets of Marsden. People glanced at it curiously, and as they saw
+Ned sitting by the side of the men who were known as his champions they
+hurried away to spread the news that young Sankey had been acquitted.
+
+The hard look died out of Ned's face as the door opened, and Lucy sprang
+out and threw her arms round his neck and cried with delight at seeing
+him; and Abijah, crying too, greeted him inside with a motherly welcome.
+A feeling of relief came across his mind as he entered the sitting room.
+Dr. Green, who was one of the trustees in the marriage settlement, had,
+in the inability of Mrs. Mulready to give any orders, taken upon himself
+to dispose of much of the furniture, and to replace it with some of an
+entirely different fashion and appearance. The parlor was snug and cosy;
+a bright fire blazed on the hearth; a comfortable armchair stood beside
+it; the room looked warm and homely. Ned's two friends had followed him
+in, and tears stood in both their eyes.
+
+"Welcome back, dear boy!" Mr. Porson said, grasping his hand. "God grant
+that better times are in store for you, and that you may outlive this
+trial which has at present darkened your life. Now we will leave you
+to your brother and sister. I am sure you will be glad to be alone with
+them."
+
+And so Ned took to the life he had marked out for himself. In two
+months he seemed to have aged years. The careless look of boyhood had
+altogether disappeared from his face. Except from his two friends he
+rejected all sympathy. When he walked through the streets of Marsden
+it was with a cold, stony face, as if he were wholly unaware of the
+existence of passersby. The thought that as he went along men drew aside
+to let him pass and whispered after he had gone, "That is the fellow
+who murdered his stepfather, but escaped because they could not bring it
+home to him," was ever in his mind. His friends in vain argued with him
+against his thus shutting himself off from the world. They assured him
+that there were very many who, like themselves, were perfectly convinced
+of his innocence, and who would rally round him and support him if he
+would give them the least encouragement, but Ned shook his head.
+
+"I dare say what you say is true," he would reply; "but I could not do
+it--I must go on alone. It is as much as I can bear now."
+
+And his friends saw that it was useless to urge him further.
+
+On the day after his return to Marsden Luke Marner and Bill Swinton
+came back on the coach from York, and after it was dark Ned walked up to
+Varley and knocked at Bill's door.
+
+On hearing who it was Bill threw on his cap and came out to him. For a
+minute the lads stood with their hands clasped firmly in each other's
+without a word being spoken.
+
+"Thank God, Maister Ned," Bill said at last, "we ha' got thee again!"
+
+"Thank God too!" Ned said; "though I think I would rather that it had
+gone the other way."
+
+They walked along for some time without speaking again, and then Ned
+said suddenly:
+
+"Now, Bill, who is the real murderer?"
+
+Bill stopped his walk in astonishment.
+
+"The real murderer!" he repeated; "how ever should oi know, Maister
+Ned?"
+
+"I know that you know, Bill. It was you who wrote that letter to Mr.
+Wakefield saying that the man who did it would be at the trial, and
+that if I were found guilty he would give himself up. It's no use your
+denying it, for I knew your handwriting at once."
+
+Bill was silent for some time, It had never occurred to him that this
+letter would be brought home to him.
+
+"Come, Bill, you must tell me," Ned said. "Do not be afraid. I promise
+you that I will not use it against him. Mind, if I can bring it home to
+him in any other way I shall do so; but I promise you that no word shall
+ever pass my lips about the letter. I want to know who is the man of
+whose crime the world believes me guilty. The secret shall, as far as he
+is concerned, be just as much a secret as it was before."
+
+"But oi dunno who is the man, Maister Ned. If oi did oi would ha' gone
+into the court and said so, even though oi had been sure they would
+ha' killed me for peaching when oi came back. Oi dunno no more than a
+child."
+
+"Then you only wrote that letter to throw them on to a false scent,
+Bill? Who put you up to that, for I am sure it would never have occurred
+to you?"
+
+"No," Bill said slowly, "oi should never ha' thought of it myself; Luke
+told oi what to wroit, and I wroited it."
+
+"Oh, it was Luke! was it?" Ned said sharply. "Then the man who did it
+must have told him."
+
+"Oi didn't mean to let out as it waar Luke," Bill said in confusion;
+"and oi promised him solemn to say nowt about it."
+
+"Well," Ned said, turning sharp round and starting on his way back to
+the village, "I must see Luke himself."
+
+Bill in great perplexity followed Ned, muttering: "Oh, Lor'! what ull
+Luke say to oi? What a fellow oi be to talk, to be sure!"
+
+Nothing further was said until they reached Luke's cottage. Ned knocked
+and entered at once, followed sheepishly by Bill.
+
+"Maister Ned, oi be main glad to see thee," Luke said as he rose from
+his place by the fire; while Polly with a little cry, "Welcome!" dropped
+her work.
+
+"Thanks, Luke--thanks for coming over to York to give evidence. How are
+you, Polly? There! don't cry--I ain't worth crying over. At any rate,
+it is a satisfaction to be with three people who don't regard me as a
+murderer. Now, Polly, I want you to go into the other room, for I have
+a question which I must ask Luke, and I don't want even you to hear the
+answer."
+
+Polly gathered her work together and went out. Then Ned went over to
+Luke, who was looking at him with surprise, and laid his hand on his
+shoulder.
+
+"Luke," he said, "I want you to tell me exactly how it was that you came
+to tell Bill to write that letter to Mr. Wakefield?"
+
+Luke started and then looked savagely over at Bill, who stood twirling
+his cap in his hand.
+
+"Oi couldn't help it, Luke," he said humbly. "Oi didn't mean vor to say
+it, but he got it out of me somehow. He knowed my fist on the paper,
+and, says he, sudden loike, 'Who war the man as murdered Foxey?' What
+was oi vor to say? He says at once as he knowed the idea of writing that
+letter would never ha' coom into my head; and so the long and short of
+it be, as your name slipped owt somehow, and there you be."
+
+"Now, Luke," Ned said soothingly, "I want to know whether there was a
+man who was ready to take my place in the dock had I been found guilty,
+and if so, who he was. I shall keep the name as a secret. I give you my
+word of honor. After he had promised to come forward and save my life
+that is the least I can do, though, as I told Bill, if I could bring it
+home to him in any other way I should feel myself justified in doing so.
+It may be that he would be willing to go across the seas, and when he is
+safe there to write home saying that he did it."
+
+"Yes, oi was afraid that soom sich thawt might be in your moind,
+Maister Ned, but it can't be done that way. But oi doan't know," he said
+thoughtfully, "perhaps it moight, arter all. Perhaps the chap as was
+a-coomin' forward moight take it into his head to go to Ameriky. Oi
+shouldn't wonder if he did, In fact, now oi thinks on't, oi am pretty
+sure as he will. Yes. Oi can say for sartin as that's what he intends. A
+loife vor a loife you know, Maister Nod, that be only fair, bean't it?"
+
+"And you think he will really go?" Ned asked eagerly.
+
+"Ay, he will go," Luke said firmly, "it's as good as done; but," he
+added slowly, "I dunno as he's got money vor to pay his passage wi'.
+There's some kids as have to go wi' him. He would want no more nor just
+the fare. But oi doan't see how he can go till he has laid that by, and
+in these hard toimes it ull take him some time to do that."
+
+"I will provide the money," Ned said eagerly. "Abijah would lend me some
+of her savings, and I can pay her back some day."
+
+"Very well, Maister Ned. Oi expect as how he will take it as a loan.
+Moind, he will pay it hack if he lives, honest. Oi doan't think as how
+he bain't honest, that chap, though he did kill Foxey. Very well," Luke
+went on slowly, "then the matter be as good as settled. Oi will send
+Bill down tomorrow, and he will see if thou canst let un have the money.
+A loife vor a loife, that's what oi says, Maister Ned. That be roight,
+bain't it?"
+
+"That's right enough, Luke," Ned replied, "though I don't quite see
+what that has to do with it, except that the man who has taken this life
+should give his life to make amends."
+
+"Yes, that be it, in course," Luke replied. "Yes; just as you says, he
+ought vor to give his loife to make amends."
+
+That night Ned arranged with Abijah, who was delighted to hand over her
+savings for the furtherance of any plan that would tend to clear Ned
+from the suspicion which hung over him. Bill came down next morning, and
+was told that a hundred pounds would be forthcoming in two days.
+
+Upon the following evening the servant came in and told Ned that a young
+woman wished to speak to him. He went down into the study, and, to his
+surprise, Mary Powlett was shown in. Her eyes were swollen with crying.
+
+"Master Ned," she said, "I have come to say goodby."
+
+"Good-by, Polly! Why, where are you going?"
+
+"We are all going away, sir, tomorrow across the seas, to Ameriky I
+believe. It's all come so sudden it seems like a dream, Feyther never
+spoke of such a thing afore, and now all at once we have got to start.
+I have run all the way down from Varley to say goodby. Feyther told me
+that I wasn't on no account to come down to you. Not on no account,
+he said. But how could I go away and know that you had thought us so
+strange and ungrateful as to go away without saying goodby after your
+dear feyther giving his life for little Jenny. I couldn't do it, sir. So
+when he started off to spend the evening for the last time at the 'Cow'
+I put on my bonnet and ran down here. I don't care if he beats me--not
+that he ever did beat sir, but he might now--for he was terrible stern
+in telling me as I wasn't to come and see you."
+
+Ned heard her without an interruption. The truth flashed across his
+mind. It was Luke Marner himself who was going to America, and was
+going to write home to clear him. Yet surely Luke could never have done
+it--Luke, so different from the majority of the croppers--Luke, who had
+steadily refused to have anything to say to General Lud and his
+schemes against the masters. Mary's last words gave him a clue to the
+mystery--"Your dear feyther gave his life for little Jenny." He coupled
+it with Luke's enigmatical words, "A loife for a loife."
+
+For a minute or two he sat absolutely silent. Mary was hurt at the
+seeming indifference with which he received the news. She drew herself
+up a little, and said, in an altered voice,
+
+"I will say goodby, sir. I hope you won't think I was taking a liberty
+in thinking you would be sorry if we were all to go without your knowing
+it."
+
+Ned roused himself at her words.
+
+"It is not that, Polly. It is far from being that. But I want to ask
+you a question. You remember the night of Mr. Mulready's murder? Do you
+remember whether your father was at home all that evening?"
+
+Polly opened her eyes in surprise at a question which seemed to her so
+irrelevant to the matter in hand;
+
+"Yes, sir," she replied, still coldly. "I remember that night. We are
+not likely any of us to forget it. Feyther had not gone to the 'Cow.'
+He sat smoking at home. Bill had dropped in, and they sat talking of the
+doings of the Luddites till it was later than usual. Feyther was sorry
+afterward, because he said if he had been down at the 'Cow' he might
+have noticed by the talk if any one had an idea that anything was going
+to take place."
+
+"Then he didn't go out at all that night, Polly?"
+
+"No, sir, not at all that night; and now, sir, I will say goodby."
+
+"No, Polly, you won't, for I shall go back with you, and I don't think
+that you will go to America."
+
+"I don't understand," the girl faltered.
+
+"No, Polly, I don't suppose you do; and I have not understood till now.
+You will see when you get back."
+
+"If you please," Mary said hesitatingly, "I would rather that you would
+not be there when feyther comes back. Of course I shall tell him that I
+have been down to see you, and I know he will be very angry."
+
+"I think I shall be able to put that straight. I can't let your father
+go. God knows I have few enough true friends, and I cannot spare him and
+you; and as for Bill Swinton, he would break his heart if you went."
+
+"Bill's only a boy; he will get over it," Polly said in a careless tone,
+but with a bright flush upon her cheek.
+
+"He is nearly as old as you are, Polly, and he is one of the best
+fellows in the world. I know he's not your equal in education, but a
+steadier, better fellow, never was."
+
+Mary made no reply, and in another minute the two set out together for
+Varley. In spite of Ned's confident assurance that he would appease
+Luke's anger, Mary was frightened when, as they entered the cottage, she
+saw Luke standing moodily in front of the fire.
+
+"Oi expected this," he said in a tone of deep bitterness. "Oi were a
+fool vor to think as you war different to other gals, and that you would
+give up your own wishes to your feyther's."
+
+"Oh, feyther!" Polly cried, "don't speak so to me. Beat me if you like,
+I deserve to be beaten, but don't speak to me like that. I am ready to
+go anywhere you like, and to be a good daughter to you; forgive me for
+this once disobeying you."
+
+"Luke, old friend," Ned said earnestly, putting his hand on the
+cropper's shoulder, "don't be angry with Polly, she has done me a great
+service. I have learned the truth, and know what you meant now by a life
+for a life. You were going to sacrifice yourself for me. You were going
+to take upon yourself a crime which you never committed to clear me. You
+went to York to declare yourself the murderer of Mulready, in case I had
+been found guilty. You were going to emigrate to America to send home a
+written confession."
+
+"Who says as how oi didn't kill Foxey?" Luke said doggedly. "If oi
+choose to give myself oop now who is to gainsay me?"
+
+"Mary and Bill can both gainsay you," Ned said. "They can prove that you
+did not stir out of the house that night. Come, Luke, it's of no use.
+I feel with all my heart grateful to you for the sacrifice you were
+willing to make for me. I thank you as deeply and as heartily as if you
+had made it. It was a grand act of self sacrifice, and you must not be
+vexed with Polly that she has prevented you carrying it out. It would
+have made me very unhappy had she not done so. When I found that you
+were gone I should certainly have got out from Bill the truth of the
+matter, and when your confession came home I should have been in a
+position to prove that you had only made it to screen me. Besides, I
+cannot spare you. I have few friends, and I should be badly off indeed
+if the one who has proved himself the truest and best were to leave
+me. I am going to carry on the mill, and I must have your help. I have
+relied upon you to stand by me, and you must be the foreman of your
+department. Come, Luke, you must say you forgive Polly for opening my
+eyes just a little sooner than they would otherwise have been to the
+sacrifice you wanted to make for me."
+
+Luke, who was sorely shaken by Mary's pitiful sobs, could resist no
+longer, but opened his arms, and the girl ran into them.
+
+"There, there," he said, "don't ee go on a crying, girl; thou hasn't
+done no wrong, vor indeed it must have seemed to thee flying in the face
+of natur to go away wi' out saying goodby to Maister Ned. Well, sir,
+oi be main sorry as it has turned out so. Oi should ha' loiked to ha'
+cleared thee; but if thou won't have it oi caan't help it. Oi think thou
+beest wrong, but thou know'st best."
+
+"Never mind, Luke, I shall be cleared in time, I trust," Ned said. "I
+am going down to the mill tomorrow for the first time, and shall see
+you there. You have done me good, Luke. It is well, indeed, for a man to
+know that he has such a friend as you have proved yourself to be."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII: A LONELY LIFE
+
+
+The machinery had not started since the death of Mr. Mulready, the
+foreman having received several letters threatening his life if he
+ventured to use the new machinery; and the works had therefore been
+carried on on their old basis until something was settled as to their
+future management.
+
+The first few days after his return Ned spent his time in going
+carefully through the books with the clerk, and in making himself
+thoroughly acquainted with the financial part of the business. He was
+assisted by Mr. Porson, who came every evening to the house, and went
+through the accounts with him. The foreman and the men in charge of the
+different rooms were asked to give their opinion as to whether it was
+possible to reduce expenses in any way, but they were unanimous in
+saying that this could not be done. The pay was at present lower than in
+any other mill in the district, and every item of expenditure had been
+kept down by Mr. Mulready to the lowest point.
+
+"It is clear," Ned said at last, "that if the mill is to be kept on we
+must use the new machinery. I was afraid it would be so, or he would
+never have taken to it and risked his life unless it had been absolutely
+necessary. I don't like it, for I have strong sympathies with the men,
+and although I am sure that in the long run the hands will benefit by
+the increased trade, it certainly cause great suffering at present, so
+if it had been possible I would gladly have let the new machinery stand
+idle until the feeling against it had passed away; but as I see that
+the mill has been running at a loss ever since prices fell, it is quite
+clear that we must use it at once."
+
+The next morning Ned called the foreman into his office at the mill,
+and told him that he had determined to set the new machinery at work at
+once.
+
+"I am sorry to be obliged to do so," he said, "as it will considerably
+reduce the number of hands at work; but it cannot be helped, it is
+either that or stopping altogether, which would be worse still for the
+men. Be as careful as you can in turning off the hands, and as far as
+possible retain all the married men with families. The only exception to
+that rule is young Swinton, who is to be kept on whoever goes."
+
+That evening Luke Marner called at the house to see Ned.
+
+"Be it true, Maister Ned, as the voreman says, the new machines is to be
+put to work?"
+
+"It is true, Luke, I am sorry to say. I would have avoided it if
+possible; but I have gone into the matter with Mr. Porson, and I find
+I must either do that or shut up the mill altogether, which would be a
+good deal worse for you all. Handwork cannot compete with machinery,
+and the new machines will face a dozen yards of cloth while a cropper is
+doing one, and will do it much better and more evenly."
+
+"That be so, surely, and it bain't no use my saying as it ain't, and
+it's true enough what you says, that it's better half the hands should
+be busy than none; but those as gets the sack won't see it, and oi fears
+there will be mischief. Oi don't hold with the Luddites, but oi tell
+ye the men be getting desperate, and oi be main sure as there will be
+trouble afore long. Your loife won't be safe, Maister Ned."
+
+"I don't hold much to my life," Ned laughed bitterly, "so the Luddites
+won't be able to frighten me there."
+
+"I suppose thou wilt have some of the hands to sleep at the mill, as
+they do at some of the other places. If thou wilt get arms those as is
+at work will do their best to defend it. Cartwright has got a dozen or
+more sleeping in his mill."
+
+"I will see about it," Ned said, "but I don't think I shall do that. I
+don't want any men to get killed in defending our property."
+
+"Then they will burn it, thou wilt see if they doan't," Luke said
+earnestly.
+
+"I hope not, Luke. I shall do my best to prevent it anyhow."
+
+"Oi will give ee warning if a whisper of it gets to moi ears, you may be
+sure, but the young uns doan't say much to us old hands, who be mostly
+agin them, and ov course they will say less now if oi be one of those
+kept on."
+
+"We must chance it, Luke; but be sure, whatever I do I shan't let the
+mill be destroyed if I can help it."
+
+And so on the Monday following the waterwheel was set going and the new
+machinery began to work. The number of hands at the mill was reduced
+by nearly one half, while the amount of cloth turned out each week was
+quadrupled.
+
+The machinery had all the latest improvements, and was excellently
+arranged. Mr. Mulready had thoroughly understood his business, and Ned
+soon saw that the profits under the new system of working would be fully
+as great as his stepfather had calculated.
+
+A very short time elapsed before threatening letters began to come in.
+Ned paid no heed to them, but quietly went on his way. The danger was,
+however, undoubted. The attitude of the Luddites had become more openly
+threatening. Throughout the whole of the West Riding open drilling was
+carried on.
+
+The mills at Marsden, Woodbottom, and Ottewells were all threatened.
+In answer to the appeals of the mill owners the number of troops in the
+district was largely increased. Infantry were stationed in Marsden,
+and the 10th King's Bays, the 15th Hussars, and the Scots Greys were
+alternately billeted in the place. The roads to Ottewells, Woodbottom,
+and Lugards Mill were patrolled regularly, and the whole country was
+excited and alarmed by constant rumors of attacks upon the mills.
+
+Ned went on his way quietly, asking for no special protection for his
+mill or person, seemingly indifferent to the excitement which prevailed.
+Except to the workmen in the mill, to the doctor, and Mr. Porson he
+seldom exchanged a word with any one during the day.
+
+Mr. Simmonds and several of his father's old friends had on his return
+made advances toward him, but he had resolutely declined to meet them.
+Mr. Porson and the doctor had remonstrated with him.
+
+"It is no use," he replied. "They congratulated me on my acquittal, but
+I can tell by their tones that there is not one of them who thoroughly
+believes in his heart that I am innocent."
+
+The only exception which Ned made was Mr. Cartwright, a mill owner at
+Liversedge. He had been slightly acquainted with Captain Sankey; and
+one day soon after Ned's return as he was walking along the street
+oblivious, as usual, of every one passing, Mr. Cartwright came up and
+placing himself in front of him, said heartily:
+
+"I congratulate you with all my heart, Sankey, on your escape from this
+rascally business. I knew that your innocence would be proved: I would
+have staked my life that your father's son never had any hand in such a
+black affair as this. I am heartily glad!"
+
+There was no withstanding the frank cordiality of the Yorkshireman's
+manner. Ned's reserve melted at once before it.
+
+"Thank you very much," he said, returning the grasp of his hand; "but
+I am afraid that though I was acquitted my innocence wasn't proved, and
+never will be. You may think me innocent, but you will find but half a
+dozen people in Marsden to agree with you."
+
+"Pooh! pooh!" Mr. Cartwright said. "You must not look at things in that
+light. Most men are fools, you know; never fear. We shall prove you
+innocent some day. I have no doubt these rascally Luddites are at the
+bottom of it. And now, look here, young fellow, I hear that you are
+going to run the mill. Of course you can't know much about it yet. Now
+I am an old hand and shall be happy to give you any advice in my power,
+both for your own sake and for that of your good father. Now I mean
+what I say, and I shall be hurt if you refuse. I am in here two or three
+times a week, and my road takes me within five hundred yards of your
+mill, so it will be no trouble to me to come round for half an hour as
+I pass, and give you a few hints until you get well into harness. There
+are dodges in our trade, you know, as well as in all others, and you
+must be put up to them if you are to keep up in the race. There is
+plenty of room for us all, and now that the hands are all banding
+themselves against us, we mill owners must stand together too."
+
+Ned at once accepted the friendly offer, and two or three times a week
+Mr. Cartwright came round to the mill, went round the place with Ned,
+and gave him his advice as to the commercial transactions. Ned found
+this of inestimable benefit. Mr. Cartwright was acquainted with all the
+buyers in that part of Yorkshire, and was able several times to prevent
+Ned from entering into transactions with men willing to take advantage
+of his inexperience.
+
+Sometimes he went over with Mr. Cartwright to his mill at Liversedge and
+obtained many a useful hint there as to the management of his business.
+Only in the matter of having some of his hands to sleep at the mill Ned
+declined to act on the advice of his new friend.
+
+"No," he said; "I am determined that I will have no lives risked in the
+defense of our property. It has cost us dearly enough already."
+
+But though Ned refused to have any of his hands to sleep at the mill, he
+had a bed fitted up in his office, and every night at ten o'clock, after
+Charlie had gone to bed, he walked out to the mill and slept there:
+Heavy shutters were erected to all the lower windows, and bells were
+attached to these and to the doors, which would ring at the slightest
+motion.
+
+A cart one evening arrived from Huddersfield after the hands had left
+the mill, and under Ned's direction a number of small barrels were
+carried up to his office.
+
+Although three months had now elapsed since his return home he had never
+once seen his mother, and the knowledge that she still regarded him as
+the murderer of her husband greatly added to the bitterness of his life.
+Of an evening after Lucy had gone to bed he assisted Charlie with
+his lessons, and also worked for an hour with Bill Swinton, who came
+regularly every evening to be taught.
+
+Bill had a strong motive for self improvement. Ned had promised him that
+some day he should be foreman to the factory, but that before he could
+take such a position it would, of course, be necessary that he should
+be able to read and write well. But an even higher incentive was Bill's
+sense of his great inferiority in point of education to Polly Powlett.
+He entertained a deep affection for her, but he knew how she despised
+the rough and ignorant young fellows at Varley, and he felt that even if
+she loved him she would not consent to marry him unless he were in point
+of education in some way her equal; therefore he applied himself with
+all his heart to improving his education.
+
+It was no easy task, for Bill was naturally somewhat slow and heavy; but
+he had perseverance, which makes up for many deficiencies, and his heart
+being in his work he made really rapid progress.
+
+Sometimes Ned would start earlier than usual, and walk up with Bill
+Swinton, talking to him as they went over the subjects on which he had
+been working, the condition of the villagers, or the results of Bill's
+Sunday rambles over the moors.
+
+On arriving at Varley Ned generally went in for half an hour's talk with
+Luke Marner and Mary Powlett before going off for the night to sleep at
+the mill. With these three friends, who all were passionately convinced
+of his innocence, he was more at his ease than anywhere else, for at
+home the thought of the absent figure upstairs was a never ceasing pain.
+
+"The wind is very high tonight," Ned said one evening as the cottage
+shook with a gust which swept down from the moor.
+
+"Ay, that it be," Luke agreed; "but it is nowt to a storm oi saw when oi
+war a young chap on t' coast!"
+
+"I did not know you had ever been away from Varley," Ned said, "tell me
+about it, Luke."
+
+"Well, it coomed round i' this way. One of t' chaps from here had a
+darter who had married and gone to live nigh t' coast, and he went vor a
+week to see her.
+
+"Theere'd been a storm when he was there, and he told us aboot the water
+being all broke up into furrowes, vor all the world like a plowed field,
+only each ridge wur twice as high as one of our houses, and they came
+a moving along as fast as a horse could gallop, and when they hit the
+rocks vlew up into t' air as hoigh as the steeple o' Marsden church. It
+seemed to us as this must be a lie, and there war a lot of talk oor it,
+and at last vour on us made up our moinds as we would go over and see
+vor ourselves.
+
+"It war a longer tramp nor we had looked vor, and though we sometoimes
+got a lift i' a cart we was all pretty footsore when we got to the end
+of our journey. The village as we was bound for stood oop on t' top of a
+flattish hill, one side of which seemed to ha' been cut away by a knife,
+and when you got to the edge there you were a-standing at the end o' the
+world. Oi know when we got thar and stood and looked out from the top o'
+that wall o' rock thar warn't a word among us.
+
+"We was a noisy lot, and oi didn't think as nothing would ha' silenced
+a cropper; but thar we stood a-looking over at the end of the world, oi
+should say for five minutes, wi'out a word being spoke. Oi can see it
+now. There warn't a breath of wind nor a cloud i' the sky. It seemed to
+oi as if the sky went away as far as we could see, and then seemed to
+be doubled down in a line and to coom roight back agin to our feet. It
+joost took away our breath, and seemed somehow to bring a lump into the
+throat. Oi talked it over wi' the others afterward and we'd all felt
+just the same.
+
+"It beat us altogether, and you never see a lot of croppers so quiet and
+orderly as we war as we went up to t' village. Most o' t' men war away,
+as we arterward learned, fishing, and t' women didn't know what to make
+o' us, but gathered at their doors and watched us as if we had been
+a party o' robbers coom down to burn the place and carry 'em away.
+However, when we found Sally White--that war the name of the woman as
+had married from Varley--she went round the village and told 'em as we
+was a party of her friends who had joost walked across Yorkshire to ha'
+a lock at the sea. Another young chap, Jack Purcell war his name, as was
+Sally's brother, and oi, being his mate, we stopt at Sally's house. The
+other two got a lodging close handy.
+
+"Vor the vurst day or two vokes war shy of us, but arter that they began
+to see as we meant no harm. Of course they looked on us as foreigners,
+just as we croppers do here on anyone as cooms to Varley. Then Sally's
+husband coom back from sea and spoke up vor us, and that made things
+better, and as we war free wi' our money the fishermen took to us more
+koindly.
+
+"We soon found as the water warn't always smooth and blue like the sky
+as we had seen it at first. The wind coom on to blow the vurst night as
+we war thar, and the next morning the water war all tossing aboot joost
+as Sally's feyther had said, though not so high as he had talked on.
+Still the wind warn't a blowing much, as Sally pointed owt to us; in a
+regular storm it would be a different sort o' thing altogether. We said
+as we should loike to see one, as we had coom all that way o' purpose.
+The vorth noight arter we got there Sally's husband said: 'You be a
+going vor to have your wish; the wind be a getting up, and we are loike
+to have a big storm on the coast tomorrow.' And so it war. Oi can't tell
+you what it war loike, oi've tried over and over again to tell Polly,
+but no words as oi can speak can give any idee of it.
+
+"It war not loike anything as you can imagine. Standing down on the
+shore the water seemed all broke up into hills, and as if each hill was
+a-trying to get at you, and a-breaking itself up on the shore wi' a roar
+of rage when it found as it couldn't reach you. The noise war so great
+as you couldn't hear a man standing beside you speak to you. Not when
+he hallooed. One's words war blowed away. It felt somehow as if one war
+having a wrastle wi' a million wild beasts. They tells me as the ships
+at sea sometoimes floates and gets through a storm loike that; but oi
+doan't believe it, and shouldn't if they took their Bible oath to it, it
+bain't in reason.
+
+"One of them waves would ha' broaked this cottage up loike a eggshell.
+Oi do believes as it would ha' smashed Marsden church, and it doan't
+stand to reason as a ship, which is built, they tells me, of wood and
+plank, would stand agin waves as would knock doon a church. Arter
+the storm oi should ha' coom back next morning, vor I felt fairly
+frightened. There didn't seem no saying as to what t' water moight do
+next toime. We should ha' gone there and then, only Sally's husband told
+us as a vessel war expected in two or three days wi' a cargo of tubs and
+she was to run them in a creek a few miles away.
+
+"He said as loike as not there moight be a foight wi' the officers, and
+that being so we naterally made up our moinds vor to stop and lend un a
+hand. One night arter it got dark we started, and arter a tramp of two
+or three hours cam' to the place. It were a dark noight, and how the
+ship as was bringing the liquor was to foind oot the place was more
+nor oi could make oot. Jack he tried to explain how they did it, but oi
+couldn't make head nor tails on it except that when they got close they
+war to show a loight twice, and we war to show a loight twice if it war
+all roight for landing.
+
+"Oi asked what had becoom of the revenue men, and was told as a false
+letter had been writ saying a landing was to be made fifteen mile away.
+We went vorward to a place whar there war a break in the rocks, and
+a sort of valley ran down to the sea. There war a lot of men standing
+aboot, and just as we coom up thar war a movement and we hears as the
+loights had been shown and the vessel war running in close. Down we goes
+wi' the others, and soon a boat cooms ashore. As soon as she gets close
+the men runs out to her; the sailors hands out barrels and each man
+shoulders one and trudges off. We does the same and takes the kegs up to
+t' top, whar carts and horses was waiting for 'em. Oi went oop and down
+three toimes and began to think as there war moor hard work nor fun
+aboot it. Oi war a-going to knock off when some one says as one more
+trip would finish the cargo, so down oi goes again: Just when oi gets to
+t' bottom there war a great shouting oop at top.
+
+"'They're just too late,' a man says; 'the kegs be all safe away except
+this lot,' for the horses and carts had gone off the instant as they
+got their loads. 'Now we must run for it, for the revenue men will be as
+savage as may be when they voinds as they be too late.' 'Where be us to
+run?' says oi. 'Keep close to me, oi knows the place,' says he.
+
+"So we runs down and voinds as they had tumbled the bar'ls into t' boat
+again, and t' men war just pushing her off when there war a shout close
+to us. 'Shove, shove!' shouted the men, and oi runs into t' water loike
+t' rest and shooved. Then a lot o' men run up shouting, 'Stop! in the
+king's name!' and began vor to fire pistols.
+
+"Nateral oi wasn't a-going to be fired at for nowt, so oi clutches moi
+stick and goes at 'em wi' the rest, keeping close to t' chap as told me
+as he knew the coontry. There was a sharp foight vor a minute. Oi lays
+aboot me hearty and gets a crack on my ear wi' a cootlas, as they calls
+theer swords, as made me pretty wild.
+
+"We got the best o't. 'Coom on,' says the man to me, 'there's a lot moor
+on 'em a-cooming.' So oi makes off as hard as oi could arter him. He
+keeps straight along at t' edge o' t' water. It war soft rowing at
+first, vor t' place war as flat as a table, but arter running vor a vew
+minutes he says, 'Look owt!' Oi didn't know what to look owt vor, and
+down oi goes plump into t' water. Vor all at once we had coomed upon a
+lot o' rocks covered wi' a sort of slimy stuff, and so slippery as you
+could scarce keep a footing on 'em. Oi picks myself up and vollers him.
+By this toime, maister, oi war beginning vor to think as there warn't
+so mooch vun as oi had expected in this koind o' business. Oi had been
+working two hours loike a nigger a-carrying tubs. Oi had had moi ear
+pretty nigh cut off, and it smarted wi' the salt water awful. Oi war wet
+from head to foot and had knocked the skin off moi hands and knees when
+oi went down. However there warn't no toime vor to grumble. Oi vollers
+him till we gets to t' foot o' t' rocks, and we keeps along 'em vor
+aboot half a mile.
+
+"The water here coombed close oop to t' rocks, and presently we war
+a-walking through it. 'Be'st a going vor to drown us all?' says oi. 'We
+are jest there,' says he. 'Ten minutes later we couldn't ha' got along.'
+T' water war a-getting deeper and deeper, and t' loomps of water cooms
+along and well nigh took me off my feet. Oi was aboot to turn back,
+vor it war better, thinks oi, to be took by t' king's men than to be
+droonded, when he says, 'Here we be.' He climbs oop t' rocks and oi
+follows him. Arter climbing a short way he cooms to a hole i' rocks,
+joost big enough vor to squeeze through, but once inside it opened out
+into a big cave. A chap had struck a loight, and there war ten or twelve
+more on us thar. 'We had better wait another five minutes,' says one,
+'to see if any more cooms along. Arter that the tide ull be too high.'
+
+"We waits, but no one else cooms; me and moi mate war t' last. Then we
+goes to t' back of the cave, whar t' rock sloped down lower and
+lower till we had to crawl along one arter t'other pretty nigh on our
+stomachs, like raats going into a hole. Oi wonders whar on aarth we war
+agoing, till at last oi found sudden as oi could stand oopright. Then
+two or three more torches war lighted, and we begins to climb oop some
+steps cut i' the face of t' rock. A rope had been fastened alongside to
+hold on by, which war a good job for me, vor oi should never ha' dared
+go oop wi'out it, vor if oi had missed my foot there warn't no saying
+how far oi would ha' fallen to t' bottom. At last the man avore me says,
+'Here we be!' and grateful oi was, vor what wi' the crawling and the
+climbing, and the funk as oi was in o' falling, the swaat was a-running
+down me loike water. The torches war put out, and in another minute
+we pushes through some bushes and then we war on t' top of the cliff a
+hundred yards or so back from t' edge, and doon in a sort of hollow all
+covered thickly over wi' bushes. We stood and listened vor a moment, but
+no sound war to be heard. Then one on em says, 'We ha' done 'em agin.
+Now the sooner as we gets off to our homes the better.' Looky for me,
+Jack war one of the lot as had coom up through the cave. 'Coom along,
+Luke,' says he, 'oi be glad thou hast got out of it all roight. We must
+put our best foot foremost to get in afore day breaks.' So we sets off,
+and joost afore morning we gets back to village. As to t'other two from
+Varley, they never coom back agin. Oi heerd as how all as war caught war
+pressed for sea, and oi expect they war oot in a ship when a storm coom
+on, when in coorse they would be drownded. Oi started next day vor hoam,
+and from that day to this oi ha' never been five mile away, and what's
+more, oi ha' never grudged the price as they asked for brandy. It ud be
+cheap if it cost voive toimes as much, seeing the trouble and danger as
+there be in getting it ashore, to say nothing o' carrying it across the
+sea."
+
+"That was an adventure, Luke," Ned said, "and you were well out of it. I
+had no idea you had ever been engaged in defrauding the king's revenue.
+But now I must be off. I shall make straight across for the mill without
+going into Varley."
+
+One night Ned had as usual gone to the mill, and having carried down the
+twelve barrels from the office and placed them in a pile in the center
+of the principal room of the mill he retired to bed. He had been asleep
+for some hours when he was awoke by the faint tingle of a bell. The
+office was over the principal entrance to the mill, and leaping from his
+bed he threw up the window and looked out. The night was dark, but he
+could see a crowd of at least two hundred men gathered in the yard.
+
+As the window was heard to open a sudden roar broke from the men, who
+had hitherto conducted their operations in silence.
+
+"There he be, there's the young fox; burn the mill over his head. Now to
+work, lads, burst in the door."
+
+And at once a man armed with a mighty sledgehammer began to batter at
+the door.
+
+Ned tried to make himself heard, but his voice was lost in the roar
+without. Throwing on some clothes he ran rapidly downstairs and lighted
+several lamps in the machine room. Then he went to the door, which was
+already tottering under the heavy blows, shot back some of the bolts,
+and then took his place by the side of the pile of barrels with a pistol
+in his hand.
+
+In another moment the door yielded and fell with a crash, and the crowd
+with exultant cheers poured in.
+
+They paused surprised and irresolute at seeing Ned standing quiet and
+seemingly indifferent by the pile of barrels in the center of the room.
+
+"Hold!" he said in a quiet, clear voice, which sounded distinctly over
+the tumult. "Do not come any nearer, or it will be the worse for you.
+Do you know what I have got here, lads? This is powder. If you doubt it,
+one of you can come forward and look at this barrel with the head out by
+my side. Now I have only got to fire my pistol into it to blow the mill,
+and you with it, into the air, and I mean to do it. Of course I shall go
+too; but some of you with black masks over your faces, who, I suppose,
+live near here, may know something about me, and may know that my life
+is not so pleasant a one that I value it in the slightest. As far as I
+am concerned you might burn the mill and me with it without my lifting a
+finger; but this mill is the property of my mother, brother, and sister.
+Their living depends upon it, and I am going to defend it. Let one of
+you stir a single step forward and I fire this pistol into this barrel
+beside me."
+
+And Ned held the pistol over the open barrel.
+
+A dead silence of astonishment and terror had fallen upon the crowd. The
+light was sufficient for them to see Ned's pale but determined face, and
+as his words came out cold and steady there was not one who doubted that
+he was in earnest, and that he was prepared to blow himself and them
+into the air if necessary.
+
+A cry of terror burst from them as he lowered the pistol to the barrel
+of powder. Then in wild dismay every man threw down his arms and fled,
+jostling each other fiercely to make their escape through the doorway
+from the fate which threatened them. In a few seconds the place was
+cleared and the assailants in full flight across the country. Ned
+laughed contemptuously. Then with some difficulty he lifted the broken
+door into its place, put some props behind it, fetched a couple of
+blankets from his bed, and lay down near the powder, and there slept
+quietly till morning.
+
+Luke and Bill Swinton were down at the factory an hour before the usual
+time. The assailants had for the most part come over from Huddersfield,
+but many of the men from Varley had been among them. The terror which
+Ned's attitude had inspired had been so great that the secret was less
+well kept than usual, and as soon as people were astir the events of the
+night were known to most in the village. The moment the news reached the
+ears of Luke and Bill they hurried down to the mill without going in as
+usual for their mug of beer and bit of bread and cheese at the "Brown
+Cow." The sight of the shattered door at once told them that the rumors
+they had heard were well founded. They knocked loudly upon it.
+
+"Hullo!" Ned shouted, rousing himself from his slumbers; "who is there?
+What are you kicking up all this row about?"
+
+"It's oi, Maister Ned, oi and Bill, and glad oi am to hear your voice.
+It's true, then, they haven't hurt thee?"
+
+"Not a bit of it," Ned said as he moved the supports of the door. "I
+think they got the worst of it."
+
+"If so be as what oi ha' heard be true you may well say that, Maister
+Ned. Oi hear as you ha' gived 'em such a fright as they won't get
+over in a hurry. They say as you was a-sitting on the top of a heap of
+gunpowder up to the roof with a pistol in each hand."
+
+"Not quite so terrible as that, Luke; but the effect would have been the
+same. Those twelve barrels of powder you see there would have blown the
+mill and all in it into atoms."
+
+"Lord, Maister Ned," Bill said, "where didst thou get that powder, and
+why didn't ye say nowt about it? Oi ha' seen it up in the office, now
+oi thinks on it. Oi wondered what them barrels piled up in a corner and
+covered over wi' sacking could be; but it warn't no business o' mine to
+ax."
+
+"No, Bill, I did not want any of them to know about it, because these
+things get about, and half the effect is lost unless they come as a
+surprise; but I meant to do it if I had been driven to it, and if I had,
+King Lud would have had a lesson which he would not have forgotten in
+a hurry. Now, Luke, you and Bill had better help me carry them back to
+their usual place. I don't think they are likely to be wanted again."
+
+"That they won't be," Luke said confidently; "the Luddites ull never
+come near this mill agin, not if thou hast twenty toimes as many
+machines. They ha' got a froight they won't get over. They told me as
+how some of the chaps at Varley was so freighted that they will be a
+long toime afore they gets round. Oi'll go and ask tonight how that
+Methurdy chap, the blacksmith, be a feeling. Oi reckon he's at the
+bottom on it. Dang un for a mischievous rogue! Varley would ha' been
+quiet enough without him. Oi be wrong if oi shan't see him dangling from
+a gibbet one of these days, and a good riddance too."
+
+The powder was stowed away before the hands began to arrive, all full of
+wonder and curiosity. They learned little at the mill, however. Ned went
+about the place as usual with an unchanged face, and the hands were soon
+at their work; but many during the day wondered how it was possible that
+their quiet and silent young employer should have been the hero of
+the desperate act of which every one had heard reports more or less
+exaggerated.
+
+A lad had been sent over to Marsden the first thing for some carpenters,
+and by nightfall a rough but strong door had been hung in place of that
+which had been shattered. By the next day rumor had carried the tale all
+over Marsden, and Ned on his return home was greeted by Charlie with:
+
+"Why, Ned, there is all sorts of talk in the place of an attack upon the
+mill the night before last. Why didn't you tell me about it?"
+
+"Yes, Maister Ned," Abijah put in, "and they say as you blew up about a
+thousand of them."
+
+"Yes, Abijah," Ned said with a laugh, "and the pieces haven't come down
+yet."
+
+"No! but really, Ned, what is it all about?"
+
+"There is not much to tell you, Charlie. The Luddites came and broke
+open the door. I had got several barrels of powder there, and when they
+came in I told them if they came any further I should blow the place up.
+That put them in a funk, and they all bolted, and I went to sleep again.
+That's the whole affair."
+
+"Oh!" Charlie said in a disappointed voice, for this seemed rather tame
+after the thrilling reports he had heard.
+
+"Then you didn't blow up any of 'em, Maister Ned," Abijah said
+doubtfully.
+
+"Not a man jack, Abijah. You see I could not very well have blown them
+up without going up myself too, so I thought it better to put it off for
+another time."
+
+"They are very wicked, bad men," Lucy said gravely.
+
+"Not so very wicked and bad, Lucy. You see they are almost starving, and
+they consider that the new machines have taken the bread out of their
+mouths, which is true enough. Now you know when people are starving,
+and have not bread for their wives and children, they are apt to get
+desperate. If I were to see you starving, and thought that somebody or
+something was keeping the bread out of your mouth, I dare say I should
+do something desperate."
+
+"But it would be wrong all the same," Lucy said doubtfully.
+
+"Yes, my dear, but it would be natural; and when human nature pulls one
+way, and what is right pulls the other, the human nature generally gets
+the best of it."
+
+Lucy did not exactly understand, but she shook her head gravely in
+general dissent to Ned's view.
+
+"Why did you not tell us when you came home to breakfast yesterday?"
+Charlie asked.
+
+"Because I thought you were sure to hear sooner or later. I saw all the
+hands in the mill had got to know about it somehow or other, and I was
+sure it would soon get over the place; and I would rather that I could
+say, if any one asked me, that I had not talked about it to any one, and
+was in no way responsible for the absurd stories which had got about.
+I have been talked about enough in Marsden, goodness knows, and it is
+disgusting that just as I should think they must be getting tired of the
+subject here is something fresh for them to begin upon again."
+
+As they were at tea the servant brought in a note which had just been
+left at the door. It was from Mr. Thompson, saying that in consequence
+of the rumors which were current in the town he should be glad to learn
+from Ned whether there was any foundation for them, and would therefore
+be obliged if he would call at eight o'clock that evening. His
+colleague, Mr. Simmonds, would be present.
+
+Ned gave an exclamation of disgust as he threw down the note.
+
+"Is there any answer, sir?" the servant asked. "The boy said he was to
+wait."
+
+"Tell him to say to Mr. Thompson that I will be there at eight o'clock;
+but that--no, that will do.
+
+"It wouldn't be civil," he said to Charlie as the door closed behind the
+servant, "to say that I wish to goodness he would let my affairs alone
+and look to his own."
+
+When Ned reached the magistrates at the appointed hour he found that
+the inquiry was of a formal character. Besides the two justices, Major
+Browne, who commanded the troops at Marsden, was present; and the
+justices' clerk was there to take notes.
+
+Mr. Simmonds greeted Ned kindly, Mr. Thompson stiffly. He was one of
+those who had from the first been absolutely convinced that the lad had
+killed his stepfather. The officer, who was of course acquainted with
+the story, examined Ned with a close scrutiny.
+
+"Will you take a seat, Ned?" Mr. Simmonds, who was the senior
+magistrate, said. "We have asked you here to explain to us the meaning
+of certain rumors which are current in the town of an attack upon your
+mill."
+
+"I will answer any questions that you may ask," Ned said quietly,
+seating himself, while the magistrates' clerk dipped his pen in the ink
+and prepared to take notes of his statement.
+
+"Is it the case that the Luddites made an attack upon your mill the
+night before last?"
+
+"It is true, sir."
+
+"Will you please state the exact circumstances."
+
+"There is not much to tell," Ned said quietly. "I have for some time
+been expecting an attack, having received many threatening letters. I
+have, therefore, made a habit of sleeping in the mill, and a month ago
+I got in twelve barrels of powder from Huddersfield. Before going to bed
+of a night I always pile these in the middle of the room where the
+looms are, which is the first as you enter. I have bells attached to the
+shutters and doors to give me notice of any attempt to enter. The night
+before last I was awoke by hearing one of them ring, and looking out of
+the window made out a crowd of two or three hundred men outside. They
+began to batter the door, so, taking a brace of pistols which I keep in
+readiness by my bed, I went down and took my place by the powder. When
+they broke down the door and entered I just told them that if they came
+any further I should fire my pistol into one of the barrels, the head of
+which I had knocked out, and, as I suppose they saw that I meant to do
+it, they went off. That is all I have to tell, so far as I know."
+
+The clerk's pen ran swiftly over the paper as Ned quietly made his
+statement. Then there was a silence for a minute or two.
+
+"And did you really mean to carry out your threat, Mr. Sankey?"
+
+"Certainly," Ned said.
+
+"But you would, of course, have been killed yourself."
+
+"Naturally," Ned said dryly; "but that would have been of no great
+consequence to me or any one else. As the country was lately about to
+take my life at its own expense it would not greatly disapprove of my
+doing so at my own, especially as the lesson to the Luddites would have
+been so wholesale a one that the services of the troops in this part of
+the country might have been dispensed with for some time."
+
+"Did you recognize any of the men concerned?"
+
+"I am glad to say I did not," Ned replied. "Some of them were masked.
+The others were, so far as I could see among such a crowd of faces in a
+not very bright light, all strangers to me."
+
+"And you would not recognize any of them again were you to see them?"
+
+"I should not," Ned replied. "None of them stood out prominently among
+the others."
+
+"You speak, Mr. Sankey," Mr. Thompson said, "as if your sympathies were
+rather on the side of these men, who would have burned your mill, and
+probably have murdered you, than against them."
+
+"I do not sympathize with the measures the men are taking to obtain
+redress for what they regard as a grievance; but I do sympathize very
+deeply with the amount of suffering which they are undergoing from the
+introduction of machinery and the high prices of provisions; and I am
+not surprised that, desperate as they are, and ignorant as they are,
+they should be led astray by bad advice. Is there any other question
+that you wish to ask me?"
+
+"Nothing at present, I think," Mr. Simmonds said after consulting his
+colleague by a look. "We shall, of course, forward a report of the
+affair to the proper authorities, and I may say that although you appear
+to take it in a very quiet and matter of fact way, you have evidently
+behaved with very great courage and coolness, and in a manner most
+creditable to yourself. I think, however, that you ought immediately to
+have made a report to us of the circumstances, in order that we might
+at once have determined what steps should be taken for the pursuit and
+apprehension of the rioters."
+
+Ned made no reply, but rising, bowed slightly to the three gentlemen and
+walked quietly from the room.
+
+"A singular young fellow!" Major Browne remarked as the door closed
+behind him. "I don't quite know what to make of him, but I don't think
+he could have committed that murder. It was a cowardly business, and
+although I believe he might have a hand in any desperate affair, as
+indeed this story he has just told us shows, I would lay my life he
+would not do a cowardly one."
+
+"I agree with you," Mr. Simmonds said, "though I own that I have never
+been quite able to rid myself of a vague suspicion that he was guilty."
+
+"And I believe he is so still," Mr. Thompson said. "To me there is
+something almost devilish about that lad's manner."
+
+"His manner was pleasant enough," Mr. Simmonds said warmly, "before that
+affair of Mulready. He was as nice a lad as you would wish to see till
+his mother was fool enough to get engaged to that man, who, by the way,
+I never liked. No wonder his manner is queer now; so would yours be, or
+mine, if we were tried for murder and, though acquitted, knew there was
+still a general impression of our guilt."
+
+"Yes, by Jove," the officer said, "I should be inclined to shoot myself.
+You are wrong, Mr. Thompson, take my word for it. That young fellow
+never committed a cowardly murder. I think you told me, Mr. Simmonds,
+that he had intended to go into the army had it not been for this
+affair? Well, his majesty has lost a good officer, for that is just the
+sort of fellow who would lead a forlorn hope though he knew the breach
+was mined in a dozen places. It is a pity, a terrible pity!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII: NED IS ATTACKED
+
+
+As Ned had foreseen and resented, the affair at the mill again made him
+the chief topic of talk in the neighborhood, and the question of his
+guilt or innocence of the murder of his stepfather was again debated
+with as much earnestness as it had been when the murder was first
+committed. There was this difference, however, that whereas before he
+had found but few defenders, for the impression that he was guilty was
+almost universal, there were now many who took the other view.
+
+The one side argued that a lad who was ready to blow himself and two
+or three hundred men into the air was so desperate a character that he
+would not have been likely to hesitate a moment in taking the life of a
+man whom he hated, and who had certainly ill treated him. The other side
+insisted that one with so much cool courage would not have committed a
+murder in so cowardly a way as by tying a rope across the road which his
+enemy had to traverse. One party characterized his conduct at the mill
+as that of the captain of a pirate ship, the other likened it to any of
+the great deeds of devotion told in history--the death of Leonidas and
+his three hundred, or the devotion of Mutius Scaevola.
+
+Had Ned chosen now he might have gathered round himself a strong party
+of warm adherents, for there were many who, had they had the least
+encouragement, would have been glad to shake him by the hand and to show
+their partisanship openly and warmly; but Ned did not choose. The doctor
+and Mr. Porson strongly urged upon him that he should show some sort of
+willingness to meet the advances which many were anxious to make.
+
+"These people are all willing to admit that they have been wrong, Ned,
+and really anxious to atone as far as they can for their mistake in
+assuming that you were guilty. Now is your time, my boy; what they
+believe today others will believe tomorrow; it is the first step toward
+living it down. I always said it would come, but I hardly ventured to
+hope that it would come so soon."
+
+"I can't do it, Mr. Porson; I would if I could, if only for the sake of
+the others; but I can't talk, and smile, and look pleasant. When a man
+knows that his mother lying at home thinks that he is a murderer how is
+he to go about like other people?"
+
+"But I have told you over and over again, Ned, that your mother is
+hardly responsible for her actions. She has never been a very reasonable
+being, and is less so than ever at present. Make an effort, my boy, and
+mix with others. Show yourself at the cricket match next week. You know
+the boys are all your firm champions, and I warrant that half the people
+there will flock round you and make much of you if you will but give
+them the chance."
+
+But Ned could not, and did not, but went on his way as before, living as
+if Marsden had no existence for him, intent upon his work at the mill,
+and unbending only when at home with his brother and sister.
+
+His new friend, Cartwright, was, of course, one of the first to
+congratulate him on the escape the mill had had of destruction.
+
+"I was wondering what you would do if they came," he said, "and was
+inclined to think you were a fool for not following my example and
+having some of your hands to sleep at the mill. Your plan was best, I am
+ready to allow; that is to say, it was best for any one who was ready to
+carry out his threat if driven to it. I shouldn't be, I tell you fairly.
+If the mill is attacked I shall fight and shall take my chance of being
+shot, but I could not blow myself up in cold blood."
+
+"I don't suppose I could have done so either in the old times," Ned said
+with a faint smile. "My blood used to be hot enough, a good deal too
+hot, but I don't think anything could get it up to boiling point now,
+so you see if this thing had to be done at all it must have been in cold
+blood."
+
+"By the way, Sankey, I wish you would come over one day next week and
+dine with me; there will be no one else there except my daughter."
+
+Ned hastily muttered an excuse.
+
+"Oh, that is all nonsense," Mr. Cartwright said good humoredly; "you are
+not afraid of me, and you needn't be afraid of my daughter. She is
+only a child of fifteen, and of course takes you at my estimate, and
+is disposed to regard you as a remarkable mixture of the martyr and
+the hero, and to admire you accordingly. Pooh, pooh, lad! you can't be
+living like a hermit all your life; and at any rate if you make up
+your mind to have but a few friends you must be all the closer and more
+intimate with them. I know you dine with Porson and Green, and I am not
+going to let you keep me at arm's length; you must come, or else I shall
+be seriously offended."
+
+So Ned had no resource left him, and had to consent to dine at
+Liversedge. Once there he often repeated the visit. With the kind and
+hearty manufacturer he was perfectly at home, and although at first he
+was uncomfortable with his daughter he gradually became at his ease
+with her, especially after she had driven over with her father to make
+friends with Lucy, and, again, a short time afterward, to carry her
+away for a week's visit at Liversedge. For this Ned was really grateful.
+Lucy's life had been a very dull one. She had no friends of her own
+age in Marsden, for naturally at the time of Mr. Mulready's death all
+intimacy with the few acquaintances they had in the place had been
+broken off, for few cared that their children should associate with a
+family among whom such a terrible tragedy had taken place.
+
+Charlie was better off, for he had his friends at school, and the boys
+at Porson's believed in Ned's innocence as a point of honor. In the
+first place, it would have been something like a reflection upon the
+whole school to admit the possibility of its first boy being a murderer;
+in the second, Ned had been generally popular among them, he was their
+best cricketer, the life and soul of all their games, never bullying
+himself and putting down all bullying among others with a strong hand.
+Their championship showed itself in the shape of friendship for Charlie;
+and at the midsummer following Mr. Mulready's death he had received
+invitations from many of them to stay with them during the holidays, and
+had indeed spent that time on a series of short visits among them.
+
+He himself would, had he had his choice, have remained at home with
+Ned, for he knew how lonely his brother's life was, and that his only
+pleasure consisted in the quiet evenings; but Ned would not hear of it.
+
+"You must go, Charlie, both for your sake and my own. The change will
+do you good; and if you were to stop at home and refuse to go out people
+would say that you were ashamed to be seen, and that you were crushed
+down with the weight of my guilt. You have got to keep up the honor of
+the family now, Charlie; I have proved a failure."
+
+It was September now, and six months had elapsed since the death of Mr.
+Mulready. The getting in of the harvest had made no difference in the
+price of food, the general distress was as great as ever, and the people
+shook their heads and said that there would be bad doings when the
+winter with its long nights was at hand.
+
+The mill was flourishing under its new management. The goods turned out
+by the new machinery were of excellent quality and finish, and Ned had
+more orders on hand than he could execute. The profits were large, the
+hands well paid and contented. Ned had begged Dr. Green and the other
+trustees of his mother's property to allow him to devote a considerable
+part of the profits to assist, during the hard time of winter, the
+numerous hands in Varley and other villages round Marsden who were out
+of employment; but the trustees said they were unable to permit this.
+Mrs. Mulready absolutely refused to hear anything about the mill or
+to discuss any questions connected with money, therefore they had no
+resource but to allow the profits, after deducting all expenses of
+living, to accumulate until, at any rate, Lucy, the youngest of the
+children, came of age.
+
+Ned, however, was not to be easily thwarted, and he quietly reverted to
+the old method of giving out a large quantity of work to the men to be
+performed by the hand looms in their own cottages, while still keeping
+his new machinery fully employed. There was, indeed, a clear loss upon
+every yard of cloth so made, as it had, of course, to be sold at the
+lower prices which machinery had brought about; still the profits
+from the mill itself were large enough to bear the drain, and means
+of support would be given to a large number of families throughout the
+winter. Ned told Dr. Green what he had done.
+
+"You see, doctor," he said, "this is altogether beyond your province.
+You and Mr. Lovejoy appointed me, as the senior representative of the
+family, to manage the mill. Of course I can manage it in my own way, and
+as long as the profits are sufficient to keep us in the position we have
+hitherto occupied I don't see that you have any reason to grumble."
+
+"You are as obstinate as a mule, Ned," the doctor said, smiling; "but I
+am glad enough to let you have your way so long as it is not clearly
+my duty to thwart you; and indeed I don't know how those poor people at
+Varley and at some of the other villages would get through the winter
+without some such help."
+
+"I am very glad I hit upon the plan. I got Luke Marner to draw up a list
+of all the men who had families depending upon them; but indeed I
+find that I have been able to set pretty nearly all the looms in the
+neighborhood at work, and of course that will give employment to the
+spinners and croppers. I have made a close calculation, and find that
+with the profit the mill is making I shall just be able to clear our
+household expenses this winter, after selling at a loss all the cloth
+that can be made in the looms round."
+
+"At any rate, Ned," the doctor said, "your plan will be a relief to
+me in one way. Hitherto I have never gone to bed at night without an
+expectation of being awakened with the news that you have been shot on
+your way out to the mill at night. The fellows you frightened away last
+month must have a strong grudge against you in addition to their enmity
+against you as an employer. You will be safe enough in future, and can
+leave the mill to take care of itself at night if you like. You will
+have the blessings of all the poor fellows in the neighborhood, and may
+henceforth go where you will by night or day without the slightest risk
+of danger."
+
+"You are right, no doubt," Ned said, "though that did not enter my mind.
+When I took the step my only fear was that by helping them for a time
+I might be injuring them in the future. Hand weaving, spinning, and
+cropping are doomed. Nothing can save them, and the sooner the men learn
+this and take to other means of gaining a livelihood the better. Still
+the prices that I can give are of course very low, just enough to keep
+them from starvation, and we must hope that ere long new mills will
+be erected in which the present hand workers will gradually find
+employment."
+
+Hardly less warm than the satisfaction that the announcement that Sankey
+was about to give out work to all the hand looms excited in the villages
+round Marsden, was that which Abijah felt at the news.
+
+Hitherto she had kept to herself the disapprobation which she felt
+at Ned's using the new machinery. She had seen in her own village the
+sufferings that had been caused by the change, and her sympathies were
+wholly with the Luddites, except of course when they attempted anything
+against the life and property of her boy. Strong in the prejudices of
+the class among whom she had been born and reared, she looked upon
+the new machinery as an invention of the evil one to ruin the working
+classes, and had been deeply grieved at Ned's adoption of its use.
+Nothing but the trouble in which he was could have compelled her to keep
+her opinion on the subject to herself.
+
+"I am main glad, Maister Ned. I b'lieve now as we may find out about
+that other affair. I never had no hope before, it warn't likely as
+things would come about as you wanted, when you was a-flying in the
+face of providence by driving poor folks to starvation with them noisy
+engines of yours; it warn't likely, and I felt as it was wrong to hope
+for it. I said my prayers every night, but it wasn't reasonable to
+expect a answer as long as that mill was a-grinding men to powder."
+
+"I don't think it was as bad as all that, Abijah. In another ten years
+there will be twice as many hands employed as ever there were, and there
+is no saying how large the trade may not grow."
+
+Abijah shook her head as if to imply her belief that an enlargement of
+trade by means of these new machines would be clearly flying in the face
+of providence, however, she was too pleased at the news that hand work
+was to be resumed in the district to care about arguing the question.
+Even the invalid upstairs took a feeble interest in the matter when
+Abijah told her that Master Ned had arranged to give work to scores of
+starving people through the winter.
+
+As a rule Abijah never mentioned his name to her mistress, for it was
+always the signal for a flood of tears, and caused an excitement and
+agitation which did not calm down for hours; but lately she had noticed
+that her mistress began to take a greater interest in the details she
+gave her of what was passing outside. She spoke more cheerfully when
+Lucy brought in her work and sat by her bedside, and she had even
+exerted herself sufficiently to get up two or three times and lie upon
+the sofa in her room. It was Charlie who, full of the news, had rushed
+in to tell her about Ned's defense at the mill. She had made no comment
+whatever, but her face had flushed and her lips trembled, and she had
+been very silent and quiet all that day. Altogether Abijah thought that
+she was mending, and Dr. Green was of the same opinion.
+
+Although the setting to work of the hand looms and spindles relieved the
+dire pressure of want immediately about Marsden, in other parts things
+were worse than ever that winter, and the military were kept busy by
+the many threatening letters which were received by the mill owners from
+King Lud.
+
+One day Mr. Cartwright entered Ned's office at the mill.
+
+"Have you heard the news, Sankey?"
+
+"No, I have heard no news in particular."
+
+"Horsfall has been shot."
+
+"You don't say so!" Ned exclaimed.
+
+"Yes, he has been threatened again and again. He was over at
+Huddersfield yesterday afternoon; he started from the 'George' on
+his way back at half past five. It seems that his friend Eastwood, of
+Slaithwaite, knowing how often his life had been threatened, offered to
+ride back with him, and though Horsfall laughed at the offer and rode
+off alone, Eastwood had his horse saddled and rode after him, but
+unfortunately did not overtake him.
+
+"About six o'clock Horsfall pulled up his horse at the Warren House Inn
+at Crossland Moor. There he gave a glass of liquor to two of his old
+work people who happened to be outside, drank a glass of rum and water
+as he sat in the saddle, and then rode off. A farmer named Parr was
+riding about a hundred and fifty yards behind him. As Horsfall came
+abreast of a plantation Parr noticed four men stooping behind a wall,
+and then saw two puffs of smoke shoot out. Horsfall's horse started
+round at the flash, and he fell forward on his saddle.
+
+"Parr galloped up, and jumping off caught him as he was falling.
+Horsfall could just say who he was and ask to be taken to his brother's
+house, which was near at hand. There were lots of people in the road,
+for it was market day in Huddersfield, you know, and the folks were
+on their way home, so he was soon put in a cart and taken back to the
+Warren House. It was found that both balls had struck him, one in the
+right side and one in the left thigh. I hear he is still alive this
+morning, but cannot live out the day."
+
+"That is a bad business, indeed," Ned said.
+
+"It is, indeed. Horsfall was a fine, generous, high spirited fellow, but
+he was specially obnoxious to the Luddites, whose doings he was always
+denouncing in the most violent way. Whose turn will it be next, I
+wonder? The success of this attempt is sure to encourage them, and we
+may expect to hear of some more bad doings. Of course there will be a
+reward offered for the apprehension of the murderers. A laborer saw them
+as they were hurrying away from the plantation, and says he should know
+them again if he saw them; but these fellows hang together so that I
+doubt if we shall ever find them out."
+
+After Mr. Cartwright had gone Ned told Luke what had happened.
+
+"I hope, Luke, that none of the Varley people have had a hand in this
+business?"
+
+"Oi hoape not," Luke said slowly, "but ther bain't no saying; oi hears
+little enough of what be going on. Oi was never much in the way of
+hearing, but now as I am head of the room, and all the hands here are
+known to be well contented, oi hears less nor ever. Still matters get
+talked over at the 'Cow.' Oi hears it said as many of the lads in the
+village has been wishing to leave King Lud since the work was put out,
+but they have had messages as how any man turning traitor would be put
+out of the way. It's been somewhat like that from the first, and more
+nor half of them as has joined has done so because they was afeared to
+stand out. They ain't tried to put the screw on us old hands, but most
+of the young uns has been forced into joining.
+
+"Bill has had a hard toime of it to stand out. He has partly managed
+because of his saying as how he has been sich good friends with you that
+he could not join to take part against the maisters; part, as oi hears,
+because his two brothers, who been in the thick of it from the first,
+has stuck up agin Bill being forced into it. Oi wish as we could get
+that blacksmith out of t' village; he be at the bottom of it all, and
+there's nowt would please me more than to hear as the constables had
+laid their hands on him. Oi hear as how he is more violent than ever at
+that meeting house. Of course he never mentions names or says anything
+direct, but he holds forth agin traitors as falls away after putting
+their hands to the plow, and as forsakes the cause of their starving
+brethren because their own stomachs is full."
+
+"I wish we could stop him," Ned said thoughtfully. "I might get a
+constable sent up to be present at the meetings, but the constables here
+are too well known, and if you were to get one from another place the
+sight of a stranger there would be so unusual that it would put him on
+his guard at once. Besides, as you say, it would be very difficult to
+prove that his expressions applied to the Luddites, although every one
+may understand what he means. One must have clear evidence in such a
+case. However, I hope we shall catch him tripping one of these days.
+These are the fellows who ought to be punished, not the poor ignorant
+men who are led away by them."
+
+The feeling of gratitude and respect with which Ned was regarded by
+the workpeople of his district, owing to his action regarding the hand
+frames, did something toward lightening the load caused by the suspicion
+which still rested upon him. Although he still avoided all intercourse
+with those of his own station, he no longer felt the pressure so
+acutely. The hard, set expression of his face softened somewhat, and
+though he was still strangely quiet and reserved in his manner toward
+those with whom his business necessarily brought him in contact, he no
+longer felt absolutely cut off from the rest of his kind.
+
+Ned had continued his practice of occasionally walking up with Bill
+Swinton to Varley on his way to the mill. There was now little fear of
+an attempt upon his life by the hands in his neighborhood; but since the
+failure on the mill he had incurred the special enmity of the men who
+had come from a distance on that occasion, and he knew that any night he
+might be waylaid and shot by them. It was therefore safer to go round
+by Varley than by the direct road. One evening when he had been chatting
+rather later than usual at Luke Marner's, Luke said:
+
+"Oi think there's something i' t' wind. Oi heerd at t' Cow this evening
+that there are some straangers i' the village. They're at t' Dog. Oi
+thinks there's soom sort ov a council there. Oi heers as they be from
+Huddersfield, which be the headquarters o' General Lud in this part.
+However, maister, oi doan't think as there's any fear of another attack
+on thy mill; they war too badly scaared t'other noight vor to try that
+again."
+
+When Ned got up to go Bill Swinton as usual put on his cap to accompany
+him, as he always walked across the moor with him until they came to the
+path leading down to the back of the mill, this being the road taken by
+the hands from Varley coming and going from work. When they had started
+a minute or two George, who had been sitting by the fire listening to
+the talk, got up and stretched himself preparatory to going to bed, and
+said in his usual slow way:
+
+"Oi wonders what they be a-doing tonoight. Twice while ye ha' been
+a-talking oi ha' seen a chap a-looking in at t' window."
+
+"Thou hast!" Luke exclaimed, starting up. "Dang thee, thou young fool!
+Why didn't say so afore? Oi will hoide thee when oi comes back rarely!
+Polly, do thou run into Gardiner's, and Hoskings', and Burt's; tell 'em
+to cotch up a stick and to roon for their loives across t' moor toward
+t' mill. And do thou, Jarge, roon into Sykes' and Wilmot's and tell 'em
+the same; and be quick if thou would save thy skin. Tell 'em t' maister
+be loike to be attacked."
+
+Catching up a heavy stick Luke hurried off, running into two cottages
+near and bringing on two more of the mill hands with him. He was nearly
+across the moor when they heard the sound of a shot. Luke, who was
+running at the top of his speed, gave a hoarse cry as of one who had
+received a mortal wound. Two shots followed in quick succession. A
+minute later Luke was dashing down the hollow through which the path ran
+down from the moor. Now he made out a group of moving figures and heard
+the sounds of conflict. His breath was coming in short gasps, his teeth
+were set; fast as he was running, he groaned that his limbs would carry
+him no faster. It was scarce two minutes from the time when the first
+shot was fired, but it seemed ages to him before he dashed into the
+group of men, knocking down two by the impetus of his rush. He was but
+just in time. A figure lay prostrate on the turf; another standing over
+him had just been beaten to his knee. But he sprang up again at Luke's
+onward rush. His assailants for a moment drew back.
+
+"Thou'rt joist in toime, Luke," Bill panted out. "Oi war well nigh
+done."
+
+"Be t' maister shot?"
+
+"No, nowt but a clip wi' a stick."
+
+As the words passed between them the assailants again rushed forward
+with curses and execrations upon those who stood between them and their
+victim.
+
+"Moind, Luke, they ha' got knoives!" Bill exclaimed. "Oi ha' got more
+nor one slash already."
+
+Luke and Bill fought vigorously, but they were overmatched. Anger and
+fear for Ned's safety nerved Luke's arm, the weight of the last twenty
+years seemed to drop off him, and he felt himself again the sturdy young
+cropper who could hold his own against any in the village. But he had
+not yet got back his breath, and was panting heavily. The assailants,
+six in number, were active and vigorous young men; and Bill, who was
+streaming with blood from several wounds, could only fight on the
+defensive. Luke then gave a short cry of relief as the two men who had
+started with him, but whom he had left behind from the speed which his
+intense eagerness had given him, ran up but a short minute after he had
+himself arrived and ranged themselves by him. The assailants hesitated
+now.
+
+"Ye'd best be off," Luke said; "there ull be a score more here in a
+minute."
+
+With oaths of disappointment and rage the assailants fell back and were
+about to make off when one of them exclaimed: "Ye must carry Tom off wi'
+thee. It ull never do to let un lay here."
+
+The men gathered round a dark figure lying a few yards away. Four of
+them lifted it by the hands and feet, and then they hurried away across
+the moor. As they did so Bill Swinton with a sigh fell across Ned's
+body. In two or three minutes four more men, accompanied by George and
+Polly, whose anxiety would not let her stay behind, hurried up. Luke and
+his companions had raised Ned and Bill into a sitting posture.
+
+"Are they killed, feyther?" Polly cried as she ran up breathless to
+them.
+
+"Noa, lass; oi think as t' maister be only stunned, and Bill ha' fainted
+from loss o' blood. But oi doan't know how bad he be hurted yet. We had
+best carry 'em back to t' house; we can't see to do nowt here."
+
+"Best let them stay here, feyther, till we can stop the bleeding. Moving
+would set the wounds off worse."
+
+"Perhaps you are right, Polly. Jarge, do thou run back to t' house as
+hard as thou canst go. Loight t' lanterns and bring 'em along, wi' a can
+o' cold water."
+
+Although the boy ran to the village and back at the top of his speed the
+time seemed long indeed to those who were waiting. When he returned
+they set to work at once to examine the injuries. Ned appeared to have
+received but one blow. The blood was slowly welling from a wound at the
+back of his head.
+
+"That war maade by a leaded stick, oi guess," Luke said; "it's cut
+through his hat, and must pretty nigh ha' cracked his skool. One of you
+bathe un wi' the water while we looks arter Bill."
+
+Polly gave an exclamation of horror as the light fell upon Bill Swinton.
+He was covered with blood. A clean cut extended from the top of the ear
+to the point of the chin, another from the left shoulder to the breast,
+while a third gash behind had cut through to the bone of the shoulder
+blade.
+
+"Never moind t' water, lass," Luke said as Polly with trembling hands
+was about to wash the blood from the cut on the face, "the bluid won't
+do un no harm--thou must stop t' bleeding."
+
+Polly tore three or four long strips from the bottom of her dress. While
+she was doing so one of the men by Luke's directions took the lantern
+and gathered some short dry moss from the side of the slope, and laid
+it in a ridge on the gaping wound. Then Luke with Polly's assistance
+tightly bandaged Bill's head, winding the strips from the back of the
+head round to the chin, and again across the temples and jaw. Luke took
+out his knife and cut off the coat and shirt from the arms and shoulder,
+and in the same way bandaged up the other two wounds.
+
+After George had started to fetch the lantern, Luke had at Polly's
+suggestion sent two men back to the village, and these had now returned
+with doors they had taken off the hinges. When Bill's wounds were
+bandaged he and Ned were placed on the doors, Ned giving a faint groan
+as he was moved.
+
+"That's roight," Luke said encouragingly; "he be a-cooming round."
+
+Two coats were wrapped up and placed under their heads, and they were
+then lifted and carried off, Polly hurrying on ahead to make up the fire
+and get hot water.
+
+"Say nowt to no one," Luke said as he started. "Till t' master cooms
+round there ain't no saying what he'd loike done. Maybe he won't have
+nowt said aboot it."
+
+The water was already hot when the party reached the cottage; the blood
+was carefully washed off Ned's head, and a great swelling with an ugly
+gash running across was shown. Cold water was dashed in his face, and
+with a gasp he opened his eyes.
+
+"It be all roight, Maister Ned," Luke said soothingly; "it be all over
+now, and you be among vriends. Ye've had an ugly one on the back o' thy
+head, but I dowt thou wilt do rarely now."
+
+Ned looked round vaguely, then a look of intelligence came into his
+face.
+
+"Where is Bill?" he asked.
+
+"He be hurted sorely, but oi think it be only loss o' blood, and he will
+coom round again; best lie still a few minutes, maister, thou wilt feel
+better then; Polly, she be tending Bill."
+
+In a few minutes Ned was able to sit up; a drink of cold brandy and
+water further restored him. He went to the bed on which Bill had been
+placed.
+
+"He's not dead?" he asked with a gasp, as he saw the white face
+enveloped in bandages.
+
+"No, surelie," Luke replied cheerfully; "he be a long way from dead yet,
+oi hoape, though he be badly cut about."
+
+"Have you sent for the doctor?" Ned asked.
+
+"No!"
+
+"Then send for Dr. Green at once, and tell him from me to come up here
+instantly."
+
+Ned sat down in a chair for a few minutes, for he was still dazed and
+stupid; but his brain was gradually clearing. Presently he looked up at
+the men who were still standing silently near the door.
+
+"I have no doubt," he said, "that I have to thank you all for saving my
+life, but at present I do not know how it has all come about. I will see
+you tomorrow. But unless it has already got known, please say nothing
+about this. I don't want it talked about--at any rate until we see how
+Bill gets on.
+
+"Now, Luke," he continued, when the men had gone, "tell me all about it.
+My brain is in a whirl, and I can hardly think."
+
+Luke related the incidents of the fight and the flight of the
+assailants, and said that they had carried off a dead man with them. Ned
+sat for some time in silence.
+
+"Yes," he said at last, "I shot one. I was walking along with Bill when
+suddenly a gun was fired from a bush close by; then a number of men
+jumped up and rushed upon us. I had my pistol, and had just time to fire
+two shots. I saw one man go straight down, and then they were upon us.
+They shouted to Bill to get out of the way, but he went at them like a
+lion. I don't think any of the others had guns; at any rate they only
+attacked us with sticks and knives. I fought with my back to Bill as
+well as I could, and we were keeping them off, till suddenly I don't
+remember any more."
+
+"One on them hit ye from behind wi' a loaded stick," Luke said, "and
+thou must ha' gone doon like a felled ox; then oi expects as Bill stood
+across thee and kept them off as well as he could, but they war too much
+for t' lad; beside that cut on the head he ha' one on shoulder and one
+behind. Oi war only joost in toime, another quarter of a minute and
+they'd ha' got their knives into thee."
+
+"Poor old Bill," Ned said sadly, going up to the bedside and laying his
+hand on the unconscious figure. "I fear you have given your life to save
+one of little value to myself or any one else."
+
+"Don't say that, Master Ned," Polly said softly; "you cannot say what
+your life may be as yet, and if so be that Bill is to die, and God grant
+it isn't so, he himself would not think his life thrown away if it were
+given to save yours."
+
+But few words were spoken in the cottage until Dr. Green arrived. Ned's
+head was aching so that he was forced to lie down. Polly from time to
+time moistened Bill's lips with a few drops of brandy. George had been
+ordered off to bed, and Luke sat gazing at the fire, wishing that there
+was something he could do.
+
+At last the doctor arrived; the messenger had told him the nature of the
+case, and he had come provided with lint, plaster, and bandages.
+
+"Well, Ned," he asked as he came in, "have you been in the wars again?"
+
+"I am all right, doctor. I had a knock on the head which a day or two
+will put right; but I fear Bill is very seriously hurt."
+
+The doctor at once set to to examine the bandages.
+
+"You have done them up very well," he said approvingly; "but the blood
+is still oozing from them. I must dress them afresh; get me plenty
+of hot water, Polly, I have brought a sponge with me. Can you look on
+without fainting?"
+
+"I don't think I shall faint, sir," Polly said quietly; "if I do,
+feyther will take my place."
+
+In a quarter of an hour the wounds were washed, drawn together, and
+bandaged. There was but little fresh bleeding, for the lad's stock of
+life blood had nearly all flowed away.
+
+"A very near case," the doctor said critically; "as close a shave as
+ever I saw. Had the wound on the face been a quarter of an inch nearer
+the eyebrow it would have severed the temporal artery. As it is it
+has merely laid open the jaw. Neither of the other wounds are serious,
+though they might very well have been fatal."
+
+"Then you think he will get round, doctor?" Ned asked in a low tone.
+
+"Get round! Of course he will," Dr. Green replied cheerily. "Now that
+we have got him bound up we will soon bring him round. It is only a
+question of loss of blood."
+
+"Hullo! this will never do," he broke off as Ned suddenly reeled and
+would have fallen to the ground had not Luke caught him.
+
+"Pour this cordial down Swinton's throat, Polly, a little at a time, and
+lift his head as you do it, and when you see him open his eyes, put a
+pillow under his head; but don't do so till he begins to come round. Now
+let me look at Ned's head.
+
+"It must have been a tremendous blow, Luke," he said seriously. "I,
+only hope it hasn't fractured the skull. However, all this swelling and
+suffusion of blood is a good sign. Give me that hot water. I shall put
+a lancet in here and get it to bleed freely. That will be a relief to
+him."
+
+While he was doing this an exclamation of pleasure from Polly showed
+that Bill was showing signs of returning to life. His eyes presently
+opened. Polly bent over him.
+
+"Lie quiet, Bill, dear; you have been hurt, but the doctor says you
+will soon be well again. Yes; Master Ned is all right too. Don't worry
+yourself about him."
+
+An hour later both were sleeping quietly.
+
+"They will sleep till morning," Dr. Green said, "perhaps well on into
+the day; it is no use my waiting any longer. I will be up the first
+thing."
+
+So he drove away, while Polly took her work and sat down to watch the
+sleepers during the night, and Luke, taking his stick and hat, set off
+to guard the mill till daylight.
+
+Ned woke first just as daylight was breaking; he felt stupid and heavy,
+with a splitting pain in his head. He tried to rise, but found that he
+could not do so. He accordingly told George to go down in an hour's
+time to Marsden, and to leave a message at the house saying that he was
+detained and should not be back to breakfast, and that probably he
+might not return that night. The doctor kept his head enveloped in wet
+bandages all day, and he was on the following morning able to go down to
+Marsden, although still terribly pale and shaken. His appearance excited
+the liveliest wonder and commiseration on the part of Charlie, Lucy,
+and Abijah; but he told them that he had had an accident, and had got a
+nasty knock on the back of his head. He kept his room for a day or two;
+but at the end of that time he was able to go to the mill as usual.
+Bill Swinton was longer away, but broths and jellies soon built up his
+strength again, and in three weeks he was able to resume work, although
+it was long before the ugly scar on his face was healed. The secret was
+well kept, and although in time the truth of the affair became known in
+Varley it never reached Marsden, and Ned escaped the talk and comment
+which it would have excited had it been known, and, what was worse, the
+official inquiry which would have followed.
+
+The Huddersfield men naturally kept their own council. They had hastily
+buried their dead comrade on the moor, and although several of them were
+so severely knocked about that they were unable to go to work for
+some time, no rumor of the affair got about outside the circle of the
+conspirators. It need hardly be said that this incident drew Ned
+and Bill even more closely together than before, and that the former
+henceforth regarded Bill Swinton in the light of a brother.
+
+At the end of the Christmas holidays Mr. Porson brought home a mistress
+to the schoolhouse. She was a bright, pleasant woman, and having heard
+from her husband all the particulars of Ned's case she did her best to
+make him feel that she fully shared in her husband's welcome whenever he
+came to the house, and although Ned was some little time in accustoming
+himself to the presence of one whom he had at first regarded as an
+intruder in the little circle of his friends, this feeling wore away
+under the influence of her cordiality and kindness.
+
+"Is it not shocking," she said to her husband one day, "to think that
+for nearly a year that poor lad should never have seen his own mother,
+though she is in the house with him, still worse to know that she thinks
+him a murderer? Do you think it would be of any good if I were to go and
+see her, and tell her how wicked and wrong her conduct is?"
+
+"No, my dear," Mr. Porson said, smiling, "I don't think that course
+would be at all likely to have a good effect. Green tells me that he
+is sure that this conviction which she has of Ned's guilt is a deep and
+terrible grief to her. He thinks that, weak and silly as she is, she has
+really a strong affection for Ned, as well as for her other children,
+and it is because this is so that she feels so terribly what she
+believes to be his guilt. She suffers in her way just as much, or more,
+than he does in his. He has his business, which occupies his mind and
+prevents him from brooding over his position; besides, the knowledge
+that a few of us are perfectly convinced of his innocence enables him to
+hold up. She has no distraction, nothing to turn her thoughts from this
+fatal subject.
+
+"Green says she has several times asked him whether a person could be
+tried twice for the same offense, after he has been acquitted the first
+time, and he believes that the fear is ever present in her mind that
+some fresh evidence may be forthcoming which may unmistakably bring the
+guilt home to him. I have talked it over with Ned several times, and he
+now takes the same view of it as I do. The idea of his guilt has become
+a sort of monomania with her, and nothing save the most clear and
+convincing proof of his innocence would have any effect upon her mind.
+If that is ever forthcoming she may recover, and the two may be brought
+together again. At the same time I think that you might very well call
+upon her, introducing yourself by saying that as I was a friend of
+Captain Sankey's and of her sons you were desirous of making her
+acquaintance, especially as you heard that she was such an invalid. She
+has no friends whatever. She was never a very popular woman, and the
+line every one knows she has taken in reference to the murder of her
+second husband has set those who would otherwise have been inclined to
+be kind against her. Other people may be convinced of Ned's guilt, but
+you see it seems to every one to be shocking that a mother should take
+part against her son."
+
+Accordingly Mrs. Porson called. On the first occasion when she did so
+Mrs. Mulready sent down to say that she was sorry she could not see her,
+but that the state of her health did not permit her to receive visitors.
+Mrs. Porson, however, was not to be discouraged. First she made friends
+with Lucy, and when she knew that the girl was sure to have spoken
+pleasantly of her to her mother she opened a correspondence with Mrs.
+Mulready. At first she only wrote to ask that Lucy might be allowed to
+come and spend the day with her. Her next letter was on the subject of
+Lucy's music. The girl had long gone to a day school kept by a lady in
+Marsden, but her music had been neglected, and Mrs. Porson wrote to say
+that she found that Lucy had a taste for music, and that having been
+herself well taught she should be happy to give her lessons twice a
+week, and that if Mrs. Mulready felt well enough to see her she would
+like to have a little chat with her on the subject.
+
+This broke the ice. Lucy's backwardness in music had long been a
+grievance with her mother, who, as she lay in bed and listened to the
+girl practicing below had fretted over the thought that she could obtain
+no good teacher for her in Marsden. Mrs. Porson's offer was therefore
+too tempting to be refused, and as it was necessary to appear to
+reciprocate the kindness of that lady, she determined to make an effort
+to receive her.
+
+The meeting went off well. Having once made the effort Mrs. Mulready
+found, to her surprise, that it was pleasant to her after being cut off
+for so many months from all intercourse with the world, except such as
+she gained from the doctor, her two children, and the old servant, to
+be chatting with her visitor, who exerted herself to the utmost to make
+herself agreeable. The talk was at first confined to the ostensible
+subject of Mrs. Porson's visit; but after that was satisfactorily
+arranged the conversation turned to Marsden and the neighborhood. Many
+people had called upon Mrs. Porson, and as all of them were more or less
+known to Mrs. Mulready, her visitor asked her many questions concerning
+them, and the invalid was soon gossiping cheerfully over the family
+histories and personal peculiarities of her neighbors.
+
+"You have done me a world of good," she said when Mrs. Porson rose to
+leave. "I never see any one but the doctor, and he is the worst person
+in the world for a gossip. He ought to know everything, but somehow he
+seems to know nothing. You will come again, won't you? It will be a real
+kindness, and you have taken so much interest in my daughter that it
+quite seems to me as if you were an old friend."
+
+And so the visit was repeated: but not too often, for Mrs. Porson knew
+that it was better that her patient should wait and long for her coming,
+and now that the ice was once broken, Mrs. Mulready soon came to look
+forward with eagerness to these changes in her monotonous existence.
+
+For some time Ned's name was never mentioned between them. Then one day
+Mrs. Porson, in a careless manner, as if she had no idea whatever of the
+state of the relations between mother and son, mentioned that Ned had
+been at their house the previous evening, saying: "My husband has
+a wonderful liking and respect for your son; they are the greatest
+friends, though of course there is a good deal of difference in age
+between them. I don't know any one of whom John thinks so highly."
+
+Mrs. Mulready turned very pale, and then in a constrained voice said:
+"Mr. Porson has always been very kind to my sons."
+
+Then she sighed deeply and changed the subject of conversation.
+
+"Your wife is doing my patient a great deal more good than I have ever
+been able to do," Dr. Green said one day to the schoolmaster. "She has
+become quite a different woman in the last five or six weeks. She is
+always up and on the sofa now when I call, and I notice that she begins
+to take pains with her dress again; and that, you know, is always a
+first rate sign with a woman. I think she would be able to go downstairs
+again soon, were it not for her feeling about Ned. She would not meet
+him, I am sure. You don't see any signs of a change in that quarter, I
+suppose?"
+
+"No," Mrs. Porson replied. "The last time I mentioned his name she said:
+'My son is a most unfortunate young man, and the subject pains me too
+much to discuss. Therefore, if you please, Mrs. Porson, I would rather
+leave it alone.' So I am afraid there is no chance of my making any
+progress there."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX: THE ATTACK ON CARTWRIGHT'S MILL
+
+
+Ned still slept at the mill. He was sure that there was no chance of a
+renewal of the attack by the workpeople near, but an assault might be
+again organized by parties from a distance. The murder of Mr. Horsfall
+had caused greater vigilance than ever among the military. At some
+of the mills the use of the new machinery had been discontinued and
+cropping by hand resumed. This was the case at the mills at Ottewells
+and Bankbottom, both of which belonged to Messrs. Abraham & John
+Horsfall, the father and uncle of the murdered man, and at other mills
+in the neighborhood. Mr. Cartwright and some of the other owners still
+continued the use of the new machinery. One night Ned had just gone to
+bed when he was startled by the ringing of the bell. He leaped from his
+bed. He hesitated to go to the window, as it was likely enough that
+men might be lying in wait to shoot him when he appeared. Seizing his
+pistols, therefore, he hurried down below. A continued knocking was
+going on at the front entrance. It was not, however, the noisy din which
+would be made by a party trying to force their way in, but rather the
+persistent call of one trying to attract attention.
+
+"Who is there?" he shouted through the door; "and what do you want?"
+
+"Open the door, please. It is I, Polly Powlett," a voice replied. "I
+want to speak to you particularly, sir.
+
+"I have come down, sir," she said as Ned threw open the door and she
+entered, still panting from her long run, "to tell you that Cartwright's
+mill is going to be attacked. I think some of the Varley men are
+concerned in it. Anyhow, the news has got about in the village. Feyther
+and Bill are both watched, and could not get away to give you the news;
+but feyther told me, and I slipped out at the back door and made my way
+round by the moor, for they have got a guard on the road to prevent any
+one passing. There is no time to spare, for they were to join a party
+from Longroyd Bridge, at ten o'clock at the steeple in Sir George
+Armitage's fields, which ain't more than three miles from the mill.
+It's half past ten now, but maybe they will be late. I couldn't get
+away before, and indeed feyther only learned the particulars just as I
+started. He told me to come straight to you, as you would know what to
+do. I said, 'Should I go and fetch the troops?' but he said No--it would
+be sure to be found out who had brought them, and our lives wouldn't be
+worth having. But I don't mind risking it, sir, if you think that's the
+best plan."
+
+"No, Polly; on no account. You have risked quite enough in coming to
+tell me. I will go straight to Cartwright's. Do you get back as quickly
+as you can, and get in the same way you came. Be very careful that no
+one sees you."
+
+So saying he dashed upstairs, pulled on his shoes, and then started at
+full speed for Liversedge. As he ran he calculated the probabilities of
+his being there in time. Had the men started exactly at the hour named
+they would be by this time attacking the mill; but it was not likely
+that they would be punctual--some of the hands would be sure to be late.
+There would be discussion and delay before starting. They might well be
+half an hour after the time named before they left the steeple, as the
+obelisk in Sir George Armitage's field was called by the country people.
+He might be in time yet, but it would be a close thing; and had his own
+life depended upon the result Ned could not have run more swiftly.
+
+He had hopes that as he went he might have come across a cavalry patrol
+and sent them to Marsden and Ottewells to bring up aid; but the road was
+quiet and deserted. Once or twice he paused for an instant, thinking he
+heard the sound of distant musketry. He held his breath, but no sound
+could he hear save the heavy thumping of his own heart.
+
+His hopes rose as he neared Liversedge. He was close now, but as he ran
+into the yard he heard a confused murmur and the dull tramping of many
+feet. He had won the race, but by a few seconds only. The great stone
+built building lay hushed in quiet; he could see its outline against
+the sky, and could even make out the great alarm bell which had recently
+been erected above the roof. He ran up to the doorway and knocked
+heavily. The deep barking of a dog within instantly resounded through
+the building. Half a minute later Mr. Cartwright's voice within demanded
+who was there.
+
+"It is I, Ned Sankey--open at once. The Luddites are upon you!"
+
+The bolts were hastily undrawn, and Ned rushed in and assisted to fasten
+the door behind him.
+
+"They will be here in a minute," he panted out. "They are just behind."
+
+The noise had already roused the ten men who slept in the building; five
+of these were Mr. Cartwright's workmen, the other five were soldiers.
+Hastily they threw on their clothes and seized their arms; but they were
+scarcely ready when a roar of musketry was heard, mingled with a clatter
+of falling glass, nearly every pane in the lower windows being smashed
+by the discharge of slugs, buckshot and bullets.
+
+This was followed by the thundering noise of a score of sledge hammers
+at the principal entrance and the side doors. Mr. Cartwright and one of
+his workmen ran to the bell rope, and in a moment its iron tongue was
+clanging out its summons for assistance to the country round. A roar of
+fury broke from the Luddites; many of them fired at the bell in hopes
+of cutting the rope, and the men plied their hammers more furiously
+than before. But the doors were tremendously strong and were backed with
+plates of iron.
+
+The defenders were not idle; all had their allotted places at the
+windows, and from these a steady return was kept up in answer to the
+scattering fire without. Ned had caught up the gun which Mr. Cartwright
+had laid down when he ran to the bell rope, and with it he kept up a
+steady fire at the dark figures below.
+
+There was a shout of "Bring up Enoch!" This was a name given to the
+exceedingly heavy hammers at that time used in the Yorkshire smithies.
+They were manufactured by the firm of Enoch & James Taylor, of Marsden,
+and were popularly known among the men by the name of their maker. A
+powerful smith now advanced with one of these heavy weapons and began to
+pound at the door, which, heavy as it was, shook under his blows.
+
+Ned, regardless of the fire of the Luddites, leaned far out of the
+window so as to be able to aim down at the group round the door, and
+fired. The gun was loaded with a heavy charge of buckshot. He heard a
+hoarse shout of pain and rage, and the hammer dropped to the ground.
+Another man caught up the hammer and the thundering din recommenced.
+
+Mr. Cartwright had now joined Ned, leaving his workmen to continue to
+pull the bell rope.
+
+"You had better come down, Sankey. The door must give way ere long; we
+must make a stand there. If they once break in, it will soon be all up
+with us."
+
+Calling together three or four of the soldiers the manufacturer hurried
+down to the door. They were none too soon. The panels had already been
+splintered to pieces and the iron plates driven from their bolts by the
+tremendous blows of the hammer, but the stout bar still stood. Through
+the yawning holes in the upper part of the door the hammermen could be
+seen at work without.
+
+Five guns flashed out, and yells and heavy falls told that the discharge
+had taken serious effect. The hammering ceased, for the men could not
+face the fire. Leaving Ned and one of the soldiers there, Mr. Cartwright
+hurried round to the other doors, but the assault had been less
+determined there and they still resisted; then he went upstairs and
+renewed the firing from the upper windows. The fight had now continued
+for twenty minutes, and the fire of the Luddites was slackening; their
+supply of powder and ball was running short. The determined resistance,
+when they had hoped to have effected an easy entrance by surprise, had
+discouraged them; several had fallen and more were wounded, and at any
+time the soldiers might be upon them.
+
+Those who had been forced by fear to join the association--and these
+formed no small part of the whole--had long since begun to slink away
+quietly in the darkness, and the others now began to follow them. The
+groans and cries of the wounded men added to their discomfiture, and
+many eagerly seized the excuse of carrying these away to withdraw from
+the fight.
+
+Gradually the firing ceased, and a shout of triumph rose from the little
+party in the mill at the failure of the attack. The defenders gathered
+in the lower floor.
+
+"I think they are all gone now," Ned said. "Shall we go out, Mr.
+Cartwright, and see what we can do for the wounded? There are several
+of them lying round the door and near the windows. I can hear them
+groaning."
+
+"No, Ned," Mr. Cartwright said firmly, "they must wait a little longer.
+The others may still be hiding close ready to make a rush if we come
+out; besides, it would likely enough be said of us that we went out and
+killed the wounded; we must wait awhile."
+
+Presently a voice was heard shouting without: "Are you all right,
+Cartwright?"
+
+"Yes," the manufacturer replied. "Who are you?"
+
+The questioner proved to be a friend who lived the other side of
+Liversedge, and who had been aroused by the ringing of the alarm bell.
+He had not ventured to approach until the firing had ceased, and had
+then come on to see the issue.
+
+Hearing that the rioters had all departed, Mr. Cartwright ordered the
+door to be opened. The wounded Luddites were lifted and carried into the
+mill, and Mr. Cartwright sent at once for the nearest surgeon, who was
+speedily upon the spot. Long before he arrived the hussars had ridden
+up, and had been dispatched over the country in search of the rioters,
+of whom, save the dead and wounded, no signs were visible.
+
+As day dawned the destruction which had been wrought was clearly
+visible. The doors were in splinters, the lower window frames were all
+smashed in, scarce a pane of glass remained in its place throughout the
+whole building, the stonework was dotted and splashed with bullet marks,
+the angles of the windows were chipped and broken, there were dark
+patches of blood in many places in the courtyard, and the yard itself
+and the roads leading from the mill were strewn with guns, picks,
+levers, hammers, and pikes, which had been thrown away by the
+discomfited rioters in their retreat.
+
+"They have had a lesson for once," Mr. Cartwright said as he looked
+round, "they won't attack my mill again in a hurry. I need not say,
+Sankey, how deeply I am obliged to you for your timely warning. How did
+you get to know of it?"
+
+Ned related the story of his being awakened by Mary Powlett. He added,
+"I don't think, after all, my warning was of much use to you. You could
+have kept them out anyhow."
+
+"I don't think so," Mr. Cartwright said. "I imagine that your arrival
+upset all their plans; they were so close behind you that they must have
+heard the knocking and the door open and close. The appearance of lights
+in the mill and the barking of the dog, would, at any rate, have told
+them that we were on the alert, and seeing that they ran on and opened
+fire I have no doubt that their plan was to have stolen quietly up to
+the windows and commenced an attack upon these in several places, and
+had they done this they would probably have forced an entrance before
+we could have got together to resist them. No, my lad, you and that girl
+have saved the mill between you."
+
+"You will not mention, Mr. Cartwright, to any one how I learned the
+news. The girl's life would not be safe were it known that she brought
+me word of the intention of the Luddites."
+
+"You may rely on me for that; and now, if you please, we will go off
+home at once and get some breakfast. Amy may have heard of the attack
+and will be in a rare fright until she gets news of me."
+
+Mr. Cartwright's house was about a mile from the mill. When they arrived
+there it was still closed and quiet, and it was evident that no alarm
+had been excited. Mr. Cartwright's knocking soon roused the servants,
+and a few minutes later Amy hurried down.
+
+"What is it, papa? What brings you back so early? it is only seven
+o'clock now. How do you do, Mr. Sankey? Why, papa, how dirty and black
+you both look! What have you been doing? And, oh, papa! you have got
+blood on your hands!"
+
+"It is not my own, my dear, and you need not be frightened. The attack
+on the mill has come at last and we have given the Luddites a handsome
+thrashing. The danger is all over now, for I do not think the mill
+is ever likely to be attacked again. But I will tell you all about it
+presently; run and get breakfast ready as soon as you can, for we are as
+hungry as hunters, I can tell you. We will go and have a wash, and will
+be ready in ten minutes."
+
+"We can't be ready in ten minutes, papa, for the fires are not lighted
+yet, but we will be as quick as we can; and do please make haste and
+come and tell me all about this dreadful business."
+
+In half an hour the party were seated at breakfast. Amy had already been
+told the incidents of the fight, and trembled as she heard how nearly
+the rioters had burst their way into the mill, and was deeply grateful
+to Ned for the timely warning which had frustrated the plans of the
+rioters.
+
+In vain did the soldiers scour the country. The Luddites on their
+retreat had scattered to their villages, the main body returning to
+Huddersfield and appearing at their work as usual in the morning.
+Large rewards were offered for information which would lead to the
+apprehension of any concerned in the attack, but these, as well as
+the notices offering two thousand pounds for the apprehension of the
+murderers of Mr. Horsfall, met with no responses. Scores of men must
+have known who were concerned in these affairs, but either fidelity to
+the cause or fear of the consequences of treachery kept them silent.
+
+Mr. Cartwright was anxious to offer a handsome reward to Mary Powlett
+for the service she had rendered him, but Ned told him that he was sure
+she would not accept anything. Mr. Cartwright, however, insisting on the
+point, Ned saw Mary and sounded her upon the subject. She was indignant
+at the idea.
+
+"No, Master Ned," she said, "I would not take money, not ever so. I came
+down to tell you because I thought it wicked and wrong of the men to
+destroy the mill, and because they would no doubt have murdered Mr.
+Cartwright and the people there; but I would not take money for doing
+it. Even if nobody ever got to know of it, it would always seem to me as
+if I had sold the hands, and they have suffered enough, God knows."
+
+"I don't think Mr. Cartwright thought of offering you money. I told him
+that I was sure that you wouldn't take it, but he hoped that he might be
+able to do something for you in some other way."
+
+"No, thank you, sir," Mary said with quiet dignity; "there isn't any way
+that I could take anything for doing what I did."
+
+"Well, Mary, we won't say anything more about it. I only spoke, you
+know, because Mr. Cartwright insisted, and, of course, as he did not
+know you he could not tell how different you were from other girls.
+There is no suspicion, I hope, that you were away from the village?"
+
+"No, sir, I don't think so. Two of the men sat here talking with feyther
+till past eleven o'clock, but they thought that I was in bed, as I had
+said goodnight and had gone into my room an hour before, and I did not
+see any one about in the village as I came back over the moor behind."
+
+"None of the hands belonging to the village are missing, I hope, Mary.
+I was glad to find that none of them were among the killed and wounded
+round the mill."
+
+"No, sir, except that John Stukeley has not been about since. The smithy
+was not opened the next morning and the chapel was closed yesterday.
+They say as he has been taken suddenly ill, but feyther thinks that
+perhaps he was wounded. Of course men don't speak much before feyther,
+and I don't talk much to the other women of the village, so we don't
+know what's going on; anyhow the doctor has not been here to see him,
+and if he had been only ill I should think they would have had Dr. Green
+up. Old Sarah James is nursing him. I saw her this morning going to the
+shop and asked her how he was; she only said it was no business of mine.
+But she doesn't like me because sometimes I nurse people when they are
+ill, and she thinks it takes money from her; and so it does, but what
+can I do if people like me to sit by them better than her? and no
+wonder, for she is very deaf and horribly dirty."
+
+"I don't think they are to be blamed, Polly," Ned said, smiling. "If
+I were ill I should certainly like you to nurse me a great deal better
+than that bad tempered old woman."
+
+
+The attack on Cartwright's mill made a great sensation through that part
+of the country. It was the most determined effort which the Luddites had
+yet made, and although it showed their determination to carry matters
+to an extremity, it also showed that a few determined men could
+successfully resist their attacks. Nothing else was talked about at
+Marsden, and as Mr. Cartwright everywhere said that the success of the
+resistance was due entirely to the upsetting of the plans of the rioters
+by the warning Ned had given him, the latter gained great credit in the
+eyes of all the peaceful inhabitants. But as it would make Ned still
+more obnoxious to the Luddites, Major Browne insisted on placing six
+soldiers permanently at the mill and on four accompanying him as an
+escort whenever he went backward or forward.
+
+Ned was very averse to these measures, but the magistrates agreed with
+Major Browne as to the danger of assassination to which Ned was exposed
+from the anger of the croppers at his having twice thwarted their
+attempts, and he the more readily agreed as the presence of this guard
+soothed the fears which Charlie and Lucy felt for his safety whenever
+he was absent from the town. What perhaps most influenced him was a
+conversation which he had with Mrs. Porson.
+
+"Your mother was speaking of you to me today, Ned," she said; "it is the
+first time she has done so since I made her acquaintance. She began by
+saying, 'Please, Mrs. Porson, tell me all about this attack on George
+Cartwright's mill; Abijah and Lucy have been talking about it, but
+Abijah always gets confused in her stories, and of course Lucy knows
+only what she is told. I should like to know all about it.' Of course
+I told her the whole story, and how much Mr. Cartwright says he is
+indebted to you for the warning you brought him, and how every one is
+speaking in praise of your conduct, and what a good effect it has had.
+
+"I told her that of course the Luddites would be very much incensed
+against you and that it was adding to the risks that you already ran.
+She lay on the sofa quietly with her eyes shut all the time I was
+speaking. I could see her color come and go, and some tears fell down
+her cheeks; then she said in a tone which she tried to make hard and
+careless, but which really trembled, 'The military ought to put a guard
+over my son. Why does he go risking his life for other people? What
+business is it of his whether Cartwright's mill is burned or not?' I
+said that Mr. Cartwright had been very kind to you, and that I knew
+that you were much attached to him. I also said that the military were
+anxious that you should have an escort to and from the mill, but that
+you objected. I said that I was afraid that your life had not much value
+in your own eyes, for that it was by no means a happy one. 'It has
+value in other people's eyes,' she said irritably, 'in Lucy's and in his
+brother's. What would they do if he was to throw it away? Who would look
+after the mill and business then? He has no right to run such risks,
+Mrs. Porson, no right at all. Of course he is unhappy. People who let
+their tempers master them and do things are sure to be unhappy, and make
+other people unhappy, too; but that is no reason that he should cause
+more unhappiness by risking his own life needlessly, so, Mrs. Porson,
+please talk to your husband and tell him to make my son have an escort.
+I know he always listens to Mr. Porson.'"
+
+"Naturally my mother is anxious, for the sake of Charlie and Lucy, that
+I should live to carry on the mill until Charlie is old enough to run it
+himself," Ned said bitterly.
+
+"I do not think that it is only that, Ned," Mrs. Porson said kindly.
+"That was only the excuse that your mother made. I could see that she
+was deeply moved. I believe, Ned, that at heart she still loves you
+dearly. She has this unhappy fixed idea in her mind that you killed her
+husband, and believing this she cannot bear to see you; but I am sure
+she is most unhappy, most deeply to be pitied. I cannot imagine anything
+more dreadful than the state of mind of a woman who believes that a son
+of hers has murdered her husband. I think that if you quite realized
+what her feelings must be you would feel a little less bitter than you
+do.
+
+"I know, Ned, how much you have to try you, but I am sure that I would
+not exchange your position for that of your mother. Her pain must be far
+greater than yours. You know that you are innocent, and hope that some
+day you may be able to prove it. She thinks she knows that you are
+guilty, and is in constant dread that something may occur that may prove
+your guilt to the world."
+
+"Perhaps you are right, Mrs. Porson," Ned said wearily; "at any rate I
+will put up with the nuisance of this escort. I suppose it will not be
+for very long, for I expect that we shall not hear very much more of
+the Luddites. The failures upon Cartwright's mill and mine must have
+disheartened them, and the big rewards that are offered to any one
+who will come forward and betray the rest must make them horribly
+uncomfortable, for no one can be sure that some one may not be tempted
+to turn traitor."
+
+"What is the matter with Bill?" Ned asked Luke Marner that afternoon. "I
+see he is away."
+
+"Yes, sir, he be a-sitting with John Stukeley, who they say is main bad.
+It seems as how he has taken a fancy to t' lad, though why he should
+oi dunno, for Bill had nowt to do wi' his lot. Perhaps he thinks now as
+Bill were right and he were wrong; perhaps it only is as if Bill ha' got
+a name in the village of being a soft hearted chap, allus ready to sit
+up at noight wi' any one as is ill. Anyhow he sent last noight to ask
+him to go and sit wi' him, and Bill sent me word this morning as how he
+couldn't leave the man."
+
+"Do you know what is the matter with him?"
+
+"I dunno for certain, Maister Ned, but I has my suspicions."
+
+"So have I, Luke. I believe he got a gunshot wound in that affair at the
+mill."
+
+Luke nodded significantly.
+
+"Dr. Green ought to see him," Ned said. "A gunshot wound is not a thing
+to be trifled with."
+
+"The doctor ha' been up twice a day on the last three e days," Luke
+replied. "Oi suppose they got frighted and were obliged to call him in."
+
+"They had better have done so at first," Ned said; "they might have
+been quite sure that he would say nothing about it to the magistrates
+whatever was the matter with Stukeley. I thought that fellow would get
+into mischief before he had done."
+
+"It war a bad day for the village when he coomed," Luke said; "what
+wi' his preachings and his talk, he ha' turned the place upside down. I
+doan't say as Varley had ever a good name, or was a place where a quiet
+chap would have chosen to live, For fighting and drink there weren't a
+worse place in all Yorkshire, but there weren't no downright mischief
+till he came. Oi wur afraid vor a bit when he came a-hanging aboot
+Polly, as the gal might ha' took to him, for he can talk smooth and has
+had edication, and Polly thinks a wonderful lot of that. Oi were main
+glad when she sent him aboot his business."
+
+"Well, there is one thing, Luke; if anything happens to him it will
+put an end to this Luddite business at Varley. Such a lesson as that in
+their midst would do more to convince them of the danger of their goings
+on than any amount of argument and advice."
+
+"It will that," Luke said. "Oi hear as they are all moighty down in the
+mouth over that affair at Cartwright's. If they could not win there,
+when they were thirty to one, what chance can they have o' stopping the
+mills? Oi consider as how that has been the best noight's work as ha'
+been done in Yorkshire for years and years. There ain't a-been anything
+else talked of in Varley since. I ha' heard a score of guesses as to how
+you found owt what was a-going on in toime to get to the mill--thank God
+there ain't one as suspects as our Polly brought you the news. My own
+boys doan't know, and ain't a-going to; not as they would say a word as
+would harm Polly for worlds, but as they gets a bit bigger and takes to
+drink, there's no saying what mightn't slip out when they are in liquor.
+So you and oi and Bill be the only ones as ull ever know the ins and
+outs o' that there business."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX: CLEARED AT LAST.
+
+
+The night was a wild one. The weather had changed suddenly, and the rain
+beat fiercely in the faces of the hands as they made their way back from
+the mill up to Varley. As the night came on the storm increased. The
+wind as it swept across the moor swirled down into the hollow in which
+Varley stood, as if it would scoop the houses out of their foundations,
+and the drops of rain were driven against roof and wall with the force
+of hailstones.
+
+Bill Swinton was sitting up again with John Stukeley, and as he bent
+over the sick man's bed and tenderly lifted his head while he held a
+cup with some cooling drink to his lips, the contrast between his broad,
+powerful figure, and his face, marked with the characteristics alike
+of good temper, kindness, and a resolute will, and the thin, emaciated
+invalid was very striking. Stukeley's face was without a vestige of
+color; his eyes were hollow and surrounded by dark circles; his cheeks
+were of an ashen gray pallor, which deepened almost to a lead color
+round his lips.
+
+"Thou ought'st not to talk so much, John," Bill was saying. "Thou
+know'st the doctor said thou must not excite thyself."
+
+"It makes no difference, Bill, no difference at all, talk or not talk.
+What does it matter? I am dying, and he knows it, and I know it--so do
+you. That bit of lead in my body has done its work. Strange, isn't it,
+that you should be here nursing me when I have thought of shooting you
+a score of times? A year ago it seemed absurd that Polly Powlett should
+like a boy like you better than a man like me, and yet I was sure it was
+because of you she would have nothing to say to me; but she was right,
+you will make the best husband of the two. I suppose it's because of
+that I sent for you. I was very fond of Polly, Bill, and when I felt
+that I was going, and there wasn't any use my being jealous any longer,
+I seemed to turn to you. I knew you would come, for you have been always
+ready to do a kindness to a chap who was down. You are different to
+the other lads here. I do believe you are fond of reading. Whenever you
+think I am asleep you take up your book."
+
+"Oi am trying to improve myself," Bill said quietly. "Maister Sankey
+put me in the roight way. He gives me an hour, and sometimes two, every
+evening. He has been wonderful kind to me, he has; there ain't nothing
+oi wouldn't do for him."
+
+The sick man moved uneasily.
+
+"No more wouldn't Luke and Polly," Bill went on. "His father gived his
+loife, you know, for little Jenny. No, there ain't nowt we wouldn't do
+for him," he continued, glad to turn the subject from that of Stukeley's
+affection for Polly. "He be one of the best of maisters. Oi would give
+my life's blood if so be as oi could clear him of that business of
+Mulready's."
+
+For a minute or two not a word was said. The wind roared round the
+building, and in the intervals of the gusts the high clock in the corner
+of the room ticked steadily and solemnly as if distinctly intimating
+that its movements were not to be hurried by the commotion without.
+
+Stukeley had closed his eyes, and Bill began to hope that he was going
+to doze off, when he asked suddenly; "Bill, do you know who sent that
+letter that was read at the trial--I mean the one from the chap as
+said he done it, and was ready to give himself up if the boy was found
+guilty?"
+
+Bill did not answer.
+
+"You can tell me, if you know," Stukeley said impatiently. "You don't
+suppose as I am going to tell now! Maybe I shan't see any one to tell
+this side of the grave, for I doubt as I shall see the morning. Who
+wrote it?"
+
+"I wrote it," Bill said; "but it warn't me as was coming forward, it war
+Luke's idee fust. He made up his moind as to own up as it was he as did
+it and to be hung for it to save Maister Ned, acause the captain lost
+his loife for little Jenny."
+
+"But he didn't do it," Stukeley said sharply.
+
+"No, he didn't do it," Bill replied.
+
+There was a silence again for a long time; then Stukeley opened his eyes
+suddenly.
+
+"Bill, I should like to see Polly again. Dost think as she will come and
+say goodby?"
+
+"Oi am sure as she will," Bill said steadily. "Shall oi go and fetch
+her?"
+
+"It's a wild night to ask a gal to come out on such an errand," Stukeley
+said doubtfully.
+
+"Polly won't mind that," Bill replied confidently. "She will just wrap
+her shawl round her head and come over. Oi will run across and fetch
+her. Oi will not be gone three minutes."
+
+In little more than that time Bill returned with Mary Powlett.
+
+"I am awfully sorry to hear you are so bad, John," the girl said
+frankly.
+
+"I am dying, Polly; I know that, or I wouldn't have sent for ye. It was
+a good day for you when you said no to what I asked you."
+
+"Never mind that now, John; that's all past and gone."
+
+"Ay, that's all past and gone. I only wanted to say as I wish you well,
+Polly, and I hope you will be happy, and I am pretty nigh sure of
+it. Bill here tells me that you set your heart on having young Sankey
+cleared of that business as was against him. Is that so?"
+
+"That is so, John; he has been very kind to us all, to feyther and all
+of us. He is a good master to his men, and has kept many a mouth full
+this winter as would have been short of food without him; but why do you
+ask me?"
+
+"Just a fancy of mine, gal, such a fancy as comes into the head of a man
+at the last. When you get back send Luke here. It is late and maybe
+he has gone to bed, but tell him I must speak to him. And now, goodby,
+Polly. God bless you! I don't know as I hasn't been wrong about all this
+business, but it didn't seem so to me afore. Just try and think that,
+will you, when you hear about it. I thought as I was a-acting for the
+good of the men."
+
+"I will always remember that," Polly said gently.
+
+Then she took the thin hand of the man in hers, glanced at Bill as if
+she would ask his approval, and reading acquiescence in his eyes she
+stooped over the bed and kissed Stukeley's forehead. Then without a word
+she left the cottage and hurried away through the darkness.
+
+A few minutes later Luke Marner came in, and to Bill's surprise Stukeley
+asked him to leave the room. In five minutes Luke came out again.
+
+"Go in to him, Bill," he said hoarsely. "Oi think he be a-sinking. For
+God's sake keep him up. Give him that wine and broath stuff as thou
+canst. Keep him going till oi coom back again; thou doan't know what
+depends on it."
+
+Hurrying back to his cottage Luke threw on a thick coat, and to the
+astonishment of Polly announced that he was going down into Marsden.
+
+"What! on such a night as this, feyther?"
+
+"Ay, lass, and would if it were ten toimes wurse. Get ye into thy room,
+and go down on thy knees, and pray God to keep John Stukeley alive and
+clear headed till oi coomes back again."
+
+It was many years since Luke Marner's legs had carried him so fast as
+they now did into Marsden. The driving rain and hail which beat against
+him seemed unheeded as he ran down the hill at the top of his speed.
+He stopped at the doctor's and went in. Two or three minutes after the
+arrival of this late visitor Dr. Green's housekeeper was astonished at
+hearing the bell ring violently. On answering the bell she was ordered
+to arouse John, who had already gone to bed, and to tell him to put the
+horse into the gig instantly.
+
+"Not on such a night as this, doctor! sureley you are not a-going out on
+such a night as this!"
+
+"Hold your tongue, woman, and do as you are told instantly," the doctor
+said with far greater spirit than usual, for his housekeeper was, as a
+general thing, mistress of the establishment.
+
+With an air of greatly offended dignity she retired to carry out his
+orders. Three minutes later the doctor ran out of his room as he heard
+the man servant descending the stairs.
+
+"John," he said, "I am going on at once to Mr. Thompson's; bring the gig
+round there. I shan't want you to go further with me. Hurry up, man, and
+don't lose a moment--it is a matter of life and death."
+
+A quarter of an hour later Dr. Green, with Mr. Thompson by his side,
+drove off through the tempest toward Varley.
+
+The next morning, as Ned was at breakfast, the doctor was announced.
+
+"What a pestilently early hour you breakfast at, Ned! I was not in bed
+till three o'clock, and I scarcely seemed to have been asleep an hour
+when I was obliged to get up to be in time to catch you before you were
+off."
+
+"That is hard on you indeed, doctor," Ned said, smiling; "but why this
+haste? Have you got some patient for whom you want my help? You need not
+have got up so early for that, you know. You could have ordered anything
+you wanted for him in my name. You might have been sure I should have
+honored the bill. But what made you so late last night? You were surely
+never out in such a gale!"
+
+"I was, Ned, and strange as it seems I never went in answer to a call
+which gave me so much satisfaction. My dear lad, I hardly know how to
+tell you. I have a piece of news for you; the greatest, the best news
+that man could have to tell you."
+
+Ned drew a long breath and the color left his cheeks.
+
+"You don't mean, doctor, you can't mean"--and he paused.
+
+"That you are cleared, my boy. Yes; that is my news. Thank God, Ned,
+your innocence is proved."
+
+Ned could not speak. For a minute he sat silent and motionless. Then he
+bent forward and covered his face with his hands, and his lips moved as
+he murmured a deep thanksgiving to God for this mercy, while Lucy and
+Charlie, with cries of surprise and delight, leaped from the table,
+and when Ned rose to his feet, threw their arms round his neck with
+enthusiastic delight; while the doctor wrung his hand, and then, taking
+out his pocket handkerchief, wiped his eyes, violently declaring, as he
+did so, that he was an old fool.
+
+"Tell me all about it, doctor. How has it happened? What has brought it
+about?"
+
+"Luke Marner came down to me at ten o'clock last night to tell me that
+John Stukeley was dying, which I knew very well, for when I saw him in
+the afternoon I saw he was sinking fast; but he told me, too, that the
+man was anxious to sign a declaration before a magistrate to the effect
+that it was he who killed your stepfather. I had my gig got out and
+hurried away to Thompson's. The old fellow was rather crusty at being
+called out on such a night, but to do him justice, I must say he went
+readily enough when he found what he was required for, though it must
+have given him a twinge of conscience, for you know he has never been
+one of your partisans. However, off we drove, and got there in time.
+
+"Stukeley made a full confession. It all happened just as we thought.
+It had been determined by the Luddites to kill Mulready, and Stukeley
+determined to carry out the business himself, convinced, as he says,
+that the man was a tyrant and an oppressor, and that his death was not
+only richly deserved, but that such a blow was necessary to encourage
+the Luddites. He did not care, however, to run the risk of taking any of
+the others into his confidence, and therefore carried it out alone, and
+to this day, although some of the others may have their suspicions, no
+one knows for certain that he was the perpetrator of the act.
+
+"He had armed himself with a pistol and went down to the mill, intending
+to shoot Mulready as he came out at night, but, stumbling upon the rope,
+thought that it was a safer and more certain means. After fastening
+it across the road he sat down and waited, intending to shoot your
+stepfather if the accident didn't turn out fatal. After the crash,
+finding that Mulready's neck was broken and that he was dead, he made
+off home. He wished it specially to be placed on his deposition that he
+made his confession not from any regret at having killed Mulready, but
+simply to oblige Mary Powlett, whose heart was bent upon your innocence
+being proved. He signed the deposition in the presence of Thompson,
+myself, and Bill Swinton."
+
+"And you think it is true, doctor, you really think it is true? It is
+not like Luke's attempt to save me?"
+
+"I am certain it is true, Ned. The man was dying, and there was no
+mistake about his earnestness. There is not a shadow of doubt. I sent
+Swinton back in the gig with Thompson and stayed with the man till half
+past two. He was unconscious then. He may linger a few hours, but will
+not live out the day, and there is little chance of his again recovering
+consciousness. Thompson will today send a copy of the deposition to the
+home secretary, with a request that it may be made public through the
+newspapers. It will appear in all the Yorkshire papers next Saturday,
+and all the world will know that you are innocent."
+
+"What will my mother say?" Ned exclaimed, turning pale again.
+
+"I don't know what she will say, my lad, but I know what she ought to
+say. I am going round to Thompson's now for a copy of the deposition,
+and will bring it for her to see. Thompson will read it aloud at the
+meeting of the court today, so by this afternoon every one will know
+that you are cleared."
+
+Abijah's joy when she heard that Ned's innocence was proved was no less
+than that of his brother and sister. She would have rushed upstairs at
+once to tell the news to her mistress, but Ned persuaded her not to do
+so until the doctor's return.
+
+"Then he will have to be quick," Abijah said, "for if the mistress' bell
+rings, and I have to go up before he comes, I shall never be able
+to keep it to myself. She will see it in my face that something has
+happened. If the bell rings, Miss Lucy, you must go up, and if she asks
+for me, say that I am particular busy, and will be up in a few minutes."
+
+The bell, however, did not ring before the doctor's return. After a
+short consultation between him and Ned, Abijah was called in.
+
+"Mr. Sankey agrees with me, Abijah, that you had better break the news.
+Your mistress is more accustomed to you than to any one else, and you
+understand her ways. Here is the deposition. I shall wait below here
+till you come down. There is no saying how she will take it. Be sure you
+break the news gently."
+
+Abijah went upstairs with a hesitating step, strongly in contrast with
+her usual quick bustling walk. She had before felt rather aggrieved that
+the doctor should be the first to break the news; but she now felt
+the difficulty of the task, and would gladly have been spared the
+responsibility.
+
+"I have been expecting you for the last quarter of an hour, Abijah,"
+Mrs. Mulready said querulously. "You know how I hate to have the room
+untidy after I have dressed.
+
+"Why, what's the matter?". she broke off sharply as she noticed Abijah's
+face. "Why, you have been crying!"
+
+"Yes, ma'am, I have been crying," Abijah said unsteadily, "but I don't
+know as ever I shall cry again, for I have heard such good news as will
+last me the rest of my whole life."
+
+"What news, Abijah?" Mrs. Mulready asked quickly. "What are you making a
+mystery about, and what is that paper in your hand?"
+
+"Well, ma'am, God has been very good to us all. I knew as he would be
+sooner or later, though sometimes I began to doubt whether it would be
+in my time, and it did break my heart to see Maister Ned going about
+so pale and unnatural like for a lad like him, and to know as there was
+people as thought that he was a murderer. And now, thank God, it is all
+over."
+
+"All over! what do you mean, Abijah?" Mrs. Mulready exclaimed, rising
+suddenly from her invalid chair.
+
+"What do you mean by saying that it is all over?" and she seized the old
+nurse's arm with an eager grasp.
+
+"Don't excite yourself so, mistress. You have been sore tried, but it is
+over now, and today all the world will know as Maister Ned is proved to
+be innocent. This here paper is a copy of the confession of the man as
+did it, and who is, they say, dead by this time. It was taken all right
+and proper afore a magistrate."
+
+"Innocent!" Mrs. Mulready gasped in a voice scarcely above a whisper.
+"Did you tell me, Abijah, that my boy, my boy Ned, is innocent?"
+
+"I never doubted as he was innocent, ma'am; but now, thank God, all the
+world will know it. There, ma'am, sit yourself down. Don't look like
+that. I know as how you must feel, but for mercy sake don't look like
+that."
+
+Mrs. Mulready did not seem to hear her, did not seem to notice, as she
+passively permitted herself to be seated in the chair, while Abijah
+poured out a glass of wine. Her face was pale and rigid, her eyes wide
+open, her expression one of horror rather than relief.
+
+"Innocent! Proved innocent!" she murmured. "What must he think of
+me--me, his mother!"
+
+For some time she sat looking straight before her, taking no notice of
+the efforts of Abijah to call her attention, and unheeding the glass of
+wine which she in vain pressed her to drink.
+
+"I must go away," she said at last, rising suddenly. "I must go away at
+once. Has he gone yet?"
+
+"Go away, ma'am! Why, what should you go away for, and where are you
+going?"
+
+"It does not matter; it makes no difference," Mrs. Mulready said
+feverishly, "so that I get away. Put some of my things together, Abijah.
+What are you staring there for? Don't you hear what I say? I must go
+away directly he has started for the mill."
+
+And with trembling fingers she began to open her drawers and pull out
+her clothes.
+
+"But you can't go away like that, mistress. You can't, indeed," Abijah
+said, aghast.
+
+"I must go, Abijah. There is nothing else for me to do. Do you think I
+could see him after treating him as I have done? I should fall dead at
+his feet for shame."
+
+"But where are you going, ma'am?" Abijah said, thinking it better not to
+attempt to argue with her in her present state.
+
+"I don't know, I don't know. Yes, I do. Do you know whether that cottage
+you were telling me about where you lived while you were away from here,
+is to let? That will do nicely, for there I should be away from every
+one. Get me a box from the lumber room, and tell Harriet to go out and
+get me a post chaise from the Red Lion as soon as my son has gone to the
+mill."
+
+"Very well," Abijah said. "I will do as you want me, 'm, if you will sit
+down quiet and not excite yourself. You know you have not been out of
+your room for a year, and if you go a-tiring yourself like this you will
+never be able to stand the journey. You sit down in the chair and I will
+do the packing for you. You can tell me what things you will take with
+you. I will get the box down."
+
+So saying, Abijah left the room, and, running hastily downstairs, told
+Ned and the doctor the manner in which Mrs. Mulready had received the
+news. Ned, would have run up at once to his mother, but Dr. Green would
+not hear of it.
+
+"It would not do, Ned. In your mother's present state the shock of
+seeing you might have the worst effect. Run up, Abijah, and get the box
+down to her. I will go out and come back and knock at the door in two
+or three minutes, and will go up and see her, and, if necessary. I will
+give her a strong soothing draught. You had better tell her that from
+what you hear you believe Mr. Sankey is not going to the mill today.
+That will make her delay her preparations for moving until tomorrow, and
+will give us time to see what is best to be done."
+
+"I have brought the box, mistress," Abijah said as she entered Mrs.
+Mulready's room; "but I don't think as you will want to pack today, for
+I hear as Mr. Ned ain't a-going to the mill. You see all the town will
+be coming to see him to shake hands with him and tell him how glad they
+is that he is cleared."
+
+"And only I can't!" Mrs. Mulready wailed. "To think of it, only I, his
+mother, can't see him! And I must stop in the house for another day! Oh!
+it is too hard! But I deserve it, and everything else."
+
+"There is Dr. Green's knock," Abijah said.
+
+"I can't see him, Abijah. I can't see him."
+
+"I think you had better see him, ma'am. You always do see him, you know,
+and it will look so strange if you don't. There, I will pop these things
+into the drawers again and hide the box."
+
+Abijah bustled about actively, and before Mrs. Mulready had time to take
+any decided step Dr. Green knocked at the door and came in.
+
+"How are you today, Mrs. Mulready?" he asked cheerfully. "This is a
+joyful day indeed for us all. The whole place is wild with the news, and
+I expect we shall be having a deputation presently to congratulate Ned."
+
+"I am not feeling very well," Mrs. Mulready said faintly. "The shock has
+been too much for me."
+
+"Very natural, very natural, indeed," Dr. Green said cheerily. "We could
+hardly hope it would be otherwise; but after this good news I expect we
+shall soon make a woman of you again. Your son will be the most popular
+man in the place. People will not know how to make enough of him. Porson
+and I, who have been cheering him all along, will have to snub him now
+or his head will be turned. Now let me feel your pulse. Dear! dear! this
+will not do at all; it's going like a mill engine. This will never do.
+If you do not calm yourself we shall be having you in bed again for a
+long bout. I will send you a bottle of soothing medicine. You must take
+it every two hours, and keep yourself perfectly quiet. There, I will not
+talk to you now about this good news, for I see that you are not fit to
+stand it. You must lie down on the sofa at once, and not get off again
+today. I will look in this evening and see how you are."
+
+Frightened at the threat that if she were not quiet she might be
+confined to her bed for weeks; Mrs. Mulready obeyed orders, took her
+medicine when it arrived, and lay quiet on the sofa. For a long time the
+sedative failed to have any effect. Every five minutes throughout the
+day there were knocks at the door. Every one who knew Ned, and many who
+did not, called to congratulate him. Some, like Mr. Thompson, made a
+half apology for having so long doubted him. A few, like Mr. Simmonds,
+were able heartily to assure him that they had never in their hearts
+believed it.
+
+Ned was too full of gratitude and happiness to cherish the slightest
+animosity, and he received warmly and thankfully the congratulations
+which were showered upon him.
+
+"He looks another man," was the universal comment of his visitors; and,
+indeed, it was so. The cloud which had so long overshadowed him had
+passed away, and the look of cold reserve had vanished with it, and he
+was prepared again to receive the world as a friend.
+
+He was most moved when, early in the day, Mr. Porson and the whole of
+the boys arrived. As soon as he had left Mrs. Mulready, Dr. Green had
+hurried down to the schoolhouse with the news, and Mr. Porson, as soon
+as he heard it, had announced it from his desk, adding that after such
+news as that he could not expect them to continue their lessons, and
+that the rest of the day must therefore be regarded as a holiday. He
+yielded a ready assent when the boys entreated that they might go in a
+body to congratulate Ned.
+
+Ned was speechless for some time as his old friend wrung his hand,
+and his former schoolfellows clustered round him with a very Babel of
+congratulations and good wishes. Only the knowledge that his mother was
+ill above prevented them from breaking into uproarious cheering.
+
+In the afternoon, hearing that his mother was still awake, Ned,
+accompanied by Mr. Porson, went out for a stroll, telling Harriet that
+she was to remain at the open door while he was away, so as to prevent
+any one from knocking. It was something of a trial to Ned to walk
+through the street which he had passed along so many times in the last
+year oblivious of all within it. Every man and woman he met insisted on
+shaking hands with him. Tradesmen left their shops and ran out to greet
+him, and there was no mistaking the general enthusiasm which was felt
+on the occasion, and the desire of every one to atone as far as possible
+for the unmerited suffering which had been inflicted on him.
+
+When he returned at six o'clock he found Harriet still on the watch, and
+she said in low tones that Abijah had just come downstairs with the news
+that her mistress had fallen asleep.
+
+"I should not think any one more will come, Harriet, but I will get you
+to stop here for a little longer. Then we must fasten up the knocker
+and take off the bell. The doctor says that it is all important that my
+mother should get a long and undisturbed sleep."
+
+Dr. Green came in again in the evening, and had a long chat with Ned. It
+was nearly midnight before Mrs. Mulready awoke. On opening her eyes she
+saw Ned sitting at a short distance from the sofa. She gave a sudden
+start, and then a look of terror came into her face.
+
+Ned rose to his feet and held out his arms with the one word "Mother!"
+
+Mrs. Mulready slid from the sofa and threw herself on her knees with her
+hands clasped.
+
+"Oh! my boy, my boy!" she cried, "can you forgive me?"
+
+Then, as he raised her in his arms, she fainted.
+
+It was a happy party, indeed, that assembled round the breakfast table
+next morning. Mrs. Mulready was at the head of the table making
+tea, looking pale and weak, but with a look of quiet happiness and
+contentment on her face such as her children had never seen there
+before, but which was henceforth to be its habitual expression.
+
+Ned did not carry out his original intention of entering the army. Mr.
+Simmonds warmly offered to make the application for a commission for
+him, but Ned declined. He had made up his mind, he said, to stick to
+the mill; there was plenty of work to be done there, and he foresaw that
+with a continued improvement of machinery there was a great future for
+the manufacturing interests of England.
+
+The Luddite movement gradually died out. The high rewards offered for
+the discovery of the murderers of Mr. Horsfall and of the assailants of
+Cartwright's mill had their effect. Three croppers, Mellor, Thorpe and
+Smith, were denounced and brought to trial. All three had been concerned
+in the murder, together with Walker, who turned king's evidence for the
+reward--Mellor and Thorpe having fired the fatal shots. The same men had
+been the leaders in the attack on Cartwright's mill.
+
+They were tried at the assizes at York on the 2d of January, 1813, with
+sixty-four of their comrades, before Baron Thomas and Judge Le Blanc,
+and were found guilty, although they were defended by Henry (afterward
+Lord) Brougham. Mellor, Thorpe, and Smith were executed three days
+afterward. Fourteen of the others were hung, as were five Luddites who
+were tried before another tribunal.
+
+After this wholesale act of severity the Luddite disturbances soon came
+to an end. The non-success which had attended their efforts, and the
+execution of all their leaders, thoroughly cowed the rioters, and their
+ranks were speedily thinned by the number of hands who found employment
+in the rapidly increasing mills in the district. Anyhow from that time
+the Luddite conspiracy ceased to be formidable.
+
+The Sankeys' mill at Marsden flourished greatly under Ned's management.
+Every year saw additions to the buildings and machinery until it became
+one of the largest concerns in Yorkshire. He was not assisted, as he had
+at one time hoped he should be, by his brother in the management; but he
+was well contented when Charlie, on leaving school, declared his wish to
+go to Cambridge, and then to enter the church, a life for which he was
+far better suited by temperament than for the active life of a man of
+business.
+
+The trial through which Ned Sankey had passed had a lasting effect upon
+his character. Whatever afterward occurred to vex him in business he was
+never known to utter a hasty word, or to form a hasty judgment. He was
+ever busy in devising schemes for the benefit of his workpeople, and to
+be in Sankey's mill was considered as the greatest piece of good fortune
+which could befall a hand.
+
+Four years after the confession of John Stukeley Ned married the
+daughter of his friend George Cartwright, and settled down in a handsome
+house which he had built for himself a short distance out of Marsden.
+Lucy was soon afterward settled in a house of her own, having married
+a young landowner with ample estates. Mrs. Mulready, in spite of the
+urgent persuasions of her son and his young wife, refused to take up her
+residence with them, but established herself in a pretty little house
+close at hand, spending, however, a considerable portion of each day
+with him at his home.
+
+The trials through which she had gone had done even more for her than
+for Ned. All her querulous listlessness had disappeared. She was bright,
+cheerful, and even tempered. Ned used to tell her that she grew younger
+looking every day. Her pride and happiness in her son were unbounded,
+and these culminated when, ten years after his accession to the
+management of the mill, Ned acceded to the request of a large number
+of manufacturers in the district, to stand for Parliament as the
+representative of the mill owning interest, and was triumphantly
+returned at the head of the poll.
+
+Of the other characters of this story little need be said. Dr. Green and
+Mr. and Mrs. Porson remained Ned's closest friends to the end of their
+lives.
+
+Mary Powlett did not compel Bill Swinton to wait until the situation of
+foreman of the mill became vacant, but married him two years after the
+death of John Stukeley. Bill became in time not only foreman but the
+confidential manager of the mill, and he and his wife were all their
+lives on the footing of dear friends with Mr. and Mrs. Sankey.
+
+Luke Marner remained foreman of his room until too old for further work,
+when he retired on a comfortable pension, and was succeeded in his post
+by his son George. Ned and Amy Sankey had a large family, who used to
+listen with awe and admiration to the tale of the terrible trial which
+had once befallen their father, and of the way in which he had indeed
+been "tried in the fire."
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Through the Fray, by G. A. Henty
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