THE 
 
 | HIGH 
 9 TOBY 
 
 
 
 {H.B.MARRIOTT 

 
 XX
 
 THE HIGH TOBY
 
 BY THE SAME AUTHOR 
 
 GALLOPING DICK 
 CAPTAIN FORTUNE 
 SKIRTS OF HAPPY CHANCE 
 THE ADVENTURERS 
 TWISTED EGLANTINE
 
 BUT, BEING BY THE DOOR, HE SWEPT IT OPEN WITH A MOVEMENT, 
 AND BACKED INTO THE PASSAGE 
 
 PAGE 202
 
 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 BEING FURTHER CHAPTERS IN THE LIFE AND 
 
 FORTUNES OF DICK RYDER, OTHERWISE 
 
 GALLOPING DICK, SOMETIME 
 
 GENTLEMAN OF THE 
 
 ROAD 
 
 BY 
 
 H. B. MARRIOTT WATSON 
 
 AUTHOR OF "TWISTED EGLANTINE" 
 
 WITH A FRONTISPIECE BY CLAUDE SHEPPERSON 
 
 METHUEN & CO. 
 
 36 ESSEX STREET W.C. 
 
 LONDON
 
 First Published in tgob
 
 To J. M. BARRIE 
 
 MY DEAR BARRIE, It is all but twenty years since 
 we were first acquainted, for if we b've till the spring of 
 1908, our friendship will have reached its majority. 
 Of those far-off days I cherish, as I believe you do, a 
 grateful memory. How many problems had we to 
 discuss, how many ideals had we to satisfy, and how 
 much ambition had we to fulfil ! I think you, at least, 
 have gone far to fulfil all yours, who have written your 
 name indelibly in the literature of our generation. 
 That name I am, after the long lapse of years, pre- 
 fixing to this book of stories, in the hope that they 
 will interest you, and as a testimony to the enduring 
 quality of our friendship. 
 
 Yours always, 
 
 H. B. MARRIOTT WATSON. 
 Janttary 1906
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PACK 
 
 UNDER THE MOON i 
 
 THE DRAPER'S NIECE 26 
 
 Miss AND MY LADY ... . 52 
 
 THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE . ... 80 
 
 THE ATTACK ON THE CHAISE 121 
 
 THE GENTLEMANLY HABERDASHER . .149 
 
 THE MAN IN BLACK 174 
 
 THE LADY IN THE COACH 197 
 
 THE TURTLE-DOVES 232 
 
 MY LADY'S RING 257 
 
 GALLOWS GATE . ... 281
 

 
 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 UNDER THE MOON 
 
 I EVER had the name of one that kept 
 to himself, nor was bedfellow to none 
 upon the high toby. Tis true enough that 
 I have mixed in one or two affairs with 
 others of my kidney, but these were mainly 
 in my heady youth and when I was raw upon 
 the pad, and the issues for the more part 
 were against me. For one, there was that 
 business with Creech about the King's 
 treasure chests, the which came near to 
 hanging of us all through that toad, Timothy 
 Grubbe. Indeed, I have never cared to 
 participate in any act that was not of my 
 own devising, and there was none on the 
 road that I would ha' pinned my faith on 
 no, not even old Jeremy Starbottle, that 
 was hanged afore my time. For this reason 
 it was that I was used to avoid the Ports- 
 mouth Road, which, being so greatly 
 traversed, and so set with wastes and wilds, 
 was pretty much in favour with our gentry.
 
 I was often in the West, where my chief 
 quarry lay, or the North Road was that on 
 which I beat ; but, Lord ! there was no 
 point nor parcel of these shires that knew me 
 not at one time or another, and I warrant I 
 kept the officers all over the country a- jigging. 
 Yet I was once took for an affair near Peters- 
 field, and swore not to touch that road again, 
 but to leave it to the scurvy tiddlers that 
 hold it. I came back, however, once after, 
 and that was upon a late December night, 
 and when the moon was shining and the sky 
 alight and glistening. 
 
 I had rode across from Alton with two 
 bottles of good wine under my jacket, and a 
 pocket of gold guineas, and I was trotting 
 across Witley Common whistling of an air, 
 very merry, and with no thought but to 
 come by town the easier, lying maybe by 
 Guildford that night in a cosy private tavern 
 that I knew. Some imp of mischief shook me 
 up and cozened me that night, for I had no 
 intent in the world but to walk like a plain 
 citizen or any talking parson. Yet what 
 happens but this that I, like a sorry fool, 
 spying of a coach that was running down from 
 the hills with a great clatter, and two postil- 
 ions before, set up a cry and a hulloa, and ere 
 they or Dick Ryder himself was aware of 
 what he would do, why Calypso Vas along-
 
 UNDER THE MOON 3 
 
 side, I had gotten the reins in my hands, and 
 the nose of my pistol was through the 
 window. 
 
 The body of that coach trembled under a 
 concussion of someone that threw himself 
 about within, but there came a voice on that. 
 
 " Stay, Nick, you fool, and let's guess at 
 where we are." 
 
 " 'Sdeath," says another voice, " I will run 
 this fellow through." 
 
 " Young man," says I, seeing the moon 
 shine clear upon his face as he peered through 
 the window, " you know not with whom ye 
 are dealing. Heaven rest the soul of them 
 that withstand Dick Ryder! " 
 
 At that the other man puts his head to 
 the window also and looks out. 
 
 " Oh," says he, in a quiet voice, " so this 
 is Captain Ryder ! I ha' heard some talk 
 of you, Captain ; your name has travelled." 
 
 " Why, yes," said I, laughing, for this was 
 no news to me ; " you will find it from the 
 Quantocks to the Humber, and that with a 
 significance. I tell you, sirs, that Ryder 
 spells terror to those that he chooses." 
 
 " Well, then," says the second gentleman, 
 eyeing me queerly, " we are now to learn if 
 Captain Ryder does so choose with us poor 
 devils." 
 
 " Stab me ! " cries t'other, who was a hot
 
 4 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 young blood, " I will snick the rogue through, 
 Avory." 
 
 " You will do nothing of the like, Nick," 
 says he, sharply. " Would ye peril our 
 precious lives ? Hear ye not that I have 
 some inkling of this gentleman's repute ? 
 Gad, I would keep my skin sound, so I 
 would ; " and turning to me he smiled pleas- 
 antly, beckoning away my pistol that was 
 still directed on the window. 
 
 "We are at your mercy, Captain/' said 
 he, coolly. " What prize guess you that you 
 have taken ? " 
 
 " Why," said I, " I give not a groat for 
 prize or no prize. I do what I list, and 'tis 
 my whim to catch a pair of fine cocks thus." 
 
 " Well," says he to the other, " I see we 
 must needs open our pockets. I thank 
 Heaven that 'twas you won from me this 
 evening ; so I shall lose the less." 
 ^He was a tall fellow was this one, with a 
 fair wig and two cold eyes, and he spoke in 
 an equable fashion, with neither a smile nor 
 a frown upon him. Yet he had clearly a 
 command of the other, who prepared to 
 empty his pockets. This set me thinking. 
 
 " What," says I to myself, " is amiss with 
 this game cock that he will not venture his 
 spurs ? " and I looked sharply on him. 
 
 " Captain Ryder," says he, very deliberate,
 
 UNDER THE MOON 5 
 
 " there is on our bodies, as I assure you as a 
 gentleman, but ten poor guineas, scant alms 
 for this great office of yours, as I will admit." 
 
 " Deliver," said I. " 'Twill serve me for 
 some madam in town as well as you." 
 
 ' That is very true, Ryder," said he, 
 bending his golden eyebrows at me. " Yet 
 consider this. Behind these fine apparels 
 no doubt you will say there is a stout purse 
 somewhere. Ay, so it is. We are upon 
 our way to Godalming, where we lie at the 
 Angel. What ! D'ye suppose that any 
 gentleman of the Court would travel abroad 
 so ill provided ? " 
 
 " What does this mean ? " I asked bluntly, 
 looking at both, but very wary ; for I trusted 
 him not. 
 
 " Look ye, Captain," he answered, showing 
 his teeth, " I am in want of some such brave 
 fellow as yourself, and you shall choose between 
 two courses whether to strip us of these 
 few and paltry coins or to take service for a 
 noble sum." 
 
 ' There is some emprise you would do ? " 
 I asked surprised. 
 
 " Nay, a very easy task," said he, airily, 
 " but one to be well paid, I warrant." 
 
 " What price would you put on this job ? " 
 said I, considering. 
 
 " I believe, Nick, there is one hundred
 
 6 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 guineas awaiting at the Angel, is't not ? " 
 said he, turning to his fellow. 
 
 He that was termed Nick nodded in a 
 surly fashion. 
 
 " 'Tis a nice round bag," said I, " and 
 what should be done for this ? " for I was 
 sick of these approaches, and I liked him 
 not. 
 
 " I have a runaway wife," says he, with a 
 faint smile. " Faith, Captain, she is a mad- 
 cap ; she stalketh by day and by night, and 
 she has taken wings from her dear husband. 
 I would have you to unite us again." 
 
 I grinned on him, for I knew what this 
 portended. " Sure this poor lady must be 
 clipped, but where ? " I asked. 
 
 " She rides from Midhurst," said he, " and 
 doubtless will pass this way. I had intended 
 with this friend, who is so kind to give me 
 sympathy and his company I had intended 
 to have catched her myself and brought her 
 to a meeting. But, Captain, you will under- 
 stand my feelings. My emotions run. I am 
 wax. She were best in your civil hands, 
 that would not imbrue themselves in hasty 
 deeds. You will soothe and dissuade her, I 
 warrant, a man of your tongue. She needs 
 but a sure hand and a cool heart, which I 
 dare not promise. I am disaffected by my 
 passion. I would use an instrument rather."
 
 UNDER THE MOON 7 
 
 Again I corresponded with him in a grin, 
 for I guessed at what fellow he was. 
 
 " This is very well," said I, " but by your 
 leave I would learn what warranty have I 
 of this payment." 
 
 " You have the honour of Sir Gilbert 
 Avory," said he. 
 
 I knew him then for what he was, the 
 greatest Cupid in the Court, and one that 
 stood at no hazards to boot. There were 
 tales of this Sir Gilbert, in sooth, upon every 
 wench's tongue. But this was no business 
 of mine. 
 
 " Very well," said I, " if His a petticoat 
 you are after I say no more. Faith, I have 
 been about them myself, and I know no greater 
 zest in a pursuit. 'Slife, your worship, I blame 
 you not, and you shall come by your own." 
 
 " That is spoken with spirit," he answered, 
 " and now there remains to set you on your 
 quarry. The coach has a green body, and 
 the lady my lady that is is crowned with 
 a mass of red hair." 
 
 " There was never a nut," said I, " given 
 Dick Ryder but he cracked it i' the jaw." 
 
 " Then," says he, smiling civilly out of his 
 broad face, " we have your leave to depart." 
 
 " Go in Heaven's name," said I, laughing, 
 " and if I get not those hundred guineas, call 
 me catchpole."
 
 8 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 With that I drew off, and the coach rolled 
 away, disappearing into the shining distance ; 
 but I rode back a little distance until I had 
 come to the Half Moon tavern in the middle 
 of that wilderness. Here I sat for an hour 
 or more, hob-a-nobbing with the landlord, 
 and drinking of mulled wine to keep me 
 warm. There was no sound upon the roads 
 in all that time, so that I had grown to fear 
 Sir Gilbert was mistaken, and that the lady 
 was gone another way. A little on eleven, 
 however, there comes a sound from far away, 
 and the landlord sets his ear to the door. 
 
 " 'Tis a coach," says he, " and they drive 
 fast." 
 
 " They have a need," said I, with a yawn, 
 " for 'tis growing late enough, and indeed, 
 'tis time I was upon my road." With which 
 I called on the ostler for Calypso. By the 
 time I was in the saddle, and standing ready 
 before the tavern in that great open space of 
 the woods, the coach had rolled up and fled 
 past into the night with a huge clamour and 
 the groaning of axles and shrieking of postil- 
 ions. But in that glimpse of the lights I had 
 seen that the body was of a greenish colour. 
 
 I pulled Calypso out on the highway, 
 therefore, and, taking to my pistols, set her 
 to canter sharply across the waste. The 
 coach was flying like a frightened pigeon,
 
 UNDER THE MOON 9 
 
 and the lights dwindled afore me, shaking 
 and rocking as they ran. But I was in no 
 hurry, and fetched the mare nearer, keeping 
 her at an even distance. Then it seemed 
 that some suspicion took them, for the moon- 
 light struck full upon me, throwing me out 
 like a black shadow a-riding on them. So the 
 postilions heightened their pace, plying their 
 whips, and when that would not serve, they 
 began to call out, and turned the horses from 
 the highway upon a track that ran among 
 vast and sombre pines. I cried to them 
 to halt, but the fools only increased their 
 terror and their efforts, and the big coach 
 lurched and rumbled over the rough ground, 
 crashing among the branches of the firs, 
 while the horses galloped and leaped in a 
 panic. I put spurs to the mare and went 
 after them, cautiously enough, for the road 
 was darkened by the trees about it. Yet I 
 drew nigh foot by foot, being in no haste, 
 for the wretches knew not whither they 
 rushed. And presently I heard a woman's voice 
 calling angrily and calling loudly, and then 
 there was a stream of oaths from the postboys 
 mingled with some shrill screaming. I came out 
 at that instant from the cover of the firs, and 
 there before me was the coach, sunk to its axles 
 in a marshy place such as are thereabouts, 
 with the devil of a commotion in progress.
 
 10 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 * What ado is this ? " I cried, coming up 
 and pulling in the nag. But at that the 
 screaming began again, and one of the post- 
 boys levelled a pistol at me. " Put up that 
 toy," said I, sharply, " or by the Lord I will 
 let light in your brains, you numbskull." 
 
 " Jerry, do as the gentleman bids you," 
 said a woman's voice out of the coach, and 
 looking in I saw plain enough that I had here 
 what I wanted. She was a slim-bodied girl 
 with a great canopy of guinea-coloured hair, 
 her bosom moved quickly for all her brave 
 voice. But that gave me a kindly sense of 
 her. 
 
 " Who are you ? " she says boldly enough, 
 while the maid was still whimpering by her. 
 
 " Bless those red lips," says I, " but who 
 should I be save one attracted by your 
 distress who is come to help you ? " She 
 regarded me doubtfully. " Come," I went 
 on, " let me give you a hand, mistress, for 
 that pretty face will ere long kiss the mud 
 else, which is no business for it." 
 
 She shrank away, but I took hold on her. 
 " Come, come," said I, "by your leave, 
 pretty miss." 
 
 She trembled, but she kept her face. " I 
 will give you what you wish," she answered. 
 " Put no finger upon me. Here is my purse. 
 You would not rob my maid."
 
 UNDER THE MOON 11 
 
 Tis not your purse I want/' said I, 
 laughing, " but your person, my dear." 
 
 " Oh," she cried out in alarm ; and then, 
 " Had not these cravens refused my commands 
 we should be galloping into Milford and not 
 thus at your mercy." 
 
 " I would ha' gone, not only to Milford, 
 but to the gallows, for that sweet face," I 
 said, bowing. 
 
 " What would you do with me ? " she asked, 
 now all of a flutter. " Know you not that I 
 am Mrs Barbara Crawford, wife to Mr Craw- 
 ford of Grebe ? " 
 
 " Fie ! " said I, laughing at her. " I 
 would be ashamed at your years to talk so ! 
 What does a chit like you know of wives ? " 
 
 She turned red, and then suddenly white, 
 as I haled her from the coach, struggling 
 with me like a vixen. 
 
 " Fire, Jerry, fire," she cried ; but the 
 lout was too frightened, and so I flung her 
 before me on Calypso, and, with a discharge 
 of my pistol through Jerry's hat as he fumbled 
 with his blunderbuss, which set up a new 
 alarm, I got out of the marsh swiftly, and 
 was soon striking through the firs towards 
 Milford. 
 
 This Mrs Barbara, as she called herself, 
 wrestled like Satan, but presently came to 
 be quiet, and, says she, in a cool voice,
 
 12 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " I would sit up. Fear not ; you have done 
 your will with me." 
 
 " There is spirit in this wench," said I, 
 " and I fetched her up on the mare's crupper, 
 where she sat, gaping out into the night. 
 
 " You go by blind ways," said she next. 
 ' This is not the road." 
 
 " Why," said I, " no, or that dulcet voice 
 of yours would call louder than I like. You 
 may squeal, my pretty," says I, " but you are 
 bound upon what path your legs should go." 
 
 " And what path is that ? " she asked 
 soberly. 
 
 " 'Tis where all women walk," I answered 
 with a chuckle. ' They know the road. 
 I have seen 'em ride that way in troops." 
 
 " You have a generous knowledge of the 
 sex," says she after a pause. 
 
 " I ha' been in many circumstances," 
 said I, " and I know a stark wench also, 
 mark ye, I know when one kicks that would 
 be fain." 
 
 " I think you mistake me, sir," said she 
 with dignity. " But whither are we set ? " 
 ' What you shall see that you shall see," 
 said I, lightly, for I had an acquaintance 
 with women and knew what way was best 
 to take them. 
 
 " Sir," says she to me on that, " I have 
 no doubt that you are a man of honour."
 
 UNDER THE MOON 13 
 
 " Ay, so it is there you would tickle me ? " 
 I cried, laughing. " Gadzooks, so I am, and 
 one to keep my word whenever it is given." 
 
 " Then 'tis given against me ? " she said, 
 after a moment's silence, and very gravely. 
 
 " Faith, but you talk too much," I cried, 
 in an irritation at her persistence. " You 
 shall neither cajole nor trick me, and that's 
 plain enough for you. I have shut my ears 
 afore to many pleading tongues that wagged 
 in dainty mouths. You are none so sweet 
 as to dissuade me, madam, fair though you 
 be." 
 
 She was silent again for a time, and then 
 she spoke bitterly. " Ay," said she, " yet 
 'tis my fairness that has pulled this ruin 
 upon me." 
 
 " Why, you gabble of ruin," said I, with 
 a sneer, " as one that wears the buskin. I 
 warrant there is that in you that knows well 
 enough and laments not. I care not what 
 ye think or what ye wish. You shall do my 
 will and no other." 
 
 She made no answer, and now we were 
 come to a hamlet upon the back parts of 
 Milford, where a stream ran under a bridge- 
 way and by high cliffs. 'Twas a place called 
 Eashing. Here was an inn that I had once 
 visited, with an old goose-neck for a landlord, 
 and, taking pity on Mrs Barbara (if she were
 
 14 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 so called) and her white face, I stopped 
 before the door and, demanding to be shown 
 into a privy room, led her thither. 
 
 " You will have a glass of wine against 
 your faintness," said I, quickly, "but I^will 
 have no speaking. Raise your voice and 
 you shall learn the worst, and what it is to 
 offend Dick Ryder." 
 
 She said nothing, but sat very still and 
 pallid, watching me with fluttering eyes ; 
 nor would she take the wine I ordered. 
 
 " Drink, my little cockatrice," said I, with 
 command, and on that she sipped at the 
 liquor, making a pretence. 
 
 A little after comes the innkeeper, and, 
 staring on us, beckons me forth with his 
 ringer. I stepped into the passage wondering 
 what game this might be, when says he, 
 suddenly, 
 
 " I recognise you, Captain. Yonder are 
 fine feathers. A precious morsel you ha' 
 gotten somewhere," says he. 
 
 " Oh, damn your words," says I. " D'ye 
 suppose I left my home to hear this muck ? " 
 
 " No, Captain," says he, lowering his 
 voice, " but there has been a pother on the 
 heaths this past week, and the traps are 
 about. There is one or more in the room 
 behind you." 
 
 At that I whistled and thanked him.
 
 UNDER THE MOON 15 
 
 " I will put the wine in my gullet and mizzle/' 
 said I, not that I cared for the traps, but 
 'twas safer for the aim I was making. So I 
 was not three minutes ere I was in the saddle 
 with the girl as before, and we were riding 
 amain for Godalming. 
 
 " You ride hard, sir," said she, presently ; 
 and when I made no answer, for to say the 
 truth I wanted no more of her voice, and 
 the job for the first time disaffected me, " I 
 think I should say," she went qn quietly, " that 
 when you were with the taverner there was 
 one looked in upon me from a further room." 
 
 " Why d'ye say this ? " I asked abruptly. 
 
 " He was well armed," says she, " and 
 there was another with him. I had but to 
 raise my finger," she says quietly. 
 
 " Why did you not ? " I asked in a surprise. 
 
 " I knew nought of them," she answered ; 
 " and I know this of you, that you are more 
 honest than you seem, sir." 
 
 At that I laughed, though I will confess 
 the wench took me by her talk, pretty 
 parrot. ' Well, you must know," I said, 
 " that those were the officers of the law who 
 watched you, and they would ha' been glad 
 to lay hands on Dick Ryder." 
 
 " It may be," she replied thoughtfully. 
 " But I regret not. There is that in your 
 face I would rather trust."
 
 16 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 At that I pulled in Calypso. " Look 
 you!" said I, "who are you, and what do 
 you here ? I can get no ease of this puzzle. 
 Are ye maid, saint or sinner ? " 
 
 " Nay, but I am wife and maid, sir," says 
 she, her face deepening with colour ; " I am 
 the Mistress Barbara Crawford, that was 
 wed this day at Midhurst." 
 
 "What!" cried I, "you are wed this 
 day ! " 
 
 " Indeed," says she, " 'tis so ; and now 
 am I stolen away and like to be no longer 
 what I am." 
 
 " Where is your husband ? " I asked 
 sharply, fixing her with my eyes. 
 
 " He was called away almost ere the 
 marriage was finished," she answered dis- 
 tressfully. " There was news brought of 
 his father's illness, and he rode off. Yet 
 was he to meet me this night at Guildford." 
 
 For a moment I was silent, for there 
 leaped into my mind a notion of what that 
 rogue, Sir Gilbert Avory, was about, and 
 then for the creature drew me compassion- 
 ately, and she was but a chick for all her 
 steady face, 
 
 " By Heaven," says I, " but this is to go 
 beyond me. I spoil no proper sport, not I ; 
 and you and your husband sup together 
 to-night, I promise you, so shall ye."
 
 UNDER THE MOON 17 
 
 She looked at me somewhat startled, but 
 with a glow of colour on her face. 
 
 " I knew you were true, I knew you were 
 true," said she, repeating it, and seizing of my 
 hand. 
 
 " Oh, faugh," says I, " I am well enough," 
 for it irked me to think for what I had taken 
 her all along. 
 
 " Will you tell me," she asked in a 
 hesitating voice, " who was it that put you 
 to this ? " 
 
 " You are welcome to that," I returned 
 bluntly. " 'Twas Sir Gilbert Avory himself." 
 
 She sighed. "So I had guessed," she 
 said. " He has persecuted me a full year, 
 and no doubt 'twas he that drew off my 
 husband." 
 
 That, as I knew, was like enough, but 
 there was no time to fall discussing of Mr 
 Crawford nor Sir Gilbert neither. The hour 
 was late and we must be pushing. 
 
 " You will take me back ? " says she, softly. 
 
 I broke out laughing. " Lord no ! " says 
 I. " Bless your bobbing heart, d'ye think 
 you will find the coach still a-sticking in the 
 mud ? " 
 
 " You will ride then to Guildford ? " she 
 asked with some diffidence, and regarding 
 me beseechingly. " 'Twould try your 
 generosity to do this for me."
 
 18 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " Ay," said I, " we ride for Guildford, but 
 by way of Godalming." 
 
 " What ! " she cried, stricken with fear, 
 " you would carry me where that man lies ! " 
 
 " 'Twas that very maggot was in my head, 
 mistress/' I said ; for indeed I had taken a 
 notion to have the laugh of this same smiling 
 beau. 
 
 She clasped her hands, and would have 
 appealed to me, but I broke in sharply on 
 that silly pate. " Faith, you must render 
 yourself to me, or I will none of it. I make 
 my plans and so abide. You shall come off 
 with a sound skin, and cry ' pap ' to your 
 husband. Have no fears." 
 
 To this soothing she said nothing, and 
 presently we resumed our journey, and, 
 getting into the town, pulled up afore the 
 Angel. It was now close upon midnight, 
 and there was but one light in the inn, which 
 shone from a room above. Mrs Barbara 
 looked on me in alarm when she saw this, 
 but she still said nothing. As for me, I left 
 the mare standing a trick she was used to 
 and pressed up the stairway with the girl. 
 It was not my design to seek Sir Gilbert 
 Avory for the nonce, as I had other work to 
 do ; but, as it fell, the matter was taken out 
 of my hands, for the man himself met us at 
 the stair-head smiling and courteous,
 
 UNDER THE MOON 19 
 
 ' I give you welcome, madam," says he, 
 bowing with ceremony. " There is a chamber 
 all prepared for you, and a warming supper. 
 You must ha' gotten a rare appetite with 
 the winds." 
 
 She returned him no word, but shrank 
 away towards me ; and says he to me, 
 
 " I fear my lady has lost her tongue i' the 
 cold. You have had a rough journey ; but 
 'tis well done. I swear the lady was never 
 in more careful custody," and a little smile 
 illumined his even features. 
 
 As we had come upon him there was 
 nought to do save to make the best of 
 the case, and though I will admit that at 
 first I was put about I soon recovered my 
 wits, and entered the chamber with him, 
 whence the light shone, with some merry jest 
 on my tongue. 
 
 Here was a table spread very generously, 
 and some wine heating by the fire. 
 
 " By the Lord," said I, " I am fain of good 
 liquor." 
 
 " You have earned it, Captain," says he, 
 pouring forth a glass, but keeping his eyes 
 on the girl. 
 
 I drained the glass. " And now," says I, 
 " to business, Sir Gilbert." 
 
 " Ay, to business, sir," says he, and, with 
 a gentle motion of his hands, he would
 
 20 
 
 have invited Mrs Barbara to an inner room. 
 " These coarse facts are not for a lady, 
 Ryder/' says he. 
 
 " Seeing the lady is a main pawn in this 
 business, by your leave she shall stay," said 
 I, with a laugh. 
 
 " Why, yes," he says, controlling his lips 
 into that little smile, " she is certainly of 
 chief importance. But I would rather call 
 her Queen, Captain." 
 
 " Call her what you will," said I, bluffly. 
 " Tis all you shall do with her, my master." 
 
 He turned slowly from considering her, 
 and gazed on me quietly. 
 
 " Ha ! " says he, without showing any 
 perturbation, for he was a man of spirit, 
 and he must have suspected that something 
 was wrong. " Here we have a riddle for 
 tobymen. What is the explanation, 
 sirrah ? " 
 
 " Very simple," said I, grinning at him. 
 " I ha' made the lady's acquaintance, and 
 ha' taken a fancy to her myself." 
 
 He raised his eyebrows, while he looked 
 from one to the other of us, as though he 
 would disentangle my real intention. 
 
 " I fear me you have been drinking, Ryder," 
 said he, pleasantly. 
 
 " True," said I, " but none so deep as you 
 think."
 
 UNDER THE MOON 21 
 
 ' Would you go back on your bargain ? " 
 he asked, bending his brows on me. 
 
 " Nay," said I, " I will take no unfair 
 advantage of any man, huff or Bishop. We 
 shall stand both of us where we stood, you 
 and I." 
 
 " And where is that ? " he asked as quietly 
 as before. 
 
 " Upon the heath," I answered. " I had 
 you under my hands, you and t'other, and 
 there were ten guineas atween you, so ye 
 said. Well," said I, " I will have those 
 guineas and cry quits with you." 
 
 ' Ten guineas, was it ? " he says, con- 
 sidering " ah, so 'twas. I would not cheat 
 you, Captain Ryder," and smiling softly he 
 drew a bag from his pocket. " I perceive 
 you to be a man of honour," says he, equably. 
 " I love to do business so ! Sure if there 
 were more such at Court ! Ten guineas, 
 say you, Captain ? Keep your tally," and 
 he paid out the pictures on the table afore him. 
 
 I took them up with a nod, where I sat, 
 but the girl, Mrs Barbara, watched us from 
 the distance, standing with her arm resting 
 upon a tall chair to support her. 
 
 " Then here's your good health, Sir Gilbert," 
 said I, wondering what method he would take ; 
 for I was sure enough that he had a design 
 against me.
 
 22 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 ~y'Now," says he, "we are quits, as you 
 say ; and that leaves us free, you to go your 
 way, and me to ask the offices of the law to 
 recover that which is stolen of me. Nick," 
 cries he in a clear voice, and at the word the 
 young fellow's nose was through the door. 
 " An officer from the justice, Nick," he says. 
 " I have been robbed," and smiled pleasantly 
 in my face. 
 
 Now I will confess that this predicament 
 had not occurred to me, for to say the truth, 
 I had a thought that he would fall on me 
 with his weapon, which I minded not, being 
 as good a swordsman as ever any chamber 
 knight in town. And on that astonishment 
 followed also these sequels in my mind that 
 if so be he carried out the plan he had, I 
 should not only go to the jug, but he would 
 have the wife that was maid. This put me 
 in a frenzy, yet I dared not attack him with 
 Nick outside, and I knew not what other 
 also. So, very quickly making my resolu- 
 tion, I broke out a-laughing, and said I, 
 
 " You have me held, your worship, by 
 Heaven you have. Yet I was but jesting. 
 Am I a fool to peril a hundred guineas for a 
 chitty face ? Come, here are your ten 
 guineas. Pay me down my price, and there 
 stands your madam for you." 
 
 He cocked his eye on Mrs Barbara, smiling
 
 UNDER THE MOON 23 
 
 the while, as if pleased with his victory, but 
 mightily civil. 
 
 " Madam," he says, " you will see that I 
 have no responsibility in this insult. 'Tis 
 the gentleman's manner, no doubt. I can 
 but think myself fortunate to deliver you of 
 his custody." 
 
 But she stood where she was, white and 
 fearful, throwing her troubled eyes about ; 
 and part of her terror was no doubt feigned, 
 but I think that in part it was earnest. She 
 knew not, poor wretch, what I would be 
 at. 
 
 But, Lord love you, I had no fears. " The 
 hundred guineas," says I, " and I pray Mr 
 Nick for witness," for I was resolved to get 
 that young bantam into the room forthwith. 
 
 " Ho, Nick ! " says Sir Gilbert, merrily. 
 " Come in for a witness to me," and in steps 
 that young and elegant ninny, looking very 
 sour and sleepy. Sir Gilbert pulled out his 
 bag and counted the money to me. " 'Slife," 
 says he, with a frown, "'tis like the thirty 
 pieces," and then he shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 I took 'em up one by one, and with the 
 very movement in which the last was taken 
 to my pouch out slipped my sword, and, 
 
 " Defend ye, defend ye," said I, "or I 
 will run ye through. D'ye think to get 
 even with Dick Ryder, you fool, you ? "
 
 24 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 Sir Gilbert started back and lugged out 
 his iron, and Master Nick leaped forward. 
 
 "Let be, Nick, let be," says t'other. 
 " The fellow shall have his way, devil take 
 him ! He shall feed the crows some way." 
 
 But in the course of my life I have never 
 come upon any, save one, that was more than 
 the match of Dick Ryder, and so he soon 
 found. For he plied his point elegantly, 
 but with no proper freedom ; and presently 
 down comes I with my favourite twist and 
 took him through the left breast. He fell 
 a-bleeding to the floor. 
 
 " Curse you ! " he cried and gasped. But 
 Nick then sprang at my throat with his 
 weapon drawn ; yet was I no such lambkin 
 to be took unawares by such a raw smooth- 
 face. 
 
 " What ! " says I, " d'ye fancy that such 
 as I will take thought to drill holes in veal ? 
 Not I, young master, not I," and dodging 
 his point I drove the hilt of my rapier hard 
 upon his forehead. He dropped like a shot 
 partridge ; and giving neither any further 
 thought I turned to the lady. 
 
 " Fly ! " says I, " down the stairway, 
 mistress, for I have not a blink of wind more 
 within me." 
 
 She ran in terror, and I clattered after 
 her, being afraid lest the noise might have
 
 UNDER THE MOON 25 
 
 woke those in the inn. And so, indeed, it 
 proved ; for when we were got into the 
 road, where Calypso stood, a commotion 
 broke out behind us, and I heard Sir Gilbert's 
 voice raised in angry oaths. 'Twas the 
 work of a moment to set the lady on the 
 mare and to leap after her. Calypso has 
 carried heavier burdens than that, yet she 
 has carried none so gallantly or so speedily. 
 And thus it had grown to be scarce one 
 o'clock in the morning on that frosty night 
 when we reached Guildford in company, 
 and drew up at the Red Lion.
 
 THE DRAPER'S NIECE 
 
 'HPWAS late of night when I reached 
 JL Wimbledon Common, out of the West, 
 where I had been patrolling the roads 
 for some two months or more, and with 
 mighty little success, as it chanced that year. 
 I love the West Country, not only because 
 I have, as a rule, found there fat pockets 
 jogging home untimely on a nag, or fine 
 noblemen in rich chaises, very proud but 
 tender to pick, but I have also a sentimental 
 leaning towards that part, and that's the 
 truth I will not deny. There is some that 
 hanker after the Great North Road, and 
 boast that there is no better toby-ground 
 than 'twixt Stevenage and Grantham, while 
 I have even known 'em to set up Finchley 
 Common or Hounslow for choice. Old Irons, 
 who never had much self-respect, and was 
 not above turning common crib-cracker if 
 it so served him, was wont to go no further 
 than Finchley when he was lacking a goldfinch 
 or two. 
 
 " Sink me ! " says he in my presence once 
 
 to the landlord of the King's Head, who spoke 
 
 26
 
 THE DRAPER'S NIECE 27 
 
 of his score there, " I will pay you to-morrow, 
 and be hanged to you ! " The which he did, 
 sure enough, by a visit to Finchley and not 
 so much as a charged pistol. That was never 
 my way. I never could abide such sport. 
 Give me a creditable fellow that shows fight 
 and gives your wits some exercise. There's 
 the true spirit in which to take the life of the 
 road. I would not give a pint of mulled ale 
 for it else. 
 
 But the West is after my heart, being big 
 and populous and swarming with squires and 
 comfortable warm folk. I know the North 
 Road, and was once very well known there 
 myself, and celebrated on the Yorkshire 
 moors, a confounded cold, uncivil place. 
 Indeed, there are few parts of the kingdom 
 I have not traversed in my time. Well, I 
 was newly out of the West that May night, 
 but on this occasion in no very good humour, 
 as you may imagine, when I say that I had 
 been forced to leave a belt of guineas behind 
 at Devizes so close upon me were the traps. 
 Indeed, I was very nearly taken in the night, 
 all owing to the treachery of an innkeeper, 
 roast him ! 'Twas a fine, mild night, and I 
 was for lying in Clerkenwell at a house I 
 knew, but I had reached no further than 
 Roehampton Lane, when of a sudden I 
 reined in, for I remembered an inn there that
 
 28 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 I had sometimes used, and, to say the truth, 
 I was thirsty. 
 
 " Well," thinks I, " maybe I will He here 
 and maybe not. I will let fortune decide," 
 and I was turning the mare into the lane, 
 when something comes up quick in the thick 
 of the darkness, and rushes upon Calypso's 
 rump. 
 
 The mare started and backed into the 
 hedge, and I raised my voice and cursed, as 
 you may guess. 
 
 " Why," says I, " you toad, you muck- 
 rake, you dungfork " and the Lord knows 
 where I should ha' gotten to if a gleam of 
 white in the blackness had not in that instant 
 disclosed to me the blunderer. 'Twas a 
 woman, or, at least, a slip so young and silly 
 that maybe she should not be so styled ; and 
 I had no sooner made that out and ceased in 
 the middle of my objurgations, than I made 
 another discovery. It was her voice that 
 did it, for no doubt she was mightily in terror, 
 seeing me so wrathful and the night being so 
 black and lonely. 
 
 " Oh, sir," she calls in a trembling voice, 
 " I did not see I " and here she broke 
 a-weeping. 
 
 Well, Dick Ryder is not the man to stand 
 by while a pretty woman weeps (for I could 
 have sworn she was pretty enough), and so
 
 THE DRAPER'S NIECE 29 
 
 down I popped off Calypso and approached 
 her. 
 
 ' Why," said I, " I love not to see a miss 
 like you in tears, and as for my words, pray 
 forget them. I thought you was some 
 blundering, hulking bully that was meat for 
 my bodkin, or my whip, if no more. But as 
 it is," says I, " there's no more ado. So dry 
 your eyes, my dear, for I am no ogre to eat 
 pretty children." 
 
 " Oh," she says, with a gulp, " I was not 
 afraid of you. I only feared I had angered 
 you justly." 
 
 " Oh ! " I said, trying for a look at her face 
 in the darkness. " Why, I see you are a very 
 brave girl, for sure. That I'll swear you are. 
 And if those pearly drops be not for me, why, 
 I should like to know what opened the wells, 
 my dear ? and then I will see if you have 
 broken the mare's leg with your onset, and 
 get on to bed like any honest, sober man that 
 leaves the witching hours to maids and misses 
 and innocent children, as is only right and 
 proper." 
 
 I do not suppose the girl took me, for 
 women have but scant appreciation of irony, 
 but she spoke glibly enough. 
 
 " I I am thrown out into the night, 
 sir ! " she cries. " I have nowhere to go ! " 
 
 Now you may imagine how this touched
 
 30 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 me, and what I felt ; but she was innocent 
 as a lamb and as foolish, as you might detect 
 from her voice, to say nothing of her face, 
 the which I saw later. So I considered a 
 moment. 
 
 " That's just my case," said I. " And I 
 was going to wake up some fat villain, to 
 take me in and sup me. But," says I, "if 
 you will find me the particular villain, fat or 
 lean and cock or cockatrice, that has thrown 
 out a ba-lamb like you, miss, well, 'tis he or 
 she I will have awake and out, and some- 
 thing more beside, rip me if I don't ! " 
 
 I had put her down as a child from her 
 stature, which was small, and her body, 
 which was slight, but I was to be undeceived 
 in that presently. 
 
 " 'Tis my uncle," she sobbed. " He has 
 shut the door on me. He will not let me in. 
 He vows he has done with me." 
 
 " Maybe," said I, " he has some cause for 
 his anger. But uncles are not hard masters 
 even to young misses that know not the 
 world nor their own minds." 
 
 " Nay," she says, " he has a reason for his 
 anger, and he will not relent. He has 
 threatened me before, and he is full of burning 
 fury. He will not have me back," she said 
 in a voice of hesitating timidity ; and, 
 seeming of a sudden to have taken in the
 
 THE DRAPER'S NIECE 31 
 
 shame of her situation, she began to withdraw 
 into the night. 
 
 " Not so fast, young madam/' said I, 
 f( you have broken my mare's leg, I believe, 
 and I must have a talk with you. What's the 
 reason ? " says I. 
 
 She paused, and then in a tremulous quick 
 voice said, " He will not hear that George 
 Riseley shall marry me/' 
 
 "Oh, ho!" said I, "I begin to smell 
 powder. And he has turned you out of 
 doors ? " 
 
 " No," she faltered. " He would not admit 
 me." 
 
 " I begin to see beyond my nose," I said ; 
 " you were walking with this George, and 
 returned late ? " She hesitated. " Why, 
 come," I said, rallying her, " I'd ha' done the 
 same myself, although you would not credit 
 it of a prim and proper youth like me. You 
 was back late ? " 
 
 " Yes," says she in a low voice. 
 
 "Well," said I, "old hunks shall take 
 you in, never fear ; so come along of me, 
 and show me where Nunky lives and fumes 
 and fusses." 
 
 At that I threw Calypso's bridle over my 
 arm, and began to go along the road, the 
 little miss walking by my side, something 
 reluctant, as I guessed, but cheering as she
 
 32 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 went. Her uncle, says she, was a draper in 
 the city with a good custom and a deep purse, 
 while this George was but a 'prentice with 
 small prospects. 
 
 " Well, I have no prospects myself," said 
 I, " but I warrant I can get what I want in 
 the end. Tis the same with George. Let 
 him worry at it as a dog a bone. I'll wager 
 he is a handsome fellow to have taken a 
 pretty girl's eyes." 
 
 " He is very handsome," says miss, with 
 enthusiasm ; " and he is the best judge of 
 calico in the city." 
 
 " Damme ! " says I, smacking my thigh 
 as we walked on together quite friendly, 
 " damme ! that's the lad for my money, 
 and I don't wonder at you," said I. 
 
 Whereat, poor chit, she brings me forth 
 tales of her blessed George's goodness and 
 estimable virtues, and how his master trusted 
 him, and how his neighbours loved him. 
 
 " Well," I said, " best let 'em not love him 
 too much, or maybe this paragon will slip 
 you." 
 
 And on that she came to a halt, and falling 
 very tremulous again, pointed at a house. 
 
 " 'Tis my uncle's," she says, " but there 
 are no lights and he is gone to bed." 
 
 " So shall you," said I, and forthwith went 
 up and banged upon the door.
 
 33 
 
 Now I could guess very much what had 
 happened in that house, and how old hunks 
 had taken a fit of choler and, choking on it, 
 had sent his niece packing for a peccadillo. 
 To be sure she was out over-late for virtuous 
 maids, but what's a clock in the balance with 
 lovers' vows ? And if any was to blame, 
 'twas this same George that should have 
 been swinged, not pretty miss like a dove. 
 Thought I to myself old hunks slams the 
 door in an Anabaptist frenzy, and, presently 
 after, while setting on his night-cap and 
 a-saying his prayers, remembers and con- 
 siders what a fool he is, and how the girl is 
 under his authority and malleable, and that 
 he has pitched her into the roads to come 
 by what she may on a lone night. What 
 does that come to, then, but this, that 
 Nunky sits uneasy, and a-tremble at the 
 first knock, and ready to open and take miss 
 to his arms? Well, I was right about the 
 readiness to open, but as for the rest you 
 shall hear. 
 
 The door comes open sharply, and there 
 was an old fat fellow with a candle in his 
 hand, glaring at me. 
 
 " Who are you ? " says he, for my appear- 
 ance took him by surprise. 
 
 " Well," says I in a friendly way, " I'm 
 not Old Rowley, nor am I the topsman, but
 
 34 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 something in between, and what that is 
 matters nothing. But I found a poor maid 
 astray on the heath, and have taken the 
 liberty to fetch her home safe and secure." 
 
 He pushed his head further out, holding 
 the candle so as to throw the light into the 
 road. " It's you, Nelly ! " said he, sharply. 
 "Have I not said I have done with you ? 
 Go to your lover, you baggage ! '" and he 
 made a motion to pull to the door, but my 
 foot was inside. 
 
 "Softly," said I, "softly, gaffer. This 
 is your niece, I believe," nodding over my 
 arm to miss. 
 
 " Well," he snarled, " as she is mine and 
 not yours I can do what I like with her." 
 
 " Oh ! is that how the wind blows ? " 
 said I. " Then, sink me ! but I shall have 
 to go to school again to learn morals. But 
 there is one thing I have no need to learn 
 again, and that's how to knock sense and 
 discretion into a thick head," said I, mean- 
 ingly, and at the same time I threw the 
 bridle over Calypso's ears and stood free 
 before the old villain. 
 
 He looked at me a moment, the flame of 
 the candle wagging before his face, and the 
 grease guttering down the candlestick. 
 " You do not understand, sir," he said in a 
 quieter voice. " I have to give my niece
 
 THE DRAPER'S NIECE 35 
 
 lessons ; I have to teach her by severity ; 
 but since it is probable that she has been 
 sufficiently frightened by this night's ad- 
 venture, and come to reason, let her enter." 
 And so saying, he stepped back and held 
 the door wide. 
 
 That he was of a savage, uncontrollable 
 temper was evident, but I had not reckoned 
 with the old bear's cunning, and I vow I was 
 to blame for it. So old a hand as Dick Ryder 
 should not have been caught by so simple a 
 trick. Yet he was miss's uncle, and how was 
 I to suspect him so deeply ? At anyrate, 
 the facts are that, on seeing him alter so 
 reasonably, and step back with the invitation 
 on his lips and in his bearing, I too stepped 
 back from the doorway to leave way for miss 
 to enter. Then of a sudden bang goes the 
 door to, shaking the very walls of the house, 
 and a great key is turned on the inside, 
 groaning rustily. 
 
 I will confess I felt blank, but I recovered 
 in a moment, when out of the window above 
 the old rascal stuck his head. 
 
 " Let her go back to her lover ! " he says 
 with a sneer. " Or maybe you can take her 
 yourself. I want no soiled pieces in a 
 Christian house," and then the head was 
 withdrawn, the window shut tight, and the 
 house was plunged in darkness.
 
 36 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 You may suppose how this usage annoyed 
 me, who am not wont to be treated in so 
 scurvy a fashion, or to come out of any 
 contest so shabbily. I was, on the instant, 
 for flying at the door and employing barkers 
 and point forthwith, but it is not wise to leap 
 too soon with your eyes shut, and so I held 
 my temper and my tongue, only showing my 
 teeth in an ugly grin as I turned to Mrs 
 Nelly. 
 
 " Why," says I, " the old buck has said 
 the truth. And there is something in his 
 whimsies after all. It seems that George 
 and I must fight or toss for you, my dear." 
 You must remember that I had not seen her 
 face all this time, for all the streaming candle 
 the old gentleman carried, but I gathered 
 that she was in distress from the note of her 
 voice, which trembled. 
 
 " You cannot mean it, sir," she cried, and 
 shrank away into the darkness, whence I 
 caught the noise of sobbing. 
 
 " Why, bless you, child," said I, touched 
 at the exhibition of her weakness and inno- 
 cence, " such chitterkins as you are no meat 
 for me, pretty as you be, I'll swear. No, 
 you're for George, or may I perish ! I would 
 as leave mishandle a sucking babe as pink- 
 and-white-and-fifteen ; so I would, child." 
 
 " Sir," says she, staying her tears, and
 
 THE DRAPER'S NIECE 37 
 
 speaking with an air of dignity, vastly 
 entertaining, " I am past eighteen." 
 
 ' Well," says I, "if you are so old as that, 
 I would I had a mother like you, granny. 
 But as for old Suet yonder, rip and stab me 
 if I do not pay him back in gold coin before 
 two hours is out ! And in the meantime you 
 come along with me, grandam." 
 
 I think she was confused and fluttered to 
 be so addressed, not understanding my 
 sarcasm ; but she followed me obediently, 
 not having any ideas of her own, poor soul. 
 I led the way towards Roehampton, where I 
 had made up my mind she should lie mean- 
 while in the care of a wench I knew at the inn. 
 I was fashioning in my mind a plan for the 
 confounding of the old tub-of-lard as I went, 
 for I never lose time, but am speedy at my 
 aim ; yet all the same I talked with miss 
 pretty jovial, for she was a shrinking slip of 
 a girl who was beginning now to get scared, 
 and no wonder. When we were got to the 
 tavern I came into the tap-room and called 
 out for Costley, who had the house then, but 
 is since dead of good liquor ; and out runs 
 he in his apron, with a lively face, for he 
 was in a merry state enough, the hour being 
 late. 
 
 " What, Dick Ryder ! " says he in surprise. 
 
 " Yes, 'tis Dick Ryder ! " says I ; " and
 
 38 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 he wants a bed along of Sally for a little 
 madam, and supper for both." 
 
 " A madam ! " he calls out, and laughs 
 broadly. " Tis unexpected orders, Captain," 
 says he. " At least 'tis put in an amazing 
 odd way. But," he cries out, bursting with 
 his news, " Old Irons is here ! " 
 
 ' What ! that old damber," said I, annoyed, 
 for I was no friend to Old Irons. 
 
 " Yes," said he, eagerly, " you'll sup along 
 of him ? " 
 
 " Damme, I won't ! " said I. "I want no 
 cutpurses in my company." 
 
 " Come, Captain," says he, protesting, for 
 he had a fear of me, and knew of my repute 
 on many roads. " Fair play and equality in 
 a trade," says he. 
 
 I was on the point to give him the rough 
 edge of my tongue for it was like his 
 impudence to try cozening me when down 
 the stairs into the passage came a man, 
 walking very stiffly, and with his head in the 
 air. I stopped at once, for I knew not who 
 he might be, and down he stepped into the 
 light, showing a foppish sort of a face, hair 
 very particularly curled, and a becoming 
 dress. No sooner did I clap eyes on him than 
 I knew what kidney he was, and that he was 
 not worth two blinks of the ogles, as they 
 say. So I turned my back on him and was
 
 THE DRAPER'S NIECE 39 
 
 beginning on Costley again, when I was 
 surprised by the girl's voice crying out from 
 the entrance behind me. 
 
 " What the devil ? " says I, flying about, 
 for I thought she was insulted maybe by 
 some of Costley 's fellows, and I ran to the 
 door. But there was she with her arms 
 about the neck of this Jack-a-dandy. 
 
 " What's this, miss ? " said I, beginning 
 to think there was some truth in old Nunky's 
 words after all ; and at that she stepped into 
 the inn, in her excitement, and I saw her 
 plainly for the first time. Lord ! there was 
 nothing in her face that would not have 
 convinced any Court at Old Bailey forth- 
 right. She was prettily handsome, like a 
 doll that turns eyes up or down and smiles 
 out of pink cheeks, in which were two 
 dimples mighty enticing. Up she comes in 
 a rush, almost breathless, and breaks out to 
 me, 
 
 " Tis he ; 'tis he, sir ! " 
 
 " Who the devil is he ? " said I, sharply. 
 
 " 'Tis Mr Riseley," she says, somewhat 
 abashed. " He has been supping here, and 
 is setting forth for his lodging." 
 
 " I commend his discretion," I said dryly ; 
 " an excellent good place for supper, so it is, 
 specially for young bloods like that. Well," 
 says I, " since you're content, as it seems, I
 
 40 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 will leave you and young Cupid, and be about 
 my business." 
 
 At that she looked dumbfounded. 
 " But " she begins, stammering, and 
 paused. 
 
 I threw a glance at Riseley, who stood by 
 with an air something 'twixt arrogance and 
 uneasiness. I plumbed his depths, for I 
 have come across many such as he in my 
 time fine feathers enough and nothing 
 behind 'em. But it was true that the cox- 
 comb's appearance did not better her case, 
 beyond the titillation of mutual affection ; 
 so I considered, and the idea I had taken 
 suddenly bloomed forth in my mind. There 
 was Old Irons, and here were we. I could 
 have laughed aloud to think how I was for 
 binding all the threads in one, to say nothing 
 of Nunky's, on the Common. So I turned 
 about to Costley. 
 
 " I was wrong," says I ; " I will do Captain 
 Irons the honour to sup with him, and this 
 young gentleman, I make no doubt, will 
 join me." 
 
 " I beg your pardon I I have supped," 
 he stammered. 
 
 'Tis a friend," I heard her whisper : 
 " if it were not for him I know not what must 
 have happened to me." 
 
 " Well," says I, " miss here will sup at
 
 THE DRAPER'S NIECE 41 
 
 anyrate," at which I saw his colour 
 
 move. 
 
 u 
 
 I will take the pleasure myself to keep 
 you company, sir," said he, and forthwith 
 we marched into the room. Here was Old 
 Irons, rude, jovial, and blatant as ever, but 
 happily not too far gone as yet. He stared at 
 my guests hard enough, but seemed to be 
 at a loss what to make of them or how to 
 deal by them. So that he was for a time 
 pretty silent, casting glances of perplexity 
 at me and frowning, as if he would invite 
 me to say what I was doing. He was drink- 
 ing, however, of humpty-dumpty, which soon 
 loosened his tongue. 
 
 " What cock and pullet have ye got here, 
 Dick ? " says he in a loud whisper. 
 
 " Friends of mine," says I. 
 
 " Oh ! " says he, and stared ; then passed 
 off into a chuckle, with his eyes twinkling on 
 miss ; at which my apprentice in the fine 
 clothes, not knowing, poor fool, what sort of 
 man he had to deal with, fired up and de- 
 manded haughtily why he laughed at a lady. 
 But Irons only roared the more, paying no 
 more heed to him than if he were a babe in 
 arms. 
 
 " Shut your mouth ! " says I to him, 
 seeing the girl's colour fly about. 
 
 " Why," says he, on the grin still, " you've
 
 42 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 turned Anabaptist, Dick. What fad's this ? 
 I will say it's as toothsome and sweet mutton 
 as" 
 
 " If you close not your cheese-trap," said 
 I, sharply, " I will take leave to do it for you 
 with my pistol-butt." 
 
 At that Old Irons stared at me, for he was 
 never very quarrelsome save in his cups, and 
 he had a respect for me. " Captain," says 
 he, " don't go for to say you're going to 
 commit assault on Old Irons, and shut his 
 pretty peepers for ever. I'll warrant this 
 pretty lady would be affrighted by it, and 
 the gentleman too, rip me ! when they see 
 Old Irons a-lying in his gore " 
 
 " Oh," says I, impatiently, " have done 
 and pull up, for I maybe shall want you afore 
 the day comes." 
 
 " Now that's like Dick Ryder's own self," 
 said the old fool, and feigned to wipe a tear 
 from his eye and regain his spirits. He 
 whistled a snatch, and called for more ale 
 and brandy, which was his favourite drink. 
 
 " I will now proceed to deliver a toast, 
 Captain," says the dirty old rogue, holding 
 his beaker up and ogling towards miss. 
 " Here's to the beauty of Roehampton rip 
 me ! no of Putney Heath to Kingston ! 
 Toast me that, Dick." 
 
 I let him drink his toast, for I did not wish
 
 THE DRAPER'S NIECE 43 
 
 to thwart him too much in view of what I 
 intended later, and he continued in a wheed- 
 ling tone to address the girl, asking if she was 
 not the Duchess of this or my Lady that, 
 and feigning to inquire after his friends at 
 Court in a mincing, fashionable voice that 
 was grotesque to hear. But at last I stopped 
 him, for I thought it was time to come to 
 business, and moreover, Old Irons had taken 
 enough within his jacket for my purpose. 
 
 " Irons," says I, "a man of heart and 
 tenderness like you would be all agog to do 
 service to a young lady that was in trouble," 
 and I winked at him meaningly across the 
 table. 
 
 " Service ! " says he, starting up, " why, 
 I've just been pining, Dick, all this time for 
 you to come to it. ' What's Dick got ? ' 
 says I to myself, and says myself to I, ' Maybe 
 (and I hope) he will be for letting me strike 
 a blow in behalf of youth and beauty ? ' 
 Stab me, Dick ! those was my very words 
 to myself." 
 
 " Well," said I, bluntly, " you shall have 
 your wish, old man, and this young gentleman 
 too, who I see is regularly jumping for to 
 join us." 
 
 " I I know not what you mean," stuttered 
 the peacock. " Having supped, and being 
 called on to retire to my lodging, which is
 
 44 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 far hence, I will take the opportunity to 
 thank you, sir, for your hospitality, and 
 begone." 
 
 Now at that I was only confirmed in the 
 opinion I had formed of him as nothing but 
 a cur of no spirit : for here he was willing- 
 nay, anxious, to fly off and leave his lady in 
 the hands of those whom he knew not, with 
 never a roof to cover her. He had taken a 
 fear of Irons, maybe, or perhaps his suspicion 
 was due to my masterful air. But I was not 
 going to let him escape that way, specially 
 as he was part of the plot I was laying against 
 old Nunky. So I put my hand on his 
 shoulder. 
 
 " Sit down," said I, cheerily. " You must 
 not begone till you have put something 
 inside of that brave coat of yours. More- 
 over," says I, " here is a lady in trouble, and 
 if I read your honest face aright, you are not 
 the man to leave a poor maid in the lurch 
 not you." 
 
 " Rip me, no ! he's a brave young gentle- 
 man. I can see it in his cheeks," chuckled 
 Old Irons. 
 
 " I I do not know what can be done," 
 said the other, in confusion. " I am willing 
 to help in any way. But her uncle re- 
 fuses " 
 
 " Well," said I, looking on him attentively,
 
 THE DRAPER'S NIECE 45 
 
 " you may be thankful that you have met 
 one who, however inferior in courage, does 
 not need to cry mercy to your wits. For 
 here's my plan, plain and pat," and I gave 
 it them, there and then. It had come into 
 my head as I walked along the road with 
 Mrs Nelly, but I had the whole form perfect 
 only when I had encountered the apprentice 
 and heard Irons was in the tavern. Old 
 Irons and I were to make an entry into the 
 house, and the peacock was to make the 
 rescue, by which means, as you will see, the 
 way would be cleared for Nunky's recon- 
 ciliation with his niece's choice. But no 
 sooner had I told them than cries the peacock, 
 stammering, 
 
 " But but I could not 'tis not seemly. 
 I will be no party. Tis time I was gone 
 home." 
 
 " Oh, very well," says I, " then we will 
 adventure without you, and 'tis I will rescue 
 miss from Old Irons." 
 
 The girl's eyes lighted up. " You will do 
 it, George ? " says she, beaming. " I believe 
 it will convince my uncle of all that I have 
 said of you." 
 
 He hesitated, and being pushed into the 
 corner, knew not what to say. 
 
 " But," says he in a troubled voice, and 
 glancing from Old Irons to me, and from me
 
 46 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 to Old Irons, anxiously, " I do not know who 
 these gentlemen are. I " 
 
 " Sink me ! " says Old Irons in a cozening 
 voice, "d'ye think we are really on the toby ? 
 Why, bless you, young master, we are both 
 noblemen in disguise, so we are, and would 
 think shame of this job if it were not to make 
 an honest girl come by her own. We're 
 only a-posing as crib-crackers," says he. 
 
 " George ! " says the girl, in a voice of soft en- 
 treaty that would have persuaded a topsman. 
 
 " No good will come of it," said he with an 
 air of protest. " 'Twill fail," and he cast up 
 his eyes in despair. 
 
 " Agreed like a brave lad ! " said I, clapping 
 him on the back ; " and you shall drink to 
 us and success," with which I filled him up 
 a pot of humpty-dumpty, well laced. 
 
 He drank and coughed, but the compound 
 mounting in his blood, fired him presently, 
 so that he began to talk lightly and proffer 
 advice and boast of what he would do and 
 what part he would take. 
 
 " Why, yes," says Old Irons, " a pistol 
 clapped at the head, and bang goes the 
 priming, out flows the red blood. Sink me ! 
 there you are, as cold as clay, and with no 
 more life in you than in a dead maggot. 
 'Slife ! here's a jolly boy, Dick, that is handy 
 with his barker, I'll vow."
 
 47 
 
 But I stopped him ere he went too far, and 
 he and I prepared the arrangements. We 
 left miss behind in Sally's charge with 
 strict instructions, and 'twas nigh three 
 before we reached the house. There I set 
 the popinjay outside the window to shiver, 
 pot-valiant, until so be the time should come, 
 while Irons and I went to the back of the 
 house and made scrutiny of the yard. There 
 was little trouble in the job, as it chanced, 
 for Irons is skilled in the business, which I 
 should scorn to be, holding it for a scurvy, 
 mean-livered craft, unworthy of a gentleman. 
 But I was committed to it for this occasion 
 only, and so was resolved to go through 
 with it. Irons fetched out his tools and got 
 to work ; and in a short time we were through 
 the window of the kitchen, and Irons with 
 his glim was creeping up the stairs. But he 
 stopped half-way and whispered back to 
 me as if he had only then recalled some- 
 thing. 
 
 " What ken's this ? " he asked, using his 
 cant word. 
 
 " Why, an honest merchant's house," said 
 I, " and he traffics in calicoes." 
 
 " Look ye, Dick Ryder," says he, sitting 
 down on the stairs, " I may be dullard, but 
 rip me if I know how you stand in this ! " 
 
 " Why," says I, " you need only know
 
 48 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 where you stand, Irons, and that's pretty 
 sure. You know me." 
 
 He stared at me a moment, and then said 
 he, "Well, I'll empty old Nunky of his 
 spanks, and we'll settle afterwards," and he 
 resumed his journey. 
 
 Now, what I had arranged with the ap- 
 prentice was that I should knock upon the 
 window when the time was come, at which 
 he would spring in with cries of alarm and 
 fury, falling upon the rascals that had dared 
 break into the merchant's house. At which 
 Irons and I were to make off, and the old 
 gentleman, rising in terror from his bed, 
 should discover us in flight, and his deliverer 
 George, full- armed, in possession. Yet it 
 did not fall out quite in this way, owing, as 
 I believe, to Old Irons' s muddled head and 
 his stopping on the stairs. 
 
 At anyrate, we were no sooner come to the 
 hall, after Irons had visited two rooms, than 
 we were surprised by the figure of the old 
 gentleman moving down the staircase in his 
 night-dress and a large blunderbuss in his 
 hand. 
 
 " Stand ! " says he. seeing Irons in the 
 faint light. " Stand, rogue, or I fire ! " 
 
 Old Irons uttered a curse, and, edging into 
 the shadows, put up an arm to slip the 
 catches of the window. But his knuckles
 
 THE DRAPER S NIECE 49 
 
 fell on it with a rap as he withdrew the catch, 
 and immediately after there was a loud, shrill 
 cry, the window fell open, and there was our 
 peacock in the midst, calling in his falsetto, 
 
 " Surrender, or I will blow a hole in you! 
 Surrender, by ! " 
 
 I could have broken out laughing at the 
 sight, only the situation promised to grow 
 risky For Old Irons, taken aback at this, 
 and never very particular when on his lay, 
 jumped up sharply and smashed at t'other 
 with his pistol-butt ; while, to make con- 
 fusion worse, the old man in the nightcap let 
 off his blunderbuss. Such a screeching arose 
 as would have astonished a churchyard of 
 ghosts, for the truth was, old Nunky hit 
 George somewhere in his hinderparts, and 
 simultaneously down came Irons' s blow on 
 his head. That set his finger to work on the 
 trigger of the pistol I had given him, and ere 
 I was aware, something had took me in the 
 big toe, and set me cursing. 
 
 " Here ! " says I, grabbing Old Irons in 
 the darkness, for he was ready to destroy 
 both in his wildness, " this is no place for a 
 tender-hearted chicken like you or me. We're 
 no match for savage fire-eaters like these. 
 We'd best go," and I dragged him through 
 the window and we made off together. When 
 we reached the inn, I called out the girl.
 
 56 
 
 ' What has happened ? " she cried eagerly. 
 
 " Well," said I, " I think you had best 
 walk home sharp. I'll wager Nunky will 
 be calling for you presently to reward a 
 gallant youth that has risked his life for to 
 save him." 
 
 Her eyes glistened, and, Lord ! I believe 
 the poor fool thought her George had been 
 brave. She clasped her hands. " Oh, I 
 must thank you, sir ! " she cried. 
 
 " Nay, never thank me," said I, " for, if 
 I mistake not, Old Irons has taken thanks 
 for us both, and would have had more if it 
 had not been for young Jack-a-dandy." 
 
 " Split him ! " cries Old Irons. " I would 
 I had hit him harder." 
 
 " Hit ! " she cries, and clutches at me. 
 
 " Nay, never fear," I said. " 'Twas not 
 Irons, but Nunky 's blunderbuss. Faith, he 
 took both wounds like a lamb. I would I 
 had his courage, and was to be comforted 
 like him. But he is in no danger." 
 
 " Oh, sir ! " says she, gratefully, and if she 
 were fool she was pretty enough, and her 
 innocence touched me, for she had scarce 
 understood anything of what we spoke. 
 
 " But run home," says I, " and I'll warrant 
 you'll find him a-rubbing of his head, and 
 Nunky a-hugging him for joy and gratitude." 
 
 But even ere I had finished she was gone,
 
 THE DRAPER'S NIECE 51 
 
 flying lightly into the grey ofjthe coming 
 dawn, and, as I heard afterwards from 
 Costley, what I had forecast was pretty 
 accurate. But I had finished with miss then, 
 and the next business was to divide with 
 Old Irons. Twas the first time that I had 
 ever engaged in a job with him, and I vow 
 'twill be the last ; so scurvy was he in the 
 partition. But, then, I had always a de- 
 testation of so ungentlemanly a game as 
 cracking cribs.
 
 MISS AND MY LADY 
 
 " I "HERE are few people that can truly 
 X say they have tricked Dick Ryder, 
 and fewer still can say that in the end 
 he did not wriggle out of his predicament 
 (whatsoever it might be) and turn the tables 
 on them. Yet of these few one, I will 
 confess, was a woman, and a woman I had 
 eyes for, though I am not fool enough to cast 
 my wits away for a petticoat. I have 
 always admired spirit in the sex, but there is 
 a point at which it degenerates into vice, 
 and of such shrews or vixens I wish any man 
 joy. They are good to be beat if you be so 
 inclined, but for myself I have never taken 
 up stick, lash, or fist against any woman, and 
 never would so long as I am free of the 
 topsman. 
 
 The adventure happened when I was by 
 Maidstone in the summer of 1683, coming up 
 from Dover very merry. I had ridden round 
 from Deal and lain at the Crown in Dover 
 the night before, and I warrant I had made 
 the people of the inn open their eyes with 
 
 what tales I told of Court and Old Rowley 
 
 52
 
 MISS AND MY LADY 53 
 
 and affairs of State. I cannot say why, but 
 all the way from Deal to London I seemed 
 possessed of a devil that would wag me, 
 whether I willed it or not. I am not used 
 to be so precipitate, but 'twas as if a cask 
 of French brandy had gotten into my brains 
 and set 'em a-quarrelling. At least, I was 
 gay-headed and recked of nothing. Not 
 that I care for any risk or peril under the sun 
 if it be necessary ; but this was to go rollick- 
 ing, with the gait, so to say, of a drunken 
 man, whistling on danger and leering at 
 fate a mighty foolish thing to do for any 
 man. There is no question but I would not 
 have fallen into that blunder by Leeds 
 Castle if I had been in any other mood. 
 But there it was the devil was in me, as I 
 say. 
 
 I pulled out of Dover pretty late, and with 
 a parting wave of my hand at as sweet a 
 kinxiewinsy as I have seen, I started on the 
 London Road in good temper and good 
 fettle. But ere I had gone a mile or so, I 
 came up with a little fat, dark fellow that 
 had been at the inn and had listened agog 
 to my tales. It was, " Lord, sir, say you 
 so ? " and " Bless me, I would not ha' 
 believed it ! " and then again, " Save us, 
 what shall we hear next ? " Well, this 
 little black man, as it seems, was steward,
 
 54 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 or factotum, or what-ye-may-call-it to my 
 Lady Dane, who, also, as it seemed, had lain 
 at Dover overnight, having crossed in a 
 packet from France, and was on her way to 
 Winchester by Reigate and Guildford. The 
 fellow was not given to talking, but more to 
 listening, with his " bless me-s," but he was 
 a simple rustic, and you may fancy that I 
 led him on so that he opened his mouth as 
 wide as I my ears. For this Lady Dane was 
 a rich widow (so he said), and, moreover, a 
 woman that was greatly besought in marriage 
 by many suitors of all degrees, and both for 
 her looks and her money. 'Tis not I that 
 would blame any man that saw his chance to 
 seize beauty and booty alike together. 'Tis 
 the worst of it that they generally go singly 
 at least, to judge by what I have seen of fine 
 ladies. Well, says the little black man, my 
 Lady Dane was on a journey to her home 
 on the Itchin in the company of her niece, 
 that was daughter to the late Sir Philip's 
 brother, and he was going afore to prepare 
 for them at Maidstone, as they were not yet 
 started. It seemed that my lady had pro- 
 perty in Maidstone, and was for giving a 
 water-fountain to the town in her kindness. 
 
 " My lady," says he, puffing himself out, 
 " rises late, like any lady of the Court." 
 
 " Why," said I, " she must be a rare fine
 
 MISS AND MY LADY 55 
 
 woman that she must, from your accounts. 
 I would like to clap eyes on her, so that I 
 might compare her with the beauties ; " for 
 he was the most obsequious in praise of his 
 mistress that ever you heard, and vexed my 
 soul. " And the niece," says I, " would be 
 pretty handsome too." 
 
 " The niece ! " says he, with a gesture of 
 contempt, waving his hands in a foreign 
 way in imitation of what he had seen in 
 France, and thus nearly falling off his nag. 
 " Oh ! the niece is well enough," says he, 
 and recovered himself carefully. " Je ne 
 sais quoi," says he, and shook his head with 
 a mighty knowing look. " She would do 
 pretty well, but not in a capital, not in Paris 
 or London, where there is need always of the 
 most elegant style. You, sir, with your 
 knowledge of cities, know that. You have 
 the air." 
 
 It tickled me to see the little fool a-sitting 
 uneasily on his big horse, with his toes cocked 
 out on each side, looking for all the world 
 like a radish that would split as he bobbed 
 and bounced up and down upon the saddle, 
 and mimicking foreign airs and tongues and 
 manners as if 'twere natural to him. But 
 I kept a grave face until I had gotten out of 
 him what I wanted, by which time 'twas late 
 in the afternoon (for we had ridden together
 
 56 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 all the way), and we were within ten miles 
 of Maids tone. So I bade him good-bye and 
 good-luck, for he was not worth any gentle- 
 man wasting his hands on, and, turning the 
 mare up a lane, left him to pursue his way to 
 Maidstone alone. But a mile or so along 
 the lane I pitched on a wayside tavern, 
 where I took leave to rest and refresh the 
 mare and myself while waiting ; for, from 
 what I had gathered from the steward, the 
 lady would make no start before twelve, in 
 which case she would not be in Maidstone 
 before six at the least. So there I sat and 
 waited, with never a companion, and not 
 even a serving- wench to clack tongues with. 
 A little before six I rode down and came into 
 the Maidstone highway near by Leeds Castle, 
 where the moat was shining in the descending 
 sun, and the pastures spread very ample and 
 green to the heights beyond. I waited there 
 for an hour in a convenient copse, and in the 
 end got very tired. 
 
 " Damme ! " says I, with a yawn, " this 
 Mother Beauty has overslept herself for 
 certain, and will save her jewels after all ; " 
 for I was in no mood to wait until the next 
 day for the chance, being due in London. 
 There was the lake, first gleaming with the 
 sun, then with long shadows afloat and 
 stretching, and at the last plunged in vacant
 
 MISS AND MY LADY 57 
 
 blankness. This was near upon twilight, 
 and I was for cursing myself as a fool to 
 attend upon the whims of a woman, when 
 there was the sound in the distance of rum- 
 bling wheels, and I pulled Calypso out and 
 waited by the grassy border of the road. 
 
 'Twas not long before the chaise came up, 
 rolling in a dignified way down the hill, and 
 speaking of wealth and consideration in 
 every spoke and appointment. There was 
 the coachman with his fellow beside him, 
 and two spirited horses, and, if you please, 
 by the lackey was a huge and bell-mouthed 
 blunderbuss, like a brass viol. I could ha' 
 yelled for laughter at the sight of them and 
 their brave preparations. Rip me ! what 
 a formidable array 'twas, with two gallant 
 fellows in livery, all ready to blow the soul 
 out of such as Galloping Dick and his kidney ! 
 Why, the first time I ever clapped peepers 
 on 'em I could see that there was no fight in 
 them. So I put the mare right across the 
 way and waited. The twilight was come 
 now, and the coachman called out to me to 
 stand aside. 
 
 "Are you drunk?" says he, as he draws 
 up of necessity. 
 
 " No," says I ; "I am only a poor fellow 
 that's thirsty and tired of waiting on you, 
 and would like to be drunk," said I.
 
 58 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " Tis a 'wayman ! " shouted t'other lackey ; 
 and pulled up his blunderbuss. But I put 
 the point of my sword in his wrist, and he 
 dropped it with a howl. 
 
 " What's this ? " now cried a voice from 
 the interior of the chaise ; and, pushing the 
 mare to the window, I looked in. There was 
 the lady, sure enough, of whom the little fat 
 man had spoke ; and he had been right about 
 her looks, for in her anger she was mighty 
 handsome. But her companion, that was 
 the niece, according to the steward, was by 
 no means what he had suggested, being a tall 
 girl of a delicate beauty, with a gentle kind- 
 ness in her eye, very becoming to modest 
 virginity. My lady was in a storm of anger. 
 
 " Who are you ? " she said furiously. 
 
 "Why," said I, "I know not if 'tis of 
 consequence to your ladyship to discover 
 who it is or who it isn't that rumpads you, 
 so long as you be rumpadded ; but if it be 
 any convenience to you, why, set me down 
 in your accounts as Galloping Dick of the 
 Roads, and debit me with what you will," 
 says I. 
 
 " You would rob me ? " said she, looking 
 at me sharply, and, as I could see, controlling 
 herself with an effort. 
 
 " Your ladyship has a mind that flies 
 direct to the point," said I, politely ; "I call
 
 MISS AND MY LADY 59 
 
 miss in witness of its quickness. Never so 
 much as a word have I spoke afore you out 
 with your guess. ' You would rob me/ says 
 you. Why, damme ! I will not deny a 
 lady." 
 
 She looked at me in doubt for a moment, 
 as if she would count me up, and then it was 
 that I got my first idea of her quality, for 
 her gaze pierced me through, and there was 
 capacity in her very bearing. 
 
 ' You would rob a poor woman ? " said 
 she next, in a softer voice. " I thought 
 'twas only fat, bloated purses that you 
 gentlemen of the road would steal." 
 
 " No," says I, " I take nothing under five 
 hundred guineas, and if there be some jewels 
 to crown the pile I will not refuse them " 
 for this, I knew from the little fat fool's talk, 
 was what her ladyship carried. 
 
 She bit her lip, but still kept her temper. 
 
 " I see you are pleased to jest with me," 
 said she. ' You gentlemen are as light of 
 heart as of finger. Come, you shall have my 
 twenty guineas, if you are so hard, and I will 
 even refrain my curse, if you will kindly 
 withdraw your head and allow me to pro- 
 ceed " and at that she thrust towards me 
 a little bag. She was as cool as ever I have 
 seen man or woman, which was the more 
 remarkable, seeing how evil was her real
 
 60 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 temper. But I took the bag and still kept 
 my place. 
 
 " Hark you, madam," said I, for I was not 
 ill-pleased to have a duel worthy of my 
 tongue and skill ; " Galloping Dick never 
 makes a wanton boast, nor asks what he 
 gets not, nor is afraid of his own mind. 
 There is five hundred guineas with you, the 
 which I will beg of you for a keepsake, and 
 in kind memory also will ask those pretty 
 toys." And I pointed at her necklace. " Had 
 I not been kept a-yawning my head off the 
 two hours by the wayside, maybe I would have 
 taken the one and left t'other ; but, sink me ! 
 I am of a mind for both now," says I. 
 
 Again she shot me a glance, and I thought 
 for a moment that she would have shouted 
 an order to her servants, and have driven 
 on and trusted to chance. But perhaps she 
 came to the conclusion that the hazard was 
 too great, as indeed it was, for I would have 
 clapped holes through chaise and coachman 
 ere they had rolled three paces, and her 
 ladyship might have come off in that case 
 worse than I was for leaving her. At anyrate, 
 she did nothing so foolish, but merely uttered 
 an exclamation in which her fury and her 
 chagrin were indicated, and says she, in 
 angry despair, 
 
 " Will nothing make you give up ? Can-
 
 MISS AND MY LADY 61 
 
 not I persuade you in any way to use me 
 decentjly ? Lord forgive you, I thought that 
 the toby had some sense of gallantry." 
 
 " By the Lord ! " said I, promptly, " and 
 if there is any huff that says ' no ' to that, I 
 would run him through his midriff. We are 
 no money-weasels, and least of all, Dick 
 Ryder. And maybe that name is known to 
 you, madam," said I. 
 
 ' Why, I have heard it, sure," says she, 
 eagerly. " And those that have spoken of 
 you have given you a good name, for a brave 
 and chivalrous fellow." 
 
 " I have a good repute, and that widely," 
 said I, for 'twas true enough, and maybe she 
 had heard of my adventure with Old Rowley 
 and the Duchess of Cleveland, in which I 
 played a pretty figure. 
 
 " Why, of course," said she ; "I recall you 
 now. Your name, Captain, has been bruited 
 about the roads from one end of the kingdom 
 to the other, and it has always come to my 
 ears in good condition. If I recall aright, 
 there was a tale in which you did some good 
 to an honest woman." 
 
 " Does your ladyship refer to Mrs Barbara 
 Crawford and to her abduction ? " said I. 
 
 " Why," said she, " now 'tis what I did 
 think of, more especially as a great friend of 
 mine acquainted me with the facts."
 
 62 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " Twas on the York Road/' said I, looking 
 at her, for her glib tongue of a sudden had 
 made me shy at her, like a colt of two years. 
 
 " 'Twas there, Captain, as I remember now 
 well," said she. 
 
 " Well," says I, " 'tis strange you should 
 ha' happened upon some witnesses to that 
 little episode, for I thought it had passed out 
 of mind. But seeing your ladyship is so 
 mindful of me, let me hang if I do not mark 
 it upon my account with you." 
 
 This I said, having discovered how greatly 
 false she spoke, for 'twas not on York Road, 
 but by Guildford, that the affair happened, 
 and I would swear that she had heard not a 
 word of it, which, nevertheless, she might 
 very well have done, seeing that it was notori- 
 ous in the town at that time. 
 
 " I am always glad to meet a famous man," 
 said she. 
 
 " No more than I a handsome lady," said 
 I. " And to show how deeply I am in earnest, 
 I will forego half the account and all the jewels 
 for a salutation from miss there." 
 
 To say the truth, I had enjoyed my bout 
 with the lady, and was disposed to be lenient 
 to her for all her airs and sharpness. But the 
 sight of the niece's eyes of a sudden warmed 
 me and incited me ; for she was looking at 
 me gently, with an odd expression of interest
 
 MISS AND MY LADY 63 
 
 and of wonder, and her bosom rose and fell 
 swiftly. You may guess that that set it on 
 even a swifter ebb and tide. 
 
 " What d'ye mean ? " asked her ladyship. 
 
 " I am a gentleman adventurer," said I, 
 " and, damme ! I will not deny my calling ; 
 'tis efficient at the least. But if miss there 
 will permit me the salutation, rip me ! you 
 shall go scot-free." 
 
 At that, miss shrank into her corner, all the 
 expression fled from her face, which was white 
 and stark. But my lady turns on her. 
 
 " Hear you that, Celia ? " says she. " Buss 
 and let us get on, since this gallant gentleman 
 must have already delayed himself over-long." 
 
 " You are right," said I. " 'Tis a scurvy 
 long time since I ha' been waiting here." 
 
 " If you haste not, Celia," says she, very 
 ironic in tone, " the gentleman will be getting 
 impatient as well he may, seeing your pale 
 beauty." 
 
 Now this (for 'twas nothing but a sneer) 
 set me against her, the girl being mightily 
 more handsome than herself and of a fine 
 frailty. But I said nothing, only looked at 
 miss, who seemed as if she would have 
 withered out of the chaise. 
 
 " Celia ! " cries her ladyship, sharply 
 
 " You you must be jesting, madam. You 
 cannot mean it," says miss in a low voice.
 
 64 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " I have stood much from you, but this 
 insult" 
 
 But my lady broke in, " You will do what 
 I say," she said harshly ; " I command you." 
 
 " I will not," says t'other. " Indeed, 
 madam, I may not. Ask me not so to violate 
 myself." 
 
 Upon that her ladyship turned about. 
 " Hark ye," she said, and whispered in her 
 ear, and upon that, observing her to wince, 
 she said aloud, " What, d'ye hesitate, when 
 'tis to spare five hundred guineas and some 
 odd jewels, including your own ? " 
 
 " I I value not mine, madam," says 
 miss, trembling. 
 
 " Well, there is mine," said she, " and if 
 they be of not much marketable value, there 
 is a higher value I put upon them, since they 
 were given me by your dear uncle. You shall 
 save them." 
 
 But, Lord ! I am a pretty judge of jewels, 
 and she was lying ; for there was more worth 
 in her jewels far than in her guineas. But I 
 said nothing, only listened, to hear what miss 
 would answer. 
 
 She hesitated, and her ladyship made a 
 peremptory gesture. " Why, 'tis cheap 
 enough," said she, sardonically. Miss still 
 hesitated, and then, as it seemed, on a rap 
 from her ladyship, very white of face and
 
 MISS AND MY LADY 65 
 
 drawn, leaned across to the window. I saw 
 the large eyes gleam in the faint light, and 
 they were like pools at even in which the stars 
 do set ; but her lips were trembling. 
 
 " I have never bought jewels so cheap/' 
 says my lady with her sneer, thinking, no 
 doubt, that the bargain was struck now and 
 the act consummated. 
 
 " No ! " says I ; "I kiss no maid against 
 her will. Fetch forth the pieces and the toys, 
 my lady." 
 
 Miss fell back, still white, and I saw some- 
 thing leap in her eye. She put her kerchief 
 before her face and sobbed. 
 
 " Damme ! " says I roughly, " out with 
 the goldfinches, or must I make bold to help 
 myself from ye ? There is too much prattle 
 here, and I have delayed long enough." 
 
 The lady had gone red with anger, and 
 moved her arm as though she would have 
 struck someone in her fury ; but suddenly 
 containing herself, and considering, as I must 
 suppose, that 'twould put no embargo on the 
 guineas and the diamonds, she says, says 
 she, 
 
 " If my niece will not save my jewels at 
 the price, I, at anyrate, will save hers." 
 And she leaned softly towards me. 
 
 Now in a flash I saw what she intended, 
 and how she would go any length to preserve
 
 66 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 her property, the which gave me but a poor 
 thought of her for a basely avaricious woman 
 with no pretensions to honour, and (as was 
 clear) a very brutal mind and temper towards 
 the girl. So I did that which maybe I should 
 not ha' done, though 'tis hard to say, and no 
 one ever accused Dick Ryder justly of hand- 
 ling a woman harshly. But she would have 
 put me in a hole else, with her quickness and 
 her cunning ; and there was only the one 
 way out, which I took. 
 
 " No," says I, " there is no talk of miss's 
 jewels. What she may have she may keep. 
 I war not on pretty girls. And as for yours, 
 madam damme ! there's nothing will save 
 'em ! No, split me, there isn't ! " 
 
 She fell quite white, as I could see even in 
 the gloom, and for a perceptible moment 
 hesitated. 'Twas then, I suppose, that she 
 made up her mind, casting this way and 
 that venomously and desperately for a way 
 out. 
 
 " Well," said she, in a muffled voice, " I 
 cry you mercy. Here's what ye are want- 
 ing ! " And she flung her bag at me ; and 
 with her fingers, that trembled, undid the 
 necklet she wore, and handed it to me. 
 
 " Come, that's the mood in which to take 
 reverses," says I cheerfully. " I'll warrant 
 there's more where these came from, and
 
 MISS AND MY LADY 67 
 
 more behind them again ; for I should think 
 shame to rob the last jewel from a neck that 
 so becomes 'em." This I said by way of 
 consolation for her vanity, if that were touched 
 at my previous refusal. But she said nothing 
 to that ; only put her head nearer, and ad- 
 dressed me with a chastened voice, 
 
 " Look ye, Captain, I think you be a hard 
 man, but not so hard perhaps as you may 
 seem. I ask not for myself, as you've taken 
 all I had, but for my niece here, who has had 
 the privilege of your benevolence to retain 
 what she has. You have said your name is 
 Ryder, and I will believe you. Tis nothing 
 to me now if it be Ryder or Creech, as " 
 
 " Creech ! " says I, for I knew Dan Creech 
 well, and had, indeed, been in some surprises 
 with him. 
 
 " Yes, Creech ! " said she, looking me 
 steady in the face. " I was warned of a 
 ruffian named Creech that would haunt this 
 road to Maidstone." 
 
 " Well, Creech," said I, " will reap nothing 
 from bare acres." 
 
 " No," said she, " save from my niece." 
 
 And there she spoke truly enough, as I 
 saw ; for if Creech was on that road (and 
 maybe he was), I knew him better than to 
 suppose he would be content with their 
 asseverations. He would rummage and over-
 
 68 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 haul, would Creech, and there was never gold 
 or farden would escape Danny's notice, not 
 if 'twas as pitch black as midnight. 
 
 " As you have been so generous," said my 
 lady, " I thought that maybe you would go 
 further, and save my niece from robbery and 
 me from further needless alarms. It seems 
 to me, though I may be prejudiced, that you 
 owe me that at least." 
 
 I thought on that for a moment, and well, 
 I had not spared miss to let her fall a victim 
 later ; so says I, 
 
 " You mean that I shall give you my 
 protection ? " 
 
 " I see that you are quick of your wits," 
 said she, speaking evenly now, and not with 
 any irony apparent. 
 
 " Done ! " says I. "I will conduct ye to 
 within a mile of Maidstone, and you shall go 
 secure. I'll swear to that." 
 
 " Will ye not be afraid to venture so 
 closely ? " asked she. 
 
 " I will conduct ye up to the doors of 
 Maidstone," said I. " Damme ! I'll see you 
 safe within the precincts." 
 
 " Spoken like a brave knight of the roads," 
 said her ladyship, and lay back in her seat. 
 " And now, perhaps, you will be good enough 
 to bid my coachman drive on." 
 
 There was something in her tones which
 
 MISS AND MY LADY 69 
 
 should have given me pause even then, if I 
 had been less pleased with myself. But I 
 had been hard with her, not in the matter of 
 the jewels only, and I was disposed to meet 
 her on a point, for all that I was sure she 
 bullied the girl. So I rode on in the front 
 and the coach rolled after me, for all the world 
 as though I were advance guard in protection 
 of beauty, which, after all, is pretty much 
 what I was. There was no denying looks to 
 her ladyship, but she was of a hard, handsome 
 face that has never taken me. You would 
 swear she would never change till the tomb 
 swallowed her, but would grow old and fade 
 white insensibly, battling for her beauty all 
 the way, and holding its handsome ghost 
 until the end. If there was anyone that 
 would be attracted by her person (and there 
 must ha' been many), to say nothing of her 
 purse, why, thank the Lord, 'twas not I. I 
 would sooner lie in shackles at Newgate than 
 have lain in shackles to her at my lady's house. 
 Not but what I can speak generously of her 
 (as witness what I have wrote of her beauty), 
 for I came out of the affair all right, yet by an 
 accident, as you will see. 
 
 We had got near by Maidstone, within 
 three miles, and the twilight had thickened 
 into dark. There was never a soul upon the 
 lonely road, for you may conceive that I kept
 
 70 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 a sharp eye, not only for Danny, if he should 
 be about, as was possible, but also lest my 
 lady should play any trick upon me by the 
 way. But I was not much afraid of that, as 
 I knew there was nothing between us and 
 Maidstone save a few scattered cottages and 
 an insignificant village or two, which I would 
 have warranted to scare with a blank charge. 
 So when we were, as I say, within three miles 
 of the town, her ladyship put out her head 
 and called to me. 
 
 " See you," said she, " there is the town 
 drawing near, and you expose yourself in the 
 front. It will serve if you ride behind and be 
 for your better safety, Captain." 
 
 "Why," said I, "what the deuce do I 
 mind of riding before or behind ! There's 
 none will take me, and I will fetch ye into 
 Maidstone, as I have said." 
 
 ' Well, Captain," said she, with a laugh, 
 " I will confess 'twas not wholly your safety 
 that moved me, which is not strange in the 
 circumstances ; but I should feel more secure 
 myself were my escort in the rear, from 
 which side 'tis more likely any assault would 
 be made." 
 
 " I came at you in the front, madam," 
 said I. 
 
 " Ah ! Captain Ryder is Captain Ryder," 
 said she, beaming, " and was not afraid of
 
 MISS AND MY LADY 71 
 
 my blunderbusses and my rascals. But con- 
 ceive a less brave and straightforward ad- 
 venturer that sees not only blunderbusses 
 and lackeys, but a gallant swordsman to boot 
 in front. 'Tis surely from the rear such a 
 one would attack ! " 
 
 "Oh, well," said I indifferently, "afore 
 or behind matters nothing. You will have 
 no assault while Dick Ryder's sign-manual 
 is on you, and that's his toasting-fork." 
 
 And so I fell behind, as she wished, and we 
 proceeded. It was true enough, what she 
 said, that the body of the coach would pro- 
 tect me from any eyes in front, and that I 
 could make off more easily from the rear ; 
 but, Lord love you ! I had no thoughts of 
 that ; and if I had been thinking of it, it 
 might have occurred to me that, being in 
 the van, I could see more plainly into what 
 we were running than if I were in the rear. 
 And, sure enough, that came near my un- 
 doing, for we had not gone two miles further, 
 and were still some way out of the town 
 bounds, when the coach suddenly pulled up 
 before a tavern in a little village thereby, of 
 which I cannot recall the name. We had 
 passed several of these, and, as I have said, 
 I cared not two straws for them, and so I was 
 mildly exercised in my mind at this unex- 
 pected stoppage, and, coming to myself,
 
 72 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 moved the mare slowly round t'other side of 
 the coach to see what was forward. 
 
 " If she is thirsty," said I to myself, " she 
 shall drink, and, if it came to that, I was 
 thirsty myself. And I was ready to hold up 
 the innkeeper with a pistol-butt while we all 
 drank a draught to our better acquaintance 
 and miss's eyes, maybe. But as I came 
 round I was suddenly aware of a small crowd 
 of people, some wearing uniforms, armed 
 with halberds and lanthorns, and in the 
 middle a short important gentleman with a 
 paper in his hand. I had no sooner made 
 this discovery than her ladyship shrieked 
 out very loud, 
 
 " Seize that man ! He is a highwayman ! " 
 
 At that, all alert, I pulled Calypso round 
 and put my heels into her flanks ; but there 
 was a bank of people before me in that quarter 
 and the chaise to one side and the tavern 
 t'other, and ere I could draw half a dozen 
 hands were on the mare, and two of a posse 
 that was in the throng had their pistols on 
 the level. 
 
 There was I, taken, netted like any duck 
 in a decoy, for certain, and with no prospect 
 even of a struggle, for the numbers against 
 me were great. I saw that in the twinkling 
 of an eye, and so sat still, making no effort to 
 escape.
 
 MISS AND MY LADY 73 
 
 " What is this ? " said I loudly. " Hands 
 off, sirrah ! Do you dare arrest an innocent 
 man ? Who is in authority here, and what's 
 his foolish name ? " said I. 
 
 At that the short man came forward, and I 
 saw that he wore a long gown edged with 
 some sort of fleece. " Who are you ? " I 
 asked, assuming the most haughty, arrogant 
 air, " and under what pretence is a gentleman 
 that is on the King's business arrested and 
 delayed ? " 
 
 " Sir," he said, hesitating, " I am Mayor of 
 the town, and 'tis at her ladyship's request " 
 
 " I know nothing of her ladyship/' said I, 
 interrupting angrily. " If her ladyship 
 blunders, and you through her, you must 
 take the consequence, Mr Mayor." 
 
 He seemed put about at that, but my lady 
 herself intervened, or I would have managed 
 things for myself pretty easily. 
 
 " I charge that man with stealing from me 
 jewels and money to the amount of five 
 hundred guineas, which you will find upon 
 him," said she, for she was now out of the 
 coach and standing in the road among them 
 all. 
 
 " Yes, your ladyship," says the Mayor 
 anxiously, " it shall be attended to." 
 
 " Well, someone shall smart for this," said 
 I, " ere many days are out."
 
 74 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " And my witness," pursued her ladyship 
 calmly, " sits in the coach, and is my late 
 husband's niece." 
 
 " Oh, a witness," says Mr Mayor, brighten- 
 ing up. 
 
 ' To say nothing of my two fellows," she 
 ended. 
 
 With that I saw it was all up, for she was 
 not one to lose her head, and with that plain 
 issue before the Mayor, he could not blunder 
 very far. So I said nothing more, but sat in 
 the clutches of the officers cudgelling my wits 
 for a way out. 
 
 " Celia," says she, " is this the man that 
 attacked us upon the road and stole my 
 jewels ? " 
 
 " I I cannot discern very well 'tis dark," 
 stammered miss, and, rip me ! I blessed the 
 chit for that reluctance, though 'twas useless, 
 as it happened, for says her ladyship, 
 
 " Nonsense, baggage ! " she says : " you 
 can see quite plain. You are a coward, that's 
 what it is. Here, James and Joshua, what 
 say you is this the villain ? " 
 
 Whereupon the lackeys both swore with 
 one voice that it was I, and that I had at- 
 tacked them brutally ; and says one that I 
 had put a bullet near his leg, whereas 'twas 
 his own silly blunderbuss that he dropped. 
 
 " That is sufficient, my lady," says the
 
 MISS AND MY LADY 75 
 
 Mayor, looking very pompous, and to that 
 added what gave me the clue as to this un- 
 expected trap. 'Twas nothing more or less 
 than that little toad, the fat steward, who, 
 for all his gabble and talk, had forgot to say 
 that the Mayor of Maidstone was to come 
 forth to meet her ladyship in state, in token 
 of gratitude for favours to the townsfolk. 
 'Twas along of that fountain, as it seems, 
 and I cursed the little fat fool in my heart in 
 that, being so garrulous, he had put a limit 
 to his tongue. But at the same time I could 
 not but admire her ladyship's admirable skill 
 and cunning. Sink me ! she was a wonder 
 with her quickness, so to contrive to drag me 
 into the trap. But these considerations 
 availed me nothing, and I will confess that 
 I saw no road of escape, though I am far from 
 saying that I was beaten or that some notion 
 would not ha' come to me later. Why, I 
 have broke out of Newgate jug in the face of 
 all. Yet this is what happened. In the thick 
 of this talk and confusion, and even while 
 the throng pressed upon me and my captors, 
 suddenly a voice cried out from the coach. 
 
 " There is the other, seize him ! there he 
 goes, on the right there ! " This was miss's 
 voice, as I recognised, though I was amazed, 
 and for the time did not pick up my wits. 
 But in a second all was uproar.
 
 76 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " Who d'ye mean ? What is it, you 
 baggage ? " cried out her ladyship. 
 
 " Seize him ! there he goes ! " cries miss 
 again, leaping from the coach in a state of 
 excitement ; and to her ladyship : " Why, 
 the other, my lady ! the man that assisted 
 Creech, was it not ? " 
 
 In an instant I saw how it was and what 
 she intended, and I believe her ladyship, in 
 her quickness, saw it just after me ; for in 
 the confusion the throng swayed, and some 
 ran this way and others that, and there were 
 my two jailers gaping into the darkness like 
 moping owls. 
 
 'Twas but the work of a moment to wrench 
 free an arm from one and deliver t'other a rap 
 with a pistol on his skull ; and at the same 
 time I wheeled Calypso about and broke a 
 third that stood there in the wind. The three 
 thus scattered, with a whistle to the mare I 
 dropped low in the saddle, and breaking out 
 of the circle thundered down the road at a 
 gallop, while all behind me arose cries and 
 shouts, and above all her ladyship's shrill 
 voice, screaming with fury. 
 
 I rode till I reached the first turning on the 
 left, and then went up a black lane for some 
 distance ; after which I paused and listened. 
 Sounds still came to me, sailing on the night, 
 and I stood awhile, chuckling to think how
 
 MISS AND MY LADY 77 
 
 deeply her ladyship was cursing, and how 
 smartly I had evaded her. And upon that 
 comes the thought of miss. 
 
 " Why," thinks I, " she's a heart o' gold, 
 is miss ; and that wild cat will be flying in her 
 face with her claws ; " and, the devil being in 
 me, as I have said, all through that business, 
 I turned about and came back into the road. 
 
 I jogged along comfortably until I was 
 within a hundred yards of the inn, and here 
 was the same confusion that I had left. 
 
 " What's this ? " said I to a fellow that 
 passed me. 
 
 " Oh," says he, "'tis a highwayman that 
 has robbed a lady and is got off." 
 
 " Stab me ! " says I, " what fools these 
 traps be ! " and I moved on, until I came by 
 the coach, where I stood in the darkness. 
 
 I heard her ladyship's voice, coming out of 
 the inn, and still angry, and there was several 
 in the roadway, but the traps had vanished, 
 and, I make no doubt, were looking for me 
 busily. As I stood there thinking, someone 
 comes from t'other side of the chaise, and I 
 saw it was miss. At the same time she saw 
 me and started. 
 
 " What do you here ? " she asked tremu- 
 lously. 
 
 "Why," says I," I am a-looking anxiously for 
 a tobyman that has wickedly robbed a lady."
 
 78 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " Go," she cried, " you will be caught. 
 They will be back directly." 
 
 " No," said I, " I am not the man to leave 
 other people with my burdens." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " said she after a 
 pause. 
 
 " There is her ladyship," said I, " and there 
 is yourself." 
 
 " Oh, I am well used to deal with her lady- 
 ship," she said, a little bitterly. " You need 
 be in no alarm." 
 
 " Well, 'tis I shall deal with her ladyship 
 this time," said I. 
 
 " You are mad ! " she said. " Go go I 
 hear them coming ! " 
 
 " No," says I. 
 
 " Oh, go," she pleaded anxiously. " If 
 you stay you will do me no good, and yourself 
 all harm. I think you are bewitched to stay." 
 
 With that I looked at her, and though I 
 could not see her very clearly in the small 
 light, I vow she was mightily pretty. I 
 suppose 'twas the devil in me moved me, or 
 maybe 'twas only her beauty ; but, at any- 
 rate, said I, 
 
 " If I may have now what I denied myself 
 upon the road there, I will go," said I. 
 
 She drew herself straight and I could see 
 her under-lip quiver. 
 
 " Sir," she said ; " I know you to be a
 
 MISS AND MY LADY 79 
 
 highwayman ; at least, let me think you a 
 gentleman." 
 
 " Damme ! " says I bluntly, for I was taken 
 aback at this. " Damme ! no one shall say I 
 am no gentleman, for I am that afore every- 
 thing else, as I will prove on any buck's 
 body." And so, with a big congee in my 
 stirrups, I turned and left her.
 
 THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE 
 
 " I "HERE was many an adventure befell 
 JL me in a pretty broad circuit of life that 
 tickled my ribs to a proper tune ; and I 
 have cackled over some escapades with a 
 wider mouth than ever I sat out the most 
 roaring comedy of the play-houses. Not 
 but what there were some high-stepping pieces 
 to my taste in the town well enough to clap 
 eyes on, no doubt, but cockatrices mighty 
 greedy of the gullet, as you could spy at a 
 glance. And, after all, a wench is no food for 
 humour, but for another purpose altogether. 
 I pin no faith upon 'em at the best. But of 
 all the chances that I encountered, what most 
 rarely served my palate was this unexpected 
 meeting in the West Country, which, I will 
 admit at the outset, and ere I saw clearly the 
 shape of my predicament, set my heart 
 a-bobbing fast enough. It fell in this way. 
 
 'Twas on a Monday in the late summer of 
 that year of grace 1685 that I rode up from 
 the valleys of the north in the company of 
 Tony Flack, and we came to a pause upon the 
 
 hind quarters of Exeter town. Tony himself 
 
 80
 
 THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE 81 
 
 was for caution, and would have us turn away 
 to a little roadside tavern that we both knew 
 for a safe resting-place, with a staunch inn- 
 keeper to boot. But I was for Exeter itself, 
 for, to say the truth, my stomach was sour 
 with those rank swipes of the country-side, 
 and 'twas some days since I champed my teeth 
 about a town. The facts argued with Tony, 
 chicken-hearted as he was, and I will not deny 
 it ; for there right before us lay the argument, 
 in the shape of a rumbling, muddy, parti- 
 coloured chaise that was creeping up the hill. 
 Now it had so fallen out, more by way of a jest 
 than by any material design, that we had 
 scarified the occupant of this same carriage 
 some ten miles back in the thick of a waste 
 moorland that afternoon. 'Twas a mere idle 
 freak, taken out of wantonness and upon a 
 merry dinner, and by no means for the sake 
 of the guinea or two that we found in his 
 pockets. Tony gives the nag a slap of his 
 sword, and off she goes a-spinning down the 
 highway for dear life, with the coachman all 
 a-sweat with terror, and the melancholy 
 visage of a gentleman in his red periwig hang- 
 ing out of the window ; while there we stood, 
 the two of us, laughing a broadside. The nag 
 had a piebald front to her, and the chaise, as 
 I have said, was in several colours ; and thus 
 it happened that, the lights falling suddenly
 
 82 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 on 'em in that tail of the day, as we came out 
 upon the back of Exeter, Tony drew up and 
 shoved his paw forward with a mighty blank 
 face. 
 
 " See there, Dick ! " says he. " And what 
 d'ye make of that ? " 
 
 'Twas plain enough what I made of it, but 
 I only laughed. 
 
 " I make a chaise and the half," says I, 
 " and I'll warrant to make two by the time 
 we reach Exeter," for, to be sure, swipes or no 
 swipes, we had, each of us, a good warm 
 lining to the stomach. 
 
 Tony cast me a surly glance. " Rot you ! " 
 said he, " an' if the liquor spoil your wits, I'll 
 be damned if it shall mine. Nor I won't run 
 my neck into the noose for you nor any like 
 you." 
 
 " You're a white-livered sort of cur, you 
 are, Tony," said I, with another laugh. 
 " And I suppose the traps will be waiting for 
 us in a posse outside the White Hart. And 
 I shouldn't wonder if the topsman himself was 
 to snatch off his hat to us as we passed by." 
 
 " Sink me ! " growled Tony, " you forget 
 'twas broad daylight when we took 'em." 
 
 " Well," says I, " I have a notion to sleep 
 in Exeter, and I mind me of a very dainty 
 belly under my belt." 
 
 With that we brought up in a disputation,
 
 THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE 83 
 
 and being in a merry mood, what with the 
 wine and the sight of the windows twinkling 
 in the town above me, I gave him a pretty 
 salvo of wit, which sent him presently into a 
 sullen temper. 
 
 " As you will," said he at last, " but I am 
 no fool, and none knows better than you, 
 Dick Ryder, that I am no coward. And I 
 will be hanged for a common cutpurse if I go 
 forth again upon any such mad business with 
 a tipsy braggart." 
 
 " Braggart ! " I cried, starting aflame, and 
 twisting Calypso round against his horse's 
 rump. But Tony saw in a flash that he had 
 gone too far, and he turned very mild again. 
 
 " I mean no offence," said he ; "we have 
 been good comrades together, Dick Ryder. 
 But I will warrant these daredevil humours 
 will fetch us both up in Newgate ere long, and 
 that's what I'm looking at," says he. 
 
 I laughed. " You would prove a better 
 tobyman, Tony," said I, "if you would think 
 less of your neck." And then, looking at 
 him, I roared, " But, zounds, I don't wonder 
 at your fears ! " for his neck was like a cyg- 
 net's, only discoloured to a rusty iron. 
 
 But Tony was still in a sour enough mood, 
 and though he jogged his horse to my sum- 
 mons, he spoke no word as we went up the 
 hill. The chaise had vanished, but for all
 
 84 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 that I could see his thoughts were twittering 
 about it. And in this way we rode up into 
 the town, sprinkled with growing lights, and 
 'twas not until we came abreast of the White 
 Hart that Tony opened his mouth. 
 
 " If I was you, and was of your kidney," 
 says he, with a sneer, " I should think shame 
 to dine upon a sanded floor and drink out of 
 ale-jugs. Nothing short of the White Hart 
 would suit me ; no, not if I was to swing for 
 it if I was you, Dick Ryder." 
 
 " Damme," says I, suddenly, and reining 
 in, " that same thought was in my own noddle! 
 And, sure, the White Hart it shall be." With 
 that I turned the mare's nose and was point- 
 ing for the door, when Tony stopped me. 
 
 " What the devil would you do ? " he cried 
 in his alarm. ' You will fetch the noose 
 over us ! " 
 
 " Faith," said I, " but you may go to the 
 devil for me. I am weary of your clacking, 
 and I have a mind to dine in good company." 
 
 He fell back with a curse, and Calypso 
 moved on. But turning back, I saw him 
 staring with a sulky sneer upon his face, and 
 I could perceive from his attitude that he took 
 my words for an empty piece of boasting. 
 Then there was that term " braggart " stuck 
 in my gullet ; and in a second, and upon the 
 impulse, I pulled the mare's nose against the
 
 THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE 85 
 
 doorway and bawled for the ostler. Tony 
 was still visible, standing agape in the centre 
 of the road ; but I paid him no heed, merely 
 handing the bridle to the ostler, and then 
 leaping from the saddle, I walked through the 
 doorway as bold as you please. Now within 
 the doorway there was a space of hall, very 
 bare and plain, and upon two sides there 
 opened doors into the further parts of the 
 house ; but the third was filled with a screen 
 of windows, separating a little privy corner, in 
 which sat the innkeeper, very greasy and 
 affable of look. I threw down a guinea and 
 he fetched out a pint of wine ; the which 
 drunken, I turned on my heel and clattered 
 up to a great door set with brass knobs. But 
 the little fat landlord was on my heels in a 
 moment. 
 
 ' You cannot enter there," says he, in a 
 
 great taking. " 'Tis a private room, and not 
 
 for strangers." 
 But with the wine newly bubbling in my 
 
 head, I made little of him. " The devil ! " 
 
 said I. "I will have what I pay for, and I 
 
 will enter where I list." 
 
 " But, indeed," he gasped, " 'tis a place 
 
 privily set apart, and for an occasion." 
 
 'Tis good news," I answered, with a 
 
 cackle, " for that is what my heart is set 
 
 upon."
 
 86 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 He clasped my arm. " Sir ! sir ! " he cried, 
 " indeed this will be most vexatious to his 
 lordship, and will lose me his custom." 
 
 I started round on him sharply. " If I 
 want a door with brass knobs/' says I, angrily, 
 r< I will have you know that I will have a door 
 with brass knobs, ye little louse, ye ! " And 
 throwing off his hand, I opened the door. 
 
 Now 'tis certain enough that had I con- 
 served my wits more properly, and that dismal 
 juice was not so fluent in my blood, I would 
 never have risked this piece of devilry. Not 
 but what Dick Ryder wears a better face on 
 him in the nick of peril than most, but this, 
 as you will see, was scarce the occasion for a 
 wanton adventure, and I will confess that 
 Tony's counsels were wiser than my own. 
 But I was heated with the drink and the long 
 ride, and I would bear no gainsaying. And 
 so back I flung the door. The same instant 
 a cackle of laughter saluted my ears and a 
 stream of light flashed in my eyes. What I 
 made out was a long table, very elegantly 
 prepared, and a dozen or more of gentle-folk 
 seated at the board, and plying their knives 
 like good trenchermen. There was a fire 
 roaring on the hearth, and altogether the 
 scene was very merry and presented a com- 
 fortable face. And what with that appear- 
 ance of warmth and the smell of the viands
 
 THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE 87 
 
 tickling my nostrils, I hesitated no longer 
 upon the threshold where I stood, but 
 pulling to the door, I strode across the 
 room and shot my eyes about the table. 
 Just then there came another flood of 
 laughter, and in the noise of it I stood sur- 
 veying the company, by this time in some- 
 thing of a confusion, and wondering in my 
 fuddled wits what the devil I was at ; when 
 suddenly there gets up a gentleman from his 
 seat near by, and very civilly offers me a chair. 
 " Oh, well," thinks I, " as I am gone so far, 
 I may as well flesh my nose in the victuals ; " 
 and with a word of grace in answer to his 
 courtesy, down I propped upon my prats, 
 and fell upon the viands with a will. 
 
 The room was buzzing with sound, and the 
 warmth and the fare pleased me very well. 
 But where the devil I was gotten, and who 
 the devil these cullies might be, and why in 
 God's name I was thus politely admitted to 
 the board these were the enigmas that 
 floated about in my head. Not that I was in 
 any embarrassment ; for it was enough for 
 me if I was to be entertained thus royally, 
 waited upon with the best, and conjoined 
 with a high company, such as was scattered 
 about me and all without so much as a 
 single trespass upon the pocket. But by-and- 
 by my civil neighbour turns to me.
 
 88 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " You are late/' he says. " I suppose you 
 were held at the Court ; or do you ride from 
 town ? " 
 
 " Well/' says I, very careful, for I am not 
 the man to trip myself over a word, " in a 
 manner you may say yes/' I says ; and I took 
 a draught of the tanker afore me. 
 
 " Ah ! " he said, and seemed to puzzle his 
 wits over the rejoinder ; but I conceive he 
 was in no very active condition of mind, and 
 it is like enough that what I said seemed from 
 some corners of aspect to contain a sensible 
 answer. So he followed after my example, 
 and sipped his wine meditatively. 
 
 " His lordship," says he, soon again, " is in 
 high feather this evening." 
 
 " You may say that," said I, delivering a 
 glance towards the head of the table, where 
 sat a long-faced, handsome-looking fellow, 
 whom, to say sooth, I had not as yet minded 
 in the satisfaction of my appetite. " He is 
 filling a paunch, I warrant," I said, with a laugh. 
 
 " Hush ! " whispered he, with a scared look 
 on his face, and glancing about him, " you 
 will be overheard." 
 
 " Overheard ! " I said. " Am I a wench 
 that must walk mim-mouthed through her 
 wine, and not deal in the King's plain English? 
 I permit no man to dictate me upon my 
 language not L"
 
 THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE 89 
 
 The fellow stared at me for a time, and 
 then, "You have a bold tongue," said he, 
 with what I could perceive was a hint of the 
 ironic. " I have no doubt you ply it well. 
 What is your court ? " says he. 
 
 Ay, there was the rub what was my 
 court ? And what the devil was I when you 
 came to the kernel ? I had made out nothing 
 as yet, being taken up with the food and the 
 attentions of this gaping oaf. But I was not 
 to be confounded by him, not if I knew my 
 own temper ; and court or no court, I made 
 answer bluff as you please. " The same as 
 yours," says I. 
 
 " Oh ! " says he, breaking into a smile. " I 
 wear my professions very discernible, then ? " 
 
 ' Yes, you do," said I, bluntly. 
 
 " I am glad I have met you," he went on, 
 pleasantly, " and I shall make it my duty to 
 pursue our acquaintance. It is odd, indeed. 
 And what think you, sir, of the Fassett 
 business ? " 
 
 He spoke with the air of hanging on my 
 words, and I was convinced that, whatever 
 
 this d d matter was, 'twas something of 
 
 which I must needs be cognizant. So in I 
 plunged. 
 
 " Ah, you may well ask," says I, nodding 
 my head. " Gad ! and I see you are agreed 
 with me. The circumstances stand so plain
 
 90 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 that there is no denial. By God ! you are 
 right ; I'll warrant that ; and I myself am 
 game to prove it with the point/' says I, 
 slapping my sword. 
 
 The gentleman drew away, looking at me 
 with some amazement, and presently his face 
 took on an expression of confusion, and says 
 he- 
 
 " Quite so ! " says he. " Oh, yes, I am of 
 your party ; " and in truth I believe the fool 
 took what I said for a reply to his interroga- 
 tion. But by this I was now sobered enough 
 to discover the responsibilities among which 
 I was thrown, and that I must keep a strong 
 observation open if I was not to run my head 
 into danger. And the first, I must enlighten 
 myself upon this company in which I found 
 myself ; for which purpose, leaning forward, 
 I set my eyes upon the man at the end of the 
 table and examined him diligently. He was, 
 I judged, somewhere about thirty-five, of a 
 fine oval face, very justly proportioned, a 
 sallow brown in habit, and crowned above 
 his rich brown eyes with a great brown wig, 
 which sat awry upon his head, and added an 
 effeminate look to the profligate softness of 
 his lower face. His features were very finely 
 marked, his nose long and straight and deli- 
 cately fleshed, as were his curved and smiling 
 lips ; and his eyes, which were large within
 
 THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE 91 
 
 the sockets, gleamed like agates between the 
 narrow curtains of his eyelids, and sprang 
 very quickly into one simulation or another. 
 Altogether his was a remarkable face to look 
 on, and attracted strongly, for all the satur- 
 nine changes of his colour. He was laughing, 
 flushed to the sombre eyes. I had finished 
 my scrutiny, and I took off my gaze from him, 
 and was for letting it fall back on my neigh- 
 bour to interrogate him upon the identity of 
 this fine cock, when in its passage along the 
 opposite side of the table I discovered, not 
 very far from his lordship himself, no other 
 than the prim-faced gentleman of the parti- 
 coloured chaise that Tony and I had ransacked 
 that same afternoon upon the moors. 
 
 The discovery struck me with dismay, as 
 you will imagine ; but there was worse to 
 tread upon its heels, for the man was bowing 
 with a delicate and sickly smile to one that 
 toasted him from t'other side, and in putting 
 down his glass, and with the grin still upon 
 his lips, his eyes lighted upon mine and we 
 exchanged glances. 
 
 The cully turned a trifle pale, and winced, 
 moving in his seat. Then he frowned, and 
 seemed mightily taken up with his plate, 
 after which he lifted his head again and di- 
 rected a look on me. : : I met him very bold and 
 square, and his eyes gave way before me,
 
 92 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 surrendering, so to say, to my discharge ; 
 for I warrant I gave him a heavy broadside. 
 But all the time I kept seeking in my brain 
 for some way out of this damnable predica- 
 ment. Presently he catches up a piece of 
 paper, and ripping out a quill, makes some 
 writing, and calling to a lackey, hands him 
 the document. " What's he up to now ? " 
 thinks I. But I was soon to learn, for the 
 footboy walked up to the head of the table, 
 and with a bow offered the paper to his 
 lordship whoever the devil he might be. 
 
 " Well," says I to myself, " I am com- 
 mitted to it now ; and it's my bearing against 
 his, and the best credentials." And with 
 that, feeling that the matter was passed out 
 of my hands, I turned on my neighbour, and 
 says I to him, but still keeping an eye on the 
 pale-faced booby, " Who may his lordship 
 be ? " I says. 
 
 Now 'twas folly in me to have put the query 
 so direct, and indeed I would not have ven- 
 tured on the simplicity had not my wits been 
 disturbed by the incident I have related. 
 But, in point of fact, it mattered very little 
 to the issue of the misadventure, though my 
 friend started very suddenly, and gazed at me 
 in a gaping fashion. 
 
 ' ' You are j esting, ' ' he says . "His lordship ? ' ' 
 
 " Well," says I, a trifle grimly, for I saw
 
 THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE 93 
 
 the same lordship casting his eyes upon the 
 paper. " And maybe you can put a name on 
 him, if I can't." 
 
 " But but," he stammered, and then 
 " who may you be ? " he asked, with some 
 suspicion, and in another manner. 
 
 " Damn you ! " said I, " I've put you a 
 question, and a gentleman should need no 
 reminder of his necessary civilities," for by 
 this I saw his lordship's soft and shining eyes 
 directed on us. " What's the cully's name ? " 
 I asked. 
 
 He looked up, following my glance, and we 
 both stared at the man who was staring at us. 
 
 " 'Tis my Lord Jeffreys," he says, in a bare 
 whisper. You will believe me, and I make 
 no shame to admit it, that my legs took a 
 tremor at the words ; but I can keep a face 
 upon me with any, and so I stared at that 
 sinister and smiling butcher, and he stared at 
 me, for the space of some seconds ; and then 
 I took a draught of wine. 
 
 " Thank'ee," says I, calmly, to my neigh- 
 bour. " 'Tis well. I have some business 
 with his lordship." 
 
 I spoke very calmly, as I say, but you will 
 believe me my heart was sunk into my boots 
 on this news. There was no man at that time 
 but held the name of Bloody Jeffreys in a 
 horror. He lumped so large in the popular
 
 94 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 fear that he was taken for an emblem and 
 ensign of Satan himself, so diabolic and so 
 ensanguined was his practice. I have seen 
 many formidable persons in my time, and 
 exchanged passadoes with several of them, 
 but there it was the fact and figure of that 
 murdering, black-hearted, handsome rake, 
 almost of an age with myself, seated there in 
 his chair, crept over me like the pest, and 
 discharged my wits abroad like a spray of 
 sand scattered afore the wind. I cast my eye 
 again on him, for, indeed, I could not keep it 
 away, and a faint sardonic grin touched his 
 face as he met my glance. He summoned to 
 him a lackey and spoke in his ear with an 
 imperious gesture, whereat the fellow, seeming 
 very much frightened, hurried out of the 
 room, and I doubted not that he was gone for 
 the officers. His lordship then turns to the 
 gentleman near him and, still with his stealthy 
 and terrible smile, whispers under his breath. 
 The whole company, meanwhile, which had 
 all along hung upon his looks and conversa- 
 tion like a pack of craven dogs on their 
 master, was fallen into sudden silence ; but 
 this communication was spread from mouth 
 to mouth like a running fire, and in a moment 
 the whole room was agape and directing on 
 me surprised and startled glances. But this 
 pulled me together, and 'twas high time too.
 
 THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE 95 
 
 " Well," thinks I, " an' I must lay my 
 back against a wall, I must ; but they shall 
 learn that Dick Ryder is not to be browbeat 
 by a lot of scurvy lawyers " (for so I sup- 
 posed 'em), " whatever fate be in store for 
 him." 
 
 And so, turning to my next-door neighbour, 
 I began very loudly, and as if resuming a 
 conversation with him, 
 
 " Nay, nay ; but I am at odds with you, 
 sir. Faith, I disagree with you entirely ! 
 Upon my soul, I have never seen his lordship 
 in a better condition and better plumed for 
 service ! A worm in his head, say you ? 
 Godsakes, I'll never believe it ! His wits 
 wear to a knife edge with practice." 
 
 Now this was spoke, as I have said, in a 
 clamant voice, which, resounding on the 
 unnatural silence that had fallen on the room, 
 reaches me the ears of all this company, as I 
 had desired, and more particularly those of 
 his lordship, for whom I had designed the 
 speech. Jeffreys turned of a sudden a darker 
 red under his brown, and his woman's eyes 
 shot anger. 
 
 " And who is this that dares pass questions 
 on his lordship ? " he cries, in a sharp, clear 
 tone. " Come, I should like to look on him 
 attentively," he says, " that I might know 
 him again. He must be a fellow worth ac-
 
 96 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 quaint ance if for his future only. I promise 
 you that shall be secured to him, and that he 
 shall know very soon." 
 
 But at this ugly exhibition of temper, and 
 more especially at the malicious menace it 
 conveyed, my poor neighbour fell into a 
 fluster, and ran white and red in turns, open- 
 ing his mouth, and trembling and stuttering, 
 and gasping like a dying fish. " My lord, I 
 I said nothing. Tis false," he stammered. 
 
 The poor wretch was in so pitiable a way 
 that I found it in my heart to be sorry for him ; 
 and, after all, he had served me very kindly 
 at the start, so I spoke up, rising in my seat 
 and bowing. 
 
 " My lord," I said, " the gentleman says 
 well. Though 'twas to him that my remarks 
 in praise of yourself were addressed, I was 
 mistook. 'Twas not on you that his comment 
 was directed." 
 
 " That is a very likely tale," said his lord- 
 ship, with a frown ; and then appearing to 
 recover himself, as he was used to do, quite 
 rapidly, he stared at me with another ex- 
 pression. 
 
 " I am in your debt, sir," he said, " for 
 your defence of me. You do well. I warrant 
 Jeffreys has still his wits about him. He has 
 an eye for a rogue, sir. You will do him the 
 justice to acknowledge that, I hope, on our
 
 THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE 97 
 
 better acquaintance." And he laughed some- 
 what harshly, and eyed the board as if inviting 
 a round of acclamation. The miserable time- 
 servers cackled their loudest, and his lordship, 
 turning again to me, " I should know your 
 face," says he, and offers a kind of wink to the 
 company. 
 
 " 'Tis no wonder, my lord," I answered, pat 
 as you will ; "'tis almost as well known as 
 your lordship's, and almost as favourably 
 received." 
 
 At that a young fellow across the table 
 from me broke into a stutter of laughter. 
 But all the rest were silent. Jeffreys looked 
 at him savagely. " I will remember you, 
 Charteris," he said simply, and I saw the 
 light naming in the eyes he directed on me. 
 " That's well," he said, " and I make no doubt 
 that you are, like myself, a dispenser of 
 justice. You hold the scales." 
 
 " Indeed, my lord," said I, for I was not in 
 a mood to be thus baited whilst waiting on 
 the officers, " there is more resemblance 
 between you and me, perchance, than your 
 lordship will acknowledge." 
 
 " Ha ! " he cried, with his cold and bitter 
 laugh. " I knew not that I was unawares 
 entertaining a rival. A learned man in the 
 law is this gentleman, no doubt. Well, sir, 
 I will be greedy of your advice while I may. 
 G
 
 08 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 Look you. There was a man tried afore me 
 this day that had rumpadded a civil and 
 innocent gentleman upon the King's highway, 
 and faith the rascal was rash enough to ven- 
 ture into the company of his victim to dinner. 
 What d'ye say to that ? What sort of 
 sentence would ye deliver on the wretch ? " 
 
 " How was he took ? " said I. 
 
 " Well," says his lordship, after a pause, 
 and smiling towards the door, " I fancy the 
 sheriff's officers were summoned upon him." 
 
 " Nay," said I. " Then, had I been justice, 
 since he was took, I would ha' hanged him, 
 for 'twas a poor wit that served him no surer 
 than to be so took." 
 
 " Fie ! " says Jeffreys. " What interpreter 
 of the law is here ! >] 
 
 " 'Twould not be the first time that the law 
 was twisted by its dispenser, my lord," said I, 
 boldly. 
 
 His lordship's smile stole farther up his 
 face, and opened his lips so that the white 
 teeth shone, and he smiled in an ugly fashion 
 to the fellow next him. 
 
 " You hear that, my lord ? " says he, in his 
 sneering way. " Faith, they will presently 
 be saying that we did not deal justice to Dame 
 Alice Lisle." 
 
 The man that he addressed winced and 
 smiled uneasily, for 'twas well known that
 
 THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE 99 
 
 the popular feeling ran high upon the scandal- 
 ous trial, which was but newly concluded, 
 though I wondered to hear the prime engine 
 of that infamous conviction jest so wantonly 
 upon it. But that was Jeffreys' s way, to 
 offer a bold face and play the bully when he 
 was in power ; but when he was down, there 
 was no coward to whine like him, as events 
 proved subsequently. But Jeffreys turns to 
 me again, content enough with his sally. 
 
 " Sirrah," he said, " you have a signal 
 charter for your tongue, I can perceive. It 
 is a righteous conscience keeps you in counte- 
 nance. You are bold upon your virtues. 
 I have met your kidney before, and if I must 
 hang a knave, I prefer to hang one with an 
 insolent front to him that snivels. I would 
 disembowel t'other in the pillory. There is 
 too much softness in this modern justice." 
 
 " My lord," says I, " you speak my feelings 
 like a book. Faith, I would griddle the 
 canting rogue with these two hands." 
 
 His lordship smiled very diabolic, and then 
 finished his wine with the air of one that has 
 tired of the play, at the same time nodding to 
 the lackey that stood near by him exceedingly 
 respectful. But he went out of the room. 
 
 " Gad ! " says the young man that was 
 called Charteris, in a whisper to his neighbour, 
 " 'tis a pity to go farther. Faith, I think he
 
 100 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 hath earned his pardon for the steady face he 
 keeps." 
 
 But you must suppose that all this time I 
 was not idle in my mind, but kept casting my 
 wits about the predicament, with a mighty 
 sharp eye upon any chances that emerged. 
 Well, the case was turning very black by now, 
 seeing I knew well enough for what the signal 
 of his lordship was intended, and I had as yet 
 gotten no very clear notion in my head. Yet 
 at the next opening of the door, and when the 
 first noise of heavy feet sounded on the 
 threshold, my thoughts spouted forth in a 
 clear stream, and there sat I as taut and cool 
 as you please, for all the world as though 'twas 
 a private party to which Jeffreys had invited 
 me for a guest. His lordship rose as the 
 officers entered, and was turning away in- 
 differently without ever a sign or a word, 
 when he suddenly stopped again. 
 
 " 'Twould be strange to learn, sirrah," said 
 he, addressing me, " out of a natural curiosity, 
 what robbed thee of thy senses to fetch thee 
 here. Tis an odd new policy for the hare to 
 he down with the fox." 
 
 With that I got to my feet. "My lord," said I, 
 very boldly and in a public voice," I have come 
 here uninvited, 'tis true, and I proffer you my 
 apologies for the trespass; but I have come upon 
 a pressing private business with your lordship."
 
 THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE 101 
 
 His lordship stared at me with a sour look 
 in his eye. " Indeed ? " says he, harshly. 
 " I am not used to have any business but the 
 one with your kidney, and that not private," 
 he says. 
 
 " My lord," said I, " 'tis the most urgent 
 message, and needeth instant delivery." 
 
 I saw in his eye that he still meditated to 
 refuse me, but I set my gaze upon him very 
 intently, and what he thought he saw there 
 made him waver. 
 
 " Well," said he, in his tyrannical fashion, 
 " I hope we shall hear good of this message ; 
 for I swear, if I do not, I will have thee hanged 
 the higher," and he motioned to me to draw 
 nearer, at the same time that the other 
 gentlemen of the King's counsel withdrew to 
 the bottom of the room, conversing together. 
 But the officers approached, and stood a little 
 way off by Jeffrey s's signal, but keeping out 
 of earshot. 
 
 " Who are you, fellow, and what pretences 
 are these you make ? " asked his lordship, 
 roughly, as soon as we were alone, but 
 examining me with curiosity. 
 
 " My lord," said I, " I make no pretences, 
 as I shall assure you ; and as for myself, 
 believe me that I play a truer part than does 
 appear." 
 
 I looked at him meaningly.
 
 102 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " Let us come to plain speech/' said he, 
 sharply. "I cannot dawdle with your riddles." 
 
 " I ask no better, my lord," I cried. " I 
 bear a message from the Prince." 
 
 He started, and stared at me under his 
 brows in suspicion. " What Prince ? " he 
 asked brusquely. 
 
 " There is but one," said I, boldly, " and 
 one that shall rest so no longer by God's 
 grace and the trusty arms of England." 
 
 " You mean the Prince of Orange ? " he 
 asked, in a lower voice. I nodded. For 
 a while he looked me in the eyes, and 
 then, turning to the sheriff's officers, ordered 
 them to withdraw a little ; after which he 
 came back to me, surveying me with his cold 
 and savage eyes, but with something of 
 anxiety. 
 
 " You are a bold man," he said, " to bring 
 me this message." 
 
 " I would do that and more than that for 
 the good cause," said I. 
 
 Jeffreys was silent, and then, " Come, what 
 is this message, then ? " he inquired, with a 
 sardonic glance. 
 
 For the life of me I could not have de- 
 termined if he were taken with the bait, but 
 I swore to hook him, as, indeed, it was the 
 only course left to me. 
 
 " Your lordship has not heard the news
 
 THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE 103 
 
 from the coast ? " says I, looking round very 
 cautiously. 
 
 " Proceed/' he commanded, watching me 
 with his beautiful and horrid eyes. 
 
 " Events have been stirring in the Low 
 Country," said I, "as your lordship will be 
 aware. The whole of the North is disaffected 
 against his Majesty. It needs but to land," 
 I said, " and your lordship knows what 
 might happen." 
 
 " I think, sir, we were to come to quarters," 
 said Jeffreys, in a low voice, but stillpn his 
 imperious way. 
 
 Well, if he would take it, he was to have it 
 then and there. " The Prince," says I, 
 whispering, " is already landed." 
 
 He started before my eyes, but recovering 
 himself, " I have had runners from Plymouth 
 this afternoon," he said, " and there was no 
 news of import." 
 
 " Nay," said I, " 'tis not from Plymouth I 
 come, my lord." 
 
 " If I were to ask you whence " he began, 
 after a pause. 
 
 " You would remember, my lord, ere you 
 did so, that I have not yet delivered my 
 message, and thus have had no reply," I said. 
 
 " You remind me of my duty," he ex- 
 claimed sternly. " Deliver this message, for 
 I can tarry no longer."
 
 104 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " My lord/' said I, " I would have come to 
 it sooner were it not for your distrust. I am 
 charged by the Prince himself, no less. I have 
 ridden all day upon a circuit. Three noble- 
 men were named, and your lordship also. 
 The Prince lies on English soil to-night, and 
 would confer with these four faithful subjects." 
 
 Jeffreys stood awhile in thought, his delicate 
 face changing with a dozen emotions. Then 
 he spoke very harshly. 
 
 " This is very well, sirrah. You make an 
 excellent liar," he said. " You would come 
 here and offer me a cock-and-bull tale, think- 
 ing me a lack-wit to see you so impudently 
 stand in your lie." 
 
 " My lord," said I, as warm as may be, 
 " see in what my position stands. I am come 
 here, penetrating to your very fireside. I 
 stake my head upon the risk. 'Tis in your 
 office to sound a word, and these fellows will 
 take me forth upon a capital charge of treason. 
 I have cast my die for the good cause. Yet 
 my death, which would be an evil to me in 
 that case, would profit you nothing, my lord 
 nay, less than nothing in the coming trouble." 
 
 Again he paused. ' The Chief Justice of 
 this realm does not parley with treason," 
 said he. 
 
 But I had a glimpse of the man now ; I 
 saw what fear ran in his blood j he would not
 
 THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE 105 
 
 have kept me haggling there if he had it not 
 in his heart to coquet with fortune. 
 
 " My lord," I said, " and who would credit 
 that a poor highwayman talked of state 
 politics with the Lord Chief Justice ? Why, 
 a gallows and the topsman would serve his 
 turn." 
 
 He heaved a little sigh, fidgeting with his 
 fingers. " Who the devil are you ? " he 
 asked. " You are taken for a padsman." 
 
 " My lord," said I, " 'tis strange company 
 a man may keep for a purpose. I will not 
 deny that I know your suspicions, and whence 
 they spring. Indeed, it was the gentleman's 
 natural conclusion. I was pressed to carry 
 my mission. Sure I have been worse ac- 
 companied than by a tobyman. But as for 
 my name, your lordship has given me no 
 answer. Call me Ryder. I am for the 
 Prince." 
 
 He heard me out, and 'twas the little touch 
 of braggadocio I think that converted him, 
 as much as anything. " What do you pro- 
 pose ? " he asked, in another tone. 
 
 " I would ride back to-night," I said, 
 " unless your lordship decide that I must 
 lodge in jail." 
 
 " As to that," he exclaimed, " Mr Ryder, 
 I fear that we must lodge you there in the 
 meantime. What hour would you start ? "
 
 106 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 "The sooner the better/' said I. "But 
 nine will serve." 
 
 He regarded me with an urgent face of 
 inquiry. " This may be a trap," he said 
 suspiciously. 
 
 " Your lordship may guard against that/' 
 said I, suavely. " As large an escort of horse 
 as you will, and none to know our destination 
 save us two." 
 
 " Nay, none save yourself, Mr Ryder, it 
 appears," he said grimly. " But you say 
 well. I will be with you at nine." 
 
 Thereupon he motioned me away with a 
 gesture of impatience and calling on the 
 sheriff, pointed at me. The next moment I 
 was surrounded and in their arms ; but I 
 played my part like a play-actor, crying upon 
 his lordship to hear me, and making a piteous 
 struggle with the officers. 
 
 A little later, and you might see me settled 
 in the compter, hugging myself the one 
 minute, and the next perplexed upon a further 
 step ; for, by what I saw of Jeffreys, I 
 reckoned upon my punctual deliverance. 
 The fact is that he was afeared of what would 
 issue from this promised trouble of the Dutch- 
 man, and 'twas reported that such was the 
 state of most of those about the Court, who 
 were in the mind to play two parts, and 
 neither with any stomach. Yet as the time
 
 THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE 107 
 
 drew on and I had ample leisure to digest the 
 various aspects of the adventure, I confess I 
 was assailed by a fear lest Jeffreys should have 
 been disporting himself with me, or should 
 have cocked the white feather, and that I was 
 still to rest and rot in that pestiferous dungeon. 
 So that when at last the door swung wide and 
 one of the turnkeys appeared, I was like to 
 have cried out in my glee. 'Twas the signal, 
 sure enough, for I was taken forthright out 
 of my cell, and commanded into the presence 
 of the governor. I do not know by what 
 trickery the affair was managed, but if there 
 was ever any dark intrigue to the point, you 
 might trust Bloody Jeffreys for that ; all I 
 know is that 'twas but a few minutes ere I was 
 out of the gates of the compter, under the 
 pale face of the moon, and with my heels in 
 the flanks of Calypso, gently ambling in a 
 silent company towards the Plymouth road. 
 
 His lordship had taken me at my word, and 
 there were six or more in the band that sur- 
 rounded me ; but we rode in a deep quiet, and 
 for a long while I offered no address to the 
 horseman by me, whom I supposed to be the 
 Chief Justice himself. But presently, and 
 when our faces were well set upon the Ply- 
 mouth highway, and there was less chance 
 that the cavalcade would invite curiosity 
 owing to the sparseness of the wayfarers, he
 
 108 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 turned to me and spoke up for himself. It 
 was Jeffreys, sure enough, and he wore a 
 mighty look of worry, as I could perceive at 
 the first glance. 
 
 " You have not informed me, Mr Ryder," 
 says he, " to what destination we are bound ? " 
 
 Now this was pretty much to the point, for 
 Bloody Jeffreys was not the man to waste 
 useless words ; but, Lord love you, I had as 
 much notion of whither we were set for as he 
 had himself. 'Twas for a chance I was play- 
 ing, and now that I had my two legs across 
 Calypso once more, it would go badly with the 
 whole half-dozen of 'em if I did not show a 
 clean pair of heels somewhere and sometime. 
 But of course I had thought upon the question 
 in my prison, and says I, " You will under- 
 stand, your lordship, that it's not in my 
 authority to commit anything to words. I am 
 bound by the Prince's orders." 
 
 " That is very well," he retorted, in his 
 arrogant way. " But it appears that I must 
 commit myself, and no one else. 'Tis a one- 
 sided bargain I am not used to make." 
 
 " My lord," said I, very earnestly, " I will 
 not deny but there is reason in your argument 
 and, for myself, I would at once admit you 
 to my plans. But I am the custodian of the 
 Prince's secret. 'Tis none of my own I 
 guard."
 
 THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE 109 
 
 " Well, well," he cried with impatience, 
 " I suppose that I am to arrive somewhere." 
 
 " And where that somewhere is your lord- 
 ship shall learn," said I, " with the per- 
 mission and from the lips of his gracious 
 Majesty King William." 
 
 He started at the words, and eyed me 
 askance for a space, a dubious expression of 
 irresolution crossing his features. " You are 
 a bold man, Mr Ryder," he exclaimed, with 
 something of a sneer. " I may remind you 
 that there surround you five stalwart men-at- 
 arms that own allegiance to his Majesty 
 James II." 
 
 " And you would have added, my lord," 
 said I, " that James Stuart's trusted servant 
 is conversing with me. I am sensible of the 
 peril in which I stand. But I am no Facing- 
 Both-Ways. I hold by my conscience, i' 
 faith." 
 
 " Sir," he rapped out, harsh and sudden, 
 " I have laid you by the heels within the 
 precincts of the compter once, and there I 
 will lay you again, if you brandish your 
 impudence before me." 
 
 " In the which case, my lord," quoth I, 
 coldly, " you will be nothing bettered, and 
 King William would have a loyal servant to 
 avenge." 
 
 He said nothing, angrily considering me.
 
 110 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " Come, come, my lord," I said, " we are 
 in a kind of silly balance one against t'other, 
 and, to put no veil upon the situation, we 
 scarce dare trust each other. I walk in a 
 great public peril, sure, with your hands upon 
 me, but consider upon what risks you yourself 
 also move. I am familiar to the Prince ; 
 my errand is known about his Court. Turn 
 about your horse, fetch me in chains to justice, 
 and how will you appear ? 'Tis a summary 
 way with a royal herald. I ask you with what 
 eyes the King will view this act, and with 
 what penalties he will reward it ? " 
 
 Jeffreys said nothing for a time, and then, 
 speaking slowly, " You have," he said, in a 
 quieter voice, " a strong persuasion of the 
 Prince's triumph." 
 
 " My lord," said I, " you yourself shall be 
 the judge. What cries are these that issue 
 from the town these many months ? With 
 what voices was the Duke of Monmouth 
 welcomed but yesterday ? Nay, the people 
 of this very country-side, newly trodden and 
 trampled by King James's dragoons, scarred 
 and lacerated by your own ensanguined 
 hands, my lord with what a face do they 
 regard James Stuart, and what a welcome 
 think you they would give ye for yourself ? " 
 
 His lordship whitened under the moonlight, 
 and his face betrayed an emotion of terror.
 
 THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE 111 
 
 Twas plain that he had entertained these 
 same thoughts, and that my design had given 
 him several unhappy hours. But he made 
 me no answer, and rode on, digesting these 
 considerations with what stomach he might. 
 
 Now all this time we were getting farther 
 into the rude country parts of the shire, and 
 more than once I had turned the party upon 
 a by-way, so that by this we were come out by 
 the devil knows where. Moreover, it was 
 become very late, and a shrewd wind from the 
 south came snapping about our faces. And 
 thus it grew upon me that I must bring this 
 topsy-turvy adventure to some close, with 
 what wit I might ; the more particularly as 
 by his lordship's contrivance (I make no 
 doubt) I rode in the midst of a circle, and was 
 evidently to consider myself a fast prisoner 
 in the meantime. Now I had bred in my 
 mind a very tolerable design by which I might 
 have given 'em the slip, but by this time I 
 was too nearly watched for that, and the bare 
 appearance of the little inn of Wolcombe, 
 which I was contemplating, would have served 
 to start suspicions, if not certainty, in Jeffrey s's 
 noddle. So thinks I to myself that 'tis ever 
 a bold course that runs the least risk, as, 
 indeed, I have always attributed my own 
 security to my never shirking a hazard in the 
 passage of fortune. Upon which suggestion
 
 112 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 comes another that the present would serve 
 as well as another opportunity, and better too, 
 seeing that his lordship's eyes were beginning 
 to lower on me at this undue delay. Where- 
 fore what do I at this juncture, and when 
 jogging along the way in the full face of old 
 Oliver, but rein the nag to one side, and 
 reaching down, open a huge gate that stood 
 a little aback from the road. 
 
 " What is this ? " asked Jeffreys, in sur- 
 prise. 
 
 " This is the place, my lord," said I, in a 
 whisper. " If you will march with me a little 
 in the fore of these men, I will instruct you 
 further as we ride up." 
 
 There was a moment's pause on his part, 
 but then I suppose he considered the proba- 
 bilities, and he saw that the road was clearly 
 an approach to some great house. At any- 
 rate, he issued an order to his escort, and the 
 party wheeled up after me through the gate- 
 way and up the avenue. 
 
 " I take it, sir," he said at once, " that the 
 Prince lies here ? " 
 
 " That is so, my lord," said I, though, to 
 say sooth, I was all the time wondering what 
 the devil might he at the end of this long 
 passage, and what should be my next turn in 
 the game. But Jeffreys seemed quite satis- 
 fied, and he even displayed a ruffle of eagerness
 
 THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE 113 
 
 at this juncture ; and so once more in deep 
 silence we rode on, and came out soon upon a 
 great terrace of gravel surrounded by an 
 amphitheatre of trees, with the long house 
 lying black and high upon one side. The 
 whole troop came to a halt here, and his lord- 
 ship turned to me as who should ask, " What 
 must be done now ? " It was manifest on 
 the instant that my only course lay in some 
 prompt act, seeing that there was no oppor- 
 tunity to show my heels ; and so, beckoning 
 him with a quiet motion, I jogged on towards 
 the house, Calypso's heels making a devilish 
 noise trampling on the stones. Somewhere 
 within the house shone a faint light, though 
 'twas long past midnight, and it seemed, 
 therefore, that someone was astir within. 
 His lordship's eyes met mine anxiously, and 
 he moistened his lips. He was greatly agi- 
 tated, for certain, and the sight strung my 
 nerves. Off I leaped, and rapped loudly upon 
 the knocker before the big door. Now I 
 swear to you that when I laid my fingers to 
 the knocker I had never a thought in my head 
 as to the course I should pursue. But on 
 that instant, and while the echoes rang still 
 in my ears, I took a quick notion. Leaning 
 forward to Jeffreys, I said, whispering, 
 
 " My lord, I will prepare your way. Keep 
 ye here, and you shall be fetched presently."
 
 114 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 He stared at me suspiciously and in some 
 bewilderment ; but ere he could say anything 
 the door swung gently back. With a spring 
 I was across the threshold and click goes the 
 lock behind me in the very face of the as- 
 tonished janitor. But he fell a-trembling. 
 
 " Who are you ? " he said, while the light 
 he carried shook in his hands. 
 
 " Hush ! " says I, warningly ; " make no 
 noise. Your lives hang on it. There is a 
 pack of dirty cut-throats on my heels," I 
 says. 
 
 " Oh, Lord ! " he groaned, and retired 
 hurriedly from the door. I followed him, 
 but he drew back, very suspicious. 
 
 " My good man," said I, judging him by 
 his looks to be the butler, " pray use me with 
 no suspicion. I am come to warn you. See, 
 I bear no arms, but am a private and peaceful 
 citizen like yourself." 
 
 " How come you here ? " he asked, being 
 somewhat reassured. 
 
 " I became privy to their designs by acci- 
 dent at the Wolcombe Inn, the scurvy rogues," 
 said I, very pat and indignant, " and I have 
 rode on to warn your master in the nick of 
 time. Where may he be ? " 
 
 " His lordship is abed, sir," he says. 
 
 " Oh, well," said I, " hale him forth." 
 
 " Nay, but I dare not," says he.
 
 THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE 115 
 
 " Oh, very well," said I. " Then you shall 
 have your throats cut, every man." 
 
 His jaw fell ; then, " I have a blunderbuss," 
 says he, brightening of a sudden. 
 
 " Blunderbuss ! " says I, with a sneer. 
 " Why, 'tis a veritable band of roaring satans, 
 that lives on blunderbusses." 
 
 " Oh, Lord deliver us ! " he cried, and 
 wrung his hands. " What shall we do ? " 
 
 Now, in point of fact, as you may see, 'twas 
 in my power without more ado to play on my 
 poor butler's fears, and so, skipping out of a 
 back door, to leave Jeffreys and his crew to 
 cool their heels on the terrace. But I was by 
 this time infused with a certain zest of the 
 adventure ; I entertained it with a gusto ; 
 and so, drawing him gravely to a window near 
 by that looked upon the front. 
 
 " See you," said I, pointing out the escort 
 where they lay in waiting, " there's a mon- 
 strous set of rascals for ye, all a-hungering for 
 blood, they are, all a-spitting on their hands 
 to flirt their hangers, with which to slit the 
 throats of poor civil citizens like me and you." 
 
 " Lord save us ! " he said, with his teeth 
 going. And just at that moment a thin voice 
 sounded from somewhere above, and a tall 
 lean old gentleman, wrapped in a night-rail 
 and looking choleric of face, peered over the 
 stairway at us.
 
 116 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 ' What the devil are you at, Jenkins ? " he 
 says peevishly. 
 
 " Oh, my lord," cried Jenkins (if that was 
 the fool's name), "'tis a gentleman that has 
 come to warn us and there is a pack of 
 highwaymen without, and our throats shall 
 all be cut ! Heaven help us ! " 
 
 " Silence, sirrah ! I will have none of this 
 noise," cries the old gentleman, in a peppery 
 voice. " You have disturbed my rest ! " he 
 says angrily. 
 
 " But, my lord," cried poor Jenkins, " the 
 highwaymen ' ' 
 
 " Well, well," says he, shrilly, " send 'em 
 away. You must get rid of 'em," and he 
 looked testily at the butler. 
 
 But by this time with the noise of our talk- 
 ing the whole house was awake, and there 
 came the sound of doors opening, and forth 
 from dark passages broke lights, and faces 
 peeped over balustrades. 
 
 " My lord," said I, for 'twas time for me 
 to think of old Jeffreys outside, "'tis true 
 there's highwaymen without, but I can think 
 of a way to trap 'em." 
 
 " 'Tis well someone has his wits," says he, 
 pettishly. " Well, what would you do ? " 
 
 " I would let the captain in," said I, " when 
 he knocks on the door, and shutting him off 
 fromjiis fellows, fall upon him and take him."
 
 THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE 117 
 
 " What then ? " said he. 
 
 " Why," says I, " you may then make your 
 terms with the gang, having him for a hostage." 
 
 " Why did you not think of that, Jenkins ? " 
 said the old gentleman, querulously. " Jen- 
 kins, you shall capture the captain as this 
 gentleman advises." 
 
 But Jenkins's face fell, and he fidgeted 
 with his fingers : 'twas plain the mission was 
 not to his taste. There was no time to spend 
 upon such tremors, for indeed I knew that 
 Jeffreys would be getting suspicious in his 
 mind, and I was now resolute to put a score 
 upon him for his ugly behaviour. So said I : 
 ' There is no need, my lord, to entrust the 
 matter to Jenkins here, seeing that all may 
 bear a hand. I make no doubt that there be 
 weapons of a kind, and if Mr Jenkins, maybe, 
 will jump on the villain's back when he is 
 down " 
 
 " Faith, that will I," said Jenkins, stoutly, 
 and armed himself forthwith with a warming- 
 pan that hung upon the walls. 
 
 And that act setting the note, the company 
 broke away in a commotion, each securing 
 some form of a missile wherewith to assail 
 the miscreant. And with that, as if the affair 
 was already at an end, the old gentleman pulls 
 his wrapper close around him and returns 
 very coolly to his bed. But I had no time for
 
 118 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 these observations, for now was come the 
 occasion upon which my scheme depended, 
 and, 
 
 " There he knocks," said I, suddenly. 
 i But they were all so cluttered with their 
 fears and their excitement that not one of 
 them but believed I spoke the truth. 
 
 " Lord, how savage he knocks ! " says a 
 wench, with a shiver, and lays hold of a 
 lackey's arm. 
 
 I went down to the door, and upon the 
 first lifting of the latch they popped away 
 like rabbits in a warren. There, sure enough, 
 was his lordship, in a mighty trepidation and 
 with an ugly scowl. 
 
 " Come in," says I, in a whisper ; " the 
 Prince was abed, but will see you at once, my 
 lord." 
 
 He came over the threshold, and clap 
 I shut the door behind him ; and when that 
 was done I breathed more freely, for I knew 
 that I was secure in my game. The Chief 
 Justice, looking very fine and stately, ad- 
 vanced down the solitary hall, emerging 
 under the dim light ; and then, all of a sudden 
 a hassock came rustling through the air and 
 took him in the belly. Over he went with a 
 little gasp, and measured his length upon the 
 floor. Upon that leaps out my friend Jenkins 
 with his warming-pan, and bestriding his
 
 THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE 119 
 
 lordship's back, sets to belabouring for dear 
 life. Immediately after, and encouraged by 
 this, others of the lackeys sprang forth and 
 fell to maltreating the poor cully where he lay. 
 ' Take that, you lousy knave, you ? " says 
 one fat wench, and turns over him a kitchen 
 utensil of some kind. 
 
 " Let me scratch his eyes ! " cries another ; 
 and Lord love you, what with their exclama- 
 tions and the screaming, to say nothing of 
 the noise of Jenkins's warming-pan and his 
 lordship's angry oaths, you would have 
 thought that Bedlam was broke loose. 
 
 But in the midst of it all I caught suddenly 
 a sound of horses' hoofs upon the gravel, and 
 on the top of that came a hammering at the 
 door. I am no fool to outstay my welcome 
 and so thinks I that the time is come, and 
 seizing a light that stood near by I made 
 straight through the midst of that uproar and 
 plunged into the nether darkness of the house. 
 Here, by picking my way through divers 
 passages, I presently came forth by a side door 
 and passed out into the night. A shrill 
 whistle in the old way fetched Calypso to me 
 whinnying, and as I put my hand upon her 
 bridle I turned back and listened. There 
 was that pandemonium still within the hall, 
 reaching me faintly through the open door- 
 way, and the escort was still hammering on
 
 120 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 the hall door. Then I leaped into the saddle 
 and turned the mare's nose down a side track 
 in the park, and the last I heard as I rode off, 
 chuckling to myself, was the noise of the 
 escort pounding on the door.
 
 THE ATTACK ON THE CHAISE 
 
 I HAVE had ever an eye for a doxy, and in 
 the course of my life have happened 
 upon a variety of the sex such as falls to few 
 men. Some have been fine ladies, brave with 
 their lace and powder, and others again have 
 descended upon a scale to the common Kixsy- 
 winsy ; but in the end I would wager Polly 
 Scarlet against any of the pack. Yet I will 
 confess that there were some that have 
 mightily tickled me, and one or two that went 
 near to turn my head for their looks alone, 
 to speak nothing of their state and grace. 
 Not but what I have long learned the measure 
 of beauty, and how far it may go a man is a 
 fool to surrender to that on the summons ; 
 yet I will not deny how greatly it disturbs the 
 midriff, and, coming home so sharp, does thus 
 affect the bearing of us all. Madam or miss, 
 there was no handsomer lady in town on that 
 summer night when I encountered her than 
 Sir Philip CaswelTs ward, and 'twas that, I'll 
 be bound, influenced me in my behaviour 
 subsequently. Nevertheless, I vow I did not 
 care two straws for the pretty puss in my 
 heart. 
 
 121
 
 122 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 'Twas after a long evening at a gaming 
 house in Marylebone that I was returning on 
 my two legs through the fields for Soho. I 
 was in a pleasant temper, having filled my 
 pockets with king's pictures, and I had drunk 
 nothing save a bottle or so of good burgundy 
 since dinner. The hour, indeed, was past 
 midnight, and I was casting up the chances 
 to find supper at the Pack Horse, or the 
 Golden Eagle, or some other house known 
 to me. " Well," says I, as I came out in the 
 hedgerows, "'tis nearly one, and rip me if I 
 do not sup and lie abed by two, and live 
 virtuous," for I was pleased with what I was 
 carrying, and loth to lose it. A bird was 
 calling in a flutter from the hedge, and just 
 upon that another sound came to my ears, 
 and on the still air arose the clamour of swords 
 in engagement. This was nothing to me, for 
 I am not used to intermeddle in such affairs as 
 nocturnal brawls, unless, indeed, I am gone 
 in liquor, as sometimes happens, or am led 
 off by troublesome company. But to the 
 sounds of the fight succeeded the voice of a 
 woman, crying, but not very loudly, for help. 
 This, as you may believe, was upon another 
 footing, for there was never a petticoat that 
 appealed to Dick Ryder in her trouble in vain, 
 as my records will prove on any road in 
 England. So off I set at a run in the direction
 
 THE ATTACK ON THE CHAISE 123 
 
 of the sounds, which seemed to stream out of 
 the entrance to Windmill Street. The houses 
 here were black and silent (it being so late) 
 and there was no sign of any interest on the 
 part of the inhabitants of the quarter. But 
 the moon, which had been under a scurry of 
 clouds, struck out of her shelter and showed 
 me plain the scene of the struggle. There, in 
 the roadway, stood the body of a chaise, with 
 two trampling horses, while about it was a 
 melley of figures, two of which were engaged, 
 hammer and tongs, upon each other. I was 
 not long ere I had seized the situation, and 
 interpreted it properly ; and, whipping out 
 my blade, I made no ado about falling on the 
 assailants of the chaise. 'Twas easy to make 
 out who these were, inasmuch as one of the 
 men wore a mask across his eyes. I ran upon 
 him and those behind him, while I was aware 
 of the woman's cry that still issued out of the 
 chaise but now suddenly stopped. 
 
 At that I lunged, but on that same instant 
 the scum about him came at me from the side, 
 so that I was forced to keep my eyes and 
 weapon in two places. The man in the mask 
 had not ceased to ply his point on the gentle- 
 man whom I took to be the owner of the 
 chaise, and this seemed a sturdy, obstinate 
 fellow enough, for he puffed and grunted hard 
 at my ear, but fought like any dragon. One
 
 124 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 of those that came at me I winged in the arm, 
 and, swiftly dodging behind my ally, I came 
 upon the masked man and ran him through 
 the shoulder without advertisement. He 
 dropped his arm with an oath, and, as he did 
 so, the mask fell from his face, which showed 
 clear and lean in the moonlight. But that 
 was no sooner done than the big man by me 
 lurched and staggered, so that it was plain he 
 had taken something in his vitals. Well, here 
 was I now all alone with that evil pack about 
 me, pressing on me like birds of prey, for 
 although I had pinked one and his master, 
 there was two more able-bodied culleys left, 
 to say nothing of the master himself, whose 
 wound, to judge from his language, was more 
 painful than serious. I am quick at a resolve, 
 and know when to withdraw from in front of 
 odds. There was a man fallen wounded, and 
 maybe dead, and no signs of the watch ; 
 while from the chaise peered, as I caught a 
 glimpse, a white and terrified face in the 
 moonlight. The coachman, it was clear, had 
 taken to his heels already, and the horses 
 stood champing and trembling and swaying 
 in their alarm at the noises. What does I, 
 then, as there was a little lull in the fray and 
 the others temporarily drew off, but stoop 
 and lift the big man from the ground and 
 bundle him rapidly into the chaise. Bang
 
 THE ATTACK ON THE CHAISE 125 
 
 goes the door and, leaping to the coachman's 
 seat, I lashed the horses with the flat of my 
 blade. They started in a panic, and the 
 chaise went plunging and rocking down the 
 narrow way. 
 
 This fetched me into King Street, and, in 
 fear of pursuit, I stood up and banged at the 
 nags, so that I had them bumping at a gallop 
 round into the Oxford Road and on the way 
 for Tyburn. When we had run some distance 
 I brought 'em to with an effort, and, hearing 
 no noise of the enemy, descended and opened 
 the door of the chaise. The moon shone 
 sufficiently for me to make out the humped 
 body of the man I had thrust in so roughly, 
 and opposite, white, shrinking, and in an 
 evident state of terror and agitation, a mighty 
 handsome and engaging miss that stared at 
 me helplessly. 
 
 " Is is he dead ? " she asked hoarsely. 
 
 " Faith, miss," says I, " I cannot say. Yet 
 I hope not. He's not for worms, I'll warrant. 
 Best get him home and have a surgeon 
 fetched ; and if you will acquaint me with 
 the house, I will make so bold as to take you 
 myself." 
 
 She waited a moment and then spoke, 
 giving a street in St James's, at which I made 
 her a congee and got upon the box again. I 
 am better astride a nag than with a whip in
 
 126 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 my hand, and moreover the night was now 
 pretty dark, yet 'twas not long ere we had 
 reached the house, and, the bell being rung 
 and the servants called, the fat gentleman 
 was got in safely enough. Upon that someone 
 flies for the surgeon, and there was I all alone 
 with the lady, and not loth to clap my peepers 
 on her more nearly. She moved with a style, 
 but had a fearful air, yet it was her face that 
 took me most. She was young and slender 
 and nothing too tall large-eyed and round 
 of limb, and with a mouth that budded in 
 repose and opened like a flower in speech. 
 But she was very still and white just then. 
 
 " I am Sir Philip CaswelTs ward, sir," she 
 says, very tremulously, " and we are much 
 beholden to you." 
 
 " I am honoured, madam," said I with a 
 congee again, "to have been of some small 
 service to you." 
 
 " The scoundrels fell upon us by Windmill 
 Street upon our way home," she continued, 
 with a pretty shudder. " Sir Philip stepped 
 out to face them. I begged he would not, 
 but he is very obstinate." 
 
 " Faith, miss, what could he do less ? " said I. 
 
 " We might have whipped up and so 
 escaped them," says she, with an air of some 
 petulance now, " but that our cowardly man 
 took to his heels and left us helpless,"
 
 THE ATTACK ON THE CHAISE 127 
 
 As she spoke she eyed me with more cold- 
 ness, I thought, than the occasion warranted, 
 for all she was so shook, and though she had 
 made me her compliments quite prettily, she 
 had spoke as if she were thinking of something 
 else ; which, as you will conceive, nettled me 
 not a little. It was as if she wished me away, 
 for she fell silent and cast glances at the 
 chamber clock that hung at the wall. But 
 seeing I had been at the pains for her and the 
 old fat man, why, says I to myself, rip me if 
 I will go like any discharged lackey. I will 
 tire her out, says I, and let Beauty yawn or 
 pay in gratitude. So I sat on in the saloon, 
 making conversation as it seemed fit to me to 
 serve one of her class and age. No doubt she 
 was tired, for the hour was about two in the 
 morning, yet her pretty yawns, which she 
 feigned to cover with her hands, vexed me. 
 But indeed I might have gone forth and left 
 her there and then for very shame as would 
 have been natural, had it not been that an 
 excuse came to aid me in a message from Sir 
 Philip, who had recovered under the atten- 
 tions of the surgeon. He had learned, it 
 seemed, that his rescuer was in the house and 
 begged that he might be allowed to thank him 
 in person presently. This set me in feather, 
 but miss in the sulks, as I thought, which 
 maddened me the more that the hussy should
 
 128 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 prove so ungrateful, particularly at a time 
 when she should be showing concern at her 
 adventure or, at least, grief for her guardian. 
 Yet as I watched her, perish me but she 
 charmed me with her petulant prettiness the 
 more. Such a dainty head and a mouth so 
 pert and alluring I had never yet clapped 
 eyes on, which I say for all that followed. 
 
 There, then, were we set, awaiting Sir 
 Philip, in the big chamber, she yawning 
 without disguise, and me racking my wits to 
 attract her. I'll warrant she must have taken 
 an idea of me as a buck of Town, although 
 she feigned coldness then. I spoke of the 
 play and the Court, of both of which I knew 
 secrets, and I talked on a level proper to the 
 sex. 
 
 " D'ye not love the play, miss ? " says I. 
 
 " Lard, it is pretty well," says she, and 
 covered up a yawn with ostentation. 
 
 " I doubt not but you have seen Love in a 
 Tub ? " said I, for I would not be beat by her 
 impudence. 
 
 " Maybe," says she, " I have a poor 
 memory." 
 
 " There was one played in it t'other day 
 like to you, miss," said I, with significance, 
 thinking to rouse her. 
 
 She lifted her eyebrows. " Well, indeed," 
 says she, indifferently.
 
 THE ATTACK ON THE CHAISE 129 
 
 " As handsome as I might wish to see so 
 she was/' said I, persisting. 
 
 ' Why ! do you say so ? " cries miss. 
 ' What a fortunate lady ! " and stifles another 
 yawn. 
 
 " You favour her, miss," says I, giving her 
 an eye. 
 
 " Lard, I favour none, sir," said she, tartly. 
 " I am cross like two sticks that could beat 
 myself," and ere I could find a word in retort 
 she had gone from the room. 
 
 If I had followed my first temper I should 
 have marched from the house forthright, 
 being sore to be so used by the minx ; but 
 I will admit she had a fascination for me, and 
 wherein my teeth are set there I hold ; so 
 that I paced the chamber once or twice and 
 " Faith," says I, angrily, " I will make the 
 little cockatrice sing another tune afore I've 
 done." 
 
 And no sooner was I come to this conclusion 
 than the door at the foot of the room opened, 
 and in walks an elegant gentleman. The 
 sound made me turn, and I watched him till 
 he came into the light of the candles, when I 
 cried out sharply for the face was no other 
 than that which had lain behind the mask in 
 that nocturnal attack. I took some steps 
 across the room and halted by him, so that he 
 might see me as clearly as I saw him.
 
 130 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " Well, sir," says I, " I'll make bold to say 
 you recognise me," for I was amazed and 
 disordered by his remarkable appearance in 
 that house. 
 
 He looked me up and down. " Not the 
 least in the world," says he, coolly, and 
 arranged some nice point in his sleeves. 
 " Who the devil may you be ? " 
 
 " Rip me," says I, angrily. " The question 
 is not that so much as who be you and what 
 audacity brings you here ? But if you want 
 it you shall have it. My name is Ryder." 
 
 He paused again before he replied to me, 
 and there was no manner of irritation in his 
 voice, but merely languor. 
 
 " Well, Mr Ryder, one good turn deserves 
 another ; so my name is York, and I am a 
 friend of Sir Philip Caswell." 
 
 " What ! " said I, mightily taken aback at 
 this rejoinder, as you may suppose, then I 
 laughed. " S'blood," I said, " 'tis a pretty 
 demonstration of friendship to be for striking 
 your bodkin in someone's belly, as you was an 
 hour ago, you rogue." 
 
 York's eyebrows lifted at this, but I will 
 admit he had a fine command of himself, which 
 took my admiration, toad as he was. He was 
 a healthy, ruddy man, of looks not displeasing. 
 
 " Indeed," says he to me, " why, here is 
 news. Have we Simon Bedlam here,
 
 THE ATTACK ON THE CHAISE 131 
 
 madam ? " and he turned to miss, who had 
 entered at that moment. He bowed very low 
 to her, and the colour sprang in her face. 
 
 " Mr York," she cried, in a fluttered way. 
 
 " Why, you did not look for me so late, 
 madam," says he, pleasantly. " But I spied 
 lights, and thought maybe Sir Philip was at 
 his cards and would give me welcome, and 
 the door was open. But I find only," he 
 concluded, with an indifferent glance on me, 
 " a Merry Andrew who talks brimstone and 
 looks daggers." 
 
 " Sir Philip has been attacked," stammered 
 miss ; " the surgeon has just left him." 
 
 " 'Tis not serious, I trust," says the fellow, 
 gravely, and when she had faltered out her 
 negative, continued very polite, " Footpads, I 
 doubt not. The streets are abominable in 
 these days, and the watch is ever asleep." 
 
 But that was too much for me, and I burst 
 forth. 
 
 " Footpads ! " said I. " Hear him, miss ? 
 Why, 'twas the dungfork himself. The mask 
 fell from his face as he fought me, and I saw 
 him plain. I would have you and Sir Philip 
 know what manner of man this is who calls 
 himself friend." 
 
 " Softly, softly ; you crow loud," said he, 
 as impudent as ever, and smiling softly. 
 " Who, d'ye suppose, would credit this cock-
 
 132 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 and-bull story ? I profess I know none. 
 Would you, madam ? " he asked, turning 
 suddenly on the girl. 
 
 She hesitated ever so little, and showed 
 some confusion. 
 
 " I I think the gentleman mistook," said 
 she. " I cannot credit such a story. Tis 
 monstrous." 
 
 " Why, miss," said I, " 'tis true as I am a 
 living man. And as for this muckrake here, 
 why, I will prove it on his skin if he denies 
 it," and out I whipped my iron, ready for an 
 onfall. But it seemed that he would not 
 budge, and smiled as indifferent as ever. 
 And miss, too, though she showed no colour, 
 regained her composure, and says she, 
 firmly, 
 
 " 'Tis monstrous. I cannot believe it. 
 This gentleman is a friend to me and Sir 
 Philip. He is on terms of intimacy. Lard, 
 sir, you surprise me to make such rash state- 
 ments. Your eyes deceived you, or the dark." 
 
 The man that called himself York nodded 
 impudently. " That is it, madam," he says. 
 " 'Twas his eyes, no doubt, and the blinking 
 moon. This gentleman, whom I have not the 
 honour of knowing, is doubtless much excited 
 by the event and must be excused. Other- 
 wise . . k " he shrugged his shoulders sig- 
 nificantly, " I am honoured by the resem-
 
 THE ATTACK ON THE CHAISE 133 
 
 blance he detects, and, my faith, I shall be 
 seeing my double kick the Triple Beam so 
 I shall, and curse him for a rogue." 
 
 But you may guess that this was too much 
 for me to stand there quiet and see the 
 cully talk so suave and false, and the girl so 
 credulous, and perilling herself and the house 
 by blind faith in such a villain. Upon his 
 features, moreover, there was a faint grin 
 that spread and counterfeited civility, almost 
 as it were, a leer, and that maddened me ; so 
 that I spoke out pretty hotly. 
 
 " 'Tis very true what you say, sir," said 
 I, " and there was no witness of what hap- 
 pened save me and old Oliver, the moon. 
 And so the law shall go free of you. Indeed, 
 I have no particular fancy for the law myself. 
 But, perish me, sir," says I, "I detect a 
 mighty resemblance in you to a wheedler that 
 cheated me at dice this night, and, rip me, if I 
 will not run you through the midriff for it." 
 
 There was my point towards him, with that 
 little menacing twist of my wrist, such as has 
 served me often in good stead, and he must 
 have seen what sort of kidney he had to deal 
 with, for he gazed at me in surprise, laughed 
 slightly, and made protest with his shoulders, 
 exhibiting some discomposure. 
 
 " I would remind you, sir," said he, " that 
 there is a lady here."
 
 134 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " Faith," says I " but she will not be out- 
 side, then, and thither you shall go." 
 
 York frowned at this and stood for a 
 moment as though he was at a loss for answer. 
 I was not to be put down by a naughty fop 
 like him, with his punctilios, more especially 
 as I was acting in the interests of the lady, so 
 I pressed him with the naked blade. 
 
 " Come," says I, " let's see your tricks out 
 of doors." 
 
 But at that a voice broke in and stayed me, 
 coming from the door behind. 
 
 " Pray, sir," says this, very level and quiet, 
 " what may this scene mean ? " 
 
 Round I whipped, and there, on the thres- 
 hold of the room, was the tall big man that 
 had fought by me, Sir Philip himself, with his 
 arm in a bandage, a cap on his iron-grey hair, 
 and on his face a stern, commanding expres- 
 sion. Out of the tail of my eye I saw miss 
 shrank back against the wall in a posture of 
 alarm. But York was no whit abashed ; he 
 saluted most ceremoniously. 
 
 " Good evening, Sir Philip," said he. 
 " Your servant. You are come in time 
 perish me, in the very nick. Here's a most 
 impudent and amazing case," and he cocks his 
 finger at me. " I have never heard of a more 
 shameless, audacious fellow. Faith, it has 
 made me laugh so impudent is it ! "
 
 THE ATTACK ON THE CHAISE 135 
 
 " I should like to know what it is, Mr York, 
 so that I maybe might share the jest/' says 
 Sir Philip, with some dryness of tone. 
 
 " Why, naturally," returned t'other cheer- 
 fully. " Having had the good fortune to 
 rescue you and your ward from a pack of 
 villains, cutpurses or worse, what is my 
 surprise to find installed in your house the 
 very chief of the villains, as impudent as you 
 please. Faith, if it were not so grave 'twould 
 tickle me still." 
 
 I must admit that the fellow took me back, 
 and for all I was furious I could not but admire 
 his cool bearing and ready wit. Sir Philip 
 stared at me with a black frown, for I could 
 find nothing for the moment to counter this 
 monstrous brazen charge, but at last I broke 
 out, only with an oath, for sure so amiss was I. 
 
 " You damnable rogue ! " said I. 
 
 But York goes on as calm as ever. 
 " Twould be a good thing, sir," says he, look- 
 ing at me with a kind of wondering interest, 
 " if perhaps the watch was called. For he is 
 a man that can use a weapon, as your arm 
 bears witness, and, indeed, my own skin, too," 
 with which he stroked his elbow gently. Sir 
 Philip had come forward and now began in a 
 formidable voice of anger. 
 
 " What ! " he cries to me. "you are the 
 ruffian"
 
 136 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 But I was not going to put up meekly 
 under this, and broke out myself. 
 
 " Rip me," said I, " if I have ever heard or 
 seen the like. Why, yonder stands the fellow 
 that was in the assault on your carriage, and 
 'twas me, Dick Ryder, that thrust him 
 through the elbow as he fell on you." 
 
 Sir Philip's eyes went from one to t'other 
 of us, under his bent black brows, but York's 
 eyebrows were lifted in a feint of amaze- 
 ment. 
 
 " Why, Sir Philip," said he, " you will see 
 from this how an excess of impudence may 
 move a man. It may be that he is drunk that 
 he plays so wildly. You have known me long. 
 Sure, I needn't speak in my own behalf to so 
 preposterous a charge," and dropped silent 
 with a grand air. 
 
 " I have known you long, as you say, sir," 
 said Sir Philip, slowly, " and I have known 
 you to be a suitor for my ward's hand." 
 
 " I have always had that honour," said 
 York, with a bow towards miss, " which, 
 unhappily, you have not seen fit to allow me 
 so far. Yet, if any witness is wanted, why, 
 here is your ward herself." 
 
 At that Sir Philip turned as though re- 
 minded. 
 
 " Lydia," said he, " what is the truth of 
 this story ? We were attacked and rescued.
 
 THE ATTACK ON THE CHAISE 137 
 
 Was this gentleman in the assault ? " and he 
 pointed at me. 
 
 Miss's eyes fell ; she was fluttered and her 
 bosom went fast ; and there flashed, I'll 
 swear, a glance from York. 
 
 " Indeed, sir," she faltered, " I could not 
 say. The men were masked." 
 
 " Ay, so they were," said he, considering. 
 
 " 'Twas from this one's face that I took the 
 cover," put in York, pertly. 
 
 " But certain it is that Mr York rescued 
 us," went on miss in a faint voice. 
 
 At that news I could have reeled under the 
 words, so little was I ripe for them, and so 
 unsuspicious of her. 
 
 ' Why," said I, opening my mouth and 
 stuttering, " why, 'twas I drove off the pack, 
 and fetched the chaise home. 'Twas I lifted 
 you in and took the reins. The Lord deliver 
 me from this wicked puss ! " 
 
 Sir Philip threw up his sword arm with a 
 gesture of black wrath. 
 
 'Tis plain," said he, " that one here is a 
 villainous rogue, and if we have not always 
 agreed, Mr York, at least I cannot think you 
 that." 
 
 Miss leaned against the wall white and 
 trembling, and I gave her a congee, very deep 
 and ironical. Truth to say, as soon as I had 
 recovered I had, after my habit, begun to ply
 
 138 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 my wits pretty sharply, and already I had 
 taken a notion of how things stood between 
 the two. Moreover, I was not done with yet, 
 and I cast about to be even with the pair. 
 Sir Philip, it seemed, was hostile to the 
 addresses of this York ; and as patently, miss 
 herself was not. The attack, then, must have 
 been part of a plan to gain Miss Lydia's 
 person, to which she was herself privy. What 
 do I then but step in and interfere with the 
 pretty plot ? This was why she bore me no 
 goodwill, no doubt. 
 
 " Well," says I, with the congee, " I cannot 
 contest a lady's word, be she Poll or Moll. 
 Let the gentleman have his way." 
 
 Sir Philip, without more ado, turned to 
 him. 
 
 " Mr York," said he, civilly, " I beg your 
 pardon for my coldness, which, indeed, had 
 nothing of suspicion. But you must remember 
 that we have never quite agreed. I hope 
 that will mend. I remain greatly in your 
 debt, and I trust you will be good enough to 
 add to my obligations by keeping this man 
 secure until my return. I will have the watch 
 fetched at once." 
 
 " Nothing will give me greater satisfaction, 
 sir," says the rogue, cheerfully, and off goes 
 Sir Philip with his black, portentous face, 
 leaving us three there together again. As
 
 THE ATTACK ON THE CHAISE 139 
 
 for me, I had made up my mind and was 
 feeling my way to some action ; but says 
 York, looking on me pleasantly, 
 
 " Egad, you're in a ticklish case. Stap 
 me, you've run your head into a noose. Now, 
 why the devil did you yield that way ? I had 
 looked for a good round fight, as good, egad, 
 as we had this evening. And I had begun to 
 have my fears, too stap me, I did/' 
 
 But I paid him no heed then, for I will 
 confess that I was all eyes for Miss Lydia, 
 whose face was very piteous. She was 
 trembling violently and looked out of tragic 
 eyes, and then it came upon me like a flash 
 that she was no party to the lie herself, but 
 had spoken in fear of that bully. Indeed, it 
 may be that she took a distaste of him, as it 
 were, from that scene which began to show 
 from that minute. How else can be explained 
 what ensued ? 
 
 " You had better go, sir," said she at last, 
 in a whisper. 
 
 " Ay, that's true," says York, nodding. 
 " I had not thought of that. You had better 
 go. The watch will be fetched." 
 
 He looked so comfortable and so friendly, 
 rather than what he was at heart, that my 
 gorge rose of a sudden. 
 
 " Perish me if I will go," says I. " If I 
 must hang I must hang."
 
 140 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 Miss started. " Oh ! " she cried, and " you 
 must go, oh, you must go, sir ! Fly, fly, 
 while there is time." 
 
 Here were the two culprits in unison for 
 my withdrawal, which would fetch them out 
 of a scrape, yet how far the girl was involved 
 in the business I had not yet determined. So 
 I pushed her further, as, indeed, I had the 
 right. I folded my arms. 
 
 " I am waiting my reward, madam," I said, 
 " something in recognition of my efforts on 
 behalf of yourself and Sir Philip." 
 
 But at this she fell into a greater exhibition 
 of distress, imploring me to go, and flitting in 
 agitation 'twixt me and the door, on which 
 she kept anxious watch. Well, thought I, if 
 here's not innocence at least she's in a pickle 
 enough, and I believe I would have gone had 
 it not been for York, whose bearing annoyed 
 me. Besides, I wanted to see how far miss 
 would go, and if her resolution to veil the 
 truth would stand out against the watch and 
 a poor victim haled to prison. Not that I 
 wanted the watch or the law about me nearer 
 than was necessary, for sundry reasons, but 
 I can always trust to my own ingenuity 
 and sword if it comes to the pinch. So I 
 listened to her deafly, and made no sign 
 to go. 
 
 " Let him be, Lydia/' says York, pleasantly.
 
 THE ATTACK ON THE CHAISE 141 
 
 " He's an obstinate fellow, and, faith, deserves 
 his fate. Let him hang ; I'll warrant it must 
 have come to that some day." 
 
 But this turns me on him, and I whipped 
 out my blade again in a fury at his insolence ; 
 only Miss Lydia intervened, and, her face very 
 pale, put a hand on my arm. 
 
 " Oh, sir," says she, very low of voice, but 
 clear and earnest for all that, " I beg you 
 will not suffer further harm to come to-night. 
 Indeed, but I am ashamed to look you in the 
 face. I will not excuse myself I will offer 
 no apologies, yet, maybe, you will not think 
 too hardly of me if you know more. My 
 guardian keeps me close. He stands in my 
 way, and will not allow me what is allowed 
 all women. I am not a schoolgirl, sir. I am 
 grown a height," and she raised herself to her 
 full stature. " Surely I may have that 
 liberty to command, to choose where I 
 will and whom. Sir, he has sought to make 
 himself all the law to me," she cries, with 
 heaving bosom. " And as for his hurt, God 
 knows I did not wish it, and was not privy 
 to it," and she cast a glance, as I thought, of 
 scorn and reproach at her lover. The elo- 
 quence of this new attitude struck me to the 
 reins, tender as I ever was to the wounds of 
 women, though not to be frustrated or de- 
 ceived by vain pretences.
 
 142 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " He is a hog," says I, " a pig of a man to 
 interfere with you, madam." 
 
 But here spoke York, when he had better 
 have held his tongue, yet it was impossible. 
 
 " Faith, child," he said lightly, " you have 
 touched him there. Best stop and go no 
 farther. Let it work." 
 
 " I will go on," she cried, stamping her foot 
 and turning on him. " I will tell all to this 
 gentleman, all that should be told ; for it is 
 his due and meed a small recompense for 
 the unworthy usage he has had. You have 
 heard him, sir," she says, " and, indeed, your 
 eyes have been witness to his deeds and what 
 he is. My guardian came between us and 
 denied us. And this was his plan to snatch 
 me away by violence while I stood passive, 
 not refusing nor accepting." She wrung her 
 hands in a transport of distress. " I I was 
 wild ... I did madly ; yet, sir, I would not 
 have you judge me by that. See, it has all 
 ended in trouble, nothing but trouble, and I 
 have gained nothing for myself but shame." 
 
 She paused upon the edge of tears, as I 
 could see pretty plain, and says I, bluntly, 
 " You were misled, and by them that should 
 not," and I scowled at York where he stood. 
 But York says nothing, merely lifting his 
 shoulders, and being content, no doubt, to 
 let miss deal with the situation. She sank
 
 THE ATTACK ON THE CHAISE 143 
 
 her face in her hands, which moved me 
 strangely, for she had a helpless look. 
 
 " If I have misjudged, sir, and been mis- 
 took," she said, " can you blame me if I 
 would bury that shame and not have it 
 flaunted in my face ? " 
 
 "Not I, madam," said I. "I would I 
 might help you, troth I do." 
 
 " You can," she cried, sparkling shyly and 
 eagerly upon me. 
 
 " Why . . . ," says I. 
 
 " If you will go, sir, there will be no trouble, 
 no inquiry, and no law will be set in motion. 
 'Twill die a quiet death, and nothing will be 
 digged up against me. I shall not have to tell 
 the truth, as I shall have else," she cried. 
 Her lips parted in her fever, her eyes burning 
 with a wild zeal. 
 
 York uttered a sound, but I was silent. 
 
 " Oh, sir ! " she pleaded. 
 
 " Why," I said, with a laugh. " It seems I 
 must condone wounds and abduction and all." 
 
 " 'Tis on me the brunt will fall the shame 
 and scandal," she urged, and, looking in her 
 pretty face, I could resist no longer, for I'll 
 swear she was genuine, and had been misled 
 by that muckrake. 
 
 " I will go," says I, and then of a sudden 
 remembered. " But how am I to escape ? " 
 says I.
 
 144 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " By the window/' she said, pointing to it 
 with animation. 
 
 " Why, to be sure," says I, slowly, for I 
 was taken with a notion, " but there is this 
 gentleman who is my guard." 
 
 " Oh ! " says she, archly, " I think your 
 sword is better than his, and he will not stay 
 you." 
 
 " True," says I, " but 'tis best to be prudent 
 and to avoid Sir Philip's suspicions. He must 
 have some marks of a struggle. Either I 
 must leave him with a wound, or senseless, 
 or gagged and bound ... or maybe suspicion 
 will come to rest on you," madam. 
 
 Her brows were bent in a little frown. 
 ' That is true," she said, and turned to York, 
 whose face for the first time, as I could see, 
 wore a look of discomposure. 
 
 " He must be bound and gagged," says I, 
 shaking my head. 
 
 " Ye-es," she says, hesitatingly. 
 
 Whereupon I went forward to the fellow, 
 who gnawed his lip and fidgeted. He looked 
 at Miss Lydia as if about to speak, and then 
 shot an angry glance at me, but paused. 
 
 " Oh, very well," says he, at last, with a 
 grin, " but pray make haste of you will be 
 surprised in the middle of your job " and 
 he had the air of yielding himself with good 
 humour. But I knew what must be his
 
 THE ATTACK ON THE CHAISE 145 
 
 chagrin, though I admired him for his manner. 
 He would have done pretty well on the road if 
 he could have put by his scurvy way with 
 women. Yet I was not for letting him off, 
 after what he had done, so, withdrawing the 
 cords from the window curtains, I tied him 
 pretty quickly in a fast enough bundle. But 
 when, his arms being lashed behind, I ap- 
 proached with a wedge of wood, York cried 
 out in protest. 
 
 " I'll have none of that," said he. 
 
 " He must be gagged," says I to the lady, 
 appealing to her. She hesitated, and, looking 
 on him, appeared to take pity ; or maybe she 
 was afraid of him. 
 
 " Perhaps it is not necessary," she said. 
 
 " Why, look you, madam," said I, earnestly, 
 " we must convince Sir Philip of our good 
 faith ; else he will smell out this trickery and 
 all our pains are thrown away." 
 
 She made no answer and with the wedge I 
 moved a step nearer to York, who grimaced 
 and cried out with an oath, 
 
 " May I be" 
 
 But ere he could get it forth I had it between 
 his teeth, and with my knee in his wind threw 
 him in a heap upon the floor. Miss Lydia 
 looked on with open eyes, and with an air of 
 uncertainty. 
 
 What she would have said I know not, but
 
 146 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 at that moment there was a sound without 
 the door, and she broke out. 
 
 " Go go," she cried, running to me. 
 " You can go now in safety." 
 
 " Yes, 'tis time I was gone if I am to keep 
 the bargain," said I, looking with a grin on 
 York, who was wriggling on the floor. 
 
 I gave miss a congee, and backed to the 
 window. " If you will credit me, madam," 
 says I, " you will think twice ere you take up 
 with York there." 
 
 " I know, I know," says she, eagerly, for 
 she was terrified of the sounds outside. " I 
 will be wise, I promise you." 
 
 Her skirts swung against me, and that 
 touch on my arm sent through me an amazing 
 thrill, so that, beholding her so vastly hand- 
 some and passionate at my elbow, my blood 
 fired at the sight. 
 
 " Madam," said I, very grave, " I had 
 thought to do you some good, and that 
 privilege would have been my reward. But 
 I find myself only to have plunged you in 
 embarrassments, for which may I be whipped. 
 What get I for my pains, then ? Why, 
 nothing, not even the private consolation to 
 have relieved you ; and in this escape what 
 touches me is not so much the ignominy as 
 the deprivation of these eyes of one they 
 would have dwelled on always."
 
 THE ATTACK ON THE CHAISE 147 
 
 'Twas not ill phrased, as you will admit, and 
 I got it off with unction, her face being so close 
 to me, and devilish enticing. The sounds 
 were not now audible, and I was at the 
 window, so that I suppose she had forgot her 
 tremors. A demure look crept in her face 
 under my boldness, and says she softly, 
 
 " What would you have me do ? " 
 
 " Oh, madam," said I, burning on her. 
 " Look up, look up, I pray you, and I'll 
 warrant you'll read me as clear as a book." 
 
 " I cannot guess, sir," says she, looking up 
 with her innocent eyes all the same, while 
 from the floor there was a choking sound 
 which, maybe, was the dust in York's nostrils. 
 Miss looked round. 
 
 " We are keeping Mr York in an uncomfort- 
 able position," says she, sweetly. " 'Tis not 
 a pleasant posture to lie in." 
 
 " Faith," said I, boldly, " I would lie so all 
 night if I might get what I want now." 
 
 " What is it you want ? " says she, opening 
 her eyes in wonder. 
 
 " Why, what I will take, and suffer all 
 risks," says I of a sudden. With which I 
 put my arm about her swiftly and carried 
 her face to mine. Miss Lydia called out 
 " Oh ! " and the gag was shaken with uncouth, 
 unintelligible sounds. A noise streamed out 
 of the hall.
 
 148 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " Go, go ! " cries she, pink of face and 
 sparkling, and seeing my time was come I 
 turned and went, leaving the gag still splutter- 
 ing in the corner.
 
 THE GENTLEMANLY 
 HABERDASHER 
 
 I HAVE dealt in my time with traps and 
 catchpolls of many colours ; I have 
 treated with justices and officers of the law 
 that were mighty difficult ; and I have en- 
 countered innumerable rough bucks that have 
 pressed me badly. But give me them all 
 rather than a pack of silly, screaming women 
 that know not their own mind for two minutes 
 on end. Many times have I adventured the 
 sex in one way or another, and I can claim to 
 have been esteemed by them, from milkmaids 
 to ladies, even to my Lady Barbara, Duchess 
 of Cleveland. But I will confess that my 
 heart beats too soft in me to confront them 
 rightly. I cannot abide tears nor a swollen 
 countenance, and a petticoat catches me ; 
 and there it is. Not that I am a fool where 
 women are concerned, for on occasion there 
 is no harder flint than Dick Ryder, as is known 
 in the four quarters of the kingdom. But I 
 lean to mercy and consideration, and particu- 
 larly if I be in a good humour or in liquor. 
 
 'Twas in a frolic mood that I met the wench 
 149
 
 150 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 of the Magpie, which meeting led to an 
 evening's entertainment, tolerably humour- 
 some, but something " pretty-missy " for a 
 stark man like me. I was newly come from 
 the Bath Road with my purse full of king's 
 pictures, to the which I had added on Turnham 
 Green without so much as a thought of it. 
 'Twas fallen dark of a foul December evening, 
 and, as I was riding for town, I missed the 
 road and Calypso floundered into a bog of 
 water and mire. With a curse I pulled her 
 out, when just at that moment I heard a voice 
 crying out a little way off. The common 
 oozed mud, for the rain had been falling 
 heavily, but I pushed the mare across in the 
 direction of the voice, and there was another 
 that had fallen into my plight, but much 
 worse. For a chaise had wandered off the 
 road and was axle-deep in a pond that spreads 
 on the common. 
 
 " Help ! " says the voice. 
 
 " That I will ! Help you and myself, too," 
 says I ; and I gave a hand to the coachman 
 and together we got the carriage to land. 
 
 " I am much in your debt, sir," says the 
 master of it when we were done a smug- 
 speaking sort of fellow whose face I could not 
 see. " You have placed Samuel Hogg, 
 haberdasher, of Bristol, under obligations," 
 he said pompously.
 
 THE HABERDASHER 151 
 
 " Oh, you are in my debt, 'tis no doubt," 
 says I, laughing, " but, rip me, you won't be 
 long ; " and at that I delivered him of a pile 
 of gold guineas, and turned my back on his 
 entreaties and objurgations. 
 
 When I was come to town I put up at my 
 favourite inn and where I am known, and on 
 the next day I set out for Polly Scarlet's. 
 But when I got there, there was my poor girl 
 abed with a swollen cheek. So, says I, giving 
 her good cheer and a certain trinket that I had 
 for her, I will make the best of my way to 
 Soho and see if, maybe, some of the lads be 
 assembled. But I had got no further than 
 the Minories, when who should emerge into 
 sight in the company of two officers, but 
 Timothy Grubbe, that rascally thief-taker, 
 crimp and scoundrel. I am not to be fright- 
 ened by any man on earth, but 'twas wise 
 to go shy of Timothy and his friends at that 
 time ; so ere they had a sight of me I turned 
 my back on them and slipped in at the 
 Magpie tavern. Here was a warm room 
 and comfortable, and the wine, when mulled, 
 was passable, though sour. So I tossed off a 
 draught and says to the wench, ironically, 
 
 " To bring out the flavour of this tap, I'll 
 eat cheese, my dear. 'Tis a wine worth test- 
 ing," says I. 
 
 Thereat she fetched me cheese, and stood
 
 152 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 staring on a ring that she wore on her finger, 
 a little in the shadow. Well, I sat idly there, 
 sipping at my glass, for 'twas pleasant enough, 
 and quiet. 'Twas a bare, empty tap, as it 
 chanced, and the wench and I had it to our- 
 selves. She was a pretty sort of figure, all in 
 white white mob and white apron ; of a 
 middle height and slightness pleasant in so 
 young a maid, brisk of eye, quick of face, and 
 with a certain abruptness of chin. She stood, 
 as I say, staring on a ring, in a brooding 
 seriousness, and then of a sudden she uttered 
 a little sob and rushed her apron to her eye. 
 
 " Whoa ! " says I. " Whoa there, mare," 
 speaking softly enough, but she started up and 
 turned about, so that her face was no longer 
 in the light, and so remained a little while. 
 
 " Come, my pretty," said I in a good- 
 humoured way. " Wash no colour from that 
 blue. I'll warrant 'tis admired, and rightly. 
 If there's any huff or bully that breeds those 
 dew-drops give me his name, and on my word, 
 I'll make carrion of him." 
 
 At that she turned to me again, holding 
 herself erect, and her eyes discharged at me a 
 glance. 'Twas not one of haughtiness merely, 
 but rather one in which fear and defiance and 
 anger rubbed shoulders. One might have 
 said, indeed, that all these sentiments rained 
 together from her pretty peepers. But then
 
 THE HABERDASHER 163 
 
 she dropped her head as quickly, and affected 
 her interest in the bottles or the casks or 
 something else in the distance. 
 
 " Why," says I, " I will even taste once 
 more that delectable bin," and she came 
 forth, reluctant, to fill my glass again. 
 " Now," says I, when I had her there, " you're 
 a girl of spirit ; rip me, what's amiss ? " 
 
 " Sir ? " she says with a glare in her 
 face. 
 
 " Come, if every pretty filly used her hind 
 legs so hard," said I with a laugh, " what 
 room would be left in the stalls ? " 
 
 She said no word but went about her 
 business, the which, as I am not used to 
 rebuffs either from man, madam, or maid, 
 nettled me ; but I know such wildings ; they 
 be not pigeons nor doves nor tame sparrows 
 neither. I must lime her with another 
 manner ; so I altered my voice, and says I, 
 in a pleasant, but masterful, tone, 
 
 ' You must not think me any Peeping 
 Tom," I said, " to twist his eyes on you and 
 badger you. Tears spoil that handsome 
 cheek, and I would know if there be no 
 remedy. I cannot abide to see youth and 
 beauty weeping." 
 
 She had turned her head now, and gave me 
 a searching glance. " 'Tis naught you could 
 help in, sir," she says with some demureness,
 
 154 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 and then broke out, "'tis along of my aunt. 
 She has put upon me and treated me ill." 
 
 " A hag of an aunt/' says I sympathetically, 
 " to bruise one so tender and so dutiful, I'll 
 swear." 
 
 " Yes, 'tis so," says she, now with some 
 confidence, and wagging her little head to- 
 wards me. " She knows not when she is 
 well-served that she doth not." 
 
 " I'll take oath of that," says I. 
 
 " I am daughter to her husband's sister, 
 sir," said she, running on glibly by this time, 
 " and Cousin Tom is sib to me." 
 
 " Why, for sure, if he be your cousin," 
 said I. 
 
 " And when my mother died," she said, 
 taking no heed, " uncle says I must live with 
 him, and there have I lived all these years." 
 
 " None so many, rip me," says I, hand- 
 somely. 
 
 " He has had good service out of me," she 
 said, casting me a glance, as of one who would 
 assert her rights. " There have I worked for 
 my Aunt Susan and cast up figures for uncle, 
 and no thanks given me no, not a crown's 
 worth all these years." 
 
 " A sorry pair of skinflints," said I, nodding. 
 " But I would not cry tears on them, not I, 
 if I was a spirited wench." 
 
 " 'Tis not that," says she, weeping anew.
 
 THE HABERDASHER 155 
 
 " Tis that I am turned out of doors ; they 
 will not have me more." 
 
 " Why, how is that ? " I asked, whereat she 
 looked demure as a saint, and says she, 
 
 " Oh, 'twas but nothing. 'Twas Cousin 
 Tom." 
 
 And it appeared that Cousin Tom had set 
 calf's eyes on her, and that his mother destined 
 him for better things ; so that the wench 
 must quit, though she kept the tally for nunkie 
 and the house for aunt. 
 
 " Well," says I, " 'tis a piece of injustice, 
 my dear, and that I'll swear to. Love you 
 this Tom ? " 
 
 Whereat she hesitated, and stammered, and 
 turned aside her face, and then heaved up her 
 pretty shoulders. 
 
 " He is so silly," says she. 
 
 " Why, that is the right kind of silliness for 
 a maid, I'll take oath," said I. 
 
 But she said nothing, so I tossed a guinea 
 on the table, for I had just taken a fancy to a 
 little entertainment, having nothing to do and 
 being at a loose end by reason of Polly. 
 
 " There's that will pay for a bottle of wine," 
 said I, " the which I will put under my jacket 
 by your leave, mistress. And I will be the 
 one to pull you out of your despair." 
 
 She looked at me in surprise. 
 
 " Oh, I have an eye for a wench," said I,
 
 156 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " and I know virtue when it peeps out. And 
 if so be you want Tom, rip me, you shall have 
 him." 
 
 " I do not understand you, sir," said she, 
 still wondering. 
 
 " See you here, mistress," says I, with a 
 wink, " if you was known to be in the expecta- 
 tion of money," says I, " maybe auntie would 
 sing to another tune." 
 
 " Yes," said she, with her mouth open and 
 her eyes. 
 
 " Very well," said I, " a gentlemanly 
 haberdasher has clapped eyes on a pretty miss 
 and taken a fancy to her for a daughter." 
 
 She stared at me. 
 
 " Say that here sits the haberdasher," said 
 I, cocking an eye at her, " a gentlemanly 
 haberdasher that is a widower and is peaking 
 for a daughter that he will never get," says I, 
 " what says auntie and nunkie now ? " 
 
 She met my glance and presently hers fell. 
 I could see she was quick of wit and took me 
 now. 
 
 " But, sir, I do not know who you be," said 
 she, demurely, and fidgeting with her apron. 
 
 " Oh, we will better that," says I, remem- 
 bering of the man on Turnham Green. " Call 
 me Samuel Hogg," said I, " godly Samuel 
 Hogg, of Bristol, that wants a daughter all to 
 himself and is willing to leave her a hundred
 
 THE HABERDASHER 157 
 
 guineas for a dowry and a thousand on his 
 deathbed." 
 
 Her lips parted and her eyes gleamed. 
 Then she gave me a shrewd glance, for she 
 was no fool, and at last she smiled. 
 
 " You are very kind/' said she. 
 
 " Pooh ! " said I, emptying the bottle. 
 " You may say that when I see you this 
 evening and confront 'em." 
 
 " Confront 'em," she said. 
 
 " D'ye suppose I will not pursue that which 
 I propose ? " I asked. " I will see auntie, 
 nunkie and all, and so you may warn 'em. 
 The gentlemanly haberdasher, rip me, will 
 visit 'em to-night, for to beg their niece of 
 
 'em/ 1 
 
 'Twas on that understanding we parted, 
 though I believe the girl thought me gone 
 in liquor and talking foolishly. But that I 
 was not, as she discovered, for I meant to go 
 through with the jest and help a poor female 
 against her shrew of an aunt at the same time. 
 
 So that evening when it had fallen dark, 
 sure enough, I presented myself before the 
 Magpie, clothed very old and sober and 
 with a wig to suit, and knocked for admit- 
 tance. Well, there were they assembled to 
 meet me (for the wench had done her part), 
 looking very expectant and all in a flutter. 
 There was uncle that was broad and short
 
 158 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 and of a weak cast of face with a grin on it, 
 and by him was aunt, prim anol stiff, but the 
 vinegar of her face sugared over with a smile ; 
 and to these were added Cousin Tom, a 
 lubberly big fellow with a booby expression, 
 and a couple more. Why, had I not been 
 used to distinguished company I might have 
 turned white of trembling and bashfulness 
 before them. But as it was, the more the 
 merrier, and, says I, with a congee to aunt, 
 
 " By your leave, madam." 
 
 " Sir,'* says she, " our niece Nancy has 
 acquainted us with your story ; " at which, 
 thinks I, " 'Egad I'm glad I know her name," 
 the which I had misremembered to ask. 
 
 " She hath done me honour, mistress," I 
 replied, polite as a pea. " And since you 
 know why I am here, faith, let us sit down 
 and discuss of it." 
 
 Uncle sat down, blinking rapidly at us, and 
 a little fat man in the corner eyed me curiously. 
 
 " Your sister's daughter, my good man ? " 
 says I to uncle, with a benevolent smile. He 
 nodded. 
 
 " And a very precious daughter she has 
 been to us, sir," says aunt with a sort of whine. 
 
 Now that kind fairly makes my stomach 
 queasy, and, moreover, I guessed what she 
 was after. She meant to pull a long face on 
 parting with her niece, with an eye to money.
 
 THE HABERDASHER 159 
 
 " I hope," said I, suavely, " that she will 
 prove a precious daughter to me in good 
 time." 
 
 " That depends," says the little fat man, 
 who, it seems, was a grocer. 
 
 " Ay, that depends," says the remaining 
 person in the room, a thin, elderly woman. 
 
 " Well," said I, annoyed at this interven- 
 tion, " it depends on whether miss here suits 
 me. I will confess she has took my fancy, and 
 I have room for her." 
 
 " You want to adopt Nancy ? " says the 
 aunt. 
 
 " 'Tis my intention," I answered plump. 
 
 " May we ask what set the notion in your 
 head ? " says the grocer from his corner. 
 
 " Faith you may," said I, " and 'tis easy 
 said. For walking down the Minories yester- 
 day, whom did I spy but a handsome miss 
 with as two pretty eyes as ever sparkled in a 
 wench's face. ' She's for me/ says I to 
 myself, ' she'll suit my town house like a linnet 
 or a piping lark. I'll warrant she's all sun- 
 shine.' " 
 
 At that I thought they looked on me with 
 some suspicion, and, perish me, I believe I had 
 spoken too warmly, for she was dainty enough. 
 
 " Oh 1 " says aunt, faintly, and glanced at 
 her husband, as if inviting him to speak, but 
 he sat smoking.
 
 160 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " My niece says you are a godly man, sir ? " 
 she pursued. 
 
 " Godly," says I, " is not the word. I cry 
 second to none if it comes to church and 
 prayers." 
 
 She looked astonished at that, but 'twas the 
 grocer who spoke next. 
 
 " 'Tis a strange matter," he said, " that you 
 should have took so great a fancy to Miss 
 Nancy here. It may be, as you say, that you 
 would adopt her, yet you are young for a 
 daughter." 
 
 " Young ! " said I, " why, I be ancient 
 enough. I have gone through enough in my 
 time to fetch out grey hairs in bunches. 
 There was my poor wife that died ten years 
 gone, and my daughter that followed her in 
 the flower of her youth, to whom miss hath a 
 most singular likeness. 'Twas that attracted 
 
 me." 
 
 ' You are a haberdasher, sir ? " says the 
 thin woman. 
 
 " Tis my calling," I replied. 
 
 " Ah," she sighed. " And so 'twas my poor 
 husband's that is at rest." 
 
 " He was engaged in an honourable trade," 
 said I. 
 
 " You say truly. That he was," she as- 
 sented, sighing. 
 
 But here uncle spoke for the first time. He
 
 THE HABERDASHER 161 
 
 was clearly no man of words, but the fat 
 grocer had been whispering in his ears. 
 
 " We should want some warranty," said he. 
 
 " Warranty," said I indignantly. " There's 
 my name, Samuel Hogg, of Bristol, and, for 
 the rest, if it is the colour you wish, why I can 
 satisfy you," and I brought out a purse full of 
 King's pictures. 
 
 I could see that their eyes glistened. 
 
 ' You seem well endowed," said the grocer. 
 
 " Ay, and 'tis all at the disposal of Miss 
 Nancy, when I am in my gloomy tomb," 
 said I. 
 
 But the grocer whispered to the widow, and 
 she to aunt, and they glanced askance at me. 
 So, as matters were not going forward to my 
 taste, I got up and said I, 
 
 " It seems that suspicions rule here. I am 
 the target of eyes. Rip me, I carry not my 
 wares to a market that fancies me not, and so 
 I will bid you good evening." 
 
 But that shook them. " Stay, sir," says 
 the aunt, " I am sure we may be pardoned if 
 we hesitate to lose one so dear to us. Tis a 
 new idea, and we must get used to it." 
 
 " Why," said I, smiling, for I could see the 
 drift of her thoughts, " there is no haste. You 
 shall satisfy yourself of what I promise. 'Tis 
 but the preliminary to my design. I will not 
 pluck your partridge from you roughly not
 
 162 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 I. But I would have her remain with you 
 during my preparations, and only ask that I 
 may present her with that which shall fit her 
 out as becomes one who is to do honour to my 
 house and me." 
 
 And with that I opened the purse and 
 counted out ten golden guineas. 
 
 Miss Nancy gazed wide-eyed, and there was 
 a little silence among the others, save that 
 uncle started and rubbed his eyes, and cried, 
 " The devil ! " 
 
 But 'twas enough for them. Auntie melted 
 like a snowball in the sun ; the grocer pursed 
 up his lips ; and the widow regarded me with 
 wonder. Booby, in his corner, gave vent to a 
 silly chuckle. 
 
 " Well, that's fair," said uncle hastily, and, 
 at that, supper being ready, I was invited to 
 join them. 
 
 Now this was the time that I should have 
 taken to go, for I had done what I promised ; 
 but I had nothing to attract me that night, 
 and, moreover, I was for pushing the fun a 
 little further. Lord, if Tony or old Creech 
 could have seen me a-sitting there, in such 
 company, with an adopted daughter on my 
 hands, 'twould have made them split their 
 sides. So says I, 
 
 " At your service, and thank ye ; " and 
 down we sat to the table.
 
 THE HABERDASHER 163 
 
 As chance would have it I was set alongside 
 of the widow, and on t'other side was the 
 grocer. Says I to the girl in a whisper, as she 
 passed me, 
 
 " There ; 'tis all laid for you, and you can 
 fire the train when you will, along of Booby." 
 
 She cast a glance at me and looked down, 
 fingering her guineas as if she loved 'em. But, 
 bless you, I did not mind the guineas. There 
 was plenty more behind 'em. And then the 
 widow turns on me, and begins to ply me with 
 questions about haberdashery and prices, but, 
 rot me, I knew nothing about them more than 
 the babe in its cradle. So said I presently, 
 
 " Madam, I leave all such trifles to my 
 man." 
 
 " Heavens ! " says she, " you will be ruined. 
 'Tis most perilous. You want someone that 
 will look after your interests, and keep your 
 house in trim." 
 
 " Why, that's what miss will do," I laughed. 
 
 She shrugged her shoulders. " My hus- 
 band," said she, " was worth his two hundred 
 guineas a year, and that's all come to me, 
 alas," she says sighing. 
 
 " Tis not I would cry ' Alack,' if that befel 
 me," I said with a grin. 
 
 " Ah, 'tis not the money," she says, " but 
 the loneliness ; and to think that it's all lost 
 to business ; for I am my own mistress," she
 
 164 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 says, " and can do what I like, having no child 
 to consider." 
 
 " Well," said I, " I have one now, and an 
 amazing beauty." She looked sourly at Miss 
 Nancy, who flushed very deep. Just then I 
 was digged in the ribs t'other side, and, turn- 
 ing, found the grocer with a grin on his face. 
 
 " Pretty wench," says he with a wink. 
 
 " That is so," said I, tossing off the wine, 
 which was not so ill. 
 
 " There's none too many like her about the 
 town," he says again with his significant wink. 
 
 " What the plague " says I, but he winked 
 again. 
 
 " I seen what you was after from the first," 
 he said. 
 
 " The devil you did ! " I said, and stared at 
 him. 
 
 He dug his thumb into me again. " Ten 
 guineas for her ! " he said with a knowing air. 
 
 " Well ? " said I, for I guessed what the fool 
 was after. 
 
 " Well," says he in his fat whisper, "you 
 ain't no haberdasher. I seen through you 
 from the first." 
 
 " Look you," said I sharply, " get on with 
 your supper and keep your foul fingers off me, 
 or I will choke your weasand for you." 
 
 That, as I conceive, startled him, for he fell 
 away, looking at me mighty anxiously, but
 
 THE HABERDASHER 165 
 
 said no more. Moreover, I was not for turning 
 the party into pepper and mustard, so I took 
 another glass, and the vintner at t'other end 
 of the table nodded at me in a friendly way. 
 
 Tis a good bottle," says he knowingly, 
 " and not every man's liquor." 
 
 That was true enough, for 'twas not the 
 swipes I had took in his tavern that afternoon, 
 and he himself was witness to his words, for 
 he had drunk the better part of a bottle 
 already and seemed very merry and on 
 familiar terms with the world. He plied the 
 widow on one side and his wife on t'other, but 
 aunt's visage, for all her simper, would have 
 turned the best wine sour. Miss took but a 
 sip of wine, but her face was flushed and eager, 
 but Booby he made up for that abstinence, 
 and drank and talked and laughed as though 
 he was at a goose-fair. Well, they were a 
 pretty party, and by this time I was entered 
 into the proper spirit of it. Booby over the 
 way made a feint of embracing miss and 
 whispered in her ear, seeing which I bestowed 
 a smile on him as who should say " Brava ! 
 I commend your spirit." But miss turned 
 away from him sharply and I could see she 
 was firing him a rejoinder. Thinks I, maybe 
 he hath crushed her steels, the which no 
 woman will stand, and the least of all in public. 
 But as 'twas to settle their little affairs that I
 
 166 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 was there the time had come to speak out, and 
 so up jumps I with my glass in hand. 
 
 " I will ask this company/' said I, " to 
 toast a pretty girl and her lover. I'll warrant 
 their names spring to your minds. Need I 
 put a style on them ? Well, when these hairs 
 be whitening, sure I shall be comforted in a 
 nursery of babes that shall bring 'em tenderly 
 to the grave, all along of my adopted daughter 
 there and Cousin Tom that shall inherit my 
 fortune." 
 
 Now aunt's face was lined with smiles, and 
 she lifted up her glass, and looked towards the 
 couple. The vintner, too, chuckled and called 
 out an indelicate jest for such maidenly ears. 
 But what was my surprise that miss turned 
 crimson, and then pale, and started up with 
 a little exclamation. Booby looked sheepish 
 and grinned, but she gave him her shoulder, 
 and, 
 
 " I will not have you drink it," says she 
 tartly. " I am my own mistress, and not to 
 be dictated to by any." 
 
 " Why, child, who is dictating to you ? " 
 said I amazed, and aunt frowned, but says 
 sweetly, 
 
 " We have known all along 'twas a strong 
 attachment 'twixt my son and niece." 
 
 " Why, so I should ha' guessed," I replied. 
 
 " No, no," says uncle, shaking his silly head,
 
 THE HABERDASHER 167 
 
 " I never did believe there was aught in it. 
 So now you know, wife." 
 
 But his wife, who was as black as night, 
 cried out sharply, 
 
 Tis all nonsense. They are affianced 
 duly." 
 
 And then the fat grocer muttered in my 
 ears, 'Twas precious cunning ; you have 
 noosed and caught her already. Gad, she'll 
 fall into your maw like a ripe plum ! " 
 
 ' If you will not cease," said I angrily, 
 ' I will run my hilt down your throat." 
 
 " Hilt ! " says he, staring, and edged away 
 from me ; and I could see him eyeing me up 
 and down to see if I carried a weapon. 
 
 " Come," said I to the girl. " Maybe this 
 is sprung on you too suddenly. Take your 
 time," I said, " and we will wait. 'Tis a 
 hundred guineas on your wedding, my dear, 
 and much more at my funeral." 
 
 "I do not want your money," said she 
 petulantly, and flung the guineas on the table. 
 
 Aunt cried out in a fury, and uncle stared, 
 for he was much in liquor. But the grocer and 
 the widow began hurriedly to gather them up. 
 
 "Steady," said I. "Whoa, my lass. 
 What's come over you ? This suits not with 
 your mood this afternoon. I will admit 
 Booby is no beauty and hath a tongue too 
 gross for his phiz, but 'tis your own choice."
 
 168 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " Whom call you Booby ? " cries the youth, 
 rising in a passion that was compounded of 
 wine and jealousy. 
 
 " If you will not sit down," said I, " I will 
 teach you a lesson. Sit down and buss, you 
 fool. Buss and be thankful." 
 
 He flopped into his seat foolishly, but miss 
 rose and moved from the table. " I will not 
 stay here for insult," she said, with spirit. 
 
 " You shall not refuse," says aunt, white 
 with anger, " or you shall be turned out of 
 doors this very night, you shall." 
 
 " Oh, she is a sly slut ; she casts her eyes 
 high," says the widow, in a high vindictive 
 note. 
 
 " Look ye here," says the vintner sillily, 
 and with a tipsy frown. " Let us not tangle 
 this merry meeting into knots. Be easy all. 
 If Nancy wants a husband, as well she may, 
 being of a marriageable age, here's one for her, 
 and no better than he Mr Samuel Hogg, of 
 Bristol. Sir, I toast you and Nancy as bride 
 and groom." 
 
 I looked at the girl. She had come to a 
 pause and now stood, her face demurely cast 
 down, and she said nothing, not raising any 
 protest. And then, in a flash, it came to me 
 what she wanted. I could have laughed aloud 
 if I had been in my own company. She took 
 me for a real well-to-do haberdasher and would
 
 THE HABERDASHER 169 
 
 have me, the puss ; or maybe 'twas my looks 
 took her, for she is not the first to be tantalised 
 by my bearing. But I had not bargained for 
 this, and so I laughed a little, and looked 
 askew at the vintner. 
 
 " How ! " says I, " will you turn a daughter 
 into a wife ? " 
 
 Tis infamous," says the widow. " Tis 
 shocking to the ordinances of religion." 
 
 " Not so fast," said I. " She's no daughter 
 to me yet, nor perhaps will be," for I was 
 weary of her hints and innuendoes, the mean- 
 ing of which was apparent. 
 
 " Oh, maybe he can find room for you both," 
 says the grocer, with his fat laugh. 
 
 " Though 'tis my only niece," says the 
 vintner, pursuing his theme, as if none had 
 spoken, " I will spare her to so worthy a 
 gentleman. I have known her since she was 
 a chit so high my own sister's child!" 
 and he began to weep maudlin tears that 
 came of the drink. 
 
 " I'm sure," says the widow, " that the 
 gentleman will be well rid of such an ungrate- 
 ful baggage, and 'tis an insult to use him so. 
 He does not want a silly slip like that, either 
 to daughter or wife, undutiful as she would 
 be, and extravagant in her habit. What 
 would suit you, sir," she says, turning on me, 
 " would be a staid comely wife near to your
 
 170 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 own age, with a knowledge of haberdashery, 
 and some money to " 
 
 " Will you be quiet," says I to her, savagely. 
 
 " He's got his eye on the young 'un ; he's 
 marked her," says the fat grocer, dipping his 
 nose in the wine, " I knew it all along. There's 
 mighty little chance to deceive me. I know 
 these dogs. Why, directly he came in I saw 
 a look on him when he eyed her that " 
 
 " Look here, I have warned you once," says 
 I, infuriated, and I gave him a blow under his 
 fat chin that sent him sprawling over the next 
 chair to the floor. At that the widow 
 screamed out and cries, 
 
 " Murder ! murder ! " 
 
 I was for turning on her, for my blood was 
 up at this silliness, when the vintner got upon 
 his legs unsteadily. 
 
 " I will have no murder done in my house," 
 says he, with a hiccough. " I will fight any 
 man that is for doing murder in my house." 
 
 But ere I could answer Booby rushed at 
 me. " I'll have your blood," he cried. And 
 when I would have treated him as I had done 
 the grocer, the widow put her arms about me 
 and squealed that I was being killed, while 
 miss clung to Booby behind and strove to pull 
 him off with her hands and nails. 
 
 " Oh, sir, oh, sir, 'tis a Christian house," 
 cries aunt, wringing her hands.
 
 THE HABERDASHER 171 
 
 But, Christian or not, I was not for being 
 choked by the old cat, and so I threw her off 
 roughly ; but a blow from the vintner took 
 me in the stomach, so that all my wind was 
 out. He was whirling his arms like a mill. 
 
 (< I'll learn you to do murder," cries he. 
 
 'Twas too much for me. I had been sorely 
 tried by their stupidity, and to have them 
 falling on me was more than I could stand. 
 
 " Rip me," says I, " as sure as my name is 
 Dick Ryder I'll lay a corpse out if you do not 
 leave me." 
 
 " Dick Ryder ! " cries Miss Nancy, letting 
 go of Booby, who toppled over upon the 
 grocer. 
 
 " Yes," says I, " Dick Ryder, who is 
 mightily sorry that he ever set forth to do 
 any kindness to a ninny like you." 
 
 " Ay," says a voice behind me, " 'tis Dick 
 Ryder for sure, young woman." 
 
 I turned at the sound, and on the steps, 
 descending from the tavern, was Timothy 
 Grubbe, with the face of a trap behind 
 him. 
 
 " Dick Ryder," says he, with a grin, " I 
 arrest you in the name of His Majesty for the 
 robbery of one Samuel Hogg, on Turnham 
 Green, last night." 
 
 " Is that you, Timothy ? " said I, for I 
 never minded the wretch. " Why, come in
 
 172 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 and welcome. You come in the nick of time 
 to prevent murder." 
 
 " Why, I see you have been very merry/' 
 says he, with his leer. 
 
 I tapped the vintner on the shoulder. 
 " Here is a party," I said, " that will drink 
 my health. I beg you to open a bottle of 
 your best for these good friends of mine. How 
 many be you, Timothy ? " I asked. 
 
 " Call it three, Dick," says he with his 
 tongue in his cheek. 
 
 " Make it two bottles, host," said I cheerily. 
 
 The vintner, with his mouth open, now 
 coming to his sober senses, stared at the 
 visitors and at me ; but in obedience to my 
 command, he moved slowly towards the tap- 
 room door, where Grubbe and the trap stood. 
 I followed him, and had, out of the tail of my 
 eye, a glimpse of the wench struck dumb and 
 terrified. 
 
 " As touching the guineas of Hogg, Tim- 
 othy," said I, " you will find 'em on that 
 scratch-cat over yonder, with the red nose. 
 She is an old hand, Timothy, and hath a maw 
 for gold, so she hath." 
 
 At that the widow started up, protesting 
 and crying out that she knew nothing of it, 
 and she was innocent, and that he would 
 spare her and the Lord knows what. So I 
 was avenged on her, the vain old noodle.
 
 THE HABERDASHER 173 
 
 But I paid no heed, only walked up behind 
 the vintner till I came abreast of Grubbe, who 
 grinned at me as he eyed me carefully. 
 
 'Twas not so skilful as usual, Dick," says 
 he, " 'twas a boggle a blunder." 
 
 ' Well, there's no boggle this time," said 
 I shortly, and of a sudden put my foot under 
 him sharply, knocked away his leg and sent 
 him flying into the room on the top of Booby, 
 who was standing, mouth open. And next 
 moment I thrust the solid body of the vintner 
 in the face of the trap and toppled 'em both 
 over. That done, I clapped to the door 
 instantaneous and darted through the dark 
 tavern and into the road. There was no one 
 there, so that I knew that Grubbe had lied, 
 or else he had posted a man behind the house, 
 never thinking I should break out in front. 
 Once in the road I ran through the blackness 
 of the night, and, ere the pursuit was after me, 
 was safe in a hiding-place I know, cursing 
 myself for a fool to have wasted my time and 
 temper on a pack of asses.
 
 THE MAN IN BLACK 
 
 IT was after the affair of the King's treasure 
 that there was maybe the hottest hue and 
 cry raised on me which has ever fallen to my 
 lot in the course of many adventurous years. 
 The pursuit opened in a little tavern in South- 
 wark, where I was foolish enough to spend a 
 night and some guineas in entertaining a pack 
 of rude huffs that did not know a gentleman 
 from a dung-fork. I had took too much 
 of liquor, and I suppose that I had spoke too 
 much also. At least, at three of the morning 
 comes me up the landlord, a decent fellow, 
 with the news that the traps were on me. I 
 hardly rubbed my eyes, for the fumes were 
 all gone now, but skipped into my clothes, 
 and, giving him good-day, was out afoot in a 
 twinkling by a back window, and made for 
 Clapham. Here, as chance had it, I en- 
 countered a stout man on his horse coming 
 up for the fair, and, laying him in the mud, 
 I mounted and rode as hard as the nag would 
 carry me towards the south. 
 
 I passed through Kingston in the thick of 
 the darkness, and made for the wilds beyond, 
 
 174
 
 THE MAN IN BLACK 175 
 
 only pulling in when I had reached the village 
 of Ripley in the dawn. 'Twas bitter cold of 
 a raw January day, and the sun was in a grey 
 welter of clouds that betokened snow. So I 
 drank a hot draught of ale and brandy, and, 
 giving my nag a bite, was on the road again, 
 for I knew not how near the enemy might be, 
 and I had vowed to put ten leagues behind 
 me ere I lay anywhere. The way was vile in 
 that weather, but I pushed on through Guild- 
 ford, and at last came to Liphook, where I 
 sheltered for the night. Now what was my 
 predicament on the morrow but to find the 
 nag lame and myself in chains to the spot ! 
 But I had covered a long distance, and so 
 says I to myself, I will rest and give odds to 
 fortune. So I tarried there, pretty com- 
 fortable. 
 
 But in the afternoon there comes along a 
 stage from town, in the which, having spied 
 the ground very carefully, I decided to 
 journey ; for I had by now made up my mind 
 to reach Portsmouth, and ply between there 
 and Southampton and the west, until such 
 time as the chase was over. So in goes I, 
 much against my habit, along with a company 
 that seemed at first little to my taste. There 
 was a respectable old gentleman that was full 
 of questions ; and madam, his wife, that was 
 fat and slumberous ; and to them was a
 
 176 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 daughter, pretty enough, but with eyes that 
 marched and countermarched, and usually 
 upon a young man that was dressed like a 
 Court popinjay. This fellow, as I discovered, 
 was her lover, Harringay by name, and a 
 pretty cupid he was. The last in the coach 
 was a staid-faced, sober-clad man, all in a 
 dark kerseymere, that had come in with me 
 at Liphook, and read a book while 'twas light 
 and between the jolts. This was dull com- 
 pany, as you may guess, for Dick Ryder to 
 find himself in, all save the girl, whose eyes 
 went on a campaign with mine. So, thinks 
 I, if I must be here for some drab hours, I will 
 at least take some merriment of it, and so I 
 fell to ogling her, at which she minced and 
 took on a better colour. 
 
 'Twas in the act that the old gentleman 
 broke the silence by addressing me. Snow 
 had fallen in the night, and 'twas now darken- 
 ing for more. Out on the Sussex waste 
 tumbled the stage, and of a sudden took the 
 wind. It heeled her over, and the horses 
 stayed and swayed. 
 
 " Heaven save us ! We are overturned ! " 
 cried the old fellow, looking at me. 
 
 " Not we," said I. " Why, 'twould take 
 all the breath of two heavens to capsize this 
 old village." 
 
 " You think 'tis safe ? " says he anxiously.
 
 THE MAN IN BLACK 177 
 
 " As safe as a snail," said I, " and about 
 as speedy. Confound all such conveyances ! " 
 said I. " Give me a horse atwixt my legs and 
 I ask no more." 
 
 " You are a soldier, sir ? " said he. 
 
 ' You may call me that," says I " a 
 soldier of fortune." 
 
 " I knew it," says miss, beaming ; and at 
 that the wind took us again, and the stage 
 jolted on her creaking wheels, sending miss 
 into my arms, and the old lady upon the thin 
 black fellow. 
 
 Miss got herself back with my assistance, 
 blushing ripe and red, and the old lady cries, 
 
 " Geoffrey, my smelh'ng-salts ! Harringay, 
 tuck my skirts down." At which the popinjay 
 began fumbling in his pockets, and with a 
 sulky air stooped to do as he was bid. T'other 
 man feigned to go on reading, but it was too 
 dark now to see print. 
 
 " I have no taste for these common stages," 
 says Harringay, presently, in a fluting voice 
 of affectation. " If I had my way, I would 
 travel by private coach." 
 
 " Maybe," said I, " you cannot stride a 
 horse." 
 
 " Indeed," said he, loftily, " I am quite 
 accustomed to it." 
 
 " 'Tis the only way of progression," I said. 
 " A stout nag and a pair of barkers."
 
 178 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " Ah," said the old man admiringly, " you 
 soldiers see strange things." 
 
 " I'll warrant, yes," said I. " I could tell 
 you that which would make your hair stand." 
 
 Miss was gaping at me, and so was the 
 whole family, but young Harringay crossed 
 his legs, and says he indifferently, 
 Tis said soldiers have long tongues." 
 
 ' Why, they have long swords," said I 
 peremptorily, for I was annoyed by his airs 
 and graces. 
 
 He gave a little laugh, as if he were amused 
 with something all to himself ; and I was 
 aware at the same time that the man in black 
 was eyeing me steadily. He had the look of 
 a lawyer's clerk, or something of the sort, so 
 I returned him his stare with nonchalance. 
 This made him give way, and he turned his 
 attention to the party opposite, for there 
 could be no pretence now of reading a page. 
 
 " You go armed always, sir ? " inquired 
 the old gentleman. 
 
 " One never knows whom one may meet," 
 said I, with a yawn. 
 
 " You signify highwaymen ? " he said in a 
 lower voice. 
 
 " Why, Fm told there is danger from these 
 gentry," said I. 
 
 Harringay laughed lightly. 
 
 " Pooh ! " he says. " They are main
 
 THE MAN IN BLACK 179 
 
 cowards, and would not attack any man with 
 boldness and a pistol." 
 
 The man in black looked at him with 
 interest. 
 
 " You carry a pistol, sir ? " I asked politely 
 of the popinjay. 
 
 He tapped his pocket significantly. 
 
 ' There is none would dare assail me," he 
 boasted ; and miss cast him a glance of ad- 
 miration. 
 
 ' We put ourselves in Mr Harringay's 
 hands," explained the old gentleman cheerily. 
 " He is our escort." 
 
 I thought I saw a smile on the face of the 
 man in black, and I could not help meeting 
 it ; but his suddenly faded away, and he 
 looked out at the moor, on which the snow 
 and the wind were threshing. The old coach 
 was lurching on, as if she had been a packet 
 in a storm. 
 
 " I shall be sick. My stomach heaves," 
 cried the fat woman, and applied her smelling- 
 salts ; whereat she was attended by her hus- 
 band and her daughter, and, lying back, 
 seemed to pass off into sleep. 
 
 " 'Tis a wild night," says the old man. " I 
 misdoubt we shall fetch Petersfield." 
 
 " Why, that we shall," said I cheerfully, 
 " unless these same gentry you speak of play 
 us a trick."
 
 180 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " Do you think it likely ? " inquired a voice 
 in my ear ; and there was the man in black, 
 broken out of silence for the first time. 
 
 " Maybe/' said I indifferently, " and maybe 
 not." 
 
 " Why," he says, in a raucous voice, " there 
 is nothing here to tempt any such. What 
 is there among us all ? " 
 
 " Speak for yourself," said I. "I have 
 that which I would not part with willingly." 
 
 " And I, sir," said the old gentleman. 
 " But with three such young gentlemen to 
 protect us we need fear nothing." 
 
 " Well, I will confess I wouldn't care to 
 be stopped," says the man in black. " But 
 they would not have much of me." 
 
 " There is my box of jewels," says miss, 
 looking eagerly at Harringay, who smiled 
 and nodded and clapped his hand to a 
 pocket. 
 
 " 'Tis safe," said he. ' You may trust me 
 for that, sweetheart." At which she smiled 
 on him adoringly. 
 
 The man in black had sunk back into his 
 seat, and his heavy breathing sounded pre- 
 sently in my ear, so that I concluded he, too, 
 was fallen asleep. I was like to have done 
 the same, for the jolting and the stuffiness of 
 the air had wearied me ; but at that moment 
 the coach came to a stop, and there was the
 
 THE MAN IN BLACK 181 
 
 voice of the coachman calling out that this 
 was Rake. 
 
 'Twas now darkling overhead, but the snow 
 had ceased, and we entered the Flying Bull 
 to refresh ourselves a long barn of a place, 
 with a surly landlord that had not sense 
 enough to serve his customers properly. But 
 the wine was fair, and I ordered a bottle or 
 two, in the which I asked the old gentleman 
 to join me. 
 
 Says he, " With all my heart, sir, seeing 
 that you add this to my other obligations." 
 
 " What be those ? " said I. 
 
 He gave me a bow, for he was a civil gentle- 
 man, though of a rustic habit. " You protect 
 us, sir," he said. ' We are relying upon your 
 good weapons and bright courage in the face 
 of emergency." 
 
 I laughed. " Oh, as for that," I said, " I 
 can promise you there's none likely to infest 
 you. You are as safe as in Whitehall within 
 these fields of white." 
 
 " That is well said," remarked the man in 
 black. " And I shall eat, for my part, with 
 the better assurance after that promise." 
 
 He had certain sourness of voice, at which, 
 however, I could not take offence, for there 
 was nothing in his words to warrant it. But 
 Harringay must be popping into the con- 
 versation, and so I turned my spleen on him.
 
 182 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " I would not promise," said he, " that we 
 shall not be molested. There is plenty of 
 cut-throats about, as I have heard." 
 
 " Lord, Harringay ! " says the old lady, 
 dropping her knife and fork, " you terrify me. 
 What possessed us to come on this journey ? " 
 
 He simpered, as one pleased with his effort, 
 adding, " Tis known as the worst road out of 
 London." 
 
 " Dear heart ! " cries the lady, and I saw 
 miss whitening under the bloom she had took 
 of the cold air. 
 
 " Tis a pity," said I, " that simpletons 
 talk of what they know not. 'Tis the safest 
 road in the kingdom." 
 
 " Oh," says he with an air, " I would not 
 discompose anyone. Tis best you should 
 keep up your spirits." And he drank of his 
 wine, whistling gently, and as one who is 
 superior to circumstance and the rest of the 
 company. 
 
 If he had not been so grotesque an ape I 
 would have said something more, but as it was 
 I had not the heart to overwhelm him in 
 miss's presence. So said I good-humouredly, 
 " Well, call me when there is danger, and I 
 will see if I can spy it out of two spectacles." 
 
 I gave miss a jorum of mulled wine, and 
 I plied her mother, who would eat anything. 
 Never did I see a woman with such an ap-
 
 THE MAN IN BLACK 183 
 
 petite. But the old gentleman took little or 
 nothing, and only sipped his glass, being clearly 
 in an anxious state. 
 
 11 1 was promised we should lie at Peters- 
 field to-night," he said in a plaintive way, 
 "for I have business in Portsmouth to- 
 morrow:" 
 
 " Oh, you shall lie there safe and warm," 
 said I, " and madam and miss, too, in as snug 
 blankets as any in the realm, or call me 
 hangman." 
 
 I got up and walked to the window. The 
 black night stared back at me with ominous 
 eyes. Thinks I to myself that we must be 
 hauling out at once if my words were to come 
 true ; for there was snow in the sky like lead. 
 I turned about, and under the candles saw 
 the man in black guttling his wine as if he 
 were in a haste to feel its temper in his stomach. 
 He had drunk one bottle and the better part 
 of another. I called out to the innkeeper, 
 bidding him ask if we were to stay there all 
 night, for, if not, we had better be gone. And 
 that seemed to affect the coachman, for in a 
 little news was come that we were to start. 
 The last I saw of the table was the figure of 
 the man in black drinking his second bottle 
 to the dregs. 
 
 No sooner were we set in the stage again 
 than the storm began. The wind swept over
 
 184 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 the heights and rained on us a deadly flurry 
 of snow. It battered against the windows 
 and penetrated even to the recesses of the 
 interior. But we were warm with our wine, 
 and I, for one, lay back with contentment, 
 with one eye open on miss (who was conscious 
 of my stare, and fidgeted under it), and t'other 
 on nothingness. The old lady went off to 
 sleep forthwith with the food she had taken, 
 and trumpeted at times to the chagrin of her 
 daughter. But what's a snore ? At least it 
 interfered not with me, and presently miss 
 had slipped from me, and I was at rest like 
 any child. The coach rocked in my dreams, 
 and then there was a cry, and presently after 
 I opened my eyes with the feeling that the 
 snow was on my temples. 
 
 'Twas not that, however, but the barrel of 
 a pistol that the man in black held. 
 
 " Move," says he fiercely, " and you are a 
 dead man ! " 
 
 As soon as I was awake I guessed what it 
 was, and so, never stirring a hand, said I, 
 
 ' That command concerns not my jaw, I 
 conceive." 
 
 " 'Twere best you kept your mouth closed," 
 said he. 
 
 " Why," said I, " I perceive that my prog- 
 nostications were all wrong, and that we be 
 fallen indeed into the hands of a toby-man,
 
 THE MAN IN BLACK 185 
 
 who will, I trust, prove as gallant as all his 
 kidney." 
 
 " Silence ! " says he, " and give me what 
 you have." 
 
 1 You have my pistols ? " I asked politely. 
 
 ' Yes," he replied triumphantly ; and at 
 that I knew he was a mere bungler, and no 
 real gentleman of the road, for he was all 
 a-tremble with his excitement. 
 
 " Well," said I, " there is but the matter 
 of a small bag of guineas " 
 
 " Hand it out," said he sharply. 
 
 " Look'ee," said I ; " you promise me 
 death do I move." 
 
 " I will find it myself," he said quickly. 
 
 But I was not for having his dirty fingers 
 on me ; so said I, with a heavy sigh, " If I 
 must, I must." And I drew out a bag from 
 my inner pocket. 
 
 " You have saved yourself," said he 
 hoarsely ; and, Lord ! I knew again he was 
 new to the game, for no born toby-man would 
 have rested content with what I gave him, 
 when there was two bags more of golden 
 pictures safely stowed in my coat. 
 
 " Now that you have what you want," said 
 I meekly, " maybe you will allow me to ask 
 after my companions." 
 
 " You will understand," said he, " that I 
 am here with four loaded pistols, with the 
 which I will shoot any that moves."
 
 186 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " Oh, I accept my fate," I replied, as if 
 desperately. " 'Tis the young lady that I 
 am thinking on." 
 
 He laughed harshly. 
 
 " You have cast sheep's eyes enough, my 
 good man. I have her jewels." 
 
 " Damme, now," says I, " had the jewels 
 been in my keeping I would not have let 'em 
 go so cheaply. Is the young gentleman in 
 his gore ? " 
 
 " No," says he curtly. 
 
 " We have all been taken by surprise and 
 robbed," says the voice of the old gentleman 
 tremulously. " This man " 
 
 " Silence ! " said the man in black. 
 
 " Are you there, miss ? " said I to the 
 darkness. 
 
 A small voice says, 
 
 " Yes " very frightened. 
 
 " Keep up your heart," said I. " We are 
 none of us hurt, and when once this awesome 
 ruffian" 
 
 " I command you to be silent," said he 
 savagely. 
 
 " Come," said I, " let us have some liberty. 
 You have took our goods ; let us have our 
 tongues left." 
 
 At that he said nothing, but there came an 
 interruption. If you will believe me the old 
 lady had slumbered through it all, and now
 
 THE MAN IN BLACK 187 
 
 woke up at a jolt of the coach, and cried 
 out, 
 
 " Thieves ! " 
 
 " Why, madam, you say right," said I ; 
 " thieves it is, and as ferocious a toby-man 
 as ever I remember." 
 
 With that she fell to screaming, but the 
 man in black clapped his pistol to her, and 
 gave her a fright that paralysed her to silence. 
 
 " Give me what you have," says he. 
 
 " I I have nothing," she stammered. 
 ' There is no room on me to hide so much 
 as a" 
 
 " Bah ! " says he. " If you will cease your 
 clatter I will do you no harm." 
 
 " The gentleman has promised to do none 
 of us harm," said I, "if we behave modestly. 
 This coach shall not swim in blood, for the 
 which we should fall to our prayers in thank- 
 fulness." 
 
 Whether he perceived my ironic tone and 
 was to resent it I know not ; but I would have 
 been equal to him, the nincompoop. But as 
 chance had it, just at that moment the coach 
 came to with a crash that sent him flying 
 against the window. He flourished his pistols 
 wildly, and I thought the fool would have let 
 one off. Only the door opened on the other 
 side now, and the head of the coachman peered 
 in. My man presents at him, shouting,
 
 188 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " Move, and you're a dead man ! " 
 
 " What's all this stir ? " says the coachman 
 in amazement. "Are ye gone out of your wits?" 
 
 " No/' says he. " But you shall be gone 
 
 out of yours if you stir, and do not as I wish." 
 
 ' This gentleman," says I in a mild voice, 
 
 " has robbed the coach ; and 'tis only of his 
 
 kindness that we get off with our lives." 
 
 " You shall cut one of the horses loose and 
 let me have it," said this ridiculous toby-man, 
 " or I will blow out your brains." 
 
 " You're welcome to a horse," grumbled the 
 other, still in astonishment ; " you're welcome 
 to 'em all, if you can get anywhere from here." 
 
 " What is it you mean ? " he demanded 
 haughtily. 
 
 ' Why, we're astray we're in a drift 
 somewhere towards Liss the Lord knows 
 where," says t'other. 
 
 " Indeed," says I imploringly, " you will 
 not venture your valuable life on such a 
 night." 
 
 But he uttered a savage oath, yet appeared 
 perplexed. 
 
 " Look you," said I in another voice. " If 
 you take the horse you will reach nowhere 
 from here, and you will leave five hapless 
 mortal beings to starve of cold. Let 'em get 
 back to the road, and then take your nag." 
 
 He was silent for a while, but this argument
 
 THE MAN IN BLACK 189 
 
 seemed to appeal to him. " Very well," said 
 he, "I consent. But if there be any sign of 
 treachery I will not hesitate to shoot. Go 
 back to your horses." 
 
 At this the coachman, no doubt well enough 
 content to be let off at such a price, shut the 
 door and departed, and presently the stage 
 began to rumble on again, floundering on the 
 hills towards Liss. 
 
 Now you may think how I was tickled at 
 this muckworm trying his hand at the road. 
 He was some attorney's clerk or maybe 
 'prentice, I could have sworn, and he was as 
 fidgety as a cat, seeming not to know what to 
 do, or whom to confront and bully. More- 
 over, my attitude had put him in a flurry, and 
 the knowledge that we were astray had dis- 
 comfited him. So he stands with his back at 
 the door, saying nothing, but holding a barker 
 in each fist. But I was not for letting him 
 alone, and says I, 
 
 " You done that very well. I would I had 
 your composure, and I would have been his 
 Majesty's Chief Justice by now, with the 
 hanging of rogues for my business." 
 
 At that the old gentleman plucked up spirit 
 enough to venture on a word. 
 
 " Alack," he said, " I fear that all those 
 that follow a trade of violence must come by 
 violence to their end." And sighed.
 
 190 
 
 " That's the truth," said I, smacking my 
 leg. " You have spoke truth if you die 
 to-night." 
 
 " Silence ! " cries this shoddy highwayman 
 nervously. 
 
 " Your tongue wags, young man," says the 
 fat old lady to me. " But it appears to me 
 you did little in the defence you boasted of 
 some time ago." 
 
 " I can't abide cold steel at my ears," said 
 I. " Alas that I was born to encounter so 
 redoubtable a captain ! " 
 
 " You are a soldier," says she angrily, " and 
 you see us robbed and put about like this." 
 
 " Why, I can endure any ordinary toby- 
 man," said I. " But this fellow is the very 
 devil. I think any man may be excused to 
 surrender to so vehement an antagonist. His 
 bark's his bite," says I. 
 
 " Harringay, my smelling-salts," says she 
 petulantly. 
 
 " I I have 'em not," stammers he. 
 
 "No," said I. " Tis all along of this 
 gentleman with the barkers. See you. Mr 
 Harringay and I have had to yield up ; and 
 if one of Mr Harringay's spirit hath done so, 
 why, I think it no shame myself. But in- 
 deed," I went on, struck with a comic idea, 
 " we are neither of us in need of shame, for I 
 believe this gentleman to be a notorious
 
 THE MAN IN BLACK 191 
 
 gentleman of the road with a terrible reputa- 
 tion. Is't not so, sir ? " says I. 
 
 " You are at liberty to believe what you 
 will," says he, but in a milder voice. 
 
 " I have heard of these gentlemen," I went 
 on, " and from his description I would take 
 oath this is not other than Galloping Dick, 
 Dick Ryder, that is a terror on the highways. 
 Is it so ? " says I again. 
 
 " What if I be ? " says he ; and I believe 
 the huff was well pleased, as indeed he might 
 be. 
 
 " There ! " said I triumphantly. " I guessed 
 it. And, believe me, any man might be 
 proud to submit to Dick Ryder from all I 
 hear." 
 
 " Ay, I have heard of him, too," says the 
 old gentleman. " But they say he is better 
 than would appear, and merciful." 
 
 " Oh, never fear," said I. " This gentle- 
 man will prove merciful ere we are finished 
 with him." 
 
 " I warn you to expect nothing from me," 
 said he in a more complacent voice. 
 
 Just at that moment the coach began to 
 roll along more smoothly and at a faster 
 pace, and I judged that we were upon the 
 road again, and that the coachman was 
 whipping up. This same thought seems to 
 occur to the fellow, for he opened the window
 
 192 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 and shouted out to the man to stop, with a 
 lot of horrid threats. So that presently the 
 coach came to and the coachman appeared 
 at the door, seeing his manoeuvre had failed. 
 
 " What is it ? " he said innocently. 
 
 " You must keep your bargain/' says the 
 man in black. " We are on the road ? " 
 
 " Such road as there is," he grumbled. 
 
 " Well, cut me one of the horses out, or I 
 will make a hole in you," cries the fellow. 
 
 " Come," says I, " we were getting on quite 
 famously till now. Tis a pity to end this 
 pleasant party." 
 
 But he gave me an oath and stepped out 
 of the vehicle, at which I seized the young 
 man, Harringay. 
 
 " Out with you," said I, " and we will see 
 this mischief to an end." 
 
 We got out into the snow, which was still 
 whirling in the air, and I watched the coach- 
 man extricate one of his nags. The toby- 
 man (if I may so style him) stood with his legs 
 apart, drawn up in his most dramatic posture, 
 pistols in hand. 
 
 " You will not stir," says he, " for full ten 
 minutes after I am gone. If you do, I will 
 come back and blow your brains out." 
 
 This truculent fellow quite appalled the 
 coachman, who busied himself with the gear, 
 and presently has one of his horses out. This
 
 THE MAN IN BLACK 193 
 
 t'other mounted in an awkward fashion, and 
 turned to us. 
 
 " Remember," says he in a warning voice, 
 " I never forget or forgive." 
 
 " Now," whispered I to Harringay, " now is 
 the chance to show your quality. You take 
 him on the near side and I will on the off. 
 Leg or arm will do. He will topple off on the 
 least shove, the fool." 
 
 " But but," he stammered, " he is armed." 
 
 " Damme," said I, furious to meet such 
 cowardice, " are ye frightened of a pistol in 
 the hands of a mumchance ? " And with an 
 oath I left him and flew at my quarry. 
 
 I had got half-way to him when he saw me 
 coming and pointed a barker at me. 
 
 " Stop ! " cries he. 
 
 " Stop be damned ! " says I, and sprang at 
 him. 
 
 The pistol went off and took my hat, singe- 
 ing my forehead, which made me all the hotter. 
 I seized him leg and neck, and swung him 
 down into the snow, where he grabbled for 
 another weapon. 
 
 " If you move," said I, " I will crack your 
 neck like a rotten stick, my brave toby-man. 
 Quit, you worm, quit ! " And I gave him 
 my fist between the eyes, so that he lay still. 
 
 " Coachman," said I, " you may take your 
 horse and throw a lantern here." And I 
 
 N
 
 194 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 fumbled in the man's pockets for a pistol. 
 " Now/' said I, " we are on terms again." 
 And I dragged him to his feet. Harringay 
 came up now, and says he, 
 
 " Let me help." 
 
 " Get you gone ! I want none of you ! " I 
 said sharply. " Damme, miss will serve me 
 better. She will wear the breeches properly." 
 And I called out to her. 
 
 By that time the coachman had his lantern, 
 and cast the light on the miserable sheepish 
 object who scowled at us. 
 
 " Here's a pretty toby-man," said I, " a 
 right gallant fellow that sheds lustre on the 
 craft. Why, a child could manage him. 
 See," says I, for miss was come up, looking 
 very handsome and excited, in the snow. 
 ' Take ye this pistol, miss, and hold it to him. 
 He will do you no harm no more than a 
 louse, and never could." 
 
 She hesitated a moment, and then, sum- 
 moning up her courage, did as I bid, holding 
 the barker in a gingerly fashion, the while I 
 searched his pockets, taking out what he had 
 took of us. 
 
 I had just completed my job when there 
 was the sound of voices quite close, for the 
 snow had dulled the tread of the horses of 
 the party that approached. They were on 
 us ere I knew, and one called out,
 
 THE MAN IN BLACK 195 
 
 " What is this ? Is't an accident ? " 
 
 " It is a little accident to a toby-man," 
 said I. "A brave fellow that is come by 
 misfortune all unknown to his mother." 
 
 ' The devil ! " says the voice. ' We are 
 after one such. Let us see him." 
 
 Now you conceive how I felt, for that this 
 was a party of traps on my heels I guessed at 
 once. So I moved a little into the shadow 
 of the lantern, and waited while the man 
 examined t'other. 
 
 " I do not know if this is our man," says 
 he, " but 'tis enough if he be guilty." 
 
 " Who is your man ? " asked I, emboldened 
 by this ignorance. 
 
 " Tis Dick Ryder," says he ; " we tracked 
 him as far as Liphook, but the one that could 
 speak to him has been detained by a fall at 
 the village." 
 
 " Why, this is he ! '" said I in triumph. 
 " Did he not confess to being Ryder ? " I 
 asked of the others, for by this the old gentle- 
 man and his lady were both with us. 
 
 " Certainly. I will swear to it," says the 
 old fellow. " I heard him with these ears say 
 he was Ryder." 
 
 " Then is our business done," says the trap, 
 " and I'm not sorry, considering the night." 
 And his men surrounded my man and seized 
 him. His face was as pale as the snow, and
 
 196 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 he had a horrid, frightened look. Maybe he 
 was some attorney's clerk that had robbed 
 his master, and was in flight. I cared not, 
 and I never knew ; and he went off silent 
 with his captors on the way to the Triple 
 Beam, which he deserved for a bungling, 
 bragging nincompoop. 
 
 But now we were alone, and the guineas 
 and the jewels were in my pockets. Lord, 
 I love the jingle of 'em, and so I took my 
 counsel forthwith. 
 
 " Sir/' says I to the old gentleman, " here 
 be your purse and your papers ; and to you, 
 sir," says I to Harringay, " I restore the 
 smelling-salts, that is your charge. Miss, 
 this, I'll warrant, is your jewels, the which 
 I would advise you to place in a better security 
 than heretofore. And now justice is done, 
 and we conclude with a merry evening." 
 
 " But there is my purse ! " says Harringay, 
 in an amaze. " My purse with fifty guineas." 
 
 " Why, your purse must be where your 
 heart is, in your boots," says I contemptu- 
 ously, and called to the coachman. 
 
 " Give me that nag," says I. 
 
 And before he understood I was on the 
 beast, and, doffing to miss and her mother, 
 rode off into the snowy night with a peal of 
 laughter.
 
 THE LADY IN THE COACH 
 
 IT was not until I was three parts across 
 the heath upon the adventure that I had 
 gotten any suspicion I was forestalled. The 
 night was very thick, owing to a pack of clouds 
 that lay furled upon the moon, and till then 
 was as still as a mouse. But Calypso's hoofs 
 started a wether bleating near by, and it ran 
 jumping into the distance, with its silly bell 
 a-tinkling round its neck. And just upon 
 that the noise of a commotion far off came 
 down to me, and, pulling up the mare, I set 
 my ears to the valley. I knew the coach 
 must be wobbling along two miles this side 
 of Belbury, and I reckoned to meet it by the 
 fork. But this news, as you may conjecture, 
 put me in a taking. There was none along 
 that road save me and Creech's lot, and 'twas 
 gall to me to play jackal to Dan, or to anyone 
 else for the matter of that ; so, putting my 
 boots into Calypso, I rode down the valley at 
 a gallop, but I had gone no farther than a few 
 hundred paces when a clatter of nags came 
 up the road to my left, and I stopped the roan 
 
 dead. I was not to be taken like a fool, all 
 
 197
 
 198 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 agape with chagrin, and I held up under the 
 cover of a tall furze bush, till all four were 
 by, passing like shadows into the night. 
 
 " Damn Creech ! " I says to myself, for I 
 had scarce a crown to my pocket. But seeing 
 that vexation would not serve me, I rode on, 
 mighty discomfited, and presently entered the 
 high road near the foot of the heath. Right 
 afore me, and wrapt in the shadows of a black 
 clump of trees, was the hulk of the stage, out 
 of which proceeded a clamour of excited 
 voices. When I came up with it the coach- 
 man was gathering his reins for a start, but 
 at sight of me rising out of the darkness he 
 dropped 'em again. 
 
 " Save us ! " he cried, with an oath, " here's 
 more of the gentry," and stared at me very 
 sullen. 
 
 At this exclamation an instant silence fell 
 inside the coach, and then a head was poked 
 cautiously through the window. 
 
 " 'Tis useless, my good man," said a thin, 
 high voice. " We are by this plucked to our 
 bare bones, and sit grinning in them." 
 
 " Heaven save us from this accursed heath ! 
 I feared 'twould be so," says someone else, 
 with a whine. 
 
 " Faith," says I, coming to a stop alongside, 
 
 ' 'tis an honour you put upon me. I have 
 
 been mistaken afore now for his Highness,
 
 THE LADY IN THE COACH 199 
 
 and for Jack Ketch too, but 'tis the first time 
 I was dubbed gentleman of the highway." 
 
 The old fellow at the window rolled his eyes 
 over me without a word, and pretty sharp 
 eyes they were. 
 
 " And who may you be, then ? " says he, 
 with a queer smile upon his lean face. 
 
 ' Why, if it comes to that," says I in turn, 
 " who the devil may you be ? " 
 
 He scrutinised me closely, and then, 
 " Coachman," he called, " bestir your horses." 
 
 " Come, come," says I, for the old scarecrow 
 tickled my curiosity, " there's no need to 
 quarrel upon our characters. You have had 
 the highwaymen here ? " 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders. " Four dirty 
 rascals," he said ; " and we're in no humour 
 for another." 
 
 " Look 'ee," says I sharply, " I allow no one 
 to repeat a mistake." 
 
 He surveyed me with indifference, smiled, 
 and withdrew his head. " In that case," he 
 said bluntly, " 'tis ill to waste your time and 
 ours." 
 
 He was a surly old cock, and, but that I 
 knew Dan must have skinned him close, I 
 would have dragged him forth and served him 
 according to his deserts ; and, in truth, I was 
 half in the mind to despoil him of some of his 
 fine fig, but just then another voice broke in.
 
 200 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " Sir," says this noodle, " if you be an 
 officer, as I should judge by your dress, I pray 
 you will despatch these villains. I am a poor 
 man and can ill afford to lose my purse, but 
 if a small reward will serve " 
 
 " Ha, ha ! " says I, nodding, " here is some 
 sense at last," and, drawing the roan nearer, 
 I looked into the coach. 
 
 There was six of 'em, all looking pretty 
 sheepish ; and one, as I discerned in the dim 
 light, was a lady. 
 
 " Lord ! " says I, " five of you, and the 
 coachman to be frightened by four scurvy 
 cut-throats ! " 
 
 " Why, sir," says the man that had just 
 spoke, who wore a heavy paunch, " an you 
 had been here I warrant you could ha' done 
 nothing. The ruffians wore black masks and 
 swore abominably. For my part, all I can 
 say is that there was the cracking of whips 
 and a pistol through each window ere I was 
 out of the lady's lap, where, being asleep, the 
 jolt had thrown me." 
 
 " The exchange was effected, I assure you," 
 put in the old man suavely, " with less noise 
 than if it had been a Sabbath sermon, save 
 for the protestations of my friends here." 
 
 " Protestations ! " says the lady, breaking 
 her silence, and in an voice rough with anger. 
 " There were tears enough to have touched a
 
 THE LADY IN THE COACH 201 
 
 heart of stone, and less resistance than a 
 barndoor fowl's. A fine company for escort, 
 forsooth ! " 
 
 I shot another look at her for a woman, 
 specially if she be beautiful, tickles my fancy 
 and, sure enough, I could perceive even in 
 that light she wore an air of quality. But I 
 put her aside a moment, and says I to the man 
 with the paunch : " What have you lost ? " 
 says I. 
 
 " Sir," says he, "I am a goldsmith, the 
 which trade hath in these days sunk so low 
 that" 
 
 But here Belinda intervened on him very 
 sharp. " For heaven's sake," says she im- 
 patiently, " spare us the repetition of your 
 circumstances ; and since," she added with 
 a sneer, " this gentleman is so good as to 
 promise you assistance, specify your guineas 
 and be done." 
 
 ' There were a hundred guineas in my bag," 
 said the goldsmith humbly. 
 
 But at that, and it may be because of the 
 hint in the lady's words about me, there came 
 another voice from t'other side. 
 
 " I am a merchant, sir," it began. 
 
 " Perhaps," says I, with a glance at the 
 lady, " we had better spare that also." 
 
 " Sir," says the cully, accepting my rebuke, 
 " if you will but save me my two hundred and
 
 202 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 fifty guineas you will place me deeply in your 
 debt. A King's officer, like yourself, should 
 have no difficulty in running these rascals to 
 earth." 
 
 That made me smile, as you may fancy ; 
 and then, turning to Hoity-toity, I says, 
 " And how have you fared, madam ? " 
 
 Now that I regarded her more closely, I 
 could perceive that she was very elegant, but 
 she wore an ill-tempered frown, that set her 
 beauty askew. 
 
 " I," says she, shrilly, " am in no mood to 
 indulge a wayside curiosity unless, indeed, 
 'tis your business to catch robbers." I bowed 
 very solemn, and she eyed me with asperity. 
 " I have been rifled of many valuable jewels, 
 which I should now possess had I kept other 
 company than that of chicken-hearts." 
 
 " 'Tis a fool's trick to carry jewels on the 
 King's highway," says I. " These gentlemen 
 of the road snap their fingers at his Majesty." 
 
 " And you a King's officer to say that ! " 
 she said scornfully. 
 
 " Faith," said I, with a laugh, " I make no 
 such claim to dignity. I am a poor civil 
 gentleman, of no more pretensions than your 
 brave companions." 
 
 " Brave ! " she echoed, with disdain. 
 " Five able-bodied men, and never a blow 
 among them ! "
 
 THE LADY IN THE COACH 203 
 
 " Pardon me, madam," interposed the old 
 gentleman softly ; "I have already explained 
 that you must not reckon with me, having 
 these five years no certain knowledge if my 
 legs be still my own." 
 
 At this point the coachman broke in with 
 a gruff voice. " We must be going," says he, 
 " or maybe we shall have further trouble ere 
 Belbury." 
 
 " Heavens ! would they flay us ? " asked 
 the old gentleman, lifting his eyebrows. " I 
 assure you, I have nothing beyond my skin 
 and two very incompetent legs." 
 
 That set me laughing, for the old cock 
 tickled me. 
 
 " Faith," says I, " here is a philosopher." 
 
 Whereupon, like a pistol-shot, madam turns 
 upon me in a fury. " And who are you, sir, 
 that dares mock at our misfortunes ? " she 
 cried angrily. " Who are you, that comes 
 swelling with fine feathers and a cock-a- 
 doodle-doo about assistance ? Oh, were there 
 stuff enough within the four walls of this 
 carriage, some one should fetch you a clout 
 for your impertinence ! I was a fool to have 
 ventured in this company a fool not to have 
 taken my Lord Kerslake's offer of a seat." 
 
 The old gentleman looked amused, and 
 glanced whimsically at me ; but, sure, I liked 
 her spirit, though I made answer mockingly.
 
 204 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " Faith, gentlemen," says I, " you have 
 here spirit enough to arm a regiment. I crave 
 your ladyship's pardon ; I am of a round and 
 jocund temper, and can scarce keep my teeth 
 inside my lips ; I should grin upon a tomb- 
 stone. But as for your misfortunes, rot me, 
 but they touch me nearly ; and, had the 
 opportunity fallen, I should ha' been proud 
 to draw a skewer for you." 
 
 " You have fine words, sir," says she, still 
 very angry. " I am weary of words ; I have 
 heard brave words enough to outlast my years. 
 You brag of your sword ! " (she puffed her 
 nostrils in a sneer), " had you arrived five 
 minutes sooner, the chance had been yours 
 to show the spirit under your fine coat. I am 
 weary of words. Drive on, a God's name, 
 coachman ! " 
 
 I glanced about the coach with a smile 
 though, to say the truth, the wench's tongue 
 nettled me ; and " It seems," says I, " that 
 we are a pack of superfluous cravens. Why 
 is there none to fight us ? My stomach, I 
 vow, heaves for a highwayman. How stand 
 yours, sirs ? " 
 
 " Mine, sir, is sinking," says the old gentle- 
 man caustically " sinking for the meal from 
 which you detain us." 
 
 " Pray begone, sir ! " added Hoity-toity. 
 "As we may not have your valiant aid, no
 
 THE LADY IN THE COACH 205 
 
 doubt your comfortable bed will provide you 
 bloodless dreams of battle." 
 
 There was no limit to the jade's tongue ; 
 but I kept myself in control, and merely 
 laughed. 
 
 " Why," says I, "it seems I come to the 
 table when the wine is cleared." 
 
 ' By five minutes," she exclaimed " by 
 bare five minutes ! The hoofs of their horses 
 were not round the corner ere yours was 
 poking its nose through the window." 
 
 " I would I had forestalled 'em," says I, 
 with meaning. 
 
 The lady paid me no heed, but continued, 
 " I have come from a town where young 
 gentlemen of blood blink not at danger, and 
 to lose five minutes were not to lose the 
 privilege of protecting a lady of birth." 
 
 Her sneers made me mad ; but " Ha ! " 
 says I, " your ladyship lives in a brave town. 
 And what would these young gentlemen do ? 
 Sink me, I am so humble that I must go to 
 school under them." 
 
 " They would not hang to gossip upon the 
 wheels of a coach ; and I should have my 
 jewels within four-and- twenty hours," says 
 she curtly. 
 
 " Gad," says I, " they are gallant young 
 gentlemen indeed, and of a rare devotion to 
 your ladyship. As for me "
 
 206 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " As for you, sir," interrupted the old 
 gentleman, testily, " if you will be good 
 enough to resume your journey, we may have 
 some chance at least of our dinner." 
 
 Hereupon the coachman cracked his whip, 
 and the horses plunged forward a step ; but 
 I leaned over and laid my hand upon the side. 
 
 " Fie, fie ! " says I, "to mumble of dinner 
 when the lady's jewels are in question, and 
 but four-and- twenty hours to get 'em ! " 
 
 " The more reason for your leaving at once," 
 said the old mawkin, sarcastically. 
 
 Somehow the behaviour of these two 
 nettled me. I could see that the one enter- 
 tained suspicions of me, and t'other used me 
 with so small an amount of ceremony that I 
 was loth to leave 'em ere I had cried quits 
 with 'em. But it was the ejaculation of the 
 goldsmith as set the idea suddenly in my 
 head, for, says he, in astonishment, taking up 
 the old gentleman's phrase, " You will under- 
 take the quest, sir ? " And immediately the 
 thought of a pretty whimsy flared in my head ; 
 but ere ever I had taken it, up springs the 
 merchant crying, " Mine too mine also, sir ; 
 I pray you, young gentleman, my bag of 
 guineas ! " 
 
 " The devil ! " says I, very calm, and as if 
 I had made my resolve long since. " How 
 would those same young gentlemen of blood
 
 THE LADY IN THE COACH 207 
 
 entreat you, I wonder ? 'Slife, I have a 
 notion that they would despatch you all to 
 hell, for your common quality, it being of 
 untoward audacity for to seat you next her 
 ladyship." And then, putting my head right 
 through the window, I says, addressing the 
 lady in the most pretentious, solemn manner, 
 " Your ladyship," I says, " frame me in your 
 fancy, however high the flight, as one of these 
 gentlemen of blood. Sirs, bear your mis- 
 fortune with patience, I adjure you. Lard 
 and oddsbobs, I wish you a more prosperous 
 journey." And, with a sweeping bow, I 
 spurred the roan into a gallop down the road. 
 When I pulled up at the foot of the heath, 
 I could hear the creaking of the coach as it 
 lumbered in the distance ; then, turning the 
 mare's nose to the common, I put her to an 
 easy canter. 'Twas a design of some humour 
 that possessed me ; and what further drove me 
 on was the reflection that I had a bare lining 
 to my pockets, and, if I could not come by a 
 high- toby lay, well, I would juggle with 
 Creech for a venture. I knew Dan's haunts 
 well enough, and that as like as not he was 
 hiding in The Woodman for to celebrate 
 his success. And, sure enough, when I had 
 crossed the heath and struck into the pine 
 wood on the further slopes, after concealing 
 Calypso in a thicket, there was old Kettle
 
 208 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 met me at the door of his inn, very suspicious, 
 but of a mighty cheerful countenance. He 
 was acquainted with me by sight, for he let 
 me pass with a nod ; and, proceeding to the 
 rear of the hostelry, I found one of Dan's lads 
 stuck before the door of the barn. He 
 challenged me as I approached ; but " Pooh, 
 Tom ! " says I, " keep your lead against traps 
 and such vermin," the which made him grin 
 upon recognising my voice. 
 
 " What brings you here, Dick Ryder ? " 
 says he. " We thought you was in London." 
 
 " I'm on the King's service, I am, Tom," 
 says I. 
 
 Whereat he broke into a loud guffaw, and 
 says he, " You'd best forswear, then, or Dan'll 
 crack no bottle for you to-night. He's in a 
 rare humour, is Dan." 
 
 But I pushed by him, and entered the barn, 
 where Creech and two more of his rogues were 
 sprawling upon the floor, pretty far gone in 
 liquor, as I conceived. At the sight of me, 
 up jumps Dan to his feet, but falls back again 
 drunkenly. 
 
 " You damned pink-faced truant, Dick 
 Ryder ! " he cried, " what do you out of your 
 bed at this hour ? And Mistress Polly all 
 forlorn ! " 
 
 " Women," says I, " are devilish seductive 
 for ornament, Dan, but theirs is a heavy price,
 
 THE LADY IN THE COACH 209 
 
 and I'm quit of 'em." And with that, nod- 
 ding at a crate of bottles, I added, " A fetch 
 of luck, eh, Danny ? " 
 
 " Sit down, my fine feathered bird," says 
 Creech ; "sit down and tipple along of us. 
 Stab me if I keep my luck to myself ! I'm 
 a generous hand, I am." 
 
 The wine was none so bad, being sack of an 
 elegant body, though Creech had never the 
 palate of a fly ; and presently, after I had 
 drunken, I looked about me, but could see 
 nothing of the booty. " Ah ! " says I, " I'll 
 warrant you have filled your purse, Danny. 
 You're no company for a poor wastrel like 
 me." 
 
 Creech grinned, and winked a bloodshot eye 
 on me. ' You should ha' joined the company, 
 Dick," he said. " But, damme, you're so 
 devilish shy. Plague take you, haven't I 
 given you your chances ? Stab me, you fine 
 young bantam, for all your pride I wager 
 you've not a crown in your pockets, and ours 
 a-bulging out with goldfinches." 
 
 " One, Danny one," says I, " and a good 
 well-thumbed crown, come by honestly." 
 
 " Bah ! " says Creech, with a sneer; " you'd 
 be dragging your pockets along the ground if 
 you'd been along of us to-night." 
 
 " Did you take a coach ? " says I. 
 
 " A coach ! " replied Creech. " Such a
 
 210 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 coach as you never saw just guineas a-drop- 
 ping off the box into your mouth, and none to 
 deny you. Eight hundred and thirty golden 
 pictures, you young fool, all stamped of his 
 Majesty ; and more to that." 
 
 " More ? " says I, very innocent. 
 
 " And it mightn't be a little box, Dick 
 only a little box," says Creech, in a wheedling 
 voice ; " but a queen's ransom to its belly ; " 
 and without more ado, but as if anxious to 
 strut upon his dungheap, he put his hands 
 between his legs, and fetching out a casket, 
 threw it at me. " Catch it," he cried ; " open 
 it and feast your eyes upon it. There's 
 glamour enough there to turn a stomach 
 sour." 
 
 'Twas a rare lot of jewels, for sure, and it 
 was small wonder that her ladyship was in 
 such a taking. But Creech, in the exultation 
 of drink and success, could not hold his tongue, 
 which it was not my desire that he should. 
 " Where's your damned independence now ? " 
 he chuckled. " What sort of figure upon the 
 lay does Galloping Dick cut atween here and 
 London ? " 
 
 But if I was to have it forth of his fingers I 
 would have it openly, and so I says plumply, 
 " I have a fancy for that box, Dan," says I. 
 
 Creech leaned over, and set his dirty finger 
 against his nose, poking out his tongue.
 
 THE LADY IN THE COACH 211 
 
 " Yes," says I, in a careless fashion ; "I 
 have taken a main liking to it. I want that, 
 Dan." 
 
 Creech burst into a fit of laughing. 
 
 " Hear him ! " he cried. " Hearken at the 
 avaricious young fellow. He wants it, the 
 precious boy ! And so he does. And will 
 his nursey give him the pretty things for a 
 plaything till he falls asleep ? Oh, Dicky, 
 Dicky, stab me but you'll be my death of 
 bursting ! " And he rolled upon the ground 
 in merriment that came in good part of the 
 sack. 
 
 " Come, Dan," says I, as pleasant as you 
 like ; " you won't deny me, old friend not 
 you. Let us shake hands on it." 
 
 But this set Creech yelling with laughter. 
 " Why, curse me," said he, " here's a queer 
 game, hearties ! Here's a poor young man 
 with but a crown to his pocket, and a soul 
 a-soaring in the sky ! " 
 
 But then, without further ado, I whipped 
 the coin out of my pocket and spun it in the 
 air. " Come, Danny," says I, affably ; "I 
 will toss against you, with the precious gems 
 for stakes. Put 'em down at ween us, and by 
 God I'll nick 'em." 
 
 Creech stopped in his laughing and set the 
 box in front of him, piling upon it two heavy 
 pistols and a naked sword. " There, Dick
 
 212 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 Ryder," says he, grinning, " come and fetch 
 'em. There's none as can charge meanness 
 upon me. Take 'em, cocky ; stab me, Dick 
 Ryder, where's your grit ? " and over he rolls 
 upon his side, shrieking with laughter, in 
 which t'others joined him. 
 
 Now he had, as it were, laid the job fairly 
 before me, and for the moment I was in the 
 mind to take him at his word ; but the next 
 second I had abandoned the purpose, for 
 though I had little doubt that I could manage 
 the three with them in a drunken condition, 
 I was not for spilling blood, at anyrate at that 
 stage. So what does I do but merely stick 
 forth my foot and kick the weapons into the 
 air. That fetched Creech to his legs mighty 
 sudden, and scowling at me he says, " Is this 
 serious, Dick ? " 
 
 " You'd best guard 'em well," says I, "for 
 I mean ill by them." 
 
 " Look 'ee, Dick," said Creech slowly, " if 
 you want 'em you can take 'em. D'ye see ? 
 I'm not a man to botch my words. Curse 
 me, I've given you your chances afore now." 
 
 " Well," says I, " I'll fight you for 'em." 
 
 Creech winked. " I ain't afeard of your 
 toasting-fork," he said, " though you are used 
 to wear it for a taunt. I have as many bloody 
 facts to my tally as, maybe, Dick Ryder him- 
 self. But I'm no precious baby, to risk my
 
 THE LADY IN THE COACH 213 
 
 skin in behalf of what's my own. An you 
 take 'em, you shall reckon with the gang." 
 
 " Damme," says I, " gang or no, 'tis all one 
 with me. I'll have 'em within a round of the 
 clock." 
 
 " No, no, young fellow," replied Creech, 
 with a sly look. " Tisn't upon our side as 
 the whole bargain must lie. Strike me a 
 proper balance. Curse me, if you're for sport, 
 I'll meet you. Put up that crown. D'ye 
 think I'm to cast away the baubles on the fall 
 of a shield ? Place me something fat in the 
 scales." 
 
 " Why, my sword," says I, with a laugh. 
 
 Creech grunted. 
 
 " Calypso," says I. 
 
 " Bah ! " says he ; " mare and sword and 
 all, yourself atop, my young blood." 
 
 " Would you buy blood for money ? " I 
 asked. 
 
 " Faith, yes," he answered ; " 'tis the 
 fashion of the trade. And you're a pretty 
 hand with the irons. Look at you you with 
 your fine fancy dress, for all the world like a 
 gentleman in his Majesty's service. Stout 
 muscles, Dick, but small wits behind 'em. 
 What say you ? You shall have the trinkets, 
 and the guineas too if you can get 'em. But 
 an you fail we'll have you, by hell, body and 
 soul for twelve months."
 
 214 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 I knew 'twas his inflation that drew him on 
 thus, but it served my purpose ; and so, after 
 a pause, I said, " How long do you give me for 
 the job ? " 
 
 " Till this hour to-morrow night," says Dan, 
 seeming to consider. 
 
 Thereupon I jumped to my feet. " I'll 
 take you," says I ; " and now for another 
 glass." 
 
 Creech stares at me for a moment in stupid 
 wonder, and then solemnly reached out his 
 hand, which I took. Filling a glass, I nodded 
 at the three and gave them a toast. " Here's 
 success to me, lads ! " I says. 
 
 But at that Creech turned black, and spill- 
 ing the wine he was drinking, looked at me 
 savagely. " Damn you ! " he said, " keep 
 your toasts to yourself, and get you gone, or 
 Tom out there will have leave to thrid you 
 with bullets." 
 
 But having made my point I was in no 
 humour to be offended at the surly hunks, and 
 so I tossed off the wine very leisurely. " Good 
 Danny," I said ; " there's sense in your tipsy 
 brain yet. Best go to bed and nurse it, for 
 you'll need all your wits to-night." 
 
 But Creech, who had now fallen into a dark 
 mood, made no answer, merely muttering to 
 himself ; and with a nod I was gone. But, 
 Lord, the adventure was ready to my hands,
 
 THE LADY IN THE COACH 215 
 
 for to cheat three such clumsy sots was no 
 difficult task for me. I scarce gave it a 
 thought until, coming upon Tom in the yard 
 afore the barn, a sudden notion took my fancy, 
 and I came to a stop beside him. 
 
 " Ah, Tom," says I, shaking my head, 
 " 'tis a raw night for to gnaw the vitals out of 
 a hedgehog, and you with no drink. I've a 
 mind to spare you." 
 
 " What d'ye mean ? " says he, without a 
 suspicion. 
 
 ' When is your time up ? " I asked, paying 
 him no heed. 
 
 " At midnight," says he, cursing a little to 
 himself. 
 
 " Tom," says I, " you're a friendly fellow, 
 you are, and I have taken a compassion on a 
 poor devil as can neither eat nor drink his 
 belly full." And with that, and ere he was 
 aware, I had my hands upon his throat. The 
 sudden action took him by surprise, and 
 though he struggled I forced him presently 
 upon his knees. " Why," says I, pleasantly, 
 " sure, I told you I was upon the King's 
 service, Tom, engaged by his sacred Majesty 
 for to get rid of rascals like yourself." But 
 then, getting his breath, he opened his mouth 
 to cry for help, only on the instant I slipped 
 a splinter of wood atween his teeth. So there 
 was he soon, bitted and bound safe enough.
 
 216 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 Now these transactions fell, and with little 
 noise, in the shadow of the barn, where it ran 
 forth to the margin of the wood ; and no 
 sooner was Tom secured than there was the 
 noise of someone opening the door, and 
 Creech's footsteps sounded in the yard. In 
 an instant I slipped Tom's cloak about me, 
 and, all muffled to my nose, withdrew a pace 
 into the darkness, at the same time letting the 
 point of my sword fall on the cully's chest. I 
 reckon that he knew well enough what was 
 enjoined on him, for he never stirred ; but I 
 was a little anxious about Creech, lest, even 
 in his state, he should recognise my voice. 
 He stopped at the corner and called Tom in 
 a loud voice, to the which I made a surly 
 reply. 
 
 " Cold, eh ? " says he, with a chuckle, " and 
 sulky ? Well, if 'twill warm you, you'd best 
 put a bullet through Galloping Dick. D'ye 
 hear ? We have a little game atween us, and 
 if he gets by you ye shall answer for it." 
 
 I durst trust myself to nothing but a 
 mumble by way of answer, but it suited 
 Creech, who swaggered off to the barn again ; 
 and then, getting Tom in my arms, I dragged 
 the body into a coppice, and presently re- 
 sumed my post as sentinel. 'Twas a shrewd 
 night, and the hours passed very slowly ; but 
 there was that in my heart to warm me against
 
 THE LADY IN THE COACH 217 
 
 the cold, for I knew that all hung upon the 
 change at midnight. And when that time 
 came, and there was once more the sound of 
 feet in the yard, I drew up stiff and stark, 
 being solicitous for the hazard. 'Twas Blake 
 that came to relieve me, but, as fortune had it, 
 his head was mazed with sleep and drink, and 
 he paid me little attention. I growled out an 
 oath or two, to which he gave no answer, his 
 teeth chattering in his jaws ; and with that 
 I left him, and rounding the corner I made 
 straight for the entry. When I got in, there 
 was Ned lying in a heap upon some straw, 
 snoring like a swine, and Creech, as I per- 
 ceived, seated with his back against the wall, 
 and his eyes lifted meditatively to the rafters. 
 
 ' That you, Tom ? " says he, and without 
 even a glance at me, chucked his thumb 
 towards a pile of bottles. 
 
 ' There's no sleep yet in that voice," thinks 
 I ; and, seating myself in a dark corner, where 
 the lanthorn shed no light, I helped myself to 
 wine. 'Twas grateful enough to a pinched 
 stomach, but when I was done, and stretched 
 snugly in the straw, there was I, destined to 
 wait upon Creech's convenience, till so be as it 
 pleased him to fall off. He had by this, as I 
 could see, shook off the most of his liquor, 
 being, I fancy, in no wise comfortable as to 
 the bargain he had struck with me. But that
 
 218 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 did not disturb me, for I could bide my time ; 
 only it gave me a start, I confess, when, after 
 half an hour in this fashion, he got upon his 
 feet and came towards me. I had all along 
 been feigning slumber, and as he came I 
 managed to bury my head deeper in my cloak, 
 lest he should take a suspicion of my phiz. 
 He stood over a moment, and then, " Drunk," 
 says he, and fitting his foot into the small of 
 my back, shoved me a pace forward. I rolled 
 a little more upon my face, and gave a grunt, 
 like one stirred in a deep sleep ; and then I 
 knew 'twas all right, for Creech's jaws cracked 
 in a yawn, and, retiring to his corner, he flung 
 himself down. From where I lay, and by the 
 faint light of the lanthorn, I could perceive 
 him turning the casket over in his fingers, and 
 presently he popped it in the straw beneath 
 him, and, laying his head upon it, disposed 
 himself for the night. 
 
 To this point the affair had gone very well, 
 but I must now wait until Dan was nodding, 
 and a little more than that too. So the better 
 part of two hours elapsed before I made a 
 movement. Then, pulling myself cautiously 
 into a sitting posture, I listened. The barn 
 reverberated with the noise the two cullies 
 made ; there was little doubt about Creech 
 this time. I rose, still as a spectre. The 
 light flickered upon Dan's body ; and very
 
 THE LADY IN THE COACH 219 
 
 slowly I drew near. I warrant there was 
 never a mouse so quiet as me as I bended over 
 him, with my fingers in the straw. Pah ! 
 the job was easy enough done, for all it was 
 so furtive. For, the box proving hard to his 
 neck, his head had slipped away, and there 
 was no need to disturb him in extracting it ; 
 and, more by token, when I had inserted my 
 fingers, they came upon a bag of goldfinches 
 too, the which, as I recalled, was in our pact. 
 And so with exceeding wariness I fetched 
 both of 'em out, and only a quiver upon Dan's 
 features to mark for it. That accomplished, 
 I tripped it to the door, which I unlatched 
 gently. Now all was going well enough, and 
 I should have had the booty without more 
 ado than a sharp time in the frost ; only who 
 should intervene, unexpected, but the fat 
 sneak Kettle, upon whom, prowling round 
 the barn after some dirty business of his own, 
 I stumbled over the threshold. The shock 
 sent me back against the door, which fell to 
 with a loud bang, and what with that and 
 with the alarm Kettle made, Creech and the 
 others were upon their feet and wide awake 
 in a moment. Knocking the innkeeper aside, 
 with a curse on him for his interference, I 
 slipped forth of the yard and made forthright 
 for the wood. But Creech was sharp enough 
 too. He bellowed with rage, and came roar-
 
 220 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 ing upon me with his pair of rascals at his 
 heels. There was little enough to spare between 
 us, though the dark was on my side. But 
 then again 'twas the dark that made against 
 me too ; for, mistaking my direction, I ran 
 into the forest upon the side away from 
 Calypso, and shortly found myself in a wilder- 
 ness of coppice, scarce able to move a yard for 
 the undergrowth about me. Creech was not 
 far off, for I could hear him breaking through 
 the wood and yelling at the top of his voice. 
 I reckon there was never a cully in such a 
 taking afore. 
 
 But I was not yet quit of 'em not by any 
 means ; for here was I, uncertain of my 
 position, and wanting a nag to carry me safe 
 out of their hands. And the worser part of it 
 was, that Creech was pretty sure to happen 
 upon the mare in his wanderings. Still there 
 was nothing further to be done at this juncture 
 for the noise of my advance would be heard, 
 and so I lay very still in the brake for upwards 
 of an hour. By that time the night was 
 yielding, and the dawn came up in a thin 
 white mist, that stretched like a counterpane 
 upon the forest. Overhead heavy-bellied 
 clouds were labouring in clumsy flight towards 
 the west. I knew Creech would not have given 
 up ; but 'twas foolish to remain longer in 
 concealment, and so very circumspectly I
 
 THE LADY IN THE COACH 221 
 
 crept through the wood towards t'other face 
 of the barn, where, I guessed, Calypso was 
 tethered. 
 
 Calypso was there, sure enough, but so was 
 someone else ; and had it not been that I 
 proceeded with such stealth, he must have 
 overheard the sounds of my progress. Creech 
 knew me too well to suppose I would have left 
 the roan to him, and there he sat upon his 
 haunches, just afore me in the bracken, with 
 his eyes on the nag. Not a twig stirred as I 
 approached, and my steps fell noiselessly upon 
 the grass, for here the forest was more open. 
 And thus I came within spring of Dan, when 
 drawing a pistol, I suddenly walked out of the 
 bushes with the most unconcerned air you can 
 imagine. Creech turned sharply, but the 
 nozzle of my barker was at his forehead. 
 
 " Ah, Danny, Danny ! " says I, " you would 
 not rob a poor young fellow of his mare ! " 
 
 Creech turned white with rage, and swore 
 horribly. 
 
 " Hush, Danny, hush ! " says I. " Think 
 on your immortal soul, Danny, and forego 
 wicked words also," says I, " those ugly 
 weapons, being the instruments of an evil 
 life." 
 
 Dan said nothing, but I meant to take his 
 fangs out, and so brought him to sharply with 
 the pistol.
 
 222 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " Drop 'em ! " says I briskly ; and with 
 another furious oath Creech threw his barkers 
 to the ground. After that I had gathered 
 them up, says I again, very cheerful, " And 
 now, Danny," I says, <f 'tis time for an inno- 
 cent young fellow like me to be getting home 
 to his mammie ; which being so, with your 
 kind help, faith, I will e'en venture to mount 
 the nag, me and my treasure," and I slapped 
 the box underneath my coat. 
 
 Creech was livid, and his eyes glared on me 
 full of the devil ; but I kept him under with 
 the pistol, and drove him, sullen, up to 
 Calypso. Vaulting into the saddle, I turned 
 and took off my hat to him, with a mocking 
 tongue ; but in that instant, whenas my back 
 was towards him, Dan had skipped into the 
 thicket, and now I heard him scrambling 
 through the bushes, yelling and whistling as 
 he went. I was not afraid of him or his 
 creatures, but I did not design to be caught, 
 and so set Calypso's heels to work. But just 
 as I did so there came up a clatter of hoofs 
 from the yard near by, and I knew that 
 Creech was upon my track. Calypso flew 
 forward like a swallow, and at the same 
 moment the noise of a pistol spread echoes 
 abroad, and a bullet snipped a corner from 
 my hat. That was my signal to be gone. 
 " Come, my girl," says I ; and the roan,
 
 THE LADY IN THE COACH 223 
 
 leaping to the rowels, sped down the narrow 
 pathway in a gallop. 
 
 The track was as lean as a gutter, and 
 sloped very sharply ; the bushes, too, pressed 
 hard upon it, and 'twas not the least of my 
 hazards to come down that descent at a 
 breakneck speed. But I knew well enough 
 that the pursuit would be instant, and that 
 Creech was in too black a rage to pick his 
 footsteps. So I kept the nag to her pace, and 
 on she rushed, floundering from side to side, 
 swaying against the bushes, and slithering 
 over the smooth rocks. I held her up with 
 the reins, and more than once saved her from 
 coming down upon her prats ; and once she 
 took me sudden under the overhanging bough 
 of a tree, which fell so low that the sight of it 
 set me a-blinking. But or ever I was past 
 my doubts we were through, and the mare was 
 clattering for the high road. Not until we 
 reached this did I pull in, and twist about in 
 my saddle to inspect what was forward. 
 Creech and his men were not yet forth of the 
 wood, but I could hear 'em pounding away 
 down the path, and guessed that they were 
 none so far away. But for that I cared not a 
 groat, for Calypso was staunch and fleet, and 
 more than a match for any horse in the shires. 
 So, pulling her round upon the Belbury road, 
 I urged her into a gentle canter.
 
 224 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 I reckon that they must ha' been amazed, 
 when they were come to the highway, to see 
 me no more than half a mile away, and jogging 
 along as easy and unconcerned as you please. 
 But that was in my device, for I had no ani- 
 mosity against such a braggart fool as Creech, 
 and, as I have said, I was tickled by a pretty 
 touch of humour. So on I cantered, and 
 Creech and his two lads behind me, very much 
 excited, as I conceive, by the prospect of over- 
 taking me. That, however, was not my 
 notion ; and no sooner were they drawn 
 within shot than I put the spurs into Calypso 
 and forged out of range again. This man- 
 oeuvre I repeated several times, till their faces 
 must ha' been yellow with chagrin. If they 
 had entertained but a grain of reason about 
 'em, they might have seen as I was merely 
 playing with 'em. And maybe they did ; 
 but Creech had no stomach for defeat, and, 
 being now a veritable cauldron of passions, 
 stuck as close to me as he might. And thus 
 we galloped, the four of us, at length into 
 Belbury. 
 
 Here I dropped into a canter, and coming 
 to a halt afore a little inn in the main street, 
 I flung out of the saddle and opened the stable 
 yard. T'others were not yet round the 
 corner, and so, tethering Calypso to a stake 
 in the wall immediately below a window in
 
 THE LADY IN THE COACH 225 
 
 the upper floor, I bade the ostler give her a 
 bite where she stood, and hurried into the 
 hostelry. I was now, as you may conceive, 
 possessed of a roaring appetite, and ordered 
 breakfast forthwith to be served in the said 
 upper room. And no sooner was I got there 
 and set comfortable upon a seat, than the 
 three horses came thundering down the road 
 and drew up with a plunge before the doorway. 
 I laughed at that, for I knew they were too 
 drunken with rage to think straightly ; and 
 I had half a mind to invite Danny to break- 
 fast. Sink me, but the ninnies thought that 
 they had nicked me ! For presently after, 
 up comes the innkeeper with the breakfast, 
 but bearing a message for me, from " three 
 gentlemen below, as, saving my presence, 
 would be glad for to breakfast in my com- 
 pany." 
 
 Lord, how it set me laughing ! " Why," 
 says I, "if they be honest folk, Benjamin, 
 by all means." 
 
 ' They have ridden hard," says he, hesita- 
 ting. 
 
 ' Why, so have I," I answered ; and then, 
 but still with reluctance, he was departing, 
 when I suddenly fetched him back. " Has 
 the coach been long gone ? " says I ; for 
 though 'twas early I knew the next stage was 
 long.
 
 226 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " 'Tis gone half an hour," says he. 
 
 "That is well," I thinks to myself, and, 
 dismissing him with a nod, I threw open the 
 window and looked down into the yard. 
 There was Calypso, ready bridled, and munch- 
 ing her oats beneath me. That too contented 
 me, and I sat down and handled my knife. 
 It was a little time afore any feet ascended 
 the stairs, and then at last the handle turned 
 and in tramped Creech, all alone, with a look 
 of triumph fastened on his ugly face. It was 
 clear they had had some parley outside, and 
 he was set to beard me. I rose to my feet, 
 and making him a deep bow, waved my 
 ringers at a chair. 
 
 " Pray you, sit down," said I, very cere- 
 monious ; "I takes it kindly of you, Danny, 
 to come for to cheer up an old friend like this. 
 'Tis poor fare to a nobleman such as you, but 
 suitable enough for a humble man like me." 
 
 Creech scowled, for he had not looked for 
 me to talk in this fashion, I warrant. 
 
 " You're game is up, my precious cully," 
 he said savagely, " and you'd best put a 
 pleasant phiz on you and give in." 
 
 I glanced at the clock. " I think not, 
 Danny," I says softly ; (< there is some 
 mistake, sure. There's ten more hours to 
 run a pleasant little holiday for all three. 
 And, by the way, where are my friends Ned
 
 THE LADY IN THE COACH 227 
 
 and Blake ? I don't see their handsome 
 faces." 
 
 Creech grinned in a sour way. " You'll 
 make their acquaintance soon enough," says 
 he. 
 
 " Oh ! waiting outside, eh ? " says I. 
 " Bashful, eh ? " 
 
 " Yes," says Creech, showing his teeth. 
 ' Just waiting outside on your convenience, 
 Captain ; just a-waiting for to help your 
 honour into the saddle." 
 
 " You overload me with favours, Danny," 
 says I, going on with my breakfast undis- 
 turbed. 
 
 But Creech's temper was too constrained 
 to carry the jest further, and he broke out 
 harshly, 
 
 " Hark 'ee, Dick ; why the hell d'ye pull 
 such a long face over the job ? What does 
 this play-acting do ? Bah ! Out with the 
 casket, and we'll split a bottle on it." 
 
 Forthwith I put my hand under my coat, 
 and fetching out the casket set it on the table 
 afore me. Upon that I placed the bag of 
 guineas, and atop of all a brace of pistols." 
 
 " Come and take 'em," says I, mimicking 
 Creech's own words to me. " Come and take 
 'em, Danny. Here they are. Rip me, 
 Danny, where's your grit ? " 
 
 He swore abominably, and made a step to
 
 228 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 me ; but slipping my fingers over a barker, I 
 cocked it. Dan drew back and gazed doubt- 
 fully at the door. I knew what was passing 
 in his mind, and how he was meaning to set 
 the other tykes on me ; but I said nothing, 
 merely replacing the baubles in my pocket. 
 This distracted Creech again, and he yelled, 
 
 " Give 'em up, you young hell-hound ! " 
 
 I laughed, and at the laugh Creech's 
 temper snapped, and he flung himself upon 
 me. He was no coward Creech, though 
 mighty judicious out of his rage. But his 
 leap availed him little now, for plump goes 
 my pistol on his skull, and down he comes to 
 the floor. I walked to the window. 
 
 " Good-bye, Dan," I said. 
 
 Creech, scrambling to his feet, with his eyes 
 agog, made as though to follow me, and then 
 sprang at the door, screaming to his men. 
 But I was already out of the window ere he 
 had reached the stairs, and dropping silently 
 upon Calypso, cast her free. Another instant 
 more, and, the gates of the yard opening, 
 Calypso shot past the inn, and, gathering her 
 knees under her belly, was sweeping out of 
 Belbury at a gallop. 
 
 I was already a quarter of a mile away, 
 when glancing behind, I saw them making a 
 start, for they were in no wise prepared for 
 my diversion, and were thrown into confusion
 
 THE LADY IN THE COACH 229 
 
 thereby. But now they came abreast for me 
 at their hardest, for all of which the roan held 
 her own without any difficulty. In this way 
 the chase sped into the open plain beyond 
 Belbury, Creech clinging like a leech, as I 
 knew he would, to the smell of the gold. 
 Half-way across the moor I stopped and 
 listened. There, for sure, was what I wanted 
 right ahead of me ; and so, clapping back my 
 heels, I galloped over the rise afore me, and 
 came down into the hollow, where the coach 
 was rumbling along like a blowsy bluebottle. 
 'Twas rolling and lurching and pitching, like 
 as if 'twas a cockle at sea, and I soon overtook 
 it and hailed the driver. He looked at me 
 suspiciously, but reined in his horses, and I 
 pulled the mare across the window. 
 
 " Why," says a piping voice, that I recog- 
 nised, " bless me ! here is our young gentle- 
 man again." 
 
 I gave the old mawkin a wink, and glanced 
 round the company. There was Hoity-toity, 
 as plump and proud as you please, leaning 
 back against the cushions with her nose in 
 the air. 
 
 " Your ladyship," says I, addressing her 
 politely, " I trust that you have enjoyed your 
 night's rest to the full." 
 
 " I am in tolerable health," says she shortly, 
 but eyeing me in some wonder.
 
 230 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " Life, your ladyship," says I, very sen- 
 tentious, " is full of reverses, best forgot ; 
 and the most excellent intentions are fraught 
 with the most woeful issues." 
 
 " Oh ! " she broke in coldly, " if you are 
 come to recount your failure, your time is ill 
 spent. In truth, I had not remembered your 
 face till this good gentleman spoke, and I had 
 never a thought for your errand." 
 
 But if I was in any doubt about my business, 
 it was that ungracious speech disposed of it ; 
 and, saying no more, I drew the casket from 
 my pocket, and, bowing low to the saddle 
 with a great air of ceremony, passed it to her. 
 
 " If I am remembered in your ladyship's 
 sneers," I says, " I beg it shall be along of 
 those young gentlemen of blood you talk of." 
 But here I glanced along the road, and there 
 was the noise of hoofs coming over the hill. 
 " And I pray," said I, turning again to her, 
 " that you will now, as always, accept the 
 accidents of fortune with better submission." 
 
 I saw that the fat merchant had been eager 
 to speak for some time, and now he jumped 
 up and opened his mouth wide. But I 
 laughed, and, sweeping my hat to the saddle, 
 pulled off the mare and left 'em, with the lady 
 staring in an amaze at the casket on her 
 knee. 
 
 " Drive on," says I to the coachman ; and,
 
 THE LADY IN THE COACH 231 
 
 slapping the leaders with the flat of my sword 
 as I passed, I spurred Calypso across their 
 noses and out upon the furze-grown common. 
 As I did so, there was Creech and Blake 
 clattering up on their blown nags. Crack 
 goes the coachman's whip, and the horses 
 plunged forward ; but by that I was out of 
 sight behind a clump of trees upon the heath, 
 where, pausing, I looked back. The noise of 
 a great commotion reached me ; and there, 
 as I guessed, stood Creech with t' others about 
 the coach. I reckon that the passengers 
 would have short shrift with that angry party. 
 I watched 'em for a while, with my sides 
 a-shaking for laughter, and then put the nag 
 to a trot across the common. Dan, I vow, must 
 have been astonished. But 'twas a pretty 
 even division after all ; for I kept the gold- 
 finches and Creech resumed his jewels, 
 whereas Hoity-toity had the privilege to take 
 a lesson in manners.
 
 THE TURTLE-DOVES 
 
 not the first face of a predicament that 
 i is always the right aspect, and men 
 may, as often as not by holding their peace, 
 come at the heart of the matter, always pro- 
 vided there is naught in the case to make the 
 blood sing. Now in a pretty lively turn of life 
 on the road I have met many types, and some 
 of these such characters as you would scarce 
 credit ; but 'tis not always that they are con- 
 joined thus in their odd individualities with a 
 stirring episode; and hence I pass them by in 
 these accounts of my career. Nevertheless there 
 was in the meeting with Sir Damon Boll that 
 which pleased me mightily, at least in the end. 
 Indeed, 'twas a rare piece of chicanery from the 
 outset, what time I left the Boar's Head in a 
 chaise and two horses of my own for Epsom, 
 like any gentleman with an important journey 
 of his own before him. And so in truth I had, 
 for I was to set up for my lord, if you please, 
 with a lackey and all ; but the affair, though 
 twas humorous beyond fancy, enters not into 
 this adventure. It was enough that the thought 
 
 tickled me on my road out of Southwark, 
 
 232
 
 THE TURTLE-DOVES 233 
 
 going by Camberwell and Newington, and I 
 was in a fair good humour as we rocked along 
 the ruts that sharp November evening. 
 
 When the postilion was come out by 
 Streatham and was for making across the 
 heath, the moon, that was half and bright, 
 struck into the lowering clouds, and the open 
 waste glowed of a sudden swiftness. The 
 window of the chaise was open and the air 
 streamed in, but I could make out little with 
 my peepers because of the blackness. And 
 here there was a savage rocking of the body of 
 the chaise, and a cracking as of a wheel against 
 something. So popped I forth my head and 
 roared to the postilion, cursing him for his 
 clumsiness, and he cursing back at the horses ; 
 and between us there was a pretty commotion. 
 For here was a nobleman (save me !) upon 
 his travels with a damned dung-fork of a rascal 
 on whom he might let loose his tongue and 
 be not questioned. That was how I phrased it 
 to myself, being not as wroth as I seemed, but 
 indeed enjoying to feign it; when with- 
 drawing my head, as we were got back again 
 upon the track, I espied a blacker shadow in 
 the blackness about the heath. 
 
 It held my eye a moment, for I knew it 
 well enough to be the figure of a man, and 
 then it darted into nearer view; and the 
 light, bettering at the same instant, showed
 
 234 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 me a fellow with a hat askew on the back of 
 his head, a heavy pistol at the stand-and- 
 deliver, and a face under a dark mask at the 
 chaise's edge. 
 
 " Hold ! " says he loudly to'jthe postilion, 
 and catches at the horse nearest. The 
 frightened fellow pulled in, and says this night- 
 bat, as boldly as you will, and as cheerfully, 
 poking his barker through the window," now, 
 my good sir, pray do not dally, but hand out 
 forthwith. Dalliance, my dear sir, is the spirit 
 of my lady's chamber, not of snapping sharp 
 winter nights like this. Disgorge, my buck, 
 disgorge ! " 
 
 Now you will conceive it was an odd 
 situation for Galloping Dick to be thus way- 
 laid and handled after the manner of his own 
 craft, though this was not the first occasion 
 that it had happened. But to that you will add 
 this, that there was that in his air, as in his 
 voice, and in the very swagger of his challenge, 
 which showed me here was no ordinary 
 tobyman. So says I to myself, silently 
 gazing in his pistol : " What have we here ? " 
 And then aloud said I : " Sirrah, what do 
 you ? " in a lordly tone. 
 
 "Faith," says he, not lowering his pistol, 
 but speaking in a rollicking way, " be not my 
 words plain, brave knight, or must I make 
 'em bark ? I require of you all that you
 
 THE TURTLE-DOVES 235 
 
 have in the chaise, barring what I will spare 
 you out of charity, your clothes and cock-hat 
 for the sake of shame." 
 
 " Oh ! " said I, in a hesitating way, " then 
 are you a gentleman of the road, rascal ? " 
 
 ' You honour me to put a name upon me," 
 said he, with an inclination of his head. " For 
 myself, I should desire to go unnamed, so as to 
 escape the perils of the law." 
 
 " I will tell you this," I broke out in 
 seeming indignation, " you shall be well 
 hanged that's your destiny." 
 
 " Maybe," said he, carelessly. " As well be 
 picked by crows on a gallows as in a ditch. 
 Deliver, my lord." 
 
 " I ask your indulgence, Captain," said I, 
 in another voice ; " there is a packet I would 
 fain keep " 
 
 "Pish! I must have all or none," he 
 interposed. " Yet I am in a mood to indulge 
 you, so be you give me your hand on paper 
 that I took all off you." 
 
 This made me perpend, for my wits are 
 sharp, and I began to guess that this was 
 maybe by way of a wager, and that the fool 
 was rattling the dice on his life. 
 
 " I will do that," said I, after a pause, "if 
 you will let this document that is important 
 to none but myself remain. I have sixty 
 guineas also."
 
 236 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " Hand 'em over," says he, in a jocose way. 
 
 His pistol was still at my head, and I made 
 search for my purse and gave it to him, the 
 which he pocketed without so much as exam- 
 ining it. 
 
 "And for this warranty," said he, "I 
 have quill and paper ; " whereat I knew that 
 I was upon the right thought. He put a hand 
 into his pocket, but being by now unsuspect- 
 ing that he had any to deal with save a mild 
 sheep, he paid little heed to his earlier precau- 
 tions ; and the next I had his pistol hand in 
 my clutch. He was taken aback at the first, 
 but struggled gamely, though (Lord save us !) 
 he was no match for me. With a twist of the 
 wrist his pistol fell to the road with a dull 
 clank, and presently I had the door of the 
 chaise open and was gripping him in the 
 darkness. And now 'twas my barker that 
 was against his forehead. 
 
 " I was mistook," said I, as he came to a 
 pause in his struggles, " and 'tis not the 
 gallows will have you, sure, but this cold 
 barrel o* mine. And so say your prayers." 
 
 He uttered a little reckless laugh. " Oh, I 
 will spare you them," says he ; " doubtless 
 you're in haste to be on." 
 
 " Come," said I, " off with that mask," and I 
 knocked it clean off his face with the pistol, 
 just as the moon emerged in her full whiteness.
 
 THE TURTLE-DOVES 237 
 
 'Twas a young man, well-formed, and of a 
 handsome bearing, that stood before me, and 
 I saw that his features were disfigured by a 
 cynical smile. Yet there was in that expres- 
 sion, as I judged, something impulsive and full- 
 hearted that took me. I contemplated him. 
 
 "You're no tobyman" said I. "A toby- 
 man would think shame to be took as I took 
 you just now." 
 
 For answer he whistled, and then, " Good 
 my man, get forward with your job," said he. 
 " I have cast and lost." 
 
 " Why," said I, lowering my barker, " I know 
 'twas along of a wager this was done, and so 
 bungled." 
 
 He threw me a glance under the moon 
 without offering to run. " How know you ? " 
 he asked. 
 
 I shrugged my shoulders. " Rip me," said 
 I, " when a gentleman of the road takes the 
 road (save he be in liquor) 'tis for a serious 
 purpose, and that's guineas. He walks with 
 a proper gait; he's no come-lightly. But 
 you " I came to a pause. 
 
 ' You're wrong," said he, " 'twas no wager." 
 
 " Oh, well," said I " 'tis a pity that so fit a 
 youth should go woo the Triple Beam, and I 
 find it in my heart to give you a chance. 
 What say you ? Your story for your life." 
 
 He thought a moment. " Agreed," said he.
 
 238 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " 'Tis no harm and no good to no one. If 
 your ears itch you shall have it." 
 
 "Then 'tis sealed on that," I replied, and 
 happened to look away a moment from him. 
 
 In the moonlight the heath emerged dimly, 
 and I descried near a patch of bushes a wait- 
 ing figure. 
 
 " So," said I, " that is your game, my master. 
 You bring confederates, and accept of my terms 
 to betray me. Damme, but I will shoot ye 
 both where ye stand or run." 
 
 Now, I was broke out very furious, for it 
 seemed to me that I saw the whole purpose 
 of this ambush very clearly, and I raised my 
 pistol as I spoke. 
 
 "What's that?" said he, suddenly, and 
 stared at me, and then away to where my eyes 
 had gone. But at that instant the waiting 
 figure took to its heels and ran in a white 
 light, limping as it ran till it vanished swiftly 
 into the darkness. 
 
 " By the Lord, Crookes ! " said my toby- 
 man. 
 
 "So," said I, not now realising where I 
 was, but feeling cautiously ahead. "And 
 who may Crookes be that's such a white- 
 liver?" " 
 
 " 'Tis Sir Damon's servant," said he, and 
 added : ' 'Tis in the tale and the bargain." 
 
 " In that case," said I, "let's have the tale
 
 THE TURTLE-DOVES 239 
 
 and the bargain ere my mind shifts, as it is apt 
 to do of a cold November night." 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders. 'You have 
 the advantage, and 'twill hurt nor harm none. 
 Sir Damon Boll is uncle and guardian to a 
 young lady who returns me my passion. 
 But he will none of the match, being anxious 
 to dispose of her to a certain lord. This 
 evening I besought him to acquiesce in our 
 betrothal, but he refused. 
 
 " ' If it be money ' said I. ' 'Tis not money/ 
 says he, with his grin. 'If it be place and 
 position,' said I again, but again he inter- 
 rupted me. "Tis neither/ says he. 'Ye're 
 well enough, man, but who weds my niece 
 must prove himself. Ye're a young gentle- 
 man of the town/ says he. ' When I was young 
 we was wont to be more than that ; and, by 
 God ! young man/ says he, ' ye shall have her 
 if ye rob a coach or carry stand-and-deliver to 
 a chaise.' ' What mean you ? ' said I, not 
 knowing what he meant. " ' If so be/ said 
 he, speaking more slowly, 'you shall have spirit 
 and temper enough to take all that is within a 
 traveller's chaise this night you have my word 
 you shall have my niece." 
 
 " Well," said I, seeing he paused. 
 
 "Well, here I am," said he, and laughed 
 discordantly. 
 
 "Come, 'tis a very proper and romantic
 
 240 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 comedy," said I. " And why d'ye suppose he 
 gives you this chance ? " 
 
 He shook his head. " I know not," he 
 said. 
 
 " And why d'ye suppose this Crookes, Sir 
 Damon's man, if that be his name, is hanging 
 about ? " 
 
 He started. " I never thought of that," 
 said he. 
 
 " Well," said I, deliberately, " it means if 
 I was you, young cockerel, I would think 
 twice ere I put faith in Sir Damon Boll. He 
 hath you in a cleft stick." 
 
 " You mean " he asked anxiously. 
 
 " Why, are you not took hi the act ? " I 
 replied ; " took with a red hand. And why 
 runs that rogue back to his master ? He hath 
 followed you." 
 
 " Damnation ! " says he, starting, and looks 
 at me. 
 
 " Upon my heart," I said, " ye're a pretty 
 fellow to take to the roads, with no more 
 prudence or care about you than a sucking 
 dove. If I mistake not, down flies this 
 Crookes with news of your discomfiture, as he 
 would also have been witness to your success ; 
 and presently maybe up comes Sir Damon to 
 gloat upon you. Oh, I have a fondness for 
 such deep, ripe rascals, stap me, I have ! " 
 
 He stood moodily fiddling with his fingers,
 
 THE TURTLE-DOVES 241 
 
 a frown on his brow. "Well?" said heat 
 last inquiringly, and smiling defiant. 
 
 " Well," said I, " I think I will have a look 
 at this Sir Damon, and gads me ! if there be 
 not the sound of a vehicle. Would ye like 
 another fling at the high toby ? " 
 
 He looked at me in wonder, and I winked. 
 
 " Should this be Sir Damon " 
 
 He whistled. "Now, damme," he cried 
 briskly, "ye' re the gamest cock that ever 
 crowed out of Whitehall." 
 
 " Well, let's go to meet him and seek what we 
 shall find," I said, for I did not want that the 
 arriving carriage should come up with mine ; 
 and so bestowing an order on my wondering 
 fellow; we walked back briskly upon the 
 London Road. 
 
 The night was still relieved by the pale 
 moon that shone through the naked oaks 
 behind us, and we could perceive the huddle 
 of a chaise separating out of the darkness 
 a score or two of yards away. 
 
 " 'Tis his livery," says my friend, " 'tis his 
 coach for sure." 
 
 " Well, may I perish, but he runs a hazard 
 this night, does this said Sir Damon," I said 
 with a laugh, and I took him by the arm. 
 " Look you," says I, " you were but a bantam, 
 with a bantam's voice yonder. You shrilled 
 too high, damme, for your spurs. If you would 
 Q
 
 242 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 venture another main, take heed to one that 
 knows, and keep your eyes straight as 
 straight as your weapon. With level hands 
 and eyes, rot me ! I would be afraid of nothing 
 under heaven save stalking ghosts and ill- 
 willing witches. Set on, man, if so you have 
 a mind, and I'll wager you will go through 
 with the adventure." 
 
 " Gad ! " says he, with his laugh, " I will 
 pluck him bare for his pains, and enj oy it . I am 
 your debtor, sir, for this night's topsy-turvy." 
 
 Just then the chaise rocked into the faint 
 light before us that stood in the darkness of 
 the trees, and he made a step forward, halted 
 as if in doubt, and then dashed at it, shouting 
 in a loud voice to the postilion. But I lay close 
 in my earth, like an old fox, watching of 'em. 
 
 Well, the chaise was at a stand-still, and 
 there was a hubbub, as you may fancy ; for 
 the old gentleman was come out to see a high- 
 wayman took, and not to be rumpadded 
 himself. But he was of a stout spirit, and 
 though there was my young gentleman at the 
 window with his barker, and his mask that he 
 had refitted on him, I could descry a white 
 head poked forth and a voice exchanging words 
 sharply. 
 
 " Deliver ! " says my man. 
 
 "Deliver! I will see thee damned first," 
 says the spirited old bubblyjock.
 
 THE TURTLE-DOVES 243 
 
 " I regret the necessity," says my man, 
 presently, but his barker drew nearer. 
 
 " I will have this place scoured for you," 
 said the old boy. 
 
 " If you make more ado," says my man, 
 amiably, " I shall be in the sad case of 
 dabbling white hairs red." With that, seem- 
 ing to recognise the folly of resistance, Sir 
 Damon sank back in his seat. 
 
 "What is't you want?" he asked in 
 another voice. 
 
 " 'Tis very simple," says t'other ; " merely 
 all that is in your chaise with you, save 
 what clothes you sit in." And now that the 
 man's head no longer blocked the window he 
 pressed closer in, and at the same instant 
 uttered an exclamation of surprise. And so I 
 daresay did Sir Damon also, for he must have 
 recognised by that saying with whom he had 
 to deal ; the which must have astonished him 
 who came forth to see the young buck laid by 
 the heels. But he gave vent to no sound just 
 then, and 'twas my young gentleman of the 
 toby who spoke. 
 
 " I will be content with nothing short of all 
 that is with you, sir, " said he, in a gay 
 voice, as of one well content with himself and 
 destiny. " And first, your purse." 
 
 Well, he must have got that, for says he 
 next, " Now, your jewel-case ; " and that too
 
 244 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 came out of the window in the ghost of a 
 hand that was like a woman's for slenderness. 
 "Ye're prompt in payment, my dear sir," 
 continues my friend, " for the which I thank 
 ye as an exacting creditor. But you have 
 still something by you." 
 
 Then comes in Sir Damon's voice, quite 
 still and cool now. " You have all, sir you 
 have all. My word spells my honour, unless, 
 indeed, you have changed your courteous in- 
 tention about my clothes." 
 
 "Nay, I leave none bare," says he, "in 
 particular to those wild winds. But I see 
 you have company, and fair company too ; " 
 at the which, as you may guess, I pricked up 
 my ears and moved forward a step out of 
 the darkness. 
 
 " Well, sir," says Sir Damon from the coach, 
 sharply, " would you rob the lady also ? " 
 
 " No," says he, with a laugh, " only of your 
 company. I trust I am a gallant tobyman, 
 if even upon compulsion. In truth I have no 
 real liking for the business, but was driven to 
 it of necessity. Yet while I am in it I must 
 e'en make what I can out of it. And 
 since I must take all that is in the chaise, save 
 yourself, my good sir, I will make bold with 
 the lady if she will forgive me." 
 
 Hearing that, I could have slapped my 
 thigh in my delight at his wit and quickness,
 
 THE TURTLE-DOVES 245 
 
 for I began at once to see how matters stood. 
 Here was Sir Damon driving forth with his 
 ward and niece, maybe with the intent that 
 she should publicly witness with her own eyes 
 the wretched plight and humiliation of her 
 lover ; and now that lover appears to discomfit 
 her guardian and wrest her triumphantly 
 from his arms. It was an excellent fine ploy 
 and tickled me much ; for, damme, 'twas after 
 my own heart. 
 
 But when he had spoken Sir Damon answers 
 nothing for a time, and then seeing, I suppose, 
 that he was beaten all round he says, 
 
 "Very well," says he, "I am, as I have 
 assured you, my good scoundrel, a man of my 
 word and honour. So what I have said I 
 have said. You have now your wages, and 
 shall have your reward, though I confess I 
 had not anticipated it. But to-morrow 'tis 
 my turn, for I too have an unexpected card 
 in the game. And so, when the lady is safely 
 alighted in this balmy air and on this cosy 
 heath, at your disposal, I shall be obliged if 
 you will order my man to drive on, so that I 
 may finish this somewhat benighted journey 
 in peace." 
 
 This was, you will admit, a dignified 
 surrender, and I could not but see that he 
 was really at the advantage. For though 
 the lad had won his wages and his bride, he
 
 246 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 was at the mercy of this man, as hard as 
 Satan, maybe, or as grim as Death. And he 
 would go hang on the beam for this night's 
 work, if so be Sir Damon desired it, and this, 
 you may conceive, was not a pleasant plight 
 for the young fellow. But, bless you, he had 
 no fears. He had won his bet, and he had 
 handed forth his sweetheart, and was, I doubt 
 not, all in a flurry of passion for the meeting. 
 Bah ! this love turns men dizzy ; it steals their 
 wits more wildly than wine. Let be ! 'Tis 
 well enough in a way, but, rip me, if I would 
 be so rankly stirred. The old cock had the 
 advantage and knew it. He gazed out at the 
 silly pair from his window with hard eyes and 
 expressionless face, and shouted a command 
 to his man, at which the chaise turned and 
 began to move slowly towards London again. 
 : At that instant, seeing how awkward a face 
 things wore, and being of a mind to see the 
 stir through to the end, a notion flashed in 
 my head and I came forward to the couple. 
 Miss I could not see, for she was in wraps, 
 and she might have been a scullion-wench for 
 all I could tell. But says I to him, 
 
 " See you, take my coach and drive on to 
 the Nag by Carshalton and there await me. I 
 will deal with this Lord Chief Justice myself ; " 
 and leaving 'em with no more words I ran 
 after the departing chaise as fast as maybe.
 
 THE TURTLE-DOVES 247 
 
 When I had reached it I rapped on the 
 window, and out pops the old gentleman's 
 white head once more. 
 
 "Another of you?" says he; "this place 
 grows 'em like brambles," and would have 
 discharged a pistol full in my face. 
 
 "Hold!" said I, "'tis your assistance I 
 want, sir. I believe you have been rumpadded 
 by a tobyman just now. Well, I am in a 
 like case, and was bound whilst he took you. 
 But now he is gone off with my chaise, and I 
 beg you will join us in pursuit. Sure, sir," 
 seeing nothing on his face but its pale mask, 
 " we be enough, armed as we are, to overtake 
 and bring him to account, especially that he 
 hath with him now, as it seems, some go- 
 lightly. But I cannot without my coach 
 o'ertake them." 
 
 He seemed to consider a little, scrutinising 
 me. " Well," said he, at last, " you seem a 
 likely man in emergencies. If you are armed, 
 as you say, and have the resolution, I do not 
 know but the plan will fit in with my own. I 
 had another design, but maybe both are 
 admirable, and at least they will not conflict." 
 
 So without more ado he invited me into 
 the chaise, and then conceive me sitting in 
 miss's place, the horse's heads turned again 
 for the south, and Sir Damon and Dick 
 Ryder chatting agreeably and affably together
 
 248 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 as they had been sworn friends or long 
 acquaintances. 
 
 At least 'twas I that chatted, and he was 
 mostly silent in an amicable enough way, 
 interjecting a question, or commenting with 
 satiric humour, what time we lurched along 
 towards Ewell and Epsom. But now you will 
 have an inkling of my design when I say that 
 if this old fox was permitted to return straight- 
 way to town he would no doubt set the officers 
 on his enemy and have him forthwith lodged 
 in the jug. Maybe, thought I to myself, with 
 a little trickery and a little persuasion of my 
 own kind, that could be prevented and the 
 boy have a run for his life at the least. So 
 that was why we were jogging along the 
 Epsom Road through a dark and miry night 
 on the track (as he thought) of the runaways. 
 
 Presently, interrupting a tale of mine about 
 Jeremy Starbottle, says he, bluffly, 
 
 " We seem no nearer, sir. It would look as 
 if your horses were superior to mine." 
 
 " Why," said I, in answer, " 'tis odds they'll 
 keep this road, for the sideways are foul and 
 lead no whither. Moreover, they will not 
 expect to be pursued. We shall fetch 'em 
 presently." 
 
 "Very well," says he, lying back, "but I 
 beg you will give me a little leave. I was 
 shortened of my nap this afternoon."
 
 THE TURTLE DOVES 249 
 
 Now this was a plain hint, as you see, for 
 me to hold my tongue, but I took no offence, 
 for there was no occasion. " Sir/' said I, " I 
 am mum. I do not overstay my welcome," 
 and I too lay back. 
 
 For some time we proceeded in silence ; but 
 presently, the chaise jogging more than usual, 
 he sat up. 
 
 " It seems to me," said he, " that we are upon 
 a wild-goose chase, we shall not catch him in 
 this wilderness." 
 
 "Oh," said I, "he cannot be so far in 
 advance not he with my nags, I'll warrant." 
 
 He looked at me doubtfully in the small 
 light. " Very well," he said at last, shortly, " we 
 will try a little longer ; " and he peered out upon 
 the night if so be he might determine where 
 we were. 
 
 I looked out also, and now we were passing 
 through Carshalton, where I had bid the doves 
 assemble for to meet me. But, damme, my 
 business was not yet done, and the coach rolls 
 creaking out of Carshalton and on the way to 
 Epsom. This seemed to stir the old gentleman 
 again to perplexity, for again he directed a look 
 out of the window, and then another at me. 
 I felt his gaze wander over me from top to boot 
 as if he measured me. 
 
 " You have fought abroad," says he at 
 last.
 
 250 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " Not I," says I; and added to that, " There's 
 too many that babble about these foreign wars. 
 Deliver us, a good English war is more to 
 my taste, and better fighting too," says I. 
 
 " Ah ! " says he, still coolly inspecting me, as 
 if he cared not whether I saw him or not, 
 "then you will have fought in his Majesty's 
 intestine wars ? " said he. 
 
 " What's that ? " said I, turning on him. 
 
 "No doubt," said he, suavely, "you have 
 fought, sir, for his Majesty King James against 
 the unfortunate Duke of Monmouth." 
 
 "Who gave you leave to suppose I have 
 fought at all ? " said I, sharply, being irked by 
 his persistence. " I am no fighting man, but 
 one of peace." 
 
 "Oh," says he, "but I took you for a 
 soldier and a captain-at-arms at least. And 
 indeed I believe you would have furnished 
 material for a good soldier." He surveyed me 
 meditatively. ' Yes, I'll promise that ; good 
 material, sir, sound fighting stock, and no 
 splitting straws or scruples." 
 
 "Damme," said I, bluntly, "what d'ye 
 mean ? " 
 
 He sank back in his seat. " I mean no 
 offence," said he, "but I think as 'tis shrewd 
 to-night I will e'en turn about for home." 
 
 " Nay," said I, masterfully, " you must not 
 do that since we are come so far. Let us
 
 THE TURTLE-DOVES 251 
 
 finish the adventure, sir, and not leave 
 hold of it. Twould never do. We will be 
 catching of 'em by the heels presently." 
 
 He pursed his lips together, as if he whistled 
 under his breath, and there was a pause, 
 while the noise of the chaise drowned all 
 sound about us. But my senses are not sharp 
 for nothing, and next I was aware of a glint of 
 light upon steel, for the moon as we rocked 
 swayed in at the window, and I guessed 
 that he was bringing his pistol from under his 
 cloak. 
 
 I pulled forth mine abruptly. " Yes," says 
 I, "'tis as well to be prepared, sir. I am glad 
 you are so forward. We may have a fall-to 
 when we encounter, but I'll warrant ye're as 
 good with your barker as I with mine." 
 
 "I hope so," said he, without betraying any 
 feeling. " I do earnestly hope so ; even, sir, to 
 be a little better would be to my taste. As 
 you say, we may come to an encounter soon, 
 and 'tis as well to be prepared." 
 
 Now the old buck puzzled me, and I per- 
 pended. If he had any suspicion that this was 
 not a genuine pursuit, and I was other than I 
 had feigned to be, why sat he there silent and 
 cool ? But if he had no scent of danger what 
 was the significance of his words, which did 
 smell to me of the ironic ? It angered me to be 
 so baffled by him and his quiet features ; but
 
 252 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 I did not well see what I might do or say just 
 then, and so kept silence like himself. And 
 indeed 'twas' he broke it. 
 
 " We must be drawing nigh Ewell, so far as 
 I may guess," he said. " Would you be good 
 enough to tell me what course you propose 
 when we reach Ewell ? If I might without 
 impropriety make a humble suggestion, I would 
 advise that we ate some supper and lay there 
 comfortably for the night, to resume this inter- 
 esting journey doubtless on the morrow, or 
 perhaps the next day." 
 
 With that I saw at once how it was, and I 
 gave vent to a little laugh. " Why, you shall 
 do as you please, sir," said I, " and that plan 
 will serve me admirably." 
 
 " Ah ! " says he, looking at me, " then 
 maybe there is something amiss with it. 
 Suppose we come to an understanding. I 
 think you are too young, and I am too old, to 
 want to die by violence. We both have a 
 taste for life, I take it. Where stand we then ? 
 We are pursuing a gentleman of the road ' 
 
 " Pardon me," said I, interrupting, for the 
 time was come now to disclose myself, and I 
 looked to be mightily tickled by the disclosure, 
 "no longer pursuing, but maybe even pur- 
 sued." 
 
 " Pursued !" he asked doubtfully. 
 
 " Well, at least we are some miles ahead of
 
 THE TURTLE-DOVES 253 
 
 the turtle-doves that are cooing, maybe, some- 
 where safe and sound behind us." 
 
 His eyes never changed ; only the thin lips 
 moved a little. " Ah ! " says he, " the turtle- 
 doves ! I had some notion but who then are 
 you, my dear sir ? " 
 
 " I am but a philosophic observer," said I, 
 airily. ; Tis my business to look on and smile. 
 I take no part in the rough acts of fortune." 
 
 " Pardon me/' said he, suavely, " but I 
 think you are too modest, Captain." 
 
 " Captain ! " said I, sharply. 
 
 "Well, well, I had forgot you were no 
 soldier. You have the air of a soldier, and 
 the makings, as I have remarked. But, sir, 
 let me tell you, you are too modest. This 
 journey, for example 
 
 " Oh, that was my whim," said I. " I inter- 
 posed out of a benevolent heart, for to serve 
 two young folks fond of billing and to make 
 an illustrious acquaintance for myself." 
 
 He bowed in his corner. " I trust you will 
 not make a more illustrious acquaintance 
 still," he said dryly. 
 
 " Why," said I, for I knew what he meant, 
 " you forget that at your invitation I am here 
 in pursuit of our common enemy." 
 
 "True," he said, considering. "It has a 
 smooth face upon it. I perceive you, sir, to 
 be a gentleman of your wits."
 
 254 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 Now 'twas my turn to bow, and indeed he 
 was not wrong, for it has ever been my good 
 fortune to find a way out of a difficulty when 
 others would stand agape, like oafs and asses. 
 But he went on, in his still voice : " But now 
 that I see our friend, the common enemy, as 
 you put it, enjoyed a confederate, it appears I 
 must reconsider the circumstances. In fine, 
 his wager fails " 
 
 " I am no confederate," I broke in. 
 
 "And thus there is no necessity that he 
 receive the penalty which I had designed as a 
 wedding-present for him," he finished, not 
 appearing to heed me. 
 
 " Sir Damon, I have told you that I am 
 but an onlooker," said I. 
 
 He elevated his eyebrows and shrugged his 
 shoulders. 
 
 " Rip me," said I, angrily, " I never clapped 
 eyes on the fellow till the quarter-of-an-hour 
 ere you came up, and I will be damned if I 
 should tick him off from Adam did I see him 
 again." 
 
 " You perceive that you are rehabilitating 
 the penalty," he remarked dryly, and I could 
 see he did not credit me, which made me 
 angrier. 
 
 " By the Lord," said I, " I have the honour 
 to tell ye that the young muckworm rum- 
 padded me in my chaise just as you were
 
 THE TURTLE-DOVES 255 
 
 come up damme, he did, if it were not that I 
 turned his barkers on him." 
 
 Sir Damon eyed me and then all of a sudden 
 broke out into soft laughter, as if he were 
 greatly tickled. 
 
 "Is't so?" said he. "The Lord love him 
 for a simpleton! Faith/ I could forgive " 
 He chuckled quietly, and then looked at me 
 again, still smiling. 
 
 " You know, sir, what penalty menaces them 
 that abduct or hold a ward from her guardian ?" 
 
 " 'Tis a guardian I have abducted from his 
 ward," said I. 
 
 He laughed quietly. " Very well," said he, 
 "let us leave it at that." And then, " You 
 know, sir, what a fool the fool is ? " 
 
 " He is no tobyman," said I. 
 
 " 'Tis commensurate with his life in general," 
 said Sir Damon, easily. " He is born Tom-fool 
 and has two handsome, dancing eyes." He 
 paused. " I will not maintain," says he next, 
 " that for happiness wisdom is necessary, or 
 even adequate. I have not found it so myself, 
 nor perhaps you, friend Captain ? " 
 
 " In that case," says I, " repay a fool 
 with his folly, which is marriage." 
 
 "Then we are agreed," said he, genially. 
 " I too am a bachelor. And now that we are 
 agreed on one thing, Captain, Mr " He 
 hesitated.
 
 256 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 "Ryder," said I. 
 
 " Mr Ryder," said he, " let us be agreed all 
 along the line. If I forego the penalty " 
 
 " I will treat your worship to as damnable 
 a fine supper and bottle as was ever served in 
 England," I interrupted, " and we will drink 
 to the turtles at Carshalton." 
 
 " Carshalton," he says reflectively. " I had 
 an idea 'twas Carshalton, but your pistol was 
 persuasive." 
 
 " Well, sir," said I, " here is Ewell, and in 
 a tavern that I know we shall be hospitably 
 received and used this foul night." 
 
 " Good," says he, preparing to alight as the 
 chaise came to a stop, " and pray bear in 
 mind, Mr Ryder, that I am penniless and 
 homeless." 
 
 " Damme," said I, heartily, " ye're welcome 
 to all that's mine, and that's not beggary; 
 and, damme, while I can keep such company 
 I envy not the turtle with his mate at 
 Carshalton." 
 
 He was now in the road, and he turned. 
 " Nor I, Ryder, nor I," he said pleasantly.
 
 MY LADY'S RING 
 
 AS I wheeled the mare out of the gateway 
 into the gloom of the night the lighted 
 windows of the inn winked on me with yellow 
 eyes. A cold sleet was falling, very piercing to 
 the flesh, and I rolled my collar higher about my 
 neck. It came upon me then that I was a 
 fool to leave that warm and comfortable 
 tavern on such a savage night; but 'twas 
 Christmas Eve, and seven of the clock, and I 
 was for Bristol on the following day, where was 
 a doxy that I knew, as pretty a parcel as ever 
 I did see, saving Polly Scarlet, and she was 
 in London. 
 
 The landlord had joined me in a bottle well- 
 laced with brandy, and being of a lively 
 and generous disposition had furnished another 
 himself. 'Twas a lonely inn that stood on the 
 border of the moor, and says he that he was 
 mightily gratified to be in company. 
 
 So 'twas with a full belly and a merry heart 
 that I turned into the welter of the night. 'Twas 
 rarely cold, and I whistled as I went, though the 
 
 breath of my nostrils went up like reek. Now 
 R 257
 
 258 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 I was in the mind, being amply loaded and light- 
 spirited, to be amiable with the devil himself, 
 if so be he should come that way, though 
 'twas, for sure, not the night for him. 
 Certainly I was not thinking of rumpadding 
 any mortal man, but would have taken him to 
 my bosom for a fellow-traveller. For 'tis a 
 vulgar error to suppose that gentlemen of 
 the road are for ever with an eye to goldfinches. 
 Money is muck for us as often as not, at least 
 to such of us as maintain a proper dignity. 
 But as for Dan Creech and his lousy pack, or 
 that much-boasted Jeremy Starbottle, why, 
 they are no better than common cut-purses or 
 tally-thieves. No ; to ride the high toby has its 
 obligations as well as its privileges, and on that 
 Christmas Eve, damme, the whole world and 
 his wife might have gone secure for me. 
 
 Well in this humour, despite of the night, I 
 rode on, sometimes at a jog, but mostly at a 
 walk, for the snow was heavier as I reached the 
 moor. Upon the stretch of broken land it lay 
 uneven, for I suppose 'twas caught by the 
 rough winds on that upland heath and blown 
 into the hollows, and upon the furze and thorn. 
 But the continuous spread of whiteness had 
 absorbed the road, and Calypso had to feel her 
 way mighty patiently. 'Twas thus we arrived 
 at the cross-roads near the middle of the moor,
 
 MY LADY'S RING 259 
 
 where the ways divide 'twixt Bollingham and 
 Messiter ; and reining in on the impulse, to 
 make sure of my path, I perceived even 
 through the blackness another figure on horse- 
 back under the sign-post. 
 
 " Is't anyone ? " says a voice, pretty 
 clear. 
 
 " Ay," says I, " 'tis a traveller." 
 
 " Is there a village near by ? " says he out 
 of the dark. 
 
 " Within three miles two upon either 
 road," said I. 
 
 " I am bound for Bath," says he, " and have 
 met with a mishap this cursed night," and 
 began to deliver oaths as they had been sword- 
 thrusts in a duello. Now I can tolerate a man 
 that has been put to sore discomfort and is 
 enraged, and as for a few mouth-filling oaths, 
 why, they are neither here nor there. But 
 there was something in the way of his voice, 
 manner and address that grated on me, and 
 so I answered him pretty coolly. 
 
 " Well, you can take your choice of roads 
 with an easy heart," I said. 
 
 " Look ye here," says he, after a moment. 
 " From what I catch of you through your 
 voice, my man, you should be a sturdy fellow. 
 What think you of carrying a message for help 
 to the village for a guinea-piece. 'Twill serve
 
 260 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 you with good wine, mulled ale, or a doxy, 
 I'll warrant." 
 
 That maddened me for all my good 
 humour, to be taken for granted as a common 
 fetch-and-carry, and to be so addressed like 
 a footboy by his grace. I heard insolence and 
 overbearing in his accent, and I would have 
 sworn patronage and contempt was in his 
 face. 
 
 " Be damned ! " says I, angrily, " I am no 
 lackey. Find your own village," says I. 
 
 At that he uttered an oath. " You are 
 impudent ! " said he, and moved his horse 
 nearer, as though he would take action. But, 
 Lord, I was awaiting him, and this muck- 
 worm would have eaten snow in two minutes 
 had he so ventured. But prudence came to 
 him, so he hesitated. ' Ye're the sort of man 
 that is the better of the whip and the pillory," 
 says he. " Rogue, were it not for the dark- 
 ness I would beat you for your insolence." 
 
 " Damme, what's amiss with the dark- 
 ness ? " said I. " For sure I can well make 
 out your ugly body against the snow. 'Tis a 
 monstrous, unsightly blackness against so 
 much innocent whiteness." He cursed me, 
 and then dug his rowels into his nag so deeply 
 that the poor beast started and reared. But 
 that was enough for me, for I hate to see a
 
 MY LADY'S RING 261 
 
 creature that is so kindly in its services so 
 mishandled ; and so says I, driving at him, 
 ' Rip me, you muck-worm, I'll give you 
 that which will recall this moor to you. 
 Deliver, damn ye ! " says I, " or I'll make you 
 food for maggots;" and I had the barker at 
 his head ere he knew what had happened. 
 
 Well, he made much ado, but 'twas of no 
 avail, for I had the mastery from the outset, 
 and he was perforce obliged to plumb his 
 pockets, the which yielded but a score of 
 guineas and a ring or so. But that was of no 
 consequence to me, for I had no care for his 
 money, merely for his discomfiture, along of 
 his arrogance. 
 
 As I left him, foully imprecating, I threw a 
 laughing word at him. " Messiter," says I, 
 "lies on the left, and Bollingham to the right. 
 Turn round three times, my cock, and choose 
 which you will," whereat I rode laughing into 
 the darkness, yet ere I did so I saw him 
 savagely wheel into the Messiter Road, cutting 
 viciously at his horse. 
 
 As for me, I rode on, singing cheerfully 
 enough, for the encounter had warmed my 
 blood, and I no longer felt the cold so greatly. 
 But I had not got farther than a mile from the 
 cross-roads when I was aware in the pause of 
 my singing of a sound near by, of a voice that
 
 262 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 called on the unquiet air, very faint and 
 melancholy. I reined in, and listened, and 
 presently the cry came to me again from the 
 right ; and so, jumping off the mare, I left 
 her in the road, standing obedient as she was 
 used to do, and walked gingerly in that direc- 
 tion. I did not trust myself in that profound 
 darkness and the treacherous snow, and, sure 
 enough, I was right to be careful, for in a little 
 I was plunged up to my waist in a hollow. 
 
 " Where are you ? " I called aloud, and the 
 voice, so clearly now a woman's, came back. 
 
 I made my way to it with difficulty, and 
 soon solved the riddle; here was a chaise 
 wandered out of the road and buried in a deep 
 drift, and by the body of the carriage a poor 
 lady in the direst state of distress and terror. 
 
 " Why, madam," said I, " are ye alone ? " 
 
 At which she broke out that her husband 
 was gone for help, as was the postilion, but in 
 different directions, and that they had took 
 the horses, and that she, poor delicate creature, 
 was thus solitary on a naked and solitary 
 moor, with never even a wild-fowl to scream 
 with her for company. 
 
 " Oh," says I, " we will soon mend that, 
 madam, or call me catch-pole," and I took 
 hold of her. " Ye're in a drift, mistress," I 
 said. "I'll give ye company, if ye will have
 
 MY LADY'S RING 263 
 
 it, until your husband shall return " and 
 then all of a sudden it flashed upon me that 
 her husband was he who had abused me so 
 grossly, and whom I had rumpadded. 
 
 " Phew ! " says I to myself, " why, here's a 
 pretty comedy." But the lady was all that 
 occupied my thoughts just then, and so I 
 conducted her to the road, and encouraged 
 her into talk as I did so, for she was in a terrible 
 fluster, what with the loneliness and the cold 
 and the darkness. 
 
 " Now," says I, " what you need, madam, is 
 a posset of hot brandy and a warm and 
 virtuous couch," I says, " and with the 
 help of my good 'nag here 'tis what you'll 
 have." 
 
 "-Oh, sir, you are very 3 good," says she, 
 tremulously. " You are good beyond 
 Christian seeming." 
 
 That tickled me pleasantly, as you may 
 think, and I was the more disposed to take 
 charge of this poor creature thus left to 
 starve of the perishing winds of heaven. It 
 rains not clemency from December skies in 
 this brisk isle of England. So says I, in a 
 cheering voice, 
 
 " I'll warrant you shall toast your toes and 
 warm your stomach with victuals within the 
 better part of an hour. Faith, pin your hopes
 
 264 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 on me, mistress, and you shall not be dis- 
 appointed. Tis not the first time Dick 
 Ryder has comforted and succoured the fair. 
 There's Dick's luck, madam." 
 
 She smiled in a weak way, but began to 
 take some confidence, as I could see from the 
 new note in her voice. 
 
 " Is it far, sir, to shelter ? " she asked, and 
 I told her there was an inn some two miles 
 distant, at which she plucked up her heart 
 once more, not knowing (bless her folly) that 
 two miles on that wild moor, and with that drift 
 of snow, was no matter for spoon-fed babes. 
 But as chance had it, she made the discovery 
 pretty quickly, and that through no fault or 
 neglect of mine. For I put her upon Calypso 
 as gentle a mare, when needs be, as ever 
 was straddled ; and, sure enough, she was 
 straddled now. For my lady could keep no 
 seat otherwise, and so says I to her, if she 
 would play the man for the nonce we should 
 maybe be the sooner out of our troubles. 
 'Twas then for the first time that I saw there 
 was good blood and spirit to her ; for instead 
 of crying out in protest that she could not, or 
 she would not, or that she dared not, says 
 she, 
 
 " Oh, think you so ? " and over she cocks 
 her foot with the best grace in the world, and
 
 MY LADY'S RING 265 
 
 a charming genuflexion to boot. " I fear I 
 trouble you greatly," says she. 
 
 But, Lord, with such an one (duchess or 
 doxy, dame or dirty-face) I would have 
 gone to the farthest verge of trouble and made 
 no odds of it.; Tis spirit that ever has appealed 
 to me. 
 
 Well, we were no sooner astir, Calypso 
 pegging slowly along with me at her mouth- 
 piece, than there comes over us a flurry of 
 snow, driving full and hard in our faces, the 
 which blinded me for the time. But when I 
 recovered the mare was gone from the road 
 and had took a step into a hollow. She 
 staggered, and plump goes the lady over her 
 head into the drift. I hauled her forth, 
 breathless as she was, and all she cried out 
 when the wind was in her again was, 
 
 " I fear I did not hold to her properly. I 
 fear I am a bungler." 
 
 " Bless your heart, no," says I. " It would 
 have took a king's regiment to have sat that 
 fall. You do mighty well," said I, " and I'd 
 wring his nose that said no to that ; " with 
 which I assisted her once more into the saddle. 
 
 What with the drift and the darkness, and 
 the squalls of snow, it was an hour and more 
 before we reached the inn which lay on the 
 road to Bollingham. Arrived here I rapped
 
 266 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 out the landlord, who was surprised to see me 
 returned " not but what you are wise/' says 
 he. But when he saw the lady and heard my 
 tale he was, being a decent kindly fellow, all 
 of a bustle. Madam was all a-wet from her 
 sojourn in the snow, to say nothing of her 
 tumble, and so she was set afore a great fire 
 in the ingle to dry herself, which she did with 
 sincere appreciation, the while the host pre- 
 pared supper. She sat there, her hands ex- 
 tended, drawing in deep breaths of comfort 
 from the grateful blaze, and I watched her. 
 'Twas the first I had seen of her face, which 
 was of a delicate beauty, pink from the 
 whipping wind, and crowned with disordered 
 hair. I judged she was of a quality deemed 
 proper in courts, and she was young withal. 
 Presently says she, looking round at me with 
 bright soft eyes, 
 
 " Do you think," said she, " that my 
 husband has reached safety ? " 
 
 " Why, yes," said I, " for though he be not 
 here, he may have taken the other road and 
 be at Messiter," the which I knew it was likely 
 he had done. 
 
 " Oh ! " said she, as if thinking, and said no 
 more. 
 
 But nearby after that supper was served, 
 and madam was set to take in company with
 
 MY LADY'S RING 267 
 
 your faithful servant, by your leave ! Not 
 but what I have not often supped with the 
 quality, ay, and made merry with them too, 
 man and woman, and of all ages ; for we are 
 served in our calling with strange accidents. 
 Yet I will confess that to be seated there at 
 table with her tickled me handsomely, and I 
 fell to with a will. But the lady showed 
 little appetite, and had an anxious look, and 
 thought I that she was troubled for her 
 husband ; but I soon made out that she was 
 not so concerned, for said I, to stimulate 
 her, 
 
 " Maybe he is supping like us in a cosy room 
 at Messiter." 
 
 " Oh ! " said she, and I saw her mind had 
 come back from another quarter. " He is 
 like to sup and be comfortable wherever he 
 is. He will emerge scatheless;" and there 
 was that in her tone which was all but a 
 sneer. 
 
 " Oh, well, damn the husband," says I to 
 myself, " I take no interest in him ; " and I 
 gave my attention to the lady. The glow had 
 now receded from her face, leaving it pale, 
 according to what I took to be its true 
 habit, and she answered in a pleasant and 
 engaging way, with an emphasis of her grati- 
 tude for my assistance. But this I pooh-
 
 268 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 poohed in curt terms, for I was more than 
 repaid for my trouble by the figure she cut 
 over against the board, and the honour she did 
 me. And I was in the midst of rebuffing her 
 thanks for the third time when the door opened 
 from the flagged passage and a man entered. 
 
 He was followed by the innkeeper, suave 
 and bowing, and the first thing was that 
 madam says, in an even, pleasant voice, 
 
 "So you are behind us after all, Charles." 
 At that I studied him the closer, for it must 
 be her husband, and perhaps he that had put 
 an affront on me, and I knew for certain 
 who he was when he spoke. 
 
 " It seems so," said he, scowling at me ; 
 and then "Why did you not wait? I found 
 you gone from the chaise." 
 
 "It was so cold. I was chilled to 
 death," she answered, " and this gentleman 
 happened upon me, and was so good as to 
 offer me his services for a rescue." 
 
 He turned a glowering, arrogant eye on me, 
 but said nothing at the moment, save a 
 demand to the innkeeper to fetch mulled wine. 
 Now, 'twas clear he was in ignorance of my 
 identity, and so I was emboldened to make 
 trial of him, maybe, you will say, with some 
 rashness ; but I have ever found the boldest 
 course is the wisest.
 
 MY LADY'S RING 269 
 
 " Perhaps, sir," said I, " you will honour me 
 with a share of this bottle in the meanwhile." 
 
 He hesitated, and then lowered his eyes. 
 " I thank you, no, sir," he returned briefly, 
 and sat down to the fire to wait. 
 
 His ungraciousness nettled me, all the more 
 that he thus deranged the comfort of his own 
 lady, who was manifestly put about by his 
 incivility. Seeing that he knew not I had rum- 
 padded him he might have thrown thanks at 
 me for her care, even if 'twere only as you may 
 throw coins at a beggar. But not he. He 
 sat and frowned, and then looked up at her. 
 
 " The next time I pray you will have faith 
 and patience to remain where you are set, my 
 lady," says he, curtly. 
 
 " Why, husband " she began, but I broke 
 in, for I was infuriate with his grossness of 
 manner. 
 
 " Look you, sir," said I, " would you have 
 a tender lady bare to the snow and sour winds 
 to await your convenience ? Sink me, I 
 should be glad to think she was warming of 
 her ankles, what fate soever came to mine." 
 
 "Your opinion," said he, pompously, and 
 looking at me inquisitively, " is naturally of 
 weight, sir." 
 
 He was a full-faced, big-nosed man, with 
 small eyes, and a hard mouth, but was mani-
 
 270 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 festly of some dignity from his dress and 
 style. 
 
 "Sir Charles/' says she, with a little pride 
 in her voice, " you forget my plight. I 
 should have perished but for this good gentle- 
 man." 
 
 " Humph," says this pig, puffing out his 
 nostrils, and leaned over the fire to warm 
 himself, but cast narrow glances at me. 
 
 But here comes in mine host with the wine, 
 and Sir Charles (if that was his name) sits to 
 the table, and takes a draught, which served 
 to loosen his tongue. 
 
 " These roads," says he, "do no credit to 
 your country, my man." 
 
 " Sir, they are such as we must endure," 
 says the innkeeper. 
 
 " They are a disgrace to any country," says 
 he; "they are the haunt of thieves and cut- 
 throats," he says, and thumped on the table. 
 
 ' Why, I've heard of none, your honour," 
 says the fellow. 
 
 " I tell you, sir," he went on, " that no 
 more than a mile or so from here I was stopped 
 by a ruffian and robbed yes, robbed, sir ; and 
 you boast of your secure roads. I am a 
 justice and will see to it when I reach London." 
 
 "Lord, sir, you say not so?" said the 
 innkeeper, and the lady called out in surprise,
 
 MY LADY'S RING 271 
 
 " Robbed, Charles ; why, what is this ? " 
 
 "Stopped and robbed/' says the man, with 
 emphasis on his words and looking from one 
 to another of us. " Stopped and robbed by 
 a dastard with pistols and swords, when I had 
 been looking for a friendly voice in the night 
 and the snow rings, guineas and all," he says, 
 addressing his wife. 
 
 " I have my purse," says she, fumbling in 
 her bodice with nervous fingers. 
 
 " I will bring down the law on this wretched 
 place," he declared formidably, ignoring her. 
 " I will see that his Majesty's processes do 
 clean these parts of the gentry, and of all who 
 harbour them," he added, with suspicious 
 beady eyes on the innkeeper. 
 
 " Nay, sir, there is no house on this road 
 but what is honest," says he, hastily. 
 
 " Why," says Sir Charles, as importantly 
 as if he were examining a prisoner, " this 
 fellow must have come from here, and no doubt 
 was in waiting for me. You cannot deny it." 
 
 " There was none such here, sir, all the day," 
 says the landlord, humbly; "there was none 
 but honest folk." 
 
 " Ah, but how mark you the difference ? " 
 he asked triumphantly. " I ask you, how do 
 you discriminate ? Does a man wear his 
 virtue on his nose ? " And at that, looking at
 
 272 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 his blobbed nose, I chuckled to myself, for I 
 minded in no way that he was thus cross- 
 questioning the taverner. Lord, I would not 
 have cared two sucking straws for such as he. 
 So I broke in, 
 
 ' There is some that has an honest look," 
 said I, " and there's some that wants it." 
 
 " That is so," said the lady. " 'Twere easy 
 to tell the difference." 
 
 ' You are very confident," said he, sourly, 
 " and maybe then you could read the faces in 
 this room, madam ? " 
 
 She glanced about her with a flush at his 
 rudeness. " I think there is no question of 
 this room," she answered. 
 
 He said nothing, but shot a glance at me, 
 and then took a draught of wine. 
 
 " And how was it this kind gentleman 
 happened upon you, Betty ? " he asked. 
 
 " Sir, 'twas a delicate voice, as of a lamb 
 bleating in the cold darkness, that I heard, 
 and went for to rescue," I answered him coolly. 
 
 " Oh ! " he says, and looked at the table as 
 if thinking. " And whence came you ? " he 
 asked bluntly. 
 
 Now it entered into my mind then for the 
 first time that he had conceived a suspicion 
 of me. It was true that his bearing might be 
 part of his customary gross conduct, but 'twas
 
 MY LADY'S RING 273 
 
 possible that his questions were pursuing 
 some point. And so, as the landlord was gone 
 from the room, I said indifferently, " I am 
 from Bristol and go south for Taunton." 
 
 " Ho ! " he said, " then you came along the 
 road after me ? " 
 
 ' Very like," I said with the same indiffer- 
 ence. " I know not which way you came, as 
 the chaise was buried deep in the drift." 
 
 ' That brings to my memory," said he, 
 rising, " a neglected duty. The postilion 
 must take aid to rescue the carriage ; " and 
 he marched to the door with his heavy gait 
 and determined mien. 
 
 When he was gone I looked across at the 
 lady, but she avoided my eye, embarrassed 
 (I made no doubt) by her husband's arrogant 
 behaviour. And now I recalled that 'twas 
 high time for me to be on my way after this 
 interlude, and I put my hand into my pocket 
 to bring forth a coin wherewith to discharge 
 my reckoning. And I pulled out a handful 
 of guineas. As I was picking out one I heard 
 an exclamation, and raising my eyes, perceived 
 that the lady was staring in astonishment at 
 my hand. 
 
 " Where got you that ? " she asked in an 
 excitement, pointing with her hand. " Where 
 got you that ring ? "
 
 274 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 And then to my chagrin I saw that I had 
 pulled out some of the jewellery I had took 
 from Sir Charles. " That ? " says I, thinking 
 to gain time. " Why that ? " 
 
 " The ring I gave my husband/' she almost 
 whispered across the table, and her eyes met 
 mine. In them suddenly arose a light of 
 understanding, and of something else com- 
 mingled. Damme, I am not ashamed to ply 
 the high toby, but there is some matters that 
 do not concern women, and which they do 
 not understand. She turned of a red glow to 
 her neck. ' What you ? " she murmured 
 faintly. " It was you ? " 
 
 And I, like a fool, had never a word, but sat 
 glum and still, staring at her. To look at her 
 it would have seemed that she it was that had 
 took the ring and been discovered. 
 
 " Oh, why did you that ? " she asked in 
 her low voice. ' Was it that you were in 
 need ? " 
 
 " Faith, no," said I, with a laugh, and never 
 attempting to deny. ' There's a plenty of 
 King's pictures to my pockets. But if ye 
 will have it, 'twas his voice annoyed me. I 
 thought 'twas any man's duty and right to 
 take toll of such complacency." 
 
 She eyed me sadly, as I hate to be eyed. 
 I can endure the devil's own temper, and a
 
 MY LADY'S RING 275 
 
 scold's tongue (for I have my own cure for 
 them), but tears, and shining eyes, and 
 melancholy looks I cannot abide 'em. So 
 says I gruffly, 
 
 " Ye are welcome to them back. I have 
 no use for them. Maybe 'twill teach him a 
 lesson in manners, and that will serve ; " 
 whereat I turned the contents of my pocket 
 upon the table and thrust them towards her. 
 She sat looking at the gold and the jewels for 
 some moments in silence, while I looked at 
 her. She was, I'll warrant, a pious good 
 woman, and though such are not generally 
 to my taste, I can appreciate ripe goodness 
 and beauty, and it irked me to think of her 
 being bound with such a surly and unmannerly 
 boar. But presently, with a start, she put out 
 her hands and began to collect the pieces with 
 fever in her haste, glancing fearfully at the 
 door ; and no sooner had she disposed of 
 them than in stalks my portentous friend, 
 with an ugly look on his phiz. 
 
 " You come from Bristol, sir," says he in 
 a loud voice, " and maybe can explain why 
 you set forth for Taunton from this very house 
 two hours agone by the Bristol Road ? " 
 
 I gave him a steady stare, for it was plain 
 to me now how he had come by his informa- 
 tion, and that he had been questioning the
 
 276 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 innkeeper about me. It mattered not a rap 
 to me, for he could prove nothing against me, 
 and even if he had, I would have kissed the 
 beam if I could not have settled with that 
 hulking dung-fork. So said I equably, 
 
 " Why the devil should I explain to 
 you?" 
 
 " Well, to the justices, if you like it better," 
 said he with an angry snort. " I had a notion 
 that I recognised that voice, and now I know 
 it for certain. You are the thief that made 
 me deliver in the snow on the heath. You 
 have stolen my guineas and my jewels." 
 
 Now, he had no witnesses against me, and 
 it would have been the easiest thing in the 
 world to have deceived him, and played him 
 off, and got him into a tangle of fact and 
 evidence and imaginings. But, bless me, ere 
 I could get fairly started upon the sally the 
 poor lady darts in and shoves the fat in the 
 fire. 
 
 " Oh, Charles," she cried trepidantly, 
 going towards him, " this gentleman has 
 preserved my life. I pray you forget not 
 that. Tis Christmas Eve," says she, " 'tis 
 the eve of our Lord's birth, and should teach 
 us mercy. Sir Charles," she says, poor thing, 
 a-bleating, " as you hope for Christ's com- 
 passion for yourself visit not this short-coming
 
 MY LADY'S RING 277 
 
 on one that has shown himself so full of 
 tenderness and pity." 
 
 ' The devil ! " thinks I to myself, pulling 
 a lugubrious face. " She plays King's prose- 
 cutor to me. What's to do ? " 
 
 " Stand aside," says he to her sharply, and 
 glowering on me. But I looked him in the 
 phiz with a smile ; I was not incommoded by 
 this silly business, not I. ' You make no 
 denial," said he, restraining himself with an 
 effort, as I could see. " You are a ruffianly 
 gallows-bird. You shall hang." 
 
 " Oh, Charles," pleaded the poor lady in 
 despair, " he has made restitution. Here's 
 all that was yours rings, guineas and all. 
 Spare him, I implore you, for his kindness 
 and consideration to me." 
 
 " He showed me nice consideration," said 
 he, with a sneer, for he was now confident and 
 a-swagger ; " we will dispose of him with as 
 gentle a consideration, madam." 
 
 And at that he moved to the door, I doubt 
 not to summon the landlord ; but I stepped 
 in his way, for I was tired of his mustard looks 
 and arrogance. 
 
 " Rot me," said I, " you mistake my 
 kidney. If 'tis a gentleman of the road you 
 have to deal with, you have yet to learn his 
 quality."
 
 278 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 drew himself up, while the lady looked 
 at me breathless. He was a vastly bigger 
 man than I, but I drew my toasting-fork. 
 
 " Madam/' said I to the lady, " you have 
 a great heart, but it breaks itself too readily. 
 I would not have that ample heart for half 
 the kingdom. I'll warrant it troubles you. 
 Here you be fretting yourself over this poor 
 carcase which is worth no tears nor tremors, 
 and moreover can look after itself ; and I will 
 swear you waste your blood and tissue on this 
 same hulk that I must spit, damn him ! 
 Sir," says I to the man, "if ye will stand 
 aside I will learn you to toast or roast as you 
 will, your toes and midriff, afore this fire ; but 
 if ye will not you shall taste the sawdust under 
 the table. For I have an appointment in 
 Bristol, and I wait no man's pleasure." 
 
 "|You threaten me," says he, haughtily, and 
 pulled out his sword. 
 
 " Oh, no," says I, " 'tis but a plain state- 
 ment. Will ye go by or go down ? Choose 
 
 ye." 
 
 For answer he came at me, for the man was 
 no coward, and did not lack spirit ; and we 
 were presently engaged in the discharge of 
 thrusts. He plied his blade not unskilfully, 
 but, Lord, I have learned in a rough school, 
 and 'twas not long ere I was under the cully's
 
 MY LADY'S RING 270 
 
 guard and took him in the ribs. He collapsed 
 like a log, and the lady uttered a scream, and 
 flying to him bent over him. I dropped my 
 point. 
 
 " Faith, my lady," said I, "'tis no more 
 than letting of some of that superfluous blood 
 that animates him. 'Twill fetch down his 
 proud stomach, the which he needs. Let 
 him bleed. 'Twill serve your turn also." 
 
 " Sir," says she, remembering me, even in 
 her trouble and confusion, " you were best 
 to go. Fly, fly ! 'twas not your fault. He 
 attacked you. Fly ! " 
 
 Dear heart, there was none in those parts 
 and on that night that might aspire to stop or 
 catch Dick Ryder ; but she knew not that, 
 the innocent. I bowed to her. 
 
 " Give ye good cheer, madam," said I ; 
 " maybe I have served you better than ye 
 think, first with the cold night, and second 
 with the eclipse of this hot blood." 
 
 She threw me a wistful, wondering and 
 pitiful glance, and then a groan drew her 
 attention to her husband and she stooped 
 over him tenderly. 
 
 At that I swung out of the door and sought 
 my horse ; and as I mounted Calypso, says I 
 to the innkeeper, who attended me all un- 
 conscious, " I have stuck a point in that
 
 280 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 muck- worm's shoulder," says I, " and ye had 
 better relieve the lady's fears ; but," says I, as 
 I rode off, " if I had stuck it in his gizzard, as 
 I had a mind to do, 'twould have served her 
 better." And with that I plunged into the 
 wind and snow of the night.
 
 GALLOWS GATE 
 
 TWAS two o'clock of a bright mild March 
 day that I cleared St Leonard's Forest 
 and came out upon the roads at the back of 
 Horsham. I was for London, but chose that 
 way by reason of a better security it promised, 
 which, as it chanced, was a significant piece of 
 irony. Horsham, a mighty quiet pretty town, 
 lay in a blaze of the sun, enduring the sallies 
 of a dusty wind, and feeling hot and athirst 
 after my long ride I pulled up at an inn and 
 dismounted. 
 
 " Host," says I, when I was come in, " a 
 pint of your best burgundy or canary to wash 
 this dust adown ; and rip me if I will not have 
 it laced with brandy." 
 
 " Why, sir," says he, " a cold bright day for 
 horseback," and shakes his head. 
 
 " Damme, you're right," says I. " Cold i' 
 the belly and hot in the groin. Here's luck to 
 the house, man," and I tossed off the gallipot, 
 though the brandy barely saved exceeding thin 
 swipes that he had the impudence to pass for 
 wine. " Why, goodman, ye'll make your 
 
 281
 
 282 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 fortune on this," I said with a laugh and flung 
 open the door to go out, when all of a sudden 
 I came to a silence and a pause. 
 
 " 'Tis the officers," says the landlord, who 
 was at my ear. (< Gadslife, 'tis the sheriff's 
 men from Lewes." 
 
 " Lewes ! " says I, slowly. " What be they 
 here for ? " 
 
 " Why," says he, in a flutter, " there was 
 him that was taken for a tobyman by Guild- 
 ford. He was tried at Lewes, and will hang." 
 
 " If he be fool enough to be taken, let him 
 be hanged and be damned," says I, carelessly. 
 
 When I was got upon my horse I began to 
 go at a walk down the High Street, for though, 
 as was according to nature, I was inquisitive 
 about the matter I was too wary to adventure 
 ere I was sure of my ground. And this denial 
 of unnecessary hazards, as is my custom, 
 saved me from a mishap ; for as the procession 
 wound along, the traps and the carriage be- 
 tween 'em, there was one of them that turned 
 his head aside to give an order, and, rip me, 
 if 'twas not that muck- worm traitor and 
 canter, the thief-taker Timothy Grubbe. 
 I had an old score with Timothy, the which I 
 had sworn to pay ; but that was not the time 
 nor the opportunity, and so I pulled in and 
 lowered my head, lest by chance his evil eye
 
 GALLOWS GATE 283 
 
 might go my way. As I did so, something 
 struck on the mare's rump, and, looking back, 
 I saw a young man a-horseback that had 
 emerged from a side street. 
 
 " Whoa, there ! " says I, cheerfully, " are 
 you so blinded by March dust as not to see a 
 gentleman when he goes by ? " 
 
 He was a slight, handsome-looking youth, 
 of a frank face but of a rustic appearance, 
 and he stammered out an apology. 
 
 " Why, I did but jest," I said heartily, 
 " think no more on't, particularly as 'twas my 
 fault to have checked the mare of a sudden. 
 But to say the truth I was gaping at the grand 
 folks yonder." 
 
 He stared after the traps, and says he in an 
 interested voice, " Who be they ? Is it my 
 Lord Blackdown ? " 
 
 Now this comparison of that wry-necked, 
 pock-faced villain Grubbe to a person of 
 quality tickled me, but I answered, keeping 
 a straight face, 
 
 " Well, not exactly," says I, " not my lord, 
 but another that should stand, or hang, as 
 high maybe, and shall some day." 
 
 " Oh," says he, gazing at me, " a friend of 
 yours, sir ? " 
 
 He was of a ruddy colour, and his mouth 
 was habitually a little open, giving him an
 
 284 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 expression of perpetual wonder and innocence, 
 so that, bless you, I knew him at once for what 
 he was at heart a simple fellow of a natural 
 kindliness, and one of no experience in the 
 world, and a pretty dull wit. 
 
 " Not, as you might call him, a friend," said 
 I, gravely, " but rather one that has put an 
 affront upon me." 
 
 " You should wipe it out, sir," says this 
 innocent, seriously. " I would allow no man 
 to put an affront on me, gad, I would not." 
 
 "Why," said I, dryly, "I bide my time, 
 being, if I may say so, of less mustard and 
 pepper than yourself. Nevertheless, it shall 
 be wiped out to the last stain." 
 
 "Gad, I like that spirit," says he, briskly, 
 and, as if it constituted a bond betwixt us, 
 he began to amble slowly at my side. " If 
 there is any mischief, sir," says he, "I trust 
 you will allow me to stand your friend." 
 
 Here was innocence indeed, yet I could have 
 clapped him on the back for a brick of good- 
 fellowship and friendliness, and, relaxing my 
 tone, I turned the talk on himself. 
 
 " You are for a journey ? " says I. 
 
 He nodded, and his colour rose, but he 
 frowned. " I am for Effingham," said he. 
 
 " So am I," said I, "at least I pass that 
 way," which was not so, for I was for Reading,
 
 GALLOWS GATE 285 
 
 and had meant to go by Guildford. Yet I 
 was in no mind to risk an encounter with 
 Grubbe and his lambs, who were bound for 
 Guildford, if what the innkeeper said was 
 true, and the way by Effingham would serve 
 me as well as another. He looked pleased, 
 and says he, 
 
 ' Why, we will travel in company," says he. 
 
 " With all my heart," said I. 
 The traps had disappeared upon the Guild- 
 ford road in a mist of dust, and we jogged 
 on comfortably till we came to cross-roads, 
 where we turned away for Slinf old, reaching that 
 village nearby two of the clock. Here my com- 
 panion must slake his thirst, and I was nothing 
 loth. He had a gentlemanly air about him 
 for all his rustic habit, and very pleasantly, 
 if with some awkwardness, offered me of a 
 bottle. 
 
 " You mind me," said I, drinking to him, 
 for I liked the fellow, " of a lad that I knew 
 that was in the wars." 
 
 " Was you in the wars ? " says he, eagerly. 
 
 I had meant the wars of the road, which 
 indeed are as perilous and as venturesome as 
 the high quarrels of ravening nations. 
 
 " I served in Flanders," said I. 
 
 " My father fought for his gracious Majesty, 
 Charles I.," says he, quickly , " and took a deep
 
 286 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 wound at Marston Moor. There was never a 
 
 braver man than Squire Masters of Rockham." 
 
 ' I'll warrant his son is his spit," said I. 
 
 He bowed, as if he were at court. " Your 
 servant, sir," says he, smiling well-pleased, 
 and eyed me. " You have seen much service, 
 sir ? " he asked. 
 
 ' Why, as much as will serve, Mr Masters," 
 said I. 
 
 He looked at me shyly. " You have my 
 name now," said he, and left his question in 
 the air. 
 
 " You may call me Ryder," said I. 
 
 " You have had your company, sir ? " he 
 went on in a hesitating voice. 
 
 " Not always as good company as this," I 
 replied laughing. 
 
 "I knew it," said he, eagerly. "You are 
 Captain Ryder ? " 
 
 " There have been those that have put that 
 style on me," I answered, amused at his 
 persistence. 
 
 " I am glad that I have met you, Captain," 
 said this young fool, and put his arm in mine 
 quite affectionately. " I have been unhappily 
 kept much at home, and have seen less than 
 I might of things beyond the hills. Not but 
 what Sussex is a fine shire," he says with a 
 sigh.
 
 GALLOWS GATE 287 
 
 " Why, it is fine if so be your home be 
 there," I replied. 
 
 " My home is there," he said, and paused, 
 and again the frown wrinkled up his brow. 
 
 He said no more till we were in the saddle 
 again and had gone some half a mile, and 
 then he spoke, and I knew his poor brain 
 had been playing pitch and toss with some 
 thought. 
 
 "Captain Ryder," said he, abruptly, "you 
 have travelled far and seen much. You 
 might advise one junior to you on a matter 
 of worldly wisdom." 
 
 Sink me (thinks I), what's the boy after ; 
 but says I gravely from a mutinous face, 
 " You can hang your faith on me for an 
 opinion or a blow, Mr Masters." 
 
 "Thank you," says he, heartily, and then 
 thrust a hand into his bosom and rapidly 
 stuck at me a document. " Read that, sir," 
 said he, impulsively. 
 
 I opened it, and found 'twas writ in a 
 woman's hand, and subscribed Anne Varley ; 
 and the marrow of it was fond affection. 
 Why, 'twas but a common love-billet he had 
 given me, of the which I have seen dozens and 
 received very many some from persons of 
 quality that would astonish you. But what 
 was I to do with this honest ninny and his
 
 288 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 mistress ? I had no nose for it, and so said 
 I, handing him back his letter, 
 
 " It has a sweet smack and 'tis pretty 
 enough inditing." 
 
 " Ah," says he, quickly, "'tis her nature, 
 Captain 'tis her heart that speaks. Yet is 
 she denied by her parents. They will have 
 none of me." 
 
 " The more to their shame," I said. 
 
 " They aspire high," says he, " as Anne's 
 beauty and virtues of themselves would 
 justify. Yet she does love me, and I her, 
 and we are of one spirit and heart. See you 
 how she loves me, poor thing, poor silly 
 puss ! And they would persuade her to 
 renunciation. But she shall not she shall 
 not, I swear it," he cried in excitement. 
 " She shall be free to choose whom she will." 
 
 " Spoken like a man of temper," said I, 
 approvingly. "You will go win her forth- 
 right." 
 
 " I am on my journey to accomplish that 
 now," says he. " She has wrote in this letter, 
 as you have seen, that her father dissuades 
 her, and she signs her renunciation, adding 
 sweet words of comfort that her affection 
 will not die no, never, never ; and that she 
 will die virgin for me. Say you not, sir, that 
 this is beautiful conduct, and say, am I not
 
 GALLOWS GATE 289 
 
 right to ride forth and seize her from her un- 
 natural parents, to make her mine ? " 
 
 " Young gentleman/' said I, being struck 
 by his honest sincerity and his bubbling over, 
 " were you brother to me, or I to Mrs Anne, 
 you would have my blessing." 
 
 At that he glowed, and, his spirits having 
 risen with this communication, he babbled on 
 the road of many things cheerfully, but mostly 
 of love and beauty, and the virtues of Mrs 
 Anne of Emngham Manor. 
 
 I will confess that after a time his prattle 
 wearied me ; 'twas too much honey, and 
 cloyed my palate. If he had known as much 
 of the sex as has fallen to my lot he would have 
 took another stand and sung in a lower key. 
 Well, 'twas late in the afternoon when we 
 reached the hills beyond Ewhurst and began 
 to climb the rugged way to the top. The 
 wind had gone down with the sun in a flurry 
 of gold in the west to which the eastern breeze 
 had beat all day ; and over the head of Pitch 
 Hill last year's heather still blazed in its 
 decay. When we had got to the Windmill 
 Inn that lies packed into the side of the hill 
 and woods there we descended for refresh- 
 ment, and I saw the horses stalled below for 
 baiting. Now that house, little and quiet, 
 perches in a lonely way in the pass of the hill,
 
 290 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 and upon one side the ground falls so fast 
 away that the eye carries over a precipitous 
 descent towards the weald of Surrey and the 
 dim hills by the sea. And this view was 
 fading swiftly in the window under a bleak 
 sky as Masters and I ate of our dinner in the 
 upstairs room that looked upon it. He had 
 a natural grace of mind, despite the rawness 
 of his behaviour, and his sentiments emerged 
 sometimes in a gush, as when, says he, 
 looking at the darkening weald, 
 
 " I love it, Captain. 'Tis mine. My home 
 is there, and, God willing, Anne's too shall be." 
 
 "Amen," said I, heartily, for the boy had 
 gone to my heart, absurd though he was. 
 
 And just on that there was a noise without 
 the door, the clank of heavy feet rang on the 
 boards, and Timothy Grubbe's ugly mask 
 disfigured the room. 
 
 He came forward a little with a grin on his 
 distorted features, and, looking from one to 
 the other of us, said he, 
 
 " My respects, Captain, and to this young 
 plover that no doubt you're plucking. By 
 the Lord, Dick Ryder, but I had given you 
 up ! Heaven sends us good fortune when 
 we're least thinking of it." 
 
 Masters at his word had started up. ' Who 
 are you, sir, that intrudes on two gentlemen ? "
 
 GALLOWS GATE 291 
 
 he demanded with spirit. 'I'll have you 
 know this is a private room. Get you 
 gone." 
 
 " Softly, man," says Grubbe in an insinu- 
 ating voice, " but maybe I'm wrong, and 
 you're two of a colour. Is it an apprentice, 
 Dick, this brave lad that talks so bold and 
 has such fine feathers ? " 
 
 " If you do not quit," said, I shortly, " I 
 will spit your beauty for you in two ticks." 
 
 " Dick Ryder had always plenty heart," 
 said he, in his jeering way ; " Dick had always 
 a famous wit, and was known as a hospitable 
 host. So I will take the liberty to invite to 
 his sociable board some good fellows that are 
 below, to make merry. We shall prove an 
 excellent company, I'll warrant." 
 
 Masters took a step towards him. " Now, 
 who the devil soever you may be, you shall 
 not use gentlemen so," he said, whipping out 
 his blade. 
 
 But Grubbe turned on him satirically. 
 " As for you, young cockchafer," said he, 
 " it bodes no good to find you in this com- 
 pany. But as you seem simpleton enough 
 I'll give you five minutes to take your leave 
 of this gentleman of the road. Dick, ye're a 
 fine toby man, and you have enjoyed a brave 
 career, but your hour is struck."
 
 292 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 I rose, but ere I could get to him young 
 Masters had fallen on him. 
 
 " Defend yourself, damn ye ! " he said, 
 " you that insult a gentleman that is my 
 friend. Put up your blade, curse you," and 
 he made at him with incredible energy. 
 
 Uttering a curse, Grubbe thrust with his 
 point and took the first onrush, swerving 
 it aside ; and ere I could intervene they were 
 at it. My young friend was impetuous, and, 
 as I saw at once, none too skilful, and Grubbe 
 kept his temper, as he always did. He stood 
 with a thin, ugly smile, pushing aside his 
 opponent's blade for a moment or two, until, 
 of a sudden, he drew himself up and let drive 
 very low and under the other's guard. The 
 sword rattled from Masters's hand and he 
 went down on the floor. I uttered an oath. 
 
 " By God, for this you shall die, you swine," 
 said I, fiercely, and I ran at him ; but, being 
 by the door, he swept it open with a move- 
 ment and backed into the passage. 
 
 ' The boot is on t'other leg, Dick," says 
 he, maliciously. " 'Tis you are doomed;" 
 and, closing the door sharply behind him, he 
 whistled shrilly. 
 
 I knew what he intended, and that his men 
 were there, but I stooped over the boy's body 
 and held my fingers to his heart. Twas dead
 
 GALLOWS GATE 293 
 
 and still. I cursed Grubbe and started up. 
 If I was not to be taken there was only the 
 window looking on the deeps of the descend- 
 ing valley. I threw back the casement and 
 leaped over the sill. Grubbe should perish, 
 I swore, and, doubled now my oath. I could 
 have wept for that poor youth that had died to 
 avenge my honour. But my first business 
 was my safety, and I crept down as far as I 
 might, and dropped. By that time the catch- 
 poles were crowding into the room above. I 
 struck the slanting hill and fell backwards, 
 but getting to my feet, which were very numb 
 with the concussion of the fall, I sped briskly 
 into the darkness, making for the woods. 
 
 I lay in the shelter of the woods an hour, 
 and then resolved on a circumspection. 'Twas 
 not my intention to leave the mare behind, if 
 so be she had escaped Grubbe and his creatures, 
 and moreover, I had other designs in my 
 head. So I made my way back deviously to 
 the inn, and reconnoitred. Stillness hung 
 about it, and after a time I marched up to 
 the door mighty cautiously and knocked on it. 
 
 The innkeeper opened it, and, the lamp 
 burning in my face, started as if I were the 
 devil. 
 
 " Hush, man," said I, "is the officer 
 gone ? " He looked at me dubiously, and
 
 294 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 trembling. " Come/' said I, for I knew the 
 reputation of those parts, "I am from 
 Shoreham Gap yonder, and I was near taken 
 for an offence against the revenue." 
 
 ' You are a smuggler ? " said he, anxiously. 
 ' They said you were a tobyman." 
 
 ' They will take away any decent man's 
 name," said I. " Come, I want my horse. 
 You have no fancy for preventive men, I'll 
 guess." 
 
 And this was true enough, for he had a mine of 
 cellars under his inn and through the roadway. 
 
 " But your friend ? " said he, still wavering. 
 " Him that is dead" 
 
 " As good a man as ever rolled a barrel," 
 said I. 
 
 He relaxed his grip of the door. " 'Tis a 
 sore business for me this night," he com- 
 plained. 
 
 " Nay," said I, " f or I will rid your premises 
 of myself and friend, by your leave or without 
 it," says I. 
 
 He seemed relieved at that, and I entered. 
 The horses were safe, as I discovered, for 
 Grubbe must have been too full of his own 
 prime business to make search, and getting 
 them out, I made my preparations. I 
 strapped the lad's body in the stirrups, so that 
 he lay forward on the horse with his head
 
 GALLOWS GATE 295 
 
 a-wagging but (God deliver him !) his soul 
 at rest. And presently we were on the road, 
 and threading the wilderness of the black 
 pine- woods for the vale below towards London. 
 
 The moon was a glimmering arc across the 
 Hurtwood as I came out on the back of Shere, 
 and pulling out of the long lane that gave 
 entry to the village, reined up by the White 
 Horse. From the inn streamed a clamour 
 of laughter, and without the doorway, and 
 well-nigh blocking it, was drawn up a carriage, 
 with a coachman in his seat, that struck my 
 eyes dimly in the small light. I was not for 
 calling eyes on me with a dead man astride his 
 horse, so I moved into the yard, thinking to 
 drain a tankard of ale, if no better, before I 
 took the road over the downs to Emngham. 
 But I was scarce turned into the yard ere a 
 light flung through the window peered on a 
 face that changed all the notions in my skull. 
 'Twas Grubbe ! 
 
 Leaving the horses by I went back to the 
 front of the inn, and says I to the coachman 
 that waited there, as I rapped loud on the 
 door, 
 
 " Tis shrewish to-night." 
 
 "Ay," says he, in a grumbling, surly voice, 
 " I would the country were in hell." 
 
 " Why, so 'twill be in good time," said I,
 
 296 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 cheerfully ; and then to the man that came, 
 " Fetch me two quarts well laced with gin," 
 says I, " for to keep the chill o' the night and 
 the fear o' death out." 
 
 The coachman laughed a little stoutly, for 
 he knew that this was his invitation. 
 
 ' Whence come you then ? " said I, deliver- 
 ing him the pot that was fetched out. 
 
 He threw an arm out. " Lewes," said he, 
 " under charge with a tobyman that was for 
 chains yonder." 
 
 He nodded towards the downs and drank. 
 I cast my eyes up and the loom of the hill 
 just t'other side of the village was black and 
 ominous. 
 
 " Oh," says I, " he hangs there ? " 
 
 " At the top of London road," says he, 
 dipping his nose again. " There stands the 
 gallows, where the roads cross, and near the 
 gate." 
 
 " Gallows Gate," said I, laughing. " Well, 
 'twas a merry job enough." 
 
 " Ay," says he, " but by this we might ha' 
 been far towards London Town, whither 
 most of us are already gone. But 'twas not 
 his meaning. He must come back with the 
 Lewes sheriff and drink him farewell." 
 
 " Leaving a poor likely young man such as 
 yourself to starve of cold and an empty
 
 GALLOWS GATE 297 
 
 belly here," said I. " Well, I would learn 
 such a one manners in your place ; and you 
 shall have another tankard of dog's-nose for 
 your pains," says I ; whereat I called out the 
 innkeeper again, but took care that he had 
 my share of the gin in addition to his own. 
 By that time he was garrulous, and had lost 
 his caution, so keeping him in talk a little, 
 and dragging his wits along from point to 
 point, I presently called to him, 
 
 " Come down," said I, " and stamp your 
 feet. Twill warm you without as the liquor 
 within ; " and he did as I had suggested with- 
 out demur. 
 
 " Run round to the back," says I, " and 
 get yourself a noggin, and if so be you see a 
 gentleman on horseback there asleep, why, 
 'tis only a friend of mine that is weary of his 
 long journey. I will call you if there be 
 occasion." 
 
 He hesitated a moment, but I set a crown 
 on his palm and his scruples vanished. He 
 limped into the darkness. 
 
 'Twas no more than two minutes later that 
 I heard voices in the doorway, and next came 
 Timothy Grubbe into the night, in talk with 
 someone. At which it took me but thirty 
 seconds to whip me into the seat and pull the 
 coachman's cloak about me, so that I sat
 
 298 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 stark and black in the starlight. Grubbe left 
 the man he talked with and came forward. 
 
 ' You shall drink when ye reach Cobham, 
 Crossway," says he, looking up at me, " and 
 mind your ways, damn ye." 
 
 And at that he made no more ado, but 
 humming an air he lurched into the carriage. 
 I pulled out the nags, and turned their heads 
 so that they were set for the north. And 
 then I whistled low and short a whistle I 
 knew that the mare would heed, and I trusted 
 that she would bring her companion with her. 
 Then the wheels rolled out upon the road and 
 Timothy Grubbe and I were bound for London 
 all alone. 
 
 As I turned up the London road that swept 
 steeply up the downs I looked back, and behind 
 the moon shone faintly on Calypso, and behind 
 her on the dead man wagging awkwardly in 
 his stirrups. 
 
 I pushed the horses up the steeps of the 
 London road as fast as might be, but the ruts 
 were still deep in mud, and the carriage jolted 
 and rocked and swayed as we went. The 
 wind came now with a little moaning sound 
 from the bottom of the valley, and the naked 
 branches creaked above my head, for that 
 way was sunken and tangled with the thickets 
 of nut and yew. And presently I was forced
 
 GALLOWS GATE 299 
 
 to go at a foot pace, so abrupt was the height. 
 The moon struck through the trees and peered 
 on us, and Grubbe put his head forth of the 
 window. 
 
 ' Why go you not faster, damn ye ?" says 
 he, being much in liquor. 
 
 " Tis the hill, your honour," said I. 
 
 He glanced up and down. 
 
 " What is't comes up behind ? " says he, 
 shouting. " There is a noise of horses that 
 pounds upon the road." 
 
 " 'Tis the wind," says I, " that comes off 
 the valley, and makes play among the 
 branches." 
 
 He sank back in his seat, and we went 
 forward slowly. But he was presently out 
 again, screaming on the night. 
 
 " There is a horseman behind," says he. 
 " What does he there ? " 
 
 " 'Tis a traveller, your honour," say I, 
 " that goes, no doubt, by our road, and is 
 bound for London." 
 
 " He shall be bound for hell," says he, and 
 falls back again. 
 
 The horses wound up foot by foot and 
 emerged now upon a space of better light. 
 I looked round, and there was Grubbe, with 
 his head through the window and his eyes 
 cast backwards.
 
 300 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 " What fool is this," says he, " that rides 
 so awkwardly, and drives a spare horse ? If 
 he ride no better I will ask him to keep me 
 company, if he be a gentleman. Many gentle- 
 men have rode along of me, and have rode to 
 the gallows tree," and he chuckled harshly. 
 
 " Maybe he will ride with you to the 
 Gallows Gate, sir," says I. 
 
 ' Why, Crossway," says he, laughing loudly, 
 " you have turned a wit," says he ; and once 
 more withdrew his head. 
 
 By now we were nigh to the top of the down, 
 and I could see the faint shadow of the Triple 
 Beam. With that I knew my journey was done, 
 and that my work must be accomplished. I 
 pulled to the horses on the rise, and got down 
 from my seat. 
 
 "Why d'ye stop, rascal ? " called Grubbe 
 in a fury, but I was by the door now and had 
 it open. 
 
 " Timothy Grubbe," said I, " ye're a 
 damned rogue that the devil your master 
 wants, and he shall have ye." 
 
 He stared at me in a maze, his nostrils 
 working, and then says he in a low voice, 
 
 " So 'tis you." 
 
 "Your time has come, Timothy," said I, 
 flinging off my cloak, and I took my sword. 
 " Out with you, worm ! "
 
 GALLOWS GATE 301 
 
 He said never a word, but stepped forth 
 and looked about him. He was sobered now, 
 as I could see from his face, which had a strange 
 look on it. 
 
 " Ye're two rascals to one, Dick," says 
 he, slowly, looking on the dead man on his 
 horse which had come to a stop in the 
 shadows. 
 
 " No," says I. " This gentleman will see 
 fair play for us." 
 
 Grubbe took a step backward. " Sir," says 
 he, addressing the dead man, but at that 
 moment Calypso and her companion started 
 and came into the open, and the moon shone 
 on the face of the dead. Grubbe uttered a 
 cry and turned on me. His teeth showed in 
 a grin. 
 
 " No ghost shall haunt me, Dick," says he. 
 " Rather shall another ghost keep him com- 
 pany ; " and his wry neck moved horridly in 
 the wan light. 
 
 I pointed upwards where the tobyman hung 
 in chains, keeping his sheep by moonlight. 
 " There's your destiny," said I, " there's your 
 doom. Now defend ye, damn ye, for I'll not 
 prick an adder at a disadvantage." 
 
 He drew his blade, for no man could say 
 that Timothy Grubbe, time-server, pander, 
 and traitor as he was, lacked courage. Sud-
 
 302 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 denly he sliced at me, but I put out and 
 turned off the blow. 
 
 " If you will have it so soon/' said I, 
 " in God's name have it," and I ran upon 
 him. 
 
 My third stroke went under his guard and 
 took him in the midriff. He gave vent to an 
 oath, cursed me in a torrent, and struck at me 
 weakly as he went down. He was as dead as 
 mutton almost ere he reached the ground. 
 
 I have never been a man of the Church, nor 
 do I lay any claim to own more religion than 
 such as to make shift by when it comes to the 
 end. No, nor no I deny that I have sundry 
 offences on my conscience, some of which I 
 have narrated in my memoirs. But when it 
 comes to a reckoning I will make bold to claim 
 credit in that I rid the world he had encum- 
 bered of Timothy Grubbe the foulest ruffian 
 that ever I did encounter in the length of my 
 days on the roads. 
 
 I climbed the beam and lowered the poor 
 tobyman, and it took me but a little time to 
 make the exchange. The one I left where he 
 had paid quittance in the peace of this 
 earth, and t'other a-swinging under the light 
 of the moon on Gallows Gate. 
 
 I have said my journey was done, but that 
 was not so. There was more for me to do,
 
 GALLOWS GATE 303 
 
 which was to deliver poor Masters at his lady- 
 love's and break the unhappy news. And so, 
 leaving the carriage where it stood, with the 
 patient horses, that were cropping the grass, 
 I mounted the mare and began to go down 
 the long span of the downs to the north. 
 'Twas late near midnight when I reached 
 Effingham and found my way to the manor. 
 I rapped on the door, leaving Calypso and 
 t'other in the shadows by the house, and 
 presently one answered to my knock. " What 
 is it ? " says she. 
 
 " Tis a stranger," says I, " that has news 
 of great import for Mrs Anne Varley, whom 
 I beg you will call." 
 
 " She cannot hear you," said she, "'tis her 
 wedding-night." 
 
 " What ! " said I, in amazement, and in- 
 stantly there flowed in upon me the meaning 
 of this. Damn all women, save one or two, 
 thinks I. And I turned to the maid again, 
 with my mind made up. 
 
 " Look you, wench," said I, " this is urgent. 
 I have an instant message that presses. And 
 if so be your mistress will bear with me a 
 moment and hold discourse, I'll warrant she 
 shall not regret it nor you," says I, with a 
 crown piece in my palm. 
 
 She hesitated, and then, " Maybe she will
 
 304 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 refuse," says she. " She hath but these few 
 hours been wed." 
 
 " Not she," said I, " if you will tell her that 
 I bring good news, great news news that will 
 ease her spirit and send her to her bridal bed 
 with a happy heart." 
 
 At that she seemed to consent, and with my 
 coin in her hand she disappeared into the 
 darkness of the house. It must have been 
 some ten minutes later that a light flashed in 
 the hall, and a voice called to me. " Who is 
 it ? " it asked, " and what want you at this 
 hour ? " 
 
 I looked at her. She was of a pretty face 
 enough, rather pale of colour, and with eyes 
 that moved restlessly and measured all things. 
 Lord, I have known women all my life in all 
 stations, and I would have pinned no certainty 
 on those treacherous eyes. She was young 
 too, but had an air of satisfaction in herself, 
 and was in no wise embarrassed by this inter- 
 view. I had no mercy on her, with her oaths 
 of constancy writ in water that feigned to 
 be tears, and her false pretences. 
 
 " Madam," said I, civilly, " I hear you're 
 wed to-day to a gentleman of standing." 
 
 " What is that to you, sir ? " she asked 
 quickly. 
 
 " 'Tis nothing, for sure," said I, " but to a
 
 GALLOWS GATE 305 
 
 friend of mine that I value deeply 'tis 
 much." 
 
 ' You speak of Mr Masters," said she, 
 sharply, and with discomposure. " Sure, if 
 he be a gentleman he will not trouble me when 
 he knows." 
 
 " Anne ! " cried a voice from the top of the 
 stairs, " Anne ! " 
 
 'Twas her bridegroom calling. Well, she 
 should go to him in what mood she might 
 when I had done with her. 
 
 " He will never know," says I, " unless he 
 have it from yourself." 
 
 " Anne ! " says the voice above the stairs. 
 
 " He shall not I will not," she cried angrily. 
 ' I will not be persecuted, 'twas all a mistake." 
 
 I whistled, and Calypso emerged from the 
 night, and behind Calypso was the horse with 
 its burden. 
 
 An anxious look dawned in her face. " I 
 am insulted " says she, and paused quickly. 
 " Edward ! " she called, and put a hand to 
 her bosom. 
 
 " Anne, my dove ! " cried the voice, " where 
 are you ? Come, child, 'tis late." 
 
 The horses came to a stop before the door, 
 with the body in the saddle, bound to the 
 crupper. 
 
 " What is it ? " she cried in alarm, and 
 
 u
 
 306 THE HIGH TOBY 
 
 suddenly she shrieked out, clutching at the 
 door-post. "It is an omen my wedding- 
 night." 
 
 " Ay," says I, " which be your bridegroom, 
 he that calls out or he that is silent ? Call on 
 him and he hears not." 
 
 Peal after peal went up now from her, and 
 the house was awake with alarm. I turned 
 away, leaving her on the door-step, and 
 mounted the mare. As I cantered off into 
 the night I cast a glance behind me, and a 
 group was gathered at the door, and in that 
 group lay Mrs Anne fallen in a swoon, with 
 the sleeping figure on the horse before her. 
 
 COLSTON AND COY. LIMITKD, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH
 
 A CATALOGUE OF BOOKS 
 
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 OXFORD BIOGRAPHIES, . 
 
 28 
 
 CHURCHMAN'S LIBRARY, 
 
 21 
 
 SCHOOL EXAMINATION SERIES, . 
 
 28 
 
 CLASSICAL TRANSLATIONS, . 
 
 21 
 
 SOCIAL QUESTIONS OP TO-DAY, . 
 
 29 
 
 COMMERCIAL SERIES, . 
 
 21 
 
 METHUEN'S STANDARD LIBRARY, 
 
 29 
 
 CONNOISSEUR'S LIBRARY, 
 
 22 
 
 TEXTBOOKS OF TECHNOLOGY, 
 
 30 
 
 LIBRARY OP DEVOTION, 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 METHUEN'S HALF-CROWN LIBRARY, 
 
 23 
 
 HANDBOOKS OF THEOLOGY, . 
 
 3 
 
 ILLUSTRATED POCKET LIBRARY O 
 
 r 
 
 WESTMINSTER COMMENTARIES, . 
 
 3 1 
 
 PLAIN AND COLOURED BOOKS, . 
 
 2 3 
 
 FICTION, ..... 
 
 32-AQ 
 
 
 
 
 * ^\* 
 
 JU. , 
 
 *4 
 
 METHUEN'S STRAND NOVELS, 
 
 37 
 
 METHUEN'S JUNIOR SCHOOL-BOOKS 
 
 i 24 
 
 BOOKS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS, 
 
 38 
 
 LEADERS OP RELIGION, 
 
 25 
 
 NOVELS OF ALEXANDRE DUMAS, . 
 
 38 
 
 LITTLE BLUE BOOKS, . 
 
 23 
 
 METHUEN'S SIXPENNY BOOKS, 
 
 39 
 
 
 NOVEMBER 1905
 
 a>i 
 
 A CATALOGUE OF 
 
 
 MESSRS. METHUENTS 
 
 PUBLICATIONS 
 
 a i 
 
 are only for circulation in the British Colonies and India. 
 
 An asterisk denotes that a book is in the Press. 
 
 PART I. GENERAL LITERATURE 
 
 THE MOTOR YEAR BOOK FOR 1905. 
 With many Illustrations and Diagrams. 
 Crown &vo. $s. net. 
 
 HEALTH, WEALTH AND WISDOM. 
 Crown %vo. is. net, 
 
 FELISSA; OR, THE LIFE AND 
 OPINIONS OF A KITTEN OF SENTI- 
 MENT. With 12 Coloured Plates. Post 
 i6io. as. dd. net. 
 
 Abbot (Jacob). See Little Blue Books. 
 
 Abbott (J. H. M.), Author of 'Tommy 
 Cornstalk.' AN OUTLANDER IN 
 ENGLAND : IMPRESSIONS OF AN AUS- 
 TRALIAN IN ENGLAND. Crown&vo. 6s. 
 
 AcatOS (M. J.). See Junior School Books. 
 
 Adams (Frank). JACKSPRATT. With 24 
 
 Coloured Pictures. Super Royal \drno. zs. 
 Adeney (W. F.), M.A. See Bennett and 
 
 Adeney. 
 
 .ffiSChylUS. See Classical Translations. 
 .Ssop. See Illustrated Pocket Library. 
 
 Ainsworth (W. Harrison). See Illustrated 
 
 Pocket Library. 
 Aldis (Janet). MADAME GEOFFRIN, 
 
 HER SALON, AND HER TIMES. 
 
 With many Portraits and Illustrations. 
 
 Demy Svo. IO.T. 6d. net. 
 
 A Colonial Edition is also published. 
 Alderson (J. P.). MR. ASQUITH. With 
 
 Portraits and Illustrations. Demy Svo. 
 
 7*. dd. net. 
 
 Alexander (William), D.D., Archbishop 
 
 of Armagh. THOUGHTS AND 
 COUNSELS OF MANY YEARS. 
 Selected by J. H. BURN, B.D. Demy i6mo. 
 
 Alken (Henry). THE NATIONAL 
 SPORTS OF GREAT BRITAIN. With 
 descriptions in English and French. With 
 51 Coloured Plates. Royal Folio, five 
 Guineas net. 
 See also Illustrated Pocket Library. 
 
 Allen (Jessie). See Little Books on Art. 
 
 Allen (J. Komilly), F.S. A. See Antiquary's 
 Books. 
 
 Almack (E.). See Little Books on Art. 
 
 Amherst (Lady). A SKETCH OF 
 EGYPTIAN HISTORY FROM THE 
 EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PRE- 
 SENT DAY. With many Illustrations, 
 some of which are in Colour. Demy 8vo. 
 itxr. dd. net. 
 
 Anderson (F. M.). THE STORY OF THE 
 BRITISH EMPIRE FOR CHILDREN. 
 With many Illustrations. Crown &vo. zs. 
 
 Anderson (J. G.), B.A., Examiner to London 
 University, the College of Preceptors, and 
 the Welsh Intermediate Board. NOUV- 
 ELLE GRAMMAIRE FRANCAISE. 
 Crown &vo. zs. 
 
 EXERCISES ON NOUVELLE GRAM- 
 MAIRE FRANCAISE. Crown Sve. 
 is. dd. 
 
 Andrewes (Bishop). PRECES PRI- 
 VATAE. Edited, with Notes, by F. E. 
 BRIGHTMAN, M. A., of Pusey House, Oxford. 
 Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 Anglo-Australian. AFTER-GLOW ME- 
 MORIES. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 Aristophanes. THE FROGS. Translated 
 into English by E. W. HUNTINGFORD, 
 M.A., Professor of Classics in Trinity 
 College, Toronto. Crown &vo. as. dd. 
 
 Aristotle. THENICOMACHEAN 
 ETHICS. Edited, with an Introduction 
 and Notes, by JOHN BURNET, M.A., Pro- 
 fessor of Greek at St. Andrews. Demy 8vo. 
 i of. dd. net. 
 
 Ashton (R.). See Little Blue Books. 
 
 Askham (Richard). THE LIFE OF 
 WALT WHITMAN. With Portraits and 
 Illustrations. Demy Svo. tos. 6d. net. 
 A Colonial Edition is also published. 
 
 Atkins (H. G.). See Oxford Biographies. 
 
 Atkinson (C. M.). JEREMY BENTHAM. 
 Demy 8vo. 5*. net.
 
 GENERAL LITERATURE 
 
 Atkinson (T. D.). A SHORT HISTORY 
 OF ENGLISH ARCHITECTURE. 
 With over 300 Illustrations by the Author 
 and others. Feat, 8v0. y. 6d. net. 
 
 A GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED IN 
 ENGLISH ARCHITECTURE. Fcap. 
 Kva. y. (xf. net. 
 
 Auden (T.), M.A, F.S.A. See Ancient Cities. 
 
 Aureliua (Marcus). See Standard Lib- 
 rary. 
 
 Austen (Jane). See Little Library and 
 Standard Library. 
 
 Aves (Ernest), bee Books on Business. 
 
 Bacon (Francis). See Little Library and 
 Standard Library. 
 
 Baden-Powell (B. S. S.), Major-General. 
 THE DOWNFALL OF PREMPEH. A 
 Diary of Life in Ashanti, 1895. With 21 
 Illustrations and a Map. Third Edition. 
 Large Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 A Colonial Edition is also published. 
 
 THE MATABELE CAMPAIGN, 1896. 
 With nearly 100 Illustrations. Fourth and 
 Cheaper Edition. Large Crown Svo. 6s. 
 A Colonial Edition is also published. 
 
 Bailey (J. C.), M.A. See Cowper. 
 
 Baker (W. G.), M.A. See Junior Examina- 
 tion Series. 
 
 Baker (Julian L,), F.I.C..F.C.S. See Books 
 
 on Business. 
 
 Balfour (Graham). THE LIFE OF 
 ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON. Second 
 Edition. Two Volumes. Demy Bvo. 25*. 
 net. 
 A Colonial Edition is also published. 
 
 Bally (S. E.X See Commercial Series. 
 
 Banks (Elizabeth L.). THE AUTO- 
 BIOGRAPHY OF A 'NEWSPAPER 
 GIRL.' With a Portrait of the Author and 
 her Doe. Second Edition. Crenvn Svo. 6s. 
 A Colonial Edition is also published. 
 
 Barham (R. H.). See Little Library. 
 
 Baring <The Hon. Maurice). WITH 
 THE RUSSIANS IN MANCHURIA. 
 Second Edition. DetnyBvo. fs.6d.net. 
 A Colonial Edition is alsooublished. 
 
 Baring Gould (S.). THE LIFE OF 
 NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. With over 
 450 Illustrations in the Text, and 12 Photo- 
 gravure Plates. Gilt top. Large quarto. 
 36*. 
 
 THE TRAGEDY OF THE C/ESARS. 
 With numerous Illustrations from Busts. 
 Gems, Cameos, etc. Fifth Edition, Royal 
 S-'o. iof. 6ef. net. 
 
 A BOOK OF FAIRY TALES. With 
 numerous Illustrations and Initial Letters 
 by ARTHUR J. GASKIN. Second Edition. 
 Crown BTO. Buckram. 6s. 
 
 A BOOK OF BRITTANY. With numerous 
 Illustrations. Crenvn Bro. 6s. 
 
 OLD ENGLISH FAIRY TALES. With 
 numerous Illustrations by F. D. BEDFORD. 
 Second Edition. Crmyn Svo. Buckram. 6s. 
 A Colonial Edition is also published. 
 
 THE VICAR OF MORWENSTOW : A 
 Biography. A new and Revised Edition. 
 With a Portrait. Crown 8vo. y. 6d. 
 
 DARTMOOR : A Descriptive and Historical 
 Sketch. With Plans and numerous Illus- 
 trations. Crown Si'O. 6s. 
 
 THE BOOK OF THE WEST. With 
 numerous Illustrations. Tviovolumes, Vol. i. 
 Devon. Second Edition. Vol. n. Cornwall 
 Second Edition. Crown Bvo. 6s. each. 
 
 A BOOK OF NORTH WALES. With 
 numerous Illustrations. Crown vo. 6s. 
 
 A BOOK OF SOUTH WALES. With 
 many Illustrations. Crown &vo. 6s. 
 
 THE RIVIERA. With many Illustrations. 
 Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 A Colonial Edition is also published. 
 
 A BOOK OF GHOSTS. With 8 Illustra- 
 tions by D. Murray Smith. Second Edition. 
 Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 A Colonial Edition is also published. 
 
 OLD COUNTRY LIFE. With 67 Illustra- 
 tions. Fifth Edition. Large Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 A GARLAND OF COUNTRY SONG: 
 English Folk Songs with their Traditional 
 Melodies. Collected and arranged by S. 
 BAKING-GOULD and H. F. SHBPPARD. 
 Demy 4(0. 6s. 
 
 SONGS OF THE WEST : Traditional Ballads 
 and Songs of the West of England , with their 
 Melodies. Collected by S. BARING-GOULD, 
 M.A., and H. F. SHEPPARD, M.A. In 4 
 Parts. Parts /., //., ///., is. 6d. each. 
 Part IV., 4*. In One Volume, PaperSides, 
 Cloth Back, iQf. net. ; Roan, 15*. 
 
 See also The Little Guides and Half- 
 Crown Library. 
 
 Barker (Aldred F.). See Textbooks of 
 
 Technology. 
 Barnes (W. E.), D.D. See Churchman's 
 
 Bible. 
 
 Barnett (Mrs. P. A.). See Little Library. 
 Baron(R. R. N.), M.A. FRENCH PROSE 
 
 COMPOSITION. Second Edition. Cr.Bro. 
 
 is. 6d. Key, 3*. net. See also Junior School 
 
 Books. 
 Barren (H. M.), M.A.. Wadham College, 
 
 Oxford. TEXTS FOR SERMONS. Will. 
 
 a Preface by Canon SCOTT HOLLAND. 
 
 Crown &vo. 3* . 6d. 
 Bastable (C. Fi), M.A. See Social Questions 
 
 Batson '(Mrs. Stephen). A BOOK OF 
 THE COUNTRY AND THE GARDEN. 
 Illustrated by F. CARRUTHERS GOULD and 
 A. C. GOULD. Demy 8vt>. 10*. 6d. 
 
 A CONCISE HANDBOOK OF GARDEN 
 FLOWERS. Feat. Zvo. y. 6d. 
 
 Batten (Loring W.), Ph.D., S.T.D., Some 
 
 time Professor in the Philadelphia Divinity 
 School. THE HELREW PROPHET. 
 Crmun 8vo. 3*. 6d. net. 
 Beaman(A. Hulme). PONS ASINORUM ; 
 OR. A GUIDE TO BRIDGE. Sttond 
 Edition. J-'ca/. Sw, as.
 
 MESSRS. METHUEN'S CATALOGUE 
 
 Beard (W. S.). See Junior Examination 
 Series and Beginner's Books. 
 
 Beckford (Peter). THOUGHTS ON 
 HUNTING. Edited by J. OTHO PAGET, 
 and Illustrated by G. H. JALLAND. Second 
 and Cheaper Edition, Demy Svo. 6s. 
 
 Beckford (William). See Little Library. 
 
 Beeching (H. C.), M.A., Canon of West- 
 minster. See Library of Devotion. 
 
 Begbie (Harold). MASTER WORKERS. 
 With Illustrations. Demy 8vo. js. 6d. net. 
 
 Behmen( Jacob). DIALOGUES ON THE 
 SUPERSENSUAL LIFE. Edited by 
 BERNARD HOLLAND. Fcap. &vo. 3$. 6d. 
 
 BellOC(Hilaire). PARIS, With Maps and 
 Illustrations. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 Bellot(H. H.L.), M.A. THE INNER AND 
 MIDDLE TEMPLE. With numerous 
 Illustrations. Crown Svo. 6s. net. 
 See also L. A. A- Jones. 
 
 Bennett ( W. H.), M.A. A PRIMER OF 
 THE BIBLE. Second Edition. Cr. 8vo. 
 
 2S. fid. 
 
 Bennett (W. H.) and Adeney (W. F.). A 
 BIBLICAL INTRODUCTION. Second 
 Edition. Crown Svo. -?s. 6d. 
 
 Benson (Archbishop). GOD'S BOARD: 
 Communion Addresses. Fcap. &vo, 3.1. 6d. 
 net. 
 
 Benson^ (A. C.), M.A. See Oxford Bio- 
 graphies. 
 
 Benson (R. M.). THE WAY OF HOLI- 
 NESS: a Devotional Commentary on the 
 ngth Psalm. Crown 8vo. $s. 
 
 Bernard (E. R.), M.A., Canon of Salisbury. 
 THE ENGLISH SUNDAY. Fcap. &vo. 
 is. 6d. 
 
 Bertouch (Baroness de). THE LIFE 
 OF FATHER IGNATIUS, O.S.B., THE 
 MONK OF LLANTHONY. With Illus- 
 trations. Demy &vo. _ los. 6d. net. 
 A Colonial Edition is also published. 
 
 Betham-Edwards (M.). HOME LIFE IN 
 FRANCE. With many Illustrations. 
 Third Edition. Denty Svo. js. 6d. net. 
 
 Bethune-Baker (J. P.), M.A., Fellow of 
 
 Pembroke College, Cambridge. See Hand- 
 books of Theology. 
 
 Bidez (M.). See Byzantine Texts. 
 
 BiggS (C. E. D.), D.D. See Churchman's 
 Bible. 
 
 Bindley (T. Herbert), B.D. THE OECU- 
 MENICAL DOCUMENTS OF THE 
 FAITH. With Introductions and Notes. 
 Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 Binyon (Laurence). THE DEATH OF 
 ADAM, AND OTHER POEMS. Crown 
 &vo. 3.?. 6d. net. 
 
 ^WILLIAM BLAKE. In 2 volumes. 
 Quarto. i, is. each. Vol. I. 
 
 Birnstingl (Ethel). See Little Books on Art. 
 
 Blair (Robert). See Illustrated Pocket 
 Library. 
 
 Blake (William). See Illustrated Pocket 
 Library and Little Library. 
 
 Blaxlaud (B.)., M.A, See Library o 
 Devotion. 
 
 Bloom (T. Harvey), M.A. SHAKE- 
 SPEARE'S GARDEN. With Illus- 
 trations. Fcap. 8vo. y- 6d. ', leather^ 4.?. 6d. 
 net. 
 
 BlOUCt (Henri). See Beginner's Books. 
 
 Boardman (T. H.), M.A. See Text Books 
 of Technology. 
 
 Bodley (J. E. C). Author of ' France.' THE 
 CORONATION OF EDWARD VII. 
 Demy 8vo. 21$. net. By Command of the 
 
 Body S (George), D.D. THE SOUL'S 
 PILGRIMAGE : Devotional Readings 
 from his published and unpublished writings. 
 Selected and arranged by J. H. BURN, B.D. 
 F. R. S. E. Pott Svo. ss. kd. 
 
 Bona (Cardinal). See Library of Devotion. 
 
 Boon (F. C-). See Commercial Series. 
 
 Borrow (George). See Little Library. 
 
 Bos (J. Ritzema). AGRICULTURAL 
 ZOOLOGY. Translated by J. R. AINS- 
 WORTH DAVIS, M.A. With an Introduction 
 by ELEANOR A. ORMEROD, F.E.S. With 
 155 Illustrations. Crou'nSz'o. Third Edition. 
 3$. 6d. 
 
 Botting (C. G.), B.A. EASY GREEK 
 EXERCISES. Crown 8vo. zs. See also 
 Junior Examination Series. 
 
 Boulton (E. S.), M.A. GEOMETRY ON 
 MODERN LINES. Crown &vo. 2*. 
 
 Boulton (William B.). THOMAS 
 GAINSBOROUGH : His Life, Times, 
 Work, Sitters, and Friends. With 40 Illus- 
 trations. Demy %vo. vs. 6d. net. 
 
 SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS. With 49 
 Illustrations. Demy'&vo. TS. 6d. net. 
 
 Bowden (E. M.). THE IMITATION OF 
 BUDDHA : Being Quotations from 
 Buddhist Literature for each Day in the 
 Year. Fifth Edition. Crown 161110. 2s. 6d. 
 
 Boyle (W.). CHRISTMAS AT THE ZOO. 
 With Verses by W. BOVLE and 24 Coloured 
 Pictures by H. B. NEILSON. Super Royal 
 
 l6tO. 2S. 
 
 Brabant (F. G.), M.A. See Little Guides. 
 
 Brodrick(Mary) and Morton (Anderson). 
 A CONCISE HANDBOOK OF EGYP- 
 TIAN ARCH/EOLOGY. With many 
 Illustrations. Crown &vo. 3*. 6d. 
 
 Brooke (A. S..) M.A. SLINGSBY AND 
 SLINGSBY CASTLE. With many Illus- 
 trations. Crown Svo. js. 6d. 
 
 Brooks (E. W. ). See Byzantine Tests. 
 
 BrOWn (P. H.), Fraser Professor of Ancient 
 (Scottish) History at the University of Edin- 
 burgh. SCOTLAND IN THE TIME OF 
 QUEEN MARY. Demy Svo. 7*. 6d. net. 
 
 Browne (Sir Thomas). See Standard 
 Library. 
 
 BrowneU (C. L.). THE HEART OF 
 JAPAN. Illustrated. Third Edition. 
 Crmvn 8vo. 6s. ; also Demy Svo. 6d. 
 A Colonial Edition is also published.
 
 GENERAL LITERATURE 
 
 Browning (Robert). See Little Library. 
 Bucklaud (Francis T.). CURIOSITIES 
 
 OF NATURAL HISTORY. With Illus- 
 
 trations by HARRY 15. NBILSON. Crown 
 
 Sro. 3*. 6d. 
 Buckton (A. M.). THE BURDEN OF 
 
 ENGELA: a Ballad- Epic. Second Edi- 
 
 tion. Croivn Zvo. v. &/. net. 
 EAGER HEART : A Mystery Play. Third 
 
 Edition. Crown 8vo. is. net. 
 Budge (E. A. Wallis). THE GODS OF 
 
 THE EGYPTIANS. With over 100 
 
 Coloured Plates and many Illustrations. 
 
 Two Volumes. Royal &vo. 3, y. net. 
 Bull (Paul), Army Chaplain. GOD AND 
 
 OUR SOLDIERS. Second Edition. 
 
 Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 A Colonial Edition is also published. 
 Bulley (Miss). See Social Questions 
 
 Bunyan (John). THE PILGRIM'S PRO- 
 GRESS. Edited, with an Introduction, 
 by C H. FISTH, M.A. With 39 Illustra- 
 tions by R. ANNING BELL. Cr. Bvo. 6s. 
 See also Library of Devotion and Standard 
 
 . J.), M.A., F.R.S. A MANUAL 
 OF ELECTRICAL SCIENCE. With 
 numerous Illustrations. Crown Zvo. is. 
 
 Burgess (Gelett). GOOPS AND HOW 
 TO BE THEM. With numerous Illustra- 
 tions. Small 4/0. 6s. 
 
 Burke (Edmund). See Standard Library. 
 
 Burn (A. E.), D.D., Prebendary of Lichfield. 
 See Handbooks of Theology. 
 
 Burn ( J. H. ), B. D. See Library of Devotion . 
 
 Burnand (Sir F. C.). RECORDS AND 
 REMINISCENCES, PERSONAL AND 
 GENERAL, With a Portrait by H. v. 
 HERKOMER. Crown Bvo. Fourth and 
 Cheaper Edition. 6s. 
 A Colonial Edition is also published. 
 
 Burns (Robert), THE POEMS OF. 
 Edited by ANDREW LANG and W. A. 
 CRAIGIE. With Portrait. Third Edition. 
 Demy Zvo. gilt top. 6s. 
 
 Burnside (W. P.), M.A. OLD TESTA- 
 MENT HISTORY FOR USE IN 
 SCHOOLS. Crown Zvo. 31. 6d. 
 
 Burton (Alfred). See Illustrated Pocket 
 Library. 
 
 *Bussell (F. W.), D.D., Fellow and Vice- 
 President of 15rasenose College, Oxford. 
 CHRISTIANTHEOLOGYAND 
 SOCIAL PROGRESS: The Bamp- 
 ton Lectures for 1905. Demy Zvo. ias. 6d. 
 net. 
 
 Butler (Joseph). See Standard Library. 
 
 Caldecott (Alfred), D.D. See Handbooks 
 of Theology. 
 
 Calderwood (D. S.), Headmaster of the Nor- 
 mal School, Edinburgh. TEST CARDS 
 IN EUCLID AND ALGEBRA. In three 
 packets of 40, with Answers, is. each. Or 
 in three Books, price id., ad., and 3d. 
 
 Cambridge (Ada) [Mrs. Cross]. THIRTY 
 YEARS IN AUSTRALIA. Demy Zvo. 
 7 s.6J. 
 A Colonial Edition is also published. 
 
 Canning (George). See Little Library. 
 
 Capey (E. F. HO- See Oxford Biographies. 
 
 Careless (John). See Illustrated Pocket 
 
 Cariyle(Thoma8). THE FRENCH RE- 
 VOLUTION. Edited by C, R. L. 
 FLETCHER, Fellow of Magdalen College, 
 Oxford. Three Volumes. Crown Boo. 18*. 
 
 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF OLIVER 
 CROMWELL. With an Introduction 
 by C. H. FIRTH, M.A., and Notes and 
 Appendices by Mrs. S. C. LOMAS. Three 
 Volumes. Demy Zvo. iZs. net. 
 
 Carlyle (R. M. and A. J.), M.A. See 
 
 Leaders of Religion. 
 'Carpenter (Margaret). THE CHILD 
 
 IN ART. With numerous Illustrations. 
 
 Croivn Zvo. 6s. 
 
 Chamberlin (Wilbur B .). ORDERED 
 TO CHINA. Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 A Colonial Edition is also published. 
 
 Channer (C. C.) and Roberts (M. E.). 
 LACE-MAKING IN THE MIDLANDS, 
 PAST AND PRESENT. With 16 full- 
 page Illustrations. Crown Zvo. is. 6d. 
 
 ChattertOn (Thomas). See Methuen's 
 Standard Library. 
 
 Chesterfield (Lord), THE LETTERS OF, 
 TO HIS SON. Edited, with an Introduc- 
 tion by C. STRACHEV, and Notes by A. 
 CALTHROP. Two Volumes. Cr. Zvo. i?s. 
 
 Chesterton (0. K.). DICKENS. With 
 Portraits and Illustrations. Demy Svo. 
 7S. 6d. net. 
 A Colonial Edition is also published. 
 
 Christian (F. W.) THE CAROLINE 
 ISLANDS. With many Illustrafons and 
 Maps. Demy Zvo. iis.6d.net. 
 
 Cicero. See Classical Translations. 
 
 Clarke (F. A.), M.A. See Leaders of 
 Religion. 
 
 Cleather (A. L.) and Crump (B.). 
 RICHARD WAGNERS MUSIC 
 DRAMAS : Interpretations, embodying 
 Wagner's own explanations. In Four 
 Volumes. Fcap Bvo. as. 6d. each. 
 VOL. i. THE RING OF THE NIBELUNG. 
 VOL. it. PARSIFAL, LOHENGRIN, and 
 
 THE HOLY GRAIL. 
 VOL. H. TRISTAN AND ISOLDE. 
 
 Clinch (Q. ) See Little Guides. 
 
 ClOUgh (W. T.), See Junior School Books. 
 
 Coast (W. O), B.A. EXAMINATION 
 PAPERS IN VERGIL. Crown Zvo. 2*. 
 
 Cobb (T.). See Little Blue Books. 
 
 Cobb (W. F.),.M.A. THE BOOK OF 
 PSALMS : with a Commentary. Demy 
 8vo. tos. 6d. net, 
 
 Coleridge (8. T.), SELECTIONS FROM, 
 Edited by ARTHUR SYMOKS. Fcaf. Zvo, 
 as.6d.net.
 
 MESSRS. METHUEN'S CATALOGUE 
 
 Collins (W. E.), M.A. Sec Churchman's 
 Library. 
 
 Coionna. HYPNEROTOMACHIA POLI- 
 
 PHILI UBI HUMANA OMNIA NON 
 NISI SOMNIUM ESSE DOCET 
 ATQUE OBITER PLURIMA SCITU 
 SANE QUAM DIGNA COMMEMO- 
 RAT. An edition limited to 350 copies on 
 handmade paper. Folio. Three Guineas net. 
 
 Combe (William). See Illustrated Pocket 
 Library. 
 
 Cook (A. M.), M. A. See E. C. Marchant. 
 
 Cooke-Taylor (R. W-). See Social Ques- 
 tions Series. 
 
 Corelli (Marie). THE PASSING OF THE 
 GREAT QUEEN : A Tribute to the 
 Noble Life of Victoria Regina. Small 
 
 A CHRISTMAS GREETING. Sm. 4 rX w. 
 
 Corkran (Alice). See Little Books on Art. 
 
 Cotes (Rosemary). DANTE'S GARDEN. 
 With a Frontispiece. Second Edition. 
 Fcap. 8v0, 2s. 6d.; leather, y. 6d. net. 
 
 BIBLE FLOWERS. With a Frontispiece 
 and Plan. Fcap. 80. vs. 6d. net. 
 
 Cowley (Abraham). See Little Library. 
 
 Cowper (William), THE POEMS OF. 
 Edited with an Introduction and Notes by 
 J. C. BAILEY, M.A. With Illustrations, 
 including two unpublished designs by 
 WILLIAM BLAKE. Two Volumes. Demy 
 &V0 IDS. 6rf. net. 
 
 COX (J. Charles), LL.D., F.S.A. See Little 
 Guides, The Antiquary's Books, and Ancient 
 Cities. 
 
 COX (Harold), B.A. See Social Questions 
 Series. 
 
 Crabbe (George). See Little Library. 
 
 Craigie(W. A.). A PRIMER OF BURNS. 
 Crown 8va. 2s. 6d. 
 
 Craik (Mrs.). See Little Library. 
 
 Crashaw (Richard). See Little Library. 
 
 Crawford (F. G.). See Mary C. Danson. 
 
 Crouch. (W.). BRYAN KING. With a 
 Portrait. Crown 8vo. y. 6d. net. 
 
 Cruikshank (G.) THE LOVING BAL- 
 LAD OF LORD BATEMAN. With n 
 Plates. Crown i6mo. is. 6d. net. 
 
 From the edition published by C. Tilt, 
 1811. 
 
 Crump (B.). See A. L. Cleather. 
 
 Cunliffe (F. H. E.), Fellow of All Souls' 
 College, Oxford. THE HISTORY OF 
 THE BOER WAR. With many Illus- 
 trations, Plans, and Portraits. In 2 vols. 
 Quarto. 15.5. each. 
 
 CuttS (E. L.), D. D. See Leaders of Religion. 
 
 Daniell (G. W.)., M.A. See Leaders of 
 Religion. 
 
 Danson (Mary C.) and Crawford (F. 
 
 G.). FATHERS IN THE FAITH. 
 
 Small Bv0 is. 6d. 
 Dante. LA COMMEDIA DI DANTE. 
 
 The Italian Text edited by PAGET TOYNBEE, 
 
 Mi A., D.Liu. CrownSvo. 6s. 
 
 THE PURGATORIO OF DANTE. 
 
 Translated into Spenserian Prose by C. 
 
 GORDON WRIGHT. With the Italian text. 
 
 Fcap. &V0. 2S. 6d. net. 
 
 See also Paget Toynbee and Little Library. 
 
 Bar ley (George). See Little Library. 
 
 D'Arcy (R. F.), M.A. A NEW TRIGON- 
 OMETRY FOR BEGINNERS. Crown 
 6v0. us. 6d. 
 
 Davenport (Cyril). See Connoisseur's 
 Libtary and Little Books on Art. 
 
 Davis (H. W. C.), M.A., Fellow and Tutor 
 of Balliol College, Author of ' Charlemagne.' 
 ENGLAND UNDER THE NORMANS 
 AND ANGEVINS: 1066-1072. With 
 Maps and Illustrations. Demy 8vo. IDS. 6d. 
 net. 
 
 Dawson (A. J.). MOROCCO. Being a 
 bundle of jottings, notes, impressions, 
 tales, and tributes. With many Illustra- 
 tions. Demy 8v0. los. 6d. net. 
 
 Deane (A. C.). See Little Library. 
 
 Deibos (Leon). THE METRIC SYSTEM. 
 
 Crmvn Zvo. vs. 
 
 Demosthenes. THE OLYNTHIACS AND 
 PHILIPPICS. Translated upon a new 
 principle by OTHO HOLLAND Crown Sro. 
 
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 16 
 
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 22 
 
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 [Continvtd.
 
 26 
 
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 GENERAL LITERATURE 
 
 27 
 
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 FICTION 
 
 
 33 
 
 t EGGY OF THE BARTONS. Sixth Edit. 
 
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 FICTION 
 
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 WHEN VALMOND CAME TO PONTI AC : 
 
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 living romance. The character of Valmond 
 
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 MESSRS. METHUEN'S CATALOGUE 
 
 AN ADVENTURER OF THE NORTH : 
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 I CROWN THEE KING. With Illustra- 
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 BRENDLE. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 'Q,' Author of 'Dead Man's Rock.' THE 
 
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 FlCTIOK 
 
 37 
 
 Weyman (Stanley), Author of ' A Gentleman 
 of France.' UNDER THE RED ROBE. 
 With Illustrations by R. C. WOODVILLE. 
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 See also Strand Novels. 
 Williamson (C. N. and A. M.). THE 
 
 LIGHTNING CONDUCT OR: Rein* the 
 
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 TwelfUi Edition. Crown 6vo. 6s. 
 THE PRINCESS PASSES. Illustrated. 
 
 fifth Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 MY FRIEND THE CHAUFFEUR. With 
 
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 Methuen's Strand Novels 
 
 Crown Svo. Cloth, is. net. 
 
 ENCOURAGED by the great and steady sale of their Sixpenny Novels, Messrs. Methuen have 
 determined to issue a new series of fiction at a low price under the title of ' METHUEN'S STRAND 
 NOVELS.' These books are well printed and well bound in cloth, and the excellence of their 
 quality may be gauged from the names of those authors who contribute the early volumes of 
 the series. 
 
 Messrs. Methuen would point out that the books are as good and as lone : s a six shilling 
 novel, that they are bound in cloth and not in paper, and that their price is One Shilling net. 
 They feel sure that the public will appreciate such good and cheap literature, and the books can 
 be seen at all good booksellers. 
 The first volumes are 
 
 Balfour (Andrew). VENGEANCE 
 
 IS 
 
 MINE. 
 TO ARMS. 
 Baring-Gould (S,). MRS. CURGENVEN 
 
 OF CURGENVEN. 
 DOMITIA. 
 THE FROBISHERS. 
 BarlOW (Jane). Author of 'Irish Idylls. 
 
 FROM THE EAST UNTO THE 
 
 WEST 
 
 A CREEL OF IRISH STORIES. 
 THE FOUNDING OF FORTUNES. 
 Barr (Robert). THE VICTORS. 
 Bartram (George). THIRTEEN EVEN- 
 
 INGS. 
 Benson (E. P.), Author of 'Dodo.' THE 
 
 CAPS1NA. 
 Besant (Sir Walter). 
 
 TRYST. 
 
 JOHN TOPP. 
 
 Clifford (Mrs. W. K.). A FLASH OF 
 
 SUMMER. 
 Collingwood (Harry). THE DOCTOR 
 
 OFTHE 'JULIET.' 
 Cornfield (L. Cope). SONS OF ADVER- 
 
 S1TY. 
 Crane (Stephen). WOUNDS IN THK 
 
 RAIN. 
 Denny (C. E.). THE ROMANCE OF 
 
 UPFOLD MANOR. 
 Dickson (Harris). THE BLACK WOLF'S 
 
 BREED. 
 
 Embree (C. P.). HEART OF FLAME. 
 Fenn (G. Manville). AN ELECTRIC 
 
 SPARK. 
 
 Findlater (Mary). OVER THE HILLS. 
 A FIVE-YEARS' ! Forrest (R. E.). THE SWORD OF 
 
 AZRAEI- 
 
 Bowles (G. Stewart). A STRETCH OFF ; Francis (M. E.). MISS ERIN. 
 
 tji? i AViri riallnn <Tnm\ K Tl 'k K.RRV'S ' 
 
 THE LAND. 
 Brooke (Emma). THE POET'S CHILD. 
 Bullock (Shan F.). THE BARRYS. 
 THE CHARMER. 
 THE SQUIREEN. 
 THE RED LEAGUERS. 
 Burton (J. BloundeUe). ACROSS THE 
 
 SALT SEAS. 
 THE CLASH OF ARMS. 
 DENOUNCED. 
 Chesney (Weatherby). THE BAPTIST 
 
 RING. 
 
 THE BRANDED PRINCE. 
 THE FOUNDERED GALLEON. 
 
 Gallon (Tom). RICKERBY'S FOLLY. 
 Gerard (Dorothea). THINGS THAT 
 
 HAVE HAPPENED. 
 Glanville (Ernest). THE DESPATCH 
 
 RIDER. 
 
 THE LOST REGIMENT. . 
 THE INCA'S TREASURE. 
 Gordon (Julien). MRS. CLYDE. 
 WORLD'S PEOPLE. 
 GOBS (C. P.). THE REDEMPTION OF 
 
 DAVID CORSON. 
 
 Hales (A. 0.). JA1R THE APOSTATE. 
 Hamilton (Lord Ernest). MARY HA.M1L. 
 
 TON.
 
 MESSRS. METHUEN'S CATALOGUE 
 
 Harrison (Mrs. Burton). A PRINCESS- 
 
 OF THE HILLS. Illustrated. 
 
 Hooper (I.). THE SINGER OF MARLY. 
 
 Hough (Emerson). THE MISSISSIPPI 
 BUBBLE. 
 
 'Iota' (Mrs. Caffyn). ANNE MAULE- 
 VERER. 
 
 Kelly (Florence Finch). WITH HOOPS 
 OF STEEL. 
 
 Lawless (Hon. Emily). MAELCHO. 
 
 Linden (Annie). A WOMAN OF SENTI- 
 MENT. 
 
 Lorimer (Norma). JOSIAH'S WIFE. 
 
 Lush (Charles K). THE AUTOCRATS. 
 
 Macdonnell (A.). THE STORY OF 
 TERESA. 
 
 Macgrath (Harold). THE PUPPET 
 CROWN. 
 
 Mackie (Pauline Bradford). THE VOICE 
 IN THE DESERT. 
 
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 THE UNSEEN. 
 
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 TILIOUS. 
 
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 SENSE. 
 
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 Penny (Mrs. F. A.). A MIXED MARRI? 
 
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 NORTH AND SOUTH.
 
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 Gerard (Dorothea). HOLY MATRI- 
 MONY. 
 
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 LER. 
 
 THE CROWN OF LIFE. 
 
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 TREASURE. 
 
 THE KLOOF BRIDE. 
 
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 FAIRY TALES. Illustrated. 
 
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 A CHANGE OF AIR. 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF COUNT 
 ANTONIO. 
 
 PHROSO. 
 
 THE DOLLY DIALOGUES. 
 
 Hornung (E. W.). DEAD MEN TELL 
 NO TALES. 
 
 Ingraham (J. H.). THE THRONE OF 
 DAVID. 
 
 Le Queux (W.). THE HUNCHBACK OF 
 WESTMINSTER. 
 
 Linton (E. Lynn). THE TRUE HIS- 
 TORY OF JOSHUA DAVIDSON. 
 
 Lyall (Edna). DERRICK VAUGHAN. 
 
 Malet (Lucas). THE CARISSIMA. 
 
 A COUNSEL OF PERFECTION. 
 
 Mann (Mrs. M. E.) MRS. PETER 
 HOWARD. 
 
 A LOST ESTATE. 
 
 THE CEDAR STAR. 
 
 Marchmont (A. W.). MISER HOAD- 
 LEY'S SECRET. 
 
 A MOMENT'S ERROR. 
 
 Marryat (Captain). PETER SIMPLE. 
 
 JACOB FAITHFUL. 
 
 Marsh (Richard). THE TWICKENHAM 
 PEERAGE 
 
 THE GODDESS. 
 
 THE JOSS. 
 
 Mason (A. E. W.). CLEMENTINA. 
 
 Mathers (Helen). HONEY. 
 
 GRIFF OF GRIFFITHSCOURT. 
 
 SAM'S SWEETHEART. 
 
 MeadelMrs.L. T.>. DRIFT. 
 
 Mitford (Bertram). THE SIGN OF THE 
 SPIDER. 
 
 Montr<sor(F.F.). THE ALIEN. 
 
 Moore (Arthur). THE GAY DECEIVERS 
 Morrison (Arthur). THE HOLE IN 
 
 THE WALL. 
 
 Nesbit (E.). THE RED HOUSE. 
 Norris (W. E.). HIS GRACE. 
 GILES INGILBY. 
 THE CREDIT OF THE COUNTY. 
 LORD LEONARD. 
 MATTHEW AUSTIN. 
 CLARISSA FURIOSA. 
 
 Oliphant (Mrs.). THE LADY'S WALK. 
 
 SIR ROBERT'S FORTUNE. 
 
 Oppenheim (E. Phillips). MASTER OF 
 
 MEN. 
 Parker (Gilbert). THE POMP OF THE 
 
 LAVILETTES. 
 
 WHEN VALMOND CAME TO PONTIAC. 
 THE TRAIL OF THE SWORD. 
 Pemberton (Max). THE FOOTSTEPS 
 
 OF A THRONE. 
 I CROWN THEE KING. 
 Phillpotts (Eden). THE HUMAN BOY. 
 CHILDREN OF THE MIST. 
 Ridge (W.Pett). A SON OF THE STATE. 
 LOST PROPERTY. 
 GEORGE AND THE GENERAL. 
 
 Russell (W. Clark). A MARRIAGE AT 
 
 SEA. 
 
 ABANDONED. 
 
 MY DANISH SWEETHEART. 
 Sergeant (Adeline), THE MASTER OF 
 
 BEECHWOOD. 
 BARBARA'S MONEY. 
 THE YELLOW DIAMOND. 
 Surtees (R. S.). HANDLEY CROSS. 
 
 Illustrated. 
 MR. SPONGE'S SPORTING TOUR. 
 
 Illustrated. 
 
 ASK MAMMA. Illustrated. 
 Valentine (Major E. S.). VELDT AND 
 
 LAAGER. 
 
 Walford (Mrs. L. B.) MR. SMITH. 
 THE BABY'S GRANDMOTHER. 
 
 Wallace (General Lew). BEN-HUR. 
 THE FAIR GOD. 
 
 Watson (H. B. Harriot). THE ADVEN- 
 TURERS. 
 
 Weekes (A. B.). PRISONERS OF WAR. 
 WellB(H.G.). THE STOLEN BACILLUS.
 
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