"Yes, but we can watch out of the window, and we won't let a single boy up the stairs. I don't mean you to be taken a prisoner, Miss Tina."
The fun had begun. Being Saturday, the village boys were only too delighted to join the forces of the two leaders. Dawn had borrowed Christina's pony, and one of the Murphys was his standard bearer, and carried the green flag which was eventually to fly triumphantly out of the turret window, when the Union Jack that was waving there now had been captured.
Puggy was flying the Royal Standard, and he rode on his own pony at the head of his followers. Christina and Susy watched Puggy march down the drive, and from their window they saw in the woods Dawn's force gathered round him. About eleven o'clock Puggy cantered up the drive, and behind him ran two of his followers, guarding carefully two small Murphy boys who had been taken prisoners. Their arms were bound with rope. Puggy came triumphantly to the bottom of the turret stairs, and Christina and Susy ran down to meet him.
"A victory! A thousand dead! And two Irish barons prisoners!" shouted Puggy excitedly. Then he put his prisoners in a housemaid's cupboard at the bottom of the stairs.
"Guard them well!" he cried. "I've locked them in, and you keep the key. Now I'm going to return to the fight. Another battle is coming off at one o'clock!"
"But aren't you coming home to dinner?" asked Christina.
"Do soldiers ever think of dinner? But after it's over, we've got provisions, I can tell you; for Dawn's cook gave him a big basket, and we're going to capture it."
The boys disappeared.
"I think," said Susy, "I'll go down to your cook and ask her to give me some food, and I'll steal out to the woods, and take 'em to the soldiers. I'll say my mistress the countess sent me!"
"That will be lovely," said Christina; "but you mustn't take dinner to the wrong soldiers."