'A black man! away with such folly. The black man is the stump of that old tree covered with ivy, so you are a coward, after all.'
Mary had come up now, breathless.
'Ambrose, Ambrose, why did you run like that?'
'I saw a black man,' the child repeated, 'and I wanted to get to the gate.'
Mary said not a word, but, taking the boy's hand, held it fast, and went towards the house.
CHAPTER V
RESISTANCE
'God giveth heavenly grace unto such as call unto Him with outstretched hands and humble heart; never wanting to those that want not to themselves.'—Sir T. Wilson, 1554.
The two brothers, Humphrey and George Ratcliffe, left Mary Gifford and Lucy at the gate of Ford Place.