"Well, I be a man o' peace, and there's mischief to come o' this day's piece o' work, sure as I'm Sherebiah Stand-up-and-bless. 'Tis black John Simmons, Cap'n Aglionby's man."
"A scoundrel his master may well be rid of."
"Ay, if the man were dead! But he be alive; the lord didn't shoot'n at all; 'a fell off his horse and bashed his nob; an' he's got a tongue, Master Harry."
"Well, what then? If he rounds on his fellows, so much the better. What are you afraid of, Sherry?"
"I bean't afeard, not I; but the Cap'n——"
He paused, and Harry looked at him enquiringly. Sherebiah turned away.
"Ah! little sticks kindle fires, little sticks kindle fires, they do."
CHAPTER III
Master and Man
A Midnight Summons—A Warm Reception—Righteous Indignation—Aglionby Retorts—The Berkeley Arms—A Village Sensation—The Constable's Story—Aspersions—Unimpeachable References—Waylaid—Squaring Accounts—The Captain Rides Away