"By Harry! then I suppose I've put my foot into it!" he gasped.
"Into what?" asked Robert, although he guessed at the truth.
"Why I--that is--you see I collared him on the road and I couldn't help but give him the worst trouncing I guess he ever got in his life. He threatened to have me locked up, so I thought I would come here and explain matters."
"You caught Frederic Vernon up on the cliff road?" asked Mrs. Vernon.
"I did, madam--jest after he had up and scared your horses so that they ran away."
"Then it was Frederic, beyond a doubt," murmured the lady faintly.
"He said as how he had done it only in fun," went on the English farmer. "But I said it was mighty poor fun, and he deserved a thrashing."
"And then you whipped him?" said Robert.
"No, I didn't trounce him until after he got impudent and told me to shut up and mind my own affairs. I told him he might have killed both on you."
"And what did he say to that?" asked our hero curiously.