"You awful young dog! You saw all that from the kitchen-window, and never tried to get out of it!"
"I couldn't get out of it," pleaded the boy. "It's got a wire-net before it, and I couldn't break that."
"You are strong enough to break it ten times over," retorted Pike.
"But then master would ha' known I'd been in the mill!" cried the boy, a gleam of cunning in his eyes.
"Ugh," grunted Pike. "And you saw exactly what you've told me?"
"I saw it and heard the cries."
"Did he see you?"
"No; I was afeard to show myself. When master come home, the first thing he did was t' unlock that there staircase door, and I got out without his seeing me—"
"Where did you hide the grain you were loaded with?" demanded Pike.
"I'd emptied it out again in the store-room," returned the boy. "I told master there were a loose skiff out there, and he come out and secured it. Them harvesters come up next and got him out of the water."