They walked down the road and across a stile. The stile led to a field that bordered the Grange. Suddenly they stopped. A small white figure was crawling through a gap in the hedge from the park into the field. William had come out with no definite aim, but he began to think that Fortune had placed in his way a tempting prize. He turned round to his follower with a resonant “’Sh!”, scowled at him, placed his finger on his lips, twirled imaginary moustachios, and pulled his cap low over his eyes. Through the trees inside the park he could just see the figure of a nurse on a seat leaning against a tree trunk in an attitude of repose. Suddenly Lady Barbara looked up and espied William’s fiercely scowling face.
She put out her tongue.
William’s scowl deepened.
She glanced towards her nurse on the other side of the hedge. Her nurse still slumbered. Then she accosted William.
“Hello, funny boy!” she whispered. Rudolph of the Red Hand froze her with a glance.
“Quick!” he said. “Seize the maiden and run!”
With a dramatic gesture he seized the maiden by one hand, and Ginger seized the other. The maiden was not hard to seize. She ran along with little squeals of joy.
“Oh, what fun! What fun!” she said.
Inside the barn, William closed the door and sat at his packing-case. He took a deep draught of liquorice water and then put on his mask. His victim gave a wild scream of delight and clapped her hands.
“Oh, funny boy!” she said.