'Do not be so sure of that,' said Taverner.
'I am sure. I have seen the parchments.'
'I know them better than you,' laughed Langford. Then he went to the stile to leave the field.
'I'll have the law of you,' shouted Hillary; 'you are trespassing on my land.'
'I trespassing!' mocked Langford; 'this is a stile leading to Swaddledown.'
'There is no right of way here. This is a private stile leading only to the Look-out Stone. I will have the law of you, I swear.'
Thus it was that the friendship of twenty-two years was broken, and the brothers-in-law became declared and deadly enemies. The friendship was broken irremediably by an insect almost microscopic—a little scarlet spider no larger than a mustard-seed, invested by popular superstition with the power of spinning money in the pocket of him who secures it.
CHAPTER III
WELLON'S CAIRN.
Whilst Hillary Nanspian and Taverner Langford were falling out over a minute red spider, Hillary junior, or Larry as he was called by his intimates, was talking to Honor Luxmore in a nook of the rubble of Wellon's Cairn.