The young man thus addressed drew himself up with a somewhat haughty air, as he replied, “I am glad to have rendered the young lady a service, sir, and require no reward for doing so; and as for punishing those fellows, I would rather have the opportunity of drubbing a few of them with my fists for worrying poor old Dame Pitt’s lame cow, than see them sent to prison for their freak. It may be all very well for them to bait their cattle when they want tender meat, but they had no business to treat that poor animal in the way they did; and I told them so when they began, and promised them I would put a stop to it.”
“You are a brave lad,” said Mr Harwood, looking at the speaker approvingly. “May I ask your name?”
“I am called Jack Deane, sir,” answered the young man, “at your service. I belong to Nottingham, and know every one of those apprentice-lads, and do not wish to bring them into trouble; but I will give the ringleaders as sound a thrashing as they ever had in their lives before long, for their conduct this day.”
“Well, well! I suppose we must leave you to settle the matter in your own way,” said Mr Harwood; “but if your name is Jack Deane, I conclude that you are the younger son of my friend Mr Jasper Deane, to whose house my daughter and I are now bending our way.”
“Yes, sir, the house of my father, Mr Deane, is situated to the south there, on the farther side of the market-place, and with your leave, sir, I will accompany you and your daughter thither, after which I must be allowed to go in search of Widow Pitt’s cow, and carry the animal back to her. I shall have time to do that and give a few of the apprentices a drubbing before dinner-time.”
Saying this, Jack Deane, putting his arms again into the sleeves of his coat, adjusted his dress, which had been somewhat disordered by the scuffle; then placing his hand on the reins of Miss Harwood’s palfrey, he walked by her side towards the house at which he had pointed.
“Well, well! I must leave you to keep order in the town, Master Deane,” said Mr Harwood, laughing; “when there is so good a guardian of the peace as you appear to be, it would be useless for me to interfere; and I would not stop you from restoring the cow to the poor widow. At the same time, I may suggest that it might be as well to let alone the drubbing of the apprentices till a more convenient season, or you may get somewhat overheated and fatigued before your appearance at the dinner-table.”
“Oh, that will be nothing, sir!” answered Jack, clutching his stout cudgel; “though to be sure the chances are that they will keep out of my way. When they get cool they will think better of it, before they will wish to encounter me. I only hope Miss Harwood’s palfrey has not suffered, or her habit either; I am sure the poor animal did not wish to do her harm.”
“Oh, no! thanks to you, Mr Deane, both my horse and I have escaped harm,” said Alethea, looking at the young man with a kind smile.
On reaching the door of Mr Deane’s house, Jack held the young lady’s bridle while she dismounted, and then insisted on taking her horse and her father’s round to the stables while they entered the house. Having unsaddled the steeds, and given them some corn and hay, he hurried off to fulfil his intention of restoring Dame Pitt’s cow to her; but he was less successful in executing his purpose of thrashing the apprentices, in consequence, as he expected would be the case, of their judiciously keeping out of his way; when, failing in his efforts to discover them, he returned home, feeling that he might defer the execution of his purpose to another opportunity, should he on further consideration deem it necessary.