“Just let me ask you a question, Polly,” continued Tom. “Is your father in trouble, or James? Tell me that.”
“Yes! the revenue men have got some information against them, and are after them both.”
“Then depend on’t, Polly, the best thing for them is to give up Miss Margery before they are caught,” said Tom; “they’ll gain nothing by giving her up afterwards. The law doesn’t make terms with people.”
“But they’re terrible people who’ve got her,” answered Polly. “They’d as soon shoot you, or me, or anybody, as look at us, if we came near them.”
“We don’t fear terrible men,” said Tom, laughing, “just do you put us in the way of getting back Miss Margery, and we’ll say as many good words as we can for thy father, Polly, and for James too, if he needs them.”
“But you’ll do no harm to those who have got her, and all you’ll say is that Polly Herring, Dick Herring’s daughter, helped you to get her back,” said the girl, in a tone which showed that she still feared the consequences of what she was about to do.
Charley had not before spoken, but he now thanked her, and urged her to lose no time in restoring Margery to them.
“Come on, then,” she said, in a firm voice; “it’s a long way from here, but you may be there and back at the Tower with the little girl before daybreak.” These words made Charley’s affectionate heart beat with joy. Polly added, however, “We must be careful, though, for if we were to fall in with any of our people it would go hard with you and me too.”
Polly had well-knit limbs, and, being accustomed to active exercise, led the way at a rapid rate. She seemed well acquainted with the road, for she never stopped or hesitated as to which path to take, and Charley soon totally lost the direction in which he was going, and Tom had no little difficulty in keeping up with her.
They had thus gone on for some distance, when Polly stopped and stood as if listening.