“Go away, you young blackguards—­a robbin’ honest folk, and a darin’ to show yer impudent faces, and disturbin’ a dyin’ man, knowin’ as he’s too bad to give yer the hidin’ ye desarve!”

Roy was quite taken aback.

“You’re quite mistaken—­let us explain—­we’ve come to see you and do you good.  Don’t you know who we are?  We live at the Manor.  Look—­get back into bed again, you’ll take cold.  We’ve brought you some pudding.”

Here a parcel of currant pudding was taken out of his jacket pocket and held out temptingly.

“A’ don’t believe a word!  Ye’ve been in the pantry a smashin’ the missus’ things, and a eatin’ and a drinkin’ all ye can lay hands on—­begone, I tell ye!”

“That was me,” put in Dudley, edging up to the irate invalid; “you see the door was locked and we had to come in at the window, and I’m rather fat about the shoulders, and Roy jerked me through too quick and I fell amongst some plates.  But we really haven’t stolen anything, we aren’t robbers!”

“Begone, ye rascals!” repeated the old man, and then such a violent fit of coughing took possession of him that he sank back on his bed perfectly exhausted and helpless, waving them away and shaking his head at them when they tried to approach him.

Dudley looked doubtfully at Roy.

“I’m afraid we aren’t doing him any good,” he said, slowly.  “He won’t let us.”

“No,” was Roy’s response, “we must go, I suppose.  He is a foolish, stupid old man, or he would listen to us and let us explain.”

Then advancing again to the sick man Roy said slowly and solemnly, “You’ll be very sorry one day when you know how you’ve treated us, and we shall never, never try to see you again, or bring you pudding or comfort you, never!  If you had let us, we should have washed your face and hands, and made you some gruel, and given you your medicine, and then sat down by your bed and talked nicely to you, but you won’t let us do you good, so we shall leave you, and if you’re lonely locked in here all day with no one to speak to, it’s your own fault!”

Then holding his head up bravely, Roy marched out of the kitchen, and Dudley followed him with some misgivings as to his exit again by the pantry window.  But Roy solved this difficulty.

“Look here, the key is in the back door; we will unlock it and get out properly.  I’m sorry we’ve smashed those plates.”

They walked home in the deepest dejection; as they went through the village there met them on the bridge the same man that had passed them when on the garden wall.  He was much the worse for drink, and seemed inclined to be quarrelsome.

“Look ’ee here now, I’ll just trouble ’ee to give me another sixpence, young gent, or I’ll help myself, and no nonsense, for I’m the feller for fightin’!”

He stood barring their way, lurching from side to side, and brandishing a stick in his hand.