“Never thee knack under, Jan, or never coom naigh Hexmoor no more.”

With that it was all up with me.  A simmering buzzed in my heavy brain, and a light came through my eyeplaces.  At once I set both fists again, and my heart stuck to me like cobbler’s wax.  Either Robin Snell should kill me, or I would conquer Robin Snell.  So I went in again with my courage up, and Bob came smiling for victory, and I hated him for smiling.  He let at me with his left hand, and I gave him my right between his eyes, and he blinked, and was not pleased with it.  I feared him not, and spared him not, neither spared myself.  My breath came again, and my heart stood cool, and my eyes struck fire no longer.  Only I knew that I would die sooner than shame my birthplace.  How the rest of it was I know not; only that I had the end of it, and helped to put Robin in bed.

CHAPTER III

THE WAR-PATH OF THE DOONES

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From Tiverton town to the town of Oare is a very long and painful road, and in good truth the traveller must make his way, as the saying is; for the way is still unmade, at least, on this side of Dulverton, although there is less danger now than in the time of my schooling; for now a good horse may go there without much cost of leaping, but when I was a boy the spurs would fail, when needed most, by reason of the slough-cake.  It is to the credit of this age, and our advance upon fatherly ways, that now we have laid down rods and fagots, and even stump-oaks here and there, so that a man in good daylight need not sink, if he be quite sober.  There is nothing I have striven at more than doing my duty, way-warden over Exmoor.

But in those days, when I came from school (and good times they were, too, full of a warmth and fine hearth-comfort, which now are dying out), it was a sad and sorry business to find where lay the highway.  We are taking now to mark it off with a fence on either side, at least, when a town is handy; but to me his seems of a high pretence, and a sort of landmark, and channel for robbers, though well enough near London, where they have earned a race-course.

We left the town of the two fords, which they say is the meaning of it, very early in the morning, after lying one day to rest, as was demanded by the nags, sore of foot and foundered.  For my part, too, I was glad to rest, having aches all over me, and very heavy bruises; and we lodged at the sign of the White Horse Inn, in the street called Gold Street, opposite where the souls are of John and Joan Greenway, set up in gold letters, because we must take the homeward way at cockcrow of the morning.  Though still John Fry was dry with me of the reason of his coming, and only told lies about father, and could not keep them agreeable, I hoped for the best, as all boys will, especially after a victory.  And I thought, perhaps father had sent for me because he had a good harvest, and the rats were bad in the corn-chamber.