“Not strike a blow,” cried Jeremy, “against thy father’s murderers, John!”

“Not a single blow, Jeremy; unless I knew the man who did it, and he gloried in his sin.  It was a foul and dastard deed, yet not done in cold blood; neither in cold blood will I take God’s task of avenging it.”

“Very well, John,” answered Master Stickles, “I know thine obstinacy.  When thy mind is made up, to argue with thee is pelting a rock with peppercorns.  But thou hast some other reason, lad, unless I am much mistaken, over and above thy merciful nature and Christian forgiveness.  Anyhow, come and see it, John.  There will be good sport, I reckon; especially when we thrust our claws into the nest of the ravens.  Many a yeoman will find his daughter, and some of the Porlock lads their sweethearts.  A nice young maiden, now, for thee, John; if indeed, any—­”

“No more of this!” I answered very sternly:  “it is no business of thine, Jeremy; and I will have no joking upon this matter.”

“Good, my lord; so be it.  But one thing I tell thee in earnest.  We will have thy old double-dealing uncle, Huckaback of Dulverton, and march him first to assault Doone Castle, sure as my name is Stickles.  I hear that he hath often vowed to storm the valley himself, if only he could find a dozen musketeers to back him.  Now, we will give him chance to do it, and prove his loyalty to the King, which lies under some suspicion of late.”

With regard to this, I had nothing to say; for it seemed to me very reasonable that Uncle Reuben should have first chance of recovering his stolen goods, about which he had made such a sad to-do, and promised himself such vengeance.  I made bold, however, to ask Master Stickles at what time he intended to carry out this great and hazardous attempt.  He answered that he had several things requiring first to be set in order, and that he must make an inland Journey, even as far as Tiverton, and perhaps Crediton and Exeter, to collect his forces and ammunition for them.  For he meant to have some of the yeomanry as well as of the trained bands, so that if the Doones should sally forth, as perhaps they would, on horseback, cavalry might be there to meet them, and cut them off from returning.

All this made me very uncomfortable, for many and many reasons, the chief and foremost being of course my anxiety about Lorna.  If the attack succeeded, what was to become of her?  Who would rescue her from the brutal soldiers, even supposing that she escaped from the hands of her own people, during the danger and ferocity?  And in smaller ways, I was much put out; for instance, who would ensure our corn-ricks, sheep, and cattle, ay, and even our fat pigs, now coming on for bacon, against the spreading all over the country of unlicensed marauders?  The Doones had their rights, and understood them, and took them according to prescription, even as the parsons had, and the lords of manors, and the King himself, God