Richard moved as if he would renew the fight, but he thought better of it, and with a furious exclamation hurried away towards the Hall.

James, without paying any further heed to him, waded after the boat, and having recovered it, walked off towards the child, who, on seeing his opponent had moved off, was running down to meet him.

“Here is the boat, Aggie,” he said.  “There is no great harm done, only the mast and yard broken.  I can easily put you in fresh ones;” but the child paid no attention to the boat.

“He is a wicked bad boy, Jim; and did he hurt you?”

“Oh, no, he didn’t hurt me, Aggie, at least nothing to speak of.  I hurt him a good deal more.  I paid him out well for breaking your boat, and pushing you down, the cowardly brute!”

“Only look, Jim,” she said, holding out her frock.  “What will she say?”

James laughed.

“Mother won’t say anything,” he said.  “She is accustomed to my coming in all muddy.”

“But she said ‘Keep your frock clean,’ and it’s not clean,” Aggie said in dismay.

“Yes, but that is not your fault, little one.  I will make it all right with her, don’t you fret.  Come on, we had better go home and change it as soon as possible.”

They passed close by the two fishermen on their way.

“You gave it to the young squire finely, Master Walsham,” one of them said, “and served him right, too.  We chanced to be looking at the moment, and saw it all.  He is a bad un, he is, by what they say up at the Hall.  I heard one of the grooms talking last night down at the ‘Ship,’ and a nice character he gave him.  This thrashing may do him some good; and look you, Master Walsham, if he makes a complaint to the squire, and it’s likely enough he will get up a fine story of how it came about—­the groom said he could lie like King Pharaoh—­you just send word to me, and me and Bill will go up to the squire, and tell him the truth of the matter.”

Mrs. Walsham felt somewhat alarmed when her son told her what had happened, for the squire was a great man at Sidmouth, a magistrate, and the owner of the greater part of the place as well as of the land around it; and although Mrs. Walsham did not hold the same exaggerated opinion of his powers as did the majority of his neighbours, who would scarcely have dreamt of opposing it, had the squire ordered anyone to be hung and quartered, still she felt that it was a somewhat terrible thing that her son should have thrashed the nephew and heir of the great man.

In the evening there was a knock at the door, and the little maid came in with eyes wide open with alarm, for she had heard of the afternoon’s battle, to say that the constable wished to speak to Mrs. Walsham.

“Servant, ma’am,” he said as he entered.  “I am sorry to be here on an unpleasant business; but I have got to say as the squire wishes to see Master Walsham in the justice room at ten o’clock, on a charge of ’salt and battery.