ays open.
If the Barons gain the upper hand Robert will send another army into
England for sure, and this time I think he will land here--where his
father, the Conqueror, landed. Ye have brought your pigs to a pretty
market! Half England alight, and gold enough on the ground"--he
stamped on the bars beneath the table--"to set every sword in
Christendom fighting."

"'What is to do?" said Hugh. "I have no keep at Dallington; and if we
buried it, whom could we trust?" "'Me," said De Aquila. "Pevensey
walls are strong. No man but jehan, who is my dog, knows what is
between them." He drew a curtain by the shot-window and showed us the
shaft of a well in the thickness of the wall.

"'I made it for a drinking-well," he said, "but we found salt water,
and it rises and falls with the tide. Hark!" We heard the water
whistle and blow at the bottom. "Will it serve?" said he.

"'Needs must," said Hugh. "Our lives are in thy hands." So we lowered
all the gold down except one small chest of it by De Aquila's bed,
which we kept as much for his delight in its weight and colour as for
any of our needs.

'In the morning, ere we rode to our Manors, he said: "I do not say
farewell; because ye will return and bide here. Not for love nor for
sorrow, but to be with the gold. Have a care," he said, laughing,
"lest I use it to make myself Pope. Trust me not, but return!"'

Sir Richard paused and smiled sadly.

'In seven days, then, we returned from our Manors--from the Manors
which had been ours.'

'And were the children quite well?' said Una.

'My sons were young. Land and governance belong by right to young
men.' Sir Richard was talking to himself. 'It would have broken their
hearts if we had taken back our Manors. They made us great welcome,
but we could see--Hugh and I could see--that our day was done. I was a
cripple and he a one-armed man. No!' He shook his head. 'And
therefore'--he raised his voice--'we rode back to Pevensey.'

'I'm sorry,' said Una, for the knight seemed very sorrowful.

'Little maid, it all passed long ago. They were young; we were old.
We let them rule the Manors. "Aha!" cried De Aquila from his
shot-window, when we dismounted. "Back again to earth, old foxes?" but
when we were in his chamber above the Hall he puts his arms about us
and says, "Welcome, ghosts! Welcome, poor ghosts!"

Thus it fell out that we were rich beyond belief, and lonely. And
lonely!'

'What did you do?' said