rooch on her breast
with a miniature of herself inside it. She was what is called in novels
"a character." There was no one who knew so much about Rafiel and its
neighbourhood; she had lived here for ever, her father had been a
friend of Wellington's and had known members of the local Press Gang
intimately. It was from her that Jeremy heard, in detail, the famous
story of the Scarlet Admiral. It was, of course, in any case, a
well-known story, and Jeremy had often heard it before, but Miss
Henhouse made it a new, a most vivid and realistic thing. She sat
forward in her chair, leaning on her silver-headed cane, her eyes
staring in front of her, her two chins bobbing, gazing, gazing as though
it all had happened before her very nose.

How one night outside Rafiel Cove there was a terrible storm, and on the
morning afterwards a wonderful, smiling calm, and how the village idiot,
out for his early morning stroll, saw a splendid ship riding beyond
the Cove, a ship of gold with sails of silk and jewelled masts. As he
watched, from the ship a boat pushed out, and then landed on the sand of
the Cove a wonderful company in cocked hats of gold lace, plush breeches
of red, and shoes with diamond buckles. The leader of them was a little
man with a vast cocked hat and a splendid sword all studded with jewels.
The fool, peering over the hedge, saw him give orders to his men, and
then walk, alone, up the little winding path, to the cliff-top. Straight
up the path he came, then right past the fool himself, standing at last
upon the turnip field of Farmer Ede, one of the greatest of the farmers
of those parts. And here he waited, staring out to sea, his arms
crossed, his eyes very fierce and very, very sad. Then a second time
from the golden ship a boat pushed out, cutting its way through the
glassy sea--and there landed on the beach a young man, very beautiful,
in a suit of blue and gold, and he, without a glance at the waiting
sailors, also slowly climbed the sea-path, and at last he too reached
Farmer Ede's turnip field. Then he and the Scarlet Admiral bowed to one
another, very beautifully, very sadly, and very, very fiercely. As the
sun rose high in the sky, as the cows passed clumsily down the lane
behind the field so the fool, with eyes staring and heart thumping, saw
these two fight a duel to the death. There could be no question, from
the first, how it would end. The beautiful young man in his fine blue
suit and his white cambr