ut the matter, and if he
had his will he'd be sending half the people hereabouts to prison."

Dick had not forgotten his mother's advice to keep clear of Ben Rudall,
and he knew well enough that even though he should only go as a
passenger, he would be committed to whatever was done by her crew.

"You mean kindly, Ben, I know," he said; "but I cannot leave Janet,
she's so ill; and if she gets better, there'll be no one except mother
and me to walk out with her, now poor Faithful's gone; but if I hear
there's a chance of my being had up for poaching, maybe it's the best
thing I can do."

Ben laughed scornfully. "They'll not let thee know what they intend to
do; but thee would find thyself carried off to Winchester jail some fine
morning, so just don't be a fool, Dick, an' come along with me."

Dick, however, was firm in his resolution not to go off without seeing
his mother and sister, and Ben was obliged to be content with his
promise that he would come down to Keyhaven to talk the matter over. He
would have been wiser had he not given that promise.

Ben returned the way he had come, and Dick, carrying the body of his
dog, continued on towards his home.

On reaching the cottage, he carried the dog to a corner of the garden,
while he went in for a spade to dig its grave. While he was searching
for one in the outhouse, his mother saw him.

"What has happened, Dick?" she exclaimed, observing the blood on his
clothes.

He at once narrated what had occurred, for although he had many faults,
he was truthful to her.

"I am very sorry for what has happened. Poor dear Janet will almost
break her heart. She said that she should like to take a stroll
to-morrow with Faithful, if you were not able to accompany her.
However, we must bear with it. From what you say, the young lord would
not have shot the dog if he had known whose it was, and if he gives
Janet another, she may become as fond of it as she was of Faithful."

"I should not like her to become fond of Lord Reginald's dog," answered
Dick. "If he sends one, I shall have a mind to shoot it, or send it
back to him with a kettle tied to its tail."

"That would not be a right thing to do," observed Mrs Hargrave. "We
should not harbour ill feelings towards others, though they have done us
wrong. Come in now, and let me wash the blood off your coat. It looks
bad, and if your father were to return, it would frighten him, as it did
me. We'll just break the new