, must ride back to-night."

"Your companions!" said the Captain.

"Yes," said Philip; "I will call them." And he shouted from the window
to the boys playing bowls in the garden.

They came up, and were passed before the scrutinizing eyes of the
Roundhead.

"Royalist whelps!" he muttered. "Very well," he said at length, "you
may go. But mind, no one else leaves the house."

Then, giving careful instructions to the three men left in charge, he
rode off with the others.

News spreads rapidly in villages at all times, and it was, therefore,
not surprising that Matthew Hale should hear that there were Roundheads
at Myddelton Hall very soon after they had clattered into the courtyard.

"Roundheads at the Hall, are there?" he said. "Then I reckon I'll join
them. It won't be the first time I've met a Roundhead--no, nor smashed
one, either." So saying, he laid aside his hammer, and, taking instead
a bar of iron, he left his boy in charge of the smithy, and set out for
the Hall.

Matthew reached the Hall a few minutes after the Captain and two of the
Roundheads had ridden off. The first person he saw was Philip, who,
with the three boys and little Jack, were plotting together in the
shrubbery.

"Hullo, Matt!" cried Philip; "come here. We want you."

Matthew turned aside from the carriageway, and joined the little group.
They all looked profoundly grave and important.

"What is it, young master?" said the blacksmith. "And where's Mistress
Barbara? Don't say she's ill."

Then Philip told him the story, omitting all reference to the refugee,
whose existence was a secret to the other boys, from the arrival of the
Captain to his departure, ending:

"And at this very moment, Matt, there are three Roundhead soldiers on
guard in the Hall--two at the doors, and one standing--can you believe
it?--standing at my sister's door. I've fought him once," Philip
continued, "but he's too strong, and now the others are keeping us out
of the house, and we've charged them several times, but without doing
any good, and there are a thousand reasons why we shouldn't any of us
be hurt."

"But where are the grooms and gardeners?" Matthew asked.

"Oh, they all disappeared," said Philip. "I suppose they feared an
inquiry might be dangerous. It's bad for the health and reputation to
fight a Roundhead."

Matthew laughed grimly. "It's bad for the Roundhead's health if he runs
against this," he said, raising the iron bar.

At this moment