wasn't
never 'listed."

The serjeant removed her hand instantly. "None of that," he said.
"You can come along with him as far as you will, but the justice will
see to the rest to-morrow morning."

The woman glanced at the Corporal in despair, but the Corporal could
only shake his head. "Best go quietly along with him, mistress," he
said; "I'll go to her Ladyship and do what I can." Then he turned to
the serjeant and said: "I believe you've got hold of the wrong man; for
this is only a poor half-witted lad, not the man that you want. Don't
be hard on him."

"Not I, if he gives no trouble," said the serjeant. So he went on with
his charge along the road to Kingstoke, the idiot staggering along on
his mother's arm between the fifer and the drummer, and he himself
walking behind. And the Corporal limped up over the park as quickly as
he could to the Hall.

CHAPTER XI

Great was Lady Eleanor's distress when she heard from the Corporal what
had happened. "Ah, if only Colonel Fitzdenys had been here!" she
repeated more than once; but she could think of nothing that could be
done except to send a letter at once to the colonel to tell him the
whole story and to ask him to be present at Kingstoke, which lay close
to Fitzdenys, when the prisoner should be brought up next morning.
This was the Corporal's suggestion; but Lady Eleanor noticed that he
was unusually silent and subdued, and she was rather surprised when he
asked leave rather mysteriously to be absent from the house for the
rest of the day. But she trusted him so implicitly that she granted
his request without hesitation, and the Corporal, having sent off the
letter, went out for the evening by himself.

The truth was that he was bitterly hurt and indignant at the hard words
that Mrs. Mugford had used towards him, of having betrayed the children
to the witch on the moor. The bare idea that he should have been false
to his mistress and to the children, whom he worshipped, made him
furious; and he went out with the determination of giving Mrs. Mugford
a bit of his mind before night, but, like a wise man, not until he had
thought the matter well over during a solitary walk. So he made his
way through the woods and in due time came to the place where Dick had
pointed out to him the ragged man, whom he had found skulking in the
fern a short time before. Then it flashed across him suddenly that
this man might be the deserter, and he blamed himself for