g, she would wish to be hung
with him. She had no secret she would not tell him. But, as a matter
of fact,--so she swore over and over again,--she had never told him
a word about old Trumbull's box. She did not think she had ever told
any one; but she would swear on her death-bed that she had never told
Sam Brattle. The head constable declared that he had never met a
more stubborn or a more artful young woman. Sir Thomas Charleys was
clearly of opinion that no bail should be accepted. Another week
of remand was granted with the understanding that, if nothing of
importance was elicited by that time, and if neither of the other two
suspected men were then in custody, Sam should be allowed to go at
large upon bail--a good, substantial bail, himself in L400, and his
bailsmen in L200 each.

"Who'll be his bailsmen?" said the Squire, coming away with his
friend the parson from Heytesbury.

"There will be no difficulty about that, I should say."

"But who will they be,--his father for one?"

"His brother George, and Jay, at Warminster, who married his sister,"
said the parson.

"I doubt them both," said the Squire.

"He sha'n't want for bail. I'll be one myself, sooner. He shall have
bail. If there's any difficulty, Jones shall bail him; and I'll see
Jones safe through it. He sha'n't be persecuted in that way."

"I don't think anybody has attempted to persecute him, Frank."

"He will be persecuted if his own brothers won't come forward to help
him. It isn't that they have looked into the matter, and that they
think him guilty; but that they go just the way they're told to go,
like sheep. The more I think of it, the more I feel that he had
nothing to do with the murder."

"I never knew a man change his opinion so often as you do," said
Gilmore.

During three weeks the visits made by Head Constable Toffy to the
cottage in which Mrs. Burrows lived were much more frequent than
were agreeable to that lady. This cottage was about four miles from
Devizes, and on the edge of a common, about half a mile from the
high road which leads from that town to Marlborough. There is, or
was a year or two back, a considerable extent of unenclosed land
thereabouts, and on a spot called Pycroft Common there was a small
collection of cottages, sufficient to constitute a hamlet of the
smallest class. There was no house there of greater pretensions than
the very small beershop which provided for the conviviality of the
Pycroftians; and o