g a ridge; and it swayed and broke, and through it burst the figure
of a mounted warrior woman at the gallop, followed by what bore an
appearance of horse and gun, minus carriage, drivers at the flanks
cracking whips on foot. Off went the train, across a small gorse common,
through a gate.

'That's another down,' said his whip. 'Sound good wood it is, not made
to fall. Her ladyship's at it hard to-day. She 'll teach Mr. Addicote a
thing or two about things females can do. That is, when they stand for
their rights.'

He explained to Weyburn that Mr. Addicote, a yeoman farmer and a good
hunting man, but a rare obstinate one, now learning his lesson from her
ladyship, was in dispute with her over rights of property on a stretch
of fir-trees lining the ridge where the estates of Olmer and Addicotes
met. Her ladyship had sworn that if he did not yield to her claim she
would cut down every tree of the ridge and sell the lot for timber under
his nose. She acted according to her oath, in the teeth of his men two
feet across the border. All the world knew the roots of those trees were
for the most part in Olmer soil, though Addicote shared the shade. All
the people about mourned for the felling of those trees. All blamed Mr.
Gilbert Addicote for provoking her ladyship, good hunting man though he
was. But as to the merits of the question, under the magnifier of the
gentlemen of the law, there were as many different opinions as wigs in
the land.

'And your opinion?' said Weyburn.

To which the young groom answered: 'Oh, I don't form an opinion, sir. I
'm of my mistress's opinion; and if she says, Do it, think as we like,
done it has to be.'

Lady Charlotte came at a trot through the gate, to supervise the
limbering-up of another felled tree. She headed it as before. The log
dragged bounding and twirling, rattling its chains; the crowd along the
ridge, forbidden to cheer, watching it with intense repression of the
roar. We have not often in England sight of a great lady challengeing
an unpopular man to battle and smacking him in the face like this to
provoke him. Weyburn was driven on a half-circle of the lane to the
gate, where he jumped out to greet Lady Charlotte trotting back for
another smack in the face of her enemy,--a third rounding of her
Troy with the vanquished dead at her heels, as Weyburn let a flimsy
suggestion beguile his fancy, until the Homeric was overwhelming even to
a playful mind, and he put her in a medi