nd came from them. However, he caught his master by the
sleeve, drawing him towards the window, and Mr Inglis followed him.
Harry and Philip rose from their seats, but Mr Inglis motioned Mrs
Inglis and them to keep their places, and closed the window as he went
out. Sam led the way down the garden towards the fields, and said
something to his master which made him quicken his steps until they
reached the great walnut-tree, where, beneath one of the largest boughs,
lay the body of a man, with his head turned in a very unnatural
position, and one of his arms bent under him.

Upon first looking at the figure, Mr Inglis thought the man was dead;
but on touching him he gave a slight groan upon which Sam was despatched
for assistance, while his master placed the sufferer in an easier
position, during which he moved slightly and groaned again, but remained
perfectly insensible. While waiting for the return of Sam, Mr Inglis
saw but too plainly the cause of the accident: scattered about upon the
grass were walnuts, twigs, and leaves; while tightly clutched in the
man's hand was a red cotton handkerchief nearly full of the fruit; and
his trousers and jacket pockets were filled as full as they could hold.
There was no doubt _now_ as to who was the culprit, but Mr Inglis felt
a sinking at the heart as he thought of the severe punishment that had
fallen upon the offender, who proved to be none other than the man home
with a ticket of leave, but who had not been cured of his dishonest
propensity.

Sam soon returned with two or three farming men, who, under the
direction of Mr Inglis, lifted a gate off its hinges, and laid the man
as gently as they could upon it, and then, one at each corner, bore him
out through the open gateway into the lane, and so to the village inn, a
boy in the meantime being despatched for the doctor. Mr Inglis would
have taken the poor fellow to the Grange, but for the reflection that it
would only be a great shock to Mrs Inglis, and the ends of humanity
would not in any way be served, for assistance could not be obtained a
bit sooner, but rather the reverse.

With some difficulty the man was carried into a room at the inn, and it
being found impossible to carry him upstairs, a mattress was brought
down, and he was laid upon it. He groaned slightly upon being moved,
tenderly as the men handled him, but remained quite still upon the
mattress upon being laid there.

He was a fine-looking, sun-browned y