hey are not worth a thought! I heed them no more than the wasp
that buzzes round my head. They are the scum and off scouring of
the earth--all brag and boast, but ready to run at the first hint
of danger!"

Rosamund's eyes shot forth another look of admiration; but Cale
said quietly:

"Yet it is this very scum and off scouring of the earth who have
before now kidnapped and shipped off to the plantations of Virginia
honest men of stout heart and stalwart frame; for there is great
demand for able-bodied men there, and good prices are paid for bone
and muscle. So again I say, have a care, Tom, have a care. I would
not have you entertain one coward fear, yet I would have you
careful not to provoke needless animosity; for we live in perilous
and evil days."

The colour had faded from Rosamund's cheeks at these words, and she
timidly laid a hand upon Tom's arm as he marched beside her.

"Fair sir, you will be careful," she said, in a soft and pleading
voice. "If hurt were to come to you for having so gallantly
befriended me, I should know no peace or happiness again!"

Tom looked with a smile into the face of the speaker; and Cale
heard the words, and saw the look. He gave a little sigh, and
walked on in deep thought.

It was Tom and Rosamund who did the greater part of the talking,
even after they got home and partook of the dish of tea. This then
costly beverage was reckoned by Rosamund as a Sunday treat, and
sipped with great relish; and Tom took it for the first time,
saying he would e'en make shift to like it, since Mistress Rose
vouched that it was good, although he had hitherto refused it when
offered at the houses of the fine folks he had visited.

So in talk and tea drinking an hour slipped away; and then the
perruquier rose and bid Rosamund get her hood and come; for it was
high time to fetch her aunt, and go back to Highgate.

Tom would have liked to accompany them once more, but some instinct
restrained him from making the offer. He bade adieu to Rosamund at
her own door, and went back to sit by the fire and muse of all the
things that had happened to him during this momentous week.

CHAPTER VIII. THE GREAT DUKE.

"Now, Tom, keep your eyes well open. He is about to appear!"

Tom was standing, tall and silent, feeling singularly out of place
in that gorgeous company, in a magnificent reception room,
brilliantly lighted, and crowded from one end to the other with a
throng of highly-born and fash