en be praised," Brilliana ejaculated, and then, wonder treading
on the heels of thankfulness, she questioned, "How came you here so
timely?"

My Lord Fawley broke into a boisterous laugh which seemed to rattle
among the rafters.

"Oh, Lord, the best jest in the world," he bellowed. Bardon clapped a
hand on lad Ingrow's shoulder.

"Our Ingrow writes a clerky hand," he asserted. Ingrow, stabbing at
Bardon's stout ribs with slender fingers, riposted:

"And our Bardon has a merry invention."

Brilliana looked commands and entreaties at the row of jolly,
laughing faces.

"Do not play the sphinx with me," she pleaded. Rufus immediately
made himself interpreter of the mirth.

"Why, between us we forged a letter from my lord high damnable
traitor Essex to your enemy here, advising him of reinforcements,
assuring him of the King's defeat."

"Yes," chirruped the Lord Fawley, "and the gull-gaby swallowed the
bait."

"When we rode up but now," Radlett interposed, "his rascals received
us with open arms."

Rufus smiled sardonically as he completed the story of the
entrapment.

"They took us for Essex men because of our orange-tawny scarves, but
they found out when too late that we were right-tight Cavalier lads
and no crop-eared curmudgeons. Why, we were in the thick of them with
sword and pistol before they had stayed from snuffling their psalms
of welcome."

Brilliana held out her hand again for her cousin's hand and clasped
it manfully.

"How rich is the ring of victory in your loyal voice," she sighed.
"My last public news was of the King's stay at Shrewsbury. Then these
curmudgeons raced hot-foot from Cambridge to pull down my flag. But
'This is Loyalty House,' says I, and 'Go to the devil,' says
I--forgive me, sirs, if I raged unmaidenly--and I slammed the door
in their sour faces. Then came such a tintamar, rebels firing on us,
we firing on rebels, and so in such noise and thunder we have been
eclipsed out of the world these weary days."

"Never were such days better lived through since the world began,"
said Rufus. "You do well to call this Loyalty House which has held
out so well against the King's enemies."

Brilliana now turned to where Halfman stood apart, his hands resting
on the hilt of his sword, and the shadow of a frown on his forehead
as he eyed the babbling gallants.

"That Loyalty House should hold out so long as it could was from the
first my purpose," she said. "But that it was able to h