with
her, in a little style of jerks, as people do when out of sorts; and
she, not understanding this, and knowing jokes to be out of my power,
would only look, and sigh, and toss, and hope that I meant nothing. At
last, however, we convinced her that I was in earnest, and must be off
in the early morning, and leave John Fry with the hay crop.

Then mother was ready to fall upon Annie, as not content with disgracing
us, by wedding a man of new honesty (if indeed of any), but laying traps
to catch her brother, and entangle him perhaps to his death, for the
sake of a worthless fellow; and 'felon'--she was going to say, as by the
shape of her lips I knew. But I laid my hand upon dear mother's lips;
because what must be, must be; and if mother and daughter stayed at
home, better in love than in quarrelling.

Right early in the morning, I was off, without word to any one; knowing
that mother and sister mine had cried each her good self to sleep;
relenting when the light was out, and sorry for hard words and thoughts;
and yet too much alike in nature to understand each other. Therefore
I took good Kickums, who (although with one eye spoiled) was worth ten
sweet-tempered horses, to a man who knew how to manage him; and being
well charged both with bacon and powder, forth I set on my wild-goose
chase.

For this I claim no bravery. I cared but little what came of it;
save for mother's sake, and Annie's, and the keeping of the farm, and
discomfiture of the Snowes, and lamenting of Lorna at my death, if die I
must in a lonesome manner, not found out till afterwards, and bleaching
bones left to weep over. However, I had a little kettle, and a pound and
a half of tobacco, and two dirty pipes and a clean one; also a bit of
clothes for change, also a brisket of hung venison, and four loaves of
farmhouse bread, and of the upper side of bacon a stone and a half it
might be--not to mention divers small things for campaigning, which may
come in handily, when no one else has gotten them.

We went away in merry style; my horse being ready for anything, and I
only glad of a bit of change, after months of working and brooding; with
no content to crown the work; no hope to hatch the brooding; or
without hatching to reckon it. Who could tell but what Lorna might be
discovered, or at any rate heard of, before the end of this campaign; if
campaign it could be called of a man who went to fight nobody, only
to redeem a runagate? And vexed as I