r nuisance, who does a bit of
poaching, steals fruit, breaks windows, and generally annoys every one
in the place. If he were not such an ugly, shambling cub some
recruiting sergeant might pick him up. As it is, we have to put up with
him and his ways."

"Yah!" came from a distance; and Tom's nerves tingled, for he did not
like to hear the insult directed at his uncle, however strange he might
be.

"There, let's go on with our inspection, my boy," and the gate was
closed again, and they walked together up the slope into the mill.

There was not much to see on the ground-floor, save the whitened brick
walls, a huge pillar or post in the middle, and a ladder-like flight of
steps on one side, up which Uncle Richard led the way; and as Tom
emerged from a trap-door, he found himself in a circular chamber, a
little less than the one below, with three windows at the sides, the
doorway he had seen from without, and three pairs of millstones placed
horizontally, and connected by shafts with the mechanism above the
cobwebby and flour-whitened ceiling. There was a flight of steps, too,
here, and Tom now noticed that there was a trap-door overhead, formed
with two flaps and a hole in the middle, while a similar one was at his
feet.

"For sending the sacks up and down," said Uncle Richard. "The floors
are thoroughly solid, and made of good stuff. Excellent," he continued.
"Let's go up to the top."

He led the way up the second flight of steps into the next chamber,
which was wonderfully like the floor below, minus the millstones; but
the roof, instead of being a flat ceiling of boards and beams, was a
complication of rafters, ties, posts, and cog-wheels, while at one side
was the large pivot passing out through well-greased and blackened
bearings, which bore the five sails of the mill, balanced to a great
extent by the projecting fan, which, acted upon by the wind, caused the
whole of the wooden cap which formed the top to revolve.

"There's the way out to repair the sails, or oil the great fan," said
Uncle Richard, pointing to a little sloping doorway in the curved cap
roof. "Think the place will do? It's a good fifteen feet from the
floor to the curve."

"Do, sir?"

"Do, _uncle_, please. Yes, do! The whole top revolves easily enough,
and will do so more easily when there are no sails or fan."

"Do you mean for defence, uncle?" stammered Tom.

"Defence?--nonsense. Attack, boy. The roof will only want modifyi