he upper chamber. "Sister," he said; "this is a
wayfarer who needs shelter for the night; she is wet and weary. Do you
take her up to your room and lend her some dry clothing; then make her
a cup of warm posset, which she needs sorely. I will fetch an armful
of fresh rushes from the shed and strew them here: I will sleep in the
smithy. Quick, girl," he said sharply; "she is fainting with cold and
fatigue." And as he spoke he caught the woman as she was about to fall,
and laid her gently on the ground. "She is of better station than she
seems," he said to his sister; "like enough some poor lady whose husband
has taken part in the troubles; but that is no business of ours. Quick,
Madge, and get these wet things off her; she is soaked to the skin. I
will go round to the Green Dragon and will fetch a cup of warm cordial,
which I warrant me will put fresh life into her."

So saying, he took down his flat cap from its peg on the wall and went
out, while his sister at once proceeded to remove the drenched
garments and to rub the cold hands of the guest until she recovered
consciousness. When Geoffrey Ward returned, the woman was sitting in a
settle by the fireside, dressed in a warm woolen garment belonging to
his sister.

Madge had thrown fresh wood on the fire, which was blazing brightly now.
The woman drank the steaming beverage which her host brought with him.
The colour came faintly again into her cheeks.

"I thank you, indeed," she said, "for your kindness. Had you not taken
me in I think I would have died at your door, for indeed I could go no
further; and though I hold not to life, yet would I fain live until I
have delivered my boy into the hands of those who will be kind to him,
and this will, I trust, be tomorrow."

"Say nought about it," Geoffrey answered; "Madge and I are right glad
to have been of service to you. It would be a poor world indeed if one
could not give a corner of one's fireside to a fellow-creature on such
a night as this, especially when that fellow creature is a woman with
a child. Poor little chap! He looks right well and sturdy, and seems to
have taken no ill from his journey."

"Truly, he is well and sturdy," the mother said, looking at him proudly;
"indeed I have been almost wishing today that he were lighter by a few
pounds, for in truth I am not used to carry him far, and his weight has
sorely tried me. His name is Walter, and I trust," she added, looking at
the powerful figure of her