exaggerated
opinion of his powers as did the majority of his neighbours, who would
scarcely have dreamt of opposing it, had the squire ordered anyone to
be hung and quartered, still she felt that it was a somewhat terrible
thing that her son should have thrashed the nephew and heir of the
great man.

In the evening there was a knock at the door, and the little maid came
in with eyes wide open with alarm, for she had heard of the afternoon's
battle, to say that the constable wished to speak to Mrs. Walsham.

"Servant, ma'am," he said as he entered. "I am sorry to be here on an
unpleasant business; but I have got to say as the squire wishes to see
Master Walsham in the justice room at ten o'clock, on a charge of 'salt
and battery.

"Don't you be afeard ma'am," he went on confidentially. "I don't think
as anything is going to be done to him. I ain't got no warrant, and so
I don't look upon it as regular business. I expects it will be just a
blowing up. It will be just the squire, and not the magistrate, I takes
it. He told me to have him up there at ten, but as he said nothing
about custody, I thought I would do it my own way and come to you quiet
like; so if you say as Master Walsham shall be up there at ten o'clock,
I'll just take your word for it and won't come to fetch him. The doctor
was allus very good to me and my missus, and I shouldn't like to be
walking through Sidmouth with my hand on his son's collar."

"Thank you, Hobson," Mrs. Walsham said quietly. "You can rely upon it
my son shall be there punctually. He has nothing to be afraid or
ashamed of."

Full of rage as Richard Horton had been, as he started for home, he
would never have brought the matter before the squire on his own
account. His case was too weak, and he had been thrashed by a boy
younger than himself. Thus, he would have probably chosen some other
way of taking his vengeance; but it happened that, just as he arrived
home, he met his tutor coming out. The latter was astounded at
Richard's appearance. His eyes were already puffed so much that he
could scarcely see out of them, his lips were cut and swollen, his
shirt stained with blood, his clothes drenched and plastered with red
mud.

"Why, what on earth has happened, Richard?"

Richard had already determined upon his version of the story.

"A brute of a boy knocked me down into the water," he said, "and then
knocked me about till he almost killed me."

"But what made him assault you