grinned again, and went off, while Ralph walked slowly away to
where he could throw himself down at the side of the cliff in the
sunshine, swing his legs over the edge, where it was nice and dangerous
if he slipped, and finally leaned back to rest on one elbow, and gaze in
the direction of the high cliff beyond the depression, where the men
were gone to chip out pieces of the soft spongy-looking tufa, which lay
in beds on the slope.

"That's bad news," thought the lad. "I wonder what father will say. It
will be horrible. They will be so strong there, that one doesn't know
what will happen, only that we shall have to fight. Well, then," he
cried hotly, "we'll fight. Let them come. The Darleys have never been
beaten yet."

For the next half-hour, he lay thinking about swords, and pikes, and
armour, and big stones to cast down off the towers upon assailants, and
then his attention was taken by one of the great black ravens, flapping
its way along over the dale, and he watched it till it seemed to him to
slide down toward the cliff, a quarter of a mile away.

By-and-by he saw another great bird, and thought it the same, but
directly after, the first one reappeared, and he saw the pair cross in
the air.

"They've got a nest, and it must be on the High Cliff. Wonder whether I
could hit one of the great thieves with a crossbow-bolt. Be practice,"
he thought; "I may have to shoot at two-legged thieves."

Then the absurdity of his words came to him, and he laughed aloud.

"Well, ravens have only two legs. Rather horrible, though, to shoot at
a man. Well, I don't want to, but if they come and attack us, I'll
shoot, that I will. What are those great birds flying to and fro for?
and, yes, now they're going round and round. I know: a young lamb must
have gone over the cliff, and be bleating on one of the ledges because
it cannot get up. Poor little wretch! They'll pick its eyes out. I'll
go and see. Better get a crossbow first. Might get a shot at one of
the ravens.--Bother! it's such a way to go and fetch it; and if I did,
I'll be bound to say it would want a new string, and it would take ever
so long to get ready. Bother! it's hot, and I shan't go. Perhaps there
isn't a lamb there, after all. Fancy."

He rested his head upon his hand, and watched the far-off ravens,
becoming more and more convinced that a lamb had gone over.

"Then why don't they go at it?" he muttered. "Perhaps it's a sheep, and
they