t at the bottom of the hollow between the two
eminences.

"Come on, Master Ralph!" roared Nick Garth, as they came within hearing.

"What is it? Found lead?"

"Lead, sir, no, better than that. There's a raven's nest over the other
side yonder."

"Bah! What of that?" cried the lad breathlessly. "Here, Ram, go back
to the castle, and get me a good crossbow and some bolts."

"Going to shoot 'em, master?" cried Nick excitedly. "Well done, you!"

"If I can hit them," said the lad. "What have they found there--a
lamb?"

"Lamb?" cried Nick. "Hor, hor, hoh! You are a rum one, sir. Lamb, eh?
I call un a wolf cub."

"Wolf cub? Oh!" cried Ralph excitedly; and the disappointment about the
lead was forgotten, the crossbow too.

"Come on, sir, this way. Right atop, and you'll be able to look down on
un just above the big birds' nest. He was after the young birds."

"Then that accounts for the ravens flying about so."

"Yes, sir, that's it. We was getting close to the stone quarry, when
Ram, he says: `What's them there birds scrawking about like that there
for?' he says."

"Summut arter the young uns," I says: "and we went to where we could
look, and there was a young wolf cub, getting slowly down. Let's fetch
the young squire," I says; "and we come after you, for I thought you'd
like to have the killing on him."

"Yes, of course, Nick; but I have no bow. I can't reach him with my
sword, can I?"

"Tchah! you'd want a lot o' pikes tied together, and then you wouldn't
do it. I'll show you. There's plenty of big bits o' stone up yonder,
and you can drop 'em on his head, and send him down into the water."

"Yes," cried Ralph breathlessly, as he climbed the steep ascent; "but I
should like to catch him alive, and keep him in a cage."

"Would you, sir? Well, that wouldn't be amiss. Sir Morton would like
to see him, and you could tease him. Down in one o' the dungeons would
be the place, till you got tired on him, and you could kill him then."

"Yes, but to think of his being on the cliff here!"

"Ay, it do seem a game," said the man, chuckling, and showing some ugly
yellow teeth.

As they reached about half-way up, they caught sight of one of the
ravens, shooting high above the top of the cliff, and instead of darting
away at their approach, it only made a circle round, and then descended
like an arrow.

"Tackling on him," cried Ram Jennings.

"Ay, and there goes the other," cried Nick. "Come