what the soldiers mean well enough," answered the
captain. "If you hadn't known you wouldn't have turned out of the
highway."

At about midnight we reached Axminster. We were taken before a couple
of officers who sat at work by candlelight over a mass of papers, in
an upper chamber of an inn. They had a wild air of having been without
sleep for some time. Their muddy riding boots were drying in front of
the fire. They had a map of the countryside before them, all stuck about
with little flags, some red, some yellow, to show where the different
troops of militia were stationed. After saluting these officers,
the captain made his report about us, saying that we were suspicious
persons, who had started from Sialmouth, towards Dorchester. He had
waited to receive word from the troops stationed along the highway of
our arrival at various points upon the road; but, failing to hear about
us, he had searched for us, with the result that he had found us at
Seaton, some miles out of our way. The officers questioned us closely
about our plans, making notes of what we said. They kept referring to a
book of letters, as though to verify what we said. Mr. Blick's answers
made them take a favourable view of us; but they told him in a friendly
way that the officer had done right to arrest us. They complimented
the captain on his zeal. Meanwhile, they said, since we were going to
Dorchester, we could not object to going with a military escort. A troop
of cavalry was to start in a couple of hours; we could go with that.

We were in Dorchester for a few days, always under the eye of the
soldiers. It was a bustling, suspicious time full of false alarms. Mr.
Blick told me that the message "King Golden Cap. After six one," meant
that the Duke was to be expected off Golden Cap, a cliff a few miles
from Lyme Regis, any day after the first of the sixth month. He was
on tenter-hooks to be in Lyme to greet him on his arrival; but this he
could not hope to do. We were watched too carefully to be able to get
away to a place upon the sea-coast. We had to be very careful how we
sent our secret message abroad into the country. I have never known a
time so full of alarms. People would ride in to the town at night with
word that Monmouth was landed, or that there was fighting all along the
coast, or that King James was dead. The drums would beat; the cavalry
would come out clattering. People would be crying out. The loyal would
come to their doorsteps r