About a week after I came to the
Hall (so the house was called) I was returning early one morning
from bathing in a stream that crossed the estate, when I met the
boy face to face. He was striding along, whistling, with his towel
over his shoulder, and gave me a look aslant as he passed, then
halted and called after me: "I say, Joe!"
I turned at once, and knew that he bore me no malice for the blow I
had dealt him at our first meeting.
"I say," he repeated, "how did you manage to keep your crown piece
when those poacher fellows bagged your money?"
I could not forbear smiling at this blunt manner of holding out the
olive branch. I told him of my fight with the man called Topper.
"Wish I had seen it," he said, laughing heartily. "And I wish it
had happened a day or two before, for if you had been settled here
then you could have plied your fists to some better purpose."
I asked him to explain.
"Why, a lubber of a fellow rode over from Shrewsbury; he's a cousin
of mine, more's the pity, and a king's officer, by George! There
were two other officers with him, and they had been drinking, and
they insisted on coming in, and stayed ever so long playing the
fool. Father was in Bridgenorth, and Giles with him, and the other
men were not at hand, and we had to put up with their tomfoolery,
which soon drove mother and Lucy from the room: but if you had been
there we could have contrived to fling them out between us."
"I would have done my best," I said.
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