Part 18 (2/2)
”By all means, my friend,” said Stephen ”And I suppose you can put our horses up in your boat-house?”
”As to that, as the boat's away, and it is summer weather, there is room for them”
”Well, then, I will call e of your hospitality,” said Stephen, and he rode back and called Andrew
”Bring us the oats without delay, my friend,” said Stephen; ”our poor beasts want food as much as we do”
The old ood-sized basketful of oats The youngoff their bridles, allowed the poor beasts to co them up with some ropes, of which there were several coils in the boat-house
”You have come far, I suspect,” observed the old fisherman, as he watched the horses devour their provender
”You h,” said Stephen, ”or they will not get through enough food to sustain theot a bucket, and went to a well a little distance froroup of trees, the only ones to be seen in the neighbourhood
”A merciful ht the water, which the horses greedily drank ”Travellers have need to look after their steeds for their own sakes Are you riding northward?
Itto join the Duke of Monone in that direction”
”No, we have no intention of joining his army,” answered Stephen evasively, thankful to find that the news of the Duke's defeat had not as yet reached thus far They now, closing the door of the boat-house, accoe They fancied that he was alone, but on entering they discovered an old wo meal She looked up froers were
”Travellers, goodwife; they want soive them Fry some more bacon and sooodwife,” he whispered in her ear ”It is soht of silver”
The old lady looked satisfied, and was soon frying a further supply of bacon and fish The ser, that they begged leave to fall-to without waiting for the return of Mark, the son of the old couple It took them some time, however, to appease their appetites The old man and his wife looked on with astonishment at the amount of food they stoay
”One would suppose that you two had not eaten anything since yesterday,”
observed the old , friend,” answered Stephen ”We have had good reason for spurring fast As we are weary, ill beg you to let us stow ourselves away in a corner of your rooers co we have no beds to offer you except Mark's, and he rumble should he find himself turned out of his”
”We would not do that on any account Do let us lie doithout delay,” said Stephen ”See,over the table”
They had brought in their cloaks, unstrapped fro themselves up in them, with some lumps of wood for pillows, they were asleep alround
The oldin low voices for souests, till the door opened, and the son they had spoken of entered the roo, broad-shouldered, black-beardedhis eyes towards the sleeping fugitives
”That is more than I can tell you, Mark,” answered his father ”They say they came from the south, and, as far as I canon to Bristol They seem to have ridden hard, and are dead beat”
”That oodfrom the Duke of Mon that the king's forces are rapidly gathering around him; wiser if they had never joined However, that is no business of ours”
”So I say, son Mark,” said the old er, let the world wag as it lists; all we have to do is to catch fish and find a ood haul?”
”Pretty fair; and I hope the packewater, where they say the Duke of Monmouth and his men are encamped I will now turn in, father, to be ready to send off the fish as soon as the packly turned into his bunk in a little recess, for it could not be called a roo ahile his father sat up by the fire in a rough arm-chair, ready, apparently, to awaken him as soon as the packhly done up that they slept on the whole night through, undisturbed by voices or any other noise; indeed, had a gun been fired over their heads, they would scarcely have heard it They started up at daybreak