e cottage, and an
old man opened the door."

"Do you see the old man in this court?"

"Yes--there," pointing to where Sim stood in the dock with downcast
eyes.

There was a pause.

"Come, good woman, let my lords and the jury hear what further you
know of this matter. You went into the cottage!"

"He said I might warm the children at the fire; their little limbs
were as cold as stone."

"Well, well?"

"He seemed half crazed, I thought; but he was very kind to me and my
little ones. He gave them some warm milk, and said we might stay till
the weather cleared. It did not clear all day. Towards nightfall the
old man's daughter came home. She was a dear fine girl, God bless
her!"

The silence of the court was only disturbed by a stifled groan from
the bar, where Sim still stood with downcast eyes. Ralph gazed through
a blinding mist at the rafters overhead.

"She nursed the little ones, and gave them oaten cake and barley
bread. The good people were poor themselves; I could see they were. It
rained heavier than ever, so the young woman made a bed for us in a
little room, and we slept in the cottage until morning."

"Was anything said concerning the room you slept in?" "They said it
was their lodger's room; but he was away, and would not return until
the night following."

"Next day you took the road towards the North?"

"Yes, towards Carlisle. They told me that if my husband were ever
taken he would be brought to Carlisle. That was why I wished to get
here. But I had scarce walked a mile--I had a baby at the breast and a
little boy who could just toddle beside me--I had scarce walked a mile
before the boy became ill, and could not walk. I first thought to go
back to the cottage, but I was too weak to carry both children. So I
sat with my little ones by the roadside."

The witness paused again. Ralph was listening with intense eagerness.
He was leaning over the rail before him to catch every syllable. When
the woman had regained some composure he said quietly,--

"There is a bridge thereabouts that spans a river. Which side of the
bridge were you then?"

"The Carlisle side; that is to say, the north."

The voice of counsel interrupted a further inquiry.

"Pray tell my lords and the jury what else you know, good woman."

"We should have perished of cold where we sat, but looking up I saw
that there was a barn in a field close by. It was open to the front,
but it seemed to be sheltered on three sides,