s while fighting beside her own father, without being
twitted about him?"

"Certainly she can," replied the doctor, with an admiring glance at
the girl's spirited pose and flushed face. "But have a care, Miss
Nelly. There's nothing so dangerous to a girl's peace of mind as an
interesting invalid of the opposite sex."

"Thank you, for nothing, doctor, and you needn't fret one little bit
about me. We Red Jacket girls can take care of ourselves without going
to any man for advice."

"Save us, lass, but thee's getting a pert hussy!" cried Mrs.
Trefethen; but the doctor only laughed, and took his departure,
promising to call again the next day.

He had hardly gone before Mark Trefethen returned, filled with
excitement over certain discoveries he had just made. One was that the
car-pushers of the mine had sworn either to force Peveril from it or
to kill him. He had also learned that Rothsky, the Bohemian, who had
been found wanting when tried in the timber gang, had led the attack
of that evening, and had received a broken jaw in consequence. The
identity of the two car-pushers who were with him at the time having
also been discovered, the captain of the mine had promptly discharged
all three. Moreover, the Cornish miners had sworn that if either their
own leader or his protege were again molested while underground they
would drive every foreign car-pusher from the workings.

When Tom came home he confided to his father a belief that Mike
Connell had been at the bottom of all the recent deviltry, but, as he
confessed that he could not verify his suspicions, Mark Trefethen
bade him keep them to himself.

"We'll not take away any man's character, lad," he said, "without
proof that he deserves to lose it. But if ever I know for certain that
Mike Connell had hand in this, lat him have a care o' me. As for yon
Dick Peril, there's no fear but what he can look out for hissel', now
that we can warn him of his enemies."

For two days Peveril kept his bed, assiduously waited on by Mrs.
Trefethen and her daughter, watched over at night by Tom, and an
object of anxious solicitude to the entire family. Then he was allowed
to venture down-stairs, while the children were driven from the house,
that they might not disturb him. Before the week ended he was taking
short walks, escorted by Miss Nelly, who was only too proud to show
off this new cavalier before the other girls of her acquaintance.
Several times as the doctor saw them th