t's mine,' said Hugh, in the same sullen manner as before; 'it
might have hurt you, if you had come in its way once or twice last
night. Put it down.'

'Might have hurt me!' said Mr Dennis, still keeping it in his hand, and
feeling the edge with an air of abstraction. 'Might have hurt me! and me
exerting myself all the time to the wery best advantage. Here's a world!
And you're not a-going to ask me to take a sup out of that 'ere bottle,
eh?'

Hugh passed it towards him. As he raised it to his lips, Barnaby jumped
up, and motioning them to be silent, looked eagerly out.

'What's the matter, Barnaby?' said Dennis, glancing at Hugh and dropping
the flask, but still holding the axe in his hand.

'Hush!' he answered softly. 'What do I see glittering behind the hedge?'

'What!' cried the hangman, raising his voice to its highest pitch, and
laying hold of him and Hugh. 'Not SOLDIERS, surely!'

That moment, the shed was filled with armed men; and a body of horse,
galloping into the field, drew up before it.

'There!' said Dennis, who remained untouched among them when they had
seized their prisoners; 'it's them two young ones, gentlemen, that the
proclamation puts a price on. This other's an escaped felon.--I'm sorry
for it, brother,' he added, in a tone of resignation, addressing himself
to Hugh; 'but you've brought it on yourself; you forced me to do it; you
wouldn't respect the soundest constitootional principles, you know; you
went and wiolated the wery framework of society. I had sooner have
given away a trifle in charity than done this, I would upon my soul.--If
you'll keep fast hold on 'em, gentlemen, I think I can make a shift to
tie 'em better than you can.'

But this operation was postponed for a few moments by a new occurrence.
The blind man, whose ears were quicker than most people's sight, had
been alarmed, before Barnaby, by a rustling in the bushes, under cover
of which the soldiers had advanced. He retreated instantly--had hidden
somewhere for a minute--and probably in his confusion mistaking the
point at which he had emerged, was now seen running across the open
meadow.

An officer cried directly that he had helped to plunder a house last
night. He was loudly called on, to surrender. He ran the harder, and in
a few seconds would have been out of gunshot. The word was given, and
the men fired.

There was a breathless pause and a profound silence, during which all
eyes were fixed upon him. He had bee