are
asleep."

"Give him another chance," said Uncle Jack as we went home.

"Yes," said Uncle Bob; "it is partly our fault. If we had visited him
once or twice he would have been always on the watch."

"Well," said Uncle Dick, "I don't want to be unmerciful, and it will be
a lesson. He'll work hard to regain our confidence."

Next morning there were two letters in strange hands, which Uncle Jack
read and then handed round.

One was a threat such as had often been received before; but the other
was of a very different class. It was as follows:

"_Mesters_,--_There's somewhat up. We don't kno wat, but game o' some
kind's going to be played. Owd Tommy Searby gos sleep ivvery night,
and he's no good. Some on us gives a look now an' then o' nights but
yowd beter wetch im place yoursens_.--_Some frends_."

"That's genuine," said Uncle Dick emphatically. "What's to be done?"

"Go and do as they advise," said Uncle Jack. "You see we have won the
fellows over, and they actually act as a sort of police for us."

The consequence of this letter was that sometimes all four, sometimes
only two of us went and kept watch there of a night, very much to old
Searby's disgust, but we could not afford to heed him, and night after
night we lost our rest for nothing.

"Are we being laughed at?" said Uncle Bob wearily one night; "I'm
getting very tired of this."

"So we all are, my dear fellow," said Uncle Jack: "but I can't help
thinking that it is serious."

Uncle Jack was right, for serious it proved.

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.

FIRE AND WATER.

One dark night at the end of March we went down to the works all four,
meaning to watch two and two through the dark hours. The wind blew hard
and the rain fell, and as we reached the lane we could hear the water
lapping and beating against the sluice and the stones that formed the
head of the dam, while the waste rushed away with a hollow roar.

"Pity to lose so much good power," said Uncle Jack.

"Sun and wind will bring it back to the hills," said Uncle Dick gravely.
"There is no waste in nature."

I half expected to see a group of men, friends or enemies, waiting
about; but not a soul was in sight, and as we reached the gates I
shivered involuntarily and thought that people must have very serious
spite against us if they left their snug firesides to attack us on a
night like that.

Uncle Dick opened the little door in the gate and we stepped in, but to
our