erloper was,
but he wholly failed to obtain any clew to his identity. He had jumped to
the conclusion that Dorothy's mysterious lover was a man of low degree. He
had taken for granted that he was an adventurer whose station and person
precluded him from openly wooing his daughter. He did not know that the
heir to Rutland was in the Derbyshire country; for John, after his first
meeting with Dorothy, had carefully concealed his presence from everybody
save the inmates of Rutland. In fact, his mission to Rutland required
secrecy, and the Rutland servants and retainers were given to understand
as much. Even had Sir George known of John's presence at Rutland, the old
gentleman's mind could not have compassed the thought that Dorothy, who,
he believed, hated the race of Manners with an intensity equalled only by
his own feelings, could be induced to exchange a word with a member of the
house. His uncertainty was not the least of his troubles; and although
Dorothy had full liberty to come and go at will, her father kept constant
watch over her. As a matter of fact, Sir George had given Dorothy liberty
partly for the purpose of watching her, and he hoped to discover thereby
and, if possible, to capture the man who had brought trouble to his
household. Sir George had once hanged a man to a tree on Bowling Green
Hill by no other authority than his own desire. That execution was the
last in England under the old Saxon law of Infangthef and Outfangthef. Sir
George had been summoned before Parliament for the deed; but the writ had
issued against the King of the Peak, and that being only a sobriquet, was
neither Sir George's name nor his title. So the writ was quashed, and the
high-handed act of personal justice was not farther investigated by the
authorities. Should my cousin capture his daughter's lover, there would
certainly be another execution under the old Saxon law. So you see that my
friend Manners was tickling death with a straw for Dorothy's sake.

One day Dawson approached Sir George and told him that a man sought
employment in the household of Haddon Hall. Sir George placed great
confidence in his forester; so he told Dawson to employ the man if his
services were needed. The new servant proved to be a fine, strong fellow,
having a great shock of carrot-colored hair and a bushy beard of rusty
red.

Dawson engaged the newcomer, and assigned to him the duty of kindling the
fires in the family apartments of the Hall. The name