, I'm a-coming," and ~452~~ in another minute the bolts were
withdrawn, and the door opened.

"What do you mean by destroying a man's property in this manner?" was
the salutation with which we were accosted.

The speaker was a short thick-set man, with brawny arms, and a head
unnaturally large, embellished by a profusion of red hair, and a beard
of at least a week's growth. The expression of his face, surly in the
extreme, would have been decidedly bad, had it not been for a look of
kindness in the eye, which in some degree redeemed it!

"What do you mean by allowing people to stand knocking at your door for
five minutes, my friend, without taking any notice of them? You obliged
us to use summary measures," replied I.

"Well, I wor a-laying on the bed when you cum. I slipped down with a
sack of flour this morning, and hit my head, so I thought I'd turn in
and take a snooze, do you see;" and as he spoke he pointed to his face,
one side of which I now perceived was black and swollen, as if from a
blow.

"That's a lie, Joe! and you knows it," said Peter Barnett abruptly.

"You speaks pretty plainly at all events, Master Barnett," was the
reply, but in a less surly tone than he had hitherto used.

The man was clearly an original; and it was equally evident that Peter
knew how to deal with him, and that I did not. I therefore called the
former on one side, and desired him, if bribing was of any use, to offer
the miller fifty pounds, if through his information we were enabled
to overtake the fugitives. Upon this a conversation ensued between the
pair, which appeared as if it would never come to a termination; but
just as my patience was exhausted, and I was about to break in upon
them, Peter informed me that if I would engage to pay Hard-man fifty
pounds, and to protect him from Wilford's anger, he would tell me
everything he knew, and put me on the right track. To this I agreed, and
he proceeded to give me the following account:--

In the course of the previous day, a vagabond of his acquaintance, who
called himself a rat-catcher, but was a professional poacher and an
amateur pugilist, came to him, and told him that a gentleman who had
a little job in hand wanted the use of the cottage, as it was a nice
out-of-the-way place, and that, if he would agree, the gent would
call and give him his instructions. He inquired ~453~~ of what the job
consisted; and on being told that a girl was going to run away from home
with h