es!"

"A very elegant connection! And you gave him the horse, did you, of your
own free-will?"

"Oh yes! of my own will--I would give him anything. Do, do, your honour,
let him go! His child is dying," said the old lady, bursting into
tears. "It may be dead before he gets to--before he gets there. Oh, your
honour, your honour, pray, pray, don't detain him!"

The justice did not seem to understand this excessive sympathy on the
part of Mrs. Hayes; nor did the father himself appear to be nearly so
affected by his child's probable fate as the honest woman who interested
herself for him. On the contrary, when she made this passionate speech,
Captain Geraldine only grinned, and said, "Niver mind, my dear. If
his honour will keep an honest gentleman for doing nothing, why, let
him--the law must settle between us; and as for the child, poor thing,
the Lord deliver it!"

At this, Mrs. Hayes fell to entreating more loudly than ever; and as
there was really no charge against him, Mr. Ballance was constrained to
let him go.

The landlord and his friends were making off, rather confused, when
Ensign Macshane called upon the former in a thundering voice to stop,
and refund the five guineas which he had stolen from him. Again the host
swore there were but fifteen in his pocket. But when, on the Bible, the
Ensign solemnly vowed that he had twenty, and called upon Mrs. Hayes to
say whether yesterday, half-an-hour before he entered the inn, she had
not seen him with twenty guineas, and that lady expressed herself ready
to swear that she had, Mr. Landlord looked more crestfallen than ever,
and said that he had not counted the money when he took it; and though
he did in his soul believe that there were only fifteen guineas, rather
than be suspected of a shabby action, he would pay the five guineas out
of his own pocket: which he did, and with the Ensign's, or rather Mrs.
Hayes's, own coin.

As soon as they were out of the justice's house, Mr. Macshane, in the
fulness of his gratitude, could not help bestowing an embrace upon
Mrs. Hayes. And when she implored him to let her ride behind him to her
darling son, he yielded with a very good grace, and off the pair set on
John Hayes's grey.

"Who has Nosey brought with him now?" said Mr. Sicklop, Brock's one-eyed
confederate, who, about three hours after the above adventure, was
lolling in the yard of the "Three Rooks." It was our Ensign, with the
mother of his captive. They had not me