All the
time mother was scolding so, she was feeling me, and wiping me; while
Faggus tried to look greatly ashamed, having sense of the ways of women.

"Only look at his jacket, mother!" cried Annie; "and a shillingsworth
gone from his small-clothes!"

"What care I for his clothes, thou goose? Take that, and heed thine own
a bit." And mother gave Annie a slap which sent her swinging up against
Mr. Faggus, and he caught her, and kissed and protected her, and she
looked at him very nicely, with great tears in her soft blue eyes. "Oh,
fie upon thee, fie upon thee!" cried mother (being yet more vexed with
him, because she had beaten Annie); "after all we have done for thee,
and saved thy worthless neck--and to try to kill my son for me! Never
more shall horse of thine enter stable here, since these be thy returns
to me. Small thanks to you, John Fry, I say, and you Bill Dadds, and you
Jem Slocomb, and all the rest of your coward lot; much you care for your
master's son! Afraid of that ugly beast yourselves, and you put a boy
just breeched upon him!"

"Wull, missus, what could us do?" began John; "Jan wudd goo, now wudd't
her, Jem? And how was us--"

"Jan indeed! Master John, if you please, to a lad of his years and
stature. And now, Tom Faggus, be off, if you please, and think yourself
lucky to go so; and if ever that horse comes into our yard, I'll
hamstring him myself if none of my cowards dare do it."

Everybody looked at mother, to hear her talk like that, knowing how
quiet she was day by day and how pleasant to be cheated. And the men
began to shoulder their shovels, both so as to be away from her, and
to go and tell their wives of it. Winnie too was looking at her, being
pointed at so much, and wondering if she had done amiss. And then she
came to me, and trembled, and stooped her head, and asked my pardon, if
she had been too proud with me.

"Winnie shall stop here to-night," said I, for Tom Faggus still said
never a word all the while; but began to buckle his things on, for he
knew that women are to be met with wool, as the cannon-balls were at the
siege of Tiverton Castle; "mother, I tell you, Winnie shall stop; else
I will go away with her, I never knew what it was, till now, to ride a
horse worth riding."

"Young man," said Tom Faggus, still preparing sternly to depart, "you
know more about a horse than any man on Exmoor. Your mother may well be
proud of you, but she need have had no fear. As if I, Tom Fa