What for? I was just going to clear away."

"Stand up, I tell you!"

"All right;" and the boy rose immediately, staring hard at his
companion, as Pen, with a quiver of emotion in his utterance, laid his
hand over the remains of the black-bread, and said, gazing hard at the
old priest the while, "_Benedictus, benedicat_. Amen."

"Ah!" said the priest, with a long-drawn breath of satisfaction;
"_Benedictus, benedicat_ Amen."

Then, taking a step towards them, he laid his hand upon the heads of his
two guests in turn and said a few words in an undertone. Next, pointing
to the rough pallet-bed, he signed to Punch that he should lie down
beside his companion.

"What, take a snooze there, sir?" said Punch. "Thank you, sir. But not
yet.--You tell him in your Latin stuff, comrade, that I want to do a bit
of doctoring first."

"I'll try," said Pen wearily, already half-asleep; when, to the surprise
of both, the old man went outside and returned with a little wooden tub
of water which he brought to the bedside, and then, in spite of a
half-hearted protestation on the part of Punch, he proceeded to
carefully attend to the wound.

"Well, it's very good of you, sir," said the boy at last, after doing
his best to help, "and I wish I could make you understand what I say.
But you have done it a deal better than I could have done, and I am sure
if my comrade could have kept himself awake he would be ready enough to
say something in Latin that would mean you are a trump, and he's very
much obliged. But, you see, all I know, sir, about Latin--"

"Latin!" said the old priest, beaming upon him with wondering eyes.

"Yes, sir--Latin, sir, as I learnt of him;" and then, pointing to the
carefully bandaged limb, "_bonum_, sir; _bonum_!"

The priest nodded, as he pointed to the pallet, where there was room for
Punch to lie down by his sleeping companion; but the boy shook his head.

"No, sir," he said, "that's your roost; I do know that," And, before his
host could interfere, the boy placed one musket within reach of Pen's
hand, the other beside the door, across which he stretched himself.

It was now nearly dark, and after placing his little home in something
like order, the old man turned to where Punch had been resting upon one
arm a few minutes before, watching his movements, but was now prone upon
the beaten-earth floor fast asleep, with a look of restfulness upon his
young, sunburnt countenance.

The old man stepped ca