he worst of it was that she had quite
forgotten, beyond blink of inquiry or gleam of hope, that ever in her
life she had set eyes on a youth of such perfect insignificance before.

"My friend, you ought to be hungry," said Bert of the Gill, as he was
proud to call himself; "after your exploit you should be fed. Your
vanquished foe will sit next to you. Insie, you are harassed in mind by
the countenance of our old friend Master John Smithies. He has met with
a little mishap--never mind--the rising generation is quick of temper.
A soldier respects his victor; it is a beautiful arrangement of
Providence; otherwise wars would never cease. Now give our two guests a
good dish of the best, piping hot, and of good meaty fibre. We will have
our own supper by-and-by, when Maunder comes home, and your mother is
ready. Gentlemen, fall to; you have far to go, and the moors are bad
after night-fall."

Lancelot, proudly as he stood upon his rank, saw fit to make no
objection. Not only did his inner man cry, "Feed, even though a common
man feed with thee," but his mind was under the influence of a stronger
one, which scorned such stuff. Moreover, Insie, for the first time, gave
him a glance, demure but imperative, which meant, "Obey my father, sir."

He obeyed, and was rewarded; for the beautiful girl came round him so,
to hand whatever he wanted, and seemed to feel so sweetly for him in his
strange position, that he scarcely knew what he was eating, only that it
savored of rich rare love, and came from the loveliest creature in the
world. In stern fact, it came from the head of a sheep; but neither jaws
nor teeth were seen. Upon one occasion he was almost sure that a curl
of Insie's lovely hair fell upon the back of his stooping neck; he could
scarcely keep himself from jumping up; and he whispered, very softly,
when the old man was away, "Oh, if you would only do that again!" But
his darling made manifest that this was a mistake, and applied herself
sedulously to the one-armed Jack.

Jack of the Smithies was a trencherman of the very first order, and
being well wedded (with a promise already of young soldiers to come),
it behooved him to fill all his holes away from home, and spare his own
cupboard for the sake of Mistress Smithies. He perceived the duty, and
performed it, according to the discipline of the British army.

But Insie was fretting in the conscience of her heart to get the young
Lancelot fed and dismissed before the