ung naturalist, and with its open
windows, lay open to the gaze of the soldiers, and the sergeant, after a
sharp look round, which satisfied him that the place was empty, turned
to Waller.

"I thought it meant game, sir," he said. "Where's your sarpints?"

"Yonder on the shelf," said Waller, with a mischievous look in his eyes.

"Yah! Stuffed! Well, sir, we have done; and thank you for being so
nice to us over an unpleasant job."

"Oh, don't name it, sergeant," said Waller coolly.

"Right about face, my lads! Forward! March!--Halt!--About that there
window--how far is it to the ground?"

"Oh, nice little jump," said Waller coolly. "About thirty feet, I
suppose."

But though he spoke calmly there was a curious twitching at the corners
of the boy's eyes and his nether lip seemed to quiver as the stiff,
keen-looking man marched to the casement and leaned out, looking sharply
to right and left.

"Don't see any bits, sir, lying below," he said with a grim laugh. "No
one seems to have jumped out there. My word! You grow a fine lot of
ivy about this house, but I suppose it wasn't planted yesterday.--Now,
then, forward, my lads!" he continued; and then, with a laugh and a nod
to Waller, he jerked his right thumb in the direction of the men. "They
are not thinking of catching spies, sir, but about that bread and
cheese."

"Ah, well, they shall have it as soon as you have done," said Waller,
the nerves of whose face had ceased to twitch.

"Oh, we have done, sir," said the man, "and glad of it. This is not the
sort of thing I like. Don't seem proper work for soldiers. I have
done, sir, unless you have any other place you want us to search."

"Oh, not I," said Waller. "I shall be glad to see your backs."

The men began to descend, while Waller carefully locked the door and
pocketed his key.

"I don't like servants to meddle with my knick-knacks," he said.

"Of course you don't, sir. I used to be very fond of that sort of thing
when I was a boy, in Devon."

The next minute they were down in the fine old entrance-hall, to be met
by Gusset, who bustled forward out of the porch with his protruding eyes
rolling a little as he stared hard at the sergeant, and then, misjudging
a movement on the part of Waller, he snatched off his hat.

"You ar'n't found them, then?" he said to the sergeant.

"No, constable; there's no spy here, French or English. It's all a
mare's nest, and you have brought us for noth