tleman like you won't like him none the
better for betraying of a nice young maid as put her trust in him, as
lively and pretty a young maid as ever stepped, and might have had the
pick of all the young men in the parish."

"What!" exclaimed Erle, with a sudden chill of heart, for Faith had not
concealed from him her anxiety about Dolly. "Tugwell, do you mean to
say--"

"Yes, sir; only you must keep it to yourself, for the sake of the poor
young thing; though too many knows it already, I'm afeared. And that
was how poor Jem Cheeseman changed from a dapper money-turning man, as
pleasant as could be, to a down-hearted, stick-in-doors, honest-weighted
fellow. Poor little Polly was as simple as a dove, and her meant to
break none of the Lord's commandments, unless it was a sin to look so
much above her. He took her aboard her father's trading-craft, and
made pretence to marry her across the water, her knowing nothing of
the lingo, to be sure; and then when there come a thumping boy, and
her demanded for the sake of the young 'un that her marriage should be
sartified in the face of all the world, what does he do but turn round
and ask her if she was fool enough to suppose that a Carne had married a
butter-man's daughter? With a few words more, she went off of her head,
and have never been right again, they say; and her father, who was
mighty proud to have a grandson heir to an old ancient castle, he was
so took aback with this disappointment that he puzzled all the village,
including of me, as I am free to own, by jumping into his own rope.
'Twas only now just that I heard all this; and as the captain of this
here place, I shall ask leave of Cheeseman to have it out with Master
Carne, as soon as may be done without hurting the poor thing. If she
had been my child, the rope should have gone round his neck first, if it
come to mine there-arter!"

"The ----- villain!" Twemlow used a strong short word, without adding
heavily, it may be hoped, to the score against him. "And to think that
all this time he has been daring to address himself--But never mind that
now. It will be a bad time for him when I catch him by himself, though I
must not speak of Polly. Poor little Polly! what a pretty child she was!
I used to carry sugar-plums on purpose for her. Good-bye, Tugwell; I
must think about all this."

"And so must I, sir. What a strapping chap 'a be!" Captain Zebedee
continued to himself, as Twemlow strode away with the light st