uck the letter had brought him, Lanty took his farewell of Mary,
and, with a heavy heart, set out on his journey.

CHAPTER XI. MISTAKES ON ALL SIDES.

The occurrence so briefly mentioned by Flahault, of the night attack
on the "Lodge." was not so easily treated by the residents; and so many
different versions of the affair were in circulation, that Miss Travers,
the only one whose information could have thrown any light upon it, was
confused by the many marvels she heard, and totally unable to recall to
mind what had really taken place. Sir Marmaduke himself examined.
the servants, and compared their testimony; but fear and exaggeration
conspired to make the evidence valueless. Some asserting that there were
at least a hundred assailants surrounding the house at one time--others,
that they wore a kind of uniform, and had their faces blackened--some
again had seen parties prowling about the premises during the day, and
could positively swear to one man, "a tall fellow in a ragged blue coat,
and without shoes or stockings"--no uncommon phenomena in those parts.
But the butler negatived all these assertions, and stoutly maintained
that there had been neither attack nor assailants--that the whole affair
was a device of Terry's, to display his zeal and bravery; and, in short,
that he had set fire to the rick in the haggard, and "got up" the affray
for his own benefit.

In proportion as any fact occurred to throw discredit on the testimony
of each, he who proffered it became a thousand times more firm and
resolute in his assertion--circumstances dubious a moment before, were
then suddenly remembered and sworn to, with numerous little aids to
corroboration newly recalled to mind. To one point, however, all the
evidence more or less converged, and that was, to accuse Terry of
being the cause, or at least an accomplice in the transaction. Poor
fellow--his own devotedness had made enemies for him every where--the
alacrity with which he mounted the burning stack was an offence not soon
to be forgotten by those who neither risked life nor limb; nor were the
taunts he lavished on their sluggish backwardness to be forgiven now.
Unhappily, too, Terry was not a favourite among the servants: he
had never learnt how much deference is due from the ragged man to the
pampered menial of a rich household; he had not been trained to that
subserviency of demeanour which should mark the intercourse of a
poor, houseless, friendless creatu