you, neighbour?" she
asked, after a while. "I wonder I never thought of that before; only,
it is a sort of thing one does not recollect till winter comes. Shall I
get you a sup of cherry-brandy?"

Ailwin thought it so odd that such an offer as this should not be
replied to, that she looked hastily behind the screen, to see what could
be the reason. There was reason enough. Nobody was there. Nan Redfurn
had made her way out as soon as she found herself alone, and was gone,
with Ailwin's best winter stockings and linsey-woolsey cloak.

In a minute the whole party were looking over the hedge into the marsh.
Nothing was to be seen but the low brown tent, and the heap of little
fish. Neither man, woman, nor boy appeared when their names were
shouted forth.

"Oh! My best stockings!" said Ailwin, half crying.

"You have saved your cherry-brandy, my woman, that is certain," observed
one of Gool's men.

"I shall never have any pleasure in it," sighed the maid. "I shall
never enjoy it on account of its reminding me how yon woman has fooled
me."

"Then we will save you that pain," said the man. "If you will oblige us
with it to-day we won't leave any to pain you in the winter."

"For shame," cried Oliver, "when you know she has lost her stockings and
her cloak already! And all out of kindness! I would not drink a drop
of her cherry-brandy, I am sure."

"Then you shall, Oliver, for saying so, and taking my part," said
Ailwin. "I am not going to give it to anyone else that has not the
ague; some people may be assured of that."

"If I thought there was any cherry-brandy for me when I came back," said
the man, throwing a stone down to try the nature of the bog-ground
beneath, "I would get below there, and try what I could find. I might
lay hold of a linsey-woolsey cloak somewhere in the bog."

"You can never catch the Redfurns, I doubt," said Ailwin. "What was it
they said to you, Oliver, as they were going off?"

"They laughed at me for not being able to catch eels, and asked how I
thought I should catch _them_. They said when I could decoy wild-fowl,
I might set a trap for the Redfurns. But it does not follow that that
is all true because they said it. I don't see but they might be caught
if there was anyone to do us justice afterwards. That's the worst part
of it, father says."

"There's father!" cried Mildred, as the crack of a whip was heard. All
started off, as if to see who could carry bad news