success.

The plan once decided on, he began putting it into execution, and
although it seemed half a lifetime to him, but very few minutes had
elapsed before he had crossed the road, ran waist-high into the brook,
scaled the wall and scrambled down almost on top of old Zebedee, who,
stupefied by continual drink, sleep and this constant confinement, took
the surprise in a wonderfully calm manner.

"Hist, father! 'tis only me--Adam."

"A' right! a' right!" stammered Zebedee, too dazed to take in the whole
matter at once. "What is it, lad, eh? They darned galoots ha'n't a
tracked 'ee, have 'em? By the hooky! but they'm givin' 't us hot and
strong this time, Adam: they was trampin' 'bout inside here a minit
agone, tryin' to keep our sperrits up by a-rattlin' the bilboes in our
ears. Why, however did 'ee dodge 'em, eh? What's the manin' o' it all?"

"I thought they was gone," said Adam, "so I came down to see how you
were all getting on here."

"Iss, iss, sure. Wa-al, all right, I s'pose, but I ha'n't a bin let
outside much: Joan won't have it, ye knaw. Poor Joan!" he sighed, "her's
terrible moody-hearted 'bout 't all; and so's Eve too. I never see'd
maids take on as they'm doin'; but there! I reckon 'twill soon be put a
end to now."

"How so?" said Adam.

"Wa-al, you mustn't knaw, down below, more than you'm tawld," said the
old man with a significant wink and a jerk of his head, "but Jerrem he
let me into it this ebenin' when he rinned up to see me for a bit.
Seems one o' they sodger-chaps is carr'in' on with Eve, and Jerrem's
settin' her on to rig un up so that her'll get un not to see what
'tain't maned for un to look at."

"Well?" said Adam.

"Iss," said Zebedee, "but will it be well? That's what I keeps axin' of
un. He's cock sure, sartain, that they can manage it all. He's sick, he
says, o' all this skulkin', and he's blamed if he'll go on standin' it,
neither."

"Oh!" hissed Adam, "he's sick of it, is he?" and in the effort he made
to subdue his voice the veins in his face rose up to be purple cords.
"He'd nothing to do with bringing it on us all? it's no fault of his
that the place is turned into a hell and we hunted down like a pack o'
dogs?"

"Awh, well, I dawn't knaw nuffin 'bout that," said old Zebedee, huffily.
"How so be if 'tis so, when he's got clane off 'twill be all right
agen."

"All right?" thundered Adam--"how all right? Right that he should get
off and we be left here?--that he shoul