us in ignorance. Any
way, he laid no bonds on me, but I must needs leave thee alone in thy
foolishness of bondage! Come, Patience, wench, and aid me, I know
this rock is honeycombed with caves, like a rabbit warren, no place so
likely."

"I help thee--no indeed'" cried Patience. "Would I aid thee to do what
would most grieve poor father, that thou once mad'st such a work about!
I should be afraid of his curse."

Possibly if Jeph had not pledged himself to his comrades to overcome
his brother's resistance, and bring back the treasures, he might have
desisted; but what he did was to call to Rusha to bring him a lantern,
and show him the holes, promising her a tester if she would. She brought
the lantern, but she was a timid, little, unenterprising thing, and was
mortally afraid of the caverns, a fear that Patience had thought it well
not to combat. Emlyn who had already scrambled all over the face of the
slope, and peeped into all, could have told him a great deal more about
them; but she hated the sight of a rebel, and sat on the ground making
ugly faces and throwing little stones after him whenever his back was
turned.

Stead, afraid to betray by his looks of anxiety, when Jeph came near the
spot, sat all the time with his elbows on his knees, and his hands
over his face, fully trusting to what all had agreed at the time of the
burial of the chest, that there was no sign to indicate its whereabouts.

He felt rather than saw that Jeph, after tumbling out the straw and fern
that served for fodder in the lower caves, where the sheep and pigs
were sheltered in winter, had scrambled up to the hermit's chapel, when
suddenly there was a shout, but not at all of exultation, and down among
the bushes, lantern and all came the soldier, tumbling and crashing into
the midst of an enormous bramble, whence Stead pulled him out with the
lantern flattened under him, and his first breathless words were--

"Beelzebub himself!" Then adding, as he stood upright, "he made full at
me, and I saw his eyes glaring. I heard him groaning. It is an unholy
popish place. No wonder!"

Patience and Rusha were considerably impressed, for it was astonishing
to see how horribly terrified and shaken was the warrior, who had been
in two pitched battles, and Ben screamed, and needed to be held in
Stead's arms to console him.

Jeph had no mind to pursue his researches any further. He only tarried
long enough to let Patience pick out half-a-dozen thor