her."

He was answered with a rude shout of derision, and poor Croppie was
pricked with the sword's point to turn her away. Jeph was wild with
passion, and struck back the sword with his stick so unexpectedly that
it flew out of the trooper's hand. Of course, more than one stout man
instantly seized the boy, amid howls of rage; and one heavy blow had
fallen on him, when Kenton dashed forward, thrusting himself between his
son, and the uplifted arm, and had begun to speak, when, with the words
"You will, you rebel dog?" a pistol shot was fired.

Jeph saw his father fall, but felt the grasp upon himself relax, and
heard a voice shouting, "How now, my men, what's this?"

"He resisted the King's requisition, your Grace," said one of the
troopers, as a handsome lad galloped up.

"King's requisition! Your own robbery. What have you done to the poor
man, you Schelm? See here, Rupert," he added, as another young man rode
hastily up.

"Rascals! How often am I to tell you that this is not to be made a place
for your plunder and slaughter," thundered the new comer, rising in his
stirrups, and striking at the troopers with the flat of his sword, so
that they fell back with growls about "soldiers must live," and "curs of
peasants."

The younger brother had leapt from his horse, and was trying to help
Jephthah raise poor Kenton's head, but it fell back helplessly, deaf
to the screams of "Father, father," with which Patience and Rusha had
darted out, as a cloud of smoke began to rise from the straw yard. Poor
children, they screamed again at what was before them. Rusha ran wildly
away at sight of the soldiers, but Patience, with the baby in her arms,
came up. She did not see her father at first, and only cried aloud to
the gentlemen.

"O sir, don't let them do it. If they take our cows, the babe will die.
He has no mother!"

"They shall not, the villains! Brother, can nothing be done?" cried
the youth, with a face of grief and horror. And then there was a great
confusion.

The two young officers were vehemently angry at sight of the fire, and
shouted fierce orders to the guard of soldiers who had accompanied them
to endeavour to extinguish it, themselves doing their best, and making
the men release Steadfast, whom they had seized upon as he was trying to
trample out the flame, kindled by a match from one of the soldiers
who had scattered themselves about the yard during the struggle with
Jephthah.

But either the fire wa