ntance and real liking for the dull heavy
lad, who looked up to him as a kind of prince, Mark dropped into telling
his adventures over the ravens, while they trudged along the black
passages, with Dummy leading, Mark still carrying the candle, and the
lad's huge long shadow going first of all.

The miner's son listened without a word, drinking in the broken
disconnected narrative, as if not a word ought to be lost, and when it
was ended, breaking out with: "Wish I'd been there."

"I wish you had, Dummy. But if you had been, what would you have done?"

"I d'know, Master Mark. I aren't good out in the daylight; but I can
get along on the cliffs. I'd ha' come down to you. I should just like
to ketch any one heaving stones down upon you. I wonder that young
Darley didn't kill you, though, when he'd cotched you. We should ha'
killed him, shouldn't us, sir?"

"Don't know, Dummy," said the lad shortly. "Let's talk about something
else."

Dummy was silent; and they went on and on till Mark spoke again.

"Well," he said, "found any good bits of spar for Miss Mary?"

"Lots, sir. One big bit with two points like a shovel handle. Clear as
glass."

There was another silence, and then Mark spoke again.

"What's going on?"

"Witches, master."

"Eh? What?"

"Things comes in the night, and takes lambs, and fowls, and geese."

"You mean thieves."

"Nay, not like thieves, master. Old Mother Deggins saw 'em the other
night, and they fluttered and made a noise--great black witches, in long
petticoats and brooms. It was a noise like thunder, and a light like
lightnin', she says, and it knocked her down night afore last; and she
won't live in the cottage no longer, but come next to ours."

"Somebody tried to frighten her."

"P'r'aps. Frightened two of our men too. They was coming back from
Gatewell over the hills; and they see a light up by Ergles, where there
aren't no lights, and they crep' up to see what it was, and looked down
and see a fire, with a lot of old witches in long gowns leaning over it,
and boiling something in a pot; and they think it's babies."

"Why do they think that?"

"I d'know, master. Because they thought so, I think. Then, as they
were looking, all at once there was a ter'ble squirty noise, and a rush
like wings; and there was no fire, and nothing to see. Glad I warn't
there. Wouldn't go across the moor by Ergles for anything."

"But you're not afraid to come along here in the