he was in the room, but short as the interval was between
the close of his speech and his appearance before the group about the
fire, his temper had apparently changed, for he broke out in a cheery
voice:

'Hilloa, my lads! I reckon one or two of you are weatherbound. Well,
you've found a snug harbour here, and you're welcome to it. Mary,' he
went on, addressing a thick-set woman of middle age, who had risen at
his entrance, and stood before him with an embarrassed aspect, 'don't
tell the missus that I'm at home, but go upstairs and lay out dry things
for me. I'm wet through to the marrow. I'll have a drop of that myself,'
he said, laying a hand on one of the mugs and nodding round the little
circle, with a beaming face.

One of the men noisily shifted his chair to make room for him, and the
master of the house approached the fire, and, turning his back to it,
began to steam like a whole washing day.

He sipped comfortably at the creaming contents of the mug, and fairly
beamed upon his guests.

'You chaps,' he said, 'will have to wake up by and by. I hope there
isn't one of you that hasn't got the spirit to go out and fight for his
Queen and country?'

'There ain't a-going to be no fightin', Mr. Jervase,' said one of the
men sheepishly.

'Don't you make any mistake about that, my lad,' said Mr. Jervase. 'I've
got a bit of news for you as will set old England in a blaze within
another four-and-twenty hours. And I suppose I'm the only man within
five miles that knows it. You mark my words, now, all of you. You'll
remember this night to the last day o' your lives. This is the 27th
March, this is. The twenty-seventh of March in the year of Our Lord
eighteen hundred and fifty-four. That's a date as will stick in your
gizzards, my hearties. It's a date as will stick in old England's
gizzard, and in the Czar of Rooshia's gizzard, and in the gizzard of
Napoleon Three. And you can lay your oath to that, because Jack Jervase
told you.'

'Why, what's happened, Mr. Jervase?' asked the man who had spoken
earlier.

'Happened?' cried Mr. Jervase. 'Why, Her Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria
has sent a message to her Royal 'Ouses of Parliament to say as she's
declared war agen the Czar of all the Rooshias. And before a month is
over your heads, my lads, there'll be war amongst the Great Powers of
Europe, for the first time in eight-and-thirty years.'

The five men rose to their feet unconsciously in their excitement.
They we