ver with their master, they had determined
to quit his service, and without giving him any notice of their
intention. Not content with deserting him in the hour of danger, they
have robbed him as well--robbed him of the bulk of his treasure. They
have broken into his secret cabinet--and stripped it of all its
valuables that could be of use to them, and have not left one of his
hidden hoards unvisited."

"Hell's curses upon them!" exclaimed Mompesson, with irrepressible rage.
"May they all swing upon the gibbet!"

"The chief among them--a rascally Alsatian, known as Captain
Bludder--has been captured," pursued Luke Hatton. "And a large sum,
together with a rich casket of jewels, has been found upon him; and it
is to be hoped that the officers will succeed in finding the others.
Will your Highness interrogate Bludder?"

"Not now," replied Charles. "Let him be taken to the Fleet. But there
were other matters of more importance than the treasures--the deeds and
legal instruments. These, as being useless to the robbers, were probably
left untouched."

"They were so, your Highness," replied Luke Hatton.

"Would they had burned them!" ejaculated Mompesson. "Would all had been
destroyed!"

And he gave utterance to such wild exclamations of rage, accompanied by
such frenzied gestures, that the halberdiers seized him, and dragged him
out of the room. The old usurer was removed at the same time.

"And now," said Charles, rising from his chair, "one thing only remains
to be done ere I depart, and it will he pleasanter to me than aught that
has preceded it. I must again address myself to you, Sir Jocelyn
Mounchensey, ay, and to you, also, fair Mistress Aveline. I pray you to
come near me," he continued, with a gracious smile, to the damsel.

And, as she blushingly complied,--for she half divined his purpose,--he
said--"As I have already told you, Sir Jocelyn, your restoration to the
King's favour is complete, and your re-appearance at Court would be a
gratification to his Majesty, but, after the events which have occurred,
a brief retirement will, I conceive, be most agreeable to you, and I
would counsel a visit to the hall of your ancestors."

"Nothing could be more in accordance with my own wishes, most gracious
Prince, if my newly-found relative will accept me as his guest."

"Not as his guest, my good nephew" said Osmond. "You are sole lord of
Mounchensey. I have made over the mansion and all the estates to you.
They