nstone's gardener knew well where this keg was
hidden. But it contained liquid well-nigh sacred in the eyes of his
master, and he had far too much common-sense ever to presume to find it.
A third came to anchor under a peat-stack belonging to Mr. Shepstone
Oglethorpe, the only Episcopalian within the parish bounds, and the
descendent of an English military family which had once held possession
of the Maitland estates during the military dragonnades of Charles II
and James II, but had been obliged to restore the mansion and most of
the property after the Prince of Orange made good his landing with his
"Protestant wind" at Torbay. Enough, however, remained to make Mr.
Shepstone Oglethorpe the next man in the parish after the minister and
the General. He was, besides, a pleasant, gossipy, young-old, fluttery
bachelor--a great acquisition at four-hours tea-drinkings, and much more
of a praise to them that do well than any sort of a terror to
evil-doers.

These three constituted the general staff of our commonwealth, and in
spite of occasional forgetfulnesses as to the declaration of the
aforesaid kegs, parcels of French silks and Malines lace, to H.M.'s
Supervisor of Customs, King George had no more loyal subjects than
these highest authorities in Eden Valley, ecclesiastical, military and
civil. Then, after due interval, came the farmers of Eden Valley,
honest, far-seeing, cautious men, slow of action, slower still of
speech--not at all to be judged by the standard of the richest of them,
Mr. Josiah Kettle. He was, in fact, a mere incomer, who had been
promoted a Justice of the Peace because, on the occasion of the last
scare as to a French invasion, he had made and carried out large and
remunerative contracts for the supply of the militia and other troops
hastily got together to protect the Solway harbours from Dryffe Sands to
the Back Shore.

The siege of the Haunted House of Marnhoul happened on a Friday, the
last school-keeping day of the week. Saturday was employed by the parish
in digesting the news and forming opinions for the consumpt of the
morrow. Meantime there was a pretty steady stream of the curious along
the Marnhoul road, but the padlock had been replaced, and only the
broken bar bore token of the storm which had passed that way.

On Sunday, however, a small oblong scrap of white attracted the
attention of the nearer curious. It was attached, at about the level of
the eyes, to the unbroken bar of the gate