"Mother won't say anything," he said. "She is accustomed to my coming
in all muddy."

"But she said 'Keep your frock clean,' and it's not clean," Aggie said
in dismay.

"Yes, but that is not your fault, little one. I will make it all right
with her, don't you fret. Come on, we had better go home and change it
as soon as possible."

They passed close by the two fishermen on their way.

"You gave it to the young squire finely, Master Walsham," one of them
said, "and served him right, too. We chanced to be looking at the
moment, and saw it all. He is a bad un, he is, by what they say up at
the Hall. I heard one of the grooms talking last night down at the
'Ship,' and a nice character he gave him. This thrashing may do him
some good; and look you, Master Walsham, if he makes a complaint to the
squire, and it's likely enough he will get up a fine story of how it
came about--the groom said he could lie like King Pharaoh--you just
send word to me, and me and Bill will go up to the squire, and tell him
the truth of the matter."

Mrs. Walsham felt somewhat alarmed when her son told her what had
happened, for the squire was a great man at Sidmouth, a magistrate, and
the owner of the greater part of the place as well as of the land
around it; and although Mrs. Walsham did not hold the same exaggerated
opinion of his powers as did the majority of his neighbours, who would
scarcely have dreamt of opposing it, had the squire ordered anyone to
be hung and quartered, still she felt that it was a somewhat terrible