A shepherd is always well provided with lanterns; and, lighting these
hastily, and with hurdle-staves in their hands, they poured out of the
door, taking a direction along the crest of the hill, away from the town,
the rain having fortunately a little abated.

Disturbed by the noise, or possibly by unpleasant dreams of her baptism,
the child who had been christened began to cry heart-brokenly in the room
overhead. These notes of grief came down through the chinks of the floor
to the ears of the women below, who jumped up one by one, and seemed glad
of the excuse to ascend and comfort the baby, for the incidents of the
last half-hour greatly oppressed them. Thus in the space of two or three
minutes the room on the ground-floor was deserted quite.

But it was not for long. Hardly had the sound of footsteps died away
when a man returned round the corner of the house from the direction the
pursuers had taken. Peeping in at the door, and seeing nobody there, he
entered leisurely. It was the stranger of the chimney-corner, who had
gone out with the rest. The motive of his return was shown by his
helping himself to a cut piece of skimmer-cake that lay on a ledge beside
where he had sat, and which he had apparently forgotten to take with him.
He also poured out half a cup more mead from the quantity that remained,
ravenously eating and drinking these as he stood. He had not finished
when another figure came in just as quietly--his friend in cinder-gray.

'O--you here?' said the latter, smiling. 'I thought you had gone to help
in the capture.' And this speaker also revealed the object of his return
by looking solicitously round for the fascinating mug of old mead.

'And I thought you had gone,' said the other, continuing his skimmer-cake
with some effort.