horse caused Master Cotton no little disquietude of mind, and he said,
reprovingly,-

"It is well to be zealous in a good cause, Walter; but it is wrong to
commit a crime in order to compass your own ends."

"What crime have I committed?"

"The theft of the horse will be charged against you, and those who are
intrusted with the execution of the law do not favour such an association
as that in which you have enlisted."

"My getting possession of him was the fortune of war, not a theft. I was a
prisoner, made so unlawfully, and had the right to escape as best I
could."

"That argument is good here; but will be of little avail to those who look
upon you as a disloyal youth, who should be deprived of his liberty.'

"If I am to be charged with horse-stealing because of what has been done,
it cannot be avoided now. Before I am arrested I must carry the message
with which I have been entrusted, and to do so I need another horse. I had
believed I could get one from you without difficulty."

"So you can, lad but at the same time you must not think hardly of me if I
use proper precaution to save myself from being caught in the meshes of
the law. You know where my stable is j take an animal from there without
my permission, and I cannot prevent it."

"I am to steal another horse in order that you may not get into trouble?"