"Yes," said Emlyn, coming up at the same time, "they are knocking
about everything in the church and pulling up the floor."

"Patience sent us to get some salt," explained Rusha, "and we saw
them from Dame Redman's door. She told us we had better be off and
get home as fast as we could."

"But I thought we would come and tell you," added Emlyn, "and then
you could get out the long gun and shoot them as they come into the
valley--that is if you can take aim--but I would load and show you
how, and then they would think it was a whole ambush of honest men."

"Aye, and kill us all--and serve us right," said Stead. "They don't
want to hurt us if we don't meddle with them. But there's a good
wench, Rusha, drive up the cows and sheep this way so that I can have
an eye on them, and shew Captain Venn's paper, if any of those
fellows should take a fancy to them."

"They are digging all over old parson's garden," said Rusha, as she
obeyed.

"Was Jeph there?" asked Stead.

"I didn't see him," said the child.

Steadfast was very uneasy. That turning up the parson's garden
looked as if they might be in search of the silver belonging to the
Church, but after all they were unlikely to connect him with it, and
it was wiser to go on with his regular work, and manifest no interest