"I owe no allegiance to King George. I have always been a ne'er-do-well,
despised and scouted by a hard father and a villainous brother or
two, and life with these good fellows here is, after all, to my
mind. There's independence in it, and I prefer to be independent;
and danger, and I like danger. A wronged man wrongs others in his
turn, mistress; and it is my turn now."

"Two wrongs cannot make a right."

"Oh, I do not attempt the impossible, Mistress Pemberthy."

"What will be the end of this--to you?"

"The gallows--if I cannot get my pistol out in time."

He laughed lightly and naturally enough as Sophie shrank in terror
from him. One could see he was a desperate man enough, despite his
better manners; probably as great an outcast as the rest of them,
and as little to be trusted.

"That is a dreadful end to look forward to," she said.

"I don't look forward. What is the use--when _that_ is the
prospect?"

"Your father--your brothers--"

"Would be glad that the end came soon," he concluded. "They are
waiting for it patiently. They have prophesied it for the last
five years."