He tossed me a little ornament of twisted silver wire woven into the
form of a double diamond knot, probably by the man himself.

"Thank you, Mr Gorsuch," I said.

"Oh, don't thank me," he answered rudely: "I'm tired of being
thanked. Now cut."

I wriggled through the clump after Hugh, then we ran home together
through the wood, just as the dinner-bell was ringing for the second
time.

Mrs Cottier asked us if we had not heard her calling.

"Yes, Mims," I said, "we did hear; but we were hidden in a secret
house; we wondered if you would find us--we were close to you some of
the time."

My aunt said Something about "giving a lot of trouble" and "being very
thoughtless for others"; but we had heard similar lectures many times
before and did not mind them much. After dinner I took Mims aside and
told her everything; she laughed a little, though I could see that she
was uneasy about Hugh.

"I wouldn't mention it to any one," she said. "It would be safer
not. But, oh, Jim, here we are, all three of us, in league with the
lawbreakers. The soldiers were here this morning asking all sorts of
questions, and they'd two men prisoners with them, taken at Tor Cross
on suspicion; they're to be sent to Exeter till the Assizes. I'm
afraid it will go hard with them; I dare say they'll be sent abroad,