Part 34 (1/2)

Douglas had now stepped to Tom's side and was bending over him.

”Get up,” he ordered, ”and explain the meaning of all this.”

Tom slowly obeyed, crawled to his knees and then to his feet. His companion, Pete Rollins, did the same. They presented a sorry spectacle, and Douglas could scarcely repress a smile. But Nan laughed outright when she saw them.

”My, what beauties!” she exclaimed. ”This isn't Hallowe'en, Tom. Did you think it was? You'll know better next time, won't you?”

”'Deed I will, miss,” was the emphatic reply. ”No more sich doin's fer me, I tell ye that.”

Nell in the meantime had procured a basin of water, a wash-cloth and a towel. She now stood before the battered men.

”Sit down, both of you,” she quietly ordered. ”It won't do for you to go home looking that way.”

Meekly they obeyed and sat very still while she washed the blood from their faces.

”It's good of ye, miss,” Tom told her. ”We don't deserve sich kindness after what we said an' done to you to-night. Some would have kicked us out of the house an' left us there half dead.”

”You, fer instance, Nan, eh?” Empty grinned, as he looked toward the girl.

”No, I wouldn't,” Nan stoutly protested. ”That would have been too good for them. I would like to keep them and start a travelling show throughout the country. I would make my fortune in a short time. They deserve to be treated like that for disturbing my peaceful slumbers.

And just look at that door, all broken down. Who's going to fix it, I'd like to know?”

”I'll fix it, miss,” Pete eagerly replied. ”I'll come to-morrow an'

make it as good as new.”

”No, you won't. You'll be in jail; that's where you'll be.”

”Hush, hush, Nan,” Nell ordered, though she found it hard not to smile at the frightened look which came into Pete's eyes. ”Don't mind Nan, Pete. She isn't as terrible as she sounds.”

”Yes, she is,” Empty insisted. ”She kin use her hands as well as her tongue. I know it, fer she's often boxed my ears.”

”H'm!” and Nan tossed her head disdainfully. ”If you'd been a man I would have done more than that; I would have blackened your eyes, and----”

”There, there, Nan, that will do,” Nell interrupted, and from the tone of her voice Nan knew that she must obey. With a sigh of resignation she stood with her eyes fixed upon the floor and her hands clasped before her, unheeding Empty, who was grinning at her on the other side of the room.

”Guess we'd better go now,” Tom remarked when Nell had finished her ablutions. ”It must be purty late. But afore I go I wish to ask ye'r pardon, miss,” and he turned to Nell as he spoke. ”I wasn't jist meself to-night, an' I guess the rest were in the same fix.”

”A moment, Tom,” and Douglas laid his hand upon his shoulder. ”I want you to tell us why you and your companions made this attack to-night.”

”To git you, of course. Didn't ye know that?”

”Yes, indeed I did, but I wanted to hear you say so. Now, what did you want to get me for? What harm have I done to you or to the men who were with you?”

”None, none at all. But, ye see, we were under orders. We were told to come.”

”Who told you?”

”Ben Stubbles.”