’Youha’n’tlostyourmis’ess，anyhow，’theysaidtoconsolehim。
’She’sthrowedupthesperrits，andsheisfeelingbetter，andshe’smoreto’eethanachildthatisn’tyours。’
’Sheisn’t!She’snotsoparticularmuchtome，especiallynowshe’slostthelittlemaid!ButCarry’severything!’
’Well，ver’likeyou’llfindherto-morrow。’
’Ah——butshallI？YetheCAN’Thurther——surelyhecan’t!Well——
how’sCar’linenow？Iamready。Isthecarthere？’
Shewasliftedintothevehicle，andtheysadlylumberedontowardStickleford。Nextdayshewascalmer；butthefitswerestilluponher；andherwillseemedshattered。Forthechildsheappearedtoshowsingularlylittleanxiety，thoughNedwasnearlydistracted。ItwasneverthelessquiteexpectedthattheimpishMopwouldrestorethelostoneafterafreakofadayortwo；buttimewenton，andneitherhenorshecouldbeheardof，andHipcroftmurmuredthatperhapshewasexercisinguponhersomeunholymusicalcharm，ashehaddoneuponCar’lineherself。Weekspassed，andstilltheycouldobtainnoclueeithertothefiddler’swhereaboutsorthegirl’s；andhowhecouldhaveinducedhertogowithhimremainedamystery。
ThenNed，whohadobtainedonlytemporaryemploymentintheneighbourhood，tookasuddenhatredtowardhisnativedistrict，andarumourreachinghisearsthroughthepolicethatasomewhatsimilarmanandchildhadbeenseenatafairnearLondon，heplayingaviolin，shedancingonstilts，anewinterestinthecapitaltookpossessionofHipcroftwithanintensitywhichwouldscarcelyallowhimtimetopackbeforereturningthither。
Hedidnot，however，findthelostone，thoughhemadeittheentirebusinessofhisover-hourstostandaboutinby-streetsinthehopeofdiscoveringher，andwouldstartupinthenight，saying，’Thatrascal’storturinghertomaintainhim!’Towhichhiswifewouldanswerpeevishly，’Don’t’eeraftyourselfso，Ned!Youpreventmygettingabito’rest!Hewon’thurther!’andfallasleepagain。
ThatCarryandherfatherhademigratedtoAmericawasthegeneralopinion；Mop，nodoubt，findingthegirlahighlydesirablecompanionwhenhehadtrainedhertokeephimbyherearningsasadancer。
There，forthatmatter，theymaybeperforminginsomecapacitynow，thoughhemustbeanoldscampvergingonthreescore-and-ten，andsheawomanoffour-and-forty。
May1893，TRADITIONOFEIGHTEENHUNDREDANDFOUR
ThewidelydiscussedpossibilityofaninvasionofEnglandthroughaChanneltunnelhasmorethanoncerecalledoldSolomonSelby’sstorytomymind。
TheoccasiononwhichInumberedmyselfamonghisaudiencewasoneeveningwhenhewassittingintheyawningchimney-corneroftheinn-
kitchen，withsomeotherswhohadgatheredthere，andIenteredforshelterfromtherain。Withdrawingthestemofhispipefromthedentalnotchinwhichithabituallyrested，heleanedbackintherecessbehindhimandsmiledintothefire。Thesmilewasneithermirthfulnorsad，notpreciselyhumorousnoraltogetherthoughtful。
Wewhoknewhimrecognizeditinamoment：itwashisnarrativesmile。Breakingoffourfewdesultoryremarkswedrewupcloser，andhethusbegan：-
’Myfather，asyoumidknow，wasashepherdallhislife，andlivedoutbytheCovefourmilesyonder，whereIwasbornandlivedlikewise，tillImovedhereshortlyaforeIwasmarried。Thecottagethatfirstknewmestoodonthetopofthedown，nearthesea；therewasnohousewithinamileandahalfofit；itwasbuilto’purposeforthefarm-shepherd，andhadnootheruse。Theytellmethatitisnowpulleddown，butthatyoucanseewhereitstoodbythemoundsofearthandafewbrokenbricksthatarestilllyingabout。Itwasableakanddrearyplaceinwinter-time，butinsummeritwaswellenough，thoughthegardennevercametomuch，becausewecouldnotgetupagoodshelterforthevegetablesandcurrantbushes；andwherethereismuchwindtheydon’tthrive。
’Ofalltheyearsofmygrowinguptheonesthatbideclearestinmymindwereeighteenhundredandthree，four，andfive。Thiswasfortworeasons：Ihadjustthengrowntoanagewhenachild’seyesandearstakeinandnotedowneverythingabouthim，andtherewasmoreatthatdatetobearinmindthanthereeverhasbeensincewithme。
Itwas，asIneedhardlytellye，thetimeafterthefirstpeace，whenBonapartewasscheminghisdescentuponEngland。HehadcrossedthegreatAlpmountains，foughtinEgypt，drubbedtheTurks，theAustrians，andtheProossians，andnowthoughthe’dhaveaslapatus。OntheothersideoftheChannel，scarceoutofsightandhailofamanstandingonourEnglishshore，theFrencharmyofahundredandsixtythousandmenandfifteenthousandhorseshadbeenbroughttogetherfromallparts，andweredrillingeveryday。Bonapartehadbeenthreeyearsa-makinghispreparations；andtoferrythesesoldiersandcannonandhorsesacrosshehadcontrivedacoupleofthousandflat-bottomedboats。Theseboatsweresmallthings，butwonderfullybuilt。Agoodfewof’emweresomadeastohavealittlestableonboardeachforthetwohorsesthatweretohaulthecannoncarriedatthestern。Togetinorderallthese，andotherthingsrequired，hehadassembledtherefiveorsixthousandfellowsthatworkedattrades——carpenters，blacksmiths，wheelwrights，saddlers，andwhatnot。O’twasacurioustime!
’EverymorningNeighbourBoneywouldmusterhismultitudeofsoldiersonthebeach，draw’emupinline，practise’eminthemanoeuvreofembarking，horsesandall，tilltheycoulddoitwithoutasinglehitch。MyfatherdroveaflockofewesupintoSussexthatyear，andashewentalongthedrover’strackoverthehighdownsthereabouthecouldseethisdrillingactuallygoingon——theaccoutrementsoftherankandfileglitteringinthesunlikesilver。ItwasthoughtandalwayssaidbymyuncleJob，sergeantoffootwhousedtoknowallaboutthesematters，thatBonapartemeanttocrosswithoarsonacalmnight。Thegrandquerywithuswas，Wherewouldmygentlemanland？ManyofthecommonpeoplethoughtitwouldbeatDover；
others，whoknewhowunlikelyitwasthatanyskilfulgeneralwouldmakeabusinessoflandingjustwherehewasexpected，saidhe’dgoeithereastintotheRiverThames，orwest’ardtosomeconvenientplace，mostlikelyoneofthelittlebaysinsidetheIsleofPortland，betweentheBealandSt。Alban’sHead——andforchoicethethree-quarter-roundCove，screenedfromeverymortaleye，thatseemedmadeo’purpose，outbywherewelived，andwhichI’veclimmedupwithtwotubsofbrandyacrossmyshouldersonscoreso’darknightsinmyyoungerdays。Somehadheardthataparto’theFrenchfleetwouldsailrightroundScotland，andcomeuptheChanneltoasuitablehaven。However，therewasmuchdoubtuponthematter；andnowonder，forafter-yearsprovedthatBonapartehimselfcouldhardlymakeuphisminduponthatgreatandveryparticularpoint，wheretoland。Hisuncertaintycameaboutinthiswise，thathecouldgetnonewsastowhereandhowourtroopslayinwaiting，andthathisknowledgeofpossibleplaceswhereflat-bottomedboatsmightbequietlyrunashore，andthementheybroughtmarshalledinorder，wasdimtothelastdegree。Beingflat-bottomed，theydidn’trequireaharbourforunshippingtheircargoofmen，butagoodshelvingbeachawayfromsight，andwithafairopenroadtowardLondon。HowthequestionposedthatgreatCorsicantyrantasweusedtocallhim，whatpainshetooktosettleit，and，aboveall，whatariskheranononeparticularnightintryingtodoso，wereknownonlytoonemanhereandthere；andcertainlytonomakerofnewspapersorprinterofbooks，ormyaccounto’twouldnothavehadsomanyheadsshakenoveritasithasbygentrywhoonlybelievewhattheyseeinprintedlines。
’Theflocksmyfatherhadchargeoffedallaboutthedownsnearourhouse，overlookingtheseaandshoreeachwayformiles。Inwinterandearlyspringfatherwasupadealatnights，watchingandtendingthelambing。Oftenhe’dgotobedearly，andturnoutattwelveorone；andontheotherhand，he’dsometimesstayuptilltwelveorone，andthenturnintobed。AssoonasIwasoldenoughIusedtohelphim，mostlyinthewayofkeepinganeyeupontheeweswhilehewasgonehometorest。ThisiswhatIwasdoinginaparticularmonthineithertheyearfourorfive——Ican’tcertainlyfixwhich，butitwaslongbeforeIwastookawayfromthesheepkeepingtobeboundprenticetoatrade。EverynightatthattimeIwasatthefold，abouthalfamile，oritmaybealittlemore，fromourcottage，andnolivingthingatallwithmebuttheewesandyounglambs。Afeard？No；Iwasneverafeardofbeingaloneatthesetimes；forIhadbeenrearedinsuchanout-stepplacethatthelacko’humanbeingsatnightmademelessfearfulthanthesightof’em。
DirectlyIsawaman’sshapeafterdarkinalonelyplaceIwasfrightenedoutofmysenses。
’OnedayinthatmonthweweresurprisedbyavisitfrommyuncleJob，thesergeantintheSixty-firstfoot，thenincamponthedownsaboveKingGeorge’swatering-place，severalmilestothewestyonder。
UncleJobdroppedinaboutdusk，andwentupwithmyfathertothefoldforanhourortwo。Thenhecamehome，hadadroptodrinkfromthetubofsperritsthatthesmugglerskeptusinforhousingtheirliquorwhenthey’dmadearun，andforburning’emoffwhentherewasdanger。Afterthathestretchedhimselfoutonthesettletosleep。
Iwenttobed：atoneo’clockfathercamehome，andwakingmetogoandtakehisplace，accordingtocustom，wenttobedhimself。OnmywayoutofthehouseIpassedUncleJobonthesettle。Heopenedhiseyes，anduponmytellinghimwhereIwasgoinghesaiditwasashamethatsuchayoungsterasIshouldgoupthereallalone；andwhenhehadfasteneduphisstockandwaist-belthesetoffalongwithme，takingadropfromthesperrit-tubinalittleflatbottlethatstoodinthecorner-cupboard。
’Byandbywedrewuptothefold，sawthatallwasright，andthen，tokeepourselveswarm，curledupinaheapofstrawthatlayinsidethethatchedhurdleswehadsetuptobreakthestrokeofthewindwhentherewasany。To-night，however，therewasnone。Itwasoneofthoseverystillnightswhen，ifyoustandonthehighhillsanywherewithintwoorthreemilesofthesea，youcanheartheriseandfallofthetidealongtheshore，comingandgoingeveryfewmomentslikeasortofgreatsnoreofthesleepingworld。Overthelowergroundtherewasabitofamist，butonthehillwherewelaytheairwasclear，andthemoon，theninherlastquarter，flungafairlygoodlightonthegrassandscatteredstraw。
’WhilewelaythereUncleJobamusedmebytellingmestrangestoriesofthewarshehadservedinandthewowndshehadgot。HehadalreadyfoughttheFrenchintheLowCountries，andhopedtofight’emagain。HisstorieslastedsolongthatatlastIwashardlysurethatIwasnotasoldiermyself，andhadseensuchserviceashetoldof。Thewondersofhistalesquitebewilderedmymind，tillIfellasleepanddreamedofbattle，smoke，andflyingsoldiers，allofakindwiththedoingshehadbeenbringinguptome。
’HowlongmynaplastedIamnotpreparedtosay。Butsomefaintsoundsoverandabovetherustleoftheewesinthestraw，thebleatofthelambs，andthetinkleofthesheep-bellbroughtmetomywakingsenses。UncleJobwasstillbesideme；buthetoohadfallenasleep。Ilookedoutfromthestraw，andsawwhatitwasthathadarousedme。Twomen，inboat-cloaks，cockedhats，andswords，stoodbythehurdlesabouttwentyyardsoff。
’Iturnedmyearthitherwardtocatchwhattheyweresaying，butthoughIheardeverywordo’t，notonedidIunderstand。Theyspokeinatonguethatwasnotours——inFrench，asIafterwardfound。ButifIcouldnotgainthemeaningofaword，Iwasshrewdboyenoughtofindoutadealofthetalkers’business。Bythelighto’themoonI
couldseethatoneof’emcarriedarollofpaperinhishand，whileeverymomenthespokequicktohiscomrade，andpointedrightandleftwiththeotherhandtospotsalongtheshore。Therewasnodoubtthathewasexplainingtothesecondgentlemantheshapesandfeaturesofthecoast。Whathappenedsoonaftermadethisstillclearertome。
’AllthistimeIhadnotwakedUncleJob，butnowIbegantobeafearedthattheymightlightuponus，becauseunclebreathedsoheavilythrough’snose。Iputmymouthtohisearandwhispered，“UncleJob。“
’“Whatisit，myboy？“hesaid，justasifhehadn’tbeenasleepatall。
’“Hush!“saysI。“TwoFrenchgenerals——“
’“French？“sayshe。
’“Yes，“saysI。“Cometoseewheretolandtheirarmy!“
’Ipointed’emout；butIcouldsaynomore，forthepairwerecomingatthatmomentmuchnearertowherewelay。Assoonastheygotasnearaseightortenyards，theofficerwitharollinhishandstoopeddowntoaslantinghurdle，unfastenedhisrolluponit，andspreaditout。Thensuddenlyhesprungadarklanternopenonthepaper，andshowedittobeamap。