Page:Doctor Syn - A Smuggler Tale of the Romney Marsh.djvu/214

 that was crying in her arms. The sudden appearance of the awful riders spread instant panic in this little circle. The old crone shrieked to her menfolk to awake, but before they could get to their feet the horses were upon them. Beelzebub, with daredevil precision, rode straight through the wood fire, his horse bellowing with fright as he scattered the crackling sticks. The young mother just avoided Jerry's horse as he came crashing through after Beelzebub, and the shriek of fear that she gave made Jerry turn heartsick as he reined in his mount.

"An ill-famed baggage, I'll be sworn," said Beelzebub. "'Twould have been a good thing had you ridden her down, and as for the brat, such devil spawn should be put out of their misery."

"Now I should have thought devil spawn would have had rather a way with us." At which sally Beelzebub clapped Jerk on the back, and declared that he was a good Ketch, a remarkable good Ketch, and as the young recruit had all he could do saving his own neck every minute as they leaped backward and forward over the dyke, this unpleasant episode was forgotten, or, rather, slid back into his brain like the memory of a nightmare slides when we dream again. On they dashed, but stopping at numerous farms on the way, where they always found more packponies waiting to join the cavalcade. And the Scarecrow was always somewhere. As soon as any little hitch occurred—as one frequently