I was in time to warn all our friends, and when
the soldiers came for them in the morning, it was only to find that
their nests were empty.
"They have been searching the houses of all Sir Marmaduke's
tenants, Charlie, and questioning man, woman, and child as to
whether they have seen you.
"Ah! Here is supper, and I am nearly famished. However, I can go on
talking while I eat. I should have been here sooner, but I have
been waiting for the return of the messenger I sent to Lancaster.
"Yesterday morning there was an examination of your father,
Charlie, or rather, an examination of the testimony against him.
First the two letters that were discovered were put in. Without
having got them word for word, my informer was able to give me the
substance of them. Both were unsigned, and professed to have been
written in France. The first is dated three months back. It alludes
to a conversation that somebody is supposed to have had with Sir
Marmaduke, and states that the agent who had visited him, and who
is spoken of as Mr. H, had assured them that your father was
perfectly ready to join, in any well-conceived design for putting a
stop to the sufferings that afflicted the country, through the wars
into which the foreign intruder had plunged it, even though the
plan entailed the removal of the usurper.
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