"Moonfleet." "Where do you come from, boy?" "Can't you hear?" "We asked you a question." "Don't you touch that!" "That's my letter!" "My mother's letter!" "With your permission, young sir." ""My dearest son, John:" ""I write while I have the strength." ""Make your way to Moonfleet," ""and there seek out a gentleman named Jeremy Fox..." ""who, as I hear, has returned from the colonies" ""to live in the house which was my home." ""I do not know what the years have done to him." ""But I do knowthat he will be your friend for my sake." ""God bless and keep you both"." "It's always a pleasure to see such friendly faces." "Come to the fire, my dear." "My business here will not detain me long." "Greening!" "Last night, Master Greening, I dined with lord Ashwood." "The dinner was excellent, but deficient in spirits." "This was the more surprising since I had recently sent his lordship by special messenger four casks of French brandy." "The stuff was delivered." "To whom?" "And how much did you take for it, Master Greening?" "Maybe I don't choose to say." "And maybe the others don't choose to..." "A good price, I hope!" "For it's the last delivery you'll be making in many a day!" "Get out!" "Mr. Fox, talking of deliveries, here's one just come." "John Mohune..." "Olivia's son." "Landlord, look after my guests." "Would you mind if I asked you for proof of some kind?" "Not at all, sir." "It's only natural." " What's that?" " That's my grandfather's ring." "There's the Mohune crest." "I may as well tell you that I have no affection for the name you bear." "Nor has anyone in these parts." "Moonfleet's had its bellyful of the Mohunes." "Mohune justice, Mohune tyranny, Mohune pride!" "Come..." "Don't let's quarrel on such short acquaintance." "Drink up, John Mohune." "Go on, sit down." "What became of your mother in the great world?" "How did she fare when her family fortunes went to smash?" "After my father died, she taught school." "And I cleaned out grates and things." "And ran errands." " Did you like that?" " The exercise was beneficial." "Why did she send you to me?" "Was there no one else?" "No one but you, sir." "What am I supposed to do with you?" "Make you a pillar of society, like myself?" "Thank you, sir." "What do you mean by that?" "It's nice to have a friend." "A friend!" "You disabuse yourself of that whimsy!" "Your mother presumed on a piece of folly that both of us lived to regret!" "The Mohunes sawto that." "They married her off to the first available cousin and they shipped me to the devil by the quickest road." "But the devil and I became fast friends." "As everyone in Moonfleet will tell you." "Take him upstairs, put him to bed." "Did they look after you while I was away?" ""As the whirlwind passeth," ""so is the wicked no more"." "Proverbs 10:25." "Come on, before it's dark." "Are you taking me to Mr. Fox?" "Is that Mr. Fox's carriage?" "You are, aren't you?" "Never you mind, sir." "Now, in you get." "I want to go to Mr. Fox!" "Well, then, want must be your master." "There we are, sir." "Let me out!" "Help!" "Boy!" "Boy!" "Who are you?" "I'm looking for Mr. Fox." "Do you knowwhere he lives?" "He lives in the manor house." "I'll showyou." "We're neighbours." " Come on." " Thank you." "You forgot your hat." "Who's that?" "A smuggler." "What did he smuggle?" "Brandy." "And silk and tobacco." "Why don't his people come in the night and take him down?" "Mr. Maskewwon't allow it." "Who's Mr. Maskew?" "." "He's the magistrate." "He says Moonfleet's a nest of smugglers." "He means to make an example out of this one." "He must be a beast!" "He's my uncle." " I'm sorry." " So am I." "But it can't be helped." "Come along." "That's Mohune Manor in there." "Oh, John, how long will you stay here?" "Always." "Stop!" " Grace?" " Yes, uncle?" "Who is that with you?" "John Mohune." "He's a friend of Mr. Fox." "Mr. Fox?" "Ah, indeed!" "Mr. Fox has the most interesting friends." "Give him my compliments." "Mr. Maskew's compliments." "It has long been my wish to get better acquainted with my neighbour Mr. Fox." "And his friends." "Drive on." "Bravo!" "Encore!" "I want to see Mr. Fox, please." " He's expecting me!" " Mr. Fox?" "Yes!" "Will you let me in, please!" "What sort of a man are you?" "Here I am, offering you the chance of a lifetime, and I find you absorbed in, er..." "other things." "You should know, Ashwood, there's a time for business and a time for "other things"." "Jeremy..." "You have a visitor." "It's me, sir." "What the devil!" "I beg your pardon, sir." "I didn't knowthere'd be ladies present." "Shall I withdraw, sir?" "Not before you've explained yourself." "Sir..." "I was kidnapped, sir." " You don't say!" " Yes, sir." "What have you done with my coachman?" "Overpowered him and left him for dead?" "Sir?" "It was I who ordered you removed from Moonfleet and sent back North to a school where you'll spend what's left of your boyhood being starved, bullied and beaten into a finished English gentleman." "Is that your decision, sir?" "It is." "You wouldn't care to discuss it?" "You have views on the subject?" "Yes, sir." "I'd rather stay here." "The boy's right." "You can't blame him if he likes gay company!" "Have a drink, boy!" "No, thank you, sir." "Or would you rather dance with that young lady over there?" "No, thank you, sir." "I can't dance." "Well, what can you do?" "Can you sing?" "That's right." "Give us a bawdy song!" "If we like it, we'll tell Fox to let you stay." "Hey, how about it, John?" "Have you got a song?" " I know one, sir." " Well, sing it!" "There were two birds sat on a stone" "One flewaway and then there was one" "The otherflewafter and then there was none" "And then the poorstone was left alone" "Now, sir, do I stay?" "Who's to undertake your education?" "You, sir." "Don't be selfish, Fox." "If the boy's heart's set on a career of rascality, there's no man in England can set him a better example!" "Sir, I object to that remark!" " What's that?" " You understood me, sir!" "Savage little beast!" "John!" "You will apologise to lord Ashwood." "No, sir!" "He insulted you!" "They all insulted you!" "You're a stubborn, ill-mannered little lad!" "Tooley!" "Bed this young colt down for the night." "Pack him off to school, the sooner the better." "Drum some manners into him!" "I've changed my mind, Ashwood." "I like him as he is." "And how long is he to stay here?" "As long as it amuses me." "What do you intend to do with him?" "Corrupt and destroy him too?" "There's far more danger of him destroying me." "No!" "No!" " Help!" "Help!" "They'll kill me!" " Hey, wake up!" " They're tearing..." " Wake up!" "Oh, it's you, sir." "Well, did I save your life in the nick of time?" "They were tearing at me..." "the whole pack of them!" " Who?" " The dogs!" " In the summerhouse!" " What are you talking about?" " My dream!" "It was like..." " Like what?" "Something my mother told me." "What did she tell you?" "About a friend who came to her one night in the summerhouse." "They set the dogs on him." "They almost tore him to pieces!" "Your mother had an overwrought imagination!" "She did wrong to fill your head with such nonsense!" "Jeremy!" "Why do you lie to the boy?" "Who was your mother?" "Why did she send you to him?" "Why?" "Answer!" "Can't you speak?" "It's him they set the dogs on!" "They?" "Who?" "The Mohunes." "Jeremy..." "Jeremy, why didn't you tell me?" "She's dead, Ann." "Not to you, Jeremy!" "That's why we had to leave the islands, isn't it?" "To come back here to this accursed house..." "Her house!" "It would have been better for both of us if you'd told me." "So that you could give me the benefit of your compassion?" "No, Jeremy, but at least I would have known what lay ahead of me." "I would have known howfoolish I was to be jealous of the others." "The women that you play with to fill the emptiness which is your life!" "You're right, Ann." "You should not have come here to share a life that seems so empty." "So I'll arrange for you to return to the islands." "But I have nothing to go back to!" "You knowthat!" "When I followed you here I gave up everything!" "You'll sail on the Bonaventure." "She'll be here within a week." "Mr. Fox!" "Mr. Fox!" "John!" "John!" "I've been here for hours waiting for you." "How did you get in?" "I'll showyou, if you promise not to tell anybody, or I couldn't come to see you any more." "Here." "There's a breach in the wall." "See?" "You do want me to come and see you, don't you?" "Well, come on then, we'll sit in the summerhouse." "What's wrong?" "What are you afraid of?" "You don't talk much, do you?" "Did the cat get your tongue?" "I can't stay long, you know." "It's almost time for church." "The wind blewthe tide into the graveyard last night." "Came over the wall and right up to the church door." "Washed away some of the tombstones." "Have you ever heard about Redbeard?" "Redbeard?" "He's been in the churchyard again." "And taken another man." "What?" "Master Greening." "They say it was Redbeard that took him!" "Do you believe in ghosts?" "I believe people should stay out of the graveyard at night." "While Redbeard's around looking for his lost diamond." "If I knewwhere it was, I wouldn't be afraid!" "I'd sell the diamond and rebuild the manor." "When my mother lived here, she said the house had a hundred rooms and stables for a hundred horses." "And fountains with gold and silver fish that played all the time." "But it's not yours." "It belongs to Mr. Fox now." "We're going to live here together." "He's my friend!" "That's the bell for church." "My uncle's waiting." "Are you coming?" "...Pralse Hlm, all creatures here below" "Pralse Hlm above, ye heavenly host" "Pralse Father, Son and Holy Ghost." "Amenl" ""Thou shalt not have strange gods before me!" So it is written." "Yet you worship the dark gods of superstition and falsehood like so many benighted savages!" "You whisper of a man long dead, a man whom you call Redbeard!" "You credit him with supernatural powers, powers of life and death!" "Redbeard, indeed!" "Sir John Mohune was an officer of the Crown who betrayed his sacred trust, traduced his king and sold his honour for a diamond of great price!" "He died in Hollisbrooke, a madman, balked of the enjoyment of his ill-gotten treasure." "And now, in death, it is not to be believed that such a man would be suffered to defy the divine law and dishonour the resting places of our Christian dead!" " Amen!" " Amen, Parson." "But if it weren't Redbeard, who killed Cracky Jones last winter?" "And now..." "Nat Greening." "Who took him?" "Silence, Granny Clarke, and you, Ratsey, that should know better." "When I urged... that a search be made for Nathaniel Greening, two days missing," "I was told that a search was useless, that he was last seen in the churchyard, after sundown, and so must have met a monstrous fate at Redbeard's hands." "I say to you that this is blasphemy!" "And I say to you that if you persist in these heathen beliefs, you mock God in His own house and this shall not be forgiven you here or hereafter." "Amen!" "Who is it?" "It's I, sir." "John Mohune." "Olivia Mohune's boy." "I was fond of your mother." "Most fond." "Seeing you here in church today was a comfort to me." "On a day of great anger!" "Parson Glennie, what became of the diamond?" "The diamond he sold his honour for." "That secret lies buried with Sir John." "Perhaps it is better so." "But if I found it, it would be mine, wouldn't it?" "So young, and your heart already set on possessions?" "But if I put it to good use, sir?" "If you found it, you would succeed where generations have failed." "Now, my boy, we're about to be plunged in primeval darkness." "You're not afraid to cross the churchyard alone, are you?" "No, sir." "Still, you'd better take this." "You can return it in the morning." "I shall look forward to talking with you." "Thank you, sir." "Good night, my boy." "God bless you." "Good night, sir." "Get the ladder up." "Half the roof's fallen in!" "Blood, what a shambles!" "Get those kegs out of the water!" "It was the brandy kegs dancing around, not Redbeard!" "I wonder Parson didn't smell a rat!" "The tide come any higher, the barrels will float down the aisle!" "What about me?" " Is this all that's coming?" " Parminter's cried off." "And Starkill..." "Rot their chicken hearts!" "What ails 'em?" "Feared to showfight since that business of Greening." "The fools!" "We'd be twenty against one!" "Aye." "But the question is, do we need the one?" "Gentlemen!" "On my way to Ashwood House, I received a message." "It said that I might find better entertainment here." "Who peached?" "I can spare you five minutes." "Well, here it is." "The men's hearts ain't in this business any more." "What do the men want, plainly and simply?" "Before they'll run another cargo, they want a bigger share." "It ain't right that some should take all the chances while others pockets all the profits!" "You may give yourself airs above ground, Mr. Kiss-me-hand Fox, but down here you're no better than we are." "You witless, gutless misbegotten gallows-bait!" "Before you thought yourselves desperate fellows if you smuggled two kegs a month in a load of mackerel!" "I turned your paltry swindle into a trade worth thousands!" "And I claim the captain's share because I earn it!" "Now, gentlemen, anything else you wished to discuss?" "No?" "Then if you'll excuse me." ""Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees"." "Isaiah 35:3." "I'm for bed." "Here, best see to this." "Cover it up." "Stap me!" "It's not my hat!" "It's too small." "Well, it's more'n likely that your head's too big with the brandy." "All right, all right." "Get along with it!" "That'll do it." "Now nobody can get in or out!" "Mr. Fox!" "Mr. Fox!" "Carré, Ashwood." "Four queens." "I believe I have the right to a post draw, do I not?" " Kings over all!" " You're cheating, Ashwood!" "Well, even if I were, I should consider it grossly impolite of you to say so in my own house." "I'd knowyou anywhere." "It's Jeremy Fox!" "You've got a very good memory, my dear." "Good evening, Mr. Fox." "My lady." "I thought you'd not come." "Ashwood House seems to have so little to attract you." "Not even gypsy music." "I see lord Ashwood keeps you well informed." "Jamie has no secrets from me." "Nor you from him?" "Why do you smile?" "Women." "They have a way of combining passion with foresight, the joys of the moment with a providential care of the future." "I've a right to think of my future." "Especially now that you're a part of it." "Now, that's an honour I hardly deserve." "There's no man in England who deserves it less." "I think you're cynical and ruthless, almost certainly cruel, a man of bad character and evil reputation." "You're quite right, my lady." "But then I've never believed in the attraction of opposites." "I think there's a far more powerful affinity between equals." "Help!" "Help!" "Wake up!" "Let me in!" "Help!" "Help!" "Help!" "Help!" "Granny Tucker, are ye daft, woman?" "He's back!" "I heard 'im piping'!" "A-cryin' and a-wailin' like a soul in pain." "Get home before I slit your gizzard, you old bag o' bones!" "Tell Parson Redbeard's abroad!" "Lyin' in wait to throttle us all!" "Like Cracky Jones and Greening!" "Mr. Fox!" "Help!" "Help!" "Mr. Fox!" "Mr. Fox!" "Help!" "Help!" "Mr. Fox!" "I'm glad there's no truth in the rumour I heard." "Rumours?" "That you'd renounced the pleasures of bachelorhood for the sake of an adopted son." "My lady, if I wanted a son, do you really think" "I'd have no other choice but to adopt one?" "Well, with no ties in this country, you're free to travel." "Aren't you?" "But I have no such intention." "You will change your mind after speaking to Jamie." "We're going abroad!" "And you're coming with us." "As Jamie's partner." "You're not averse to being my partner, are you, Fox?" "Her ladyship was just hinting at the advantages that such an arrangement might hold for me." "Was she?" "I have three ships outfitting at Rotterdam." "They're being armed to conduct operations of war against the merchant fleets of certain hostile nations." "Piracy." "That shouldn't bother a man like you, Fox." "A man with brains, courage and capital." "Capital?" "Equal shares." "And a fortune to be made." "Equal shares." "If you accept, we'll take you with us to Rotterdam." "You mean that her ladyship would be coming with us?" "You don't think that I'd start a new venture without lady Ashwood's moral support, do you?" "Well, Fox?" "Now, why do you hesitate?" "All partnerships have two things in common:" "the partner who cheats and the partner who is cheated." "My dear Fox, you knowthat I trust you completely in every respect." "And surely you don't think that I would cheat you?" "Milord, a message by hand for Mr. Fox." "Excuse me." "My lady..." " Going, Fox?" " I'm afraid I must." "At this hour?" "You make it sound a matter of life and death." "Is it, my lady." "It seems that the offer was not as attractive as you thought." "It was your offer he refused, Jamie." "Not mine." "I don't fancy killing' the boy." "There's no sense in putting' off what's got to be done!" "I say to wait." "I ain't goin' to get in no trouble with Mr. Fox." "Look, I'm through with waitin' on Mr. Fox!" "What's to be done with the boy?" " A little boat ride..." " A little splash, and it's all over as prim as you please." "Take him down to the wharf." "Out the back with him now." "Let's get through with it." "He's sneakin' out!" "Help me!" "Open up!" "Open up in the King's name!" "There are men at every door!" "Elzevir Block!" "Captain Hawkins, present your warrant." "Authority to search the premises." "Objections?" "No." "I thought not." "Your keys!" "Well, whom have we here?" "Mr. Fox's young friend." "You astonish me, Master Mohune." "This is not fit company for a gentleman." "Mister..." "Master John is so kind as to make allowances." "He sees through our rough ways into our kind hearts." "Don't you, Master John?" "Master John has remarkable eyesight!" ""Unto the pure, all things are pure"." "Titus..." "Mister..." "Well?" "Master John was about to..." "Let Master John speak for himself." "Come here, boy." "Please, sir, they're going to take me away on a boat and..." "Maskew!" "I can scarcely believe my eyes!" "A King's magistrate carousing in a fisherman's pothouse?" "Why not, Mr. Fox?" "Am I not in good company?" "Am I not in some sort a fisherman myself?" "Don't I spread my nets to catch all kinds of fish, both great and small?" "Did you know a man named Greening, Mr. Fox?" "I never had that pleasure." "His mother believes him to have been engaged in the smuggling trade." "Suspects he met foul play at the hands of his companions." "Well then, your course is clear." "Hang the lot." "Never fear, Mr. Fox." "In due course and with proper evidence," "I will have every smuggling rascal in this parish swing and sun-dry." "I hope I'm there to see it." "Oh, you will be, Mr. Fox." "At my personal invitation." "Until then..." "One moment!" "Master John, you were going to tell me something." "Well, come on." "You said they were going to... yes, going to take you out on a boat and..." "Go on, please." "Speak up, boy." "That's all, sir." "Well?" "Nothing out of the way, sir." "Oh, cheer up, Maskew." "You can't hope to hang a man every morning." " That was a near thing." " Why didn't he speak?" " He could have saved himself." " He has saved himself." "It won't do, Mr. Fox." "That boy knows enough to hang all of us." "The boy is my responsibility." "I'll dispose of him in my own way." "After what he's heard and seen in the vault, he can't live!" "I'll take that risk." "Well, we won't!" "This is the second time that you've chosen to speak for these men." "I take it you regard yourself as their leader." "Well, Master Block, we'll settle that now." "Get out of the way!" "Now, Master Block..." "does he live or die?" "Live!" "Are you all right, sir?" "The exercise was beneficial." "The Bonaventure will be in before dawn with a cargo of silk and brandy." "You'll get your orders." "Be on the beach, and ready!" "Come on, John Mohune." "My locket, please." "Here you are, Master John." "You opened it and stole what was in it!" "Young sir, what use could I have for a set of Bible verses I know by heart?" "Bible verses!" "John!" "All very edifying, complete to the last syllable, chapter and verse." "But every blessed number written down wrong!" "Makes no sense at all." "None that my poor head can grasp." "No, John." "We won't discuss it further." "Please, sir." "I swear I won't tell." "I'm sorry, John, but under the circumstances, I have no choice but to send you to the colonies, where I trust you will live long and die rich." "You sail tonight." "Go to your room, John." "Yes, sir." "You heard what I said to the boy?" " You're sending him away?" " Yes." " I wish he'd never come, Jeremy." " So do I." "Do you, Jeremy?" "The Bonaventure will be in tonight." "The carriage will take you down to the beach, you and the boy." "When we've unloaded her cargo, you'll go aboard." "At St Helier, you will be put on a Dutch ship for the islands." "Here, you'd better take this." "You'll need it." "Goodbye, John Mohune." "Jeremy!" "It's no use." "They're everywhere." "They have orders to kill you." "Isn't that why you sent them down on us?" "The boat!" "Our only chance, Jeremy!" "You're wrong, Ann!" "There's Jeremy Fox!" "Don't let him get away!" "Surrender, Fox, or I'll shoot you down." "Let me do it, sir." "I'm quite good at that." "No!" "And stop looking at me with those spaniel eyes!" "Since you appeared, I've had nothing but trouble!" "You saved my life, sir." "That doesn't mean you should follow me like a lost dog!" "Will nothing teach you once and for all that I will not be bound by responsibilities and debts and ties and obligations?" "I wish to heaven your mother had never sent you to me!" "Now, there's the road." "You go that way, back to Moonfleet." "They're looking for a man with a boy." "You'd be my death warrant." " Here, sir." "Take this." " What is it?" "The money you gave me on the beach." "You'll be needing it." " You keep it." " Don't worry about me, sir." "I'll sell the locket from Redbeard's coffin." "It's silver." "I was hoping to find the diamond in it." " You didn't, huh?" " No." "Just a paper with Bible verses." "And all of them numbered wrong." "At least that's what Master Ratsey said." "Bible verses?" "In Redbeard's coffin?" "Let me look at that!" "You say all these numbers are wrong?" "That's what Master Ratsey said." "Jeremiah 51:10..." "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten: "Treasure"!" " The tenth word is treasure!" " Treasure?" ""Lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old"." "Six." "One, two, three, four, five, six:" ""Fourscore"." "I does mean something, doesn't it, sir?" "It's a cipher!" "Fourscore... feet... deep." ""Well"." "In a well!" "Hollisbrooke is the deepest well in England!" "And your Redbeard, Master John Mohune, was governor of Hollisbrooke Castle!" "Then that's where the diamond is!" "If there is a diamond." "Oh, there is, sir!" "I know it!" "It's in that well!" "Fourscore deep..." "Sir, is there a way to get down that far?" "Yes, there's a way." "You're late, my lord." "If your messenger hadn't been so..." "persuasive," "I shouldn't have come at all." "Hauling me out of bed at three o'clock in the morning!" "How kind, calling me a gentleman." "A drink?" "I don't drink with hunted felons." " Not drink to our partnership?" " We have no partnership." "You're mistaken, Ashwood." "I've decided to accept your offer." "My dear Fox, well, to put it bluntly, you no longer have the necessary qualifications." "In your own words:" "brains, courage..." " And the capital." " And capital." "I'm about to come into an unexpected inheritance." "Congratulations!" "But aren't you selling the bear's skin before the bear is killed?" "Give me time to kill him." "Sorry, but we leave for Rotterdam tomorrow night." "Till tomorrow night then." "Ten o'clock." "Stop your coach at the bend on the North Cove Road." "If I satisfy you that I'm a partner worth having, then you'll take me with you." "And if you fail to satisfy?" "Well, there's a hundred guineas consolation." "Very well." "You're not thinking of taking that boy along, are you?" "I may be able to save you from the gallows, but not with that brat hanging onto your coattails!" " You knowthat, don't you?" " Yes." " You'll have to get rid of him." " Yes!" "Shall I convey your respects to lady Ashwood?" "Tell her that I'm looking forward to our partnership." "Come off it, major." "You go on duty at eight!" "Hey, hey, Hennishaw, where are you going?" "That's not the way to Hollisbrooke!" "Blasted Hollisbrooke!" "Blasted army!" "Must go." "Duty at eight." "Of course, major, of course." "But there's always time for a little nap, isn't there, major?" "Time?" "Of course there's time." "Hennishaw'll have a head in the morning." "Is the candle all ready?" "The cord measured out?" "Sir!" "Nowyou look here, this isn't a game, so let's understand each other." "If anything goes wrong, it'll be each for himself." "If I have to abandon you, I'll do so without hesitation." "I don't think you'd do that, sir." "You're very much mistaken." "If you'd been my son..." "Yes, sir?" "I'd have taught you to trust no one!" "But you are my friend!" "I am your partner." "In a dangerous venture!" "Clear?" "The exercise will be beneficial." "Hey, coachman!" "Wait for me over there." "Hey, boy!" "Come here!" "Me, sir?" " You want to earn a copper?" " Yes, sir." "Well, you carry these and follow me." "Major!" "What?" "A sentry leaving his post!" "The countersign..." "Is this one of His Majesty's military prisons or a country fair?" " But my orders are..." " Your orders are to stay on guard." "And what's that bird's nest you've got on your back... a uniform?" " Who's your officer?" " Lt Upjohn, sir." "My compliments to him." "If ever I have occasion to inspect his guard, I shall hope to see" "British soldiers that look like British soldiers!" "Dismissed!" "Sir!" "You ready?" "Yes, sir." "Come on, in you get." "Anything wrong here, major?" "Who are you?" "The well-tender." "The well-tender, eh?" "And you ask me if there's anything wrong!" "Haven't you been selling water to the prisoners?" "Why, sir, it's not so." "I..." "Selling them water and hiding your takings in this well?" "May I be struck dead, sir, if I'd do a thing like that!" "Yes, if I were you, I would not tempt Providence." "Mr. Fox!" "Mr. Fox!" "Who's that?" "Well, what's he doing down there?" "Proving your innocence..." "if you are innocent!" "Boy!" "Yes, major?" "Proceed with the search." "Yes, sir." "All right, lower away." "Stop!" "Stop it!" " I've found it, sir!" " Found what?" "Raise it." "Got a memento of the wars, I see there, major." "Well, no more than anyone else who served in France." "I don't knowwhere you got that one, friend, but it weren't in the wars." "The 10th Light Infantry is a garrison regiment." "It's stationed at Hollisbrooke these six years." "Let go of that brake." " That's an order!" " That game's played out!" "Now, come on!" "Give us what you found, or down you go!" "Let's have it!" "Quick!" "You go on ahead." "Lt Upjohn, sir." "I have the honour to present the guard for inspection." "Loose." "Give the countersign!" "Countersign be hanged!" "I'm major Hennishaw, you idiot!" "Well, my compliments, lieutenant." "Stop that man!" "Stop him, I say!" "He's a thief and an impostor!" "That boy!" "They were together!" "Stop him!" "Stop him!" "Stop him!" "I thought you'd gone." "Gone where?" "To the beach." "To look at the boat." "It's still there." "Yes." "It's still there." "This time tomorrow, we'll be across the channel and safe, won't we?" "I knewyou wouldn't do it." "Do what?" "You said you'd leave me." "But you didn't." "Go back to sleep." "My mother worried that I'd always be poor." "Nowwe're rich." "I think she'd have liked us to live together in the manor, don't you?" "Yes." "Nowwe'll never go back there." "You may..." "I shan't." "Then I shan't either." "In the colonies, when we sell the diamond... we could have a house like my mother's, couldn't we?" "With stables for a hundred horses, and fountains..." "Delighted to see you, my dear Fox." " My lady." " Clarissa." "He must call me that, mustn't he, Jamie?" "Nowthat we're partners." "The question is, are we partners?" "You won't think me unmannerly if I ask to see some evidence of your good fortune?" "I've never seen anything so... so..." "It must be worth at least..." "My body and soul, sir!" "This is the most remarkable..." "Fox, I congratulate you." "Satisfied?" "Drive on!" "To you, sir!" "And to our future!" "By heaven, Fox, I grudge the years that we've spent apart." "We belong together, the two of us." "The three of us!" "The four of us." "You've forgotten the diamond." "Where did you find it, Jeremy?" "Or shouldn't I ask?" "An heirloom, my dear." "Our friend has come into an unexpected inheritance." "Well, he doesn't seem to be enjoying it as he should." "Oh, your poor hand!" "As soon as we get on board, you'll let me take care of it, won't you?" "Did you know, Fox, they're offering 300 guineas for you now?" "." "Your value's tripled, alive or dead." "He's becoming more precious every moment." "Halt!" "In the King's name!" "Pull up your horses!" "Let's have a look at your passengers." "What the devil's going on here?" "Name, sir?" "Destination?" "Destination Poole." "As to my name..." "I was under the impression that this crest was not entirely unknown in these parts." "Oh, I beg your pardon, my lord." "We're looking for a criminal by the name of Fox and a boy..." "Well, it's hardly likely that they'd be travelling with me!" "No, my lord, of course not, not likely at all." "Begging your lordship's pardon, I have my orders." "All vehicles must be searched." "Father!" "Doesn't the lieutenant know that we have better things to do than to spend the night here, chatting with him?" "Your son-in-law, my lord?" "Honeymoon." "My best wishes." "There'll be no further delay in yourjourney." "Well, good hunting." "I hope you get your birds." "We will, my lord, alive or dead, we'll get them." "Very resourceful, my dear." "You saved our friend's life." "That's almost worth a diamond, isn't it?" "Is it?" "Good thing the boy wasn't with us." "He'd have stumped even you, eh, Clarissa?" "Or perhaps you would've had me claim him as my grandson." "By the way, what did you do with him?" "Kill him to be rid of him?" "You approve?" "Children are such a pest!" "I can't see how anybody would want to be bothered with one." "Vicious little chap!" "Spilt a glass of wine all over me!" "Flew at me because I called you a scoundrel!" "Remember?" "An absolute tiger!" "I remember." "I wish you'd look a little happier, Fox." "Personally, I'm delighted." " Especially with myself!" " You've every reason to be." "Think of it!" "In less than an hour we'll be on board ship, headed for a new life of ease and splendour." "I doubt the world holds more fortunate beings than ourselves." "Stop!" "Coachman, pull up!" "What's that?" "We're going back." "Turn the coach around." "You're mad, Fox!" "I'm not going back!" "Well, this coach is, with or without you." "Now, you take the road down to the beach." "If anyone tries to stop you, drive straight on." "Come on, do what I tell you!" "Jeremy!" "John!" "Time to go, sir?" " No, no yet." " Is anything the matter?" "No, no." "Our plans have changed." "You stay here till dawn." "Then you're to make your way back to Moonfleet." "Go to Parson Glennie." "Give him the diamond and tell him everything." "Aren't we leaving together?" "If anybody stops you, say that I was holding you and you escaped." "But sir, I don't want to go without you!" "We can't always do what we want, John." "I need someone here at home I can trust, someone I can rely on till I get back." "But you'll be back soon?" "As soon as I can." "Can I depend on you?" "Yes, sir, if you think it's best." "It's best." "Good luck, John Mohune." "Good luck, sir." "It's the first time these gates have stood open for a dozen years." "They must be open!" "There's no telling when he'll come home." "Jeremy Fox?" "You're sure he'll come back?" "He's my friend."