Yet there was no reason for alarm. Though troops of horse often passed through Brockenhurst on their way to and from Lymington, none stopped to search for rebels. Neither did the disappearance of two of Cornbury's Dragoons cause any trouble, for we learnt that they were set down as deserters, while, as good fortune would have it, a report came in that two men answering their description had been seen riding northwards out of Salisbury.
One morning I was seated with Captain Jeremy in the little room where he was wont to spend most of his time. Often I would go thither to be regaled with stories of his voyage to the Indies and his adventures in foreign parts, till my young blood coursed madly through my veins; and so strange were some of the tales he told that I'm afraid his share of imagination must have been a double one.
In the midst of his narrative on this particular day, my father entered, having just returned from Lymington Town.
"'Tis not the first time, Captain Hammond," replied Jeremy composedly. "What is it this time?"
"The sheriff hath taken possession of your house, and it and all its contents are to be sold by candle auction."[1]
"'Tis the fortune of war," said Captain Miles, removing his long clay pipe from his lips and puffing out a thick cloud of smoke. "I expected it, and provided for it ere I left for Monmouth's camp. What money I possess, beyond what I require for my present disbursements, I have stowed away in the hold of the good ship 'Never-Sink'--to wit, Mother Earth. But there is one thing I'd be glad to lay my hands on. Wouldst be willing to buy a certain article out of my house?"
"Nay, 'tis but a picture--a painting of my good barque the _Venture_, done in oils by a rascally Neapolitan, for which he charged me five ducats, though he did place the chain plates too far aft, and the spritsail yard above the bowsprit."
"'Tis a common fault with a landlubber," said my parent. "Nevertheless, I'll see to it."
"I prize the painting but lightly," continued Jeremy; "but there's more in it than meets the eye."
"Captain Hammond, you've treated me right nobly, and 'twould ill become me were I not to repay you to the utmost of my power. I'll be straightforward in this matter. Listen!"