"I’m sure he wouldn’t say so if it wasn’t, and there’s certainly a hole in the hedge. I’ll just see what he says." Noakes, hatless, dishevelled, and scratched, was coming towards them. "I’m willing to pay any reasonable sum for damages, Mr. Noakes," said Templeton. "Are ye?" replied the man with a grin. "I be main glad to hear it. You shall have the bill, don’t ’ee make no mistake about that. But I won’t take no money ’cept by judge and jury." He passed on, and stood at the gate until his friend should find it convenient to join him. Two days later Constable Haylock came to the farm, and, with an apologetic air, handed to Eves and Templeton each a blue document, summoning them to appear at the justice court to answer a plaint of trespass and damage on the part of Philemon Noakes. "This is serious," said Templeton. "You see, we’ve no defence. We did break his hedge and disturb his tenant’s cattle, as he says. I wonder what the penalty is?" "A fine of £5, old man, I expect," said Eves, cheerfully. "Don’t you worry; I did the damage, and I can’t pay." "I’m sure _I_ can’t. That glider cost £7 16*s.* 4*d*. I haven’t half £5." "Well, they’ll give us seven days C.B., or whatever they call it, and you’ll have to write to Aunt Caroline to bail us out. Jolly good idea! We’ll be able to give her tips in food economy after a week of prison fare." "It’s no joking matter. She’ll be upset; no Templeton of our family has ever been in prison." "You don’t say so! You’ll make a record, then. Splendid!" On the appointed day they appeared before the justice. "’Tis Squire Banks’s day," whispered Haylock as they passed him at the door. "He baint such a hanging judge, so to speak it, as Sir Timothy." Noakes gave his evidence, Smail corroborated it, and Squire Banks asked the culprits what they had to say in their defence. "It was like this, sir," began Eves, before Templeton could start; "my friend Templeton devotes a lot of time to trying experiments—working out ideas for useful inventions. When he heard of that accident to a flying man the other day"—the old gentleman looked interested—"he kept me awake at night talking over an idea for making an aeroplane automatically safe. I confess I was sceptical, and it’s my fault all this happened, because it was to prove his theory to me that he made a glider; it cost him over £7, sir; and we couldn’t find a better place to try it on than that hilly field. I’m afraid I was clumsy; at any rate, the thing came to grief——" "But the principle of it is quite sound," Templeton put in. "But, of course, you’re not concerned with principles here, sir, but only with law," Eves went on. "We didn’t know the field belonged to Mr. Noakes, or I assure you we wouldn’t have touched it with a pole, and as to damage, my friend offered to pay any reasonable sum."