Dummy disappeared, and Mark knelt down and unfastened the neck of the lad's doublet, and saw that his head had received a bad cut, for the cap had fallen off, and his face was ghastly. "Poor lad!" said Mark softly. "I know it's wrong, but I can't help liking him. Why, I know," he cried excitedly. "That's it. I never saw such an enemy! He must have known that we were being attacked, and been coming to help us, and those fiends have served him like this. That's it! He's just the fellow who would do it, for I know he likes me. I've seen it over and over again." He sprang up, feeling ashamed of what he had said, and afraid of being seen by his people, for he heard steps coming; and directly after, Dummy came running down, followed by a couple of stout miners, each fully armed. "Here, Dummy," cried Mark, "run all the way to Master Rayburn, and tell him to come here directly." "Go to fetch Master Rayburn for him?" said the boy, staring. "Yes, can't you see he is wounded and burnt? Run, or I'll go myself!" Dummy, awed by this--to him--awful threat, dashed down the zigzag at a dangerous pace, while, at their young master's orders, the two miners gently lifted and bore the insensible lad up to the castle, into the dwelling-house, and then to Mark's chamber, where he was laid upon the bed. As soon as he had dismissed the bearers, Mark began to bathe the lad's temples, and in a few minutes he opened his eyes and stared wildly round. "Where am I?" he said. "Here: safe," said Mark. Recollection came back to the poor fellow's swimming brain, and he threw his legs off the couch and tried to rise, but sank back with a groan. "There: you can't," said Mark soothingly, and he took his hand. "Tell me--what's happened? You didn't see, because you'd fainted when I had you brought in, but we're in trouble too. But I suppose you know. Were you going to help?" "To help?" said Ralph faintly. "No; to ask for help. They took us by surprise. Our men wounded. Just at day-break. We were all asleep. They climbed in." "Who did? Purlrose?" "Yes; and his men. Father called me to dress, and we called the men together, but they got between us and the arms. The cowards! they cut us down. The poor lads who were wounded too. All so sudden. In a few minutes it was all over. Father prisoner--half our men dead; rest locked in one of the lower rooms: and I crawled away--to lie down and die, I thought." "Why, it must have been after they had failed here," muttered Mark. "They did not see me; I was behind an over-turned table, and a curtain and chair over me. I could hear all they said. They sat and drank after they had dragged out four of our poor fellows, dead." "Then they sat and talked; I heard them. That captain said Cliff Castle would do as well as Black Tor, and they would stay there." "Ah!" panted Mark excitedly.