It is so
full of rare surprises and delight; and, if a man but have his wits
about him, it is so monstrous easy, too!"
Tom seemed to catch the spirit of his comrade. Those were days when
crime was lightly thought of, though so heavily punished. A strain
of recklessness in Tom's blood made the notion of even robbery on
the king's highway fascinating rather than terrible--at least when
he could say to himself that he was but "taking his own."
It was plain enough now that this was the secret of Lord Claud's
life--hinted at more or less plainly by many before, but never
altogether understood by Tom. Yet Lord Claud was received, feted,
made much of in the society of the gay city, even by those who more
than suspected where his influx of wealth came from. He had even
received instructions, and been intrusted with an important
commission, by one so high in office as the great Duke of
Marlborough. Surely there could be no great stigma resting upon one
who was thus employed in the service of his country. It seemed to
Tom (as it has seemed to others before and since) that if only
success crowned these efforts, there was no disgrace attached to
them.
But it was a significant if--and he knew it!
"And suppose we are taken?" he said tentatively.
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