第100章

TomFaggusalsojoinedusheartily，beingnowquitehealedofhiswound，exceptattimeswhenthewindwaseasterly。Hewasmadesecondincommandtome；andI

wouldgladlyhavehadhimfirst，asmorefertileinexpedients；buthedeclinedsuchrankonthepleathatIknewmostoftheseatofwar；besidesthatImightbeheldinsomemeasuretodrawauthorityfromtheKing。

AlsoUncleBencameovertohelpuswithhisadviceandpresence，aswellaswithabandofstoutwarehousemen，whomhebroughtfromDulverton。Forhehadneverforgiventheoldoutrageputuponhim；andthoughithadbeentohisinteresttokeepquietduringthelastattack，underCommanderStickles——forthesakeofhissecretgoldmine——yetnowhewasinapositiontogivefullventtohisfeelings。Forheandhispartnerswhenfully-assuredofthevalueoftheirdiggings，hadobtainedfromtheCrownalicencetoadventureinsearchofminerals，bypaymentofaheavyfineandayearlyroyalty。Thereforetheyhadnownolongeranycauseforsecrecy，neitherfordreadoftheoutlaws；

havingsoaddedtotheirforceastobeamatchforthem。AndalthoughUncleBenwasnotthemantokeephisminersidleanhourmorethanmightbehelped，hepromisedthatwhenwehadfixedthemomentforanassaultonthevalley，ascoreofthemshouldcometoaidus，headedbySimonCarfax，andarmedwiththegunswhichtheyalwayskeptfortheprotectionoftheirgold。

NowwhetheritwereUncleBen，orwhetheritwereTomFaggusorevenmyownself——forallthreeofusclaimedthesolehonour——ismorethanIthinkfairtosettlewithoutallowingthemavoice。Butatanyrate，acleverthingwasdevisedamongus；andperhapsitwouldbethefairestthingtosaythatthisbrightstratagem(worthyofthegreatDukehimself)wascontributed，littlebylittle，amongtheentirethreeofus，allhavingpipes，andschnapps-and-water，inthechimney-corner。However，theworld，whichalwaysjudgesaccordingtoreputation，vowedthatsofineastrokeofwarcouldonlycomefromahighwayman；andsoTomFaggusgotallthehonour，atlessperhapsthanathirdofthecost。

Nottoattempttorobhimofit——forrobbers，morethananyother，contendforrightsofproperty——letmetrytodescribethisgrandartifice。ItwasknownthattheDooneswerefondofmoney，aswellasstrongdrink，andotherthings；andmoreespeciallyfondofgold，whentheycouldgetitpureandfine。Thereforeitwasagreedthatinthiswayweshouldtemptthem；forweknewthattheylookedwithridiculeuponourrusticpreparations；afterrepulsingKing’stroopers，andthemilitiaoftwocounties，wasitlikelythattheyshouldyieldtheirfortresstoasetofploughboys？We，forourpart，feltofcourse，thepowerofthisreasoning，andthatwhereregulartroopshadfailed，half-armedcountrymenmustfail，exceptbysuperiorjudgmentandharmonyofaction。Thoughperhapsthemilitiawouldhavesufficed，iftheyhadonlyfoughtagainstthefoe，insteadofagainsteachother。Fromthesethingswetookwarning；havingfailedthroughover-confidence，wasitnotpossiblenowtomaketheenemyfailthroughtheselfsamecause？

Hence，whatwedevisedwasthis；todeludefromhomeapartoftherobbers，andfallbysurpriseontheotherpart。WecausedittobespreadabroadthatalargeheapofgoldwasnowcollectedatthemineoftheWizard’sSlough。Andwhenthisrumourmusthavereachedthem，throughwomenwhocametoandfro，assomeentirelyfaithfultothemwereallowedtodo，wesentCaptainSimonCarfax，thefatheroflittleGwenny，todemandaninterviewwiththeCounsellor，bynight，andasitweresecretly。Thenhewastosetforthalistofimaginarygrievancesagainsttheownersofthemine；andtoofferpartlythroughresentment，partlythroughthehopeofgain，tobetrayintotheirhands，upontheFridaynight，byfarthegreatestweightofgoldasyetsentupforrefining。Hewastohaveonequarterpart，andtheytotaketheresidue。Butinasmuchastheconvoyacrossthemoors，underhiscommand，wouldbestrong，andstronglyarmed，theDoonesmustbesuretosendnotlessthanascoreofmen，ifpossible。Hehimself，ataplaceagreedupon，andfitforanambuscade，wouldcallahalt，andcontriveinthedarknesstopouralittlewaterintotheprimingofhiscompany’sguns。

ItcostussometroubleandagreatdealofmoneytobringthesturdyCornishmanintothisdeceitfulpart；

andperhapsheneverwouldhaveconsentedbutforhisobligationtome，andthewrongs(ashesaid)ofhisdaughter。However，ashewasthemanforthetask，bothfromhiscoolnessandcourage，andbeingknowntohavechargeofthemine，Ipressedhim，untilheundertooktotellallthelieswerequired。Andrightwellhedidittoo，havingoncemadeuphismindtoit；

andperceivingthathisowninterestscalledforthetotaldestructionoftherobbers。

Havingresolvedonanight-assault(asourundisciplinedmen，three-fourthsofwhomhadneverbeenshotat，couldnotfairlybeexpecte