'Speak, lad!' said she, impatiently, with a little passionate gesture.

'I can see thou knows!' He had only made it worse by consideration; he rushed blindfold at a reply.
'He's ta'en up for felony.' 'Felony,' said she.

'There thou're out; he's in for letting yon men out; thou may call it rioting if thou's a mind to set folks again' him, but it's too bad to cast such hard words at him as yon--felony,' she repeated, in a half-offended tone.
'It's what the lawyers call it,' said Philip, sadly; 'it's no word o' mine.' 'Lawyers is allays for making the worst o' things,' said she, a little pacified, 'but folks shouldn't allays believe them.' 'It's lawyers as has to judge i' t' long run.' 'Cannot the justices, Mr.Harter and them as is no lawyers, give him a sentence to-morrow, wi'out sending him to York ?' 'No!' said Philip, shaking his head.

He went to the kitchen door and asked if the gruel was not ready, so anxious was he to stop the conversation at this point; but Phoebe, who held her young master in but little respect, scolded him for a stupid man, who thought, like all his sex, that gruel was to be made in a minute, whatever the fire was, and bade him come and make it for himself if he was in such a hurry.
He had to return discomfited to Sylvia, who meanwhile had arranged her thoughts ready to return to the charge.
'And say he's sent to York, and say he's tried theere, what's t' worst they can do again' him ?' asked she, keeping down her agitation to look at Philip the more sharply.

Her eyes never slackened their penetrating gaze at his countenance, until he replied, with the utmost unwillingness, and most apparent confusion,-- 'They may send him to Botany Bay.' He knew that he held back a worse contingency, and he was mortally afraid that she would perceive this reserve.