1.In the far north of England，overlooking the wild lands of the Scottish Border and the waters of the picturesque Liddel，stands the old ruined castle of Raven’s Crag.It had been an abbey once，but it was given by Henry the Eighth to a favourite knight，Sir Ralph Deverell.
2.In the time of the civil war between the king and the parliament，Sir Marmaduke Deverell was lord of Raven‘s Crag.He was the fast friend of Charles theFirst，and he died fighting against Cromwell，whoseguns tumbled down many a stone in the strong walls of his old castle.After Sir Marmaduke’s death，his only son was sent away for safety to France，in charge of an old servant.
3.Before the birth of this son，Sir Marmaduke had made a will leaving all his estates to his kinsman Lacy Elrynton，who easily obtained possession ofthem during the Commonwealth，being friendly toCromwell‘s rule.The young Reginald Deverell returned；but Elrynton refused to give up the estates，since no later will of Sir Marmaduke’s could be found.Reginald died，and left a son，whobecame a stewardon the estates of hisfathers，and his descendants occupied the same humble position for nearly two centuries.
4.One fine afternoon a boy of sixteen stood on the terrace of the old castle.He was a bright，winsomelad，with a sturdy formand brave blue eyes-eyes which he had inherited from the old Deverells；for this boy was the heir of brave Sir Marmaduke in the direct line.
5.Guy Deverell stood looking at the old castle with an expression of sadness on his young face，when his sister Magdalene，a little girl of nine or ten years，ran up to him on the terrace.
“O Guy，see my new ostrich plume！Is it not pretty？And I am to wear it with my velvet cape to church on Sunday.But do look at the ravens！”she continued；“there are hundreds of them.And see how tame they are！”
6.“Yes；they seem to have taken possession of the old castle.They have always made the place their home.I suppose that is why Sir Ralph called it Raven‘s Crag.”
The girl took off her new hat，placed it on the ruined wall，and then ran off to a low arch，where she stood on tiptoe to gaze out over the river.Her brother followed her.
7.“It is a glorious old place，and it ought to be ours.If only the will could be found which Sir Marmaduke must have made after his son was born！But of course it is useless to think of finding it now，after two hundred years，and so we shall always be poor.It is too bad，is it not，sis？”
8.“O Guy，”cried little Magdalene suddenly，“a raven has carried away my new ostrich plume.See！there goes the bird into that tower.”
shot knocked out a stone.The raven probablyhas its nest there.But your ostrich feather is much too good for a raven‘s nest.I think I can get it for you again.”
9.He soon got a piece of strong rope，and climbing up the old staircase of the tower，he reached a high window，and fastened his rope securely.He then mounted the window-sill and lowered himself by the rope.
10.It was rather a daring feat，but Guy had no fear.
Carefully he descended，swinging in mid air，the terrace of the castle forty feet below him.The ivy clung firmly to the old crumbling walls.He secured a footing among the stems of the plant，and supporting himself with one hand，he was able to reach the raven’s nest in the recess.
11.He easily found the ostrich plume，which he placed in his pocket.He put in his hand again，to find out what else the thievish bird had stored in its nest.His fingers touched a piece of crumpled parch men.This he also drew out.It was old and discoloured byage，but when he unfolded it a signatureeye-that of Marmaduke Deverell，Baron.
12.His face was grave and serious when he got up to the window again.
“Here is your ostrich feather，Magdalene，”he said，as he swung himself over the window-sill，“and I have found something else that may be worth a great deal more.It is-it is Sir Marmaduke‘s lost will！”
And he held the piece of crumpled，dingy before her eyes.
13.Strange as it may seem，the lost will had indeed been discovered.The ravens had probably stolen it from some open window，and had carried it to their nest.It was soon placed in a lawyer’s hands，and provedto be genuine.The Elryntons made no objectionto the claim of the young heir，when they found it supported by a writing of such ancient date.
