CHAPTER XIII
Having deposited Walter Skinner before the door of the Lion inGainsborough, Richard Wood and his men set off for Sherwood Forest inthe strong hope of coming up with the runaways they sought. And, innowise cast down by his recent discouraging experiences, Walter Skinnerheld his head high and looked around him fiercely, as of yore. Hisdoublet and hose besplashed with mud and torn by briers seemed not togive him any concern; neither did the condition of his shoes, whichwere foul with the slimy mud of the swamp.
"I will have breakfast, sirrah, and that immediately," he said to thewaiter when he had entered the inn.
The waiter eyed him doubtfully.
"Make haste. I command thee to it. Dally not with me. I serve theking," said the fierce little man, loftily.
"Thy service hath taken thee in strange paths," observed the innkeeper,who had drawn near.
"Not so strange as thine will take thee in if thou delay me," retortedWalter Skinner, haughtily.
There was in the bar a strange man of a crafty and evil face, and henow drew near the imperious little spy, and humbly besought the honorof taking his breakfast in Walter Skinner's company.
"And so thou shalt," said the spy, condescendingly. "And mayhap, sinceI have lost my horse, thou canst direct me where I can find another. Ihave no time to go harrying a prior for one."
The landlord now led the way obsequiously, and soon the strange pairwere seated in one of the several private rooms of the inn, with thepromise that breakfast should be served to them at once.
Then said the stranger: "As to the matter of a horse, I have at thismoment one by me which I would fain dispose of. He is not gentle enoughto my liking."
"I care not for gentleness in a horse," declared Walter Skinner. "Iwarrant thee I can ride the beast whether he be gentle or not."
"Thou lookest a bold rider," observed the stranger, craftily.
"He that doeth the king's business hath need to be a bold rider,"returned Walter Skinner, with a look which was intended to convey theinformation that he could unfold mysteries were he so disposed.
"Thou art high in the king's counsels, then?" asked the stranger, witha covert smile.
"Not so high but I shall be higher when I have finished the business inhand," returned Walter Skinner, patronizingly. The breakfast being nowbrought he said no more, but ate like a starving man, and with a veryunfavorable memory of his late meals of wild berries in the swamp. Thecrafty-eyed stranger ate more sparingly, and seemed to be mentallymeasuring the fierce little man opposite him. At last he asked, "Andwhence goest thou from here?"
"What is that to thee?" demanded Walter Skinner. "Wouldst thou pry intothe king's business? Reach me the bottle."
The stranger obeyed, and after taking a long drink Walter Skinner said:"I will now tell thee what I would not tell to every man. First, fromhere I go to the Green Dragon at Doncaster, there to crack the pate ofthe groom that did send me into the Isle of Axholme, where I did haveall sorts of contumely heaped upon me. And after that I shall pursue mycourse or not, as it pleaseth me. Richard Wood did give me permissionso to do. Knowest thou Richard Wood?"
"Nay," answered the stranger.
"He is well enough in his place, and that is in the high treeoverlooking the castle. But when he will ride abroad with men-at-armsbehind him to obey his word, then he thinketh that he may tell me also,his old friend, what I may and may not do. He hath even bid me ceaseprating. What thinkest thou of such a man?"
"Why, he must be a bold man that would bid thee cease prating," repliedthe stranger.
Walter Skinner took another drink and then looked long and earnestly athim. "Thou art a man of reason," he said; "yea, and of wisdom,moreover. And come, now, show me thy ungentle horse. I promise thee Iwill back him or--or--" He did not finish his sentence, and the twowent out to the inn yard, where stood a horse which did not seem to beparticularly vicious. And the animal was soon in the possession of thespy for a very fair sum in exchange.
"I will but fix his bridle for thee," said the man, "while thou payestthe reckoning, and then mayest thou ride with speed and safety. I maynot stay to see thee go, for I must instantly depart."
"Ay, thou hast a hard master, no doubt," observed Walter Skinner, witha shake of the head.
"Necessity is my master," said the stranger.
"Ay, ay, no doubt," returned Walter Skinner, going toward the bar."Necessity is not mine, however."
A half-hour later, when the spy was ready to set out, the stranger haddisappeared. But he did not miss him, for the landlord himself had comeout into the yard to see him off, while all the grooms stood about, andtwo or three maids looked on.
"Good people, give back," said Walter Skinner, grandly. "Block not theway of the king's man. Ye mean well and kindly, no doubt, but I wouldhave ye withdraw yourselves a little space."
By the help of a groom he was mounted, and a moment later he was out ofthe inn yard. But now a strange thing happened. He was no sooner out ofthe town than the horse refused to be controlled. In vain the littlespy tried to head him toward Doncaster. The stranger had removed thebit, putting in its place a wisp of straw, which the horse quicklychewed to pieces, and then, with a shake of the head, he galloped offto the south.
Walter Skinner's horse refused to be controlled]
"Thou beast!" cried the spy. "What meanest thou? Thou art held in bybit and bridle. Dost not know it?"
It seemed that the horse did not, for he went on at a faster pace.
"Thou art worse than the prior's horse!" cried Walter Skinner, droppingthe reins and clinging round the animal's neck. "I would I had thestranger that did sell thee to me! I would crack his pate also, even asI will the pate of the groom at the Green Dragon."
Giving no heed to the remonstrances of his rider or the unevenness ofthe road, the horse kept on until he entered the gates of Lincoln, andstopped before the Swan with a loud and joyous neigh.
At the sound two grooms ran out. "Here he be!" cried one. "Here beBlack Tom that was stole but two nights agone," cried the other; whilein great amazement Walter Skinner sat up and gazed from one to theother.
"What meanest thou, sirrah?" he demanded of the second groom. "Sayestthou a horse is stolen when I did pay good money for him but thismorning? And, moreover, who would steal such a beast that will mind notthe bridle and only runs his course the faster for the spur?"
"Ay, thou knewest not that he was stolen, no doubt," retorted thesecond groom, sarcastically. "But here cometh master, who will soonpull thee down from thy high perch, thou little minute of a dirty man.Thou hast slept in the swamp over night, I do be bound, and now comestto brave it out, seeing thou canst not make way with the horse."
"I would have thee know, villain, that I serve the king, and did buythe horse in Gainsborough this morn to replace the one which the younglord did cut loose. And whether I did sleep in the swamp or in a duke'schamber is naught to thee or to thy master. I have been so shaken upthis morn over thy rough roads and by thy vile beast of a horse thatthou and thy master shall pay for it. What! is the servant of the kingto be sent into the Isle of Axholme by an idiot groom at the GreenDragon? And, being there, is he to be planted in the mire like a rushby a Saxon serving-man? And is his horse to be cut loose by the younglord at the word of that same Saxon serving-man? And is he to becarried behind Richard Wood to Gainsborough? And is he there to buy ablack horse from a vile stranger? And is he to be run away with to thisplace when he would fain go elsewhere about his master's business,which is to catch this young lord and the Saxon serving-man? And thenis he to be looked at as if he were a thief? Thou shalt repent, and soI tell thee; yea, in sackcloth and ashes. And if thou canst find nosackcloth, then thou shalt have a double portion of ashes, ye knaves,and so I promise you."
At these words the innkeeper and the grooms looked at each other. Andthen the innkeeper said civilly that he and the grooms had meant nooffence, but that the horse had certainly been stolen from the Swan twonights before. The second groom, equally desir
ous with his master toconciliate, pressed forward to show him how the bit had been removed bythe rascal who sold the horse so that he would come straight homeagain.
"Which I did but now discover," said the second groom.
And the first groom, not to be outdone, said: "If thou really seekestthe young lord and the Saxon serving-man we can put thee on theirtrack, for surely they did leave here but some three hours agone."
Walter Skinner stared stupidly for a moment, while the innkeeperreproved the groom for being beforehand with him in giving theintelligence. Then the little spy sat up straighter and put on ahaughtier air than ever. "Aha, Fortune!" he cried, "thou art bound tomake a duke of me whether I will or not." Then turning to theinnkeeper he said: "I will enter thine inn, and do thou see that dinnerbe promptly served. I will then procure a change of raiment. I will thensleep over night. I will then breakfast. I will then take thy BlackTom, which I did buy, and withhold him from me if thou darest. And Iwill then set out after the young lord and the serving-man. I have nowgiven thee my confidence, which if thou betray thou shalt answer forit. Why, they cannot escape me. Hath Richard Wood come up with themthree several times, as I now have? Nay. If he had he would havecaptured them, which showeth that I be the abler man of the two; for,while I have not captured them, he hath not even caught sight of them.And now make haste with the dinner."
All this time the spy had kept his seat on the horse. He now came down,and the innkeeper, without a word, led the way to a private room, whilethe grooms exchanged glances. "Yon be a madman," said the first, whosename was Elfric.
"Yea, or a drunken man, which is the same thing," responded the second.
"He will catch not the young lord," declared Elfric.
"I did not dream they fled as they rode down the street to the river,"observed the second. "They did go slowly enough, and the young lordlooked about him curiously and unafraid."
"By that thou mayest know he was a lord, and this drunken fool speakethtrue," returned Elfric. "The better the blood, the less of fear; sohath my grandsire said."
Though Walter Skinner had commanded the innkeeper and the grooms tokeep what he called his confidence on pain of his vengeance, what hehad said flew abroad. And wherever the little spy appeared thatafternoon he seemed to arouse much curiosity. "The king must be put toit for help when he employeth such a one," commented a cooper.
"Tut, man!" was the reply. "What careth the king who doeth his pleasureso it be done? It looketh not like to be done, though, with this manfor the doer of it. Why, who but a fool seeing those he sought hadthree good hours the start of him would give them four and twentymore?"
The cooper shrugged his shoulders. "I tell thee, Peter of the forge,"he said, "that I care not if the king's will be never done, for it is abad will. Therefore the more fools like yon he setteth to do it thebetter."
Meanwhile the innkeeper was thinking ruefully of the guest he had onhis hands. "I may not anger him," he said to Elfric, the groom.
"Nor needest thou," replied Elfric.
"Talk not to me," said the innkeeper, impatiently. "Wouldst have melose Black Tom? For whether he did pay the thief for him or not, hemost certainly did not pay me. And thou knowest the value of BlackTom."
"Yea," answered Elfric, "I know it. But why shouldst thou lose BlackTom?"
"Why? Art thou gone daft? Didst thou hear him bid me refuse him thebeast if I dared? This it is to have a bad king who will set suchknaves upon his business."
"If there be but one black horse in Lincoln," replied Elfric, "thoudoest well to fret. But if there be Black Dick that is broken-windedand hath the spring-halt so that he be not worth more than one day'sreckoning at the Swan at the most; and if he looketh tolerably fair;and if thou mayst buy him for a small sum; and if this drunken foolknoweth not one horse from another; why needst thou worry?"
The face of the innkeeper at once cleared. "The fraud is justifiable,"he said. "For why should he take my Black Tom and give me naught? I dobut protect myself when I give him instead Black Dick."
"Ay, and thou doest no unfriendly turn to the young lord neither. Ihave been to inquire, and there be those that say he is son to DeAldithely. And doubtless he fleeth away to his brave father in France.I did think he had a familiar look this morn. And when I heard, I didrepent that the Swan had put this knave upon his track. But with BlackDick he cometh not up with him in a hurry."
That night Walter Skinner found the Swan a most pleasant abiding-place,where all were attentive to serve him. "Thou hast me for thy friend,"he told the innkeeper as he supped with him. "Thou hast me, I say, andnot Richard Wood. And I will speak a good word for thee to the king.Not now, indeed, for it were not seemly that I should introduce thymatters until I had brought mine own to a happy issue. But what sayestthou? To pursue a young lord for many miles and capturehim,--single-handed,--were that not worth a dukedom? I have here thisgood yew bow with a silken string and a goodly store of arrows. Oh, Iwill capture him, if ever I come up with him. The serving-man cuttethnot this silken string nor breaketh these arrows, I warrant thee."
And, clad in his new raiment, Walter Skinner sat back in his chair andgazed pompously around.
The innkeeper listened, and, supper being over, he sought Elfric, towhom he related what had passed. "I would not that a hair of the youngson of De Aldithely should be harmed," he said. "And what I dare notdo, that thou must perform."
"And what is that?" asked Elfric.
"Thou must fray his bow-string so it will not be true, and thou mustinjure his arrows likewise."
"Right willingly will I do so," promised Elfric. "If he hit any mark heaim at when I am done with the bow and arrows, then am I as great aknave as he. And the damage shall be so small that he may not see itneither."