ind his
back hung down a tail, his body was shaggy like a beast's, and his face
hideous and of many colours, while in his hand he held a pronged fork
with a long handle. This way and that rushed the throng, only the
Commissioner, who had dismounted, stood still, perhaps because he
was too afraid to stir, and with him the women and some of the nuns,
including the Prioress, who fell upon their knees and began to utter
prayers.

On came the dreadful thing till it reached the King's Visitor, bowing
to him and bellowing like a bull, then very deliberately untied some
strings and let its horrid garb fall off, revealing the person of Thomas
Bolle!

"What means this mummery, knave?" gasped Dr. Legh.

"Mummery do you call it, sir?" answered Thomas with a grin. "Well, if
so, 'tis on the faith of such mummery that priests burn women in merry
England. Come, good people, come," he roared in his great voice, "come,
see Satan in the flesh. Here are his horns," and he held them up, "once
they grew upon the head of Widow Johnson's billy-goat. Here's his tail,
many a fly has it flicked off the belly of an Abbey cow. Here's his ugly
mug, begotten of parchment and the paint-box. Here's his dreadful fork
that drives the damned to some hotter corner; it has been death to whole
stones of eels down in the marsh-fleet yonder. I have some hell-fire too
among the bag of tricks; you'll make the best of brimstone and a little
oil dried out upon the hearth. Come, see the devil all complete and
naught to pay."

Back trooped the crowd a little fearfully, taking the properties which
he held, and handling them, till first one and then all of them began to
laugh.

"Laugh not," shouted Bolle. "Is it a matter of laughter that noble
ladies and others whose lives are as dear to some," and he glanced at
Emlyn, "should grill like herrings because a poor fool walks about clad
in skins to keep out the cold and frighten villains? Hark you, I played
this trick. I am Beelzebub, also the ghost of Sir John Foterell. I
entered the Priory chapel by a passage that I know, and saved yonder
babe from murder and scared the murderess down to hell; yes, from the
sham devil to the true. Why did I do it? Well, to protect the innocent
and scourge the wicked in his pride. But the wicked seized the innocent
and the innocent said nothing, fearing lest I should suffer with them,
and----O God, you know the rest!

"It was a near thing, a very near thing, but I'm not the half-