y comrade and sweet board-fellow lying hurt in the
wild-wood? Art thou growing over old for our woodland ways, wherein
loitering bringeth louting?"

Robert chuckled and said: "I thought thou wouldst take the fly in thy
mouth, foster-son: if the felon escape Ralph Longshanks and Anthony
Green, then hath he the devil's luck; and they be after him."

"That is well," said the young man, "though I would I were with them."
And therewith he walked up and down impatiently, while the others were
getting ready the litter of boughs.

At last it was done, and Christopher laid thereon, and they all went
on together through the woodland path, the torches still flaring about
them. Presently they came out into a clearing of the wood, and lo,
looming great and black before them against the sky, where the moon had
now broken out of the clouds somewhat, the masses of the tofts, and at
the top of the northernmost of them a light in the upper window of a
tall square tower. Withal the yellow-litten windows of a long house
showed on the plain below the tofts; but little else of the house might
be seen, save that, as they drew near, the walls brake out in doubtful
light here and there as the torches smote them.

So came they to a deep porch, where they quenched all the torches save
one, and entered a great hall through it, David and two other tall young
men going first, and Robert Maisey going beside the bier. The said hall
was lighted with candles, but not very brightly, save at the upper end;
but amidmost a flickering heap of logs sent a thin line of blue smoke up
to the luffer. There were some sixty folk in the hall, scattered about
the end-long tables, a good few of whom were women, well grown and
comely enough, so far as could be seen under the scanty candle-light.
At the high-table, withal, were sitting both men and women, and as they
drew near to the greater light of it, there could be seen in the chief
seat a man, past middle age, tall, wide-shouldered and thin-flanked,
with a short peaked beard and close-cut grizzled hair; he was high of
cheekbones, thin-faced, with grey eyes, both big and gentle-looking; he
was clad in a green coat welted with gold. Beside him sat a woman, tall
and big-made, but very fair of face, though she were little younger,
belike, than the man. Out from these two sat four men and four women,
man by man and woman by woman, on either side of the high-seat. Of the
said men, one was of long red hair as David, an