s, and cast pies into the streets, and
caused the dismal ward to cry out: 'God save free Englishmen!' 'Curse
the sea!' and 'A plague of Frenchmen that be devils!'

And the after effects of their carnival menaced Throckmorton, for from
the miserable huts, where ragged women were rearranging the scattered
straws and wiping egg-yolk from the broken benches, there issued a
ragged crowd of men with tangled and muddy hair and boys unclothed
save for sacks that whistled about their lean hips. The liquor that
Culpepper and Hogben had distributed had rendered them curious or full
of mutiny and discontent, and they surrounded Throckmorton's brilliant
figure in its purple velvet, with the gold neck-chains and the
jewelled hat, and some of them asked for money, and some called him
'Frenchman,' and some knew him for a spy, and some caught up stones
and jawbones furtively to cast at him.

But, arrogant and with his head set high, he borrowed a whip from a
packman that shouldered his way through the street, and lashed at
their legs and ragged heads. The crowd slunk, one by one, back under
the darkness that was beneath the roofs of reeds, and the idea of a
good day that for a moment had risen in their minds at Culpepper's
legendary approach, sank down and flickered out once more in their
hungry bellies and fever-dimmed minds.

'God!' he said, 'we will have hangmen here,' and pursued his search.
He met the young Poins at the head of the village street, and learned
from him that Culpepper and his supporter had hired horses to ride to
Hampton and had galloped away three hours before, holding legs of
mutton by the feet and using them for cudgels to beat their horses.

'Before God!' the boy said, 'an I had money to hire horses I would
overtake them, if I overtook not the devil erstwhile.'

Throckmorton pulled out his purple purse that was embroidered with
silk crosses. He extracted from it four crowns of gold.

'Lad,' he said, 'I do not give thee gold to follow Kat Howard's cousin
with. This is thy wage for the service thou hast done aforetime.' He
reflected for a moment. 'If thou wilt have a horse--but I urge it
not--to go to Hampton where thy fellows of the guard are--for, having
served well ye may once more and without danger rejoin your mates--if
ye will have such a horse, go to the horseward of the palace and say I
sent you. Withouten doubt ye are mad to hasten back to your mates, a
commendable desire. And the King's horses shall