"Because I was a play-actor once," he shouted, "when I was a
sweet-and-twenty youngling."

Thoroughgood eyed Halfman with a sudden air of distrust.

"You never told me you were a play-actor," he growled. "You spoke
only of soldiering."

Halfman laughed flagrantly in his face.

"Godamercy, man, there has been scant time to tell you my life's
story. We have had other cats to whip. Yes, I was a play-actor once,
and played for great poets, for men whose names have never tickled
your ears. But the owl-public would have none of me, and, owllike,
hooted me off the boards. But I've had my revenge of them. I've
played a devil's part on the devil's stage for thirty red years. Nune
Plaudite."

The Latin tag dropped dead at the porches of John Thoroughgood's
ears, but those ears pricked at part of Halfman's declamation.

"What kind of parts?" he asked, drawing a little nearer to the
soldier of fortune, whose experiences fascinated his inexperience.

Halfman shrugged his shoulders and favored honest Thoroughgood with a
bantering, quizzical smile.

"All kinds of parts," he answered. "How does the old puzzle run?
Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, ploughboy, gentleman, thief. I think
I have played all those parts, and others, too. Fling beggar and
pirate into the dish. But I tell you this, honest John, I have never
played a part so dear to me as that of captain to this divine
commander. I thank my extravagant stars that steered me home to serve
her."

"You cannot sing her praises too sweetly for my ears," Thoroughgood
answered. "But there is an end to all things, and it looks to me as
if we were mighty near to an end of the siege of Harby. Why else
should there be a truce called that the Roundhead captain may have
speech with my lady."

"Honest John Thoroughgood," Halfman answered, with great composure,
"you are not so wise as you think. This Roundhead captain has sent us
hither the most passionate pleadings to be admitted to parley. Why
deny him? It will advantage him no jot, but it is possible we may
learn from the leakage of his lips something at least of what is
going on in the world."

"What is there to learn?" asked Thoroughgood. Halfman shook his head
reprovingly.

"Why, for my part, I should like to learn why in all this great gap
of time nothing has been done to help one side or the other. If the
gentry of Harby have made no effort to relieve us, neither, on the
other hand, has our leaguer been augmented by a