d from behind. The street being narrow, it could only
express its desire for a fight by murmurs and by shouts, it had no
elbow-room for it, and could only urge those in the forefront to pick a
quarrel with the interfering strangers.

"The blessing of God upon thee, stranger, and of the Holy Virgin...."
came in still quivering accents from out the darkness of the passage.

"Let the Holy Virgin help thee to hold thy tongue," retorted he who had
name Diogenes, "and do thou let my friend Socrates close this confounded
door."

"Jan Tiele!" shouted someone in the crowd, "dost see what they are
doing? the gate is being closed...."

"And bolted," said a flute-like voice.

"Stand aside, strangers!" yelled the crowd.

"We are not in your way," came in calm response.

The three muffled figures side by side in close if somewhat unnumerical
battle array had taken their stand in front of the postern gate, the
heavy bolts of which were heard falling into their sockets behind them
with a loud clang. A quivering voice came at the last from behind the
iron judas in the door.

"God will reward ye, strangers! we go pray for you to the Holy
Virgin...."

"Nay!" rejoined Diogenes lightly, "'twere wiser to pray for Jan Tiele,
or for Piet or their mates--some of them will have need of prayers in
about five minutes from now."

"Shame! cowards! plepshurk! At them Jan! Piet! Willem!" shouted the
crowd lustily.

Once more stones were freely hurled followed by a regular fusillade of
snowballs. One of these struck the crown of a plumed hat and knocked it
off the wearer's head. A face, merry, a trifle fleshy perhaps, but with
fine, straight brow, eyes that twinkled and mocked and a pair of full,
joyous lips adorned by a fair upturned moustache, met the gaze of an
hundred glowering eyes and towered half a head above the tallest man
there.

As his hat fell to the ground, the man made a formal bow to the yelling
and hooting crowd:

"Since one of you has been so kind as to lift my hat for me, allow me
formally to present myself and my friends here. I am known to my
compeers and to mine enemies as Diogenes," he said gravely, "a
philosopher of whom mayhap ye have never heard. On my left stands
Pythagoras, on my right Socrates. We are all at your service, including
even my best friend who is slender and is made of steel and hath name
Bucephalus--he tells me that within the next few minutes he means to
become intimately acquainted with Dutch