y struck the edge of the table.
'Your very humble servant, gentlemen, Sir Gervas Jerome, knight banneret
of his Majesty's county of Surrey, and at one time custos rotulorum of
the district of Beacham Ford.'

'Welcome, sir,' quoth Reuben, with a merry twinkle in his eye. 'You have
before you Don Decimo Saxon of the Spanish nobility, together with Sir
Micah Clarke and Sir Reuben Lockarby, both of his Majesty's county of
Hampshire.'

'Proud and glad to meet ye, gentlemen!' cried the newcomer, with a
flourish. 'But what is this upon the table? Alicant? Fie, fie, it is a
drink for boys. Let us have some good sack with plenty of body in it.
Claret for youth, say I, sack for maturity, and strong waters in old
age. Fly, my sweetest, move those dainty feet of thine, for egad! my
throat is like leather. Od's 'oons, I drank deep last night, and yet
it is clear that I could not have drunk enough, for I was as dry as a
concordance when I awoke.'

Saxon sat silently at the table, looking so viciously at the stranger
out of his half-closed glittering eyes that I feared that we should
have another such brawl as occurred at Salisbury, with perhaps a more
unpleasant ending. Finally, however, his ill-humour at the gallant's
free and easy attention to our hostess spent itself in a few muttered
oaths, and he lit his long pipe, the never-failing remedy of a ruffled
spirit. As to Reuben and myself, we watched our new companion half in
wonder and half in amusement, for his appearance and manners were novel
enough to raise the interest of inexperienced youngsters like ourselves.

I have said that he was dressed in the height of fashion, and such
indeed was the impression which a glance would give. His face was thin
and aristocratic, with a well-marked nose, delicate features, and gay
careless expression. Some little paleness of the cheeks and darkness
under the eyes, the result of hard travel or dissipation, did but add a
chastening grace to his appearance. His white periwig, velvet and silver
riding coat, lavender vest and red satin knee-breeches were all of the
best style and cut, but when looked at closely, each and all of these
articles of attire bore evidence of having seen better days. Beside the
dust and stains of travel, there was a shininess or a fading of colour
here and there which scarce accorded with the costliness of their
material or the bearing of their wearer. His long riding-boots had a
gaping seam in the side of one of th