Nay--nay, thou wouldest not compass a poor man's death in such haste."
"Lead on, then, but be discreet," said De Poininges, softly, at the same
time pushing him forward at his sword's point.
"Here is some help to mine errand, or my craft fails me this bout."
After many qualms and wry faces, De Poininges, by piecemeal, acquired
the following intelligence:--
One night, this honest clerk being with a friend on a predatory
excursion to the prior's storehouse, they heard a muffled shriek and a
sharp scuffle at some distance. Being outside the building, and fearing
detection, they ran to hide themselves under a detached shed, used as a
depository for firewood and stray lumber. Towards this spot, however,
the other parties were evidently approaching. Presently three or four
men, whom they judged to be the prior's servants, came nigh, bearing a
female. They entered into the shed, and proceeded to remove a large heap
of turf. Underneath seemed to be one of those subterraneous
communications generally contrived as a retreat in times of peril; at
any rate, they disappeared through the opening, and the clerk and his
worthy associate effected their escape unobserved.
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