The stranger stood proudly erect;
his arms were folded, and a withering glance shot from beneath his
brows. Even John Paslew, unused to a sense of inferiority before his
fellow-men, felt cowed before him. For the first time, in all
likelihood, he knew not how or what to answer. The stranger interrupted
this painful silence.
"Since the monks are forbidden to be out a-gadding, the cowl and
scapulary might have found some hindrance over the moors from Kirkstall.
With my hawk and bearing-pole, I can follow on to the sport without let
or question." The latter part of this speech seemed to throw some light
on the purpose for which this messenger had been selected. Paslew was
preparing for a further inquiry, when he was again interrupted.
"I tell thee, a courier of my condition may go free, though nameless.
But to business--Norfolk is tampering with our credulity. He thinks to
gain our time to his advantage: but the work must again be urged
forward. Yet lack we thy aid. May we depend on its being faithfully
rendered? We must have no lukewarm allies in the rear of our camp."
The stranger drew from beneath his inner vest a crucifix, with the
representation of a chalice and of the five wounds of Christ.
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