He hath not forsaken me when they who fattened on my
bounty--who dipped their hands with me in the dish--have been the first
to betray me. The knave is shrewd and playful, but of an incredible
strength, being, as ye may observe, double-jointed. Madoc, let them
behold some token of thy power."
The cunning rogue obeyed in a twinkling. He seized the host's chair with
one hand, lifting its occupant without difficulty from the ground. With
the other he laid hold on him by the throat, and would certainly have
strangled him but for the king.
The assault was so sudden and unexpected that the domestics stood still
a moment, as though rendered powerless by surprise.
The next instant they all fled pell-mell out of the hall, every one
struggling to be foremost, apprehending that the great personification
of all evil was there, bodily, behind them, and in the very act of
flying off with their master.
In vain Joan shouted after the cowardly villains; her threats but
increased their speed.
"Fly, King Henry," cried the dwarf, in a voice that sounded like the
roar of some infuriated beast; "the rascal curs are barking; the stag is
in the net.
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