“It was for thy good. I would save thee from the life of an outlaw or vagabond, and foresaw that unless I renounced thee utterly, thy love would mar thy fortunes, and bring thee back to my side.”
“My poor forsaken mother!”
Grimbeard now approached.
“Well, young runaway, thou hast come back in strange guise to thy natural home. Dost thou remember me?”
“Well, step father, many a sound switching hast thou given me, which doubtless I deserved.”
“Or thou hadst not had them. Well said, boy, and now wilt thou take up thy abode again with us? We want a priest.”
“I am no priest, only a preacher, and my mission is to the Andredsweald at large, and the scattered sheep of the Great Shepherd therein.”
“Only thou knowest our whereabouts too well. We may not let thee go in and out without security, that our retreat be not made known.”
“Father, I have eaten of your bread, and once more of my own free will accepted your hospitality. Even a heathen would respect your secret, still more a Christian brother. If I can persuade you to cease from your mode of life, which the Church decrees unlawful, well and good. But other weapons than those of the Gospel shall never be brought against you by me.”