"We were paid."
"By whom?"
"I know him not."
"You lie." Hugh frowned down at him. "Tell me the truth."
"It is the truth, lord. He was known to none of us. He rode up from the sea."
"From the sea?" An idea entered Hugh's head. "What manner of man was he?"
"Short—swart—pockmarks on his face." The robber talked with difficulty. "He—was—from—the—sea."
Hugh rose.
"Do you make aught of this gibberish?" enquired the stranger, wiping his sword with a handful of grass.
"Enough to set me thinking, sir knight."