"What now, my masters!" cried the woodman. "What means all this?"
"Don't waste time in talk, man," answered the luckless Pursuivant; "bring hither thy axe and cut these accursed ropes."
The man hesitated, and his weather-beaten features assumed a shrewd expression.
"You must first tell me who you be, and how you came to this pass; I may get myself into trouble."
"Fool!" cried the Pursuivant, now getting angry, "I am a Queen's officer, and these are my men—thy axe, I say, thy axe, and that quick!"
But the man was evidently the master of the situation, and he was not to be hurried.
Moreover, his sense of cupidity began to be awakened—there was, doubtless, something to be earned in this matter.
"Well, I doant know but what I med do you this little job," he said cautiously; "but what is it worth?"
The Pursuivant ground his teeth with rage.
"It will be worse for thee, fool, if thou hesitate any longer; come, bring thy axe and cut these ropes, I command you."