"All, all," answered the guard; "have you brought the rest of the money, master clerk? Here stands the prisoner free; so my part of the bargain is done."
"And there is the rest of the gold, good fellow," replied the other speaker; "all right money, and well counted."
"Ay, I must take it on your word," said the man who had brought Woodville thither, "my lamp has been blown out; but I may well trust you; for the other half was full tale and a piece over."
"That was for chaffage," replied the youth; "and if this noble knight gets safe to the King's camp, you shall have a hundred pieces more; so go, and keep his escape, and the way he has taken, as secret as possible."
"That I will, for mine own sake," answered the soldier; "or I should soon know gibbet and cord. Good night, good night!" and waving his hand, he turned away, while the young clerk addressed Woodville, saying, "You must put yourself under my guidance, noble sir, for a few hours, and then we shall be safe."
"I have much to thank you for, young gentleman," answered Woodville, following, as the other hurried on to the horses; and in a few minutes the knight, his page, the clerk, and the clerk's servant were on their way. But to Woodville's surprise, instead of taking any of the by-roads that led on through the country to remote villages and hamlets, they followed the direct high road towards Paris, which he had gazed upon for many a day from his solitary chamber in the tower.
After proceeding some way in silence, without hearing any sounds which could lead them to believe that the knight's escape had been discovered, and that they were pursued, Woodville endeavoured to gain some information from the clerk of Sir John Grey, as to the means which had been taken to effect his liberation, and more particularly, as to the lady who had been mentioned by the guard.
On the latter point the youth replied not; and on the former he merely said, "The means were very simple, noble knight, and you yourself saw some of them employed. Money, which unlocks all doors, was the key of your prison. The man who refuses ransom to a captive, had better see that he guard him sure; for that which is a small sum to him, may be a great one to a gaoler, and one quarter of the amount offered for your redemption, served to set you free. But I think, sir," he added, "we had better speak as little as possible upon any head, till we have passed the capital, for the tongue of an escaped prisoner, like the track of gore to the bloodhound, often brings him within the fangs of his pursuers."
Richard of Woodville judged the caution too wise not to be followed; and on they rode in silence at a brisk pace, with the wind blowing, and the rain dashing against them, through the darkness of the night, for somewhat more than two hours, following the broad and open road all the way, till the young knight thought they must be approaching Paris. More than once, indeed, he fancied that he caught a glimpse of some large dark mass before him; and imagination shaped towers and pinnacles in the black obscurity of night; but at length the clerk's man, who seemed to act as guide, pronounced the words, "To the left!" and striking into a narrower, though still well beaten path, they soon came upon a river, flowing on dull and heavy, but with a glistening light, in the midst of its dark banks, which they followed for some way, till a bridge presented itself, which they crossed, and then, turning a little to the right again, continued their course without drawing a rein, till the faint grey streaks of morning began to appear in the east.
Shortly after, a bell was heard ringing slowly, apparently at no great distance; and the young clerk said aloud, with a sigh of relief, "Thank God!"