"Not know? He must be made to know! We will pluck the heart of this treason out;" and he wrote a few words hastily on the back of the letter which he had been reading.
Then, however, he paused, laid his finger on his temple, and thought deeply for a minute or two. "No," he said at length, "no! It must be passed over. If they catch him in the abbey, the lad's fault shall be passed over. He has served the purposes of a decoy--done good service without knowing it; and we will not kill the bird that lures the game to us, though it little thinks that it betrays its fellows--perhaps imagines it is serving them, not us. I have heard there was friendship between the bishop and his father; and we must alienate no friends just now.--Friends!" he continued, with a bitter sneer. "What are friends? I know but one, whom men can ever count upon; and he dwells here;" and at the same time he laid his hand significantly on his own broad forehead.
He then took the pen again, and struck out the words he had written on the paper, pushed it aside, raised another, and, after glancing over it, clapped his hands, exclaiming--
"Without, there!"
A servant instantly appeared; and the king, for it was Richard himself, demanded--
"Did you not tell me that this man, John Radnor, had been killed by a fail from his horse?"
"Yes, sire," answered the servant, "so the posts say, who brought your grace the news that the earls of Richmond's fleet had been dispersed. He was found dead upon the road, but with his purse and papers all secure, so that they could not be thieves who slew him."
"I trust there are few such left in the land," said Richard. "I have done something already to crush the lawless spirit engendered in this country by long turbulence and domestic strife; and I will trample out the last spark ere I have done. By Christ, the name of thief shall be unknown in the land if I live long enough.--I grieve for this man," he continued, musing. "He was a serviceable knave, and one to whose dexterity we could trust instructions somewhat difficult to write, and yet not make him an ambassador.--Send Sir John Thoresby to me," he continued, "and as soon as Sir Charles Weinants comes, give him admission."
With a low reverence, the man withdrew; and the king busied himself with the papers again, till the door opened and a gentleman in black entered the room.
"Let those be answered, Sir John," said the king, pushing some letters to him, "and take order that lodging and entertainment be prepared at York for the Princess Countess of Arran. Send off too, by a private hand, which can be trusted, a letter to the king her brother, greeting him well from us, and telling him that the secret note, sent with the letters of the countess, has been received. Bid him set his mind at ease, for that the matter is very sure, and that, search as she will, search will be fruitless, so that she can come safely.--Have you seen the queen?"