“A Jew, and a good man!” cried Jurg, laughing. “If you won’t help, so much the worse for you. You’ll risk your neck, and the fifteen florins. ... Will you go shares? Yes or no?”
“Heaven’s thunder!” murmured the poacher, his crooked mouth watering. “How much is half of fifteen florins?”
“About seven, I should say.”
“A calf and a pig.”
“A swine for the Jew, that will suit. You’ll keep him here in the trap.”
“I can’t, Jorg; by my soul, I can’t! Let me alone!”
“Very well, for aught I care; but the legal gentlemen. The gallows has waited for you long enough!”
“I can’t; I can’t. I’ve been an honest man all my life, and the smith Adam and his dead father have shown me many a kindness.”
“Who means the smith any harm?”
“The receiver is as bad as the thief. If they catch him....”