“Well, it is all over now,” he rejoined. “We have been good foes, and you were a brave man. I honor you for it.”
“Nay, as for the honor of the sword, ’tis yours as much as mine,” I said. “Better blade have I never met, and I have crossed with many.”
He smiled, a little smile of contempt. A man who is done with this world can afford to laugh at the power of steel.
“Let it pass,” he continued, speaking with greater ease now that he was near the end. “Let it pass. And now seeing that I have not much longer in the land, truly a most pleasant land, in spite of all that is said against it, dare I make bold to ask a favor?”
“I will serve you, if I may,” I answered.
“Oh, it is only a small matter,” he rejoined. “’Tis this. When I am laid--laid away, let Simon accompany you to Elizabeth town. He has a mission for me there that I will not be able to accomplish.
“Oh, my God!” he exclaimed suddenly, and his face told of the suffering he felt.
I started to raise him up, that he might rest more easily.
“It is nothing,” he said. “Dying is a little harder than I thought,” and he actually smiled at me.
“Might I speak to--to her?” he asked, as a child would plead.