"Bethink you, dear sir, of the danger of being abroad at this early and untimeous hour, when broken men, Egyptians and all manner of thieves, beset every highway and hover in every thicket."
The physician smiled, and, opening the breast of his furred cassock, showed beneath it a fine shirt of mail, which was flexible, and fitted him closely as a kid glove. "I have thought cf all that," said he, "and I have, moreover, my dagger and a pair of wheel-lock petronels at my saddle-bow. So now, adieu."
"But my fees to you, and this horse, Master Posset——"
"You will find it a beautiful grey, though he looks milky-white under the stars."
"To whom am I to return it?"
"To none—it is a free gift to you."
"To me—a gift," said Florence with astonishment; "from whom?"
"The lady——"
"Who—which lady?"
"The taller, with the hazel eyes and blonde hair; and you must accept; for 'twere ungallant to refuse."