"What harm have you done, you fool! Haven't you made me take all my trouble in vain, and done me out of the promised reward to those who ferret out and hand over deserters. You dare to meddle with my affairs again, that's all!"
Gnashing his teeth, he kept his pistol grasped firmly in his hand; he would very much have liked to have beaten the fellow's shaggy poll about with the butt end of it.
"Go and saddle my horse this instant!"
Ivan was only too delighted to get clear of the narrow little room where he was so close to this dangerous visitor's muscular fists, and went to saddle the horse. While so employed, he could not help reflecting that the nag was just a trifle too good to be bestridden by a secret police-agent.
The stranger did not wait till he was ready, but hurried after him. Then he quickly mounted his horse, and presented something to Ivan.
"Here, take that!"
The fellow dodged his head, thinking he was about to get another buffet. Then the stranger flung a thaler at his feet.
"Take that, you dog, for your trouble. And now open the gate!"
The horse splashed the 'prentice's eyes and mouth full of mud as the stranger galloped away.
At the sound of the rapidly retreating hoofs the headsman thought to himself: "That was Heaven's own gracious messenger." The headsman's young wife, however, sighed: "Ah! that was a gay gentleman." But the 'prentice growled furiously: "It was old Nick himself."