"If I mistake not, they left a mangonel behind them——"
"Ay; but 'twould take a good five hours to bring it hither."
Sir John saw the truth of this statement, and puckered his brows in his perplexity.
"Craving thy pardon, sir," said a grizzled man-at-arms, standing within earshot of the two officers, "I know how the galley can be held till the morrow."
"How so, sirrah?" demanded the Constable.
"For over thirty years I was a marshman of Poole——"
"Forbear to speak of what thou hast been," replied Sir John Hacket curtly, "and tell us what thou dolt propose to do."
"As a marshman I know how to walk over this mud. Give me leave, with five of my comrades, and I'll warrant that the galley will never float again."
"How can the man possibly reach the vessel by walking on the mud?" demanded Lord Willoughby, who at that moment had joined the Constable in order to confer with him on a plan of action. "Even now two score or more of the knaves lie swallowed up by the filthy slime."
"Let him have his way, my Lord," replied the Constable; "and," he added, addressing the soldier, "get ye gone, and do your work quickly. A rose-noble apiece shall be your reward if ye succeed."