"Thou hast forgotten that we have one prisoner?"
"A man of mean condition. By St. Denis, were it not for the information we may get from him, I'd as lief pass my knife across his throat. And, look ye, comrades, since some of our horses are done up, 'twill be best that two of ye stay here with the prisoner. The rest of us will push on back to Taillemartel, whence we will send more horses for those that tarry here."
The lads heard this conversation with bated breath. Evidently Néron le Boeuf, the trusted servant of Sir Oliver, was a traitor, and had not scrupled to betray those whom he had appeared so anxious to befriend.
Cautiously the lads looked through a crevice in the planking of the loft, fearful lest the slightest movement would cause the timbers to creak, or would dislodge a portion of the mouldering thatch.
In the barn below were six bearded men-at-arms, clad in leather jerkins studded with iron bosses. Each wore a long, straight-bladed sword with a plain cross-hilt and a short knife or dagger. Why they had entered the barn seemed a mystery, for they had not attempted to search the place, and, fortunately, the lads had made no sound in their sleep that was likely to betray their presence.
"Now, out with ye, and bring in the horses and the prisoner," quoth a man who was evidently the leader of the party. "And mark ye well. While we are gone take heed that ye be not seen by our master, for, as ye know, he journeys to Amiens this day. Had we not been fooled by this rascally Le Boeuf 'twould have mattered little, but, ma foi! to be discovered in this plight would mean a raw hide for us all."
With this admonition four of the men went out, and on returning brought with them two horses and a man, his arms bound behind his back.
To the lads' astonishment the prisoner was none other than Arnold Gripwell.
"Now, hasten, mes camarades," continued the leader. "Ye that remain keep a sharp eye on this rogue. If he gives trouble pass a knife across his throat."
"Give me a knife and a free hand, and I'll serve any twain of ye in a manner that ye'll have good cause to remember," growled Gripwell.