"I'm glad he came back," said the dwarf thoughtfully.
"He'd been ridden hard, I could tell that," said the farmer.
"And not by a thief, perhaps," said Jean. "The young Duke, they say, is dead, Farmer Jacques."
"What, the Passey scholar?"
"So they say yonder." And the dwarf nodded his head in the direction of the city. "It is said that some tried to rescue him and failed; and there are some who would arrest these men if they could. That's news for you, farmer."
"Bad news, Jean."
"It's good news to hear you call it so," said the dwarf, leaning toward his companion. "One of these rescuers was a priest, who will perchance come again to Vayenne. He might pass this way. If he does, Farmer Jacques, stop him, and say: 'All priests entering Vayenne are to be arrested.'"
"I'll do it. I don't hold with hangings over the castle gates. Would they hang a priest, think you?"
"This one they would; and for that matter all priests have necks as other men have," the dwarf returned.