“You are over considerate of Mistress Judith’s feelings, even for a lover,” returned the boy.
“Ah, it’s not Mistress Judith’s feelings I’m considerate of,” replied Lindley. “She’s capable of saying that I got the wound on purpose to lie in her house, on purpose to demand her care.”
Here Johan’s unsteady laugh rang out once more.
“Indeed she’s capable of that very thing, my master,” he said, and as he spoke he began to tear his long coat into strips.
“What are you doing that for?” demanded Lindley, leaning more and more heavily against his horse’s side.
“It’s a bandage and a sling for your arm,” answered the boy. “If you will persist in the ride to The Jolly Grig, your arm must be tied so that it will not bleed again.”
“’Twill be a wonder if you do not faint away like a woman when you touch the blood,” scoffed Lindley.
“’Twill be a wonder, I’m thinking myself,” answered the boy, unsteadily.
And then, the bandage made and adjusted, Johan offered his shoulder to assist the wounded man into the saddle. But Lindley, pressing heavily yet tenderly against the lad, said gently:
“I’ve been rough, Johan, but believe me, this night’s work will stand you in good stead. Hereafter your play acting may be a matter of choice, but never again of necessity.”