"'Twould seem your faith in me is small," he sang.
"Truly it is not very great," I answered. "Why have you reloaded?"
"Because necessity is best served by readiness, good friend."
"You are not coming down, then?"
"Nay, I have considered it most carefully. I am not coming down."
"What, then?"
"Well, friend, it doth appear to me that we are quits. You have no pistol, and therefore cannot come against me; nor can you even leave that tree with safety. By the same token I am swordless, and therefore 'twould be a matter of exceeding risk for me to descend; for if I fired and missed, what then? Thus, you are there, and I am here."
"Yes, and you would kill me if you could for all your priceless conscience."
"Nay, put it not thus harshly, friend. Say, rather, that I must be free at all cost."
"Which goes to prove a guilty conscience."