“That carries! But, by my honour, we are in the thick of crooked happenings. A boy King, and the rabble rushing to make a Jumping Jack of him, and he none too stiff in his knees! You see—I trust you. We rode out here to see if any of this scum had crossed the river. I see no other way but to take you back with us.”
“I ask nothing better than to follow Robert Knollys.”
They had taken each other’s measure, and they gripped hands.
“I am to trust Robert Knollys, as he trusts in me.”
“Take my oath on it.”
“It is given and taken.”
The elder man thought a moment.
“Lad, no one yet must see your face.”
He turned in the saddle and shouted to a squire who was waiting with his pennon on the northern bank.
“Fitzurse—hey!”