"Ha! ha!" laughed Henry, "hast found him out, lads? Well, it may not be
the worse for ye. Pity thou shouldst not be in the Forest still, my
young falconer, but we know our good city of London too well to break
thy indentures. And thou--"
He was turning to Ambrose when further shouts were heard. The King
hallooed, and bade the boys do so, and in a few moments more they were
surrounded by the rest of the hawking party, full of dismay at the
king's condition, and deprecating his anger for having lost him.
"Yea," said Henry; "an it had not been for this good lad, ye would never
have heard more of the majesty of England! Swallowed in a quagmire had
made a new end for a king, and ye would have to brook the little Scot."
The gentlemen who had come up were profuse in lamentations. A horse was
brought up for the king's use, and he prepared to mount, being in haste
to get into dry clothes. He turned round, however, to the boys, and
said, "I'll not forget you, my lads. Keep that!" he added, as Ambrose,
on his knee, would have given him back the whistle, "'tis a token that
maybe will serve thee, for I shall know it again. And thou, my black-
eyed lad--My purse, Howard!"
He handed the purse to Stephen--a velvet bag richly wrought with gold,
and containing ten gold angels, besides smaller money--bidding them
divide, like good brothers as he saw they were, and then galloped off
with his train.
Twilight was coming on, but following in the direction of the riders,
the boys were soon on the Islington road. The New Gate was shut by the
time they reached it, and their explanation that they were belated after
a nutting expedition would not have served them, had not Stephen
produced the sum of twopence which softened the surliness of the guard.
It was already dark, and though curfew had not yet sounded, preparations
were making for lighting the watch-fires in the open spaces and throwing
chains across the streets, but the little door in the Dragon court was
open, and Ambrose went in with his brother to deliver up his nuts to
Dennet and claim her promise of sending a share to Aldonza.
They found their uncle in his sober array sitting by Master Headley, who
was rating Edmund and Giles for having lost sight of them, the latter
excusing himself by grumbling out that he could not be marking all
Stephen's brawls with George Bates.
When the two wanderers appeared, relief took the form of anger, and
there were sharp demands why they had loitered. Their story was
listened to with many exclamations: Dennet jumped for joy, her
grandmother advised that the angels should be consigned to her own safe
keeping, and when Master Headley heard of Henry's scruples about the
indentures, he declared that it was a rare wise king who knew that an
honest craft was better than court favour.
"Yet mayhap he might do something for thee, friend Ambrose," added the
armourer. "Commend thee to some post in his chapel royal, or put thee
into some college, since such is thy turn. How sayst thou, Master
Randall, shall he send in this same token, and make his petition?"
"If a fool--if a plain man may be heard where the wise hath spoken,"
said Randall, "he had best abstain. Kings love not to be minded of
mishaps, and our Hal's humour is not to be reckoned on! Lay up the toy
in case of need, but an thou claim overmuch he may mind thee in a
fashion not to thy taste."
"Sure our King is of a more generous mould!" exclaimed Mrs Headley.
"He is like other men, good mistress, just as you know how to have him,
and he is scarce like to be willing to be minded of the taste of mire,
or of floundering like a hog in a salt marsh. Ha! ha!" and Quipsome Hal
went off into such a laugh as might have betrayed his identity to any
one more accustomed to the grimaces of his professional character, but
which only infected the others with the same contagious merriment.
"Come thou home now," he said to Ambrose; "my good woman hath been in a
mortal fright about thee, and would have me come out to seek after thee.
Such are the women folk, Master Headley. Let them have but a lad to
look after, and they'll bleat after him like an old ewe that has lost
her lamb."
Ambrose only stayed for Dennet to divide the spoil, and though the
blackberries had all been lost or crushed, the little maiden kept her
promise generously, and filled the bag not only with nuts but with three
red-cheeked apples, and a handful of comfits, for the poor little maid
who never tasted fruit or sweets.