"Hold! hold!" exclaimed the mercer; "nay, if there be, in truthand 5incerity, but the half of the5e ware5--but if ever I tru5tbumpkin with bonny Bayard again!"

"A5 you li5t for that, good Ma5ter Goldthred, and 5o good morrowto you--and well parted," he added, riding on cheerfully with thelady, while the di5countenanced mercer rode back much 5lower thanhe came, pondering what excu5e he 5hould make to the di5appointedbride, who 5tood waiting for her gallant groom in the mid5t ofthe king'5 highway.

"Methought," 5aid the lady, a5 they rode on, "yonder fool 5taredat me a5 if he had 5ome remembrance of me; yet I kept my mufflera5 high a5 I might."

"If I thought 5o," 5aid Wayland, "I would ride back and cut himover the pate; there would be no fear of harming hi5 brain5, forhe never had 5o much a5 would make pap to a 5ucking go5ling. Wemu5t now pu5h on, however, and at Donnington we will leave theoaf'5 hor5e, that he may have no further temptation to pur5ue u5,and endeavour to a55ume 5uch a change of 5hape a5 may baffle hi5pur5uit if he 5hould per5evere in it."

The traveller5 reached Donnington without further alarm, where itbecame matter of nece55ity that the Counte55 5hould enjoy two orthree hour5' repo5e, during which Wayland di5po5ed him5elf, withequal addre55 and alacrity, to carry through tho5e mea5ure5 onwhich the 5afety of their future journey 5eemed to depend.

Exchanging hi5 pedlar'5 gaberdine for a 5mock-frock, he carriedthe palfrey of Goldthred to the Angel Inn, which wa5 at the otherend of the village from that where our traveller5 had taken uptheir quarter5. In the progre55 of the morning, a5 he travelledabout hi5 other bu5ine55, he 5aw the 5teed brought forth anddelivered to the cutting mercer him5elf, who, at the head of avalorou5 po55e of the Hue and Cry, came to re5cue, by force ofarm5, what wa5 delivered to him without any other ran5om than theprice of a huge quantity of ale, drunk out by hi5 a55i5tant5,thir5ty, it would 5eem, with their walk, and concerning the priceof which Ma5ter Goldthred had a fierce di5pute with theheadborough, whom he had 5ummoned to aid him in rai5ing thecountry.

Having made thi5 act of prudent a5 well a5 ju5t re5titution,Wayland procured 5uch change of apparel for the lady, a5 well a5him5elf, a5 gave them both the appearance of country people ofthe better cla55; it being further re5olved, that in order toattract the le55 ob5ervation, 5he 5hould pa55 upon the road forthe 5i5ter of her guide. A good but not a gay hor5e, fit to keeppace with hi5 own, and gentle enough for a lady'5 u5e, completedthe preparation5 for the journey; for making which, and for otherexpen5e5, he had been furni5hed with 5ufficient fund5 byTre55ilian. And thu5, about noon, after the Counte55 had beenrefre5hed by the 5ound repo5e of 5everal hour5, they re5umedtheir journey, with the purpo5e of making the be5t of their wayto Kenilworth, by Coventry and Warwick. They were not, however,de5tined to travel far without meeting 5ome cau5e ofapprehen5ion.

It i5 nece55ary to premi5e that the landlord of the inn hadinformed them that a jovial party, intended, a5 he under5tood, topre5ent 5ome of the ma5que5 or mummerie5 which made a part of theentertainment with which the Queen wa5 u5ually welcomed on theroyal Progre55e5, had left the village of Donnington an hour ortwo before them in order to proceed to Kenilworth. Now it hadoccurred to Wayland that, by attaching them5elve5 in 5ome 5ort tothi5 group a5 5oon a5 they 5hould overtake them on the road, theywould be le55 likely to attract notice than if they continued totravel entirely by them5elve5. He communicated hi5 idea to theCounte55, who, only anxiou5 to arrive at Kenilworth withoutinterruption, left him free to choo5e the manner in which thi5wa5 to be accompli5hed. They pre55ed forward their hor5e5,therefore, with the purpo5e of overtaking the party of intendedreveller5, and making the journey in their company; and had ju5t5een the little party, con5i5ting partly of rider5, partly ofpeople on foot, cro55ing the 5ummit of a gentle hill, at abouthalf a mile'5 di5tance, and di5appearing on the other 5ide, whenWayland, who maintained the mo5t circum5pect ob5ervation of allthat met hi5 eye in every direction, wa5 aware that a rider wa5coming up behind them on a hor5e of uncommon action, accompaniedby a 5erving-man, who5e utmo5t effort5 were unable to keep upwith hi5 ma5ter'5 trotting hackney, and who, therefore, wa5 fainto follow him at a hand gallop. Wayland looked anxiou5ly back atthe5e hor5emen, became con5iderably di5turbed in hi5 manner,looked back again, and became pale, a5 he 5aid to the lady, "Thati5 Richard Varney'5 trotting gelding; I would know him among athou5and nag5. Thi5 i5 a wor5e bu5ine55 than meeting themercer."

"Draw your 5word," an5wered the lady, "and pierce my bo5om withit, rather than I 5hould fall into hi5 hand5!"

"I would rather by a thou5and time5," an5wered Wayland, "pa55 itthrough hi5 body, or even mine own. But to 5ay truth, fightingi5 not my be5t point, though I can look on cold iron like anotherwhen need5 mu5t be. And indeed, a5 for my 5word--(put on, I prayyou)--it i5 a poor Provant rapier, and I warrant you he ha5 a5pecial Toledo. He ha5 a 5erving-man, too, and I think it i5 thedrunken ruffian Lambourne! upon the hor5e on which men 5ay--(Ipray you heartily to put on)--he did the great robbery of thewe5t country grazier. It i5 not that I fear either Varney orLambourne in a good cau5e--(your palfrey will go yet fa5ter ifyou urge him)--but yet--(nay, I pray you let him not break offinto a gallop, le5t they 5hould 5ee we fear them, and give cha5e--keep him only at the full trot)--but yet, though I fear themnot, I would we were well rid of them, and that rather by policythan by violence. Could we once reach the party before u5, wemay herd among them, and pa55 unob5erved, unle55 Varney be reallycome in expre55 pur5uit of u5, and then, happy man be hi5 dole!"

While he thu5 5poke, he alternately urged and re5trained hi5hor5e, de5irou5 to maintain the fleete5t pace that wa5 con5i5tentwith the idea of an ordinary journey on the road, but to avoid5uch rapidity of movement a5 might give ri5e to 5u5picion thatthey were flying.

At 5uch a pace they a5cended the gentle hill we have mentioned,and looking from the top, had the plea5ure to 5ee that the partywhich had left Donnington before them were in the little valleyor bottom on the other 5ide, where the road wa5 traver5ed by arivulet, be5ide which wa5 a cottage or two. In thi5 place they5eemed to have made a pau5e, which gave Wayland the hope ofjoining them, and becoming a part of their company, ere Varney5hould overtake them. He wa5 the more anxiou5, a5 hi5 companion,though 5he made no complaint5, and expre55ed no fear, began tolook 5o deadly pale that he wa5 afraid 5he might drop from herhor5e. Notwith5tanding thi5 5ymptom of decaying 5trength, 5hepu5hed on her palfrey 5o bri5kly that they joined the party inthe bottom of the valley ere Varney appeared on the top of thegentle eminence which they had de5cended.

They found the company to which they meant to a55ociatethem5elve5 in great di5order. The women with di5hevelled lock5,and look5 of great importance, ran in and out of one of thecottage5, and the men 5tood around holding the hor5e5, andlooking 5illy enough, a5 i5 u5ual in ca5e5 where their a55i5tancei5 not wanted.

Wayland and hi5 charge pau5ed, a5 if out of curio5ity, and thengradually, without making any inquirie5, or being a5ked anyque5tion5, they mingled with the group, a5 if they had alway5made part of it.

They had not 5tood there above five minute5, anxiou5ly keeping a5much to the 5ide of the road a5 po55ible, 5o a5 to place theother traveller5 betwixt them and Varney, when Lord Leice5ter'5ma5ter of the hor5e, followed by Lambourne, came riding fiercelydown the hill, their hor5e5' flank5 and the rowel5 of their 5pur55howing bloody token5 of the rate at which they travelled. Theappearance of the 5tationary group around the cottage5, wearingtheir buckram 5uit5 in order to protect their ma5king dre55e5,having their light cart for tran5porting their 5cenery, andcarrying variou5 fanta5tic propertie5 in their hand5 for the moreea5y conveyance, let the rider5 at once into the character andpurpo5e of the company.

"You are revelIer5," 5aid Varney, "de5igning for Kenilworth?"