eyes that he wished he had been indeed a man and could have kissed her openly art the queen asked the old man by her not she answered his grace but a plain who makes baskets and tells fortunes � for all her good looks thou rt flattering her old fellow all the men flatter her tis well there are some to flatter me said her grace showing her white teeth thou dost not but tis always so when a poor woman a man and by the side of him instead of keeping him at her feet and then they led their old host on to talk and told him stories of what did and of their living in tents and sleeping in the open and of his grace of the ill luck which sometimes them when the lord of the they on was a hard mail and evil tempered tis a duke who rules over is t not the old fellow asked ay was her grace s answer nodding her head he is well enough but his lady lord i but they tell that she was a before her marriage a few years gone i have seen her said his grace she is not ill to look at and has done us no harm yet ay but she may says her grace nodding wisely again who knows what such i woman may turn out i have seen him i she stopped her elbows on the little round wooden table chin on her hands and gave her stare again ril pay thee a compliment she said he is a big fellow and not unlike thee � though he be duke and thou naught but a vagabond their host had to them eagerly and now he put in a question was not she the beauty that was married to an old earl who left her widow he said was not she ay answered her grace quietly cried the old fellow that minds me of a story and twas a thing happened in this very house and room look there he pointed with something like excitement to i his grace of the window twas but seldom he had chance to tell his story and twas a thing he dearly loved to do life being but a dull thing at the cow at and few travellers passing that way a pair so friendly and gay and ready to to his chatter as these two he had not seen for years look there i he said at that big hole in the wall they turned together and looked at it in some wonder that her of should have any connection with it twas indeed a big hole and looked as if the plaster of the wall under the sill had been roughly broken and ay said the host tis a queer thing and came here in a strange way being made by a gentleman s sword and he either wild with liquor or with rage never shall i forget hearing his horse s hoofs come tearing over the road as if some man was riding for his life i was and started out of my sleep at the sound of it who s chased by the devil at this time o night through village says i and scarce were the words out of my mouth before the horse up to the house and stops i could hear him panting and heaving as his rider gets off and strides up to bang on the door what dost thou want says i putting my head out of the window come down and let me in answers he i have no time to spare you have a thing in your house i would his grace of find twas a gentleman s voice and i saw twas a gentleman s dress he wore for twas fine cloth and his sword had a and his hat rich come down says he and the door again so down i went who was he asked her grace slowly for he had stopped for breath she sat quite still as before her round chin held in her hands her eyes fixed on him but there was no longer any laughter in their blackness did he tell his name not then was the answer nor did he know i heard when he spoke it breaking forth in anger but that is to come later � with the air of one who would have his tale heard to the most dramatic advantage into this room he strides and to the window straight and looks below the sill four years ago says he there was a hole here in the wall was t so or was t not and he looks at me sharp and fierce as if he would take me by the throat if i said there had been none ay there was a hole there long enough i answers him but twas mended with new plaster at last your can see the patch for twas but roughly done then he goes close to it and ay says he there has been a hole mended old did not lie and on that he turns to me get out of the room he says i have a search to make here your wall will want another patch when i am done he says a his grace of but be made good go thy ways and he draws out his and there was sweat on his brow and he breathed fast as if he was wild with his to find what he sought and leave him asked her grace as quiet as before for how long the old man grinned not for long said he nor did i go far i stood outside where i could see through the crack o the door the nodded with an unmoved face he was like a man in a frenzy the host went on he dug at the 