'
"Then the letter went on to say that the writer would at once buckle
to and raise a troop of horse among his tenantry, and that if other
satisfactory arrangements could not be made for the conveyance of the
moneys, he would bring them in person to the King.
"And now comes the climax of the story. The messenger was captured and
Sir James's incautious letter taken from his boot, as a result of
which within ten days' time he found himself closely besieged by five
hundred Roundheads under the command of one Colonel Playfair. The
Castle was but ill-provisioned for a siege, and in the end Sir James
was driven by sheer starvation to surrender. No sooner had he obtained
an entry, then Colonel Playfair sent for his prisoner, and to his
astonishment produced to Sir James's face his own letter to the King.
"'Now, Sir James,' he said, 'we have the hive, and I must ask you to
lead us to the honey. Where be those great moneys whereof you talk
herein? Fain would I be fingering these ten thousand pieces of gold,
the which you have so snugly stored away.'
"'Ay,' answered old Sir James, 'you have the hive, but the secret of
the honey you have not, nor shall you have it. The ten thousand pieces
in gold is where it is, and with it is much more. Find it if you may,
Colonel, and take it if you can.
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