Soon they had found the covert and the spy, and, tossing his torch to
Hugo, the serving-man rushed at him.
"And wouldst thou slay my dear lad?" he cried. "Thou snipe!"
"Stand back!" sputtered the spy. "Lay not thy hands upon me. I serve
the king."
"Ay, and thou shalt find what it is to serve the king," cried Humphrey,
seizing him by the shoulders and dragging him along. "Yon is his
horse," he said, turning to Hugo. "Cut him loose."
The boy obeyed and, with a snort, the animal was off.
"Thou shalt be well punished for this deed," threatened the spy. "The
steed was the gift of the prior of St. Edmund's."
"Talk not of punishment," cried the enraged Humphrey; "thou who wouldst
slay my dear lad. Lead to the right, lad!" he cried. "I do know a miry
pool. It will not suck him down, but it will cause him some labor to
get out of it."
Hugo, bearing the torch, obeyed, and shortly they had reached the pool
which Humphrey had discovered the day before. Grasping his shoulders
yet more firmly, and fairly lifting the little spy from his feet, the
stalwart Humphrey set him down with a thud in the sticky mud.
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