"I will have breakfast, sirrah, and that immediately," he said to the
waiter when he had entered the inn.
The waiter eyed him doubtfully.
"Make haste. I command thee to it. Dally not with me. I serve the
king," said the fierce little man, loftily.
"Thy service hath taken thee in strange paths," observed the innkeeper,
who had drawn near.
"Not so strange as thine will take thee in if thou delay me," retorted
Walter Skinner, haughtily.
There was in the bar a strange man of a crafty and evil face, and he
now drew near the imperious little spy, and humbly besought the honor
of taking his breakfast in Walter Skinner's company.
"And so thou shalt," said the spy, condescendingly. "And mayhap, since
I have lost my horse, thou canst direct me where I can find another. I
have no time to go harrying a prior for one."
The landlord now led the way obsequiously, and soon the strange pair
were seated in one of the several private rooms of the inn, with the
promise that breakfast should be served to them at once.
Then said the stranger: "As to the matter of a horse, I have at this
moment one by me which I would fain dispose of.
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