bling like
a leaf at what he had heard. The old woman gave them some bread and
meat to eat, and then hid them away in the great empty meal-chest in the
corner, and there they lay as still as mice.

By-and-by in came the gang of thieves with a great noise and uproar,
and down they sat to their supper. The poor servant lay in the chest
listening to all they said of the dreadful things they had done that
day--how they had cruelly robbed and murdered poor people. Every word
that they said he heard, and he trembled until his teeth chattered in
his head. But all the same the robbers knew nothing of the two being
there, and there they lay until near the dawning of the day. Then the
travelling companion bade the servant be stirring, and up they got, and
out of the chest they came, and found all the robbers sound asleep and
snoring so that the dust flew.

"Stop a bit," said the angel--the travelling companion--"we must pay
them for our lodging."

As he spoke he drew from his pocket the ruby ring which he had stolen
from the sorrowful young man's finger, and dropped it into the cup from
which the robber captain drank. Then he led the way out of the house,
and, if the serving-man had wondered the day before at that which the
comrade did, he wondered ten times more to see him give so beautiful a
ring to such wicked and bloody thieves.

The third evening of their journey the two travellers came to a little
hut, neat enough, but as poor as poverty, and there the comrade knocked
upon the door and asked for lodging. In the house lived a poor man and
his wife; and, though the two were as honest as the palm of your hand,
and as good and kind as rain in spring-time, they could hardly scrape
enough of a living to keep body and soul together. Nevertheless, they
made the travellers welcome, and set before them the very best that was
to be had in the house; and, after both had eaten and drunk, they showed
them to bed in a corner as clean as snow, and there they slept the night
through.

But the next morning, before the dawning of the day, the travelling
companion was stirring again. "Come," said he; "rouse yourself, for I
have a bit of work to do before I leave this place."

And strange work it was! When they had come outside of the house, he
gathered together a great heap of straw and sticks of wood, and stuffed
all under the corner of the house. Then he struck a light and set fire
to it, and, as the two walked away through the gray d