bs,--for
this effect he cut against the grain, in the way that Master Tobias had
taught him,--the pierced hands and feet, the draped cloth about the
loins; slowly it formed under his eager fingers. He smoothed it with
glass-parchment, polished it on the list-wheel; in the end painted it,
with red lips and crimson drops of blood and draping of richest purple.
And he chose that Christian symbol solely because, out of all the
subjects offered by Master Tobias, it presented fewest difficulties in
the matter of draperies--greatest stumbling block to all novices. So it
was finished, and became the pride of his life,--but not for what it
was; only for that it was the work of his own hands. Had it been an
offering to Apollo he would have loved it just as well. And when he had
finished it, Master Tobias kissed him upon either cheek, even as he had
done once before, and declared that he could die happy, for he should
have a successor to keep his art alive.

But all this took much time; and meanwhile Nicanor was learning many
things besides the art of carving.

When he was in the humor for it, Nicanor could work very well indeed, as
he had shown. But more often than not he was sadly out of humor; and
liked nothing so much as to slip away from the hum and drone of the
wheels and the smell of bone and oil, and wander out of the quiet church
precinct down to the busy life at the fords. Here was unending
amusement; all day long he would watch the going and the coming, listen
to the uproar of traffic, silent himself or mingling with the crowds.

Day after day narrow barges went up the Tamesis with the tide from the
port of Londinium, deep-laden with wines and spices, silks, glass,
candles, and rich stuffs from foreign lands; with lamps and statuary and
paintings for the great Roman houses; with fruits and grain, vegetables,
meats and poultry. And at the ebb came the barges down again, this time
with wool and pelts, smelling villanously and tainting all the air as
they went by. Here also was the river-ford, passable at low tide, marked
out by stakes, and leading from the southern side of Thorney, opposite
the marsh-ford, over to the mainland, where again the road began and
stretched away to Londinium. Here the fisher-folk cast their nets for
salmon in their season, for other fish in plenty the year round,
shouting across to the bargemen passing up or down. These, besides the
few priests and servants of Saint Peter's church, and the ke