y, and somewhat greedy in gaining
possession of all he could, was not treacherous or unjust; and that
if he had accepted this sum as the price of the pardon of the boys'
escapade, he would stand their friend, and not allow them to be
persecuted by Mortimer for the same offence, should the matter ever
be brought up against them again.

Indeed, now that the arrangement had been so amicably entered into,
Sir Oliver was rather glad that the subject had been broached. The
prior was the most powerful man in the county, and to have him for
a friend was everything. It was his game to hold the balance very
nicely betwixt the owners of Mortimer and Chad, keeping his neutral
position, and not permitting either party to overstep the limits
beyond a certain extent. After what had just passed, he felt
assured that the prior would not permit his boys to be harried or
accused of countenancing heresy by their enemy, and he was well
pleased at the interview and its result.

He rose now as if to go, but the prior motioned him to resume his
seat.

"There is yet another matter upon which I would speak to you," he
said. "You have beneath your roof one of our younger brethren,
Brother Emmanuel. How have you found him comport himself since he
has been free from the restraints of the cloister?"

The knight looked surprised at the question.

"He is in all ways a very godly and saintly youth," he replied. "He
instructs my sons after an excellent fashion, keeps the hours of
the Church with a scrupulous precision I have never seen equalled,
and instructs all who come to him for advice or assistance in a
manner that makes him beloved of all. Whenever I have talked with
him or gone to him for spiritual counsel, I have been greatly
struck by his spiritual insight, his purity of thought, his
earnestness of mind, and his knowledge of the Holy Scriptures."

The prior shifted a little in his seat, and coughed behind his hand
somewhat dubiously.

"He was ever prone to observe the hours well. He lived blamelessly
here in all outward observances; but as for his knowledge of the
Holy Scriptures, it may be that it goes something too far. It is
whispered abroad that some of his words savour strongly of those
very Lollard heresies which are about to be put down with fire and
sword. Hast thou heard and seen naught of that?"

A thrill of indignation ran through Sir Oliver's frame. It was only
by an effort that he restrained a hasty exclamation. He well