Why, Master Carew," said he, with a tremble
in his voice, "do they mean me ?"

Carew put one hand beneath Nick's chin and turned his face up, smiling.
The master-player's cheeks were flushed with triumph, and his dark eyes
danced with pride. "Ay, Nicholas Skylark; 'tis thou they mean."

The viol and the music came again from overhead, and when they ceased
Nick sang the little song once more. And when the master-player had
taken him outside, and the play was over, some fine ladies came and
kissed him, to his great confusion; for no one but his mother or his
kin had ever done so before, and these had much perfume about them, musk
and rose-attar, so that they smelled like rose-mallows in July. The
players of the Lord Admiral's company were going about shaking hands
with Carew and with each other as if they had not met for years, and
slapping one another upon the back; and one came over, a tall, solemn,
black-haired man, he who had written the song, and stood with his feet
apart and stared at Nick, but spoke never a word, which Nick thought was
very singular. But as he turned away he said, with a world of pity in
his voice, "And I have writ two hundred plays, yet never saw thy like.
Lad, lad, thou art a jewel in a wild swine's snout!" which Nick did not
understand at all; nor why Master Carew said so sharply, "Come, Heywood,
hold thy blabbing tongue; we are all in the same sty."

"Speak for thyself, Gat Carew!" answered Master Heywood, firmly. "I'll
have no hand in this affair, I tell thee once for all!"

Master Carew flushed queerly and bit his lip, and, turning hastily away,
took Nick to walk about the town. Nick then, for the first time, looked
into his hand to see what the man upon the stage had given him. It was a
gold rose-noble.

CHAPTER X

AFTER THE PLAY

Through the high streets of the third city of the realm Master Gaston
Carew strode as if he were a very king, and Coventry his kingdom.

There was music everywhere,--of pipers and fiddlers, drums, tabrets,
flutes, and horns,--and there were dancing bears upon the corners, with
minstrels, jugglers, chapmen crying their singsong wares, and such a
mighty hurly-burly as Nick had never seen before. And wherever there was
a wonder to be seen, Carew had Nick see it, though it cost a penny a
peep, and lifted him to watch the fencing and quarter-staff play in the
market-place. And at one of the gay booths he bought gilt ginger-nuts
and caraway cakes with cu