Gilly, and he looked
so fierce that he fairly frightened the old woman. "And if you don't
satisfy me with supper and a bed I'll leave you to meet them hanging
from the door."

The crooked old woman was so terrified that she gave him a supper of
porridge and showed him a bed to sleep in. He turned in and slept. He
was roused by a candle being held to his eyes. He wakened up and saw six
robbers standing round him with knives in their hands.

"What brings you under our roof?" said the Captain. "Answer me now
before we skin you as we would skin an eel."

"Speak up and answer the Captain," said the robbers.

"Why shouldn't I be under this roof?" said Gilly. "I am the Master-Thief
of the World."

The robbers put their hands on their knees and laughed at that. Gilly
jumped out of the bed. "I have come to show you the arts of thievery and
roguery," said he. "I'll show you some tricks that will let you hold up
your heads amongst the thieves and robbers of the world."

He looked so bold and he spoke so bold that the robbers began to think
he might have some reason for talking as he did. They left him and went
off to their beds. Gilly slept again. At the broad noon they were all
sitting at breakfast--Gilly and the six robbers. A farmer went past
leading a goat to the fair.

"Could any of you steal that goat without doing any violence to the man
who is driving it?" said Gilly.

"I couldn't," said one robber, and "I couldn't," said another robber,
and "I'd be hardly able to do that myself," said the Captain of the
Robbers.

"I can do it," said Gilly. "I'll be back with the goat before you are
through with your breakfast." He went outside.

Gilly knew that country well and he ran through the wood until he was
a bend of the road ahead of the farmer who was leading his goat to the
fair. He took off one shoe and left it in the middle of the road. He
ran on then until he was round another bend of the road. He took off the
other shoe and left it down. Then he hid behind the hedge and waited.

The farmer came to where the first shoe was. "That's not a bad shoe,"
said he, "and if there was a comrade for it, it would be worth picking
up." He went on then and came to where the other shoe was lying. "Here
is the comrade," said he, "and it's worth my while now to go back for
the first."

He tied the goat to the mile-stone and went back. As soon as the farmer
had turned his back, Gilly took the collar off the goat, left it on t