cast the crepull down
and sayd: fatte or lene, take hym as he is; and ranne awaye; and the
creple by myracle was made hole, and ran away as fast as he or faster.
Thys mylner perceyuyng that they were two, and that one ran after an
other, thoughte that one had spyed the tayler stelyng the shepe, and
that he had ron after hym to haue taken hym; and fearyng that one had
spyed hym also stelynge the nuttes, he for feare lefte hys nuttes behynd
him; and as secretly as he cowde ran home to hys myll. And anon after
that he was gone, the tayler cam wyth the stolen shepe vppon hys necke
to the chyrche to seke the mylner; and whan he fownde there the nutte
shalys,[32] he supposyd that his felow had ben ther and gone home, as he
was in dede; wherfore he toke vp the shepe agayne on his necke, [and]
went towarde the myll. But yet durynge this while, the sexten which
ranne away went not to hys owne house, but went to the parysh prestys
chamber, and shewyd hym how the spyryt of the man was rysen out of hys
graue knacking nuttes, as ye haue hard before; wherfore the prest sayd
that he wolde go coniure hym, yf the sexten wolde go wyth hym; and so
they bothe agreed. The prest dyd on hys surples and a stole about hys
necke, and toke holy water wyth hym, and cam wyth the sexten toward the
church; and as sone as he entred in the chyrche yard, the talyer wyth
the whyte shepe on hys neck intendyng, as I before haue shewyd yow, to
go downe to the myll, met with them, and had went that the prest in his
surples had ben the mylner in his whyte cote, and seyd to hym: by God! I
haue hym, I haue hym! meanynge thereby[33] the shepe that he had stolen.
The prest, perceyuynge the tayller all in blake and a whyte thynge on
hys nek, had went it had ben the deuyll beryng away the spyryte of the
dede man that was beryed, and ran away as fast as he coude, takyng the
way down towarde the myl, and the sexten ronnyng after hym. Thys tayler,
seying one folowyng hym, had went that one had folowed the mylner to
haue done hym som hurt, and thought he wold folow, if nede were to help
the milner; and went forth, tyl he cam to the mill and knocked at the
myll dore. The mylner beynge wythin asked who was there. The tayler
answeryd and sayd: by God! I haue caught one of them, and made hym sure
and tyed hym fast by the legges. But the mylner, heryng him sey that he
had hym tyed fast by the legges, had went it had ben the constable, that
had taken the tayler for stelyng of