ladies hurrying along, huddled rather
closely together, and a couple of city gallants bowing and smirking
beside them in the roadway. The young fellow's face flushed; for, even
in the growing darkness, he recognized one slight, graceful figure as
that of Dorothy. He hastened forward, and soon got near enough to
distinguish the faces of the four, and to perceive that the ladies were
being annoyed by the unwelcome attentions of the two fops, who,
attracted doubtless by Dolly's beauty and apparent rusticity, were
endeavouring to force acquaintance upon the buxom hostess of the
"Swanne." Johnnie seized both the situation and the offenders in a
moment. Grasping the youths by the nape of the neck, he cracked their
curled heads together until they yelled with pain. Then he forced
their noses down to their knees.

"Bow low, ye rascals," he cried. "Lower still; ye are not doing
sufficient homage to beauty and innocence yet."

The two collapsed, toppled forward, and lay prone on their stomachs in
the thick, foul dust.

"Kiss the ground they walk on," pursued the relentless Johnnie; "'tis
what ye mouthing apes profess to do. Kiss it--let me hear ye," and he
held them in his grip until two resounding smacks rewarded his efforts.
"Now," he said, "maybe ye will not annoy womenfolk again for an evening
or two. I'll lout the heads of both of you together if I see your
smirking faces in this street any more."

The forester straightened himself, offered an arm to each of the
ladies, and led them home.

Lights shone from the parlour window of "Ye Swanne" that night long
after they were douted in the other houses of Wood Street. Johnnie had
to recount all the incidents of his visit to the court; and Dorothy and
the hostess asked him a hundred questions about the Queen, many of them
concerning her dress and her jewels, and quite beyond his powers of
answering. He said nothing about the promise given to his sovereign in
a moment of loyal enthusiasm, a promise that pledged him to voyage and
adventure on the Spanish Main.

"Time enough for that," he said to himself. "I'll talk at greater
length to Bob to-morrow; and as no ships will be sailing westward ho!
until the spring comes again, I may as well leave talking for a later
day, and make my plans now in silence."

The party from the forest spent another week in London, and during that
time Johnnie went twice to Whitehall, on the second occasion taking
Dorothy with him. Th