d; "for I had no ill will to
him."

"We must be careful of you, Master Holliday," the countess said;
"for if you go on like this you will much diminish the number of
the queen's subjects."

"I can assure your grace," Rupert said earnestly, "that I am no
brawler, and am not quarrelsome by nature, and that the thought of
shedding blood, except of the foes of my country in battle, pains
me much."

"I'll warrant me you are the mildest-tempered boy alive," the earl
said. "Now tell me frankly: you have been in London some
forty-eight hours; have you passed that time without getting into a
fray or quarrel of any kind?"

Rupert turned scarlet with confusion.

"His looks betray him," the earl laughed. "Look, girls, at the
mild-tempered young gentleman.

"Now, out with it. How was it?"

Thus exhorted, Rupert very stammeringly gave an account of the fray
in which he had been engaged.

"Von Duyk!" the earl said. "She must be a daughter of the great
merchant of Dort--a useful friend to have made, maybe, Master
Holliday; and it may be that your adventure may even be of service
to the state. Never speak now, Master Rupert, of your peaceful
intentions. You take after your namesake, the Prince, and are a
veritable knight errant of adventure. The sooner I have you over in
Holland fighting the queen's enemies, and not the queen's subjects,
the better.

"Now tell me, where have you taken up your abode?"

"At the Bell, at Bishopsgate Street," Rupert answered.

"And your follower, for I know one accompanied you; where is he?"

"He waits without, sir."

The earl touched a hand bell.

"Fetch in Master Holliday's retainer; you will find him without.
Make him at home in the servant's hall. Send a messenger down to
the Bell at Bishopsgate, fetch hither the mails of Master Holliday;
he will remain as my guest at present."

Rupert now entered upon a life very different to that which he had
led hitherto. He received a letter from Colonel Holliday, enclosing
an order on a London banker for fifty pounds, and he was soon
provided with suits of clothes fit for balls and other occasions.
Wherever the earl went, Rupert accompanied him as one of his
personal followers; and the frank, straightforward manners of the
lad pleased the ladies of the court, and thus "Little Holliday," as
he was called, soon became a great favourite.

It was about a fortnight after his arrival in town that, for the
first time, he accompanied his friends Sir