a
manner much better than was expected.

Making his way through forest paths and along little-frequented by-ways,
he succeeded in crossing the river that bordered the province and passing
the rebel outposts, making his way to his old home, where he spent
several weeks with his relations, meanwhile secretly gathering the
information needed.

On his return he pursued a different course. Buying a quantity of West
Gothland cheese, he went directly towards the ford of the Tiweden and so
managed as to let himself fall into the hands of the guard, who brought
him to their leader, Nils of Hvalstad.

The rebel priest charged the seeming peasant roundly with being a spy,
but the cunning fellow pretended to be very simple and bucolic, saying
that it had been four years since he had been in Upland and he now wanted
to go there and sell his cheese.

Nils was not so easily to be hoodwinked, but bade his men take the
supposed spy to the sergeant's house at Hofwa, where four men were set
over him as guards. The pretended simpleton seemed well-enough pleased,
eating and drinking freely, talking cheerfully of country affairs with
his guards, and spending his money freely, so that the sergeant grew to
like the jovial country lad.

After a few days, however, Hans pretended to be sick, sighing and
groaning as if in severe pain. Finally he took to his bed and seemed in
such a sad state that they all pitied the poor cheesemonger and his
guards often left him for hours alone, thinking his sickness was all the
security that was needed.

Hans Hardy had a purpose in this. He had discovered that Nils kept a box
in a dark corner of the room and imagined that it might contain something
of importance to him in his mission. In fact he had thrown himself in his
hands for the purpose of fathoming his plots. One day, while left alone,
he got up and examined the box, and to his joy found in it a number of
letters from the chief conspirators, containing full evidence of their
complication. Having read enough of them to gain an idea of their
character, he put them back, shut the box, and pushed it again into its
dark corner.

Then he took to his bed once more and when his guards returned they found
him moaning more sorely than before and seeming in such sad case that
they thought him at the point of death. Pitying the poor fellow, they
deemed it idle to watch him and went contentedly to their beds. The next
morning, when they rose, the sick man had