"Or," said Beltane, "the fool shall charm thy souls to kindliness with his pipe" "Ho, Roger!" cried the second forester, "split me this tall talker's yellow sconce, now!" "Come," growled Roger, threatening of mien, "yield us the fool, 'tis an arrant knave hath angered his lord!"

"This is the first man I have slain since I shot the Kings forester in the hot days of my youth.

"How!" cried the friar aghast, "have ye indeed slain Sir Pertolepe's foresters?" "Nineteen!"

So what matter the way of it, if I may stand with this my axe face to face with Gilles of Brandonmere, or Red Pertolepe of Garthlaxton Keep: 'twas for this I followed his foresters.

To him quoth my lord Duke, smiling: "Messire, an you be in a mind to wager now, I will lay you this my roan stallion 'gainst that suit of triple mail you won at Dunismere joust, that Gefroi breaks thy forester's back within two fallshow say you?" "Sweet my lord, it liketh me beyond telling, thy roan is a peerless beast!"

It employs expert foresters, scientists, rangers and clerks.

He excommunicated without notice to the king a chief forester who had interfered with the liberties of the Lincoln clergy, and bluntly refused to make amends by appointing a royal officer to a prebend in his cathedral, saying that "benefices were for clergy and not for courtiers.

"Why, you're getting quite a forester, Robin," said the captain, smiling, "and what with your skill with bow and quarter-staff you'll soon be able to hold your own.

"What now?" groaned the forester, wild-eyed, "Sweet Jesuah, torture me not!" "Take back thy life," said Beltane, "and I pray God that henceforth thou shalt make of it better use, and live to aid thy fellows, so shall they, mayhap, some day come to bless thy memory.

Hereupon Beltane halted his hard-breathing foresters and bidding them rest awhile and break their fast, hasted down into the roadway with Walkyn and Cnut and Black Roger.

Most mountaineers in California call him the Pine Squirrel; and when I asked an old trapper whether he knew our little forester, he replied with brightening countenance: "Oh, yes, of course I know him; everybody knows him.

Loud laughed the foresters, as jests were bandied about between the singing, and louder laughed the friars, for they were lusty men with beards that curled like the wool of black rams; but loudest of all laughed the Tinker, and he sang more sweetly than any of the rest.

"And now, good man," he said, turning to the bishop in a broad good-humour, "how is it that without consulting us you have laid our forester under anathema, and made of no account the poor little request we made, and sent not even a message of explanation or excuse?""Ah," said Hugh, "I knew in what a rage you and your courtiers were!"

Forward leapt he with Roger beside him and the blue banner close behind, and forward leapt those hardy foresters where the enemy's reeling line strove desperately to stand and re-form.

Hereupon Beltane smiled, gentle-eyed, yet spake not, and, turning, caught up his staff and went softly upon his way, leaving Black Roger the forester yet upon his knees.

'Not far from here lives the forester; I will run for him and he will help you.'

Sometimes we drifted and basked in sunshine, sometimes we lingered in the birchen shade; we paddled from river to lake, from lake to river again; the rapids whirled us along, surging and leaping under us with magnificent gallop; frequent carries struck in, that we might not lose the forester in the waterman.

Nevertheless, he went on until about the prime of the day, what time he met a forester, to whom he said: "Sirrah, saw you two knights ride this wayone knight clad in white armor with a white shield upon which was depicted the figure of a lady, and the other knight clad in red armor with the figure of a red gryphon upon his shield?" "Nay," said the forester, "I saw not such folk."

As for us, Sir Paladin, let us away'tis true we together might give check to an army, yet, minding Sir Pertolepe's nineteen foresters, 'twere wiser to hie us from Sir Pertolepe's country for the nonce: so march, tall brothermarch!

""Belike then," replied the forester, "thou art well to do in the world, and therefore needest not to replenish thy wallets with gold,travelling perchance to take possession of some rich inheritance.

But if perchance Some prying eye surprise him; soon he rears Erect his towering front, bounds o'er the lawn With ill-dissembled vigour, to amuse The knowing forester; who inly smiles At his weak shifts, and unavailing frauds.

"Good fellow," said Beltane, "I had not meant to throw thee so heavily" "Nay, forester, would it had been a little harder, for a ruined man am I this day.

The line follows the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia very closely, through a country well covered with small pine timber, which was being rapidly stripped until the government interfered by passing rigid regulations and appointing foresters to enforce them.

" "Art a wise forester.

Was he sorry, perhaps, that he had not asked the forester to keep his information secret?