Читать книгу A Queen of Nine Days онлайн

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'Not yet. Wait a little longer where you are. I will look round outside;' and shaking off the grass sticking to him on all sides, Sir Hubert proceeded to the door, at which he listened cautiously before attempting to open it.

The next moment he stepped back quickly to his place in the corner, saying, 'Some one is coming.'

Then he hid himself under the grass as before.

An old man entered, with a large two-pronged hay fork in his hand.

'They will have stolen my cart, I'll be bound!' he said aloud.

He looked suspiciously around, but gave a grunt of satisfaction upon seeing the cart.

Approaching it, he was about to plunge his fork into the grass, when Sir Hubert sprang up, caught hold of the tool and wrenched it from his grasp.

'Your pardon, master,' said the knight hastily to the man. 'But I have placed something in your cart which you might unwittingly have damaged had you plunged your fork into it.'

'Cannot a man do as he likes in his own shed?' cried the old countryman. 'And who art thou,' he demanded, 'and what business hast thou here?'