"Nay, I thank you, I am in haste to return, so soon as my horse may undertake the road." "Ay, dear sir, but the heath road is so mighty ungain at night, and 'tis dark so early now." "Nay, I will but tarry till the moon be up, and then if this clear weather holds, I should be at Lynn by midnight. But I will gladly have some food and drink, good hostess." "Ay, to be sure, sir. And glad am I 'tis baking-day, and a noble pie hot from the oven, and a brace of woodcock roasted, sir, and, maybe, you could fancy a dish of prawns, and a custard? And will a flask of Rhenish serve your taste?" "Excellently well, good dame, 'tis a very feast you offer me, and I pray you have it set in this chamber you tell me of, and by God's help, I may perchance bring back quietness to your dwelling." CHAPTER XIII. A VISIONARY. "Wenn der Lenzerwacht, und wenn Liebesmacht Dich gefesselt hält mit Leide, Wandle nicht allein, Nachts im Mondenschein, Durch die grüne, grüne Haide." M. NATHUSIUS. Mrs. Joyce ushered her guest up the wide staircase with due ceremony and volubility. He was aware that faces peered from half-open doors and whispered remarks went round as he came out into the hall with the landlady, and when he began to ascend the stairs in her wake, the household ventured forth and watched his progress with admiration and awe. The maid, who carried in the sumptuous feast Mrs. Joyce provided, glanced nervously around as she deposited her dishes clattering on the table, and fled as quickly as she could, and Mrs. Joyce herself, who followed to superintend, was evidently ill at ease, and her hands trembled as she re-ordered the maid's hasty arrangements. But, in spite of her alarms, it was with considerable difficulty that Mr. Rogers cut short her scoldings and apologies, and induced her to leave him to himself. When the good woman had at last been persuaded to depart, Mr. Rogers took a careful survey of the room, and then he softly bolted the door and drew a heavy tapestry curtain across it. Then he walked over to the great fireplace and stood at one side of it, close to the panelled wall. "Mistress Perrient," he said, in a low but clear voice; "Miss Perrient, I pray you let me speak with you. I am John Rogers, and I promise you, on my faith as a minister of the gospel, I will betray you neither to your enemies not yet to your friends. I have come hither to pray you to let me be instrumental in your escape, and seeing that I also have often times been both fugitive and a prisoner, I pray you to trust me as a friend." He stood and waited, and all was silent. Then he spoke again-- "Mistress Perrient, I take God to witness I am a true man. I pray you trust me and be not afraid. There is no one here but I; if you will but speak with me, no one shall be told. Your secret is indeed safe."