"I will go home and have him slaughtered without delay," exclaimed Roydon, as if speaking to himself in a paroxysm of regret. "Have whom slaughtered?" asked the King, gazing upon him coldly; for he began to divine the course his defence was to take. "The brute that did it, Sire," replied the knight; "three times has that horse nearly deprived me of life, which I heeded not much, for it is a fine though unruly animal; but now that he has taken the life of another, his own shall be forfeit. Scarcely had I mounted when, with the bit between his teeth, he set off at full speed; some of my companions galloped after to stop him, if possible, but were unable, till a gentleman on foot, I know not who, caught the bridle in the crowd; and I, not seeing what had befallen, rode on, keeping him in with difficulty." A slight smile curled the lip of the King, showing to Sir Simeon Roydon that he was not fully believed; and a dark feeling of anger--the rage of detected meanness--gathered itself in the inmost recesses of his heart, with only the more bitter intensity because he dared not suffer it to peep forth. There is nothing that we hate so much as one whom, however much he may offend us, we cannot injure. Vengeance is the drink by which the dire thirst of hate is often assuaged; but if that cannot by any possibility be obtained, the burning of the heart goes on increasing till it becomes the unquenchable drought of fever. The monarch answered calmly, however, and without further reproach. "Your tale, Sir Simeon," he said, "is somewhat different from that which previously reached my ears. I trust it can be substantiated in all its parts; for this matter must be investigated fully. The crown officer will, of course, do his duty by inquest upon the body. It will be well for you to be present; and the law will then take its due effect. Retire for a time, sir, into another chamber, and I will cause inquiry to be made, as to when a jury will be ready to investigate the case." Sir Simeon of Roydon bowed with a sad and respectful countenance, and turned towards the door; but when he reached it, the expression of his face, now averted from the King, was very different from that which it had been a moment before. A mocking smile sat upon his lip--the sneering, bitter expression of a bad spirit, which has gained some advantage over a nobler one; but it was gone again the moment he opened the door and stood in presence of two or three attendants, who were waiting in the ante-room. At the same instant, the voice of Henry called the page, and Sir Simeon, pausing and seating himself, could hear the King give orders for making the inquiries which he had mentioned. In less than twenty minutes, the page returned and entered the monarch's closet, after which the knight was recalled.