"Hardly possible, friend, that thou shouldst hear a little fellow like me against thy song, staff, and heavier footfalls. I fell in thy wake out of the lane at Quedgely, and have been trying to come up with thee for the sake of thy jolly company." "Is yonder parcel of huts Quedgely?" "Ay. Thou art a stranger; Devon, if thy speech is to be trusted." "Devon is my bonny country, lad--Devon every inch of me. Dost know Devon?" "But little. 'Tis a brave shire, and breeds brave sons. Could I be born again, I'd pray to see the sun first from a Devon cradle." "Thy hand, brother. If thou wert less yellow in the gills I'd kiss thee. Art for Gloucester?" "I am." "So am I, for to-day; to-morrow I go farther on. Dost know these parts well?" "There are parts that I know worse; but I am not native to the place." "Maybe thou hast never been in Dean Forest?" The stranger looked at the sailor sharply and queerly. "Dean Forest," he repeated. "Yes, I have travelled some parts of that wild region. Thou art surely not thinking of going thither at this time o' the year!" "By bad fortune, I am. And from what I hear, 'tis a dangerous place, full of fierce beasts and uncouth people. But go thither I must, for I seek a man I shall not find elsewhere. If thou wouldst find a hawk, needs must that thou find a hawk's nest; no other bird's will serve thy purpose--that is my position. Is there any chance that I shall light upon some forest fellow during Yule-tide business in Gloucester?" "That I cannot say; but I may be able to help thee. Whom dost thou seek?" "A Devon man, Rob of Paignton." "Thou art hunting a bundle of hay to find a needle. The forest is a wild place, as full of holes as of hills, and its people are not much given to travelling or to gossip with any but their nearest neighbours. Hast no more precise knowledge?" "None, except that Rob dwells with a tall fellow named Morgan." Again the sallow stranger eyed his companion keenly. He shook his head. "Tall fellows are not scarce amongst the foresters, and Morgans are as plentiful as oak trees." "Then am I like to be long a-searching. However, tired eyes ne'er found a treasure; I must find Rob and the fellow with whom he dwells. How far is it to Gloucester now?" "A matter of less than three miles to the Cross." "Dost know of a good inn, one where beef and ale is not stinted, and where the hay in the beds is sweet?" "There's the 'New Inn' in the Northgate Street, as snug a place as a man can wish to put head into on a cold day. I shall rest there until to-morrow." "Then I'll cast anchor there also. I can afford to pay for good lodgings." The sailor jingled some coins in his pouch, and sang again, "Then ho! for the Spanish Main, And ha! for the Spanish gold." His companion interrupted him. "When I startled thee just now, did I not hear thy lips utter a Spanish oath?"