"No, no, Master Cobbe; you do not speak me fair." "I think I do, sir," replied the founder. "Go, take thy great order elsewhere, I'll have none of it. My child weds some day a man of her own station, who is a suitable mate. I shall not take a bribe to give her to the first who tries to tempt me." "Come, come, Master Cobbe, you are too hard. You know I love her." "Yes; you say so, sir." "Be not so hard, then. Give me access to her." "Access to her, man? You speak as if I locked her in her room. My child is free enough, and she will tell thee readily that she is no mate for Sir Mark Leslie." "Nay, nay, Master Cobbe!" "Nay, nay, Sir Mark. There, sir, you are welcome to what my house affords while it pleases thee to stay, for I will not quarrel with thee; but let us have no more converse about such matters as these." "And the order, Master Cobbe, one that would bring thee thousands?" "Take it elsewhere, sir; take it elsewhere. You are a very good, generous kind of devil, no doubt, but thy temptations will not succeed at so great a price." "Bah!" ejaculated Sir Mark. "Devil, forsooth! One would think, man, I asked for thy soul." "And what else dost ask for?" cried the founder, angrily, "but for the pure, sweet girl who is to me my very life and soul. There, I'll speak no more on it. I get angered, and I've had repentance enough for quarrelling with you once before, good guest. There, sir, as I said before, the house is open to you and to your men. Take its hospitality; as to that order, make of it what you can." Evidently growing hot and angry, the founder turned away to go and cool himself--so it seemed--in his hottest furnace, while Sir Mark stood watching him till he disappeared, with a smile upon his lips. "The old fellow is tougher than I thought," he said. "I expected the prospect of the money would have won his consent. Well, it makes me feel a kind of respect for him after all, rough as he is. But stop a bit, Master Cobbe, you'll execute the King's order and make money by it. You'll give me sweet Mace's hand, and sooner or later I'll have thy savings to the last penny to clear off my little debts, and enable my beautiful rustic wife to keep up such style as shall make the sneering dames at court think twice before they slight one who has beauty, power, and position." As he spoke, he glanced at an open window, where Mace, trembling and excited, had been an unseen spectator of the meeting, standing far back in the room, and giving a sigh of relief as she saw her father stride angrily away. Volume 2, Chapter XI. HOW GIL INTERRUPTED A DISCUSSION. There must be something very fascinating in the herb called tobacco, or else the reverend gentlemen, who had commenced taking it with distaste, would never have grown to be steady smokers; and, in spite of Mistress Hilberry's sour looks, met evening by evening to enjoy their pipes with the regularity of a clock.