"Nay, what care we for his anger? Even I, small as I am, can teach him a lesson in all things, saving the care of his person and the filling of his skin." "Marry, young one," said a well-grown, shapely youth, who was riding a little behind and to the left of Ralph Lisle, "here’s a missive of great import, ’tis even the business of the last come page to take all such to our right worshipful bear-leader and timber breaker, old Jack in Harness himself. So do thou take it, before worse comes of it." So saying, the youth handed Ralph a bit of paper, folded neatly, and addressed in a stiff scrawl, "Toe ye rite worchipful Syr Jakke yn Harneis." "And who is he?" said Ralph, looking at the scrawl and then at the youth. "Who is he, quotha? why, that you’ll soon know, an you do not my bidding. That’s the puissant, right valiant, and thrice-renowned knight to whom my Lord Woodville handed thee over, even as we have been handed over, to learn chivalry, and all courtesy. Therefore say I, take you this to him right promptly." Ralph was a little puzzled. The whole was said so seriously, and in such evident good faith, that he thought he might be violating some rule already. The youth was obviously older than himself, and was doubtless a page of some months’ standing. He thought on the whole it would be better to obey, trusting to his good luck to get him out of the scrape with their master if there were any trick, and to his own arm to punish the perpetrator of the joke, if it were one. "Now, my youngling, what dost wait for?" said the page, whose name was Eustace Bowerman, and who was a second cousin of the lively young page Richard Cheke. "Why, in sooth I am in doubt whether thou art not making game of me," said Ralph, with a good-humoured twinkle in his eye. "This cock will crow soon," said young Cheke to the other page, who was on his right; "eh, Maurice?" "Marry will he. We will pit him against Eustace; they’ll make a rare match. Albeit Eustace is the older, I’ll lay the new one will beat him. There’s a deal of weight in his thews. Look at his leg as he sits his hackney." "Shall we tell him Eustace is making game of him?" "Nay; best let him give the missive to old Jack in Harness, and see what comes of it. List; Eustace is taking him to task. I’ faith, he doth it well." "Hark ye, sirrah! You are but just come out of the country, or I’d be wroth with thee; but as it is, I forgive thy manners. Know that all new pages have to do the bidding of the older ones without question, under pain of a leathern strap, and worse torment. Now get thee on thy message."