John Enderby | Page 3

from among the low bushes by the fen
near by.
It was an odd creature perched upon stilts; one of those persons called
the stilt-walkers. They were no friends of the King, nor of the Earl of
Lindsey, nor of my Lord Rippingdale, for the draining of these fens
took from them their means of living. They were messengers, postmen
and carriers across the wide stretch of country from Spilsby, even down
to the river Witham, and from Boston Deep down to Market Deeping
and over to the sea. Since these fens were drained one might travel
from Market Deeping to the Wolds without wetting a foot.
"Aw'll trooble thee a moment, maister," said the peasant. "A stilt-
walker beant nowt i' the woorld. Howsome'er, aw've a worrd to speak i'
thy ear."
Enderby reined in his horse, and with a nod of complaisance (for he

was a man ever kind to the poor, and patient with those who fared ill in
the world) he waited for the other to speak.
"Thoo'rt the great Enderby of Enderby, maister," said the peasant,
ducking his head and then putting on his cap; "aw've known thee sin
tha wast no bigger nor a bit grass'opper i' the field. Wilt tha ride long,
Sir John Enderby, and aw'll walk aside thee, ma grey nag with thy
sorrel." He glanced down humorously at his own long wooden legs.
Enderby turned his horse round and proceeded on his way slowly, the
old man striding along beside him like a stork.
"Why do you dub me Knight?" he asked, his eyes searching the face of
the old man.
"Why shouldna aw call thee Knight if the King calls thee Knight? It is
the dooty of a common man to call thee Sir John, and tak off his hat at
saying o' it." His hat came off, and he nodded in such an odd way that
Enderby burst out into a good honest laugh. "Dooth tha rememba little
Tom Dowsby that went hoonting wi' thee when tha wert not yet come
to age?" continued the stilt-walker. "Doost tha rememba when, for a
jest, thee and me stopped the lord bishop, tha own uncle, in the
highway at midnight, and took his poorse from him, and the rich gold
chain from his neck? And doost tha rememba that tha would have his
apron too, for tha said that if it kept a bishop clean, wouldna it keep
highwaymen clean, whose work was not so clean as a bishop's? Sir
John Enderby, aw loove thee better than the King, an' aw loove thee
better than my Lord Rippin'dale-ay, theere's a sour heart in a goodly
body!"
John Enderby reined up his horse and looked the stilt-walker in the
face.
"Are you little Tom Dowsby?" exclaimed he. "Are you that scamp?"
He laughed all at once as though he had not a trouble in the world.
"And do you keep up your evil practices? Do you still waylay
bishops?"
"If aw confessed to Heaven or man, aw would confess to thee, Sir John
Enderby; but aw'll confess nowt."
"And how know you that I am Sir John Enderby?"
"Even in Sleaford town aw kem to know it. Aw stood no further from
his Majesty and Lord Rippin'dale than aw stand from you, when the
pair talked by the Great Boar inn. Where doos tha sleep to-night?"

"At Spilsby."
"To-night the King sleeps at Sutterby on the Wolds. 'Tis well for thee
tha doost not bide wi' his Majesty. Theer, aw've done thee a service."
"What service have you done me?"
"Aw've told thee that tha moost sleep by Spilsby when the King sleeps
at Sutterby. Fare-thee-well, maister."
Doffing his cap once more, the stilt-walker suddenly stopped, and,
turning aside, made his way with an almost incredible swiftness across
the fen, taking the ditches with huge grotesque strides. Enderby looked
back and watched him for a moment curiously. Suddenly the man's
words began to repeat themselves in Enderby's head: "To-night the
King sleeps at Sutterby on the Wolds. 'Tis well for thee tha doost not
bide wi' his Majesty." Presently a dozen vague ideas began to take form.
The man had come to warn him not to join the King at Sutterby.
There was some plot against Charles! These stiltwalkers were tools in
the hands of the King's foes, who were growing more powerful every
day. He would sleep to-night, not at Spilsby, but at Sutterby. He was a
loyal subject; no harm that he could prevent should come to the King.
Before you come to Sutterby on the Wolds, as you travel north to the
fenland, there is a combe through which the highway passes, and a
stream which has on one side many rocks and boulders, and on the
other a sort