The Man in Black | Page 7

through the open fields. The grey dawn was spreading, the
cocks at distant farms were crowing. The dim, misty countryside, the
looming trees, the raw air, the chill that crept into his ill-covered
bones--all these, which might have seemed to others wretched
conditions enough, filled the boy with hope and gladness. For they
meant freedom.
But presently, as they rode on, his thoughts took a fresh turn. They
began to busy themselves, and fearfully, with the man before him,
whose continued silence and cold reserve set a hundred wild ideas
humming in his brain. What manner of man was he? Who was he?
Why had he helped him? Jehan had heard of ogres and giants that
decoyed children into forests and devoured them. He had listened to
ballads of such adventures, sung at fairs and in the streets, a hundred

times; now they came so strongly into his mind, and so grew upon him
in this grim companionship, that by-and-by, seeing a wood before them
through which the road ran, he shook with terror and gave himself up
for lost. Sure enough, when they came to the wood, and had ridden a
little way into it, the man, whose face he had never seen, stopped. "Get
down," he said sternly.
Jehan obeyed, his teeth chattering, his legs quaking under him. He
expected the man to produce a large carving-knife, or call some of his
fellows out of the forest to share his repast. Instead, the stranger made a
queer pass with his hands over his horse's neck, and bade the boy go to
an old stump which stood by the way. "there is a hole in the farther side
of it," he said. "Look in the hole."
Jehan went trembling and found the hole, and looked. "what do you
see?" the rider asked.
"A piece of money," said Jehan.
"Bring it to me," the stranger answered gravely.
The boy took it--it was only a copper sou--and did as he was bidden.
"Get up!" said the horseman curtly. Jehan obeyed, and they went on as
before.
When they had ridden half-way through the forest, however, the
stranger stopped again.
"Get down," he said.
The boy obeyed, and was directed as on the former occasion--but not
until the horseman had made the same strange gesture with his
hands--to go to an old stump. This time he found a silver livre. He gave
it to his master, and climbed again to his place, marveling much.
A third time they stopped, on the farther verge of the forest. The same
words passed, but this time the boy found a gold crown in the hole.

After that his mind no longer ran upon ogres and giants. Instead,
another fancy almost as dreadful took possession of him. He marked
that everything the stranger wore was black: his cloak, his hat, his
gauntlets. Even his long boots, which in those days were commonly
made of untanned leather, were black. So was the furniture of the horse.
Jehan noticed this as he mounted the third time; and connecting it with
the marvelous springing up of money where the man willed, began to
be seized with panic, never doubting but that he had fallen into the
hands of the devil. Likely enough, he would have dropped off at the
first opportunity that offered, and fled for his life--or his soul, but he
did not know much of that--if the stranger had not in the nick of time
drawn a parcel of food from his saddlebag. He gave some to Jehan.
Even so, the boy, hungry as he was, did not dare to touch it until he was
assured that his companion was really eating--eating, and not
pretending. Then, with a great sigh of relief, he began to eat too. For he
knew that the devil never ate!
After this they rode on in silence, until, about an hour before noon, they
came to a small farm-steading standing by the road, half a league short
of the sleepy old town of Yvetot, which Beranger was one day to
celebrate. Here the magician--for such Jehan now took his companion
to be--stopped. "Get down," he said.
The boy obeyed, and instinctively looked for a stump. But there was no
stump, and this time his master, after scanning his ragged garments as
if to assure himself of his appearance, had a different order to give. "Go
to that farm," he said. "Knock at the door, and say that Solomon
Notredame de Paris requires two fowls. They will give them to you.
Bring them to me."
They boy went wide-eyed, knocked, and gave his message. A woman,
who opened the door, stretched out her hand, took up a couple of fowls
that lay tied together on the hearth, and have them to him