Then bestowing a largess upon the
men-at-arms, Cuthbert dismissed them, and took up his abode at a
hostelry, his guide looking to the two horses.
Cuthbert was pleased with the appearance of the man who had been placed
at his disposal. He was a young fellow of twenty-two or twenty-three,
with an honest face. He was, he told Cuthbert, the son of a small farmer
near Avignon; but having a fancy for trade, he had been apprenticed to a
master smith. Having served his apprenticeship, he found that he had
mistaken his vocation, and intended to return to the paternal vineyards.
Cuthbert calculated that he would make at least four days' journey to
the south before he could meet with any dangers. Doubtless his exit from
the convent had been discovered, and the moment the gates of the city
were opened the spy would have proceeded south to warn his comrades, and
these would doubtless have taken a road which at a distance would again
take them on to that by which Cuthbert would be now traveling. As,
however, he rode fast, and made long marches each day, he hoped that he
might succeed in distancing them.
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