Page:The Sundering Flood - Morris - 1898.djvu/35

 shall be two masters in this house, and one is well enough for me. And lastly as to thy kinswomen; I wot well I shall have no good word from them year in year out. So take this for my last word, that I shall turn my back upon thee so soon as thou hast paid me my hire, and shall go seek quarters down the Dale, at some merrier stead than this.

The goodman looked on him sourly, and then turned about and took a bag from the chest, and drew silver from it, and told over certain pieces and laid them before John, who is henceforth called Surly John, and said: Here is thine hire in good silver. And now I shall not say one more word to thee for good or bad, save this, that thou hadst best look to it that thy silver melt not before many months are over. Take thy soles out of this straightway. So John took up his silver, and stowed it in his pouch, and then he said: Well, goodman, now that I am paid I think that I had best pay thee for the cheek-knock of last night. He was a tall man and strong of thirty winters, and the goodman somewhat on in years and not over-strong, wherefore the battle seemed like to go all one way. But lo, as he rushed on the goodman, of a sudden he felt his feet pulled away from under him, and fell noseling to the ground; and when he would rise, lo there was on one side of him the goodman with a cudgel in his hand, and Osberne on the other, with his whittle drawn; and the lad laughed and said: Thou hast been a long while and used many words about going, so be-