Page:The Sundering Flood - Morris - 1898.djvu/98

 pretty much filled with drink, cried out: Hold thy peace. John; doubtless this youngling here hath craft enough to straighten thy whittle even as he has crooked and winded it. By the mass he is a handy smith, and will be of much avail to me. Osberne reached out his hand for the knife, and John gave it to him, and he took it by the point as aforetime, and lo, in a moment it was once more straight again, so to say. Then he hands it back to John, and says: Let our man Stephen lay his hammer on the blade to-morrow once or twice, and thy knife shall be as good as ever it was. All wondered, but Hardcastle not much, whereas by this time he could not see very straight out of his eyes. So he bids lead him to bed, and the goodman took him by the hand and brought him to the guest-chamber, and himself lies down in an ingle of the hall. So all lay down, and there was rest in the house the night long; save for the goodman, who slept but little, and that with dreams of the cutting of throats and firing of roofs.