As soon as he had recovered sufficient breath, and shaken off some of the soot from his hair and face, he looked solemnly about him, and was confronted by two pairs of eyes round with astonishment and two mouths agape with surprise and with fear.

Mistress Charity and Master Courage Toogood—­interrupted in the midst of their animated conversation—­were now speechless with terror, at sight of this black apparition, which, literally, had descended on them from the skies.

“Lud love ye, Master Busy!” ejaculated Mistress Charity, who was the first to recognize in the sooty wraith the manly form of her betrothed, “where have ye come from, pray?”

“Have you been scouring the chimney, good master?” queried Master Courage, with some diffidence, for the saintly man looked somewhat out of humor.

“No!” replied Hymn-of-Praise solemnly, “I have not.  But I tell ye both that my hour hath come.  I knew that something was happening in this house, and I climbed up that chimney in order to find out what it was.”

Pardonable curiosity caused Mistress Charity to venture a little nearer to the soot-covered figure of her adorer.

“And did you hear anything, Master Busy?” she asked eagerly.  “I did see Sir Marmaduke and the mistress in close conversation here this morning.”

“So they thought,” said Master Hymn-of-Praise with weird significance.

“Well? ...  And what happened, good master?”

“Thou beest in too mighty an hurry, mistress,” he retorted with quiet dignity.  “I am under no obligation to report matters to thee.”

“Oh! but Master Busy,” she rejoined coyly, “methought I was to be your ... hem ... thy partner in life ... and so ...”

“My partner?  My partner, didst thou say, sweet Charity? ...  Nay, then, an thou’lt permit me to salute thee with a kiss, I’ll tell thee all I know.”

And in asking for that chaste salute we may assume that Master Hymn-of-Praise was actuated with at least an equal desire to please Mistress Charity, to gratify his own wishes, and to effectually annoy Master Courage.

But Mistress Charity was actuated by curiosity alone, and without thought of her betrothed’s grimy appearance, she presented her cheek to him for the kiss.

The result caused Master Courage an uncontrollable fit of hilarity.

“Oh, mistress,” he said, pointing to the black imprint left on her face by her lover’s kiss, “you should gaze into a mirror now.”

But already Mistress Charity had guessed what had occurred, her good humor vanished, and she began scouring her cheek with her pinner.

“I’ll never forgive you, master,” she said crossly.  “You had no right to ... hem ... with your face in that condition....  And you have not yet told us what happened.”

“What happened?”

“Aye! you promised to tell me if I allowed you to kiss me.  ’Tis done....”

“I well nigh broke my back,” said Master Busy sententiously.  “I hurt my knee ... that is what happened....  I am well-nigh choked with soot....  Ugh! ... that is what happened.”