He had not been in the crowd many minutes, however, when he saw indications of suspicion ripening to conviction.  What had given ground for it he could not tell, but at some point he must have been seen on the other side of the tower-moat.  All this time Upstill and his party had been recounting with various embellishment their adventures both former and latter, and when Kaltoff was recognised, or at least suspected in the crowd, the rumour presently arose and spread that he was either the devil himself, or an accredited agent of that potentate.

‘Be it then the old Satan himself?’ Caspar heard a man say anxiously to his neighbour, as he tried to get a look at his feet, which was not easy in such a press.  Caspar, highly amused, and thinking such evil reputation would rather protect than injure him, showed some anxiety about his feet, and made as if he would fain keep them out of the field of observation.  But thereupon he saw the faces and gestures of the younger men begin to grow threatening; evidently anger was succeeding to fear, and some of them, fired with the ambition possibly of thrashing the devil, ventured to give him a rough shove or two from behind.  Neither outbreak of sulphurous flashes nor even kick of cloven hoof following, they proceeded with the game, and rapidly advanced to such extremities, expostulation in Caspar’s broken English, for such in excitement it always became, seeming only to act as fresh incitement and justification, that at length he was compelled in self-defence to draw a dagger.  This checked them a little, and ere audacity had had time to recover itself, a young man came shoving through the crowd, pushing them all right and left until he reached Caspar, and stood by his side.  Now there was that about Richard Heywood to give him influence with a crowd:  he was a strong man and a gentleman, and they drew back.

‘De fools dink I was de tuyfel!’ said Caspar.

Richard turned upon them with indignation.

‘You Englishmen!’ he cried, ‘and treat a foreigner thus!’

But there was nothing about him to show that he was a roundhead, and from behind rose the cry:  ‘A malignant!  A royalist!’ and the fellows near began again to advance threateningly.

‘Mr. Heywood,’ said Caspar hurriedly, for he recognised his helper from the time he had seen him a prisoner, ’let us make for the hall.  I know the place and can bring us both off safe.’

It was one of Richard’s greatest virtues that he could place much confidence.  He gave one glance at his companion, and said, ’I will do as thou sayest.’

‘Follow me then, sir,’ said Caspar, and turning with brandished dagger, he forced his way to the hall-door, Richard following with fists, his sole weapons, defending their rear.

There were but few in the hall, and although their enemies came raging after them, they were impeded by the crowd, so that there was time as they crossed it for Caspar to say: