9
and stood for a moments in astonishment without uttering a word.
'Oh! oh! master Matthew,' he at length muttered, 'you have discovered strange ⟨things⟩ during the past night, and a word ⟨from⟩ you might do me much mischief.'
'God forbid, then, friend, that I should ⟨mutter⟩ it.'
'You are a brave man, Matthew, but you ⟨must⟩ keep your tongue well. If they burn ⟨me⟩ alive as they certainly will if they find ⟨out⟩ half of what you know, it will go hard ⟨with⟩ you friend Matthew.'
Matthew rose to go, but the owner of the ⟨strange⟩ fiddle stopped him, and, putting his mouth to his ear, muttered in a low voice—
⟨'⟩Neighbour, tell me your enemies; I will ⟨send⟩ a plague among their cattle this very ⟨night⟩; or I will devise some means to get you entirely rid of them.'
'I have no enemies, neighbour, and God ⟨forbid⟩ that I should wish ill to any one.'
'In what manner, then, can I be useful ⟨to⟩ you?'
'In nothing,' replied our fiddler, who was ⟨in⟩ a hurry to be gone; 'in nothing, neighbour. I consider myself lucky in being able ⟨to⟩ restore to you so fine a fiddle.'
'A beautiful fiddle to be sure. But, ⟨neighbour⟩ Matthew, I must make you some ⟨present⟩.'
