"Alas!" he cried. "My comrades, we shall all have to go dinnerless to-day, for, while I was cooking the stew in the big pot over the fire, a band of horsemen came upon me and took all that we had in the house, even the pot itself. Come in and see for yourselves."
The three entered and, finding no sign of food, were forced to prepare for themselves a meal from the result of the morning's hunt, which was difficult enough with no pot to cook it in. There seemed no reason to doubt the Green Man's story, for the marks of the horses' hoofs were clear and plain in the soft ground before the door of the hut. But Massang examined these marks very carefully and then came back and spoke sternly to the Green Man:
"Comrade, you have dealt falsely with us. However it came about that you lost our dinner, I know not, but of this I am sure, no horsemen came to our door this day. You made those hoof marks your-
