He need not die, thy lover."
"Hast thou some scheme? Quick, tell it to me."
"First speak the word to let me live."
"Aye, we spare thy life--but haste!"
"He is but a young stripling; his bones are not yet set and hardened.
Let him be made the king's mute."
The jester heard the words. He flung himself upon the eunuch, and
grasping his throat, throttled him until his black face ran with shiny
sweat and his great white eyes hung nearly from their sockets. "I
feared that thou wouldst dare to speak of that--squealing coward--I
might have known it." Again he whacked the woolly head against the
pavement.
The captain dragged them apart. "Why so wroth, fool?" he asked.
"Sooth, 'tis a wise plan, and one to save me a deal of trouble. For it
was my special commission from the king to furnish a new mute. And
since the lad must suffer, lady--come, by the Holy Tokens, I'll make a
bond with thee. I'll spare his life, an' ye say nought of it to the
king. I'll keep intact his pulse and true heart's beat; and thou, in
turn, give me his lower limbs to twist and his doll's face to
alter--only to alter slightly," and he laughed lewdly.
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