Seest
thou these clogs upon my feet?"
"Yea," quoth Robin, laughing, "truly, they are large enough for any man
to see, even were his sight as foggy as that of Peter Patter, who never
could see when it was time to go to work."
"Peace, friend," said the Corn Engrosser, "for this is no matter for
jesting. The soles of these clogs are not what they seem to be, for each
one is a sweet little box; and by twisting the second nail from the toe,
the upper of the shoe and part of the sole lifts up like a lid, and in
the spaces within are fourscore and ten bright golden pounds in each
shoe, all wrapped in hair, to keep them from clinking and so telling
tales of themselves."
When the Corn Engrosser had told this, Robin broke into a roar of
laughter and, laying his hands upon the bridle rein, stopped the sad-
looking nag. "Stay, good friend," quoth he, between bursts of
merriment, "thou art the slyest old fox that e'er I saw in all my life!
--In the soles of his shoon, quotha!--If ever I trust a poor-seeming man
again, shave my head and paint it blue! A corn factor, a horse jockey,
an estate agent, and a jackdaw for cunningness, say I!" And he laughed
again till he shook in his shoes with mirth.
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