42 MASTER SKYLARK

and blue, and his red mouth had a trick of smiling that
went straight to a body’s heart.

“Why, lad, lad,” cried Carew, breathlessly, “thou hast
a very fortune in thy throat!”

Nick looked up in great surprise ; and at that the master
player broke off suddenly and said no more, though such
a strange light came creeping into his eyes that Nick, after
meeting his fixed stare for a moment, asked uneasily if
they would not better be going on.

Without a word the master-player started. Something
had come into his head which seemed to more than fill his
mind ; for as he strode along he whistled under his breath
and laughed softly to himself. Then again he snapped
his fingers and took a dancing step or two across the road,
and at last fell to talking aloud to himself, though Nick
could not make out a single word he said, for it was in
some foreign language.

“Nicholas,” he said suddenly, as they passed the wind-
ing lane that leads away to Kenilworth—“ Nicholas, dost
know any other songs like that?”

“Not just like that, sir,” answered Nick, not knowing
what to make of his companion’s strange new mood;
“but I know Master Will Shakspere’s ‘Then nightly
sings the staring owl, tu-who, tu-whit, tu-who!’ and
‘The ousel-cock so black of hue, with orange-tawny bill,’
and then, too, I know the throstle’s song that goes with
it.”

“Why, to be sure—to be sure thou knowest old Nick
Bottom’s song, for is n’t thy name Nick? Well met, both