human
He who answers must be paid,
gpt
Perchance you have already been paid,
human
The honourable captain possesses the gift of Divination, sneered Gaudriole.
gpt
See you how low yonder warship sits in the water? he went on, pointing down at the _St. Wenceslas_, which had lately arrived at that coast.
human
Is it true, as I have heard the settlers say, that she is loaded with gold from the shore of Labrador? 'Tis said that a man may there see the precious metal shining at his feet, and has but to bend to gather sufficient for a knight's ransom.
gpt
I pray you give me the message, good dwarf,
human
The cloak upon my captain's shoulders is of a truth a thing to be desired, Gaudriole went on, fingering the rich stuff with his grimy fingers.
gpt
Were it upon my back, 'twould handsomely conceal some very clumsy work of nature. 'Tis the cloth that makes the courtier.
human
His Excellency the commandant shall loosen that insolent tongue,
gpt
This is not the old world, my brave captain, and there is no restraint upon lying here. Gaudriole is now a citizen of the New World. The Cardinal himself is but a shadow here. Even a mountebank of the gutter may turn traitor in the wilderness. Gaudriole is a man this side o' the sea. Were we in Paris I might bow to kiss your garments, and call you Holiness an you desired it. Here the jester is as good as the general. Hunt me into yonder forest at your sword-end, bold captain, and bid me play the will o' the wisp. I should but disappear into a thicket ahead, rise up at your back, and this knife and a moss-swamp would settle all your business. Doff your hat to a fool, captain, and give him pipe and tobacco.