human
My good sir, you are mistaken, we are on the other side of the market. We are sellers and not buyers.
gpt
So was Judas, said the incomer, his politeness giving way to an expression of fierceness and cruelty which went far to terrify two of the seated men.
human
Are you sure, sir, that the cattle you sell have not two legs instead of four?
gpt
I don't understand you,
human
Is it men or stirks, you would give to the butcher?
gpt
Still I do not understand you,
human
Oh, very well. How much are you asking for your cattle?
gpt
We are here rather to see how much may be offered.
human
I can well believe you. Still, you must know something of the price of beasts on hoofs. How much would you want for a good, fat stirk? Answer me that!
gpt
Give me a hint, in heaven's name, regarding the cost of a beast;
human
Oh, well, said the king, nonchalantly, not at all liking the turn affairs had taken,
gpt
I suppose we would be satisfied with twenty pounds, and this being received with a roar of laughter, he added hastily,
human
Oh, said the big man,
gpt
I was afraid you were going to demand that amount in English currency. It is evident you will do well at the trade, if you can find such buyers.
human
Then make us an offer,
gpt
Where are your cattle?
human
They're in the north.
gpt
What part of the north?
human
My good fellow, cried the king, his temper rising,
gpt
Ah, then there's some spirit among the three of you. I am glad to see that. Who am I? I am Johnny Armstrong. Did you ever hear tell of him? And I suspect that your cattle are grown in the high town of Stirling. Am I right in that? It is in Stirling that you can sell what you may lift on the Border, and your cattle will be paid for in king's gold. You are spies, my fine gentlemen, and know as little of cattle as I know of the king and the court.
human
The country is at peace. There can be no spies except in a time of war.
gpt
Is it even so? Then what are you three doing rampaging up and down my land on the Border?
human
That the lands may be yours we do not dispute, nor have we interfered with them. The highways are the king's, and we three are peaceful subjects of his, claiming, therefore, the right to travel on them as we will, so long as we infringe not his peace or the liberty of any man.
gpt
Stoutly spoken and bravely, considering in what king's dominion you now find yourself. You have to learn that Johnny, and not Jamie, is king of the Border. And when you're in the hands of a man named Armstrong, you'll find how little a boy named Stuart can do for you. Tie them up!