the thwart and in this disguised himself as an old woman, drawing a cotton
wimple low over his head and forehead to hide his short hair. Concealing
the child beneath the other articles of clothing, he pushed off from the
bank, and, rowing close to the shore, hastened down the Thames toward the
old dock where, the previous night, he had concealed his skiff. He reached
his destination unnoticed, and, running in beneath the dock, worked the
boat far into the dark recess of the cave-like retreat.

Here he determined to hide until darkness had fallen, for he knew that the
search would be on for the little lost Prince at any moment, and that none
might traverse the streets of London without being subject to the closest
scrutiny.

Taking advantage of the forced wait, De Vac undressed the Prince and
clothed him in other garments, which had been wrapped in the bundle hidden
beneath the thwart; a little red cotton tunic with hose to match, a black
doublet and a tiny leather jerkin and leather cap.

The discarded clothing of the Prince he wrapped about a huge stone torn
from the disintegrating masonry of the river wall, and consigned the bundle
to the voiceless river.

The Prince had by now regained some of his former assurance and, finding
that De Vac seemed not to intend harming him, the little fellow commenced
questioning his grim companion, his childish wonder at this strange
adventure getting the better of his former apprehension.

"What do we here, Sir Jules ?" he asked. "Take me back to the King's, my
father's palace. I like not this dark hole nor the strange garments you
have placed upon me."