A countenance more replete
with cunning and knavery than that of Lupo Vulp, it would be difficult
to discover. A sardonic smile hovered perpetually about his mouth, which
was garnished with ranges of the keenest and whitest teeth. His features
were sharp; his eyes small, set wide apart, of a light gray colour, and
with all the slyness of a fox lurking within their furtive glances.
Indeed, his general resemblance to that astute animal must have struck
a physiognomist. His head was shaped like that of a fox, and his hair
and beard were of a reddish-tawny hue. His manner was stealthy,
cowering, suspicious, as if he feared a blow from every hand. Yet Lupo
Vulp could show his teeth and snap on occasions. He was attired in a
close-fitting doublet of russety-brown, round yellow hose, and long
stockings of the same hue. A short brown mantle and a fox-skin cap
completed his costume.
The leader of the troop was Captain Bludder, a huge Alsatian bully, with
fiercely-twisted moustachios, and fiery-red beard cut like a spade. He
wore a steeple-crowned hat with a brooch in it, a buff jerkin and boots,
and a sword and buckler dangled from his waist. Besides these, he had a
couple of petronels stuck in his girdle. The captain drank like a fish,
and swaggered and swore like twenty troopers.
The rear of the band was formed by the tipstaves--stout fellows with
hooks at the end of their poles, intended to capture a fugitive, or hale
him along when caught. With these were some others armed with
brown-bills.
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