And they all got a beating for not having kept watch better . Later in the day the Master Thief came and related what he had done , and wanted to have the Governor 's daughter as had been promised . But the Governor gave him a hundred dollars , and said that he must do something that was better still . ` Do you think you can steal my horse from under me when I am out riding on it ? ' said he . ` Well , it might be done , ' said the Master Thief , ` if I were absolutely certain that I should get your daughter . ' So the Governor said that he would see what he could do , and then he said that on a certain day he would ride out to a great common where they drilled the soldiers . So the Master Thief immediately got hold of an old worn-out mare , and set himself to work to make a collar for it of green withies and branches of broom ; bought a shabby old cart and a great cask , and then he told a poor old beggar woman that he would give her ten dollars if she would get into the cask and keep her mouth wide-open beneath the tap-hole , into which he was going to stick his finger . No harm should happen to her , he said ; she should only be driven about a little , and if he took his finger out more than once , she should have ten dollars more . Then he dressed himself in rags , dyed himself with soot , and put on a wig and a great beard of goat 's hair , so that it was impossible to recognise him , and went to the parade ground , where the Governor had already been riding about a long time . When the Master Thief got there the mare went along so slowly and quietly that the cart hardly seemed to move from the spot . The mare pulled it a little forward , and then a little back , and then it stopped quite short . Then the mare pulled a little forward again , and it moved with such difficulty that the Governor had not the least idea that this was the Master Thief . He rode straight up to him , and asked if he had seen anyone hiding anywhere about in a wood that was close by . ` No , ' said the man , ` that have I not . ' ` Hark you , ' said the Governor . ` If you will ride into that wood , and search it carefully to see if you can light upon a fellow who is hiding in there , you shall have the loan of my horse and a good present of money for your trouble . ' ' I am not sure that I can do it , ' said the man , ` for I have to go to a wedding with this cask of mead which I have been to fetch , and the tap has fallen out on the way , so now I have to keep my finger in the tap-hole as I drive . ' ` Oh , just ride off , ' said the Governor , ` and I will look after the cask and the horse too . ' So the man said that if he would do that he would go , but he begged the Governor to be very careful to put his finger into the tap-hole the moment he took his out .
So the Governor said XXXXX he would do his very best , and the Master Thief got on the Governor 's horse .
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