Argus walked to the village keeping his coin in the firm grip of his hand. He reaffirmed his plan to himself; he would try to change his appearance to the extent the woman, the innkeeper, or the blacksmith would not recognize him.<br/><br/>He found the mercantile first. He entered the store and was eyed carefully by the proprietor. He wasn't surprised. Being as polite as he could he be asked the proprietor for a pair of common pants, a working man's shirt, and perhaps a straw hat.<br/><br/>The proprietor heard the request and asked if he could pay for these goods. Being smart enough to not show the coin, Argus asked the price and then affirmed that he did, in fact, have the have money to pay.<br/><br/>As an afterthought, he looked at the barrel of canes next to the counter. Argus still walked with a bit of a limp and thought it only prudent to have one. They were hand-wrought of wood and skillfully carved.  Argus looked them over, one by one, looking for one of the lengths that would suit him. They were well made and were probably made by an elder in the village somewhere to pass time.<br/><br/>The merchant had his purchases wrapped and Argus had selected a fine cane. As the merchant was giving him his change, Argus asked if there was a barber in town. "See O'Dell," was the only response given. Argus took his change, nodded, and walked out the door.<br/><br/>Argus found O'Dell quite easily. The storefront was larger than a store, but not quite a house. A hand-painted sign saying only "O'Dell" was seen and Argus went to the door, knocked, and then waited. He was unsure whether to just walk in, or wait. In a short time, a man opened the door. He had a round, jolly look to him that put Argus at ease. "Yes?"  Was O'Dell's greeting to Argus.<br/><br/>"I would like a haircut, sir," Argus said.<br/><br/>"Certainly, sir," O'Dell replied. "Come on in."<br/><br/>Argus entered and O'Dell shut the door behind him. "I will cut your hair, and perhaps give you a shave as well, but if you could help me with a quick chore first I would appreciate it."<br/><br/>Argus shrugged. "Sure," he replied.<br/><br/>"I thank you. I just need someone to help me move this body."<br/><br/>Argus was a bit shaken, as O'Dell pulled back a curtain to the adjoining room, exposing a body laid out on an old table, smeared with blood.<br/><br/>"We just need to put him in this coffin, and then we will get down to the business of barbering."<br/><br/>Side-by-side, with Argus lifting the lower half of the man, and O'Dell at the upper half, they plopped him into the coffin. O'Dell slid a lid onto the coffin, brushed his hands together, and walked to the room across the hall. "Thank you," O'Dell said.<br/><br/>They entered a room with a single chair and a table with pliers and tools of a sort that looked as if they were instruments of torture. Around the room were jars of strange-looking potions. Argus was uneasy, to say the least.<br/><br/>"A shave and haircut, right?"<br/><br/>"Yes," Argus replied. As he looked around feeling very ill at ease being here, he looked at the man again.<br/><br/>O'Dell saw his look of unease and laughed. "I see you are ill at ease."<br/><br/>With another laugh, he explained, "In this small village, I fix them, pull out their teeth, cut their hair, and bury them. That is what the townspeople say, anyway. See, this being a small village, I am the doctor, dentist, barber, and undertaker, all in one. Did you happen to notice the fine haircut I had given the body in the other room?"<br/><br/>Feeling more at ease, Argus replied, hiding his sarcasm, "It was a fine haircut. I noticed it right off."<br/><br/>O'Dell got down to business - the barber business - and soon O'Dell had finished his services. Holding a hand-held mirror in one hand and rubbing his chin with the other, Argus had to admit, he was given a fine haircut and shave. Thanking the barber, he left. He had one more stop to make and his planned errands were done for the day.<br/><br/>The next stop was at the millpond. Taking off the old clothes, bathing, and then donning the new, he felt much better. It was all business here this morning. There was none of the magic and fun of the last time he was here.<br/><br/>Wearing his new clothes and carrying his cane, Argus hoped he looked different. He certainly felt better and strolled back to the tavern.<br/><br/>As he neared the tavern, he saw that the carriage was gone! The driver must have been found, the horses hitched up, and the woman was gone! He was too late. The thought stunned him and he felt that his purpose here in town was gone. There was no need now to find the short-statured man, and he realized that his preoccupation with the young woman was only a folly.<br/><br/>The thought of the King's Mission came to mind and he knew in his heart he had done his best effort to deliver the King's message. If ever needed, he would tell the King with a clear conscious of the events and his efforts. Surely the King would understand.<br/><br/>Having a small amount of money left, he walked to the tavern and entered. The innkeeper looked up at him and didn't recognize him. Sitting at a table near the front window, to be the farthest away from the bar and the innkeeper's sight, Argus breathed a sigh of relief and ordered a meager meal. While eating, he gazed out the window and reflected on the past few days. He wondered about Smith. And wondered if Smith would recognize him.