What I told you is true.

He has no more right to me than the thrall who found me; less, maybe, for I suppose the thrall would have taken me to his lord, who had some claim on me for a castaway." The crowd closed in round the slaver, and the other slaves raised a sort of wretched cheer as we went away.

Soon we turned the corner of the street and came to the outskirts of the fair again, and none had followed us.

There the decent folk stared at us and our ragged follower somewhat, and a thought came to me.
"Comrade," I said, for I could not mind his name, "let me rig you out afresh before we part." "They call me Erling," he said.

"Have you so many men to serve you that we must needs part ?" "No," I answered, "but I am no sort of a master to serve.