also suggests a criminal who is being hanged by the neck. Falstaff is suggesting that Pistol would have been hanged by the authorities if Falstaff had not interfered on his behalf. Falstaff is thus stressing the fact that Pistol is obligated to him for his help in the past. The word gibbet refers to a gallows, a place of execution where criminals are hanged. Falstaff is thus suggesting both (1) that he is no longer a person who will keep company with Pistol and (2) that Pistol will soon end up in a gallows now that he no longer has Falstaff to protect him. Pistol realizes that there is truth in Falstaff’s words, and he stops his posturing.