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diff --git a/old/13183.txt b/old/13183.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..17ca701 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/13183.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14775 @@ +Project Gutenberg's In the Days of Chivalry, by Evelyn Everett-Green + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: In the Days of Chivalry + +Author: Evelyn Everett-Green + +Release Date: August 15, 2004 [EBook #13183] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE DAYS OF CHIVALRY *** + + + + +Produced by Martin Robb + + + + + + In the Days of Chivalry + +A Tale of the Times of the Black Prince + +by Evelyn Everett-Green. + + + + CHAPTER I. THE TWIN EAGLETS. + + +Autumn was upon the world -- the warm and gorgeous autumn of the south +-- autumn that turned the leaves upon the trees to every hue of russet, +scarlet, and gold, that transformed the dark solemn aisles of the +trackless forests of Gascony into what might well have been palaces of +fairy beauty, and covered the ground with a thick and soundless carpet +of almost every hue of the rainbow. + +The sun still retained much of its heat and power, and came slanting in +between the huge trunks of the forest trees in broad shafts of quivering +light. Overhead the soft wind from the west made a ceaseless, dreamy +music and here and there the solemn silence of the forest was broken by +the sweet note of some singing bird or the harsh croak of the raven. At +night the savage cry of the wolf too often disturbed the rest of the +scattered dwellers in that vast forest, and made a belated traveller +look well to the sharpness of his weapons and the temper of his +bowstring; but by day and in the sunlight the forest was beautiful and +quiet enough -- something too quiet, perhaps, for the taste of the two +handsome lads who were pacing the dim aisles together, their arms +entwined and their curly heads in close proximity as they walked and talked. + +The two lads were of exactly the same height, and bore a strong likeness +one to the other. Their features were almost identical, but the +colouring was different, so that no one who saw them in a good light +would be likely to mistake or confuse them. Both had the oval face and +delicate regular features which we English sometimes call +"foreign-looking;" but then again they both possessed the broad +shoulders, the noble height, the erect carriage, and frank, fearless +bearing which has in it something distinctively English, and which had +distinguished these lads from their infancy from the children of the +country of their adoption. Then, though Raymond had the dark, liquid +eyes of the south, Gaston's were as blue as the summer skies; and again, +whilst Gaston's cheek was of a swarthy hue, Raymond's was as fair as +that of an English maiden; and both had some golden gleams in their +curly brown hair --- hair that clustered round their heads in a thick, +waving mass, and gave a leonine look to the bold, eager faces. "The lion +cubs" had been one of the many nicknames given to the brothers by the +people round, who loved them, yet felt that they would not always keep +them in their quiet forest. "The twin eaglets" was another such name; +and truly there was something of the keen wildness of the eagle's eye in +the flashing blue eyes of Gaston. The eager, delicate features and the +slightly aquiline noses of the pair added, perhaps, to this resemblance; +and there had been many whispers of late to the effect that the eaglets +would not remain long in the nest now, but would spread their wings for +a wider flight. + +Born and bred though they had been at the mill in the great forest that +covered almost the whole of the district of Sauveterre, they were no +true children of the mill. What had scions of the great house of the De +Brocas to do with a humble miller of Gascony? The boys were true sons of +their house -- grafts of the parent stock. The Gascon peasants looked at +them with pride, and murmured that the day would come when they would +show the world the mettle of which they were made. Those were stirring +times for Gascony -- when Gascony was a fief of the English Crown, +sorely coveted by the French monarch, but tenaciously held on to by the +"Roy Outremer," as the great Edward was called; the King who, as was +rumoured, was claiming as his own the whole realm of France. And +Gascony, it must be remembered, did not in those days hold herself to be +a part of France nor a part of the French monarchy. She held a much more +important place than she would have done had she been a mere fief of the +French Crown. She had a certain independence of her own -- her own +language, her own laws, her own customs and she saw no humiliation in +owning the sovereignty of England's King, since she bad passed under +English rule through no act of conquest or aggression on England's part, +but by the peaceful fashion of marriage, when nearly two centuries ago +Eleanor of Aquitaine had brought to her lord, King Henry the Second, the +fair lands of which Gascony formed a part. Gascony had grown and +flourished apace since then, and was rich, prosperous, and content. Her +lords knew how important she might be in days to come, when the +inevitable struggle between the rival Kings of France and England should +commence; and like an accomplished coquette, she made the most of her +knowledge, and played her part well, watching her opportunity for +demanding an increase of those rights and privileges of which she had +not a few already. + +But it was not of their country's position that the twin brothers were +so eagerly talking as they wandered together along the woodland paths. +It was little indeed that they knew of what was passing in the wide +world that lay beyond their peaceful home, little that they heard of the +strife of party or the suspicious jealousy of two powerful monarchs -- +jealousy which must, as all long-sighted men well knew, break into open +warfare before long. It was of matters nearer to their own hearts that +the brothers spoke as they sauntered through the woodland paths +together; and Gaston's blue eyes flashed fire as he paused and tossed +back the tangled curls from his broad brow. + +"It is our birthright -- our land, our castle. Do they not all say that +in old days it was a De Brocas, not a Navailles, that ruled there? +Father Anselm hath told us a thousand times how the English King issued +mandate after mandate bidding him give up his ill-gotten gains, and +restore the lands of his rival; and yet he failed to do it. I trow had I +been in the place of our grandsire, I would not so tamely have sat down +beneath so great an affront. I would have fought to the last drop of my +blood to enforce my rights, and win back my lost inheritance Brother, +why should not thou and I do that one day? Canst thou be content for +ever with this tame life with honest Jean and Margot at the mill? Are we +the sons of peasants? Does their blood run in our veins? Raymond, thou +art as old as I -- thou hast lived as long. Canst thou remember our dead +mother? Canst thou remember her last charge to us?" + +Raymond had nodded his head at the first question; he nodded it again +now, a glance of strange eagerness stealing into his dark eyes. Although +the two youths wore the dress of peasant boys -- suits of undyed +homespun only very slightly finer in make than was common in those parts +-- they spoke the English tongue, and spoke it with purity and ease. It +needed no trained eye to see that it was something more than peasant +blood that ran in their veins, albeit the peasant race of Gascony in +those days was perhaps the freest, the finest, the most independent in +the whole civilized world. + +"I remember well," answered Raymond quickly; "nay, what then?" + +"What then? Spoke she not of a lost heritage which it behoved us to +recover? Spoke she not of rights which the sons of the De Brocas had +power to claim -- rights which the great Roy Outremer had given to them, +and which it was for them to win back when the time should come? Dost +thou remember? dost thou heed? And now that we are approaching to man's +estate, shall we not think of these things? Shall we not be ready when +the time comes?" + +Raymond gave a quick look at his brother. His own eyes were full of +eager light, but he hesitated a moment before asking: + +"And thinkest thou, Gaston, that in speaking thus our mother would fain +have had us strive to recover the castle and domain of Saut?" + +"In good sooth yea," answered Gaston quickly. "Was it not reft from our +grandsire by force? Has it not been kept from him ever since by that +hostile brood of Navailles, whom all men hate for their cruelty and +oppression? Brother, have we not heard of dark and hideous deeds done in +that same castle -- deeds that shame the very manhood of those that +commit them, and make all honest folk curse them in their hearts? +Raymond, thou and I have longed this many a day to sally forth to fight +for the Holy Sepulchre against the Saracens; yet have we not a crusade +here at home that calls us yet more nearly? Hast thou not thought of it, +too, by day, and dreamed of it by night? To plant the De Brocas ensign +above the walls of Saut -- that would indeed be a thing to live for. +Methinks I see the banner already waving over the proud battlements." + +Gaston's eyes flashed and glowed, and Raymond's caught an answering +gleam, but still he hesitated awhile, and then said: + +"I fain would think that some day such a thing might be; but, Brother, +he is a powerful and wily noble, and they say that he is high in favour +with the Roy Outremer. What chance have two striplings like ourselves +against so strong a foe? To take a castle, men must be found, and money +likewise, and we have neither; and all men stand in deadly terror of the +wrath of the Sieur de Navailles. Do they not keep even our name a secret +from him, lest he should swoop down upon the mill with his armed +retainers and carry us off thence -- so hates he the whole family that +bears the name of De Brocas? What could we do against power such as his? +I trow nothing. We should be but as pygmies before a giant." + +Gaston's face had darkened. He could not gainsay his brother's reluctant +words, but he chafed beneath them as a restive horse beneath the curb +rein tightly drawn. + +"Yet our mother bid us watch and be ready. She spoke often of our lost +inheritance, and she knew all the peril, the danger." + +Raymond's eyes sought his brother's face. He looked like one striving to +recall a dim and almost lost memory. + +"But thinkest thou, Gaston, that in thus speaking our mother was +thinking of the strong fortress of Saut? I can scarce believe that she +would call that our birthright. For we are not of the eldest branch of +our house. There must be many whose title would prove far better than +our own. We might perchance win it back to the house of De Brocas by act +of conquest; but even so, I misdoubt me if we should hold it in peace. +We have proud kinsfolk in England, they tell us, whose claim, doubtless, +would rank before ours. They care not to cross the water to win back the +lands themselves, yet I trow they would put their claim before the King +did tidings reach them that their strong and wily foe had been ousted +therefrom. We win not back lands for others to hold, nor would we +willingly war against our own kindred. Methinks, my Brother, that our +mother had other thoughts in her mind when she spoke of our rightful +inheritance." + +"Other thoughts! nay, now, what other thoughts?" asked Gaston, with +quick impatience. "I have never dreamed but of Saut. I have called it in +my thoughts our birthright ever since we could walk far enow to look +upon its frowning battlements perched upon yon wooded crag." + +And Gaston stretched out his hand in the direction in which the Castle +of Saut lay, not many leagues distant. + +"We have heard naught save of Saut ever since we could run alone. What +but that could our mother's words have boded? Sure she looked to us to +recover yon fortress as our father once meant to do?" + +"I know not altogether, and yet I can scarce believe it was so. Would +that our father had left some commands we might have followed. But, +Brother, canst thou not recall that other name she spoke so many a time +and oft as she lay a-dying? Sure it was some such name as Basildon or +Basildene -- the name of some fair spot, I trow, where she must once +have lived. Gaston, canst thou remember the day when she called us to +her, and joined our hands together, and spoke of us as 'the twin +brothers of Basildene'? I have scarce thought of it from that hour to +this, but it comes back now clearly to my mind. In sooth, it might well +have been of Basildene she was thinking when she gave us that last +charge. What could she have known or cared for Saut and its domain? She +had fled hither from England, I know not why. She knew but little of the +ways and the thoughts of those amongst whom she had come to dwell. It +might well have been of her own land that she was thinking so oft. I +verily believe that Basildene is our lost inheritance." + +"Basildene!" said Gaston quickly, with a start as of recollection +suddenly stirred to life; "sure I remember the name right well now that +thy words bring it back to mind. Yet it is years since I have heard it +spoke. Raymond, knowest thou where is this Basildene?" + +"In England, I well believe," was the answer of the other brother. +"Methinks it was the name of our mother's home. I seem to remember how +she told us of it -- the old house over the sea, where she had lived. +Perchance it was once her own in very sooth, and some turbulent baron or +jealous kinsman drove her forth from it, even as we of the house of De +Brocas have been ousted from the Castle of Saut. Brother, if that be so, +Basildene is more our inheritance than yon gloomy fortress can be. We +are our mother's only children, and when she joined our hands together +she called us the twins of Basildene. I trow that we have an inheritance +of our very own, Gaston, away over the blue water yonder." + +Gaston's eyes flashed with sudden ardour and purpose. + +Often of late had the twins talked together of the future that lay +before them, of the doughty deeds they would accomplish; yet so far +nothing of definite purpose had entered into their minds. Gaston's +dreams had been all of the ancient fortress of Saut, now for long years +passed into the hands of the hostile family, the terrible and +redoubtable Sieur de Navailles, who was feared throughout the length and +breadth of the country round about his house. Raymond had been dimly +conscious of other thoughts and purposes, but memory was only gradually +recalling to his mind the half-forgotten days of childhood, when the +twin eaglets had stood at their mother's knee to talk with her in her +own tongue of the land across the water where was her home -- the land +to which their father had lately passed, upon some mission the children +were too young to understand. + +Now the faint dim memories had returned clear and strong. The long +silence was broken. Eagerly the boys strove to recall the past, and bit +by bit things pieced themselves together in their minds till they could +not but marvel how they had so long forgotten. Yet it is often so in +youth. Days pass by one after the other unnoticed and unmarked. Then all +in a moment some new train of thought or purpose is awakened, a new +element enters life, making it from that day something different; and by +a single bound the child becomes a youth -- the youth a man. + +Some such change as this was passing over the twin brothers at this +time. A deep-seated dissatisfaction with their present surroundings had +long been growing up in their hearts. They were happy in a fashion in +the humble home at the mill, with good Jean the miller, and Margot his +wife who had been their nurse and a second mother to them all their +lives; but they knew that a great gulf divided them from the Gascon +peasants amongst whom they lived -- a gulf recognized by all those with +whom they came in contact, and in nowise bridged by the fact that the +brothers shared in a measure the simple peasant life, and had known no +other. + +Their very name of De Brocas spoke of the race of nobles who had long +held almost sovereign rights over a large tract of country watered by +the Adour and its many tributary streams; and although at this time, the +year of grace 1342, the name of De Brocas was no more heard, but that of +the proud Sieur de Navailles who now reigned there instead, the old name +was loved and revered amongst the people, and the boys were bred up in +all the traditions of their race, till the eagle nature at last asserted +itself, and they felt that life could no longer go on in its old +accustomed groove. Had they not been taught from infancy that a great +future lay before them? and what could that future be but the winning +back of their old ancestral lands and rights? + +Perhaps they would have spoken more of this deeply-seated hope had it +not been so very chimerical -- so apparently impossible of present +fulfilment. To wrest from the proud and haughty Sieur de Navailles the +vast territory and strong castle that had been held by him in open +defiance of many mandates from a powerful King, was a task that even the +sanguine and ambitious boys knew to be a hundred times too hard for +them. If they had dreamed of it in their hearts, they had scarce named +the hope even to each other. But today the brooding silence had been +broken. The twins had taken counsel one with the other; and now burning +thoughts of this other fair inheritance were in the minds of both. What +golden possibilities did not open out before them? How small a matter it +seemed to cross the ocean and claim as their own that unknown Basildene! +Both were certain that their mother had held it in her own right. Sure, +if there were right or justice in the kingdom of the Roy Outremer, they +would but have to show who and what they were, to become in very fact +what their mother had loved to call them -- the twin brothers of Basildene. + +How their young hearts swelled with delighted expectation at the thought +of leaving behind the narrow life of the mill, and going forth into the +wide world to seek fame and fortune there! And England was no such +foreign land to them, albeit they had never been above ten leagues from +the mill where they had been born and brought up. Was not their mother +an Englishwoman? Had she not taught them the language of her country, +and begged them never to forget it? And could they not speak it now as +well as they spoke the language of Gascony -- better than they spoke the +French of the great realm to which Gascony in a fashion belonged? + +The thought of travel always brings with it a certain exhilaration, +especially to the young and ardent, and thoughts of such a journey on +such a quest could not but be tinged with all the rainbow hues of hope. + +"We will go; we will go right soon!" cried Gaston. "Would that we could +go tomorrow! Why have we lingered here so long, when we might have been +up and doing years ago?" + +"Nay, Brother, we were but children years ago. We are not yet sixteen. +Yet methinks our manhood comes the faster to us for that noble blood +runs in our veins. But we will speak to Father Anselm. He has always +been our kindest friend. He will best counsel us whether to go forth, or +whether to tarry yet longer at home --" + +"I will tarry no longer; I pant to burst my bonds," cried the impetuous +Gaston; and Raymond was in no whit less eager, albeit he had something +more of his mother's prudence and self-restraint. + +"Methinks the holy Father will bid us go forth," he said thoughtfully. +"He has oft spoken to us of England and the Roy Outremer, and has ever +bidden us speak our mother's tongue, and not forget it here in these +parts where no man else speaks it. I trow he has foreseen the day when +we should go thither to claim our birthright. Our mother told him many +things that we were too young to hear. Perchance he could tell us more +of Basildene than she ever did, if we go to him and question him thereupon." + +Gaston nodded his head several times. + +"Thou speakest sooth, Brother," said he. "We will go to him forthwith. +We will take counsel with him, albeit --" + +Gaston did not finish his sentence, for two reasons. One was that his +brother knew so well what words were on his lips that speech was +well-nigh needless; the other, that he was at that moment rudely +interrupted. And although the brothers had no such thought at the time, +it is probable that this interruption and its consequences had a very +distinct bearing upon their after lives, and certainly it produced a +marked effect upon the counsel they subsequently received from their +spiritual father, who, but for that episode, might strongly have +dissuaded the youths from going forth so young into the world. + +The interruption came in the form of an angry hail from a loud and gruff +voice, full of impatience and resentment. + +"Out of my path, ye base-born peasants!" shouted a horseman who had just +rounded the sharp angle taken by the narrow bridle path, and was brought +almost to a standstill by the tall figures of the two stalwart youths, +which took up the whole of the open way between the trees and their +thick undergrowth. "Stand aside, ye idle loons! Know ye not how to make +way for your betters? Then, in sooth, I will teach you a lesson;" and a +thick hide lash came whirling through the air and almost lighted upon +the shoulders of Gaston, who chanced to be the nearer. + +But such an insult as that was not to be borne. Even a Gascon peasant +might well have sprung upon a solitary adversary of noble blood had he +ventured to assault him thus, without support from his train of +followers. As for Gaston, he hesitated not an instant, but with flashing +eyes he sprang at the right arm of his powerful adversary, and had +wrested the whip from him and tossed it far away before the words were +well out of the angry lord's mouth. + +With a great oath the man drew his sword; but the youth laughed him to +scorn as he stepped back out of reach of the formidable weapon. He well +knew his advantage. Light of foot, though all unarmed, he could defy any +horseman in this wooded spot. No horse could penetrate to the right or +left of the narrow track. Even if the knight dismounted, the twin +brothers, who knew every turn and winding of these dim forest paths, +could lead him a fine dance, and then break away and let him find his +way out as best he could. Fearless and impetuous as Gaston ever was, at +this moment his fierce spirit was stirred more deeply within him than it +had ever been before, for in this powerful warrior who had dared to +insult both him and his brother, ay, and their mother's fair fame too -- +he recognized the lineaments of the hated Sieur de Navailles. + +The more cautious Raymond had done the same, and now he spoke in low +though urgent accents. + +"Have a care, Brother! Knowest thou who it be?" + +"Know? ay, that I do. It is he who now holds by force and tyranny those +fair lands which should be ours -- lands which our forefathers held from +generation to generation, which should be theirs now, were right and +justice to be had, as one day it may be, when the Roy Outremer comes in +person, as men say he will one day come, and all men may have access to +his royal presence. And he, the tyrant, the usurper, dares to call us +base born, to call us peasants, we who own a nobler name than he! + +"The day will come, proud man, when thou shalt rue the hour when thou +spakest thus to me -- to me who am thy equal, ay, and more than thy +equal, in birth, and who will some day come and prove it to thee at the +sword's point!" + +Many expressions had flitted over the rider's face as these bold words +had been spoken -- anger, astonishment, then an unspeakable fury, which +made Gaston look well to the hand which held the shining sword; last of +all an immense astonishment of a new kind, a perplexity not unmixed with +dismay, and tinged with a lively curiosity. As the youth ceased speaking +the knight sheathed his sword, and when he replied his voice was pitched +in a very different key. + +"I pray you pardon, young sirs," he said, glancing quickly from one +handsome noble face to the other. "I knew not that I spoke to those of +gentle birth. The dress deceived me. Tell me now, good youths, who and +whence are ye? You have spoken in parables so far; tell me more plainly, +what is your name and kindred?" + +Raymond, who had heard somewhat of the enmity of the Sieur de Navailles, +and knew that their identity as sons of the house of De Brocas had +always been kept from his knowledge, here pressed his brother's arm as +though to suggest the necessity for caution; but Gaston's hot blood was +up. The talk they had been holding together had strung his nerves to the +utmost pitch of tension. He was weary of obscurity, weary of the peasant +life. He cared not how soon he threw off the mask. Asked a downright +question, even by a foe, it was natural to him to make a straightforward +answer, and he spoke without fear and without hesitation. + +"We are the sons of Arnald de Brocas. De Brocas is our name; we can +prove it whenever such proof becomes needful. Our fathers held these +fair lands long ere you or yours did. The day may come when a De Brocas +may reign here once more, and the cursed brood of Navailles be rooted +out for ever." + +And without waiting to see the effect produced by such words upon the +haughty horseman, the two brothers dashed off into the wood, and were +speedily lost to sight. + + + + CHAPTER II. FATHER ANSELM. + + +The mill of Sainte-Foi, which was the home of the twin brothers of the +De Brocas line, was situated upon a tributary stream of the river Adour, +and was but a couple of leagues distant from the town of Sauveterre -- +one of those numerous "bastides" or "villes Anglaises" built by the +great King Edward the First of England during his long regency of the +province of Gascony in the lifetime of his father. It was one of those +so-called "Filleules de Bordeaux" which, bound by strong ties to the +royal city, the queen of the Garonne, stood by her and played so large a +part in the great drama of the Hundred Years' War. Those cities had been +built by a great king and statesman to do a great work, and to them were +granted charters of liberties such as to attract into their walls large +numbers of persons who helped originally in the construction of the new +townships, and then resided there, and their children after them, proud +of the rights and immunities they claimed, and loyally true to the cause +of the English Kings, which made them what they were. + +It is plain to the reader of the history of those days that Gascony +could never have remained for three hundred years a fief of the English +Crown, had it not been to the advantage of her people that she should so +remain. Her attachment to the cause of the Roy Outremer, her willing +homage to him, would never have been given for so long a period of time, +had not the people of the land found that it was to their own +advancement and welfare thus to accord this homage and fealty. + +Nor is the cause for this advantage far to seek. Gascony was of immense +value to England, and of increasing value as she lost her hold upon the +more northerly portions of France. The wine trade alone was so +profitable that the nobility, and even the royal family of England, +traded on their own account. Bordeaux, with its magnificent harbour and +vast trade, was a queen amongst maritime cities. The vast "landes" of +the province made the best possible rearing ground for the chargers and +cavalry horses to which England owed much of her warlike supremacy; +whilst the people themselves, with their strength and independence of +character, their traditions of personal and individual freedom which can +be clearly traced back to the Roman occupation of the province, and +their long attachment to England and her King, were the most valuable of +allies; and although they must have been regarded to a certain extent as +foreigners when on English soil, they still assimilated better and +worked more easily with British subjects than any pure Frenchman had +ever been found to do. + +Small wonder then that so astute a monarch as the First Edward had taken +vast pains to draw closer the bond which united this fair province to +England. The bold Gascons well knew that they would find no such +liberties as they now enjoyed did they once put themselves beneath the +rule of the French King. His country was already overgrown and almost +unmanageable. He might cast covetous eyes upon Gascony, but he would not +pour into it the wealth that flowed steadily from prosperous England. He +would not endow it with charters, each one more liberal than the last, +or bind it to his kingdom by giving it a pre-eminence that would but +arouse the jealousy of its neighbours. No: the shrewd Gaseous knew that +full well, and knew when they were well off. They could often obtain an +increase of liberty and an enlarged charter of rights by coquetting with +the French monarch, and thus rousing the fears of the English King; but +they had no wish for any real change, and lived happily and prosperously +beneath the rule of the Roy Outremer; and amongst all the freemen of the +Gascon world, none enjoyed such full privileges as those who lived +within the walls of the "villes Anglaises," of which Sauveterre was one +amongst the smaller cities. + +The construction of these towns (now best seen in Libourne) is very +simple, and almost always practically the same -- a square in the centre +formed by the public buildings, with eight streets radiating from it, +each guarded by a gate. An outer ditch or moat protected the wall or +palisade, and the towns were thus fortified in a simple but effective +manner, and guarded as much by their own privileges as by any outer +bulwarks. The inhabitants were bound together by close ties, and each +smaller city looked to the parent city of Bordeaux, and was proud of the +title of her daughter. + +Sauveterre and its traditions and its communistic life were familiar +enough, and had been familiar from childhood to the twin brothers. + +Halfway between the mill and the town stood a picturesque and scattered +hamlet, and to this hamlet was attached a church, of which a pious +ecclesiastic, by name Father Anselm, had charge. He was a man of much +personal piety, and was greatly beloved through all the countryside, +where he was known in every hut and house for leagues around the doors +of his humble home. He was, as was so frequently the case in those +times, the doctor and the scribe, as well as the spiritual adviser, of +his entire flock; and he was so much trusted and esteemed that all men +told him their affairs and asked advice, not in the confessional alone, +but as one man speaking to another in whom he has strong personal +confidence. + +The twin brothers knew that during the years when their dead mother had +resided at the mill with honest Jean and Margot (they began greatly to +wonder now why she had so lived in hiding and obscurity), she had been +constantly visited by the holy Father, and that she had told him things +about herself and her history which were probably known to no other +human being beside. Brought up as the youths had been, and trained in a +measure beneath the kindly eye of the priest, they would in any case +have asked his counsel and blessing before taking any overt step in +life; but all the more did they feel that they must speak to him now, +since he was probably the only person within their reach who could tell +them anything as to their own parentage and history that they did not +know already. + +"We will go to him upon the morrow," said Gaston with flashing eyes. "We +will rise with the sun -- or before it -- and go to him ere his day's +work is begun. He will surely find time to talk with us when he hears +the errand upon which we come. I trow now that when he has sat at our +board, and has bent upon our faces those glances I have not known how to +read aright, he has been wondering how long it would be ere we should +awake to the knowledge that this peasant life is not the life of the De +Brocas race, guessing that we should come to him for counsel and +instruction ere we spread our wings to flee away. They call us eaglets +in sooth; and do eaglets rest for ever in their mountain eyry? Nay, they +spread their wings as strength comes upon them, and soar upwards and +onwards to see for themselves the great world around; even as thou and I +will soar away, Brother, and seek other fortunes than will ever be ours +here in Sauveterre." + +With these burning feelings in their hearts, it was no wonder that the +twins uttered a simultaneous exclamation of satisfaction and pleasure +when, as they approached the mill, they were aware of the familiar +figure of Father Anselm sitting at the open door of the living house, +engaged, as it seemed, in an animated discussion with the worthy miller +and his good wife. + +The look which the Father bent upon the two youths as they approached +betrayed a very deep and sincere affection for them; and when after +supper they asked to speak with him in private, he readily acceded to +their request, accepting the offer of a bed from the miller's wife, as +already the sun had long set, and his own home was some distance away. + +The faces of Jean and Margot were grave with anxious thought, and that +of the priest seemed to reflect something of the same expression; for +during the course of the simple meal which all had shared together, +Gaston had told of the unlooked-for encounter with the proud Sieur de +Navailles in the forest, and of the defiance he had met with from the +twin eaglets. As the good miller and his wife heard how Gaston had +openly declared his name and race to the implacable foe of his house, +they wrung their hands together and uttered many lamentable +exclamations. The present Lord of Saut was terribly feared throughout +the neighbourhood in which he dwelt. His fierce and cruel temper had +broken forth again and again in acts of brutality or oppression from +which there was practically no redress. Free as the Gascon peasant was +from much or the serfdom and feudal servitude of other lands, he was in +some ways worse off than the serf, when he chanced to have roused the +anger of some great man of the neighbourhood. The power of the nobles +and barons -- the irresponsible power they too often held -- was one of +the crying evils of the age, one which was being gradually extinguished +by the growing independence of the middle classes. But such changes were +slow of growth, and long in penetrating beyond great centres; and it was +a terrible thing for a brace of lads, unprotected and powerless as these +twin brothers, to have brought upon themselves the hostility and +perchance the jealousy of a man like the Sieur de Navailles. If he +wished to discover their hiding place, he would have small difficulty in +doing so; and let him but once find that out, and the lives of the boys +would not be safe either by night or day. The retainers of the proud +baron might swoop down at any moment upon the peaceful mill, and carry +off the prey without let or hindrance; and this was why the secret of +their birth and name had been so jealously kept from all (save a few who +loved the house of De Brocas) by the devoted miller and his wife. + +But Gaston little recked of the threatened peril. The fearless nature of +his race was in him, and he would have scorned himself had he failed to +speak out boldly when questioned by the haughty foe of his house. If the +De Brocas had been ruined in all else, they had their fearless honour +left them still. + +But the priest's face was grave as he let the boys lead him into the +narrow bedchamber where they slept -- a room bare indeed of such things +as our eyes would seek, but which for the times was commodious and +comfortable enough. He was pondering in his mind what step must now be +taken, for it seemed to him as though the place of safety in the mill in +which their mother had left her sons could hide them no longer. Go they +must, of that he felt well assured; but where? That was a question less +easily answered offhand. + +"Father," began Gaston eagerly, so soon as the door had closed behind +the three, and Raymond had coaxed the dim taper into its feeble flicker +-- "Father, we have come to thee for counsel -- for help. Father, chide +us not, nor call us ingrate; but it has come to this with us -- we can +no longer brook this tame and idle life. We are not of the peasant +stock; why must we live the peasant life? Father, we long to be up and +doing -- to spread our wings for a wider flight. We know that those who +bear our name are not hiding their heads in lowly cots; we know that our +sires have been soldiers and statesmen in the days that are past. Are we +then to hide our heads here till the snows of age gather upon them? Are +we, of all our race, to live and die obscure, unknown? Father, we cannot +stand it; it shall not be! To thee we come to ask more of ourselves than +yet we know. To thee our mother commended us in her last moments; to +thee she bid us look in days to come when we needed guidance and help. +Wherefore to thee we have come now, when we feel that there must surely +be an end to all of this. Tell us, Father, of our sire; tell us of our +kinsfolk. Where be they? Where may we seek them? I trow thou knowest +all. Then tell us, I beseech thee tell us freely all there is to know." + +The good priest raised his eyes and thoughtfully scanned the faces of +the two eager youths. Gaston was actually shivering with repressed +excitement; Raymond was more calm, but not, as it seemed, one whit less +interested. What a strong and manly pair they looked! The priest's eyes +lighted with pride as they rested on the stalwart figures and noble +faces. It was hard to believe that these youths were not quite sixteen, +though man's estate was then accounted reached at an age which we should +call marvellously immature in these more modern days. + +"My children," said the good old man, speaking slowly and with no small +feeling, "I have long looked for this day to come -- the day when ye +twain should stand thus before me and put this selfsame question." + +"You have looked for it!" said Gaston eagerly; "then, in very sooth, +there is something to tell?" + +"Yes, my children, there is a long story to tell; and it seemeth to me, +even as it doth to you, that the time has now come to tell it. This day +has marked an era in your lives. Methinks that from this night your +childhood will pass for ever away, and the life of your manhood +commence. May the Holy Mother of God, the Blessed Saints, and our +gracious Saviour Himself watch over and guard you in all the perils and +dangers of the life that lies before you!" + +So solemn were the tones of the Father that the boys involuntarily sank +upon their knees, making the sign of the Cross as they did so. The +priest breathed a blessing over the two, and when they had risen to +their feet, he made them sit one on each side of him upon the narrow +pallet bed. + +"The story is something long -- the story which will tell ye twain who +and what ye are, and why ye have been thus exiled and forced to dwell +obscure in this humble home; but I will tell all I know, and ye will +then see something of the cause. + +"My children, ye know that ye have a noble name -- that ye belong to the +house of De Brocas, which was once so powerful and great in these fair +lands around this home of yours. I wot that ye know already some thing +of the history of your house, how that it was high in favour with the +great King of England, that first Edward who so long dwelt amongst us, +and made himself beloved by the people of these lands. It was in part +fidelity to him that was the cause of your kinsfolk's ruin: for whilst +they served him in other lands, following him across the sea when he was +bidden to go thither, the treacherous foe of the house of Navailles +wrested from them, little by little, all the lands they had owned here, +and not even the many mandates from the Roy Outremer sufficed to gain +them their rights again. It might have been done had the great Edward +lived; but when he died and his son mounted the throne, men found at +once how weak were the hands that held the sovereign power, and the +Sieur de Navailles laughed in his beard at commands he knew there was no +power to enforce. But listen again, my sons; that feeble King, despite +many and great faults, was not without some virtues also; and he did not +forget that the house of De Brocas had ruined itself in the cause of +himself and his father." + +"Did he do aught to show his gratitude?" + +"Thou shalt hear, my son. The younger Edward had not been many years +upon his father's throne before a great battle was fought by him against +the Scottish race his father had vanquished and subdued. These rebel +subjects revolted from under his hand, and he fought with them a battle +on the field of Bannockburn, in which he was overthrown and defeated, +and in which your grandsire, Arnald de Brocas, lost his life, fighting +gallantly for England's King." + +"Our grandsire?" cried both the boys in a breath. "Tell us more of him." + +"It is little that I know, my children, save what I have just said. He +served the King faithfully in life and death, and his sons reaped some +reward for their father's fidelity. At first, whilst they were quite +young, his three sons (of whom your father was the third) were sent to +dwell with their mother's relatives -- the De Campaines of Agen, of +whom, doubtless, ye have heard; but as they grew to man's estate, they +were recalled to the English Court, and received offices there, as many +another noble Gascon has done before them." + +"Have we then uncles in England?" asked Raymond eagerly. "Then, if we +find but our way across the water, we may find a home with one of them? +Is it not so, good Father?" + +The priest did not exclaim at the idea of the boys journeying forth +across the seas alone, but he shook his head thoughtfully as he +continued his narrative as if there had been no interruption. + +"The English King was not unmindful of the service done him by the +father of these youths, and he promoted them to places of honour about +his Court. First, they were all made serviens of his own royal person, +and were brought up with his son, who is now the King; then, as I have +heard, they greatly endeared themselves to the Prince by loyalty and +faithful service. When he ascended the throne, and purged the Court of +the false favourites from this and other lands who had done so much ill +to that country, he was ably helped in the task before him by thy father +and thy two uncles; and I can well believe that this was so, seeing that +they were speedily advanced to posts of honour in the royal service." + +"What posts?" asked the eager youths. + +"The head of your branch of this noble house," continued the priest, "is +your uncle Sir John de Brocas, who is the King's Master of the Horse, +and the lord of many fair Manors and wide lands in England, and high in +favour with his master. Second in the line is your uncle Master Bernard +de Brocas, a clerk, and the Rector (as it is called in the realm of +England) of St. Nicholas, in or near a town that is called Guildford -- +if I can frame my lips aright to the strange words. He too is high in +favour with the Roy Outremer, and, as I have heard, is oft employed by +him in these parts to quell strife or redress grievances; but I know not +how that may be. It is of thy father that I would fain speak to thee, +Gaston, for thou art heir to his name and estate if thou canst make good +the claim, as in time thou mayest yet. Listen whilst I tell all that I +know. Thy father -- Arnald -- was the youngest of the three sons of him +who died on the field of Bannockburn, and to him was given the post of +Master of the Horse to Prince John of Eltham. I misdoubt me if that +Prince is living yet; but of that I cannot speak with certainty. He was +also valettus or serviens to the King, and might have carved out for +himself as great a career as they, had it not been that he estranged +himself from his kindred, and even offended the King himself, by the +marriage that he made with Mistress Alice Sanghurst of Basildene." + +The brothers exchanged quick glances as the name passed the priest's +lips. Their memory had not then played them false. + +"But why were they thus offended? Was not our mother rightful owner of +Basildene? and is it not a fair heritage?" + +"The reason for the ill will, my sons, I know not. Your mother did not +fully understand it, and from her lips it was I heard all this tale. +Perchance some nobler alliance was wished by the family and by the King +himself, perchance the young man acted something hastily, and gave +umbrage that might have been spared. I know not how that may have been. +All I for certainty know is that your father, Arnald, brought hither his +wife, flying from some menaced peril, fearful of capture and discovery; +and that here in this lonely mill, amongst those who had ever loved the +name of De Brocas, the sweet lady was able to hide her head, and to find +a place of safe refuge. Jean, then a youth, had been in the service of +Arnald, having been seized with a love of wandering in his boyhood, +which had led him to cross the sea to England, where he had fallen in +with your father and attached himself to his person. The elder Jean, his +father, was miller then and right glad was he to welcome back his son, +and give a shelter to the lady in her hour of need. Good Margot, as you +know, was your nurse when you were born; she had married Jean a short +time back, and her own babe had died the very week before you came into +the world. She has always loved you as her own, and though your mother +was taken from you, you have never lost a mother's love. Do not forget +that, my children, in the years to come; and if the time should ever be +when you can requite the faithful attachment of these two honest hearts, +be sure that you let not the chance slip." + +"We will not," answered the boys in a breath. "But the rest of your +story, good Father." + +"You shall hear it all, my sons. It was in the year of grace 1329 that +your father first brought his wife here, and in the following year you +twain were born. Your father stayed till he could fold you in his arms, +and bestow upon you the blessing of a father; but then his duties to his +master called him to England, and for a whole long year we heard no news +of him. At the end of that time a messenger arrived with despatches for +his lady. She sent to ask my help in reading these; and together we made +out that the letter contained a summons for her to join her lord in +England, where he would meet her at the port of Southampton, into which +harbour many of our vessels laden with wine put in for safe anchorage. +As for the children, said the letter, she must either bring or leave +them, as seemed best to her at the time; and after long and earnest +debate we resolved that she should go alone, and that you should be left +to good Margot's tender care. I myself escorted our gentle lady to +Bordeaux, and there it was easy to find safe and commodious transport +for her across the sea. She left us, and we heard no more until more +than a year had passed by, and she returned to us, sorely broken down in +mind and body, to tell a sorrowful tale." + +"Sorrowful? Had our proud uncles refused to receive her?" asked Gaston, +with flashing eyes. "I trow if that be so --" + +But the Father silenced him by a gesture. + +"Wait and let me tell my tale, boy. Thou canst not judge till thou +knowest all. She came back to us, and to me she told all her tale, piece +by piece and bit by bit, not all at once, but as time and opportunity +served. And this is what I learned. When your father summoned her back +to join him, it was because her one brother was dead -- dead without +leaving children behind -- and her father, now growing old, wished to +see her once again, and give over to her before he died the fair domain +of Basildene, which she would now inherit, but to which she had had no +title when she married your father. It seemed like enow to both of them +that if Arnald de Brocas could lead a well-dowered bride to his +brothers' halls, all might be well between them and so it came about +when the old man died, and the lady had succeeded to the lands, that he +started forth to tell the news, not taking her, as the weather was +inclement, and she somewhat suffering from the damp and fog which they +say prevail so much in England, but faring forth alone on his embassy, +trusting to come with joy to fetch her anon." + +"And did he not?" asked the boys eagerly. + +"I will tell you what chanced in his absence. You must know that your +grandsire on your mother's side had a kinsman, by name Peter Sanghurst, +who had long cast covetous eyes upon Basildene. He was next of kin after +your mother, and he, as a male, claimed to call the property his. He had +failed to make good his claim by law; but so soon as he knew your mother +to be alone in the house, he came down upon it with armed retainers and +drove her forth ere she well knew what had befallen; and she, not +knowing whither her lord had gone, nor how to find him, and being in +sore danger from the malice of the wicked man who had wrested from her +the inheritance, and would gladly have done her to death, knew not what +better to do than to fly back here, leaving word for her lord where she +was to be found; and thus it came that ere she had been gone from us a +year, she returned in more desolate plight than at the first." + +Gaston's face was full of fury, and Raymond's hands were clenched in an +access of rage. + +"And what did our father then? Sure he waged war with the vile usurper, +and won back our mother's lands for her! Sure a De Brocas never rested +quiet under so foul an insult!" + +"My sons, your father had been taught patience in a hard school. He +returned to Basildene, not having seen either of his brothers, who were +both absent on the King's business, to find his wife fled, and the place +in the firm grasp of the wily man, who well knew how to strengthen +himself in the possession of ill-gotten gains. His first care was for +your mother's safety, and he followed her hither before doing aught +else. When he found her safe with honest Jean and Margot, and when they +had taken counsel together, he returned to England to see what could be +done to regain the lost inheritance and the favour of his kinsmen who +had been estranged. You were babes of less than three summers when your +father went away, and you never saw him more." + +"He did not come again?" + +"Nay, he came no more, for all too soon a call which no man may disobey +came for him, and he died before the year was out." + +"And had he accomplished naught?" + +"So little that it must needs come to naught upon his death. He sent a +trusty messenger -- one of his stout Gascon henchmen -- over to us with +all needful tidings. But there was little of good to tell. He had seen +his brother, Sir John, the head of the family, and had been received not +unkindly by him; but in the matter of the recovery of Basildene the +knight had but shaken his head, and had said that the King had too many +great matters on hand just then to have leisure to consider so small a +petition as the one concerning a Manor of no repute or importance. If +Arnald had patience to wait, or to interest Prince John in the matter, +something might in time be done; but Peter Sanghurst would strive to +make good his claim by any means bad or good, and as he held possession +it might be difficult indeed to oust him. The property belonged to one +who had been a cause of much offence, and perchance that weighed with +Sir John and made him less willing to bestir himself in the matter. But +be that as it may, nothing had been done when Arnald de Brocas breathed +his last; and his wife, when she heard the tale, looked at you two young +children as you lay upon the grass at play, and she said with a sigh and +a smile, 'Father, I will wait till my boys be grown, for what can one +weak woman do alone? and then we will go together to the land that is +mine by birth, and my boys shall win back for me and for themselves the +lost inheritance of Basildene.'" + +"And so we will!" cried Gaston, with flashing eyes; "and so we will! +Here as I stand I vow that we will win it back from the false and coward +kinsman who holds it now." + +"Ay," answered Raymond, with equal ardour and enthusiasm, "that, +Brother, will we do; and we will win for ourselves the name that she +herself gave to us -- The Twin Brothers of Basildene." + + + + CHAPTER III. THE UNKNOWN WORLD. + + +So that was the story of their past. That was why they two, with the +blood of the De Brocas running in their veins, had lived all their past +lives in the seclusion of a humble mill; why they had known nothing of +their kinsfolk, albeit they had always known that they must have kindred +of their own name and race; and why their mother upon her deathbed had +spoken to them not of any inheritance that they might look to claim from +descent through their father, but of Basildene, which was theirs in very +right, as it had been hers before, till her ambitious and unscrupulous +kinsman had driven her forth. + +And now what should they do? Whither should they go; and what should be +the object of the lives -- the new lives of purpose and resolve which +had awakened within them? + +Gaston had given voice to this feeling in vowing them to the attempt to +recover their lost heritage of Basildene, and Father Anselm did not +oppose either that desire or the ardent wish of the youths to fare forth +into the great world alone. + +"My sons," he said a few days later, when he had come to see if the +twins held yet to their first resolve. "You are something young as yet +to sally forth into the unknown world and carve for yourselves your +fortunes there; but nevertheless I trow the day has come, for this place +is no longer a safe shelter for you. The Sieur de Navailles, as it is +told me, is already searching for you. It cannot be long before he finds +your hiding place, and then no man may call your lives safe by night or +day. And not only would ye yourselves be in peril, but peril would +threaten good Jean and Margot; and methinks you would be sorely loath +that harm should come to them through the faithful kindness they have +ever shown to you and yours." + +"Sooner would we die than that one hair of their head should be +touched!" cried both the boys impetuously; "and Margot lives in fear and +trembling ever since we told her of the words we spoke to yon tyrant and +usurper of Saut. We told her for her comfort that he would think us too +poor and humble and feeble to vent his rage on us; but she shook her +head at that, and feared no creature hearing the name of De Brocas would +be too humble to be a mark for his spite. And then we told her that we +would sally forth to see the world, as we had ever longed to do and +though she wept to think that we must go, she did not bid us stay. She +said, as thou hast done, good Father, that she had known that such day +would surely come; and though it has come something early and something +suddenly, she holds that we shall be safer facing the perils of the +unknown world, than living here a mark for the spite and malice of the +foe of our house. If no man holds us back, why go we not forth tomorrow?" + +The priest's face was grave and even sorrowful, but he made no objection +even to so rapid a move. + +"My sons, if this thing is to be, it is small use to tarry and linger. I +would not that the Sieur de Navailles should know that you have hidden +your heads here so long; and a secret, however faithfully kept, that +belongs to many, may not be a secret always. It is right that you should +go, and with the inclement winter season hard upon us, with its dangers +from heavy snows, tempests at sea, and those raids from wolves that make +the peril of travellers when the cold once sets in, it behoves you, if +go ye must, to go right speedily. And in the belief that I should find +your minds made up and your preparations well-nigh complete, I have +brought to you the casket given into my charge by your mother on her +dying bed. Methinks that you will find therein gold enough to carry you +safe to England, and such papers as shall suffice to prove to your proud +kinsmen at the King's Court that ye are in very truth the sons of their +brother, and that it is of just and lawful right that you make your +claim to Basildene." + +The brothers looked eagerly at the handsome case, wrought and inlaid +with gold, in which certain precious parchments had lain ever since they +had been carried in haste from England. The boys looked at these with a +species of awe, for they had but very scant knowledge of letters, and +such as they had acquired from the good Father was not enough to enable +them to master the contents of the papers. Learning was almost entirely +confined to the ecclesiastics in those days, and many were the men of +birth and rank who could scarce read or write their own name. + +But the devices upon the parchments told a tale more easily understood. +There was the golden lion rampant upon the black ground -- the arms of +the De Brocas family, as the Father told them; whilst the papers that +referred to Basildene were adorned with a shield bearing a silver stag +upon an azure ground. They would have no difficulty in knowing the deeds +apart; and good Margot sewed them first into a bag of untanned leather, +and then stitched them safely within the breast of Gaston's leathern +jerkin. The golden pieces, and a few rings and trinkets that were all +that remained to the boys of their lost inheritance, were sewn in like +manner into Raymond's clothing, and there was little more to be done ere +the brothers went forth into the unknown world. + +As for their worldly possessions, they were soon numbered, and comprised +little more than their clothing, their bows and arrows, and the poniards +which hung at their girdles. As they were to proceed on foot to +Bordeaux, and would probably journey in the same simple fashion when +they reached the shores of England, they had no wish to hamper +themselves with any needless encumbrances, and all that they took with +them was a single change of under vest and hose, which they were easily +able to carry in a wallet at their back. They sallied forth in the dress +they commonly wore all through the inclement winter season -- an +under-dress of warm blue homespun, with a strong jerkin of leather, soft +and well-dressed, which was as long as a short tunic, and was secured by +the girdle below the waist which was worn by almost all ranks of the +people in that age. The long hose were likewise guarded by a species of +gaiter of the same strong stuff. And a peasant clad in his own leather +garments was often a match for a mailed warrior, the tough substance +turning aside sword point or arrow almost as effectually as a coat of +steel, whilst the freedom and quickness of motion allowed by the simpler +dress was an immense advantage to the wearer in attack or defence. + +The good Father looked with tender glances at the brave bright boys as +they stood forth on the morning of their departure, ready to sally out +into the wide world with the first glimpse of dawn. He had spent the +previous night at the mill, and many words of fatherly counsel and good +advice had he bestowed upon the lads, now about to be subjected to +temptations and perils far different from any they had known in their +past life. And his words had been listened to with reverent heed, for +the boys loved him dearly, and had been trained by him in habits of +religious exercise, more common in those days than they became, alas in +later times. They had with them an English breviary which had been one +of their mother's most valued possessions, and they promised the Father +to study it with reverent heed; for they were very familiar with the +petitions, and could follow them without difficulty despite their +rudimentary education. So that when they knelt before him for his last +blessing, he was able to give it with a heart full of hope and tender +confidence; and he felt sure that whether the lads went forth for weal +or woe, he should (if they and he both lived through the following +years) see their faces again in this selfsame spot. They would not +forget old friends -- they would seek them out in years to come; and if +fate smiled upon their path, others would share in the sunshine of their +good fortune. + +And so the boys rose to their feet again to meet a proud, glad smile +from the eyes of the kind old man; and though Margot's face was buried +in her apron, and honest Jean was not ashamed to let the tears run down +his weatherbeaten face, there was no attempt made to hinder or to sadden +the eager lads. They kissed their good nurse with many protestations of +love and gratitude, telling her of the days to come when they would +return as belted knights, riding on fine horses, and with their esquires +by their side, and how they would tell the story of how they had been +born and bred in this very mill, and of all they owed to those who had +sheltered them in their helpless infancy. + +The farewells once over, with the inevitable sadness that such scenes +must entail, the boys' spirits rose with wonderful celerity. True, they +looked back with fond glances at the peaceful homestead where their +childhood had been passed, as they reached the ridge of the undulating +plain from which the last glimpse of the red roofs and tumbling water +was to be had. Raymond even felt a mist rise before his eyes as he stood +and gazed, and Gaston dashed his hand impatiently across his eyes as +though something hindered his vision; but his voice was steady and full +of courage as he waved his right arm and cried aloud: + +"We will come back! we will see this place again! Ah, Raymond, methinks +I shall love it better then than I do today; for though it has been a +timely place of shelter, it has not been -- it never could be -- our +true home. Our home is Basildene, in the fair realm of England's King. I +will rest neither day nor night until I have looked upon the home our +mother dwelt in, and have won the right to call that home our own." + +Then the brothers strode with light springy steps along the road which +would in time lead them to the great seaport city of Bordeaux, towards +which all the largest roads of the whole province converged. + +The royal city of the Garonne was full forty leagues away -- over a +hundred British miles -- and the boys had never visited it yet, albeit +their dream had long been to travel thither on their feet, and see the +wonders of which travellers spoke. A day's march of ten leagues or more +was as nothing to them. Had the days been longer they would have done +more, but travelling in the dark through these forest-clad countries was +by no means safe, and the Father had bid them promise that they would +always strive to seek shelter ere the shades of night fell; for great +picks of wolves ravaged the forests of Gascony until a much later date, +and though the season of their greatest boldness and fierceness had not +yet come, they were customers not to be trifled with at any time, and a +hunting knife and a crossbow would go but a small way in defence if a +resolute attack were to be made by even half-a-dozen of the fierce beasts. + +But the brothers thought not of peril as they strode through the clear +crisp air, directing their course more by the sun than by any other +guide, as they pursued their way engrossed in eager talk. They were +passing through the great grazing pastures, the Landes of Gascony, which +supplied England with so many of her best horses, and walking was easy +and they covered the ground fast. Later on would come dark stretches of +lonely forest, but here were smiling pasture and bright sunshine and the +brothers talked together of the golden future before them, of their +proud kinsmen at the King's Court, of the Roy Outremer himself, and of +Basildene and that other treacherous kinsman there. As they travelled +they debated within themselves whether it were better to seek first the +countenance of their uncles on their father's side, or whether to make +their way first to Basildene and see what manner of place it was, and +what likelihood there seemed of ousting the intruder. + +How to decide this point themselves the brothers did not know; but as it +chanced, fortune was to decide it for them in her own fashion, and that +before many suns had set. + +Two days of travel had passed. The brothers had long left behind them +every trace of what had been familiar to them in the old life. The +evening of the third day was stealing fast upon them, and they were yet, +as it seemed, in the heart of the vast forest which they had entered +soon after noon, and which they had hoped to pass completely through +before the daylight waned. They had been told that they might look, if +they pushed on fast, to reach the town of Castres by nightfall; but the +paths through the forest were intricate: they had several times felt +uncertain as to whether they were going right. Now that the darkness was +coming on so fast they were still more uncertain, and more than once +they had heard behind and before them the unmistakable howl of the wolf. + +The hardy twins would have thought nothing of sleeping in the open air +even at this somewhat inclement season; but the proximity of the wolves +was unpleasant. For two days the cold had been sharp, and though it was +not probable that it had yet seriously interfered with the supplies of +the wild beasts, yet it was plain that they had emerged from their +summer retreats in the more remote parts of the forest, and were +disposed to venture nearer to the habitable world on the outskirts. If +the brothers slept out of doors at all, it would have to be in the fork +of some tree, and in that elevated position they would be likely to feel +the cold rather keenly, though down below in some hollow trunk they +could make themselves a warm nest enough. Mindful of their promise to +the priest, they resolved to try yet to reach some hut or place of +shelter, however rude, before the night absolutely closed in, and +marched quickly forward with the practised tread of those born to forest +life. + +Suddenly Gaston, who was a couple of paces in the front, paused and laid +a hand upon his brother's arm. + +"Hist!" he said below his breath. "Methought I heard a cry." + +Raymond stopped short and listened, too. Yes; there was certainly some +tumult going on a little distance ahead of them. The brothers +distinguished the sound of human voices raised in shrill piercing cries, +and with that sound was mingled the fierce baying note that they had +heard too often in their lives to mistake at any time. + +"It is some traveller attacked by wolves!" cried the brothers in a +breath, and without a single thought of their own peril the gallant boys +tore headlong through the dark wood to the spot whence the tumult proceeded. + +Guided by the sound of shouts, cries, and the howling of the beasts, the +brothers were not long in nearing the scene of the strife. + +"Shout aloud!" cried Gaston to his brother as they ran. "Make the +cowardly brutes believe that a company is advancing against them. It is +the best, the only chance. They will turn and fly if they think there be +many against them." + +Raymond was not slow to act upon this hint. The next moment the wood +rang again to the shouts and calls of the brothers, voice answering to +voice till it seemed as though a score of men were approaching. The +brothers, moreover, knew and used the sharp fierce call employed by the +hunters of the wolves in summoning their dogs to their aid -- a call +that they knew would be heard and heeded by the savage brutes, who would +well know what it meant. And in effect the artifice was perfectly +successful; for ere they had gained the spot upon which the struggle had +taken place, they heard the breaking up of the wolf party, as the +frightened beasts dashed headlong through the coverts, whilst their +howling and barking died away in the distance, and a great silence +succeeded. + +"Thank Heaven for a timely rescue!" they heard a voice say in the +English tongue; "for by my troth, good Malcolm, I had thought that thou +and I would not live to tell this tale to others. But where are our good +friends and rescuers? Verily, I have seen nothing, yet there must have +been a good dozen or more. Light thy lantern, an thou canst, and let us +look well round us, for by the mass I shall soon think we have been +helped by the spirits of the forest." + +"Nay, fair sir, but only by two travellers," said Gaston, advancing from +the shadow of the giant trees, his brother closely following him. "We +are ourselves benighted in this forest, having by some mischance lost +our road to Castres, which we hoped to have sighted ere now. Hearing the +struggle, and the shouts with which you doubtless tried to scare off the +brutes, we came to see if we might not aid, and being well acquainted +with the calls of the hunters of the wolves, succeeded beyond our hopes. +I trust the cowardly and treacherous beasts have done you no injury?" + +"By my troth, it is strange to hear my native tongue in these parts, and +so fairly spoken withal. I trust we are not bewitched, or the sport of +spirits. Who art thou, brave boy? and whence comest thou? How comes it +that thou, being, as it seems, a native of these parts, speakest so well +a strange language?" + +"It was our mother's tongue," answered Gaston, speaking nevertheless +guardedly, for he had been warned by the Father not to be too ready to +tell his name and parentage to all the world. "We are bound for +Bordeaux, and thence to England, to seek our mother's kindred, as she +bid us ere she died." + +"If that be so, then let us join forces and travel on together," said he +whom they had thus succoured, a man well mounted on a fine horse, and +with a mounted servant beside him, so that the brothers took him for a +person of quality, which indeed he was, as they were soon to learn. +"There is safety in numbers, and especially so in these inhospitable +forest tracks, where so many perils beset the traveller. I have lost my +other stout fellows in the windings of the wood, and it were safer to +travel four than two. Riding is slow work in this gloom. I trow ye will +have no trouble in keeping pace with our good chargers." + +The hardy Gascon boys certainly found no difficulty about that. Gaston +walked beside the bridle rein of the master, whilst Raymond chatted +amicably to the man, whose broad Scotch accent puzzled him a little, and +led in time to stories of Border warfare, and to the tale of +Bannockburn, told from a Scotchman's point of view; to all of which the +boy listened with eager interest. As for Gaston, he was hearing of the +King's Court, the gay tourneys, the gallant feats of arms at home and +abroad which characterized the reign of the Third Edward. The lad drank +in every item of intelligence, asking such pertinent questions, and +appearing so well informed upon many points, that his interlocutor was +increasingly surprised, and at last asked him roundly of his name and +kindred. + +Now the priest had warned the boys at starting not to speak with too +much freedom to strangers of their private affairs, and had counselled +them very decidedly not to lay claim at starting to the name of De +Brocas, and thus draw attention to themselves at the outset. There was +great laxity in the matter of names in ages when penmanship was a +recondite art, and even in the documents of the period a name so well +known as that of De Brocas was written Broc and Brook, Brocaz and +Brocazt, and half-a-dozen more ways as well. Wherefore it mattered the +less what the lads called themselves, and they had agreed that Broc, +without the De before it, would be the best and safest patronymic for +them in the present. + +"We are twin brothers, may it please you, fair sir; English on our +mother's side, though our father was a Gascon. Our father was much in +England likewise, and, as we hear, held some office about the Court, +though of its exact nature we know not. Both our parents died many long +years since; but we have never ceased to speak the tongue of England, +and to dream of one day going thither. Our names are Gaston and Raymond +Broc, and we are going forth at last in search of the adventures which +men say in these warlike days may be found by young and old, by rich and +poor. Our faces are set towards England. What may befall us there kind +Fortune only knows." + +Something in the frank and noble bearing of the lad seemed to please the +knightly stranger. He laid a friendly hand on Gaston's shoulder as the +youth paced with springy strides beside him. + +"I trow thou art a mettlesome knave, and I owe thee and thy brother +something more than fair words for the service ye have rendered me this +night. I have lost three or four of my followers by disease and accident +since I left the shores of England. Boy, what sayest thou to taking +service with me for a while -- thou and thy brother likewise -- and +journeying to fair England as two of my young esquires? I like you well, +and in these days it is no small thing to rank in one's train those to +whom the language of Gascony is familiar. I trow ye be able to speak the +French tongue likewise, since ye be so ready with our foreign English?" + +"Ay, we can both speak and understand it," answered Gaston, whose cheeks +had crimsoned with eager delight; "but we speak English better. Good +Sir, we could desire nothing better than to follow you to the world's +end; but we have not been trained to the use of arms, nor to knightly +exercises. I know not if we could make shift to please you, be our +service never so faithful." + +"In such a case as that, sure I should be a hard master to please," +returned the other, and Gaston knew from his voice that he was smiling. +"But we need not settle it all out here in this dark wood. You must wait +awhile to see what manner of man it is you speak of serving. And you may +at least be my companions of voyage across the sea, though once on +English shores you shall please yourselves whether or not you serve me +farther. As for my name, it is James Audley, and I am one of the King's +knights. I am now bound for Windsor -- thou hast doubtless heard of +Windsor, the mighty fortress where the King holds his Court many a time +and oft. Well, it hath pleased his Majesty of late to strive to bring +back those days of chivalry of which our bards sing and of which we hear +from ancient legend -- days that seem to be fast slipping away, and +which it grieves our most excellent King to see die out in his time. +Hast heard, boy, of the great King Arthur of whom men wrote and sung in +days gone by? Has his fame reached as far as thy Gascon home?" + +"Yea, verily," answered Gaston eagerly. "Our mother in long-past days +would speak to us of that great King, and of his knights, and of the +Round Table at which they sat together, their King in their midst --" + +"Ay, truly thou knowest well the tale, and it is of this same Round +Table I would speak. The King has thought good to hold such a Round +Table himself, and has sent forth messages to numbers of his knights to +hold themselves in readiness to attend it early in the year which will +soon be upon us. Men say that he is building a wondrous round tower at +his fortress of Windsor, wherein his Round Table will be placed and the +feast celebrated. I know not with what truth they rumour this, but it is +like enough, for his Majesty hath the love of his people and a kingly +mind; and what he purposes he makes shift to carry out, and that right +speedily. But be that as it may, there is no mistaking his royal summons +to his Round Table, and I am hastening back across the water to be at +Windsor on the appointed day; and if it will pleasure you twain to +journey thither with me, I trow you will see things the like of which +you have never dreamed before; and sure a better fashion of entering +life could scarce be found than to follow one of the King's knights to +one of the fairest assemblies of chivalry that the world has ever locked +upon." + +And indeed Gaston thought so too. His breath was taken away by the +prospect. He was dazzled by the very thought of such a thing, and his +words of eager thanks were spoken with the falterings of strong emotion. + +The road had widened out here, and the travellers had got free of the +forest. Lights sparkled pleasantly in front of them, and Raymond had +come up in time to hear the offer just made. The eager delight of the +two lads seemed to please the brave Sir James, who was not much more +than a youth himself, as we should reckon things now, though +four-and-twenty appeared a more advanced age then. + +As the travellers at last found themselves within the precincts of a +fairly comfortable hostelry, and the horsemen dismounted at the door and +entered the inn, Sir James pushed the two lads into the lighted room +before him, and looked them well over with a pair of searching but +kindly blue eyes. He was himself a fine man, of noble stature and +princely hearing. His face was pleasant, though it could be stern too on +occasion, and the features were regular and good. The boys had never +seen such a kingly-looking man, and their hearts went out to him at +once. As for him, he looked from one bright face to the other, and +nodded his head with a smile. + +"Methinks you will make a pair of gallant squires," he said. "So long as +it pleases you to remain in my service, you may call yourselves my men, +and receive from my hands what my other servants do." + + + + CHAPTER IV. THE MASTER OF THE HORSE. + + +What a wonderful experience it was for the twin brothers to find +themselves for the first time in their lives upon the great ocean of +which they had so many times heard! As the little vessel, with her cargo +of wine, plunged merrily through the white-crested waves, bearing her +freight northward through the stormy Bay of Biscay to the white shores +of Albion, the brothers loved to stand in the pointed prow of the brave +little craft, feeling the salt spray dashing in their faces, and +listening to the swirl of water round the ship's sides as she raced +merrily on her way. Now indeed, were they well embarked upon a career of +adventure and glory. Were they not habited like the servants of an +English knight -- their swords by their sides (if need be), their +master's badge upon their sleeves? Were they not bound for the great +King's Court -- for the assembly of the Round Table, of which, as it +seemed, all men were now talking? Would they not see their own kinsmen, +feel their way perhaps to future friendship with those who bore their +own name? For the present they were dubbed Brook by the English servants +with whom they associated, though more frequently they went by their +Christian names alone. + +It was the fashion in these times to think well of the Gascon race. The +King set the example, knowing how useful such men were like to be to him +in days to come; and these lads, who spoke English almost as their +mother tongue, and were so full of spirit, grace, and vivacity, rapidly +rose in favour both with Sir James himself and with his retinue. No +auspices could well have been more favourable for the lads upon their +first entrance into the great world, and they only wished that Father +Anselm could hear of their good fortune. + +They had settled now to let the visit to Basildene stand over for a +time. They had but the vaguest idea where to seek their mother's home. +The priest could not help them to any information on this point, and the +way to Windsor was open. Their kinsfolk there could possibly give them +news of Basildene, even did they decide to keep their own true name a +secret for a time. There could be no doubt as to the wisdom of learning +something of their mother's country and the ways of its sons before they +launched themselves upon a difficult and possibly dangerous quest. + +With what strange feelings did the brothers first set eyes upon the +shores of England, as the little sloop slid merrily into the smoother +Solent, after a rough but not unpleasant passage! How they gazed about +them as they neared the quays of Southampton, and wondered at the +contrast presented by this seaport with the stately and beautiful city +of Bordeaux, which they had seen a fortnight back! Certainly this +English port could not compare with her a single moment, yet the boys' +hearts bounded with joyful exhilaration as they first set foot on +English soil. Was not the first step of their wild dream safely and +prosperously accomplished? Might they not augur from this a happy and +prosperous career till their aim and object was accomplished? + +Their master had some business to transact in and about Southampton +which detained him there many days; but the Gaston lads found no fault +with this arrangement, for everything they saw was new and full of +interest; they were well lodged and well fed without cost to themselves, +and had full license to go where they would and do what they would, as +their master had no present use for their services. + +Gaston and Raymond had no desire to idle away their time without profit +to themselves, and after taking counsel with honest Malcolm, who had a +great liking for the boys, they put themselves under the instruction of +a capable swordsman, who undertook to teach them the art of using those +weapons with skill and grace. As their natural quickness of eye and +strength of hand made them quickly proficient in this exercise, they +became anxious to try their skill at the more difficult sport of +tilting, then so much in vogue with both knights and gentlemen -- a +sport which the King greatly encouraged as likely to be excellent +training for those charges of his picked horsemen which so often turned +the fortunes of the day in his favour in the sterner game of war. + +Both the Gascon youths were good horsemen; not that they had ever owned +a horse themselves, or had ridden upon a saddle after the fashion of +knights and their esquires, but they had lived amongst the droves of +horses that were bred upon the wide pasture lands of their own country, +and from childhood it had been their favourite pastime to get upon the +back of one of these beautiful, unbroken creatures, and go careering +wildly over the sweeping plain. That kind of rough riding was as good a +training as they could have had, and when once they had grown used to +the feel of a saddle between their knees, and had learned the right use +of rein and spur, they became almost at once excellent and fearless +riders, and enjoyed shivering a lance or carrying off a ring or a +handkerchief from a pole as well as any of their comrades. So that the +month they passed in the seaport town was by no means wasted on them, +and when they took to horse once again to accompany Sir James on his way +to Windsor, they felt that they had made great strides, and were very +different from the country-bred Gascon youths of two months back. + +There was one more halt made in London, that wonderful city of which +time fails us to speak here; and in that place a new surprise awaited +the young esquires, for they and their comrades who wore Sir James +Audley's livery were all newly equipped in two new suits of clothes, and +these of such a sumptuous description as set the boys agape with wonder. + +Truly as we read of the bravery in which knights and dames and their +servants of old days were attired, one marvels where the money came from +to clothe them all. It could have been no light thing to be a great man +in such times, and small wonder was it that those who lived in and about +the Court, whose duty it was to make a brave show in the eyes of +royalty, were so often rewarded for trifling services by the gifts of +Manors, benefices, or wardships; for the cost of keeping up such state +as was required was great indeed, and could not have been done without +some adequate compensation. + +Sir James had always been a favourite with the King, as he was with the +Prince of Wales -- the Black Prince of the days to come. He had at +various times received marks of the royal favour by substantial grants, +and was resolved to appear at this festival of the Round Table in such +guise as should be fitting to his rank and revenues. + +Thus it came about that the Gascon youths found themselves furnished +with tunics of blue and silver, richly embroidered with their master's +cognizances, and trimmed with costly fur, with long mantles of blue +cloth fastened with golden clasps, with rich girdles, furnished with +gipciere and anelace, and hose and long embroidered shoes, such as they +began to see were the fashion of the day in England. Their stout nags, +which had carried them bravely thus far, were now exchanged for handsome +animals of a better breed, horses trained to knightly exercises, and +capable of carrying their masters bravely through any game of battle or +tourney such as the King loved to organize when he had his knights round +him. It was often that the esquires as well as the knights competed in +these contests of skill and strength, or followed their masters into +some great melee, and it was a point of honour with the latter that +their followers should be well and suitably equipped for the sport. + +"By my faith, but I wish good Margot and the holy Father could see us +now," quoth Gaston, laughing, as Sir James and his followers sallied +forth one bright December morning to take their last stage on the +journey to Windsor. + +They had traversed the main distance the day previously, for Sir James +had no wish to arrive weary and travel stained at the King's Court. +Orders had been given for every man to don his best riding dress and +look well to the trappings of his steed, and it was a gallant-looking +company indeed that sallied out from the door of the wayside hostelry +and took the road towards the great Castle, glimpses of which began from +time to time to be visible through the trees. + +"I trow they would scarce know us! There be moments, Raymond, when I +scarce know myself for the same. It seems as though years had passed +since we left the old home, and by the Mass I feel as though I were a +new being since then!" + +"Yea, verily, and I also," answered Raymond, looking round him with +eager eyes. "Gaston, look well about thee; for by what Malcolm says, +these very woods through which we shall pass, and the Manor of old +Windsor hard by, are the property of our uncle Sir John de Brocas, the +King's Master of the Horse; and by what I hear, methinks we shall see +him in the flesh ere the day has passed." + +"Ha!" exclaimed Gaston, with interest; "if that be so let us heed him +well, for much of our future may hang on him. He is in the King's +favour, they say, and if he did but plead our cause with the Roy +Outremer, we might well look to call Basildene our home ere long." + +"We must call him no longer the Roy Outremer," said Raymond, with a +smile. "If we are to be the brothers of Basildene, we must be English +subjects and he our liege lord." + +"True," answered Gaston readily; "and methinks, if he be what all men +say, it will be no hardship to own ourselves his subjects. I would ten +thousand times sooner call myself so than be servant to yon weak and +treacherous King of France." + +At that moment an interruption occurred to delay the little cavalcade +for a few moments. The road they were traversing led them past a solid +gateway, which showed that upon one side at least the property was that +of a private individual; and just as they were approaching this gateway +the portal swung open, and out of it rode a fine-looking man of middle +age and imposing aspect, followed by three youths richly attired, and by +some dozen mounted attendants. The leader of the party wore a dress that +was evidently the livery of some office -- a tunic of blue and a cape of +white Brussels cloth. His cap was of white and blue, and the King's +badge of a silver swan was fastened in the front. + +As he rode out, the esquires round Gaston and Raymond drew rein and +whispered one to another: + +"It is the King's Master of the Horse!" + +Eagerly and curiously the two lads gazed at the face and figure of the +kinsman now before them, whilst Sir James spurred his horse forward, a +smile lighting up the grave face of the King's servant. + +"Marry well met, good Sir James!" was the hearty greeting of the latter, +as the two men grasped hands. "I warrant you will be welcome at the +Castle, whither, I doubt not, your steps are bent. It was but two days +since that his Majesty was asking news of you, no man knowing rightly +whither you had gone, nor upon what errand. There be fine musterings +already at the Court, and every day brings some fresh faces to the +gathering assembly. I trow that such a sight as will shortly be +witnessed within those walls has scarce been seen by England before." + +"Nay, nor since the days of good King Arthur, if all be true that I have +heard," answered Sir James. "Be these gallant youths your sons, Sir +John? Verily time flies! I have not been in these parts for full three +years. I scarce know them once again." + +"Yes, these be my three sons," answered the father, with a proud glance +at the handsome youths, who came up at a sign from him to be presented +to the knight. "It may well be many long years since you saw them, for +they have often been away from my side, travelling in foreign parts with +my good brother, and learning the lessons of life as I have been able to +see occasion. This is John, my first born. Oliver and Bernard follow +after him. I trust in years to come they will live to win their spurs in +the King's service. They are often about the Court, and the Prince has +chosen them amongst his serviens. But they have not yet seen war, albeit +I trow they will not be missing when the day for fighting shall come, +which I verily believe will not be long now." + +The youths made their salute to the knight, and then dropped behind. Sir +James rode in advance, still in earnest converse with the Master of the +Horse; whilst the attendants of the two bands, some of whom were +acquainted, mixed together indiscriminately, and rode after their +masters in amicable converse. + +Sir John's three sons rode a few paces behind the knights, and as it +chanced the Gascon brothers were the next behind them, studying these +cousins of theirs with natural interest and curiosity. They had heard +their names distinctly as their father had presented them to his friend, +and gladly would they have fallen into converse with them had they felt +certain that the advance would be taken in good part. As it was, they +were rather fearful of committing breaches of good manners, and +restrained themselves, though their quick, eager glances towards each +other betrayed what they were feeling. + +All of a sudden something unseen by the rider caused Gaston's horse to +take fright. It was a very spirited and rather troublesome animal, which +had been passed on by two or three riders as too restive for them, and +had been ridden more successfully by Gaston than by any of its former +masters. But the creature wanted close watching, and Gaston had been for +a time off his guard. The knowing animal had doubtless discovered this, +and had hoped to take advantage of this carelessness to get rid of his +rider and gain the freedom of the forest himself. With a sudden plunge +and hound, which almost unseated Gaston, the horse made a dash for the +woodland aisles; and when he felt that his rider had regained his seat +and was reining him in with a firm and steady hand, the fiery animal +reared almost erect upon his hind legs, wildly pawing the air, and +uttering fierce snorts of anger and defiance. But Gaston's blood was up +now, and he was not going to be mastered by his steed, least of all in +presence of so many witnesses. Shouting to Raymond, who had dismounted +and appeared about to spring at the horse's head, to keep away, he +brought the angry creature down by throwing himself upon his neck; and +though there were still much plunging and fierce kicking and struggling +to be encountered before the day was won, Gaston showed himself fully +equal to the demands made upon his horsemanship; and before many moments +had passed, had the satisfaction of riding the horse quietly back to the +little cavalcade, which had halted to witness the struggle. + +"That was good riding, and a fine animal," remarked the Master of the +Horse, whose eyes were well trained to note the points of any steed. "I +trow that lad will make a soldier yet. Who is he, good Sir James?" + +"One Gaston Brook, a lad born and brought up in Gascony, together with +his twin brother who rides by his side. They came to my help in the +forest round Castres; and as I was in need of service, and they were +faring forth to seek their fortunes, I bid them, an it pleased them, +follow me. One parent was a native of Gascony, their mother I trow, +since their name is English. I did hear somewhat of their simple tale, +but it has fled my memory since." + +"They are proper youths," said Sir John, not without a passing gleam of +interest in any persons who hailed from his own country. "Half Gascon +and half English makes a fine breed. The lads may live to do good +service yet." + +Meantime the three sons of Sir John had entered into conversation with +the two youthful esquires, and were making friends as fast as +circumstances would allow. They were some years older than the Gascon +brothers -- that is to say that John was close upon twenty, and Oliver +and Bernard followed, each a year younger than his predecessor. They had +seen far more of the world than these country-bred lads, and had been +reared more or less in the atmosphere of the Court; still they were +bright, high spirited, and unaffected youths, who were ready enough to +make advances to any comrades of their own standing across whose path +they might be thrown. + +Gaston and Raymond had about them an air of breeding which won them +notice wherever they went. Their speech was refined for the times, and +their handsome figures and faces gained them speedy and favourable +attention. Very soon the five youths were chatting and laughing together +as though they were old friends. The sons of Sir John heard all about +the encounter in the forest, and how the wolves had been scared away; +whilst the Gascon brothers, on their side, heard about the vast round +tower built by the King for his Round Table to assemble at, and how +busily everybody had been employed in hastening on the work and getting +everything in readiness for the great festival that was at hand. + +"Shall we see the feast?" asked Gaston eagerly. "Men say it will be a +sight not to be forgotten." + +"We shall see it like enough," answered John, "but only belted knights +will sit at the board. Why, even the Prince of Wales himself will not +sit down at the table, but will only stand to serve his father; for his +spurs are not yet won, though he says he will not be long in winning +them if kind fortune will but give him the chance he craves. A great +assembly of esquires will be in attendance on their masters, and I trow +ye twain might well be amongst these, as we hope ourselves to be. Your +master is one of the bidden knights, and will sit not very far from the +King himself. If you can make shift to steal in through the press and +stand behind his chair, I doubt not but what ye will see all right well; +and perchance the King himself may take note of you. He has a marvellous +quick eye, and so has the Prince; and he is ever on the watch for +knightly youths to serve him as valettus -- as we do." + +"We are going to win our spurs together," cried Bernard, who in some +ways was the leading spirit amongst the brothers, as he was afterwards +the most noted man of his house. "We have talked of it a thousand times, +and the day will come ere long. The King has promised that when next he +is called forth to fight the recreant King of France, he will take the +Prince with him, and he has promised that we shall go with him. The day +will come when he will lay claim once more to that crown of France which +by rights is his to wear, and we shall all sally forth to drive the +coward Louis from the throne, and place the crown on Edward's royal brow." + +Bernard's eyes flashed fire at the bare thought of the unchecked career +of victory he saw for England's arms when once she had set foot on the +long-talked-of expedition which was to make Edward king over the realm +of France. + +"And we will fight for him too!" cried Gaston and Raymond in a breath; +"and so, I trow, will all Gascony. We love the English rule there. We +love the Roy Outremer, as he is called there. If he would but come to +our land, instead of to treacherous Flanders or feeble, storm-torn +Brittany, for his soldiers and for his starting place, I trow his arms +would meet with naught but victory. The Sieur d'Albret, men whisper, has +been to the Court, and has looked with loving eyes upon one of the +King's daughters for his son. That hope would make him faithful to the +English cause, and he is the greatest Lord in Gascony, where all men +fear his name." + +"Thou shalt tell all that to the King or to the Prince," said John in a +low tone to Raymond, as they fell a little behind, for the road grew +rough and narrow. "I trow he will be glad to learn all he may from those +who know what the people of the land speak and think -- the humbler +folks, of whom men are growing now to take more account, at least here +in England, since it is they, men now say, who must be asked ere even +the King himself may dare to go to war. For money must be found through +them, and they will not always grant it unless they be pleased with what +has already been done. The great nobles say hard things of them they +call the 'Commons;' they say that England's doom will surely come if she +is to be answerable to churls and merchant folk for what her King and +barons choose to do. But for my part it seems but just that those who +pay the heavy burden of these long wars should know somewhat about them, +and should even have the power to check them did they think the country +oppressed beyond what she could bear. A bad king might not care for the +sufferings of his people. A weak king might be but the tool of his +barons -- as we have heard the King's father was -- and hear nothing but +what they chose for him to know. For my own part, I think it right and +just enough that the people should have their voice in these things. +They always grant the King a liberal supply; and if they demand from him +the redress of grievances and the granting of certain privileges in +return, I can see in that naught that is unfair; nor would England be +happier and more prosperous, methinks, were she governed by a tyrant who +might grind her down to the dust." + +John de Brocas was a very thoughtful youth, very different in appearance +from his younger brothers, who were fine stalwart young men, well versed +in every kind of knightly exercise, and delighting in nothing so much as +the display of their energies and skill. John was cast in quite a +different mould, and possibly it was something of a disappointment to +the father that his first born should be so unlike himself and his other +sons. John had had weak health from his cradle, which might account in +part for his studious turn of mind; and the influence of his uncle's +training may have had still greater effect. As the damp air of Windsor +did not appear to agree with the boy, he had been sent, when seven years +old, to his uncle's Rectory of St. Nicholas, and brought up in the more +healthy and bracing air of Guildford. Master Bernard de Brocas, though +by no means a man of exclusively scholarly tastes, was for the days he +lived in a learned man, and feeling sure that his eldest nephew would +never make a soldier, he tried to train him for a statesman and for an +ecclesiastic -- the two offices being in those days frequently combined. +The great statesmen were nearly always men in the Church's employ, and +the scholarship and learning of the age were almost entirely in their +keeping. + +John showed no disposition to enter the Church -- probably the hope of +winning his spurs was not yet dead within him; but he took very kindly +to book lore, and had often shown a shrewdness and aptness in diplomatic +negotiation which had made Master Bernard prophesy great things for him. + +Raymond had never heard such matters discussed before, and knew little +enough about the art of government. He looked with respect at his +companion, and John, catching the glance, smiled pleasantly in reply. + +"I trow thou wouldest sooner be with the rest, hearing of the King's +Round Table and the knightly jousts to follow. Let me not weary thee +with my graver words. Go join the others an thou wilt." + +"Nay, I will stay with thee," answered Raymond, who was greatly +attracted by John's pale and thoughtful face, and could not but pity him +for his manifest lack of strength and muscle. The youth was tall and +rode well, but he was slight to the verge of attenuation, and the hollow +cheek and unnaturally bright eyes sunk in deep caverns told a tale that +was not hard to read. Young De Brocas might make a student, a clerk, a +man of letters, but he would never be a soldier; and that in itself +appeared to Raymond the greatest deprivation that could befall a man. +But he liked his companion none the less for this sense of pity. + +"I would fain hear more of England -- England's laws, England's ways. I +have heard that in this land men may obtain justice better than in any +other. I have heard that justice is here administered to poor as well as +rich. I would learn more of this. I would learn more of you. Tell me +first of yourself. I know well the name of De Brocas. We come from the +very place where once you held sway. The village (as you would call it) +of Brocas was not so very far away. Tell me of yourself, your father, +your uncle. I know all their names right well. I would hear all that you +can tell." + +John's face lighted with interest. He was willing enough to tell of +himself, his two brothers, two sisters, and their many homes in and +about the Castle of Windsor. Besides his post as Master of the Horse, +John explained to Raymond, his father held the office of Chief Forester +of Windsor Forest (equivalent to the modern Ranger), and besides the +Manor of Old Windsor, possessed property and Manors at Old and New Bray, +Didworth and Clewer. He was high in the King's favour and confidence, +and, as may well be believed, led a busy and responsible life. Upon him +devolved the care of all those famous studs of horses on which the King +relied when he sent his armies into the field; and if his expenditure in +these matters has been condemned in more recent days, the best answer +will be found in the disasters and the ruinous expenditure of the later +campaigns of the reign, when the King, thinking that he had reduced his +French possessions to complete order, and that his magnificent cavalry +would not longer be wanted to career over the plains of France, broke up +and sold off his studs; so that when his calculation as to the future +proved mistaken, he had no longer any organized supply of war horses to +draw upon. + +Raymond's interest in John's talk so won the heart of that youth that a +warm friendship sprang up rapidly between them, whilst the younger +brothers appeared to take almost the same liking for Gaston. By-and-by +it became known that the Castle was crowded almost beyond its capacity +for accommodation; and as much of the responsibility of seeing to the +lodging of guests fell upon Sir John de Brocas, he gave up his house at +Clewer for the time being for the use of some of the guests of humbler +rank, his son John acting as host there; and to this house the Gaston +brothers were asked, amongst many other youthful esquires of like +degree. Thus it came about that the merry yuletide season was spent by +them actually beneath their uncle's roof, although he had no idea that +he was entertaining kinsmen unawares. + +Mindful of the good priest's warning, and knowing their ignorance of the +new life and the new people amongst whom their fortunes had led them, +the twins still carefully preserved the secret of their identity. They +knew too little of the cause of estrangement between their father and +his brothers to have any confidence how his sons would be received. They +were both of opinion that by far their wisest course was to wait quietly +and patiently, and watch what befell them; and the only question which +Raymond ever dared to put to John in the days that followed which +savoured of their own affairs, was an inquiry as to whether he had ever +heard of a place called Basildene. + +"Basildene?" repeated John slowly. "Yes, I have heard the name. It is +the name of a Manor not very many miles from my uncle's house in +Guildford. Dost thou know aught of it?" + +"Nay; I knew not rightly if there were such a spot. But I have heard the +name. Knowest thou to whom it belongs?" + +"Yes, I know that too. It belongs to one Peter Sanghurst, of whom no man +speaks aught but evil." + + + + CHAPTER V. THE KING AND THE PRINCE. + + +King Edward's assembly of knights that met at his first Round Table was +as typical a gathering as could well have been found of that age of +warlike chivalry. The King's idea was likewise typical of the age he +lived in. He had begun to see something of that decline of chivalry +which was the natural outcome of a real advance in general civilization, +and of increasing law and order, however slow its progress might be. +Greatly deploring any decay in a system so much beloved and cherished by +knights and warriors, and not seeing that its light might merely be +paling in the rise of something more truly bright and beneficent, the +King resolved to do everything in his power to give an impetus to all +chivalrous undertakings by assembling together his knights after the +fashion of the great King Arthur, and with them to take counsel how the +ways and usages of chivalry might best be preserved, the old spirit kept +alive, and the interests of piety and religion (with which it should +ever be blended) be truly considered. + +How far this festival succeeded in its object can scarcely be told now. +The days of chivalry (in the old acceptation of the term) were drawing +to a close, and an attempt to galvanize into life a decaying institution +is seldom attended with any but very moderate success. From the fact +that we hear so little of the King's Round Table, and from the few times +it ever met, one is led to conclude that the results were small and +disappointing. But the brilliance of the first assembly cannot be +doubted; and for the twins of Gascony it was a wonderful day, and marked +an epoch in their lives; for on that occasion they saw for the first +time the mighty King, whose name had been familiar to them from +childhood, and had actual speech with the Prince of Wales, that hero of +so many battlefields, known to history as the Black Prince. + +So great was the crowd of esquires who waited upon the knights sitting +around the huge Round Table, that the Gascon brothers only struggled for +a few minutes into the gay assemblage to look at what was going on +there. The table was itself a curiosity -- a huge ring round which, in +beautifully carved seats, the knights sat, each seat fitting into the +next, with an arm to divide them, the backs forming a complete circle +round the table. The King's seat was adorned with a richer carving, and +had a higher back, than the others, but that was its only distinction. +Within the circle of the table were pages flitting about, attending on +the guests; and the esquires who thronged the corridors or supplemented +the attentions of the pages were considerably more numerous than the +occasion required, so that these were to be seen gathering in groups +here and there about the building in the vicinity of the feast, +discussing the proceedings or talking of public or private matters. + +Very wonderful was all this to Gaston and Raymond, but not quite so +bewildering as it would have been a month ago. They had been about the +Court some little time now, and were growing used to the fine dresses, +the English ways of speech, and the manners and customs which had +perplexed them not a little at first. They were greatly entertained by +watching the shifting throng of courtiers, and their one glimpse at the +royal countenance of the King had been fraught with keen pleasure and +satisfaction; but so far as they knew it, they had not yet seen the +Prince of Wales, and they had not caught sight either of their cousins +Oliver or Bernard, though they had found John sitting in the embrasure +of a window in the corridor, watching the scene with the same interest +which they felt in it themselves. + +When they saw him they joined him, and asked the names of some of the +gay personages flitting about. John good-naturedly amused them with a +number of anecdotes of the Court; and as the three were thus chatting +together, they were suddenly joined by another group of three, who +advanced along the corridor talking in low tones but with eager excitement. + +"Here comes the Prince," said John, rising to his feet, and the twin +brothers turned eagerly round. + +They knew in an instant which of the three was the Prince, for his +companions were John's two brothers, Oliver and Bernard. Young Edward +was at that time not quite fourteen, but so strong, so upright, so well +grown, and of such a kingly presence, that it was hard to believe he had +scarcely left his childhood behind. His tunic was of cloth of gold, with +the royal arms embroidered upon it. He wore a golden collar round his +neck, and his golden girdle held a dagger with a richly-jewelled hilt. A +short velvet mantle lined with ermine hung over his shoulder, and was +fastened by a clasp richly chased and set with rubies. His face was +flushed as if with some great purpose, and his eyes shone brightly with +excitement. + +"It shall never be true -- I will not believe it!" he was saying, in +urgent accents. "Let chivalry once die out, and so goes England's glory. +May I die ere I live to see that day! Better a thousand times death in +some glorious warfare, in some knightly deed of daring, than to drag out +a life of ease and sloth with the dying records of the glorious past +alone to cheer and sustain one. Good John, thou art a man of letters -- +thou canst read the signs of the times -- prithee tell me that there be +no truth in this dark whisper. Sure the days of chivalry are not half +lived through yet!" + +"Nor will be so long as you are spared to England, gentle Prince," +answered John, with his slight peculiar smile. "You and your royal Sire +together will keep alive the old chivalry at which was dealt so sore a +blow in your grandsire's days. A reign like that of weakness and folly +and treachery leaves its mark behind; but England's chivalry has lived +through it --" + +"Ay, and she shall awake to new and fuller life!" cried the ardent boy. +"What use in being born a prince if something cannot thus be done to +restore what has been lost? And why should princes stand idle when the +world is all in arms? Comrades, do ye long as I do to show the world +that though we have not yet won our knighthood's spurs, we are yet ready +and willing to sally forth, even as did the knights of old, upon some +quest of peril or adventure? Why is it that I, who should by rights be +one to show what may be done by a boy's arm with a stout heart behind, +am ever held back from peril and danger, have never seen fighting save +in the tilt yard, or wound worse than what splintered spear may chance +to inflict? I burn to show the world what a band of youths can do who go +forth alone on some errand of true chivalry. Comrades, give me your +ears. Let me speak to you of the purpose in my heart. This day has my +father, in the hearing of all men, lamented the wane of chivalry, has +spoken brave words of encouragement to those who will strive with him to +let it be no hollow name amongst us. Then who more fit than his own son +to go forth now -- at once, by stealth if need be -- upon such a quest +of peril and glory? nay, not for the glory -- that may or may not be +ours -- but upon a mission of chivalrous service to the weak and +helpless? This thing I purpose to do myself, together with some few +chosen comrades. Brothers of Brocas, will ye go with me?" + +"We will! we will!" cried the three brothers in a breath. + +"We will!" echoed the twins of Gascony, forgetting all but their eager +desire to share the peril and the glory of the Prince's enterprise, +whatever it might be. + +Young Edward heard the sound of the strange voices, and turned a quick +glance of inquiry upon the youths. He saw that they wore the livery of +Sir James Audley, who was a great favourite even then with the Prince. +The true kingly courtesy of the Plantagenets was ingrained in the nature +of this princely boy, and he looked with a smile at the two eager faces +before him. + +"And who be ye, fair gentlemen?" he asked. "Methinks the badge you wear +is answer almost enough. I know your good lord well, and love him well, +and sure there be none of his esquires, be they never so young, who +would disgrace their master by fleeing in an hour of peril. Wherefore if +ye would fain be of the band I seek to muster round me, I will bid you +ready welcome. I seek none that be above twenty years of age. + +"Good John, you shall be the wise man of our party. These lads have not +lived many more years than I have myself, or I am much mistaken." + +"We are twin brothers," said Gaston frankly, "and we are nigh upon +sixteen. We have been with Sir James a matter of two months. We --" + +"They met him in the woods of Gascony," cried Oliver, "and rescued him +from the attacks of a pack of fierce wolves. I trow they would bear +themselves bravely be your quest what it may." + +"Are you Gascons?" asked the Prince, looking with keener interest at the +two youths; for he shared some of his father's instincts of government, +and was always well disposed towards Gascon subjects. + +"We are half Gascon and half English, may it please you, fair Prince," +answered Gaston readily, "and we will follow you to the death." + +"I well believe it, my good comrades," answered the Prince quickly; "and +right glad shall we be of your company and assistance. For our errand +lies amidst dark forests with their hidden perils and dangers, and I wot +that none know better what such dangers are nor how they may be escaped +than our brethren of Gascony." + +"Then you know on what quest we are bent, sweet Prince?" + +Edward nodded his head as he looked over his shoulder. "Ay, that I do +right well, and that will I tell you incontinently if no eavesdroppers +be about. Ye know that of late days brave knights and gentlemen have +been mustering to our Court from all parts of this land? Now amongst +these is one Sir Hugh Vavasour, who comes from his house of Woodcrych, +not half a day's ride from our Royal Palace of Guildford; and with him +he has brought his son, one Alexander, with whom I yestere'en fell into +converse. I say not that I liked the youth himself. He seemed to me +something over bold, yet lacking in those graces of chivalry that are so +dear to us. Still it was in talking with him that I heard this thing +which has set my blood boiling in my veins." + +"What thing is that, fair Prince?" asked John. + +And then the young Edward told his tale. It was such a tale as was only +too often heard in olden days, though it did not always reach the ears +of royalty. The long and expensive, and as yet somewhat fruitless, wars +in which Edward had been engaged almost ever since he came to the +throne, had greatly impoverished his subjects, and with poverty there +arose those other evils inseparable from general distress -- robbery, +freebooting, crime in its darkest and ugliest aspects; bands of hungry +men, ruined and beggared, partly perhaps through misfortune, but partly +through their own fault, wandering about the country ravaging and +robbing, leaving desolation behind them, and too often, if opposed, +committing acts of brutal cruelty upon defenceless victims, as a warning +to others. + +A band such as this was just now scouring the woods around Guildford. +Young Vavasour had heard of depredations committed close against the +walls of his own home, and had heard of many outrages which had been +suffered by the poor folks around. Cattle had been driven off, their +hardly-gathered fuel had vanished in the night; sometimes lonely houses +were attacked, and the miserable inhabitants, if they offered +resistance, stabbed to the heart by the marauders. One or two girls had +been missed from their homes, and were said to have fallen a prey to the +robber band. All these things, and the latter item especially, stirred +the hot blood in the young Prince's veins, and he was all on fire to do +some doughty deed that should at once exterminate such evildoers from +the face of the earth, strike terror into the hearts of other bands, and +show that the spirit of chivalry was yet alive in the kingdom, and that +the King's son was the first to fly to the succour of the distressed and +the feeble. + +"For I will go myself and hunt these miscreants as though they were dogs +or wolves -- beasts of prey that needs must be put down with a strong +hand. I will not tell my father the tale, else might he appoint warriors +of his own to see to the matter, and the glory be theirs and not ours. +No, this is a matter for my arm to settle. I will collect around me a +band of our bravest youths -- they shall all be youths like myself. Our +good John knows well the country around our Palace of Guildford -- in +truth I know it indifferently well myself. We will sally forth together +-- my father will grant me leave to go thither with a body of youths of +my own choosing -- and thence we will scour the forests, scatter or slay +these vile disturbers of the peace, restore the lost maidens to their +homes, and make recompense to our poor subjects for all they have +suffered at their hands." + +It was just the scheme to fascinate the imagination and fire the ardour +of a number of high-spirited and generous boys. The proximity of the +Royal Palace of Guildford gave them every facility for carrying out the +plan speedily and yet secretly, and the Prince had quickly enlisted a +score of well-trained, well-equipped lads to follow him on his +chivalrous quest. Sir James gave ready consent to his petition that the +Gascon twins might join his train for a few days. The King, when he gave +his sanction to the proposed expedition to Guildford, believed that his +son was going there bent on sport or some boyish pastime, and scarce +bestowed a second thought upon the matter. The royal children had each +their own attendants and establishment, following wherever their +youthful master or mistress went; and to the eldest son of the King a +very decided liberty was given, of which his father had never yet had +cause to repent. + +Thus it came about that three days after the King's great feast of the +Round Table had ended, the Prince of Wales, with a following of twenty +young comrades, in addition to his ordinary staff of attendants, rode +forth from the Castle of Windsor in the tardy winter's dawn, and before +night had fallen the gay and gallant little band had reached the Palace +of Guildford, which had received due notice of the approach of the +King's son. Those who were sharp-eyed amongst the spectators of this +departure might have noted that the Prince and his immediate followers +each wore round his arm a band of black ribbon with a device embroidered +upon it. The device was an eagle worked in gold, and was supposed to be +emblematic of the swiftness and the strength that were to characterize +the expedition of the Prince, when he should swoop down upon the +dastardly foes, and force them to yield up their ill-gotten gains. These +badges had been worked by the clever fingers of Edward's sisters, the +youthful princesses Isabella and Joanna. Joanna, as the wardrobe rolls +of the period show, was a most industrious little maiden with her +needle, and must have spent the best part of her time in her favourite +pastime of embroidery, judging by the amount of silk and other material +required by her for her own private use. Both the sisters were devotedly +attached to their handsome brother, and were the sharers of his +confidences. They knew all about this secret expedition, and sympathized +most fully with it. It was Joanna's ready wit which had suggested the +idea of the badge, which idea was eagerly caught up by Edward; for to go +forth with a token woven by the fair hands of ladies would give to the +exploit a spice of romantic chivalry that would certainly add to its +zest. So for the past three days the royal sisters had been plying their +needles with the utmost diligence, and each of the gallant little band +knew that he wore upon his arm a token embroidered for him by the hands +of a youthful princess. + +Of the Royal Palace of Guildford nothing now remains -- even the site is +not known with any certainty, though it is supposed to have occupied the +spot where Guildford Park farm now stands. Its extensive park covered a +large area of ground, and was a favoured hunting ground for many of the +illustrious Plantagenets. + +It need hardly be said with what interest and curiosity the twin +brothers gazed about them as they neared the little town of Guildford, +where their uncle, Master Bernard de Brocas, possessed a gradually +increasing property. They felt that this journey was the first step +towards Basildene; and utterly ignorant as they were of its exact +locality, they wondered if they might not be passing it by whenever some +ancient Manor House reared its chimneys or gables above the bare +encircling trees, and their hearts beat high at the thought that they +were drawing near to their own lost inheritance. + +The Palace was warmly lighted in honour of the arrival of the Prince of +Wales; and as the little cavalcade dismounted at the door and entered +the noble hall, a figure, habited after the fashion of the ecclesiastics +of the day, stepped forth to greet the scion of royalty, and the twin +brothers heard their comrades mutter, + +"It is the good Rector, Master Bernard de Brocas." + +The young Prince plainly knew the Rector well, and after just bending +his knee to ask the blessing, as was his reverent custom, he led him +into the banqueting hall, where a goodly meal lay spread, placing him in +a seat at his own right hand, and asking him many things as the meal +progressed, leading the talk deftly to the robbers' raids, and seeking, +without betraying his purpose, to find out where these miscreants might +most readily be found. + +The good Rector had heard much about them, but knew little enough of +their movements. One day they were heard of in one place, and again they +would vanish, and no man would know whither they had gone till they +appeared in another. Everywhere they left behind them desolated homes, +and bloodshed and ruin followed in their track. Master Bernard had heard +too many such tales from all parts of the kingdom to heed overmuch what +went on in this particular spot. He knew that the winter's privation and +cold acted upon savage men almost as it did upon wolves and ravenous +beasts, and that in a country harassed and overtaxed such things must +needs be. He never suspected the cause of the Prince's eagerness. He +believed that the youths had come down bent on sport, and that they +would take far more interest in the news he had to give them, that a +wild boar had recently been seen in the forest aisles of the Royal Park, +and that the huntsmen would be ready to sally forth to slay it at a +single word from the Prince. + +Edward's eyes lighted at this. It seemed to him a fortunate coincidence. +Also he would be glad enough to see the killing of the boar, though he +was more interested in the expedition it would involve into the heart of +the forest. + +"Prithee give orders, good Master Bernard, that the huntsmen be ready +tomorrow morning at dawn of day. I trow there be horses and to spare to +mount us all, as our own beasts will be something weary from the journey +they have taken today. We will be ready ere the sun is up, and if kind +fortune smiles upon us, I trust I shall have the good fortune to have a +pair of fine tusks to offer to my sisters when they join us here, as +they shortly hope to do." + +Master Bernard, who was a man of no small importance all through this +neighbourhood, hastened away to give the needful orders. He had come +from his own Rectory hard by to receive the Prince and his comrades, and +he suspected that the King would be well pleased for him to remain +beneath the roof of the castle so long as this gay and youthful party +did so. + +When night came and the youths sought the rooms which had been made +ready for them, the Prince signed to a certain number of his comrades to +repair with him to his chamber, as though he desired their services at +his toilet. Amongst those thus summoned were the three sons of Sir John +de Brocas, and also the Gascon twins, for whom young Edward appeared to +have taken a great liking, and who on their part warmly returned this +feeling. Shutting the door carefully, and making sure that none but +friends were round him, the Prince unfolded his plan. + +He had learned from the Master Huntsman, whom he had seen for a few +minutes before going to his room, that the boar lay concealed for the +most part in some thick underwood lying in the very heart of the forest +many miles distant, right away to the southwest in the direction of +Woodcrych. This part of the forest was fairly well known to the Prince +from former hunting expeditions, and he and John both remembered well +the hut of a lonely woodman that lay hidden in the very depths of the +wood near this spot. It had occurred to Edward as likely that old Ralph +would be better acquainted with the habits of the robbers than any other +person could be. He was too poor to be made a mark for their rapacity, +yet from his solitary life in the forest he might likely enough come +across their tracks, and be able to point out their hiding places. +Therefore the Prince's plan was that he and the picked companions he +should choose should slip away from the main body of the huntsmen, and +make their way to this lonely cabin, joining their comrades later when +they had discovered all that they could do from the old man. The shouts +of the huntsmen and the baying of the dogs would guide them to the scene +of the chase, and if the rest who remained all the while with the +foresters and the dogs missed the Prince from amongst their ranks, they +were not to draw attention to the fact, but were rather to strive to +conceal it from the Master Huntsman, who might grow uneasy if he found +the young Edward missing. It was of importance that all inquiries +respecting the robbers should be conducted with secrecy, for if the +Prince's curiosity on the subject were once to be known, suspicion might +be aroused, or a regular expedition against them organized, the glory +and credit of which would not belong in anything but empty name to the +Prince. + +It was not, perhaps, unnatural that the six lads who had first conned +over the plan together should be selected as the ones to make this +preliminary inquiry. John was chosen for his seniority and the prudence +of his counsels, his brothers for their bravery and fleetness of foot, +and the Gascon twins for their close acquaintance with forest tracks, +and their greater comprehension of the methods employed in following the +trail of foes or fugitives through tangled woods. They would likely +enough understand the old man's counsel better than any of the others; +and as the sport of hunting the boar was more esteemed by the other +youths than the expedition to the woodman's hut, no jealousy was aroused +by the Prince's choice, and the scheme was quickly made known to the +whole of the party. + +The morrow proved a first-rate day for a hunting party in the forest. A +light crisp snow lay on the ground, melting where exposed to the sun's +rays, but forming a sparkling white carpet elsewhere. It was not deep +enough to inconvenience either men or horses, and would scarce have +fallen to any depth beneath the trees of the forest; but there was just +sufficient to be an excellent guide in tracking down the quarry, and all +felt confident that the wily old boar had seen his last sunrise. + +Merrily rode the party forth through the great gateway and across the +fine park in the direction of the forest. The Prince and his five chosen +comrades rode together, sometimes speaking in low tones, sometimes +joining in the gay converse on the subject of hunting which went on +around them. But the Prince's thoughts were far less with sport than +with the wrongs of his father's subjects, and the cruel outrages which +they had suffered unredressed and almost unpitied. His heart burned +within him to think that in merry England, as he liked to call it, and +in the days of chivalry, such things were possible; and to put down +cruelty and rapacity with a strong hand seemed of infinitely more +importance to him than the pursuit of a fine sport. + +Thus musing, and thus talking in low tones to the thoughtful John, the +Prince dropped a little behind the muster of huntsmen. His chosen +comrades followed his example, and straggled rather aimlessly after the +main body, till at last a turn in the forest shut these completely from +their view. + +"Now," said the Prince, turning to his five selected comrades, "this, if +I mistake not, is our road. We will soon see if we cannot get upon the +track of the miscreants whom I am burning to punish and destroy!" + + + + CHAPTER VI. THE PRINCE'S EXPLOIT. + + +The woodman's cottage was quickly reached. It was a little rush-thatched +cabin of mud, lying in the very heart of the dim wood. The party had to +dismount and tie up their horses at some short distance from the place; +but they had the good fortune to find the occupant at home, or rather +just outside his cabin, gathering a few dried sticks to light his fire. + +He was a grizzled, uncouth-looking old man, but a certain dignity was +imparted to him by a look of deep and unspeakable melancholy upon his +face, which gave it pathos and character of its own. The rustic face is +apt to become vacant, bovine, or coarse. Solitude often reduces man +almost to the level of the beasts. This old man, who for many years had +lived hidden away in this vast forest, might well have lost all but the +semblance of humanity; but such was not the case. His eyes had light in +them; his very melancholy showed that the soul was not dead. As he saw +the bright-faced boys approaching him, he first gave a great start of +surprise, eagerly scanning one face after another; then, as he did so +the light of hope died out from his eyes, and the old despairing look +came back. + +Something of this was observed by the Prince and his followers, but they +were at present too much bent upon their own mission to have thought to +spare for any other concerns. They formed a circle round him, and asked +him of the robbers -- if he ever saw them; if he knew their haunts; if +they had been near these parts during the past days? + +For a moment it seemed as though the old man was disappointed by the +questions asked him. He muttered something they did not rightly +comprehend about robbers worse than these, and a quick fierce look +passed across his face, and then died out again. The young Prince was +courteous and patient: he allowed the old man's slow wits time to get to +work; and when he did begin to speak he spoke to some purpose, and the +boys listened and questioned with the most eager attention. + +It took some time to extract the necessary information, not from any +reluctance to speak on the old man's part, but from his inability to put +his thoughts into words. Still when this was by degrees achieved, the +information was of the highest possible importance. + +The robbers, said the old man, were at that very moment not far away. He +had seen them sally forth on one of their nocturnal raids about dusk the +previous evening; and they had returned home laden with spoil two hours +before the dawn. He was of the opinion that they had carried off some +captive with them, for he had heard sounds as of bitter though stifled +weeping as they passed his hut on their return. Did he know where they +lay by day? Oh yes, right well he did! They had a hiding place in a cave +down in a deep dingle, so overgrown with brushwood that only those who +knew the path thither could hope to penetrate within it. Once there, +they felt perfectly safe, and would sleep away the day after one of +their raids, remaining safely hidden there till supplies were exhausted, +when they sallied forth again. The old woodman showed them the tracks of +the party that had passed by that morning, and to the eyes of the Gascon +brothers these tracks were plain enough, and they undertook to follow +them unerringly to the lair. The old woodman had no desire to be mixed +up in the matter. If he were to be seen in the company of the trackers, +he firmly believed that he should be skinned alive before many days had +passed. He plainly did not put much faith in the power of these lads to +overcome a large band of desperate men, and strongly advised them to go +home and think no more of the matter. But his interest was only very +partially aroused, and it was plain that there was something on his own +mind which quite outweighed with him the subject of the forest outlaws. + +John would fain have questioned him about himself, being a youth of +kindly spirit; but the moment was not propitious, for the Prince was all +on fire with a new idea. + +"Comrades," he said gravely and firmly, "the hour has come when we must +put our manhood to the proof. This very day, without the loss of a +needless moment, we must fall, sword in hand, upon yon dastard crew, and +do to them as they have done. You have heard this honest man's tale. +Upon the day following a midnight raid they lie close in their cave +asleep -- no doubt drunken with the excesses they indulge in, I warrant, +when they have replenished their larder anew. This, then, is the day +they must be surprised and slain. If we wait we may never have such +another chance. My brothers in arms, are you ready to follow me? Shall +the eagles fail for lack of courage when the prey is almost within sight?" + +An unanimous sound of dissent ran through the group. All were as eager +as the Prince for the battle and the victory; but the face of John wore +an anxious look. + +"We must not go alone," he said. "We must summon our comrades to join +us. They are bound on the quest as much as we." + +"True," answered the Prince, looking round him. "It were madness, I +trow, for the six of us to make the attack alone. Yet did not Jonathan +and his armour bearer fall unawares upon a host and put them to flight? +Methinks some holy Father has told such a tale to me. Still thou art +right, good John. We must not risk losing all because it has been given +to godly men in times of old to work a great deliverance. See here, +friends, what we will do. Our comrades cannot be very far away. Hark! +Surely it is the baying of the hound I hear yonder over that wooded +ridge! Good Bernard, do thou to horse, gallop to them as fast as thou +canst, and tell them of the hap upon which we have fallen. Bid them +follow fast with thee, but leave the dogs and horses behind with the +huntsmen, lest their noise betray our approach. Master Huntsman may seek +to withhold them from the quest, but when he knows that I, the Prince, +with but four of my comrades to help me, have gone on in advance, and +that we are even then approaching the robbers' cave, he will not only +bid them all go, but will come himself doubtless, with the best of his +followers, and give us what help he may. Lose no time. To horse, and +away! And when thou hast called the band together, come back in all +haste to this spot. The forest trackers will be put upon the trail, and +will follow us surely and swiftly. You will find us there before you, +lying in ambush, having fully reconnoitred. Be not afraid for us. Honest +John will see that we run not into too great peril ere we have help. Is +it understood? Good! Then lose not a moment. And for the rest of us, we +will follow these sturdy Gascons, who will secretly lead us to the haunt +of the outlaws." + +Bernard was off almost before the last words had been spoken, and very +soon they heard from the sounds that he had mounted his horse and was +galloping in the direction in which, from the faint baying of the +hounds, he knew the hunting party to be. + +John looked somewhat anxious as the Prince signed to Gaston and Raymond +to lead the way upon the robbers' track; but he knew the determined +nature of the Prince, and did not venture open remonstrance. Yet +Edward's quick eye caught the uneasy glance, and he replied to it with +frank goodwill. + +"Nay, fear not, honest John; I will run into no reckless peril, for my +sweet mother hath ever been forward to counsel me that recklessness is +not true bravery. Some peril there must needs be -- without it there +could be no glory; but that danger shall not be added to by any +hardihood such as my royal Sire would chide in me. Trust me; I will be +prudent, as I trust I may yet show that I can be bold. We will use all +due caution in approaching this hiding place, and if it will pleasure +thee, I will promise not to leave thy side before our friends come to +our aid." + +John was glad enough of this promise. As the eldest of this ardent band, +and the one who would be most harshly taken to task did any harm come of +the enterprise, he was anxious above all things to insure the safety of +the Prince. If Edward would remain beside him, he could certainly make +sure of one thing -- that he himself did not survive his royal master, +but died at his side fighting for his safety. The younger spirits +thought only of the glory of victory. John, with his feebler physique +and more thoughtful mind, saw another possible ending to the day's +adventure. Still his heart did not fail; only his unspoken prayer was +that no harm should befall the brave young Prince, who was so eager to +show the world that chivalry was not yet dead. + +The brothers from Gascony had no trouble whatever in finding and keeping +the trail the robbers had left behind them. Slowly but surely they +pursued their way through the labyrinth of the gloomy forest. Neither +John nor any of his companions had ever been here before. The dense wood +was gloomy enough to be almost terrible. Craggy rocks were visible from +time to time as the party proceeded, and the thickness of the forest was +so great that almost all light was excluded. + +At last a spot was reached where the forest-bred boys paused. They +looked back at those who were following, and beckoned them silently +forward. So quietly had the party moved that the stillness of the forest +had scarce been broken. Mute and breathless, John and his companion +stole up. They found that they had now reached the edge of a deep +ravine, so thickly wooded as to appear impassable to human foot. But +just where they stood there were traces of a narrow pathway, well +concealed by the sweeping boughs of a drooping willow; and that this was +the dell and the path of which the old woodman had spoken the little +party did not doubt for a moment. + +"It is doubtless the place," said the Prince, in a whisper. "Let us +softly reconnoitre whilst our forces are assembling." + +"I and my brother will make the round of the dell," answered Gaston, in +a like cautious tone. "Sweet Prince, stay you hither, where the rest +will doubtless find us. It boots not for us to make too much stir. Sound +carries well in this still frosty air." + +The Prince made a sign of assent, and Gaston and Raymond crept away in +different directions to make the circuit of this secluded hollow, and +try to ascertain how the land lay, and what was the chance of capturing +the band unawares. In particular they desired to note whether there were +any other pathway into it, and whether, if the robbers were taken by +surprise and desirous of flight, there was any way of gaining the forest +save by the overgrown path the exploring party had already found. + +The dell proved to be a cup-like hollow of no very great extent. On the +side by which the party had approached it the ground shelved down +gradually, thickly covered with bushes and undergrowth; but on the +opposite side, as the Gascon boys discovered, the drop was almost sheer, +and though trees grew up to the very edge of the dell, nothing could +grow upon the precipitous sandy sides. + +"We have them like rats in a trap," cried Gaston, with sparkling eyes, +as he once more joined the Prince, his brother with him. "They can only +escape up these steep banks thickly overgrown, and we know that there is +but this one path. On the other side it is a sheer drop; a goat could +not find foothold. If we can but take them by surprise, and post an +ambush ready to fall upon escaped stragglers who reach the top, there +will not be one left to tell the tale when the deed is done." + +The Prince set his teeth, and the battle light which in after days men +learned to regard with awe shone brightly in his eyes. + +"Good," he said briefly: "they shall be served as they have served +others -- taken in their slumber, taken in the midst of their security. +Nay, even so it will not be for them as it has been for their victims, +for doubtless they will have their arms beside them, and will spring +from their slumber to fight like wild wolves trapped; but I trow the +victory will lie with us, and he who fears may stay away. Are we not all +clad in leather, and armed to repulse the savage attacks of the wild +boar of the woods? Thus equipped, need we fear these human wild beasts? +Methinks we shall sweep this day from the face of the earth a fouler +scourge than ever beasts of the forest prove." + +"Hist!" whispered Oliver de Brocas cautiously; "methinks I hear a sound +approaching. It is our fellows joining us." + +Oliver was right. The trail had now been cautiously followed by the +huntsmen and their young charges, and the next moment the whole twenty +stood at the head of the pathway, together with the Master Huntsman, and +some half-dozen stout fellows all armed with murderous-looking hunting +knives, and betraying by their looks the same eagerness for the fight as +the band of youthful warriors. + +It was vain to plead with the Prince to be one of those told off to +remain in ambush in order to intercept and slay any fugitive who might +escape the melee below. No, the young heir of England was resolved to be +foremost in the fray; and the utmost that he would consent to was that +the party should be led down by the Master Huntsman himself, whilst he +walked second, John behind him, the rest pressing on in single file, one +after the other, as quickly as might be. Down went the gallant little +band -- with the exception of two stalwart huntsmen and four of the +younger amongst the boys, who were left to guard the head of the path -- +not knowing the risk they ran: whether they would find an alert and +well-armed foe awaiting them at the bottom, or whether they might fall +upon the enemy unawares. Very silent and cautious were their movements. +The Huntsman and the Gascon brothers moved noiselessly as cats, and even +the less trained youths were softly cautious in their movements. +Downwards they pressed in breathless excitement, till they found +themselves leaving the thick scrub behind and emerging upon a rocky +platform of rude shape. Here the Master Huntsman made an imperative sign +to the Prince to stop, whilst he crept forward a few paces upon hands +and knees, and peeped over the edge. + +After gazing for a moment at something unseen to those behind, he made a +cautious sign to the Prince to approach. Edward at once did so, and +Gaston and Raymond followed him, their agile, cat-like movements being +as circumspect as those of the leader himself. + +What they saw as they peeped down into the heart of the dell was a +welcome spectacle indeed. Some distance below them, but in full view, +was the opening into what looked like a large cavern, and at the +entrance to this cavern lay two stout ruffians, armed to the teeth, but +both in a sound sleep, their mouths open, their breath coming noisily +between their parted lips. There were no dogs to be seen. Nothing broke +the intense stillness that prevailed. It was plainly as the old woodman +had said. Their nocturnal raid had been followed by a grand carouse on +the return home, and now the party, overcome by fatigue and strong +drink, and secure in the fancied privacy of their isolated retreat, had +retired to rest within the cave, leaving two fellows on guard, to be +sure, but plainly without the smallest apprehension of attack. + +"Good!" whispered the Prince, with eyes that shone like his father's in +the hour of action; and softly rising to his feet, he made a sign to his +comrades to draw their long knives and follow him in a compact body. + +"No quarter," he whispered, as he surveyed with pride the brave faces +round him: "they have shown no mercy; let no mercy be shown to them. +Those who rob the poor, who slay the defenceless, who commit brutal +outrages upon the persons of women and children, deserve naught but +death. Let them fight like men; we will slay them in fair fight, but we +will give no quarter. We will, if God fights for us, sweep the carrion +brood from off the very face of the earth!" + +And then, to the dismay of the Master Huntsman, who had hoped to step +upon the sleeping sentries unawares, and rid themselves of at least two +of the foe before the alarm was given, the Prince raised his voice in a +shrill battle cry, and dashing down the slope with his comrades at his +heels, flung himself upon the taller of the guards and plunged his knife +into the fellow's throat. + +Gaston and Raymond had simultaneously sprung upon the other, and with a +sharp cry of astonishment and rage he too fell lifeless to the ground. + +But the Prince's shout, the man's cry, and the sound of clashing arms +aroused from their deep slumbers the robber crew within the cavern, and +with the alertness that comes of such a lawless life, every man of them +sprang to his feet and seized his weapon almost before he was awake. + +The Master Huntsman, however, had not waited to see the end of the +struggle upon the platform outside. At the very moment that the Prince +buried his weapon in the sentry's throat, this bold fellow, with three +of his underlings at his side, had sprung inside the cave itself, and +luckily enough it was upon the prostrate figure of the chief of the band +that his eye first lighted. Before the man could spring to his feet, a +blow from that long shining knife had found its way to his heart. The +other hunters had set each upon his man, and taken unawares, those +attacked were slain ere they had awakened sufficiently to realize what +was happening. Thus the number had been diminished by six before the +rest came swarming out, as bees from a disturbed hive. + +It was well indeed then for the brave boys, who had thought themselves +the match for armed men, that these latter were dazed with deep +potations and but half armed after throwing aside their weapons ere +lying down to rest. Well was it also that they had amongst them the +Master Huntsman and his trusty satellites, who had the strength of men, +as well as the trained eye, quick hand, and steady nerve that belong to +their calling in life. Then, again, the dress of these huntsmen was so +like in character to that worn by many of the band, that the robbers +themselves suspected each other of treachery, and many turned one upon +the other, and smote his fellow to the earth. Yet notwithstanding all +these things in their favour, the Prince's youthful followers were +hardly beset, and to his rage and grief young Edward saw more than one +bright young head lying in the dust of the sandy platform. + +But this sight filled him with such fury that he was like a veritable +tiger amongst the assailants who still came flocking out of the cave. +His battle cry rang again and again through the vaulted cavern, his +shining blade seemed everywhere, dealing death and destruction. Boy +though he was, he appeared endued with the strength of a man, and that +wonderful hereditary fighting instinct, which was so marked in his own +sire, seemed handed down to him. He took in the whole scope of the scene +with a single glance. Wherever there was an opening to deal a fatal +blow, that blow was dealt by the Prince's trusty blade. It almost seemed +as though he bore a charmed life in that grim scene of bloodshed and +confusion, though perhaps he owed his safety more to the faithful +support of the two Gascon brothers, who together with John de Brocas +followed the Prince wherever he went, and averted from his head many a +furious stroke that else might have settled his mortal career for ever. + +But the robbers began to see that this boy was their chiefest foe. If +they could but slay him, the rest might perchance take flight. Already +their own ranks were terribly thinned, and they saw that mischief was +meant by the deadly fury with which their assailants came on at them. +They were but half armed, and the terror and bewilderment of the moment +put them at great disadvantage; but amongst those who still retained +their full senses, and could distinguish friend from foe, were three +brothers of tall stature and mighty strength, and these three, taking +momentary counsel together, resolved to fling themselves upon the little +knot surrounding the person of the Prince, and slay at all cost the +youthful leader who appeared to exercise so great a power over the rest +of the gallant little band. + +It was a terrible moment for good John de Brocas, already wearied and +ready to drop with the exertions of the fight -- exertions to which he +was but little habituated -- when he saw bearing down upon them the +gigantic forms, as they looked to him, of these three black-browed +brothers. The Prince had separated himself somewhat from the rest of the +band. He and his three immediate followers had been pursuing some +fugitives, who had fallen a prey to their good steel blades. They were +just about to return to the others, round whom the fight still raged, +though with far less fierceness than at first, when these new +adversaries set upon them from behind. John was the only one who had +seen the approach, and he only just in time to give one warning shout. +Before the Prince could turn, an axe was whirling in the air above his +head; and had not John flung himself at that instant upon the Prince, +covering his person and dragging him aside at the same moment, a +glorious page in England's history would never have been written. But +John's prompt action saved the young Edward's life, though a frightful +gash was inflicted upon his own shoulder, which received the weight of +the robber's blow. With a gasping moan he sank to the ground, and knew +no more of what passed, whilst Gaston and Raymond each sprang upon one +of their assailants with a yell of fury, and the Prince flung himself +upon the fellow who had so nearly caused his death, and for all he knew +had slain the trusty John before his very eyes. + +The Prince soon made sure of his man. The fellow, having missed his +stroke, was taken at a disadvantage, and was unable to free his axe or +draw his dagger before the Prince had stabbed him to the heart. Gaston +and Raymond were sore beset with their powerful adversaries, and would +scarce have lived to tell the tale of that fell struggle had not help +been nigh at hand from the Master Huntsman. But he, missing the Prince +from the cave's mouth, and seeing the peril he was in, now came running +up, shouting to his men to follow him, and the three giant brothers were +soon lying together stark and dead, whilst poor John was tenderly lifted +and carried out of the melee. + +The fighting was over now. The robbers had had enough of it. Some few +had escaped, or had sought to do so; but by far the greater number lay +dead on or about the rocky platform, where the fiercest of the fighting +had been. They had slain each other as well as having been slain by the +Prince's band, and the place was now a veritable shambles, at which some +of the lads began to look with shuddering horror. + +Several of their own number were badly hurt. Three lay dead and cold. +Victory had indeed been theirs, but something of the sense of triumph +was dashed as they bore away the bodies of their comrades and looked +upon the terrible traces of the fray. + +But the Prince had escaped unscathed -- that was the point of paramount +importance in the minds of many -- and he was now engrossed in striving +to relieve the sufferings of his wounded comrades by seeing their wounds +skilfully bound up by the huntsmen, and obtaining for them draughts of +clear cold water from a spring that bubbled up within the cavern itself. + +Gaston and Raymond had escaped with minor hurts; but John's case was +plainly serious, and the flow of blood had been very great before any +help could reach him. He was quite unconscious, and looked like death as +he lay on the floor of the cave; and after fruitless efforts to revive +him, the Prince commanded a rude litter to be made wherein he might be +transported to the Palace by the huntsmen who had not taken part in the +struggle, and were therefore least weary. The horses were not very far +away, and the rest of the wounded and the rescued captives could make +shift to walk that far, and afterwards gain the Palace by the help of +their sturdy steeds. + +Thus it came about that Master Bernard de Brocas, who had believed the +Prince and his party to be engaged in the harmless and (to them) safe +sport of tracking and hunting a boar in the forest, was astounded beyond +all power of speech by seeing a battered and ghastly procession enter +the courtyard two hours before dusk, bearing in their midst a litter +upon which lay the apparently inanimate form of his eldest nephew, his +brother's first-born and heir. + + + + CHAPTER VII. THE RECTOR'S HOUSE. + + +"It was well thought and boldly executed, my son," said the King of +England, as he looked with fatherly pride at his bright-faced boy. "Thou +wilt win thy spurs ere long, I doubt not, an thou goest on thus. But it +must be an exploit more worthy thy race and state that shall win thee +the knighthood which thou dost rightly covet. England's Prince must be +knighted upon some glorious battlefield -- upon a day of victory that I +trow will come ere long for thee and me. And now to thy mother, boy, and +ask her pardon for the fright thou madest her to suffer, when thy +sisters betrayed to her the wild chase upon which thou and thy boy +comrades were bent. Well was it for all that our trusty huntsmen were +with you, else might England be mourning sore this day for a life cut +off ere it had seen its first youthful prime. Yet, boy, I have not heart +to chide thee; all I ask is that when thou art bent on some quest of +glory or peril another time, thou wilt tell thy father first. Trust him +not to say thee nay; it is his wish that thou shouldst prove a worthy +scion of thy house. He will never stand in thy path if thy purpose be +right and wise." + +The Prince accepted this paternal admonition with all becoming grace and +humility, and bent his knee before his mother, to be raised and warmly +embraced both by her and the little princesses, who had come in all +haste to the Palace of Guildford before the good Rector had had time to +send a message of warning to the King. Queen Philippa had heard from her +daughters of the proposed escapade on the part of the little band +surrounding the Prince, and the fear lest the bold boy might expose +himself to real peril had induced the royal family to hasten to +Guildford only two days after the Prince had gone thither. They had met +a messenger from Master Bernard as they had neared the Palace, and the +King, after assuring himself of the safety of his son, made kindly +inquiries after those of his companions who had been with him on his +somewhat foolhardy adventure. + +John de Brocas was lying dangerously ill in one of the apartments of the +Palace. The King was greatly concerned at hearing how severely he had +been hurt; and when the story came to be told more in its details, and +it appeared that to John's fidelity and the stanch support of Audley's +two youthful esquires the heir of England owed his life, Edward and his +Queen both paid a visit to the room where the sick youth lay, and with +their own hands bestowed liberal rewards upon the twin brothers, who had +stood beside the Prince in the stress of the fight, and had both +received minor hurts in shielding him. + +Sir James Audley was himself in the King's train; but he was about to +leave the south for a secret mission in Scotland, entrusted to him by +his sovereign. He was going to travel rapidly and without any large +escort, and for the present he had no further need for the services of +the Gascon twins. Neither of the lads would be fit for the saddle for +more than a week to come, and they had already made good use of their +time in England, and had interested both the King and the Prince in +them, and had also earned liberal rewards. In their heart of hearts they +were anxious to remain in the neighbourhood of Guildford, for they knew +that there they were not far from Basildene. Wherefore when they +understood that their master had no present occasion for any further +service from them, they were not a little excited and pleased by the +thought that they were now in a position to prosecute their own quest in +such manner as seemed best to them. + +They had made a wonderfully good beginning to their life of adventure. +They had won the favour not only of their own kinsfolk, but of the King +and the Prince. They had money and clothes and arms. They had the +prospect of service with Sir James in the future, when he should have +returned from his mission and require a larger train. Everything seemed +to be falling in with their own desires; and it was with faces of eager +satisfaction that they turned to each other when the knight had left +them alone again, after a visit to the long rush-carpeted room, by the +glowing hearth of which they were sitting when he had come to seek them +soon after the King had visited John's couch. + +John lay in a semi-conscious state upon the tall canopied bed, beneath a +heavy pall of velvet, that gave a funereal aspect to the whole room. He +had been aroused by the King's visit, and had spoken a few words in +reply to the kind ones addressed to him; but afterwards he had sunk back +into the lethargy of extreme weakness, and the brothers were to all +intents and purposes alone in the long dormitory they had shared with +John, and with two more comrades who had also received slight hurts, but +who had now been summoned to attend the Prince on the return journey to +Windsor, which was to be taken leisurely and by short stages. + +Oliver and Bernard de Brocas had likewise gone, and John was, they knew, +to be moved as soon as possible to Master Bernard's rectory, not far +away. The kindly priest had said something about taking the brothers +there also till they were quite healed of their wounds and bruises, and +John invariably asked for Raymond if ever he awoke to consciousness. +What was to be the end of it all the twins had no idea, but it certainly +seemed as though for the present they were to be the guests of their own +uncle, who knew nothing of the tie that existed betwixt them. + +"Shall we say aught to him, Gaston?" asked Raymond, in a low whisper, as +the pair sat over the glowing fire together. "He is a good man and a +kind one, and perchance if he knew us for kinsmen he might --" + +"Might be kinder than before?" questioned Gaston, with a proud smile. +"Is it that thou wouldst say, brother? Ay, it is possible, but it is +also likely enough that he would at once look coldly and harshly upon +us. Raymond, I have learned many lessons since we left our peaceful +home, and one of these is that men love not unsuccess. It is the +prosperous, the favoured of fortune, upon whom the smiles of the great +are bent. Perchance it was because he succeeded not well that by his own +brothers our father was passed by. Raymond, I have seen likewise this -- +if our kinsmen are kind, they are also proud. They have won kingly +favour, kingly rewards; all men speak well of them; they are placed high +in the land. Doubtless they could help us if they would; but are we to +come suing humbly to them for favours, when they would scarce listen to +our father when he lived? Shall we run into the peril of having their +smiles turned to frowns by striving to claim kinship with them, when +perchance they would spurn us from their doors? And if in days to come +we rise to fame and fortune, as by good hap we may, shall we put it in +their power to say that it is to their favour we owe it all? No -- a +thousand times no! I will carve out mine own fortune with mine own good +sword and mine own strong arm. I will be beholden to none for that which +some day I will call mine own. The King himself has said that I shall +make a valiant knight. I have fought by the Prince's side once; I trow +that in days to come I shall do the like again. When my knighthood's +spurs are won, then perchance I will to mine uncle and say to him, +'Sire, I am thy brother Arnald's son -- thine own nephew;' but not till +then will I divulge the secret. Sir John de Brocas -- no, nor Master +Bernard either -- shall never say that they have made Sir Gaston's +fortune for him!" + +The lad's eyes flashed fire; the haughty look upon his face was not +unlike the one sometimes to be seen upon that of the King's Master of +the Horse. + +Raymond listened with a smile to these bold words, and then said quietly: + +"Perhaps thou art right, Gaston; but I trust thou bearest no ill will +towards our two uncles?" + +Gaston's face cleared, and he smiled frankly enough. + +"Nay, Brother, none in the world. It is only as I think sometimes of the +story of our parents' wrongs that my hot blood seems to rise against +them. They have been kind to us. I trow we need not fear to take such +kindness as may be offered to us as strangers; but to come as suppliant +kinsmen, humble and unknown, I neither can nor will. Let us keep our +secret; let us carve out our own fortunes. A day shall come when we may +stand forth before all the world as of the old line of De Brocas, but +first we will win for ourselves the welcome we would fain receive." + +"Ay, and we will seek our lost inheritance of Basildene," added Raymond. +"That shall be our next quest, Gaston. I would fain look upon our +mother's home. Methinks it lies not many miles from here." + +"I misdoubt me if Basildene be aught of great moment," said Gaston, +shaking back his curly hair. "Like enough it is but a Manor such as we +have seen by the score as we have ridden through this land. It may be no +such proud inheritance when we do find it, Raymond. It is of our lost +possessions in Gascony that I chiefly think. What can any English house, +of which even here scarce any man has heard, be as compared with our +vast forest lands of Gascony -- our Castle of Saut -- of Orthez -- where +the false Sieur de Navailles rules with the rod of iron? It is there +that I would be; it is there that I would rule. When the Roy Outremer +wages war with the French King, and I fight beneath his banner and win +his favour, as I will do ere many years have passed, and when he calls +me to receive my rewards at his kingly hands, then will I tell him of +yon false and cruel tyrant there, and how our people groan beneath his +harsh rule. I will ask but his leave to win mine own again, and then I +will ride forth with my own knights in my train, and there shall be once +again a lord of the old race ruling at Saut, and the tyrant usurper +shall be brought to the very dust!" + +"Ay," answered Raymond, with a smile that made his face look older for +the moment than that of his twin brother, "thou, Gaston, shalt reign in +Saut, and I will try to win and to reign at Basildene, content with the +smaller inheritance. Methinks the quiet English Manor will suit me well. +By thy side for a while will I fight, too, winning, if it may be, my +spurs of knighthood likewise; but when the days of fighting be past, I +would fain find a quiet haven in this fair land -- in the very place +where our mother longed to end her days." + +It may be seen, from the foregoing fragment of talk, that already the +twin brothers were developing in different directions. So long as they +had lived in the quiet of the humble home, they had scarce known a +thought or aspiration not shared alike by both; but the experiences of +the past months had left a mark upon them, and the mark was not +altogether the same in the case of each. They had shared all adventures, +all perils, all amusements; their hearts were as much bound up as ever +one with the other; but they were already looking at life differently, +forming a different ideal of the future. The soldier spirit was coming +out with greater intensity in one nature than in the other. Gaston had +no ambition, no interest beyond that of winning fame and glory by the +sword. Raymond was just beginning to see that there were other aims and +interests in life, and to feel that there might even come a day when +these other interests should prove more to him than any laurels of battle. + +In the days that followed, this feeling grew more and more upon him. His +hurt was more slow to heal than Gaston's, and long after his brother was +riding out daily into the forest with the keepers to slay a fat buck for +the prelate's table or fly a falcon for practice or sport, Raymond +remained within the house, generally the companion of the studious John; +and as the latter grew strong enough to talk, he was always imparting +new ideas to the untutored but receptive mind of the Gascon boy. + +They had quickly removed from the Royal Palace to the more cozy and +comfortable quarters within the Rectory, which belonged to Master +Bernard in right of his office. John was as much at home in his uncle's +house as in his father's, having spent much of his youth with the +priest. Indeed it may be questioned whether he felt as much at ease +anywhere as he did in this sheltered and retired place, and Raymond +began to feel the subtle charm of the life there almost at once. + +The Rector possessed what was for that age a fine collection of books. +These were of course all manuscripts, and very costly of their kind, +some being beautifully illuminated and others very lengthy. These +manuscripts and books were well known to John, who had read the majority +of them, and was never weary of reading them again and again. Some were +writings of the ancient fathers; others were the works of pagan writers +and philosophers who had lived in the dark ages of the world's history, +yet who had had thoughts and aspirations in advance of their day, and +who had striven without the light of Christianity to construct a code of +morals that should do the work for humanity which never could have been +done till the Light came into the world with the Incarnation. + +As Raymond sat day by day beside John's couch, hearing him read out of +these wonderful books, learning himself to read also with a sense of +quickened pleasure that it was a surprise to experience, he began to +realize that there was a world around and about him of which he had had +no conception hitherto, to feel his mental horizon widening, and to see +that life held weightier questions than any that could be settled at the +sword's point. + +"In truth I have long held that myself," answered John, to whom some +such remark had been made; and upon the pale face of the student there +shone a light which Raymond had seen there before, and marked with a dim +sense of awe. "We hear men talk of the days of chivalry, and mourn +because they seem to be passing away. Yet methinks there may be a holier +and a higher form of chivalry than the world has yet seen that may rise +upon the ashes of what has gone before, and lead men to higher and +better things. Raymond, I would that I might live to see such a day -- a +day when battle and bloodshed should be no longer men's favourite +pastime, but when they should come to feel as our Blessed Lord has +bidden us feel, brothers in love, for that we love Him, and that we walk +forward hand in hand towards the light, warring no more with our +brethren of the faith, but only with such things as are contrary to His +Word, and are hindering His purpose concerning the earth." + +Raymond listened with but small comprehension to a thought so vastly in +advance of the spirit of the day; but despite his lack of true +understanding, he felt a quick thrill of sympathy as he looked into +John's luminous eyes, and he spoke with reverence in his tone even +though his words seemed to dissent from those of his companion. + +"Nay, but how would the world go on without wars and gallant feats of +arms? And sure in a good cause men must fight with all their might and +main? Truly I would gladly seek for paynim and pagan foes if they might +be found; but men go not to the Holy Land as once they did. There be +foes nigher at home against whom we have to turn our arms. Good John, +thou surely dost not call it a wicked thing to fight beneath the banner +of our noble King when he goes forth upon his wars?" + +John smiled one of those thoughtful, flickering smiles that puzzled his +companion and aroused his speculative curiosity. + +"Nay, Raymond," he answered, speaking slowly, as though it were no easy +matter to put his thought in such words as would be comprehensible to +his companion, "it is not that I would condemn any man or any cause. We +are placed in the midst of warlike and stirring times, and it may be +that some great purpose is being worked out by all these wars and +tumults in which we bear our share. It is only as I lie here and think +(I have, as thou knowest, been here many times before amongst these +books and parchments, able for little but study and thought) that there +comes over me a strange sense of the hollowness of these earthly +strivings and search after fame and glory, a solemn conviction -- I +scarce know how to frame it in words -- that there must be other work to +be done in the world, stronger and more heroic deeds than men will ever +do with swords and spears. Methinks the holy saints and martyrs who went +before us knew something of that work; and though it be not given to us +to dare and suffer as they did, yet there come to me moments when I feel +assured that God may still have works of faith and patience for us to do +for Him here, which (albeit the world will never know it) may be more +blessed in His eyes than those great deeds the fame of which goes +through the world. Perchance were I a man of thews and sinews like my +brothers, I might think only of the glory of feats of arms and the +stress and strife of the battle. But being as I am, I cannot but think +of other matters; and so thinking and dreaming, there has come to me the +sense that if I may never win the knighthood and the fame which may +attend on others, I may yet be called upon to serve the Great King in +some other way. Raymond, I think that I could gladly die content if I +might but feel that I had been called to some task for Him, and having +been called had been found faithful." + +John's eyes were shining brightly as he spoke. Raymond felt a slight +shiver run through his frame as he answered impulsively: + +"Thou hast done a deed already of which any belted knight might well be +proud. It was thou who saved the life of the Prince of Wales by taking +upon thy shoulder the blow aimed at his head. The King himself has +spoken in thy praise. How canst thou speak as though no fame or glory +would be thine?" + +A look of natural pride and pleasure stole for a moment over John's pale +face; but the thoughtful brightness in his eyes deepened during the +silence that followed, and presently he said musingly: + +"I am glad to think of that. I like to feel that my arm has struck one +good blow for my King and country; though, good Raymond, to thee and to +Gaston, as much as to me, belongs the credit of saving the young Prince. +Yet though I too love deeds of glory and chivalry, and rejoice to have +borne a part in one such struggle undertaken in defence of the poor and +the weak, I still think there be higher tasks, higher quests, yet to be +undertaken by man in this world." + +"What quest?" asked Raymond wonderingly, as John paused, enwrapped, as +it seemed, in his own thoughts. + +It was some time before the question was answered, and then John spoke +dreamily and slow, as though his thoughts were far away from his +wondering listener. + +"The quest after that whose glory shall not be of this world alone; the +quest that shall raise man heavenward to his Maker. Is that thought new +in the heart of man? I trow not. We have heard of late much of that +great King Arthur, the founder of chivalry, and of his knights. Were +feats of arms alone enough for them? or those exploits undertaken in the +cause of the helpless or oppressed, great and noble as these must ever +be? Did not one or more of their number feel that there was yet another +and a holier quest asked of a true knight? Did not Sir Galahad leave all +else to seek after the Holy Grail? Thou knowest all the story; have we +not read it often together? And seems it not to thee to point us ever +onward and upward, away from things of earth towards the things of +heaven, showing that even chivalry itself is but an earthly thing, +unless it have its final hopes and aspirations fixed far above this earth?" + +John's face was illumined by a strange radiance. It seemed to Raymond as +though something of the spirit of the Knight of the Grail shone out from +those hollow eyes. A subtle sympathy fired his own soul, and taking his +cousin's thin hand in his he cried quickly and impetuously: + +"Such a knight as that would I fain be. Good John, tell me, I pray thee, +where such a quest may be found." + +At that literal question, put with an air of the most impulsive good +faith, John's face slightly changed. The rapt look faded from his eyes, +and a reflective smile took its place, as the young man gazed long and +earnestly into the bright face of the eager boy. + +"Why shouldst thou come to me to know, good lad?" he questioned. "It is +of others that thou wilt learn these matters better than of me. Do they +not call me the man of books -- of dreams -- of fancies?" + +"I know not and I care not," answered Raymond impetuously. "It is of +thee and of thee only that I would learn." + +"And I scarce know how to answer thee," replied the youth, "though +gladly would I help thee to fuller, clearer knowledge if I knew how. I +trow that many men would smile at me were I to put my thoughts into +words, for it seems to me that for us who call ourselves after the +sacred name of Christ there can be no higher or holier service than the +service in which He himself embarked, and bid His followers do likewise +-- feeding the hungry, ministering to the sick, cheering the desolate, +binding up the broken heart, being eyes to the blind and feet to the +lame. He that would be the greatest, let him be the servant of all. +Those were His own words. Yet how little do we think of them now." + +Raymond sat silent and amazed. Formerly such words would have seemed +comprehensible enough to him; but of late he had seen life under vastly +different aspects than any he had known in his quiet village home. The +great ones of the earth did not teach men thus to think or speak. Not to +serve but to rule was the aim and object of life. + +"Wouldst have me enter the cloister, then?" he asked, a look of distaste +and shrinking upon his face; for the quiet, colourless life (as it +seemed to him) of those who entered the service of the Church was little +to the taste of the ardent boy. But John's answer was a bright smile and +a decided negative; whereupon Raymond breathed more freely. + +"Nay; I trow we have priests and monks enow, holy and pious men as they +are. It has often been asked of me if I will not follow in the steps of +my good uncle here; but I have never felt the wish. It seems to me that +the habit of the monk or the cassock of the priest too often seems to +separate betwixt him and his fellow man, and that it were not good for +the world for all its holiest men to don that habit and divide +themselves from their brethren. Sir Galahad's spotless heart beat +beneath his silver armour. Would he have been to story and romance the +star and pattern he now is had he donned the monkish vesture and turned +his armed quest into a friar's pilgrimage?" + +"Nay, verily not." + +"I think with thee, and therefore say I, Let not all those who would +fain lead the spotless life think to do so by withdrawing from the +world. Rather let them carry about the spotless heart beneath the coat +of mail or the gay habit. Their quest need not be the less exalted --" + +"But what is that quest to be?" cried Raymond eagerly; "that is what I +fain would know. Good John, give me some task to perform. What wouldst +thou do thyself in my place?" + +"Thou wouldst laugh were I to tell thee." + +"Try me and see." + +"I will. If I were sound and whole tomorrow, I should forth into the +forest whence we came, and I should seek and find that aged woodman, who +seemed so sorely bowed down with sorrow, and I should bid him unfold his +tale to me, and see if in any wise I might help him. He is poor, +helpless, wretched, and by the words he spoke, I knew that he had +suffered heavy sorrow. Perchance that sorrow might be alleviated could +one but know the story of it. His face has haunted my fevered dreams. To +me it seems as though perchance this were an errand of mercy sent to me +to do. Deeds of knightly prowess I trow will never now be mine. It must +be enough for me to show my chivalry by acts of love and care for the +helpless, the sorrowful, the oppressed." + +Raymond's eyes suddenly glowed. Something of the underlying poetry of +the thought struck an answering chord in his heart, though the words +themselves had been plain and bald enough. + +"I will perform that task for thee, good John," he said. "I well +remember the place, ay, and the old man and his sorrowful mien. I will +thither tomorrow, and will bring thee word again. If he may be helped by +any act of mine, be assured that act shall not be lacking." + +John pressed his comrade's hand and thanked him; but Raymond little knew +to what this quest, of apparently so little moment, was to lead, nor +what a link it was to form with the story of the lost inheritance of +Basildene. + + + + CHAPTER VIII. THE VISIT TO THE WOODMAN. + + +"Raymond, I am glad of this chance to speak alone together, for since +thou hast turned into a man of books and letters I have scarce seen +thee. I am glad of this errand into these dark woods. It seems like +times of old come back again -- and yet not that either. I would not +return to those days of slothful idleness, not for all the gold of the +King's treasury. But I have wanted words with thee alone, Brother. +Knowest thou that we are scarce ten miles (as they measure distance here +in England) from Basildene?" + +Raymond turned an eager face upon his brother. + +"Hast seen it, Gaston?" + +"Nay. It has not been my hap to go that way; but I have heard enough and +to spare about it. I fear me that our inheritance is but a sorry one, +Raymond, and that it will be scarce worth the coil that would be set +afoot were we to try to make good our claim." + +"Tell me, what hast thou heard?" asked Raymond eagerly. + +"Why, that it is but an ancient Manor, of no great value or extent, and +that the old man who dwells there with his son is little different from +a sorcerer, whom it is not safe to approach -- at least not with intent +to meddle. Men say that he is in league with the devil, and that he has +sold his soul for the philosopher's stone, that changes all it touches +to gold. They say, too, that those who offend him speedily sicken of +some fell disease that no medicine can cure. Though he must have +wondrous wealth, he has let his house fall into gloomy decay. No man +approaches it to visit him, and he goes nowhither himself. His son, +Peter, who seems as little beloved as his father, goes hither and +thither as he will. But it is whispered that he shares in his father's +dealings with the Evil One, and that he will reap the benefit of the +golden treasure which has been secured to them. However that may be, all +men agree that the Sanghursts of Basildene are not to be meddled with +with impunity." + +Raymond's face was very thoughtful. Such a warning as this, lightly as +it would be regarded in the present century, meant something serious +then; and Raymond instinctively crossed himself as he heard Gaston's +words. But after a moment's pause of thoughtful silence he said gravely: + +"Yet perhaps on this very account ought we the rather to strive to win +our inheritance out of such polluted hands. Have we not others to think +of in this thing? Are there not those living beneath the shelter of +Basildene who must be suffering under the curse that wicked man is like +to bring upon it? For their sakes, Gaston, ought we not to do all in our +power to make good our rights? Are they to be left to the mercy of one +whose soul is sold to Satan?" + +Gaston looked quickly into his brother's flushed face, and wondered at +the sudden enthusiasm beaming out of his eyes. But he had already +recognized that a change was passing over Raymond, even as a change of a +different kind was coming upon himself. He did not entirely understand +it, neither did he resent it; and now he threw his arm across his +brother's shoulder in the old caressing fashion of their boyhood. + +"Nay, I know not how that may be. There may be found those who dare to +war against the powers of darkness, and with the help of the holy and +blessed saints they may prevail. But that is not the strife after which +my heart longs. Raymond, I fear me I love not Basildene, I love not the +thought of making it our own. It is for the glory of the battlefield and +the pomp and strife of true warfare that I long. There are fairer lands +to be won by force of arms than ever Basildene will prove, if all men +speak sooth. Who and what are we, to try our fortunes and tempt +destruction by drawing upon ourselves the hatred of this wicked old man, +who may do us to death in some fearful fashion, when else we might be +winning fame and glory upon the plains of France? Let us leave Basildene +alone, Brother; let us follow the fortunes of the great King, and trust +to his noble generosity for the reward of valour." + +Raymond made no immediate reply, though he pressed his brother's hand +and looked lovingly into his face. Truth to tell, his affections were +winding themselves round his mother's country and inheritance, just as +Gaston's were turning rather to his father's land, and the thought of +the rewards to be won there. Then, within Raymond's heart were growing +up those new thoughts and aspirations engendered by long talks with +John; and it seemed to him that possibly the very quest of which he was +in search might be found in freeing Basildene of a heavy curse. Ardent, +sensitive, full of vivid imagination -- as the sons of the forest mostly +are -- Raymond felt that there was more in the truest and deepest +chivalry than the mere feats of arms and acts of dauntless daring that +so often went by that name. Hazy and indistinct as his ideas were, +tinged with much of the mysticism, much of the superstition of the age, +they were beginning to assume definite proportions, and to threaten to +colour the whole future course of his life; and beneath all the dimness +and confusion one settled, leading idea was slowly unfolding itself, and +forming a foundation for the superstructure that was to follow -- the +idea that in self-denial, self-sacrifice, the subservience of selfish +ambition to the service of the oppressed and needy, chivalry in its +highest form was to be found. + +But in his brother's silence Gaston thought he read disappointment, and +with another affectionate gesture he hastened to add: + +"But if thy heart goes out to our mother's home, we will yet win it +back, when time has changed us from striplings to tried warriors. See, +Brother, I will tell thee what we will do. Men say that it can scarce be +a year from now ere the war breaks out anew betwixt France and England, +and then will come our opportunity. We will follow the fortunes of the +King. We will win our spurs fighting at the side of the Prince. We will +do as our kindred have done before us, and make ourselves honoured and +respected of all men. It may be that we shall then be lords of Saut once +more. But be that as it may, we shall be strong, rich, powerful -- as +our uncles are now. Then, if thou wilt so have it, we will think again +of Basildene; and if we win it back, it shall be thine, and thine alone. +Fight thou by my side whilst we are yet too young to bring to good any +private matter of our own. Then will I, together with thee, think again +of our boyhood's dream; and it may be that we shall yet live to be +called the Twin Brothers of Basildene!" + +Raymond smiled at the sound of that name, as he had smiled at Gaston's +eager words before. Full of ardent longings and unbounded enthusiasm, as +were most well-born youths in those adventurous days, he was just a +little less confident than Gaston of the brilliant success that was to +attend upon their feats of arms. Still there was much of the fighting +instinct in the boy, and there was certainly no hope of regaining +Basildene in the present. So that he agreed willingly to his brother's +proposition, although he resolved before he left these parts to look +once with his own eyes upon the home that had sheltered his mother's +childhood and youth. + +And then they plunged into the thickest of the forest, and could talk no +more till they had reached the little clearing that lay around the +woodman's hut. The old man was not far away, as they heard by the sound +of a falling axe a little to the right of them. Following this sound, +they quickly came upon the object of their search -- the grizzled old +man, with the same look of unutterable woe stamped upon his face. + +Gaston, who knew only one-half of the errand upon which they had come, +produced the pieces of silver that the Rector and John had sent, with a +message of thanks to the old woodman for his help in directing the +Prince and his company to the robbers' cave at such a favourable moment. +The old man appeared bewildered at first by the sight of the money and +the words of thanks; but recollection came back by degrees, though he +seemed as one who in constant brooding upon a single theme has come to +lose all sense of other things, and scarce to observe the flight of +time, or to know one day from another. + +This strange, wild melancholy, which had struck John at once, now +aroused in Raymond a sense of sympathetic interest. He had come to try +to seek the cause of the old man's sorrow, and he did not mean to leave +with his task unfulfilled. + +Perhaps John could have found no fitter emissary than this Gascon lad, +with his simple forest training, his quick sympathy and keen +intelligence, and his thorough knowledge of the details of peasant life, +which in all countries possess many features in common. + +It was hard at first to get the old man to care to understand what was +said, or to take the trouble to reply. The habit of silence is one of +the most difficult to break; but patience and perseverance generally win +the day: and when it dawned upon this strange old man that it was of +himself and his own loss and grief that these youths had come to speak, +a new look crossed his weatherbeaten face, and a strange gleam of +mingled fury and despair shone in the depths of his hollow eyes. + +"My sorrow!" he exclaimed, in a voice from which the dreary cadence had +now given place to a clearer, firmer ring: "is it of that you ask, young +sirs? Has it been told to you the cruel wrong that I have suffered?" + +Then suddenly clinching his right hand and shaking it wildly above his +head, he broke into vehement and almost unintelligible invective, +railing with frenzied bitterness against some foe, speaking so rapidly, +and with such strange inflections of voice, that it was but a few words +that the brothers could distinguish out of the whole of the impassioned +speech. One of those words was "my son -- my boy," followed by the names +of Sanghurst and Basildene. + +It was these names that arrested the attention of the brothers, causing +them to start and exchange quick glances. Raymond waited till the old +man had finished his railing, and then he asked gently: + +"Had you then a son? Where is he now?" + +"A son! ay, that had I -- the light and brightness of my life!" cried +the old man, with a sudden burst of rude eloquence that showed him to +have been at some former time something better than his present +circumstances seemed to indicate. "Young sirs, I know not who you are; I +know not why you ask me of my boy. But your faces are kind, and +perchance there may be help in the world, though I have found it not. I +know not how time has fled since that terrible sorrow fell upon me. +Perchance not many years by the calendar, but in misery and suffering a +lifetime. Listen, and I will tell you all. I was not ever as you see me +now. I was no lonely woodman buried in the heart of the forest. I was +second huntsman to Sir Hugh Vavasour of Woodcrych, in favour with my +master and well contented with my lot. I had a wife whom I loved, and +she had born me a lovely boy, who was the very light of my eyes and the +joy of my heart. I should weary you did I tell you of all his bold +pranks and merry ways. He was, I verily believe, the loveliest child +that God's sun has ever looked down upon. When it pleased Him to take my +wife away from me after seven happy years, I strove not to murmur; for I +had still the child, and every day that passed made him more winsome, +more loving, more mettlesome and bold. Even the master would draw rein +as he passed my door to have a word with the boy; and little Mistress +Joan gave me many a silver groat to buy him a fairing with, and keep him +always dressed in the smartest little suit of forester's green. The +priest noticed him too, and would have him to his house to teach him +many things, and told me he would live to carve out a fortune for +himself. I thought naught too good for him. I would have wondered little +if even the King had sent for him to make of him a companion for his son. + +"Perchance I was foolish in the boastings I made. But the beauty and the +wisdom of the boy struck all alike -- and thence came his destruction." + +"His destruction?" echoed both brothers in a breath. "What! is he then +dead?" + +"He is worse than dead," answered the father, in a hollow, despairing +voice; "he has been bewitched -- undone by foul sorcery, bound over hand +and foot, and given to the keeping of Satan. Even the priest can do +nothing for us. He is lost, body and soul, for ever." + +The brothers exchanged wondering glances as they made the sign of the +cross, the old man watching the gesture with a bitter smile in his eye. +Then Raymond spoke again: + +"But what was it that happened? we do not yet understand." + +"I will tell you all. If you know this part of the world, young sirs, +you have doubtless heard of the old Manor of Basildene, where dwells +one, Peter Sanghurst by name, who is nothing more nor less than a +wizard, who should be hunted to death without pity. Men have told me (I +know not with what truth) that these wizards, who give themselves over +to the devil, are required by their master from time to time to furnish +him with new victims, and these victims are generally children -- fair +and promising children, who can first be trained in the black arts of +their earthly master, and are then handed over, body and soul, to the +devil, to be his slaves and his victims for ever." + +The old man was speaking slowly now, with a steady yet despairing +ferocity that was terrible to hear. His sunken eyes gleamed in their +sockets, and his hands, that were tightly clinched over the handle of +his axe, trembled with the emotion that had him in its clutches. + +"I was sent upon a mission by my master. I was absent from my home some +seven days. When I came back my boy was gone. I had left him in the care +of the keeper of the hounds. He was an honest man, and told me all the +tale. Perchance you know that Sir Hugh Vavasour is what men call a +spendthrift. His estates will not supply him with the money he needs. He +is always in debt, he is always in difficulties. From that it comes that +he cares little what manner of men are his comrades or friends, provided +only that they can supply his needs when his own means fail. This is +why, when all men else hate and loathe the very name of Sanghurst, he +calls himself their friend. He knows that the old man has the secret by +which all things may be turned into gold, and therefore he welcomes his +son to Woodcrych. And men say that Mistress Joan is to be given in +marriage to his son one day, because he will take her without dowry; for +she is the fairest creature in the world, and he has vowed that she +shall wed him and none else." + +The brothers were intensely interested by this tale, but were growing a +little confused by all the names introduced, and they wanted the story +of the woodman's son complete. + +"Then was it the old man who took your boy, or was it his son? Are they +not both called Peter?" + +"Ay, they have both the same name -- the same name and the same nature: +evil, cruel, remorseless. I know not how nor where the old man first set +eyes upon my boy; but he must have seen him, and have coveted possession +of him for his devilish practices; for upon the week that I was absent +from home, he left the solitude of his house, and came with the master +himself to the house where the boy was. And then Sir Hugh explained to +honest Stephen, who had charge of him, that Master Peter Sanghurst had +offered the lad a place in his service, where he would learn many things +that would stand him in good stead all the days of his life. It sounded +fair in all faith. But Stephen stoutly refused to let the boy go till I +returned; whereupon Sir Hugh struck him a blow across the face with his +heavy whip, and young Peter Sanghurst, leaping to the ground, seized the +child and placed him in front of him upon the horse, and the three +galloped off laughing aloud, whilst the boy in vain implored to be set +down to run home. When I came back he had gone, and all men said that +the old man had thus stolen him to satisfy the greed for souls of his +master the devil." + +"And hast thou not seen him since?" asked the boys breathlessly. "What +didst thou do when thou camest back?" + +For a moment it seemed as though the old man would break out again into +those wild imprecations of frenzied anger which the brothers had heard +him utter before; but by a violent effort he checked the vehement flow +of words that rose to his lips, and replied with a calmness far more +really impressive: + +"I did all that a poor helpless man might do when his feudal lord was on +the side of the enemy, and met every prayer and supplication either with +mockery or blows. I soon saw it all too well. Sir Hugh was under the +spell of the wicked old man. What was my boy's soul to him? what my +agony? Nothing -- nothing. The wizard had coveted the beautiful boy. He +had doubtless made it worth my master's while to sell him to him; and +what could I do? I tried everything I knew; but who would listen to me? +Master Bernard de Brocas of Guildford, whom I met upon the road and +begged to listen to my tale, promised he would see if something might +not be done. I waited and waited in anguish, and hope, and despair, and +there came a day when his palfrey stopped at my door, and he came +forward himself to speak with me. He told me he had spoken to the Master +of Basildene, and that he had promised to restore me my son if I was +resolved to have him back; but he had told the good priest that he knew +the boy would never be content to stay in a woodland cottage with an +unlettered father, when he had learned what life elsewhere was like. But +I laughed this warning to scorn, and demanded my boy back." + +"And did he come?" + +A strange look swept over the old man's face. His hands were tightly +clinched. His voice was very low, and full of suppressed awe and fury. + +"Ay, he came back -- he came back that same night -- but so changed in +those few months that I scarce knew him. And ah, how he clung to me when +he was set down at my door! How he sobbed on my breast, entreating me to +hold him fast -- to save him -- to protect him! What fearful tales of +unhallowed sights and sounds did his white lips pour into my ears! How +my own blood curdled at the tale, and how I vowed that never, never, +never would I let him go from out my arms again! I held him fast. I took +him within doors. I fastened the door safely. I fed him, comforted him, +and laid him in mine own bed, lying wakeful beside him for fear even +then that he should be taken from me; and thus the hours sped by. But +the rest -- ah, how can I tell it? It wrings my very heart. O my child, +my son -- my own heart's joy!" + +The old man threw up his arms with a wild gesture of despair, and there +was something in his face so terrible that the twins dared ask him no +question; but after that one cry and gesture, the stony look returned +upon his face, and he went on of his own accord. + +"Midnight had come. I knew it by the position of the moon in the +heavens. My boy had been sleeping like one dead beside me, never moving +or stirring, scarce breathing; and I had at last grown soothed and +drowsy likewise. I had just fallen into a light sleep, when I was +aroused by feeling Roger stir beside me, and hastily sit up in the bed. +His eyes were wide open, and in the moonlight they seemed to shine with +unnatural brilliance. It was as if he were listening -- listening with +every fibre of his being, listening to a voice which he could hear and I +could not; for he made quick answers. 'I hear, Sire,' he said, in a +strange, muffled voice. And he rose suddenly to his feet and cried, 'I +come, Master, I come.' Then a great rage and fear possessed me, for I +knew that my boy was being called by some foul spirit, and that he was +bewitched. I sprang up and seized him in my arms. 'Thou shalt not go!' I +cried aloud. 'He has given thee back to me. I am thy father. Thy place +is here. I will not let thee go!' But I might have been speaking to a +dead corpse for all the understanding I received. My boy's eyes were +opened, but he saw me not. His ears, that heard other voices, were deaf +to mine. He struggled fiercely against my fatherly embrace; and when I +felt the strength that had come into that frame, so worn and feeble but +a few short hours ago, then I knew that it was the devil himself who had +entered into my child, and that it was his voice that was luring him +back to his destruction. O my God! May I never have to live again +through the agony of that hour in which I fought with the devil for my +child, and fought in vain. Like one possessed (as indeed he was) did he +wrestle with me, crying out wildly all the while that he was coming -- +that he would quickly come; hearing nothing that I could hear, seeing +nothing that I could see, and all the time struggling with me with a +strength that I knew must at last prevail, albeit he was but a tender +child and I a man in the prime of manhood's strength. But the devil was +in him that night. It was not my boy's own hand that struck the blow +which forced me to leave my hold, and sent me staggering back against +the wall. No, it was but the evil spirit within him; and even as I +released him from my embrace, he glided to the door, undid the +fastenings, and still calling out that he was coming, that he would be +there anon, he slipped out into the still forest, and vanished amongst +the trees." + +"Did he return to Basildene?" + +"Ay, like a bird to its nest, a dog to its master's home. Spent and +breathless, despairing as I was, I yet gathered my strength and followed +my boy -- weeping and calling upon his name, though I knew he heard me +not. Scarce could I keep the gliding figure in sight; yet I could not +choose but follow, lest some mischance should befall the child by the +way. But he moved onwards as if he trod on air, neither stumbling nor +falling, nor turning to the right hand or to the left. I watched him to +the end of the avenue of trees that leads to Basildene. As he reached it +a dark figure stepped forth, and the child sank to the ground as if +exhausted. There was the sound of laughter -- fiends' laughter, if ever +devils do laugh. It chilled the very blood in my veins, and I stood +rooted to the spot, whilst the hair of my head stood erect. The dark +form bent over the boy and seemed to raise it. + +"'You shall suffer for this,' I heard a cruel voice say in a hissing +whisper; 'you will not ask to leave again!' and at those evil words a +cry of anguish -- a human cry -- broke from my boy's lips, and with a +yell of fury I sprang forward to save him or to die with him. But what +happened then I know not. Whether a human hand or a fiend's struck me +down I shall never now know. I remember a blow -- the sense that hell's +mouth was opening to receive me; that the mocking laughter of devils was +in my ears. Then I knew no more till (they tell me it was many weeks +later) I awoke from a long strange sleep in yon cabin where I live. An +old woodman had found me, and had carried me there. Sir Hugh had given +him a few silver pieces to take care of me. He had filled my place, and +my old home was occupied by another; but had it not been so, no power on +earth would have taken me back there. I had grown old in one night. I +had lost my strength, my cunning, my heart. I stayed on with the old man +awhile, and as he fell sick and died when the next snow fell upon the +ground, Master Bernard de Brocas appointed me as woodman in his stead, +and here I have remained ever since. I know not how the time has sped. I +have no heart or hope in life. My child is gone -- possessed by fiends +who have him in their clutches, so that I may never win him back to me. +I hate my life, yet fear to die; for then I might see him the sport of +devils, and be, as before, powerless to succour him. I have long ceased +to be shriven for my sins. What good to me is forgiveness, if my child +will be doomed to hellfire for evermore? No hope in this world, no hope +after death. Woe is me that ever I was born! Woe is me! woe is me!" + +The energy which had supported the old man as he told his tale now +appeared suddenly to desert him. With a low moan he sank upon the ground +and buried his face in his hands, whilst the boys stood and gazed at +him, and then at one another, their faces full of interest and sympathy, +their hearts burning with indignation against the wicked foe of their +own race, who seemed to bring misery and wrong wherever he moved. + +"And thou hast never seen thy son again?" asked Raymond softly. "Is he +yet alive, knowest thou?" + +"I have never seen him again: they say that he still lives. But what is +life to one who is sold and bound over, body and soul, to the powers of +darkness?" + +Then the old man buried his face once more in his hands, and seemed to +forget even the presence of the boys; and Gaston and Raymond stole +silently away, with many backward glances at the bowed and stricken +figure, unable to find any words either to help or comfort him. + + + + CHAPTER IX. JOAN VAVASOUR. + + +It was with the greatest interest that John de Brocas listened to the +story brought home by the twin brothers after their visit to the +woodman's hut. Such a story of oppression, cruelty, and wrong truly +stirred him to the very soul; and moreover, as the brothers spoke of +Basildene, they told him also (under the promise of secrecy) of their +own connection with that place, of their kinship with himself, and of +the wrongs they had suffered at the hand of the Sanghursts, father and +son; and all this aroused in the mind of John an intense desire to see +wrong made right, and retribution brought upon the heads of those who +seemed to become a curse wherever they went. + +"And so ye twain are my cousins?" he said, looking from one face to the +other with penetrating gaze. "I knew from the very first that ye were no +common youths; and it was a stronger tie than that of Gascon blood that +knit us one to the other. But I will keep your secret. Perchance ye are +wise in wishing it kept. There be something too many hangers-on of our +house already, and albeit I know not all the cause of the estrangement, +I know well that your father was coldly regarded for many years, and it +may be that his sons would receive but sorry welcome if they came as +humble suppliants for place. The unsuccessful members of a house are +scarce ever welcomed, and the claim to Basildene might be but a +hindrance in your path. Sir Hugh Vavasour is high in favour at Court. He +is a warm friend of my father and my uncle; and he and the Sanghursts +are bound together by some close tie, the nature of which I scarce know. +Any claim on Basildene would be fiercely resented by the father and son +who have seized it, and their quarrel would be taken up by others of +more power. Gaston is right in his belief that you must first win credit +and renown beneath the King's banners. As unknown striplings you have no +chance against yon crafty fox of Basildene. Were he but to know who and +what you were, I know not that your very lives would be safe from his +malice." + +The twins exchanged glances. It seemed as though they were threatened on +every hand by the malice of those who had usurped their rights and their +lands; yet they felt no fear, rather a secret exultation at the thought +of what lay before them. But their curiosity was strongly stirred about +the strange old man at Basildene, and they eagerly asked John of the +truth of those reports which spoke of him as being a tool and slave of +the devil. + +A grave light came into John's eyes as he replied: + +"Methinks that every man is the tool of Satan who willingly commits sin +with his eyes open, and will not be restrained. I cannot doubt that old +Peter Sanghurst has done this again and again. He is an evil man and a +wicked one. But whether or no he has visible dealings with the spirits +of darkness, I know not. Men can sin deeply and darkly and yet win no +power beyond that vouchsafed to others." + +"But the woodman's son," said Raymond, in awestruck tones, "him he most +certainly bewitched. How else could he have so possessed him that even +his own father could not restrain him from going back to the dread +slavery once again?" + +A thoughtful look was on John's face. He was lying on his couch in the +large room where his learned uncle stored all his precious books and +parchments, safely locked away in carved presses; and rising slowly to +his feet -- for he was still feeble and languid in his movements -- he +unlocked one of these, and took from it a large volume in some dead +language, and laid it upon the table before him. + +"I know not whether or no I am right, but I have heard before of a +strange power that some men may possess over the minds and wills of +others -- a power so great that they become their helpless tools, and +can be made to act, to see, to feel just as they are bidden, and are as +helpless to resist that power as the snared bird to avoid the +outstretched hand of the fowler. That this power is a power of evil, and +comes from the devil himself, I may not disbelieve; for it has never +been God's way of dealing with men to bind captive their wills and make +them blind and helpless agents of the will of others. Could you read the +words of this book, you would find many things therein as strange as any +you have heard today. For myself, I have little doubt that old Peter +Sanghurst, who has spent years of his life amongst the heathen Moors, +and is, as all men avow, steeped to the lips in their strange and +unchristian lore, has himself the art of thus gaining the mastery over +the minds and wills of others, and that it was no demoniacal possession, +but just the wicked will of the old man exercised upon that of his +helpless victim, which drew the boy back to him when his father had him +safe at home (as he thought) once more. In this book it is written that +young boys, especially if they be beautiful of form and receptive of +mind, make the best tools for this black art. They can be thrown into +strange trances, in which many things are revealed to them. They can be +sent in the spirit to places they have never seen, and can be made to +describe what is passing thousands of miles away. I cannot tell how +these things may be, unless indeed it is the devil working in them; yet +here it is written down as if it were some art which certain men with +certain gifts may acquire, as they may acquire other knowledge and +learning. In truth, I think such things smack of the Evil One himself; +yet I doubt if there be that visible bond with Satan that is commonly +reported amongst the unlettered and ignorant. It is a cruel and a wicked +art without doubt, and it says here that the children who are caught and +subjected to these trances and laid under this spiritual bondage seldom +live long; and that but for this, there seems no end to the wonders that +might be performed. But the strain upon their spirits almost always +results in madness or death, and thus the art never makes the strides +that those who practise it long to see." + +John was turning the leaves of the book as he spoke, reading a word here +and there as if to refresh his memory. The Gascon brothers listened with +breathless interest, and suddenly Raymond started to his feet, saying: + +"John, thou hast spoken of a knightly quest that would win no praise +from man, but yet be such as a true knight would fain undertake. Would +not the rescue of yon wretched boy from the evil thraldom of that wicked +sorcerer be such a task as that? Is not Basildene ours? Is it not for us +to free it from the curse of such pollution? Is not that child one of +the oppressed and wronged that it is the duty of a true servant of the +old chivalry to rescue at all costs? + +"Gaston, wilt thou go with me? Shall we snatch from the clutches of this +devilish old man the boy whose story we have heard today? Methinks I can +never rest happy till the thing is done. Will not a curse light upon the +very house itself if these dark deeds go on within its walls? Who can +have a better right to avert such curse than we -- its rightful lords?" + +Gaston sprang to his feet, and threw back his head with a proud and +defiant gesture. + +"Verily I will go with thee, Brother. I would gladly strike a blow for +the freedom of the boy and against the despoiler of our mother's house. +I would fain go this very day." + +Both brothers looked to John, as if asking his sanction for the act. He +closed his book, and raised his eyes with a smile; but he advocated +prudence, and patience too. + +"In truth, methinks it would be a deed of charity and true chivalry, yet +one by no means without its peril and its risk. Old Sanghurst is a wily +and a cruel foe, and failure would but mean more tyranny and suffering +for the miserable victim he holds in his relentless hands. It might lead +also to some mysterious vengeance upon you yourselves. There are ugly +whispers breathed abroad about the old man and his evil practices. +Travellers through these forest tracks, richly laden, have been known to +disappear, and no man has heard of them more. It is rumoured that they +have been seized and done to death by the rapacious owners of Basildene, +and that the father and son are growing wealthy beyond what any man +knows by the plunder they thus obtain." + +"But if they hold the secret of the philosopher's stone, sure they would +not need to fall upon travellers by the way!" + +John slowly shook his head, a thoughtful smile upon his face. + +"For mine own part," he said quietly, "I have no belief in that stone, +or in that power of alchemy after which men since the beginning of time +have been vainly striving. They may seek and seek, but I trow they will +never find it; and I verily believe if found it would but prove a +worthless boon. For in the hands of a rapacious master, so quickly would +gold be poured upon the world that soon its value would be lost, and it +would be no more prized than the base metals we make our horseshoes of. +It is not the beauty of gold that makes men covet it. It is because it +is rare that it is precious. If this philosopher's stone were to be +found, that rareness would speedily disappear, and men would cease to +prize a thing that could be made more easily than corn may be grown." + +The brothers could scarce grasp the full meaning of these words; but it +was not of the philosopher's stone that their minds were full, and +John's next words interested them more. + +"No: I believe that the wealth which is being accumulated at Basildene +is won in far different fashion, and that this miserable boy, who is the +helpless slave and tool of his master's illicit art, is an unwilling +agent in showing the so-called magician the whereabouts of hapless +travellers, and in luring them on to their destruction. But that the old +man is wealthy above all those about him may not now be doubted; and it +is this growing wealth, gotten no man knows how, that makes men believe +in his possession of the magic stone." + +"And if we rescue the boy, some part of his power will be gone, and he +will lose a tool that he will not easily replace," cried Gaston, with +eager animation. "Brother, let us not delay. We have long desired to +look upon Basildene; let us sally forth this very day." + +But John laid a detaining hand upon his arm. + +"Nay now, why this haste? Thou art a bold lad, Gaston, but something +more than boldness is needed when thou hast such a subtle foe to deal +with. Then there is another thing to think of. What will it avail to +rescue the boy, if his master holds his spirit so in thrall that he can +by no means be restrained from rising in the dead of night to return to +him again? There be many things to think of ere we can act. And we must +take counsel of one who knows Basildene, as we do not. I have never seen +the house, and know nothing of its ways. Till these things were recalled +to my memory these last days, I had scarce remembered that such a place +existed." + +"Of whom then shall we take counsel?" asked Gaston, with a touch of +impatience, for to him action and not counsel was the mainspring of +life. "Of thine uncle, who thou sayest is a friend of this unholy man?" + +"Scarce a friend," answered John, "albeit he has no quarrel with Master +Sanghurst; and if thou knewest more of the temper of the times, thou +wouldst know that the King's servants must have a care how they in any +wise stir up strife amongst those who dwell in the realm. We have +enemies and to spare abroad -- in Scotland, in Flanders, in France. At +home we must all strive to keep the peace. It behoves not one holding +office under the crown to embroil himself in private quarrels, or stir +up any manner of strife. This is why I counsel you to make no claim on +Basildene for the nonce, and why my uncle could give no help in the +matter of this boy, kindly as his heart is disposed towards the poor and +oppressed. He moved once in the matter, with the result that you know. +It could scarce be expected of him to do more." + +"Who then will help or counsel us?" + +"I can think of but one, and that is but a slim maiden, whom ye bold +lads might despise. I mean Mistress Joan Vavasour herself." + +"What!" cried Gaston in amaze -- "the maiden whom Peter Sanghurst is to +wed? Sure that were a strange counsellor to choose! Good John, thou must +be dreaming." + +"Nay, I am no dreamer," was the smiling answer; and a slight access of +colour came slowly into John's face. "I have not seen fair Mistress Joan +of late; yet unless I be greatly mistaken in her, I am very sure that by +no deed of her own will she ever mate with one of the Sanghurst brood. I +have known her from childhood. Once it was my dream that I might wed her +myself; but such thoughts have long ago passed from my mind never to +enter it again. Yet I know her and I love her well, and to me she has +spoken words which tell me that she will never be a passive tool in the +hands of her haughty parents. She has the spirit of her sire within her, +and I trow he will find it no easy task to bend the will even of a child +of his own, when she is made after the fashion of Mistress Joan. If +Peter Sanghurst has gone a-wooing there, I verily believe that the lady +will by this time have had more than enough of his attentions. It may be +that she would be able to give us good counsel; at least I would very +gladly ask it at her hands." + +"How can we see her?" asked the brothers quickly. + +"So soon as I can make shift to ride once more we will to horse and away +to Woodcrych. It is time I paid my respects to fair Mistress Joan, for I +have not seen her for long. I would that you twain could see her. She is +as fair as a lily, yet with all the spirit of her bold sire, as fearless +in the saddle as her brother, as upright as a dart, beautiful +exceedingly, with her crown of hair the colour of a ripe chestnut. Ah! +if she were but taken to the King's Court, she would be its fairest +ornament. But her sire has never the money to spend upon her adornment; +and moreover if she appeared there, she would have suitors and to spare +within a month, and he would be called upon to furnish forth a rich +dower -- for all men hold him to be a wealthy man, seeing the broad +lands he holds in fief. Wherefore I take it he thinks it safer to +betroth her to this scion of the Sanghurst brood, who will be heir to +all his father's ill-gotten wealth. But if I know Mistress Joan, as I +think I do, she will scarce permit herself to be given over like a +chattel, though she may have a sore fight to make for her liberty." + +Raymond's eyes brightened and his hands closely clinched themselves. +Surely this quest after Basildene was bringing strange things to light. +Here was a miserable child to be rescued from bondage that was worse +than death; and a maiden, lovely and brave of spirit, to be saved from +the clutches of this same Sanghurst faction. What a strange combination +of circumstances seemed woven around the lost inheritance! Might it not +be the very life's work he had longed after, to fulfil his mother's +dying behest and make himself master of Basildene again? + +That night his dreams were a strange medley of wizards, beauteous +maidens, and ruinous halls, through which he wandered in search of the +victim whose shrill cries he kept hearing. He rose with the first of the +tardy light, to find that Gaston was already off and away upon some +hunting expedition planned overnight. Raymond had not felt disposed to +join it; the attraction of John's society had more charm for him. + +The uncle was absent from home on the King's business. The two cousins +had the house to themselves. They had established themselves beside the +glowing hearth within their favourite room containing all the books, +when the horn at the gate announced the arrival of some guest, and a +message was brought to John saying that Mistress Joan Vavasour was even +then dismounting from her palfrey, and was about to pay him a visit. + +"Nay now, but this is a lucky hap!" cried John, as he went forward to be +ready to meet his guest. + +The next moment the light footfall along the polished boards of the +anteroom announced the coming of the lady, and Raymond's eager eyes were +fixed upon a face so fair that he gazed and gazed and could not turn his +eyes away. + +Mistress Joan was just his own age -- not yet seventeen -- yet she had +something of the grace and dignity of womanhood mingling with the fresh +sweet frankness of the childhood that had scarcely passed. Her eyes were +large and dark, flashing, and kindling with every passing gust of +feeling; her delicate lips, arched like a Cupid's bow, were capable of +expressing a vast amount of resolution, though now relaxed into a merry +smile of greeting. She was rather tall and at present very slight, +though the outlines of her figure were softly rounded, and strength as +well as grace was betrayed in every swift eager motion. She held John's +hands and asked eagerly after his well-being. + +"It was but two days ago I heard that you lay sick at Guildford, and I +have been longing ever since for tidings. Today my father had business +in the town, and I humbly sued him to let me ride with him, and rest, +whilst he went his own way, in the hospitable house of your good uncle. +This is how I come to be here today. And now tell me of thyself these +many months, for I hear no news at Woodcrych. And who is this fair youth +with thee? Methinks his face is strange to me, though he bears a look of +the De Brocas, too." + +A quick flush mounted in Raymond's cheek; but John only called him by +the name by which he was known to the world, and Mistress Joan spoke no +more of the fancied likeness. She and John, who were plainly well +acquainted, plunged at once into eager talk; and it was not long before +the question of Joan's own marriage was brought up, and he plainly asked +her if the news was true which gave her in wedlock to Peter Sanghurst. + +A change came over Joan's face at those words. A quick gleam shot out of +her dark eyes. She set her teeth, and her face suddenly hardened as if +carved in flint. Her voice, which had been full of rippling laughter +before, now fell to a lower pitch, and she spoke with strange force and +gravity. + +"John, whatever thou hearest on that score, believe it not. I will die +sooner than be wedded to that man. I hate him. I fear him -- yes, I do +fear him, I will not deny it -- I fear him for his wickedness, his evil +practices, his diabolic cruelty, of which I hear fearful whispers from +time to time. He may be rich beyond all that men credit. I doubt not he +has many a dark and hideous method of wringing gold from his wretched +victims. Basildene holds terrible secrets; and never will I enter that +house by my own free will. Never will I wed that man, not if I have to +plunge this dagger into mine own heart to save myself from him. I know +what is purposed. I know that he and his father have some strange power +over my sire and my brother, and that they will do all they can to bend +my will to theirs. But I have two hopes yet before me. One is appeal to +the King, through his gentle and gracious Queen; another is the Convent +-- for sooner would I take the veil (little as the life of the recluse +charms me) than sell myself to utter misery as the wife of that man. +Death shall call me its bride before that day shall come. Yet I would +not willingly take my life, and go forth unassoiled and unshriven. No; I +will try all else first. And in thee, good John, I know I shall find a +trusty and a stalwart friend and champion." + +"Trusty in all truth, fair lady, but stalwart I fear John de Brocas will +never be. Rather enlist in thy service yon gallant youth, who has +already distinguished himself in helping to save the Prince in the +moment of peril. I trow he would be glad enough to be thy champion in +days to come. He has, moreover, a score of his own to settle one day +with the present Master of Basildene." + +Joan's bright eyes turned quickly upon Raymond, who had flushed with +boyish pride and pleasure and shame at hearing himself thus praised. He +eagerly protested that he was from that time forward Mistress Joan's +loyal servant to command; and at the prompting of John, he revealed to +her the fact of his own claim on Basildene (without naming his kinship +with the house of De Brocas), and gave an animated account of the recent +visit to the woodman's hut, and told the story of his cruel wrongs. + +Joan listened with flashing eyes and ever-varying colour. At the close +of the tale she spoke. + +"I have heard of that wretched boy -- the tool and sport of the old +man's evil arts, the victim of the son's diabolic cruelty when he has no +other victim to torment. They keep him for days without food at times, +because they say that he responds better to their fiendish practices +when the body is well-nigh reduced to a shadow. Oh, I hear them talk! My +father is a dabbler in mystic arts. They are luring him on to think he +will one day learn the secret of the transmutation of metals, whilst I +know they do but seek to make of him a tool, to subdue his will, and to +do with him what they will. They will strive to practise next on me -- +they have tried it already; but I resist them, and they are powerless, +though they hate me tenfold more for it, and I know that they are +reckoning on their revenge when I shall be a helpless victim in their +power. Art thou about to try to rescue the boy? That were, in truth, a +deed worth doing, though the world will never praise it; though it might +laugh to scorn a peril encountered for one so humble as a woodman's son. +But it would be a soul snatched from the peril of everlasting death, and +a body saved from the torments of a living hell!" + +And then John spoke of the thoughts which had of late possessed them +both of that chivalry that was not like to win glory or renown, that +would not gain the praise of men, but would strive to do in the world a +work of love for the oppressed, the helpless, the lowly. And Joan's eyes +shone with the light of a great sympathy, as she turned her bright gaze +from one face to the other, till Raymond felt himself falling beneath a +spell the like of which he had never known before, and which suddenly +gave a new impulse to all his vague yearnings and imaginings, and a zest +to this adventure which was greater than any that had gone before. + +Joan's ready woman's wit was soon at work planning and devising how the +deed might best be done. + +"I can do this much to aid," she said. "A day will come ere long when +the two Sanghursts will come at nightfall to Woodcrych, to try, as they +have done before, some strange experiments in the laboratory my father +has had made for himself. We always know the day that this visit is to +be made, and I can make shift to let you know. They stay far into the +night, and only return to Basildene as the dawn breaks. That would be +the night to strive to find and rescue the boy. He will be almost alone +in yon big house, bound hand and foot, I doubt not, or thrown into some +strange trance that shall keep him as fast a prisoner. There be but few +servants that can be found to live there. Mostly they flee away in +affright ere they have passed a week beneath that roof. Those that stay +are bound rather by fear than aught beside; and scarce a human being +will approach that house, even in broadest daylight. There are many +doors and windows, and the walls in places are mouldering away, and +would give easy foothold to the climber. It is beneath the west wing, +hard by the great fish ponds, that the rooms lie which are ever closed +from light of day, and in which the evil men practise their foul arts. I +have heard of a secret way from the level of the water into the cellars +or dungeons of the house; but whether this be true I do not rightly +know. Yet methinks you could surely find entrance within the house, for +so great is the terror in which Basildene is held that Master Sanghurst +freely boasts that he needs neither bolt nor bar. He professes to have +drawn around the house a line which no human foot may cross. He knows +well that no man wishes to try." + +Raymond shivered slightly, but he was not daunted, Yet there was still +the question to be faced, what should be done with the boy when rescued +to hold him back from the magician's unholy spell. But Joan had an +answer ready for this objection. Her hands folded themselves lightly +together, her dark eyes shone with the earnestness of her devotion. + +"That will I soon tell to you. The spell cast upon the boy is one of +evil, and therefore it comes in some sort from the devil, even though, +as John says, men may have no visible dealings with him. Yet, as all sin +is of the Evil One, and as the good God and His Holy Saints are stronger +than the devil and his angels, it is His help we must invoke when the +powers of darkness strive to work in him again. And we must ask in this +the help of some holy man of God, one who has fasted and prayed and +learned to discern betwixt good and evil, has fought with the devil and +has overcome. I know one such holy man. He lives far away from here. It +is a small community between Guildford and Salisbury -- I suppose it +lies some thirty miles from hence. I could find out something more, +perchance, in time to acquaint you farther with the road. If you once +gain possession of the boy, mount without loss of time, and draw not +rein till you reach that secluded spot. Ask to be taken in in the name +of charity, and when the doors have opened to you, ask for Father Paul. +Give him the boy. Tell him all the tale, and trust him into his holy +hands without fear. He will take him; he will cast out the evil spirit. +I misdoubt me if the devil himself will have power over him whilst he is +within those hallowed walls. At least if he can find entrance there, he +will not be able to prevail; and when the foul spirit is cast out and +vanquished, you can summon his father to him and give him back his son +-- as the son of the father in Scripture was restored to him again when +the devil had been cast out by the voice of the Blessed Jesus." + +"I truly think that thou art right," said John. "The powers of evil are +very strong, too strong to be combated by us unaided by the prayers and +the efforts of holy men. + +"Raymond, it shall be my work to provide for this journey. My uncle will +be long absent. In his absence I may do what I will and go where I will. +I would myself pay a pilgrimage to the house where this holy man +resides, and make at the shrine of the chapel there my offering of +thanksgiving for my recovery from this hurt. We will go together. We +will take the boy with us; and the boy's father shall be one of our +party. He shall see that the powers of evil can be vanquished. He shall +see for himself the restoration of his child." + + + + CHAPTER X. BASILDENE. + + +It was in the bright moonlight of a clear March evening that the twin +brothers of Gascony stood hand in hand, gazing for the first time in +their lives upon their lost inheritance of Basildene. It was not yet +wholly dark, for a saffron glow in the sky behind still showed where the +sun had lately sunk, whilst the moon was shining with frosty brightness +overhead. Dark as the surrounding woods had been, it was light enough +here in the clearing around the house. Behind the crumbling red walls +the forest grew dark and close, but in the front the larger trees had +been cleared away, and the long low house, with its heavy timbers and +many gables, stood clearly revealed before the eager eyes of the boys, +who stopped short to gaze without speaking a single word to one another. + +Once, doubtless, it had been a beautiful house, more highly decorated +than was usual at the period. The heavy beams, dark with age, let into +the brickwork were many of them richly carved, and the twisted chimneys +and quaint windows showed traces of considerable ingenuity in the +builder's art. Plainly, too, there had been a time when the ground +around the house had been cared for and kept trim and garden-like. + +Now it was but a waste and wilderness, everything growing wild and +tangled around it; whilst the very edifice itself seemed crumbling to +decay, and wore the grim look of a place of evil repute. It was hard to +believe that any person lived within those walls. It was scarce possible +to approach within the precincts of that lonely house without a shudder +of chill horror. + +Gaston crossed himself as he stood looking on the house, which, by what +men said, was polluted by many foul deeds, and tenanted by evil spirits +to boot; but upon Raymond's face was a different look. His heart went +suddenly out to the lonely old house. He felt that he could love it well +if it were ever given to him to win it back. As he stood there in the +moonlight gazing and gazing, he registered anew in his heart the vow +that the day should come when he would fulfil his mother's dying behest, +and stand within those halls as the recognized lord of Basildene. + +But the present moment was one for action, not for vague dreamings. The +brothers had come with a definite purpose, and they did not intend to +quit the spot until that purpose was accomplished. The Sanghursts -- +father and son -- were far away. The gloomy house -- unless guarded by +malevolent spirits, which did not appear unlikely -- was almost +tenantless. Within its walls was the miserable victim of cruel tyranny +whom they had come to release. The boys, who had both confessed and +received the Blessed Sacrament from the hands of the priest who had +interested himself before in the woodman's son, felt strong in the +righteousness of their cause. If they experienced some fear, as was not +unlikely, they would not own it even to themselves. Gaston was filled +with the soldier spirit of the day, that scorned to turn back upon +danger however great. Raymond was supported by a deep underlying sense +of the sacredness of the cause in which he was embarked. It was not +alone that he was going to deal a blow at the foes of his house; it was +much more to him than that. Vengeance might play a part in the crusade, +but to him it was a secondary idea. What he thought of was the higher +chivalry of which he and John had spoken so much together -- the rescue +of a soul from the clutches of spiritual tyranny; a blow struck in the +defence of one helpless and oppressed; risk run for the sake of those +who would never be able to repay; the deed done for its own sake, not in +the hope of any praise or reward. Surely this thing might be the first +step in a career of true knightliness, albeit such humble deeds might +never win the golden spurs of which men thought so much. + +Gaston's eyes had been scanning the whole place with hawk-like gaze. Now +he turned to his brother and spoke in rapid whispers. + +"Entrance will be none too easy here. The narrow windows, with their +stone mullions, will scarce admit the passage of a human body, and I can +see that iron bars protect many of them still farther. The doors are +doubtless strong, and heavily bolted. The old sorcerer has no wish to be +interrupted in his nefarious occupations, nor does he trust alone to +ghostly terrors to protect his house. Methinks we had better skirt round +the house, and seek that other entrance of which we have heard. Raymond, +did not our mother tell us oft a story of a revolving stone door to an +underground passage, and the trick by which it might be opened from +within and without? I remember well that it was by a secret spring +cleverly hidden -- seven from above, three from below, those were the +numbers. Can it be that it was of Basildene she was thinking all that +time? It seems not unlikely. Seven from the top, three from the bottom +-- those were certainly the numbers, though I cannot recollect to what +they referred. Canst thou remember the story, Raymond? Dost thou think +it was of Basildene she spoke?" + +"Ay, verily I do!" cried the other quickly, a light coming into his +face. "Why had I not thought of it before? I remember well she spoke of +dark water which lay upon the outside of the house hard by the entrance +to the underground way. Rememberest thou not the boat moored in the lake +to carry the fugitive across to the other side, and the oars so muffled +that none might hear? And did not Mistress Joan say that the secret way +into Basildene was hard by the fish ponds on the west side of the house? +It can be nothing else but this. Let us go seek them at once. Methinks +we have in our hands the clue by which we may obtain entrance into +Basildene." + +Cautiously, as though their foes were at hand, the brothers slipped +round the crumbling walls of the house, marking well as they did so that +despite the half-ruinous aspect of much of the building, there was no +ready or easy method of access. Every gap in the masonry was carefully +filled up, every window that was wide enough to admit the passage of a +human form was guarded by iron bars, and the doors were solid enough to +defy for a long time the assault of battering rams. + +"It is not in ghostly terrors he mainly trusts to guard his house," +whispered Raymond, as they skirted round into the dim darkness of the +dense woodland that lay behind the house. "Methinks if he had in very +truth a guard of evil spirits, he would not be so careful of his bolts +and bars." + +Gaston was willing enough to believe this; for though he feared no human +foe, he was by no means free from the superstitious terrors of the age, +and it needed all his coolness of head, as well as all his confidence in +the righteousness of his cause, to keep his heart from fluttering with +fear as they stepped along beneath the gloom of the trees, which even +when not in leaf cast dense shadows around them. It was in truth a weird +spot: owls hooted dismally about them, bats flitted here and there in +their erratic flight, and sometimes almost brushed the faces of the boys +with their clammy wings. The strange noises always to be heard in a wood +at night assailed their ears, and mingled with the quick beating of +their own hearts; whilst from time to time a long unearthly wail, which +seemed to proceed from the interior of the house itself, filled them +with an unreasoning sense of terror that they would not confess even to +themselves. + +"It is like the wail of a lost spirit," whispered Raymond at the third +repetition of the cry. "Brother, let us say a prayer, and go forward in +the power of the Blessed Virgin and her Holy Son." + +For a moment the brothers knelt in prayer, as the priest had bidden them +if heart or spirit quailed. + +Then rising, strengthened and supported, they looked carefully about +them, and Gaston, grasping his brother by the arm, pointed through the +trees and said: + +"The water, the water! sure I see a gleam of moonlight upon it! We have +reached the fish ponds, I verily believe! Now for the secret way to the +house!" + +It was true enough. A few steps brought them to the margin of a large +piece of water, which was something between a lake and a series of fish +ponds, such as are so often seen by old houses. Once the lake had +plainly been larger, but had partially drained away, and was now +confined to various levels by means of a rude dam and a sort of gate +like that of a modern lock. Still the boys could trace a likeness to the +lake of their mother's oft-told tale, and by instinct they both turned +to the right as they reached the margin of the water, and threaded their +way through the coarse and tangled sedges, decaying in the winter's +cold, till they reached a spot where brushwood grew down to the very +edge of the water, and the bank rose steep and high above their heads. + +Gaston was a step in advance, Raymond following at his heels, both +keenly eager over the quest. An exclamation from the leader soon showed +that something had been discovered, and the next minute he had drawn +aside the sweeping branches of a great willow, and revealed a dark +opening in the bank, around which the giant roots seemed to form a +protecting arch. + +"This is the place," he said, in a muffled whisper. "Raymond, hast thou +the wherewithal to kindle the torch?" + +The boys had not come unprovided with such things as were likely to +prove needful for their search, and though it was a matter of some time +to obtain a light, they were skilful and well used to the process, and +soon their torch was kindled and they were treading with cautious steps +the intricacies of the long and tortuous passage which plainly led +straight to the house. + +"We never should have found it but for our mother's story," said Gaston, +with exultation in his voice. "Raymond, methinks that this is the first +step in our career of vengeance. We have the key to Basildene in our +hands. It may be that upon another occasion we may use it with a +different purpose." + +It seemed to the brothers that they had walked a great distance, when +their steps were arrested by what appeared in the first instance to be a +solid wall of stone. Had they not had some sort of clue in their heads, +they would certainly have believed that this natural tunnel ended here, +and that further progress was impossible. But as it was, they were +firmly convinced that this was but the door of masonry of which their +mother had told them in years gone by. Neither could recollect the story +save in fragments; but the numbers had clung to Gaston's tenacious +memory, and now he stood before the door saying again and again -- +"Seven from the top, three from the bottom" -- scanning the wall in +front of him with the keenest glances all the while. + +"Ha!" he exclaimed at length; "bring the torch nearer, Raymond. See +here. This is not one block of stone, as seems at first, but a mass of +masonry so cunningly joined together as to look like one solid piece. +See, here are the joints; I can feel them with my fingernail, though I +can scarce see them with my eyes. Let us count the number of the stones +used. Yes; there are nine in all from top to bottom, each of the same +width. Therefore the seventh from the top is the third counting from the +bottom. This is the stone which is the key." + +So saying, Gaston set his knee against it and pressed with all his +might. Almost to his own surprise he felt it give as he did so, and +Raymond uttered a short cry of astonishment: for the whole of what had +looked like a solid wall revolved slowly inwards, revealing a +continuation of the passage which they had been traversing so long, only +that now the passage was plainly one in the interior of the house; for +the walls were of masonry, and the dimensions were far more regular. + +"This is the secret door," said Gaston exultingly. "It is in truth a +cunning contrivance. Let me have the light here a moment, Brother. I +will see what the trick of the door upon this side is." + +This point was quickly settled by an inspection of the ingenious +contrivance, which was one purely of balance, and not dependent either +upon springs or bolts. Probably it dated back from days when these +latter things were hardly known, and was so satisfactory in the working +that it had never been improved upon. + +"The way to Basildene is always open to us," murmured Raymond, with a +quick thrill of exultation, as the brothers passed through the doorway +and let it close behind them; and then they forgot all else in the +excitement of the search after the woodman's miserable son. + +What strange places they came upon in this underground region below the +ill-famed house! Plainly these cells had been built once for prisoners; +for there were fragments of rusty chains still fastened to the stone +floors, and in one spot a grinning skull lying broken in a corner sent +thrills of horror through the brothers' hearts. From time to time the +sound of that unearthly wailing reached their ears, though it was almost +impossible to divine from what direction it proceeded; and it had a far +less human sound now that the boys were within the precincts of the +house than had been the case when they were still outside. + +Whether this was more alarming or less they hardly knew. Everything was +so strange and dreamlike that they could not tell whether or not all +were real. They pressed on eager to accomplish the object of their +search, resolved to do that at all cost, and anxious to keep themselves +from thinking or feeling too much until that object should be accomplished. + +They had mounted some stairs, and had reached a different level from the +underground passages, when they found their further progress barred by a +strong door. This door was bolted, but from the outside, and they had no +difficulty in withdrawing the heavy bolts from their sockets. When this +had been done the door opened of itself, and they found themselves in a +large vaulted room utterly unlike any place they had ever seen before. +They grasped each other by the hand and gazed about in wonder. + +"It is the magician's laboratory!" whispered Raymond, whose recent +readings with John had taught him many things. + +He recognized the many crucibles and the strange implements lying on the +table as the things employed by dabblers in magic lore, whilst the great +sullen wood and charcoal fire, which illumined the place with a dull red +glow, was all in keeping with the nature of the occupations carried on +there, as was the strange pungent smell that filled the air. + +Rows of jars and bottles upon shelves, strange-looking mirrors and +crystals, some fixed and some lying upon the tables, books and +parchments full of cabalistic signs propped open beside the crucibles or +hung against the wall, all gave evidence of the nature of the pursuits +carried on in that unhallowed spot. The brothers, burning with curiosity +as well as filled with awe, approached the tables and looked into the +many vessels lying upon them, shuddering as the crimson contents made +them think of blood. + +Gaston put forth his hand cautiously and touched an ebony rod tipped +with crystal that lay beside the largest crucible. As he did so a heavy +groan seemed to arise from the very ground at his feet, and he dropped +the implement with a smothered exclamation of terror. Raymond at the +same moment looking hastily round the dim place, grasped his brother's +arm, and pointed to a dark corner not many paces from them. + +"Brother, see there! see there!" he whispered. "Sure there is the boy we +have come to save!" + +Gaston looked and made a quick step forward. Sure enough, there upon the +floor, bound hand and foot with leather thongs that had been pulled +cruelly tight, lay the emaciated figure of what had once been a handsome +and healthy boy, but was now little more than a living skeleton. His +face still retained its beauty of outline, though these outlines were +terribly pinched and sharpened, but the expression of abject terror in +the great blue eyes was pitiful to behold, and as Gaston and Raymond +bent over the boy, a shrill cry, as of agony or terror, broke from his +pale lips. + +"Who are you?" he gasped. "How have you come? Oh, do not touch me -- do +not hurt me! Go -- go quickly from this evil place, or perchance those +devils will return and capture you as they have captured me, that they +may torture you to death as they are torturing me. Oh, how did you come? +I know the doors are locked and bolted. Are you devils in human guise, +or hapless prisoners like myself? Oh, if you are still free, go -- go +ere they can return! They know that they cannot keep me much longer; +they are thirsting for another victim. Let them not return to find you +here; and plunge your own dagger into your heart sooner than be made a +slave as I have been!" + +These words were not all spoken at once, but were gasped out bit by bit +whilst the twin brothers, with wrath and fury in their hearts, cut the +tough thongs that bound the wrists and ankles of the boy, and raised his +head as they poured down his throat the strong cordial that had been +given to them by John, and which was a marvellous restorer of exhausted +nature. + +They had food, too, in a wallet, and they made the boy eat before they +told him aught of their mission; and after the first gasping words of +warning and wonder, it seemed as though he obeyed their behests +mechanically, most likely taking it all for part and parcel of some +strange vision. + +But as the sorely-needed nourishment and the powerful restorative did +its work upon the boy, he began to understand that this was no vision, +and that something utterly inexplicable had befallen him, whether for +weal or woe his confused senses would not tell him. He heard as in a +dream the hurried explanations of the boys, drawing his brows together +in the effort to understand. But when they spoke of flight he shook his +head, and pointed to the door leading into the house. + +"No man may pass out of that," he said, in low despairing tones. "How +you came in I cannot even guess. It is guarded by a fierce hound, who +will tear in pieces any who approaches save his master. There is no way +of escape for me. If you are blessed spirits from the world above, fly +hence the way you came. For me, I must ever remain the slave of him who, +if not the devil himself, is his sworn servant." + +"We will go, and that quickly," answered Raymond; "but thou shalt go +with us. We are no spirits, but let us be such to thee for the nonce. +Fear nothing; only trust us and obey us. If thou wilt do both these +things, thou shalt this very night escape for ever from the tyranny of +him whom thou hast served so long in such cruel bondage." + +The boy looked at the face bending over him, instinct with courage and a +deep sympathy and brotherly love, and a strange calm and security seemed +to fall upon him. He rose to his feet, though with some difficulty, and +laid his hand in Raymond's. + +"I will go with thee to the world's end. Be my master, and break the +hated yoke of that monster of wickedness, and I will serve thee for +ever. Thou art a ministering spirit sent from Heaven. I verily believe +that thou canst free me from this slavery." + +"Kneel then and lift thy heart in prayer to the Great God of Heaven and +earth," answered Raymond, a strange sense of power and responsibility +falling upon him at this moment, together with a clearer, purer +perception of divine things than had ever been vouchsafed him before -- +"ay, here in this very place, polluted though it may be; for God's +presence is everywhere, and it may be He will give thee, even in this +fearful chamber of abominations, that release of soul which is the right +of each of His human creatures. Kneel, and lift thy heart in prayer. I +too will pray with thee and for thee. He will hear us, for He loves us. +Be not afraid; pray with boldness, pray with love in thine heart. God +alone can loose the bands of the thraldom which binds thee; and He wilt +do it if thou canst trust in Him." + +First making the sign of the cross over the kneeling boy, and then +kneeling by his side, Raymond directed his crushed spirit to rise in an +act of devotion and supplication; and the child, believing that most +assuredly a divine messenger had come to deliver him from the hand of +his persecutor, was able to utter his prayer in a spirit of trust and +hope that brought its own immediate answer in a strange calm and confidence. + +"Come," said Gaston cautiously; "we must not longer delay. We have a +long night's ride before us, and John will be wondering what detains us +this long while." + +Together they supported the feeble steps of the boy, who was passive and +quiet in their hands. He was scarce amazed by the opening of the +mysterious inner door within a vaulted arch, through which he saw from +time to time his captors disappear, but which was ever firmly bolted and +barred upon the outer side. He did not even hang back through dread of +what might befall him if he were again recalled, as on a former +occasion, by the diabolic arts of his master. He was so firmly persuaded +of the supernatural character of these visitors, that he had faith and +strength to let them do with him what they would without comment, +question, or remonstrance. + +When they reached the outer air, after having successfully passed the +secret door again, he gave one great gasp of surprise and reeled as if +almost intoxicated by the sweet freshness of the spring night; but the +strong arms of his protectors supported him, and hurrying along through +the woodland tracks already traversed earlier in the evening, they +quickly approached the appointed place just on the outskirts of the +Basildene lands, where John, attended by three trusty serving men, +together with the old woodman, were impatiently awaiting the return of +the twins. + +"We have him safe!" cried Gaston, as he bounded on a few paces in +advance; and as the words were spoken there broke from the lips of the +old woodman a strange inarticulate cry. + +He sprang forward with a swiftness and agility that seemed impossible in +one so bent and bowed, and the next minute he had clasped his son in his +arms, and was weeping those terrible tears of manhood over the emaciated +form clasped to his breast. + +Leaving the father and son for a few moments together, the brothers in +rapid words told their tale to John, who heard it with great +satisfaction. But time was passing, and there was no longer any need for +delay. The journey before them was somewhat rough and tedious, and all +were anxious to put many miles of forest road between themselves and +Basildene ere the dawn should break. + +John did not greatly fear pursuit. He did not believe that the old man's +occult powers would enable him to track the fugitive; but he was not +certain of this, and the rest were all of opinion that he both could and +would follow, and that remorselessly, the moment he discovered the loss +of his captive. + +Certainly it could do no harm to put all possible distance betwixt the +boy and his master, and the party got to horse with the smallest +possible delay. Once let the boy be placed within the precincts of the +Sanctuary for which he was bound, in the keeping of the holy man of God +whose power was known to be so great, and none feared for the result. +But if the boy should be seized upon the road with one of his fits of +frenzy, no one could tell what the result might be, and so there was no +dissentient voice raised when a quick start and a rapid pace was +suggested by Gaston. + +The woodman took his boy in front of him upon the strong animal he +bestrode. Roger was plainly unfit to sit a horse unsupported by a strong +arm, and as they rode through the chill night air a dull lethargy seemed +to fall upon him, and he slept in an uneasy, troubled fashion. Every +moment his father feared to hear him answer an unheard call, feared to +feel him struggle wildly in his encircling arm; but neither of these +things happened. Mile after mile was traversed; the moonlight enabled +the party to push rapidly onward. Mile after mile slipped away; and just +as the first dim rays of dawn appeared in the eastern sky, John, who was +himself by this time looking white and jaded, pointed eagerly towards a +spire rising up against the saffron of the sky to the south. + +"That is the spire of St. Michael's church," he cried. "The abode of the +holy men of whom Father Paul is one is nigh at hand. Ride on, good +Gaston, and bid the holy man come forth in the name of the love of the +Blessed Saviour. If we may once put the child in his keeping, the powers +of hell will not prevail to snatch him thence." + +Gaston, who was the freshest of the little band, eagerly pressed onward +with his message. His tired horse, seeing signs of habitation, pricked +up his ears, and broke into an eager gallop. The youth quickly +disappeared from the eyes of his companions along the road; but when +they reached the monastery gate they saw that his errand had been +accomplished. A tall monk, holding in his hand a crucifix, advanced to +meet them, with a word of blessing which bared all heads; and advancing +to the side of the woodman's horse, he took the apparently inanimate +form of the boy in his arms, and looking into the wan face, said: + +"Peace be with thee, my son. Into the care of Holy Church I receive +thee. Let him who can prevail against the Church of God pluck thee from +that keeping!" + + + + CHAPTER XI. A QUIET RETREAT. + + +Little did Raymond de Brocas think, as he stepped across the threshold +of that quiet monastic home, that the two next years of his own life +were to be spent beneath that friendly and hospitable roof. And yet so +it was, and to the training and teaching he received during his +residence there he attributed much of the strength of mind and force of +character that distinguished him in days to come. + +The small community to which they had brought the persecuted victim of +the sorcerer's evil practices belonged to the order of the Cistercians, +who have been described as the Quakers of their day. At a time when many +of the older orders of monks were falling from their first rigid +simplicity -- falling into those habits of extravagance which in days to +come caused their fall and ultimate suppression -- the Cistercians still +held to their early regime of austere simplicity and plainness of life; +and though no longer absolutely secluding themselves from the sight or +sound of their fellow men, or living in complete solitude, they were +still men of austere life and self-denying habits, and retained the +reputation for sanctity of life that was being lost in other orders, +though men had hardly begun to recognize this fact as yet. + +From the first moment that Raymond's eyes fell upon the wonderful face +of Father Paul, his heart was touched by one of those strange +attractions for which it is difficult to account, yet which often form a +turning point in the history of a human life. It was not the venerable +appearance of the holy man alone; it was an indescribable something that +defied analysis, yet drew out all that was best and highest in the +spirit of the youth. But after the first glance at the monk, as he came +forward and received the inanimate form of the woodman's son in his +strong arms, Raymond's attention was differently occupied; for on +looking round at his companions, he saw that John's face was as white as +death, and that he swayed in his saddle as though he would fall. + +It then occurred to the boy for the first time that this long and tiring +night's ride was an undertaking for which John was little fit. He had +but recently recovered from a bout of sickness that had left him weak +and fit for little fatigue, and yet the whole night through he had been +riding hard, and had only yielded to exhaustion when the object for +which the journey had been taken had been accomplished. + +The kindly monks came out and bore him into their house, and presently +he and the woodman's son lay side by side in the room especially set +apart for the sick, watched over by Father Paul, and assiduously tended +by Raymond, to whom John was by this time greatly attached. + +As for Gaston, after a rest extending over two nights and days, he was +despatched to Windsor with the escort who had accompanied them on their +ride hither, to tell John's father what had befallen the travellers, and +how, John's wound having broken out afresh, he purposed to remain for +some time the guest of the holy Fathers. + +Thus, for the first time in their lives, were the brothers separated; +for though Gaston had no thought but of speedy return when he set out on +his journey, they saw him no more in that quiet cloistered home, and for +two long years the brothers did not meet again. Truth to tell, the quiet +of a religious retreat had no charm for Gaston, as it had for his +brother, and the stirring doings in the great world held him altogether +in thrall. The King of England was even then engaged in active +preparations for the war with France that did not commence in real +earnest till two years later. But all men believed that the invasion of +the enemy's land was very near. Proclamations of the most warlike nature +were being issued alike by King and Parliament. Edward was again putting +forward his inconsistent and illogical claim to the crown of France. +Men's hearts were aflame for the glory and the stress of war, and Gaston +found himself drawn into the vortex, and could only send an urgent +message to his brother, bidding him quickly come to him at Windsor. He +had been taken amongst the number of the Prince's attendants. He longed +for Raymond to come and share his good fortune. + +But Raymond, when that message reached him, had other things to think of +than the clash of arms and the struggle with a foreign foe; and he could +only send back a message to his brother that for the time at least their +paths in life must lie in different worlds. Doubtless the day would come +when they should meet again; but for the present his own work lay here +in this quiet place, and Gaston must win his spurs without his brother +beside him. So Gaston threw himself into the new life with all the zest +of his ardent nature, following sometimes the Prince and sometimes the +King, according as it was demanded of him, making one of those who +followed Edward into Flanders the following year, only to be thwarted of +their object through the most unexpected tragedy of the murder of Van +Artevelde. + +Of wars, adventures, and battles we shall have enough in the pages to +follow; so without farther concerning ourselves with the fortunes of +Gaston through these two years of excitement and preparation, we will +rather remain with Raymond, and describe in brief the events which +followed upon his admission within the walls of the Cistercian monks' home. + +Of those first weeks within its walls Raymond always retained a vivid +remembrance, and they left upon him a mark that was never afterwards +effaced. He became aware of a new power stirring within him which he had +never hitherto dreamed of possessing. + +As has before been said, Roger the woodman's son was carried into the +bare but spotlessly clean room upon the upper floor of the building +which was used for any of the sick of the community, and John was laid +in another of the narrow pallet beds, of which there were four in that +place. All this while Roger lay as if dead, in a trance that might be +one simply of exhaustion, or might be that strange sleep into which the +old sorcerer had for years been accustomed to throw him at will. Leaving +him thus passive and apparently lifeless (save that the heart's action +was distinctly perceptible), Father Paul busied himself over poor John, +who was found to be in pitiable plight; for his wound had opened with +the exertion of the long ride, and he had lost much blood before any one +knew the state he was in. For some short time his case was somewhat +critical, as the bleeding proved obstinate, and was checked with +difficulty; and but for Father Paul's accurate knowledge of surgery +(accurate for the times he lived in, at any rate), he would likely +enough have bled to death even as he lay. + +Then whilst the kindly monks were bending over him, and Father Paul's +entire time and attention were given up to the case before him, so that +he dared not leave John's bedside for an instant, Roger suddenly uttered +a wild cry and sprang up in his bed, his lips parted, his eyes wide open +and fixed in a dreadful stare. + +"I come! I come!" he cried, in a strange, muffled voice; and with a +rapidity and energy of which no one would have believed him capable who +had seen him lifted from the horse an hour before, he rose and strove to +push aside his father's detaining hand. + +The old man uttered a bitter cry, and flung his arms about the boy. + +"It has come! it has come! I knew it would. There is no hope, none! He +is theirs, body and soul. He will go back to them, and they will --" + +The words were drowned in a wild cry, as the boy struggled so fiercely +that it was plain even the old man's frenzied strength would not suffice +to detain him long. Father Paul and the monk who was assisting him with +John could not move without allowing the bleeding to recommence. But +Raymond was standing by disengaged, and the keen eyes of the Father +fixed themselves upon his face. He had heard a brief sketch of the +rescue of Roger as the boy had been undressed and laid in the bed, and +now he said, in accents of quiet command, + +"Take the crucifix that hangs at my girdle, and lay it upon his brow. +Bid him lie down once again -- adjure him in the name of the Holy Jesus. +It is not earthly force that will prevail here. We may save him but by +the Name that is above every name. Go!" + +Again over Raymond's senses there stole that sense of mystic unreality, +or to speak more truly, the sense of the reality of the unseen over the +seen things about and around us that men call mysticism, but which may +be something widely different; and with it came that quickening of the +faculties that he had experienced before as he had knelt in the +sorcerer's unhallowed hall, the same sense of fearlessness and power. He +took the crucifix without a word, and went straight to the frenzied boy, +struggling wildly against the detaining clasp of his father's arms. + +"Let him go," he said briefly; and there was that in the tone that +caused the astonished old man to loose his hold, and stand gazing in awe +and amaze at the youthful face, kindling with its strange look of +resolve and authoritative power. + +It seemed as though the possessed boy felt the power himself; for though +his open eyes took in no answering impression from the scenes around +him, his arms fell suddenly to his side. The struggles ceased, he made +no attempt to move; whilst Raymond laid the crucifix against his brow, +and said in a low voice: + +"In the Name of the Holy Son of God, in the Name of the Blessed Jesus, I +forbid you to go. Awake from that unhallowed sleep! Call upon the Name +of all names. He will hear you -- He will save you." + +His eyes were fixed upon the trembling boy; his face was shining with +the light of his own implicit faith; his strong will braced itself to +the fulfilment of the task set him to do. Confident that what the Father +bid him accomplish, that he could and must fulfil, Raymond did indeed +resemble some pictured saint on painted window, engaged in conflict with +the Evil One; and when with a sudden start and cry the boy woke suddenly +to the sense of passing things, perhaps it was small wonder that he sank +at Raymond's feet, clasping him round the knees and sobbing wildly his +broken and incoherent words: + +"O blessed Saint George -- blessed and glorious victor! thou hast come +to me a second time to strengthen and to save. Ah, leave me not! To thee +I give myself; help, O help me to escape out of this snare, which is +more cruel than that of death itself! I will serve thee ever, blessed +saint. I will be thine in life and death! Only fight my battle with the +devil and his host, and take me for thine own for ever and ever." + +Raymond kindly lifted him up, and laid him upon the bed again. + +"I am no saint," he said, a little shamefacedly; "I am but a youth like +thyself. Thou must not pray to me. But I will help thee all I may, and +perchance some day, when this yoke be broken from off thy neck, we will +ride forth into the world together, and do some service there for those +who are yet oppressed and in darkness." + +"I will follow thee to the world's end, be thou who thou mayest!" +exclaimed the boy ecstatically, clasping his thin hands together, whilst +a look of infinite peace came into his weary eyes. "If thou wouldest +watch beside my bed, then might I sleep in peace. He will not dare to +come nigh me; his messengers must stand afar off, fearing to approach +when they see by whom I am guarded." + +It was plainly useless to try to disabuse Roger of the impression that +his visitor was other than a supernatural one, and Raymond saw that with +the boy's mind so enfeebled and unhinged he had better let him think +what he would. He simply held the crucifix over him once again, and +said, with a calm authority that surprised even himself: + +"Trust not in me, nor in any Saint however holy. In the Name of the +Blessed Jesus alone put thy faith. Speak the prayer His lips have +taught, and then sleep, and fear nothing." + +With hands locked together, and a wonderful look of rest upon his face, +Roger repeated after Raymond the long-unused Paternoster which he had +never dared to speak beneath the unhallowed roof of his master at +Basildene. With the old sense of restful confidence in prayer came at +once the old untroubled sleep of the little child; and when Raymond at +last looked up from his own devotions at the bedside, it was to see that +Roger had fallen into the tranquil slumber that is the truest restorer +of health, and that Father Paul was standing on the opposite side of the +bed, regarding him with a very gentle yet a very penetrating and +authoritative gaze. He bent his head once more as if to demand a +blessing, and the Father laid a hand upon his head, and said, in grave, +full tones: + +"Peace be with thee, my son." + +That was all. There was no comment upon what had passed; and after +partaking of a simple meal, Raymond was advised to retire to rest +himself after his long night's ride, and glad enough was he of the sleep +that speedily came to him. + +All the next day he was occupied with Gaston, who had many charges to +undertake for John; and only when his brother had gone was he free to +take up his place at John's bedside, and be once again his nurse, +companion, and fellow student. + +Roger still occupied the bed in the same room where he had first been +laid. A low fever of a nature little understood had fastened upon him, +and he still fell frequently into those strange unnatural trances which +were looked upon by the brothers of the order as due to purely satanic +agency. What Father Paul thought about them none ever knew, and none +dared to ask. + +Father Paul was a man who had lived in the world till past the meridian +of life. He was reported to have travelled much, to have seen many lands +and many things, and to have been in his youth a reckless and evil +liver. Some even believed him to have committed some great crime; but +none rightly knew his history, and his present sanctity and power and +holiness were never doubted. A single look into that stern, worn, +powerful face, with the coal-black eyes gleaming in their deep sockets, +was enough to convince the onlooker that the man was intensely, even +terribly in earnest. His was the leading spirit in that small and +austere community, and he began at once to exercise a strong influence +upon each of the three youths so unexpectedly thrown across his path. + +This influence was the greatest at first over Raymond, in whom he +appeared to take an almost paternal interest; and the strange warfare +that they waged together over the mental malady of the unhappy Roger +drew them still closer together. + +Certainly for many long weeks it seemed as though the boy were labouring +under some demoniacal possession, and Raymond fully believed that such +was indeed the case. Often it seemed as though no power could restrain +him from at least the attempt to return to the tyrant whom he believed +to be summoning him back. Possibly much of the strange malady from which +he was suffering might be due to physical causes -- overstrained nerves, +and even an unconscious and morbid craving after that very hypnotic +condition (as it would now be termed) which had really reduced him to +his present pitiable state; but to Raymond it appeared to proceed +entirely from some spiritual possession, and in helping the unhappy boy +to resist and conquer the voice of the tempter, his own faith and +strength of spirit were marvellously strengthened; whilst Roger +continued to regard him in the light of a guardian angel, and followed +him about like a veritable shadow. + +Father Paul watched the two youths with a keen and observant interest. +It was by his command that Raymond was always summoned or roused from +sleep whenever the access of nervous terror fell upon Roger and he +strove to obey the summoning voice. He would watch with quiet intensity +the struggle between the wills of the two lads, and mark, with a faint +smile upon his thin lips, the triumph invariably attained by Raymond, +and his growing and increasing faith in the power of the Name he invoked +in his aid. Seldom indeed had he himself to come to the aid of the boy. +He never did so unless Roger's paroxysm lasted long enough to try +Raymond's strength to the verge of exhaustion, and this was very seldom. + +The calm smile in the Father's eyes, and his quiet words of +commendation, "Well done, my son!" were reward sufficient for Raymond +even when his strength had been most severely tasked; and as little by +little he and his charge came to know the monk better, and to receive +from him from time to time words of teaching, admonition, or +encouragement, they found themselves growing more and more dominated by +his strong will and personality, more eager day by day to please him, +more anxious to win the rare smile that occasionally flashed across the +austere face and illuminated it like a gleam of sunshine. + +John felt almost the same sense of fascination as Raymond, and was by no +means impatient of the tardy convalescence that kept him so long a +prisoner beneath the walls of the small religious house. He would indeed +have fain tarried longer yet, but that his father sent a retinue of +servants at length to bring him home again. + +But Raymond did not go with him. His work for Roger was not yet done, +and warmly attached as he was to John, his heart was still more centred +upon Father Paul. Besides, no mention was made of him in the letter that +accompanied the summons home. His brother was he knew not where, and his +duty lay with Roger, who looked to him as to a saviour and protector. + +There was no thought of Roger's leaving the retreat he had found in his +hour of need. He scarce dared put foot outside the quiet cloistered +quadrangle behind whose gates and walls he alone felt safe. Besides, his +father lay slowly dying in the hospital hard by. It seemed as though the +very joy of having his son restored to him had been too much for his +enfeebled frame after the long strain of grief that had gone before. The +process of decay might be slow, but it was sure, and all knew that the +old man would ere long die. He had no desire for life, if only his boy +were safe; and to Raymond he presented a pathetic petition that he would +guard and cherish him, and save him from that terrible possession which +had well-nigh been his ruin body and soul. + +To Raymond it seemed indeed as if this soul had been given him, and he +passed his word with a solemnity that brought great comfort to the dying +man. + +An incident which had occurred shortly before had added to Raymond's +sense of responsibility with regard to Roger, and had shown him likewise +that a new peril menaced his own path in life, though of personal danger +the courageous boy thought little. + +One day, some six weeks after his admission to the Monastery, and +shortly before John's departure thence, Roger had been strangely uneasy +and depressed for many hours. It was no return of the trance-like state +in which he was not master of his own words and actions. Those attacks +had almost ceased, and he had been rapidly gaining in strength in +consequence. This depression and restless uneasiness was something new +and strange. Raymond did not know what it might forebode, but he tried +to dissipate it by cheerful talk, and Roger did his best to fight +against it, though without much success. + +"Some evil presence is near!" he exclaimed suddenly; "I know it -- I +feel it! I ever felt this sick shuddering when those wicked men +approached me. Methinks that one of them must even now be nigh at hand. +Can they take me hence? Do I indeed belong to them? O save me -- help +me! Give me not up to their power!" + +His agitation became so violent, that it was a relief to Raymond that +Father Paul at this moment appeared; and as this phase in Roger's state +was something new, and did not partake of the nature of any spiritual +possession, he dismissed Raymond with a smile, bidding him go out for +one of the brief wanderings in the woods that were at once pleasant and +necessary for him, whilst he himself remained beside Roger, soothing his +nameless terrors and assuring him that no power in the land, not even +that of the King himself, would be strong enough to force from the +keeping of the Church any person who had sought Sanctuary beneath her +shadow. + +Meantime Raymond went forth, as he was wont to do, into the beech wood +that lay behind the home of the monks. It was a very beautiful place at +all times; never more so than when the first tender green of coming +summer was clothing the giant trees, and the primroses and wood sorrel +were carpeting the ground, which was yet brown with the fallen leaves of +the past autumn. The slanting sunbeams were quivering through the +gnarled tree trunks, and the birds were singing rapturously overhead, as +Raymond bent his steps along the trodden path which led to the nearest +village; but he suddenly stopped short with a start of surprise on +encountering the intent gaze of a pair of fierce black eyes, and finding +himself face to face with a stranger he had never seen in his life before. + +Never seen? No; and yet he knew the man perfectly, and felt that he +changed colour as he stood gazing upon the handsome malevolent face that +was singularly repulsive despite its regular features and bold beauty. +In a moment he recollected where he had seen those very lineaments +portrayed with vivid accuracy, even to the sinister smile and the gleam +in the coal-black eyes. + +Roger possessed a gift of face drawing that would in these days make the +fortune of any portrait painter. He had many times drawn with a piece of +rough charcoal pictures of the monks as he saw them in the refectory, +the refined and hollow face of John, and the keen and powerful +countenance of Father Paul. So had he also portrayed for Raymond the +features of the two Sanghursts, father and son. The youth knew perfectly +the faces of both; and as he stopped short, gazing at this stranger with +wide-open eyes, he knew in a moment that Roger's malevolent foe was nigh +at hand, and that the sensitive and morbidly acute faculties of the boy +had warned him of the fact, when he could by no possibility have known +it by any other means. + +Sanghurst stood looking intently at this bright-faced boy, a smile on +his lips, a frown in his eyes. + +"Methinks thou comest from the Monastery hard by?" he questioned +smoothly. "Canst tell me if there be shelter there for a weary traveller +this night?" + +"For a poor and weary traveller perchance there might be," answered the +boy, with a gleam in his eye not lost upon his interlocutor; "but it is +no house of entertainment for the rich and prosperous. Those are sent +onwards to the Benedictine Brothers, some two miles south from this. +Father Paul opens not his gates save to the sick, the sorrowful, the +needy. Shall I put you in the way of the other house, Sir? Methinks it +would suit you better than any place which calls Father Paul its head." + +The gaze bent upon the boy was searching and distinctly hostile. As the +dialogue proceeded, the look of malevolence gradually deepened upon the +face of the stranger, till it might have made a timid heart quail. + +"How then came John de Brocas to tarry there so long? For aught I know +he may be there yet. By what right is he a guest beneath this so +hospitable roof?" + +"He was sick nigh to the death when he craved admittance," answered +Raymond briefly. "He --" + +"He had aided and abetted the flight from his true masters of a servant +boy bound over to them lawfully and fast. If he thinks to deceive Peter +Sanghurst or if you do either, boy that you are, though with the +hardihood of a man and the recklessness of a fool -- you little know +with whom you have to deal. It was you -- you who broke into our house +-- I know not how, but some day I shall know -- and stole away with one +you fondly hope to hold against my power. Boy, I warn you fairly: none +ever makes of Peter Sanghurst an enemy but he bitterly, bitterly rues +the day. I give you one chance of averting the doom which else will fall +upon you. Give back the boy. Lure him out hither some day when I am +waiting to seize him. Place him once again in my hands, and your rash +act shall be forgiven. You have the power to do this. Be advised, and +accept my terms. The Sanghursts never forgive. Refuse, and the day will +come when you will so long to have done my bidding now, that you would +even sell your soul to undo the deed which has brought my enmity upon +you. Now choose. Will you deliver up the boy, or --" + +"Never!" answered Raymond, with flashing eyes, not even waiting to hear +the alternative. "I fear you not. I know you, and I defy you. I will +this moment to Father Paul, to warn him of your approach. The gates will +be closed, and you will be denied all entrance. You may strive as you +will, but your victim has taken Sanctuary, and not all the powers of the +world or the devil you serve can prevail against the walls of that haven +of refuge. Go back whence you came, or stay and do your worst. We fear +you not. The Holy Saints and the Blessed Jesus are our protectors and +defenders. You have tried in vain your foul spells. You have seen what +their power is against that which is from above. Go, and repent your +evil ways ere it be too late. You threaten me with your vengeance; have +you ever thought of that vengeance of God which awaits those who defy +His laws and invoke the powers of darkness? My trust is in Him; +wherefore I fear you not. Do then your worst. Magnify yourself as you +will. Your fate will be like that of the blaspheming giant of Gath who +defied the power of the living God and fell before the sling and the +stone of the shepherd boy." + +And without waiting to hear the answer which was hurled at him with all +the fury of an execration, Raymond turned and sped back to the +Monastery, not in any physical fear of the present vengeance of his foe, +but anxious to warn the keeper of the gate of the close proximity of one +who was so deadly a foe to Father Paul's protege. + +Not a word of this adventure ever reached Roger's ears, and indeed +Raymond thought little of it after the next few weeks had passed without +farther molestation from the foe. The old woodman died. Roger, though +sincerely mourning his father, was too happy in returning health and +strength to be over-much cast down. His mind and body were alike growing +stronger. He was never permitted to speak of the past, nor of the +abominations of his prison house. Father Paul had from the first bidden +the boy to forget, or at least to strive to forget, all that had passed +there, and never let his thoughts or his words dwell upon it. Raymond, +despite an occasional access of boyish curiosity, ever kept this warning +in mind, and never sought to discover what Roger had done or had +suffered beneath the roof of Basildene. And so soon as the boy had +recovered some measure of health, both he and Raymond were regularly +instructed by Father Paul in such branches of learning as were likely to +be of most service to them in days to come. + +Whether or not he hoped that they would embrace the religious life they +never knew. He never dropped a hint as to his desires on that point, and +they never asked him. They were happy in their quiet home. All the +brothers were kind to them, and the Father was an object of loving +veneration which bordered on adoration. + +Two years slipped thus away so fast that it seemed scarce possible to +believe how time had fled by. Save that they had grown much both in body +and mind, the boys would have thought it had been months, not years, +they had spent in that peaceful retreat. + +The break to that quiet life came with a mission which was entrusted by +His Holiness himself to Father Paul, and which involved a journey to +Rome. With the thought of travel there came to Raymond's mind a longing +after his own home and the familiar faces of his childhood. The Father +was going to take the route across the sea to Bordeaux, for he had a +mission to fulfil there first. Why might not he go with him and see his +foster-mother and Father Anselm again? He spoke his wish timidly, but it +was kindly and favourably heard; and before the spring green had begun +to clothe the trees, Father Paul, together with Raymond and his shadow +Roger, had set foot once more upon the soil of France. + + + + CHAPTER XII. ON THE WAR PATH + + +"Raymond! Is it -- can it be thou?" + +"Gaston! I should scarce have known thee!" + +The twin brothers stood facing one another within the walls of Caen, +grasping each other warmly by the hand, their eyes shining with delight +as they looked each other well over from head to foot, a vivid happiness +beaming over each handsome face. It was more than two years since they +had parted -- parted in the quiet cloister of the Cistercian +Brotherhood; now they met again amid scenes of plunder and rapine: for +the English King had just discovered, within the archives of the city +his sword had taken, a treaty drawn up many years before, agreeing that +its inhabitants should join with the King of France for the invasion of +England; and in his rage at the discovery, he had given over the town to +plunder, and would even have had the inhabitants massacred in cold +blood, had not Geoffrey of Harcourt restrained his fury by wise and +merciful counsel. But the order for universal pillage was not recalled, +and the soldiers were freebooting to their hearts' content all over the +ill-fated city. + +Raymond had seen sights and had heard sounds as he had pressed through +those streets that day in search of his brother that had wrung his soul +with indignation and wonder. Where was the vaunted chivalry of its +greatest champion, if such scenes could be enacted almost under his very +eyes? Were they not true, those lessons Father Paul had slowly and +quietly instilled into his mind, that not chivalry, but a true and +living Christianity, could alone withhold the natural man from deeds of +cruelty and rapacity when the hot blood was stirred by the fierce +exultation of battle and victory, and the lust of conquest had gained +the mastery over his spirit? + +The hot July sun was beating down upon the great square where were +situated those buildings of which the King and the Prince and their +immediate followers had taken temporary possession. The brothers stood +together beneath the shadow of a lofty wall. Cries and shouts from the +surrounding streets told tales of the work being done there; but that +work had carried off almost all the soldiers, and the twins were +virtually alone in the place, save for the tall and slight youth who +stood a few paces off, and was plainly acting in the capacity of +Raymond's servant. + +"I thought I should find thee here, Gaston," said his brother, with fond +affection in his tones. "I knew that thou wouldst be with the King at +such a time; and when I entered within the walls of this city, I said in +my heart that my Gaston would have no hand in such scenes as those I was +forced to witness as I passed along." + +Gaston's brow darkened slightly, but he strove to laugh it off. + +"Nay, thou must not fall foul of our great and mighty King for what thou +hast seen today. In truth I like it not myself; but what would you? The +men were furious when they heard of yon treaty; and the King's fierce +anger was greatly kindled. The order went forth, and when pillage once +begins no man may tell where it will end. War is a glorious pastime, but +there must ever be drawbacks. Sure thine own philosophy has taught thee +that much since thou hast turned to a man of letters. But tell me of +thyself, Raymond. I am hungry for news. For myself, thou mayest guess +what has been my life, an thou knowest how these past two years have +been spent -- wars and rumours of wars, fruitless negotiations, and +journeys and marches for little gain. I am glad enough that we have +shaken hands with peace and bid her adieu for a while. She can be a +false and treacherous friend, and well pleased am I that the bloody +banner of true warfare is unfurled at last. England is athirst for some +great victory, for some gallant feat of arms which shall reward her for +the burdens she has to pay to support our good soldiers. For his +people's sake, as well as for his own honour, the King must strike some +great blow ere he returns home and we who follow the Prince have sworn +to follow him to the death and win our spurs at his side. + +"Brother, say that thou wilt join our ranks. Thou hast not forgotten our +old dreams? Thou hast not turned monk or friar?" + +"Nay, or I should not now be here," answered Raymond. "No, Gaston, I +have forgotten naught of the old dream; and I too have seen fighting in +the south, where the King of France has mustered his greatest strength. +For we believed the Roy Outremer would land at Bordeaux and march to the +help of my Lord Derby, who is waging war against the Count of Lille +Jourdaine and the Duke of Bourbon in and around Gascony. And, Gaston, +the Sieur de Navailles has joined the French side, and is fighting in +the van of the foe. He has long played a double game, watching and +waiting till victory seems secure for either one King or the other. Now, +having seen the huge force mustered by the King of France in the south, +he seems to have resolved that the victory must remain with him, and has +cast in his lot against the English cause. So, Brother, if the great +Edward wins his battles, and drives from his own fair territories the +invading hosts of France, it may be that the Sieur do Navailles may be +deprived of his ill-gotten lands and castles; and then, if thou hast won +thy spurs --" + +Raymond paused, and Gaston's eyes flashed at the thought. But he had +learned, even in these two years, something of the lesson of patience, +and was now less confident of winning fame and fortune at one stroke +than he had been when he had made his first step along the path that he +believed would lead him by leaps and bounds to the desired haven. + +"Then thou hast been there? Hast thou seen the old places -- the old +faces? Truly I have longed to visit Sauveterre once more; but all our +plans are changed, and now men speak of naught but pressing on for +Calais. Where hast thou come from?" + +"From the old home, Gaston, where for three months I and Roger have +been. What! dost thou not know Roger again? In truth, he looks vastly +different from what he did when thou sawest him last. We are brothers in +arms now, albeit he likes to call himself my servant. We have never been +parted since the day we snatched him from that evil place within the +walls of Basildene. We have been in safe shelter at the mill. Honest +Jean and Margot had the warmest welcome for us, and Father Anselm gave +us holy words of welcome. Everything there is as when we left. Scarce +could I believe that nigh upon three years will soon have fled since we +quitted its safe shelter. But I could not stay without thee, Brother. I +have greatly longed to look upon thy face again. I knew that thou wert +with the King, and I looked that this meeting should have been at +Bordeaux. But when news was brought that the English ships had changed +their course and were to land their soldiers in the north, I could tarry +no longer, and we have ridden hard through the land northward to find +thee here. Tell me, why this sudden change of plan? Surely the King will +not let his fair province of Gascony be wrested from his hand without +striking a blow in its defence in person?" + +Gaston laughed a proud, confident laugh. + +"Thou needst scarce ask such a question, Raymond; little canst thou know +the temper of our King an thou thinkest for a moment such a thing as +that. But methinks we may strike a harder blow here in the north against +the treacherous French monarch than ever we could in the south, where +his preparations are made to receive us. Here no man is ready. We march +unopposed on a victorious career. The army is far away in the south; the +King has but a small force with him in Paris. Brave Geoffrey of +Harcourt, by whose advice we have turned our course and landed here at +La Hague, has counselled us to march upon Calais and gain possession of +that pirate city. With the very key of France in our hands, what may not +England accomplish? Wherefore our march is to be upon Calais, and +methinks there will be glory and honour to be won ore this campaign closes!" + +And, indeed, for a brief space it did seem as though King Edward's +progress was to be one of unchecked victory; for he had already routed +the French King's Constable, sent to try to save Caen; had taken and +pillaged that city, and had marched unopposed through Carbon, Lisieux, +and Louviers to Rouen, leaving terrible devastation behind, as the +soldiers seized upon everything in the way of food from the hapless +inhabitants, though not repeating the scenes which had disgraced the +English colours at Caen. + +But at Rouen came the first of those checks which in time became so +vexatious and even perilous to the English army. The French, in great +alarm, had realized that something must be done to check Edward's +victorious career; and as it was plain that if he turned his steps +northward there would be no chance of opposing him, their aim and object +was to pen him as far in the south as possible, so that the army in +Gascony, perhaps, or failing that the new one mustering rapidly round +the King in Paris, might close in upon the alien army and cut them to +pieces by sheer force of numbers, before they could reach the coast and +their ships. So Philip, recovering from his first panic, sent orders +that all the bridges between Rouen and Paris should be broken down; and +when Edward reached the former city, intending to cross there to the +north side of the Seine, he found only the broken piers and arches of +the bridge left standing, and the wide, turbid waters of the great river +barring his further progress. + +Irritated and annoyed, but not really alarmed as yet, the English King +turned his steps eastward toward Paris, still resolved to cross by the +first bridge found standing. But each in turn had been broken down; and +the only retaliation he could inflict upon the people who were thwarting +and striving to entangle him in a net, was to burn the towns through +which he passed; Pont de l'Arche, Vernon, and Verneuil, until he arrived +at last at Poissy, only a few miles from Paris, to find the bridge there +likewise broken down, whilst messengers kept arriving from all sides +warning him that a far mightier host was gathering around Philip than he +had with him, and advising instant retreat along the course by which he +had come. + +But Edward well knew that retreat was impossible. He had so exhausted +the country and exasperated its inhabitants by his recent march and its +attendant ravages, that it would be impossible to find food for his +soldiers there again, even if the people did not rise up in arms against +them. Rather would he face the French foe, however superior to his own +force, in open fight, than turn his back upon them in so cowardly a fashion. + +Meantime, as Philip did not move, he set to work with his soldiers to +repair the bridge, sending out detachments of his army to harass and +alarm the inhabitants of Paris, ravaging the country up and down, and +burning St. Germain, St. Cloud, and Montjoie. + +These expeditions, so perilous and so singularly successful, were just +of the kind to delight the eager spirits of the camp, and keep +enthusiasm up to a high pitch. Why Philip suffered these ravages, when +his army already far outnumbered that of the English, and why the French +permitted their foes to repair and cross the bridge at Poissy without +stirring a finger to hinder them, are questions more easily asked than +answered. Possibly the knowledge that the Somme still lay between their +enemies and the sea, and that the same difficulties with regard to the +bridges was to be found there, kept the French army secure still of +final victory. Possibly they thought that, hemmed in between the two +great rivers, the army of Edward would be so well caught in a trap that +they need not bestir themselves to consummate the final scene of the +drama. At any rate, Philip remained inactive, save that his army was +rapidly augmenting from all sides; whilst the English finished their +bridge and marched northward, only opposed by a large body of troops +sent out from Amiens to meet them, over which they obtained an easy victory. + +Nevertheless the position of the English was becoming exceedingly +critical, and their march certainly partook something of the nature of a +retreat, little as they themselves appeared to be aware of the fact. +Philip with his host was advancing from behind, the great river Somme +lay before them, all its bridges either broken down or so well fortified +as to be practically impassable; and though their allies in Flanders had +raised the siege of Bovines in order to march to the assistance of the +English King, there appeared small chance of their effecting a junction +in time to be of any use. + +At Airaines a pause was made in order to try to discover some bridge or +ford by which the river might be passed. But Philip's work had been so +well done that not a whole bridge could anywhere be found; and the +French army was pressing so hard upon the English that in the end they +had to break up their camp in the greatest haste, leaving their cooked +provisions and tables ready spread for their foes to benefit by. They +themselves hastened on to Abbeville, keeping slightly to the west of the +town so as to avoid provoking attack, and be nearer to the coast, though +as no English ships could be looked for in the river's mouth, the +seacoast was of small service to them. + +Such is the brief outline of the facts of Edward's well-known march in +this campaign, destined to become so famous. The individual action of +our Gascon twins must now be told in greater detail. + +Their reunion after so long a separation had been a source of keen +delight to both the brothers. Each had developed in a different +direction, and instead of being shadows the one of the other as in old +days, they were now drawn together by the force of contrast. Gaston was +above all else a soldier, with a soldier's high spirit, love of +adventure, and almost reckless courage. He fairly worshipped the King +and the Prince, and was high in favour with the youthful Edward, whose +first campaign this was. Raymond, whilst imbued with the same high +courage, though of a loftier kind, in that it was as much spiritual as +physical, and with much of the chivalrous love of adventure so common to +the gallant youths of that age, was far more thoughtful, well +instructed, and far-seeing than his brother. He looked to the larger +issues of life. He was not carried away by wild enthusiasm. He could +love, and yet see faults. He could throw in his lot with a cause, and +ardently strive for the victory, and yet know all the while that there +were flaws in that same cause, and admit with sorrow, yet firm +truthfulness, that in this world no cause is ever altogether pure, +altogether just. He was not of the stuff of which hot partisans are +made. He had a spirit in advance of his times, and the chances were that +he would never rise to the same measure of success as his brother. For +those who try to keep a stainless name in times of strife, bloodshed, +and hostile jealousy, seldom escape without making bitter enemies, and +suffer the penalty that will ever attend upon those who strive after a +higher ideal than is accepted by the world at large. + +But if growing apart in character, the bond of warm love was but drawn +closer by the sense that each possessed gifts denied to the other. +Raymond found in Gaston the most charming and enlivening comrade and +friend. Gaston began unconsciously to look up to his brother, and to +feel that in him was a power possessed by few of those by whom he was +surrounded, and to which he could turn for counsel and help if ever the +time should come when he felt the need of either. + +In Raymond's presence others as well as Gaston began to curb some of +that bold freedom of speech which has always characterized the stormy +career of the soldier. Those who so curbed themselves scarce knew why +they did so. It was seldom that Raymond spoke any word of rebuke or +admonition, and if he did it was only to some youth younger than +himself. But there was something in the direct grave look of his eyes, +and in the pure steadfastness of his expression, which gave to his +aspect a touch of saintliness quickly felt by those about him. For in +those days men, in spite of many and great faults, were not ashamed of +their religion. Much superstition might be mingled with their beliefs, +corruption and impurity were creeping within the fold of the Church, +darkness and ignorance prevailed to an extent which it is hard in these +times to realize; yet with all this against them, men were deeply and +truly loyal to their faith. It had not entered into their minds that a +deep and firm faith in God was a thing of which to be ashamed; that to +trust in special providence was childish folly; to receive absolution +upon the eve of some great and perilous undertaking a mere empty form, +or a device of cunning priestcraft. It has been the work of a more +"enlightened" age to discover all this. In olden times -- those despised +days of worn-out superstition -- men yet believed fully and faithfully +in their God, and in His beneficent care of His children. Raymond, then, +with his saint-like face and his reputation of piety, together with the +story of his residence beneath the care of Father Paul, quickly obtained +a certain reputation of his own that made him something of a power; and +Gaston felt proud to go about with his brother at his side, and hear the +comments passed upon that brother by the comrades he had made in the +past years. + +During the exciting march through the hostile country Gaston and Raymond +had known much more of the feeling of the people than their comrades. +The French tongue was familiar to them, and though they did not speak it +as readily as English or their Gascon dialect, they had always known it +from childhood, and never had any difficulty in making themselves +understood. Despite their English sympathies and their loyalty to +England's King, they felt much natural compassion for the harried and +distracted victims of Edward's hostile march; and many little acts of +protective kindness had been shown by both the brothers (generally at +Raymond's instigation) towards some feeble or miserable person who might +otherwise have been left in absolute destitution. These small acts of +kindness won them goodwill wherever they went, and also assisted them to +understand the words and ways of the people as they would scarcely have +done without. + +Then, as in all countries and all times the old proverb holds good that +one good turn deserves another, they picked up here and there several +valuable hints, and none more valuable than the knowledge that somewhere +below Abbeville, between that town and the sea, was a tidal ford that +could be crossed twice in the twelve hours by those who knew where to +seek it. Thus whilst the King's Marshals were riding up and down the +river banks, vainly seeking some bridge over which the hard-pressed army +could pass, the twin brothers carefully pursued their way down the +stream, looking everywhere for the white stone bottom which they had +been told marked the spot where the water was fordable. + +But the tide was rolling in deep and strong, and they could see nothing. +Still cautiously pursuing their way -- cautiously because upon the +opposite bank of the river they saw a large gathering of archers and +footmen all belonging to the enemy -- they lighted presently upon a +peasant varlet cutting willow wands not far from the river's brink. The +boys entered into talk with him, and Raymond's kindly questioning soon +elicited the information that the man's name was Gobin Agace, that he +was a poor man with little hope of being anything else all his days, and +that he knew the river as well as any man in the realm. + +"Then," said Raymond, "thou needest be poor no longer; for if thou wilt +come with us to the camp of the English King a short league away, and +lead him and his army to the ford of the Blanche Tache which lies not +far from here, he will make thee rich for life, and thou wilt be +prosperous all thy days." + +"If the King of France do not follow and cut off my head," said the man +doubtfully, though his eyes glistened at the prospect of such easily-won +wealth. + +"By holy St. Anthony, thou needst not fear that!" cried Gaston. "Our +great King can protect thee and keep thee from all harm. See here, good +knave: it will be far better for thee to win this great reward than for +us, who have no such dire need of the King's gold. If thou wilt not aid +us, we must e'en find the place ourselves; but as time presses we will +gladly lead thee to the King, and let him reward thee for thy good +service. So answer speedily yea or nay, for we may not linger longer +whilst thou debatest the matter in that slow mind of thine." + +"Then I will e'en go with you, fair sirs," answered the fellow, who was +in no mind to let the reward slip through his fingers; and within an +hour Gaston and Raymond led before the King the peasant varlet who held +the key of the position in his hands. + +Every hour was bringing fresh messages of warning. The French King was +in pursuit of his flying foe (as he chose to consider him), and though +he felt so certain of having him in a trap that he did not hasten as he +might have done, there was no knowing when the van of the French army +would be upon them; and the moment that the King heard of this ford, and +was assured by the peasant that at certain states of the tide twelve men +abreast could ford it, the water reaching only to the knee, he broke up +his camp at an hour's notice, and with Gobin Agace at his side proceeded +in person to the water's edge, the flower of his army crowding to the +spot beside him, whilst the mass of his troops formed in rank behind, +ready to press forward the moment the water should be fordable. + +Night had fallen before the trumpets had sounded, warning the soldiers +of the breaking up of the camp. All night long they had been working, +and then marching to the fordable spot: but now the tide was rolling in +again; and worse than that, the English saw upon the opposite shore a +compact band of twelve hundred men -- Genoese archers and picked cavalry +-- posted there by the now vigilant Philip, ready to oppose their +passage if they should chance upon the ford. + +"Knights and gentlemen," said the King, as he sat his fine charger and +looked round upon the gallant muster around him, "shall we be daunted by +the opposing foe? They are but a handful, and we know the coward temper +of yon Italian crossbowmen. Who will be the first to lead the charge, +and ride on to victory?" + +A hundred eager voices shouted a reply. The enthusiasm spread from rank +to rank. Foremost of those beside the water's edge stood Oliver and +Bernard de Brocas; and when at last the ebb came, and the word was given +to advance, they were amongst the first who dashed into the shallow +water, whilst Gaston and his brother, though unable to press into the +foremost rank, were not far behind. + +Thick and fast fell round them the bolts of the crossbows; but far +thicker and more deadly were the long shafts of the English archers, +which discomfited the foreign banners and sent them flying hither and +thither. In vain did their brave leader, Godemar de Fay, strive to rally +them and dispute the passage of the main body of the army, even when the +horsemen had passed across. Edward's splendid cavalry rode hither and +thither, charging again and again into the wavering band. Quickly the +Genoese hirelings flung away their bows and ran for their lives; whilst +the English army, with shouts of triumph, steadily advanced across the +ford in the first quivering light of the dawning day, and looked back to +see the banners of Philip of France advancing upon them, whilst a few +stragglers and some horses were actually seized by the soldiers of that +monarch. + +"Now God and St. George be praised!" cried Edward, as he watched the +approach of the foe, who had so nearly trapped him upon ground which +would have given every advantage to the French and none to his own army. +"Methinks had our good brother but pressed on a day's march faster, it +would have gone hard with us to save the honour of England. Now I stand +on mine own ground. Now will I fight at my ease. There is bread for my +soldiers. They shall rest ere they be called upon to fight. Let Philip +do his worst! We will be ready with an English welcome when he comes. +Let his host outnumber ours by three to one, as men say it does, shall +we be afraid to meet him in fair field, and show him what English +chivalry may accomplish?" + +A tumultuous cheer was answer enough. The whole of the English army now +stood upon the north bank of the Somme, watching, with shouts of triumph +and gestures of defiance, the futile efforts of the French to plunge +over the ford. The tide was again flowing. The water was deep and rapid. +In a moment they knew themselves to be too late, and a few well-aimed +shafts from English longbows showed them how futile was now any effort +in pursuit of the foe who had eluded them. + +Sullenly and with many menacing gestures, that were replied to by shouts +of derisive laughter from the English soldiers, the French army turned +hack towards Abbeville, where they could cross the river at their +leisure by the bridge which had been strongly fortified against Edward. +Careless confidence had lost Philip the advantage he might have gained +through clever generalship; he was now to see what he could do by force +of arms when he and Edward should stand face to face in their opposing +hosts in the open field of battle. + + + + CHAPTER XIII. WINNING HIS SPURS. + + +"Tomorrow, good comrades in arms, we will show yon laggard King of what +stuff English chivalry is made!" cried the young Prince of Wales, as he +rose to his feet and held a bumper of wine high above his head. "We have +our spurs to win, and tomorrow shall be our chance. Here is to the +victory of the English arms! May the mighty St. George fight upon our +side, and bring us with glory and honour through the day!" + +Every guest at the Prince's table had leaped to his feet. Swords were +unsheathed and waved in wild enthusiasm, and a shout went up that was +like one of triumph, as with one voice the guests around the Prince's +table drained their cups to the victory of the English cause, shouting +with one voice, as if formulating a battle cry: + +"St. George and the Prince! St. George and the Prince!" + +In the English camp that night there were elation and revelry; not the +wild carousing that too often in those days preceded a battle and left +the soldiers unfit for duty, but a cheerful partaking of good and +sufficient food before the night's rest and ease which the King had +resolved upon for his whole army, in preparation for the battle that +could scarce be delayed longer than the morrow. + +It was early on Thursday morning, the twenty-fourth day of August, that +the ford of the Blanche Tache had been crossed. Thursday and Friday had +been spent by the English in skirmishing about in search of provisions, +of which great abundance had been found, and in deciding upon the +disposition of their troops in a favourable position for meeting the +advance of the French. + +The King had selected some wooded and rising ground in the vicinity of +the then obscure little village of Crecy. Then having made all his +arrangements with skill and foresight, and having ordered that his men +should be provided with ample cheer, and should rest quietly during the +night, he himself gave a grand banquet to the leaders of his army; and +the young Prince of Wales followed his father's example by inviting to +his own quarters some score of bold and congenial spirits amongst the +youthful gentlemen who followed his father's banner, to pass the time +with them in joyous feasting, and to lay plans for the glory of the +coming day. + +It is difficult in these modern days to realize how young were some +amongst those who took part in the great battles of the past. The Black +Prince, as he was afterwards called from the sombre hue of the armour he +wore, was not yet fifteen when the Battle of Crecy was fought; and when +the King had summoned his bold subjects to follow him to the war, he had +called upon all knights and gentlemen between the ages of sixteen and +twenty to join themselves to him for this campaign in France. Lads who +would now be reckoned as mere schoolboys were then doughty warriors +winning their spurs in battle; and some of the most brilliant charges of +those chivalrous days were led and carried through mainly by striplings +scarce twenty years old. Inured from infancy to hardy sports, and +trained to arms to the exclusion almost of all other training, these +bold sons of England certainly proved equal to the demands made upon +them. True, they were often skilfully generalled by older men, but the +young ones held their own in prowess in the field; and child as the +Prince of Wales would now be considered, the right flank of the army was +to be led by him upon the morrow; and though the Earls of Warwick and +Hereford and other trusty veterans were with him, his was the command, +and to him were they to look. + +No wonder then that the comrades who had marched with him through these +last hazardous days, and who had been with and about him for many months +-- some of them for years -- should rally round him now with the keenest +enthusiasm. The De Brocas brothers were there -- Oliver and Bernard +(John had not left England to follow the fortunes of the war) -- as well +as Gaston and his brother, whose return had been warmly welcomed by the +Prince. He had heard about the rescue of the woodman's son, and had been +greatly interested and taken by Raymond and his story. Student though he +might be by nature, Raymond was as eager as any for the fight that was +to come. He had caught the spirit of the warlike King's camp, and his +blood was on fire to strike a blow at the foe who had so long harassed +and thwarted them. + +And it was not all rioting and feasting in the camp that night. The +soldiers supped well and settled to rest; but the King, when his guests +had departed, went to his oratory and spent the night upon his knees, +his prayer being less for himself than for his gallant boy; less for +victory than that England's honour might be upheld, and that whatever +was the issue of the day, this might be preserved stainless in the sight +of God and man. + +Then very early in the morning, whilst almost all the camp slept, the +King was joined by his son, the Prince being followed by Raymond, who +had also kept vigil upon his knees that night, and they, with some half +score of devout spirits, heard mass and received the Sacrament; whilst a +little later on the monks and priests were busy hearing the confessions +of the greater part of the soldiers, who after receiving the priestly +absolution went into battle with a loftier courage than before. + +When this had been done and still the French army appeared not, the King +gave orders that the men should be served with something to eat and +drink, after which they might sit down at their ease to wait till their +adversaries appeared. + +Meantime the French were having anything but a comfortable time of it. +They had remained inactive in Abbeville for the whole of Friday as well +as the preceding Thursday, after they had retreated thither from the +ford where the English had given them the slip; and on Saturday they +were marched off none too well fed, to meet their English foes. + +Philip was so confident that his immense superiority in numbers was +certain to give him the victory, that he thought little of the comfort +of his men, the consequence being that they grew jaded and weary with +the long hot march taken in an ill-fed state; and his own marshals at +last very earnestly entreated their lord to call a halt for rest and +refreshment before the troops engaged in battle, or else the men would +fight at a terrible disadvantage. + +Philip consented to this, and a halt was called, which was obeyed by the +ranks in front; but those behind, eager to fall upon the English, and +confident of easy victory, declined to wait, and went steadily forward, +shouting "Kill! kill!" as they went, till all the alleys became filled +up and choked. The press from behind urged forward the men in front, and +the army moved on perforce once again, though now no longer in order, +but in a confused and unmanageable mass. + +Just as they came in sight of the English line of battle a heavy tempest +of thunder and rain came upon them. The clouds seemed to discharge +themselves upon the French host, and those birds of evil omen, the +ravens, flew screaming overhead, throwing many men into paroxysms of +terror who would never have blenched before the drawn blade of an armed foe. + +Worse than this, the rain wet and slackened the strings of the Genoese +crossbowmen, who marched in the foremost rank; and hungry and weary as +they were, this last misfortune seemed to put the finishing touch to +their discomfiture. Hireling soldiers, whose hearts are not in the +cause, have been the curse of many a battlefield; and though these +Genoese advanced with a great shouting against the foe, as though hoping +to affright them by their noise, they did little enough except shout, +till their cries were changed to those of agony and terror as their +ineffectual shower of bolts was answered by a perfect hail of shafts +from the English archers' dreaded longbows, whilst the sun shining full +into their dazzled eyes rendered ineffectual any farther attempt on +their part to shoot straight at the foe. The hired archers turned and +fled, and throwing into confusion the horsemen behind who were eager to +charge and break the ranks of the English archers, the luckless men were +mown down ruthlessly by their infuriated allies, whose wrath was burning +against them now that they had proved not only useless but a serious +hindrance. + +This was by no means a promising beginning for the French; but still, +with their overwhelming superiority of numbers, they had plenty of +confidence left; and the English, though greatly encouraged by the +breaking and havoc in the ranks of the foe, were by no means recklessly +confident that the day was theirs. + +Presumably the English King, who with the reserves was posted upon the +highest ground at some distance behind the two wings, had the best view +of the battle. The left wing, commanded by the Earls of Northampton and +Arundel, occupied the stronger position, being protected on their left +by the little river Maye. The young Prince was in the position of the +greatest danger; and as he and his companions stood in their ranks, +watching the onset of the battle with parted lips, and breath that came +and went with excitement, they began to see that upon them and their men +the brunt of the day would fall. + +It had been the King's command that the battle should be fought on foot +by the English, probably owing to the wooded and uncertain nature of the +ground, else his far-famed cavalry would hardly have been dismounted. +The Prince then stood still in his place, gazing with kindling eyes at +the confusion in the ranks of the foe, till the glint of a blood-red +banner in their ranks caught his eye, and he cried aloud to his men, + +"The oriflamme! the oriflamme, good comrades! See ye that, and know ye +what it means when the King of France unfurls it? It is a signal that no +lives will be spared, no quarter granted to the foe. If we go not on to +victory, we march every man to his death!" + +A shout that was like a cheer was the response of the gallant little +band who stood shoulder to shoulder with the Prince, and the word being +passed from mouth to mouth was received everywhere with like courageous +enthusiasm, so that the cheer went ringing down from line to line, and +hearts beat high and hand grasped sword ever harder and faster as the +tide of battle rolled onward, until the word was given and the trumpets +sounded the advance. + +"Keep by my side and the Prince's, Raymond," breathed Gaston, as slowly +and steadily they pressed down the hill towards the spot where the +French horse under the Count of Alencon were charging splendidly into +the ranks of the archers and splitting the harrow into which they had +been formed by Edward's order into two divisions. The Count of Flanders +likewise, knowing that the King's son was in this half of the battle, +called on his men to follow him, and with a fine company of Germans and +Savoyards made for the spot where the young Prince was gallantly +fighting, and cheering on his men to stand firm for the honour of England. + +Shoulder to shoulder, fearless and dauntless, stood the little band of +gallant knights and gentlemen who formed the bodyguard of the Prince. +Again and again had the horsemen charged them; but the soldiers threw +themselves beneath the horses of the foe and stabbed them through the +body, so that hundreds of gallant French knights were overthrown and +slain ere they well knew what had befallen them. But in the press and +the heat of battle it was hard to say how the tide would turn. The +commanders of the left wing of the English, the Earls of Northampton and +Arundel, were forcing their way inch by inch to reach the Prince's side +and divert from his immediate neighbourhood the whole stress of the +opposing force now concentred there. They could see that the Prince was +still unharmed, fighting with the gallantry of his soldier race. But the +odds for the moment were heavily against him; and they despatched a +messenger to the King, who remained with the reserves, begging him to go +to the assistance of the Prince. Ere the messenger returned, they had +fought their own way into the melee, and had joined issue with the +gallant youth, who, fearless and full of spirit, was encouraging his men +alike by the boldness of his demeanour and by his shouts of +encouragement and praise, though his breath was coming thick and fast, +and the drops of exhaustion stood upon his brow. + +"Fear not, sweet Prince," cried Arundel, raising his voice so that all +who were near could hear: "we have sent word to your Royal Sire of the +stress of the battle round you, and he will soon be here himself with +the help that shall enable us to rout this rebel host;" and he turned +his eyes somewhat anxiously towards the height where the King and his +company still remained motionless. + +But a messenger was spurring back through the open ground which lay +between the reserves and the right wing where such hot work was going +on. He made straight for the spot where the Prince was fighting, and +both the Earls turned eagerly towards him. + +"What said the King?" they asked quickly. "When will he be with us?" + +"He asked," replied the messenger, "whether the Prince were killed or +wounded; and when I told him nay, but in a hard passage of arms wherein +he needed his Sire's help, the King folded his arms and turned away, +saying, 'Let the boy win his spurs; for I will that the glory of this +day be his, and not mine.'" + +As those words were spoken it seemed as if new life were infused into +the young Prince himself and all those who surrounded him. A ringing +cheer rose from all their throats. They formed once again under their +young leader, and charged the enemy with a fury that nothing was able to +resist. The horsemen were forced hack the way they had come. The Counts +who had led them boldly and well were unhorsed and slain. Dismay and +terror fell upon the breaking ranks of the French, and they turned and +fled; whilst the excited and triumphant young Prince pursued them with +shouts of exultation and triumph, till he found himself with his few +most faithful followers in the midst of the flying but hostile ranks +some little distance away from the English army. + +"Sweet Prince, beware! have a care how you adventure your life thus in +the enemy's ranks," whispered Raymond in his ear, he alone keeping a +cool head in the midst of so much that was exciting. "See, here come +some score of horsemen who know thee and would fain cut off thy retreat. +Let us here make a stand and receive the charge, else shall we all be +overthrown together." + +This cautious counsel came only just in time. Young Edward looked round +to see that his reckless bravery had placed him for the moment in +imminent peril; but he had all the courage of his race, and his heart +quailed not for an instant. Giving the word to his comrades to form a +compact square, he placed himself where the onset was like to be the +fiercest; nor was there time for his companions to interfere to place +him in a position of greater safety. + +With a great shout of rage and triumph the band of horsemen, who had +recognized the person of the Prince, now rushed upon him, resolved +either to carry him off a prisoner or leave him lying dead upon the +field, so that the English might have little joy in their victory. So +fierce was the attack that the Prince was borne to the ground; and the +Battle of Crecy might have been a dark instead of a bright page in +England's history, but for the gallantry of a little band of Welshmen +headed by Richard de Beaumont, the bearer of the banner portraying the +great red dragon of Merlin, which had floated all day over the bold +Welsh contingent. + +Flinging this banner over the prostrate form of the Prince, the brave +soldier called on his men to charge the horses and cut them down. This +they did in the way before mentioned -- throwing themselves underneath +and stabbing them through the heart. So their riders, finding even this +last effort futile, joined in the headlong flight of their compatriots; +and the Prince's faithful attendants crowded round him to raise him up +again, greatly rejoicing to find that though breathless and confused by +the shock of his fall, he was none the worse for his overthrow, and was +quickly able to thank the brave Welshmen who had so opportunely come to +the rescue of him and his comrades. + +"Now, we will back to the ranks and find my father," said the Prince, +when he had spoken his courteous thanks and looked round about to see if +his comrades had suffered more than himself. + +One or two had received slight wounds, and Raymond was leaning upon +Gaston's shoulder looking white and shaken; but he quickly recovered, +and declared himself only bruised and breathless, and still holding fast +to Gaston's arm, followed the Prince up the hill amongst the heaps of +dying and dead. + +Gaston was flushed with his exertions, and in his heart was room for +nothing but pride and joy in the glorious victory just achieved. But +whilst Raymond looked around him as he slowly moved, suffering more +bodily pain than he wished his brother to know, his heart felt bruised +and crushed like his body, and a sudden sense of the vanity of human +life and ambition came suddenly upon him, so much so that he scarce knew +whether he was in the flesh or in the spirit as he moved slowly and +quietly onwards. + +Everywhere he saw before him the bodies of men who but a few short hours +ago had been full of strong vitality, instinct with the same passions of +hatred and loyalty as had animated their own ranks that day. How strange +it seemed to look into those dead faces now, and wonder what those freed +spirits thought of those same passions that had been raging within them +but a few short hours before! Did it seem to them, as it almost seemed +to him, that in all the world around there was nothing of moment enough +to arouse such tumult of passion and strife; that only the things +eternal the things that pass not away were worthy to be greatly sought +after and longed for? + +But his reverie was quickly interrupted by an exclamation from Gaston. + +"See, Brother, the King! the King He is coming to meet his son, and his +nobles with him!" + +It was a sight not soon to be forgotten, that meeting between the +warlike Edward and his bold young son, after the splendid triumph just +achieved by the gallant boy. The King embraced the Prince with tears of +joyful pride in his eyes, whilst the nobles standing round the King +shouted aloud at the sight, and the soldiers made the welkin ring with +their lusty English cheers. + +Young Edward had received knighthood at his father's hand upon landing +on the shores of France, though truly it was this day's fighting which +had won him his spurs. But as the King was resolved to mark the occasion +by some rewards to those who had stood by his gallant boy in the thick +of the press, he quickly picked out from the cluster of noble youths who +stood behind their young leader some six of gentle blood and known +bravery, and thereupon dubbed them knights upon the bloody battlefield. +Amongst those thus singled out for such honourable notice were the two +sons of the King's Master of the Horse, Oliver and Bernard de Brocas, +the latter of whom was destined to be the Prince's chosen and trusted +comrade through many another warlike campaign. + +Gladly and proudly did the royal boy stand by and see the reward of +valour thus bestowed upon his chosen comrades of the day; but he seemed +scarce satisfied by all that was done. His eye wandered quickly over the +little knot grouped upon the knoll around the King, and then his glance +travelling yet farther to the remoter outskirts, he suddenly detached +himself from the centre group, and ran quickly down the hillside till he +reached the spot where the twin brothers were standing watching the +scene with vivid interest, Raymond still leaning rather heavily upon his +brother's arm. + +"Nay now, why tarry ye here?" eagerly questioned the Prince. "Sure ye +were amongst the most steadfast and fearless in the fight today. + +"Good Raymond, but for thy quick eye and timely word of warning, we had +been fallen upon and scattered unawares, and perhaps had been cut to +pieces, ere we knew that we were vanquished rather than victors. My +father is even now bestowing upon my gallant comrades the reward their +good swords have won for them. Come, and let me present you twain to +him; for sure in all the gallant band that fought by my side none were +more worthy of knighthood than you. Come, and that quickly!" + +A quick flush crossed Gaston's cheek as the guerdon so dear to the heart +of the soldier was thus thrust upon him; but a whisper in his ear held +him back. + +"Gaston, we have no name; we cannot receive knighthood without revealing +all. Has the time yet come to speak? Of that thou shalt be the judge. I +will follow thy wishes in this as in all else." + +For a moment Gaston stood debating with himself. Then the counsel of +prudence prevailed over that of youthful ambition. How were he and his +brother worthily to support the offered rank? Even did they make known +their true parentage, that would not put money in their purses; and to +be poor dependents upon the bounty of relatives who had rejected their +mother and driven forth their father to seek his fortune as he could, +was as repugnant to Gaston's pride now as it had been two years before. + +"Sweet Prince," he answered, after this brief pause for thought, "we +have but done our duty today, and knighthood is far too great a reward +for our poor merits. Sure it has been honour and glory enough to fight +by your side, and win this gallant day. We are but poor youths, without +home or friends. How could we receive a reward which we could not +worthily wear? A penniless knight without servant or esquire would cut +but a sorry figure. Nay then, sweet Prince, let it be enough for us this +day to have won these gracious words at your lips. It may be when fair +fortune has smiled upon us, and we are no longer poor and nameless, that +we will come to you to crave the boon you have graciously offered this +day. We will remain for the nonce in our present state, but will ever +look forward to the day when some other glorious victory may be won, and +when we may come to our Prince for that reward which today we may not +receive at his hands." + +"So be it," answered the Prince, his face, which had clouded over with +regret a few moments earlier, lighting up again at these latter words. +"Be assured I will not forget you, nor the services ye have done me this +day. I too in days to come shall have knighthood to bestow upon those +who have earned the right to wear it. Fear not that Edward ever will +forget. Whenever the day comes that shall bring you thus to me for the +reward so nobly earned today, that reward shall be yours. The King's son +has promised it." + + + + CHAPTER XIV. WINTER DAYS. + + +"Nephew John, I have brought thee a companion to share thy winter's +solitude." + +John de Brocas, who was in his old and favourite retreat -- his +Rector-uncle's great library -- rose to his feet with a start at hearing +the familiar voice of Master Bernard (whom he believed to be far away in +France), and found himself face to face not with his cheery uncle alone, +but with a tall, white, hollow-eyed youth, upon whose weary face a smile +of delighted recognition was shining, whilst a thin hand was eagerly +advanced in welcome. + +"Raymond!" exclaimed John, with a look that spoke volumes of welcome. + +"Good mine uncle, welcome at all times, thou art doubly welcome in such +company as this. But I had not looked to see you in merry England again +for long. Men say that Calais is closely besieged by the King, and +methought he had need of thee and my father likewise whilst the campaign +across the water lasted." + +"True, lad, the King has need of those he graciously dubs his trusty +counsellors; and I have but come hither for a short while. The King is +full of anxiety about this outbreak of the hardy Scots, which has been +so gallantly frustrated at Neville's Cross by our gracious Queen, worthy +to be the mate of the world's greatest warrior. I am come hither charged +with much business in this matter, and so soon as all is accomplished I +am desired to bring the Queen to join her royal spouse before the walls +of Calais. It is not long that I may linger here. I have but a few short +hours to set mine own affairs in order. But thinking I should be like to +find thee here, Nephew John, as the autumn weather in low-lying Windsor +generally drives thee forth from thence, I hastened hither to bring to +thee a companion for thy winter's loneliness. Methinks thou hast known +and loved him before. Treat him as a cousin and a friend. He will tell +thee all his story at his leisure." + +The slight stress laid upon the word "cousin" by the prelate caused John +to glance quickly and curiously at Raymond, who answered by a slight +smile. Just at that moment there was no time for explanations. Master +Bernard engrossed the whole of John's time and attention, being eager to +learn from that young man every detail of the campaign in the north +which had reached his ears. And John, who took a wide and intelligent +interest in all the passing affairs of the day, and from his position +was able to learn much of what went on in the world, sat beside his +uncle at the hastily-spread board, and told all the leading facts of the +brief and triumphant campaign in terse and soldier-like fashion. + +Meantime Raymond sat at ease in the corner of a deep settle beside the +fire, leaning back against the soft fur rug which draped it, unable to +eat through very weariness, but eagerly interested in all the news his +uncle was hearing from John. + +Master Bernard had to push on to London that night. He and his companion +had landed at Southampton the previous day, and had taken Guildford upon +their way to the capital. There Raymond was to remain under the kindly +care of John; and as soon as the Rector had set off with fresh horses +and his own retinue of servants, his nephew turned eagerly back to the +hall, where his cousin was still resting, and taking him warmly by the +hands, gazed into his face with a glance of the most friendly and +affectionate solicitude. + +"Good my cousin, I have scarce had time to bid thee welcome yet, but I +do so now with all my heart. It is as a cousin I am to receive and treat +thee? What meant my good uncle by that? Hast thou told him what I myself +know? Methought he spoke like one with a purpose." + +"Yes, it is true that he knows," answered Raymond; "but he counsels us +to keep our secret awhile longer. He thinks, as does Gaston, that we +were wiser first to win our way to greater fame and fortune than mere +boys can hope to do, and then to stand revealed as those sprung from a +noble line. How came he to know? That I will tell thee when I am +something rested. But I am so weary with our journey that I scarce know +how to frame my thoughts in fitting words. Yet I am glad to see thy face +again, good John. I have been wearying long for a sight of thee." + +"Thou art indeed sadly changed thyself, my cousin," said John. "In +truth, men who go to these wars go with their lives in their hands. Was +it on the glorious field of Crecy that thou receivedst some hurt? Sure +thou hast been sore wounded. But thou shalt tell me all thy tale anon, +when thou art something rested and refreshed." + +The tale was told that same evening, when, after Raymond had slept for a +few hours and had been able then to partake of some food, he felt, in +part at least, recovered from the fatigues of the long ride from the +coast, and could recline at ease beside the glowing fire, and talk to +John of all that had befallen him since they had parted two and a half +years before. + +The account of the victory at Crecy was eagerly listened to, and also +that of the subsequent march upon Calais, when the King of France, +choosing to consider the campaign at an end, had disbanded both his +armies, leaving the victorious King of England to build unmolested a new +town about Calais, in which his soldiers could live through the winter +in ease and plenty, and complete the blockade both by sea and land +undisturbed by hostile demonstrations. + +"It seems to me," said Raymond, "that did our great Edward wish to make +good his claim on the crown of France, he has only to march straight +upon Paris and demand coronation there. When after the victory at Crecy +and the subsequent triumphs I have told you of, over band after band of +troops all going to the support of Philip, we could have marched +unopposed through the length and breadth of the land, none daring to +oppose us, the soldiers all thought that Paris, not Calais, would be the +next halting place. + +"What thinkest thou, good John? Thou knowest much of the true mind of +the King. Why, after so glorious a victory, does he not make himself +master of all France?" + +John smiled his thoughtful smile. + +"Verily because our King is statesman as well as soldier; and though he +boldly advances a claim on the crown of France, to give the better +colour to his feats of arms against its King, he knows that he could not +rule so vast an empire as that of France and England together would be, +and that his trusty subjects at home would soon grow jealous and +discontented were they to find themselves relegated to the second place, +whilst their mighty Edward took up his abode in his larger and more +turbulent kingdom of France. England rejoices in snatching portions of +territory from the French monarch, in holding off his grasping hand from +those portions of France that lawfully belong to our great King. She +will support him joyfully through a series of victories that bring spoil +and glory to her soldiers; but jealousy would soon arise did she think +that her King was like to regard France as his home rather than England, +that England was to be drained of her gold and her best men to keep +under control the unwieldy possession she had won but could never +peacefully hold. Methinks the King and his best counsellors know this +well, and content themselves with their glorious feats of arms which +stir the blood and gratify the pride of all loyal subjects. + +"But now, I pray thee, tell me of thyself; for thou hast sadly altered +since we parted last. What has befallen thee in these wars? and where is +thy brother Gaston, whom thou wentest forth to seek? and where the +faithful Roger, whose name thou hast spoken many times before?" + +"I have left them together in the camp before Calais," answered Raymond. +"Roger would fain have come with me, but I thought it not well that he +should place himself so near his ancient foes and masters, even though I +trow the spell has been snapped once and for ever. He loves Gaston only +second to me, and was persuaded at length to stay with him. I, too, +would have stayed likewise, but they said the winter's cold would kill +me, and I could no longer bear arms or serve in the ranks. So I was fain +to leave them and come to England with our uncle. And the thought of +spending the winter months with thee and with the books made amends for +all I left behind beneath the walls of Calais." + +"What ails thee then, Raymond? Is it some unhealed wound?" + +The youth shook his head. + +"Nay, I have no wound. It was some hurt I got in that last melee on the +field of Crecy, when the Prince nearly lost his life just as the day was +won. I was hurled to the ground and trampled upon. Methought for many +long minutes that I should never rise again. But for days afterwards I +knew not that the hurt was aught to think about or care for. It pained +me to move or breathe, but I thought the pain would pass, and heeded it +but little. We rode gaily enough to the walls of Calais, and we set +about building a second city without its walls (when the governor +refused to surrender it into our hands), which the King has been pleased +to call Newtown the Bold. I strove to work with the rest, thinking that +the pain I suffered would abate by active toil, and liking not to speak +of it when many who had received grievous wounds were to be seen lending +willing service in the task set us. But there came a day when I could no +more. I could scarce creep to the tent which Gaston, Roger, and I shared +together; and then I can remember naught but the agony of a terrible +pain that never left me night or day, and I only longed that I might die +and so find rest." + +"Ah, poor lad, I too have known that wish," said John. "Doubtless it was +some grave inflammation of the hidden tissues of the body from the which +you so grievously suffered. And how came it that our uncle found you +out? He is a notable leech, as many men have found ere now. Was it as +such that he then came to thee?" + +"Yes, truly; and our generous and kindly Prince sent him. He heard +through Gaston of the strait I was in, and forthwith begged our uncle to +come and visit me. John, dost thou know that Gaston and I each wear +about our neck the halves of a charm our mother hung there in our +infancy? It is a ring of gold, each complete in itself, yet which may be +so joined together as to form one circlet with the two halves of the +medallion joined in one;" and Raymond pulled forth from within his +doublet a small circlet of gold curiously chased, with a half medallion +bearing certain characters inscribed upon it. + +John examined it curiously, and said it was of Eastern workmanship. + +"I know not how that may be. I know not its history," answered Raymond; +"but Gaston tells me that when our uncle saw the ring about my neck he +seemed greatly moved, and asked quickly how it came there. Gaston told +him it was hung there by our mother, and showed his own half, and how +they fitted together. At that our uncle seemed yet more moved; and after +he had done what he could to ease my pain, he left me with Roger, and +bid Gaston follow him to his own tent. There he told him the history of +that ring, and how for many generations it had been in the De Brocas +family, its last owner having been the Arnald de Brocas who had +quarrelled with his kindred, and had died ere the dispute had been +righted. Seeing that it was useless to hide the matter longer, Gaston +told our uncle all; and he listened kindly and with sympathy to the +tale. At the first he seemed as if he would have told your father all +the story likewise, and have had us owned before the world. But either +Gaston's reluctance to proclaim ourselves before we had won our way to +fortune, or else his own uncertainty as to how your father would take +the news, held him silent; and he said we were perchance right and wise +to keep our secret. He added that to reveal ourselves, though it might +gain us friends, would also raise up many bitter and powerful enemies. +The Sieur de Navailles in the south, who by joining the French King's +standard had already made himself a mark for Edward's just displeasure +when the time should come for revenging himself upon those treacherous +subjects in Gascony, would be certain to hold in especial abhorrence any +De Brocas who would be like to cast longing eyes upon the domain he had +so long ruled over; whilst in England the fierce and revengeful +Sanghursts would have small scruple in seeking the destruction of any +persons who would rise to dispute their hold on Basildene. The King's +time and thought were too much engrossed in great matters of the state +to give him leisure to concern himself with private affairs. Let the +youths then remain as they were for the present, serving under his +banner, high in favour with the youthful Prince, and like to win fame +and honour and wealth through the victorious war about to be waged in +France. When that war had triumphantly ended, and the King was rewarding +those whose faithful service had gained him the day, then might the time +come for the brothers of Basildene to make themselves known, and plead +for their own again." + +"I trow he is in the right," said John, "and I am glad that he knows all +himself. So would he take the more interest in you, good Raymond; and +thus it was, I take it, that he brought you to England himself when he +came hither." + +"Ay, truly his kindness was great; and after he knew all, I was moved to +better quarters, and a prince could not have been better treated. But it +was long before I could stand upon my own feet, and save for the hope of +seeing you once again, I would gladly have been spared the journey to +England. But the sea passage was favourable, and gave me strength, +though the wind from the east blew so strong that we could not make the +harbour of Dover, and were forced to beat westward along the coast till +we reached the friendly port of Southampton. Then we took horse and rode +hither, and glad am I to be at the journey's end. But our uncle tells me +that in a few short weeks I shall be sound and whole again, and before +the winter ends I may hope to join my brother beneath the King's banner." + +"I hope it will be so," answered John; "and if rest is what thou needest +for thy recovery, it will not be lacking to thee here. It is well that +the sword is not the only weapon thou lovest, but that the quill and the +lore of the wise of the earth have attractions for thee likewise." + +It quickly seemed to Raymond as if the incidents of that stirring +campaign had been but part and parcel of a fevered dream. He was +disposed to believe that he had never quitted the retreat of his uncle's +roof, and took up his old studies with John with the greatest zest. John +found him marvellously advanced since the days they had studied together +before. His two years with Father Paul in the Brotherhood had +wonderfully enlarged his mind and extended his field of vision. It was a +delight to both cousins to exchange ideas, and learn from one another; +and the time fled by only too fast, each day marked by a steady though +imperceptible improvement in Raymond's state of health, as his fine +constitution triumphed over the serious nature of the injury received. + +Although he often thought of Basildene, he made no attempt to see the +place. The winter cold had set in with severity; John had little +disposition to face it, and quiet and rest were far more congenial to +him than any form of activity or amusement. John believed that the +Sanghursts were still there, engaged in their mysterious experiments +that savoured so strongly of magic. But after hearing of Raymond's bold +defiance of the implacable Peter in the forest near to the Brotherhood, +John was by no means desirous that the fact of Raymond's residence at +the Rectory of St. Nicholas should become known at Basildene. Without +sharing to the full the fears of the country people with regard to the +occult powers of the father and son in that lonely house, John believed +them to be as cruel and unscrupulous a pair as ever lived, even in those +half-civilized times. He therefore charged his servants to say nothing +of Raymond's visit, and hoped that it would not reach the ears of the +Sanghursts. + +But there was another person towards whom Raymond's fancy had sometime +strayed during the years of his absence from Guildford, and this person +he was unaccountably shy of naming even to John, though he would have +been quite unable to allege a reason for his reticence. + +But fortune favoured him in this as in other matters, for on entering +the library one day after a short stroll around the Rector's garden, he +found himself face to face with a radiant young creature dressed in the +picturesque riding gear of the day, who turned to him with a beaming +smile as she cried: + +"Ah! I have been hearing of thee and of thy prowess, my fair young sir. +My good brother Alexander, who has followed the King's banner, would +gladly have been in thy place on the day of Crecy. Thou and thy brother +were amongst that gallant little band who fought around the Prince and +bore him off the field unhurt. Did not I say of thee that thou wouldst +quickly win thy knighthood's spurs? And thou mightest already have been +a belted knight if thy prudence and thy modesty had not been greater +than thine ambition. Is it not so?" + +Raymond's face glowed like a child's beneath the praises of Mistress +Joan Vavasour, and the light of her bright eyes seemed fairly to dazzle +him. John came to the rescue by telling Raymond's own version of the +story; and then he eagerly asked Joan of herself and what had become of +her these past years, for he had seldom seen her, and knew not where she +was living nor what she was doing -- knew not even if she were wedded, +nor if Peter Sanghurst's suit were at an end or had been crowned by success. + +At the sound of that name the girl's face darkened quickly, and a spark +of fire gleamed in her eyes. + +"Talk not of him," she said; "I would that he were dead! Have I not said +that I would never wed him, that I would die first? Fair fortune hath +befriended me in this thing. Thou knowest perchance that my father and +brother have been following the King's banner of late, first in Flanders +and then in France. My mother and I meantime have not been residing at +Woodcrych, but in London, whither all news of the war is first known, +and where travellers from the spot are like to come. We are here but for +a short space, to spend the merry Yuletide season with my mother's +brother, who lives, as thou knowest, within the town of Guildford. After +that we return once more to London, there to await the return of my +father and brother. Alexander, in truth, has once visited us, but has +returned to the siege of Calais, hoping to be amongst those who will +reap plenteous spoil when the city is given over to plunder, as Caen was +given. Of the Sanghursts, I thank my kindly saints, I have heard naught +all this while. My mother loved them not, albeit she was always +entreating me in nowise to thwart or gainsay my father. I cannot but +hope that these long months of absence will have gone far to break the +spell that those evil men seemed to cast about him. Be that as it may, I +myself have grown from a child to a woman, and I say now, as I said +then, that no power in the world shall induce me to give my hand in +marriage to Peter Sanghurst. I will die first!" + +The girl threw back her handsome head, and her great eyes glowed and +flashed. Raymond looked at her with a beating heart, feeling once more +that mysterious kindling of the soul which he could not understand, and +yet of which he had been before in the presence of Joan so keenly +conscious. She appeared to him to be far older than himself, though in +reality he was a few months the senior; for at eighteen a girl is always +older in mind than a boy, and Joan's superb physique helped to give to +her the appearance of a more advanced age than was really hers. Just +then, too, Raymond, though grown to his full height, which was stately +enough, was white and thin and enfeebled. He felt like a mere stripling, +and it never occurred to him that the many glances bent upon him by the +flashing eyes of the queenly maiden were glances of admiration, +interest, and romantic approval. To her the pale, silent youth, with the +saint-like face and the steadfast, luminous eyes, was in truth a very +/preux chevalier/ amongst men. She had seen something too much of those +knights of flesh and blood and nothing else, who could fight gallantly +and well, but who knew nothing of the deeper and truer chivalry of the +days of mythical romance in which her own ardent fancies loved to stray. +Feats of arms she delighted in truly with the bold spirit of her soldier +race; but she wanted something more than mere bravery in the field. It +was not physical courage alone that made Sir Galahad her favourite of +all King Arthur's knights. Ah no! There was another quest than that of +personal glory which every true knight was bound to seek. Yet how many +of them felt this and understood the truer, deeper meaning of chivalry? +She knew, she felt, that Raymond did; and as she turned her palfrey's +steps homeward when the twilight began to fall that cold December day, +it was with her favourite Sir Galahad that her mind was engrossed, and +to him she gave a pale, thin face, with firm, sweet lines and deep-set +dreamy eyes -- eyes that looked as though they had never quailed before +the face of foe, and which yet saw far into the unseen mysteries of +life, and which would keep their sweet steadfastness even to the end. + +As for Raymond, an unwonted restlessness came over him at this time. He +was growing stronger and better. Moderate exercise was recommended as +beneficial, and almost every day during the bright hours of the forenoon +his steps were turned towards the town of Guildford, lying hard by his +uncle's Rectory house. Scarce a day passed but what he was rewarded by a +chance encounter with Mistress Joan -- either a glimpse of her at a +window, or a smile from her bright eyes as she passed him upon her +snow-white palfrey; or sometimes he would have the good hap to meet her +upon foot, attended by her nurse, or some couple of stout retainers, if +her walk had been in any wise extended; and then she would pause and +bring him to her side by a look, and inquire after his own health and +that of John, who seldom stirred out in the bitter cold of winter. Then +he would ask and obtain her permission to accompany her as far as the +gate of her own home -- the place where she was staying; and though he +never advanced beyond the gate -- for she knew not what her relatives +might say to these encounters with a gallant without money and without +lands -- they were red-letter days in the calendar of two young lives, +and were strong factors moulding their future lives, little as either +knew it at the time. + +Had either the radiant maiden or the knightly youth had eyes for any but +the other, they might have observed that these encounters, now of almost +daily occurrence, were not unheeded by at least one evil-faced watcher. +The servants who attended Mistress Joan were all devoted to her, and +kept their own counsel, whatever they might think, and Raymond's fame as +one of the heroes of Crecy had already gone far and wide, and won him +great regard in and about the walls of his uncle's home; but there was +another watcher of Mistress Joan's movements who took a vastly different +view of the little idyll playing itself out between the youth and the +maiden, and this watcher was none other than the evil and vengeful Peter +Sanghurst the younger. + +Once as Raymond turned away, after watching Joan's graceful, stately +figure vanish up the avenue which led to her uncle's house, he suddenly +encountered the intensely malevolent glance of a pair of coal-black +eyes, and found himself most unexpectedly face to face with the same man +who had once confronted him in the forest and had demanded the +restitution of the boy Roger. + +"You again!" hissed out between his teeth the dark-browed man. "You +again daring to stand in my path to thwart me! Have a care how you +provoke me too far. My day is coming! Think you that I threaten in vain? +Go on then in your blind folly and hardihood! But remember that I can +read the future. I can see the day when you, a miserable crushed worm, +will be wholly and solely in my power; when you will be mine mine to do +with what I will, none hindering or gainsaying me. Take heed then how +you provoke me to vengeance; for the vengeance of the Sanghurst can be +what thou dreamest not of now. Thwart me, defy me, and the hour will +come when for every pang of rage and jealousy I have known thou shalt +suffer things of which thou hast no conception now, and none shall be +able to rescue thee from my hand. Yon maiden is mine -- mine -- mine! +Her will I wed, and none other. Strive as thou wilt, thou wilt never +pluck her from my hand. Thou wilt but draw down upon thine own head a +fearful fate, and she too shall suffer bitterly if thou failest to heed +my words." + +And with a look of hatred and fury that seemed indeed to have something +positively devilish in it, Sanghurst turned and strode away, leaving +Raymond to make what he could of the vindictive threats launched at him. +Had this man, in truth, some occult power of which none else had the +secret; or was it but an idle boast, uttered with the view of terrifying +one who was but a boy in years? + +Raymond knew not, could not form a guess; but his was a nature not prone +to coward fears. He resolved to go home and take counsel with his good +cousin John. + + + + CHAPTER XV. THE DOUBLE SURRENDER. + + +On a burning day in July, nearly a year from the time of their parting, +the twin brothers met once more in the camp before Calais, where they +had parted the previous autumn. Raymond had been long in throwing off +the effect of the severe injuries which had nearly cost him his life +after the Battle of Crecy; but thanks to the rest and care that had been +his in his uncle's house, he had entirely recovered. Though not quite so +tall nor so broad-shouldered and muscular as Gaston, who was in truth a +very prince amongst men, he was in his own way quite as striking, being +very tall, and as upright as a dart, slight and graceful, though no +longer attenuated, and above all retaining that peculiar depth and +purity of expression which had long seemed to mark him out somewhat from +his fellow men, and which had only intensified during the year that had +banished him from the stirring life of the camp. + +"Why, Brother," said Gaston, as he held the slim white hands in his +vise-like clasp, and gazed hungrily into the face he had last seen so +wan and white, "I had scarce dared to hope to see thee again in the camp +of the King after the evil hap that befell thee here before; but right +glad am I to welcome thee hither before the final act of this great +drama, for methinks the city cannot long hold out against the famine +within and our bold soldiers without the walls. Thou hast done well to +come hither to take thy part in the final triumph, and reap thy share of +the spoil, albeit thou lookest more like a youthful St. George upon a +church window than a veritable knight of flesh and blood, despite the +grip of thy fingers, which is well-nigh as strong as my own." + +"I will gladly take my share in any valorous feat of arms that may be +undertaken for the honour of England and of England's King. But I would +sooner fight with warriors who are not half starved to start with. Say +not men that scarce a dog or a cat remains alive in the city, and that +unless the citizens prey one upon the other, all must shortly perish?" + +"Yea, in very truth that is so; for, as perchance thou hast heard, a +vessel was sighted leaving Calais harbour but a few short days ago, and +being hotly pursued, was seen to drop a packet overboard. That packet at +ebb tide was found tied to an anchor, and being brought to the King and +by him opened, was found to contain those very words addressed to the +King of France by the governor of the city, praying him to come speedily +to the rescue of his fortress if he wished to save it from the enemy's +hand. Our bold King having first read it, sent it on posthaste to his +brother of France, crying shame upon him to leave his gallant subjects +thus to perish with hunger. Methinks that message will shame yon laggard +monarch into action. How he has been content to idle away the year, with +the foe besieging the key of his kingdom, I know not. But it is a warm +welcome he shall get if he comes to the relief of Calais. We are as +ready to receive him here as we were a year ago on the field of Crecy!" + +"Ay, in fair fight with Philip's army would I gladly adventure my life +again!" cried Raymond, with kindling eyes; "but there be fighting I have +small relish for, my Gaston, and I have heard stories of this very siege +which have wrung my heart to listen to. Was it true, brother, that +hundreds of miserable creatures, more than half of them women and little +children, were expelled from the city as 'useless mouths,' and left to +starve to death between the city walls and the camp of the English, in +which plenty has all the winter reigned? Could that be true of our +gallant King and his brave English soldiers?" + +A quick flush dyed Gaston's cheek, but he strove to laugh. + +"Raymond, look not at me with eyes so full of reproach. War is a cruel +game, and in some of its details I like it little better than thou. But +what can we soldiers do? Nay, what can even the King do? Listen, and +condemn him not too hastily. Long months ago, soon after thou hadst left +us, the same thing was done. Seventeen hundred persons -- men, women, +and children -- were turned out of the town, and the King heard of it +and ordered some of them to be brought before him. In answer to his +question they told him that they were driven from the city because they +could not fight, and were only consuming the bread, of which there was +none to spare for useless mouths. They had no place to go to, no food to +eat, no hope for the future. Then what does our King do but give them +leave to pass through his camp; and not only so, but he orders his +soldiers to feed them well, and start them refreshed on their way; and +before they went forth, to each of them was given, by the royal order, +two sterlings of silver, so that they went forth joyously, blessing the +liberality and kindness of the English and England's King. But thou must +see he could not go on doing these kindly acts if men so took advantage +of them. He is the soul of bravery and chivalry, but there must be +reasonable limits to all such royal generosity." + +Raymond could have found in his heart to wish that the limit had not +been quite so quickly reached, and that the hapless women and children +had not been left to perish miserably in the sight of the warmth and +plenty of the English camp; but he would not say more to damp his +brother's happiness in their reunion, nor in that almost greater joy +with which Roger received him back. + +"In faith," laughed Gaston, "I believe that some of the wizard's art +cleaves yet to yon boy, for he has been restless and dreamy and unlike +himself these many days; and when I have asked him what ailed him, his +answer was ever the same, that he knew you were drawing nigh; and verily +he has proved right, little as I believed him when he spoke of it." + +Roger had so grown and improved that Raymond would scarce have +recognized in him the pale shrinking boy they had borne out from the +house of the sorcerer three years before. He had developed rapidly after +the first year of his new life, when the shackles of his former +captivity seemed finally broken; but this last year of regular soldier's +employment had produced a more marked change in his outward man than +those spent in the Brotherhood or at Raymond's side. His figure had +widened. He carried himself well, and with an air of fearless alertness. +He was well trained in martial exercises, and the hot suns of France had +bronzed his cheeks, and given them a healthy glow of life and animation. +He still retained much of his boyish beauty, but the dreaminess and +far-away vacancy had almost entirely left his eyes. Now and again the +old listening look would creep into them, and he would seem for a few +moments to be lost to outward impressions; but if recalled at such +moments from his brief lapse, and questioned as to what he was thinking, +it always proved to be of Raymond, not of his old master. + +Once or twice he had told Gaston that his brother was in peril -- of +what kind he knew not; and Gaston had wondered if indeed this had been +so. One of these occasions had been just before Christmastide, and the +date being thus fixed in his mind, he asked his brother if he had been +at that time exposed to any peril. Raymond could remember nothing save +the vindictive threat of Peter Sanghurst, and Gaston was scarce disposed +to put much faith in words, either good or bad, uttered by such a man as +that. + +And now things began to press towards a climax in this memorable siege. +The French King, awakened from his long and inexplicable lethargy by the +entreaties of his starving subjects so bravely holding the town for a +pusillanimous master, and stung by the taunts of the English King, had +mustered an army, and was now marching to the relief of the town. It was +upon the last day of July, when public excitement was running high, and +all men were talking and thinking of an approaching battle, that word +was brought into the camp, and eagerly passed from mouth to mouth, to +the effect that the King of France had despatched certain messengers to +hold parley with the royal Edward, and that they were even now being +admitted to the camp by the bridge of Nieulay -- the only approach to +Calais through the marshes on the northeast, which had been closely +guarded by the English throughout the siege. + +"Hasten, Raymond, hasten!" cried Gaston, dashing into the small lodging +he and his brother now shared together. "There be envoys come from the +French King. The Prince will be with his father to hear their message, +and if we but hasten to his side, we may be admitted amongst the number +who may hear what is spoken on both sides." + +Raymond lost no time in following his brother, both eager to hear and +see all that went on; and they were fortunate enough to find places in +the brilliant muster surrounding the King and his family, as these +received with all courtesy the ambassador from the French monarch. + +That messenger was none other than the celebrated Eustache de +Ribeaumont, one of the flower of the French chivalry, to whom, on +another occasion, Edward presented the celebrated chaplet of pearls, +with one of the highest compliments that one brave man could give +another. The boys, and indeed the whole circle of English nobility, +looked with admiration at his stately form and handsome face, and though +to our ears the message with which he came charged sounds infinitely +strange, it raised no smile upon the faces of those who stood around the +royal Edward. + +"Sire," began the messenger, "our liege lord, the King of France, sends +us before you, and would have you know that he is here, and is posted on +the Sandgatte Hill to fight you; but intrenched as you are in this camp, +he can see no way of getting at you, and therefore he sends us to you to +say this. He has a great desire to raise the siege of Calais, and save +his good city, but can see no way of doing so whilst you remain here. +But if you would come forth from your intrenchments, and appoint some +spot where he could meet you in open fight, he would rejoice to do it, +and this is the thing we are charged to request of you." + +A shout, led by the Prince of Wales, and taken up by all who stood by, +was proof enough how acceptable such a notion was to the ardent spirits +of the camp; for it was not a shout of derision, but one of eager +assent. Indeed, for a moment it seemed as though the King of England +were disposed to give a favourable reply to the messenger; but then he +paused, and a different expression crossed his face. He sat looking +thoughtfully upon the ground, whilst breathless silence reigned around +him, and then he and the Queen spoke in low tones together for some few +minutes. + +When Edward looked up again his face had changed, and was stern and set +in expression. + +"Tell your lord," he said, speaking slowly and distinctly, "that had he +wished thus to fight, he should have sent his challenge before. I have +been near a twelvemonth encamped before this place, and my good people +of England have been sore pressed to furnish me with munitions for the +siege. The town is now on the point of falling into my hands, and then +will my good subjects find plunder enough to recompense them for their +labour and loss. Wherefore tell your lord that where I am there will I +stay; and that if he wishes to fight he must attack me in my camp, for I +assuredly have no intention of moving out from it." + +A slight murmur of disappointment arose from the younger and more ardent +members of the crowd; but the older men saw the force of the King's +words, and knew that it would be madness to throw away all the +hardly-earned advantages of those long months just for a piece of +chivalrous bravado. So De Ribeaumont had to ride back to the French camp +with Edward's answer; and ere two more days had passed, the astonishing +news was brought to the English lines that Philip had abandoned his +camp, which was now in flames, and was retreating with his whole army by +the way he had come. + +"Was ever such a craven coward!" cried the Prince, in indignant +disappointment; for all within the English camp had been hoping for +battle, and had been looking to their arms, glad of any incident to vary +the long monotony of the siege. "Were I those gallant soldiers in yon +fortress, I would serve no longer such a false, treacherous lord. Were +my father but their king, he would not leave them in such dire strait, +with an army at his back to fight for him, be the opposing force a +hundredfold greater than it is!" + +And indeed it seemed as though the brave but desperate garrison within +those walls saw that it was hopeless to try to serve such a master. How +bitter must their feelings have been when Philip turned and left them to +their fate may well be imagined. Hopeless and helpless, there was +nothing but surrender before them now; and to make the best terms +possible was the only thing that remained for them. The day following +Philip's dastardly desertion, the signal that the city was ready to +treat was hung out, and brave Sir Walter Manny, whose own history and +exploits during the campaigns in Brittany and Gascony would alone fill a +volume either of history or romance, was sent to confer on this matter +with the governor of the city, the gallant De Vienne, who had been +grievously wounded during the long siege. + +Raymond's sympathies had been deeply stirred by what he had heard and +imagined of the sufferings of the citizens, and with the love of +adventure and romance common to those days, he arrayed himself lightly +in a dress that would not betray his nationality, and followed in the +little train which went with Sir Walter. The conference took place +without the walls, but near to one of the gates. Raymond did not press +near to hear what was said, like the bulk of the men on both sides who +accompanied the leaders, but he passed through the eager crowd and made +for the gate itself, the wicket of which stood open; and so calm and +assured was his air, and so deeply were the minds of the porters stirred +by anxiety to know the fate of the town, that the youth passed in +unheeded and unchallenged, and once within the ramparts he could go +where he chose and see what he would. + +But what a sight met his eyes! Out into the streets were flocking the +inhabitants, all trembling with anxiety to hear their fate. Every turn +brought him to fresh knots of famine-stricken wretches, who had almost +lost the wish to live, or any interest in life, till just stirred to a +faint and lingering hope by the news that the town was to be surrendered +at last. Gaunt and hollow-eyed men, women little better than skeletons, +and children scarce able to trail their feeble bodies along, were +crowding out of the houses and towards the great marketplace, where the +assembly to hear the conditions was likeliest to meet. The soldiers, who +had been better cared for than the more useless townsfolk, were +spectre-like in all conscience; but the starving children, and the +desperate mothers who could only weep and wring their hands in answer to +the piteous demand for bread, were the beings who most stirred Raymond's +heart as he went his way amongst them. + +Again that sense of horror and shrinking came upon him that he had +experienced upon the field of Crecy amongst the dying and the dead. If +war did indeed entail such ghastly horrors and frightful sufferings, +could it be that glorious thing that all men loved to call it? + +Curious glances began to be levelled at him as he passed through the +streets, sometimes pausing to soothe a wailing child, sometimes lending +a hand to assist a tottering woman's steps, and speaking to all in that +gentle voice of his, which with its slightly unfamiliar accent smote +strangely upon the ears of the people. He wore no helmet on his head, +and his curly hair floated about his grave saint-like face, catching +golden lights from the glory of the August sunshine. + +"Is it one of the blessed saints?" asked a little child of his mother, +as Raymond paused in passing by to lay a caressing hand upon his head, +and speak a soft word of encouragement and hope to the weary mother. + +And the innocent question was taken up and passed from mouth to mouth, +till it began to be whispered about that one of the holy saints had +appeared in their midst in the hour of the city's deadly peril. As +Raymond passed on his way, many a knee was bent and many a pleading +voice asked a blessing; whilst he, feeling still as one who moves in a +dream, made the sign of the cross from time to time over some kneeling +suppliant without understanding what was said of him or why all eyes +were bent upon him. + +But the great town bell was ringing now to summon the citizens to +assemble themselves together to hear the final terms agreed upon for the +capitulation of the city, and all else was forgotten in the overwhelming +anxiety of that moment; for none could form a guess what terms would be +granted to a town in such sore straits as was theirs. The English King +could be generous and merciful, but he could also be stern and +implacable; and the long resistance made by the town was like to have +stirred his wrath, as well as the fact that the sea port of Calais had +done more harm to his ships and committed more acts of piracy than any +other port in France. + +Raymond himself had great fears for the fate of the hapless town, and +was as eager as any to hear what had been decreed. + +"Sure if the King could see the famished gathering here his heart would +relent," murmured the youth to himself, as he looked round at the sea of +wan faces gathered in the open square. + +But the grave and sorrowful expression upon the governor's face told +that he had no very happy tidings to impart. He stood upon a flight of +steps where all men could well behold him, and in the dead silence that +fell upon the multitude every word spoken could be distinctly beard. + +"My friends," he said, in grave, mournful accents, "I come to you with +news of the only terms of capitulation that I have been able to win from +England's King. I myself offered to capitulate if he would permit all +within the walls to depart unharmed, whilst his demand was for +unconditional surrender. The brave knight who came forth to confer with +me went back more than once to strive to win for us better terms, and +his intercession was thus far successful. The King will take the rest of +the citizens to mercy if six of their chief burgesses be given up to his +vengeance, and appear before him bareheaded and barefooted, with halters +about their necks and the keys of the city in their hands. For such +there will be no mercy. Brave Sir Walter Manny, who bore hack this +message with so sorrowful a countenance, bid me not hope that the lives +of these men would be spared. He said he saw the fierce sparkle in +Edward's eyes as he added, grinding his teeth, 'On them will I do my +will.' Wherefore, my good friends, we are this day in a great strait, +and I would that I might myself give up my life to save the town; but +the King's command is that it shall be six of the burgesses, and it is +for you and them to say if these hard conditions shall be accepted." + +The deepest silence had hitherto prevailed in that vast place, but now +it was broken by the weeping and wailing of a great multitude. Raymond's +throat swelled and his eyes glistened as he looked around upon that sea +of starving faces, and tried to realize all that this message must mean +to them. If his own life could have paid the ransom, he would have laid +it down that moment for these miserable weeping beings; but he was +helpless as the brave governor, and could only stand and see the end of +the drama. + +Slowly up the steps of the marketplace, where stood the governor of the +city, advanced a fine-looking man in the prime of life, and a hushed +murmur ran through the crowd, in which Raymond caught the name of +Eustache de St. Pierre. This man held up his hand in token that he +wished to speak, and immediately a deathlike silence fell again upon the +crowd. + +"My friends," spoke the clear deliberate voice, "it would be a great +pity and mischief to let such a people as this assembled here die by +famine or any other way, if a means can be found to save them; and it +would be great alms and great grace in the sight of the Lord for any one +who could save them from such harm. I have myself so great hope of +finding grace and pardon in the sight of our Lord, if I die to save this +people, that I will be the first, and will yield myself willingly, in +nothing but my shirt, with my head bare and a halter round my neck, to +the mercy of the King of England." + +As these simple but truly heroic words were spoken a burst of weeping +and blessing arose from the crowd, women pressed forward and fell at the +feet of the worthy citizen, and Raymond said in his heart: + +"Sure if the King of England could but see it, there is more chivalry in +yon simple merchant than in half the knights who stand about his throne." + +It is seldom that a noble example is thrown away upon men. Hardly had +the burst of weeping died away before two more men, brothers, to judge +by their likeness to each other, mounted the steps and stood beside St. +Pierre. He held out his hand and greeted them by name. + +"My good friends Jacques and Peter de Wisant, we go hand in hand to +death, as we have gone hand in hand in other ventures of another kind. +And hither to join us comes our good friend Jehan d'Aire. Truly if we +march to death, we shall march in good company." + +The full number was soon made up. Six of the wealthiest and best known +of the citizens came forward and stood together to be disrobed and led +before the King. + +But Raymond could bear the sight no longer. With a bursting heart he +hurried through the crowd, which made way wonderingly for him as he +moved, and went straight towards the gate by which he had entered, none +hindering his path. + +"It is the blessed saint who came amongst us in our hour of need," said +the women one to another, "and now perchance he goes to intercede with +the mighty conqueror! See how his face is set towards the gate; see the +light that shines in his eyes! Sure he can be no being of this earth, +else how could he thus come and go in our beleaguered city!" + +The guard at the gate looked with doubtful eyes at the stranger, and one +man stood in his path as if to hinder him; but Raymond's eyes seemed to +look through and beyond him, and in a clear, strange voice he said: + +"In the name of the Blessed Son of God, I bid thee let me pass. I go +upon an errand of mercy in that most Holy Name." + +The man fell back, his comrades crossed themselves and bent the knee. +Raymond passed out of the gate, scarce knowing how he had done so, and +sped back to the English camp as if his feet had wings. With that same +strangely rapt expression upon his face, he went straight to the lodging +of the Prince of Wales, and entering without ceremony found not only the +Prince there, but also his royal mother, the gracious Queen Philippa. + +Bending his knee to that fair lady, but without one thought beyond the +present urgent need of the moment, Raymond told all his tale in the ear +of the Queen and the Prince. With that power of graphic description +which was the gift of his vivid imagination and deep sense of sympathy +with the needs of others, he brought the whole scene before the eyes of +his listeners the crowded marketplace, the famine-stricken people in +their extremity and despair, the calm heroism of the men who willingly +offered their lives to save those of their townspeople, and the wailing +multitude watching the start of the devoted six going forth to a +shameful and ignominious death on their behalf. + +And as Raymond spoke the Prince's cheek flushed, and the eyes of the +beautiful Queen kindled and filled with sudden tears; and rising to her +feet she held out her hand to Raymond and said: + +"Good lad, I thank thee for thy tale, and the request thy lips have not +spoken shall be granted. Those men shall not die! I, the Queen of +England, will save them. I pledge thee here my royal word. I will to my +noble husband and win their pardon myself." + +Raymond sank upon his knee and kissed the fair hand extended to him, and +both he and the Prince hastened after the Queen, who hoped to find her +royal husband alone and in a softened mood, as he was wont to be after +the stress of the day was over. + +But time had fled fast whilst Raymond had been telling his tale, and +already notice had been brought to Edward of the approach of the six +citizens, and he had gone forth into a pavilion erected for his +convenience in an open part of the camp; and there he was seated with +grim aspect and frowning brow as his Queen approached to speak with him. + +"I will hear thee anon, good wife," he said, seeing that she craved his +ear. "I have sterner work on hand today than the dallying of women. Stay +or go as thou wilt, but speak not to me till this day's work is carried +through." + +Raymond's heart sank as he heard these words, and saw the relentless +look upon the King's face. None realized better than he the cruel side +to the boasted chivalry of the age; and these middle-aged burgesses, +with no knightliness of dress or bearing, would little move the loftier +side of the King's nature. There would be no glamour of romance +surrounding them. He would think only of the thousands of pounds the +resistance of the city had cost him, and he would order to a speedy +death those whom he would regard as in part the cause of all this +trouble and loss. + +The Queen made no further effort to win his notice, but with graceful +dignity placed herself beside him; whilst the Prince, quivering with +suppressed excitement, stepped behind his father's chair. Raymond stood +in the surrounding circle, and felt Gaston's arm slipped within his. But +he had eyes only for the mournful procession approaching from the +direction of the city, and every nerve was strained to catch the +lightest tone of the Queen's voice if she should speak. + +The governor of Calais, though disabled by wounds from walking, was +pacing on horseback beside the devoted six thus giving themselves up to +death; and as he told how they had come forward to save their fellow +citizens from death, tears gathered in many eyes, and brave Sir Walter +Manny, who had pleaded their cause before, again threw himself upon his +knees before his sovereign, and besought his compassion for the brave +burgesses. + +But Edward would not listen -- would not allow the better feelings +within him to have play. With a few angry and scathing words, bidding +his servants remember what Calais had cost them to take, and what the +obstinacy of its citizens had made England pay, he relentlessly ordered +the executioner to do his work, and that right quickly; and as that grim +functionary slowly advanced to do the royal bidding, a shiver ran +through the standing crowd, the devoted six alone holding themselves +fearlessly erect. + +But just at the moment when it seemed as if all hope of mercy was at an +end, the gentle Queen arose and threw herself at her husband's feet, and +her silvery voice rose clear above the faint murmur rising in the throng. + +"Ah, gentle Sire, since I have crossed the sea with great peril, I have +never asked you anything; now I humbly pray, for the sake of the Son of +the Holy Mary and your love of me, that you will have mercy on these six +brave men!" + +Raymond's breath came so thick and fast as he waited for the answer, +that he scarce heard it when it came, though the ringing cheer which +broke from the lips of those who stood by told him well its purport. + +The King's face, gloomy at first, softened as he gazed upon the graceful +form of his wife, and with a smile he said at last: + +"Dame, I wish you had been somewhere else this day; but I cannot refuse +you. I put them into your keeping; do with them what you will." + +Raymond felt himself summoned by a glance from the Prince. The +Queen-mother had bidden him take the men, and feast them royally, and +send them away with rich gifts. + +As the youth who had done so much for them forced his way to the side of +the Prince, his face full of a strange enthusiasm and depth of feeling, +the citizens looked one upon another and whispered: + +"Sure it was true what the women said to us. That was the youth with the +face of painted saint that we saw within the walls of the city. Sure the +Blessed Saints have been watching over us this day, and have sent an +angel messenger down to deliver us in our hour of sorest need!" + + + + CHAPTER XVI. IN THE OLD HOME. + + +The memorable siege of Calais at an end, Edward, his Queen and son and +nobility generally, set sail for England, where many matters were +requiring the presence of the sovereign after an absence so prolonged. + +When the others of the Prince's comrades were thronging on hoard to +accompany him homewards, Gaston and Raymond sought him to petition for +leave to remain yet longer in France, that they might revisit the home +of their youth and the kind-hearted people who had protected them during +their helpless childhood. + +Leave was promptly and willingly given, though the Prince was graciously +pleased to express a hope that he should see his faithful comrades in +England again ere long. + +It had begun to be whispered abroad that these two lads with their +knightly bearing, their refinement of aspect, and their fearlessness in +the field, were no common youths sprung from some lowly stock. That +there was some mystery surrounding their birth was now pretty well +admitted, and this very mystery encircled them with something of a charm +-- a charm decidedly intensified by the aspect of Raymond, who never +looked so much the creature of flesh and blood as did his brother and +the other young warriors of Edward's camp. The fact, which was well +known now, that he had walked unharmed and unchallenged through the +streets of Calais upon the day of its capitulation, but before the terms +had been agreed upon, was in itself, in the eyes of many, a proof of +some strange power not of this world which encircled the youth. And +indeed Gaston himself was secretly of the opinion that his brother was +something of a saint or spirit, and regarded him with a reverential +affection unusual between brothers of the same age. + +Through the four years since he had left his childhood's home, Gaston +had felt small wish to revisit it. The excitement and exaltation of the +new life had been enough for him, and the calm quiet of the peaceful +past had lost, its charm. Now, however, that the war was for the present +over, and with it the daily round of adventure and change; now that he +had gold in his purse, a fine charger to ride, and two or three stout +men-at-arms in his train, a sudden wish to see again the familiar haunts +of his childhood had come over him, and he had willingly agreed to +Raymond's suggestion that they should go together to Sauveterre, to ask +a blessing from Father Anselm, and tell him how they had fared since +they had parted from him long ago. True, Raymond had seen him a year +before, but he had not then been in battle; he had not had much to tell +save of the cloister life he had been sharing; and of Gaston's fortunes +he had himself known nothing. + +Both brothers were for the present amply provided for. They had received +rich rewards from the Prince after the Battle of Crecy, and the spoils +of Calais had been very great. They could travel in ease through the +sunny plains of France, sufficiently attended to be safe from +molestation, even if the terror of the English arms were not protection +enough for those who wore the badge of the great Edward. From Bordeaux +they could find easy means of transport to England later; and nothing +pleased them better than the thought of this long ride through the +plains of France, on the way to the old home. + +They did not hurry themselves on this pleasant journey, taken just as +the trying heats of summer had passed, but before the winter's cold had +made its first approach. The woods were scarce showing their first +russet tints as the brothers found themselves in familiar country once +again, and looked about them with eager glances of recognition as they +traversed the once well-known tracks. + +"Let us first to Father Anselm," said Raymond, as they neared the +village where the good priest held his cure. "He will gladly have us +pass a night beneath his roof ere we go onward to the mill; and our good +fellows will find hospitable shelter with the village folks. They have +been stanch and loyal in these parts to the cause of the Roy Outremer, +and any soldier coming from his camp will be doubly welcome, as the +bearer of news of good luck to the English arms. The coward King of +France is little loved by the bold Gascons, save where a rebel lord +thinks to forward his private ends by transferring his allegiance from +England to France." + +"To the good Father's, then, with all my heart," answered Gaston +heartily; and the little troop moved onwards until, to the astonishment +of the simple villagers clustered round the little church and their +cure's house, the small but brilliant cavalcade of armed travellers drew +up before that lowly door. + +The Father was within, and, as the sound of trampling feet made itself +heard, appeared at his door in some astonishment; but when the two +youths sprang from their horses and bent the knee before him, begging +his blessing, and he recognized in them the two boys who had filled so +great a portion of his life not so many years ago, a mist came before +his eyes, and his voice faltered as he gave the benediction, whilst +raising them afterwards and tenderly embracing them, he led them within +the well-known doorway, at the same time calling his servant and bidding +him see to the lodging of the men without. + +The low-ceiled parlour of the priest, with its scanty plenishing and +rush-strewn floor, was well known to the boys; yet as Raymond stepped +across the threshold he uttered a cry of surprise, not at any change in +the aspect of the room itself, but at sight of a figure seated in a +high-backed chair, with the full sunlight shining upon the calm, thin +face. With an exclamation of joyful recognition the lad sped forward and +threw himself upon his knees before the erect figure, with the name of +Father Paul upon his lips. + +The keen, austere face did not soften as Father Anselm's had done. The +Cistercian monk, true to the severity of his order, permitted nothing of +pleasure to appear in his face as he looked at the youth whose character +he had done so much to form. He did not even raise his hand at once in +the customary salutation or blessing, but fixed his eyes upon Raymond's +face, now lifted to his in questioning surprise; and not until he had +studied that face with great intentness for many long minutes did he lay +his hand upon the lad's head and say, in a low, deep voice, "Peace be +with thee, my son." + +This second and most unexpected meeting was almost a greater pleasure to +Raymond than the one with Father Anselm. Whilst Gaston engrossed his old +friend's time and thought, sitting next him at the board, and pacing at +his side afterwards in the little garden in which he loved to spend his +leisure moments, Raymond remained seated at the feet of Father Paul, +listening with breathless interest to his history of the voyage he had +taken to the far East (as it then seemed), and to the strange and +terrible sights he had witnessed in some of those far-off lands. + +Raymond had vaguely heard before of the plague, but had regarded it as a +scourge confined exclusively to the fervid heat of far-off countries -- +a thing that would never come to the more temperate latitudes of the +north; but when he spoke these words to the monk, Father Paul shook his +head, and a sudden sombre light leaped into his eyes. + +"My son, the plague is the scourge of God. It is not confined to one +land or another. It visits all alike, if it be God's will to send it in +punishment for the many and grievous sins of its inhabitants. True, in +the lands of the East, where the paynim holds his court, and everywhere +is blasphemy and abomination, the scourge returns time after time, and +never altogether ceases from amongst the blinded people. But of late it +has spread farther and farther westward -- nearer and nearer to our own +shores. God is looking down upon the lands whose people call themselves +after His name, and what does he see there but corruption in high +places, greed, lust, the covetousness that is idolatry, the slothful +ease that is the curse of the Church?" + +The monk's eyes flashed beneath their heavily-fringed lids; the fire +that glowed in them was of a strange and sombre kind. Raymond turned his +pure young face, full of passionate admiration and reverence, towards +the fine but terribly stern countenance of the ecclesiastic. A painter +would have given much to have caught the expression upon those two faces +at that moment. The group was a very striking one, outlined against the +luminous saffron of the western sky behind. + +"Father, tell me more!" pleaded Raymond. "I am so young, so ignorant; +and many of the things the world praises and calls deeds of good turn my +heart sick and my spirit faint within me. I would fain know how I may +safely tread the difficult path of life. I would fain choose the good +and leave the evil. But there be times when I know not how to act, when +it seems as though naught in this world were wholly pure. Is it only +those who yield themselves up to the life of the cloister who may choose +aright and see with open eyes? Must I give up my sword and turn monk ere +I may call myself a son of Heaven?" + +The boy's eyes were full of an eager, questioning light. His hands were +clasped together, and his face was turned full upon his companion. The +Father's eyes rested on the pure, ethereal face with a softer look than +they had worn before, and then a deep sadness came into them. + +"My son," he answered, very gravely, "I am about to say a thing to thee +which I would not say to many young and untried as thou art. There have +been times in my life when I should have triumphed openly had men spoken +to me the words that I shall speak to thee -- times when I had gladly +said that all which men call holiness was but a mask for corruption and +deceit, and should have rejoiced that the very monks themselves were +forced to own to their own wanton disregard of their vows. My son, I see +the shrinking and astonishment in thine eyes; but yet I would for a +moment that thou couldst see with mine. I spoke awhile ago of the +judgment of an angry God. Wherefore, thinkest thou, is it that His anger +is so hotly burning against those lands that call themselves by His name +-- that call day by day upon His name, and make their boast that they +hold the faith whole and undefiled?" + +Raymond shook his head. He had no words with which to answer. He was +beginning slowly yet surely to feel his eyes opened to the evil of the +world -- even that world of piety and chivalry of which such bright +dreams had been dreamed. His fair ideals were being gradually dashed and +effaced. Something of sickness of heart had penetrated his being, and he +had said in the unconscious fashion of pure-hearted youth, "Vanity of +vanities! is all around but vanity?" and he had found no answer to his +own pathetic question. + +As an almost necessary consequence of all this had his thoughts turned +towards the holy, dedicated life of the sons of the Church; and though +it was with a strong sense of personal shrinking, with a sense that the +sacrifice would be well-nigh bitterer than the bitterness of death, he +had asked himself if it might not be that God had called him, and that +if he would be faithful to the love he had ever professed to hold, he +ought to rise up without farther delay and offer himself to the +dedicated service of the Church. + +And now Father Paul, who had always seemed to read the very secrets of +his heart, appeared about to answer this unspoken question. Greatly had +Raymond longed of late to speak with him again. Father Anselm was a good +and a saintly man, but he knew nothing of the life of the world. To him +the Church was the ark of refuge from all human ills, and gladly would +he have welcomed within its fold any weary or world-worn soul. But with +Father Paul it was different. He had lived in the world; he had sinned +(if men spoke truth), and had suffered bitterly. One look in his face +was enough to tell that; and having lived and sinned, repented and +suffered, he was far more able to offer counsel to one tempted and +sometimes suffering, though perhaps in a very different fashion. + +The Father's eyes were bent upon the faint glow in the sky, seen through +the open casement. His words were spoken quietly, yet with an +earnestness that was almost terrible. + +"My son," he said, "I have come back but recently from lands where it +seems that holiness should abound -- that righteousness should flow +forth as from a perpetual fountain, where the Lord should be seen +walking almost visibly in the midst of His people. And what have I seen +instead? Luxury, corruption, unspeakable abominations -- abominations +such as I may not dare to speak in thy pure ears, such as I would not +have believed had not mine own eyes seen, mine own ears heard. Where is +the poverty, the lowliness, the meekness, the chastity of the sons of +the Church? Ah, God in Heaven only knows; and let it be our solemn +rejoicing that He does know where His own faithful children are to be +found, for assuredly man would miserably fail if he were sent forth to +find and to gather them. Leaving those lands which thou, my son, hast +never seen, and coming hither to France and England, what do we find? +Those who have vowed themselves to the service of the Church walking +gaily in the dress of soldiers, engaged in carnal matters, letting their +hair hang down their shoulders curled and powdered, and thinking scorn +of the tonsure, which is the mark of the Kingdom of Heaven. And does not +God see? Will He not recompense to His people their sins? Yea, verily He +will; and in an hour when they little think it, the wrath of God shall +fall upon them. It is even now upon its way. I have seen it; I have +marked its progress. Ere another year has passed, if men repent not of +their sins, it will be stalking amongst us. And thou, my son, when that +day comes, fear not. Think not of the cloister; keep thy good sword at +thy side, but keep it bright in the cause of right, of mercy, of truth, +and keep thy shield stainless and unspotted. Then when the hour of +judgment falls upon this land, and men in wild terror begin to call upon +the God they have forgotten and abused, then go thou forth in the power +of that purity of heart which He in His mercy has vouchsafed to thee. +Fear not the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor the sickness that +destroyeth at noonday. A thousand shall fall beside thee, and ten +thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. With thine +eyes shalt thou behold the destruction of thine enemies; but the angels +of God shall encamp around thy path, and guard thee in all thy ways. +Only be true, be fearless, be steadfast. Thou shalt be a knight of the +Lord; thou shalt fight His battle; and from Him, and from no earthly +sovereign, shalt thou reap thy reward at last!" + +As the Father continued speaking, it seemed as if something of prophetic +fire had lighted his eyes. Raymond held his breath in awe as he heard +this strange warning, benediction, and promise. But not for a moment did +he doubt that what the Father spoke would come to pass. He sank upon his +knees, and his heart went up in prayer that when the hour of trial came +he might be found faithful at his post; and at once and for ever was +laid to rest that restless questioning as to the life of the Church. He +knew from that moment forward that it was in the world and not out of it +that his work for his Lord was to be done. + +No more of a personal nature passed between him and Father Paul that +night, and upon the morrow the brothers proceeded to the mill, and the +Father upon his journey to England. + +"We shall meet again ere long," was Father Paul's parting word to +Raymond, and he knew that it would be so. + +It was a pretty sight to witness the delighted pride with which honest +Jean and Margot welcomed back their boys again after the long +separation. Raymond hardly seemed a stranger after his visit of the +previous year, but of Gaston they knew not how to make enough. His tall +handsome figure and martial air struck them dumb with admiration. They +never tired of listening to his tales of flood and field; and the +adventures he had met with, though nothing very marvellous in +themselves, seemed to the simple souls, who had lived so quiet a life, +to raise him at once to the position of some wonderful and almost +mythical being. + +On their own side, they had a long story to tell of the disturbed state +of the country, and the constant fighting which had taken place until +the English King's victory at Crecy had caused Philip to disband his +army, and had restored a certain amount of quiet to the country. + +The quiet was by no means assured or very satisfactory. Though the army +had been disbanded, there was a great deal of brigandage in the remoter +districts. So near as the mill was to Sauveterre, it had escaped without +molestation, and the people in the immediate vicinity had not suffered +to any extent; but there was a restless and uneasy feeling pervading the +country, and it had been a source of considerable disappointment to the +well-disposed that the Roy Outremer had not paid a visit to Gascony in +person, to restore a greater amount of order, before returning to his +own kingdom. + +The Sieur de Navailles had made himself more unpopular than ever by his +adhesion to the French cause when all the world had believed that +Philip, with his two huge armies, would sweep the English out of the +country. Of late, in the light of recent events, he had tried to annul +his disloyalty, and put another face upon his proceedings; but only his +obscurity, and the remoteness of his possessions in the far south, would +protect him from Edward's wrath when the affairs of the rebel Gascons +came to be inquired into in detail. + +Gaston listened eagerly, and treasured it all carefully up, feeling sure +he could place his rival and the usurper of the De Brocas lands in a +very unenviable position with the royal Edward at any time when he +wished to make good his own claim. + +The visit of the De Brocas brothers (as they were known in these parts) +was not made by stealth. All the world might know it now for all they +cared, protected as they were by their stout men-at-arms, and surrounded +by the glamour of the English King's royal favour. Gaston and Raymond +ranged the woods and visited their old haunts with the zest of youth and +affectionate memories, and Gaston often hunted there alone whilst his +brother paid a visit to Father Anselm, to read with him or talk of +Father Paul. + +It was after a day spent thus apart that Gaston came in looking as +though some unwonted thing had befallen him, and when he and his brother +were alone in their room together, he began to speak with eager rapidity. + +"Raymond, methinks I have this day lost my heart to a woodland nymph or +fairy. Such a strange encounter had I in the forest today! and with it a +warning almost as strange as the being who offered it." + +"A warning, Gaston? what sort of warning?" + +"Why, against our old, old enemy the Navailles, who, it seems, knows of +our visit here, and, if he dared, would gladly make an end of us both. +So at least the fairy creature told me, imploring me, with sweetest +solicitude, to be quickly gone, and to adventure myself in the woods +alone no more. I told her that our visit was well-nigh at an end, and +that we purposed to reach England ere the autumn gales blew shrill. At +that she seemed mightily pleased, and yet she sighed when we said adieu. +Raymond, she was the loveliest maiden my eyes have ever beheld: her hair +like silk, and of the deepest golden hue; her eyes of the colour of +violets nestling beneath brown winter leaves. Her voice was like the +rippling of a summer's brook, and her form scarce of this earth, so +light, so airy, so full of sylvan grace. She was like the angelic being +of a dream. I have never seen a daughter of earth so fair. Tell me, +thinkest thou it was some dream? Yet it is not my wont to slumber at my +sport, and the little hand I held in mine throbbed with the warmth of life." + +"Asked you not her name and station?" + +"Yea verily, but she would tell me naught; only the soft colour crept +into her cheeks, and she turned her eyes for a moment away. Raymond, I +have heard men speak of love, but till that moment I knew not what they +meant. Now methinks I have a better understanding, for if yon sweet +maiden had looked long into my eyes, my very soul would sure have gone +out to her, and I should have straightway forgot all else in the world +but herself. Wherefore I wondered if she could be in truth a real and +living being, or whether some woodland siren sent to lure man to death +and destruction." + +Raymond smiled at the gravity of Gaston's words. Mystic as he was in +many matters, he had outgrown that belief in woodland nymphs and sirens +which had woven itself into their life whilst the spell of the forests +remained upon them in their boyhood. That evil and good spirits did +hover about the path of humanity, Raymond sincerely believed; but he was +equally certain that they took no tangible form, and that the vision +Gaston had seen in the wood was no phantom form of spirit. + +"Sure she came to try to warn and save," he answered; "that should be +answer enough. Gaston, methinks we will take that warning. We are still +but striplings and our men are few, though brave and true. The land is +disturbed as in our memory it never was, and men are wild and lawless, +none being strong enough to put down disorder. Wherefore we had best be +gone. It is no true bravery to court danger, and our errand here is +done. When the King comes, as one day he will, to punish rebels and +reward faithful loyalty, then we will come with him, and thou shalt seek +out thy woodland nymph once more, and thank her for her good counsel. +Now wilt thou thank her best -- seeing she came express to warn thee of +coming peril -- by taking her at her word. Honest Jean and Margot will +not seek to stay us longer. They have a secret fear of the Sieur de +Navailles. We will not tell them all, but we will tell them something, +and that will be enough. Tomorrow will we take to horse again; and we +will tell in the ears of the King how restless and oppressed by +lawlessness and strife are his fair lands of Gascony." + +Raymond's advice was followed. Gaston had had enough of quiet and +repose, and only the desire to see again the face of the woodland sprite +could have detained him. Not knowing where to seek her, he was willing +enough to set his face for Bordeaux; and soon the brothers had landed +once again upon the shores of England. + + + + CHAPTER XVII. THE BLACK DEATH + + +The glorious termination of Edward's campaign, and the rich spoil +brought home from the wars by the soldiers, had served to put the nation +into a marvellous good temper. Their enthusiasm for their King amounted +almost to adoration, and nothing was thought of but tourneys, jousts, +and all sorts of feasting and revelry. Indeed, things came to such a +pass that at last an order was given that tournaments might be held only +at the royal pleasure, else the people were disposed to think of nothing +else, and to neglect the ordinary avocations of life. As the King +appointed nineteen in six months, to be held in various places +throughout the kingdom, it cannot be said that he defrauded his subjects +of their sports; and he himself set the example of the extravagant and +fanciful dressing which called forth so much adverse criticism from the +more sober minded, appearing at the jousts in all manner of wonderful +apparel, one of his dresses being described as "a harness of white +buckram inlaid with silver -- namely, a tunic, and a shield with the motto: + +'Hay, hay, the wythe swan! +By Goddes soul I am thy man;' + +whilst he gave away on that occasion five hoods of long white cloth +worked with blue men dancing, and two white velvet harnesses worked with +blue garters and diapered throughout with wild men." + +Women disgraced themselves by going about in men's attire and behaving +themselves in many unseemly fashions. The ecclesiastics, too, often fell +into the prevailing vices of extravagance and pleasure seeking that at +this juncture characterized the whole nation, and, as Father Paul had +said to Raymond, disgraced their calling by so doing far more than +others who had never professed a higher code. Amongst the graver and +more austere men of the day heads were gravely shaken over the wild +burst of enthusiasm and extravagance, and there were not wanting those +who declared that the nation was calling down upon itself some terrible +judgment of God -- such a judgment as so often follows upon a season of +unwonted and sudden prosperity. + +As for the twin brothers, they spent these months in diverse fashion, +each carrying out his own tastes and preferences. Gaston attached +himself to Sir James Audley once again, and travelled with him into +Scotland, where the knight frequently went upon the King's business. +When in or about the Court, he threw himself into the jousting and +sports with the greatest enthusiasm and delight, quickly excelling so +well in each and every contest that he made a name and reputation for +himself even amongst the chosen flower of the English nobility. Real +fighting was, however, more to his taste than mock contests, and he was +always glad to accompany his master upon his journeys, which were not +unfrequently attended by considerable peril, as the unsettled state of +the Border counties, and the fierce and sometimes treacherous nature of +the inhabitants, made travelling there upon the King's business a matter +of some difficulty and danger. There was no fear of Gaston's growing +effeminate or turning into a mere pleasure hunter; and he soon made +himself of great value to his master, not only by his undaunted bravery, +but by his success in diplomatic negotiation -- a success by no means +expected by himself, and a surprise to all about him. + +Perhaps the frank, free bearing of the youth, his perfect fearlessness, +and his remarkably quick and keen intelligence, helped him when he had +any delicate mission entrusted to him. Then, too, the hardy and +independent nature of the Scots was not altogether unlike that of the +free-born Gascon peasant of the Pyrenean portion of the south of France; +so that he understood and sympathized with them better, perhaps, than an +average Englishman could have done. + +A useful life is always a happy one, and the successful exercise of +talents of whose very existence we were unaware is in itself a source of +great satisfaction. Gaston, as he grew in years, now began to develop in +mind more rapidly than he had hitherto done, and though separated for +the most part from his brother, was seldom many months without meeting +him for at least a few days. + +Raymond was spending the time with his old friend and comrade and +cousin, John de Brocas. It had become evident to all who knew him that +John was not long for this world. He might linger on still some few +years, but the insidious disease we now call consumption had firm hold +upon him, and he was plainly marked as one who would not live to make +any name in the world. He showed no disposition to seclude himself from +his kind by entering upon the monastic life, and his father had recently +bestowed upon him a small property which he had purchased near +Guildford, the air and dryness of which place had always been beneficial +to him. + +This modest but pleasant residence, with the revenues attached, kept +John in ease and comfort. He had spent the greater part of his income +the year previous in the purchase of books, and his uncle's library was +always at his disposal. He had many friends in and about the place; and +his life, though a little lonely, was a very happy one -- just the life +of quietness and study that he loved better than any other. + +When his cousin Raymond came home from the wars without any very +definite ideas as to his own immediate career in the future, it had +occurred to John that if he could secure the companionship of this +cousin for the coming winter it would be a great boon to himself; and +the suggestion had been hailed with pleasure by the youth. + +Raymond would gladly have remained with the King had there been any +fighting in the cause of his country to be done; but the round of +feasting and revelry which now appeared to be the order of the day had +no charms for him. After breaking a lance or two at Windsor, and seeing +what Court life was in times of triumphant peace, he wearied of the +scene, and longed for a life of greater purpose. Hearing where his +cousin John was located, he had quickly ridden across to pay him a +visit; and that visit had lasted from the previous October till now, +when the full beauty of a glorious English summer had clothed the world +in green, and the green was just tarnishing slightly in the heat of a +glaring August. + +As Raymond had seen something of the fashion in which the world was +wagging, his thoughts had ofttimes recurred to Father Paul and that +solemn warning he had uttered. He had spoken of it to John, and both had +mused upon it, wondering if indeed something of prophetic fire dwelt +within that strong, spare frame -- whether indeed, through his +austerities and fasts, the monk had so reduced the body that the things +of the spiritual world were revealed to him, and the future lay spread +before his eyes. + +At first both the cousins had thought week by week to hear some news of +a terrible visitation; but day had followed day, and months had rolled +by, and still the country was holding high revel without a thought or a +fear for the future. So gradually the two studious youths had ceased to +speak of the visitation they had once confidently looked for, and they +gave themselves up with the zest of pure enjoyment to their studies and +the pursuit of learning. Raymond's spiritual nature was deepened and +strengthened by his perusal of such sacred and devotional lore as he +could lay hands upon; and though the Scriptures, as they were presented +to him, were not without many errors and imperfections and omissions, he +yet obtained a clearer insight into many of the prophetical writings, +and a fuller grasp of God's purposes towards man, than he had ever +dreamed of before. So that though strongly tinged with the mysticism and +even with the superstition of the times, his spiritual growth was great, +and the youth felt within him a spring of power unknown before which was +in itself a source of exaltation and power. + +And there was another element of happiness in Raymond's life at this +time which must not be omitted from mention. Seldom as he saw her -- +jealously as she was guarded by her father and brother, now returned +from the war, and settled again at Woodcrych -- he did nevertheless from +time to time encounter Mistress Joan Vavasour, and each encounter was +fraught with a new and increasing pleasure. He had never spoken a word +of love to her; indeed he scarce yet knew that he had lost his heart in +that fashion which so often leads to wedlock. He was only just beginning +to realize that she was not many years older than himself -- that she +was not a star altogether beyond the firmament of his own sky. He had +hitherto regarded her with one of those boyish adorations which are for +the time being sufficient in themselves, and do not look ahead into the +future; and then Raymond well knew that before he could for a moment +dream of aspiring to the hand of the proud knight's daughter, he must +himself have carved his way to moderate fortune and fame. + +His dreams of late had concerned themselves little with his worldly +estate, and therefore his deep reverential admiration for Joan had not +developed into anything of a definite purpose. If he dreamed dreams of +the future in which she bore a part, it was only of laying at her feet +such laurels as he should win, without thinking of asking a reward at +her hands, unless it was the reward of being her own true knight, and +rescuing her from the power of the Sanghursts, father and son, who +appeared to have regained their old ascendency over Sir Hugh and his +son, and to be looking forward still to the alliance between the two +families. + +Joan was of more than marriageable age. It was thought strange by many +that the match was not yet consummated. But the quietly determined +resistance on the part of the girl herself was not without some effect; +and although there were many rumours afloat as to the boundless wealth +of the ill-famed father and son, it was not yet an affair of absolute +certainty that they were in possession of the secret of the +transmutation of metals. So the match still hung fire, and Raymond +received many bewitching smiles from the lady on the rare occasions when +they met; and he thought nothing of the threat of Peter Sanghurst, being +endowed with that fearless courage which does not brood upon possible +perils, but faces real ones with quiet resolution. + +John was sitting over his books in the pleasant western window one +evening at the close of a hot September day, when he heard a quick +footstep crossing the anteroom, and Raymond came in with a strange look +upon his face. + +"John," he said, before his cousin could ask a single question, "it has +come at last!" + +"What has come?" + +"The visitation -- the sickness -- the scourge of God. I knew that +Father Paul was looking into the future when he pronounced the doom upon +this land. It has come; it is amongst us now!" + +"Not here -- not in this very place! We must have heard something of it +had it been so nigh." + +"It has not yet reached this town," answered Raymond, the same strange +light shining in his eyes that John had observed there from his +entrance. "Listen, and I will tell thee all I myself know. Thou knowest +that I have been to Windsor, to meet my brother who is there. Him I +found well and happy, brave as ever, knowing naught of this curse and +scourge. But even as we talked together, there came a messenger from +London in hot haste to see thy father, good John. He had been straight +despatched by the King with a message of dire warning. A terrible +sickness, which already men are calling by the name of Black Death, has +broken out in the south and west of the land, and seems creeping +eastward with these hot west winds that steadily blow. It attacks not +only men, but beasts and cattle -- that is, it seems to be accompanied +by a plague something similar in nature which attacks the beasts. Word +has been passed on by the monks of what is happening far away, and +already a great terror has seized upon many, and some are for flying the +country, others for shutting themselves up in their houses and keeping +great fires burning around them. The message to thy father was to have a +care for the horses, and to buy no new ones that might by chance carry +the seeds of the sickness within them. Men say that the people of London +are very confident that they can keep the sickness away from entering +their walls, by maintaining a careful guard upon the city gates. At +Windsor, I left the town in a mighty fear, folks looking already askance +at each other, as if afraid they were smitten with the deadly disease. +The news of its appearance is passing from mouth to mouth faster than a +horseman could spread the tidings. It had outridden me hither, and I +thought perchance thou mightest have heard it ere I reached home." + +"Nay, I have heard naught; but I would fain hear more now." + +"I know little but what I have already told thee," answered Raymond. +"Indeed, it is but little that there is to know at present. The disease +seems to me somewhat to resemble that described by Lucretius as visiting +Athens. Men sometimes suddenly fall down dead; or they are seized with +violent shiverings, their hair bristling upon their heads. Sometimes it +is like a consuming fire within, and they run raving mad to the nearest +water, falling in perchance, and perishing by drowning, leaving their +carcases to pollute the spring. But if it do not carry off the stricken +person for some hours or days, black swellings are seen upon their +bodies like huge black boils, and death follows rapidly, the victim +often expiring in great agony. I have heard that the throat and lungs +often become inflamed before the Black Death seizes its victim, and that +in districts where the scourge has reached, any persons who appear to +have about them even a common rheum are cast forth from their homes even +by those nearest and dearest, for fear they are victims to the terrible +scourge." + +"Misfortune makes men cruel if it do not bind them closer together. +Raymond, I see a purpose in thy face -- a purpose of which I would know +the meaning. That light in thine eyes is not for nothing. Tell me all +that is in thine heart. Methinks I divine it somewhat already." + +"Belike thou dost, good John," answered Raymond, speaking very calmly +and steadily, "for thou knowest the charge laid upon me by my spiritual +Father. 'Fear not, be not dismayed. A thousand shall fall beside thee, +and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.' +Such was the burden of his charge; and shall I shrink or falter when the +hour I have waited and watched for all these years has come like a thief +in the night? Good John, thou wast the first to teach me that there was +a truer, deeper chivalry than that of the tourney or the battlefield. +Thou wast the first to understand, and to make me understand, that the +highest chivalry was that of our Lord Himself, when He laid down His +life for sinners, and prayed for His enemies who pierced and nailed Him +to the Cross. His words are ever words of mercy. Were He here with us +today upon earth, where should we find Him now? Surely where the peril +was greatest, where the need sorest, where the darkness, the terror, the +distress blackest. And where He would be, were He with us here, is the +place where those who would follow Him most faithfully should be found. +Not all perchance; there be claims of kindred, ties of love that no man +may lightly disregard: But none such ties bind me. I have but my brother +to love, and he is out in the world -- he needs me not. I am free to go +where the voice within calls me; and I go forth to-morrow." + +"And whither goest thou?" asked John, in a low, awestruck tone. + +"I go to Father Paul," answered Raymond, without hesitation, as one who +has thought the matter well out beforehand. "Wherever the need is +sorest, the peril greatest, there will Father Paul be found. And the +Brotherhood stands in the heart of the smitten regions; wherefore at his +very doors the sick will be lying, untended perchance and unassoiled, +save in those places whither he can go. I fare forth at sunrising +tomorrow, to seek and to find him. He will give me work, he will let me +toil beside him; better than that I ask not." + +John had risen from his seat. An answering light had sprung to his eyes +as he had heard and watched Raymond. Now he laid his hand upon his +cousin's arm, and said quietly: + +"Go, then, in the name of the Lord; I too go with thee." + +Raymond turned his head and looked full at his cousin, marking the thin, +sunken lines of the face, the stooping pose of the shoulders, the hectic +flush that came and went upon the hollow cheek; and seeing this and +knowing what it betokened, he linked his arm within John's and commenced +walking up and down the room with him, as though inaction were +impossible at such a moment. And as he walked he talked. + +"Good John," he said, "I would fain have thee with me; but I well know +thou hast no strength for the task thou hast set thyself. Even the long +day's ride would weary thy frame so sorely that thou wouldst fall an +easy victim to the sickness ere thou hadst done aught to help another. +Thou hast thy father, thy mother, and thy good uncle to think of. How +sad would they be to hear whither thou hadst gone! And then, my cousin, +it may well be that for thee there is other work, and work for which +thou canst better prepare thyself here than in any other place. I have +thought of thee as well as of myself as I have ridden homeward this day. +Shall I tell thee what my thought -- my dream of thee was like?" + +"Ay, tell me; I would gladly hear." + +"I saw in my spirit the advance of this terrible Black Death; I saw it +come to this very place. Dead and dying, cast out of their homes by +those who would neither bury the one nor tend the other, were left lying +in the streets around, and a deadly fear was upon all the place. And +then I saw a man step forth amongst these miserable wretches, and the +man had thy face, dear cousin. And he came forward and said to those who +were yet willing to touch the sick, 'Carry them into my house; I have a +place made ready for them. Bring them to my house; there they will he +tended and cared for.' And then I thought that I saw the bearers lift +and carry the sick here to this house, and that there they were received +by some devoted men and women who had not been driven away by the +general terror, and there were clean and comfortable beds awaiting the +sick, and great fires of aromatic herbs burning upon the hearths to keep +away the fumes of the pestilence from the watchers. And as the wretched +and stricken creatures found themselves in this fair haven, they blessed +him who had had this care for them; and those who died, died in comfort, +shriven and assoiled by holy priests, whilst some amongst the number +were saved, and saved through the act of him who had found them this +safe refuge." + +Raymond ceased speaking, and looked out over the fair landscape +commanded by the oriel window of the room in which they were standing; +and John's pale face suddenly kindled and glowed. The same spirit of +self-sacrifice animated them both; but the elder of the pair realized, +when it was put before him, how little he was fit for the work which the +younger had set himself to do, whilst he had the means as well as the +disposition to perform an act of mercy which in the end might be a +greater boon to many than any service he could offer now. And if he did +this thing -- if he turned his house into a house of mercy for the sick +of the plague -- he would then have his own opportunity to tend and care +for the sufferers. + +Only one thought for a moment hindered him from giving an answer. He +looked at Raymond, and said: + +"Thinkest thou that this sickness will surely come this way?" + +"In very truth I believe that it will ravage the land from end to end. I +know that Father Paul looked to see the whole country swept by the +scourge of God. Fear not but that thy work will find thee here. Thou +wilt not have to wait long, methinks. Thou wilt but have fair time to +make ready all that thou wilt need -- beds, medicaments, aromatic wood, +and perfumes -- and gather round thee a few faithful, trusty souls who +will not fly at the approach of danger. It may be no easy task to find +these, yet methinks they will be found here and there; for where God +sends His scourges upon His earth, He raises up pious men and women too, +to tend the sufferers and prove to the world that He has still amongst +the gay and worldly His own children, His own followers, who will follow +wherever He leads." + +John's mind was quickly made up. + +"I will remain behind and do this thing," he said. "Perchance thou and I +will yet work together in this very place amongst the sick and dying." + +"I well believe it," answered Raymond, with one of his far-away looks; +and the cousins stood together looking out over the green world bathed +in the light of sunset, wondering how and when they would meet again, +but both strangely possessed with perfect confidence that they would so +meet. + +Then Raymond went to make his simple preparations for the morrow's ride. +He had intended travelling quite alone, and chancing the perils of the +road, which, however, in these times of peace and rejoicing, were not +very great; for freebooters seldom disturbed travellers by day, save +perhaps in very lonely forest roads. But when Roger, the woodman's son, +heard whither his master's steps were bent, and upon what errand he was +going, he fell at his feet in one of his wild passions of devotional +excitement, and begged to be allowed to follow him even to the death. + +"It may well be to the death, good Roger," answered Raymond gravely. +"Men say that death is certain for those who take the breath of the +smitten persons; and such as go amongst them go at the risk of their +lives. I do not bid thee follow me -- I well believe the peril is great; +but if thou willest to do this thing, I dare not say thee nay, for +methinks it is a work of God, and may well win His approval." + +"I will go," answered Roger, without the slightest hesitation. "Do I not +owe all -- my body and soul alike -- to you and Father Paul? Where you +go, there will I go with you. What you fear not to face, I fear not +either. For life or for death I am yours; and if the Holy Saints and the +Blessed Virgin will but give me strength to fight and to conquer this +fell foe, I trow they will do it because that thou art half a saint +thyself, and they will know that I go to be with thee, to watch over +thee, and perchance, by my service and my prayers, guard thee in some +sort from ill." + +Raymond smiled and held out his hand to his faithful servant. In times +of common peril men's hearts are very closely knit together. The bond +between the two youths seemed suddenly to take a new form; and when they +rode forth at sunrise on the morrow, with John waving an adieu to them +and watching their departure with a strange look of settled purpose on +his face, it was no longer as master and servant that they rode, but as +friends and comrades going forth to meet a deadly peril together. + +It seemed strange, as they rode along in the bright freshness of a clear +September morning, to realize that any scenes of horror and death could +be enacting themselves upon this fair earth not very many miles away. +Yet as they rode ever onwards and drew near to the infected districts, +the sunshine became obscured by a thick haze, the fresh wind which had +hitherto blown in their faces dropped, and the air was still with a +deadly stillness new to both of them -- a stillness which was oppressive +and which weighed upon their spirits like lead. The first intimation +they had of the pestilence itself was the sight of the carcasses of +several beasts lying dead in their pasture, and, what was more terrible +still, the body of a man lying beside them, as though he had dropped +dead as he came to drive them into shelter. + +Raymond looked at the little group with an involuntary shudder, and +Roger crossed himself and muttered a prayer. But they did not turn out +of their way; they were now nearing the gates of the Monastery, and it +was of Father Paul that Raymond's thoughts were full. Plainly enough he +was in the heart of the peril. How had it gone with him since the +sickness had appeared here? + +That question was answered the moment the travellers appeared within +sight of the well-known walls. They saw a sight that lived in their +memories for many a day to come. + +Instead of the calm and solitude which generally reigned in this place, +a great crowd was to be seen around the gate, but such a crowd as the +youths had never dreamed of before. Wretched, plague-stricken people, +turned from their own doors and abandoned by their kindred, had dragged +themselves from all parts to the doors of the Monastery, in the hope +that the pious Brothers would give them help and a corner to die in +peace. And that they were not disappointed in this hope was well seen: +for as Raymond and his companion appeared, they saw that one after +another of these wretched beings was carried within the precincts of the +Monastery by the Brothers; whilst amongst those who lay outside waiting +their turn for admission, or too far gone to be moved again, a tall thin +form moved fearlessly, bending over the dying sufferers and hearing +their last confessions, giving priestly absolution, or soothing with +strong and tender hands the last agonies of some stricken creature. + +Raymond, with a strange, tense look upon his face, went straight to the +Father where he stood amongst the dying and the dead, and just as he +reached his side the Monk stood suddenly up and looked straight at him. +His austere face did not relax, but in his eyes shone a light that +looked like triumph. + +"It is well, my son," he said. "I knew that thou wouldest be here anon. +The soldier of the Cross is ever found at his post in such a time as this." + + + + CHAPTER XVIII. WITH FATHER PAUL. + + +All that evening and far into the night Raymond worked with the Brothers +under Father Paul, bringing in the sick, burying the dead, and tending +all those for whom anything could be done to mitigate their sufferings, +or bring peace either of body or mind. + +By nightfall the ghastly assemblage about the Monastery doors had +disappeared. The living were lying in rows in the narrow beds, or upon +the straw pallets of the Brothers, filling dormitories and Refectory +alike; the dead had been laid side by side in a deep trench which had +been hastily dug by order of Father Paul; and after he had read over +them the burial service, earth and lime had been heaped upon the bodies, +and one end of the long trench filled in. Before morning there were a +score more corpses to carry forth, and out of the thirty and odd +stricken souls who lay within the walls, probably scarce ten would +recover from the malady. + +But no more of the sick appeared round and about the Monastery gates as +they had been doing for the past three days; and when Raymond asked why +this was so, Father Paul looked into his face with a keen, searching +glance as he replied: + +"Verily, my son, it is because there be no more to come -- no more who +have strength to drag themselves out hither. Tomorrow I go forth to +visit the villages where the sick be dying like beasts in the shambles. +I go to shrive and confess the sick, to administer the last rites to the +dying, to read the prayers of the Church over those who are being +carried to the great common grave. God alone knows whether even now the +living may suffice to bury the dead. But where the need is sorest, there +must His faithful servants be found." + +Raymond looked back with a face full of resolute purpose. + +"Father, take me with thee," he said. + +Father Paul looked earnestly into that fair young face, that was growing +so intensely spiritual in its expression, and asked one question. + +"My son, and if it should be going to thy death?" + +"I will go with thee, Father Paul, be it for life or for death." + +"God bless and protect thee, my son!" said the Father. "I verily believe +that thou art one over whom the Blessed Saints and the Holy Angels keep +watch and ward, and that thou wilt pass unscathed even through this time +of desolation and death." + +Raymond had bent his knee to receive the Father's blessing, and when he +rose he saw that Roger was close behind him, likewise kneeling; and +reading the thought in his mind, he said to the Father: + +"Wilt thou not give him thy blessing also? for I know that he too will +go with us and face the peril, be it for life or death." + +Father Paul laid his hand upon the head of the second lad. + +"May God's blessing rest also upon thee, my son," he said. "In days past +thou hast been used as an instrument of evil, and hast been forced to do +the devil's own work. Now God, in His mercy, has given thee work to do +for Him, whereby thou mayest in some sort make atonement for the past, +and show by thy faith and piety that thou art no longer a bondservant +unto sin." + +Then turning to both the youths as they stood before him, the Father +added, in a different and less solemn tone: + +"And since your purpose is to go forth with me tomorrow, you must now +take some of that rest without which youthful frames cannot long +dispense. Since early dawn you have been travelling and working at tasks +of a nature to which you are little used. Come with me, therefore, and +pass the remaining hours of the night in sleep. I will arouse you for +our office of early mass, and then we will forth together. Till then +sleep fearlessly and well. Sleep will best fit you for what you will see +and hear tomorrow." + +So saying, the Father led them into a narrow cell where a couple of +pallet beds had been placed, and where some slices of brown bread and a +pitcher of spring water were likewise standing. + +"Our fare is plain, but it is wholesome. Eat and drink, my sons, and +sleep in peace. Wake not nor rise until I come to you again." + +The lads were indeed tired enough, though they had scarcely known it in +the strange excitement of the journey, and amid the terrible scenes of +death and sickness which they had witnessed around and about the +Monastery doors since their arrival there. Now, however, that they had +received the command to rest and sleep (and to gainsay the Father's +commands was a thing that would never have entered their minds), they +were willing enough to obey, and had hardly laid themselves down before +they fell into a deep slumber, from which neither awoke until the light +of day had long been shining upon the world, and the Father stood beside +them bidding them rise and follow him. + +In a few minutes their simple toilet and ablutions had been performed, +and they made their way along the familiar passage to the chapel, from +whence a low sound of chanting began to arise. There were not many of +the Brothers present at the early service, most of them being engaged in +tending the plague-stricken guests beneath their roof. But the Father +was performing the office of the mass, and when he had himself partaken +of the Sacrament, he signed to the two boys, who were about to go forth +with him into scenes of greater peril than any they had witnessed +heretofore, to come and receive it likewise. + +The service over, and some simple refreshment partaken of, the youths +prepared for their day's toil, scarce knowing what they would be like to +see, but resolved to follow Father Paul wherever he went, anxious only +to accomplish successfully such work as he should find for them to do. + +Each had a certain burden to carry with him -- some of the cordials that +had been found to give most relief in cases of utter collapse and +exhaustion, a few simple medicaments and outward applications thought to +be of some use in allaying the pain of those terrible black swellings +from which the sickness took its significant name, and some +simply-prepared food for the sufferers, who were often like to perish +from inanition even before the plague had done its worst. For stricken +persons, or those supposed to be stricken, were often turned out of +their homes even by their nearest relatives, and forced to wander about +homeless and starving, none taking pity upon their misery, until the +poison in their blood did its fatal work, and they dropped down to die. + +That loosening of the bands of nature and affection in times of deadly +sickness has always been one of the most terrible features of the +outbreaks of the plague when it has visited either this or other lands. +There are some forms of peril that bind men closer and closer together, +and that bring into bond of friendship even those who have been before +estranged; and terrible though these perils may be, there is always a +deep sense of underlying consolation in the closer drawing of the bond +of brotherhood. But when the scourge of deadly sickness has passed over +the land, the effect has almost always been to slacken this tie; the +inherent love of life, natural to human beings, turning to an almost +incredible selfishness, and inducing men to abandon their nearest and +dearest in the hour of peril, leaving them, if stricken, to die alone, +or turning them, sick to death though they might be, away from their +doors, to perish untended and without shelter. True, there were many +bright exceptions to such a code of barbarity, and devoted men and women +arose by the score to strive to ameliorate the condition of the +sufferers; but for all that, one of the most terrible features of the +period of death and desolation was that of the fearful panic it +everywhere produced, and the inhuman neglect and cruelty with which the +early sufferers were treated by the very persons who, perhaps only a few +days or even hours later, had themselves caught the contagion, and were +lying dead or dying in the homes from which they had ejected their own +kith and kin before. + +Of the fearful havoc wrought in England by this scourge of the Black +Death many readers of history are scarcely aware. Whole districts were +actually and entirely depopulated, not a living creature of any kind +being left sometimes within a radius of many miles; and at the lowest +computation made by historians, it is believed that not less than +one-half of the entire population perished during the outbreak. + +But of anything like the magnitude of such a calamity no person at this +time had any conception, and little indeed was Raymond prepared for the +sights that he was this day to look upon. + +The Father and his two assistants went forth after they had partaken of +food, and turned their faces westward. + +"There is a small village two miles hence that we will visit first," +said the Father, "for the poor people have no pastor or any other person +to care for their bodies or souls, and I trow we shall find work to do +there. If time permits when we have done what we may there, we will pass +on to the little town round the church of St. Michael, whose spire you +see yonder on the hillside. Many of the stricken folks within our walls +came from thence. The sickness is raging there, and there may be few +helpers left by now." + +The same sultry haze the travellers had noticed in the infected regions +was still hanging over the woods today as they sallied forth; and though +the sun was shining in the sky, its beams were thick and blood-red +instead of being clear and bright, and there was an oppression in the +air which caused the birds to cease their song, and lay on the spirit +like a dead weight. + +"The curse of God upon the land -- the curse of God!" said the Father, +in a low, solemn tone, as he led the way, bearing in his hands the Holy +Sacrament with which to console the dying. "Men have long been +forgetting Him. But He will not alway be forgotten. He will arise in +judgment and show men the error of their ways. If in their prosperity +they will not remember Him, He will call Himself to their remembrance by +a terrible day of adversity. And who may stand before the Lord? Who may +abide the day of His visitation?" + +Moving along with these and like solemn words of warning and admonition, +to which his followers paid all reverent heed, the woodland path was +quickly traversed, and the clearing reached which showed the near +approach to the village. There was a break in the forest at this point, +and some excellent pasture land and arable fields had tempted two +farmers to establish themselves here, a small hamlet growing quickly up +around the farmsteads. This small community supplied the Brothers with +some of the necessaries of life, and every soul there was known to the +Father. Some dozen persons had come to the Monastery gates during the +past two days, stricken and destitute, and had been taken in there. But +all these had died and no others had followed, and Father Paul was +naturally anxious to know how it fared with those left behind. + +Raymond and Roger both knew the villagers well. The two years spent +within the walls of the Brotherhood had made them fully acquainted with +the people round about. The little hamlet was a pretty spot: a number of +low thatched cottages nestled together beside the stream that watered +the meadows, whilst the larger farmsteads, which, however, were only +modest dwelling houses with their barns and sheds forming a background +to them, stood a little farther back upon a slightly-rising ground, +sheltered from the colder winds by a spur of the forest. + +Generally one was aware, in approaching the place, of the pleasant +homely sounds of life connected with farming. Today, with the golden +grain all ready for the reaper's hand, one looked to hear the sound of +the sickle in the corn, and the voices of the labourers calling to each +other, or singing some rustic harvest song over their task. But instead +of that a deadly and death-like silence prevailed; and Raymond, who had +quickened his steps as he neared the familiar spot, now involuntarily +paused and hung back, as if half afraid of what he would be forced to +look upon when once the last turning was passed. + +But Father Paul moved steadily on, turning neither to the right hand nor +to the left. There was no hesitation or faltering in his step, and the +two youths pressed after him, ashamed of their moment's backwardness. +The sun had managed to pierce through the haze, and was shining now with +some of its wonted brilliancy. As Raymond turned the corner and saw +before him the whole of the little hamlet, he almost wished the sun had +ceased to shine, the contrast between the beauty and brightness of +nature and the scene upon which it looked being almost too fearful for +endurance. + +Lying beside the river bank, in every attitude and contortion of the +death agony, were some dozen prostrate forms of men, women, and +children, all dead and still. It seemed as though they must have crawled +forth from the houses when the terrible fever thirst was upon them, and +dragging themselves down to the water's edge, had perished there. And +yet if all were dead, as indeed there could be small doubt from their +perfect stillness and rigidity, why did none come forth to bury them? +Already the warm air was tainted and oppressive with that +plague-stricken odour so unspeakably deadly to the living. Why did not +the survivors come forth from their homes and bury the dead out of their +sight? Had all fled and left them to their fate? + +Father Paul walked calmly onwards, his eyes taking in every detail of +the scene. + +As he reached the dead around the margin of the stream, he paused and +looked upon the faces he had known so well in life, then turning to his +two followers, he said: + +"I trow these be all dead corpses, but I will examine each if there be +any spark of life remaining. Go ye into the houses, and if there be any +sound persons within, bid them, in the name of humanity and their own +safety, come forth and help to bury their brethren. If they are suffered +to lie here longer, every soul in this place will perish!" + +Glad enough to turn his eyes from the terrible sight without, Raymond +hurried past to the cluster of dwelling places beyond, and entering the +first of these himself, signed to Roger to go into the second. He had +some slight difficulty in pushing open the door, not because it was +fastened, but owing to some encumbrance behind. When, however, he +succeeded in forcing his way in, he found that the encumbrance was +nothing more or less than the body of a woman lying dead along the floor +of the tiny room. Upon a bed in the corner two children were lying, +smiling as if in sleep, but both stiff and cold, the livid tokens of the +terrible malady visible upon their little bodies, though the end seemed +to have been painless. No other person was in the house, and Raymond, +drawing a covering over the children as they lay, turned from the house +again with a shudder of compassionate sorrow. Outside he met Roger +coming forth with a look of awe upon his face. + +"There be five souls within you door," he said -- "an old woman, her two +sons and two daughters. But they are all dead and cold. I misdoubt me if +we find one alive in the place." + +"We must try farther and see," answered Raymond, his face full of the +wondering consternation of so terrible a discovery; and by mutual +consent they proceeded in their task together. There was something so +unspeakably awful in going about alone in a veritable city of the dead. + +And such indeed might this place be called. Roger was fearfully right in +his prediction. Each house entered showed its number of victims to the +destroyer, but not one of these victims was living to receive comfort or +help from the ministrations of those who had come amongst them. And not +man alone had suffered; upon the dumb beasts too had the scourge fallen: +for when Roger suddenly bethought him that the creatures would want +tendance in the absence of their owners, and had gone to the sheds to +seek for them, nothing but death met his eye on all sides. Some in their +stalls, some in the open fields, some, like their masters, beside the +stream, lay the poor beasts all stone dead. + +It seemed as if the scourge had fallen with peculiar virulence upon this +little hamlet, in the warm cup-like hollow where it lay, and had smitten +it root and branch. Possibly the waters of the stream had been poisoned +higher up, and the deadly malaria had reached it in that way; possibly +some condition of the atmosphere predisposed living things to take the +infection. But be the cause what it might, there was no gainsaying the +fact. Not a living or breathing thing remained in the hamlet; and little +as Raymond knew it, such wholesale destruction was only too common +throughout the length and breadth of England. But such a revelation +coming upon him suddenly, brought before his very eyes when he had come +with the desire to help and tend the living, filled him with an awe that +was almost terror, although the terror was not for himself. Personally +he had no fear; he had given himself to this work, and he would hold to +it be the result what it might. But the thought of the scourge sweeping +down upon a peaceful hamlet, and carrying off in a few short days every +breathing thing within its limits, was indeed both terrible and pitiful. +He could picture only too vividly the terror, the anguish, the agony of +the poor helpless people, and longed, not to escape from such scenes, +but rather to go forward to other places ere the work of destruction had +been accomplished, and be with the sick when the last call came. If he +had been but two days earlier in coming forward, might he not have been +in time to do a work of mercy and charity even here? + +But it was useless musing thus. To act, and not to think, was now the +order of the day. He went slowly out from the yard they had last +visited, his face as pale as death, but full of courage and high purpose. + +"There is nothing living here," he said, as he reached the Father, who +had not left the side of the dead. "We have been into all the houses, we +have looked everywhere, but there is nothing but dead corpses: man and +beast have perished alike. Nothing that breathes is left alive." + +The Father looked round upon the scene of smiling desolation -- the +sunny harvest fields, the laughing brook, the broad meadows -- and the +ghastly rows of plague-stricken corpses at his feet, and a stern, sad +change passed across his face. + +"It is the hand of the Lord," he said, "and perchance He smites in mercy +as well as in wrath, delivering men from the evil to come. Let us arise +and go hence. Our work is for the living and not the dead." + +For those three to have attempted to bury all that hamlet would have +been an absolute impossibility. Dreadful as was the thought of turning +away and leaving the place as it was, it was hopeless to do otherwise, +and possibly in the town men might be found able and willing to come out +and inter the corpses in one common grave. + +With hearts full of awe, the two lads followed their conductor. He had +been through similar scenes in other lands. To him there was nothing new +in sights such as this. Even the sense of personal peril, little as he +had ever regarded it, had long since passed away. But it was something +altogether new to Raymond and his companion; and though they had seen +death in many terrible forms upon the battlefield, it had never inspired +the same feelings of horror and awe. It was impossible to forget that +they might at any moment be breathing into their lungs the same deadly +poison which was carrying off multitudes on every side, and although +there was no conscious fear for themselves in the thought, it could not +but fill them with a quickened perception of the uncertainty of life and +the unreality of things terrestrial. + +In perfect silence the walk towards the little town was accomplished; +and as they neared it terrible sights began to reveal themselves even +along the roadside. Plainly indeed to be seen were evidences of +attempted flight from the plague-stricken place; and no doubt many had +made good their escape, but others had fallen down by the wayside in a +dying state, and these dead or dying sufferers were the first tokens +observed by the travellers of the condition of the town. + +Not all were dead, though most were plainly hopeless cases. Raymond and +Roger had both learned something during the hours of the previous night, +when they had helped the good Brothers over their tasks; and they +fearlessly knelt beside the poor creatures, moistening their parched +lips, answering their feeble, moaning plaints, and summoning to the side +of the dying the Father, who could hear the feeble confession of sin, +and pronounce the longed-for absolution to the departing soul. + +Passing still onwards -- for they could not linger long, and little +enough could be done for these dying sufferers, all past hope -- they +reached the streets of the town itself; and the first sight which +greeted their eyes was the figure of a man stripped naked to the waist, +his back bleeding from the blows he kept on inflicting upon himself with +the thick, knotted cord he held in his hands, a heavy and rough piece of +iron being affixed to the end to make the blows more severe. From the +waist downwards he was clothed with sackcloth, and as he rushed about +the streets shrieking and castigating himself, he called aloud on the +people to repent of their sins, and to flee from the wrath of God that +was falling upon the whole nation. + +Yet, though many dead and dying were lying in the streets about him, and +though cries and groans from many houses told that the destroyer was at +work there, this Flagellant (as these maniacs, of which at that time +there were only too many abroad, were called) never attempted to touch +one of them, though he ran almost over their prostrate bodies, and had +apparently no fear of the contagion. There were very few people abroad +in the streets, and such as were sound kept their faces covered with +cloths steeped in vinegar or some other pungent mixture, and walked +gingerly in the middle of the road, as if afraid to approach either the +houses on each side or the other persons walking in the streets. + +A cart was going about, with two evil-looking men in it, who lifted in +such of the dead as they found lying by the roadside, and coolly +divested them of anything of any value which they chanced to have upon +them before conveying them to the great pit just outside which had been +dug to receive the victims of the plague. + +A wild panic had seized upon the place. Most of the influential +inhabitants had fled. There was no rule or order or oversight observed, +and the priest of the church, who until this day had kept a certain +watch over his flock, and had gone about encouraging and cheering the +people, had himself been stricken down with the fell malady, and no one +knew whether he were now living or dead. + +As the Father passed by, people rushed out from many doors to implore +him to come to this house or the other, to administer the last rites to +some one dying within. There were other houses marked with a red cross +on the doors, which had been for many days closed by the town +authorities, until these had themselves fled, being assured that no +person could live in that polluted air. What had become of the wretched +beings thus shut up, when the watchers who were told off to guard them +had fled in terror, it was hard to imagine; and whilst the Father +responded to the calls of those who required spiritual assistance at the +last dread hour, Raymond beckoned to Roger to follow him in his +visitation to those places where the distemper had first showed itself, +and where people had hoped to confine it by closing the houses and +letting none go forth. + +The terribly deadly nature of the malady was well exemplified by the +condition of these houses. Scarce ten living souls were found in them, +and of these almost all were reduced to the last extremity either by +disease or hunger; for none had been nigh them, and they had no strength +to try to make their wants known. + +Raymond had the satisfaction of seeing some amongst these wretched +beings revive somewhat under his ministrations. It was not in every case +the real distemper from which they suffered; in not a few the patients +had sunk only from fright and the misery of feeling themselves shut away +from their fellows. Whenever any persons ailed anything in those days, +it was at once supposed that the Black Death was upon them, and they +were shunned and abhorred by all their friends and kindred. To these +poor creatures it seemed indeed as though an angel from heaven had come +down when Raymond bent over them and put food and drink to their lips. +Many an office of loving mercy to the sick and dying did he and Roger +perform ere daylight faded from the sky; and before night actually fell, +the Father had by precept and example got together a band of helpers +ready and willing to tend the sick and bury the dead, and the people +felt that the terrible panic which had fallen upon them, and caused +every one to flee away, had given place to something better and more humane. + +Men who had fled their stricken homes and had spent their time carousing +in the taverns, trying to drown their fears and their griefs, now +returned home to see how it fared with those who had been left behind. +Women who had been almost distracted by grief, and had been rushing into +the church sobbing and crying, and neglecting the sick, that they might +pour out their hearts at the shrine of their favourite saint, were +admonished by the Holy Father, so well known to them, to return to their +homes and their duties. As the pall of night fell over the stricken +city, and the three who had entered it a few hours before still toiled +on without cessation, people breathed blessings on them wherever they +appeared, and Raymond felt that his work for the Lord in the midst of +His stricken people had indeed begun. + + + + CHAPTER XIX. THE STRICKEN SORCERER. + + +"Thou to Guildford then, my son, and I and the Brethren to London." + +So said Father Paul some three weeks later, as he stood once again +inside the precincts of the Monastery, with Raymond by his side, looking +round the thinned circle of faces of such of the Brothers as had +survived the terrible visitation which had passed over them, and now +gone, as it seemed, elsewhere. Quite one-half of the inhabitants of that +small retreat had fallen victims to the scourge. Scarce ten souls out of +all those who had sought shelter within those walls had risen from their +beds and gone forth to their desolated homes again. The great trench in +the burying ground had received the rest; and of the Brothers who +gathered round Father Paul to welcome him back, several showed, by their +pinched and stricken appearance, how near they themselves had been to +the gates of death. + +Few stricken by the fatal sickness itself ever recovered; but there were +many others who, falling ill of overwork or some other feverish ailment, +were accounted to have caught the distemper, and many of these did +amend, though all sickness at such a time seemed to get a firmer hold +upon its victims. But Father Paul and both his young assistants had +escaped unscathed, though they had been waging a hand-to-hand fight with +the destroyer for three long weeks, that seemed years in the retrospect. + +The Brothers came crowding round them as about those returned from the +grave. Indeed, to them it did almost seem as though this was a +resurrection from the dead; for they had long since given up all hope of +seeing their beloved Superior and Father again in the flesh. + +But the Father himself only accounted his work begun. Although the +pestilence appeared to have passed from the immediate district, and such +cases as occurred amid the few survivors of the visitation were by no +means so fatal as they had been in the beginning, yet the sickness +itself in its most virulent form was sweeping along northward and +eastward, spreading death and desolation in its track; and Father Paul +had but one purpose in his mind, which was to follow in the path of the +destroyer, performing for the sufferers wherever he went the same +offices of piety and mercy that he had been wont to undertake all these +past days; and the Brothers, who had finished their labour of love +within the walls of their home, and had grown fearless before the +pestilence with that fearlessness which gradually comes to those who +look long and steadily upon death, were not wanting in resolve to face +it even in its most terrible shape. + +So that they one and all vowed that they would go with Father Paul; and +his steps were bound for the capital of the kingdom, where he knew that +the need would be the sorest. + +It seemed to the Brothers, who had long lived beneath his austere but +wise and fatherly rule, that not only did he himself bear a charmed +life, but that all who worked with him felt the shelter of that charm. +Raymond and Roger had returned, having suffered no ill effects from the +terrible sights and scenes through which they had passed. Though the +country in these almost depopulated districts literally reeked with the +pestilence, owing to the effluvia from the carcasses of men and beasts +which lay rotting on the ground unburied, yet they had passed unscathed +through all, and were ready to go forth again upon the same errand of mercy. + +Raymond was much divided in mind as to his own course of action. Much as +he longed to remain with Father Paul, whom he continued to revere with a +loving admiration that savoured of worship, he yet had a great desire to +know how it was faring with his cousin John. He could not but be very +sure that the pestilence would not pass Guildford by, and he knew that +John would go forth amongst the sick and dying, and bring them into his +own house for tendance, even though his own life paid the forfeit. It +was therefore with no small eagerness that he longed for news of him; +and when he spoke of this to the Father, the latter at once advised that +they should part company -- he and such of the Brethren as were fit for +the journey travelling on to London, whilst the two youths took the +direct road to Guildford, to see how matters fared there. + +"Ye are but striplings," said the Father kindly, "and though ye be +willing and devoted, ye have not the strength of men, nor are ye such +seasoned vessels. In London the scenes will be terrible to look upon. It +may be that they would be more than ye could well brook. Go, then, to +Guildford. They will need helpers there who know how best to wrestle +with the foul distemper, and ye have both learned many lessons with me. +I verily believe that your work lies there, as mine lies yonder. Go +then, and the Lord be with you. It may be we shall meet again in this +world, but if not, in that world beyond into which our Blessed Saviour +has passed, that through His intercession, offered unceasingly for us, +we too may obtain an entrance through the merits of His redeeming Blood." + +Then blessing both the boys and embracing them with a tenderness new in +one generally so reserved and austere, he sent them away, and they set +their faces steadily whence they had come, not knowing what adventures +they might meet upon the way. + +This return journey was by no means so rapid as the ride hither had +been. Both the horses they had then ridden had perished of the sickness, +and as none others were to be found, and had they been obtainable might +but have fallen down by the wayside to die, the youths travelled on +foot. And they did not even take the most direct route, but turned aside +to this place or the other, wherever they knew of the existence of human +habitations; for wherever such places were, there might there be need +for human help and sympathy. And not a few acts of mercy did the boys +perform as they travelled slowly onwards through an almost depopulated +region. + +Time fails to tell of all they saw and heard as they thus journeyed; but +they found ample employment for all their skill and energy. The lives of +many little children, whose parents had died or fled, were saved by +them, and the neglected little orphans left in the kindly care of some +devoted Sisterhood, whose inmates gladly received them, fearless of the +risk they might run by so doing. + +Wandering so often out of their way, they scarce knew their exact +whereabouts when darkness fell upon them on the third day of their +journeying; but after walking still onwards for some time in what they +judged to be the right direction, they presently saw a light in a +cottage window, and knocking at the door, asked shelter for the night. + +Travellers at such a time as this were regarded with no small suspicion, +and the youths hardly looked to get any answer to their request; but +rather to their surprise, the door was quickly opened, and Roger uttered +a cry of recognition as he looked in the face of the master of the house. + +It was no other, in fact, than the ranger with whom as a boy he had +found a temporary home, from which home he had been taken in his +father's absence and sold into the slavery of Basildene. The boy's cry +of astonishment was echoed by the man when once he had made sure that +his senses were not deceiving him, but that it was really little Roger, +whom he had long believed to be dead; and both he and his companion were +eagerly welcomed in and set down to a plentiful meal of bread and +venison pasty, whilst the boy told his long and adventurous story as +briefly as he could, Stephen listening with parted lips and staring +eyes, as if to the recital of some miraculous narrative. + +And in truth the tale was strange enough, told in its main aspects: the +escape from Basildene, which to himself always partook of the nature of +a miracle, the conflict with the powers of darkness in the Monastery, +his adventures in France, and now his marvellous escape in the midst of +the plague-stricken people whom he had tended and helped. The ranger, +who had lost his own wife and children in the distemper, and had himself +escaped, had lost all fear of the contagion --indeed he cared little +whether he lived or died; and when he heard upon what errand the youths +were bent, he declared he would gladly come with them, for the solitude +of his cottage was so oppressive to him that he would have welcomed even +a plague-stricken guest sooner than be left much longer with only his +hounds and his own thoughts for company. + +"If I cannot tend the sick, I can at least bury the dead," he said, +drawing his horny hand across his eyes, remembering for whom he had but +lately performed that last sad office. And Raymond, to whom this offer +was addressed, accepted his company gladly, for he knew by recent +experience how great was the need for helpers where the sick and the +dead so far outnumbered the whole and sound. + +He had gone off into a reverie as he sat by the peat fire, whilst Roger +and the ranger continued talking together eagerly of many matters, and +he heard little of what passed until roused by the name of Basildene +spoken more than once, and he commanded his drowsy and wearied faculties +to listen to what the ranger was saying. + +"Yes, the Black Death has found its way in behind those walls, men say. +The old sorcerer tried all his black arts to keep it out; but there came +by one this morning who told me that the old man had been seized, and +was lying without a soul to go near him. They have but two servants that +have ever stayed with them in that vile place, and these both thought +the old man's dealings with the devil would at least suffice to keep the +scourge away, and felt themselves safer there than elsewhere. But the +moment he was seized they both ran away and left him, and there they say +he is lying still, untended and unwatched -- if he be not dead by now. +For as for the son, he had long since made his own preparations. He has +shut himself up in a turret, with a plentiful supply of food; and he +burns a great fire of scented wood and spices at the foot of the +stairway, and another in the place he lives in, and never means to stir +forth until the distemper has passed. One of the servants, before he +fled, went to the stair foot and called to him to tell him that his +father lay a-dying of the plague below; but he only laughed, and said it +was time he went to the devil, who had been waiting so long for him; and +the man rushed out of the house in affright at the sound of such +terrible blasphemy and unnatural wickedness at a time like this." + +Raymond's face took a new expression as he heard these words. The +lassitude and weariness passed out of it, and a curious light crept into +his eyes. Roger and the ranger continued to talk together of many +things, but their silent companion still sat motionless beside the +hearth. Over his face was stealing a look of purpose -- such purpose as +follows a struggle of the spirit over natural distaste and disgust. + +When the ranger presently left them, to see what simple preparations he +could make for their comfort during the night, he motioned to Roger to +come nearer, and looking steadily at him, he said: + +"Roger, I am going to Basildene tonight, to see what human skill may do +for the old Sanghurst. He is our enemy -- thine and mine -- therefore +doubly is it our duty to minister to him in the hour of his extremity. I +go forth this night to seek him. Wilt thou go with me? or dost thou fear +to fall again under the sway of his evil mind, or his son's, if thou +puttest foot within the halls of Basildene again?" + +For a moment a look of strong repulsion crossed Roger's face. He shrank +back a little, and looked as though he would have implored his young +master to reconsider his resolution. But something in the luminous +glance of those clear bright eyes restrained him, and presently some of +their lofty purpose seemed to be infused into his own soul. + +"If thou goest, I too will go," he said. "At thy side no harm from the +Evil One can come nigh me. Have I not proved that a hundred times ere +now? And the spell has long been broken off my neck and off my spirit. I +fear neither the sorcerer nor his son. If it be for us -- if it be a +call -- to go even to him in the hour of his need, I will go without a +thought of fear. I go in the name of the Holy Virgin and her Son. I need +not fear what man can do against me." + +Great was the astonishment of the worthy ranger when he returned to hear +the purpose upon which his guests were bent; but he had already imbibed +some of that strange reverential admiration for Raymond which he so +frequently inspired in those about him, and it did not for a moment +occur to him to attempt to dissuade him from an object upon which his +mind was bent. + +The October night, though dark and moonless, was clear, and the stars +were shining in the sky as the little procession started forth. The +ranger insisted on being one of the number. Partly from curiosity, +partly from sheer hatred of solitude, and a good deal from interest in +his companions and their errand of mercy, he had decided to come with +them, not merely to show them the way to Basildene, which he could find +equally well by night as by day, but to see the result of their journey +there, and take on with him to Guildford the description of the old +sorcerer's home and his seizure there. + +As they moved along through the whispering wood, the man, in low and +awe-stricken tones, asked Roger of his old life there, and what it was +that made him of such value to the Sanghursts. Raymond had never talked +to the lad of that chapter in his past life, always abiding by Father +Paul's advice to let him forget it as far as possible. + +Now, however, Roger seemed able to speak of it calmly, and without the +terror and emotion that any recollection of that episode used to cause +him in past years. He could talk now of the strange trances into which +he was thrown, and how he was made to see things at a distance and tell +all he saw. Generally it was travellers upon the road he was instructed +to watch, and forced to describe the contents of the mails they carried +with them. Some instinct made the boy many times struggle hard against +revealing the nature of the valuables he saw that these people had about +them, knowing well how they would be plundered by his rapacious masters, +after they had tempted them upon the treacherous swamp not far from +Basildene, where, if they escaped with their lives, it would be as much +as they could hope to do. But the truth was always wrung from him by +suffering at last -- not that his body was in any way injured by them, +save by the prolonged fasts inflicted upon him to intensify his gift of +clairvoyance; but whilst in these trances they could make him believe +that any sort of pain was being inflicted, and he suffered it exactly as +though it had been actually done upon his bodily frame. Thus they forced +from his reluctant lips every item of information they desired; and he +knew when plunder was brought into the house, and stored in the deep +underground cellars, how and whence it had come -- knew, too, that many +and many a wretched traveller had been overwhelmed in the swamp who +might have escaped with life and goods but for him. + +It was the horror of this conviction, and the firm belief that he had +been bound over body and soul to Satan, that was killing him by inches +when the twin brothers effected his rescue. He did not always remember +clearly in his waking moments what had passed in his hours of trance, +but the horror of great darkness always remained with him; and at some +moments everything would come upon him with a fearful rush, and he would +remain stupefied and overwhelmed with anguish. + +To all of this Raymond listened with great interest. He and John had +read of some such phenomena in their books relating to the history of +magic; and little as the hypnotic state was understood in those days, +the young student had gained some slight insight into the matter, and +was able to speak of his convictions to Roger with some assurance. He +told him that though he verily believed such power over the wills of +others to be in some sort the work of the devil, it might yet be +successfully withstood by a resolute will, bound over to the +determination to yield nothing to the strong and evil wills of others. +And Roger, who had long since fought his fight and gained strength and +confidence, was not afraid of venturing into the stronghold of +wickedness -- less so than ever now that he might go at Raymond's side. + +It was midnight before the lonely house was reached, and Raymond's heart +beat high as he saw the outline of the old walls looming up against the +gloomy sky. Not a light was to be seen burning in any of the windows, +save a single gleam from out the turret at the corner away to the left; +and though owls hooted round the place, and bats winged their uncertain +flight, no other living thing was to be seen, and the silence of death +seemed to brood over the house. + +"This is the way to the door that is the only one used," said Stephen, +"and we shall find it unlocked for certain, seeing that the servants +have run away, and the young master will not go nigh his father, not +though he were ten times dying. My lantern will guide us surely enough +through the dark passages, and maybe young Roger will know where the old +man is like to be found." + +"Below stairs, I doubt not, amongst his bottles and books of magic," +answered Roger, with a light shiver, as he passed through the doorway +and found himself once again within the evil house. "He would think that +in yon place no contagion could touch him. He spent his days and nights +alike there. He scarce left it save to go abroad, or perchance to have a +few hours' sleep in his bed. But the treasure is buried somewhere nigh +at hand down in those cellars, though the spot I know not. And he fears +to leave it night or day, lest some stealthy hand filch away the +ill-gotten gain. Men thought he had the secret whereby all might be +changed to gold, and indeed he would ofttimes bring pure gold out from +the crucibles over his fire; but he had cast in first, unknown to those +who so greedily watched him, the precious baubles he had stolen from +travellers upon the road. He was a very juggler with his hands. I have +watched him a thousand times at tricks which would have made the fortune +of a travelling mountebank. But soft! here is the door at the head of +the stairs. Take heed how that is opened, lest the hound fly at thy +throat. Give me the lantern, and have thou thy huntsman's knife to +plunge into his throat, else he may not let us pass down alive." + +But when the door was opened, the hound, instead of growling or +springing, welcomed them with whines of eager welcome. The poor beast +was almost starved, and had been tamed by hunger to unwonted gentleness. + +Raymond, who had food in his wallet, fed him with small pieces as they +cautiously descended the stairs, for Basildene would furnish them with +more if need be; the larder and cellar there were famous in their way, +though few cared to accept of their owner's hospitality. + +Roger almost expected to find the great door of that subterranean room +bolted and locked, so jealous was its owner of entrance being made +there; but it yielded readily to the touch, and the three, with the +hound, passed in together. + +In a moment Raymond knew by the peculiar atmosphere, which even in so +large a place was sickly and fetid, that they were in the presence of +one afflicted with the true distemper. The place was in total darkness +save for the light of the lantern the ranger carried; but there were +lamps in sconces all along the wall, and these Roger quickly lighted, +being familiar enough with this underground place, which it had been +part of his duty to see to. The light from these lamps was pure and +white and very bright, and lit up the weird vaulted chamber from end to +end. It shone upon a stiffened figure lying prone upon the floor not far +from the vaulted fireplace, upon whose hearth the embers lay black and +cold; and Raymond, springing suddenly forward as his glance rested upon +this figure, feared that he had come too late, and that the foe of his +house had passed beyond the power of human aid. + +"Help me to lift him," he said to Stephen; "and, Roger, kindle thou a +fire upon the hearth. There may be life in him yet. We will try what we +know. Yes, methinks his heart beats faintly; and the tokens of the +distemper are plainly out upon him. Perchance he may yet live. Of late I +have seen men rise up from their beds whom we have given up for lost." + +Raymond was beginning to realize that the black boils, so often looked +upon as the death tokens, were by no means in reality anything of the +kind. As a matter of fact, of the cases that recovered, most, if not +all, had the plague spots upon them. These boils were, in fact, nature's +own effort at expelling the virulent poison from the system, and if +properly treated by mild methods and poultices, in some cases really +brought relief, so that the patient eventually recovered. + +But the intensity of the poison, and its rapid action upon the human +organs, made cases of recovery rare indeed at the outset, when the +outbreak always came in its most virulent form; and truly the appearance +of old Peter Sanghurst was such as almost to preclude hope of +restoration. Tough as he was in constitution, the glaze of death seemed +already in his eyes. He was all but pulseless and as cold as death, +whilst the spasmodic twitchings of his limbs when he was lifted spoke of +death rather than life. + +Still Raymond would not give up hope. He had the fire kindled, and it +soon blazed up hot and fierce, whilst the old man was wrapped in a rich +furred cloak which Roger produced from a cupboard, and some hot cordial +forced between his lips. After one or two spasmodic efforts which might +have been purely muscular, he appeared to make an attempt to swallow, +and in a few more minutes it became plain that he was really doing so, +and with increasing ease each time. The blood began to run through his +veins again, the chest heaved, and the breath was drawn in long, +labouring gasps. At last the old man's eyes opened, and fixed themselves +upon Raymond's face with a long, bewildered stare. + +They asked him no questions. They had no desire that he should speak. +His state was critical in the extreme. They had but come to minister to +his stricken body. To cope with a mind such as his was a task that +Raymond felt must be far beyond his own powers. He would have given much +to have had Father Paul at this bedside for one brief hour, the more so +as he saw the shrinking and terror creeping over the drawn, ashen face. +Did his guilty soul know itself to be standing on the verge of eternity? +and did the wretched man feel the horror of great darkness infolding him +already? + +All at once he spoke, and his words were like a cry of terror. + +"Alicia! Alicia! how comest thou here?" + +Raymond, to whom the words were plainly addressed, knew not how to +answer them, or what they could mean; but the wild eyes were still fixed +upon his face, and again the old man's excited words broke forth -- +"Comest thou in this dread hour to claim thine own again? Alicia, +Alicia! I do repent of my robbery. I would fain restore all. It has been +a curse, and not a blessing; all has been against me -- all. I was a +happy man before I unlawfully wrested Basildene from thee. Since I have +done that deed naught has prospered with me; and here I am left to die +alone, neglected by all, and thou alone -- thy spirit from the dead -- +comes to taunt me in my last hour with my robbery and my sin. O forgive, +forgive! Thou art dead. Spirits cannot inherit this world's goods, else +would I restore all to thee. Tell me what I may do to make amends ere I +die? But look not at me with those great eyes of thine, lightened with +the fire of the Lord. I cannot bear it -- I cannot bear it! Tell me only +how I may make restoration ere I am taken hence to meet my doom!" + +Raymond understood then. The old man mistook him for his mother, who +must have been about his own age when her wicked kinsman had ousted her +from her possessions. Had they not told him in the old home how wondrous +like to her he was growing? The clouded vision of the old man could see +nothing but the face of the youth bending over him, and to him it was +the face of an avenging angel. He clasped his hands together in an agony +of supplication, and would have cast himself at the boy's feet had he +not been restrained. The terrible remorse which so often falls upon a +guilty conscience at the last hour had the miserable man in its +clutches. His mind was too far weakened to think of his many crimes even +blacker than this one. The sight of Raymond had awakened within him the +memory of the defrauded woman, and he could think of nothing else. She +had come back from the dead to put him in mind of his sin. If he could +but make one act of restitution, he felt that he could almost die in +peace. He gripped Raymond's hand hard, and looked with agonizing +intensity into his face. + +"I am not Alicia," he answered gently. "Her spirit is at rest and free, +and no thought of malice or hatred could come from her now. I am her +son. I know all -- how you drove her forth from Basildene, and made +yourself an enemy; but you are an enemy no longer now, for the hand of +God is upon you, and I am here in His name to strive to soothe your last +hours, and point the way upwards whither she has gone." + +"Alicia's son! Alicia's son!" almost screamed the old man. "Now Heaven +be praised, for I can make restitution of all!" + +Raymond raised his eyes suddenly at an exclamation from Roger, to see a +tall dark figure standing motionless in the doorway, whilst Peter +Sanghurst's fiery eyes were fixed upon his face with a gaze of the most +deadly malevolence in them. + + + + CHAPTER XX. MINISTERING SPIRITS. + + +"The sickness in the town! Alackaday! Woe betide us all! It will be next +within our very walls. Holy St. Catherine protect us! May all the Saints +have mercy upon us! In Guildford! why, that is scarce five short miles +away! And all the men and the wenches are flying as for dear life, +though if what men say be true there be few enough places left to fly +to! Why, Joan, why answerest thou not? I might as well speak to a block +as to thee. Dost understand, girl, that the Black Death is at our very +doors -- that all our people are flying from us? And yet thou sittest +there with thy book, as though this were a time for idle fooling. I am +fair distraught -- thy father and brother away and all! Canst thou not +say something? Hast thou no feeling for thy mother? Here am I nigh +distracted by fear and woe, and thou carriest about a face as calm as if +this deadly scourge were but idle rumour." + +Joan laid down her book, came across to her mother, and put her strong +hand caressingly upon her shoulder. Poor, weak, timid Lady Vavasour had +never been famed for strength of mind in any of the circumstances of +life, and it was perhaps not wonderful that this scare, reaching her +ears in her husband's absence, should drive her nearly frantic with terror. + +For many days reports of a most disquieting nature had been pouring in. +Persons who came to Woodcrych on business or pleasure spoke of nothing +but the approach of the Black Death. Some affected to make light of it, +protested that far too much was being made of the statements of ignorant +and terrified people, and asserted boldly that it would not attack the +well-fed and prosperous classes; whilst others declared that the whole +country would speedily be depopulated, and whispered gruesome tales of +those scenes of death and horror which were shortly to become so common. +Then the inhabitants of isolated houses like Woodcrych received visits +from travelling peddlers and mountebanks of all sorts, many disguised in +Oriental garb, who brought with them terrible stories of the spread of +the distemper, at the same time offering for sale certain herbs and +simples which they declared to be never-failing remedies in case any +person were attacked by the disease; or else they besought the credulous +to purchase amulets or charms, or in some cases alleged relics blessed +by the Pope, which if always worn upon the person would effectually +prevent the onset of the malady. After listening greedily (as the +servants in those houses always loved to do) to any story of ghastly +horror which these impostors chose to tell them, they were thankful to +buy at almost any price some antidote against the fell disease; and even +Lady Vavasour had made many purchases for herself and her daughter of +quack medicines and talismans or relics. + +But hitherto no one had dared to whisper how fast the distemper was +encroaching in this very district. Men still spoke of it as though it +were far off, and might likely enough die out without spreading, so that +now it was with terror akin to distraction that the poor lady heard +through her servants that it had well-nigh reached their own doors. One +of the lackeys had had occasion to ride over to the town that very day, +and had come back with the news that people there were actually dying in +the streets. He had seen two men fall down, either dead or stricken for +death, before he could turn his beast away and gallop off, and the shops +were shut and the church bell was tolling, whilst all men looked in each +other's faces as if afraid of what they might see there. + +Sir Hugh and his son were far away from Woodcrych at one of their newer +possessions some forty miles distant, and in their absence Lady Vavasour +felt doubly helpless. She shook off Joan's hand, and recommenced her +agitated pacing. Her daughter's calmness was incomprehensible apathy to +her. It fretted her even to see it. + +"Thou hast no feeling, Joan; thou hast a heart of stone," she cried, +bursting into weak weeping. "Why canst thou not give me help or counsel +of some sort? What are we to do? What is to become of us? Wouldst have +us all stay shut up in this miserable place to die together?" + +Joan did not smile at the feeble petulance of the half-distracted woman. +Indeed it was no time for smiles of any sort. The peril around and about +was a thing too real and too fearful in its character to admit of any +lightness of speech; and the girl did not even twit her mother with the +many sovereign remedies purchased as antidotes against infection, though +her own disbelief in these had brought down many laments from Lady +Vavasour but a few days previously. + +Brought face to face with the reality of the peril, these wonderful +medicines did not inspire the confidence the sanguine purchasers had +hoped when they spent their money upon them. Lady Vavasour's hope seemed +now to lie in flight and flight alone. She was one of those persons +whose instinct is always for flight, whatever the danger to be avoided; +and now she was eagerly urging upon Joan the necessity for immediate +departure, regardless of the warning of her calmer-minded daughter that +probably the roads would be far more full of peril than their own house +could ever be, if they strictly shut it up, lived upon the produce of +their own park and dairy, and suffered none to go backwards and forwards +to bring the contagion with them. + +Whether Joan's common-sense counsel would have ever prevailed over the +agitated panic of her mother is open to doubt, but all chance of getting +Lady Vavasour to see reason was quickly dissipated by a piece of news +brought to the mother and daughter by a white-faced, shivering servant. + +The message was that the lackey who had but lately returned from +Guildford, whilst sitting over the kitchen fire with his cup of mead, +had complained of sudden and violent pains, had vomited and fallen down +upon the floor in a fit; whereat every person present had fled in wild +dismay, perfectly certain that he had brought home the distemper with +him, and that every creature in the house was in deadly peril. + +Lady Vavasour's terror and agitation were pitiful to see. In vain Joan +strove to soothe and quiet her. She would listen to no words of comfort. +Not another hour would she remain in that house. The servants, some of +whom had already fled, were beginning to take the alarm in good earnest, +and were packing up their worldly goods, only anxious to be gone. Horses +and pack horses were being already prepared, for Lady Vavasour had given +half-a-dozen orders for departure before she had made up her mind what +to do or where to go. + +Now she was resolved to ride straight to her husband, without drawing +rein, or exchanging a word with any person upon the road. Such of the +servants as wished to accompany her might do so; the rest might do as +they pleased. Her one idea was to be gone, and that as quickly as possible. + +She hurried away to change her dress for her long ride, urging Joan to +lose not a moment in doing the same; but what was her dismay on her +return to find her daughter still in her indoor dress, though she was +forwarding her mother's departure by filling the saddlebags with +provisions for the way, and laying strict injunctions upon the trusty +old servants who were about to travel with her to give every care to +their mistress, and avoid so far as was possible any place where there +was likelihood of catching the contagion. They were to bait the horses +in the open, and not to take them under any roof, and all were to carry +their own victuals and drink with them. But that she herself was not to +make one of the party was plainly to be learned by these many and +precise directions. + +This fact became patent to the mother directly she came downstairs, and +at once she broke into the most incoherent expression of dismay and +terror; but Joan, after letting her talk for a few minutes to relieve +her feelings, spoke her answer in brief, decisive sentences. + +"Mother, it is impossible for me to go. Old Bridget, as you know, is +ill. It is not the distemper, it is one of the attacks of illness to +which she has been all her life subject; but not one of these foolish +wenches will now go near her. She has nursed and tended me faithfully +from childhood. To leave her here alone in this great house, to live or +die as she might, is impossible. Here I remain till she is better. Think +not of me and fear not for me. I have no fears for myself. Go to our +father; he will doubtless be anxious for news of us. Linger not here. +Men say that those who fear the distemper are ever the first victims. +Farewell, and may health and safety be with you. My place is here, and +here I will remain till I see my way before me." + +Lady Vavasour wept and lamented, but did not delay her own departure on +account of her obstinate daughter. She gave Joan up for lost, but she +would not stay to share her fate. She had already seen something of the +quiet firmness of the girl, which her father sometimes cursed as +stubbornness, and she felt that words would only be thrown away upon +her. Lamenting to the last, she mounted her palfrey, and set her train +of servants in motion; whilst Joan stood upon the top step of the flight +to the great door, and waved her hand to her mother till the cortege +disappeared down the drive. A brave and steadfast look was upon her +face, and the sigh she heaved as she turned at last away seemed one of +relief rather than of sorrow. + +Lonely as might be her situation in this deserted house, it could not +but be a relief to her to feel that her timid mother would shortly be +under the protection of her husband, and more at rest than she could +ever hope to be away from his side. He could not keep the distemper at +bay, but he could often quiet the restless plaints and causeless terrors +of his weak-minded spouse. + +As she turned back into the silent house she was aware of two figures in +the great hall that were strange there, albeit she knew both well as +belonging to two of the oldest retainers of the place, an old man and +his wife, who had lived the best part of their lives in Sir Hugh's +service at Woodcrych. + +"Why, Betty -- and you also, Andrew -- what do ye here?" asked Joan, +with a grave, kindly smile at the aged couple. + +With many humble salutations and apologies the old folks explained that +they had heard of the hasty and promiscuous flight of the whole +household, headed by the mistress, and also that the "sweet young lady" +was left all alone because she refused to leave old Bridget; and that +they had therefore ventured to come up to the great house to offer their +poor services, to wait upon her and to do for her all that lay in their +power, and this not for her only, but for the two sick persons already +in the house. + +"For, as I do say to my wife there," said old Andrew, though he spoke in +a strange rustic fashion that would scarce be intelligible to our modern +ears, "a body can but die once; and for aught I see, one might as easy +die of the Black Death as of the rheumatics that sets one's bones afire, +and cripples one as bad as being in one's coffin at once. So I be +a-going to look to poor Willum, as they say is lying groaning still upon +the kitchen floor, none having dared to go anigh him since he fell down +in a fit. And if I be took tending on him, I know that you will take +care of my old woman, and see that she does not want for bread so long +as she lives." + +Joan put out her soft, strong hand and laid it upon the hard, wrinkled +fist of the old servant. There was a suspicious sparkle in her dark eyes. + +"I will not disappoint that expectation, good Andrew," she said. "Go if +you will, whilst we think what may best be done for Bridget. Later on I +will come myself to look at William. I have no fear of the distemper; +and of one thing I am very sure -- that it is never kept away by being +fled from and avoided. I have known travellers who have seen it, and +have been with the sick, and have never caught the contagion, whilst +many fled from it in terror only to be overtaken and struck down as they +so ran. We are in God's hands -- forsaken of all but Him. Let us trust +in His mercy, do our duty calmly and firmly, and leave the rest to Him." + +Later in the day, upheld by this same lofty sense of calmness and trust, +Joan, after doing all in her power to make comfortable the old nurse, +who was terribly distressed at hearing how her dear young lady had been +deserted, left her to the charge of Betty, and went down again through +the dark and silent house to the great kitchen, where William was still +to be found, reclining now upon a settle beside the glowing hearth, and +looking not so very much the worse for the seizure of the afternoon. + +"I do tell he it were but the colic," old Andrew declared, rubbing his +crumpled hands together in the glow of the fire. "He were in a rare +fright when I found he -- groaning out that the Black Death had hold of +he, and that he were a dead man; but I told he that he was the liveliest +corpse as I'd set eyes on this seventy years; and so after a bit he +heartened up, and found as he could get upon his feet after all. It were +naught but the colic in his inside; and he needn't be afraid of nothing +worse." + +Old Andrew proved right. William's sudden indisposition had been but the +result of fright and hard riding, followed by copious draughts of hot +beer taken with a view to keeping away the contagion. Very soon he was +convinced of this himself; and when he understood how the whole +household had fled from him, and that the only ones who had stayed to +see that he did not die alone and untended were these old souls and +their adored young lady, his heart was filled with loving gratitude and +devotion, and he lost no opportunity of doing her service whenever it +lay in his power. + +Strange and lonely indeed was the life led by those five persons shut up +in that large house, right away from all sights and sounds from the +world without. The silence and the solitude at last became well-nigh +intolerable, and when Bridget had recovered from her attack of illness +and was going about briskly again, Joan took the opportunity of speaking +her mind to her fully and freely. + +"Why do we remain shut up within these walls, when there is so much work +to be done in the world? Bridget, thou knowest that I love not my life +as some love it. Often it seems to me as though by death alone I may +escape a frightful doom. All around us our fellow creatures are dying -- +too often alone and untended, like dogs in a ditch. Good Bridget, I have +money in the house, and we have health and strength and courage; and +thou art an excellent good nurse in all cases of sickness. Thou hast +taught me some of thy skill, and I long to show it on behalf of these +poor stricken souls, so often deserted by their nearest and dearest in +the hour of their deadliest peril. If I go, wilt thou go with me? I trow +that thou art a brave woman --" + +"And if I were not thou wouldst shame me into bravery, Sweetheart," +answered the old woman fondly, as she looked into the earnest face of +her young mistress. "I too have been thinking of the poor stricken +souls. I would gladly risk the peril in such a labour of love. As old +Andrew says, we can but die once. The Holy Saints will surely look +kindly upon those who die at their post, striving to do as they would +have done had they been here with us upon earth." + +And when William heard what his young mistress was about to do, he +declared that he too would go with her, and assist with the offices to +the sick or the dead. He still had a vivid recollection of the moments +when he had believed himself left alone to die of the distemper; and +fellow feeling and generosity getting the better of his first +unreasoning terror, he was as eager as Joan herself to enter upon this +labour of love. Bridget, who was a great botanist, in the practical +fashion of many old persons in those days, knew more about the +properties of herbs than anybody in the country round, and she made a +great selection from her stores, and brewed many pungent concoctions +which she gave to her young mistress and William to drink, to ward off +any danger from infection. She also gave them, to hang about their +necks, bags containing aromatic herbs, whose strong and penetrating +odour dominated all others, and was likely enough to do good in +purifying the atmosphere about the wearer. + +There was no foolish superstition in Bridget's belief in her simples. +She did not regard them as charms; but she had studied their properties +and had learned their value, and knew them to possess valuable +properties for keeping the blood pure, and so rendering much smaller any +chance of imbibing the poison. + +At dusk that same evening, William, who had been out all day, returned, +and requested speech of his young mistress. He was ushered into the +parlour where she sat, with her old nurse for her companion; and +standing just within the threshold he told his tale. + +"I went across to the town today. I thought I would see if there was any +lodging to be had where you, fair Mistress, might conveniently abide +whilst working in that place. Your worshipful uncle's house I found shut +up and empty, not a soul within the doors -- all fled, as most of the +better sort of the people are fled, and every window and door fastened +up. Half the houses, too, are marked with black or red crosses, to show +that those within are afflicted with the distemper. There are watchmen +in the streets, striving to keep within their doors all such as have the +Black Death upon them; but these be too few for the task, and the +maddened wretches are continually breaking out, and running about the +streets crying and shouting, till they drop down in a fit, and lie +there, none caring for them. By day there be dead and dying in every +street; but at night a cart comes and carries the corpses off to the +great grave outside the town." + +"And is there no person to care for the sick in all the town?" asked +Joan, with dilating eyes. + +"There were many monks at first; but the distemper seized upon them +worse than upon the townfolks, and now there is scarce one left. Soon +after the distemper broke out, Master John de Brocas threw open his +house to receive all stricken persons who would come thither to be +tended, and it has been full to overflowing night and day ever since. I +passed by the house as I came out, and around the door there were scores +of wretched creatures, all stricken with the distemper, praying to be +taken in. And I saw Master John come out to them and welcome them in, +lifting a little child from the arms of an almost dying woman, and +leading her in by the hand. When I saw that, I longed to go in myself +and offer myself to help in the work; but I thought my first duty was to +you, sweet Mistress, and I knew if once I had told my tale you would not +hold me back." + +"Nay; and I will go thither myself, and Bridget with me," answered Joan, +with kindling eyes. "We will start with the first light of the new-born +day. They will want the help of women as well as of men within those walls. + +"Good Bridget, look well to thy store of herbs, and take ample provision +of all such as will allay fever and destroy the poison that works in the +blood. For methinks there will be great work to be done by thee and me +ere another sun has set; and every aid that nature can give us we will +thankfully make use of." + +"Your palfrey is yet in the stable, fair Mistress," said William, "and +there be likewise the strong sorrel from the farm, whereupon Bridget can +ride pillion behind me. Shall I have them ready at break of day +tomorrow? We shall then gain the town before the day's work has well begun." + +"Do so," answered Joan, with decision. "I would fain have started by +night; but it will be wiser to tarry for the light of day. Good William, +I thank thee for thy true and faithful service. We are going forth to +danger and perchance to death; but we go in a good cause, and we have no +need to fear." + +And when William had retired, she turned to Bridget with shining eyes, +and said: + +"Ah, did I not always say that John was the truest knight of them all? +The others have won their spurs; they have won the applause of men. They +have all their lives looked down on John as one unable to wield a sword, +one well-nigh unworthy of the ancient name he bears. But which of yon +gay knights would have done what he is doing now? Who of all of them +would stand forth fearless and brave in the teeth of this far deadlier +peril than men ever face upon the battlefield? I trow not one of them +would have so stood before a peril like this. They have left that for +the true Knight of the Cross!" + +At dawn next day Joan said adieu to her old home, and set her face +steadily forward towards Guildford. The chill freshness of the November +air was pleasant after the long period of oppressive warmth and +closeness which had gone before, and now that the leaves had really +fallen from the trees, there was less of the heavy humidity in the air +that seemed to hold the germs of distemper and transmit them alike to +man and beast. + +The sun was not quite up as they started; but as they entered the silent +streets of Guildford it was shining with a golden glory in strange +contrast to the scenes upon which it would shortly have to look. Early +morning was certainly the best time for Joan to enter the town, for the +cart had been its round, the dead had been removed from the streets, and +the houses were quieter than they often were later in the day. Once in a +way a wild shriek or a burst of demoniacal laughter broke from some +window; and once a girl, with hair flying wildly down her back, flew out +of one of the houses sobbing and shrieking in a frenzy of terror, and +was lost to sight down a side alley before Joan could reach her side. + +Pursuing their way through the streets, they turned down the familiar +road leading to John's house, and dismounting at the gate, Joan gave up +her palfrey to William to seek stabling for it behind, and walked up +with Bridget to the open door of the house. + +That door was kept wide open night and day, and none who came were ever +turned away. Joan entered the hall, to find great fires burning there, +and round these fires were crowded shivering and moaning beings, some of +the latest victims of the distemper, who had been brought within the +hospitable shelter of that house of mercy, but who had not yet been +provided with beds; for the numbers coming in day by day were even +greater than the vacancies made by deaths constantly occurring in the +wards (as they would now be called). Helpers were few, and of these one +or another would be stricken down, and carried away to burial after a +few hours' illness. + +Of the wretched beings grouped about the fires several were little +children, and Joan's heart went out in compassion to the suffering +morsels of humanity. Taking a little moaning infant upon her knee, and +letting two more pillow their weary beads against her dress, she signed +to Bridget to remove her riding cloak, which she gently wrapped about +the scantily-clothed form of a woman extended along the ground at her +feet, to whom the children apparently belonged. The woman was dying +fast, as her glazing eyes plainly showed. + +Probably her case was altogether hopeless; but Joan was not yet seasoned +to such scenes, and it seemed too terrible to sit by idle whilst a +fellow creature actually died not two yards away. Surely somewhere +within that house aid could be found. The girl rose gently from her +seat, and still clasping the stricken infant in her arms, she moved +towards one of the closed doors of the lower rooms. + +Opening this softly, she looked in, and saw a row of narrow pallet beds +down each side of the room, and every bed was tenanted. Sounds of +moaning, the babble of delirious talk, and thickly-uttered cries for +help or mercy now reached her ears, and the terrible breath of the +plague for the first time smote upon her senses in all its full +malignity. She recoiled for an instant, and clutched at the bag around +her neck, which she was glad enough to press to her face. + +A great fire was burning in the hearth, and all that could be done to +lessen the evil had been accomplished. There was one attendant in this +room, which was set apart for men, and he was just now bending over a +delirious youth, striving to restrain his wild ravings and to induce him +to remain in his bed. This attendant had his back to Joan, but she saw +by his actions and his calm self possession that he was no novice to his +task; and she walked softly through the pestilential place, feeling that +she should not appeal to him for help in vain. + +As the sound of the light, firm tread sounded upon the bare boards of +the floor, the attendant suddenly lifted himself and turned round. Joan +uttered a quick exclamation of surprise, which was echoed by the person +in question. + +"Raymond!" she exclaimed breathlessly. + +"Joan! Thou here, and at such a time as this!" + +And then they both stood motionless for a few long moments, feeling that +despite the terrible scenes around and about them, the very gates of +Paradise had opened before them, turning everything around them to gold. + + + + CHAPTER XXI. THE OLD, OLD STORY + + +The scourge had passed. It had swept over the length and breadth of the +region of which Guildford formed the centre, and had done its terrible +work of destruction there, leaving homes desolated and villages almost +depopulated. It was still raging in London, and was hurrying northward +and eastward with all its relentless energy and deadliness; but in most +of the places thus left behind its work seemed to be fully accomplished, +and there were no fresh cases. + +People began to go about their business as of old. Those who had fled +returned to their homes, and strove to take up the scattered threads of +life as best they might. In many cases whole families had been swept out +of existence; in others (more truly melancholy cases), one member had +escaped when all the rest had perished. The religious houses were +crowded with the helpless orphans of the sufferers in the epidemic, and +the summer crops lay rotting in the fields for want of labourers to get +them in. + +John's house in Guildford had by this time reassumed its normal aspect. +The last of the sick who had not been carried to the grave, but had +recovered to return home, had now departed, with many a blessing upon +the master, whose act of piety and charity had doubtless saved so many +lives at this crisis. The work the young man had set himself to do had +been nobly accomplished; but the task had been one beyond his feeble +strength, and he now lay upon a couch of sickness, knowing well, if +others did not, that his days were numbered. + +He had fallen down in a faint upon the very day that the last patient +had been able to leave his doors. For a moment it was feared that the +poison of the distemper had fastened upon him; but it was not so. The +attack was but due to the failure of the heart's action -- nature, tried +beyond her powers of endurance, asserting herself at last -- and they +laid him down in his old favourite haunt, with his books around him, +having made the place look like it did before the house had been turned +into a veritable hospital and mortuary. + +When John opened his eyes at last it was to find Joan bending over him; +and looking into her face with his sweet, tired smile, he said: + +"You will not leave me, Joan?" + +"No," she answered gently; "I will not leave you yet. Bridget and I will +nurse you. All our other helpers are themselves worn out; but we have +worked only a little while. We have not borne the burden and heat of +that terrible day." + +"You came in a good hour -- like angels of mercy that you were," said +John, feeling, now that the long strain and struggle was over, a +wonderful sense of rest and peace. "I thought it was a dream when first +I saw your face, Joan -- when I saw you moving about amongst the sick, +always with a child in your arms. I have never been able to ask how you +came hither. In those days we could never stay to talk. There are many +things I would fain ask now. How come you here alone, save for your old +nurse? Are your parents dead likewise?" + +"I know not that myself," answered Joan, with the calmness that comes +from constantly standing face to face with death. "I have heard naught +of them these many weeks. William goes ofttimes to Woodcrych to seek for +news of them there. But they have not returned, and he can learn nothing." + +And then whilst John lay with closed eyes, his face so white and still +that it looked scarce the face of a living man, Joan told him all her +tale; and he understood then how it was that she had suddenly appeared +amongst them like a veritable angel of mercy. + +When her story was done, he opened his eyes and said: + +"Where is Raymond?" + +"They told me he was sleeping an hour since," answered Joan. "He has +sore need of sleep, for he has been watching and working night and day +for longer than I may tell. He looks little more than a shadow himself; +and he has had Roger to care for of late, since he fell ill." + +"But Roger is recovering?" + +"Yes. It was the distemper, but in its least deadly form, and he is +already fast regaining his strength. + +"Has Raymond been the whole time with you? I have never had the chance +to speak to him of himself." + +And a faint soft flush awoke in Joan's cheek, whilst a smile hovered +round the corners of her lips. + +"Nor I; yet there be many things I would fain ask of him. He went forth +to be with Father Paul when first the Black Death made its fatal entry +into the country; and from that day forth I heard naught of him until he +came hither to me. We will ask him of himself when he comes to join us. +It will be like old times come back again when thou, Joan, and he and I +gather about the Yule log, and talk together of ourselves and others." + +A common and deadly peril binds very closely together those who have +faced it and fought it hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder; and in +those days of divided houses, broken lives, and general disruption of +all ordinary routine in domestic existence, things that in other times +would appear strange and unnatural were now taken as a matter of course. +It did not occur to Joan as in any way remarkable that she should remain +in John's house, nursing him with the help of Bridget, and playing a +sister's part until some of his own kith or kin returned. He had been +deserted by all of his own name. She herself knew not whether she had +any relatives living. Circumstances had thrown her upon his hospitality, +and she had looked upon him almost as a brother ever since the days of +her childhood. + +She knew that he was dying; there was that in his face which told as +much all too well to those who had long been looking upon death. To have +left him at such a moment would have seemed far more strange and +unnatural than to remain. In those times of terror stranger things were +done daily, no man thinking aught of it. + +So she smiled as she heard John's last words, trying to recall the day +when she had first seen Raymond at Master Bernard's house, when he had +seemed to her little more than a boy, albeit a very knightly and +chivalrous one. Now her feelings towards him were far different: not +that she thought less of his knightliness and chivalry, but that she was +half afraid to let her mind dwell too much upon him and her thoughts of +him; for of late, since they had been toiling together in the +hand-to-hand struggle against disease and death, she was conscious of a +feeling toward him altogether new in her experience, and his face was +seldom out of her mental vision. The sound of his voice was ever in her +ears; and she always knew, by some strange intuition, when he was near, +whether she could see him or not. + +She knew even as John spoke that he was approaching; and as the latch of +the door clicked a soft wave of colour rose in her pale cheek, and she +turned her head with a gesture that spoke a mute welcome. + +"They tell me that thou art sick, good John," said Raymond, coming +forward into the bright circle of the firelight. + +The dancing flames lit up that pale young face, worn and hollow with +long watching and stress of work, and showed that Raymond had changed +somewhat during those weeks of strange experience. Some of the +dreaminess had gone out of the eyes, to be replaced by a luminous +steadfastness of expression which had always been there, but was now +greatly intensified. Pure, strong, and noble, the face was that of a man +rather than a boy, and yet the bright, almost boyish, alertness and +eagerness were still quickly apparent when he entered into conversation, +and turned from one companion to another. It was the same Raymond -- yet +with a difference; and both of his companions scanned him with some +curiosity as he took his seat beside John's couch and asked of his +cousin's welfare. + +"Nay, trouble not thyself over me; thou knowest that my life's sands are +well-nigh run out. I have been spared for this work, that thou, my +Raymond, gavest me to do. I am well satisfied, and thou must be the +same, my kind cousin. Only let me have thee with me to the end -- and +sweet Mistress Joan, if kind fortune will so favour us. And tell us now +of thyself, Raymond, and how it fared with thee before thou camest +hither. Hast thou been with Father Paul? And if so, why didst thou leave +him? Is he, too, dead?" + +"He was not when we parted; he went forward to London when he bid me +come to see how it fared with thee, good John, and bring thee his +blessing. I should have been with thee one day earlier, save that I +turned aside to Basildene, where I heard that the old man lay dying alone." + +"Basildene!" echoed both his hearers quickly. "Has the Black Death been +there?" + +"Ay, and the old man who is called a sorcerer is dead. To me it was +given to soothe his dying moments, and give him such Christian burial as +men may have when there be no priest at hand to help them to their last +rest. I was in time for that." + +"Peter Sanghurst dead!" mused John thoughtfully; and looking up at +Raymond, he said quickly, "Did he know who and what thou wert?" + +"He did; for in his delirium he took me for my mother, and his terror +was great, knowing her to be dead. When I told him who I was, he was +right glad; and he would fain have made over to me the deeds by which he +holds Basildene -- the deeds my mother left behind her in her flight, +and which he seized upon. He would fain have made full reparation for +that one evil deed of his life; but his son, who had held aloof +hitherto, and would have left his father to die untended and alone --" + +Joan had uttered a little exclamation of horror and disgust; now she +asked, quickly and almost nervously: + +"The son -- Peter Sanghurst? O Raymond, was that bad man there?" + +"Yes; and he knows now who and what I am, whereby his old hatred to me +is bitterly increased. He holds that I have hindered and thwarted him +before in other matters. Now that he knows I have a just and lawful +claim on Basildene, which one day I will make good, he hates me with a +tenfold deadlier hatred." + +"Hates you -- when you came to his father in his last extremity? How can +he dare to hate you now?" + +Raymond smiled a shadowy smile as he looked into the fire. + +"Methinks he knows little of filial love. He knew that his father had +been stricken with the distemper, but he left him to die alone. He would +not have come nigh him at all, save that he heard sounds in the house, +and feared that robbers had entered, and that his secret treasure hoards +might fall into their hands. He had come down armed to the teeth to +resist such marauders, being willing rather to stand in peril of the +distemper than to lose his ill-gotten gold. But he found none such as he +thought; yet having come, and having learned who and what manner of man +I was, he feared to leave me alone with his father, lest I should be +told the secret of the hidden hoard, which the old man longed to tell me +but dared not. Doubtless the parchment he wished to place in my hands is +there; but his son hovered ever within earshot, and the old man dared +not speak. Yet with his last breath he called me lord of Basildene, and +charged me to remove from it the curse which in his own evil days had +fallen upon the place." + +"Peter Sanghurst will not love you the more for that," said John. + +"Verily no; yet methinks he can scarce hate me more than he does and has +done for long." + +"He is no insignificant foe," was the thoughtful rejoinder. "His hate +may be no light thing." + +"He has threatened me oft and savagely," answered Raymond, "and yet no +harm has befallen me therefrom." + +"Why has he threatened thee?" asked Joan breathlessly; "what hast thou +done to raise his ire?" + +"We assisted Roger, the woodman's son, to escape from that vile slavery +at Basildene, of which doubtless thou hast heard, sweet lady. That was +the first cause of offence." + +"And the second?" + +Raymond's clear gaze sought her face for a moment, and Joan's dark eyes +kindled and then slowly dropped. + +"The second was on thy account, sweet Joan," said Raymond, with a +curious vibration in his voice. "He saw us once together -- it is long +ago now -- and he warned me how I meddled to thwart him again. I scarce +understood him then, though I knew that he would fain have won this fair +hand, but that thou didst resolutely withhold it. Now that I have +reached man's estate I understand him better. Joan, he is still bent +upon having this hand. In my hearing he swore a great oath that by fair +means or foul it should be his one day. He is a man of resolute +determination, and, now that his father no longer lives, of great wealth +too, and wealth is power. Thou hast thwarted him till he is resolved to +humble thee at all cost. I verily believe to be avenged for all thou +hast cost him would be motive enough to make him compass heaven and +earth to win thee. What sayest thou? To withstand him may be perilous --" + +"To wed him would be worse than death," said Joan, in a very low tone. +"I will never yield, if I die to save myself from him." + +Unconsciously these two had lowered their voices. John had dropped +asleep beside the fire with the ease of one exhausted by weakness and +long watching. Joan and Raymond were practically alone together. There +was a strange light upon the face of the youth, and into his pale face +there crept a flush of faint red. + +"Joan," he said, in low, firm tones that shook a little with the +intensity of his earnestness, "when I saw thee first, and knew thee for +a very queen amongst women, my boyish love and homage was given all to +thee. I dreamed of going forth to win glory and renown, that I might +come and lay my laurels at thy feet, and win one sweet answering smile, +one kindly word of praise from thee. Yet here am I, almost at man's +estate, and I have yet no laurels to bring to thee. I have but one thing +to offer -- the deep true love of a heart that beats alone for thee. +Joan, I am no knightly suitor, I have neither gold nor lands -- though +one day it may be I may have both, and thy father would doubtless drive +me forth from his doors did I present myself to him as a suitor for this +fair hand. But, Joan, I love thee -- I would lay down my life to serve +thee -- and I know that thou mayest one day be in peril from him who is +also mine own bitter foe. Wilt thou then give me the right to fight for +thee, to hold this hand before all the world and do battle for its +owner, as only he may hope to do who holds it, as I do this moment, by +that owner's free will? Give me but leave to call it mine, and I will +dare all and do all to win it. Sweet Mistress Joan, my words are few and +poor; but could my heart speak for me, it would plead eloquent music. +Thou art the sun and star of my life. Tell me, may I hope some day to +win thy love?" + +Joan had readily surrendered her hand to his clasp, and doubtless this +had encouraged Raymond to proceed in his tale of love. + +He certainly had not intended thus to commit himself, poor and unknown +and portionless as he was, with everything still to win; but a power +stronger than he could resist drew him on from word to word and phrase +to phrase, and a lovely colour mantled in Joan's cheek as he proceeded, +till at last she put forth her other hand and laid it in his, saying: + +"Raymond, I love thee now. My heart is thine and thine alone. Go forth, +if thou wilt, and win honour and renown -- but thou wilt never win a +higher honour and glory than I have seen thee winning day by day and +hour by hour here in this very house -- and come back when and as thou +wilt. Thou wilt find me waiting for thee --ever ready, ever the same. I +am thine for life or death. When thou callest me I will come." + +It was a bold pledge for a maiden to give in those days of harsh +parental rule; yet Joan gave it without shrinking or fear. That this +informal betrothal might be long before it could hope to be consummated, +both the lovers well knew; that there might be many dangers lying before +them, they did not attempt to deny. It was no light matter to have thus +plighted their troth, when Raymond was still poor and nameless, and +Joan, in her father's estimation, plighted to the Sanghurst. But both +possessed brave and resolute spirits, that did not shrink or falter; and +joyfully happy in the security of their great love, they could afford +for a time to forget the world. + +Raymond drew from within his doublet the half ring he had always carried +about with him, and placed it upon the finger of his love. Joan, on her +side, drew from her neck a black agate heart she had always worn there, +and gave it to Raymond, who put it upon the silver cord which had +formerly supported his circlet of the double ring. + +"So long as I live that heart shall hang there," he said. "Never believe +that I am dead until thou seest the heart brought thee by another. While +I live I part not with it." + +"Nor I with thy ring," answered Joan, proudly turning her hand about +till the firelight flashed upon it. + +And then they drew closer together, and whispered together, as lovers +love to do, of the golden future lying before them; and Raymond told of +his mother and her dying words, and his love, in spite of all that had +passed there, for the old house of Basildene, and asked Joan if they two +together would be strong enough to remove the curse which had been cast +over the place by the evil deeds of its present owners. + +"Methinks thou couldst well do that thyself, my faithful knight," +answered Joan, with a great light in her eyes; "for methinks all evil +must fly thy presence, as night flies from the beams of day. Art thou +not pledged to a high and holy service? and hast thou not proved ere now +how nobly thou canst keep that pledge?" + +At that moment John stirred in his sleep and opened his eyes. There was +in them that slightly bewildered look that comes when the mind has been +very far away in some distant dreamland, and where the weakened +faculties have hardly the strength to reassert themselves. + +"Joan," he said -- "Joan, art thou there? art thou safe?" + +She rose and bent over him smilingly. + +"Here by thy side, good John, and perfectly safe. Where should I be?" + +"And Raymond too?" + +"Raymond too. What ails thee, John, that thou art so troubled?" + +He smiled slightly as he looked round more himself. + +"It must have been a dream, but it was a strangely vivid one. Belike it +was our talk of a short while back; for I thought thou wast fleeing from +the malice of the Sanghurst, and that Raymond was in his power, awaiting +his malignant rage and vengeance. I know not how it would have ended -- +I was glad to wake. I fear me, sweet Joan, that thou wilt yet have a +hard battle ere thou canst cast loose from the toil spread for thee by +yon bad man." + +Joan threw back her head with a queenly gesture. + +"Fear not for me, kind John, for now I am no longer alone to fight my +battle. I have Raymond for my faithful knight and champion. Raymond and +I have plighted our troth this very day. Let Peter Sanghurst do his +worst; it will take a stronger hand than his to sunder love like ours!" + +John's pale face kindled with sympathy and satisfaction. He looked from +one to the other and held out his thin hands. + +"My heart's wishes and blessings be with you both," he said. "I have so +many times thought of some such thing, and longed to see it +accomplished. There may be clouds athwart your path, but there will be +sunshine behind the cloud. Joan, thou hast chosen thy knight worthily +and well. It may be that men will never call him knight. It may be that +he will not have trophies rich and rare to lay at thy feet. But thou and +I know well that there is a knighthood not of this world, and in that +order of chivalry his spurs have already been won, and he will not, with +thee at his side, ever be tempted to forget his high and holy calling. +For thou wilt be the guiding star of his life; and thou too art +dedicated to serve." + +There was silence for a few moments in the quiet room. John lay back on +his pillows panting somewhat, and with that strange unearthly light they +had seen there before deepening in his eyes. They had observed that look +often of late -- as though he saw right through them and beyond to a +glory unspeakable, shut out for the time from their view. Joan put out +her hand and took that of Raymond, as if there was assurance in the warm +human clasp. But their eyes were still fixed upon John's face, which was +changing every moment. + +He had done much to form both their minds, this weakly scion of the De +Brocas house, whose life was held by those who bore his name to be +nothing but a failure. It was from him they had both imbibed those +thoughts and aspirations which had been the first link drawing them +together, and which had culminated in an act of the highest +self-sacrifice and devotion. And now it seemed to him, as he lay there +looking at them, the two beings upon earth that he loved the best (for +Raymond was more to him than a brother, and Joan the one woman whom, had +things gone otherwise with him, he would fain have made his wife), that +he might well leave his work in their hands -- that they would carry on +to completion the nameless labour of love which he had learned to look +upon as the highest form of chivalry. + +"Raymond," he said faintly. + +Raymond came and bent down over him. + +"I am close beside thee, John." + +"I know it. I feel it. I am very happy. Raymond, thou wilt not forget me?" + +"Never, John, never." + +"I have been very happy in thy brotherly love and friendship. It has +been very sweet to me. Raymond, thou wilt not forget thy vow? Thou wilt +ever be true to that higher life that we have spoken of so oft together?" + +Raymond's face was full of deep and steadfast purpose. + +"I will be faithful, I will be true," he answered. "God helping me, I +will be true to the vow we have made together. Joan shall be my witness +now, as I make it anew to thee here." + +"Not for fame or glory or praise of man alone," murmured John, his voice +growing fainter and fainter, "but first for the glory of God and His +honour, and then for the poor, the feeble, the helpless, the needy. To +be a champion to such as have none to help them, to succour the +distressed, to comfort the mourner, to free those who are wrongfully +oppressed, even though kings be the oppressors -- that is the true +courage, the true chivalry; that is the service to which thou, my +brother, art pledged." + +Raymond bent his head, whilst Joan's clasp tightened on his hand. They +both knew that John was dying, but they had looked too often upon death +to fear it now. They did not summon any one to his side. No priest was +to be found at that time, and John had not long since received the +Sacrament with one who had lately died in the house. There was no +restlessness or pain in his face, only a great peace and rest. His voice +died away, but he still looked at Raymond, as though to the last he +would fain see before his eyes the face he had grown to love best upon +earth. + +His breath grew shorter and shorter. Raymond thought he made a sign to +him to bend his head nearer. Stooping over him, he caught the +faintly-whispered words: + +"Tell my father not to grieve that I did not die a knight. He has his +other sons; and I have been very happy. Tell him that -- happier, I +trow, than any of them --" + +There were a brief silence and a slight struggle for breath, then one +whispered phrase: + +"I will arise and go to my Father --" + +Those were the last words spoken by John de Brocas. + + + + CHAPTER XXII. THE BLACK VISOR. + + +"Brother, this is like old times," said Gaston, his hand upon Raymond's +shoulder as they stood side by side in the extreme prow of the vessel +that was conveying them once again towards the sunny south of France. + +The salt spray dashed in their faces, the hum of the cordage overhead +was in their ears, and their thoughts had gone back to that day, now +nigh upon eight years back, when they, as unknown and untried boys, had +started forth to see the world together. + +Gaston's words broke the spell of silence, and Raymond turned his head +to scan the stalwart form beside him with a look of fond admiration and +pride. + +"Nay, scarce like those old days, Sir Gaston de Brocas," he answered, +speaking the name with significant emphasis; and Gaston laughed and +tossed back his leonine head with a gesture of mingled pride and +impatience as he said: + +"Tush, Brother! I scarce know how to prize my knighthood now that thou +dost not share it with me -- thou so far more truly knightly and worthy. +I had ever planned that we had been together in that as in all else. Why +wert thou not with me that day when we vanquished the navy of proud +Spain? The laurels are scarce worth the wearing that thou wearest not +with me." + +For Gaston was now indeed a knight. He had fought beside the Prince in +the recent engagement at sea, when a splendid naval victory had been +obtained over the Spanish fleet. He had performed prodigies of valour on +that occasion, and had been instrumental in the taking of many rich +prizes. And when the royal party had returned to Windsor, Gaston had +been named, with several more youthful gentlemen, to receive knighthood +at the hands of the Prince of Wales. Whereupon Master Bernard de Brocas +had stood forward and told the story of the parentage of the twin +brothers, claiming kinship with them, and speaking in high praise of +Raymond, who, since the death of John, had been employed by his uncle in +a variety of small matters that used to be John's province to see to. In +every point the Gascon youth had shown aptitude and ability beyond the +average, and had won high praise from his clerical kinsman, who was more +the statesman than the parish priest. + +Very warmly had the de Brocas brothers been welcomed by their kinsmen; +and as they laid no claim to any lands or revenues in the possession of +other members of the family, not the least jealousy or ill-will was +excited by their rise in social status. All that Gaston asked of the +King was liberty some day, when the hollow truce with France should be +broken, and when the King's matters were sufficiently settled to permit +of private enterprise amongst his own servants, to gather about him a +company of bold kindred spirits, and strive to wrest back from the +treacherous and rapacious Sieur de Navailles the ancient castle of Saut, +which by every law of right should belong to his own family. + +The King listened graciously to this petition, and gave Gaston full +encouragement to hope to regain his fathers' lost inheritance. But of +Basildene no word was spoken then; for the shrewd Master Bernard had +warned Raymond that the time had not yet come to prosecute that claim -- +and indeed the neglected old house, crumbling to the dust and environed +by an evil reputation which effectually kept all men away from it, +seemed scarce worth the struggle it would cost to wrest it from the +keeping of Peter Sanghurst. + +This worthy, since his father's death, had entered upon a totally new +course of existence. He had appeared at Court, sumptuously dressed, and +with a fairly large following. He had ingratiated himself with the King +by a timely loan of gold (for the many drains upon Edward's resources +kept him always short of money for his household and family expenses), +and was playing the part of a wealthy and liberal man. It was whispered +of him, as it had been of his father, that he had some secret whereby to +fill his coffers with gold whenever they were empty, and this reputation +gave him a distinct prestige with his comrades and followers. He was not +accused of black magic, like his father. His secret was supposed to have +been inherited by him, not bought with the price of his soul. It +surrounded him with a faint halo of mystery, but it was mystery that did +him good rather than harm. The King himself took favourable notice of +one possessed of such a golden secret, and for the present the Sanghurst +was better left in undisturbed possession of his ill-gotten gains. + +Raymond had learned the difficult lesson of patience, and accepted his +uncle's advice. It was the easier to be patient since he knew that Joan +was for the present safe from the persecutions of her hated suitor. Joan +had been summoned to go to her father almost immediately upon the death +of John de Brocas. He had sent for her to Woodcrych, and she had +travelled thither at once with the escort sent to fetch her. + +Raymond had heard from her once since that time. In the letter she had +contrived to send him she had told him that her mother was dead, having +fallen a victim to the dreaded distemper she had fled to avoid, but +which had nevertheless seized her almost immediately upon her arrival at +her husband's house. He too had been stricken, but had recovered; and +his mind having been much affected by his illness and trouble, he had +resolved upon a pilgrimage to Rome, in which his daughter was to +accompany him. She did not know how long they would be absent from +England, and save for the separation from her true love, she was glad to +go. Her brother would return to the Court, and only she and her father +would take the journey. She had heard nothing all these weeks of the +dreaded foe, and hoped he might have passed for ever from her life. + +And in this state matters stood with the brothers as the vessel bore +them through the tossing blue waves that bright May morning, every +plunge of the well-fitted war sloop bringing them nearer and nearer to +the well-known and well-loved harbour of Bordeaux. + +Yet it was on no private errand that they were bound, though Gaston +could not approach the familiar shores of Gascony without thinking of +that long-cherished hope of his now taking so much more solid a shape. + +The real object of this small expedition was, however, the relief of the +town of St. Jean d'Angely, belonging to the English King, which had been +blockaded for some time by the French monarch. The distressed +inhabitants had contrived to send word to Edward of their strait, and he +had despatched the Earl of Warwick with a small picked army to its relief. + +The Gascon twins had been eager to join this small contingent, and had +volunteered for the service. Gaston was put in command of a band of fine +soldiers, and his brother took service with him. + +This was the first time for several years that Raymond had been in arms, +for of late his avocations had been of a more peaceful nature. But he +possessed all the soldier instincts of his race, and by his brother's +side would go joyfully into battle again. + +He did not know many of the knights and gentlemen serving in this small +expedition, nor did Gaston either, for that matter. It was too small an +undertaking to attract the flower of Edward's chivalry, and the Black +Death had made many gaps in the ranks of the comrades the boys had first +known when they had fought under the King's banner. But the satisfaction +of being together again made amends for all else. Indeed they scarce had +eyes for any but each other, and had so much to tell and to ask that the +voyage was all too short for them. + +Amongst those on board Raymond had frequently noticed the figure of a +tall man always in full armour, and always wearing his visor down, so +that none might see his face. His armour was of fine workmanship, light +and strong, and seemed in no way to incommode him. There was no device +upon it, save some serpents cunningly inlaid upon the breastplate, and +the visor was richly chased and inlaid with black, so that the whole +effect was gloomy and almost sinister. Raymond had once or twice asked +the name of the Black Visor, as men called him, but none had been able +to tell him. It was supposed that he was under some vow -- a not very +uncommon thing in the days of chivalry -- and that he might not remove +his visor until he had performed some gallant feat of arms. + +Sometimes it had seemed to the youth as though the dark eyes looking out +through the holes in that black covering were fixed more frequently upon +himself than upon any one else; and if he caught full for a moment the +fiery gleam, he would wonder for the instant it lasted where and when he +had seen those eyes before. But his mind was not in any sense of the +word concerned with the Black Visor, and it was only now and then he +gave him a passing thought. + +And now the good vessel was slipping through the still waters of the +magnificent harbour of Bordeaux. The deck was all alive with the bustle +of speedy landing, and the Gascon brothers were scanning the familiar +landmarks and listening with delight to the old familiar tongue. + +Familiar faces there were none to be seen, it is true. The boys were too +much of foreigners now to have many old friends in the queenly city. But +the whole place was homelike to them, and would be so to their lives' +ends. Moreover, they hoped ere they took ship again to have time and +opportunity to revisit old haunts and see their foster parents and the +good priest once more; but for the present their steps were turned +northward towards the gallant little beleaguered town which had appealed +to the English King for aid. + +A few days were spent at Bordeaux collecting provisions for the town, +and mustering the reinforcements which the loyal city was always ready +and eager to supply in answer to any demand on the part of the Roy Outremer. + +The French King had died the previous year, and his son John, formerly +Duke of Normandy, was now upon the throne; but the situation between the +two nations had by no means changed, and indeed the bitter feeling +between them was rather increased than diminished by the many petty +breaches of faith on one side or another, of which this siege of St. +Jean d'Angely was an example. + +On the whole the onus of breaking the truce rested more with the French +than the English. But a mere truce, where no real peace is looked for on +either side, is but an unsatisfactory state of affairs at best; and +although both countries were sufficiently exhausted by recent wars and +the ravages of the plague to desire the interlude prolonged, yet +hostilities of one kind or another never really ceased, and the +struggles between the rival lords of Brittany and their heroic wives +always kept the flame of war smouldering. + +Gascony as a whole was always loyal to the English cause, and Bordeaux +too well knew what she owed to the English trade ever to be backward +when called upon by the English King. Speedily a fine band of soldiers +was assembled, and at dawn one day the march northward was commenced. + +The little army mustered some five thousand men, all well fed and in +capital condition for the march. Raymond rode by his brother's side well +in the van, and he noticed presently, amongst the new recruits who had +joined them, another man of very tall stature, who also wore a black +visor over his face. He was plainly a friend to the unknown knight (if +knight he were) who had sailed in their vessel, for they rode side by +side deep in talk; and behind them, in close and regular array, rode a +number of their immediate followers, all wearing a black tuft in their +steel caps and a black band round their arm. + +However, there was nothing very noteworthy in this. Many men had +followers marked by some distinctive badge, and the sombre little +contingent excited small notice. They all looked remarkably fine +soldiers, and appeared to be under excellent discipline. More than that +was not asked of any man, and the Gascons were well known to be amongst +the best soldiers of the day. + +The early start and the long daylight enabled the gallant little band to +push on in the one day to the banks of the Charente, and within a few +miles of St. Jean itself. There, however, a halt was called, for the +French were in a remarkably good position, and it was necessary to take +counsel how they might best be attacked. + +In the first place there was the river to be crossed, and the one bridge +was in the hands of the enemy, who had fortified it, and would be able +to hold it against great odds. They were superior in numbers to their +assailants, and probably knew their advantage. + +Gaston, who well understood the French nature, was the first to make a +likely suggestion. + +"Let us appear to retreat," he said. "They will then see our small +numbers, and believe that we are flying through fear of them. Doubtless +they will at once rush out to pursue and attack us, and after we have +drawn them from their strong position, we can turn again upon them and +slay them, or drive them into the river." + +This suggestion was received with great favour, and it was decided to +act upon it that very day. There were still several hours of daylight +before them, and the men, who had had wine and bread distributed to +them, were full of eagerness for the fray. + +The French, who were quite aware of the strength of their own position, +and very confident of ultimate victory, were narrowly watching the +movements of the English, whose approach had been for some time expected +by them. They were certain that they could easily withstand the +onslaught of the whole body, if these were bold enough to attack, and +they well knew how terribly thinned would the English ranks become +before they could hope to cross the bridge and march upon the main body +of the French army encamped before the town. + +Great, then, was the exultation of the French when they saw how much +terror they had inspired in the heart of the foe. They were eagerly +observing their movements; they saw that a council had been called +amongst the chiefs, and that deliberations had been entered into by +them. But so valiant were the English in fight, and so many were the +victories they had obtained with numbers far inferior to those of the +foe, that there was a natural sense of uncertainty as to the result of a +battle, even when all the chances of the war seemed to be against the +foreign foe. But when the trumpets actually sounded the retreat, and +they saw the whole body moving slowly away, then indeed did they feel +that triumph was near, and a great shout of derision and anger rose up +in the still evening air. + +"To horse, men, and after them!" was the word given, and a cry of fierce +joy went up from the whole army. "My Lords of England, you will not get +off in that way. You have come hither by your own will; you shall not +leave until you have paid your scot." + +No great order was observed as the Frenchmen sprang to horse and +galloped across the bridge, and so after the retreating foe. Every man +was eager to bear his share in the discomfiture of the English +contingent, and hardly staying to arm themselves fully, the eager, +hot-headed French soldiers, horse and foot, swung along in any sort of +order, only eager to cut to pieces the flower of the English chivalry +(as their leaders had dubbed this little band), and inflict a dark stain +upon the honour of Edward's brilliant arms. + +In the ranks of this same English contingent, now in rapid and orderly +retreat, there was to the full as much exultation and lust of battle as +in the hearts of their pursuing foes. Every man grasped his weapon and +set his teeth firmly, the footmen marching steadily onwards at a rapid +and swinging pace, whilst the horsemen, who brought up the rear -- for +they were to be the first to charge when the trumpet sounded the advance +-- kept turning their heads to watch the movement of the foe, and sent +up a brief huzzah as they saw that their ruse had proved successful, and +that their foes were coming fast after them. + +"Keep thou by my side in the battle today, Raymond," said Gaston, as he +looked to the temper of his weapons and glanced backwards over his +shoulder. "Thou hast been something more familiar with the pen than the +sword of late -- and thy faithful esquire likewise. Fight, then, by my +side, and together we will meet and overcome the foe. They will fight +like wolves, I doubt not, for they will be bitterly wrathful when they +see the trick we have played upon them. Wherefore quit not my side, be +the fighting never so hot, for I would have thee ever with me." + +"I wish for nothing better for myself," answered Raymond, with a fond +proud glance at the stalwart Gaston, who now towered a full head taller +above him, and was a very king amongst men. + +He was mounted on a fine black war horse, who had carried his master +victoriously through many charges before today. Raymond's horse was much +lighter in build, a wiry little barb with a distinct Arab strain, +fearless in battle, and fleet as the wind, but without the weight or +solidity of Gaston's noble charger. Indeed, Gaston had found some fault +with the creature's lack of weight for withstanding the onslaught of +cavalry charge; but he suited Raymond so well in other ways that the +latter had declined to make any change, and told his brother smilingly +that his great Lucifer had weight and strength for both. + +Scarcely had Gaston given this charge to his brother before the trumpets +sounded a new note, and at once the compact little body of horse and +foot halted, wheeled round, and put themselves in position for the +advance. Another blast from those same trumpets, given with all the +verve and joyousness of coming victory, and the horses of their own +accord sprang forward to the attack. Then the straggling and dismayed +body of Frenchmen who had been pushing on in advance of their fellows to +fall upon the flying English, found themselves opposed to one of those +magnificent cavalry charges which made the glory and the terror of the +English arms throughout the reign of the great Edward. + +Vainly trying to rally themselves, and with shouts of "St. Dennis!" "St. +Dennis!" the Frenchmen rushed upon their foes; and the detachments from +behind coming up quickly, the engagement became general at once, and was +most hotly contested on both sides. + +Gaston was one of the foremost to charge into the ranks of the French, +and singling out the tallest and strongest adversary he could see, rode +full upon him, and was quickly engaged in a fierce hand-to-hand +conflict. Raymond was close beside him, and soon found himself engaged +in parrying the thrusts of several foes. But Roger was quickly at his +side, taking his own share of hard blows; and as the foot and horse from +behind pressed on after the impetuous leaders, and more and more +detachments from the French army came up to assist their comrades, the +melee became very thick, and in the crush it was impossible to see what +was happening except just in front, and to avoid the blows levelled at +him was all that Raymond was able to think of for many long minutes -- +minutes that seemed more like hours. + +When the press became a little less thick about him, Raymond looked +round for his brother, but could not see him. A body of riders, moving +in a compact wedge, had forced themselves in between himself and Gaston. +He saw the white plume in his brother's helmet waving at some distance +away to the left, but when he tried to rein in his horse and reach him, +he still found himself surrounded by the same phalanx of mounted +soldiers, who kept pressing him by sheer weight on and on away to the +right, though the tide of battle was most distinctly rolling to the +left. The French were flying promiscuously back to their lines, and the +English soldiers were in hot pursuit. + +Raymond was no longer amid foes. He had long since ceased to have to use +his sword either for attack or defence, but he could not check the +headlong pace of his mettlesome little barb, nor could he by any +exertion of strength turn the creature's head in any other direction. As +he was in the midst of those he looked upon as friends, he had no +uneasiness as to his own position, even though entirely separated from +Gaston and Roger, who generally kept close at his side. He was so little +used of late to the manoeuvres of war, that he fancied this headlong +gallop, in which he was taking an involuntary part, might be the result +of military tactics, and that he should see its use presently. + +But as he and his comrades flew over the ground, and the din of the +battle died away in his ears, and the last of the evening sunlight faded +from the sky, a strange sense of coming ill fell upon Raymond's spirit. +Again he made a most resolute and determined effort to check the fiery +little creature he rode, who seemed as if his feet were furnished with +wings, so fast he spurned the ground beneath his hoofs. + +Then for the first time the youth found that this mad pace was caused by +regular goading from the silent riders who surrounded him. Turning in +his saddle he saw that these men were one and all engaged in pricking +and spurring on the impetuous little steed; and as he cast a keen and +searching look at these strange riders, he saw that they all wore in +their steel caps the black tuft of the followers of the Black Visor and +his sable-coated companion, and that these two leaders rode themselves a +little distance behind. + +Greatly astonished at the strange thing that was befalling him, yet not, +so far, alarmed for his personal safety, Raymond drew his sword and +looked steadily round at the ring of men surrounding him. + +"Cease to interfere with my horse, gentlemen," he said, in stern though +courteous accents. "It may be your pleasure thus to ride away from the +battle, but it is not mine; and I will ask of you to let me take my way +whilst you take yours. Why you desire my company I know not, but I do +not longer desire yours; wherefore forbear!" + +Not a word or a sign was vouchsafed him in answer; but as he attempted +to rein back his panting horse, now fairly exhausted with the struggle +between the conflicting wills of so many persons, the dark silent riders +continued to urge him forward with open blows and pricks from sword +point, till, as he saw that his words were still unheeded, a dangerous +glitter shone in Raymond's eyes. + +"Have a care how you molest me, gentlemen!" he said, in clear, ringing +tones. "Ye are carrying a jest (if jest it be meant for) a little too +far. The next who dares to touch my horse must defend himself from my +sword." + +And then a sudden change came over the bearing of his companions. A +dozen swords sprang from their scabbards. A score of harsh voices +replied to these words in fierce accents of defiance. One -- two -- +three heavy blows fell upon his head; and though he set his teeth and +wheeled about to meet and grapple with his foes, he felt from the first +moment that he had no chance whatever against such numbers, and that the +only thing to do was to sell his life as dearly as he could. + +There was no time to ask or even to wonder at the meaning of this +mysterious attack. All he could do was to strive to shield his head from +the blows that rained upon him, and breathe a prayer for succour in the +midst of his urgent need. + +And then he heard a voice speaking in accents of authority: where had he +heard that voice before? + +"Hold, men! have I not warned you to do him no hurt? Kill him not, but +take him alive." + +That was the last thing Raymond remembered. His next sensation was of +falling and strangulation. Then a blackness swam before his eyes, and +sense and memory alike fled. + + + + CHAPTER XXIII. IN THE HANDS OF HIS FOE. + + +How long that blackness and darkness lasted Raymond never really knew. +It seemed to him that he awoke from it at occasional long intervals, +always to find himself dreaming of rapid motion, as though he were being +transported through the air with considerable speed. But there was no +means of telling in what direction he moved, nor in what company. His +senses were clouded and dull. He did not know what was real and what +part of a dream. He had no recollection of any of the events immediately +preceding this sudden and extraordinary journey, and after a brief +period of bewilderment would sink back into the black abyss of +unconsciousness from which he had been roused for a few moments. + +At last, after what seemed to him an enormous interval -- for he knew +not whether hours, days, or even years had gone by whilst he had +remained in this state of unconscious apathy, he slowly opened his eyes, +to find that the black darkness had given place to a faint murky light, +and that he was no longer being carried rapidly onwards, but was lying +still upon a heap of straw in some dim place, the outlines of which only +became gradually visible to him. + +Raymond was very weak, and weakness exercises a calming and numbing +effect upon the senses. He felt no alarm at finding himself in this +strange place, but after gazing about him without either recollection or +comprehension, he turned round upon his bed of straw, which was by no +means the worst resting place he had known in his wanderings, and +quickly fell into a sound sleep. + +When he awoke some hours later, the place was lighter than it had been, +for a ray of sunlight had penetrated through the loophole high above his +head, and illuminated with tolerable brightness the whole of the dim +retreat in which he found himself. Raymond raised himself upon his elbow +and looked wonderingly around him. + +"What in the name of all the Holy Saints has befallen me?" he +questioned, speaking half aloud in the deep stillness, glad to break the +oppressive silence, if it were only by the sound of his own voice. "I +feel as though a leaden weight were pressing down my limbs, and my head +is throbbing as though a hammer were beating inside it. I can scarce +frame my thoughts as I will. What was I doing last, before this strange +thing befell me?" + +He put his hand to his head and strove to think; but for a time memory +eluded him, and his bewilderment grew painfully upon him. Then he espied +a pitcher of water and some coarse food set not far away, and he rose +with some little difficulty and dragged his stiffened limbs across the +stone floor till he reached the spot where this provision stood. + +"Sure, this be something of the prisoner's fare," he said, as he raised +the pitcher to his lips; "yet I will refresh myself as best I may. +Perchance I shall then regain my scattered senses and better understand +what has befallen me." + +He ate and drank slowly, and it was as he hoped. The nourishment he +sorely needed helped to dispel the clouds of weakness and faintness +which had hindered the working of his mind before, and a ray of light +penetrated the mists about him. + +"Ha!" he exclaimed, "I have it now! We were in battle together -- Gaston +and I rode side by side. I recollect it all now. We were separated in +the press, and I was carried off by the followers of the Black Visor. +Strange! He was in our ranks. He is a friend, and not a foe. How came +it, then, that his men-at-arms made such an error as to set upon me? Was +it an error? Did I not hear him, or his huge companion, give some order +for my capture to his men before their blades struck me down? It is +passing strange. I comprehend it not. But Gaston will be here anon to +make all right. There must be some strange error. Sure I must have been +mistaken for some other man." + +Raymond was not exactly uneasy, though a little bewildered and disturbed +in mind by the strangeness of the adventure. It seemed certain to him +that there must have been some mistake. That he was at present a +prisoner could not be doubted, from the nature of the place in which he +was shut up, and the silence and gloom about him; but unless he had been +abandoned by his first captors, and had fallen into the hands of the +French, he believed that his captivity would speedily come to an end +when the mistake concerning his identity was explained. If indeed he +were in the power of some French lord, there might be a little longer +delay, as a ransom would no doubt have to be found for him ere he could +be released. But then Gaston was at liberty, and Gaston had now powerful +friends and no mean share in some of the prizes which had been taken by +sea and land. He would quickly accomplish his brother's deliverance when +once he heard of his captivity; and there would be no difficulty in +sending him a message, as his captor's great desire would doubtless be +to obtain as large a ransom as he was able to extort. + +"They had done better had they tried to seize upon Gaston himself," said +Raymond, with a half smile. "He would have been a prize better worth the +taking. But possibly he would have proved too redoubtable a foe. +Methinks my arm has somewhat lost its strength or cunning, else should I +scarce have fallen so easy a prey. I ought to have striven harder to +have kept by Gaston's side; but I know not now how we came to be +separated. And Roger, too, who has ever been at my side in all times of +strife and danger, how came he to be sundered from me likewise? It must +have been done by the fellows who bore me off -- the followers of the +Black Visor. Strange, very strange! I know not what to think of it. But +when next my jailer comes he will doubtless tell me where I am and what +is desired of me." + +The chances of war were so uncertain, and the captive of one day so +often became the victor of the next, that Raymond, who for all his +fragile look possessed a large fund of cool courage, did not feel +greatly disturbed by the ill-chance that had befallen him. Many French +knights were most chivalrous and courteous to their prisoners; some even +permitted them to go out on parole to collect their own ransoms, +trusting to their word of honour to return if they were unable to obtain +the stipulated sum. The English cause had many friends amongst the +French nobility, and friendships as well as enmities had resulted from +the English occupation of such large tracts of France. + +So Raymond resolved to make the best of his incarceration whilst it +lasted, trusting that some happy accident would soon set him at large +again. With such a brother as Gaston on the outside of his prison wall, +it would be foolish to give way to despondency. + +He looked curiously about at the cave-like place in which he found +himself. It appeared to be a natural chamber formed in the living rock. +It received a certain share of air and light from a long narrow loophole +high up overhead, and the place was tolerably fresh and dry, though its +proportions were by no means large. Still it was lofty, and it was wide +enough to admit of a certain but limited amount of exercise to its occupant. + +Raymond found that he could make five paces along one side of it and +four along the other. Except the heap of straw, upon which he had been +laid, there was no plenishing of any kind to the cell. However, as it +was probably only a temporary resting place, this mattered the less. +Raymond had been worse lodged during some of his wanderings before now, +and for the two years that he had lived amongst the Cistercian Brothers, +he had scarcely been more luxuriously treated. His cell there had been +narrower than this place, his fare no less coarse than that he had just +partaken of, and his pallet bed scarce so comfortable as this truss of +straw. + +"Father Paul often lay for weeks upon the bare stone floor," mused +Raymond, as he sat down again upon his bed. "Sure I need not grumble +that I have such a couch as this." + +He was very stiff and bruised, as he found on attempting to move about, +but he had no actual wounds, and no bones were broken. His light strong +armour had protected him, or else his foes had been striving to vanquish +without seriously hurting him. He could feel that his head had been a +good deal battered about, for any consecutive thought tired him; but it +was something to have come off without worse injury, and sleep would +restore him quickly to his wonted strength. + +He lay down upon the straw presently, and again he slept soundly and +peacefully. He woke up many hours later greatly refreshed, aroused by +some sound from the outside of his prison. The light had completely +faded from the loophole. The place was in pitchy darkness. There is +something a little terrible in black oppressive darkness -- the darkness +which may almost be felt; and Raymond was not sorry, since he had +awakened, to hear the sound of grating bolts, and then the slow creaking +of a heavy door upon its hinges. + +A faint glimmer of light stole into the cell, and Raymund marked the +entrance of a tall dark figure habited like a monk, the cowl drawn so +far over the face as entirely to conceal the features. However, the +ecclesiastical habit was something of a comfort to Raymond, who had +spent so much of his time amongst monks, and he rose to his feet with a +respectful salutation in French. + +The monk stepped within the cell, and drew the door behind him, turning +the heavy key in the lock. The small lantern he carried with him gave +only a very feeble light; but it was better than nothing, and enabled +Raymond to see the outline of the tall form, which looked almost +gigantic in the full religious habit. + +"Welcome, Holy Father," said Raymond, still speaking in French. "Right +glad am I to look upon face of man again. I prithee tell me where I am, +and into whose hands I have fallen; for methinks there is some mistake +in the matter, and that they take me for one whom I am not." + +"They take thee for one Raymond de Brocas, who lays claim, in thine own +or thy brother's person, to Basildene in England and Orthez and Saut in +Gascony," answered the monk, who spoke slowly in English and in a +strangely-muffled voice. "If thou be not he, say so, and prove it +without loss of time; for evil is purposed to Raymond de Brocas, and it +were a pity it should fall upon the wrong head." + +A sudden shiver ran through Raymond's frame. Was there not something +familiar in the muffled sound of that English voice? was there not +something in the words and tone that sounded like a cruel sneer? Was it +his fancy that beneath the long habit of the monk he caught the glimpse +of some shining weapon? Was this some terrible dream come to his +disordered brain? Was he the victim of an illusion? or did this tall, +shadowy figure stand indeed before him? + +For a moment Raymond's head seemed to swim, and then his nerves steadied +themselves, and he wondered if he might not be disquieting himself in +vain. Possibly, after all, this might be a holy man -- one who would +stand his friend in the future. + +"Thou art English?" he asked quickly; "and if English, surely a friend +to thy countrymen?" + +"I am English truly," was the low-toned answer, "and I am here to advise +thee for thy good." + +"I thank thee for that at least. I will follow thy counsel, if I may +with honour." + +It seemed as though a low laugh forced its way from under the heavy +cowl. The monk drew one step nearer. + +"Thou hadst better not trouble thy head about honour. What good will thy +honour be to thee if they tear thee piecemeal limb from limb, or roast +thee to death over a slow fire, or rack thee till thy bones start from +their sockets? Let thy honour go to the winds, foolish boy, and think +only how thou mayest save thy skin. There be those around and about thee +who will have no mercy so long as thou provest obdurate. Bethink thee +well how thou strivest against them, for thou knowest little what may +well befall thee in their hands." + +The blood seemed to run cold in Raymond's veins as he heard these +terrible words, spoken with a cool deliberation which did nothing +detract from their dread significance. Who was it who once -- nay, many +times in bygone years -- had threatened him with just that cool, +deliberate emphasis, seeming to gloat over the dark threats uttered, as +though they were to him full of a deep and cruel joy? + +It seemed to the youth as though he were in the midst of some dark and +horrible dream from which he must speedily awake. He passed his hand +fiercely across his eyes and made a quick step towards the monk. + +"Who and what art thou?" he asked, in stifled accents, for it seemed as +though a hideous oppression was upon him, and he scarce knew the sound +of his own voice; and then, with a harsh, grating laugh, the tall figure +recoiled a pace, and flung the cowl from his head, and with an +exclamation of astonishment and dismay Raymond recognized his implacable +foe and rival, Peter Sanghurst, whom last he had beheld within the walls +of Basildene. + +"Thou here!" he exclaimed, and moved back as far as the narrow limits of +the cell would permit, as though from the presence of some noxious beast. + +Peter Sanghurst folded his arms and gazed upon his youthful rival with a +gleam of cool, vindictive triumph in his cruel eyes that might well send +a thrill of chill horror through the lad's slight frame. When he spoke +it was with the satisfaction of one who gloats over a victim utterly and +entirely in his power. + +"Ay, truly I am here; and thou art mine, body and soul, to do with what +I will; none caring what befalls thee, none to interpose between thee +and me. I have waited long for this hour, but I have not waited in vain. +I can read the future. I knew that one day thou wouldst be in my hands +-- that I might do my pleasure upon thee, whatsoever that pleasure might +be. Knowing that, I have been content to wait; only every day the debt +has been mounting up. Every time that thou, rash youth, hast dared to +try to thwart me, hast dared to strive to stand between me and the +object of my desires, a new score has been written down in the record I +have long kept against thee. Now the day of reckoning has come, and thou +wilt find the reckoning a heavy one. But thou shalt pay it -- every jot +and tittle shalt thou pay. Thou shalt not escape from my power until +thou hast paid the uttermost farthing." + +The man's lips parted in a hideous smile which showed his white teeth, +sharp and pointed like the fangs of a wolf. Raymond felt his courage +rise with the magnitude of his peril. That some unspeakably terrible +doom was designed for him he could not doubt. The malignity and cruelty +of his foe were too well understood; but at least if he must suffer, he +would suffer in silence. His enemy should not have the satisfaction of +wringing from him one cry for mercy. He would die a thousand times +sooner than sue to him. He thought of Joan -- realizing that for her +sake he should be called upon, in some sort, to bear this suffering; and +even the bare thought sent a thrill of ecstasy through him. Any death +that was died for her would be sweet. And might not his be instrumental +in ridding her for ever of her hateful foe? Would not Gaston raise +heaven and earth to discover his brother? Surely he would, sooner or +later, find out what had befallen him; and then might Peter Sanghurst +strive in vain to flee from the vengeance he had courted: he would +assuredly fall by Gaston's hand, tracked down even to the ends of the earth. + +Peter Sanghurst, his eyes fixed steadily on the face of his victim, +hoping to enjoy by anticipation his agonies of terror, saw only a gleam +of resolution and even of joy pass across his face, and he gnashed his +teeth in sudden rage at finding himself unable to dominate the spirit of +the youth, as he meant shortly to rack his body. + +"Thou thinkest still to defy me, mad boy?" he asked. "Thou thinkest that +thy brother will come to thine aid? Let him try to trace thee if he can! +I defy him ever to learn where thou art. Wouldst know it thyself? Then +thou shalt do so, and thou wilt see thy case lost indeed. Thou art in +that Castle of Saut that thou wouldest fain call thine own -- that +castle which has never yet been taken by foe from without, and never +will be yet, so utterly impregnable is its position. Thou art in the +hands of the Lord of Navailles, who has his own score to settle with +thee, and who will not let thee go till thou hast resigned in thy +brother's name and thine own every one of those bold claims which, as he +has heard, have been made to the Roy Outremer by one or both of you. Now +doth thy spirit quail? now dost thou hope for succour from without? Bid +adieu to all such fond and idle hopes. Thou art here utterly alone, no +man knowing what has befallen thee. Thou art in the hands of thy two +bitterest foes, men who are known and renowned for their cruelty and +their evil deeds -- men who would crush to death a hundred such as thou +who dared to strive to bar their way. Now what sayest thou? how about +that boasted honour of thine? Thou hadst best hear reason ere thou hast +provoked thy foes too far, and make for thyself the best terms that thou +canst. Thou mayest yet save thyself something if thou wilt hear reason." + +Raymond's face was set like a flint. He had no power to rid himself of +the presence of his foe, but yield one inch to persuasion or threat he +was resolved not to do. For one thing, his distrust of this man was so +great that he doubted if any concessions made by him would be of the +smallest value in obtaining him his release; for another, his pride rose +up in arms against yielding anything to fear that he would not yield +were he a free man in the midst of his friends. No: at all costs he +would stand firm. He could but die once, and what other men had borne +for their honour or their faith he could surely bear. His lofty young +face kindled and glowed with the enthusiasm of his resolution, and again +the adversary's face darkened with fury. + +"Thou thinkest perhaps that I have forgot the art of torture since thou +wrested from me one victim? Thou shalt find that what he suffered at my +hands was but the tithe of what thou shalt endure. Thou hast heard +perchance of that chamber in the heart of the earth where the Lord of +Navailles welcomes his prisoners who have secrets worth the knowing, or +treasures hidden out of his reach? That chamber is not far from where +thou standest now, and there be willing hands to carry thee thither into +the presence of its Lord, who lets not his visitors escape him till he +has wrung from their reluctant lips every secret of which he desires the +key. And what are his clumsy engines to the devices and refinements of +torture that I can inflict when once that light frame is bound +motionless upon the rack, and stretched till not a muscle may quiver +save at my bidding? Rash boy, beware how thou provokest me to do my +worst; for once I have thee thus bound beneath my hands, then the devil +of hatred and cruelty which possesses me at times will come upon me, and +I shall not let thee go until I have done my worst. Bethink thee well +ere thou provokest me too far. Listen and be advised, ere it be too late +for repentance, and thy groans of abject submission fall upon unheeding +ears. None will befriend thee then. Thou mayest now befriend thyself. If +thou wilt not take the moment when it is thine, it may never be offered +thee again." + +Raymond did not speak. He folded his arms and looked steadily across at +his foe. He knew himself perfectly and absolutely helpless. Every weapon +he possessed had been taken from him whilst he lay unconscious. His +armour had been removed. He had nothing upon him save his light summer +dress, and the precious heart hanging about his neck. Even the +satisfaction of making one last battle for his life was denied him. His +limbs were yet stiff and weak. His enemy would grip him as though he +were a child if he so much as attempted to cast himself upon him. All +that was now left for him was the silent dignity of endurance. + +Sanghurst made one step forward and seized the arm of the lad in a grip +like that of a vice. So cruel was the grip that it was hard to restrain +a start of pain. + +"Renounce Joan!" he hissed in the boy's ear; "renounce her utterly and +for ever! Write at my bidding such words as I shall demand of thee, and +thou shalt save thyself the worst of the agonies I will else inflict +upon thee. Basildene thou shalt never get -- I can defy thee there, do +as thou wilt; besides, if thou departest alive from this prison house, +thou wilt have had enough of striving to thwart the will of Peter +Sanghurst -- but Joan thou shalt renounce of thine own free will, and +shalt so renounce her that her love for thee will be crushed and killed! +Here is the inkhorn, and here the parchment. The ground will serve thee +for a table, and I will tell thee what to write. Take then the pen, and +linger not. Thou wouldst rejoice to write whatever words I bid thee +didst thou know what is even now preparing in yon chamber below thy +prison house. Take the pen and sit down. It is but a short half-hour's +task." + +The strong man thrust the quill into the slight fingers of the boy; but +Raymond suddenly wrenched his hand away, and flung the frail weapon to +the other end of the cell. He saw the vile purpose in a moment. Peter +knew something of the nature of the woman he passionately desired to win +for his wife, and he well knew that no lies of his invention respecting +the falsity of her young lover would weigh one instant with her. Even +the death of his rival would help him in no whit, for Joan would cherish +the memory of the dead, and pay no heed to the wooing of the living. +There was but one thing that would give him the faintest hope, and that +was the destruction of her faith in Raymond. Let him be proved faithless +and unworthy, and her love and loyalty must of necessity receive a rude +shock. Sanghurst knew the world, and knew that broken faith was the one +thing a lofty-souled and pure-minded woman finds it hardest to forgive. +Raymond, false to his vows, would no longer be a rival in his way. He +might have a hard struggle to win the lady even then, but the one +insuperable obstacle would be removed from his path. + +And Raymond saw the purpose in a moment. His quick and sharpened +intelligence showed all to him in a flash. Not to save himself from any +fate would he so disgrace his manhood -- prove unworthy in the hour of +trial, deny his love, and by so doing deny himself the right to bear all +for her dear sake. + +Flinging the pen to the ground and turning upon Sanghurst with a great +light in his eyes, he told him how he read his base purpose, his black +treachery, and dared him to do his worst. + +"My worst, mad boy, my worst!" cried the furious man, absolutely foaming +at the mouth as he drew back, looking almost like a venomous snake +couched for a spring. "Is that, then, thy answer -- thy unchangeable +answer to the only loophole I offer thee of escaping the full vengeance +awaiting thee from thy two most relentless foes? Bethink thee well how +thou repeatest such words. Yet once again I bid thee pause. Take but +that pen and do as I bid thee --" + +"I will not!" answered Raymond, throwing back his head in a gesture of +noble, fearless defiance; "I will not do thy vile bidding. Joan is my +true love, my faithful and loving lady. Her heart is mine and mine is +hers, and her faithful knight I will live and die. Do your worst. I defy +you to your face. There is a God above who can yet deliver me out of +your hand if He will. If not -- if it be His will that I suffer in a +righteous cause -- I will do it with a soul unseared by coward +falsehood. There is my answer; you will get none other. Now do with me +what you will. I fear you not." + +Peter Sanghurst's aspect changed. The fury died out, to be replaced by a +perfectly cold and calm malignity a hundred times more terrible. He +stooped and picked up the pen, replacing it with the parchment and +inkhorn in a pouch at his girdle. Then throwing off entirely the long +monk's habit which he had worn on his entrance, he advanced step by step +upon Raymond, the glitter in his eye being terrible to see. + +Raymond did not move. He was already standing against the wall at the +farthest limit of the cell. His foe slowly advanced upon him, and +suddenly put out two long, powerful arms, and gripped him round the body +in a clasp against which it was vain to struggle. Lifting him from his +feet, he carried him into the middle of the chamber, and setting him +down, but still encircling him with that bear-like embrace, he stamped +thrice upon the stone floor, which gave out a hollow sound beneath his feet. + +The next moment there was a sound of strange creaking and groaning, as +though some ponderous machinery were being set in motion. There was a +sickening sensation, as though the very ground beneath his feet were +giving way, and the next instant Raymond became aware that this indeed +was the case. The great flagstone upon which he and his captor were +standing was sinking, sinking, sinking into the very heart of the earth, +as it seemed; and as they vanished together into the pitchy darkness, to +the accompaniment of that same strange groaning and creaking, Raymond +heard a hideous laugh in his ear. + +"This is how his victims are carried to the Lord of Navailles's torture +chamber. Ha-ha! ha-ha! This is how they go down thither. Whether they +ever come forth again is quite another matter!" + + + + CHAPTER XXIV. GASTON'S QUEST. + + +When Gaston missed his brother from his side in the triumphant turning +of the tables upon the French, he felt no uneasiness. The battle was +going so entirely in favour of the English arms, and the discomfited +French were making so small a stand, that the thought of peril to +Raymond never so much as entered his head. In the waning light it was +difficult to distinguish one from another, and for aught he knew his +brother might be quite close at hand. They were engaged in taking +prisoners such of their enemies as were worthy to be carried off; and +when they had completely routed the band and made captive their leaders, +it was quite dark, and steps were taken to encamp for the night. + +Then it was that Gaston began to wonder why he still saw nothing either +of Raymond or of the faithful Roger, who was almost like his shadow. He +asked all whom he met if anything had been seen of his brother, but the +answer was always the same -- nobody knew anything about him. Nobody +appeared to have seen him since the brothers rode into battle side by +side; and the young knight began to feel thoroughly uneasy. + +Of course there had been some killed and wounded in the battle upon both +sides, though the English loss was very trifling. Still it might have +been Raymond's fate to be borne down in the struggle, and Gaston, +calling some of his own personal attendants about him, and bidding them +take lanterns in their hands, went forth to look for his brother upon +the field where the encounter had taken place. + +The field was a straggling one, as the combat had taken the character of +a rout at the end, and the dead and wounded lay at long intervals apart. +Gaston searched and searched, his heart growing heavier as he did so, +for his brother was very dear to him, and he felt a pang of bitter +self-reproach at having left him, however inadvertently, to bear the +brunt of the battle alone. But search as he would he found nothing +either of Raymond or Roger, and a new fear entered into his mind. + +"Can he have been taken prisoner?" + +This did not seem highly probable. The French, bold enough at the outset +when they had believed themselves secure of an easy victory, had changed +their front mightily when they had discovered the trap set for them by +their foes, and in the end had thought of little save how to save their +own lives. They would scarce have burdened themselves with prisoners, +least of all with one who did not even hold the rank of knight. This +disappearance of his brother was perplexing Gaston not a little. He +looked across the moonlit plain, now almost as light as day, a cloud of +pain and bewilderment upon his face. + +"By Holy St. Anthony, where can the boy be?" he cried. + +Then one of his men-at-arms came up and spoke. + +"When we were pursuing the French here to the left, back towards their +own lines, I saw a second struggle going on away to the right. The +knight with the black visor seemed to be leading that pursuit, and +though I could not watch it, as I had my own work to do here, I know +that some of our men took a different line, there along by yon ridge to +the right." + +"Let us go thither and search there," said Gaston, with prompt decision, +"for plainly my brother is not here. It may be he has been following +another flying troop. We will up and after him. Look well as you ride if +there be any prostrate figures lying in the path. I fear me he may have +been wounded in the rout, else surely he would not have stayed away so +long." + +Turning his horse round, and closely followed by his men, Gaston rode +off in the direction pointed out by his servant. It became plain that +there had been fighting of some sort along this line, for a few dead and +wounded soldiers, all Frenchmen, lay upon the ground at intervals. +Nothing, however, could be seen of Raymond, and for a while nothing of +Roger either; but just as Gaston was beginning to despair of finding +trace of either, he beheld in the bright moonlight a figure staggering +along in a blind and helpless fashion towards them, and spurring rapidly +forward to meet it, he saw that it was Roger. + +Roger truly, but Roger in pitiable plight. His armour was gone. His +doublet had been half stripped from off his back. He was bleeding from +more than one wound, and in his eyes was a fixed and glassy stare, like +that of one walking in sleep. His face was ghastly pale, and his breath +came in quick sobs and gasps. + +"Roger, is it thou?" cried Gaston, in accents of quick alarm. "I have +been seeking thee everywhere. Where is thy master? Where is my brother?" + +"Gone! gone! gone!" cried Roger, in a strange and despairing voice. +"Carried off by his bitterest foes! Gone where we shall never see him more!" + +There was something in the aspect of the youth and in his lamentable +words that sent an unwonted shiver through Gaston's frame; but he was +quick to recover himself, and answered hastily: + +"Boy, thou art distraught! Tell me where my brother has gone. I will +after him and rescue him. He cannot be very far away. Quick -- tell me +what has befallen him!" + +"He has been carried off -- more I know not. He has been carried off by +foulest treachery." + +"Treachery! Whose treachery? Who has carried him off?" + +"The knight of the Black Visor." + +"The Black Visor! Nay; thou must be deceived thyself! The Black Visor is +one of our own company." + +"Ay verily, and that is why he succeeded where an open foe had failed. +None guessed with what purpose he came when he and his men pushed their +way in a compact wedge, and sundered my young master from your side, +sir, driving him farther and farther from all beside, till he and I (who +had managed to keep close beside him) were far away from all the world +beside, galloping as if for dear life in a different direction. Then it +was that they threw off the pretence of being friends -- that they set +upon him and overpowered him, that they beat off even me from holding +myself near at hand, and carried me bound in another direction. I was +given in charge to four stalwart troopers, all wearing the black badge +of their master. They bound my bands and my feet, and bore me along I +knew not whither. I lost sight of my master. Him they took at headlong +speed in another direction. I had been wounded in the battle. I was +wounded by these men, struggling to follow your brother. I swooned in my +saddle, and knew no more till a short hour ago, when I woke to find +myself lying, still bound, upon a heap of straw in some outhouse of a +farm. I heard the voices of my captors singing snatches of songs not far +away; but they were paying no heed to their captive, and I made shift to +slacken my bonds and slip out into the darkness of the wood. + +"I knew not where I was; but the moon told me how to bend my steps to +find the English camp again. I, in truth, have escaped -- have come to +bring you word of his peril; but ah, I fear, I fear that we shall never +see him more! They will kill him -- they will kill him! He is in the +hands of his deadliest foes!" + +"If we know where he is, we can rescue him without delay!" cried Gaston, +who was not a little perplexed at the peculiar nature of the adventure +which had befallen his brother. + +To be taken captive and carried off by one of the English knights (if +indeed the Black Visor were a knight) was a most extraordinary thing to +have happened. Gaston, who knew little enough of his brother's past +history in detail, and had no idea that he had called down upon himself +any particular enmity, was utterly at a loss to understand the story, +nor was Roger in a condition to give any farther explanation. He +tottered as he stood, and Gaston ordered his servants to mount him upon +one of their horses and bring him quietly along, whilst he himself +turned and galloped back to the camp to prosecute inquiries there. + +"Who is the Black Visor?" -- that was the burden of his inquiries, and +it was long before he could obtain an answer to this question. The +leaders of the expedition were full of their own plans and had little +attention to bestow upon Gaston or his strange story. The loss of a +single private gentleman from amongst their muster was nothing to excite +them, and their own position was giving them much more concern. They had +taken many prisoners. They believed that they had done amply enough to +raise the siege of St. Jean d'Angely (though in this they proved +themselves mistaken), and they were anxious to get safely back to +Bordeaux with their spoil before any misadventure befell them. + +Gaston cared nothing now for the expedition; his heart was with his +brother, his mind was full of anxious questioning. Roger's story plainly +showed that Raymond was in hostile hands. But the perplexity of the +matter was that Gaston had no idea of the name or rank of his brother's +enemy and captor. + +At last he came upon a good-natured knight who had been courteous to the +brothers in old days. He listened with interest to Gaston's tale, and +bid him wait a few minutes whilst he went to try to discover the name +and rank of the Black Visor. He was certain that he had heard it, though +he could not recollect at a moment's notice what he had heard. He did +not keep Gaston waiting long, but returned quickly to him. + +"The Black Visor is one Peter Sanghurst of Basildene, a gentleman in +favour with the King, and one likely to rise to high honour. Men whisper +that he has some golden secret which, if it be so, will make of him a +great man one of these days. It is he who has been in our company, +always wearing his black visor. Men say he is under some vow, and until +the vow is accomplished no man may look upon his face." + +Gaston drew his breath hard, and a strange gleam came into his eyes. + +"Peter Sanghurst of Basildene!" he exclaimed, and then fell into a deep +reverie. + +What did it all mean? What had Raymond told him from time to time about +the enmity of this man? Did not Gaston himself well remember the +adventure of long ago, when he and his brother had entered Basildene by +stealth and carried thence the wretched victim of the sorcerer's art? +Was not that the beginning of an enmity which had never been altogether +laid to sleep? Had he not heard whispers from time to time all pointing +to the conclusion that Sanghurst had neither forgotten nor forgiven, and +that he felt his possession of Basildene threatened by the existence of +the brothers whose right it was? Had not Raymond placed himself almost +under vow to win back his mother's lost inheritance? And might it not be +possible that this knowledge had come to the ears of the present owner? + +Gaston ground his teeth in rage as he realized what might be the meaning +of this cowardly attack. Treachery and cowardice were the two vices most +hateful in his eyes, and this vile attack upon an unsuspecting comrade +filled him with the bitterest rage as well as with the greatest anxiety. + +Plain indeed was it that Raymond had been carried off; but whither? To +England? that scarce seemed possible. It would be a daring thing indeed +to bring an English subject back to his native land a prisoner. Yet +where else could Peter Sanghurst carry a captive? He might have friends +amongst the French; but who would be sufficiently interested in his +affairs to give shelter to him and his prisoner, when it might lead to +trouble perhaps with the English King? + +One thought of relief there was in the matter. Plainly it was not +Raymond's death that was to be compassed. If they had wished to kill +him, they would have done so upon the battlefield and have left him +there, where his death would have excited no surprise or question. No; +it was something more than this that was wanted, and Gaston felt small +difficulty in guessing what that aim and object was. + +"He is to be held for ransom, and his ransom will be our claim upon +Basildene. We both shall be called upon to renounce that, and then +Raymond will go free. Well, if that be the only way, Basildene must go. +But perchance it may be given to me to save the inheritance and rescue +Raymond yet. Would that I knew whither they had carried him! But surely +he may be traced and followed. Some there must be who will be able to +give me news of them." + +Of one thing Gaston was perfectly assured, and that was that he must now +act altogether independently, gain permission to quit the expedition, +and pursue his own investigations with his own followers. He had no +difficulty in arranging this matter. The leaders had already resolved +upon returning to Bordeaux immediately, and taking ship with their spoil +and prisoners for England. Had Gaston not had other matters of his own +to think of, he would most likely have urged a farther advance upon the +beleaguered town, to make sure that it was sufficiently relieved. As it +was, he had no thoughts but for his brother's peril; and his anxieties +were by no means relieved by the babble of words falling from Roger's +lips when he returned to see how it fared with him. + +Roger appeared to the kindly soldiers, who had made a rude couch for him +and were tending him with such skill as they possessed, to be talking in +the random of delirium, and they paid little heed to his words. But as +Gaston stood by he was struck by the strange fixity of the youth's eyes, +by the rigidity of his muscles, and by the coherence and significance of +his words. + +It was not a disconnected babble that passed his lips; it was the +description of some scene upon which he appeared to be looking. He spoke +of horsemen galloping through the night, of the Black Visor in the midst +and his gigantic companion by his side. He spoke of the unconscious +captive they carried in their midst -- the captive the youth struggled +frantically to join, that they might share together whatever fate was to +be his. + +The soldiers naturally believed he was wandering, and speaking of his +own ride with his captors; but Gaston listened with different feelings. +He remembered well what he had once heard about this boy and the strange +gift he possessed, or was said to possess, of seeing what went on at a +distance when he had been in the power of the sorcerer. Might it not be +that this gift was not only exercised at the will of another, but might +be brought into play by the tension of anxiety evoked by a great strain +upon the boy's own nervous system? Gaston did not phrase the question +thus, but he well knew the devotion with which Roger regarded Raymond, +and it seemed quite possible to him that in this crisis of his life, his +body weakened by wounds and fatigue, his mind strained by grief and +anxiety as to the fate of him he loved more than life, his spirit had +suddenly taken that ascendency over his body which of old it had +possessed, and that he was really and truly following in that strange +trance-like condition every movement of the party of which Raymond was +the centre. + +At any rate, whether he were right or not in this surmise, Gaston +resolved that he would not lose a word of these almost ceaseless +utterings, and dismissing his men to get what rest they could, he sat +beside Roger, and listened with attention to every word he spoke. + +Roger lay with his eyes wide open in the same fixed and glassy stare. He +spoke of a halt made at a wayside inn, of the rousing up with the +earliest stroke of dawn of the keeper of this place, of the inside of +the bare room, and the hasty refreshment set before the impatient +travellers. + +"He sits down, they both sit down, and then he laughs -- ah, where have +I heard that laugh before?" and a look of strange terror sweeps over the +youth's face. "'I may now remove my visor -- my vow is fulfilled! My +enemy is in my hands. My Lord of Navailles, I drink this cup to your +good health and the success of our enterprise. We have the victim in our +own hands. We can wring from him every concession we desire before we +offer him for ransom.'" + +Gaston gave a great start. What did this mean? Well indeed he remembered +the Sieur de Navailles, the hereditary foe of the De Brocas. Was it, +could it be possible, that he was concerned in this capture? Had their +two foes joined together to strive to win all at one blow? He must +strive to find this out. Could it be possible that Roger really saw and +heard all these things? or was it but the fantasy of delirium? Raymond +might have spoken to him of the Lord of Navailles as a foe, and in his +dreams he might be mixing one thought with the other. + +Suddenly Roger uttered a sharp cry and pressed his hands before his +eyes. "It is he! it is he!" he cried, with a gasping utterance. "He has +removed the mask from his face. It is he -- Peter Sanghurst -- and he is +smiling -- that smile. Oh, I know what it means! He has cruel, evil +thoughts in his mind. O my master, my master!" + +Gaston started to his feet. Here was corroboration indeed. Roger no more +knew who the Black Visor was than he had done himself an hour back. Yet +he now saw the face of Peter Sanghurst, the very man he himself had +discovered the Black Visor to be. This indeed showed that Roger was +truly looking upon some distant scene, and a strange thrill ran through +Gaston as he realized this mysterious fact. + +"And the other, Peter Sanghurst's companion -- what of him? what +likeness does he bear?" asked Gaston quickly. + +"He is a very giant in stature," was the answer, "with a swarthy skin, +black eyes that burn in their sockets, and a coal-black beard that falls +below his waist. He has a sear upon his left cheek, and he has lost two +fingers upon the left hand. He speaks in a voice like rolling waves, and +in a language that is half English and half the Gascon tongue." + +"In very truth the Sieur de Navailles!" whispered Gaston to himself. + +With every faculty on the alert, he sat beside Roger's bed, listening to +every word of his strange babble of talk. He described how they took to +horse, fresh horses being provided for the whole company, as though all +had been planned beforehand, and how they galloped at headlong pace away +-- away -- away, ever faster, ever more furiously, as though resolved to +gain their destination at all cost. + +The day dawned, but Roger lay still in this trance, and Gaston would not +have him disturbed. Until he could know whither his brother had been +carried, it was useless to strive to seek and overtake him. If in very +truth Roger was in some mysterious fashion watching over him, he would, +doubtless, be able to tell whither at length the captive was taken. Then +they would to horse and pursue. But they must learn all they could first. + +The hours passed by. Roger still talked at intervals. If questioned he +answered readily -- always of the same hard riding, the changes of +horses, the captive carried passive in the midst of the troop. + +Then he began to speak words that arrested Gaston's attention. He spoke +of natural features well known to him: he described a grim fortress, so +placed as to be impregnable to foes from without. There were the wide +moat, the huge natural mound, the solid wall, the small loopholes. +Gaston held his breath to hear: he knew every feature of the place so +described. Was it not the ancient Castle of Saut -- his own inheritance, +as he had been brought up to call it? Roger had never seen it; he was +almost assured of that. What he was describing was something seen with +that mysterious second sight of his, nothing that had ever impressed +itself upon his waking senses. + +It was all true, then. Raymond had indeed been taken captive by the two +bitter enemies of the house of De Brocas. Peter Sanghurst had doubtless +heard of the feud between the two houses, and of the claim set up by +Gaston for the establishment of his own rights upon the lands of the +foe, and had resolved to make common cause with the Navailles against +the brothers. It was possible that they would have liked to get both +into their clutches, but that they feared to attack so stalwart a foe as +Gaston; or else they might have believed that the possession of the +person of Raymond would be sufficient for their purpose. The tie between +the twin brothers was known to be strong. It was likely enough that were +Raymond's ransom fixed at even an exorbitant sum, the price would be +paid by the brother, who well knew that the Tower of Saut was strong +enough to defy all attacks from without, and that any person +incarcerated in its dungeons would be absolutely at the mercy of its +cruel and rapacious lord. + +The King of England had his hands full enough as it was without taking +up the quarrel of every wronged subject. What was done would have to be +done by himself and his own followers; and Gaston set his teeth hard as +he realized this, and went forth to give his own orders for the morrow. + +At the first glimpse of coming day they were to start forth for the +south, and by hard riding might hope to reach Saut by the evening of the +second day. Gaston could muster some score of armed men, and they would +be like enough to pick up many stragglers on the way, who would be ready +enough to join any expedition promising excitement and adventure. To +take the Castle of Saut by assault would, as Gaston well knew, be +impossible; but he cherished a hope that it might fall into his hands +through strategy if he were patient, and if Roger still retained that +marvellous faculty of second-sight which revealed to his eyes things +hidden from the vision of others. + +He slept all that night without moving or speaking, and when he awoke in +the morning it was in a natural state, and at first he appeared to have +no recollection of what had occurred either to himself or to Raymond. +But as sense and memory returned to him, so did also the shadow of some +terrible doom hanging over his beloved young master; and though he was +still weak and ill, and very unfit for the long journey on horseback +through the heat of a summer's day, he would not hear of being left +behind, and was the one to urge upon the others all the haste possible +as they rode along southward after the foes who had captured Raymond. + +On, on, on! there were no halts save for the needful rest and +refreshment, or to try to get fresh horses to carry them forward. A fire +seemed to burn in Gaston's veins as well as in those of Roger; and the +knowledge that they were on the track of the fugitives gave fresh ardour +to the pursuit at every halting place. + +Only a few hours were allowed for rest and sleep during the darkest hour +of the short night, and then on -- on -- ever on, urged by an +overmastering desire to know what was happening to the prisoner behind +those gloomy walls. + +Roger's sleep that night had been disturbed by hideous visions. He did +not appear to know or see anything that was passing; but a deep gloom +hung upon his spirit, and he many times woke shivering and crying out +with horror at he knew not what; whilst Gaston lay broad awake, a +strange sense of darkness and depression upon his own senses. He could +scarce restrain himself from springing up and summoning his weary +followers to get to horse and ride forth at all risks to the very doors +of Saut, and only with the early dawn of day did any rest or refreshment +fall upon his spirit. + +Roger looked more himself as they rode forth in the dawn. + +"Methinks we are near him now," he kept saying; "my heart is lighter +than it was. We will save him yet -- I am assured of it! He is not dead; +I should surely know it if he were. We are drawing nearer every step. We +may be with him ere nightfall." + +"The walls of Saut lie betwixt us," said Gaston, rather grimly, but he +looked sternly resolute, as though it would take strong walls indeed to +keep him from his brother when they were so near. + +The country was beginning to grow familiar to him. He picked up +followers in many places as he passed through. The name of De Brocas was +loved here; that of De Navailles was loathed, and hated, and feared. + +Evening was drawing on. The woods were looking their loveliest in all +the delicate beauty of their fresh young green. Gaston, riding some +fifty yards ahead with Roger beside him, looked keenly about him, with +vivid remembrance of every winding of the woodland path. Soon, as he +knew, the grim Castle of Saut would break upon his vision -- away there +in front and slightly to the right, where the ground fell away to the +river and rose on the opposite bank, crowned with those frowning walls. + +He was riding so carelessly that when his horse suddenly swerved and +shied violently, he was for a moment almost unseated; but quickly +recovering himself, he looked round to see what had frightened the +animal, and himself gave almost as violent a start as the beast had done. + +And yet what he saw was nothing very startling: only the light figure of +a young girl -- a girl fair of face and light of foot as a veritable +forest nymph -- such as indeed she looked springing out from the +overhanging shade of that dim place. + +For one instant they looked into each other's faces with a glance of +quick recognition, and then clasping her hands together, the girl +exclaimed in the Gascon tongue: + +"The Holy Saints be praised! You have come, you have come! Ah, how I +have prayed that help might come! And my prayers have been heard!" + + + + CHAPTER XXV. THE FAIRY OF THE FOREST + + +Gaston sat motionless in his saddle, gazing at the apparition as though +fascinated. He had seen this woodland nymph before. He had spoken with +her, had sat awhile beside her, and her presence had inspired feelings +within him to which he had hitherto been a complete stranger. As he +gazed now into that lovely face, anxious, glad, fearful, all in one, and +yet beaming with joy at the encounter, he felt as if indeed the denizens +of another sphere had interposed to save his brother, and from that +moment he felt a full assurance that Raymond would be rescued. + +Recovering himself as by an effort, he sprang from his saddle and stood +beside the girl. + +"Lady," he said, in gentle accents, that trembled slightly through the +intensity of his emotion -- "fairest lady, who thou art I know not, but +this I know, that thou comest ever as a messenger of mercy. Once it was +to warn me of peril to come; now it is to tell us of one who lies in +sore peril. Lady, tell me that I am not wrong in this -- that thou +comest to give me news of my brother!" + +Her liquid eyes were full of light. She did not shrink from him, or play +with his feelings as on a former occasion. Her face expressed a serious +gravity and earnestness of purpose which added tenfold to her charms. +Gaston, deeply as his feelings were stirred with anxious care for his +brother's fate, could not help his heart going out to this exquisite +young thing standing before him with trustful upturned face. + +Who she was he knew not and cared not. She was the one woman in the +world for him. He had thought so when he had found her in the forest in +wayward tricksy mood; he knew it without doubt now that he saw her at +his side, her sweet face full of deep and womanly feeling, her arch +shyness all forgotten in the depth and resolution of her resolve. + +"I do!" she answered, in quick, short sentences that sounded like the +tones of a silver bell. "You are Gaston de Brocas, and he, the prisoner, +is your twin brother Raymond. I know all. I have heard them talk in +their cups, when they forget that I am growing from a child to a woman. +I have long ceased to be a child. I think that I have grown old in that +terrible place. I have heard words -- oh, that make my blood run cold! +that make me wish I had never been born into a world where such things +are possible! In my heart I have registered a vow. I have vowed that if +ever the time should come when I might save one wretched victim from my +savage uncle's power -- even at the risk of mine own life -- I would do +it. I have warned men away from here. I have done a little, times and +again, to save them from a snare laid for them. But never once have I +had power to rescue from his relentless clutch the victim he had once +enclosed in his net, for never have I had help from without. But when I +heard them speak of Raymond de Brocas -- when I knew that it was he, thy +brother, of whom some such things were spoken -- then I felt that I +should indeed go mad could I not save him from such fate." + +"What fate?" asked Gaston breathlessly; but she went on as though she +had not heard. + +"I thought of thee as I had seen thee in the wood. I said in my heart, +'He is noble, he is brave. He will rest not night nor day whilst his +brother lies a captive in these cruel hands. I have but to watch and to +wait. He will surely come. And when he comes, I will show him the black +hole in the wall -- the dark passage to the moat -- and he will dare to +enter where never man has entered before. He will save his brother, and +my vow will be fulfilled!'" + +Gaston drew his breath hard, and a light leaped into his eyes. + +"Thou knowest a secret way by which the Tower of Saut may be entered -- +is that so, Lady?" + +"I know a way by which many a wretched victim has left it," answered the +girl, whose dark violet eyes were dilated by the depth of her emotion. +"I know not if any man ever entered by that way. But my heart told me +that there was one who would not shrink from the task, be the peril +never so great. I will see that the men-at-arms have drink enough to +turn their heads. I have a concoction of herbs which if mingled with +strong drink will cause such sleep to fall upon men that a thunderbolt +falling at their feet would scarce awaken them. I will see that thou +hast the chance thou needest. The rest wilt thou do without a thought of +fear." + +"Fear to go where Raymond is -- to share his fate if I may not rescue +him!" cried Gaston. "Nay, sweet lady, that would be indeed a craven +fear, unworthy of any true knight. But tell me more. I have many times +wandered round the Tower of Saut in my boyhood, when its lord and master +was away. Methinks I know every loophole and gate by heart. But the +gates are so closely guarded, and the windows are so narrow and high up +in the walls, that I know not how they may be entered from without." + +"True: yet there is one way of which doubtless thou knowest naught, for, +as I have said, men go forth that way, but enter not by it; and the +trick is known only to a few chosen souls, for the victims who pass out +seek not to come again. They drop with sullen plash into the black +waters of the moat, and the river, which mingles its clearer water with +the sluggish stream encircling the Tower, bears thence towards the +hungry sea the burden thus entrusted to its care." + +Gaston shivered slightly. + +"Thou speakest of the victims done to death within yon gloomy walls. I +have heard dark tales of such ere now." + +"Thou hast heard nothing darker than the truth," said the girl, her +slight frame quivering with repressed emotion and a deep and terrible +sense of helpless indignation and pity. "I have heard stories that have +made my blood run cold in my veins. Men have been done to death in a +fashion I dare not speak of. There is a terrible room scarce raised +above the level of the moat, into which I was once taken, and the memory +of which has haunted me ever since. It is within the great mound upon +which the Tower is built; and above it is the dungeon in which the +victim is confined. There is some strange and wondrous device by which +he may be carried down and raised again to his own prison house when his +captor has worked his hideous will upon him. And if he dies, as many do, +upon the fearful engines men have made to inflict torture upon each +other, then there is this narrow stairway, and this still narrower +passage down to the sullen waters of the moat. + +"The opening is just at the level of the water. It looks so small from +the opposite side, that one would think it but the size to admit the +passage of a dog; you would think it was caused by the loosening of some +stone in the wall -- no more. But yet it is large enough to admit the +passage of a human body; and where a body has passed out, sure a body +may pass in. There is no lock upon the door from the underground passage +to the moat; for what man would be so bold as find his way into the +Castle by the grim dungeons which hold such terrible secrets? If thou +hast the courage to enter thus, none will bar thy passage --" + +"If!" echoed Gaston, whose hand was clenched and his whole face +quivering with emotion as he realized the fearful peril which menaced +his brother. "There is no such thing as a doubt. Raymond is there. I +come to save him." + +The girl's eyes flashed with answering fire. She clasped her hands +together, and cried, with something like a sob in her voice: + +"I knew it! I knew it! I knew that thou wert a true knight that thou +wouldst brave all to save him." + +"I am his brother," said Gaston simply, "his twin brother. Who should +save him but I? Tell me, have I come in time? Have they dared to lay a +finger upon him yet?" + +"Dared!" repeated the girl, with a curious inflection in her voice. "Of +what should they be afraid here in this tower, which has ever withstood +the attacks of foes, which no man may enter without first storming the +walls and forcing the gates? Thinkest thou that they fear God or man? +Nay, they know not what such fear is; and therein lies our best hope." + +"How so?" asked Gaston quickly. + +"Marry, for two reasons: one being that they keep but small guard over +the place, knowing its strength and remoteness; the other, that being +thus secure, they are in no haste to carry out their devil's work. They +will first let their prisoner recover of his hurts, that he slip not too +soon from their power, as weaklier victims ofttimes do." + +"Then they have done naught to him as yet?" asked Gaston, in feverish +haste. "What hurts speakest thou of? Was he wounded in the fight, or +when they surrounded him and carried him off captive?" + +"Not wounded, as I have heard, but sorely battered and bruised; and he +was brought hither unconscious, and lay long as one dead. When he +refused to do the bidding of Peter Sanghurst, they took him down to yon +fearsome chamber; but, as I heard when I sat at the hoard with mine +uncle and that wicked man, they had scarce laid hands upon him, to bend +his spirit to their will through their hellish devices, before he fell +into a deep swoon from which they could not rouse him; and afraid that +he would escape their malice by a merciful death, and that they would +lose the very vengeance they had taken such pains to win, they took him +back to his cell; and there he lies, tended not unskilfully by my old +nurse, who is ever brought to the side of the sick in this place. Once I +made shift to slip in behind her when the warder was off his guard, and +to whisper in his ear a word of hope. But we are too close watched to do +aught but by stealth, and Annette is never suffered to approach the +prison alone. She is conducted thither by a grim warder, who waits +beside her till she has done her office, and then takes her away. They +do not know how we loathe and hate their wicked, cruel deeds; but they +know that women have ere this been known to pity helpless victims, and +they have an eye to us ever." + +Gaston drew his breath more freely. Raymond, then, was for the moment +safe. No grievous bodily hurt had been done him as yet; and here outside +his prison was his brother, and one as devoted as though the tie of +blood bound them together, ready to dare all to save him from the hands +of his cruel foes. + +"They are in no great haste," said the maiden; "they feel themselves so +strong. They say that no man can so much as discover where thy brother +has been spirited, still less snatch him from their clasp. They know the +French King will not stir to help a subject of the Roy Outremer, They +know that Edward of England is far away, and that he still avoids an +open breach of the truce. They are secure in the undisturbed possession +of their captive. I have heard them say that had he a hundred brothers +all working without to obtain his release, the walls of the Tower of +Saut would defy their utmost efforts." + +"That we shall see," answered Gaston, with a fierce gleam in his eye; +and then his face softened as he said, "Now that we have for our ally +the enchanted princess of the Castle, many things may be done that else +would be hard of achievement." + +His ardent look sent a flush of colour through the girl's transparent +skin, but her eyes did not waver as she looked frankly back at him. + +"Nay; I am no princess, and I have no enchantments -- would that I had, +if they could be used in offices of pity and mercy! I am but a +portionless maiden, an orphan, an alien. Ofttimes I weep to think that I +too did not die when my parents did, in that terrible scourge which has +devastated the world, which I hear that you of England call the Black +Death." + +"Who art thou then, fair maid?" questioned Gaston, who was all this time +cautiously approaching the Tower of Saut by a winding and unfrequented +path well known to his companion. Roger had been told to wait till the +other riders came up, and conduct them with great secrecy and caution +along the same path. + +Their worst fears for Raymond partially set at rest, and the hope of a +speedy rescue acting upon their minds like a charm, Gaston was able to +think of other things, and was eager to know more of the lovely girl who +had twice shown herself to him in such unexpected fashion. + +It was a simple little story that she told, but it sounded strangely +entrancing from her lips. Her name, she said, was Constanza, and her +father had been one of a noble Spanish house, weakened and finally +ruined by the ceaseless internal strife carried on between the proud +nobles of the fiery south. Her mother was the sister of the Sieur do +Navailles, and he had from time to time given aid to her father in his +troubles with his enemies. The pestilence which had of late devastated +almost the whole of Europe, had visited the southern countries some time +before it had invaded more northerly latitudes; and about a year before +Gaston's first encounter with the nymph of the wood, it had laid waste +the districts round and about her home, and had carried off both her +parents and her two brothers in the space of a few short days. + +Left alone in that terrible time of trouble, surrounded by enemies eager +to pounce upon the little that remained of the wide domain which had +once owned her father's sway, Constanza, in her desperation, naturally +turned to her uncle as the one protector that she knew. He had always +showed himself friendly towards her father. He had from time to time +lent him substantial assistance in his difficulties; and when he had +visited at her home, he had shown himself kindly disposed in a rough +fashion to the little maiden who flitted like a fairy about the wide +marble halls. Annette, her nurse, who had come with her mother from +France when she had left that country on her nuptials, was a Gascon +woman, and had taught the language of the country to her young mistress. +It was natural that the woman should be disposed to return to her native +land at this crisis; and for Constanza to attempt to hold her own -- a +timid maiden against a score of rapacious foes -- was obviously out of +the question. Together they had fled, taking with them such family +jewels as could easily be carried upon their persons, and disguised as +peasants they had reached and crossed the frontier, and found their way +to Saut, where the Lord of Navailles generally spent such of his time as +was not occupied in forays against his neighbours, or in following the +fortunes either of the French or English King, as best suited the fancy +of the moment. + +He had received his niece not unkindly, but with complete indifference, +and had soon ceased to think about her in any way. She had a home +beneath his roof. She had her own apartments, and she was welcome to +occupy herself as she chose. Sometimes, when he was in a better humour +than usual, he would give her a rough caress. More frequently he swore +at her for being a useless girl, when she might, as a boy, have been of +some good in the world. He had no intention of providing her with any +marriage portion, so that it was superfluous to attempt to seek out a +husband for her. She and Annette were occasionally of use when there was +sickness within the walls of the Castle, or when he or his followers +came in weary and wounded from some hard fighting. On the whole he did +not object to her presence at Saut, and her own little bower was not +devoid of comfort, and even of luxury. + +But for all that, the girl was often sick at heart with all that she saw +and heard around her, and was unconsciously pining for some life, she +scarce knew what, but a life that should be different from the one she +was doomed to now. + +"Sometimes I think that I will retire to a Convent and shut myself up +there," she said to Gaston, her eyes looking far away over the wooded +plain before them; "and yet I love my liberty. I love to roam the forest +glades -- to hear the songs of the bird, and to feel the fresh winds of +heaven about me. Methinks I should pine and die shut up within high +walls, without the liberty to rove as I will. And then I am not +/devote/. I love not to spend long hours upon my knees. I feel nearest +to the Blessed Saints and the Holy Mother of God out here in these +woods, where no ribald shouts of mirth or blasphemous oaths can reach +me. But the Sisters live shut behind high walls, and they love best to +tell their beads beside the shrine of some Saint within their dim +chapels. They were good to us upon our journey. I love and reverence the +holy Sisters, and yet I do not know how I could be one of them. I fear +me they would soon send me forth, saying that I was not fit for their life." + +"Nay, truly such a life is not for thee!" cried Gaston, with unwonted +heat. "Sweet maiden, thou wert never made to pine away behind walls that +shelter such as cannot stand against the trials and troubles of life. +For it is not so with thee. Thou hast courage; thou hast a noble heart +and a strong will. There is other work for thee to do. Lady, thou hast +this day made me thy humble slave for ever. My brother once free, as by +thy aid I trust he will be ere another day has dawned, and I will repay +thy service by claiming as my reward the right to call myself thine own +true knight. Sweet Constanza, I will live and, if need be, die for thee. +Thou wilt henceforth be the light of my path, the star of my life. Lady, +thy face hath haunted me ever since that day, so long gone by, when I +saw thee first, scarce knowing if thou wert a creature of flesh and +blood or a sprite of the woodland and water. Fair women have I looked +upon ere now, but none so fair as thee. Let me but call myself thy true +and faithful knight, and the day will come when I will stand boldly +forth and make thee mine before all the world!" + +Gaston had never meant to speak thus when he and his companion first +began this walk through the winding woodland path. Then his thoughts had +been filled with his brother and him alone, and there had been no space +for other matters to intrude upon him. But with a mind more at rest as +to Raymond's immediate fate, he could not but be aware of the intense +fascination exercised upon him by his companion; and before he well knew +what he was saying, he was pouring into her ears these ardent +protestations of devotion. + +Her fair face flushed, and the liquid eyes, so full of softness and +fire, fell before his ardent gaze. The little hand he had taken in his +own quivered in his strong clasp, and Gaston felt with a thrill of +ecstatic joy that it faintly returned the pressure of his fingers. + +"Lady, sweetest Lady!" he repeated, his words growing more and more +rapid as his emotion deepened, "let me hear thee say that thou wilt +grant me leave to call myself thy true knight! Let me hear from those +sweet lips that there is none before me who has won the love of this +generous heart!" + +The maid was quivering from head to foot. Such words were like a new +language to her, and yet her heart gave a ready and sweet response. Had +she not sung of knightly wooers in the soft songs of her childhood, and +had she not dreamed her own innocent dreams of him who would one day +come to seek her? And had not that dream lover always worn the knightly +mien, the proud and handsome face, of him she had seen but once, and +that for one brief hour alone? Was it hard to give to him the answer he +asked? And yet how could she frame her lips aright to tell him she had +loved him ere he had asked her love? + +"Fair Sir, how should a lonely maid dwelling in these wild woods know +aught of that knightly love of which our troubadours so sweetly sing? I +have scarce seen the face of any since I have come to these solitudes; +only the rough and terrible faces of those wild soldiers and savages who +follow mine uncle when he rideth forth on his forays." + +Gaston's heart gave a throb of joy; but it was scarce the moment to +press his suit farther. Who could tell what the next few hours might +bring forth? He might himself fall a victim, ere another day had passed, +to the ancient foe of his house. It was enough for the present to know +that the fair girl's heart was free. + +He raised the hand he held and pressed his lips upon it, saying in +tenderest tones: + +"From henceforth -- my brother once standing free without these walls -- +I am thy true knight and champion, Lady. Give me, I pray thee, that knot +of ribbon at thy neck. Let me place it in my head piece, and feel that I +am thine indeed for life or death." + +With a hand that trembled, but not from hesitation, Constanza unfastened +the simple little knot she wore as her sole ornament, and gave it to +Gaston. They exchanged one speaking glance, but no word passed their lips. + +By this time they had approached very near to the Tower, although the +thick growth of the trees hindered them from seeing it, as it also +concealed them from the eyes of any persons who might be upon the walls. +The evening light was now fast waning. Upon the tops of the heights the +sun still shone, but here in the wooded hollow, beside the sullen waters +of the moat, twilight had already fallen, and soon it would be dark as +night itself. The moon rose late, and for a space there would be no +light save that of the stars. + +Constanza laid her finger upon her lips, and made a sign demanding +caution. Gaston understood that he was warned not to speak, and to tread +cautiously, which he did, stealing along after his fairy-like companion, +and striving to emulate her dainty, bird-like motions. He could see by +the glint of water that they were skirting along beside the moat, but he +had never approached so near to it before, and he knew not where they +were going. + +Some men might have feared treachery, but such an idea never entered +Gaston's head. Little as he knew of his companion, he knew that she was +true and loyal, that she was beloved by him, and that her heart was +already almost won. + +Presently the girl stopped and laid her hand upon his arm. + +"This is the place," she whispered. "Come very softly to the water's +edge, and I will show you the dark hole opposite, just above the +waterline, where entrance can be made. There be no loopholes upon this +side of the Tower, and no watchman is needed where there be no foothold +for man to scale the wall beneath. + +"Look well across the moat. Seest thou yon black mark, that looks no +larger than my hand? That is the entrance to a tunnel which slopes +upward until it reaches a narrow doorway in the thickness of the solid +wall whereby the underground chamber may be reached. Once there, thou +wilt see let into the wall a great wheel with iron spokes projecting +from it. Set that wheel in motion, and a portion of the flooring of the +chamber above will descend. When it has reached the ground, thou canst +ascend by reversing the wheel, leaving always some one in the chamber +below to work the wheel, which will enable thee to bring thy brother +down again. That accomplished, all that remains will be to creep again +through the narrow passage to the moat and swim across once more. Thou +canst swim?" + +"Ay, truly. Raymond and I have been called fishes from our childhood. We +swam in the great mill pool almost ere we could well run alone. Many of +my stout fellows behind are veritable water rats. If my brother be not +able to save himself, there will be a dozen stout arms ready to support +him across the moat. + +"And what will be the hour when this attempt must be made? What if the +very moment I reached my brother his jailer should come to him, and the +alarm be given through the Castle ere we could get him thence?" + +"That it must be my office to prevent," answered the girl, with quiet +resolution. "I have thought many times of some such thing as this, +hoping as it seemed where no hope was, and Annette and I have taken +counsel together. Leave it to me to see that all the Castle is filled +with feasting and revelry. I will see that the mead which circulates +tonight be so mingled with Annette's potion that it will work in the +brains of the men till they forget all but rioting and sleep. For mine +uncle and his saturnine guest, I have other means of keeping them in the +great banqueting hall, far away from the lonely Tower where their +prisoner lies languishing. They shall be so well served at the board +this night, that no thought of aught beside the pleasure of the table +shall enter to trouble their heads. And at ten of the clock, if I come +not again to warn thee, cross fearlessly the great moat, and do as I +have bid thee. But if thou hearest from the Castle wall the hooting of +an owl thrice repeated like this" -- and the girl put her hands to her +mouth, and gave forth so exact an mutation of an owl's note that Gaston +started to hear it -- "thrice times thrice, so that there can be no +mistake, then tarry here on this side; stir not till I come again. It +will be a danger signal to tell that all is not well. But if at the hour +of ten thou hast heard naught, then go forward, and fear not. Thy +brother will be alone, and all men far away from the Tower. Take him, +and go forth; and the Blessed Saints bless and protect you all." + +She stretched forth her hand and placed it in his. There was a sudden +sadness in her face. Gaston caught her hand and pressed it to his lips, +but he had more to say than a simple word of parting. + +"But I shall see thee again, sweet Constanza? Am I not thy true knight? +Shall I not owe to thee a debt I know not how to pay? Thou wilt not send +me forth without a word of promise of another meeting? When can I see +thee again to tell thee how we have fared?" + +"Thou must not dream of loitering here once thy object is secured," +answered the girl, speaking very firmly and almost sternly, though there +was a deep sadness in her eyes. "It will not be many hours ere they find +their captive has escaped them, and they will rouse the whole country +after you. Nay, to linger is certain death; it must not be thought of. +In Bordeaux, and there alone, wilt thou be safe. It is thither that thou +must fly, for thither alone will the Sieur de Navailles fear to follow +you. For me, I must remain here, as I have done these many years. It +will not be worse than it hath ever been." + +"And thinkest thou that I will leave thee thus to languish after thou +hast restored to me my brother?" asked Gaston hotly. "Nay, lady, think +not that of thine own true knight! I will come again. I vow it! First +will I to the English King, and tell in his ears a tale which shall +arouse all his royal wrath. And then will I come again. It may not be +this year, but it shall be ere long. I will come to claim mine own; and +all that is mine shall be thine. Sweet Lady, wouldst thou look coldly +upon me did I come with banners unfurled and men in arms against him +thou callest thine uncle? For the lands he holds were ours once, and the +English King has promised that they shall one day be restored, as they +should have been long ago had not this usurper kept his iron clutch upon +them in defiance of his feudal lord. Lady, sweet Constanza, tell me that +thou wilt not call me thy foe if I come as a foe to the Lord of Navailles!" + +"Methinks thou couldst never be my foe," answered Constanza in a low +voice, pressing her hands closely together; "and though he be mine +uncle, and though he has given me a home beneath his roof, he has made +it to me an abode of terror, and I know that he is feared and hated far +and wide, and that his evil deeds are such that none may trust or love +him. I would not show ingratitude for what he hath done for me; but he +has been paid many times over. He has had all my jewels, and of these +many were all but priceless; and he gives me but the food I eat and the +raiment I wear. I should bless the day that set me free from this life +beneath his roof. There be moments when I say in mine heart that I +cannot live longer in such an evil place -- when I have no heart left +and no hope." + +"But thou wilt have hope now!" cried Gaston ardently. "Thou wilt know +that I am coming to claim mine own, and with it this little hand, more +precious to me than all else besides. Sweetest Constanza, tell me that I +shall still find thee as thou art when I come to claim thee! I shall not +come to find thee the bride of another?" + +He could not see her face in the dimness, but he felt her hand flutter +in his clasp like a bird in the hand of one who has tamed it, and whom +it trusts and loves. The next moment his arm was about her slight +figure, and her head drooped for a moment upon his shoulder. + +"I shall be waiting," she whispered, scarce audibly. "How could I love +another, when thou hast called thyself my knight?" + +He pressed a passionate kiss upon her brow. + +"If this is indeed farewell for the present hour, it is a sweet one, my +beloved. I little thought, as I journeyed hither today, what I was to +find. Farewell, farewell, my lady love, my princess, my bride. Farewell, +but not for ever. I will come again anon, and then we will be no more +parted, for thou shalt reign in these grim walls, and no more dark tales +of horror shall be breathed of them. I will come again; I will surely +come. Trust me, and fear not!" + +She stood beside him in the gathering darkness, and he could almost hear +the fluttering of her heart. It was a moment full of sweetness for both, +even though the shadow of parting was hanging over them. + +A slight rustle amongst the underwood near to them caused them to spring +apart; and the girl fled from him, speeding away with the grace and +silent fleetness of a deer. Gaston made a stride towards the place +whence the sound had proceeded, and found himself face to face with Roger. + +"The men are all at hand," he whispered. "I would not have them approach +too close till I knew your pleasure. They are all within the wood, all +upon the alert lest any foe be nigh; but all seems silent as the grave, +and not a light gleams from the Tower upon this side. Shall I bid them +remain where they are? or shall I bring them hither to you beside the +water?" + +"Let them remain where they are for a while and see that the horses be +well fed and cared for. At ten o'clock, if all be well, the attempt to +enter the Tower is to be made; and once the prisoner is safe and in our +keeping, we must to Bordeaux as fast as horse will take us. The Sieur de +Navailles will raise the whole country after us. We must be beyond the +reach of his clutches ere we draw rein again." + + + + CHAPTER XXVI. THE RESCUE OF RAYMOND. + + +The appointed hour had arrived. No signal had fallen upon Gaston's +listening ears; no note of warning had rung through the still night air. + +From the direction of the Castle sounds of distant revelry arose at +intervals -- sounds which seemed to show that nothing in the shape of +watch or ward was being thought of by its inmates; and also that +Constanza's promise had been kept, and potations of unwonted strength +had been served out to the men. + +Now the appointed hour had come and gone, and Gaston commenced his +preparations for the rescue of his brother. That he might be going to +certain death if he failed, or if he had been betrayed, did not weigh +with him for a moment. If Constanza were false to him, better death than +the destruction of his hopes and his trust. In any case he would share +his brother's fate sooner than leave him in the relentless hands of +these cruel foes. + +He had selected six of his stoutest followers, all of them excellent +swimmers, to accompany him across the moat; and Roger, as a matter of +course, claimed to be one of the party. To Roger's mysterious power of +vision they owed their rapid tracing of Raymond to this lonely spot. It +was indeed his right to make one of the rescue party if he desired to be +allowed to do so. + +The rest of their number were to remain upon this farther side of the +moat, and the horses were all in readiness, rested and refreshed, about +half-a-mile off under the care of several stout fellows, all stanch to +their master's interests. The story they had heard from Gaston of what +had been devised against his brother filled the honest soldiers with +wrath and indignation. Rough and savage as they might show themselves in +open warfare, deliberate and diabolical cruelty was altogether foreign +to their nature. And they all felt towards Raymond a sense of protecting +and reverent tenderness, such as all may feel towards a being of finer +mould and loftier nature. + +Raymond had the faculty of inspiring in those about him this reverential +tenderness; and not one of those stalwart fellows who were silently +laying aside their heavy mail, and such of their garments as would be +likely to hinder them in their swim across the moat, but felt a deep +loathing and hatred towards the lord of this grim Tower, and an +overmastering resolve to snatch his helpless victim from his cruel +hands, or perish in the attempt. + +All their plans had been very carefully made. Lanterns and the +wherewithal for kindling them were bound upon the heads of some of the +swimmers; and though they laid aside most of their defensive armour and +their heavy riding boots, they wore their stout leather jerkins, that +were almost as serviceable against foeman's steel, and their weapons, +save the most cumbersome, were carried either in their belts or fastened +across their shoulders. + +Dark though it had become, Gaston had not lost cognizance of the spot +whither they were to direct their course; and one by one the strong +swimmers plunged into the sullen waters without causing so much as a +ripple or plash, which might betray their movements to suspicious ears +upon the battlements (if indeed any sort of watch were kept, which +appeared doubtful). They swam with that perfect silence possible only to +those who are thoroughly at home in the water, till they had crossed the +dark moat and had reached the perpendicular wall of the Tower, which +rose sheer upon the farther side -- so sheer that not even the foot of +mountain goat could have scaled its rough-hewn side. + +But Gaston knew what he had to search for, and with outstretched hand he +swam silently along the solid masonry, feeling for that aperture just +above watermark which he had seen before the daylight faded. It took him +some little time to find it, but at last it was discovered, and with a +muttered word of command to the men who silently followed in his wake, +he drew himself slowly out of the water, to find himself in a very +narrow rounded aperture like a miniature tunnel, which trended slightly +upwards, and would only admit the passage of one human being at a time, +and then only upon hands and knees. + +It was pitchy dark in this tunnel, and there was no space in which to +attempt to kindle a light. Once the thought came into Gaston's head that +if he were falling into a treacherous pitfall laid for him with diabolic +ingenuity by his foes, nothing could well be better than to entrap him +into such a place as this, where it would be almost impossible to go +forward or back, and quite out of his power to strike a single blow for +liberty or life. + +But he shook off the chill sense of fear as unworthy and unknightly. His +Constanza was true; of that he was assured. The only possible doubt was +whether she herself were being used as an unconscious tool in the hands +of subtle and perfectly unscrupulous men. + +But even so Gaston had no choice but to advance. He had come to rescue +his brother or to die with him. If the latter, he would try at least to +sell his life dearly. But he was fully persuaded that his efforts would +be crowned with success. + +He had time to think many such things as he slowly crept along the low +passage in the black darkness. It seemed long before his hand came in +contact with the door he had been told he should presently reach, and +this door, as Constanza had said, yielded to his touch, and he felt +rather than saw that he had emerged into a wider space beyond. + +This place, whatever it was, was not wholly dark, though so very dim +that it was impossible to make out anything save the dull red glow of +what might be some embers on a distant hearth. Gaston did not speak a +word, but waited till all his companions had reached this more open +space, and had risen to their feet and grasped their weapons. Then all +held their breath, and listened for any sound that might by chance +reveal the presence of hidden foes, till they started at the sound of +Roger's voice speaking softly but with complete assurance. + +"There is no one here," he said. "We are quite alone. Let me kindle a +torch and show you." + +Roger, as Gaston had before observed, possessed a cat-like faculty of +seeing in the dark. Whether it was natural to him, or had been acquired +during those days spent almost entirely underground in the sorcerer's +vaulted chamber at Basildene, the youth himself scarcely knew. But he +was able to distinguish objects clearly in gloom which no ordinary eye +could penetrate; and now he walked fearlessly forward and stirred up the +smouldering embers, whose dull red glow all could see, into a quick, +bright, palpitating flame which illumined every corner of the strange +place into which they had penetrated. + +Gaston and his men looked wonderingly around them, as they lighted their +lanterns at the fire and flashed them here and there into all the dark +corners, as though to assure themselves that there were no ambushed foes +lurking in the grim recesses of that circular room. But Roger had been +quite right. There was nothing living in that silent place. Not so much +as a loophole in the wall admitted any air or light from the outer +world, or could do so even in broad noon. The chamber was plainly +hollowed out in the mass of earth and masonry of which the foundations +of the Tower were composed, and if any air were admitted (as there must +have been, else men could not breathe down there), it was by some device +not easily discovered at a first glance. + +It was in truth a strange and terrible place -- the dank walls, down +which the damp moisture slowly trickled, hung round with instruments of +various forms, all designed with a terrible purpose, and from their look +but too often used. + +Gaston's face assumed a look of dark wrath and indignation as his quick +eyes roved round this evil place, and he set his teeth hard together as +he muttered to himself: + +"Heaven send that the Prince himself may one day look upon the vile +secrets of this charnel house! I would that he and his royal father +might know what deeds of darkness are even now committed in lands that +own their sway! Would that I had that wicked wretch here in my power at +this moment! Well does he deserve to be torn in pieces by his own +hideous engines. And in this very place does he design to do to death my +brother! May God pardon me if I sin in the thought, but death by the +sword is too good for such a miscreant!" + +Words very similar to these were being bandied about in fierce +undertones by the men who had accompanied Gaston, and who had never seen +such a chamber as this before. Great would have been their satisfaction +to let its owner taste something of the agony he had too often inflicted +upon helpless victims thrown into his power. But this being out of the +question, the next matter was the rescue of the captive they had come to +save; and they looked eagerly at their young leader to know what was the +next step to be taken. + +Gaston was searching for the wheel by which the mechanism could be set +in motion which would enable him to reach his brother's prison house. It +was easily found from the description given him by Constanza. He set his +men to work to turn the wheel, and at once became aware of the groaning +and grating sound that attends the motion of clumsy machinery. Gazing +eagerly up into the dun roof above him, he saw slowly descending a +portion of the stonework of which it was formed. It was a clever enough +contrivance for those unskilled days, and showed a considerable +ingenuity on the part of some owner of the Castle of Saut. + +When the great slab had descended to the floor below, Gaston stepped +upon it, Roger placing himself at his side, and with a brief word to his +men to reverse the action of the wheel, and to lower the slab again a +few minutes later, he prepared for his strange passage upwards to his +brother's lonely cell. + +Roger held a lantern in his hand, and the faces of the pair were full of +anxious expectation. Suppose Raymond had been removed from that upper +prison? Suppose he had succumbed either to the cruelty of his foes or to +the fever resulting from his injuries received on the day of the battle? + +A hundred fears possessed Gaston's soul as the strange transit through +the air was being accomplished -- a transit so strange that he felt as +though he must surely be dreaming. But there was only one thing to be +done -- to persevere in the quest, and trust to the Holy Saints and the +loving mercy of Blessed Mary's Son to grant him success in this his +endeavour. + +Up, up into the darkness of the vaulted roof he passed, and then a +yawning hole above their heads, which looked too small to admit the +passage of the slab upon which they stood, swallowed them up, and they +found themselves passing upwards through a shaft which only just +admitted the block upon which they stood. Up and up they went, and now +the creaking sound grew louder, and the motion grew perceptibly slower. +They were no longer in a narrow shaft; a black space opened before their +eyes. The motion ceased altogether with a grinding sensation and a jerk, +and out of the darkness of a wider space, pitchy dark to their eyes, +came the sound of a familiar voice. + +"Gaston -- Brother!" + +Gaston sprang forward into the darkness, heedless of all but the sound +of that voice. The next moment he was clasping his brother in his arms, +his own emotion so great that he dared not trust his voice to speak; +whilst Raymond, holding him fast in a passionate clasp, whispered in his +ear a breathless question. + +"Thou too a prisoner in this terrible place, my Gaston? O brother -- my +brother -- I trusted that I might have died for us both!" + +"A prisoner? nay, Raymond, no prisoner; but as thy rescuer I come. What, +believest thou not? Then shalt thou soon see with thine own eyes. + +"But let me look first upon thy face. I would see what these miscreants +have done to thee. Thou feelest more like a creature of skin and bone +than one of sturdy English flesh and blood. + +"The light, Roger! + +"Ay, truly, Roger is here with me. It is to him in part we owe it that +we are here this night. Raymond, Raymond, thou art sorely changed! Thou +lookest more spirit-like than ever! Thou hast scarce strength to stand +alone! What have they done to thee, my brother?" + +But Raymond could scarce find strength to answer. The revulsion of +feeling was too much for him. When he had heard that terrible sound, and +had seen the slab in the floor sink out of sight, he had sprung from his +bed of straw, ready to face his cruel foes when they came for him, yet +knowing but too well what was in store for him when he was carried down +below, as he had been once before. Then when, instead of the cruel +mocking countenance of Peter Sanghurst, he had seen the noble, loving +face of his brother, and had believed that he, too, had fallen into the +power of their deadly foes, it had seemed to him as though a bitterness +greater than that of death had fallen upon him, and the rebound of +feeling when Gaston had declared himself had been so great, that the +whole place swam before his eyes, and the floor seemed to reel beneath +his feet. + +"We will get him away from this foul place!" cried Gaston, with flaming +eyes, as he looked into the white and sharpened face of his brother, and +felt how feebly the light frame leaned against the stalwart arm +supporting it. + +He half led, half carried Raymond the few paces towards the slab in the +floor which formed the link with the region beneath, and the next minute +Raymond felt himself sinking down as he had done once before; only then +it had been in the clasp of his most bitter foe that he had been carried +to that infernal spot. + +The recollection made him shiver even now in Gaston's strong embrace, +and the young knight felt the quiver and divined the cause. + +"Fear nothing now, my brother," he said. "Though we be on our way to +that fearful place, it is for us the way to light and liberty. Our own +good fellows are awaiting us there. I trow not all the hireling knaves +within this Castle wall should wrest thee from us now." + +"I fear naught now that thou art by my side, Gaston," answered Raymond, +in low tones. "If thou art not in peril thyself, I could wish nothing +better than to die with thine arm about mine." + +"Nay, but thou shalt live!" cried Gaston, with energy, scarce +understanding that after the long strain of such a captivity as +Raymond's had been it was small wonder that he had grown to think death +well-nigh better and sweeter than life. "Thou shalt live to take +vengeance upon thy foes, and to recompense them sevenfold for what they +have done to thee. I will tell this story in the ears of the King +himself. This is not the last time that I shall stand within the walls +of Saut!" + +By this time the heavy slab had again descended, and around it were +gathered the eager fellows, who received their young master's brother +with open arms and subdued shouts of triumph and joy. But he, though he +smiled his thanks, looked round him with eyes dilated by the remembrance +of some former scene there, and Gaston set his teeth hard, and shook +back his head with a gesture that boded little good for the Sieur de +Navailles upon a future day. + +"Come men; we may not tarry!" he said. "No man knows what fancy may +enter into the head of the master of this place. Turn the wheel again; +send up the slab to its right place. Let them have no clue to trace the +flight of their victim. Leave everything as we found it, and follow me +without delay." + +He was all anxiety now to get his brother from the shadow of this +hideous place. The whiteness of Raymond's face, the hollowness of his +eyes, the lines of suffering traced upon his brow in a few short days, +all told a tale only too easily read. + +The rough fellows treated him tenderly as they might have treated a +little child. They felt that he had been through some ordeal from which +they themselves would have shrunk with a terror they would have been +ashamed to admit; and that despite the youth's fragile frame and +ethereal face that looked little like that of a mailed warrior, a hero's +heart beat in his breast, and he had the spirit to do and to dare what +they themselves might have quailed from and fled before. + +The transit through the narrow tunnel presented no real difficulty, and +soon the sullen waters of the moat were troubled by the silent passage +of seven instead of six swimmers. The shock of the cold plunge revived +Raymond; and the sense of space above him, the star-spangled sky +overhead, the free sweet air around him, even the unfettered use of his +weakened limbs, as he swam with his brother's strong supporting arm +about him, acted upon him like a tonic. He hardly knew whether or not it +was a dream; whether he were in the body or out of the body; whether he +should awake to find himself in his gloomy cell, or under the cruel +hands of his foes in that dread chamber he had visited once before. + +He knew not, and at that moment he cared not. Gaston's arm was about +him, Gaston's voice was in his ear. Whatever came upon him later could +not destroy the bliss of the present moment. + +A score of eager hands were outstretched to lift the light frame from +Gaston's arm as the brothers drew to the edge of the moat. It was no +time to speak, no time to ask or answer questions. At any moment some +unguarded movement or some crashing of the boughs underfoot might awaken +the suspicions of those within the walls. It was enough that the secret +expedition had been crowned with success -- that the captive was now +released and in their own hands. + +Raymond was almost fainting now with excitement and fatigue, but +Gaston's muscles seemed as if made of iron. Though the past days had +been for him days of great anxiety and fatigue, though he had scarce +eaten or slept since the rapid march upon the besieging army around St. +Jean d'Angely, he seemed to know neither fatigue nor feebleness. The arm +upholding Raymond's drooping frame seemed as the arm of a giant. The +young knight felt as though he could have carried that light weight even +to Bordeaux, and scarce have felt fatigue. + +But there was no need for that. Nigh at hand the horses were waiting, +saddled and bridled, well fed and well rested, ready to gallop steadily +all through the summer night. The moon had risen now, and filtered in +through the young green of the trees with a clear and fitful radiance. +The forest was like a fairy scene; and over the minds of both brothers +stole the softening remembrance of such woodland wonders in the days +gone by, when as little lads, full of curiosity and love of adventure, +they had stolen forth at night into the forest together to see if they +could discover the fairies at their play, or the dwarfs and gnomes busy +beneath the surface of the earth. + +To Raymond it seemed indeed as though all besides might well be a dream. +He knew not which of the fantastic images impressed upon his brain was +the reality, and which the work of imagination. A sense of restful +thankfulness -- the release from some great and terrible fear -- had +stolen upon him, he scarce knew how or why. He did not wish to think or +puzzle out what had befallen him. He was with Gaston once more; surely +that was enough. + +But Gaston's mind was hard at work. From time to time he turned an +anxious look upon his brother, and he saw well how ill and weary he was, +how he swayed in the saddle, though supported by cleverly-adjusted +leather thongs, and how unfit he was for the long ride that lay before +them. And yet that ride must be taken. They must be out of reach of +their implacable foe as quickly as might be. In the unsettled state of +the country no place would afford a safe harbour for them till Bordeaux +itself was reached. Fain would he have made for the shelter of the old +home in the mill, or of Father Anselm's hospitable home, but he knew +that those would be the first places searched by the emissaries of the +Navailles. Even as it was these good people might be in some peril, and +they must certainly not be made aware of the proximity of the De Brocas +brothers. + +But if not there, whither could Raymond be transported? To carry him to +England in this exhausted state might be fatal to him; for no man knew +when once on board ship how contrary the wind might blow, and the +accommodation for a sick man upon shipboard was of the very rudest. No; +before the voyage could be attempted Raymond must have rest and care in +some safe place of shelter. And where could that shelter be found? + +As Gaston thus mused a sudden light came upon him, and turning to Roger +he asked of him a question: + +"Do not some of these fellows of our company come from Bordeaux; and +have they not left it of late to follow the English banner?" + +"Ay, verily," answered Roger quickly. "There be some of them who came +forth thence expressly to fight under the young knight of De Brocas. The +name of De Brocas is as dear to many of those Gascon soldiers as that of +Navailles is hated and cursed." + +"Send then to me one of those fellows who best knows the city," said +Gaston; and in a few more minutes a trooper rode up to his side. + +"Good fellow," said Gaston, "if thou knowest well you city whither we +are bound, tell me if thou hast heard aught of one Father Paul, who has +been sent to many towns in this and other realms by his Holiness the +Pope, to restore amongst the Brethren of his order the forms and habits +which have fallen something into disuse of late? I heard a whisper as we +passed through the city a week back now that he was there. Knowest thou +if this be true?" + +"It was true enow, Sir Knight, a few days back," answered the man, "and +I trow you may find him yet at the Cistercian Monastery within the city +walls. He had but just arrived thither ere the English ships came, and +men say that he had much to do ere he sallied forth again." + +"Good," answered Gaston, in a tone of satisfaction; and when the trooper +had dropped back to his place again, the young knight turned to his +brother and said cheerily: + +"Courage, good lad; keep but up thy heart, my brother, for I have heard +good news for thee. Father Paul is in the city of Bordeaux, and it is in +his kindly charge that I will leave thee ere I go to England with my +tale to lay before the King." + +Raymond was almost too far spent to rejoice over any intelligence, +however welcome; yet a faint smile crossed his face as the sense of +Gaston's words penetrated to his understanding. It was plain that there +was no time to lose if they were to get him to some safe shelter before +his strength utterly collapsed, and long before Bordeaux was reached he +had proved unable to keep his seat in the saddle, and a litter had been +contrived for him in which he could lie at length, carried between four +of the stoutest horsemen. + +They were now in more populous and orderly regions, where the forest was +thinner and townships more frequent. The urgent need for haste had +slightly diminished, and though still anxious to reach their +destination, the party was not in fear of an instant attack from a +pursuing foe. + +The Navailles would scarce dare to fall upon the party in the +neighbourhood of so many of the English King's fortified cities; and +before the sun set they hoped to be within the environs of Bordeaux +itself -- a hope in which they were not destined to be disappointed. + +Nor was Gaston disappointed of his other hope; for scarce had they +obtained admission for their unconscious and invalided comrade within +the walls of the Cistercian Monastery, and Gaston was still eagerly +pouring into the Prior's ears the story of his brother's capture and +imprisonment, when the door of the small room into which the strangers +had been taken was slowly opened to admit a tall, gaunt figure, and +Father Paul himself stood before them. He gave Gaston one long, +searching look; but he never forgot a face, and greeted him by name as +Sir Gaston de Brocas, greatly to the surprise of the youth, who thought +he would neither be recognized nor known by the holy Father. Then +passing him quickly by, the monk leaned over the couch upon which +Raymond had been laid -- a hard oaken bench -- covered by the cloak of +the man who had borne him in. + +Raymond's eyes were closed; his face, with the sunset light lying full +upon it, showed very hollow and white and worn. Even in the repose of a +profound unconsciousness it wore a look of lofty purpose, together with +an expression of purity and devotion impossible to describe. Gaston and +the Prior both turned to look as Father Paul bent over the prostrate +figure with an inarticulate exclamation such as he seldom uttered, and +Gaston felt a sudden thrill of cold fear run through him. + +"He is not dead?" he asked, in a passionate whisper; and the Father +looked up to answer: + +"Nay, Sir Knight, he is not dead. A little rest, a little tendance, a +little of our care, and he will be restored to the world again. Better +perhaps were it not so - better perchance for him. For his is not the +nature to battle with impunity against the evil of the world. Look at +him as he lies there: is that face of one that can look upon the deeds +of these vile days and not suffer keenest pain? To fight and to vanquish +is thy lot, young warrior; but what is his? To tread the thornier path +of life and win the hero's crown, not by deeds of glory and renown, but +by that higher and holier path of suffering and renunciation which One +chose that we might know He had been there before us. Thou mayest live +to be one of this world's heroes, boy; but in the world to come it will +be thy brother who will wear the victor's crown." + +"I truly believe it," answered Gaston, drawing a deep breath; "but yet +we cannot spare him from this world. I give him into thy hands, my +Father, that thou mayest save him for us here." + + + + CHAPTER XXVII. PETER SANGHURST'S WOOING. + + +"Joan -- sweetest mistress -- at last I find you; at last my eyes behold +again those peerless charms for which they have pined and hungered so +long! Tell me, have you no sweet word of welcome for him whose heart you +hold between those fair hands, to do with it what you will?" + +Joan, roused from her reverie by those smoothly-spoken words, uttered in +a harsh and grating voice, turned quickly round to find herself face to +face with Peter Sanghurst -- the man she had fondly hoped had passed out +of her life for ever. + +Joan and her father, after a considerable period spent in wanderings in +foreign lands (during which Sir Hugh had quite overcome the melancholy +and sense of panic into which he had been thrown by the scourge of the +Black Death and his wife's sudden demise as one of its victims), had at +length returned to Woodcrych. The remembrance of the plague was fast +dying out from men's minds. The land was again under cultivation; and +although labour was still scarce and dear, and continued to be so for +many, many years, whilst the attempts at legislation on this point only +produced riot and confusion (culminating in the next reign in the +notable rebellion of Wat Tyler, and leading eventually to the +emancipation of the English peasantry), things appeared to be returning +to their normal condition, and men began to resume their wonted apathy +of mind, and to cease to think of the scourge as the direct visitation +of God. + +Sir Hugh had been one of those most alarmed by the ravages of the +plague. He was full of the blind superstition of a thoroughly +irreligious man, and he knew well that he had been dabbling in forbidden +arts, and had been doing things that were supposed in those days to make +a man peculiarly the prey of the devil after death. Thus when the Black +Death had visited the country, and he had heard on all sides that it was +the visitation of God for the sins of the nations, he had been seized +with a panic which had been some years in cooling, and he had made +pilgrimages and had paid a visit to his Holiness the Pope in order to +feel that he had made amends for any wrongdoing in his previous life. + +He had during this fit of what was rather panic than repentance avoided +Woodcrych sedulously, as the place where these particular sins which +frightened him now had been committed. He had thus avoided any encounter +with Peter Sanghurst, and Joan had hoped that the shadow of that evil +man was not destined to cross her path again. But, unluckily for her +hopes, a reaction had set in in her father's feelings. His blind, +unreasoning terror had now given place to an equally wild and reckless +confidence and assurance. The Black Death had come and gone, and had +passed him by (he now said) doing him no harm. He had obtained the +blessing of the Pope, and felt in his heart that he could set the +Almighty at defiance. His revenues, much impoverished through the +effects of the plague, made the question of expenditure the most +pressing one of the hour; and the knight had come to Woodcrych with the +distinct intention of prosecuting those studies in alchemy and magic +which a year or two back he had altogether forsworn. + +Old Sanghurst was dead, he knew -- the devil had claimed one of his own. +But the son was living still, and was to be heard of, doubtless, at +Basildene. Peter Sanghurst was posing in the world as a wealthy man, +surrounded by a halo of mystery which gave him distinction and commanded +respect. Sir Hugh felt that he might be a very valuable ally, and began +to regret now that his fears had made him so long an exile from his +country and a wanderer from home. + +Many things might have happened in that interval. What more likely than +that Sanghurst had found a wife, and that his old affection for Joan +would by now be a thing of the past? The knight fumed a good deal as he +thought of neglected opportunities. But there was just the chance that +Sanghurst might be faithful to his old love, whilst surely Joan would +have forgotten her girlish caprice, and cease to attempt a foolish +resistance to her father's will. Had he been as much in earnest then as +he now was, the marriage would long ago have been consummated. But in +old days he had not felt so confident of the wealth of the Sanghursts as +he now did, and had been content to let matters drift. Now he could +afford to drift no longer. Joan had made no marriage for herself, she +was unwed at an age when most girls are wives and mothers, and Sir Hugh +was growing weary of her company. He wished to plunge once again into a +life of congenial dissipation, and into those researches for magic +wealth which had always exercised so strong a fascination over him; and +the first step necessary for both these objects appeared to be to marry +off his daughter, and that, if possible, to the man who was supposed to +be in possession of these golden secrets. + +Joan, however, knew nothing of the hopes and wishes filling her father's +mind. She was glad to come back to the home she had always loved the +best of her father's residences, and which was so much associated in her +mind with her youthful lover. + +She believed that so near to Guildford she would be sure to hear news of +Raymond. Master Bernard de Brocas would know where he was; he might even +be living beneath his uncle's roof. The very thought sent quick thrills +of happiness through her. Her face was losing its thoughtful gravity of +expression, and warming and brightening into new beauty. She had almost +forgotten the proximity of Basildene, and Peter Sanghurst's hateful +suit, so long had been the time since she had seen him last, until the +sound of his voice, breaking in upon a happy reverie, brought all the +old disgust and horror back again, and she turned to face him with eyes +that flashed with lambent fire. + +Yet as she stood there in the entrance to that leafy bower which was her +favourite retreat at Woodcrych, Peter Sanghurst felt as though he had +never before seen so queenly a creature, and said in his heart that she +had grown tenfold more lovely during the years of her wanderings. + +Joan was now no mere strip of a girl. She was three-and-twenty, and had +all the grace of womanhood mingling with the free, untrammelled energy +of youth. Her step was as light, her movements as unfettered, as in the +days of her childhood; yet now she moved with an unconscious stately +grace which caused her to be remarked wherever she went; and her face, +always beautiful, with its regular features, liquid dark eyes, and full, +noble expression, had taken an added depth and sweetness and +thoughtfulness which rendered it remarkable and singularly attractive. +Joan inspired a considerable amount of awe in the breasts of those +youthful admirers who had flitted round her sometimes during the days of +her wanderings; but she had never given any of them room to hope to be +more to her than the passing acquaintance of an hour. She had received +proffers of life-long devotion with a curious gentle courtesy almost +like indifference, and had smiled upon none of those who had paid her court. + +Her father had let her do as she would. No suitor wealthy enough to +excite his cupidity had appeared at Joan's feet. He intended to make a +wealthy match for her before she grew much older; but the right person +had not yet appeared, and time slipped by almost unheeded. + +Now she found herself once again face to face with Peter Sanghurst, and +realized that he was renewing, or about to renew, that hateful suit +which she trusted had passed from his mind altogether. The face she +turned towards him, with the glowing autumn sunshine full upon it, was +scarcely such as could be called encouraging to an ardent lover. But +Peter Sanghurst only smiled as she stood there in her proud young +beauty, the russet autumn tints framing her noble figure in vivid colours. + +"I have taken you by surprise, sweet lady," he said; "it is long since +we met." + +"Long indeed, Master Peter -- or should I say Sir Peter? It hath been +told to me that you have been in the great world; but whether or not +your gallantry has won you your spurs I know not." + +Was there something of covert scorn in the tones of her cold voice? +Sanghurst could not tell, but every smallest stab inflicted upon his +vanity or pride by this beautiful creature was set down in the account +he meant to settle with her when once she was in his power. His feelings +towards her were strangely mixed. He loved her passionately in a fierce, +wild fashion, coveting the possession of that beauty which maddened +whilst it charmed him. She enchained and enthralled him, yet she stung +him to the quick by her calm contempt and resolute avoidance of him. He +was determined she should be his, come what might; but when once he had +won the mastery over her, he would make her suffer for every pang of +wounded pride or jealousy she had inflicted upon him. The cruelty of the +man's nature showed itself even in his love, and he hated even whilst he +loved her; for he knew that she was infinitely his superior, and that +she had read the vileness of his nature, and had learned to shrink from +him, as purity always shrinks from contact with what is foul and false. + +Even her question stung his vanity, and there was a savage gleam in his +eye as he answered: + +"Nay, my spurs are still to be won; for what was it to me whether I won +them or not unless I might wear them as your true knight? Sweetest +mistress, these weary years have been strangely long and dark since the +light of your presence has been withdrawn from us. Now that the sun has +risen once again upon Woodcrych, let it shine likewise upon Basildene. +Mistress Joan, I come to you with your father's sanction. You doubtless +know how many years I have wooed you -- how many years I have lived for +you and for you alone. I have waited even as the patriarch of old for +his wife. The time has now come when I have the right to approach you as +a lover. Sweet lady, tell me that you will reward my patience -- that I +shall not sue in vain." + +Peter Sanghurst bent the knee before her; but she was acute enough to +detect the undercurrent of mockery in his tone. He came as a professed +suppliant; but he came with her father's express sanction, and Joan had +lived long enough to know how very helpless a daughter was if her +father's mind were once made up to give her hand in marriage. Her safety +in past days had been that Sir Hugh was not really resolved upon the +point. He had always been divided between the desire to conciliate the +old sorcerer and the fear lest his professed gifts should prove but +illusive; and when he was in this mood of uncertainty, Joan's steady and +resolute resistance had not been without effect. But she knew that he +owed large sums of money to the Sanghursts, who had made frequent +advances when he had been in difficulties, and it was likely enough that +the day of reckoning had now come, and that her hand was to be the price +of the cancelled bonds. + +Her father had for some days been dropping hints that had raised +uneasiness in her mind. This sudden appearance of Peter Sanghurst, +coupled with his confident words, showed to Joan only too well how +matters stood. + +For a moment she stood silent, battling with her fierce loathing and +disgust, her fingers toying with the gold circlet her lover had placed +upon her finger. The very thought of Raymond steadied her nerves, and +gave her calmness and courage. She knew that she was in a sore strait; +but hers was a spirit to rise rather than sink before peril and adversity. + +"Master Peter Sanghurst," she answered, calmly and steadily, "I thought +that I had given you answer before, when you honoured me by your suit. +My heart is not mine to give, and if it were it could never be yours. I +pray you take that answer and be gone. From my lips you can never have +any other." + +A fierce gleam was in his eye, but his voice was still smooth and bland. + +"Sweet lady," he said, "it irks me sore to give you pain; but I have yet +another message for you. Think you that I should have dared to come with +this offer of my heart and hand if I had not known that he to whom thy +heart is pledged lies stiff and cold in the grip of death -- nay, has +long since mouldered to ashes in the grave?" + +Joan turned deadly pale. She had not known that her secret had passed +beyond her own possession. How came Peter Sanghurst to speak of her as +having a lover? Was it all guesswork? True, he had been jealous of +Raymond in old days. Was this all part of a preconcerted and diabolical +plot against her happiness? + +Her profound distrust of this man, and her conviction of his entire +unscrupulousness, helped to steady her nerves. If she had so wily a foe +to deal with, she had need of all her own native shrewdness and +capacity. After a few moments, which seemed hours to her from the +concentrated thought pressed into them, she spoke quietly and calmly: + +"Of whom speak you, Sir? Who is it that lies dead and cold?" + +"Your lover, Raymond de Brocas," answered Sanghurst, rising to his feet +and confronting Joan with a gaze of would-be sympathy, though his eyes +were steely bright and full of secret malice -- "your lover, who died in +my arms after the skirmish of which you may have heard, when the English +army routed the besieging force around St. Jean d'Angely; and in dying +he gave me a charge for you, sweet lady, which I have been longing ever +since to deliver, but until today have lacked the opportunity." + +Joan's eyes were fixed upon him wide with distrust. She was in absolute +ignorance of Raymond's recent movements. But in those days that was the +fate of those who did not live in close contiguity. She had been a rover +in the world, and so perchance had he. All that Sanghurst said might be +true for aught she could allege to the contrary. + +Yet how came it that Raymond should confide his dying message to his +sworn and most deadly foe? The story seemed to bear upon it the impress +of falsehood. Sanghurst, studying her face intently, appeared to read +her thoughts. + +"Lady," he said, "if you will but listen to my tale, methinks I can +convince you of the truth of my words. You think that because we were +rivals for your hand we were enemies, too? And so of old it was. But, +fair mistress, you may have heard how Raymond de Brocas soothed the +dying bed of my father, and tended him when all else, even his son, had +fled from his side; and albeit at the moment even that service did not +soften my hard heart, in the times that followed, when I was left alone +to muse on what had passed, I repented me of my old and bitter enmity, +and resolved, if ever we should meet again, to strive to make amends for +the past. I knew that he loved you, and that you loved him; and I vowed +I would keep away and let his suit prosper if it might. I appeal to you, +fair mistress, to say how that vow has been kept." + +"I have certainly seen naught of you these past years," answered Joan. +"But I myself have been a wanderer." + +"Had you not been, my vow would have been as sacredly kept," was the +quick reply. "I had resolved to see you no more, since I might never +call you mine. I strove to banish your image from my mind by going forth +into the world; and when this chance of fighting for the King arose, I +was one who sailed to the relief of the English garrison." + +She made no response, but her clear gaze was slightly disconcerting; he +looked away and spoke rapidly. + +"Raymond de Brocas was on board the vessel that bore us from England's +shores: ask if it be not so, an you believe me not. We were brothers in +arms, and foes no longer. I sought him out and told him all that was in +my heart. You know his nature -- brave, candid, fearless. He showed his +nobility of soul by giving to me the right hand of fellowship. Ere the +voyage ended we were friends in truth. When the day of battle came we +rode side by side against the foe." + +Joan's interest was aroused. She knew Raymond well. She knew his +nobility of nature -- his generous impulse to forgive a past foe, to +bury all enmity. If Sanghurst had sought him with professions of +contrition, might he not have easily been believed? And yet was such an +one as this to be trusted? + +"In the melee -- for the fighting was hard and desperate -- we were +separated: he carried one way and I another. When the French were driven +back or taken captive I sought for Raymond everywhere, but for long +without avail. At last I found him, wounded to the death. I might not +even move him to our lines. I could but give him drink and watch beside +him as he slowly sank. + +"It was then he spoke of thee, Joan." Sanghurst's voice took a new tone, +and seemed to quiver slightly; he dropped the more formal address +hitherto observed, and lapsed into the familiar "thou." "The sole +trouble upon that pure soul was the thought of thee, left alone and +unprotected in this harsh world. He spoke of thee and that love he bore +thee, and I, who had also loved, but had resigned all my hopes for love +of him, could but listen and grieve with him. But he knew my secret -- +his clear eyes had long ago divined it -- and in talking together of +thee, Joan, as we had many times done before, he had learned all there +was to know of my hopeless love. As he lay dying he seemed to be musing +of this; and one short half-hour before he breathed his last, he spoke +in these words -- + +"'Sanghurst, we have been rivals and foes, but now we are friends, and I +know that I did misjudge thee in past days, as methinks she did, too.' +(Joan, this is not so. It was not that ye misjudged me, but that I have +since repented of my evil ways in which erst I rejoiced.) 'But thou wilt +go to her now, and tell her what has befallen her lover. Tell her that I +died with her name on my lips, with thoughts of her in my heart. And +tell her also not to grieve too deeply for me. It may be that to die +thus, loving and beloved, is the happiest thing that can befall a man. +But tell her, too, that she must not grieve too bitterly -- that she +must not lead a widowed life because that I am taken from her. Give to +her this token, good comrade; she will know it. Tell her that he to whom +she gave it now restores it to her again, and restores it by the hand of +his best and truest friend, trusting that this trusty friend will some +day meet the reward he covets from the hand of her who once gave the +token to him upon whom the hand of death is resting. Give it her, and +tell her when you give it that her dying lover's hope is that she will +thus reward the patient, generous love of him who shall bring it to her.'" + +As he spoke these words, Sanghurst, his eyes immovably fixed upon the +changing face of the beautiful girl, drew from his breast a small packet +and placed it within her trembling hands. + +He knew he was playing a risky game, and that one false move might lose +him his one chance. It was all the veriest guesswork; but he believed he +had guessed aright. Whilst Raymond had been stretched upon the rack, +swooning from extremity of pain, Sanghurst's eyes, fixed in gloating +satisfaction upon the helpless victim, had been caught by the sight of +this token about his neck, secured by a strong silver cord. To possess +himself of the charm, or whatever it might be, had been but the work of +a moment. He had felt convinced that it was a lover's token, and had +been given to Raymond by Joan, and if so it might be turned to good +account, even if other means failed to bend the stubborn will of the +youth who looked so frail and fragile. + +Raymond had escaped from his hands by a species of magic, as it had +seemed to the cruel captors, when he had tasted but a tithe of what they +had in store for him. Baffled and enraged as Sanghurst was, he had still +the precious token in his possession. If it had been given by Joan, she +would recognize it at once, and coupled with the supposed dying message +of her lover, surely it would not be without effect. + +Eagerly then were his eyes fixed upon her face as she undid the packet, +and a gleam of triumph came into them as he saw a flash of recognition +when the little heart was disclosed to view. + +Truly indeed did Joan's heart sink within her, and every drop of blood +ebbed from her cheek; for had not Raymond said that he would never part +from her gift whilst he had life? and how could Peter Sanghurst have +become possessed of it unless his tale were true? He might be capable of +robbing a dead body, but how would he have known that the token was +given by her? + +A mist seemed to float before the girl's eyes. At that moment she was +unable to think or to reason. The one thought there was room for in her +mind was that Raymond was dead. If he were lost to her for ever, it was +little matter what became of herself. + +Sanghurst's keen eyes, fixed upon her with an evil gleam, saw that the +charm was working. It had worked even beyond his hopes. He was so well +satisfied with the result of this day's work, that he would not even +press his suit upon her farther then. Let her have time to digest her +lover's dying words. When she had done so, he would come to her again. + +"Sweet lady, I grieve that thou shouldst suffer though any words I have +been forced to speak; but it was a promise given to him who is gone to +deliver the message and the token. Lady, I take my leave of thee. I will +not intrude upon thy sacred sorrow. I, too, sorrow little less for him +who is gone. He was one of the brightest ornaments of these days of +chivalry and renown." + +He caught her hand for a moment and pressed it to his lips, she scarce +seeming to know what he did or what he said; and then he turned away and +left her alone with her thoughts, a strangely malicious expression +crossing his face as he knew himself hidden from her eyes. + +That same evening, when father and daughter were alone together in the +room they habitually occupied in the after part of the day, Sir Hugh +began to speak with unwonted decision and authority. + +"Joan, child, has Peter Sanghurst been with thee today?" + +"He has, my father." + +"And has he told thee that he comes with my sanction as a lover, and +that thou and he are to wed ere the month is out?" + +"He had not said so much as that," answered Joan, who spoke quietly and +dreamily, and with so little of the old ring of opposition in her voice +that her father looked at her in surprise. + +She was very pale, and there was a look in her eyes he did not +understand; but the flush of anger or defiance he had thought to see did +not show itself. He began to think Sanghurst had spoken no more than the +truth in saying that Mistress Joan appeared to have withdrawn her +opposition to him as a husband. + +"But so it is to be," answered her father, quickly and imperiously, +trying to seize this favourable moment to get the matter settled. "I +have long given way to thy whimsies -- far too long -- and here art thou +a woman grown, older than half the matrons round, yet never a wife as +they have long been. I will no more of it. It maketh thee and me alike +objects of ridicule. Peter Sanghurst is my very good friend. He has +helped me in many difficulties, and is ready to help me again. He has +money, and I have none. Listen, girl: this accursed plague has carried +off all my people, and labourers are asking treble and quadruple for +their work that which they have been wont to do. Sooner would I let the +crops rot upon the ground than be so mulcted by them. The King does what +he can, but the idle rogues set him at defiance; and there be many +beside me who will feel the grip of poverty for long years to come. +Peter Sanghurst has his wealth laid up in solid gold, not in fields and +woods that bring nothing without hands to till or tend them. Marry but +him, and Woodcrych shall be thy dower, and its broad acres and noble +manor will make of ye twain, with his gold, as prosperous a knight and +dame (for he will soon rise to that rank) as ye can wish to be. Girl, my +word is pledged, and I go not back from it. I have been patient with thy +fancies, but I will no more of them. Thou art mine own daughter, my own +flesh and blood, and thy hand is mine to give to whom I will. Peter +Sanghurst shall be thy lord whether thou wilt or no. I have said it; let +that be enough. It is thy part to obey." + +Joan sat quite still and answered nothing. Her eyes were fixed upon the +dancing flames rushing up the wide chimney. She must have heard her +father's words, yet she gave no sign of having done so. But for that Sir +Hugh cared little. He was only too glad to be spared a weary battle of +words, or a long struggle with his high-spirited daughter, whose force +of character he had come to know. That she had yielded her will to his +at last seemed only right and natural, and of course she must have been +by this time aware that if her father was really resolved upon the +match, she was practically helpless to prevent it. + +She was no longer a child; she was a woman who had seen much of the +world for the times she lived in. Doubtless she had begun to see that +she must now marry ere her beauty waned; and having failed to make a +grander match during her years of wandering, was glad enough to return +to her former lover, whose fidelity had doubtless touched her heart. + +"Thou wilt have a home and a dowry, and a husband who has loved thee +long and faithfully," added Sir Hugh, who felt that he might now adopt a +more paternal tone, seeing he had not to combat foolish resistance. +"Thou hast been a good daughter, Joan; doubtless thou wilt make a good +wife too." + +Still no reply, though a faint smile seemed to curve Joan's lips. She +presently rose to her feet, and making a respectful reverence to her +father -- for daily embraces were not the order of the day -- glided +from the room as if to seek her couch. + +"That is a thing well done!" breathed the knight, when he found himself +once more alone, "and done easier than I had looked for. Well, well, it +is a happy thing the wench has found her right senses. Methinks good +Peter must have been setting his charms to work, for she never could be +brought to listen to him of old. He has tamed her to some purpose now." + +Meantime Joan had glided up the staircase of the hall, along several +winding passages, and up and down several irregular flights of narrow +steps, till she paused at the door of a room very dim within, but just +lighted by the gleam of a dying fire. As she stepped across the +threshold a voice out of the darkness accosted her. + +"My ladybird, is it thou, and at such an hour? Tell me what has befallen +thee." + +"The thing that thou and I have talked of before now, Bridget," answered +Joan, speaking rapidly in a strange low voice -- "the thing that thou +and I have planned a hundred times if the worst should befall us. It is +tenfold more needful now than before. Bridget, I must quit this house at +sunset tomorrow, and thou must have my disguise ready. I must to France, +to find out there the truth of a tale I have this day heard. Nat will go +with me -- he has said so a hundred times; and I have long had money +laid by for the day I ever knew might come. Thou knowest all. He is a +man of the sea; I am his son. We have planned it too oft to be taken +unawares by any sudden peril. Thus disguised, we may wander where we +will, molested by none. Lose no time. Rise and go to Nat this very +night. I myself must not be seen with him or with thee. I must conduct +myself as though each day to come were like the one past. But thou +knowest what to do. Thou wilt arrange all. God bless thee, my faithful +Bridget; and when I come back again, thou shalt not lack thy reward!" + +"I want none else but thy love, my heart's delight," said the old nurse, +gathering the girl into her fond arms; and Joan hid her face for one +moment upon that faithful breast and gave way to a short burst of +weeping, which did much for her overcharged heart. + +Then she silently stole away and went quietly to her own chamber. + + + + CHAPTER XXVIII. GASTON'S SEARCH. + + +"He would get better far more quickly could the trouble be removed from +his mind." + +Gaston raised his head quickly, and asked: + +"What trouble?" + +Father Paul's face, thin and worn as of old, with the same keen, +kindling glance of the deep-set eyes, softened almost into a smile as he +met the questioning glance of Gaston's eyes. + +"Thou shouldst know more of such matters than I, my son, seeing that +thou art in youth's ardent prime, whilst I wear the garb of a monk. Sure +thou canst not have watched beside thy brother's sickbed all these long +weeks without knowing somewhat of the trouble in his mind?" + +"I hear him moan and talk," answered Gaston; "but he knows not what he +says, and I know not either. He is always feeling at his neck, and +calling out for some lost token. And then he will babble on of things I +understand not. But how I may help him I know not. I have tarried long, +for I could not bear to leave him thus; and yet I am longing to carry to +the King my tale of outrage and wrong. With every week that passes my +chance of success grows less. For Peter Sanghurst may have been before +me, and may have told his own false version of the tale ere I may have +speech with King or Prince. I know not what to do -- to stay beside +Raymond, or to hasten to England ere time be farther flown. Holy Father, +wilt thou not counsel me? I feel that every day lost is a day lived in +vain, ere I be revenged upon Raymond's cruel foes!" + +The youth's eyes flashed. He clenched his hands, and his teeth set +themselves fast together. He felt like an eagle caged, behind these +protecting walls. For his brother's sake he was right glad of the +friendly shelter; but for himself he was pining to be free. + +And yet how was he to leave that dearly-loved brother, whose eyes +followed him so wistfully from place to place, who brightened up into +momentary life when he entered the room, and took so little heed of what +passed about him, unless roused by Gaston's touch or voice? Raymond had +been very, very near to the gates of death since he had been brought +into the Monastery, and even now, so prostrated was he by the long +attack of intermittent fever which had followed his wonderful escape +from Saut, that those about him scarce knew how the balance would turn. +The fever, which had at first run high and had been hard to subdue, had +now taken another turn, and only recurred at intervals of a few days; +but the patient was so fearfully exhausted by all he had undergone that +he seemed to have no strength to rally. He would lie in a sort of trance +of weakness when the fever was not upon him, scarce seeming to breathe +unless he was roused to wakefulness by some word or caress from Gaston; +whilst on the days when the fever returned, he would lie muttering +indistinctly to himself, sometimes breaking forth into eager rapid +speech difficult to follow, and often trying to rise and go forth upon +some errand, no one knew what, and struggling hard with those who held +him back. + +Father Paul had watched over the first stages of the illness with the +utmost care and tenderness, after which his duties called him away, and +he had only returned some three days since. The long hot summer in +Bordeaux had been a very trying one for the patient, whose state +prohibited any attempt at removal to a cooler, fresher air. But as +August was merging into September, and the days were growing shorter and +the heat something less oppressive, it was hoped that there might be a +favourable change in the patient's state; and much was looked for also +from Father Paul's skill, which was accounted something very great. + +Gaston and Roger had remained within the Monastery walls in close +attendance upon the patient; but the restraint had been terribly irksome +to the temper of the young knight, and he was panting to be free to +pursue his quest, and to tell his story in the King's ears. He could not +but dread that in his absence some harm might befall his Constanza. +Suppose those two remorseless men suspected her to be concerned in the +flight of their victim, what form might not their vengeance take? It was +a thing that would scarce bear thinking of. Yet what could he do to save +her and to win her until he could make an organized attack upon Saut, +armed with full authority from England's King? + +And now that Father Paul was back, might it not be possible that this +could be done? Gaston felt torn in twain betwixt his love for his +brother and his love for his betrothed. Father Paul would be able to +advise him wisely and well. + +The Father looked earnestly into the ardent and eager face of the youth, +and answered quietly: + +"Methinks thou hast been here long enough, my son. Thou mayest do better +for Raymond by going forth upon the mission thou hast set thyself. But +first I would ask of thee a few questions. Who is this lady of whom thy +brother speaks so oft?" + +"Lady?" questioned Gaston, his eyes opening wide in surprise. "Does he +indeed speak of a lady?" + +The Father smiled at the question. + +"Thy thoughts must have been as wandering as his if thou dost not know +as much as that," he said, with a look that brought the hot blood into +Gaston's cheek, for he well knew where his own thoughts had been whilst +he sat beside his brother, scarce heeding the ceaseless murmur which +babbled from his unconscious lips. + +It had never occurred to him that he could learn aught by striving to +catch those indistinct utterances; and his mind had been full to +overflowing with his own affairs. + +"I knew not that he spoke of any lady," said the young knight, wondering +for a moment, with love's irrational jealousy, whether Raymond could +have seen his Constanza and have lost his heart to her. + +Had she not spoken of having slipped once into his cell to breathe in +his ear a word of hope? Might not even that passing glimpse at such a +time have been enough to subjugate his heart? He drew his breath hard, +and an anxious light gleamed in his eye. But the Father continued +speaking, and a load seemed to roll from his spirit with the next words. + +"It is of a lady whose name is Joan that he speaks almost ceaselessly +when the fever fit is on him. Sometimes he speaks, too, of his cousin, +that John de Brocas who lost his life in the Black Death through his +ceaseless labours amongst the sick. He is in sore trouble, as it seems, +by the loss of some token given him by the lady. He fears that some foul +use may be made by his foes of this same token, which he would sooner +have died than parted from. If thou knowest who this lady is and where +she may be found, it would do more for thy brother to have news of her +than to receive all the skilled care of the best physicians in the +world. I misdoubt me whether we shall bring him back to life without her +aid. Wherefore, if thou knowest where she may be found, delay not to +seek her. Tell her her lover yet lives, and bring him some message from +her that may give him life and health." + +Gaston's eyes lighted. To be given anything to do -- anything but this +weary, wearing waiting and watching for the change that never came -- +put new life into him forthwith. + +"It must sure be Mistress Joan Vavasour thou meanest, Father," he said. +"Raymond spoke much of her when we were on shipboard together. I knew +not that his heart was so deeply pledged; but I see it all now. It is of +her that he is dreaming night and day. It is the loss of her token that +is troubling him now. + +"Stop! what have I heard? Methinks that this same Peter Sanghurst was +wooing Mistress Joan himself once. Sure I see another motive in his +dastard capture of my brother. Perchance he had in him not only a rival +for the lands of Basildene, but for the hand of the lady. Father, I see +it all! Would that I had seen it before! It is Peter Sanghurst who has +robbed Raymond of his token, and he may make cruel use of what he has +treacherously filched away. I must lose not a day nor an hour. I must to +England in the wake of this villain. Oh, why did I not understand +before? What may he not have done ere I can stop his false mouth? The +King shall hear all; the King shall be told all the tale! I trow he will +not tarry long in punishing the coward traitor!" + +Father Paul was less certain how far the King would interest himself in +a private quarrel, but Peter Sanghurst's recent action with regard to +Raymond might possibly be such as to stir even the royal wrath. At least +it was time that some watch should be placed upon the movements of the +owner of Basildene, for he would be likely to make a most unscrupulous +use of any power he might possess to injure Raymond or gain any hold +over the lady they both loved. + +Roger being called in to the conference, and giving his testimony +clearly enough as to the frequent intercourse which had existed between +Mistress Joan Vavasour and Raymond de Brocas, and the evident attraction +each bore for the other, the matter appeared placed beyond the +possibility of all doubt. Gaston's resolve was quickly taken, and he +only waited till his brother could be aroused to fuller consciousness, +to start forth upon his double quest after vengeance and after Joan. + +"Brother," he said, taking Raymond's hands in his, and bending tenderly +over him, "I am going to leave thee, but only for a time. I am going to +England to find thy Joan, and to tell her that thou art living yet, and +how thou hast been robbed of thy token." + +A new light shone suddenly in Raymond's eyes. It seemed as though some +of the mists of weakness rolled away, leaving to him a clearer +comprehension. He grasped his brother's hand with greater strength than +Gaston believed him to possess, and his lips parted in a flashing smile. + +"Thou wilt seek her and find her? Knowest thou where she is?" + +"No; but I will go to seek her. I shall get news of her at Guildford. I +will to our uncle's house forthwith. Sir Hugh Vavasour can easily be found." + +"He has been wandering in foreign lands this long while," answered +Raymond. "I know not whether he may have returned home. Gaston, if thou +findest her, save her from the Sanghurst. Tell her that I yet live -- +that for her sake I will live to protect her from that evil man. He has +robbed me of the pledge of her love; I am certain of it. It was a +trinket not worth the stealing, and I had it ever about my neck. It was +taken from me when I was a prisoner and at their mercy, when I did not +know what befell me. He has it -- I am assured of that -- and what evil +use he may make of it I know not. Ah, if thou canst but find her ere he +can reach her side!" + +"I will find her," answered Gaston, firmly and cheerfully. "Fear not, +Raymond; I have had harder tasks than this to perform ere now. Be it thy +part to shake off this wasting sickness. I will seek out thy Joan, and +will bring her to thy side. But let her not find thee in such sorry +plight. Thou lookest yet rather a corpse than a man. Thou wouldst fright +her by thy wan looks an she came to thee now." + +Wan and white and wasted did Raymond indeed appear, as though a breath +would blow him away. Upon his face was that faraway, ethereal look of +one who has been lingering long beside the portal of another world, and +scarce knows to which he belongs. It sometimes seemed as though the +angel song of the unseen realm was oftener heard and understood by him +than the voices of those about him. But the fever cloud was slowly +lifting from his brain, and today the first impulse to a real recovery +had been given by these few words with his brother. + +Raymond's recollection of past events was coming back to him +connectedly, and the thought of Joan acted like a tonic upon him. For +her sake he would live; for her sake he would make a battle for his +life. Had he not vowed himself to her service? and did any woman stand +more in need of her lover's strong arm than the daughter of Sir Hugh +Vavasour? + +Raymond had gauged the character of that knight before, and knew that he +would sell his daughter without scruple to any person who would make it +worth his while. It had been notorious in old days that the Sanghursts +had some peculiar hold upon him, and was it likely that Peter Sanghurst, +who was plainly resolved to make Joan his wife, would allow that power +to rest unused when it might be employed for the furtherance of his +purpose? To send Gaston forth upon the quest for Joan was much; but he +himself must fight this wasting sickness, that he might be ready to go +to her when the summons came that she was found, and was ready to +welcome her faithful knight. + +From that hour Raymond began to amend; and although his progress was +slow, and seemed doubly slow to his impatience, it was steady and sure, +and he was as one given back from the dead. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +"Mistress Joan Vavasour, boy? why, all the world is making that inquiry. +How comes it that thou, by thine own account but just home from Gascony, +shouldst be likewise asking the same question?" + +Master Bernard de Brocas turned his kindly face towards Gaston with a +look of shrewd inquiry in his eyes. His nephew had arrived but a short +half-hour at his house, somewhat jaded by rapid travelling, and after +hurriedly removing the stains of the journey from his person, was seated +before a well-supplied board, whilst the cleric sat beside him, always +eager for news, and exceedingly curious to know the history of the twin +brothers, who for the past six months seemed to have vanished from the +face of the earth. But for the moment Gaston was too intent upon asking +questions to have leisure to answer any. + +"How?" he questioned; "what mean you, reverend Sir? Everybody asking +news of her? How comes that about?" + +"Marry, for the reason that the lady hath disappeared these last three +weeks from her father's house, and none can tell whither she has fled, +or whether she has been spirited away, or what hath befallen her. Sir +Hugh is in a mighty taking, for he had just arranged a marriage betwixt +her and Peter Sanghurst, and the lady had given her consent (or so it is +said, albeit there be some who doubt the truth of that), and he is +sorely vexed to know what can have become of her." + +"Peter Sanghurst! that arch-villain!" cried Gaston, involuntarily laying +his hand on the hilt of his dagger. "Mine uncle, I have come to ask +counsel of thee about that same miscreant. I am glad that he at least +has not fled the country. He shall not escape the fate he so richly merits." + +And then, with flashing eyes and words eloquent through excess of +feeling, Gaston related the whole story of the past months: the +appearance on board the vessel of the Black Visor; the concerted action +against Raymond carried out by Sanghurst, thus disguised, and the Sieur +de Navailles; and the cruelty devised against him, from which he had +escaped only by something of a miracle. + +And as Master Bernard de Brocas listened to this tale of treachery, +planned and carried out against one of his own name and race, an +answering light shone in his eyes, and he smote his palms together, +crying out in sudden wrath: + +"Gaston, the King shall hear of this! Thou shalt tell to him the tale as +thou hast told it to me. He will not hear patiently of such indignities +offered to a subject of his, not though the King of France himself had +done it! That Sieur de Navailles is no friend to England. I know him +well, and his false, treacherous ways. I have heard much of him ere now, +and the King has his eye upon him. Gaston, this hollow truce cannot long +continue. The nobles and the King are alike weary of a peace which is no +peace, and which the King of France or his lords are continually +breaking. A very little, and the flame of war will burst out anew. It +may be that even this tale of thine may put the spark to the train (as +they say of these new artillery engines that are so astonishing men by +their smoke and noise), and that the Prince, when he hears of it, will +urge his father to march once more into France, and put an end to the +petty annoyances and treacherous attacks which are goading the royal +lion of England to wrath and fury." + +"Pray Heaven it may!" cried Gaston, starting to his feet and pacing up +and down the hall. "Thou knowest, uncle mine, how the Prince and the +King did long ago confirm to me the rights of the De Brocas to the +ancient Castles of Orthez and Saut. If he would but give me his royal +warrant for mustering men and recovering mine own, I trow, be the walls +of Saut never so strong, that I would speedily make mine entrance within +them! Uncle, the Sieur de Navailles is hated and feared and reviled by +all men for miles around his walls. I trow that, even amongst those who +bear arms for him, some would be found who would gladly serve another +master. Stories of the punishments he is wont to inflict upon all who +fall beneath his displeasure have passed from mouth to mouth, and bitter +is the rage burning in the breasts of those whose helpless kinsfolk have +suffered through his tyrant cruelty. I trow an armed band, coming in the +name of the English King, could soon smoke that old fox out of his hole; +whilst all men would rejoice at his fall. Let me to the King -- let me +tell my tale! I burn to be on the wing once more! Where may his Majesty +be found?" + +"Softly, softly, boy! We must think somewhat more of this. And we have +two foes, not one alone, to deal with. Peter Sanghurst is, as it were, +beneath our very hand. He is at Basildene, fuming like a wild thing at +the sudden disappearance of Mistress Joan. There be, nevertheless, some +who say that this wrath is all assumed; that he has captured the lady, +and holds her a prisoner in his hands, all the while pretending to know +naught of her. I know not what truth there may be in such rumours. The +Sanghurst bears an evil name, and many are the stories whispered about him." + +"What!" almost shouted Gaston, in the fierceness of his excitement, +"Mistress Joan a prisoner in Basildene, the captive of that miscreant! +Uncle, let us lose not an hour! Let us forthwith to the King. He will +give us his royal warrant, and armed with that we will to Basildene, and +search for her there, and free her ere the set of sun. Oh, it would be +like him -- it would be all in a piece with his villainy! I cannot rest +nor breathe till I know all. Uncle, may we not set forth this very day +-- this same night?" + +The worthy ecclesiastic laid a hand upon Gaston's shoulder. + +"Boy," he said, "I will myself to the King this very day. The moon will +soon be up, and the way is familiar to me and my men. But thou shalt +tarry here. Thou hast travelled far today, and art weary and in need of +rest. Perchance, in this matter of the Sanghurst, I shall do better +without thee. Thou shalt see the King anon, and shalt tell him all thy +tale; but methinks this matter of Basildene had best be spoken of +betwixt him and me alone. Thou knowest that I have for long been in the +King's favour and confidence, and have managed many state matters for +him. Thou mayest therefore leave thy cause in my hands. I have all the +papers safe that thou broughtest from Gascony long since, and have left +in my care these many years. I have been awaiting my opportunity to lay +the matter of Basildene before the King, and now I trow that the hour +has come." + +Gaston stopped short in his restless pacing, a bright light in his eyes. + +"Thou thinkest to oust the Sanghurst thence -- to gain Basildene for +Raymond?" + +"Ay, verily I do. It is your inheritance by right; the papers prove it. +Ye were deprived of it by force, and now the hour of restitution has +come. As to thee are secured the Gascon lands, when they can be wrested +from the hand of the foe, so shall Basildene be secured to Raymond, +albeit he has not won his spurs as thou hast done, boy, and that right +lustily. But I know much good of Raymond. He will worthily fill his +place. Go now to rest, boy, and leave this matter in mine hands. I +warrant thee the cause shall not suffer for being intrusted to me. Get +thee to rest. Fear not; and ere two days be passed thou shalt have +tidings of some sort from me." + +Gaston would fain have been his uncle's companion on the road, but he +knew better than to insist. Master Bernard de Brocas well knew what he +was about, and was plainly deeply interested in the story he had heard. +Raymond had long been high in his favour. To cause to recoil upon the +head of the treacherous Sanghurst the vengeance he had plotted against +his own nephew, to punish him for his treachery -- to wrest from his +rapacious grasp the lands and the Manor of Basildene, was a task +peculiarly agreeable to the statesman, who knew well what he was about +and the master whom he served. Basildene was no great possession, but it +might be greatly increased in value, and there was rumour of buried +hoards there which might speedily restore the old house to more than its +former splendour. At any rate, its lands and revenues would be a modest +portion for a younger son, who still had the flower of his life before +him, and was like to rise in the King's favour. The romantic story of +his love, his sufferings, his rescue from the two foes of his house, was +certain to appeal to the King and his son, whilst the treachery of those +foes would equally rouse the royal wrath. + +Master Bernard departed for Windsor with the rising of the moon; and +Gaston passed a restless night and day wondering what was passing at +Windsor, and feeling, when he retired to rest upon the second night, as +though his excitement of mind must drive slumber from his eyes. Nor did +sleep visit him till the tardy dawn stole in at the window, and when he +did sleep he slept long and soundly. + +He was aroused by the sound of a great trampling in the courtyard below; +and springing quickly from his couch, he saw the place full of +men-at-arms, all wearing either the badge of the De Brocas or else that +of the Prince of Wales. + +Throwing on his clothes in great haste, and scarce tarrying to buckle on +his sword, Gaston strode from his chamber and hastened down the great +staircase. At the foot of this stood one whom well he knew, and with an +inarticulate exclamation of delight he threw himself upon one knee +before the young Prince, and pressed his lips to the hand graciously +extended to him. + +"Nay, Gaston; thy friend and comrade, not thy sovereign!" cried the +handsome youth gaily, as he raised Gaston and looked smilingly into his +face, his own countenance alight with satisfaction and excitement. "Ah, +thou knowest not how glad I am to welcome thee once more! For the days +be coming soon when I must needs rally all my brave knights about me, +and go forth to France for a new career of glory there. But today +another task is ours, and not as thy Prince, but thy good comrade, have +I come. I will forth with thee to the den of this foul Sanghurst, and +together will we search his house for the lady men say he has so +cunningly spirited away; and if she be found indeed languishing in +captivity there, then in very truth shall the Sanghurst feel the wrath +of the royal Edward. He shall live to feel the iron hand of the King he +has outraged and defied! But he shall pay the forfeit of his life. +England shall be rid of one of her greatest villains when Peter +Sanghurst feels the halter about his neck!" + + + + CHAPTER XXIX. THE FALL OF THE SANGHURST. + + +"Is that the only answer you have for me, sweet lady?" + +"The only one, Sir; and you will never have another. Strive as you will, +keep me imprisoned as long as you will, I will never yield. I will never +be yours; I belong to another --" + +A fierce gleam was in Sanghurst's eyes, though he retained the suave +softness of speech that he had assumed all along. + +"He is dead, fair mistress." + +"Living or dead, I am yet his," answered Joan unfalteringly; "and were I +as free as air -- had I never pledged my faith to him -- I should yet +have none other answer for you. Think you that your evil deeds have not +been whispered in mine ear? Think you that this imprisonment in which +you think fit to keep me is like to win my heart?" + +"Nay, sweetest lady, call it not by that harsh name. Could a princess +have been better served or tended than you have been ever since you came +beneath my humble roof? It is no imprisonment; it is but the watchful +care of one who loves you, and would fain save you from the peril into +which you had recklessly plunged. Lady, had you known the dangers of +travel in these wild and lawless days, you never would have left the +shelter of your father's house with but one attendant to protect you. +Think you that those peerless charms could ever have been hidden beneath +the dress of a peasant lad? Well was it for you, lady, that your true +love was first to follow and find you, ere some rude fellow had betrayed +the secret to his fellows, and striven to turn it to their advantage. +Here you are safe; and I have sent to your father to tell him you are +found and are secure. He, too, is searching for you; but soon he will +receive my message, and will come hastening hither. Then will our +marriage be solemnized with all due rites. Your obstinate resistance +will avail nothing to hinder our purpose. But I would fain win this +lovely hand by gentle means; and it will be better for thee, Joan +Vavasour, to lay down thine arms and surrender while there is yet time." + +There was a distinct accent of menace in the last words, and the +underlying expression upon that smiling face was evil and threatening in +the extreme. But Joan's eyes did not falter beneath the searching gaze +of her would-be husband. Her face was set in lines of fearless +resolution. She still wore the rough blue homespun tunic of a peasant +lad, and her chestnut locks hung in heavy natural curls about her +shoulders. The distinction in dress between the sexes was much less +marked in those days than it has since become. Men of high degree +clothed themselves in flowing robes, and women of humble walk in life in +short kirtles; whilst the tunic was worn by boys and girls alike, though +there was a difference in the manner of the wearing, and it was +discarded by the girl in favour of a longer robe or sweeping supertunic +with the approach of womanhood. In the lower ranks of life, however, the +difference in dress between boy and girl was nothing very distinctive; +and the disguise had been readily effected by Joan, who had only to cut +somewhat shorter her flowing locks, clothe herself in the homespun tunic +and leather gaiters of a peasant boy, and place a cloth cap jauntily on +her flowing curls before she was transformed into as pretty a lad as one +could wish to see. + +With the old henchman Nat to play the part of father, she had journeyed +fearlessly forth, and had made for the coast, which she would probably +have reached in safety had it not been for the acuteness of Peter +Sanghurst, who had guessed her purpose, had dogged her steps with the +patient sagacity of a bloodhound, and had succeeded in the end in +capturing his prize, and in bringing her back in triumph to Basildene. + +He had not treated her badly. He had not parted her from the old servant +under whose escort she had travelled. Perhaps he felt he would have +other opportunities of avenging this insult to himself; perhaps there +was something in the light in Joan's eyes and in the way in which she +sometimes placed her hand upon the hilt of the dagger in her belt which +warned him not to try her too far. Joan was something of an enigma to +him still. She was like no other woman with whom he had ever come in +contact. He did not feel certain what she might say or do. It was rather +like treading upon the crust of some volcanic crater to have dealings +with her. At any moment something quite unforeseen might take place, and +cause a complete upheaval of all his plans. From policy, as well as from +his professed love, he had shown himself very guarded during the days of +their journey and her subsequent residence beneath the roof of +Basildene; but neither this show of submission and tenderness, nor +thinly-veiled threats and menaces, had sufficed to bend her will to his. +It had now come to this -- marry him of her own free will she would not. +Therefore the father must be summoned, and with him the priest, and the +ceremony should be gone through with or without the consent of the lady. +Such marriages were not so very unusual in days when daughters were +looked upon as mere chattels to be disposed of as their parents or +guardians desired. It was usual, indeed, to marry them off at an earlier +age, when reluctance had not developed into actual resistance; but still +it could be done easily enough whatever the lady might say or do. + +Peter Sanghurst, confident that the game was now entirely in his own +hands, could even afford to be indulgent and patient. In days to come he +would be amply avenged for all the slights now inflicted upon him. He +often pictured the moment when he should tell to Joan the true story of +his possession of the love token she had bestowed upon Raymond. He +thought that she would suffer even more in the hearing of it than he had +done upon the rack; and his wife could not escape him as his other +victim had. He could wring her heartstrings as he had hoped to wring the +nerves of Raymond's sensitive frame, and none could deliver her out of +his hand. + +But now he was still playing the farce of the suppliant lover, guessing +all the while that she knew as well as he what a farce the part was. He +strove to make her surrender, but was met by an invincible firmness. + +"Do what you will, Peter Sanghurst," she said: "summon my father, call +the priest, do what you will, your wife I will never be. I have told you +so before; I tell it you again." + +He smiled a smile more terrible than his frown. + +"We shall see about that," was his reply, as he turned on his heel and +strode from the room. + +When he was gone Joan turned suddenly towards the old man, who was all +this while standing with folded arms in a distant window, listening in +perfect silence to the dialogue. She made a few swift paces towards him +and looked into his troubled face. + +"Nat," she said, in a low voice, "thou hast not forgotten thy promise +made to me?" + +"My mistress, I have not forgotten." + +"And thou wilt keep thy word?" + +"I will keep it." + +He spoke with manifest effort; but Joan heaved a sigh of relief. She +came one step nearer, and laid her soft hand upon the old servant's +shoulder, looking into his face with affectionate solicitude. + +"I know not if I should ask it of thee; it may cost thee thy life." + +"My life is naught, if I can but save thee from that monster, sweet +mistress; but oh, if it might be by another way!" + +"Nay, say not so; methinks now this is the best, the sweetest way. I +shall the sooner find him, who will surely be waiting for me upon the +farther shore. One blow, and I shall be free for ever. O Nat, this world +is a sore place for helpless women to dwell in. Since he has gone, what +is there for me to live for? I almost long for the hour which shall set +my spirit free. They will let me see the Holy Father, who comes to wed +us. I shall receive the Absolution and the Blessing; and methinks I am +not unprepared. Death has no terrors for me: I have seen him come so oft +in the guise of a friend. Nay, weep not, good Nat; the day will come +when we all must die. Thou wouldst rather see me lying dead at thy feet +than the helpless captive of the Sanghurst, as else I must surely be?" + +"Ay, lady," answered the old man, between his shut teeth, "ten thousand +times rather, else would not this fond hand strike the blow that will +lay thy fair young head in the dust. But sooner than know thee the wife +of yon vile miscreant, I would slay thee ten times over. Death is soon +past -- death comes but once; but a life of helpless misery and agony, +that I could not bear for thee. Let them do what they will to me, I will +set thee free first." + +Joan raised the strong, wrinkled hand to her lips and kissed it, before +the old retainer well knew what she was doing. He withdrew it in some +confusion. + +"Good Nat, I know not how to thank thee; but what I can do to save thee +I will. I do not think my father will suffer thee to be harmed if when I +am dead thou wilt give him this packet I now give to thee. In it I have +told him many things he would not listen to whilst I lived, but he will +read the words that have been penned by a hand that is cold and stiff in +death. To his old love for me I have appealed to stand thy friend, +telling him how and why the deed has been done, and thy hand raised +against me. I think he will protect and pardon thee -- I think it truly. + +"How now, Nat? What seest thou? What hearest thou? Thy thoughts are not +with me and with my words. What is it? Why gazest thou thus from the +casement? What is there to see?" + +"Armed men, my mistress -- armed men riding towards Basildene!" answered +the old man, in visible excitement. "I have seen the sunlight glinting +on their headpieces. I am certain sure there be soldiers riding to this +very door. What is their business? How have they come? Ah, lady, my +sweet mistress, pray Heaven they have come to set thee free! Pray Heaven +they have come as our deliverers!" + +Joan started and ran to the casement. She was just in time to see the +flash of the November sunlight upon the steel caps of the last of the +band of horsemen whose approach had been observed by Nat. Only a very +small portion of the avenue leading to Basildene could be seen from +these upper casements, and the riders must have been close to the house +before their approach was marked by the old man. + +Now Joan flung open the casement in great excitement, and leaned far out. + +"Hark!" she exclaimed, in great excitement, "I hear the sound of heavy +blows, and of voices raised in stern command." + +"Open in the King's name; open to the Prince of Wales!" + +These words were distinctly borne to Joan's listening ears as she stood +with her head thrust through the lattice, every faculty absorbed in the +strain of eager desire to hear. + +"The King! the Prince!" she cried, her breath coming thick and fast, +whilst her heart beat almost to suffocation. "O Nat, good Nat! what can +it mean? The Prince! what can have brought him hither?" + +"Doubtless he comes to save thee, sweet lady," cried the old retainer, +to whom it seemed but natural that the heir of England should come forth +to save his fair young mistress from her fate. + +But Joan shook her head, perplexed beyond measure, yet not able to +restrain the wildest hopes. + +The Prince -- that noble youth so devoted to chivalry, so generous and +fearless, and the friend of the twin brothers, one of whom was her lost +Raymond! Oh, could it be that some rumour had reached his ears? Could it +be that he had come to set her free? It seemed scarce possible, and yet +what besides could have brought him hither? And at least with help so +near she could surely make her woeful case known to him! + +For the first time for many days hope shot up in Joan's heart -- hope of +release from her hated lover by some other means than that of death; and +with that hope came surging up the love of life so deeply implanted in +human nature, the wild hope that her lover might yet live, that she had +been tricked and deceived by the false Sanghurst --all manner of vague +and unformed hopes, to which there was no time to give definite form +even in her thoughts. She was only conscious that a ray of golden +sunshine had fallen athwart her path, and that the darkness in which she +had been enwrapped was changing -- changing to what? + +There were strange sounds in the house -- a tumult of men's voices, the +clash of arms, cries and shouts, and the tread of many feet upon the stairs. + +Joan's colour came and went as she listened. Yes, surely she heard a +voice -- a voice that sent thrills all through her -- and yet it was not +Raymond's voice; it was deeper, louder, more authoritative. But the +footsteps were approaching, were mounting the turret stair, and Joan, +with a hasty movement, flung over her shoulders a sweeping supertunic +lined with fur, which Peter Sanghurst had placed in the room for her +use, but which she had not hitherto deigned to wear. She had but just +secured the buckle and girdle, and concealed her boy's garb by the means +of these rich folds of velvet, before a hand was upon the latch of the +door, and the same thrilling voice was speaking through the panels in +urgent accents. + +"Lady -- Mistress Joan -- art thou there?" + +"I am within this turret -- I am here, fair sir," answered Joan, as +calmly as her beating heart would allow. "But I cannot open to thee, for +I am but a captive here -- the captive of Peter Sanghurst." + +"Now a prisoner bound, and answering for his sins before the Prince and +some of the highest nobles of the land. Lady, I and my men have come to +set thee free. I come to thee the bearer of a message from my brother -- +from Raymond de Brocas. Give my stout fellows but a moment's grace to +batter down this strong door, and we will set thee free, and take thee +to the Prince, to bear witness against the false traitor, who stands in +craven terror before him below!" + +But these last words were quite lost upon Joan. She had sunk, trembling +and white, upon a couch, overcome by the excess of joy with which she +had heard her lover's name pronounced. She heard heavy blows dealt upon +the oaken panels of the door. She knew that her deliverance was at hand; +but a mist was before her eyes, and she could think of nothing but those +wonderful words just spoken, until the woodwork fell inwards with a loud +crash, and Gaston, springing across the threshold, knelt at her feet. + +"Lady, it is many years since we met, and then we met but seldom; but I +come from him whom thou lovest and therefore I know myself welcome. Fair +mistress, my brother has been sorely sick -- sick unto death -- or he +would be here himself to claim this fair hand. He has been sick in body +and sick in mind -- sick with fear lest that traitor and villain who +robbed him of your token should make foul use of it by deceiving thee +with tales of his death or falsity. + +"Lady, he was robbed by Peter Sanghurst of that token. Sanghurst and our +ancient foe of Navailles leagued themselves together and carried off my +brother by treachery. He was their prisoner in the gloomy Tower of Saut. +They would have done him to death in cruel fashion had not we found a +way to save and rescue him from their hands. They had done him some hurt +even then, and they had robbed him of what had become almost dearer to +him than life itself; but he was saved from their malice. It was long +ere he could tell us of his loss, tell us of thee; for he lay sick of a +wasting fever for many a long month, and we knew not what the trouble +was that lay so sore upon him. But no sooner had he recovered so as to +speak more plainly than we learned all, and I have been seeking news of +thee ever since. I should have been here long ago but for the contrary +winds which kept us weeks at sea, unable to make the haven we sought. +But I trow I have not come too late. I find thee here at Basildene; but +sure thou art not the wife of him who calls himself its lord?" + +"Wife! no -- ten thousand times no!" answered Joan, springing to her +feet, and looking superb in her stately beauty, the light of love and +happiness in her eyes, the flush of glad triumph on her cheek. "Sir +Knight, thou art Raymond's brother, thou art my saviour, and I will tell +thee all. I was fleeing from Sanghurst -- fleeing to France, to learn +for myself if the tale he told of Raymond's death were true; for sorely +did I misdoubt me if those false lips could speak truth. He guessed my +purpose, followed and brought me back hither a captive. To force me to +wed him has long been his resolve, and he has won my father to take his +side. He was about to summon my father and a priest and make me his +wife, here in this very place, and never let me stir thence till the +chain was bound about me. But I had a way of escape. Yon faithful +servant, who shared my perils and my wanderings, had given me his word +to strike me dead ere he would see me wedded to Sanghurst. No false vow +should ever have passed my lips; no mockery of marriage should ever have +been consummated. I have no fear of death. I only longed to die that I +might go to my Raymond, and be with him for ever." + +"But now thou needest not die to be with him!" cried Gaston, enchanted +at once by her beauty, her fearless spirit, and her loyalty and devotion +to Raymond. "My brother lives! He lives for thee alone! I have come to +lead thee to him, if thou wilt go. But first, sweet mistress, let me +take thee to our Prince. It is our noble Prince who has come to see into +this matter his own royal self. I had scarce hoped for so much honour, +and yet I ever knew him for the soul of generosity and chivalry. Let me +lead thee to him. Tell him all thy tale. We have the craven foe in our +hands now, and this time he shall not escape us!" + +Gaston ground his teeth, and his eyes flashed fire, as he thought of all +the wickedness of Peter Sanghurst. He was within the walls of Basildene, +his brother's rightful inheritance; the memory of the cruelty and the +treachery of this man was fresh in his mind. The Prince was hearing all +the tale; the Prince would judge and condemn. Gaston knew well what the +fate of the tyrant would be, and there was no room for aught in his +heart beside a great exultant triumph. + +Giving his arm to Joan, who was looking absolutely radiant in her +stately beauty, he led her down into the hall below, where the Prince +was seated with some knights and nobles round him -- Master Bernard de +Brocas occupying a seat upon his right hand -- examining witnesses and +looking at the papers respecting the ownership of Basildene which were +now laid before him. At the lower end of the hall, his hands bound +behind him, and his person guarded by two strong troopers, stood Peter +Sanghurst, his face a chalky-white colour, his eyes almost starting from +his head with terror, all his old ease and assumption gone, the innate +cowardice of his nature showing itself in every look and every gesture. + +A thoroughly cruel man is always at heart a coward, and Peter Sanghurst, +who had taken the liveliest delight in inflicting pain of every kind +upon those in his power, now stood shivering and almost fainting with +apprehension at the fate in store for himself. As plentiful evidence had +been given of his many acts of barbarity and tyranny, there had been +fierce threats passed from mouth to mouth that hanging was too good for +him -- that he ought to taste what he had inflicted on others; and the +wretched man stood there in an agony of apprehension, every particle of +his swaggering boldness gone, and without a vestige of real courage to +uphold him in the hour of his humiliation. + +As the Prince saw the approach of Joan, he sprang to his feet, and all +the assembled nobles did the same. With that chivalrous courtesy for +which he became famous in history, the Prince bent the knee before the +lady, and taking her by the hand, led her to a seat of honour beside +himself, asking her of herself and her story, and listening with +respectful attention to every word she spoke. + +Gaston then stood forward and told again his tale of Raymond's capture, +and deep murmurs of indignation ran through the hall as he did so. The +veins swelled upon the Prince's forehead as he heard the tale, and his +eyes emitted sparks of fierce light as they flashed from time to time +upon the trembling prisoner. + +"Methinks we have heard enough, gentlemen," said he at length, as +Gaston's narrative drew to a close. + +"Marshal, bring hither your prisoner. + +"This man, gentlemen, is the hero of these brave deeds of valour of +which we have been hearing. This is the man who dares to waylay and +torture English subjects to wring from them treasure and gold; the man +who dares to bring this vilely-won wealth to purchase with it the favour +of England's King; the man who wages war on foreign soil with the +friends of England, and treacherously sells them into the hand of +England's foe; who deals with them as we have heard he dealt and would +have dealt with Raymond de Brocas had not Providence worked almost a +miracle in his defence. This is the man who, together with his father, +drove from this very house the lawful owner, because that she was a +gentle, tender woman, and was at that moment alone and unable to defend +herself from them. This is the man who is not ashamed to call himself +the master of Basildene, and who has striven to compass by the foulest +ends the death of the true owner of the property -- though Raymond de +Brocas braved the terrors of the Black Death to tend and soothe the last +dying agonies of that man's father. This is the man who would wed by +force this fair maiden, and strove to deceive her by the foulest tricks +and jugglery. Say, gentlemen, what is the desert of this miscreant? What +doom shall we award him as the recompense of his past life?" + +A score of hideous suggestions were raised at once, and the miserable +Peter Sanghurst shook in his shoes as he saw the fierce, relentless +faces of the soldiers making a ring round him. Those were cruel days, +despite the softening influence of their vaunted chivalry, and the face +of the Prince was stern and black. It was plain that he had been deeply +roused by the story he had heard. + +But Joan was there, and she was a woman; and vile as had been this man's +life, and deeply as he had injured her and him she loved tenfold more +than her own life, he was still a human creature, and a creature without +a hope either in this world or the world to come. She could not but pity +him as he stood there cowering and shuddering, and she turned swiftly +towards the Prince and spoke to him in a rapid undertone. + +Young Edward listened, and the dark cloud passed from his brow. He was +keenly susceptible to the nobler emotions, and an appeal to his +generosity was not unheeded. Raising his hand in token that he demanded +silence, he turned towards the quaking criminal, and thus addressed him: + +"Peter Sanghurst, you stand convicted of many and hideous crimes -- +witchcraft, sorcery, treachery to your King, vile cruelty to his +subjects -- crimes for which death alone is scarce punishment enough. +You well merit a worse fate than the gallows. You well merit some of +those lingering agonies that you have inflicted upon your wretched +victims, and have rejoiced to witness. But we in England do not torture +our prisoners, and it is England's pride that this is so. This fair +lady, who owes you naught but grievous wrong, has spoken for you; she +says that were Raymond de Brocas here, he would join with her in praying +that your fate might be swift and merciful. Therefore I decree that you +are led forth without the gates of Basildene, and hanged upon the first +tree out of sight of its walls. + +"See to it, marshal. Let there be no delay. It is not fit that such a +wretch should longer cumber the earth. Away with him, I say!" + +The soldiers closed around the condemned man and bore him forth, one of +the marshals following to see the deed done. Joan had for a moment +covered her face with her hand, for even so it was rather terrible to +see this tyrant and oppressor led forth from his own house to an +ignominious death, and she was unused to such stern scenes. But those +around the table were already turning their attention to other matters, +and the Prince was addressing himself to certain men who had come into +the hall covered with cobweb and green mould. + +"Has the treasure been found?" he asked. + +"Yes, Sire," answered the leader of this strange-looking band. "It was +cleverly hidden, in all truth, in the cellars of the house, and we +should scarce have lighted on it but for the help of some of the people +here, who, so soon as they heard that their master was doomed to certain +death, were as eager to help us as they had been fearful before. It has +all been brought up for you to see; and a monstrous hoard it is. It must +almost be true, I trow, that the old man had the golden secret. So much +gold I have never seen in one place." + +"It is ill-gotten gold," said the Prince, sternly, as he rose, and, +followed by the nobles and Master Bernard de Brocas, went to look at the +coffers containing the treasure hoarded up and amassed by the Sanghursts +during a long period of years. "But I trow since the Black Death has so +ravaged these parts, it would be idle to strive to seek out the owners, +and it would but raise a host of false claims that no man might sift. + +"Master Bernard de Brocas, I award this treasure to Raymond de Brocas, +the true lord of Basildene, to whom and to whose heirs shall be secured +this house and all that belongs to it. Into your hands I now intrust the +gold and the lands, to be kept by you until the rightful owner appears +to lay claim to them. Let a part of this gold be spent upon making fit +this house for the reception of its master and this fair maiden, who +will one day be the mistress here with him. Let it be thy part, good +Master Bernard, to remove from these walls the curse which has been +brought upon them by the vile sorceries and cruelties of this wicked +father and more wicked son. Let Holy Church do her part to cleanse and +purify the place, and then let it be made meet for the reception of its +lord and lady when they shall return hither to receive their own." + +The good Bernard's face glowed with satisfaction at this charge. It was +just such a one as pleased him best, and such as he was well able to +fulfil. Nobody more capable could well have been found for the +guardianship and restoration of Basildene; and with this hoard to draw +upon, the old house might well grow to a beauty and grandeur it had +never known before. + +"Gracious Prince, I give you thanks on behalf of my nephew, and I will +gladly do all that I may to carry out your behest. The day will come +when Raymond de Brocas shall come in person to thank you for your +princely liberality and generosity." + +"Tush, man, the gold is not mine; and some of it may have been come by +honestly, and belong fairly enough to the Sanghurst family. You say the +mother of these bold Gascon youths was a Sanghurst: it follows, then, +that Basildene and all pertaining to it should be theirs. Raymond de +Brocas has suffered much from the Sanghursts. By every law of right and +justice, it is he who should reap the reward, and find Basildene +restored to its former beauty before he comes to dwell within it." + +"And he shall so find it if I have means to compass it," answered the +uncle, with glad pride. + +His eye was then drawn to another part of the hall; for Sir Hugh +Vavasour had just come galloping up to the door in hot haste, having +heard all manner of strange rumours: the first being that his daughter +had been found, and was in hiding at Basildene; the second, which had +only just reached his ears, that Peter Sanghurst was dead -- hanged by +order of the Prince, and that Basildene had been formally granted as the +perpetual right of Raymond de Brocas and his heirs. + +"And Raymond de Brocas is the plighted husband of thy daughter, good Sir +Hugh," said Master Bernard, coming up to help his old friend out of his +bewilderment -- "plighted, that is, by themselves, by the right of a +true and loyal love. Thy daughter will still be the Lady of Basildene, +and I think that thou wilt rather welcome my nephew as her lord than yon +miscreant, whose body is swinging on some tree not far away. Thou wert +something too willing, my friend, to sell thy daughter for wealth; but +fortune has been kind to her as well as to thee, and thou hast gained +for her the wealth, and yet hast not sacrificed her brave young heart. +Go to her now, and give her thy blessing, and tell her she may wed young +Raymond de Brocas so soon as he comes to claim her hand." + + + + CHAPTER XXX. WITH THE PRINCE.[i] + + +"Sanghurst dead! Joan free! her father's consent won! I the Lord of +Basildene! Gaston, thou takest away my breath! Art sure thou art not +mocking me?" + +"Art sure that thou art indeed thyself, my lord of Basildene?" was +Gaston's merry response, as he looked his brother over from head to foot +with beaming face; "for, in sooth, I scarce should know thee for the +brother I left behind -- that wan and wasted creature, more like a +corpse than a man. The good Brothers have indeed done well by thee, +Raymond. Save that thou hast not lost thine old saintly look, which +stamps thee as something different from the rest of us, I should scarce +have thought it could be thee. This year spent in thine own native clime +has made a new man of thee!" + +"In truth I think it has," answered Raymond, who was indeed wonderfully +changed from the time when Gaston had left him, rather more than ten +months before. "We had no snow and no cold in the winter gone by, and I +was able to take the air daily, and I grew strong wondrous fast. Thou +hadst told me to be patient, to believe that all was well if I heard +nothing from thee; and I strove to follow thy maxim, and that with good +success. I knew that thou wouldst not let me go on hoping if hope meant +but a bitterer awaking. I knew that silence must mean there was work +which thou wert doing. Many a time, as a white-winged vessel spread her +sails for England's shores, have I longed to step on board and follow +thee across the blue water to see how thou wast faring; but then came +always the thought that thou mightest be on thy way hither, and that +thou wouldst chide me for having left these sheltering walls. And so I +stayed on day after day, and week after week, until months had rolled +by; and I began to say within myself that, if thou camest not before the +autumn storms, I must e'en take ship and follow thee, for I could wait +no longer for news of thee -- and her." + +"And here I am with news of her, and news that to me is almost better. +Raymond, I have not come hither alone. The Prince and the flower of our +English chivalry are here at Bordeaux this day. The hollow truce is at +an end. Insult upon insult has been heaped upon England's King by the +King of France, the King of Navarre (who called himself our ally till he +deserted us to join the French King, who will yet avenge upon him his +foul murder of Charles of Spain), and the Count of Blois in Brittany. +England has been patient. Edward has listened long to the pleadings of +the Pope, and has not rushed into war; but he cannot wait patiently for +ever. They have roused the lion at last, and he will not slumber again +till he has laid his foes in the dust. + +"Listen, Raymond: the Prince is here in Bordeaux. The faithful Gascon +nobles -- the Lord of Pommiers, the Lord of Rosen, the Lord of Mucident, +and the Lord de l'Esparre -- have sent to England to say that if the +Prince will but come to lead them, they will make gallant war upon the +French King. John has long been striving to undermine England's power in +his kingdom, to rid himself of an enemy's presence in his country, to be +absolute lord over his vassals without their intermediate allegiance to +another master. It does not suffice that our great King does homage for +his lands in France (though he by rights is King of France himself). He +knows that here, in these sunny lands of the south, the Roy Outremer is +beloved as he has never been. He would fain rob our King of all his +lands; he is planning and plotting to do it." + +"But the Roy Outremer is not to be caught asleep," cried Raymond, with a +kindling glance, "and John of France is to learn what it is to have +aroused the wrath of the royal Edward and of his brave people of England." + +"Ay, verily; and our good Gascons are as forward in Edward's cause as +his English subjects," answered Gaston quickly. "They love our English +rule, they love our English ways; they will not tamely be transformed +into a mere fief of the French crown. They will fight for their feudal +lord, and stand stanchly by his banner. It is their express request that +brings the Prince hither today. The King is to land farther north -- at +Cherbourg methinks it was to be; whilst my Lord of Lancaster has set +sail for Brittany, to defend the Countess of Montford from the Count of +Blois, who has now paid his ransom and is free once more. His Majesty of +France will have enough to do to meet three such gallant foes in the field. + +"And listen still farther, Raymond, for the Prince has promised this +thing to me -- that as he marches through the land, warring against the +French King, he will pause before the Castle of Saut and smoke out the +old fox, who has long been a traitor at heart to the English cause. And +the lands so long held by the Navailles are to be mine, Raymond -- mine. +And a De Brocas will reign once more at Saut, as of old! What dost thou +think of that?" + +"Brother, I am glad at heart. It seemeth almost like a dream. Thou the +lord of Saut and I of Basildene! Would that she were living yet to see +the fulfilment of her dream!" + +"Ay, truly I would she were. But, Raymond, thou wilt join the Prince's +standard; thou wilt march with us to strike a blow for England's honour +and glory? Basildene and fair Mistress Joan are safe. No harm will come +to them by thine absence. And thou owest all to the Prince. Surely thou +wilt not leave him in the hour of peril; thou wilt march beneath his +banner and take thy share of the peril and the glory?" + +Gaston spoke with eager energy, looking affectionately into his +brother's face; and as he saw that look, Raymond felt that he could not +refuse his brother's request. For just a few moments he hesitated, for +the longing to see Joan once again and to clasp her in his arms was very +strong within him; but his brother's next words decided him. + +"Thy brother and the Prince have won Basildene for thee; surely thou +wilt not leave us till Saut has yielded to me!" + +Raymond held out his hand and grasped that of Gaston in a warm clasp. + +"We will go forth together once again as brothers in arms," he said, +with brightening eyes. "It may be that our paths in life may henceforth +be divided; wherefore it behoves us in the time that remains to us to +cling the more closely together. I will go with thee, brother, as thy +faithful esquire and comrade, and we will win back for thee the right to +call the old lands thine. How often we have dreamed together in our +childhood of some such day! How far away it then appeared! and yet the +day has come." + +"And thou wilt then see my Constanza," said Gaston, in low, exultant +tones -- "my lovely and gentle mistress, to whom thou, my brother, owest +thy life. It is meet that thou shouldst be one to help to set her free +from the tyranny of her rude uncle and the isolation of her dreary life +in yon grim castle walls. Thou hast seen her, hast thou not? Tell me, +was she not the fairest, the loveliest object thine eyes had ever looked +upon, saving of course (to thee) thine own beauteous lady?" + +"Methought it was some angel visitor from the unseen world," answered +Raymond, "flitting into yon dark prison house, where it seemed that no +such radiant creature could dwell. There was fever in my blood, and all +I saw was through a misty veil, I scarce believed it more than a sweet +vision; but I will thank her now for the whispered word of hope breathed +in mine ear in the hour of my sorest need." + +"Ay, that thou shalt do!" cried Gaston, with all a lover's delight in +the thought of the near meeting with the lady of his heart. "And when, +in days to come, thou and I shall bring our brides to Edward's Court, +men will all agree that two nobler, lovelier women never stepped this +earth before -- my fairy Constanza, a creature of fire and snow; thy +Joan, a veritable queen amongst women, stately, serene, full of dignity +and courage, and beautiful as she is noble." + +"And thou art sure that she is safe?" questioned Raymond, his heart +still longing for the moment of reunion after the long separation, +albeit those were days when the separation of years was no infrequent +thing, even betwixt those most closely drawn by bonds of love. "There is +none else to come betwixt her and me? Her father will not strive to +sunder us more?" + +"Her father is but too joyous to be free from the power of the +Sanghurst; and the Prince spoke words that brought the flush of shame +tingling to his face. An age of chivalry, and a man selling his daughter +for filthy lucre to one renowned for his evil deeds and remorseless +cruelties! A lady forced to flee her father's house and brave the perils +of the road to escape a terrible doom! I would thou hadst heard him, +Raymond our noble young Prince, with scorn in his voice and the light of +indignation in his eyes. And thy Joan stood beside him; he held her hand +the while, as though he would show to all men that the heir of England +was the natural protector of outraged womanhood, that the upholder of +chivalry would stand to his colours, and be the champion of every +distressed damsel throughout the length and the breadth of the land. And +the lady looked so proud and beautiful that I trow she might have had +suitors and to spare in that hour; but the Prince, still holding her +hand, told her father all the story of her plighted troth to thee -- +that truest troth plight of changeless love. And he told him how that +Basildene and all its treasure had been secured to thee, and asked him +was he willing to give his daughter to the Lord of Basildene? And Sir +Hugh was but too glad that no more than this was asked of him, and in +presence of the Prince and of us all he pledged his daughter's hand to +thee, I standing as thy proxy, as I have told thee. And now thy Joan is +well-nigh as fully thine as though ye had joined your hands in holy +wedlock. Thou hast naught to fear from her father's act. He is but too +much rejoiced with the fashion in which all has turned out. His word is +pledged before the Prince; and moreover thou art the lord of Basildene +and its treasure, and what more did he ever desire? It was a share in +that gold for which he would have sold his daughter." + +Raymond's face took a new look, one of shrinking and pain. + +"I like not that treasure, Gaston," he said. "It is like the price of +blood. I would that the King had taken it for his own. It seemeth as +though it could never bring a blessing with it." + +"Methinks it could in thy hands and Joan's," answered Gaston, with a +fond, proud glance at his brother's beautiful face; "and as the Prince +truly said, since this scourge has swept through the land, claiming a +full half of its inhabitants, it would be a hopeless task to try to +discover the real owners; and moreover a part may be the Sanghurst +store, which men have always said is no small thing, and which in very +truth is now thine. But thou canst speak to Father Paul of all that. The +Church will give thee holy counsel. Methinks that gold in thy hands +would ever be used so as to bring with it a blessing and not a curse. + +"But come now with me to the Prince. He greatly desires to see thee +again. He has not forgot thee, brother mine, nor that exploit of thine +at the surrender of Calais." + +Father Paul was not at that time within the Monastery walls, his duties +calling him hither and thither, sometimes in one land and sometimes in +another. Raymond had enjoyed a peaceful time of rest and mental +refreshment with the good monks, but he was more than ready to go forth +into the world again. Quiet and study were congenial to him, but the +life of a monk was not to his taste. He saw clearly the evils to which +such a calling was exposed, and how easy it was to forget the high +ideal, and fall into self indulgence, idleness, and sloth. + +Not that the abuses which in the end caused the monastic system to fall +into such contempt were at that time greatly developed; but the germs of +the evil were there, and it needed a nature such as that of Father Paul +and men of his stamp to show how noble the life of devotion could be +made. Ordinary men fell into a routine existence, and were in danger of +letting their duties and even their devotions become purely mechanical. + +Raymond said adieu to his hospitable entertainers with some natural +regrets, yet with a sense that there was a wider work for him to do in +the world than any he should ever find between Monastery walls. Even +apart from all thoughts of love and marriage, there was attraction for +him in the world of chivalry and warfare. His ambition took a different +form from that of the average youth of the day, but none the less for +that did it act upon him like a spur, driving him forth where strife and +conflict were being waged, and where hard blows were to be struck. + +Gaston's brother was warmly welcomed in the camp of the Prince. Many +there were who remembered the dreamy-faced lad, who had seemed like a +young Saint Michael amongst them, and still bore about with him +something of that air of remoteness which was never without its effect +even upon the rudest of his companions. Indeed the ordeal through which +he had passed had left an indelible stamp upon him. If the face looked +older than of yore, it was not that the depth and spirituality of the +expression had in any wise diminished. + +The two brothers standing together formed a perfect picture in +contrasted types -- the bronzed, stalwart soldier in his coat of mail, +looking every inch the brave knight he was; and the slim, pale-faced +Raymond, with the haunting eyes and wonderful smile, which irradiated +his face like a gleam of light from another world, bearing about with +him that which seemed to stamp him as somewhat different from his +fellows, and yet which always commanded from them not only admiration, +but affection and respect. + +The Prince's greeting was warm and hearty. He felt towards Raymond all +that goodwill which naturally follows an act of generous interference on +behalf of an injured person. He made him sit beside him in his tent at +supper time, and tell him all his history; and the promise made to +Gaston with reference to the tyrant Lord of Saut was ratified anew as +the wine circulated at table. The chosen comrades of the Prince, who had +most of them known the twin brothers for many years, vowed themselves to +the enterprise with hearty goodwill; and had the Lord of Navailles been +there to hear, he might well have trembled for his safety, despite the +strong walls and deep moat that environed Saut. + +"Let his walls be never so strong, I trow we can starve or smoke the old +fox out!" quoth young Edward, laughing. "There be many strong citadels, +many a fortified town, that will ere long open their gates at the +summons of England's Prince. How say ye, my gallant comrades? Shall the +old Tower of Saut defy English arms? Shall we own ourselves beaten by +any Sieur de Navailles?" + +The shout with which these words were answered was answer sufficient. +The English and Gascon lords, assembled together under the banner of the +Prince, were bent on a career of glory and plunder. The inaction of the +long truce, with its perpetual sources of irritation and friction, had +been exasperating in the extreme. It was an immense relief to them to +feel that war had at last been declared, and that they could unfurl +their banners and march forth against their old enemy, and enrich +themselves for life at his expense. + +With the march of the Prince through south France we have little concern +in this history. It was one long triumphal progress, not over and above +glorious from a military standpoint; for there were no real battles, and +the accumulation of plunder and the infliction of grievous damage upon +the French King's possessions seemed the chief object of the expedition. +Had there been any concerted resistance to the Prince's march, doubtless +he might have shown something of his great military talents in directing +his forces in battle; but as it was, the country appeared paralyzed at +his approach: place after place fell before him, or bought him off by a +heavy price; and though there were several citadels in the vanquished +towns which held out for France, the Prince seldom stayed to subdue +them, but contented himself with plundering and burning the town. Not a +very glorious style of warfare for those days of vaunted chivalry, yet +one, nevertheless, characteristic enough of the times. Every +undertaking, however small, gave scope for deeds of individual gallantry +and the exercise of individual acts of courtliness and chivalry; and +even the battles were often little more than a countless number of +hand-to-hand conflicts carried on by the individual members of the +opposing armies. The Prince and his chosen comrades, always on the watch +for opportunities of showing their prowess and of exercising their +knightly chivalry towards any miserable person falling in their own way, +were doubtless somewhat blinded to the ignoble side of such a campaign. + +However that may be, Raymond often felt a sinking at heart as he saw +their path marked out by blazing villages and wasted fields; and almost +all his own energies were concentrated in striving to do what one man +could achieve to mitigate the horrors of war for some of its helpless +victims. + +Narbonne, on the Gulf of Lions, was the last place attacked and taken by +the Prince, who then decided to return with his spoil to Bordeaux, and +pass the remainder of the winter in the capture of certain places that +would be useful to the English. + +Nothing had all this time been spoken as to Saut, which lay out of the +line of their march in the heart of friendly Gascony. But the project +had by no means been abandoned, and the Prince was but waiting a +favourable opportunity to carry it into effect. + +The Sieur de Navailles had not attempted to join the Prince's standard, +as so many of the Gascon nobles had done, but had held sullenly aloof, +probably watching and waiting to see the result of this expedition, but +by no means prepared to adventure his person into the hands of a feudal +lord against whom his own sword had more than once been drawn. He was +well aware, no doubt, that there were pages in his past history with +regard to his relations with France that would not bear inspection by +English eyes, and perhaps he trusted to the remoteness and obscurity of +his two castles to save him from the notice of the Prince. + +The terror inspired by the English arms in France is a thing that must +always excite the wonder and curiosity of the readers of history. It was +displayed on and after the Battle of Crecy, when Edward's army, if +numbers counted for anything, ought to have been simply annihilated by +the vast musters of the French, who were in their own land surrounded by +friends, whilst the English were a small band in the midst of a hostile +and infuriated population. This same thing was seen again in the march +of the Prince of Wales, soon to be called the Black Prince, when city +after city bought him off, hopeless of resisting his progress; and when +the army mustered by the Count of Armagnac to oppose the retreat of the +English to Bordeaux with their spoil was seized with a panic after the +merest skirmish, and fled, leaving the Prince to pursue his way unmolested. + +If the conduct of the English army was somewhat inglorious, certainly +the behaviour of their foes was still more so. The English were always +ready to fight if they could find an enemy to meet them. Possibly the +doubtful character of the Prince's first campaign was less his fault +than that of his pusillanimous enemies. + +Bordeaux reached, however, and the Gascon soldiers dismissed to their +homes for the winter months, the Prince promising to lead them next year +upon a more glorious campaign, in which fresh spoil was to be won and +more victories achieved, there was time for the consideration of objects +of minor importance, and a breathing space wherein private interests +could be considered. + +Gaston had repressed all impatience during the march of the Prince. He +had not looked that his own affairs should take the foremost place in +the Prince's scheme. Moreover, he saw well that it would give a false +colour to the expedition if the first march of the Prince had been into +Gascony; nor was the capture of so obscure a fortress as the Castle of +Saut a matter to engross the energies of the whole of the allied army. + +But now that the army was partially disbanded, whilst the English +contingent was either in winter quarters in Bordeaux or engaged here and +there in the capture of such cities and fortresses as the Prince decided +worth the taking, the moment appeared to be favourable for that +long-wished-for capture of Saut; and Gaston, taking his brother aside +one day, eagerly opened to him his mind. + +"Raymond, I have spoken to the Prince. He is ready and willing to give +me men at any time I ask him. Perchance he will even come himself, if +duty calls him not elsewhere. The thing is now in mine own hands. +Brother, when shall the attempt be made?" + +Raymond smiled at the eager question. + +"Sir Knight, thou art more the warrior than I. Thou best knowest the day +and the hour for such a matter." + +Gaston passed his hand through his hair, and a softer light shone in his +eyes. His brother knew of whom he was thinking, and he was not surprised +at the next words. + +"Raymond, methinks before I do aught else I must see her once more. My +heart is hungry for her. I think of her by day and dream of her by +night. Perchance there might be some more peaceful way of winning +entrance to Saut than by battering down the walls, and doing by hap some +hurt to the precious treasure within. Brother, wilt thou wander forth +with me once again -- thou and I, and a few picked men, in case of peril +by the way, to visit Saut by stealth? We would go by the way of Father +Anselm's and our old home. I have a fancy to see the dear old faces once +again. Thou hast, doubtless, seen them all this year that has passed by, +but I not for many an one." + +"I saw Father Anselm in Bordeaux," answered Raymond; "and good Jean, +when he heard I was there, came all the way to visit me. But I +adventured not myself so near the den of Navailles. The Brothers would +not permit it. They feared lest I might fall again into his power. +Gladly, indeed, would I come and see them once again. I have pictured +many times how, when thou art Lord of Saut, I will bring my Joan to +visit thee, and show her to good Jean and Margot and saintly Father +Anselm. I would fain talk to them of that day. They ever feel towards us +as though we were their children in very truth." + +There was no difficulty in obtaining the Prince's sanction to this +absence from Bordeaux. He gave the brothers free leave to carry out +their plan by any means they chose, promising if they sent him word at +any time that they were ready for the assault, he would either come +himself or send a picked band of veterans to their aid; and saying that +Gaston was to look upon himself as Lord of Saut, by mandate from the +English King, who would enforce his right by his royal power if any +usurping noble dared to dispute it with him. + +Thus fortified by royal warrant, and with a heart beating high with hope +and love, Gaston set out with some two score soldiers as a bodyguard to +reconnoitre the land; and upon the evening of the second day, the +brothers saw, in the fast-fading light of the winter's day, the red +roofs of the old mill lying peacefully in the gathering shadows of the +early night. + +Their men had been dismissed to find quarters in the village for +themselves, and Roger was their only attendant, as they drew rein before +the door of the mill, and saw the miller coming quickly round the angle +of the house to inquire what these strangers wanted there at such an hour. + +"Jean!" cried Gaston, in his loud and hearty tones, the language of his +home springing easily to his lips, though the English tongue was now the +one in which his thoughts framed themselves. "Good Jean, dost thou not +know us?" + +The beaming welcome on the miller's face was answer enough in itself; +and, indeed, he had time to give no other, for scarce had the words +passed Gaston's lips before there darted out from the open door of the +house a light and fairy-like form, and a silvery cry of rapture broke +from the lips of the winsome maiden, whilst Gaston leaped from his horse +with a smothered exclamation, and in another moment the light fairy form +seemed actually swallowed up in the embrace of those strong arms. + +"Constanza my life -- my love!" + +"O Gaston, Gaston! can it in very truth be thou?" + +Raymond looked on in mute amaze, turning his eyes from the lovers +towards the miller, who was watching the encounter with a beaming face. + +"What means it all?" asked the youth breathlessly. + +"Marry, it means that the maiden has found her true knight," answered +Jean, all aglow with delight; but then, understanding better the drift +of Raymond's question, he turned his eyes upon him again, and said: + +"You would ask how she came hither? Well, that is soon told. It was one +night nigh upon six months agone, and we had long been abed, when we +heard a wailing sound beneath our windows, and Margot declared there was +a maiden sobbing in the garden below. She went down to see, and then the +maid told her a strange, wild tale. She was of the kindred of the Sieur +de Navailles, she said, and was the betrothed wife of Gaston de Brocas; +and as we knew somewhat of her tale through Father Anselm, who had heard +of your captivity and rescue, we knew that she spoke the truth. She said +that since the escape, which had so perplexed the wicked lord, he had +become more fierce and cruel than before, and that he seemed in some +sort to suspect her, though of what she scarce knew. She told us that +his mind seemed to be deserting him, that she feared he was growing +lunatic. He was so fierce and wild at times that she feared for her own +life. She bore it as long as her maid, the faithful Annette, lived; but +in the summer she fell sick of a fever, and died -- the lady knew not if +it were not poison that had carried her off -- and a great terror seized +her. Not two days later, she fled from her gloomy home, and not knowing +where else to hide her head, she fled hither, trusting that her lover +would shortly come to free her from her uncle's tyranny, as he had +sworn, and believing that the home which had sheltered the infancy of +the De Brocas brothers would give her shelter till that day came." + +"And you took her in and guarded her, and kept her safe from harm," +cried Raymond, grasping the hand of the honest peasant and wringing it +hard. "It was like you to do it, kind, good souls! My brother will thank +you, in his own fashion, for such service. But I must thank you, too. +And where is Margot? for I trow she has been as a mother to the maid. I +would see her and thank her, for Gaston has no eyes nor ears for any one +but his fair lady." + +Gaston, indeed, was like one in a dream. He could scarce believe the +evidence of his senses; and it was a pretty sight to see how the winsome +Constanza clung to him, and how it seemed as though she could not bear +to let her eyes wander for a moment from his face. + +Only at night, when the brothers stood together in the room they had +occupied of yore, and clasped each other by the hand in warm +congratulation, did Raymond really know how this meeting affected the +object of their journey; then Gaston, looking grave and thoughtful, +spoke a few words of his purpose. + +"The Sieur de Navailles is a raging madman. That I can well divine from +what Constanza says. Tomorrow we will to Saut, to see what we may +discover there on the spot. It may be we may have no bloody warfare to +wage; it may be that Saut may be won without the struggle we have +thought. His own people are terrified before him. Constanza thinks that +I have but to declare myself and show the King's warrant to be +proclaimed by all as Lord and Master of Saut." + + + + CHAPTER XXXI. THE SURRENDER OF SAUT. + + +"In the King's name!" + +The old seneschal at the drawbridge eyed with glances of awed suspicion +the gallant young knight who had ridden so boldly up to the walls of +Saut and had bidden him lower the bridge. A few paces behind the leader +was a compact little body of horsemen, all well mounted and well armed, +though it was little their bright weapons could do against the solid +walls of the grim old fortress, girdled as it was with its wide and deep +moat. The pale sunshine of a winter's day shone upon the trappings of +the little band, and lighted up the stone walls with something of +unwonted brightness. It revealed to those upon the farther side of the +moat the perplexed countenance of the old seneschal, who did not meet +Gaston's bold demand for admittance with defiance or refusal, but stood +staring at the apparition, as if not knowing what to make of it; and +when the demand had been repeated somewhat more peremptorily, he still +stood doubtful and hesitating, saying over and over to himself the same +words: + +"In the King's name! in the King's name!" + +"Ay, fellow, in the King's name," repeated Gaston sternly. "Wilt thou +see his warrant? I have it here. Thou hadst best have a care how thou +settest at defiance the King's seal and signet. Knowest thou not that +his royal son is within a few leagues of this very spot?" + +The old man only shook his head, as if scarce comprehending the drift of +these words, and presently he looked up to ask: + +"Of which King speak you, good Sir Knight?" + +"Of the English King, fellow, the only King I acknowledge! Whose servant +doth thy master call himself? Thou hadst better go and tell him that +King Edward of England has sent a message to him." + +"Tell my master!" repeated the seneschal, with a strange gesture, as he +lifted his hand and touched his head. "To what good would that be? My +master understands no word that is said to him. He raves up and down the +hall day by day, taking note of naught about him. Thou hadst best have a +care how thou beardest him, Sir Knight. We go in terror of our very +lives through him." + +"Ye need go no longer in that fear," cried Gaston, with a kindling of +the eyes, as he bared his noble head and looked forth at the old man +with his fearless glance, "for in me ye will find a master whom none +need fear who do their duty by him and by the King. Seneschal, I stand +here the lawful Lord of Saut -- lord by hereditary right, and by the +mandate of England's King, the Roy Outremer, as you call him. I am +Gaston de Brocas, of the old race who owned these lands long before the +false Navailles had set foot therein. I have come back armed with the +King's warrant to claim mine own. + +"Say, men, will ye have me for your lord? or will ye continue to serve +yon raging madman till England's King sends an army to raze Saut to the +ground, and slay the rebellious horde within these ancient walls?" + +Gaston had raised his voice as he had gone on speaking, for he saw that +the dialogue with the old seneschal had attracted the attention of a +number of men-at-arms, who had gradually mustered about the gate to hear +what was passing. + +Gaston spoke his native dialect like one of themselves. The name of De +Brocas was known far and wide in that land, and was everywhere spoken +with affection and respect. The fierce rapacity of the Navailles was +equally feared and hated. Even the stout soldiers who had followed his +fortunes so long regarded him with fear and distrust. No man in those +days felt certain of his life. If he chanced to offend the madman, a +savage blow from that strong arm might fell him to the earth; whilst +some amongst their companions had from time to time mysteriously +disappeared, and their fate had never been disclosed. + +A sense of fearfulness and uncertainty had long reigned at Saut. The mad +master had his own myrmidons in the Tower, who would do his bidding +whatever that bidding might be; and that there were dark secrets hidden +away in those underground dungeons and secret chambers everybody in the +Castle well knew. Hardly one of the men now gathered on the opposite +side of the moat but had awakened at some time or other from a horrid +dream, believing himself to have been spirited down into those gloomy +subterranean places, there to expiate some trifling offence, according +as their savage lord should give order. Many of these men had assisted +at scenes which seemed frightful to them when they pictured themselves +the victims of the cruelty of the fierce man they had long served, but +whom now they had grown to fear and distrust. + +A sense of horror had long been hanging over Saut, and since the +disappearance of the maiden who once had brightened the grim place by +her presence, this horror had perceptibly deepened. Not one of all the +men-at-arms dared even to his fellow to propose the remedy. Each feared +that if he breathed what was in his own mind, the very walls would +whisper it in the ears of their lord, and that the offender would be +doomed to some horrible death, to act as a warning to others like-minded +with himself. Since the loss of his niece, almost as mysterious to him +as the escape of Raymond de Brocas from the prison, the clouds of doubt +and suspicion had closed more and more darkly round the miserable man, +who had let himself become the slave of his passions until these had +increased to absolute madness. His unbridled fury and fits of maniac +rage had estranged from him even the most attached of his old retainers, +and in proportion as he felt this with the instinct of cunning and +madness, the more did he exact from those about him protestations of +zeal and faithfulness, the more did he watch the words and actions of +his servants, and mark the smallest attempt on their part to restrain or +thwart him. + +Small wonder was it, then, when Gaston de Brocas stood forth in the +sunshine, the King's warrant in his hand, words of good augury upon his +lips, and a compact little body of armed men at his back, proclaiming +himself the Lord of Saut, and inviting to his service the men who were +now trembling before the caprices and cruel cunning of a madman, that +they exchanged wondering glances, and spoke in eager whispers together, +fearful lest the Navailles should approach from behind ere they were +aware of it, and feeling that there was here such a chance of escape +from miserable bondage as might never occur again. + +And whilst they still hesitated -- for the fear of treachery was never +absent from the minds of those bred up in habits and thoughts of +treachery -- another wonder happened. Out from the little knot a few +paces behind the young knight two more figures pressed forward, and the +men-at-arms rubbed their eyes and looked on in silent wonder: for one of +the pair was none other than the fairy maiden who had lived so long +amongst them, and had endeared herself even to these rude spirits by her +grace and sweetness and undefinable charm; the other, that youth with +the wonderful eyes and saint-like face who had been captured and borne +away to Saut after the battle before St. Jean d'Angely, and whose body +they all believed had long ago been lying beneath the sullen waters of +the moat, where so many victims of their lord's hatred had found their +last resting place. + +And as they stared and looked at one another and stared again, a silvery +voice was uplifted, and they all held their breath to listen. + +"My friends," said the lady, urging her palfrey till she reached +Gaston's side, and could feel his hand upon hers, "I have come hither +with this noble knight, Sir Gaston de Brocas, because he is my betrothed +husband and liege lord, and I have the right to be at his side even in +the hour of peril, but also because you all know me; and when I tell you +that every word he has spoken is true, I trow ye will believe it. There +he stands, the lawful Lord of Saut, and if ye will but own him as your +lord, you will find in him a wise, just, and merciful master, who will +protect you from the mad fury of yon miserable man whom now ye serve, +and will lead you to more glorious feats of arms than any ye have +dreamed of before. Hitherto ye have been little better than robbers and +outlaws. Have ye no wish for better things than ye have won under the +banner of Navailles?" + +The men exchanged glances, and visibly wavered. They compared their +coarse and stained garments, their rusty arms and battered +accoutrements, with the brilliant appearance of the little band of +soldiers standing on the opposite side of the moat, their armour shining +in the sunlight, their steeds well fed and well groomed, arching their +necks and pawing the ground, every man and every horse showing plainly +that they came from a region of abundance of good things; whilst the +military precision of their aspect showed equally well that they would +be antagonists of no insignificant calibre, if the moment should come +when they were transformed from friends to foes. + +Constanza saw the wavering and hesitation amongst her uncle's men. She +well knew their discontent at their own lot, their fearful distrust of +their lord. She knew, too, that it was probably some fear of treachery +alone that withheld them from making cause at once with the De Brocas -- +treachery having been only too much practised amongst them by their own +fierce master -- and again her voice rang out clear and sweet. + +"Men, listen again to me. I speak to counsel you for your good; for +fierce and cruel as ye have been to your foes, ye have ever been kind +and gentle to me when I was with you in these walls. What think ye to +gain by defying the great King of England? Think ye that he will spare +you if ye arouse him to anger by impotent resistance? What more could +King have done for you than send to be your lord a noble Gascon knight; +one of your own race and language; one who, as ye all must know, has a +far better right to hold these lands than any of the race of Navailles? +Here before you stands Sir Gaston de Brocas, offering you place in his +service if ye will but swear to him that allegiance he has the right to +claim. The offer is made in clemency and mercy, because he would not +that any should perish in futile resistance. Men, ye know that he comes +to this place with the King's mandate that Saut be given up to him. If +it be not peaceably surrendered, what think ye will happen next? + +"I will tell you. Ye have heard of the Prince of Wales, son of the Roy +Outremer; doubtless even to these walls has come the news of that +triumphal march of his, where cities have surrendered or ransomed +themselves to him, and nothing has been able to stay the might of his +conquering arm. That noble Prince and valiant soldier is now not far +away. We have come from his presence, and are here with his knowledge +and sanction. If we win you over, and gain peaceable possession of these +walls, good; no harm will befall any living creature within them. But if +ye prove obdurate; if ye will not listen to the voice of reason; if ye +still hold with rebellious defiance to the lord ye have served, and who +has shown himself so little worthy of your service, then will the Prince +and his warriors come with all their wrath and might to inflict +chastisement upon you, and take vengeance upon you, as enemies of the King. + +"Say, men, how can ye hope to resist the might of the Prince's arm? Say, +which will ye do -- be the free servants of Gaston de Brocas, or die +like rats in a hole for the sake of yon wicked madman, whose slaves ye +have long been? Which shall it be -- a De Brocas or a Navailles?" + +Something in this last appeal stirred the hearts of the men. It seemed +as though a veil were torn from their eyes. They seemed to see all in a +moment the hopelessness of their position as vassals of Navailles, and +the folly of attempting resistance to one so infinitely more worthy to +be called their lord. It was no stranger coming amongst them -- it was +one of the ancient lords of the soil; and the sight of the youthful +knight, sitting there on his fine horse, with his fair lady beside him, +was enough to stir the pulses and awaken the enthusiasm of an ardent +race, even though the nobler instincts had been long sleeping in the +breasts of these men. They hated and distrusted their old lord with a +hatred he had well merited; and degraded as they had become in his +service, they had not yet sunk so low but that they could feel with the +keenness of instinct, rather than by any reasoning powers they +possessed, that this young knight was a man to be trusted and be loved +-- that if they became his vassals they would receive vastly different +treatment from any they had received from the Sieur de Navailles. + +There was one long minute's pause, whilst looks and whispered words were +exchanged, and then a shout arose: + +"De Brocas! De Brocas! We will live and die the servants of De Brocas!" +whilst at the same moment the drawbridge slowly descended, and Gaston, +at the head of his gallant little band, with Raymond and Constanza at +his side, rode proudly over the sounding planks, and found himself, for +the first time in his life, in the courtyard of the Castle of Saut. + +"De Brocas! De Brocas!" shouted the men, all doubt and hesitation done +away with in a moment at sight of the gallant show thus made, enthusiasm +kindling in every breast as the sweet lady rained smiles and gracious +words upon the rough men, who had always had a soft spot in their heart +for her; whilst Raymond's earnest eyes and Gaston's courtly and +chivalrous bearing were not without effect upon the ruder natures of +these lonely residents of Saut. It seemed to them as though they had +been invaded by some denizens from another world, and murmurs of wonder +and reverent admiration mingled with the cheering with which Gaston de +Brocas was received as Lord of Saut. + +But there was still one more person to be faced. The men had accepted +the sovereignty of a new lord, and were already rejoicing in the escape +from the dreaded tyranny they had not had the resolution to shake off +unprompted; but there was still the Sieur de Navailles to be dealt with, +and impotent as he might be in the desertion of his old followers, it +was necessary to see and speak with him, and decide what must be done +with the man who was believed by those about him to be little better +than a raging maniac. + +"Where is your master?" asked Gaston of the old seneschal, who stood at +his bridle rein, his eyes wandering from his face to that of Raymond and +Constanza and back again; "I marvel that this tumult has not brought him +forth." + +"The walls are thick," replied the old man, "and he lives for days +together in a world of his own, no sound or sight from without +penetrating his understanding. Then again he will awaken from his dream, +and show us that he has heard and seen far more than we have thought. +And if any man amongst us has dropped words that have incensed him -- +well, there have been men who have disappeared from amongst us and have +never been seen more; and tales are whispered of horrid cries and groans +that have issued as from the very bowels of the earth each time +following their spiriting away." + +Constanza shuddered, and a black frown crossed Gaston's face as he gave +one quick glance at his brother, who had so nearly shared that +mysterious and terrible doom. + +"The man is a veritable fiend. He merits scant mercy at our hands. He +has black crimes upon his soul. Seneschal, lead on. Take us to him ye +once owned as sovereign lord. I trow ye will none of you lament the day +ye transferred your allegiance from yon miscreant to Gaston de Brocas!" + +Another cheer, heartier than the last, broke from the lips of all the +men. They had been joined now by their comrades within the Castle, and +in the sense of freedom from the hateful tyranny of their old master all +were rejoicing and filled with enthusiasm. + +For once they were free from all fear of treachery. Gaston's own picked +band of stalwart veterans was guarantee enough that might as well as +right was on the side of the De Brocas. The sight of those well-equipped +men-at-arms, all loyal and full of affectionate enthusiasm for their +youthful lord, showed these rude retainers how greatly to their +advantage would be this change of masters; and before Gaston had +dismounted and walked across the courtyard towards the portal of the +Castle, he felt, with a swelling of the heart that Raymond well +understood, that Saut was indeed his own. + +"This is the way to the Sieur de Navailles," said the old seneschal, as +they passed beneath the frowning doorway into a vaulted stone hall. "He +spends whole days and nights pacing up and down like a wild beast in a +cage. He scarce leaves the hall, save when he wanders forth into the +forest, and that has not happened since the cold winds have blown hard. +You will find him within those doors, good gentlemen. Shall I make known +your presence to him?" + +It was plain that the old man had no small fear of his master, and would +gladly be spared this office. Gaston looked round to see that some of +his own followers were close behind and on the alert, and then taking +Constanza's hand in his, and laying his right hand upon the hilt of his +sword, he signed to the seneschal to throw open the massive oaken doors, +and walked fearlessly in with Raymond at his side. + +They found themselves in the ancient banqueting hall of the fortress -- +a long, lofty, rather narrow room, with a heavily-raftered ceiling, two +huge fireplaces, one at either end, and a row of very narrow windows cut +in the great thickness of the wall occupying almost the whole of one +side of the place; whilst a long table was placed against the opposite +wall, with benches beside it, and another smaller table was placed upon +a small raised dais at the far end of the apartment. On this dais was +also set a heavy oaken chair, close beside the glowing hearth; and at +this moment it was plain that the occupant of the chair had been +disturbed by the commotion from without, and had suddenly risen to his +feet, for he stood grasping the oaken arms, his wild gray hair hanging +in matted masses about his seamed and wrinkled face, and his hollow +eyes, in which a fierce light blazed, turned upon the intruders in a +glare of impotent fury. + +"Who are ye who thus dare to intrude upon me here? What is all this +tumult I hear in mine own halls? + +"Seneschal, art thou there? Send hither to me my soldiers; bid them bind +these men, and carry them to the dungeons. I will see them there. Ha, +ha! I will talk with them there. I will deal with them there. What ho! +Send me the jailer and his assistants! Let them light the fires and heat +hot the irons. Let them prepare our welcome for guests to Saut. Ha, ha! +Ho, ho! These brave gallants shall taste our hospitality. Who brought +them in? Where were they found? Methinks they will prove a rich booty. +Would that good Peter Sanghurst were here to help me in the task of +entertaining these new guests!" + +The man was a raving lunatic; that was plain to the most inexperienced +eye from the first moment. He knew not his own niece, he knew not the De +Brocas brothers, though Raymond's face must have been familiar to him +had he been in his right senses. He was still in fancy the undisputed +lord of these wide lands, scouring the country for English travellers or +prisoners of meaner mould; acting here in Gascony much the same part as +the Sanghursts had more cautiously done in England, and as the Barons of +both France and England had long done, though their day of irresponsible +and autocratic power was well-nigh at an end. + +He glared upon the brothers and their attendants with savage fury, still +calling out to his men to carry them to the dungeons, still believing +them to be a band of travellers taken prisoners by his own orders, +raving and raging in his impotent fury till the gust of passion had worn +itself out, and in a sullen amaze he sank into his seat, still gazing +out from under his shaggy brows at the intruders, but the passion and +fury for a moment at an end. + +"He will understand better what you say to him now, Sir Knight," +whispered the old seneschal, who alone of the men belonging to the +Castle dared to enter the hall where their maniac master was. "His mind +comes back to him sometimes after he has raved himself quiet. We dread +his sullen moods almost more than his wild ones. + +"Have a care how you approach him. He is as cunning as a fox, and as +crafty as he is cruel. He always has some weapon beneath his robe. Have +a care, I say, how you approach him." + +Gaston nodded, but he was too fearless by nature to pay much heed to the +warning; he felt himself more than a match for that bowed-down old man. +Giving Constanza into Raymond's charge, he stepped boldly up to the +dais, and doffing his headpiece, addressed himself to his adversary in +firm though courteous accents. + +"My Lord of Navailles," he said, "I am come to claim mine own. If thou +knowest me not, I will tell thee who I am -- Gaston de Brocas, the Lord +of Saut in mine own right, and by the mandate of the King which I hold +in mine hand. Long hast thou held lands to which thou hadst no right, +but the day has come when I claim mine own again, and am prepared to do +battle for it to the death. But here is no battle needed. Thine own men +have called me lord; they have obeyed the mandate of the King, and have +opened their gates to me. I stand here the Lord of Saut. Thy power and +thy reign are over for ever. Grossly hast thou abused that power when it +was thine. Now, like all tyrants, thou art finding that thy servants +fall away in the hour of peril, and that thou, who hast been a cruel +master, canst command no service from them in the time of need. I, and I +alone, am Lord of Saut. Hast thou aught to say ere thou yieldest +dominion to me?" + +Did he understand? Those standing round and breathlessly watching the +curious scene could scarce be sure; but there was a look of +comprehension and of intense baffled rage and malice in those cavernous +eyes that sent a shiver through Constanza's light frame. + +"Have a care, Gaston; have a care!" she cried, with sudden shrillness, +as she saw a quick movement of those knotted sinewy hands beneath the +coarse robe the old man wore; and in another moment both she and Raymond +had sprung forward, for there was a flash of keen steel, and the madman +had flung himself upon Gaston with inconceivable rapidity of motion. + +For a moment there was a hideous scuffle. Blood was flowing, they knew +not whose. Gaston acted solely on the defensive. He would not raise his +hand against one who was old and lunatic, and near in blood to her whom +he held dear; but he wrestled valiantly in the iron grip of arms +stronger than his own, and he felt that some struggle was going on above +him, though for the moment his own breath seemed suspended, and his very +life pressed out of him. + +Then came a sudden sense of release. His enemy had relaxed his bear-like +clasp. Gaston sprang to his feet to see his enemy falling backwards in a +helpless collapse, the hilt of a dagger clasped between his knotted +hands -- the sharp blade buried in his own heart. + +"He has killed himself!" cried Constanza, with eyes dilated with horror, +as she sprang to Gaston's side. It had all been so quick that it was +hard to tell what had befallen in those few seconds of life-and-death +struggle. Gaston was bleeding from a slight flesh wound in the arm, but +that was the only hurt he had received; whilst his foe -- + +"He strove to plunge the dagger in thy breast, Gaston," said Raymond, +who was supporting the head of the dying man; "and failing that, he +thought to smother thee in his bear-like clasp, that has crushed the +life out of enemies before now, as we have ofttimes heard. When he felt +other foes around him unloosing that clasp, and knew himself balked of +his purpose, he clutched the weapon thou hadst dashed from his hand and +buried it in his own body. As he has lived, so has he died -- defiant to +the very end. But the madness-cloud may have hung long upon his spirit. +Perchance some of the worst of his crimes may not be laid to his charge." + +As Raymond spoke, the dying man opened his eyes, and fixed them upon the +face bending over him. The light of sullen defiance which had shone +there but a few short moments ago changed to something strange and new +as he met the calm, compassionate glance of those expressive eyes now +fixed upon him. He seemed to give a slight start, and to strive to draw +himself away. + +"Thou here!" he gasped -- "thou! Hast thou indeed come from the spirit +world to mock me in my last moments? I know thee now, Raymond de Brocas! +I have seen thee before -- thou knowest how and where. Methinks the very +angels of heaven must have spirited thee away. Why art thou here now?" + +"To bid thee ask forgiveness for thy sins with thy dying breath," +answered Raymond, gently yet firmly; "to bid thee turn thy thoughts for +one last moment towards thy Saviour, and though thou hast scorned and +rebelled against Him in life, to ask His pardoning mercy in death. He +has pardoned a dying miscreant ere now. Wilt thou not take upon thy lips +that dying thief's petition, and cry 'Lord, remember me;' or this +prayer, 'Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner'?" + +A gray shadow was creeping over the rugged face, the lips seemed to +move, but no words came forth. There was no priest at hand to listen to +a dying confession, or to pronounce a priestly absolution, and yet +Raymond had spoken as if there might yet be mercy for an erring, +sin-stained soul, if it would but turn in its last agony to the +Crucified One -- the Saviour crucified for the sins of the whole world. + +It must be remembered that there was less of priestcraft -- less of what +we now call popery -- in those earlier days than there came to be later +on; and the springs of truth, though somewhat tainted, were not +poisoned, as it were, at the very source, as they afterwards became. +Something of the purity of primitive times lingered in the minds of men, +and here and there were always found pure spirits upon whom the errors +of man obtained no hold -- spirits that seemed to rise superior to their +surroundings, and hold communion direct with heaven itself. Such a +nature and such a mind was Raymond's; and his clear, intense faith had +been strengthened and quickened by the vicissitudes through which he had +passed. He did not hesitate to point the dying soul straight to the +Saviour Himself, without mediation from the Blessed Virgin or the Holy +Saints. Love and revere these he might and did; but in the presence of +that mighty power of death, in that hour when flesh and heart do fail, +he felt as he had felt when he believed his own soul was to be called +away -- when it seemed as though no power could avail to save him from a +fearful fate -- that to God alone must the cry of the suffering soul be +raised; that into the Saviour's hands alone could the departing soul be +committed. He did not speak to others of these thoughts -- thoughts +which in later days came to be branded with the dreaded name of "heresy" +-- but he held them none the less surely in the depths of his own +spirit; and now, when all but he would have stood aside with pitiful +helplessness, certain that nothing could be done for the dying man in +absence of a priest, Raymond strove to lead his thoughts upwards, that +though his life had been black and evil, he might still die with his +face turned Godwards, with a cry for mercy on his lips. + +Nor was this hope in vain; for at the last the old man raised himself +with a strength none believed him to possess, and raising his hand he +clasped that of Raymond, and said: + +"Raymond de Brocas, I strove to compass thy death, and thou hast come to +me in mine hour of need, and spoken words of hope. If thou canst forgive +-- thou so cruelly treated, so vilely betrayed -- it may be that the +Saviour, whose servant thou art, can forgive yet greater crimes. + +"Christ have mercy upon me! Lord have mercy upon me! Christ have mercy +upon me! My worldly possessions are fled: let them go; they are in good +hands. May Christ pardon my sins, and receive me at last to Himself!" + +He looked earnestly at Raymond, who understood him, and whispered the +last prayers of the Church in his ear. A look of calm and peace fell +upon that wild and rugged face; and drawing one sigh, and slightly +turning himself towards his former foe, the old ruler of Saut fell +asleep, and died with the two De Brocas brothers standing beside him. + + + + CHAPTER XXXII. ON THE FIELD OF POITIERS. + + +The face of the Prince was dark and grave. He had posted his gallant +little army in the strongest position the country afforded; but his men +were ill-fed, and though brave as lions and eager for the battle, were +but a handful of troops compared with the vast French host opposed to them. + +Eight thousand against fifty or even sixty thousand! Such an inequality +might well make the stoutest heart quail. But there was no fear in young +Edward's eyes, only a glance of stern anxiety slightly dashed with +regret; for the concessions just made to the Cardinal de Perigord, who +was earnestly striving to arrange terms between the rival armies and so +avoid the bloodshed of a battle, went sorely against the grain of the +warrior prince, and he was almost disposed to repent that he had been +induced to make them. + +But his position was sufficiently critical, and defeat meant the +annihilation of the gallant little army who had followed his fortunes +through two campaigns, and who were to a man his devoted servants. He +had led them, according to promise, upon another long march of unopposed +plunder and victory, right into the very heart of France; whilst another +English army in Normandy and Brittany had been harassing the French +King, and averting his attention from the movements of his son. + +Perhaps young Edward's half-matured plan had been to join the other +English forces in the north, for he was too much the general and the +soldier to think of marching upon Paris or of attacking the French army +with his own small host. Indeed, a few reverses had recently taught him +that he had already ventured almost too far into the heart of a hostile +country; and he was, in fact, retreating upon Bordeaux, believing the +French army to be behind him, when he discovered that it was in front of +him, intercepting his farther progress, and he was made aware of this +unwelcome fact by seeing the advance guard of his own army literally cut +to pieces by the French soldiers before he could come to their assistance. + +Realizing at once the immense peril of his position, the Prince had +marched on till he reached a spot where he could post his men to some +advantage amongst hedges and bushes that gave them shelter, and would +serve to embarrass an attacking foe, and in particular any charge of +cavalry. The place selected was some six miles from Poitiers, and +possessed so many natural advantages that the Prince felt encouraged to +hope for a good issue to the day, albeit the odds were fearfully to his +disadvantage. + +He had looked to be speedily attacked by the French King, who was in +person leading his host; but the Saturday passed away without any +advance, and on Sunday morning the good Cardinal de Perigord began to +strive to bring matters to a peaceable issue. + +Brave as the young Prince was, and great as his reliance on his men had +always been, his position was perilous in the extreme, and he had been +willing to listen to the words of the Cardinal. Indeed, he had made +wonderful concessions to the messenger of peace, for he had at last +consented to give up all the places he had taken, to set free all +prisoners, and to swear not to take up arms against the King of France +for seven years; and now he stood looking towards the French host with a +frown of anxious perplexity upon his face, for the Cardinal had gone +back to the French King with this message, and already the Prince was +half repentant at having conceded so much. He had been persuaded rather +against his will, and he was wondering what his royal father would say +when he should hear. + +He had been thinking rather of his brave soldiers' lives than his own +military renown, when he had let himself be won over by the good +Cardinal. Had he, after all, made a grand mistake? + +His knights stood around, well understanding the conflict going on in +his breast, and sympathizing deeply with him in this crisis of his life, +but not knowing themselves what it were best to do. The sun was creeping +to the horizon before the Cardinal was seen returning, and his face was +grave and sorrowful as he was ushered into the presence of the Prince. + +"My Liege," he said, in accents of regret, "it is but sorry news I have +to bring you. My royal master of his own will would have gladly listened +to the terms to which your consent has been won, save for the vicious +counsel of my lord Bishop of Chalons, Renaud Chauveau, who hates your +nation so sorely that he has begged the King, even upon his bended +knees, to slay every English soldier in this realm rather than suffer +them to escape just when they had fallen into his power, rather than +listen to overtures of submission without grasping the victory of blood +which God had put into his hands. Wherefore my liege the King has vowed +that he will consent to nothing unless you yourself, together with one +hundred of your knights, will give yourselves up into his hand without +condition." + +Young Edward's eyes flashed fire. A look more like triumph than dismay +crossed his noble face. Looking at the sorrowful Cardinal, with the +light of battle in his eyes, he said in ringing tones: + +"My Lord Cardinal, I thank you for your goodwill towards us. You are a +good and holy man, an ambassador of peace, and as such you are +fulfilling your Master's will. But I can listen no longer to your words. +Go back to the King of France, and tell him that I thank him for his +last demand, because it leaves me no choice but to fight him to the +death; and ten thousand times would I rather fight than yield, albeit +persuaded to submit to terms by your eloquent pleading. Return to your +lord, and tell him that Edward of England defies him, and will meet him +in battle so soon as it pleases him to make the attack. I fear him not. +The English have found no such mighty antagonists in the French that +they should fear them now. + +"Go, my Lord Cardinal, and carry back my message of defiance. Ere +another sun has set I hope to meet John of France face to face in the +foremost of the fight!" + +A shout of joy and triumph rose from a hundred throats as this answer +was listened to by the Prince's knights, and the cheer was taken up and +echoed by every soldier in the camp. It was the signal, as all knew +well, that negotiation had failed; and the good Cardinal went +sorrowfully back to the French lines, whilst the English soldiers +redoubled their efforts at trenching the ground and strengthening their +position -- efforts which had been carried on ceaselessly all through +this and the preceding day, regardless of the negotiations for peace, +which many amongst them hoped would prove abortive. + +Then up to the Prince's side stepped bold Sir James Audley, who had been +his counsellor and adviser during the whole of the campaign, and by +whose advice the coming battle was being arranged. + +"Sire," he said, bending the knee before his youthful lord, "I long ago +vowed a vow that if ever I should find myself upon the field of battle +with the King of England or his son, I would be foremost in the fight +for his defence. Sire, that day has now dawned -- or will dawn with +tomorrow's sun. Grant me, I pray you, leave to be the first to charge +into yon host, and so fulfil the vow long registered before God." + +"Good Sir James, it shall be even as thou wilt," answered the Prince, +extending his hand. "But if thou goest thus into peril, sure thou wilt +not go altogether alone?" + +"I will choose out four knightly comrades," answered Sir James, "and +together we will ride into the battle. I know well that there will be no +lack of brave men ready and willing to fight at my side. Gaston de +Brocas has claimed already to be one, and his brother ever strives to be +at his side. But he has yet his spurs to win, and I may but take with me +those who are knights already." + +"Raymond de Brocas's spurs unwon!" cried the Prince, with kindling eye, +"and he the truest knight amongst us! Call him hither this moment to me. +Shame upon me that I have not ere this rewarded such pure and lofty +courage as his by that knighthood he so well merits!" + +And then and there upon the field of Poitiers Raymond received his +knighthood, amid the cheers of the bystanders, from the hands of the +Prince, on the eve of one of England's most glorious victories. + +Gaston's eyes were shining with pride as he led his brother back to +their tent as the last of the September daylight faded from the sky. + +"I had set my heart on sending thee back to thy Joan with the spurs of +knighthood won," he said, affectionately pressing his brother's hands. +"And truly, as they all say, none were ever more truly won than thine +have been, albeit thou wilt ever be more the saint than the warrior." + +Raymond's eyes were bright. For Joan's sake rather than his own he +rejoiced in his new honour; though every man prided himself upon that +welcome distinction, especially when bestowed by the hand of King or +Prince. And the thought of a speedy return to England and his true love +there was as the elixir of life to Raymond, who was counting the days +and hours before he might hope to set sail for his native land again. + +He had remained with his brother at Saut all through the past winter. +Gaston and Constanza had been married at Bordeaux very shortly after the +death of old Navailles; and they had returned to Saut, their future +home, and Raymond had gone with them. Greatly as he longed for England +and Joan, his duty to the Prince kept him beside him till he should +obtain his dismissal to see after his own private affairs. The Prince +needed his faithful knights and followers about him in his projected +expedition of the present year; and Gaston required his brother's help +and counsel in setting to rights the affairs of his new kingdom, and in +getting into better order a long-neglected estate and its people. + +There had been work enough to fill their minds and hands for the whole +time the Prince had been able to spare them from his side; and an +interchange of letters between him and his lady love had helped Raymond +to bear the long separation from her. She had assured him of her +changeless devotion, of her present happiness and wellbeing, and had +bidden him think first of his duty to the Prince, and second of his +desire to rejoin her. They owed much to the Prince: all their present +happiness and security were the outcome of his generous interposition on +their behalf. Raymond's worldly affairs were not suffering by his +absence. Master Bernard de Brocas was looking to that. He would find all +well on his return to England; and it were better he should do his duty +nobly by the Prince now, and return with him when they had subdued their +enemies, than hasten at once to her side. In days to come it would +grieve them to feel that they had at this juncture thought first of +themselves, when King and country should have taken the foremost place. + +So Raymond had taken the counsel thus given, and now was one of those to +be foremost in the field on the morrow. No thought of fear was in his +heart or Gaston's; peril was too much the order of the day to excite any +but a passing sense of the uncertainty of human life. They had come +unscathed through so much, and Raymond had so long been said to bear a +charmed life, that he and Gaston had alike ceased to tremble before the +issue of a battle. Well armed and well mounted, and versed in every art +of attack and defence, the young knights felt no personal fear, and only +longed to come forth with honour from the contest, whatever else their +fate might be. + +Monday morning dawned, and the two opposing armies were all in readiness +for the attack. The fighting began almost by accident by the bold action +of a Gascon knight, Eustace d'Ambrecicourt, who rode out alone towards +what was called the "battle of the marshals," and was met by Louis de +Recombes with his silver shield, whom he forthwith unhorsed. This +provoked a rapid advance of the marshals' battle, and the fighting began +in good earnest. + +The moment this was soon to have taken place, the brave James Audley, +calling upon his four knights to follow him, dashed in amongst the +French in another part of the field, giving no quarter, taking no +prisoners, but performing such prodigies of valour as struck terror into +the breasts of the foe. The French army (with the exception of three +hundred horsemen, whose mission was to break the ranks of the bowmen) +had been ordered, on account of the nature of the ground, all to fight +on foot; and when the bold knight and his four chosen companions came +charging in upon them, wheeling their battle-axes round their heads and +flashing through the ranks like a meteor, the terrified and +impressionable Frenchmen cried out that St. George himself had appeared +to fight against them, and an unreasoning panic seized upon them. + +Flights of arrows from the dreaded English longbow added immeasurably to +their distress and bewilderment. The three hundred horsemen utterly +failed in their endeavour to approach these archers, securely posted +behind the hedges, and protected by the trenches they had dug. The +arrows sticking in the horses rendered them perfectly wild and +unmanageable, and turning back upon their own comrades, they threw the +ranks behind into utter confusion, trampling to death many of the +footmen, and increasing the panic tenfold. + +Then seeing the utter confusion of his foes, the Prince charged in +amongst them, dealing death and destruction wherever he went. The terror +of the French increased momentarily; and the division under the Duke of +Normandy, that had not even taken any part as yet in the battle, rushed +to their horses, mounted and fled without so much as striking a blow. + +The King of France, however, behaved with far greater gallantry than +either his son or the majority of his knights and nobles, and the battle +that he led was long and fiercely contested. + +If, as the chronicler tells us, one-fourth of his soldiers had shown the +same bravery as he did, the fortunes of the day would have been vastly +different; but though personally brave, he was no genius in war, and his +fatal determination to fight the battle on foot was a gross blunder in +military tactics. Even when he and his division were being charged by +the Prince of Wales at full gallop, at the head of two thousand lances, +the men all flushed with victory, John made his own men dismount, and +himself did the same, fighting with his axe like a common soldier; +whilst his little son Philip crouched behind him, narrowly watching his +assailants, and crying out words of warning to his father as he saw +blows dealt at him from right or left. + +The French were driven back to the very gates of Poitiers, where a great +slaughter ensued; for those gates were now shut against them, and they +had nowhere else to fly. The battle had begun early in the morning, and +by noon the trumpets were sounding to recall the English from the +pursuit of their flying foes. + +Such a victory and such vast numbers of noble prisoners almost +bewildered even the victors themselves; and the Prince was anxious to +assemble his knights once more about him, to learn some of the details +of the issue of the day. That the French King had either been killed or +made prisoner appeared certain, for it was confidently asserted that he +had not left the field; but for some time the confusion was so great +that it was impossible to ascertain what had actually happened, and the +Prince, who had gone to his tent to take some refreshment after the +labours of the day, had others than his high-born prisoners to think for. + +"Who has seen Sir James Audley -- gallant Sir James?" he asked, looking +round upon the circle of faces about him and missing that of the one he +perhaps loved best amongst his knights. "Who has seen him since his +gallant charge that made all men hold their breath with wonder? I would +fain reward him for that gallant example he gave to our brave soldiers +at the beginning of the day." + +News was soon brought that Sir James had been badly wounded, and had +been carried by his knights to his tent. The Prince would have gone to +visit him there; but news of this proposal having been brought to the +knight, he caused himself to be transported to the Prince's tent by his +knights, all of whom had escaped almost unscathed from their gallant +escapade. Thus it came about that Gaston and Raymond stood within the +royal tent, whilst the Prince bent over his faithful knight, and +promised as the reward for that day's gallantry that he should remain +his own knight for ever, and receive five hundred marks yearly from the +royal treasury. + +Then, when poor Sir James, too spent and faint to remain longer, had +been carried hence by some of the bystanders, the Prince turned to the +twin brothers and grasped them by the hand. + +"I greatly rejoice that ye have come forth unhurt from that fierce +strife in the which ye so boldly plunged. What can I do for you, brave +comrades, to show the gratitude of a King's son for all your faithful +service?" + +"Sire," answered Gaston, "since you have asked us to claim our guerdon, +and since your foes are at your feet, your rival a prisoner in your +royal hands (if he be not a dead corpse), and the whole land subject to +you; since there be no further need in the present for us to fight for +you, and a time of peace seems like to follow upon this glorious day, +methinks my brother and I would fain request your royal permission to +retire for a while each to his own home, to regulate our private +concerns, and dwell awhile each with the wife of his choice. Thou +knowest that I have a wife but newly made mine, and that my brother only +tarries to fly to his betrothed bride till you have no farther need of +his sword. If ever the day dawns when King or Prince of England needs +the faithful service of Gascon swords, those of Raymond and Gaston de +Brocas will not be wanting to him. Yet in the present --" + +"Ay, ay, I understand well: in the present there be bright eyes that are +more to you than glittering swords, and a service that is sweeter than +that of King or Prince. Nay, blush not, boy; I like you the better for +that the softer passions dwell in your breast with those of sterner +sort. Ye have well shown many a day ere now that ye possess the courage +of young lions, and that England will never call upon you in vain. But +now that times of peace and quiet seem like to fall upon us, get you to +your homes and your wives. May Heaven grant you joy and happiness in +both; and England's King and Prince will over have smiles of welcome for +you when ye bring to the Court the sweet ladies of your choice. Do I not +know them both? and do I not know that ye have both chosen worthily and +well?" + +A tumult without the tent now announced the approach of the French King, +those who brought him disputing angrily together whose prisoner he was. +The Prince stepped out to receive his vanquished foe with that winning +courtesy so characteristic of one who so longed to see the revival of +the truer chivalry, and in the confusion which ensued Gaston and Raymond +slipped away to their own tent. + +"And now," cried Gaston, clasping his brother's hand, "our day of +service is for the moment ended. Now for a space of peaceful repose and +of those domestic joys of which thou and I, brother, know so little." + +"At last!" quoth Raymond, drawing a long breath, his eyes glowing and +kindling as he looked into his brother's face and then far beyond it in +the direction of the land of his adoption. "At last my task is done; my +duty to my Prince has been accomplished. Now I am free to go whither I +will. Now for England and my Joan!" + + + + CHAPTER XXXIII. "AT LAST!" + + +"At last, my love, at last!" + +"Raymond! My own true lord -- my husband!" + +"My life! my love!" + +At last the dream had fulfilled itself; at last the long probation was +past. Raymond de Brocas and Joan Vavasour had been made man and wife by +good Master Bernard de Brocas in his church at Guildford, and in the +soft sunlight of an October afternoon were riding together in the +direction of Basildene, from henceforth to be their home. + +Raymond had not yet seen Basildene. He had hurried to Joan's side the +moment that he left the ship which bore him from the shores of France, +and the marriage had been celebrated almost at once, there being no +reason for farther delay, and Sir Hugh being eager to be at the Court to +receive the triumphant young Prince when he should return to England +with his kingly captive. + +All the land was ringing with the news of the glorious victory, of which +Raymond's vessel was the first to bring tidings. He himself, as having +been one of those who had taken part in the battle and having won his +spurs on the field of Poitiers, was regarded with no small admiration +and respect. But Raymond had thoughts of nothing but his beloved; and to +find her waiting for him, her loving heart as true to him as his was to +her, was happiness sweeter than any he had once dreamed could be his. + +The time had flown by on golden wings. He scarce knew how to reckon its +flight. He and Joan lived in a world of their own -- a world that +reckons not time by our calendar, but has its own fashion of +computation; and hours that once had crept by leaden footed, now flew +past as if on wings. He and his love were together at last, soon to be +united in a bond that only death could sunder. And neither of them held +that it could be broken even by the stern cold hand of death. Such love +as theirs was not for time alone; it would last on and on through the +boundless cycles of eternity. + +And now the holy vows had been spoken. At last the solemn ceremony was +over and past. Raymond and Joan were man and wife, and were riding side +by side through the whispering wood in the direction of Basildene. + +Joan had not changed much since the day she and Raymond had plighted +their troth beside the dying bed of John de Brocas. As a young girl she +had looked older than her years; as a woman she looked scarce more. +Perhaps in those great dark eyes there was more of softness; weary +waiting had not dimmed their brightness, but had imparted just a touch +of wistfulness, which gave to them an added charm. The full, curved lips +were calmly resolute as of old, yet touched with a new sweetness and the +gracious beauty of a great happiness. + +Raymond had changed more than she, having developed from the youth into +the man; retaining in a wonderful way the peculiar charm of his +boyhood's beauty, the ethereal purity of expression and slim grace of +figure, yet adding to these the dignity and purpose of a more advanced +age, and all the stateliness and power of one who has struggled and +suffered and battled in the world, and who has come forth from that +struggle with a stainless shield, and a name unsullied by the smallest +breath of slander. + +Joan's eyes dwelt upon her husband's face with a proud, joyous light in +them. Once she laid her hand upon his as they rode, and said, in low +tones very full of feeling: + +"Methinks I have found my Galahad at last. Methinks that thou hast found +a treasure as precious as the Holy Grail itself. Methinks no treasure +could be more precious than that which thou hast won." + +He turned his eyes upon her tenderly. + +"The treasure of thy love, my Joan?" + +"I was not thinking of that," she answered; "we have loved each other so +long. I was thinking of that other treasure -- the love which has +enabled thee to triumph over evil, to forgive our enemies, to do good to +those that have hated us, to fight the Christian's battle as well as +that of England's King. I was thinking of that higher chivalry of which +in old days we have talked so much. Perchance we should give it now +another name. But thou hast been true and faithful in thy quest. Ah, how +proud I am of the stainless name of my knight!" + +His fingers closed fast over hers, but he made no reply in words. +Raymond's nature was a silent one. Of his deepest feelings he spoke the +least. He had told his story to Joan; he knew that she understood all it +meant to him. It was happiness to feel that this was so without the need +of words. That union of soul was sweeter to him than even the possession +of the hand he held in his. + +And so they rode on to Basildene. + +But was this Basildene? Raymond passed his hand across his eyes, and +gazed and gazed again. Joan sat quietly in her saddle, watching him with +smiling eyes. + +Basildene! yes, truly Basildene. There was the quaint old house with its +many gables and mullioned casements and twisted chimneys, its warm red +walls and timbered grounds around it; but where was the old look of +misery, decay, neglect, and blight? Who could look at that picturesque +old mansion, with its latticed casements glistening in the sun, and +think of aught but home-like comfort and peace? What had been done to +it? what spell had been at work? This was the Basildene of his boyhood's +dreams -- the Basildene that his mother had described to them. It was +not the Basildene of later years. How had the change come about? + +"That has been our uncle's work these last two years," answered Joan, +who was watching the changes passing over her husband's face, and seemed +to read the unspoken thought of his heart. "He and I together have +planned it all, and the treasure has helped to carry all out. The hidden +hoard has brought a blessing at last, methinks, Raymond; for the chapel +has likewise been restored, and holy mass and psalm now ascend daily +from it. The wretched hovels around the gates, where miserable peasants +herded like swine in their sties, have been cleared away, and places fit +for human habitation have been erected in their stead. That fearful +quagmire, in which so many wretched travellers have lost their lives, +has been drained, and a causeway built across it. Basildene is becoming +a blessing to all around it; and so long as thou art lord here, my +Raymond, it will remain a blessing to all who come within shelter of its +walls." + +He looked at her with his dreamy smile. His mind was going back in +review over all these long years since first the idea had formed itself +in his brain that they two -- Gaston and himself -- would win back +Basildene. How long those years seemed in retrospect, and yet how short! +How many changes they had seen! how many strange events in the checkered +career of the twin brothers! + +"I would that Gaston were with me now; I would that he might see it." + +"And so he shall, come next summer," answered Joan. "Is it not a promise +that he comes hither with his bride to see thy home and mine, Raymond, +and that we pass one of England's inclement winters in the softer air of +sunny France? You are such travellers, you brethren, that the journey is +but child's play to you; and I too have known something of travel, and +it hath no terrors for me. There shall be no sundering of the bond +betwixt the twin brothers of Basildene. Years shall only bind that bond +faster, for to their faithful love and devotion one to the other +Basildene owes its present weal, and we our present happiness." + +"The twin brothers of Basildene," repeated Raymond dreamily, gazing +round him with smiling eyes, as he held Joan's hand fast in his. "My +mother, I wonder if thou canst see us now -- Gaston at Saut and Raymond +here at Basildene? Methinks if thou canst thou wilt rejoice in our +happiness. We have done what thou biddedst us. We have fought and we +have overcome. Thine own loved home has been won back by thine own sons, +and Raymond de Brocas is Lord of Basildene." + +THE END. + +i If any reader has taken the trouble to follow this story +closely, he may observe that the expedition of the Black Prince has been +slightly antedated. In order not to interrupt the continuity of the +fictitious narrative, the time spent in long-drawn and fruitless +negotiation at the conclusion of the truce has been omitted. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's In the Days of Chivalry, by Evelyn Everett-Green + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE DAYS OF CHIVALRY *** + +***** This file should be named 13183.txt or 13183.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/3/1/8/13183/ + +Produced by Martin Robb + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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