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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/15769-h.zip b/15769-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..17e74d6 --- /dev/null +++ b/15769-h.zip diff --git a/15769-h/15769-h.htm b/15769-h/15769-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6924388 --- /dev/null +++ b/15769-h/15769-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,5829 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" /> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of In the Wars of the Roses, by Evelyn Everett-Green</title> +<style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[*/ + body {background:#ffffff; + color:black; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + font-size:14pt; + margin-top:70px; + margin-left:10%; + margin-right:10%; + text-align:justify} + h1 {text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.05em} + h1.pg {text-align: center; text-transform: none; } + h2 {text-align: center; letter-spacing: 0.04em} + h3 {text-align: center; letter-spacing: 0.04em} + h3.pg {text-align: center; text-transform: none; } + h4 {text-align: center; } + hr {height: 5px} + pre { font-size: 8pt;} + p {text-indent: 4% } + caption {text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 18pt; font-weight: bold; + letter-spacing: 0.04em; font-family: "Arial";} + td { text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 16pt; font-weight: bold; + letter-spacing: 0.04em; font-family: "Arial";} + td.toc { text-align: right} +/*]]>*/ +</style> +</head> +<body> +<h1 class="pg">The Project Gutenberg eBook, In the Wars of the Roses, by Evelyn +Everett-Green</h1> +<pre> +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 <a href = "https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: In the Wars of the Roses</p> +<p> A Story for the Young</p> +<p>Author: Evelyn Everett-Green</p> +<p>Release Date: May 5, 2005 [eBook #15769]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE WARS OF THE ROSES***</p> +<p> </p> +<h3 class="pg">E-text prepared by Martin Robb</h3> +<p> </p> +<hr /> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<h1>In The Wars Of The Roses:</h1> +<h2>A Story for the Young</h2> +<h2>by Everett Evelyn-Green.</h2> +<p> </p> +<h4>1901</h4> +<p> </p> +<hr /> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<table cellspacing="5" align="center" summary="Table of Contents"> +<caption>Contents</caption> +<tr><td> </td><td> </td></tr> +<tr> +<td class="toc"><a href="#Prolog">Prologue</a>.</td><td> </td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="toc"><a href="#Ch1">Chapter 1</a>:</td> +<td>A Brush With The Robbers.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="toc"><a href="#Ch2">Chapter 2</a>:</td> +<td>A Hospitable Shelter.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="toc"><a href="#Ch3">Chapter 3</a>:</td> +<td>A Strange Encounter.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="toc"><a href="#Ch4">Chapter 4</a>:</td> +<td>Paul's Kinsman.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="toc"><a href="#Ch5">Chapter 5</a>:</td> +<td>In Peril.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="toc"><a href="#Ch6">Chapter 6</a>:</td> +<td>In The Hands Of The Robbers.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="toc"><a href="#Ch7">Chapter 7</a>:</td> +<td>The Protection Of The Protected.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="toc"><a href="#Ch8">Chapter 8</a>:</td> +<td>The Rally Of The Red Rose.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="toc"><a href="#Ch9">Chapter 9</a>:</td> +<td>The Tragedy Of Tewkesbury.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="toc"><a href="#Ch10">Chapter 10</a>:</td> +<td>The Prince Avenged.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="toc"><a href="#Notes">Notes</a>.</td><td> </td> +</tr> +</table> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<h2><a name="Prolog" id="Prolog">Prologue</a>.</h2> +<p>"Mother, will the little prince be there?"</p> +<p>"Yes, my son. He never leaves his mother's side. You will see +them all today, if fortune favours us--the good King Henry, his +noble queen, to whom he owes so much, and the little prince +likewise. We will to horse anon, that we may gain a good view of +the procession as it passes. The royal party lodges this night at +our good bishop's palace. Perchance they will linger over the +Sunday, and hear mass in our fair cathedral, Our loyal folks of +Lichfield are burning to show their love by a goodly show of +welcome; and it is said that his majesty takes pleasure in silvan +sports and such-like simple pleasures, many preparations for the +which have been prepared for him to witness."</p> +<p>"O mother, I know. Ralph and Godfrey have been practising +themselves this many a day in tilting and wrestling, and in the use +of the longbow and quarterstaff, that they may hold their own in +the sports on the green before the palace, which they say the king +will deign to watch.</p> +<p>"O mother; why am I not as old and as strong as they? I asked +Ralph to let me shoot with his bow; but he only laughed at me, and +bade me wait till I was as tall and as strong as he. It is very +hard to be the youngest--and so much the youngest, too."</p> +<p>The mother smiled as she passed her hand over the floating curls +of the gallant boy beside her; He was indeed a child of whom any +mother might be proud: beautiful, straight-limbed, active, and +fearless, his blue eyes glowing and shining, his cheek flushed with +excitement, every look and gesture seeming to speak of the bold +soldier spirit that burned within.</p> +<p>And these were times when it appeared indeed as if England's +sons had need of all the warlike instincts of their race. Party +faction had well-nigh overthrown ere this the throne --and the +authority of the meek King Henry, albeit the haughty Duke of York +had set forth no claim for the crown, which his son but two short +years later both claimed and won. But strife and jealousy and evil +purposes were at work in men's minds. The lust of power and of +supremacy had begun to pave the way for the civil war which was +soon to devastate the land. The sword had already been drawn at St. +Albans, and the hearts of many men were full of foreboding as they +thought upon the perilous times in which they lived; though others +were ready to welcome the strife which promised plunder and glory +and fame to those who should distinguish themselves by prowess in +field or counsel in the closet.</p> +<p>The gentle Lady Stukely, however, was not one of these. Her +heart sank sometimes when she heard the talk of her bold husband +and warlike sons. They had all three of them fought for the king at +the first battle, or rather skirmish, at St. Albans four years +before, and were ardent followers and adherents of the Red Rose of +Lancaster. Her husband had received knighthood at the monarch's +hands on the eve of the battle, and was prepared to lay down his +life in the cause if it should become necessary to do so.</p> +<p>But if rumours of strife to come, and terrible pictures of +bloodshed, sometimes made her gentle spirit quail, she had always +one consolation in the thought that her youngest child, her little +Paul, would not be torn from her side to follow the bloody trail of +war. Her two first-born sons, the younger of whom was twenty-two, +had long been very finished young gallants, trained to every +military enterprise, and eager to unsheathe their swords whenever +rumour told of slight to King Henry or his haughty queen from the +proud Protector, who for a time had held the reins of government, +though exercising his powers in the name of the afflicted king.</p> +<p>But Paul was still a child, not yet quite eight years old; and +of the five fair children born to her between him and his brothers, +not one had lived to complete his or her third year, so that the +mother's heart twined itself the more firmly about this last brave +boy, and in the frequent absences of husband and sons upon matters +of business or pleasure, the companionship between the pair was +almost unbroken, and they loved each other with a devotion that may +easily be understood. Paul felt no awe of his gentle mother, but +rather looked upon himself as her champion and defender in his +father's absence. It was no new thing for him to long for manhood +and its privileges; for would not these make him all the stouter +protector to his mother?</p> +<p>But she was wont when he spoke such words to check him by gentle +counsel and motherly sympathy, and now she took his hand in hers +and patted it smilingly as she replied:</p> +<p>"Ah, my little Paul, time flies fast, and you will be a man +before very long now; but be content for these next days to be yet +a child. Perchance the little prince will pay more heed to such as +are of his age.</p> +<p>"You may chance to win a smile from him, even if the nobles and +gentlemen regard not children."</p> +<p>Paul's face brightened instantly.</p> +<p>"O mother, yes; I had not thought of that. But I do so long to +see the little prince. Oh, if he were to notice me--to speak to +me--how happy I should be! We were born on the same day, were we +not, dear mother--on the thirteenth of October? But I am older, am +I not?"</p> +<p>"Yes, my child; by two years. You will be eight upon your next +birthday, and he six. But I hear he is such a forward, kingly, +noble child, that both in appearance and discretion he is far in +advance of his actual age. Those who are brought up with royalty +early learn the lessons which to others come but with advancing +years."</p> +<p>"I love the little prince, our good king's son," cried Paul with +kindling eyes; "I would that I had been called Edward, too. Mother, +why was I not given his name, as I was born on his day, and that of +the good St. Edward too?"</p> +<p>The mother fondly caressed the golden curls of the beautiful +child as she answered:</p> +<p>"Ah, my son, we knew not till long afterward that our gracious +queen had borne a little son on thy natal day. Paul is a name which +many of our race have borne before, and so we called our child by +it. It is the man that makes the name, not the name the man."</p> +<p>"I know that, mother; yet I would fain have borne the name of +the little prince. But hark! I hear the sounds of the horses' feet. +They are bringing them round to the door. Sweet mother, lose no +time. Let us mount and depart. I would fain have been in the +gallant band of gentlemen who rode out this morning at dawn to +welcome and escort the king and queen; as my father and brothers +were. But let us not delay. I should be sorely grieved were we to +miss seeing the entry into the city."</p> +<p>Lady Stukely smiled at the impatience of the child, knowing well +that many hours must elapse before the royal party would reach the +city walls; but she was willing to gratify the ardent desires of +her little son, and as she was already dressed for the saddle, she +rose and took him by the hand and led him out to the courtyard, +where some half dozen of the good knight's retainers were awaiting +their lady and her son.</p> +<p>Stukely Hall was no very large or pretentious place, but it was +built in that quadrangular form so common to that age, and +accommodated within its walls the dependents and retainers that +every man of rank had about him under the old feudal system, which +obliged him to bring to his lord's service on demand a certain +following of armed and trained soldiers.</p> +<p>In those days, when every article of common consumption was made +at home, the household of even a knight or gentleman of no great +wealth or note was no inconsiderable matter, and even the field +labourers almost always dwelt within the walls of their lord's +house, eating his bread, and growing old in his service as a matter +of course, without thinking of such a thing as change.</p> +<p>So that although the greater part of the retainers had ridden +off at dawn with the knight and his sons, there were still a good +half-dozen stout fellows ready to escort their lady to the town; +and besides these were many menials of lower grade standing about +to see the start. Little Paul, who had grown up amongst them, ran +from one to the other, telling them excitedly how he was going to +see the prince that day, and eagerly accepting from the hands of +his old nurse a beautiful bunch of red roses which she had gathered +that morning, in the hope that her darling might have the chance to +offer them to queen or prince.</p> +<p>Mother and son each wore the red rose broidered upon their state +robes, and the boy had stuck the crimson blossom in his velvet cap. +He was a perfect little picture in his white velvet tunic sloshed +with rose colour, his white cloth hosen laced with gold from ankle +to thigh, a short cloak flowing jauntily from his shoulders, and +his bright golden curls flowing from beneath the crimson and white +cap.</p> +<p>No wonder that his stately mother regarded him with looks of +fond pride, or that his old nurse breathed a benediction on his +pretty head, and invoked the saints and the blessed Virgin on his +behalf. They little knew that the gallant child was riding forth to +an encounter which would be fraught for him with strange results; +and that the long-hoped-for meeting with the little prince would be +the first step in one of those passionate attachments which almost +always cost the owner of them dear.</p> +<p>The sun shone hot and bright as the little cavalcade set forth +from the courtyard. The month was that of July, and merry England +was looking its best. The fair landscape lying before the eyes of +the riders seemed to breathe nothing but peace and plenty; and it +was hard to think that the desolating hand of war might, before +many years had passed, be working havoc and ruin over a land so +smiling and happy now.</p> +<p>The rich valley in which the ancient city of Lichfield stands +looked peculiarly beautiful and fertile that day. Lady Stukely, +whilst replying to the eager talk of her excited little boy, could +not but gaze around her with admiration, familiar as the scene was +to her; and even the boy seemed struck, for he looked up and +said:</p> +<p>"I hope the little prince will be pleased with our town. He will +have seen many fine places on this progress, but I do think we +shall give him the best welcome of all. We all love him so."</p> +<p>It seemed indeed as if the whole country had turned out to +welcome the royal guests; for as the riders drew near to the city +walls, they found themselves in the midst of a crowd of holiday +folks, all bent upon the same object--namely, to take up a good +position for witnessing the royal procession as it passed; and +every few minutes some joyous roisterer would raise a shout, "Long +live the king!" "Health to the queen!" "Down with the false +friends--the House of York!" which cries would be taken up by the +multitude, and echoed lustily along the road.</p> +<p>And as the party from Stukely Hall rode up, way being made by +the crowd for persons of quality well known and beloved in those +parts, little Paul vented his excitement in a new cry of his own; +for, standing up in his stirrups and waving his cap in his hand, he +cried in his clear boyish tones:</p> +<p>"Three cheers, good people, for the little prince! Three cheers +for Edward, Prince of Wales, our future king!"</p> +<p>And this cheer was taken up with hearty goodwill by all the +crowd; partly for the sake of the cause ear to the hearts of these +loyal people, partly from admiration for the gallant child who had +started it; and Paul rode on with a flushed and happy face, looking +up to his mother and saying:</p> +<p>"They all love the little prince. Oh how I wish he would +come!"</p> +<p>The captain of the little band of soldiers who guarded the gate +by which the royal procession was to enter, came forward doffing +his mailed head piece to greet the wife of the gallant Sir James, +who was a notable gentleman in those parts. By his courtesy the +lady and her child were allowed to take up a position so close to +the gate as would insure for them a most excellent view of the +royal party; whilst the humbler crowd was kept at a more discreet +distance by the good-humoured soldiers, who exercised their office +amid plenty of jesting and laughing, which showed that an excellent +understanding existed between them and their brethren of the soil. +The captain, as the hour for the entrance drew near, took up his +position beside the lady, and conversed with her in low tones. Paul +listened with all his ears the moment he discovered that the +soldier was talking about his beloved little prince.</p> +<p>"I do not credit every idle tale I hear, or certes life would be +but a sorry thing for a soldier. But there is a queer rumour flying +about that some of the bold marauding fellows who follow the banner +of York, Salisbury, and Warwick have been following and hanging on +the trail of the royal party with a view to the capture--so it is +said--of the Prince of Wales, who, once in the hands of the rival +faction, would prove a hostage of no mean value. I can scarce +credit such a tale myself. Sure am I that it cannot have originated +in the mind of any of those noble earls, but must be the device of +some meaner churl, who hopes to gain a reward for his treachery. +Belike there is no truth whatever in it. Rumour is never idle, and +must have some food to satisfy its cravings. I credit not so wild a +tale, albeit I must be on the watch against all chances.</p> +<p>"But hark! hear you not that sound in the distance? and methinks +I see on yonder height the glitter of the spearmen and the sheen of +an armed multitude. Ay, it is truly so. They come, they come! Why, +it is a goodly following our gallant knights and gentlemen have +furnished. Their gracious majesties will have no cause to grumble +at the loyalty of their trusty county of Lichfield <a name="glyph1" +href="#note1" id="glyph1">{1}</a>."</p> +<p>Paul's breath went and came. The words of the captain had +stirred his heart, and now the actual approach of the royal family +set every pulse throbbing. Eagerly his eyes were fixed upon the +advancing column of gallant riders, the self-appointed bodyguard of +the king and queen--a bodyguard which, changing and shifting as the +royal party progressed through the kingdom, yet never deserted them +throughout the triumphal march, and did not a little to raise +within the breast of the queen that martial ardour which was to be +so severely tested in days to come.</p> +<p>Nearer and yet more near came the gay procession; banners +flying, trumpets sounding, the joy bells from the town giving back +gay response. And now the mounted gentlemen--amongst whom Paul's +quick eyes have already discovered his father and brothers--wheel +rapidly aside to right and left, forming a sort of avenue to the +gateway through which the royal riders are to pass, to receive the +loyal welcome of the venerable prelate and the city +dignitaries.</p> +<p>Paul's breath comes and goes as the cheering in the crowd grows +vociferous. He grasps his bunch of roses firmly in his hands, his +cheeks glowing till they almost rival the damask bloom of the +flowers, his eyes fixed in all their eager brightness upon the +advancing band, which consists of the king and queen and prince and +their own immediate attendants. It is a moment never forgotten by +the boy in after life--the moment when first his glance fell upon +the royal child around whose history romance has woven so many a +tale; and it was with a start of peculiar surprises and a thrill of +emotion he could not have analyzed, that the boy beheld the little +prince of his dreams. For in those beautiful princely features, in +the alert graceful figure and the floating curls of gold, Paul +seemed to see his own lineaments reproduced, and gave one +bewildered glance toward his mother to see if perchance the same +thought struck her.</p> +<p>And indeed it did; for the chance resemblance between the young +heir of the House of Lancaster and the son of an obscure +Staffordshire knight was so remarkable that none who saw the two +children could fail to be struck by it. Paul for a moment was +almost awed, feeling as if he had no right thus to have aped the +outward aspect of the little prince; but the next moment all else +was forgotten in the excitement of the moment and in the vigorous +cheering which greeted the close approach of royalty.</p> +<p>The party moved slowly forward, returning the loyal salutations +of the crowd right graciously. The little prince was charming in +his friendly gestures, and Paul observed that to one and another of +the knights and gentlemen drawn up to do them honour he held out +some little token, which was received with every demonstration of +respect and gratification.</p> +<p>His intense excitement caused the little Paul to push out +somewhat further than the line observed by the soldiers, and no one +recalled him to his place; and thus it was that when, as the +cortege moved forward, the Prince of Wales dropped the plumed hat +with the white ostrich feather, which he was raising in response to +the salutations showered upon him, it was Paul who had leaped to +the ground and caught up the costly headgear from beneath the very +feet of the king's horse, and, with glowing face and ardent gaze of +admiration and homage, had bent the knee to the princely child, and +restored the cap, whilst his bunch of roses was offered at the same +moment with an air of modest eagerness that touched all hearts.</p> +<p>The little prince took both the cap and the flowers, thanking +the lad with friendly smiles; but when he saw how closely that +bright face resembled his own, and how those floating curls of +shining gold uncovered to the hot sunshine were but as the +counterpart of his, he too glanced at his mother, whose smiling +face was bent with a proud pleasure upon the pretty picture formed +by the two children, and he said in his clear, joyous tones:</p> +<p>"Why, verily, this must be a brother or a cousin of mine own. +Tell me your name, good lad. Surely we must be akin."</p> +<p>"Nay, gracious prince," answered Paul in low tones; "I am but +the son of a simple knight, who has ever been your royal father's +loyal servant. But I was born, like you, upon St. Edward's Day, and +perhaps our patron saint smiled kindly on us both."</p> +<p>The boy was so excited he scarce knew what he said; but his +words seemed to please the little prince, who replied:</p> +<p>"Nay, now, if you share the good offices of my patron saint, you +must wear my badge too, for love of me. See here, this little +silver swan, the device of my noble ancestor King Edward the Third, +it is now my badge, and you must wear it for my sake. Farewell for +the nonce; we shall meet again--I am sure of it--ere we say goodbye +to this pleasant city. I would I had a brother like you. But we +will meet anon. Farewell, and forget me not."</p> +<p>The royal cavalcade was yet moving onward whilst these gracious +words of childish greeting were spoken. The next moment the +bewildered Paul was standing looking after the pretty child prince, +the silver swan he grasped tightly between his hands alone +convincing him that the whole encounter had not been a fair +fleeting dream.</p> +<p>The great green meadow just without the walls of the city +presented an animated spectacle even to eyes accustomed to the gay +and party-coloured dresses of the Middle Ages, and to the hardy +sports of her bold sons. The whole town and countryside had +assembled to witness or bear a share in the merry silvan sports, +instituted with a view of amusing the royal guests, who had halted +at Lichfield for three nights in order that the pious monarch might +hear mass on Sunday at the cathedral; and the Saturday was given +over to the revels and pastimes at all times dear to the people, +but more so than ever when royalty deigned to be the witness of the +feats of skill and strength. And King Henry loved to watch the +sports of his subjects. His simple mind; that shrank from the +intrigues of court life, seemed to gather strength and health when +removed from the strife and turmoil of parties. His malady, which +at times completely incapacitated him from tasking part in the +government, was always liable to recur, and it was with a view of +recuperating his health, and calming his anxieties and fears for +himself and those he loved best, that the queen had decided upon +this progress through the loyal midland counties, and encouraged +the people to display their skill in manly sports before their +king; for nothing seemed more beneficial to him than the interest +evoked by any spectacles of this kind.</p> +<p>And little Paul Stukely was an eager spectator of the encounters +and feats that were taking place before royalty that bright summer +day. Paul felt as if he were living and moving in a wonderful +dream. He kept pulling off his little velvet cap to make sure that +the silver swan--the prince's token--was still in its place; and +even when most interested in any contest going on upon the green, +his eyes would turn instinctively toward the fair child leaning +upon his father's knee, and eagerly watching the rustic revels.</p> +<p>The royal guests were sumptuously lodged beneath a silken awning +under a mighty oak tree that gave a refreshing shade. A platform +had been erected for them beneath the awning, and chairs of state +set thereon. From this vantage ground they could watch everything +that went on, and reward the victors with words of praise, small +pieces of silver, or some fragment of lace or ribbon from the royal +apparel, as best suited the rank of the aspirant for honour; and +the kindly smiles and gracious words bestowed upon all who +approached increased each hour the popularity of the Lancastrian +cause and the devotion of the people to their king.</p> +<p>But Paul had not, so far, ventured to present himself before the +platform where the little prince was standing. He had not forgotten +a single one of the kind words spoken by the youthful Edward +yesterday, but he was fearful of presuming upon the favour thus +shown him, and his very admiration for the princely child seemed to +hold him back.</p> +<p>He knew that his father and brothers might rebuke him for +forwardness if he presumed to thrust himself into notice. Sir James +was one of those appointed to keep order upon the ground, and +withhold the rustics from incommoding in any way the royal +visitors; and the child knew that he would be the first to rebuke +his own son for putting himself unduly forward. As the youngest in +the house, Paul was accustomed to be held in small repute, and had +no desire to provoke a rebuff which might even reach the ears of +the little prince himself.</p> +<p>So he contented himself by hanging about on the outskirts of the +crowd, casting many longing, lingering glances toward the group +beneath the giant oak, and at other times diverting himself by +watching the wrestlers, the mummers, or the archers, who in turn +came forward to try their skill and strength. The quarterstaff +contests were very exciting, and several broken heads were the +result of the hearty encounters with that formidable weapon.</p> +<p>But Paul was familiar with most of the sports, and presently +grew weary of watching. It was hot, too, and there was not much +shade to be had in that big meadow; so he wandered a little apart, +toward a copse beside a small stream, on the opposite side of which +a thick forest rose stately and grand, and sitting down beside the +merry brook, he clasped his hands round his knees and sank into a +reverie.</p> +<p>He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he did not notice the +light tread of approaching footsteps, and gave a great start when +he suddenly felt an arm flung caressingly about his neck. He sprang +to his feet with a cry of astonishment, and stood face to face with +the little prince.</p> +<p>"You see I have found you," cried the child gleefully. "I saw +you several times in the crowd today, but you would not come near +me. Never mind; this is much better, for here we can talk, here we +can be friends. Are you aweary of their gay shows? So am I, in +faith. We have seen the same thing everywhere, and it is so good to +be alone sometimes. I love not to be always followed and +watched.</p> +<p>"See you that dim, dark wood? Let us e'en hide ourselves therein +for a short hour. My mother will miss me from her side anon, and +will send to seek me. I would not be found too easily. Come, let us +hide ourselves there, and you shall tell me all about yourself, and +we will play at being trusty friends and comrades.</p> +<p>"It is dull work being always a prince. I would that we could +change parts for once. You shall be the prince and I will be the +bold knight's son, and your very faithful servant."</p> +<p>"O my lord!" faltered Paul, almost overcome with excitement and +pleasure at this strange encounter.</p> +<p>But the little prince stamped his foot and spoke with the air of +a regular little autocrat.</p> +<p>"Nay, call me not that. Did I not say I would be nobody's lord +for the nonce? What is your name? Paul? Then I will be called Paul +for this next hour, and you shall be Edward. See, here is my +jewelled collar and the cap with the ostrich plume--the badge of +the Prince of Wales. Yes, put them on, put them on. Marry, I could +think it was my very self, but a short inch the taller.</p> +<p>"Now, see, I take your cap instead; and now I am Paul, and you +must bid me follow you and attend you in your journey through the +forest. See, we will be fugitives, flying from the wicked Duke of +York, who would fain grasp at the king's power, but my mother will +not let him."</p> +<p>For a moment the child's eyes flashed, and his clenched hands +and heaving breast showed that the spirit of Margaret of Anjou +lived again in her child; but pulling himself up short with a +laugh, the little prince added with a deferential bow, resuming his +character of subject, "But I crave your pardon, sweet prince, if I +lose control of myself in the thought of your wrongs. Lead on, +noble lord, and I follow. Let us seek safety in the dim aisles of +yon giant wood. Surely there is some ford or bridge nigh at hand +which will give us safe crossing without wetting ourselves."</p> +<p>Children are children all the world over, and at any period of +its history. Childhood ever delights in romance and imaginative +situations and adventures; and before ten minutes had passed the +boys had completely entered into the spirit of their play. Paul, +shaking off the awe which had at first held him silent and abashed, +played the part of prince with an energy and zeal which evoked the +delight and admiration of his companion; whilst the younger boy was +amused to lay aside for the moment any pretence at royalty, and pay +his humble devoirs to his liege lord.</p> +<p>Paul knew of some stepping stones which led across the stream +into the dark wood, and soon the boys were in what seemed to them +the heart of the great forest. The prince was delighted by all he +saw. The sense of freedom was enchanting, and his curiosity +unbounded. He had never in his life before enjoyed a game of play +in so unfettered a fashion with a comrade of nearly his own age; +and soon forgetting even their own game, the boys were walking with +arms twined round each other's neck, telling each other all that +was in their hearts, and exchanging vows of unalterable +affection.</p> +<p>"When I am grown to manhood, and am a belted knight with noble +gentlemen of mine own to attend me, you shall be my very first +esquire, Paul," said the prince emphatically; "and we will ride +through the world together, seeking adventures which shall make all +men wonder when they hear of them. And when I am king you shall be +my first counsellor and greatest lord. I will degrade from office +and dignity those proud nobles who have been traitors at heart to +my kingly father, and to you I will give their broad lands and high +titles. We will thus be comrades and friends through life. You +would never desert me, would you, Paul?"</p> +<p>"I would lay down my life for your highness," cried Paul with +enthusiasm. "I will live and die true to the Red Rose--to the sign +of the silver swan."</p> +<p>The little prince's eyes kindled.</p> +<p>"I believe you would. I love you, Paul, and methinks that you +would love me too. I would that I could take you with me now to be +my friend and comrade through life; but perchance your lady mother +could ill spare you, by what you say. I know what a mother's love +is like."</p> +<p>Paul's face was grave. For the first time in his life he was +confronted by the problem of a divided duty--that problem which +troubles us all more or less at some time in our history.</p> +<p>"I would gladly go with your highness to the world's end," he +said. "I should love to live and die at your side; but I doubt me +if it would not be cruel to my mother. She sometimes tells me that +her life would be a lone one without me."</p> +<p>"And you must stay with her," said the prince with decision; "at +least so long as you are a child. When you are a grown man it will +be different. Some day I will send for you, and you shall be my +first and best friend; but it cannot be now. My mother might not +approve my choice, and yours might not let you go. Princes as well +as other men have to wait for what they want"--and the child +sighed--"but some day our turn will come."</p> +<p>Then they resumed their play, and the hoary wood resounded to +the merry shouts of the boys as they ran hither and thither in +active sport, till the little prince was fairly tired out, though, +still exulting in his escape from maternal vigilance, he stoutly +protested against going back.</p> +<p>"See, good Paul," he said, "here is a right commodious hollow +tree, heaped with last year's dead leaves. I will rest awhile +hidden away here, where none will find me were they to look for me +ever so. And if you could find and bring me here a draught of water +from the brook or from some spring, I should be ever grateful. I am +sore athirst and weary, too."</p> +<p>The child was nevertheless much pleased with his nest, and +forthwith curled himself up in it like a young dormouse, delighting +in the conviction that no attendants despatched by his mother to +capture him would ever find him here. Boys have been young pickles +ever since the world began, and were just as full of pranks in the +fifteenth century as they are now. Edward had: a full share of +boyhood's mischievous delight in his own way, and owing to the +strong will and the ever-present vigilance of his mother, he had +not had many chances of indulging his natural craving for +independence. Therefore he rejoiced the more in it now, and was +quite determined to return to his royal parents at such time only +as it suited his own whim.</p> +<p>Paul was willing enough to do the behest of the prince, and +stayed only to make him comfortable before starting off on the +quest for water. He thought young Edward would soon be asleep, as +indeed he was, so luxurious was his leafy couch within the giant +oak; and resolved to run as far as a certain well he knew of in the +wood, the water of which was peculiarly fresh and cold and clear, +and where a cup was always kept by the brothers of a neighbouring +monastery for the benefit of weary travellers.</p> +<p>Paul sped away on his mission with a light heart He was elated +above measure by his day's adventure, and his head was brimming +over with plans and dreams of the future, which was to be so +glorious and so distinguished.</p> +<p>He the chosen comrade of their future king! he the loyal +upholder of that king's rights, the bulwark of the throne, the +trusted noble, the shrewd counsellor, the valiant warrior! A boy's +ambition is boundless--innocent of envy or evil, but wild in its +flights.</p> +<p>Paul went on his way with glowing cheeks and sparkling eyes, +till a stealthy sound in the bushes beside him made him stop short, +listening intently. He heard voices in cautious whisper.</p> +<p>"He cannot be far away. He certainly came to the wood. Long +Peter says he had another boy with him; but be that as it may, he +is here, and close at hand. We must lose no time. The alarm will be +given if he is missed. Take one, or take both, it matters not if we +but get the prince into our hands. He may be known by his ostrich +plume and his golden curls, and the jewelled collar he wears about +his neck."</p> +<p>Paul heard these words plainly, and it seemed as if his heart +were in his mouth. It beat so violently that he fancied the +conspirators must surely hear. The words he had heard but yesterday +flashed back into his mind.</p> +<p>It was true then. There was a conspiracy to carry off the young +prince, and the band of men pledged to the deed were actually on +their track and close at hand. How could he warn the prince in +time? How could he save him from their hands?</p> +<p>For a moment the boy's courage seemed to desert him. A cold +sweat broke out on his face, his knees trembled beneath him. But +his fear was not a selfish or unworthy one; it was all for the +royal child, whose peril was so imminent.</p> +<p>And then, with a sudden revulsion of feeling, he recollected +that he himself wore the cap with the white plume, the jewelled +collar of royalty, and the dagger the little prince habitually +carried in his girdle. And had he not the same floating golden +curls, the same cast of features, the same active figure, and +almost the same stature? Might he not save the real prince by +playing his part to some purpose for the time being? The men would +not distinguish between the pair--he felt certain of that; they +would at once make off with their prize. Later on, of course, they +would discover the trick, but then the prince would be safe. His +own followers would have long since discovered him. Yes, he would +do it--he would save the prince at all cost. What did it matter if +his own life were the forfeit? The heir of England would be +saved.</p> +<p>It was no small act of heroism to which the boy made up his mind +in those few moments. Those were lawless days, and human life was +held very cheap. The band of fierce men who had believed they were +carrying off a prince, would think nothing of running him through +with their swords when they discovered how they had been tricked, +and that by a mere child. Paul set his teeth hard and braced +himself up for the task he had set himself. He knew his peril-he +realized it too; but he was a soldier's son, and had he not said he +would live and die for the prince? Would he ever be worthy of the +knighthood every lad looked forward to as the goal of his ambition, +if he shrank now from the task he had set himself?</p> +<p>Hardly had that resolution been taken before there sprang out +from the thick underwood two or three fierce-looking men, armed to +the teeth.</p> +<p>"Ha, my young springal! well met, in sooth," cried the foremost +of the band, laying a firm hand upon the boy's shoulder. "We have +been looking long for you.</p> +<p>"To horse, brave fellows! we have our prize. We may not linger +here."</p> +<p>"Hands off, varlet!" cried Paul, throwing himself into the +character of prince with great energy and goodwill. "Know you to +whom you speak--whom ye thus rough handle? Have a care; the Prince +of Wales is not thus to be treated."</p> +<p>"Pardon, sweet prince," cried the leader, with ironical +courtesy, his grasp not relaxing one whit from the boy's arm. "Time +leaves us scant opportunity for the smooth speech of the court. We +must use all despatch in conveying your worshipful presence hence, +to the safe custody of England's friends.</p> +<p>"Nay, struggle not, boy. We would not harm you. You are safe +with us--"</p> +<p>"I know you not. I will not be thus insulted. I will to my royal +parents," cried Paul in well-feigned indignation.</p> +<p>But remonstrance and resistance were alike useless. At the sound +of a peculiar whistle from one of the party, there immediately +appeared some half score of mounted troopers, leading other horses +with them. The boy was swung upon the saddle of one of the horses +and fastened there by means of thongs, which, although not +incommoding him whilst riding, utterly precluded all idea of +escape. Moreover the steed was placed between those of two of the +stalwart troopers, each of whom kept a hand upon the reins of the +supposed prince; and thus, silently but rapidly, the little band +threaded the intricacies of the wood, by paths evidently known to +them, and ere the dusk had fully come, had cleared the forest +altogether, and were galloping steadily and fast across the open +country toward the north.</p> +<p>Paul had not spoken another word. He had been in terror lest by +some inadvertent phrase he might betray himself, and let those +fierce men know that he was not the prince; in which case not only +might his own life be forfeit, but the real prince might fall into +their hands. But now as the dusk overtook them, and still they were +flying farther and farther away from the city where the prince lay, +his heart rose, and beat with a generous triumph; for though his +own fate might be a speedy death, the heir of England was safe.</p> +<p>It was dark before the lights of a wayside hostelry became +visible across the dreary waste they were traversing. The leader of +the band turned and addressed a few words to the troopers who had +the care of the captive; and at once he felt himself deprived of +the tell-tale cap and collar, the former of which was replaced by a +cloth cap belonging to one of the men, which almost concealed the +boy's features. He was also wrapped in a mantle that further +disguised him; and thus they rode up to the inn.</p> +<p>A ruddy stream of light poured out from that comfortable +hostelry, and Paul saw, seated on his stout nag, with three of his +servants behind him, the well-known figure of a neighbouring +farmer, whom business often took to a town many miles from his +native place.</p> +<p>The troopers were dismounting and hurrying into the inn. Two +only remained with their prize. Paul's resolution was quickly +taken. He threw off the encumbering mantle and cap, and cried +aloud:</p> +<p>"Gaffer Hood, Gaffer Hood, come and help me! These men have +carried me off, and are taking me I know not whither. Come and help +me to get free, and my father will richly reward you. They think I +am the Prince of Wales, who was playing with me but this afternoon. +Tell them who I really am, and they will let me go."</p> +<p>"By the mass, if that be not the voice of little Paul Stukely!" +exclaimed the honest farmer in great amazement, as he brought his +stout nag alongside the animal that carried the child. The troopers +drew their swords as if to interpose (and in those days it was +considered better to leave these reckless gentlemen alone when they +had booty in their hands, however come by, and no doubt they were +in league with the host of the inn); but the character of the +dialogue between the farmer and the child was so astounding that +the men remained mute and motionless, whilst the leader of the +gang, who had heard something of the words, came hurrying to the +spot, to see that his prize was safe.</p> +<p>He was quite prepared to make short work of farmer and men alike +if there should be any futile attempt at rescue. The man knew his +trade, and long habit had made him utterly reckless of human life. +But the words he heard exchanged between the child and the farmer +held him spellbound, too.</p> +<p>"I was playing with the prince," cried Paul, loud enough for all +to hear. "He bid me take his collar and cap and be prince in +fantasy, whilst he was my esquire. Afterwards, when he was weary, +he lay down to rest, and these fellows caught me and carried me +off, thinking I was prince indeed. I would not tell them what they +had done, lest they should return and capture him. But bid them +loose me now, good Gaffer, and give them all the money in your +pouch as my ransom, and I warrant my father will repay you +double.</p> +<p>"It is the heir of the House of Lancaster you want, gentlemen, +not a poor knight's youngest son, a lad of no account. This good +man will pay you some broad gold pieces if you will let me go; but +if you are resolved to take my life as the price of my deceit, why, +take it now. I am not afraid to die in a good cause, and this +worthy man will perchance take home my body to my mother, that it +may lie in time beside hers."</p> +<p>"Nay, lad, we will all die ere they shall touch a hair of thy +bonny head," cried the honest farmer, signing to his men to come +and be ready. "If there's a man in this troop dastard enough to lay +a hand upon thee, he shall settle accounts with Gaffer Hood ere he +leaves the place. A farmer can fight, ay, and give good strong +blows, too.</p> +<p>"Now, gentlemen, which of you will lay hands on that gallant +child? for he will have to do it across my dead body first."</p> +<p>"Tush, man, put up thy sword," cried the leader of the band, +who, being a man prompt both in action and thought, had taken in +the bearings of the situation with great rapidity, and upon whom +the simple heroism of the child had not been thrown away.</p> +<p>Rough and self-seeking and cruel as lawless times had made such +men, they were not devoid of all better feelings; and although, had +there been no interposition on his behalf, Paul might have been a +victim to their irritation at being thus duped, as it was his life +was now safe enough.</p> +<p>"We war not with babes and children. The boy has borne himself +gallantly, and we will take the gold pieces and let him go free. +Our chance may come another time, and we want not the cumbrance of +children on our march. He would not be hostage worth having, so +ransom him and begone. We have the prince's jewels if we have not +the lad himself.</p> +<p>"Go your way, boy; you will make a soldier in time. You have the +right grit in you. Farewell! one day we may meet again."</p> +<p>And thinking, perhaps, that he and his band had better not +linger longer, the captain gave the word to mount; and as soon as +Paul's thongs were cut and the ransom paid over, the troopers set +spurs to their horses' sides and vanished away in the darkness.</p> +<p>Once again little Paul Stukely stood in the presence of royalty. +The prince's arm was about his neck, the proud queen's eyes--moist +now with tears--were bent upon him in loving gratitude, whilst from +the king's lips he was receiving words of praise that set the hot +blood mounting to his brow. Behind him stood his father, all around +were the attendants of the royal family; and Paul, unaccustomed to +be thus the centre of attention, almost wished the ground would +open to hide him, although his heart could not but beat high in +gratification and loving loyalty.</p> +<p>All the city was ringing with the daring attempt that had been +made to carry off the young Prince of Wales, and the gallantry of +the boy who had dared to brave the consequences, and take upon +himself the personality of the youthful Edward. The child himself, +the farmer who had been the means of his restoration, and the +knight who owned so brave a son, all had been heroes of the past +six-and-thirty hours.</p> +<p>A special mass of thanksgiving had been sung in the cathedral on +the Sunday. The captain of the town, who had heard a rumour which +had sent him flying into the forest the previous afternoon, to find +the true prince vainly seeking his missing comrade, could not make +enough of the boy whose simple-hearted gallantry had saved him from +a lasting remorse, and perhaps a lasting disgrace. Indeed, Sir +James Stukely had had to hurry his child home in haste to his +mother's care, lest he should hear too much of his own prowess; +and, thrusting him into her loving arms, had said, in a voice which +quivered in spite of himself:</p> +<p>"Here, dame, take the boy and give him a kiss to show that he +has been a good lad. He has done his duty, as a Stukely ought to +do, and that should be enough for all of us. But let us have no +nonsense talked. What will the country come to if everyone who does +his duty as it should be done expects to be called a hero, and I +know not what besides? The prince is safe, and the boy likewise. +Now off to bed with him, and no more nonsense to be talked in my +hearing.</p> +<p>"God bless you, child! You'll live yet to be a credit to the +name you bear."</p> +<p>And Paul was made happier by that one word from his stern though +loving sire than by all the praises he had heard lavished upon +himself during the past hours. For there was no one in the wide +world that the child so reverenced as his dark-browed father, who +seldom praised his children, and was inflexible in his punishments +whenever they were deserved. To be told by him that he had done his +duty, and would be a credit to his house, was happiness far beyond +his deserts, he thought; and he registered a mental vow, deep down +in his brave little heart, that he would never in time to come give +the world cause to say he had not lived up to the promise of his +boyhood.</p> +<p>The loving sympathy with which his mother listened to his story, +the caresses she showered upon him in thought of the deadly peril +in which he had stood, and the hearty approbation of his brothers +and the retainers and servants in his father's halls, were a small +pleasure as compared with those few brief, almost stern, words from +that father himself. Even the notification that he was to present +himself on the Monday before the king and queen added little to his +happiness, although the idea of seeing once again his admired +little prince could not but fill him with gratification.</p> +<p>His father led him to the royal presence, and bowed low on +hearing himself thanked for having brought up sons who so well +demonstrated the loyalty and devotion which had been born and bred +in them. But Paul scarce heard what passed, for the little prince +dashed forward to take him round the neck, kissing him with all the +natural grace of childhood, whilst half rebuking him for having +denied him his own legitimate share in the adventure.</p> +<p>"If we had but been together we would have achieved our own +liberty," he said, his bright eyes flashing with the spirit of his +ancestors. "We would have shown them what Plantagenet blood could +do. I would I had been there. I would I had shared the adventure +with you. It would have been a thing for our bards to write of, for +our soldiers to sing over their campfires. But now I shall have +none of the glory. I was sleeping in a tree. It was you who were +the hero, the prince."</p> +<p>"Ah, sweet prince, had they once laid hold on the true prize, +methinks neither you nor I would so easily have escaped," said +Paul, who had vivid recollections of the iron hands that had been +laid upon him by the stern men who had carried him off. "I know not +how I could have escaped, had it not been that they were willing to +be quit of me when they found out I was not him whom they +sought."</p> +<p>But the prince was hardly satisfied with the rather tame ending +to the adventure.</p> +<p>"To be rescued by a farmer, and carried home on his nag!" he +said, tossing back his curls with a gesture of hauteur. "Paul, I +would that you had cut your way through the very heart of them. I +would you had left at least one or two dead upon the spot. Had we +been together--" He clenched his hands for a moment, but then +laughed a little, and said in a whisper--"But no matter, Paul; they +all say that you played the hero, and I will not envy you for it. +We shall be men one day, and then I shall come and claim your +promise. You will be my faithful esquire, and I will be your liege +lord. Together we will roam the world in search of adventure, and +well I know that we shall meet with such as will not disgrace the +royal house of the Plantagenet."</p> +<p>The child's eyes flashed, and an answering spark was kindled in +the breast of the hardy little Paul. He put his hand within that of +the prince, and cried loud enough to be heard by those who stood +by:</p> +<p>"Dear my lord, I will serve you to the death. I will go with you +to the world's end."</p> +<p>Sir James laid a warning hand upon his son's shoulder.</p> +<p>"Boy," he said in a low voice, "it becomes thee not thus to put +thyself forward in the presence of royalty. Be silent before thy +betters, and show thy loyalty by thy deeds, not by high-sounding +words of which thou canst have but little understanding."</p> +<p>Paul was instantly abashed. Indeed, in those days it was not +usual for children to make their voices heard in the presence of +their elders; but the prince was privileged, and it was his words +that had drawn forth this exclamation from Paul.</p> +<p>The king and the queen, however, smiled upon the boy; and the +latter said in tender tones, that would have amazed some amongst +her enemies:</p> +<p>"Nay, chide not the boy, good Sir James; he does but speak as +his heart dictates, and I would indeed that my son might look +forward to the day when he and your gallant son might be companions +in arms. But I ask no pledge in these troublous, stormy days. Only +I will cherish the hope that when brighter days dawn for the House +of Lancaster, and her proud foes are forever subjugated to their +right position, this bold boy may appear again before us to receive +at our hands the guerdon he is too young for yet. And be sure that +never will knighthood be more gladly accorded to any than to him, +for the deed which saved England's heir and hope from the deadly +peril which menaced him but a few short hours ago."</p> +<p>Sir James and his son both bowed low, and the father prepared to +lead away the boy. But the prince had once more thrown his arms +round Paul's neck, and was speaking in his eager way:</p> +<p>"You and I will be knighted together when we are grown. I shall +think of you, and you will not forget me--promise that you will +not. And when we meet next, wherever it may be, we shall know each +other for the likeness we bear the one to the other. Kiss me, Paul, +and promise never to forget. Farewell now, but my heart tells me we +shall meet again."</p> +<p>The king's son and the knight's embraced with all the warmth of +a real and deep affection, albeit of only a few hours' growth, and +gazing at each other to the last they parted.</p> +<p>"I shall always wear the silver swan," Paul had said as their +lips met. "You will know me by that. And I--oh, I never could +forget you! Your face will live always in my heart."</p> +<p>The doors closed behind the retiring knight and his son. The +vision alone conjured up by the words of the prince lived in the +heart of Paul Stukely. His face was very brightly grave as he rode +home beside his father. How little he or any in that noble company +guessed where and under what circumstances the prince and Paul +would meet next!</p> +<h2><a name="Ch1" id="Ch1">Chapter 1</a>: A Brush With The +Robbers.</h2> +<p>"Help--help--help!"</p> +<p>This cry, growing feebler at each repetition, was borne by the +evening breeze to the ears of a traveller who was picking his way +along the dark mazes of Epping Forest one cool, fresh October day. +Instinctively he drew rein and listened, laying his band +unconsciously upon the hilt of his poniard.</p> +<p>"A woman's voice," he said half aloud, as he spurred more +rapidly onward in the direction whence the cry proceeded. "A woman +set upon, no doubt, by some band of these marauders who are +desolating the country and disgracing humanity. Cowards! I wonder +how many of them there are? A solitary traveller has not much +chance against a gang of them; but at least I can sell my life +dear. I have little enough to live for now; and it would be a stain +for ever upon my father's fame were I to pass by unheeding the cry +of a damsel in distress.</p> +<p>"Forward, then, good Sultan; there is work for both of us before +we can think of food or lodging after our weary day of travel. +Forward, good horse."</p> +<p>The coal-black charger, who, despite his jaded air and look of +neglect, had evidently come of a good stock, and had both blood and +mettle of the true soldier sort in him, pricked his ears, arched +his neck, and appeared to be fully aware of what was required of +him by his loved master. He broke into a gentle canter, and despite +the roughness of the ground, maintained that pace for several +hundred yards, until the hand of the traveller upon his rein warned +him to moderate his pace.</p> +<p>The shades of evening were falling fast, but a young moon rode +high in the sky, and helped to light up the expanse of broken +ground and piled-up tree trunks which suddenly became visible to +the traveller as he reached a clearing in the forest, through which +the rough trail or path he was pursuing led. And here in this +clearing he came upon the object of his search, and saw that his +surmise as to the cause of the cries he had heard was only too +correct. Four big burly men, all armed with the weapons of the +day--bills, maces, and even the handgun, which was beginning to +find a place amongst the more time-honoured arms of offence and +defence--were surrounding the struggling figure of a woman, a young +woman the traveller fancied, from her slimness and the cat-like +agility which she displayed in struggling with her captors.</p> +<p>It appeared as if the men did not desire to hurt her if they +could avoid doing so, but rather wished to make of her a prisoner; +whilst she was making the most frantic efforts to escape from their +restraining hands, and was uttering strangled cries for help, which +were so deadened by the thick folds of the heavy driving cloak, +which had been wrapped about her head, as to be barely audible even +at a short distance.</p> +<p>"Let her fight and struggle," said a tall, broad-shouldered man +with a darkly sinister face, who stood a little apart all this +while, keeping, however, a very close watch upon the group. "She +will soon tire herself out, and then we can carry her away +peacefully. Don't hurt her. Let her have her fling--it won't last +long--and she will be all the tamer afterward."</p> +<p>The traveller, who was but a stripling himself, set his teeth +hard as he heard these words spoken. Something in the cool +arrogance of the man, who appeared to be a leader of the rest, +stirred his blood and made his hands tingle to be at his +throat.</p> +<p>But it would not do to act rashly in an encounter with four +stalwart men, all armed to the teeth, and plainly well used to the +practice of arms. The youth saw that he must husband his strength +and use his opportunity with every care. His best chance lay in +taking the party by surprise.</p> +<p>He examined his weapons with a keen eye. He too possessed one of +the handguns of the period, and was a good marksman to boot. He +had, too--and glad enough was he of it at that moment--the deadly +guisarme, that old-fashioned weapon that combined a spear and +scythe, and was used with horrible effect in the charges of the +day. Then there was the short battle-axe, slung across his +saddlebow, which at close quarters would be a formidable weapon, +and the poniard in his belt had in its time done deadly work before +this.</p> +<p>But although he had plenty of weapons for offence, he had not +much defensive armour upon him. Only a cloth cap protected his +head, and although his jerkin was of the tough leather which often +defied the thrust of a dagger almost as successfully as mail, it +might not prove a defence against the combined attack of a number +of enemies; and his legs were unprotected save by the long leather +riding boots laced up the front, and ornamented with silken +tassels, now much faded and stained.</p> +<p>Altogether, he appeared hardly equipped for so desperate an +encounter as the one that lay before him; but it was plain that he +did not on that account shrink from it. His appearance upon the +scene had not been observed by any of the robbers--for such they +plainly were--and he was thus able to take his time and weigh his +chances carefully.</p> +<p>The girl was suffering no injury from her captors; but what her +fate might be if rescue did not come was what no one could say. It +was plain that it was the desire of the leader of the band to +possess her as a captive. It was he who was the leading spirit in +the attack. He was just as determined to carry her off as he was +wishful to accomplish the capture without inflicting injury.</p> +<p>The stripling astride the good warhorse--who seemed to scent +battle in the air, and stood perfectly still, quivering with +excitement--unslung his handgun from his shoulder, and levelled it +at the leader of the band. The next instant a sharp report rang +through the silent forest. The robber chief flung up his hands with +a stifled cry and sank down upon the ground; whilst the other men, +astonished beyond measure at this sudden attack from they knew not +what quarter, ceased to heed their prisoner, and turned round with +loud execrations, laying their hands upon their weapons.</p> +<p>But before they had time to draw these the horseman was upon +them. He had his battle-axe in his hand--a light small axe, but one +of exquisite temper and workmanship--and dashing through the group, +he dealt such a blow with it upon the head of one of the ruffians +as cleft his skull in two; and the man dropped with never a groan, +a dead corpse upon the ground.</p> +<p>"Two done for," quoth the youth to himself as he wheeled about +for a second encounter. "Well, a mounted man should be a match for +two on foot.</p> +<p>"Ha! what is that?" for even as he spoke he felt a sharp, +stinging pain in one shoulder, and simultaneously the report of +firearms rang out once more. His adversaries had not been slow to +avenge the death of their comrade, and their aim was as true as his +own. The traveller knew that his only chance was now to close with +his foes and grapple with them before they could load their piece +again.</p> +<p>His right arm was partially disabled, as he felt in a moment. He +could no longer swing the trusty little axe which had done good +service before; but there was the deadly guisarme at his side. +Sultan could be trusted to carry him straight to the foe without +any guidance beyond that of the pressure of knee and foot; and +grasping the weapon in both hands, he gallantly charged back upon +the men, who stood grimly awaiting his next movement with every +intention of unhorsing and slaying him.</p> +<p>The odds were heavy against him. The two ruffians who stood to +bar his way were stalwart, powerful fellows, well inured to this +kind of warfare; and the chief, who though wounded was not killed, +had struggled to his feet, and was plainly endeavouring, though +with difficulty, to reach the handgun and reload it. The girl was +still encumbered by the heavy cloak which had been knotted about +her head and hands, and was not at once thrown off. The traveller +plainly saw that there was no time to be lost if he was to escape +with his own life, or save the damsel from a fate perhaps worse +than death.</p> +<p>"Forward, Sultan!" he cried.</p> +<p>And the good horse dashed back upon the enemy; and the youth, +holding his weapon in both hands, strove as he passed to deal a +deadly blow to one of his assailants. But the man was quick, and +his own strength impaired by the injury he had received. The +lance-like point of the weapon inflicted a deep gash upon the face +of one of his adversaries, causing him to yell with rage and pain, +but no vital injury had been inflicted upon either; whilst a savage +blow from the other upon the youth's left arm had broken the bone, +and he felt as if his last moment had surely come.</p> +<p>But it did not occur to him even then to save himself by flight, +as he could well have done, seeing that he was mounted and that the +robbers were on foot. Disabled as he was, he wheeled about once +more, and half maddened by pain and the desperation of his case, +rode furiously upon the only man who had not yet received some +injury. The robber awaited his charge with a smile of triumph upon +his face; but he triumphed a little too soon.</p> +<p>Sultan was a horse of remarkable intelligence and fidelity. He +had known fighting before now--had carried his rider through many a +skirmish before this; and his fidelity and affection equalled his +intelligence. With the wonderful instinct that seems always to +exist between horse and rider who have known each other long, he +appeared to divine that his master's case was somewhat desperate, +and that he needed an ally in his cause. And thus when the pair +bore down upon the robber, who was coolly awaiting the charge, +Sultan took law into his own hands, and overthrew the plan both of +attack and defence by a quick movement of his own. For he swerved +slightly as he approached the man, and rising suddenly upon his +hind legs, brought down all the weight of his iron shoe with +tremendous force upon the head of the adversary, who fell to the +ground with a low groan, and lay as helpless as his former +comrade.</p> +<p>But excellent as this manoeuvre was in one aspect, it +disconcerted the rider by its suddenness; and when as the horse +reared the second robber sprang upon the rider to try and drag him +from his seat, the effort was only too successful. The traveller +was easily pulled away from the saddle, and fell heavily to the +ground; whilst the foe uttered a savage exclamation of triumph, and +knelt with his knee upon the chest of the fallen man, his bloody +and distorted visage bent over him in evil triumph. He was feeling +in his belt for his dagger; and the young man closed his eyes and +tried to mutter a prayer, for he knew that his hour had come at +last.</p> +<p>He had sold his life dear, but sold it was, and the next moment +he felt certain would be his last; when all in a moment there was +another of those loud reports of the gun. The man kneeling upon his +chest fell suddenly backwards; and the youth, starting to his feet, +was confronted by the spectacle of the maiden he had rescued, white +and trembling, and almost overcome by her own deed, holding in her +hand the still smoking gun, whilst her eyes, dilated with horror, +were fixed upon the helpless creature in the dust.</p> +<p>"Is he dead?" she asked in a hollow voice.</p> +<p>"I cannot tell," answered the youth hastily. "It were better not +to linger longer here. Their own band will come and look to them if +they return not by sundown. Let us to horse and away before any of +the gang come. Sultan will carry the pair of us well, and you will +tell us which course to steer; for the night will be upon us ere +long, and I am a stranger to these dark forests."</p> +<p>Whilst thus speaking, the traveller was throwing keen glances +round him, and saw that the men, though wounded, were not all +dead--though one certainly was, and the other, whom Sultan had +attacked, was scarce likely to look again upon the light of day. +The leader of the band had fallen again to the earth, and was +enveloped in the folds of the heavy cloak, from which he appeared +to be feebly struggling to disentangle himself. The girl followed +the direction of the youth's glance, and explained the matter in a +few short words.</p> +<p>"He was loading the gun when I freed myself. I knew that he was +going to shoot you. I am very strong, and I saw that he was +bleeding and wounded. I sprang upon him and threw him down, and +tied the cloak about him, as he had bidden his men bind it about +me, By that time you were unhorsed, and I saw that the robber was +about to kill you. The gun was loaded, and I took it and shot him. +I never killed a man before. I hope it is not wicked; but he would +have killed you else. And you had risked your life a dozen times to +save me."</p> +<p>"It was well and bravely done for me and for yourself," answered +the stranger, as he mounted the docile Sultan and assisted the girl +to spring up behind him.</p> +<p>Wounded and spent as he was, the excitement of the encounter had +not yet subsided, and he was only vaguely conscious of his hurts, +whilst he was very much in earnest in his desire to get away from +this ill-omened spot before others of the band should return in +search of their missing comrades, and take a terrible vengeance +upon those who had slain or wounded them.</p> +<p>His companion was no less anxious than he to be gone; and as the +good horse picked his way in the dim light through the intricate +forest paths pointed out by the girl, who was plainly a native of +the neighbourhood, she told him in whispers of the men from whom +she had escaped, and of the fate which had so narrowly overtaken +her.</p> +<p>"They are the robbers of Black Notley," she said. "There are two +rival bands of robbers here--one at White Notley and one at Black +Notley. We call them the Black or the White Robbers, to distinguish +between them. The White are not so fierce or so lawless as the +Black; but both are a terror to us, for we never know what violence +we shall not hear of next."</p> +<p>"And these Black Robbers would have carried you away with them, +by what I gathered from their words, at least from the words of him +they looked to as their leader?"</p> +<p>The girl shuddered strongly.</p> +<p>"Once he lived in our village--Much Waltham, as it is called. He +was no robber then; but a proper youth enough; and although I was +but a little maid, not grown to womanhood, he asked my hand of my +father in marriage."</p> +<p>"And what said your father to his suit?"</p> +<p>"Why, that I was too young to be betrothed as yet; but that if +he were a steady youth, as time went on perchance it might be even +as he wished. But instead of growing up to the plough or the anvils +as other youths of our village do, he must needs go off to see +somewhat of the wars; and when he returned it was as a swashbuckler +and roisterer, such as my father and mother cannot abide sight of. +When he came to Figeon's to ask me in marriage, he was turned from +the door with cold looks and short words; but he would ever be +striving to see me alone, and swear that he loved me and would wed +me in spite of all. I had liked him when I was but a child, but I +grew first to fear and then to hate him; and at last I spoke to +Will Ives, the smith's son, of how he troubled me and gave me no +peace of my life. And forthwith there was a great stir through the +village; and Will Ives set upon him and beat him within an inch of +his life, for all he was so proud of his skill and strength. And +the good brothers spoke to him seriously of his evil courses, and I +know not what besides. So the end was that he ran away once more +and joined himself to the Robbers of Black Notley, and was taken in +such favour by the captain of the band that he is half a captain +himself; and many is the time he has ridden through our village, +robbing his old neighbours, and doing more harm in a night than +months of hard work will put right; and often when I have chanced +to meet him he has given me a look that has frozen the blood in my +veins. I have always lived in fear of him all my life; but I was +never in such peril before today."</p> +<p>"Peril enough, in all sooth," said the traveller. "How came it, +pretty maiden, that you chanced to be all alone in the wood so near +to the haunts of the robbers?"</p> +<p>"Nay, I was far enough away from their regular haunts. I had but +come a short cut through the wood to see a sick neighbour, and I +tarried beside her longer than I well knew. I will never do the +like again, but I have been used from childhood to roam these +forest paths unharmed. The wood is thick, and if I hear the sound +of horse or man I always slip aside and hide myself. But today, +methinks, they must have tracked me and were lying in wait; for the +wood was silent as the church till I reached the clearing, and then +the whole four sprang up from behind the pile of felled trees and +set upon me. Had you not been at hand, by good providence; I should +ere this have been their helpless captive;" and again the girl +shuddered strongly.</p> +<p>By this time the trees were growing somewhat thinner, and lights +began to twinkle here and there, showing that some village was nigh +at hand. A bell for vespers began to ring forth, and the traveller +was glad enough to think his toilsome journey nearly at an end. +Hardy as he was, and well inured to fatigues and hardship of all +kinds, he was growing exhausted from his day's travel and his sharp +fighting. He was wounded, too, and although there was no great +effusion of blood, his hurt was becoming painful, and his left arm, +which was undoubtedly broken, required some skilled attention.</p> +<p>"Is it here that you live, fair maid?" he asked. "I know not how +you are named; but I gather that you are directing our course to +your own home."</p> +<p>"My name is Joan Devenish," she answered, "and the lights you +see yonder are those of Much Waltham, and it is our church bell +that you hear ringing out so sweetly. My father's farm is a mile +beyond. But I beseech you ride thither with me. My mother would be +ill pleased did I not bring home the gallant stranger who had saved +me from my foes. And Figeon's will be proud to shelter such a +guest."</p> +<p>"I give you humble thanks, Mistress Joan, and gladly would I +find so hospitable a shelter. I am but a poor traveller, however, +roaming the world in search of the fame and fortune that come not. +I am one of those who have ever followed the failing fortunes of +the Red Rose of Lancaster, and sorry enough has often been my +plight. But if rumour speaks true, and the great Earl of Warwick +has placed King Henry once again on his throne, then perchance I +may retrieve the fallen fortunes of my house. My father and +brothers laid down their lives for his cause; his foes took +possession of our fair lands, and I was turned adrift on the wide +world. But tell me, ere we journey farther, which Rose you and your +house favour; for I would not bring trouble upon any, and my roving +life has taught me that the House of Lancaster has many bitter +foes."</p> +<p>"O sir, be not afraid," answered Joan eagerly; "we country folk +are quiet and peaceable, and care little who wears the crown, so as +we may till our land in peace, and be relieved from the hordes of +robbers and disbanded soldiers who have swarmed the country so +long. We have called ourselves Yorkists these past years, since +King Edward has been reigning; but I trow if what men say is true, +and he has fled the country without striking a blow for his crown, +and the great earl has placed King Henry on the throne again, that +we shall welcome him back. I know little of the great matters of +the day. My father bids me not trouble my head over things too hard +for me. I tend the poultry and the young calves, and let the +question of kings alone."</p> +<p>The traveller smiled at this; but his companion was evidently +something of a talker, and endued with her full share of feminine +curiosity.</p> +<p>"I would gladly know your name, fair sir," she said shyly, "for +I shall have to present you to my good father ere long."</p> +<p>"My name is Paul Stukely," he answered. "I am the youngest and +only surviving son of one of King Henry's knights and loyal +adherents. My parents are both dead, and I have long been alone in +the world. I have little to call my own save my good horse and +trusty weapons. But I sometimes hope that there may be better days +in store, if the rightful king gets back his own again."</p> +<p>At that moment the travellers were passing by the village forge, +and a bright gleam of light streamed across their path, revealing +to a brawny young fellow at the door the weary horse and its double +burden. He came one step nearer, and exclaimed:</p> +<p>"Why, Joan, what means this? You riding pillion fashion with a +stranger! What, in the name of all the saints, has befallen +you?"</p> +<p>Sultan had paused of his own accord at the forge, and Joan was +eagerly telling her story to a little crowd of listeners, and +making so much capital out of the heroism of her gallant rescuer +that all eyes were turned upon the battered stranger; and whilst +deep curses went up from the lips of many of the men as they heard +of the last attempt of the Black Robbers upon one of their own +village maidens, equal meed of praise and thanks was showered upon +Paul, who leaned over his saddlebow in an attitude that bespoke +exhaustion, though he answered all questions, and thanked the good +people for their kindly reception of him, whilst trying to make +light of his own prowess, and to give the credit of their final +escape to Joan, to whom, indeed, it was due.</p> +<p>But the elder smith, John Ives, pushed his way through the +little group round the black horse, and scattered them right and +left.</p> +<p>"Good neighbours," he said, "can you not see that this gentleman +is weary and wounded, and that his good horse is like to drop as he +stands?</p> +<p>"Go to, Will. Lift down the maid, and lead her yourself up to +Figeon's. I will conduct the gentleman thither, and tend his hurts +myself.</p> +<p>"For, good sir, I know as much about broken bones as any leech +in the countryside; and if you will but place yourself in my hands, +I'll warrant you a sound man again before another moon has run her +course. 'Tis a farrier's trade to be a bit of a surgeon; and the +Iveses have been farriers in Much Waltham longer than any can +mind.</p> +<p>"On then, good horse. 'Tis but a short mile farther; and a good +stable and a soft bed, and as much fodder as you can eat, you will +find at Figeon's Farm."</p> +<p>Paul was glad enough to have matters thus settled for him; and +even Sultan seemed to understand the promise made him, for he +pricked up his ears, dropped his nose for a moment into the kindly +hand of the smith, and with the guiding hand upon his rein stepped +briskly forward up the dark rough lane, through the thick belt of +trees on either side. For in the days of which I write the great +forest of Epping extended almost all over the county of Essex, the +villages were scarcely more than small clearings in the vast wood, +and only round the farms themselves were there any real fields +worth calling by the name.</p> +<p>Will and Joan tripped on ahead more rapidly than Sultan or his +master cared to go. Paul did not trouble himself any longer about +the road he was traversing, leaving himself entirely in the kindly +care of the smith. He even dozed a little in the saddle as the +horse picked his way steadily through the darkness, and was only +fully roused up again by the sight of lanterns dancing, as it +seemed, over the ground, by the sound of rough yet pleasant voices, +and the glimmer of steadier light through the latticed windows of +some building near at hand. The next minute he was before the +hospitable door of the old farmhouse.</p> +<p>A ruddy blaze streamed out through that open door. Friendly +hands assisted him to alight, and guided him to a rude oak settle +placed within the deep inglenook, which was almost like a small +inner chamber of the wide farm kitchen. Some hot, steaming drink +was held to his lips; and when he had drunk, the mist seemed to +clear away from his eyes, and he saw that he was the centre of +quite a group of simple rustics; whilst the pretty, dark-eyed Joan, +in her gown of blue serge, with its big sleeves of white cloth, was +eagerly watching him, all the time pouring out her story, which +everybody appeared to wish to hear again and again.</p> +<p>"Just to think of it!" cried a burly man, whose dress bespoke +him a farmer no less than his ruddy cheeks and horny hands. "Would +that I had been there! He should not then have escaped with his +life.</p> +<p>"Child, why didst thou not stab him to the heart as he lay?</p> +<p>"Well has he been called Devil's Own by his former comrades and +playfellows. A defenceless girl--my daughter! By good St. Anthony, +if he crosses my path again it shall be for the last time. I +will--"</p> +<p>"Hush, I pray you, good husband," said his wife more gently, +though from the way in which she clasped her daughter to her breast +it was plain she had been deeply moved by the story of her peril. +"Remember what the Scriptures say: 'Thou shalt not kill,' +'Vengeance is mine,' and many like passages--"</p> +<p>But the woman stopped suddenly short, silenced by the grip of +her husband's hand upon her arm. A quick look was exchanged between +them, and she lapsed into silence.</p> +<p>The farmer glanced round him, and dismissed the serving wenches +and labourers who had gathered round to their own quarters, and +indeed in many cases to their beds; for early hours were all the +fashion in those days. The farmer's wife beckoned her daughter, and +went to prepare for the lodging of their guest; and before very +long Paul found himself in a bed which, however rude according to +our notions, was luxury itself to the weary traveller.</p> +<p>The smith soon saw to his hurts, pronounced them only trifling, +and bound them up as cleverly as a leech would have done. Indeed, +he was the regular doctor for most kinds of hurts, and could +practise the rude surgery of the day with as much success as a more +qualified man.</p> +<p>Paul had been weary enough half-an-hour before, but the good +food he had taken and the hot spiced wine had effectually aroused +him. He was very tough and well seasoned, and although glad enough +to lie still in bed, was not particularly disposed for sleep; and +when the smith was preparing to depart, he begged him to stay a +while longer, and tell him something about the place and about the +people he had come amongst. The worthy man was ready enough to +chat, though he had little notion of imparting information. Still, +he answered questions with frankness, and Paul was able to pick up +a good deal of gossip as to public opinion in those parts and the +feeling of the people round.</p> +<p>But what he heard did not give him pleasure. He had been in the +north when he had heard of Warwick's sudden desertion of the +Yorkist cause, and before he had been able to reach London he had +heard the glad news that Henry of Lancaster was again on the +throne, placed there by the power of the King Maker, who had +dethroned him but a few years back. Glad as Paul was, he yet wished +that any other hand had been the one to place the crown upon the +gentle monarch's head. He could not but distrust Warwick, and he +was eager to learn the feeling of the country, and to know whether +or not the people welcomed back the sovereign so long a +captive.</p> +<p>But in this place, at least, it seemed as if there was no +pleasure in Henry's restoration. The smith shook his head, and said +he had no faith in his keeping the crown now he had got it. It +seemed as if the love borne by Londoners to Edward of York had +extended as far as this remote village: the people had been +enjoying again, under the later years of his reign, something of +the blessings of peace, and were loath that their calm should be +disturbed.</p> +<p>The feeling might not be patriotic, but it was natural, and Paul +admitted with a sigh that the cause of the Red Rose was not likely +to find favour here. A king who could fight and who could govern, +and hold his kingdom against all comers, was more thought of than +one who appeared a mere puppet in the hands of a designing noble or +a strong-willed queen. The sudden desertion of Warwick from his +banner had caused a momentary panic in Edward's army, and the king +had fled with his followers beyond the sea; but, as the hardy smith +remarked with a grim smile, he would not be long in coming back to +claim his kingdom. And if the country were again to be plunged into +the horrors of civil war, it would be better for the whole brood of +Lancaster to seek exile or death.</p> +<p>Paul had not energy to argue for his cause, and fell asleep with +these sinister words ringing in his ears.</p> +<h2><a name="Ch2" id="Ch2">Chapter 2</a>: A Hospitable +Shelter.</h2> +<p>Figeon's Farm (the true spelling of the name should be +Fitz-John's, but nobody ever thought of calling it so) was a +prosperous and pleasant place enough. It had been in the hands of +Devenishes ever since the Norman conquest--so at least the common +belief went--and there was no tradition of the house or lands +having been in other hands than those of the present family.</p> +<p>When Paul Stukely awoke from the deep sleep of exhaustion into +which he had fallen even while the worthy smith had been talking to +him overnight, his ears were assailed by the peaceful and +comfortable sounds inseparable from farmhouse life and occupation. +He heard the cackling of hens, the grunting of pigs, and the rough +voices of the hinds as they got the horses out of the sheds, and +prepared to commence the labours of the day with harrow or plough. +These sounds were familiar enough to Paul; they seemed to carry him +back to the days of his childhood, and he lay for several minutes +in a state between sleeping and waking, dreamily wondering if the +strange events of the past year were all a dream, and if he should +wake by-and-by to find himself a child once more, in his little bed +in the old home, and receive his mother's kiss as his morning's +greeting.</p> +<p>But soon this sweet illusion faded, and the young man sat up in +bed and looked quickly round him, trying to recollect where he was +and what had brought him here. During the last two years, in which +he had been forced to lead the roving life of an adventurer--common +enough in those days, and by no means entirely distasteful to one +of his temperament and training--he had slept in many strange +places, and had known quarters far ruder than the unceiled, +raftered room of the gabled farm.</p> +<p>In time it all came back to him--the attack upon the helpless +girl in the wood, his own successful defence, and the journey to +the farmhouse in the gathering darkness. Paul gave himself a shake +to see how he felt, and decided that although stiff and bruised, +and crippled in the left arm, he might yet make shift to rise and +dress himself. He saw his clothes all laid out in readiness for +him, and it was plain that some good friend had sat up far into the +night brushing and mending them; for they had been in somewhat +sorry plight after his adventure of yesterday, and now they were +fresh and clean and almost smart looking, as they had not been for +many a long day before.</p> +<p>As Paul was slowly dressing, he was suddenly aware of the sound +of a woman's voice speaking or reading--he fancied from its +monotonous cadence that it must be the latter--in some room that +could not be far away from his own chamber. In those days such an +accomplishment as reading was not at all common to the inhabitants +of a farm, and Paul stood still in surprise to listen.</p> +<p>Yes, there was no mistaking it, there was certainly +somebody--some woman--reading aloud in a chamber hard by. Presently +the cadence of the voice changed, and Paul was certain that the +reading had changed to prayer; but not the pattering Paternosters +or Ave Marias with which he was familiar enough. This style of +prayer was quite different from that; and the young man, after +listening for a few moments with bated breath, exclaimed to +himself, in accents of surprise and some dismay:</p> +<p>"Lollards, in good sooth! By the mass, I must have stumbled into +a nest of heresy;" and he crossed himself devoutly, as if to shield +himself from the evil of contamination.</p> +<p>Paul had been born and bred a Papist, as indeed was the case +with most of his countrymen in those days. The House of Lancaster +was deeply attached to the faith as they found it, and Henry the +Sixth had burned many a heretic at Smithfield; for he was at once a +saint and a fanatic--a very common combination then, hard enough as +it seems now to bracket the two qualities together--and led in all +things by his ghostly advisers.</p> +<p>But the leaven of the new doctrines was silently working +throughout the length and breadth of the land in spite of all +repressive measures, and King Edward the Fourth, either from policy +or indifference, had done little or nothing to check its spread. +London--the place of all others which was ever loyal to him--was a +perfect hotbed of heresy (in the language of the priests), and that +alone was enough to deter the Yorkist monarch from stirring up +strife and bringing down upon his head the enmity of the powerful +city which served him so well. Now that the meek Henry wore the +crown again--if indeed he did wear it--the Lollards might well +tremble for their liberties and lives.</p> +<p>As for Paul, he had seen and heard little of the new religion, +as he called it, and looked upon it as a terrible and deadly sin. +At the same time, he had knocked about the world enough to have won +a larger toleration for all sorts and conditions of men than he +would have done had he remained master of the ancestral estates at +home; and after a momentary thrill of dismay and repulsion, he +decided to take no notice of what he had inadvertently +overheard.</p> +<p>These people had been kind and friendly. If they desired him to +remain a short time beneath their roof until his wounds were +healed, he saw no particular reason against doing so. A spell of +rest and quiet would suit him and Sultan very well, and with their +private beliefs he had no concern; the less he knew of them the +better.</p> +<p>So he finished his toilet, whistling a gay tune to drown the +sound of the unauthorized prayer nigh at hand; and when he had +finished he opened his door, and made his way down the narrow, +winding stairs, into the great kitchen he had entered the previous +evening.</p> +<p>The big place looked cheerful enough this bright morning: the +door standing wide open to the October sunlight--the huge fire of +logs crackling and blazing on the wide hearth and roaring up the +vast open chimney--the rude metal and wooden utensils as clean as +scrubbing could make them--and the brick floor clean enough to eat +off, as the saying goes. And this cleanliness was not so common in +those days of partial civilization as it is now: there were +farmhouses enough and to spare in the England of that day where men +and animals herded together amid filth that we should hardly +condemn pigs to in this enlightened age. Wherefore Paul was both +pleased and surprised by all he saw, and his dim misgivings fled +away promptly.</p> +<p>In the wide inglenook before the oak settle a small table had +been drawn up, and upon this table stood one wooden platter, and +some homely viands sufficiently tempting to a hungry man, and a +huge joram of home-brewed ale. Paul did not doubt for a moment that +this was his own breakfast thus temptingly spread for him; and he +was fully disposed to do it ample justice, for he had eaten little +during the past four-and-twenty hours, and had ridden far and done +some good hard fighting to boot. But he did not like to sit down +uninvited, and as he stood warming his hands at the pleasant blaze, +there tripped into the room the girl he had last clearly seen, gun +in hand, in the forest, and she greeted him with the prettiest +smile and blush.</p> +<p>"Good morrow, fair sir. I am pleased indeed to see you thus +afoot, and hope you feel little the worse for your brave encounter +yesterday. We know not how to thank you; in truth, I scarce slept +all last night, thinking what my fate must have been but for your +timely rescue. But I pray you be seated, and try this pie of +mother's own making, with a slice of home-cured ham (father is a +great rearer of pigs; and the brothers of Leighs Priory, who know +what good living is, always come to him for his primest bacon and +ham). You look as if you needed a good meal, for your face is but +wan this morning. Mother scarce looked to see you on your feet so +soon."</p> +<p>Paul laughed as he sat himself down to the hospi table +board.</p> +<p>"Nay, I scarce feel any ill effects from the knocks I got. A +rover like myself is tough and wiry, or should be. I fear this arm +may not be serviceable for a few weeks to come, but--"</p> +<p>"But if you will do us the pleasure to make this poor house your +home until such time as you can go forth a sound man, you will be +giving us great honour and pleasure; for I think that if harm had +befallen our dear and only daughter, her father's heart would have +broken, and her mother's hairs have gone down with sorrow to the +grave."</p> +<p>It was a fresh voice that spoke these words, and Paul rose +instinctively to his feet as he found himself face to face with his +hostess.</p> +<p>Mistress Devenish, as she was commonly called, was no ordinary +buxom, loud-tongued farmer's wife, but a slight, small woman, of +rather insignificant aspect, unless the expression of the face was +taken into account. Then indeed might be seen a refinement and +intellect seldom found in persons of her class in those rough and +uncultured times. Paul, who was a shrewd observer, detected at once +that this was no ordinary woman before him, and saw from whom Joan +had inherited her graceful, refined bearing and sweet, low-toned +voice. She was a much taller and finer woman than her mother had +ever been, for she had something of her father's strength and +stature; but for all that she owed much of her charm to her mother, +and plainly regarded her with true filial devotion.</p> +<p>"I thank you heartily," answered Paul, as he held out his hand +in greeting. "I should be glad enough to rest, for a few days at +least, in such pleasant quarters; but I must not let myself become +a burden to you because that I have had the honour of rendering a +trifling service to fair Mistress Joan here."</p> +<p>"Nay, sir, it was no trifling service you did her; it was such +service as must ever cause a mother's heart to swell with thankful +joy. What would have become of the maid carried off by that evil +man to his own secret haunts I dare not even think. Had they slain +her before her parents' eyes, it would have been less terrible than +to know her utterly at their mercy."</p> +<p>"Ay, indeed it would," cried the girl, with dilating eyes. "Ah, +fair sir, you know not what monsters these terrible robbers can be. +Oh, I pray you go not forth again until you can go a hale and sound +man; for you have incurred by your act of yesterday the fury of one +who never forgives, and who is as cunning as he is cruel. He may +set his spies upon you; and dog your steps if you leave this place; +and if you were to be overcome by them and carried off to their +cave in the forest, some terrible and cruel death would surely +await you there. For they truly call him Devil's Own--so crafty, so +bloodthirsty, so full of malice and revenge has he ever shown +himself."</p> +<p>The girl's cheek paled as she spoke; but Paul smiled at her +fears. Not that he was altogether foolhardy, or disposed to despise +warnings thus given him; but his life had taught him a certain +hardihood and contempt of danger, and he and his good horse had +proved match enough for formidable antagonists before now.</p> +<p>"I thank you for your kind thought for me, and I will use all +prudence when I stir from the shelter of this hospitable roof. But +my next journey will be to London, and there, methinks, shall I +find more of law and order. It is a sad state of things when not +forty miles from the king's own city bands of robbers abound and +flourish, making honest folks tremble for their lives and +liberties."</p> +<p>"You speak truly; young sir," answered Mistress Devenish, who +had now sat down to her spinning wheel in the inglenook, whilst her +daughter still hovered about restlessly, and waited assiduously +upon their disabled guest. "And had King Edward but kept his +throne, I verily believe he would have put down with a strong hand +these same marauders who devastate the country more than war +itself. Things were beginning to improve after the long and +disastrous civil strife, and we fondly told ourselves that the +worst was over, and that the distracted country would taste +something of the blessings of peace again. But since that haughty +earl men call the King Maker has gone to France to make his peace +with the Lancastrian queen, and has returned to place her husband +(poor man, it is no fault of his that he cannot sway the sceptre, +but can only submit to the dictates of others) on England's throne, +we shall again be plunged, I know it well, in bloody and terrible +strife. The lion-hearted Edward will never resign his rights +without a struggle. He will return and collect an army, and the +cruel bloodshed will recommence. This bloodless victory will not +last. God alone knows how the struggle will end. We know but too +well that misery and desolation will be the fate of the country +until the matter is finally settled one way or the other; and when +will that be?"</p> +<p>Paul listened in grave silence to these words, so foreign to his +own hopes and the confident expressions he had heard from time to +time uttered by hot partisans of the Red Rose. He had hoped to find +the whole country rejoicing in the restoration of the gentle +monarch, whom he loved with the ardour of a generous and impetuous +temperament. But these simple folks, rustic and unlettered though +they were, managed somehow to throw a shadow over his spirit by +their grave and doubting words.</p> +<p>He realized that King Henry would have a hard struggle ere the +whole of England owned his sway. Edward was yet the king in many a +part of the realm. He was more respected and beloved than the +feeble, monk-ridden monarch he had deposed; and if it came to be a +question of abstract right, none could dispute the superiority of +the claim of the House of York. Edward was the descendant of the +elder branch of the family of Edward the Third. It was only the +politic reign of the fourth Henry, and the brilliant reign of the +fifth, which had given to the House of Lancaster its kingly title. +Men would probably never have thought of disputing the sixth +Henry's sway had he held the sceptre firmly and played the part of +king, to any purpose. But his health and temperament were alike +feeble: he inherited the fatal malady of his grandsire of France, +and was subject to fits of mental illness which made him utterly +helpless and supine. His strong-minded queen was detested by the +nobles and unpopular with the mass of the people, whilst the +ambition of the powerful barons and peers had made civil strife an +easy and popular thing.</p> +<p>There was no great issue at stake in these disastrous wars; no +burning question was settled by the victory of either side; no +great principle or national interest was involved. It was little +more in reality than the struggle for supremacy and place amongst +the overbearing and ambitious nobles; hence the ease and readiness +with which they changed sides on every imaginable pretext, and the +hopeless character of the struggle, which ruined and exhausted the +country without vindicating one moral or national principle.</p> +<p>But Paul Stukely, at twenty years of age, was not likely to take +this dispassionate view of the case. His whole heart was in the +cause of the Red Rose, and he could scarce listen to these quiet +but telling words without breaking out into ardent defence of the +cause he had at heart.</p> +<p>"But listen, good mistress," he exclaimed eagerly, when she had +ceased to speak: "there are better days dawning for the land than +they have seen either beneath the rule of the gentle Henry or the +bold but licentious Edward. His blessed majesty has no love for the +office of king, and his long captivity has further weakened his +health and increased his love for retirement. You speak truly when +you doubt if he will ever rule this turbulent nation, so long torn +with strife and divided into faction. But think--he need not sway +the sceptre which has proved too heavy for his hands. He has a +son--a fair and gallant prince--worthy of the royal name of Edward +which he bears. Men say that it will not be the feeble father who +will restore order to the country and bring peace again to its +shores, but that the task will be intrusted to the youthful Edward, +who in his person combines the graces of his stately mother and the +warlike prowess of his great ancestor whose cognizance he bears. +Trust me, good people, if you love not Henry you will love Henry's +son; and will it not be better to be ruled by him than by that +other Edward of York, the usurper, who, though I verily believe he +can be a lion in battle, yet spends his days, when not in arms, in +lolling in idleness and luxury amid his fine court beauties, and +beseems himself rather as a woman than a man? I would fain serve a +spotless prince, such as our noble Prince of Wales is known to be, +than one whose life is stained by the debaucheries of a luxurious +court, and gluttony such as it is a marvel even to hear of."</p> +<p>Joan's eyes lighted, as the youth spoke with all the ardour of a +young and vivid imagination and a generous and undoubting love. +Even the grave-faced woman at the spinning wheel smiled to herself, +and though she heaved a little sigh, she answered gently +enough:</p> +<p>"Ay, young sir, if that could be! If we could be ruled by one +who was brave, and stainless, and wise, and just, then England +might count itself a happy land indeed; but I have lived through +troublous times, and I have lost hope in such a speedy and happy +conclusion to the matter. But we shall see--we shall see."</p> +<p>"We have all favoured King Edward's cause here, as I told you +yesterday," said Joan; "for we seemed better off under his rule +than in the days before, when we were distracted by the war. But +tell us of this prince--the Prince of Wales, as you call him. Would +he be able to rule us wisely and well? Has he a strong arm and a +kind heart? And does he think for himself? or do the monks or the +queen direct him in all matters? Have you ever seen him? Do you +know what he is like?"</p> +<p>"I have not seen him since he was a child and I a child, too," +answered Paul, his face lighting at the recollection of the little +prince of his dreams, which had never faded or grown dim. "In +sooth, he was the noblest, kingliest child the sun ever shone on. +And men say he has grown up to fulfil all the promise of his youth. +He is solemnly betrothed, so they say, to the Lady Anne, the +daughter of the proud Earl of Warwick, and it is into his hands +that the real government of the country will be intrusted.</p> +<p>"Oh, you would love him if you could see him--I am sure of that. +I would he could come himself now, for the hearts of the nation +would surely go out to him. Shall I tell you a story of him when he +was a child--when we were children together? You will see how sweet +and lovable he was even then, and I warrant that he has not changed +now."</p> +<p>Joan answered eagerly in the affirmative, and Paul told of his +adventure with the little prince in the forest hard by Lichfield; +and mother and daughter as they heard the tale exchanged glances, +as if it was not the first time they had heard something of the +kind. He had hardly finished the narrative before Joan broke +eagerly in:</p> +<p>"O sir, was it in truth you that balked the robbers of their +prey? I pray you never speak of this to any in these parts, for +truly it might cost you your life. You have heard us speak of the +Black Notley robbers, whose lawless band our neighbour joined--the +one who tried yesterday to get me into his clutches? Well, this +same story that you have told to us he has heard a dozen times from +his chief--the chief of all the band--Fire Eater, as he is called +in their fierce language. It was he and his followers who hung upon +the royal party all those long years ago, and he who carried you +off in mistake for the Prince of Wales. He has often been heard to +swear terribly over that great disappointment, and regret that he +did not run his sword through the body of the daring boy who had +outwitted him. If he were to hear of your being here, he would move +heaven and earth to obtain your capture or death.</p> +<p>"O sir, be advised, you are in more peril than you know. Go not +forth from the shelter of these doors till you can do so a sound +man, and then make hasty and swift flight for London, where +perchance you may be safe. These terrible robbers are not to be +smiled at; they are cunning and cruel and crafty beyond belief. I +shiver even for myself whenever I think of that terrible Simon +Dowsett, whom they call Devil's Own."</p> +<p>Paul was not a little surprised to hear that his childish +exploit had been heard of here, and that the robber chief he had +outwitted was the real leader of the band some members of which he +had slain the previous day. He could not disguise from himself that +he might on this account be placed in a position of some danger. +The man whose villainous scheme he had frustrated would undoubtedly +be his deadly enemy, and it was possible that if his name became +known in the place, it would draw upon him the vengeance of the +whole band. True, the robber chieftain might have forgotten the +name of the child who had been carried off by him in mistake for +the Prince of Wales; but Paul remembered how he had called it out +when appealing to his friend the farmer for help, and it was +possible that it might be remembered against him. Certainly, in his +present crippled state, it seemed advisable to remain in hiding at +the farm, as he was so hospitably pressed to do; and after a short +debate with himself upon his position, he gratefully consented to +do so.</p> +<p>"That is right, that is right," cried the farmer, when he came +in at midday for the dinner that family and servants all shared +together; and presently, when the meal was over, and the women had +retired to wash up the platters in an adjoining room, whilst the +labourers had started forth for their labours, the master drew his +guest into the warm inglenook again, and said to him in a low +voice:</p> +<p>"I'll be right glad to have a good Lancastrian abiding beneath +my roof for awhile. The good brothers of Leighs are our best +customers, and one or another of them is always coming across on +some errand, and 'twill do us no harm in their eyes to find a +follower of King Henry under our roof. I know not how it is, but of +late they have been somewhat changed toward us;" and the farmer +looked uneasily round, as if hardly knowing who might be listening. +"We go to mass as regular as any; and my little girl there has +worked a robe for the reverend prior himself as cost me a pretty +penny in materials, and half blinded her pretty eyes, she sat at it +so close. They have no need to look askance at us; but there, +there, I suppose they have had a deal of trouble with the heretic +books and such like as have been getting about the country of late. +They say they found a Wycliffe's Bible hidden under the hearth +stone of a poor woman's cottage in Little Waltham, nigh at hand +here; and if King Henry had been on the throne, she might have been +sent up to Smithfield to be burned, as an example and warning to +others. But King Edward was on the throne then, and he cares not to +burn his subjects for heresy--God bless him for that! But if King +Henry is coming back to reign, it behoves all good persons to be +careful and walk warily. So, young sir, if you can speak a good +word for us to the holy brothers, I will thank you with all my +heart. It's a bad thing when they get the notion that a house is +corrupted by heresy."</p> +<p>The palpable uneasiness of the farmer betrayed to Paul full well +that he was very much afraid of the orthodoxy of his wife, and it +was not impossible that he himself might not be secretly favouring +the new religion whilst conforming outwardly in all things. Such +cases were by no means rare, and this village appeared Yorkist +enough in its sentiments to suggest suspicions as to its +orthodoxy.</p> +<p>But Paul was young and impressionable and generous; he liked +these good folks, and knew nothing whatever to their discredit. He +was sure that, whatever they might privately believe, they were +good and trustworthy folks, and he gave his word to do all that he +could, if chance offered, with an emphasis that won him the hearty +thanks of the farmer.</p> +<p>Nor was the chance very long in coming: for only on the +afternoon of the next day a portly monk jogged up to the farm on +his sleek palfrey; and Paul, who was seated near to the door, rose +and bent his knee, asking the customary blessing; after which the +monk dismounted, and made his way into the kitchen to give some +order to the good mistress of the house.</p> +<p>The monks of those days were regular gossips, and loved a chat, +as they sat in the chimney corner enjoying a cup of the best wine +the house afforded, or a substantial meal of the choicest products +of the larder. Brother Lawrence was no exception to this rule; and +the farmer's wife bestirred herself to get him everything he could +fancy, whilst he sat and questioned Paul as to his history and the +adventure which had brought him to this homestead. Very much did he +enjoy hearing of the discomfiture of the robbers, and laughed quite +merrily to think how they had been overcome by the handsome +stripling before him.</p> +<p>Presently, when Mistress Devenish had gone away to make some +inquiries respecting the flitches of bacon required for the Priory, +Brother Lawrence beckoned Paul somewhat nearer, and said, in a low +voice, in his ear:</p> +<p>"Be in no haste to depart from hence, my son. It may be that +there is work for you here for the Holy Church. It is whispered by +one and another that yon good woman, as I would fain believe her to +be, is somewhat tainted with the damnable heresy they call +Lollardism, and that she has in her possession one of those Bibles +which that arch-heretic Wycliffe translated into the vulgar tongue +for the undoing of the unlearned, who think that they can thus +judge for themselves on matters too high for them. You, my son, as +a true son of the Church, may do us great service by keeping open +both ears and eyes, and telling if you see or hear ought amiss. I +would fain learn that no such evil is done among these good folks; +but if it be that the leaven is working, it will be your duty to +tell us thereof, and we will see if the evil may not be stamped out +ere it has spread to others, or much corrupted even them that are +tainted. We trust that the days are dawning now when Holy Church +will have her ancient powers restored, and will be able to deal +with heretics even as they merit. But however that may be, be it +your work to watch and listen with all the powers you have. I trust +that there will be nought you will hear save what is to the credit +of these worthy folks."</p> +<p>Paul secretly in his heart vowed that no syllable which should +hurt his hosts should ever pass his lips; but he bent his head with +due reverence before the monk, who smiled and nodded cheerily to +him before he went his way. It seemed strange that so jovial and +kindly a man should so lightly speak of burning to death fellow +creatures whom he had regarded for years with kindly goodwill. But +there were strange anomalies in those days, even as there are in +our own, and Paul saw nothing strange in this, nor in his own +conduct, which made him appear submissive to the dictates of the +Holy Church, as he ever called her in his thoughts, whilst all the +time he was resolved neither to hear nor to see any of the things +which would, if made known, injure his hosts in the eyes of the +spiritual authorities. The very teaching of those spiritual pastors +inculcated a certain amount of deceit and double dealing. What +wonder if the weapon so freely used by themselves sometimes turned +its double edge against them in its turn?</p> +<p>Paul accompanied the monk to the gate which led to the so-called +road by which Figeon's was approached. It was nothing but a rude +cart track; and although well-tilled fields lay on one side of this +track, the forest lay upon the other, stretching away black and dim +into immeasurable distance.</p> +<p>Paul lingered a little while beside the gate, watching the friar +descend the sloping path; and he might have remained longer than he +knew, for he was aroused from his day dream by the growl of one of +the farm dogs, who stood at his side. Looking quickly round him, he +fancied he detected amid the shadows of the trees across the road a +dark figure almost concealed behind a solid trunk, the face alone +visible--a dark, saturnine face, with a pair of eyes that gleamed +like those of some wild beast.</p> +<p>The moment those eyes met Paul's the head was withdrawn, and the +youth stood asking himself if it were not all a dream; but if it +had been one, it was remarkably clear and vivid, and he walked to +the house with a look of deep thought upon his face.</p> +<h2><a name="Ch3" id="Ch3">Chapter 3</a>: A Strange Encounter.</h2> +<p>"Let me go," said Paul; "I should like the walk through the +wood. I am quite strong again now, and I am weary of doing nothing +from morning to night."</p> +<p>"Well, I don't know why you should not if it pleases your +fancy," said the farmer. "You will be welcome at the Priory, as all +guests are who come with news for the holy brothers from the world +without. 'Tis less than four miles away, and you have got the use +of your legs. Go, and welcome, if you will."</p> +<p>"I would go with you, were I not bound to go to Chelmsford +myself," quoth Jack, the farmer's ruddy-faced son, of whom mention +has not yet been made.</p> +<p>Paul had indeed seen but little of him so far, as his time was +mainly spent in the fields, and he had been absent from home on his +first arrival there, buying some fat sheep to be killed and salted +down for consumption in the winter.</p> +<p>"I like well enough a visit to the Priory. There is always good +cheer there enough and to spare. They know what good living means, +those holy men. If all other trades failed, I would not mind +turning friar myself."</p> +<p>"Nay, brother, jest not upon the holy men," quoth his sister in +a tone of gentle reproof. Then turning to Paul, she added, with +something of pleading in her tones, "But, sir, why peril yourself +by venturing into the forest alone? You have still but the use of +one arm, and were the robbers to be on the watch for you, you would +fall an easy prey into their hands."</p> +<p>But Paul laughed, as also did Jack.</p> +<p>"I trow the robbers have something else to do than to play the +spy continually on me and my movements," he said. "They cannot +always be on the watch, and the wood is dark and full of hiding +places. Were I to hear the sound of pursuit, I warrant me I could +hide myself so that none should find me. I have done the like many +a time before now. In this part of the country one must needs go +into the forest if one is ever to leave the shelter of the house at +all. Have no fear for me; I will take care not to run into +danger."</p> +<p>Joan looked as if hardly satisfied, though she was unable to +uphold her case by argument; for it was very true that if their +guest was to be anything but a close prisoner, he must adventure +himself from time to time in the forest. Jack, however, broke into +one of his hearty laughs, as he looked at Paul, and said:</p> +<p>"Those same robbers are not such bad fellows, after all, as some +of our good folks would make out. True, they help themselves to our +goods from time to time; but they are capital company if you chance +to fall upon their haunts, and they make you welcome. I've spent +more than one night amongst them, and never a bit the worse. Men +must live; and if the folks in authority will outlaw them, why, +they must jog along then as best they may. I don't think they do +more harm than they can well help."</p> +<p>Mistress Devenish shook her head in silence over the rather wild +talk of her son, but she said nothing. She was used to Jack's ways, +and she was proud of his spirit, though afraid sometimes that it +would lead him into trouble. She had noted of late that he had been +unwontedly absent from home during the long evenings of the summer +just gone by, and had wondered what took him off, for he seldom +gave account of himself. She noted, too, that he spoke in a very +different fashion from others of the robber band that was such a +terror to the village folks. She did not know whether or not to put +these two facts together as connected with each other; but she +listened eagerly to all he said on the subject, trying to discover +what might be the meaning of this strange leniency of opinion. "It +is different for you, brother--they owe you no grudge," said Joan, +with a slight shiver; whilst the farmer broke in roughly:</p> +<p>"Tut, tut, Jack! what mean you by trying to make common cause +with the ruffians who would have carried your sister off as a prey +of that graceless scamp well-called Devil's Own? I marvel to hear +such words from you. You should know better."</p> +<p>"They are not all brutes like Devil's Own," muttered Jack in a +low tone; but he did not speak aloud, for the fashion of the day +forbade the young to argue with the old, or children to answer back +when their parents spoke to them in reproof.</p> +<p>But Paul was still resolved that he would be the messenger to +carry to the Priory that day the two fat capons the worthy mistress +had in readiness for the prior's table. They had been bespoken some +time, and could be no longer delayed. Paul was weary of an idle +life, and eager to see something of the country in which he found +himself. He was in comfortable quarters enough at the farm; but he +was growing stronger each day, and was beginning to fret against +the fetters which held him from straying far from the farm.</p> +<p>He did not much believe in the lasting anger of the robber band. +He knew that those gentlemen would have other matters on hand than +that of revenging themselves upon him for his frustration of their +captain's design. He was content to rest yet awhile beneath the +hospitable roof of the Figeons, so long as he knew that his +presence there might be something of a protection and gain to its +inmates; but he had no intention of being a prisoner. His young +blood stirred within him, and he longed to be out in the free air +of heaven again. His strength had all come back, and even the +broken arm was mending so fast that he felt it would not be long +before he should gain its full use again. The love of adventure, +strong within him, made him fearless even of a second encounter +with the robbers. He felt certain he could hold his own against one +or two, and a whole band would never take him unawares. He should +hear or see them in plenty of time to hide away in some tree or +thicket. It was absurd to be chained within doors any longer.</p> +<p>Paul was looking now a very different object from the battered +and way-worn traveller who had rescued Joan from the robbers. A +couple of weeks' rest and good feeding had given a healthy glow to +his cheek, had brightened his eye, and brought back the native +boyishness and brightness to his face. He was stronger, gayer, +blither than he had been since the never-to-be-forgotten day when +he had closed his dead mother's eyes, and been obliged to fly for +his life from his ancestral halls, ere the rapacious scions of the +House of York fell upon him there, to take into their own +possession all that should have been his. For his father and +brothers lay in a bloody grave, killed in one of those many risings +and insurrections scarce mentioned in history, whereby the +adherents of the Red Rose sought to disturb Edward's rule in +England, and incite the people to bring back him they called their +rightful king.</p> +<p>Those days had changed Paul, a mere lad of seventeen, into a +grave and sad-faced man; but the impression had gradually worn +somewhat faint during the three years in which he had been a +wanderer and an outcast from his home. Of late it had seemed to him +that his lost youth was returning, and certainly there was that in +his bright glance and erect and noble bearing which won for him +universal admiration and affection.</p> +<p>He was, in truth, a right goodly youth. His features were very +fine, and the dark-gray eyes with their delicately-pencilled brows +were full of fire and brilliance. The lips readily curved to a +bright smile, though they could set themselves in lines of resolute +determination when occasion demanded. The golden curls clustered +round the noble head in classic fashion, but were not suffered to +grow long enough to reach the shoulders, as in childhood's day; and +the active, graceful, well-knit figure gave indication of great +strength as well as of great agility.</p> +<p>Paul's dress, too, was improved since we saw him last; for one +of the travelling peddlers or hawkers who roamed the country with +their wares, and supplied the remote villages with the greater part +of those articles not made at home, had recently visited Figeon's +Farm, and Paul had been able to supply himself with a new and +serviceable suit of clothes, in which his tall figure was set off +to the best advantage.</p> +<p>It was made of crimson cloth and the best Spanish leather, and +was cut after one of the most recent but least extravagant fashions +of the day. Paul had been able to purchase it without difficulty, +for he had by no means exhausted the funds he had in his +possession, and the leather belt he wore next his person was still +heavy with broad gold pieces.</p> +<p>Lady Stukely had seemed to have a prevision of coming trouble +for her youngest-born son for many long years before the troubles +actually came, and she had been making preparation for the same +with the patience and completeness that only a mother's heart would +have prompted. She had made with her own hands a stout leather +belt, constructed of a number of small pouches, each one of which +could contain a score of broad gold pieces. She knew full well that +lands might be confiscated, valuables forfeited, houses taken in +possession by foes, but the owner of the current gold of the land +would never be utterly destitute; so for years before her death she +bad been filling this ingeniously contrived belt, and had stored +within its many receptacles gold enough to be a small fortune in +itself. This belt had been in Paul's possession ever since the sad +day when she had kissed him for the last time and had commended him +to the care of Heaven. He had by no means yet exhausted its +contents, for he had often won wages for himself by following one +or another great noble in his private enterprises against some +lawless retainer or an encroaching neighbour.</p> +<p>A little money went a long way in those days, when open house +was kept by almost all the great of the land, and free quarters and +food were always to be had at any monastery or abbey to which +chance might guide the wanderer's feet. So Paul had not been forced +to draw largely upon his own resources, and was a man of some +substance still, although his compact little fortune was so well +hidden away that none suspected its presence.</p> +<p>And now, his health restored, his strength renewed and his outer +man refurbished in excellent style, Paul began to weary of the +seclusion and monotony of the farm, and was eager to enjoy even the +mild relaxation of a walk across to the brothers of the +neighbouring Priory. The basket was soon packed, and was intrusted +to his care; and off he set down the easy slope which led from +Figeon's to Much Waltham, whistling gaily as he moved, and swinging +his heavy burden with an ease that showed how little he made of +it.</p> +<p>Will Ives, the blacksmith's son, was looking out from the rude +forge as he passed, and came out to speak a friendly word to the +fine young gentleman, as he now looked to rustic eyes. Honest +Will's face had grown somewhat gloomy of late, though Paul did not +know it, and he was suffering, if the truth must be told, from the +keen pangs of jealousy. For he had long been courting Joan +Devenish, and hoped to make her his wife before the year's end, and +he fancied that she was disposed to his suit, although she had +never given a direct reply to his rather clumsy but ardent +wooing.</p> +<p>Of course it seemed to the young smith that every man in the +world must be equally enamoured of his sweetheart, and he was +terribly afraid that this fine young gentleman, with his handsome +face and graceful figure, and pleasant voice and ways, would +altogether cut him out with saucy Mistress Joan, who, it must be +confessed, was fond of teasing her faithful swain, and driving him +to the verge of distraction. So it showed Will's good-heartedness +that he did not shun and dislike his rival, but rather, when he +found him bent on an errand into the forest, offered to go with him +part of the way, to make sure that all was safe.</p> +<p>"We haven't seen anything of the robbers round here lately, and +they always give the Priory a wide berth, being half afraid of +incurring the ban of Holy Church, though they care little about +anything else. Anyway, I'll walk a part of the way with you, and +carry the basket for a spell. Not but what you look brave and +hearty again, in good faith."</p> +<p>Paul was ready enough for company, and Will soon got talking of +his own private affairs, and presently it all came out--how he had +loved Joan ever since they had been children together; how he had +worked hard these past three years to save money to furbish up a +little home for her; and how he was now building a snug little +cottage under shelter of his father's larger one, so that he might +have a little place for her all her own, seeing that she had been +used to the space and comfort of the farm. To all this Paul +listened with good-humoured interest, only wondering why Will's +face kept so lugubrious, as if he were speaking of something which +he had hoped for, but which could never be.</p> +<p>"You will have to look a little brighter when you come +a-wooing," he said at length, "or Mistress Joan will be frightened +to look at you. And why have you kept away so much these last days? +She has been quite offended by it, I can tell you. It's always +being said that you are sure to come today; and when the day goes +by and you come not, she pouts and looks vexed, and casts about for +all manner of reasons to account for it. You had better not be too +slack, or you will offend her altogether."</p> +<p>Will's face brightened up marvellously.</p> +<p>"Then you think she cares?"</p> +<p>"Why, of course she does. She's forever talking of you and all +you have done, and what a wonderful Will you are. When she sits at +her wheel and chatters to me as I lounge by the fire, she is always +telling of you and your sayings and doings. Why, man, did you not +know that for yourself? Did you think all the love was on your +side?"</p> +<p>"I daresay I was a fool," said Will, getting fiery red. "But I +thought, perhaps, she would not care for a clumsy fellow like me +after she had seen a gentleman like you. You saved her life, you +know, and it seemed natural like that you should care for each +other afterward. I know I'm nothing like you."</p> +<p>"No, indeed. I'm a mere wanderer--here today and gone tomorrow; +a soldier and an outcast, who could never ask any woman to share +his lot. My good sword is my bride. I follow a different mistress +from you. I may never know rest or peace till the House of +Lancaster is restored to its ancient rights. You need not fear me +as a rival, good Will; for no thought of marriage has ever entered +my head, and sometimes methinks it never will."</p> +<p>The smith's face was a study as he listened to these welcome +words, and Paul laughed as he read the meaning of those changing +expressions.</p> +<p>"Give me the basket, and get you gone to Figeon's, and make your +peace with your offended lady," he said, laughing. "You are but a +sorry wooer if you yield so soon to depression and despair. But I +warrant she will forgive you this time; and if you will but plead +your cause in good earnest, it may be that I shall yet have the +pleasure of treading a measure at your wedding feast."</p> +<p>The blushing smith was easily persuaded to this course, and bade +farewell to his companion in eager haste. He was clad only in his +working apron, and his hands were grimy from his toil; but his open +face was comely and honest enough to please the fancy of any +maiden, and Paul thought to himself that Mistress Joan would scarce +reject so stalwart a champion after the fright and the shock of the +previous week but one. As Will Ives's wife she would be safer and +better protected than as Farmer Devenish's unwedded daughter.</p> +<p>As for himself, thoughts of love and marriage had seldom entered +his mind, and had always been dismissed with a light laugh. As he +had said to Will, he was wedded to a cause, to a resolute aim and +object, and nothing nearer or dearer had ever yet intruded itself +upon him to wean away his first love from the object upon which it +had been so ardently bestowed. The little prince--as in his +thoughts he still called him sometimes--was the object of his +loving homage. King Henry was too little the man, and Queen +Margaret too much, for either of them to fulfil his ideal or win +the unquestioning love and loyalty of his heart; but in Edward, +Prince of Wales, as he always called him, he had an object worthy +of his admiration and worship.</p> +<p>Everything he heard about that princely boy seemed to agree with +what he remembered of him in bygone years. He and not the gentle +and half-imbecile king would be the real monarch of the realm; and +who better fitted to reign than such a prince?</p> +<p>The kindly welcome he received at the Priory from Brother +Lawrence and the prior himself was pleasant to one who had so long +been a mere wanderer on the face of the earth. The beautiful +medieval building, with its close-shorn turf and wide fish ponds, +was a study in itself, and lay so peacefully brooding in the pale +November sunshine, that it was hard to realize that the country +might only too soon be shaken from end to end by the convulsions of +civil war.</p> +<p>Paul was eagerly questioned as to what he knew of the feeling of +the country, and he could not deny that there was great discontent +in many minds at the thought of the return to power of the +Lancastrian king. The monks and friars shook their heads, and +admitted with a sigh that they feared the whole county of Essex was +Yorkist to the core, and that it was the leaven of heretical +opinions which was at the root of their rebellion against their +lawful king. It was difficult to believe that the warlike Edward +would long remain an exile, content to deliver up a kingdom which +had once been his without striking a single blow, especially when +his own party was so powerful in the land.. London, a hotbed of +Lollardism, would soon raise its voice in the call for Edward of +York. The present hour was calm and bright, and Henry of Windsor +wore his crown again; but the mutterings of the coming storm seemed +already to be heard in the distance, and the brothers of the +monastery did not blind their eyes to the fact that the wheel of +fortune might still have strange turns in store.</p> +<p>"Wherefore we must walk warily, and not stir up strife," quoth +the rubicund prior, who looked at once a benevolent and a +strong-willed man. "We will pray for the restoration--the permanent +restoration of the good king; but we must avoid stirring up the +hearts of his subjects in such a way as will make them his +foes.</p> +<p>"Young sir, what think you of your hosts at the farm? Are they +quiet and well-disposed people, seeking in all things the good of +the people, and giving due reverence to Holy Church?"</p> +<p>Paul answered eagerly in the affirmative. He had heard or seen +nothing of a suspicious character of late, and had grown very fond +of the kindly folks, who made him so welcome to the best of what +they had. His reply was considered very satisfactory, and the prior +dismissed him with his blessing; for Paul had no wish to be belated +in the forest, and proposed to return immediately after the midday +meal which he had shared with the brothers.</p> +<p>It was in somewhat thoughtful mood that he pursued his way +through the woodland paths. Conversation about the burning +questions of the day always left him with a feeling akin to +depression. He longed for the restoration of the house he loved and +served, but knew that a transitory triumph was not a true victory. +There was still much to be done before Henry's seat upon the throne +could be called secure; and what would be the result of the +inevitable struggle of the next months?</p> +<p>He had unconsciously stopped still in deep thought as he asked +himself this question, and was leaning in meditation against a +great oak tree, when he suddenly became aware of a rapid tread +approaching along the narrow track. It seemed as if some youth were +advancing toward him, for he heard the clear whistle as of a boyish +voice, and the springy tread seemed to denote youth and +agility.</p> +<p>Although Paul was by no means afraid of a chance encounter in +the forest, he was well aware that it was possible to be +overreached and taken prisoner by some of the robbers, and that he +was an object of special hatred to some amongst them. He decided, +therefore, to act with caution; and as the spot in which he had +halted was rather an open one, through which meandered a little +brook, he resolved to slip silently into the thicket hard by, and +watch from that place of security what manner of person it was +advancing.</p> +<p>A moment later he had effectually concealed himself, and hardly +had he done so before a figure came into view through the dim +aisles of the wood.</p> +<p>The figure was that of a tall, slim, graceful youth of +singularly winning aspect. His frame displayed that combination of +strength, lightness, and agility which is the perfection of +training, and his face was as full of beauty as his frame of +activity and grace. The features were exceedingly noble, and the +poise of the head upon the shoulders was almost princely in its +unconscious majesty. The eyes were a deep blue gray, and looked out +upon the world as if their owner were born to rule. The hair was +golden in hue, and clustered round the head in manly fashion, not +in the flowing love locks that some in those days affected. The +dress he wore was very simple, and somewhat faded, and in his cap a +little silver swan was fastened, forming the only adornment on his +person.</p> +<p>Paul, as he lay in his ambush, gazed and gazed as if fascinated +upon the figure now standing stationary in the midst of the green +space. Instinctively he felt for the little silver swan in his own +cap, and looked to see if he had on by mistake the faded dress he +had previously worn, so like the one he now gazed upon. For it +seemed to him as though he saw his own double--or someone closely +resembling himself--and his heart began to beat almost to +suffocation; for had not this same experience been his before? and +could there be another, a third youth in the realm, whose face and +figure he had so accurately copied? Paul had not the royal mien of +this wanderer--he had not even the same absolute beauty of feature +or peculiar delicacy of colouring; but for all that the likeness +was so striking that it was bewildering to him to see it, and the +images and visions at once conjured up before his mind's eye were +of a nature to excite him beyond the bounds of consecutive thought. +Holding his breath, and still uncertain if he might not be +dreaming, he fastened his eyes upon the apparition, and waited for +what should happen.</p> +<p>The youth paused and looked round him, and then spoke aloud:</p> +<p>"Have I come on a fool's errand after all? Shall I ever +accomplish my object? Methinks if I had but a trusty comrade at +hand somewhat might be done; but I fear my poor Jacques never +reached the land alive, and I had trusted to him to be my guide and +counsellor in my quest. Alone I feel +helpless--stranded--bewildered.</p> +<p>"Ha! what is that? Who comes this way?"</p> +<p>"Your faithful servant, gracious prince," cried Paul, springing +out of his concealment and throwing himself at young Edward's feet. +"My dear, dear lord, how come you here alone, unarmed, defenceless, +in the midst of a hostile country? Methinks I do but dream; but yet +the face, the voice--I cannot be mistaken. O sweet prince, did we +not truly say that we should meet again? Do you remember me?"</p> +<p>"Remember you, good Paul? Of a truth I do, and that right well; +and it is indeed a happy chance that has thrown you across my path +this day. But Paul, on your life, on your loyalty as a subject, +call me not prince again. It might cost me my life, and you +yours.</p> +<p>"Hush! I will be obeyed, and I will explain in brief. I am here +unknown to all. I stole away from my mother's side, even as I stole +into the forest with you when we were but boys together. She thinks +me with her sister, the Princess Yolande. But I had my own purpose +in coming thus alone and disguised to our royal realm of England. +They say my father reigns here once again. The crown has been +placed upon his head by one I have almost the right now to call my +father-in-law. But what rule has he, in truth, who reigns not in +his people's hearts? What use to seek the empty glory of a golden +crown, who wins not the priceless guerdon of a nation's love?</p> +<p>"Listen then, Paul. They tell me that in my hands will the +kingly power soon be placed. If that is to be so, I would fain +learn for myself the temper of my people. And this is not to be +learned by Edward, Prince of Wales, seated in the midst of proud +nobles at his father's court; but it may be learned by a humble +wayfarer, who travels from place to place seeking information from +whence it may truly be culled--namely, from the artless sons of the +soil, who speak not to please their listener but as their heart +dictates.</p> +<p>"Paul, tell me I have done well--smile upon me again; for I am +very lonely, and my heart sometimes sinks. But I love my people, +and would be loved by them, only I needs must grow to know them +first."</p> +<p>"O my lord," cried Paul enthusiastically, "how can they help +loving you when they see you? But how come you alone, and in these +wild woods, too, infested by fierce robber bands? It is not meet +thus to peril your royal life."</p> +<p>The prince placed his hand smilingly on Paul's lips.</p> +<p>"Use not that word again," he said smilingly, yet with a certain +imperiousness of manner that became him well. "I am thus solitary +through the untoward accident that drowned the faithful follower +who alone shared my design, and I knew not that I was in peril from +these lawless men in one part of the realm more than the other. +Paul, if I ever wield the kingly power, I will put down these bands +of marauders with a strong hand. My peaceful subjects shall not go +in terror of their liberties and lives. I would learn all their +wrongs that I may right them. They shall know at last that a prince +who loves them has been in their midst."</p> +<p>"And, my lord, if you are thus alone and unattended, take me +with you on your travels. Did you not promise me long years ago +that the day would come when we should roam the world together? and +has not the time come now?"</p> +<p>"Why, verily I believe it has," cried Edward, with brightening +eyes. "But, Paul, I have not asked you of yourself. Have you no +other tie--no stronger claim? And how comes it that you are here, +so far away from your home? I have asked not your history, though I +have told mine own."</p> +<p>"Mine is soon told, sweet prince," said Paul. "I crave your +pardon, but I know not how else to frame my speech."</p> +<p>Then in a few graphic words he sketched the history of himself +and his kindred during those troubled years of civil strife and of +Edward's reign; and young Edward listened with a sorrowful air and +drooping mien, and heaved a deep sigh at the conclusion.</p> +<p>"Another faithful house ruined--another tale of woe for which it +seems we unhappy princes are the cause. Nay, Paul, I know what you +would say, brave loyal heart; but it lies heavy on my soul for all +that. And having suffered thus, why tempt your fate anew by linking +your fortunes with those of the hapless House of Lancaster? Why +not--"</p> +<p>"My lord, break not my heart by rejecting my poor services," +cried Paul, plunging anew into the tale of his longing and ambition +to be one day called the servant of the Prince of Wales; and then +as both were young, both ardent, hot-headed, and hopeful, all stern +and sorrowful thoughts were laid aside, and the two youths began to +plan with eager vehemence the future of adventure which lay before +them.</p> +<p>"And first, Paul, this you must learn once and for all: I am +prince no more, but Edward alone, Edward Stukely--for I will e'en +borrow your good name--your younger brother, who seeks his fortune +with you. I will pass as cousin here, where you are known, but +elsewhere it shall be as brothers we will travel. This strange +likeness will be my best safeguard, for none will doubt that we are +close akin. Not as knight and squire, as once we thought, will we +roam the world in search of adventure. This little realm of England +will suffice us, and hand in hand as brothers will we go. But +methinks we shall surely meet as many strange adventures as in our +dreams; and if I ever sit at last on England's throne, this journey +of thine and mine will be for years the favourite theme of +minstrels to sing in bower and hall."</p> +<h2><a name="Ch4" id="Ch4">Chapter 4</a>: Paul's Kinsman.</h2> +<p>"Kinsman--marry, a brother in very sooth!" cried the hospitable +farmer, eying Paul's young companion with a glance of shrewd +admiration and surprise; "and right welcome shall he be to such +good cheer as my poor house can afford.</p> +<p>"And how found you your brother, fair youth?--for it can scarce +have been chance that led you here. My guest spoke not of bringing +you home when he started forth today."</p> +<p>"Nay, he knew it not himself," answered the prince, laughing +merrily. "Nor is he my brother, good mine host: our kinship is a +less close one than that, for all that we favour each other so +well. He had no thought of the encounter when he started forth +today, but kind fortune guided us to the meeting. As children we +loved each other and played together, but for years we have not +met. I am nought but a solitary wanderer, without friends or home. +It has been a happy chance that has brought to me this trusty +comrade and the welcome of this hospitable home."</p> +<p>There was something so attractive in the aspect and speech of +the royal youth that all who heard him felt their hearts go out to +him, they knew not why. The farmer laid his horny hand on the lad's +arm, and cried in his jovial way:</p> +<p>"All travellers, be they gentle or simple, are welcome at +Figeon's Farm, and doubly so anyone who claims kinship with our +guest and very good friend Paul Stukely. And you come at a good +time, too, young sir; for we have a wedding feast in prospect, and +we shall want all the blithe company we can assemble to make merry +at it.</p> +<p>"Come, my wench; you need not run away. You are not ashamed of +honest Will; and these gentlemen will doubtless honour our poor +home by remaining our guests a while longer, that they may tread a +measure at your marriage feast."</p> +<p>Paul looked smilingly at the blushing Joan, whose face was +alight with happiness, and her father continued laughingly:</p> +<p>"Oh ay, they have made it up together this very day; and poor +Will, who has been courting her these three years and more, cannot +see what there is to wait for--no more can I. For my part, since +that rascally Simon tried to carry off the girl, I have known no +peace about her. Figeon's is a lonely place, and the young know not +how to be cautious, and it's ill work for young blood to be cooped +up ever between four walls. Down in the village, with neighbours +about her, the wench will be safe enough, and Will's sturdy arm +will be her best protection. Simon might think twice about +assaulting a wedded woman to carry her away, when he would count a +maid fair spoil, seeing that he ever claimed to be called a lover +of hers. So all ways she will be safer wed, and I see no cause for +them to wait."</p> +<p>And indeed in those unsettled and troubled times fathers were +glad enough to get their daughters safely married at the first +reasonable opportunity. Farmer Devenish had another reason in +wishing Joan to leave her home. He was afraid that she might imbibe +the views her mother had embraced, and which he and his son could +not but give credence to, whilst they made no protest of having +altered their old way of thinking. But he had always forbidden his +wife to disturb Joan in her pious faith in the old religion. Such +hard matters, he said, were not for young wenches; and the peril +which menaced those who embraced the reformed doctrines was +sufficiently terrible for the mother to be almost glad of the +prohibition. It would be an awful thing for her if her daughter +fell under the ban of the law, and was made to answer for her faith +as some had been in so cruel a fashion before now.</p> +<p>So that there was no wish on the part of any at the old home to +hinder her marriage, and as soon as the young people had come to an +understanding with one another, their way was made perfectly plain +by those in authority.</p> +<p>Joan looked shyly at Paul as he crossed the kitchen with some +pleasant word of congratulation, and said:</p> +<p>"In faith, kind sir, I think we owe it all to you. Will tells me +it was you who sent him hither today. He had got some foolish +notion in his head which kept him away; but he said it was you who +bid him take heart and try his luck."</p> +<p>"And very good luck he has had, it seems," answered Paul, +laughing. "And so the marriage is to be next week?"</p> +<p>"My father and mother wish it so," answered the blushing Joan; +"and my mother has long had all my household linen spun against the +wedding day. I trust you will stay, and your kinsman also. +Perchance you have never before seen a rustic wedding."</p> +<p>"Not for many years now," answered Paul, with a smile and a +sigh; "and I would fain be a witness of yours, fair mistress. But I +must ask my young companion there. We have linked our lives +together for the nonce."</p> +<p>But young Edward was perfectly willing to be the farmer's guest +for awhile. Nothing could better have fitted in with his own wishes +than to have stayed in such unquestioned fashion beneath the roof +of one of his humble subjects. At the supper table that night he +won all hearts by the grace of his manners, the sweetness of his +smiles, his ready courtesy to all, and the brilliant sallies that +escaped his lips which set the whole table sometimes in a roar. He +possessed that ready adaptability to circumstances which is often +an attribute of the highest birth. The motherly heart of Mistress +Devenish went out to him at once, and she would fain have known +something of his history, and how it came that so fair and gentle a +youth was wandering thus alone in the wide world.</p> +<p>Paul had told her all his story without the least reserve; but +this kinsman of his was more reticent, and if asked a question, +contrived to turn the edge off it without appearing to avoid giving +a direct answer. But Mistress Devenish was acute enough to perceive +that he did not intend to speak of his own past; and noting the +unconscious deference paid by Paul to one whom seniority would have +given him the right to dictate to and lead, she came to the +conclusion that, kinsfolk or no, the newcomer was of a more exalted +rank than his comrade, and that some romantic history attached to +him, as it did only too often, to wanderers in those days. Her +interest in him only deepened as she reached this conclusion, and +she wished that she knew how to help the two lonely youths whose +fates seemed now to be linked together.</p> +<p>Supper was in course, and the whole party assembled round the +table, when a knock at the outer door, heralded by a great barking +of dogs without, caused one of the men to start to his feet; whilst +Joan turned red and pale, as she had had a trick of doing of late; +and the farmer looked a trifle uneasy, as a man may do who is half +afraid of some domestic visitation of an unpleasing kind.</p> +<p>But when the door was opened, brows cleared and anxious looks +vanished; for the visitor was none other than the peddler of a few +days back, who, contrary to custom, had paid a second visit to the +village within a week of the first.</p> +<p>"Good even, good folks," he said, stepping in with his heavy +bags, which he deposited with a grunt upon the floor. "You will +wonder to see me so soon again, but I was turned from my course by +the breaking down of the bridge at Terling, and so I thought I +would tramp back the way I had come. Reaching the village at +sundown, I heard the news of the wedding that is to be up here; +and, thought I, surely where a wedding is to be the peddler is +always welcome. So here I am, and I doubt not you will give me a +night's shelter; and the pretty maid is welcome to turn over my +packs at her leisure, whilst I take my ease in yon cozy +inglenook."</p> +<p>The peddler was always a welcome guest in those days, and Peter +was eagerly welcomed by all. He was speedily seated at the board, +the best of everything heaped upon his trencher; whilst as he +talked and ate at the same time, doing both with hearty goodwill, +Joan and one of the serving wenches slipped away to the tempting +packs and undid the strings, handling the wares thus exposed with +tender care and delighted curiosity.</p> +<p>The father laughed as he saw his daughter thus employed, but bid +her choose the finest stuff to make herself a wedding kirtle; +whilst he himself turned again to the peddler, asking news of the +realm; and young Edward leaned his elbows on the table with his +head in his hands, listening eagerly to every word that passed.</p> +<p>Paul almost wished he would not thus listen, for it was the same +old story everywhere: discontent at the present state of things; +longing for "the king"--by which was meant Edward the Fourth--to +come back and reclaim the kingdom; gloomy prognostications of civil +war; hopes that the proud Earl of Warwick would change sides once +more--a thing many quite expected of him.</p> +<p>And invective against the feeble Henry and the warlike and +revengeful Margaret of Anjou, scornfully called "the Frenchwoman," +ran so high that Paul presently drew his kinsman away, and tried to +interest him in other matters.</p> +<p>"Heed them not, my lord," he whispered. "We know there have ever +been two factions in the kingdom, and in these parts they are all +for the House of York. But the coming of this peddler may be good +for you. Said you not that you wished to purchase a riding dress? +His wares are good and not too costly for narrow purses. Since we +mean to ride to London shortly, this were no bad time to furnish +yourself with such things as you need for the journey."</p> +<p>Edward roused himself with an effort, and shook off the +melancholy which had crept over his face as he listened to the talk +round the table. The peddler's wares were being unpacked and handed +round for inspection in a free and easy fashion enough; but the man +made no objection, and only kept a pretty keen watch upon his +property, glancing from time to time at the stranger youth with +rather marked scrutiny, which, however, the latter did not +observe.</p> +<p>There was a riding dress amongst the goods of the peddler +somewhat similar to the one recently purchased by Paul, and Edward +decided upon the purchase of it, if he could come to terms with the +man. He and Paul both desired to make some present to the bride, +and picked out, the one an elegant high-peaked headdress, such as +the ladies of the day loved to wear, though satirists made merry at +the expense of their "exalted horns;" the other, some of the long +gold pins to fasten both cap and hair which were equally acceptable +as an adjunct to a lady's toilet.</p> +<p>Edward brought his purchases over to the corner where the +peddler had ensconced himself, and addressed him in a low tone:</p> +<p>"See here, my good fellow. I am a wanderer from foreign parts; +and my servant, who had charge of my moneybag, lost his life, I +fear me, in trying to effect the landing on these shores, which I +was lucky enough to manage in safety. Thus it comes about that I +have but little gold about me. But your trade is one that barters +all kinds of gear, and I have this pearl clasp to offer to you in +part exchange for what I wish to take of you, so doubtless you will +furnish me over and above with money to put in my gipsire: for the +clasp is a valuable one, as any one who knows gems can see at a +glance; nor would I part with it, but that necessity compels +me."</p> +<p>The peddler looked at the clasp attentively, and then gave such +a quick, keen look at the prince as would have aroused Paul's +anxiety had he been near at hand. But he had not observed his +comrade's last move, and was still patiently holding out stuffs in +good natured if rather clumsy man fashion for the farmer's wife and +daughter to take stock of and compare one with another.</p> +<p>"Hum--yes--a pretty trinket and a costly one, I doubt not, for +those that have a market for such things," returned the peddler. +"And how came you by it, young sir? It scarce seems in accord with +the simplicity of your dress and appointments."</p> +<p>Edward flushed slightly. He was not used to being taken to task, +and that by a common peddler; but his common sense told him that he +must expect such treatment now, and not be over ready to take +offence, so he answered quietly enough:</p> +<p>"It has been in our family these many years. I know not how it +came there first. I trow I am not the only youth who has jewels by +him in these days little in keeping with the bravery of his other +garments."</p> +<p>The peddler nodded his head with a smile.</p> +<p>"True, true, young sir; I meant no offence. Fortunes are lost +and won but too quickly in these times, and will be again, I +misdoubt me, ere England sees peace and prosperity once more. But +at least the vultures fatten if honest folks starve; and what care +princes how their subjects suffer, so as they and their nobles +divide the spoil?"</p> +<p>"Nay, now, you wrong them," cried the lad with sudden heat. "He +is unworthy the name of prince who could thus think or act."</p> +<p>Then pulling himself up quickly, as if afraid he had said too +much, he returned to the matter of the bargain, and asked what the +peddler would allow for the jewel.</p> +<p>The offer was not a very liberal one, but the man professed that +jewels were difficult to get rid of, and Edward was no hand at +making a bargain. However, when he had paid for his purchases he +had a few gold pieces to put in his pouch, and he reflected that in +London he should be able to dispose of the other jewels in his +possession to better advantage. He had enough now to purchase a +horse to take him to London, and for the present that was all he +required.</p> +<p>He and Paul shared the same room at night, and talked in low +tones far on into the small hours. Edward, who had suffered many +hardships and privations since leaving the French court, was glad +enough of a few days' rest in the hospitable farmhouse, and of the +opportunity of hearing all the village gossip which the wedding +festivity would give him. But after that event he desired to push +on to London, to learn what he could of public feeling in the great +metropolis.</p> +<p>"For, Paul," he said, gravely and almost sadly, "the city of +London is like the heart of the nation. If that beat with enmity to +our cause and love to our foes, I fear me all is lost before a blow +has been struck. I know we have loyal friends in the west, and in +some of those fair towns like Coventry and Lichfield; but if London +be against us, that rich merchant city, the pride and wonder of the +world, I have little heart or hope of success. Folks ever talk as +if London were Yorkist to the core; but I yet have hopes that +amongst her humbler citizens there may beat hearts warm in Henry of +Lancaster's cause. At least I will go thither and see with my own +eyes, and hear with my own ears. Disguised as we shall be, we shall +hear the truth, and all men who are lukewarm will be inclining +toward the cause that has the mighty King Maker, as they call him, +in its ranks. We shall hear the best that is to be heard. If the +best be bad, I shall know that our cause is hopeless indeed."</p> +<p>Paul pressed the hand he held, but said nothing. He feared only +too well what they would hear in London. But yet, inasmuch as he +was young and ardent, he hoped even whilst he feared; and talking +and planning their future in glowing colours, both the lads fell +asleep.</p> +<p>The following days were bright and busy ones at the farm. The +peddler had vanished ere the travellers were downstairs next +morning; but they had bought all they required overnight, and did +not trouble about that. There was a great stirring throughout the +house, and the needles of mistress and maid were flying swiftly +whilst the short daylight lasted.</p> +<p>Edward and Paul spent the morning hours in the selection of a +horse fit to carry the prince on his journey to London, and the +farmer's son brought all the spare colts and lighter steeds into +the straw yard for their guest to try and select for himself. There +was no horse quite so handsome or well bred as Sultan, and Paul was +eager for Edward to accept his steed in place of another. But the +prince only laughed and shook his head, in the end selecting a fine +chestnut colt only just broken to the wearing of the halter; and +the kinsmen spent the best part of the next days in teaching the +mettlesome though tractable creature how to answer to the rein and +submit to saddle and rider. It was shod at Ives's forge, and +christened by the name of Crusader, and soon learned to love the +lads, who, whilst showing themselves masters of its wildest moods, +were yet kindly and gentle in their handling.</p> +<p>The young prince was in great spirits during these days. He had +been all his life somewhat too much under the close restraint of an +affectionate but dictatorial mother, and had been master of none of +his own actions. Such restraint was galling to a high-spirited +youth; and although the sweetness of disposition inherited from his +father had carried the prince through life without rebellion or +repining, yet this foretaste of liberty was very delightful, and +the romance of being thus unknown and obscure, free to go where he +would unquestioned and unmarked, exercised a great fascination over +him, and made him almost forget the shadow which sometimes seemed +to hang over his path.</p> +<p>Paul was as light hearted as his companion in the main, though +there were moments when his joy at having his adored prince under +his care was dashed by the feeling of responsibility in such a +charge, and by the fear of peril to the hope of the House of +Lancaster. He wondered if it were his fancy that the farm was +watched; that there were often stealthy steps heard without in the +night--steps that set the dogs barking furiously, but which never +could be accounted for next day; that if he rode or walked down the +cart road to the village alone or with his comrade, their movements +were followed by watchful eyes-- eyes that seemed now and again to +glare at him, as in the dusk that first evening, but which always +melted away into the shadows of the forest if looked at closely or +followed and tracked.</p> +<p>He was disposed to think it all the trick of an excited +imagination, but he began to be not sorry that the day for +departure was drawing near. If he had provoked the enmity of the +robber chief, or if by a remoter chance the identity of his +companion had been suspected, it would be better to be off without +much more delay so soon as the wedding should be over.</p> +<p>Joan herself was nervous and fearful, and seldom set foot +outside the door of her home. She sometimes said with a shiver that +she was certain there were fierce men hiding about the house ready +to carry her off if she did; and though her father and brother +laughed at her fear, they humoured her, and were willing enough to +let her keep safe at home: for Simon Dowsett was not a man to be +trifled with, and he might very likely have heard before now that +the woman he had vowed to make his wife was to be given in marriage +to his rival.</p> +<p>The days, however, fled by without any event to arouse real +disquiet, and on the morrow Joan would pass to the sturdy keeping +of the young smith, whose new house stood well flanked between his +father's dwelling and the forge in the heart of the village where +law-abiding persons dwelt in fair security.</p> +<p>The eve of the marriage day had come and gone. The household had +retired to rest. Paul and Edward were in their raftered room, which +was better lighted by the fire of logs than by the feeble rush +light glimmering on the table. Fuel was so plentiful in that wooded +country that all the hearths blazed in cold weather with the +sputtering pine logs, which gave out an aromatic scent pleasant to +the nostril.</p> +<p>As they closed the door behind them, Edward laid a hand upon his +companion's arm and said:</p> +<p>"Good Paul, shall we two hold a vigil this night? I misdoubt me +that some mischief is meditated toward Mistress Joan this night. I +would that we might keep watch and ward."</p> +<p>"With all my heart," answered Paul readily, instinctively laying +his hand upon his poniard. "But what makes you think that evil is +intended?"</p> +<p>"I scarce know, but so it is. Noted you not how quiet and +sluggish the dogs were at suppertime tonight? They would scarce +come to receive a morsel of meat, and as often as not turned away +in indifference, and curled themselves to sleep again. Indoors and +out they are all alike. And did you not hear Jack Devenish say as +he came in from his last round that he feared the great black +watchdog in the yard would not live till morning, he seemed so sick +and out of sorts? I wondered then that no one thought strange hands +had been tampering with them; but all the farmer said was that he +supposed they had gorged themselves upon the refuse meat of the +sheep they had been killing--and I liked not to say ought to alarm +them, for it may be as they say, and surely they ought best to +know."</p> +<p>"Nevertheless we may well make ourselves watchdogs for tonight," +said Paul. "If evil is meant against the girl, this is the last +chance that bold Devil's Own, as they call him, will have of +getting her into his power. They all call him a desperate fellow, +and he will know that after the hard day's toil to have all in +readiness for the morrow the household will sleep sound tonight. +Why, even the maid had sleeping draught of spiced wine given her by +her mother, that she might look her best in her bridal kirtle +tomorrow. I think they all pledged themselves in the same bowl.</p> +<p>"I warrant there will be no watchers but ourselves tonight. What +say you to look to our weapons and take the task upon +ourselves?"</p> +<p>Edward's eyes gave ready response. What youths do not love the +idea of facing the foe, and outwitting the cowardly cunning of +those who have planned an attack upon a sleeping household? Paul +thought he had been right now in fancying the house watched; but +probably the hope of the watchers had rather been to find and carry +off the girl than to take vengeance upon himself. He understood it +all now, and was eager to defeat them a second time.</p> +<p>The nights were almost at their longest now, and the cold was +very great; but the watchers piled fresh logs upon the fire, and +talked quietly to each other as they sat in the dancing glow--for +the rushlight had long since gone out. Midnight had passed. All was +intensely still, and sleep seemed disposed to steal upon their +senses in spite of their resolution to banish his presence. Paul +was just about to suggest to his companion that he should lie down +awhile on the bed and indulge in a nap, whilst he himself kept +watch alone, when the prince laid a hand upon his arm, and gripped +him tight in a fashion which told that his quick ears had heard +something.</p> +<p>The next moment Paul heard the same himself--stealthy sounds as +of approaching footsteps, which paused beneath the window and then +seemed to steal round the house. It was useless to look out of the +window, for the night was dark as pitch, and they themselves might +be seen; but they glanced at each other, and Paul whispered +excitedly:</p> +<p>"It is to Mistress Joan's room they will find their way. I heard +a sound as though a ladder was being brought out. They will climb +to her window, force it open, and carry her away.</p> +<p>"Hark! that was the whinny of a horse. They are mounted, and +think to baffle pursuit by their speed and knowledge, of the wood. +There is no time to lose. Call up the farmer and his son. I know +which is Mistress Joan's room. I will keep guard there till you +come."</p> +<p>Paul knew every inch of the house by heart; but Edward was less +familiar with its winding passages and crooked stairs. However, he +knew the position of the rooms occupied by the farmer and his son, +and groped his way thither; whilst Paul, with more certain step, +sped lightly along another passage toward the room in which he knew +Joan slept, not far from the serving wenches, but by no means near +the men of the place.</p> +<p>All seemed profoundly quiet as he moved through the sleeping +house; but he had scarce reached the door of the maiden's room +before he heard the sound of a startled, muffled cry.</p> +<p>In a second he had burst open the door and had sprung in. The +sight which met his gaze showed how truly he had guessed. The +window was open, and upon a ladder, with his body half in the room, +was a sooty-faced man, holding in his hand a flaring torch to light +the movements of his companion. This companion was already in the +room; he was in the very act of lifting from the bed the form of +the bride elect, who was so wrapped and smothered in the bed +clothes that she was unable either to cry aloud or to resist. Paul +could not see the face of the ruffian who was thus molesting her, +and knew not whether it was Simon Dowsett or another in his employ; +but he was disposed to think it was the captain himself, from the +stalwart proportions of his frame and the gigantic strength he +plainly possessed, of which he had heard so many stories told.</p> +<p>This man was so engrossed in his efforts of lifting and carrying +away the struggling girl that he did not know it was any voice but +that of his companion which had uttered the exclamation he had +heard; and Paul, seeing that his presence was undetected, rushed +straight across the room toward the window, grasped the ladder in +both hands, and before the astonished ruffian upon it had recovered +his surprise sufficiently to grapple with him, had flung the ladder +and its occupant bodily to the ground, where the man lay groaning +and swearing on the frost-bound stones beneath.</p> +<p>The torch had fallen within the room, and Paul snatched it up +and stuck it in a crevice of the boards, for he did not wish his +other adversary to escape in the darkness. The man had uttered a +great oath as he became aware that his occupation had been +interrupted, and dropping his burden upon the bed, he turned +furiously upon his opponent, so quickly and so fiercely that Paul +had barely time to draw his poniard and throw himself into an +attitude of defence before the man was upon him.</p> +<p>"You again!" he hissed between his teeth, as his well-directed +blows fell one after the other, taxing Paul's strength and agility +not a little in evading or diverting them. "Have I not enough +against you without this? Do you know that no man thwarts Devil's +Own who lives not bitterly to rue the day? I have your name down in +a certain book of mine, young man, and some day you will learn the +meaning of that word. If I kill you not now, it is but that I may +take a more terrible vengeance later. Let me pass, I say, or I may +lose patience and cleave your skull as you stand."</p> +<p>But Paul had no intention of letting this dangerous foe escape +him. He stood directly before the door, and barred the robber's +way. It might have gone ill with the lad in spite of his courage +and address, for he was but a stripling and the robber a man of +unwonted strength, and full of fury now at being thus balked; but +the sound of hurrying feet through the house toward the scene of +conflict told both the combatants that an end to the struggle was +approaching.</p> +<p>Paul shouted to them to take care the prey did not escape by way +of one of the many crooked stairways, with which doubtless he was +familiar enough; and he, seeing that all hope of escape through the +house was now at an end, and knowing that he should inevitably be +overpowered by numbers if he waited longer, suddenly sprang +backwards and rushed to the window. Although it was high above the +ground, and the stones below were both slippery and hard, he +vaulted out like a deer, landing on the prostrate body of his +companion, who received him with an execration and a groan; and as +Paul rushed after him, intensely chagrined at this unexpected +escape, he was only in time to see him dash off into the forest, or +rather to hear his steps crashing through the thicket, until the +sound of a horse's steady gallop showed that he was off and +away.</p> +<p>The whole household was crowding into the room in various stages +of dishabille. The terrified Joan and the disappointed Paul had +each to tell their tale. But whilst the parents bent over their +daughter, soothing her terrors and calming her fears, Jack drew +toward Paul and his comrade, and said in low tones:</p> +<p>"Simon Dowsett is not a foe to be set at defiance. I would +counsel you to take horse with the first gleam of day, and gain +another parish or the protection of London, at least, before he has +recovered from his discomfiture. I say this not without regret, as +I would fain keep you over our feast today; but--"</p> +<p>The comrades exchanged glances, and spoke in one breath:</p> +<p>"We understand: you have spoken kindly and well," they said. "If +you can have the horses in readiness, we will ride off with the +first streak of dawn. It will be best so for all."</p> +<p>And though Joan Devenish and Will Ives were made man and wife +that very morning, Paul and the prince were not there to grace the +ceremony, but were far on their way to London.</p> +<h2><a name="Ch5" id="Ch5">Chapter 5</a>: In Peril.</h2> +<p>"Edward, I am glad to see you back. Where have you been these +many hours? I have been watching and waiting, hoping you would come +before nightfall. I am very anxious. I much fear that we are +suspected--spied upon."</p> +<p>"Nay, now, what makes you think that?" asked young Edward, as he +let himself be drawn within the small attic bedchamber in the +river-side inn, which he and his comrade had shared ever since they +had arrived in London; now some three weeks back. Paul had closed +the door before he began to speak, and now stood with his back +against it, his face looking pale and anxious in the fading light +of the winter's day.</p> +<p>"What makes me think it? Why, more things than one; but mainly +the fact that the peddler we bought our clothes of is here."</p> +<p>Edward smiled and laid a hand on Paul's shoulder.</p> +<p>He was growing used to the anxieties of his elder comrade, who +deeply felt his responsibility in having the heir of England under +his care, and had begun to treat his words of warning with some +lightness.</p> +<p>"And why should not the old man be here? The world is as free to +him as it is to us. Rather I should have looked upon him as a +friend. For did he not eat at the same board with us, and share the +hospitality of the same roof?"</p> +<p>"Yes, yes," answered Paul quickly; "but so do all men of his +calling. They are always welcome wherever they appear. But I will +tell you why I misdoubt this man. He first came in whilst we of the +house were sitting at dinner, and his eye roved round the room till +it fell upon me, and I saw in it then a gleam of recognition which +I did not like. He went out then, and anon returned with a great +bearded fellow of sinister aspect. And I was certain that he +pointed me out to him; for though I would not raise my eyes, or +seem to notice, I knew that they whispered together, and that this +other man's black eyes were fixed full on my face."</p> +<p>"That might well be," answered Edward lightly, "you are a right +goodly youth, made to find favour in all eyes."</p> +<p>But Paul proceeded without heeding the interruption.</p> +<p>"Presently the peddler shuffled round the table, and took the +vacant seat beside me--the seat that should have been yours, +Edward. He pretended that he had only just recognized me, and began +to talk in friendly fashion enough. He asked after you; but I said +we had little companionship now--that you had your own concerns to +attend to in the city, and that we might part company at any time. +I would have disclaimed you altogether, save that those at the inn +could have told him that I had a brother or comrade with me. He +kept his eye warily on me the whole time. I know that he was on the +watch for news of you."</p> +<p>"And wherefore not? Methinks you are over fearful, good +Paul."</p> +<p>"Nay, Edward, think but a moment--What care would any feel for +news of you did they not suspect something? Who cares whither I go +or what I do? If you were but the obscure stranger you pass for, +who would trouble to heed whither your steps were bent or how your +time was passed? As you came in just now, did any man see you pass +the threshold?"</p> +<p>"Nay, I know not. I was heeding little in the street. It was +dark enough in the narrow alley, darker than it is up here; +but--"</p> +<p>"Wait, Edward, answer me one question yet. Is it possible that +the peddler can have any clue by which he may know you? Did you +betray aught to him that evening when you bartered with him for +your suit of clothes? How did you pay him? Was it in French +gold?"</p> +<p>"Nay, I paid him no money at all. I gave him a pearl clasp which +I had, and he furnished me with funds for the journey to London. I +made a villainous bad bargain, it seems. The other jewels I have +disposed of in London I have got far better price for.</p> +<p>"Now, Paul, why look you so troubled and wan? Have you yet +another lecture in store for your luckless comrade?"</p> +<p>"O Edward, Edward," cried Paul in anxious tones, "is it really +so? Have you been mad enough to sell jewels which may be known and +traced? Did I not tell you from the very first that I had money +enough for both? You should not have done it. And why, if done it +must be, did you not tell me, and let me do the trafficking?"</p> +<p>Edward smiled as he laid his hand upon his comrade's +shoulder.</p> +<p>"Good Paul, did you think that I would trade upon your love, to +filch from you the remains of that poor fortune which is all you +have left of the world's goods? I knew how readily your all would +have been laid at my feet; but it was not for me to accept the +sacrifice when I had means of raising money myself. And what danger +can there be? My mother's jewels can scarce be known here. I fear +your courage is but a sorry thing, you are so prone to idle fears +and gloomy portents."</p> +<p>"Heaven grant I may be deceived; But the pearl clasp of which +you speak--tell me what it was like."</p> +<p>"Why, a fine pearl set in a clasp of chased gold with an eagle +in relief, the claws forming the catch of the clasp. My royal +mother had a pair of them once; what befell the other I remember +not. It was lost, I have heard her say, long years ago."</p> +<p>Paul clasped his hands closely together.</p> +<p>"Edward," he said, "it was just such a clasp as that which +fastened the jewelled collar of the little Prince of Wales on the +day when he, in play, fastened that collar about my neck, which +collar fell a prey to certain robbers who carried off the humble +knight's son in mistake for the prince.</p> +<p>"And listen further, Edward. Those same robbers who dogged your +steps years ago are now in hiding in the fastnesses of that great +Epping Forest through which we have lately journeyed. The peddler +knows them and traffics with them; that have I heard from others. +Most likely he has himself suspected something, and has gone with +his clasp to consult with the chieftain, who is a sworn foe to the +House of Lancaster. And having made out that the clasps are +fellows, and having their suspicions fully aroused, they have +followed on our trail--we made no secret that London was our +goal--and are seeking to get you into their power."</p> +<p>Edward's face was grave now. It seemed as if Paul's fears were +not unfounded.</p> +<p>"Yet what good would come to them by that?" he questioned +thoughtfully; and Paul had the answer only too ready.</p> +<p>"Marry, every good in the world! Dear my lord, forgive the plain +speaking of one who loves you well; but we have not lived in this +great city all these weeks for nought. You know how it is with the +people of this land. They will never be ruled long by your saintly +father. They know his strange malady, and they think him more fit +for a monk's cell than a royal throne. Your mother--"</p> +<p>"Ay, they hate her," answered Edward mournfully. "They cannot +speak her name without all manner of insulting epithets, which have +made my blood boil in my veins."</p> +<p>"It is so, dear my lord; they have never loved her, and evil +report will spread and gather head, You see that they would never +accept her rule in your royal father's name. It would raise +sedition and tumult at once. The house and faction of York know +this. They know that their power would be secure were King Henry +and his queen alone in the matter; but there is still one more--the +Prince of Wales, against whom no man speaks evil, even the most +rancorous enemies of the House of Lancaster. All who have seen him +love him; all speak of his noble person, his graces of body and +mind, his aptness to rule, his kingly qualities.</p> +<p>"You smile, but in truth it is so. The nation might rally +beneath the banner of such a prince; and the proud nobles of the +rival king know it well, and could they get the prince into their +own power, they know that victory is from that moment theirs. +Wherefore, Edward, if it be true that you are known, we must fly, +and that instantly. These lawless men will not quit the trail till +they have run the quarry down, and delivered you dead or alive into +the hands of the foe. They know well the value of the prize, and +they will not let it escape them."</p> +<p>Edward felt the truth of these words. Paul had been anxious and +alarmed before, but never with the same cause. He had always been +fearful that the young prince might be recognized by some wayfarer, +who might have chanced to see him in past days or at the French +court; but he had never before made sure that this recognition had +actually taken place, and the likeness between the supposed +brothers, though more a likeness now in figure and colouring and +expression than actually in feature, was as great a safeguard as +could have been devised.</p> +<p>Moreover, not a rumour of any kind had come over from France +reporting the escape or absence of the Prince of Wales, and it was +far fetched to imagine that anybody would suspect the identity of +the yellow-haired youth. But the occurrences of this day, combined +with Edward's admission about the clasp, had roused Paul's worst +fears, and it did indeed seem as if there were some watch set upon +their movements now.</p> +<p>He looked earnestly into the flushed face of the fair young +prince, and then said thoughtfully:</p> +<p>"Edward, I have a plan whereby I think you can escape this +threatened danger. Leave this house tonight--at once, if the coast +be clear--and go as fast as your steed can take you to your royal +father, and claim the protection of his state, and that of the earl +your future father-in-law. Tell all your story, and it will make of +you the idol even of this wayward city of London. All men will +delight in the presence of the Prince of the Silver Swan; and +methinks a happy end may be the result of the journey which seems +like to end in peril and gloom.</p> +<p>"Good my lord, it is a joyous welcome you would receive. It +would rejoice the whole heart of the nation to have you back."</p> +<p>Edward hesitated for a moment, but finally shook his head.</p> +<p>"Nay, Paul, I will not do that, though I grant the scheme has +its attractions. If what you say be true and my presence in this +city is suspected, be sure that every alley to the palace is +watched and guarded by foes who would find a speedy way of +preventing my entrance there--ay, or thine, were that tried.</p> +<p>"And over and above the danger, I am yearning to see the face of +my sweet bride again, my gentle Anne, whom I have loved right well +these many years, even whilst her father seemed our bitterest foe. +My return will be looked for ere the glad Christmas season, and if +I am not missed before, I shall be then, and I would not that my +good mother were kept long in anxiety as to what has befallen me. I +have been now four weeks absent. I laid careful plans whereby a +brief absence might not be discovered, but it is time I returned +now.</p> +<p>"Moreover, my quest is done. I have learned all and more than I +came to do. My heart is heavy within me as I think on all I have +heard. Ere I come as prince to this realm, I would fain see and +have earnest speech with my mother. There are moments when methinks +it would be the wiser and happier thing to talk no more of ruling +here, but rather of securing to my father liberty and honour, and +such titles and estates as he can claim through his duchy of +Lancaster, and letting the crown remain on the head of him who +could have claimed it with a better right than we, were it not for +the kingly rule of my grandsire and his sire before him."</p> +<p>Paul made no reply save what was expressed in a deep sigh. His +hope of the permanent restoration of the House of Lancaster had +received some rude shocks during the past weeks; but he had never +before heard Edward speak in this key, and he wondered if it were +but the expression of a passing emotion, or the result of a +deeply-seated conviction.</p> +<p>"I trow my mother will call me craven-hearted," said the lad +with a slight smile, after a moment's silence, "and I myself may +think differently anon. But tonight all seems wrapped in gloom, and +I would I were far away from this city, which seems to breathe +hatred to all of our name and race. Paul, we had better linger here +no longer. Let us away the route we came, so shall we soonest reach +the coast; and we will pass together to the French court, and you +shall see the reception which will await us there from my mother +and my sweet betrothed.</p> +<p>"Ah, I would the day had come! I long to see kindly faces once +again. And they will love you ever for the love you have borne to +me."</p> +<p>The lad's face flushed with excitement at the bare thought, and +the prospect was welcome enough to Paul, who was sick at heart, and +weary with the strain of continual watchfulness; but he lowered his +voice to a mere whisper as he said:</p> +<p>"Hist, sweet prince! speak not so loud. There may be spies +without the very door. We will indeed make shift to start the very +first moment we may. I shall not draw another easy breath till we +are far away from here. But think you it will be wise to go the way +we came? May not those roads be watched more closely there than +elsewhere?"</p> +<p>"I think not so. I think they will guess that we shall make for +one of the southern ports, by which France can be the more easily +reached. If these wild robbers have left their former haunts to +pursue us, we may well be safest nearest to their lair. And we know +not the country to the south, whilst this great forest seems like a +friend to us; and we have sturdy friends within its sheltering +aisles if we are hard pressed. We can quicker reach the coast, too, +that way than any other. And the good brothers you have spoken of +at Leighs Priory will give us shelter tomorrow night, if we cannot +make shift to push on to the coast in one day."</p> +<p>There seemed sound sense in the counsel thus offered by the +prince, and Paul was ever ready to obey his wishes, if he saw no +objection to them. They appeared to be menaced by peril on all +sides, and he would have been thankful if the prince would have +thrown himself into the keeping of his kingly sire; but as he had +declined to do this, and was not of the stuff to be balked of his +will, the next best thing was to slip off in silence and secrecy, +and Paul thought it quite probable that the route least watched and +guarded might well be the one which led back through the forest +again.</p> +<p>But it would not do to appear as if suspicious; and leaving +Edward locked up in the attic chamber--hoping that no one had +observed his entrance into the inn--he went down into the common +room, where preparations for supper were going on.</p> +<p>There were a larger number of persons collected in the inn than +usual that night, and Paul fancied that many sharp glances were +fastened upon him as he entered the room. But he kept command over +his countenance well, and walked forward toward the fire with an +air of easy assurance. The peddler was sitting in the warmest +corner, and pushed away his next neighbour to make room for Paul, +who took the vacant seat readily. The man very quickly led up to +the subject of his companion and kinsman (laying an apparent and +rather suspicious emphasis on that word), asking if he did not mean +to come to supper, since he had seen him enter the inn at dusk.</p> +<p>Paul replied that his comrade was unwell, and that he would +retire early to bed, and have something hot to take there. He was +resolved that Edward should not be exposed to the gaze of these +rough men, whose faces inspired him with the greatest +uneasiness.</p> +<p>Edward should be supposed to be sick, and that might divert +attention from his movements for the time being; and, long before +the morning dawned, he hoped that they might both be far away from +this ill-omened spot.</p> +<p>"Ill!" quoth the peddler; "no doubt a colic or a chill, taken in +this villainous cold weather. I have a draught here that acts like +a charm in all such cases. If you will permit me, I will mix it for +you in a stoup of hot spiced wine, and I warrant he will sleep like +a dormouse all night, and wake in the morning as well as ever."</p> +<p>Paul thanked the peddler, and the ingredients of the draught +were called for. He watched its preparation keenly, and noted that +several meaning glances were exchanged between the peddler and his +associates--as he now believed half the men in the inn to be. He +told the landlord to prepare two trenchers to be carried upstairs, +as he would sup with his friend that night; and he presently +carried up the hot and steaming tankard, together with the platters +of the savoury viands for which London was famous.</p> +<p>Edward had meantime kindled the rushlight and set light to a +small fire on the hearth, for the weather was bitterly cold. The +peddler had advised Paul to partake of the hot draught also, and +the landlord had not heeded his request to place a tankard of ale +on the tray also: so that if either of the youths were to drink at +all, it must be of the potion concocted by the peddler.</p> +<p>This fact greatly increased Paul's suspicions, which were +quickly shared by Edward.</p> +<p>"We will not touch a drop of it," he said, "although it is +tempting enough this cold night. It is either drugged or poisoned, +and given us to keep us a certain prey for tonight. Perhaps in the +end it will prove our best friend; for if they think us tied by the +heel, they may be less vigilant in the watch they keep upon +us."</p> +<p>It was not with much appetite that the comrades ate their +supper, but they knew that they might need all their strength +before the next hours had passed, and they ate heartily from that +motive. Their trenchers had been so liberally piled, however, that +there was plenty of broken meat and bread left when they had +finished, and this was first allowed to grow cold, and then packed +away into one of their wallets, as it might be some considerable +time before they tasted food again, save such as they had with +them.</p> +<p>Paul made several excursions from the room to ask for this thing +or that, keeping up the fiction that his comrade was sick; and each +time he did so he found some person or another guarding the +door--at least watching hard by--though apparently bent upon some +private errand. He came to the conclusion at last that their +movements were most certainly spied upon, and that to attempt to +escape through the house that night would be impossible. A few +cautious words (which he caught as he entered the room where the +peddler and his companions were sitting) confirmed his impression +that Edward was certainly suspected, if not actually identified, +and that he would not be allowed to pass out of sight until +suspicion was either verified or laid at rest. He fancied, from the +few words he heard, that these men were awaiting a companion who +would be able absolutely to identify the prince, if it were really +he, and that meantime they did not intend that either of the youths +should escape their surveillance.</p> +<p>It was with a sinking heart that Paul returned to Edward with +this news. But peril seemed only to act like a tonic upon the +nerves of the younger lad; and springing to his feet with energy +and resolution, he cried with flashing eyes:</p> +<p>"And so they think to make a prisoner of the eaglet of England's +royal house! Let them try. Let them do their worst. They shall see +that his wings are strong enough for a higher and more daring +flight than they dream of; that he will not be fettered by a cage +of their treacherous making! Paul, it is not for nothing that I +have lain awake long nights dreaming dreams of peril and escape. I +know how we will outwit our pursuers this very night. Say, can yon +swim, as you can do all else that a brave Englishman should?"</p> +<p>"Like a fish," answered Paul, who had many a time terrified and +astonished his mother by his feats in the salmon pool at home, and +had never lost the skill and strength to battle with wind or +wave.</p> +<p>"Good! I was sure of it; and I can do the same. Paul, come here +to the window. See you no means of escape as you look down into +that dark, sullen water below?"</p> +<p>Paul started and looked eagerly out. The inn, as has before been +said, stood on the banks of the great river Thames. Indeed, it was +built so close to the waterside that the walls were washed by the +lapping waves on the backside of the house, and the windows looked +sheer down into the turbid, sullen stream. No watch could be kept +on this side, nor did it seem to be needful; for the old inn was a +lofty building of its kind, and the black water lay some sixty feet +below the small window of the room in which Paul and his companion +lodged. No man in his senses, it seemed, would hazard such a leap, +and none but an expert swimmer would care or dare to trust himself +to that swiftly-flowing flood, which might so easily sweep him to +his doom. And on a freezing December night the idea of escape in +such a fashion seemed altogether madness itself.</p> +<p>Even Paul, menaced by a danger that might be worse than death, +drew in his head with something of a shudder; but Edward had dived +into a little press that stood in the room, and brought out a coil +of stout, strong rope. Paul gave a cry of surprise and +pleasure.</p> +<p>"Some instinct warned me it might be wanted. See here, Paul. We +can tie one end to this heavy bedstead, knotting it also around the +bolt of the door, and we can glide down like two veritable shadows, +and drop silently into the river: Then we must swim to one of those +small wherries which lie at anchor beside the sleeping barges. I +know exactly what course to steer for that; and once aboard, we cut +her loose, and row for dear life down with the tide, till we can +find some deserted spot where we can land, and thence we make our +way back to the coast through the friendly forest, as we +planned."</p> +<p>"On foot?"</p> +<p>"Ay, we must leave our good steeds behind; it would be madness +to seek to take them. We are young and strong, and this frost makes +walking easy. We shall speed so well that we may chance to reach +the shelter of the Priory ere night falls on us again, and then the +worst of our troubles will be over. Say, Paul, will you come with +me? Will you follow me?"</p> +<p>"To the death, my prince," answered Paul with enthusiasm; yet +even as he spoke a sort of shiver came over him, as though he had +pronounced his own doom. But he shook it off, and fell to upon the +simple preparations to be made.</p> +<p>These were very simple, and consisted of rolling up into a +compact bundle their outer dress and a change of under tunic, which +they fastened, together with their food wallet and arms, upon their +heads, in the hope that they might keep them from the water. They +slung their boots about their necks, and then, with as little +clothing as possible upon them, commenced their stealthy descent +down the rope, which had been firmly attached as suggested by the +prince. Edward went first, whilst Paul remained in the room to +guard against surprise, and to hold the end if it slipped or gave. +But no such casualty befell; and the moment he heard the slight +splash which told that the prince had reached the water, he swung +himself lightly down the rope, and fell with a soft splash beside +him.</p> +<p>But oh, how cold it was in that dark water! Hardy though the +pair were, it seemed impossible to live in that fearful cold; but +they struck out valiantly into midstream, and presently the +exercise of swimming brought a little life into their benumbed +limbs. But glad indeed was Paul to reach the side of the little +wherry which they intended to purloin, and it was all that their +united efforts could do to clamber in and cut the cord which bound +it to the barge.</p> +<p>"We must row hard, Edward," said Paul, with chattering teeth; +"it is our only chance of life. We shall freeze to death if we +cannot get some warmth into our blood. I feel like a block of +ice."</p> +<p>They were too much benumbed to try and dress themselves yet, but +as they rowed their hardest along the dark, still water, the life +came ebbing back into their chilled limbs, and with the welcome +warmth came that exultation of heart which always follows escape +from deadly peril. With more and more vigour they bent to their +oars, and at last Edward spoke in a natural voice again.</p> +<p>"Let us float down quietly with the stream a while, Paul, whilst +we don our dry garments, if indeed they are dry. It will be better +here than on shore, where we might chance to be seen and suspected. +I am glowing hot now, freezing night though it be; but I confess I +should be more comfortable rid of these soaking clothes."</p> +<p>So stripping off these, they found, to their great satisfaction, +that the leather jerkins in which the other clothing had been +wrapped had kept everything dry, and the feel of warm and +sufficient clothing was grateful indeed after the icy bath they had +encountered. Their boots were wet, but that mattered little to the +hardy striplings; and when, dressed and armed, they bent to their +oars again, it seemed as if all their spirit and confidence had +come back.</p> +<p>"We have made so good a start that we shall surely prosper," +cried Edward boldly. "Our good friend the peddler will look blank +enough when morning comes and they find the birds are flown."</p> +<p>But Paul could not triumph quite so soon; he was still far from +feeling assured of safety, and feared their escape might be quickly +made known, in which case pursuit would be hot. The best hope lay +in getting into the forest, which might give them shelter, and +enable them to baffle pursuit; but responsibility lay sore upon +him, and he could not be quite as gay as his comrade.</p> +<p>The moon shone out from behind the clouds, and presently they +slipped beneath the arches of the old bridge, and past the grim +fortress of the Tower. Very soon after that, they were gliding +between green and lonely banks in a marshy land, and they presently +effected a landing and struck northward, guiding themselves by the +position of the moon.</p> +<p>It was a strange, desolate country they traversed, and glad +enough was Paul that it was night when they had to cross this +unprotected fiat land. By day they would be visible for miles to +the trained eye of a highwayman, and if pursued would fall an easy +prey. But by crossing this desolate waste at night, when not a +living thing was to be seen, they might gain the dark aisles of the +wood by the time the tardy dawn stole upon them, and once there +Paul thought he could breathe freely again.</p> +<p>All through the long hours of the night the lads trudged onwards +side by side. Paul was more anxious than weary, for he had been +inured to active exercise all his life, and had spent many long +days stalking deer or wandering in search of game across the bleak +hillsides. But Edward, though a hardy youth by nature, and not +altogether ignorant of hardship, had lived of late in the softer +air of courts, and as the daylight struggled into the sky he was so +weary he could scarce set one foot before another.</p> +<p>Yet even as Paul's anxious glance lighted on him he smiled +bravely and pointed onwards, and there before them, in the rising +sunlight, lay the great black forest, stretching backwards as far +as eye could see; and Edward, throwing off his exhaustion by a +manful effort, redoubled his speed, until the pair stood within the +encircling belt of forest land, and paused by mutual consent at the +door of a woodman's cabin.</p> +<p>Travellers were rare in that lone part, but the good folks of +the hut were kindly and hospitable and unsuspicious. Paul produced +some small pieces of silver and asked for food and shelter for a +few hours, as he and his comrade had been benighted, and had been +wandering about in the darkness many hours. The fare was very +coarse and homely, but the famished lads were not disposed to find +fault; and the cabin, if close, was at least warm, and, when a peat +fire had been lighted, was a not altogether uncomfortable place for +wanderers like themselves.</p> +<p>As soon as his hunger was satisfied, Edward lay down upon the +floor and was soon sound asleep; but Paul had no disposition for +slumber, and sat gazing into the glowing turves with earnest, +anxious eyes. The heir of England was in his care, and already +probably sought in many directions by cruel and implacable foes. +Until Edward were in safety, he himself should know no peace. And +as if suddenly inspired by some new thought, he started up and went +in search of the good woman of the cabin, with whom he held a long +and earnest conversation.</p> +<p>When he came back to the other room, it was with a smile of +satisfaction on his face and a queer bundle in his arms, and the +old woman was looking with great wonderment at a gold piece lying +on her palm, and marvelling at the strange caprice of the young and +rich.</p> +<h2><a name="Ch6" id="Ch6">Chapter 6</a>: In The Hands Of The +Robbers</h2> +<p>"But wherefore should I disguise myself rather than you?" cried +Edward, resisting Paul's efforts to clothe him in a long smock +frock, such as the woodmen of those days wore when going about +their avocations. "Our peril is the same, and it is I who have led +you into danger. I will not have it so. We will share in all things +alike. If we are pursued and cannot escape, we will sell our lives +dear, and die together. But let it never be said that I left my +friend and companion to face a danger from which I fled +myself."</p> +<p>The boy's eyes flashed as he spoke--he looked the very image of +a prince; and Paul's heart swelled with loving pride, although he +still persisted in his design.</p> +<p>"Listen, Edward," he said, speaking very gravely and resolutely. +"It is needful for our joint safety that we be not seen together, +now that we are entering a region of country where we may easily be +recognized, and where watch may be kept for us. Yes, these woods +may be watched, although, as you have said, it is probable they +will watch even more closely the other routes to the coast. But we +have come slowly, toiling along on foot, and there has been ample +time for a mounted messenger to ride back and give the warning to +such of the robbers as are yet here. They know that the twain of us +are travelling together. Wherefore, for the few miles that separate +us now from the kindly shelter of the Priory, it will be better +that we journey alone. This smock and battered hat will protect you +from recognition, the more so when I have blackened your face with +charcoal, as I have means to do, and have hidden away all your +bright curls so that none shall see them. Walk with bent shoulders +and heavy gait, as the aged country folks do, and I warrant none +will guess who you are or molest you. Tonight, when we meet to +laugh at our adventures over the prior's roaring fire, we shall +forget the perils and the weariness of our long tramp."</p> +<p>"But, Paul, I love not this clumsy disguise. It befits not a +prince thus to clothe himself. Wear it yourself, good comrade, for +your peril is as great as mine."</p> +<p>"Nay, Edward, speak not thus idly," said Paul, with unwonted +gravity. "Princes must think not of themselves alone, but of the +nation's weal. Edward, listen. If harm befalls you, then farewell +to all the fond hopes of half of the people who obey the sway of +England's sceptre. You are not your own master; you are the servant +of your loyal and true-hearted subjects, who have suffered already +so much in the cause. To throw your life away, nay, even to run +into needless peril, were a sin to them and to the country. I say +nothing of your mother's despair, of the anguish of your bride, if +harm befell you: that you must know better than I can do. But I am +a subject. I know what your subjects feel; and were you to neglect +any safeguard, however trivial, in these remaining hours of +threatened danger, you would be doing England a wrong which might +be utterly irreparable."</p> +<p>Edward was struck by this argument, and hesitated.</p> +<p>"I only wish to do what is right; but I cannot bear to play the +coward's part, and save myself when you are still in peril."</p> +<p>"Tush!" answered Paul lightly, "I am tougher than you, Edward; +you are so footsore and weary you can scarce put one leg before the +other. If foes were to spring upon us, you would fall an easy prey +at once. I am strong and full of life. I could lead them a fine +chase yet. But we may never sight an adversary. These woods are +still and silent, and we have heard no sounds of dread import all +these long, weary miles. It may well be that we shall reach the +Priory in safety yet; but it were better now to part company and +take different routes thither. And you must don this warm though +clumsy dress; it will keep you the safer, and shield you from the +piercing cold, which you feel more than I do."</p> +<p>In truth, the youthful prince was nigh worn out from fatigue, +notwithstanding the fact that Paul had contrived to give him almost +the whole of their scanty provision, and had helped him tenderly +over the roughest of the way. It was true, indeed, that had they +been attacked Edward would have fallen an easy prey; but alone in +this disguise, hobbling along with the heavy gait of an aged +rustic, he would attract no suspicion from any robber band. And +Paul was eager to see him thus equipped; for they had reached the +part of the wood which was familiar to both, and the prince could +easily find the shortest and most direct way to the Priory, whilst +he himself would make a short circuit and arrive from another point +with as little delay as possible.</p> +<p>A strong will and a sound argument generally win the day. Edward +submitted at last to be arrayed in the woodman's homely garments, +and was grateful for the warmth they afforded; for he was feeling +the bitter cold of the northern latitude, and was desperately tired +from his long day and night of walking. There was no pretence about +the limping, shuffling gait adopted; for his feet were blistered +and his limbs stiff and aching.</p> +<p>Paul watched him hobbling away, his face looking swarthy and old +beneath the shade of the hat, his shoulders bent, and his blackened +hands grasping a tough ash stick to help himself along; and a smile +of triumph stole over his own countenance as he heaved a long sigh +of relief--for he felt quite certain that in the gathering dusk no +one would suspect the true character of the weary pedestrian, and +that he would reach the shelter of the Priory in safety.</p> +<p>It seemed as if a millstone were rolled from Paul's neck as he +turned from contemplating that retiring figure. The strain upon his +faculties during the past twenty-four hours had been intense, and +when it was removed he felt an immense sensation of relief. But +with that relief came a greater access of fatigue than he had been +conscious of before. He had been spurred along the road by the +sense of responsibility--by the feeling that the safety and perhaps +the life of the young Prince of Wales depended in a great measure +upon his sagacity, endurance, and foresight. To get the prince to +Leigh's Priory, beneath the care of the good monks who were stanch +to the cause of the saintly Henry, was the one aim and object of +his thoughts. He had known all along that the last miles of the +journey would be those most fraught with peril, and to lessen this +peril had been the main purpose on his mind. Having seen the prince +start off on the direct path, so disguised that it was impossible +to anticipate detection, he felt as though his life's work for the +moment were ended, and heaving a great sigh of relief, he sank down +upon a heap of dead leaves, and gave himself up to a brief spell of +repose, which his weary frame did indeed seem to require.</p> +<p>The cold, together with the exhaustion of hunger and fatigue, +sealed his senses for a brief space, and he remembered nothing +more. He fancied his eyes had been closed but for a few seconds, +when some noise close at hand caused him to raise his head with a +start. But the dusk had deepened in the great wood, and he saw that +he must have been asleep for quite half an hour.</p> +<p>He started and listened intently. Yes, there was no mistaking +the sounds. A party of mounted horsemen were approaching him along +the narrow track which wandered through the wood. Paul would have +started to his feet and fled to the thicket, but his benumbed limbs +refused their office. It was freezing hard upon the ground, and he +had lain there till his blood had almost ceased to circulate, and +he was powerless to move.</p> +<p>Yet even then his thoughts were first for Edward, and only +second for himself. He rapidly reviewed the situation.</p> +<p>"They are on the path that he has taken. He has the start, but +they are mounted. Are they in pursuit of anyone? They have dogs +with them: that looks as if they were hunting something. It were +better that they should not come up with Edward. In another half +hour he will be safe at the Priory, if he make good speed, as +methinks he will; for with the hope of speedy ease and rest, even +the weariest traveller plucks up heart and spirit. If they are +following him, to find even me will delay them. If not, they will +pass me by unheeded. I am not likely even to attract their notice. +I cannot escape if I would. I am sore, weary, and chilled beyond +power of flight, and the dogs would hunt me down directly. My best +chance is to rest quiet and tranquil, as if I knew not fear. +Perchance they then will let me go unscathed."</p> +<p>Possibly had Paul's faculties been less benumbed by fatigue and +the bitter cold, he would scarce have argued the case so calmly; +but he was calm with the calmness of physical exhaustion, and in +truth his chance of escape would have been small indeed. He could +have made no real effort at flight, and the very fact of his trying +to hide himself would have brought upon him instant pursuit and +capture.</p> +<p>So he lay still, crouching in his nest of leaves, until one of +the dogs suddenly gave a deep bay, and came rushing upon him, as if +indeed he had been the quarry pursued.</p> +<p>"Halt there!" cried a deep voice in the gloom; "the dogs have +found. They never give tongue for a different trail than the right +one.</p> +<p>"Dicon, dismount and see what it is; there is something moving +there be neath that bush."</p> +<p>Seeing himself discovered, Paul rose to his feet, and made a +step forward, though uncertainly, as if his limbs still almost +refused to obey him.</p> +<p>"I am a poor benighted traveller," he said; "I pray you, can you +direct me where I can get food and shelter for the night? I have +been wandering many hours in this forest, and am weary well-nigh to +death."</p> +<p>"Turn the lantern upon him, fellows," said the same voice that +had spoken before; and immediately a bright gleam of light was cast +upon Paul's pale, tired face and golden curling hair.</p> +<p>"Is this the fellow we are seeking?" asked the leader of his +followers; "the description seems to fit."</p> +<p>"If it isn't one it is the other," answered the man addressed. +"I have seen both; but, marry, I can scarce tell one from the other +when they are apart. What has he done with his companion? They +have, been together this many a day, by day and by night."</p> +<p>"You were not alone when you started on this journey last +night," said the robber, addressing Paul sternly. "Where is your +companion? You had better speak frankly. It will be the worse for +you if you do not."</p> +<p>Paul's heart beat fast; the blood began to circulate in his +veins. He tried hard to keep his faculties clear, and to speak +nothing which could injure the prince.</p> +<p>"We parted company. I know not where he is," he answered slowly. +"I told him to go his own way; I would not be a source of peril to +him. I bid him adieu and sent him away."</p> +<p>It suddenly occurred to Paul that if, even for an hour, he could +personate the prince, and so draw off pursuit from him, his point +might be gained. He had not forgotten the episode of the first +adventure they had shared as children; and as we all know, history +repeats itself in more ways than one.</p> +<p>The man who appeared the leader of the band, and whose face was +not unkindly, doffed his hat respectfully at these words, and said, +"It is true, then, that I am addressing the Prince of Wales?"</p> +<p>Paul said nothing, but bent his head as if in assent, and the +man continued speaking, still respectfully.</p> +<p>"It is my duty then, sire, to take your sacred person under my +protection. You are in peril from many sources in these lone woods, +and I have been sent out on purpose to bring you into a place of +safety. My followers will provide you with a good horse, and you +will soon be in safe shelter, where you can obtain the food and +rest your condition requires, and you will receive nothing but +courteous treatment at our hands."</p> +<p>To resist were fruitless indeed. Politely as the invitation was +tendered, there was an undertone of authority in the man's voice +which convinced Paul that any attempt at resistance would be met by +an appeal to force. And he had no disposition to resist. The longer +the fiction was kept up, the longer there would be for the prince +to seek safe asylum at the Priory. When once those sanctuary doors +had closed behind Edward, Paul thought it mattered little what +became of himself.</p> +<p>"I will go with you," he answered with simple dignity; "I +presume that I have indeed no choice."</p> +<p>A draught from a flask tendered him by one of the men did much +to revive Paul, and the relief at finding himself well mounted, +instead of plodding wearily along on foot, was very great. He was +glad enough to be mounted behind one of the stout troopers, for he +was excessively drowsy, despite the peril of his situation. He had +been unable to sleep, as Edward had done, in the woodman's hut, and +it was now more than thirty-six hours since sleep had visited him, +and those hours had been crowded with excitement, peril, and +fatigue. The potent liquor he had just drunk helped to steal his +senses away, and as the party jogged through the dim aisles of the +wood, Paul fell fast asleep, with his head resting on the shoulder +of the stalwart trooper, and he only awoke with a start, half of +fear and half of triumph--for he knew the prince was safe enough by +this time--when the glare from the mouth of a great cavern, and the +loud, rough voices of a number of men who came crowding out, smote +upon his senses, and effectually aroused him to a sense of what was +passing.</p> +<p>"Have you got them?" cried a loud voice, not entirely unfamiliar +to Paul, although he could not for the moment remember where he had +heard it before.</p> +<p>"We have got one-got the most important one," answered the man +who had been leader of the little band. "The other has got off; but +that matters less."</p> +<p>"By the holy mass, it was the other that I wanted the more," +cried the rougher voice, as the man came out swearing roundly; "I +had an account of my own to square with him, and square it I will +one of these days. But bring in the prize--bring him in. Let us +have a look at him. He is worth the capture, anyhow, as the Chief +will say when he returns. He is not back yet. We have all been out +scouring the forest; but you always have the luck, Sledge Hammer +George. I said if any one brought them in it would be you."</p> +<p>Paul had by this time recognized the speaker, who was standing +in the entrance of the cave with the light full upon his face. It +was none other than his old adversary, Simon Dowsett, whom he had +twice defeated in his endeavour to carry off the lady of his +choice; and who was, as he well knew, his bitterest foe. His heart +beat fast and his breath came fitfully as he realized this, and he +looked quickly round toward the black forest, as if wondering if he +could plunge in there and escape. But a strong hand was laid upon +his arm, and he was pushed into the cave, where the ruddy glow of +the fire fell full upon him.</p> +<p>Simon Dowsett, who in the absence of the Chief, as he was +called, acted as the captain of the band, strode forward and fixed +his eyes upon the lad, his face changing as he did so until its +expression was one of diabolical malice.</p> +<p>"What?" he cried aloud; "at the old game again? You thought to +trick us once more, and again to get off with a sound skin?--Lads, +this isn't the prince at all; this is the other of them, who has +fooled you as he fooled the Chief himself long years ago. What were +you thinking of to take his word for it? And you have let the real +one slip through your fingers.</p> +<p>"Ha, ha, Sledge Hammer George! you are not quite so clever as +you thought. Why did you not wring the truth out of him, when the +other quarry could not have been far off? You have been pretty +gulls to have been taken in like this!"</p> +<p>The other man, who had now come up, looked full into Paul's +face, and asked, not savagely though sternly enough:</p> +<p>"Which are you, lad? speak the truth. Are you the Prince of +Wales, or not?"</p> +<p>It was useless now to attempt to keep up the deception. Paul +carried the mark of Simon Dowsett's bullet in his shoulder, and he +was too well known by him to play a part longer. Looking full at +the man who addressed him, he answered boldly:</p> +<p>"I am Paul Stukely, not the prince at all. He is beyond the +reach of your malice. He is in safe shelter now."</p> +<p>"Where is he?" asked the man quietly.</p> +<p>"I shall not tell you," answered Paul, who knew that these +robbers were so daring that they might even make a raid on the +Priory, or watch it night and day, and to prevent the escape of the +prince from thence, if their suspicions were once attracted, to the +spot.</p> +<p>Sledge Hammer George laid a hand upon the young man's arm.</p> +<p>"Now don't be a fool, lad; these fellows here will stand no more +from you. A valuable prize has escaped them, and they will wring +the truth out of you by means you will not like, but will not be +able to resist. You have a bitter enemy in Devil's Own, as he is +called, and he will not spare you if you provoke. I will stand your +friend, if you will but speak out and tell us where the prince is +to be found; for he cannot be very many miles away from this place, +as we are well assured. If you are obstinate, I can do nothing for +you, and you will have to take your chance.</p> +<p>"Come, now, speak up. Every moment is of value. You will be made +to do so before long, whether you wish or not."</p> +<p>Paul's lips closed tightly one over the other, and his hands +clasped themselves fast together. He thought of the vow he had +registered long years ago in his heart, to live or to die in the +service of his prince; and though what he might be called upon to +suffer might be far worse than death itself, his will stood firm, +and he gave no sign of yielding. The man, who would have stood his +friend if he would have spoken, looked keenly at him, and then +turned away with a slight shrug of the shoulders, and Simon's +triumphant and malicious face was looking into his.</p> +<p>"Now, lad, once more: will you speak, or will you not? It is the +last time I shall ask you."</p> +<p>"I will tell you nothing," answered Paul, raising his head and +looking at his old enemy with a contempt and lofty scorn which +seemed to sting the man to greater fury.</p> +<p>"You will not! very good. You will be glad enough to speak +before I have done with you. I have many old scores to settle with +you yet, and so has the Chief when he comes back; but the first +thing is to wring from you where the prince is hiding himself.</p> +<p>"Strip off his fine riding dress and under tunic, lads (it is a +pity to spoil good clothes that may be useful to our own brave +fellows), and string him up to that beam.</p> +<p>"Get out your hide whips, Peter and Joe, and lay it on well till +I tell you to stop."</p> +<p>With a brutal laugh, as if it were all some excellent joke, the +men threw themselves upon Paul, and proceeded to carry out the +instructions of their leader, who seated himself with a smile of +triumph where he could enjoy the spectacle of the suffering he +intended to inflict. Paul's upper garments were quickly removed, +and his hands and feet tightly bound with leather thongs. An +upright and a crossway beam, supporting the roof of the cave, +formed an excellent substitute for the whipping post not uncommon +in those days upon a village green; and Paul, with a mute prayer +for help and courage, nerved himself to meet the ordeal he was +about to undergo, praying, above all things, that he might not in +his agony betray the prince to these relentless enemies.</p> +<p>The thick cow-hide whips whistled through the air and descended +on his bare, quivering shoulders, and he nearly bit his lips +through to restrain the cry that the infliction almost drew from +him. But he was resolved that his foe should not have the +satisfaction of extorting from him any outward sign of suffering +save the convulsive writhings which no effort of his own could +restrain. How many times the cruel whips whistled through the air +and descended on his back, he never knew--it seemed like an +eternity to him; but at last he heard a voice say:</p> +<p>"Hold, men!</p> +<p>"Dowsett, you will kill him before the Chief sees him, and that +he will not thank you for. He is a fine fellow, and I won't stand +by and see him killed outright. Take him down and lock him up +safely till the Chief returns. He will say what is to be done with +him next. It is not for us to take law into our own hands beyond a +certain point. You will get nothing out of him, that is plain; he +is past speech now."</p> +<p>"The Chief will make him find his tongue," said Dowsett with a +cruel sneer; "this is only a foretaste of what he will get when the +Fire Eater returns.</p> +<p>"Take him down then, men. 'Twere a pity to kill him too soon. +Keep him safe, and we will see what the Chief says to him +tomorrow."</p> +<p>Paul heard this as in a dream, although a merciful +semi-consciousness had deadened him to the worst of the pain. He +felt himself unbound and carried roughly along down some dark +passage, as he fancied. There was a grating noise, as if a door had +turned on its hinges, and then he was flung down on what seemed +like a heap of straw, and left alone in pitchy darkness.</p> +<p>For a time he lay just as he had been thrown, in the same trance +of semi-consciousness; but after what had appeared to him a very +long time, he beheld as if a long way off a glimmering light, which +approached nearer and nearer, though he was too dizzy and faint to +heed its movements much. But it certainly approached quite close to +him--he saw as much through his half-closed eyelids--and then a +voice addressed him, a soft, sweet voice, strangely unlike those he +had just been hearing.</p> +<p>"Are you indeed Paul Stukely?" asked the voice.</p> +<p>The sound of his name aroused him, and he made a great effort to +see through the mists that seemed to hang over his eyes. A sweet +and very lovely face was hanging over him. He thought he must be +dreaming, and he asked faintly, hardly knowing what he said:</p> +<p>"Is it an angel?"</p> +<p>"Oh no, I am no angel, but only the daughter of the Chief; and I +want to help you, because I have heard of you before, and I cannot +bear that they should kill you by inches, as I know they will do if +you stay here. See, they are all fast asleep now, and there is no +chance of my father's return tonight. I have brought you your +clothes, and Madge has given me some rag steeped in a concoction of +herbs of her own making, which will wonderfully ease your wounds if +you will let me lay it on them. Old Madge is a wonderful leech, and +she cannot bear their cruel doings any more than I can, and she +said you were a brave lad, and she made you some soup, which I will +fetch for you to hearten you up for your journey. For you +<i>must</i> get away from here before morning, or nothing can save +you from a terrible fate.</p> +<p>"See now, do not your poor shoulders feel better for this +dressing? If you can put your clothes on whilst I am gone, I will +bring you something that will go far to help you over your ride +tonight."</p> +<p>It was a great effort to Paul to collect his wandering +faculties, and get his lacerated and trembling limbs to obey his +will; but he was nerved to his utmost efforts by the dread of what +might befall him if he could not avail himself of this strange +chance of escape. By the time the fair-faced girl had returned with +a steaming basin in her hands, he had contrived to struggle into +his garments, and though quivering in every fibre of his being, was +more himself again, and able to understand better the rapid stream +of words poured out by the eager maiden.</p> +<p>"Drink this," she said, giving him the basin. "It is very good. +It has all kinds of ingredients in it that will ease your pain and +give you strength and courage; but that you have without. Oh, I +think you are the bravest lad I ever knew. But listen, for I am +going to tell you a strange story. I told you that I was the, +daughter of the robber chief, did I not? Well, so I am; and my +father loves me the more, I think, that he never loved any other +being save my mother, and she died in this very cave when I was +born. He has always loved me and given me my own way; but these +last weeks a change seems to have come over him, and he talks of +giving me in wedlock to that terrible man T hate worse than them +all--the one they call Devil's Own. He has never spoken a soft word +to me all these years; but the past three weeks he has tried to woo +me in a fashion that curdles the very blood in my veins. I would +not wed him were I heart whole as a babe; and I am not that, for my +hand and heart are pledged to another, whose wife I will surely +be."</p> +<p>The girl's eyes flashed, and it was plain that the spirit of the +sire had descended to her. Paul was slowly swallowing the contents +of the basin, and feeling wonderfully invigorated thereby; indeed, +he was sufficiently restored to feel a qualm of surprise at being +thus intrusted with the history of this young girl, and she seemed +to divine the reason of his inquiring look.</p> +<p>"I will tell you why I speak thus freely; and I must be brief, +for the moments fly fast, and it is time we were on our way. The +man I love is one Jack Devenish, of a place they call Figeon's +Farm; and this very night, ere my father returns, I am to meet him; +and he will carry me to his home and his mother, and there shall I +lie hid in safety until such time as the priest may wed us. And, +Paul, it is a happy chance that brought you hither this night +instead of another; for we will fly together, and you will be safe +at Figeon's as I. For they will not suspect whither we have fled, +nor would they dare to attack a peaceful homestead near the village +if they did. They have made this country almost too hot to hold +them as it is, and are ever talking of a flight to the north. +Methinks they will soon be gone, and then I can draw my breath in +peace."</p> +<p>Paul listened in amaze. It was an effort to think of moving +again tonight, so weary and worn and suffering was he; but anything +was better than remaining behind in the power of these terrible +men, and he rose slowly to his feet, though wincing with every +movement.</p> +<p>"I know it pains you," cried the girl compassionately; "but oh, +what is that pain to what you would have to endure if you were to +stay? And you will not have to walk. My palfrey is ready tied up in +the wood, a bare stone's throw from here. You shall ride her, and I +will run beside you, and guide you to the trysting place, where my +Jack will be awaiting me, and his great roan will carry the pair of +us. Now silence, and follow me. There is a narrow exit from this +inner recess in the cave known only to me and to Madge. Not one of +the robbers, not even my father himself, knows of it. They think +they have you in a safe trap, and will not even keep watch tonight +after their weary search.</p> +<p>"Tread softly when you reach the open, lest our footsteps be +heard. But it is far from the mouth of the cave, and I have never +raised an alarm yet, often as I have slipped out unawares. Give me +your hand--so; now stoop your head, and squeeze through this narrow +aperture. There, here are we beneath the clear stars of heaven, and +here is my pretty Mayflower waiting patiently for her mistress.</p> +<p>"Yes, pretty one; you must bear a heavier burden tonight, but +you will do it gladly for your mistress's sake.</p> +<p>"Mount, good sir; we shall soon be out of reach of all +danger."</p> +<p>It must be a dream thought Paul, as, mounted on a light palfrey, +he went speeding through the dun wood by intricate paths, a +fairy-like figure springing through the gloom beside him, and +guiding the horse, as he was utterly unable to do.</p> +<p>It seemed as if his strength had deserted him. His hands had +lost their power, and it was all he could do to maintain his seat +on the animal that bounded lightly along with her unaccustomed +burden. At last they reached an open glade; a dark, motionless +figure was standing in the moonlight.</p> +<p>"It is he--it is my Jack!" cried the fairy, springing forward +with a faint cry of welcome.</p> +<p>"O Jack, I have brought your old friend Paul Stukely back to +you. You must take care of him as well as of me, for he has been in +deadly peril tonight."</p> +<h2><a name="Ch7" id="Ch7">Chapter 7</a>: The Protection Of The +Protected.</h2> +<p>"Nay, wife, why sit up for him? Since he has taken to these +roving habits at night there is no depending upon him. I must put +an end to them if they are to disturb you so. The boy is safe +enough. Why are you anxious about him tonight?"</p> +<p>It was Farmer Devenish who spoke these words to his wife, half +an hour after the rest of the household had retired to rest, and he +found her still sitting beside the fire, which she had piled up +high on the hearth, as if she meant to remain downstairs for some +time; which indeed she distinctly told him was her intention, as +she did not wish to go to bed until Jack had come in.</p> +<p>"He asked me to sit up for him tonight," she answered, "and he +never did so before. I was glad of it; for I have been uneasy for +the boy, wondering what could take him out so often at night."</p> +<p>"Oh, he's going courting, you may depend upon it," laughed the +farmer in his hearty way; "and courting some young lass not of our +village, but one who lives a pretty step from here, I'll be bound. +I've held my peace, and let the boy go his own way. He'll speak out +when the time comes, depend upon it."</p> +<p>"I believe he will speak out this very night," answered the +mother. "He told me he had a surprise in store for me, and begged +that I would sit up till his return, and stand his friend with you, +if you should be displeased at his choice. One might have thought +he was bringing his bride home with him, to hear him talk; but he +would never get wedded without speaking first. He is a good lad and +a dutiful, and his parents have the right to be told."</p> +<p>The farmer's curiosity was piqued by what he heard, and he +resolved to share his wife's vigil. Jack, their only son, was very +dear to them, and they were proud of him in their own hearts, and +thought such a son had never lived before. Both were anxiously +looking forward to the day when he should bring home a wife to +brighten up the old home, since it had lost the sweet presence of +the daughter Joan; and they neither of them believed that Jack's +choice would fall upon anyone unworthy of him.</p> +<p>The farmer dozed in his chair by the glowing hearth. The woman +got a large book from some secret receptacle upstairs, and read +with deep attention, though with cautious glance around her from +time to time, as if half afraid of what she was doing. It was long +before the silence outside was broken by any sound of approaching +footfalls; and when the ring of a horse hoof upon the frosty ground +became distinctly audible through the silence of the night, the +farmer would not unbar the door until his wife had glided away with +the volume she had been reading.</p> +<p>A minute later and the parents both stood in the doorway, +peering out into the cloudy night, that was not altogether +dark.</p> +<p>"By holy St. Anthony, there are two horses and three riders," +said the farmer, shading his eyes from the glare of the lantern as +he peered out into the darkness beyond.</p> +<p>"Jack, is that you, my son? And who are these that you have +brought with you?"</p> +<p>"Friends--friends claiming the shelter and protection of your +roof, father," answered Jack's hearty voice as he rode up to the +door; and then it was seen that he was greatly encumbered by some +burden he supported before him on his horse. But from the other +lighter palfrey there leaped down a small and graceful creature of +fairy-like proportions, and Mistress Devenish found herself +suddenly confronted by the sweetest, fairest face she had ever seen +in her life, whilst a pair of soft arms stole caressingly about her +neck.</p> +<p>"You are Jack's mother," said a sweet, soft voice in accents of +confident yet timid appeal that went at once to her heart. "He has +told me so much of you--he has said that you would be a mother to +me. And I have so longed for a mother all my life. I never had one. +Mine own mother died almost ere I saw the light. He said you would +love me; and I have loved you long. Yet it is not of myself I must +talk now, but of yon poor lad whom you know well. We have brought +Paul Stukely back to you. Oh, he has been sorely handled by those +cruel robbers--the band of Black Notley! He has been like a dead +man these last miles of the road. But Jack says he is not dead, and +that your kindly skill will make him live again."</p> +<p>And before Mistress Devenish was well aware whether she were not +in a dream herself, her husband had lifted into the house the +apparently inanimate form of Paul Stukely, and had laid him down +upon the oak settle near to the hospitable hearth.</p> +<p>Jack had gone to the stable with the horses; but one of the +serving men having been aroused and having come to his assistance, +he was able quickly to join the party beside the fire, and coming +forward with a glad and confident step, he took the hand of the +fairy-like girl in his own, and placed it within that of his +mother.</p> +<p>"Father, mother," he said, "I have brought you home my bride +that is to be. Listen, and I will tell you a strange story, and I +know you will not then withhold your love from one who has known +little of it, and who has led a strange, hard life amid all that is +bad and cruel, and is yet all that you can wish to find in +woman--all that is true and pure and lovely."</p> +<p>And then Jack, with the sort of rude eloquence sometimes found +in his class, told of his wooing of the robber's daughter; told of +her hatred and loathing of the scenes she was forced to witness, of +the life she was forced to lead; told of her fierce father's fierce +love gradually waning and turning to anger as he discovered that +she was not pliable material in his hands, to be bent to his stern +will; told how he had of late wished to wed her to the terrible +Simon Dowsett, and how she had felt at last that flight alone with +her own lover could save her from that fate.</p> +<p>Then he told of Paul's capture upon the very night for which the +flight had been planned; told how gallantly he had defied the +cruelty of the robber band, and how his Eva had effected his +liberation and had brought him with her to the trysting place. They +had planned before the details of the flight, and it would be death +to her to be sent back; but after her liberation of the captive, +the thought of facing that lawless band again was not to be thought +of.</p> +<p>And the farmer, who had listened to the tale with kindling eyes +and many a smothered ejaculation of anger and pity, suddenly put +his strong arms about the slight figure of the girl, and gave her a +hearty kiss on both cheeks.</p> +<p>"Thou art a good wench and a brave one," he said, "and I am +proud that my roof is the one to shelter thee from those lawless +men, who are the curse of our poor country.</p> +<p>"Jack, I told the mother that you must be going courting, and +that I should be right glad when you brought a bride to the old +home. And a bride this brave girl shall be as soon as Holy Church +can make you man and wife; and we will love her none the less for +what her father was. I always heard that the Fire Eater, as they +call him, had carried off and married a fair maiden, too good by a +thousand times for the like of him; and if this is that poor lady's +daughter, I can well believe the tale. But she is her mother's +child, not her fierce father's, and we will love her as our +own.</p> +<p>"Take her to your heart, good mother. A brave lass deserves a +warm welcome to her husband's home."</p> +<p>The gentle but high-spirited Eva had gone through the dangers of +the night with courage and resolution, but tears sprang to her eyes +at hearing these kindly words; and whilst Jack wrung his father's +hand and thanked him warmly for his goodwill. The girl buried her +face upon the shoulder of Mistress Devenish, and was once more +wrapped in a maternal embrace.</p> +<p>And then, having got the question of Eva's adoption as Jack's +betrothed bride so quickly and happily settled, they all turned +their attention to poor Paul, who for a few minutes had been almost +forgotten.</p> +<p>There was a warm little chamber scarce larger than a closet +opening from the room where the farmer and his wife slept, and as +there was a bed therein always in readiness against the arrival of +some unlooked-for guest, Paul was quickly transported thither, and +tenderly laid between the clean but coarse coverings. He only +moaned a little, and never opened his eyes or recognized where he +was or by whom he was tended; whilst the sight of his lacerated +back and shoulders drew from the woman many an exclamation of pity, +and from the farmer those of anger and reprobation.</p> +<p>It was some time before they understood what had happened, or +realized that the young kinsman (as they had called him) of Paul's +was really the Prince of Wales, the son of the now reigning Henry, +and that the two lads had been actually living and travelling +together with this secret between them. But Eva had heard much +about both, and told how the presence of the prince in the country +had become known to her father and his band first through the +suspicions of the peddler, who had seen the one pearl clasp still +owned and kept by the robber chief, and had at once recognized its +fellow; and secondly, from the identification of Paul's companion +with the Prince of Wales by one of the band who had been over to +France not long ago, and had seen the prince there.</p> +<p>The old likeness between the two youths was remembered well by +the band, who had been fooled by it before; and they had been for +weeks upon the track of the fugitives, who had, however, left +Figeon's before their enemies had convinced themselves of their +identity; and in London they were less easily found. Eva did not +know the whole story--it was Paul who supplied the missing links +later; but she told how a great part of the band had gone forth to +seek them in the city--how word had presently been brought by a +mounted messenger that the fugitives had escaped, just when they +were certain they had them fast--that all roads were being watched +for them, but that those who still remained in the forest were to +keep a close lookout, lest by some chance they should return by the +way they had come.</p> +<p>The band had been scouring the woods all that day in different +detachments, and they had brought in Paul just before dark. The +prince had escaped their vigilance, and Paul had maintained silence +under their cruel questioning. Eva knew no more of him than the +farmer, but all were full of hope that he had escaped. Well indeed +for both--if Paul knew his hiding place--that he was out of the +power of the robbers. They would scarce in any case have let him +escape with his life, after the ill will many of them bore him; but +had he continued to set them at defiance by his silence, there is +no knowing to what lengths their baffled rage might not have gone. +Eva had heard of things in bygone days which she could not recall +without a shudder, and the farmer and Jack, with clenched hands and +stern faces, vowed that they would leave no stone unturned until +the country was rid of these lawless and terrible marauders.</p> +<p>"We have stood enough; this is the last!" cried the burly owner +of Figeon's. "We will raise the whole countryside; we will send a +deputation to the bold Earl of Warwick; we will tell him Paul's +history, and beg him to come himself, or to send a band of five +hundred of his good soldiers, and destroy these bandits root and +branch. If these outrages are committed in the name of the House of +York, then I and mine will henceforth wear the badge of Lancaster. +What we simple country folks want is a king who can keep order in +this distracted land; and if that brave boy who dwelt beneath our +roof, and was kindly and gracious to all, is our future king, well, +God bless and keep him, say I, and let the sceptre long be held in +his kindly hands!"</p> +<p>In the village of Much Waltham next day the wildest excitement +prevailed. Jack was down at his sister's house with the dawn to +tell how Paul had been rescued from the hands of the robbers the +previous night, and what cruel treatment he had received at their +hands. He was going off on a secret errand to the Priory that very +day on Paul's behalf, to ask for news of the prince; and when it +was known that the bright-haired lad (Paul's kinsman, as he had +been called) who had won all hearts was none other than their +future Prince of Wales, a great revulsion of feeling swept over the +hearts of the simple and loving rustics, and they became as warm in +their sympathies for Lancaster as they had been loyal hitherto to +York.</p> +<p>But the burning feeling of the hour was the desire to put down +by a strong hand the depredations of these lawless robber hordes. +Not a house in the place but had suffered from them, not a farmer +but had complaints to make of hen roost robbed or beasts driven off +in the night. Others had darker tales to tell; and Will Ives +clenched his fists and vowed that he would be glad indeed to see +the day when he and Simon Dowsett might meet face to face in equal +combat. But it would be impossible to attack the robbers in their +forest fastnesses unless they had military help; and a deputation +was to start forthwith to London, to lay before the mighty earl the +story of the ravages committed, and the deadly peril which had just +threatened the heir of England, from which he might not yet have +escaped.</p> +<p>Jack was in hopes that he might still be at the Priory, and that +he might bring him back and set him at the head of a party of loyal +rustics, who should escort him in triumph to his royal father in +London. But that hope was of short duration; for the news he +received at the Priory told that the prince was already far away, +and safe at sea on his way to France.</p> +<p>He had arrived just at dusk the previous evening, and when he +had told his adventures and proved his identity to the satisfaction +of the Prior, strenuous efforts were made to convey him safely away +before further peril could menace him. It chanced that one of the +brothers was about to start for the coast on a mission for the +Prior; and disguised in a friar's gown, Edward could travel with +him in the most perfect safety. Stout nags were in readiness for +the pair; and after the lad had been well fed, and had enjoyed a +couple of hours' sleep beside the fire, he was sufficiently +refreshed to proceed on his way, only charging the Prior either to +send Paul after him if he should arrive in time, or to keep him in +safe hiding if that should not be possible.</p> +<p>Before Jack left the place, the brother who had been the +prince's companion returned with the news that Edward had been +safely embarked in a small trading vessel bound for France, the +captain of which, an ardent Lancastrian, would defend his passenger +from every peril at risk of his own life if need be. The wind was +favourable and light, and there was every hope of a rapid and safe +passage. Before nightfall this very day Edward would probably be +landed upon French soil, out of all chance of danger from foeman's +steel.</p> +<p>As to the purposed overthrow of the robber band, the brothers +most heartily approved of it. They too, though in some sort +protected by the awe inspired by Holy Church, suffered from the +bold dealings of these lawless men, and gladly would they see the +band scattered or exterminated.</p> +<p>The Prior shook his head somewhat as Jack explained how he +wished to wed the daughter of the chief of the crew; but when the +lover pleaded his cause with all the eloquence at his command, and +painted in piteous words the misery the gentle girl had endured in +the midst of her unhallowed surroundings, the kind-hearted +ecclesiastic relented, and forthwith despatched Brother Lawrence to +examine and counsel the maid, hear her confession, and absolve her +from her offences, and then, if all seemed well, to perform the +rite of betrothal, which was almost as binding as the marriage +service itself, and generally preceded it by a few weeks or months, +as the case might be. So Jack rode off in high feather, and talked +so unceasingly of his Eva the whole way to the farm, that the good +brother was almost convinced beforehand of the virtue and devotion +of the maid, and was willing enough a few hours later to join their +hands in troth plight. After that, unless the father were prepared +to draw upon himself the fulminations of the Church, he could not +lay claim to his daughter, or try to give her in wedlock to +another. Her place was now with her betrothed's kindred, where she +would remain until the marriage ceremony itself took place, and +made her indeed the daughter of the farm.</p> +<p>Meantime Paul lay for a while sorely sick, and was tended with +motherly devotion by good Mistress Devenish, who learned to love +him almost as a son. Hardy and tough as he was, the fatigue and +suffering he had undergone had broken him down, and a fever set in +which for a time made them fear for his very life. But his hardy +constitution triumphed over the foe, and in a week's time from the +night he first set foot across the threshold of Figeon's Farm he +was held to be out of danger, though excessively weak and ill.</p> +<p>During the long nights when his hostess had watched beside him, +thinking that he was either unconscious or delirious, Paul had seen +and heard more than she knew. He had heard her read, as if to +herself, strange and beautiful words from a book upon her +knee--words that had seemed full of peace and light and comfort, +and which had sunk into his weary brain with strangely soothing +power. Some of these same words were not quite unfamiliar to +him--at least he knew their equivalents in the Latin tongue; but +somehow when spoken thus in the language of everyday life, they +came home to him with tenfold greater force, whilst some of the +sweetest and deepest and most comforting words were altogether new +to him.</p> +<p>And as his strength revived, Paul's anxiety to hear more of such +words grew with it; and one forenoon, as his nurse sat beside him +with her busy needle flying, he looked up at her and said, "You do +not read out of the book any more, and I would fain hear those +wonderful words again."</p> +<p>"I knew not that you had ever heard."</p> +<p>"Yes, I heard much, and it seemed to ease my pain and give me +happy thoughts. It is a beautiful and a goodly book. May I not hear +more?"</p> +<p>"I would that all the world might hear the life giving words of +that book, Paul," said the good woman with a sigh. "But they come +from Wycliffe's Bible, and the holy brothers tell us that it is a +wicked book, which none of us should read."</p> +<p>"It cannot be a wicked book which holds such goodly words--words +that in the Latin tongue the Holy Church herself makes use of," +said Paul stoutly. "It may be bad for unlettered and ignorant men +to try to teach and expound the words they read, but the words +themselves are good words. May I not see the book myself?"</p> +<p>"You know the risk you run in so doing, Paul?"</p> +<p>"Ay; but I am a good son of the Church, and I fear not to see +what manner of book this be. If it is bad, I will no more of +it."</p> +<p>The woman smiled slightly as she rose from her seat and touched +a spring in the wall hard by the chimney. A sliding panel sprang +back and disclosed a small shelf, upon which stood a large book, +which the woman placed in Paul's hands, closing the panel +immediately.</p> +<p>He lay still, turning the leaves with his thin hands, and +marvelling what the Church found to condemn in so holy a book as +this seemed, breathing peace and goodwill and truest piety; but a +slight stir without the house, and the trampling of horse hoofs in +the court below, caused the woman to raise her head with an +instinct of caution, and Paul to thrust the volume hastily but +cautiously deep beneath the pillows on which he lay.</p> +<p>There were strange voices in the house, and the door was opened +by Brother Lawrence, who came in with a troubled look upon his +face. He was followed by three tall monks in a different habit, and +with none of the rubicund joviality upon their faces that was seen +in those of the brothers of Leighs Priory; whilst last of all, with +a cunning and malicious leer upon his face, followed the little +peddler, who, when he met the steady glance of Paul's eyes, shrank +back somewhat and looked discomfited.</p> +<p>But the foremost of the tall monks, scarce heeding the +respectful salutation made him by Paul and the mistress, turned +upon the peddler and said:</p> +<p>"Fellow, come forward and bear your testimony. It was, you who +laid the information that heretical books were hidden in this +house, and that you knew the hiding place. Make good your words, +now that you have brought us to the spot; for our worthy brother +here speaks well of those that live beneath this roof."</p> +<p>"May it please your reverence, I know the place well, and that +there <i>are</i> heretical books concealed there always. If you +will press that spring in the wall here, you will see for yourself. +If you find not the forbidden Bible there, call me a prating and a +lying knave.",</p> +<p>Brother Lawrence was looking both troubled and curious, but the +face of Mistress Devenish was perfectly calm, and Paul commanded +his countenance to a look of simple wonderment and surprise.</p> +<p>The monk obeyed the direction of the peddler; the secret spring, +gave a sharp click, and the door flew open. But the little shelf +was bare, and told no tales, and the face of the peddler fell.</p> +<p>"It has been removed--they have had notice of this visitation," +stammered the discomfited man; but Brother Lawrence cut him +short.</p> +<p>"Your reverence knows that that is impossible," he said, +addressing the tall monk: "no word of this visitation had reached +even our ears till your arrival this very morning. This house has +ever been well thought of by our fraternity, and pays its dues to +Holy Church as I would all other houses did. I trust your mind is +satisfied."</p> +<p>The monk bent his head; but before he could speak, Paul had +raised himself on his pillows, and was speaking in quick, earnest +tones.</p> +<p>"Holy father, listen, I pray you, to me," he said, "and trust +not the testimony of yon traitorous fellow, who, if he had had his +will, would have done to death the son of our sainted monarch King +Henry.</p> +<p>"Nay, let him not escape," he cried, as he saw the man make an +attempt to reach the door, which was promptly frustrated by the +sudden appearance of Jack Devenish, who had heard of this sudden +incursion of monks, and had rushed to the house in some fear of +what might be happening there.</p> +<p>"Hold him fast, Jack," cried Paul, with increasing energy, "till +I have told my tale;" and forthwith he described in graphic words +how this man had identified the prince, and had striven to sell him +to the enemy, that the House of York might triumph in his death, or +in possession of the heir whose life alone could redeem the cause +of Lancaster from destruction. The story was listened to with deep +attention and no little sympathy, for the visit, the peril, and the +flight of the prince were becoming known in this part of the +country, and the clergy of all degrees were thankful indeed that +the heir of England was safe, as they were all deeply attached to +the cause of the Red Rose.</p> +<p>So Paul's story roused a great wave of anger against the mean +fellow, who would thus earn his own living by betraying those whose +bread he had eaten, or one whose life it should be his care to +protect; and scarce had Paul done speaking before Brother Lawrence +took up the gauntlet, and addressing himself to the tall monk, +pointed to Paul, as he lay still white and weak upon his +pillows.</p> +<p>"And hear farther, reverend father: this youth who now speaks to +you is he of whom I told you as we rode along, who bore torture +without yielding up the name of the hiding place to which he knew +the prince had escaped. But for him young Edward might yet have +fallen into the hands of these robbers; for they would have watched +our Priory and have set upon all who went or came, and ravaged the +whole country, so that even the habit of the monk would not have +protected or disguised him. And these good folks here at this farm +were they who rescued him from the hands of the robbers; for the +maiden alone, without the help of this stalwart youth, could not +have brought him, ill and fainting as he was, all these long weary +miles. And they took him in; and this woman, whom yon informer +would have you believe is a vile heretic, has nursed him like his +own mother, and brought him back from the very jaws of death. And +is she who has done a service that royal Henry will one day thank +her for publicly (for this pallid youth is as a brother in love to +young Edward, and his especial charge to us till he comes again to +claim him and bestow his well-earned knighthood upon him)--is she +to suffer from the unproven charges of a base spy and Yorkist tool +like yon fellow there, who would have betrayed his own king's son +to death? Away with such a fellow from the earth, I say; and let +those who have sheltered England's heir, and rescued this bold +youth from worse than death--let them, I say, live in peace and +honour for the service they have done their country! For I wot that +when young Edward comes in his own proper state again, his first +care will be for those who befriended him in his hour of need, his +first chastisement against those who have done aught to harm them, +if they be still cumbering the earth."</p> +<p>And with that the usually jovial brother, moved now by a great +access of wrath, which had given him unwonted eloquence, pointed a +finger significantly at the trembling peddler; and Jack, who held +him by the collar, gave him a shake and said:</p> +<p>"Give me leave to carry him to the village green and tell the +good folks there the tale, and I warrant that he will not cumber +the ground much longer."</p> +<p>"Do with him as you will," said the tall monk, "he is no charge +of mine; and if all be true that is said, he well deserves his +fate."</p> +<p>The peddler was borne away, crying and entreating, and before an +hour had passed, his dead body was hanging on an oak tree nigh to +the blacksmith's forge--a warning to all informers; and when he had +gone the tall monk turned to Paul with a more benign air, and laid +his hand upon his head as he said:</p> +<p>"Thou art a stanch lad; and for their care to thee these honest +folks deserve the gratitude of the Church. I believe none of the +accusations of that lewd fellow. I trow this is a godly house, +where the Lord is rightly honoured in His holy ordinances."</p> +<p>"That indeed is so," answered Paul fervently.</p> +<p>The visitors departed well satisfied; whilst Paul heaved a great +sigh of relief, and wondered if he had in any way sinned by thought +or word or deed. But his conscience was clear; he could not see +that there was sin in reading holy words from God's own Book. Such +matters of dispute were too hard for him, and he closed his tired +eyes and was soon sound asleep. He saw the great Bible no more +whilst he remained beneath that roof; but many of its words were +engraved upon his heart, and were a guide to his steps and a light +to his path throughout his subsequent life.</p> +<p>"You have saved us from a great peril this day, Paul," said the +farmer that night, with a moisture in his eyes and a gravity upon +his jolly face. "If we have given shelter and protection to you, +your protection of us has been equally great. You must make this +your home, my boy, so long as you need one."</p> +<p>The next days were full of excitement for Much Waltham. The +request made by the people of Essex had been listened to by the +great earl, and though he could scarce credit the fact that the +king's son had been so near, he was convinced at last, and burned +to avenge himself on those who had tried to take him captive. A +band of armed men was sent down, and the forest swept clear of the +marauders--at least for a while. Will Ives had his wish, and met +Simon Dowsett face to face in a hand-to-hand struggle; and although +the latter did all to deserve his undesirable <i>sobriquet,</i> he +was overpowered at last and slain, and his head carried in triumph +to his native village, where, after the savage custom of the day, +it was exposed on a pike on the village green.</p> +<p>Paul heard of this fight by report alone, for he was able to get +only as far as the great kitchen fire, where he and Eva spent a +great part of their time in eagerly discussing the questions of the +day. Her father, the chief of the band, made his escape with some +few of his followers, and was heard of no more in those parts. His +daughter was glad he was not killed, though she could not desire to +see him more; and in a short time she and Jack were married, and +she almost forgot that she had been for so many years living +amongst the robbers of Black Notley.</p> +<h2><a name="Ch8" id="Ch8">Chapter 8</a>: The Rally Of The Red +Rose.</h2> +<p>"Paul! Is it really you? Now indeed I feel that I have reached +my native land again. O Paul, I have wearied sorely for you. Why +followed you not me to France, as we planned? Every day I looked +for tidings of you, and none came. But this meeting atones for +all."</p> +<p>It was the bright dawn of an Easter day, and Paul, after a +night's hard riding, stood within the precincts of the Abbey of +Cerne, not far from the seaport of Weymouth. His hands were closely +grasped in those of young Edward, who was looking into his face +with beaming eyes.</p> +<p>It was no longer the fugitive Edward of the winter months, but a +royally equipped and accoutred youth, upon whose noble face and +figure Paul's eyes dwelt with fond pride. Weary and tempestuous as +had been the voyage from France to England--a voyage that had +lasted seventeen days, in lieu of scarce so many hours--yet the +bright face of the Prince of Wales bore no signs of fatigue or +disappointment. The weary days of waiting were over. He and his +mother had come to share his father's royal state, and drive from +the shores--if he came--the bold usurper who had hitherto triumphed +in the strife of the Roses. His heart beat high with hope and lofty +purpose; and in joy at the eager welcomes poured upon him by the +friends and warriors who came flocking to his standard he forgot +all the doubts and fears of the past, and looked upon himself as +the saviour of his country, as indeed he was regarded by all his +party.</p> +<p>The old comrades and friends looked each other well over with +smiling glances, and it seemed as if Edward marked in Paul as much +change in the outward man as he had done in the prince.</p> +<p>"By my troth, Paul, fair fortune has smiled upon you since last +we met. And the gold spurs of knighthood too--nay, now, what means +that, good comrade? Were we not to have knelt side by side to +receive that honour? Have you outstripped me from the first?"</p> +<p>"Pardon, my dear lord," answered Paul, blushing and smiling; "I +would sooner have received the honour at your hands than at those +of any other. But I was summoned to London, so soon as my wounds +were healed, by the great earl; and your royal father himself gave +me audience, to ask news of you (for it became known that you had +visited the realm by stealth); and after I had told him all my +tale, he with his own hand bestowed that honour upon me. Then the +noble earl made over to me a fair manor in the west country, which +I have not yet visited, but which has put money once more into my +purse. And here am I, your grace's loyal servant, to ask no better +than to follow and fight for you until the crown is safely placed +upon your head."</p> +<p>And he bent the knee and pressed his lips upon the prince's +hand.</p> +<p>But Edward raised him, and linked his arm within that of his old +companion, walking with him along the pleasant green pathway of the +Abbey mead, not content till he had heard every detail of that +which had befallen Paul, from the moment they had parted up till +the present, and listening with intense excitement to his account +of what had befallen him in the robbers' cave, and how he had +escaped from thence, and had been tended and protected at Figeon's +by the kindly and honest folks there.</p> +<p>"When I am king," said young Edward, with flashing eyes, "I will +go thither again, and reward them royally for all they have done +for you and me. I am glad they loved me still, Lancastrian though +they knew me at last to be. Oh, if they were willing to follow my +fortunes and own me as their king, methinks others will not be far +behind! And, God helping me, I will try to show them what manner of +man a king should be."</p> +<p>For it had been fully recognized upon all hands now that the +prince's father was absolutely incapable of more than the name of +king, and it was well known that the prince was to be the real +ruler, with the name of regent, and that it would be his hands or +his mother's that would sway the sceptre of power, should the +Lancastrian cause triumph in the struggle.</p> +<p>And no thought of aught but victory had as yet found place in +young Edward's heart. Was not the great invincible earl fighting on +their side? And had he not already placed Henry once more upon the +throne, not to be again deposed so long as he had a soldier left to +fight for him?</p> +<p>But Paul's heart was scarce so light, although the sight of the +prince awakened his loyal enthusiasm.</p> +<p>"O my lord, if you had but come sooner--had come before the +proud son of York had landed, and drawn to his standard a host of +powerful followers! I know not how it is, but his name is a magnet +that strangely stirs the hearts of men. Ere I left London I heard +that the rival armies were closely approaching each other, and that +the battle might not be much longer delayed. I knew not whether to +fly to welcome you, or to stay and draw the sword on your behalf, +and strive to be the one to bring to you the glorious news of +victory. I cannot think but what the great earl will again be +victorious; but the despatches he intrusted to me, with commands to +hasten westwards to try and meet you on your landing, will tell you +more of the chances of war than I can do. Men's mouths are full of +rumours. One knows not how to sift the false from the true. But the +men of London--ay, there is the peril--they all stand sullen when +we of the Red Rose pass by, and scarce a voice calls 'God save the +king.' If Edward of York were to succeed in reaching the +city--"</p> +<p>"But he must not--he shall not--he cannot!" cried young Edward, +with flashing eyes. "What! shall the proud crest of my great +father-in-law stoop before the traitorous host of York? Fie on +thee, Paul! talk not to me of defeat. Nay, after we have heard the +holy mass of this glad Easter day, let us rather to horse and +away--you and I together, Paul, as we have done times before--and +let us not draw rein till we ride into the victorious camp of the +king my father, and hear the glad welcome we shall receive from his +brave host.</p> +<p>"O Paul, I have had my moments of doubt and desponding, but they +are all past now. I come to claim my kingdom, and to place a crown +upon the brow of my lovely bride. Ah, I must present you to her--my +gentle Lady Anne. I wot she will not be far off She will be seeking +for me, as is her fashion if we are long apart. She must thank you +herself for all that you have done and suffered for me. You will +feel yourself a thousandfold repaid when you have heard her sweet +words of recognition."</p> +<p>And in effect, as they turned once more toward the Abbey, Paul +saw approaching them the slight and graceful figure of a young +girl, in the first blush of maiden bloom and beauty, her face +ethereally lovely, yet tinged, as it seemed, with some haunting +melancholy, which gave a strange pathos to its rare beauty, and +seemed almost to speak of the doom of sorrow and loss already +hanging over her, little as she knew it then.</p> +<p>The solemn troth plight which had passed between her and young +Edward was almost equivalent to the marriage vow that would shortly +bind them indissolubly together, and their love for each other was +already that of man and wife. As the gentle lady listened to the +eager tale poured out by Paul, she stretched out her hand to him, +and when he would have bent the knee she raised him up with sweet +smiles, and told him how her dear lord had always praised him as a +very brother, and the type of all that was faithful and true in +comrade. Such words from such lips brought the boyish blush to +Paul's cheeks, and he stumbled bashfully over his undying +protestations of loyalty.</p> +<p>Then, as they reached the refectory, which had been allotted by +the monks to their noble guests, he stopped short and fell upon his +knees; for in a tall and stately figure advancing to meet them he +recognized the great queen he had not seen since he was a child, +and scarce dared to raise his eyes to note the ravages that sorrow +and care had made upon that princely visage, or the silver +whiteness of the locks, covered for the most part by the tall, +peaked headdress of the day.</p> +<p>The queen recognized Paul at once from the strange likeness to +her own son, and her welcome was kindly given. But she was anxious +and preoccupied, having but risen from the perusal of the +despatches Paul had brought; and although her natural courage and +hopefulness would not permit her to despond, she could not but +admit that danger menaced the cause of the Red Rose, whilst she +realized, as her young son could not do at his age, how utterly +disastrous would be a single victory of the enemy at such a +juncture.</p> +<p>The fortunes of the rival houses were trembling in the balance. +The first decisive, advantage to either would give a prestige and +fillip to that cause which might be absolutely fatal to the hopes +of the other. If it were true that some battle were being fought or +about to be fought that very day, such a battle might be either the +death blow to all their hopes or the earnest of a final triumph +nigh at hand.</p> +<p>It was a strange Easter Day for the party at the Abbey. The mass +was quickly followed by the arrival of loyal adherents from the +surrounding country, who had heard of the landing of the +long-expected party from France, and flocked eagerly to pay their +homage to the queen and the prince, and look upon the fair face of +the Lady Anne, whose position as Warwick's daughter and Edward's +bride alike made her an object of the greatest interest and a +person of importance. Paul was deeply enamoured of the gentle and +lovely lady, and received many marks of favour from her hands. He +was given a post about the young prince, and kept close at his side +the whole day.</p> +<p>It was inspiriting indeed to hear the loyal protestations of the +friends who kept flocking all day to join their standard, and there +was no riding forth to London for prince or attendant so long as +the light lasted.</p> +<p>"But tomorrow morn we will sally forth ere it well be day," said +Edward, in low tones, as they parted for the night. "My heart tells +me that something of note has occurred this very day. We will be +the first to bring the news to my mother. Be ready with a couple of +horses and some few men-at-arms ere the sun be well risen over yon +ridge, and we will forth to meet the messengers of victory, and +bring them back with us to tell their welcome news."</p> +<p>Paul had forgotten his vague fears in the gladness of the +present, and scarce closed his eyes that night, thinking of the +coming triumph for the prince he loyally loved. He was up and in +the saddle with the first glimmering light of day, and by the time +that the rosy glow of dawn was transforming the fair world of +nature and clothing it with an indescribable radiance of gossamer +beauty, he and the prince were already a mile from the Abbey, +galloping along in the fresh morning air with a glad exultation of +spirit that seemed in itself like a herald of coming triumph.</p> +<p>"The very heavens have put on the livery of the Red Rose!" cried +Edward gaily, as he pointed to the vivid red of the east; and Paul +smiled, and tried to banish from his mind the old adage learned at +his nurse's knee, to the effect that a red morn was the herald of a +dark and dreary day.</p> +<p>They had ridden a matter of some five miles forth in the +direction of the great road to London--as it was then considered, +though we should scarce call the rude tracks of those days +roads--when the quick eye of Paul caught sight of a little moving +cloud of dust, and he drew rein to shade his eyes with his +hand.</p> +<p>Edward followed his example, and together they stood gazing, +their hearts beating with sympathetic excitement. How much might +the next few moments contain for them of triumph or of despair! for +from the haste with which these horsemen rode, it was plain they +were the bearers of tidings, and if of tidings, most likely those +of some battle, in which the King Maker and the king he had first +made and then driven away would stand for the first time in hostile +ranks. Together they had been victorious; what would be the result +when they met as foes?</p> +<p>Nearer and nearer came the riders, looming through the uncertain +morning mist, and emerging thence two jaded, weary figures, their +horses flecked with foam, nostrils wide, chests heaving, showing +every sign of distress; and Paul, recognizing in one of the riders +a follower of the Earl of Warwick, called upon him by name, and bid +him speak his tidings.</p> +<p>"Lost--lost--all lost!" cried the man, addressing himself to +Paul, unconscious of the identity of his companion; "the battle is +fought and lost. The armies met on Barnet Heath. The Earl of +Warwick, the great earl, was there slain. His Majesty King Henry is +again a prisoner in the hands of Edward of York. Today he makes his +triumphant entry into London, which will open its gates to him with +joy and receive him as king."</p> +<p>Paul sat rigid and motionless as he heard these words. He did +not dare to look at young Edward, who sat beside him as if turned +to stone. The second messenger, who had had a moment to draw breath +whilst his fellow had been speaking, now broke in with his share of +the terrible news. He had seen the prodigies of valour performed by +the mighty earl. He had witnessed the death of that warrior--such a +death as was fitting for one of his warlike race. The testimony of +eyewitnesses could not be doubted. The fatal day had again been +hostile to the cause of the Red Rose, and the mournful cry of those +who had seen and shared in the fight, as they fled pellmell from +the field, had been, "Lost--all lost! the House of Lancaster is +utterly overthrown!"</p> +<p>Mournfully the little procession turned itself and rode back to +the Abbey. Edward had not spoken one word all this time, and the +messengers, who had now learned who he was, fell to the rear, and +observed an awed silence. But their tale had been told. They had +said enough. The worst was made known, and not even Paul dared +venture a word of consolation, or seek to know what was passing in +the mind of the prince, whose fair inheritance seemed thus to be +slipping away.</p> +<p>Excitement, uncertainty, and suspense seemed in the very air, +and even before the silent little troop reached the courtyard of +the Abbey eager forms were seen hurrying out, and the tall and +stately figure of the royal Margaret stood outlined in the doorway. +Perhaps something in the very silence and confused looks of the +little group told a tale of disaster, for the queen came hurrying +down the steps with whitening face, and her son sprang from his +saddle and put his arm about her, as if to support her in the shock +which could not but fall upon her now.</p> +<p>"Tell me all," she whispered hoarsely. "Do not keep me in +suspense. Speak, I command you, my son."</p> +<p>"A battle has been fought--and lost," answered Edward, speaking +mechanically. "Our ally and friend the Earl of Warwick was killed +in desperate fight. My father is a prisoner in the enemy's hands. +Edward of York is even now making his triumphant entry into London, +which will receive him with open arms."</p> +<p>Edward said no more; he had indeed told all his tale, and it had +been enough for the unhappy woman, who had landed on English soil +so confident of victory. She gave one short, low cry, a convulsive +shudder passed through her limbs, and she fell senseless to the +ground. That cry found its echo upon the pale lips of another--one +who had closely followed the queen to learn the tidings of the +travellers; and Edward turned to catch his bride in his arms, +whilst her tears rained down fast as she heard how her noble father +lay dead upon the fatal field that had lost her lord his crown, and +had dashed to the ground the warmest hopes of the Red Rose.</p> +<p>"Let us to ship again," said Margaret, as she recovered from her +long swoon. "The cause is lost without hope. Warwick is slain. Whom +have we now to trust to? Let us back to France, and hide our +dishonoured heads there. My father's court will receive us yet, and +perchance we may in time learn to forget that we were ever princes +and sovereigns."</p> +<p>Strange words, indeed, from the haughty and warlike Margaret; +but at that moment her proud spirit seemed crushed and broken, and +it was young Edward who answered her with words of hope and +courage.</p> +<p>"Nay, mother," he said, "let it not be said of the House of +Plantagenet that they turned their backs upon the foe, and fled +disgracefully, leaving their followers to butchery and ruin. It +might have been well for us never to have disturbed again the peace +of this realm; but having summoned to our banner the loyal +adherents of the Red Rose, it is not for us to fly to safety, and +leave them to the wrath and cruelty of Edward. No; one battle--one +defeat--does not lose us our cause. My father lives; shall we leave +him to linger out his days in hopeless captivity? I live; have I +not the right to strike a blow for the crown to which I was +born?</p> +<p>"Courage, sweet mother. You are a king's daughter. You have led +men to victory before. Say not--think not--that all is lost. Let us +win the crown of England by the power of the name and of the +righteous cause we own, and henceforth shall no man say that a +subject crowns and dethrones England's monarch at his will."</p> +<p>These words, seconded and echoed by those of many a gallant +knight and noble, raised Margaret's broken spirit, and she began +once more to hope. That day they journeyed by rapid stages to +Beaulieu Abbey, a very famous sanctuary in those days, the ruins of +which may still be seen in the New Forest; and there the party +found the widowed Countess of Warwick, who had landed at Portsmouth +before the royal party had reached Weymouth, and had just heard of +her terrible loss. To have her daughter with her once again, and to +mingle their tears together, was some consolation, both for the +countess and the Lady Anne; but others had sterner work before them +than weeping over past misfortunes, and as soon as the retreat of +the royal Lancastrian became generally known, many stanch adherents +flocked to tender their allegiance and promise fealty to the +cause.</p> +<p>Foremost amongst these was the young Duke of Somerset, whose +family had ever been stanch to the Red Rose, as well it might. Some +of the unpopularity Margaret of Anjou had early won for herself at +the English court was due to her confidence in and affection for +Somerset, and his son might well be ardent in her cause.</p> +<p>Margaret herself was still sunk in unwonted depression, but the +representations of the fiery young duke did much to give her heart. +With him came Jasper Tudor, the king's half brother, and they drew +glowing pictures of the loyalty of the western counties; and of +Wales, where a large band of troops was mustering for her support; +and represented that if she could but effect a junction with them, +the whole country would soon be hers, and she would be able to +dictate terms to the enemy at the gates of London.</p> +<p>Margaret's elastic temper rose with the encouragement thus +received, and Edward's heart beat high with hope. The party began +their westward march, and through the bright days of April and May +they rode through the smiling land, receiving welcome and adulation +from all, and reinforcements to their little band from every town +through which they passed. Small wonder was it that they learned to +feel confident of ultimate success. The young prince, with Paul at +his side, would ride through the ranks of his followers day by day, +speaking bright, brave words to all he passed, and winning the +hearts of his troops as perhaps only the young and frank-hearted +and unspoiled can do. To him it seemed almost more like a triumphal +progress than a recruiting march.</p> +<p>But Margaret's brow was often dark with anxiety. She knew the +temper of the bold Edward of York, as she called him, whom the +world still spoke of as king; and she knew that he would be upon +their track. Any day they might see his banners threatening their +rear, and still the Welsh army was at some distance; and until a +junction could be effected, even their lives could scarce be called +safe.</p> +<p>Then at Gloucester a serious check met them. The place was held +for the king's brother, and the gates were resolutely closed +against her. It was here that she had reckoned upon crossing the +deep and treacherous waters of the Severn, and to be thus foiled +might mean the ruin of the enterprise. The sheltering mountains of +Wales were already in sight; but how was she to reach them if the +passage of the river were denied her?</p> +<p>Paul had gone forth alone that day, and had not been present +when the queen had ridden herself to the fortified gates to demand +an entrance, which had been firmly and respectfully declined her. +But he had learned tidings which disquieted him not a little, and +it was at full gallop that he dashed back into the ranks, and +sought the prince himself, who was looking with darkening brow upon +the frowning battlements of the unfriendly city.</p> +<p>"My liege, it brooks not this delay," he cried, reining up +beside Edward, and speaking in rapid whispers. "The army of York is +scarce a score of miles away, and in hot pursuit after us. They +have had certain news of our movements, and unless we can push on +across the river and meet our friends there, we shall be taken in +the rear, and at sore disadvantage. It behoves us to strain every +nerve to reach our friends before our foes are upon us."</p> +<p>"I doubt not that," answered Edward calmly, yet with a look +which Paul did not understand; "but the wide river runs before us, +and the bridge is barred to us. Unless we reduce first this noble +city, we must turn and face the foe and fight him at sore +odds."</p> +<p>A look of dismay crossed Paul's face as he heard this piece of +news, and he silently followed the prince at his bidding to the +spot where the leading nobles and generals were gathered together +in warm debate. The news that Edward was just upon them ran like +wildfire through the ranks, and all the most experienced leaders, +including the royal Margaret herself, were of opinion that it would +be better not to run the risk of a battle, but retire rapidly and +stealthily from their present position, and not encounter the onset +of Edward's veteran troops, flushed with victory and thirsting for +blood, until their hardy mountain allies had contrived to join +them.</p> +<p>But there is something revolting to young and ardent spirits in +the thought of flight, and the Duke of Somerset was eager for the +fray. He argued that an easy victory must be theirs if they did but +act boldly and hastened to the attack. To fly were fatal; their +troops would become disheartened and melt away. Their foes would +openly triumph, and all men would be drawn to them. Edward's +soldiers, weary with long marching, would be taken by surprise. It +were a thousand times better to risk the fight than to play the +coward at so critical a juncture.</p> +<p>And these impetuous words carried the younger spirits along with +them. The prince drew his sword, and riding through the ranks, +asked if the soldiers would choose to fight or fly. There could +scarce be more than one reply to such an appeal so made. They drew +their swords and vowed to live or die with him, and the enthusiasm +of the moment was such that all were carried away; and orders were +instantly given for a march upon Tewkesbury, where it was thought +a spot might be found which would give them advantages for the +coming struggle.</p> +<p>The troops had had a long march earlier in the day, but they +traversed the ten miles which lay between them and Tewkesbury with +cheerful alacrity. Paul and the prince rode side by side in the van +of the advancing host, and Edward looked straight before him with +glowing eyes, as if he felt that a crisis of his fate were at +hand.</p> +<p>"At last, my good Paul, we are riding forth to try conclusions +with the world, as we have purposed so long to do," he said, with a +strange, flashing smile. "In faith I am glad that the hour of +action is come. Ere another sun is set some blow shall have been +struck which shall set the crown of England upon some one head more +firmly than ever it has been set before. God grant the cause of +right may triumph! But whichever way the conflict goes, I pray that +this distracted land may find peace and rest, and that I may be +either a victor in the strife, or may find a soldier's grave. Paul, +will you give me your promise, trusty comrade, that ere I fall +alive into the hand of the foe, you will bury your knightly sword +in my heart yourself? It were the part of a true brother to save me +from the fate of my patient father. He has borne dethronement and +captivity; but methinks I should pine and die, and I would far +rather--"</p> +<p>He gave Paul an expressive glance; but the young knight answered +gravely and steadfastly:</p> +<p>"My liege, ask me not that beyond my power to grant. We may not +without sin raise our hands against the Lord's anointed, and I may +not do the thing you ask. Death or captivity I will gladly share +with you, or spend every drop of my blood to save you; but more +than this no loyal knight may promise. Forgive me, my liege, if I +offend in this."</p> +<p>But Edward held out his mailed hand with his own bright, sweet +smile, grasping that of Paul, which he held in his own as he +spoke.</p> +<p>"You are in the right, Paul, you are in the right. Perchance it +were a coward thought; for should not a prince be ready for any +blow of adverse fortune? But ride you into the battle beside me. +Let us fight side by side, even as we have always hoped to do. I +would that you were in very truth my brother, as in love you have +long been. And if I fall whilst you escape, be it your office to +break the tidings to my mother and my gentle Anne; for methinks, +were it told them suddenly or untenderly, their hearts would break +with the sorrow."</p> +<p>Paul gave this pledge willingly, though it scarce seemed +possible to him that he should live to carry such tidings, seeing +he would die a thousand deaths to save his prince from the foeman's +steel. And then, with grave faces but brave hearts and unclouded +brows, the comrades rode side by side into the town of Tewkesbury, +whilst the army intrenched itself on the summit of a small eminence +called the Home Ground, not half a mile away.</p> +<p>Already the rival army was mustering, and the Yorkist troops +occupied the sloping ground to the south, that went by the name of +the Red Piece. The Lancastrians had the best of the situation, as +they were established amongst trenches and ditches, partly real and +partly artificial; which would render any attack by the enemy +difficult and dangerous.</p> +<p>"I trow it would be hard to drive from this ground these brave +men thus posted," said Edward to Paul, as the two rode round the +camp at the close of the day. "They have only to stand firm and +hold their position, and all will be well. Oh that the night were +past, and that a new day had come! I would I could see the end of +this struggle. I would the veil of the future might be for one +moment lifted."</p> +<p>But the future keeps its secrets well--well for us it is so--and +the youthful and high-spirited young prince saw not the black cloud +hanging already upon him. The soldiers greeted him with cheers and +blessings; the generals bent the knee to him, and vowed to die to +win him back his crown. The light of the setting sun illumined the +field so soon to be red with human blood, and the vesper bell from +the church hard by rang out its peaceful summons.</p> +<p>Edward looked round him, and laid his hand affectionately on +Paul's shoulder.</p> +<p>"This is a fair earth," he said dreamily. "I wonder what the +world beyond will be like, for those who leave this behind, as so +many will do tomorrow."</p> +<p>Paul spoke not a word, but returned the look with one infinitely +loving, and together the two rode back to the town.</p> +<h2><a name="Ch9" id="Ch9">Chapter 9</a>: The Tragedy Of +Tewkesbury</h2> +<p>How the battle of Tewkesbury was lost and won is too well known +to need description in detail here. Whether the Lancastrian army +could have held the field before the Yorkist veterans had they been +skilfully generalled will never now be known; but the fiery and +impetuous Duke of Somerset, whose ill-judged ardour had forced the +battle upon his followers, undoubtedly lost the day for them by his +intemperate and reckless disregard of the dictates of common +prudence. After opening the fight by a discharge of ordnance, he +was mad enough to leave his intrenched position on the Home Ground, +and carry his men into the open for a charge upon the opposing +army. Here they were not only confronted by Edward's compact army, +but were taken in the flank and rear by a company of spearmen who +had been told off to guard against a possible ambush in a little +wood; which, however, the hot-headed Somerset had never thought to +place.</p> +<p>Thrown into confusion, the Lancastrians were routed, and +confusion was rendered worse confounded by another impetuous act on +the part of the fiery young duke. As he and his flying soldiers +fell back upon the town of Tewkesbury, and reached the market +place, they found Lord Wenlock and his men sitting idle and +motionless there, as if there was no work for them to do.</p> +<p>The reason for this extraordinary apathy on the part of one of +the leaders will never now be known. It was the curse of the strife +of the Roses that treachery and a change of sides was always +suspected, and too often with good cause, between men who had been +friends and allies heretofore. The Duke of Somerset at once +concluded that Lord Wenlock had turned traitor to the cause, and +riding furiously up to him as he sat, he dashed out his brains with +his battle-axe, without so much as pausing to ask a single +question.</p> +<p>The followers of both leaders who saw the deed were struck with +new terror. With loud cries of "Treason, treason!" they threw down +their arms and fled they knew not whither, and the retreat became a +confused rout, in which the thought of each man was to save his own +life.</p> +<p>Such, in brief, was the deplorable story of the battle of +Tewkesbury. But we are concerned less with the main course of the +fortunes of the day than with the individual adventures of certain +persons concerned, who, if isolated acts of gallantry and devotion +could have saved the day, would have turned the fortunes of even +the fatal field of Tewkesbury.</p> +<p>The prince was stationed in the main body of the army, under the +care, as was supposed by his anxious mother, of the military Prior +of St. John's Longstruther. And by his side was his faithful +shadow, Paul, whose solemn purpose that day was to keep beside the +prince throughout the course of the battle, and shield him from +harm even at the cost of his own life. Some strange foreboding had +fallen upon Paul, and he scarce expected to see the light of +another day; but this presentiment of coming ill he bravely hid +from his companion, and the two rode into the ranks with smiling +faces, and looked across at the opposing lines of the enemy with a +steadfast and lofty courage. Then the prince turned to his +companion.</p> +<p>"Our first battle, good Paul; for though as a child I saw +fighting, I never took part in it before. I am glad that we ride +side by side this day. Let us show our loyal people, whatever be +the fortunes of the field, that Englishmen can strike hard blows, +and that they never turn their backs upon the foe. If we ride not +to victory, Paul, let us ride to death with a courage that shall +not disgrace the kingly blood that both of us can boast in some +measure."</p> +<p>Then they looked to their weapons, and sat very silent, waiting +what would befall.</p> +<p>Perhaps those that take part in a fierce fight know less about +the details than any others. Paul was presently aware that he and +the men about him, the prince still at his side, were charging down +the little eminence upon which they had been posted, straight at +the serried ranks of the Yorkist army, which kept its position, and +awaited their coming with cool intrepidity. Paul had not time to +think or reason, or he would surely have wondered at the rashness +of quitting an advantageous position, and putting themselves to +such disadvantage before the foe. All he knew was that the duke's +company had moved first, and had charged upon the enemy, and that +their military monk had given the word to follow and support their +friends; which was done without a moment's hesitation, whether the +movement were, strategically speaking, right or wrong.</p> +<p>And then, all in a moment as it seemed, the prince and his +comrade found themselves in a fierce melee, in which for a while +they could scarce move hand or foot, jammed in by the press of men +and steeds, but surrounded by friends and comrades, who were +eagerly pressing forward toward the foe. Cries and shouts rent the +air, mingled sometimes with the shriek or groan which told that a +well-directed blow had gone home to its mark. The press became +denser, and then less dense; some riderless horses from the front +rank came tearing back through the crush, forcing their way in a +sort of mad terror; and Edward, snatching his battle-axe from its +resting place across his saddle bow, swung it over his head, and +shouted to his companion:</p> +<p>"Follow me, Paul! yonder lies the foe. I will strike a blow for +my father's liberty and crown this day, whether I live or die."</p> +<p>The way was open now, and Paul saw plainly that they were close +to the ranks of the foe. But there was no drawing back, even had he +wished it; his blood was up now, and not even fear for the possible +peril of the prince could withhold him from the charge. He knew not +whether the person of the prince was known, and whether young +Edward ran any especial danger in thus flinging himself upon the +enemy. But it was no longer his place to think--the moment for +action had arrived; and following Edward's example, he dashed into +the thick of the fray, the impetuosity and fury of his charge +bearing down all before him, and hewing down man and horse as he +clave a passage through the ranks for the prince, who closely +followed.</p> +<p>They were not alone. A gallant little company was following in +their track, and with cries of "An Edward, an Edward, a Prince of +Wales!" smote down the rival warriors with a fury which for the +moment nothing could withstand. There is surely something magnetic +in a war cry or in a patriotic song, for it inspires those who use +it with an ardour and a strength which for the moment seem +invincible.</p> +<p>To Paul and the prince it seemed as if the day were all but won. +Wherever they turned they dealt death and destruction. The wing of +the army upon which they charged was wavering and disorganized; the +infantry recoiled before the fierce charge of the horsemen, and the +opposing cavalry was mostly in another part of the field.</p> +<p>"Victory, victory!" shouted those about Paul and the prince; and +to the enthusiastic and excited lads it seemed as if the day was +already theirs. The name of the Prince of Wales was in all mouths. +It was shouted by each soldier as he fell upon his foe, and the +enemy appeared to recoil before it. Onward and ever onward pressed +the eager little band, until it was entirely separated from the +main body of the army; and so certain were all who took part in +that isolated skirmish that the fortunes of the day were with the +House of Lancaster, that the peril of their position struck none of +the prince's followers till, thinned by the blows of their +adversaries, and weary with the impetuosity of their own charge, +they paused and drew together; whilst the foe, glad of a moment's +breathing space, did not molest them.</p> +<p>There are pauses even on the battlefield when a few words can be +exchanged, and the prince, flushed with the foretaste (as it seemed +to him) of a glorious victory, turned to Paul with kindling +eyes.</p> +<p>"War is a glorious game in all truth, Paul. I would not have +been elsewhere for all the world. But you bleed--you are wounded. +Tell me where. I knew not that you were hurt. You must ride back to +the town and be tended there."</p> +<p>"Nay, it is nought; I do not even feel it. I know not who struck +me, nor when. I will bind this scarf about my arm, and all will be +well. And think you not, my liege, that it were well to return to +the lines ourselves? I promised your royal mother and the Lady Anne +that you should not adventure yourself too much today within the +enemy's lines. But all such charge passed from my memory in the +heat of the fight."</p> +<p>"Ay, and my place was here, in the midst of my good soldiers. +Oh, it has been a glorious day! 'Lancaster will remember it ever. +And see, Paul--see how they fly on yonder height! See how the +battle rages and becomes a flight! It is the same everywhere. The +Red Rose triumphs. Proud York is forced to fly. Shall we join them, +and lead again to victory? They are chasing them to the very walls +of the town."</p> +<p>Paul looked in the direction indicated, and a change came over +his face. He had the wonderful long, keen sight which often comes +to those who have grown up in the open air, and have been used from +childhood to the exercise of hunting and hawking. The prince saw +only the flying rout, which he concluded to be the soldiers of +York; but Paul could distinguish more. He could see the colours, +and the badges they wore, and he recognized with a sinking heart +the terrible fact that it was the followers of the Red Rose who +were flying before the mailed warriors of Edward of York.</p> +<p>The change in his countenance did not escape young Edward's keen +eye, and he at once divined the cause, The bright flush faded from +his own face, and his gaze was turned in the same direction +again.</p> +<p>Alas! it was but too plain now; for the rout was plainly in the +direction of the town, and it was easy to understand that had it +been the Yorkists who had fled they would have taken an opposite +direction, in order to reach their own lines.</p> +<p>For a moment prince and subject sat spellbound, watching that +terrible sight in deep silence. But then the peril of their own +position, and the deadly danger that menaced the prince if the +situation should be realized by their foes surrounding them here, +flashed across Paul like a vivid and terrible lightning gleam.</p> +<p>He turned and laid his hand upon the shoulder of the prince.</p> +<p>"My liege," he said, "we may not linger here. We must regain our +comrades, and see if we may rally them yet. All may not be lost, +but it were madness to remain here. Let me call our followers +together, and we will charge back through the foe to our own lines. +It is not safe to be here."</p> +<p>Edward made no reply. The face that had been flushed with +victory and bright with hope was now set in those stern lines which +seem to speak of a forlorn hope. He saw their peril as clearly as +Paul; but if the day were lost, what mattered it if his life were +yet whole in him? The face he silently turned upon his companion +seemed to have grown years older whilst he had been speaking.</p> +<p>And to make matters worse, the knowledge of the disaster to +their own side spread to the soldiers who had followed the prince, +and that instant demoralization which so often accompanies and +aggravates defeat seized upon the men. They flung away their +heavier arms, and with a shout of "Treason, treason!"--for they +were assured there had been foul play somewhere--fled each man by +himself, without a thought for aught save his own life.</p> +<p>Paul and the prince thus found themselves alone in the midst of +a hostile host--alone save for the presence of some half-dozen +stout troopers attached to the service of Paul, who since his +advance in worldly prosperity had been in a position to engage and +retain the services of some men-at-arms of his own. These faithful +fellows, who had learned to love their young master, sat doggedly +in their saddles, prepared to sell their lives dear, and to carry +off if possible their master and the prince living from the field. +But they, too, realized how desperate was the situation; and the +threatening and triumphant glances of their enemies, who now began +to close up round them, showed that others had realized that the +battle was already won by the Yorkist faction.</p> +<p>"King Edward, King Edward!" shouted the fierce soldiers as they +grasped their weapons anew. "Down with the Red Rose! Down with all +false princes! Down with the traitors who would disturb the peace +of the land! King Edward, King Edward!"</p> +<p>The prince looked at Paul, and Paul looked at the prince. The +same thought was in the minds of both.</p> +<p>"We will at least sell our lives dear," said young Edward in low +tones. "My trusty comrade, your loyalty to the Red Rose has been +but a sorry thing for you. I would I could have rewarded you with +such honours as a prince has to give; but--"</p> +<p>"It is honour enough for me, my liege, to die at your side--to +die, if it may be, in saving your life," said Paul. "Talk not so, I +beseech you. The happiness of my life has been in calling myself +your servant. It will be a happy death that is died at your +side."</p> +<p>"Not servant--comrade, friend, brother," said Ed ward, holding +out his hand once again, with a look that Paul never forgot. "No +more, Paul. I must play the man; and such words go deep, and bring +the tears to mine eyes. Paul, there are strange chances in battle, +and it may be that you will live through it, and that I may be +slain: If such be so, tell my mother and my wife (for she is that +to me, as I am her husband in love) that I died as a prince of the +House of Plantagenet should do--sword in hand and face to the foe. +Tell my mother that such a death is better than an inglorious life +of exile, and bid her not weep for me. There is yet another world +than this in which we shall meet, where the strife of war is not +heard and the malice of foes pursues us not. Let her look forward +to our meeting there. It were a better prospect, in all truth, than +an earthly crown, which methinks sits heavy on the head of him that +wears it."</p> +<p>Paul said nothing, for he could not trust himself to speak, and +indeed the brief respite was at an end. With loud and threatening +cries the foe was closing round the devoted little band, and from +the other side of the field he could see that a knot of horsemen +were galloping in their direction, as though they had got some news +of the presence of the prince.</p> +<p>Wounded as he was, and spent from having borne the brunt of that +first gallant charge, Paul yet set his teeth and nerved himself for +a last desperate rally. If they could cut their way through the +ranks of the foes and gain the town, they might be safe at least +for the moment; and that was the object of himself and his +servants. Placing the reluctant prince in the midst, so as if +possible to save at least him from steel or lead, the gallant +little band with axes and pikes commenced hewing its way through +the living wall which surrounded it. And so gallantly did the good +steeds respond to the urging of their riders, and so fierce were +the blows that rained down upon the heads of the footmen who barred +their passage, that for a moment it seemed as if they would yet win +their way back, and gain the protection of such of their comrades +as had not shared in the general rout.</p> +<p>But alas! though the footmen gave way before them, the mounted +soldiers, who were speeding across the field, saw at once the line +they were taking, and galloped headlong to intercept them. Paul, in +the fury of his hot young blood, dashed forward alone, and fell +upon the foremost with so fierce a blow that his axe was wedged in +the head-piece of his opponent, so that he was unable to draw it +out. The man reeled in his saddle and fell, almost dragging Paul, +who still had hold of the axe, with him; and before he could +recover himself or draw his sword, he was set upon by half a score +mounted riders.</p> +<p>For one moment he was aware of merciless blows raining down upon +him, battering him to the earth; he felt suffocated, crushed, more +utterly helpless and powerless than he had ever done in his life +before. Quick thrills of pain were running through him, stars +danced before his eyes; and through all this confusion and distress +he was yet aware of some terrible danger menacing the +prince--danger from which he had sworn to save him at the risk of +his own life. He struggled fiercely and blindly with the foes who +seemed to be above and about him, knocking the wind from his body, +and holding his throat in an iron clasp. Consciousness was fast +deserting him. The dancing stars had disappeared, leaving the +blackest darkness behind them. He made one frantic effort to break +the chain which seemed to be grinding his very life out of him, and +then followed a space of blankness that must surely have been like +death itself.</p> +<p>It might have been minutes, hours, days, or even years before +Paul opened his eyes to the light of day once more, for all +consciousness he had of the flight of time; but when he did so it +was to meet the solicitous glance of a pair of friendly eyes, and +to feel himself supported by strong arms, whilst some potent spirit +was held to his lips, which, when he had drunk of it, seemed to +drive away the mists and give him back his senses again.</p> +<p>He looked round him, and found himself lying upon a bloody +field, dead and wounded strewn about him. He was upheld by the arm +of one of his own stout servants; and no one else save a few +wounded men or dead corpses was near. In a flash it all came +back--the fight, the supposed victory, the disastrous defeat; and +he groaned aloud, and struggled to regain his feet.</p> +<p>"The prince!" he cried, in tones sharpened by physical and +mental anguish, "the prince!--where is he?"</p> +<p>"He is a prisoner; but he is unhurt. A gallant knight took him. +His name, I learned from one of his men-at-arms, is Sir Richard +Crofts; and he called out to his men, after you were down, that he +would have no hurt done to the prince. He was to be taken prisoner +and brought to the king--so he called him; and he had given out by +proclamation that whoever brought to him the prince, alive or dead, +should have a hundred pounds a year; and that the life of the +prince should be spared. This I learned from the man-at-arms who +stayed behind with me a while, to bind up a wound you had given +him, and to help me to unlace your helmet, which was going nigh to +choke you as you lay.</p> +<p>"Fear not for the prince, good master. His life is safe; and +doubtless his noble aspect will win him favour with him they now +call king.</p> +<p>"Nay, why do you struggle with me? you can scarce stand yet. +Whither would you go? Let me catch some riderless steed and carry +you to the town. Methinks the leaders have taken sanctuary with the +queen in the church. You had better join them there."</p> +<p>"Ay, get me a horse," said Paul, with faint but vehement +command; and he leaned heavily upon his sword as his servant +departed to do his bidding.</p> +<p>Battered, sore wounded as he felt himself to be, instinct told +him that he could act now as it would be impossible to do later, +when his wounds began to stiffen and his muscles to refuse to obey +his will. No bones were broken. He could still keep his feet and +use his arms; and when the faithful servant brought up a horse and +helped his master to mount, Paul felt that giddy and weak and +suffering as he was, he could yet make shift to ride as far as it +would be needful to do. The royal pennon floating over a certain +tent not so very far away told him that his goal might yet be +reached before his strength deserted him. The fiery spirit of which +he again partook gave him temporary power. He scarce knew what he +wished to do, save that he must stand beside his prince when he was +brought to Edward's presence, and if harm befell him there, share +it with him, as he had shared his peril that fatal day.</p> +<p>"Save yourself, good Adam," he said to his servant when he was +once mounted; "I am going to follow the prince. But come not near +the enemy's lines yourself, lest mischief befall you."</p> +<p>And before the astonished servant could speak a word of +remonstrance, Paul had set spurs to his horse and had galloped off +in the direction of the enemy's camp.</p> +<p>Within the lines there was the confusion incident to a battle, +and no one heeded the battered rider, who, his helmet left behind +and his mail dinted and disfigured by the hard blows it had +received, had nothing about him to show to which army he belonged. +Soldiers were leaning on their swords and eagerly discussing the +fortunes of the day; and round and about Edward's royal tent a +dense crowd had gathered, out of curiosity, it was said--and Paul +heard the words--to see what manner of reception would be met at +the monarch's hands by the youthful Edward, called "Prince," who +had been brought into the lines by Sir Richard Crofts.</p> +<p>The proclamation respecting him was widely known throughout the +camp, and it was said on all hands that the life of the prince +would be safe; but whether he would share his father's captivity or +be banished the kingdom with his French mother were points no one +could answer.</p> +<p>And Paul rode silently and swiftly by, glad that no one heeded +him or challenged him to give an account of himself.</p> +<p>Dismounting at last as he reached the outskirts of the crowd, +and turning his horse loose to find its own master if it could, +Paul was about to push his way into the eager knot of spectators, +when a hand was laid upon his arm; and turning suddenly, he found +himself confronted by a delicate page boy, whose white face and +dilated eyes seemed to bespeak the extreme of emotion and distress. +Before he had time to speak or to ask a question, the page +addressed him; and as soon as the voice smote upon his ears Paul +started and turned even paler than he had been; for he had heard +those musical tones before, and in the fair page before him he +recognized, to his horror and dismay, the gentle Lady Anne--young +Edward's bride--here, alone and unprotected, in the heart of the +foe's camp.</p> +<p>She saw that she was recognized, and laid her hand upon her lips +in token of silence. Paul choked back the words that were upon his +tongue, and looked at her in mute amaze.</p> +<p>"I could not keep away," she whispered, "when they told me all +was lost and he had not returned. It was the only way. No one has +heeded me in the tumult and strife. I heard all. I heard he was +prisoner--that he was to be brought before Edward of York. Paul, I +knew that you would be near him. I knew, if living, I should find +you. See, they heed us not. They care not whether we be friends or +foes. Take me through the crowd; take me to him. I am safe with +you. Let us all die together."</p> +<p>Paul, utterly bewildered and astonished by this extraordinary +meeting, could only obey in silence. It was all like some hideous, +oppressive dream. Little by little he and his companion made their +way through the throng until they reached the line of armed +sentries who kept their stations outside the royal tent. Here they +would have had to pause, had not Paul made a step forward and said +boldly:</p> +<p>"I am the servant squire of the prisoner, and I claim the right +to stand at his side and share his fate, whatever it may be. Let me +and this lad, I pray you, go to him. We desire nothing better than +to lay down our lives with him."</p> +<p>The sentries eyed the pair doubtfully. Their unarmed condition +and Paul's visibly battered state told that these were no dangerous +conspirators; and devotion to a lost cause always stirs the +generous feelings of brave men. It may, however, be doubted whether +the pair would have gained their wish had it not been for the fact +that at this moment Edward himself appeared, disarmed, but +otherwise treated with due honour and courtesy, attended by his +captor, who was leading him to the king's tent in obedience to a +summons just received.</p> +<p>The moment that she saw her betrothed husband, no power on earth +would have been strong enough to hold back the fair-faced page, +under whose boyish dress a faithful woman's heart was beating. The +disguised maiden sprang forward and sank at the feet of her +supposed master, seizing his hand and covering it with kisses as +she tenderly murmured his name.</p> +<p>Edward instantly recognized her--Paul saw that at once; but the +shock of the discovery steadied his nerves, as he realized the +peril in which she had placed herself, and he looked round for one +who might save her when he himself might be powerless to do so. It +was at that moment--as the crowd stood speechless, touched and +perplexed by the little scene, and reluctant to rough-handle so +fair a boy, and one whose devotion was so bravely displayed--that +Paul took occasion to step forward and present himself before +Edward.</p> +<p>A look of relief instantly crossed the prince's face.</p> +<p>"I might have known that you would have been here--ever nearest +in the hour of deadliest peril. Paul, whatever befalls me, take +care of <i>him</i>." Low as the words were spoken, the prince dared +not use the other pronoun. "Keep him safe. Take him to my mother; +she will protect him from the menaced peril."</p> +<p>"I will, my liege, I will," said Paul; and it was he who raised +the form of the trembling page, and together the three were pushed +not ungently into the royal presence--Sir Richard being a man of +kindly nature, and having been touched by the devotion evinced by +these two youths (as he supposed them) in braving the dangers of +the camp in order to be with their prince when he was called upon +to answer for his life before the offended monarch.</p> +<p>Edward was standing in his tent, surrounded by his nobles, +brothers, and his wife's kinsmen, as the young Plantagenet prince +was brought before him. Perhaps England hardly possessed a finer +man than its present king, who was taller by the head than almost +any of those who stood round him, his dress of mail adding to the +dignity of his mien, and his handsome but deeply-lined features, +now set in stern displeasure, showing at once the indications of an +unusual beauty and a proud and relentless nature.</p> +<p>The youthful Edward was brought a few paces forward by the +attendants; whilst Paul stood in the background, longing to be +beside his prince, but obliged to support the trembling form of +Anne, who had been his liege's last charge to him.</p> +<p>"Is this the stripling they falsely call the Prince of Wales?" +quoth Edward, stepping one pace nearer and regarding the noble lad +with haughty displeasure. "How dost thou dare to come thus +presumptuously to my realms with banners displayed against me?"</p> +<p>"To recover my father's kingdom and mine own inheritance," was +the bold but unhesitating answer of the kingly youth, who, fettered +and prisoner as he was, had all the fearless Plantagenet blood +running in his veins.</p> +<p>The eagle eye of Edward flashed ominously, and making one more +step toward his unarmed prisoner, he struck him in the face with +his iron gauntlet. In a moment a dozen swords flashed from their +scabbards. It seemed as if the bloodthirsty nobles awaited but this +signal for the ruthless attack upon the deposed monarch's son which +has left so dark a stain upon one page of history.</p> +<p>Paul, all unarmed as he was, would have sprung forward to die +with his prince, but was impeded by the senseless burden now lying +a dead weight in his arms. At the king's blow the page had uttered +a faint cry; and as the first of those murderous weapons were +plunged in the breast of her youthful lover, she fell to the earth +like a stone, or would have done, but that Paul flung his arm about +her, and she lay senseless on his breast.</p> +<p>For one awful moment the blackness returned upon him and +swallowed him up, and he knew not what terrible thing had happened; +but when a loud voice proclaimed the fact that the prince had +ceased to live, a wild fury fell upon Paul, and he started to his +feet to revenge that death by plunging his dagger into the breast +of the haughty monarch as he stood there, calm and smiling, in his +terrible wrath and power.</p> +<p>Had Paul attempted to carry out this wild act, a fateful murder +would have been enacted in the tent that day; but even as he +released himself from the clinging clasp of Anne's unconscious +arms, there came to him the memory of those last words spoken by +his beloved prince. The young bride must be his first care. She +must be carried to safe sanctuary; that done, he would stand forth +to revenge his lord's death. But the prince's charge must be +fulfilled.</p> +<p>Lifting the unconscious form in his arms, he walked unchallenged +from the tent. The deed now done sent a thrill of horror through +the camp, and men looked into each other's eyes, and were ashamed +that they had stood by to see it.</p> +<p>Not an attempt was made to oppose the passage of the faithful +attendant, who carried in his arms the page boy, who had stood by +his master to the last. Room was made for them to pass through the +crowd; and staggering blindly along, Paul reached a spot where, to +his astonishment and relief, his own servant was waiting for him +with a horse ready caparisoned.</p> +<p>"To the church, to the church," he whispered as Paul mounted +mechanically, holding his still unconscious burden in his arms.</p> +<p>And he made a mute sign of assent; for he knew that within the +walls of the church he should find the wretched Margaret, who would +have taken sanctuary there at first tidings of defeat.</p> +<p>Silently, and as in a dream, the horsemen passed along, and at +last drew rein at the door of the little church, where stood a +priest with the Host in his hand, ready, if need be, to stand +betwixt the helpless victims of the battle and their fierce +pursuers.</p> +<p>He knew Paul's face, he recognized that of the inanimate form he +carried in his arms, and he made way for him to pass with a mute +sign of blessing.</p> +<p>Paul passed in. There beside the altar he saw the queen, bowed +down by the magnitude of her woe, for she had just heard the first +rumour of that terrible tragedy.</p> +<p>As he approached someone spoke to her, and she turned, rose, and +came swiftly forward.</p> +<p>"Paul," she said, "Paul--tell me--is it true?"</p> +<p>Paul looked at her with dim eyes.</p> +<p>"I have brought you his wife," he said. "It was his last charge. +Now I am going back. They have killed him; let them kill me, +too."</p> +<p>He placed his helpless burden in the queen's arms, turned, and +made a few uncertain steps, and then fell down helplessly. He had +fulfilled his life's purpose in living for the prince; but it was +not given to him to die uselessly for him, too.</p> +<h2><a name="Ch10" id="Ch10">Chapter 10</a>: The Prince +Avenged.</h2> +<p>Paul Stukely lived to see the foul crime that stained the +victor's laurels on the field of Tewkesbury amply avenged upon the +House of York in the days that quickly followed.</p> +<p>He himself was carried away by his faithful men-at-arms, who saw +that their cause was finally lost; and when, many weeks later, the +raging fever which held him in its grasp abated, and he knew once +more the faces of those about him, and could ask what had befallen +him, he found that he had been carried away to his own small manor, +bestowed upon him by the great Earl of Warwick--which manor, +perhaps from its very obscurity and his own, was left quietly in +his hands; for its late owner had fallen upon the field of +Tewkesbury, and no claim was ever made which disturbed Paul from +peaceful possession.</p> +<p>When he recovered his senses it was to hear that not only the +prince was dead, but his royal father also; that the queen, as +Margaret was still called by him, had returned to France; and that +the cause of the Red Rose was hopelessly extinguished. So Paul, +with the hopefulness which is the prerogative of youth, recovered +by degrees from the depression of spirit that the memory of the +tragedy of Tewkesbury cast over him, and learned by degrees to take +a healthy interest in his little domain, which he ruled wisely and +kindly, without meddling in public matters, or taking part in the +burning questions of the day. To him Edward always was and always +must be a cruel tyrant and usurper; but as none but princes of the +House of York were left to claim the succession to the crown, there +could be no possible object in any renewal of strife.</p> +<p>Paul, in his quiet west-country home, watched the progress of +events, and saw in the tragedies which successively befell the +scions of the House of York the vengeance of Heaven for the foul +murder of the young Lancastrian prince.</p> +<p>The Duke of Clarence, who had been one of the first to strike +him, fell a victim to the displeasure of the king, his brother, and +was secretly put to death in the Tower. Although Edward himself +died a natural death, it was said that vexation at the failure of +some of his most treasured schemes for the advancement of his +children cut him off in the flower of his age. And a darker fate +befell his own young sons than he had inflicted upon the son of the +rival monarch: for Edward of Lancaster had died a soldier's death, +openly slain by the sword in the light of day; whilst the +murderer's children were done to death between the stone walls of a +prison, and for years their fate was shrouded in terrible +mystery.</p> +<p>The next death in that ill-omened race was that of King +Richard's own son, in the tenth year of his age. As Duke of +Gloucester, he had stood by to see the death of young Edward, even +if his hand had not been raised to strike him. He had then forced +into reluctant wedlock with himself the betrothed bride of the +murdered prince--the unhappy Lady Anne. He had murdered his +brother's children to raise himself to the throne, and had +committed many other crimes to maintain himself thereon; and his +own son--another Edward, Prince of Wales--was doomed to meet a +sudden death, called by the chroniclers of the time "unhappy," as +though some strange or painful circumstance attached to it, in the +absence of both his parents: and lastly, the lonely monarch, +wifeless and childless, was called upon to reap the fruits of the +bitter hostility and distrust which his cruel and arbitrary rule +had awakened in the breasts of his own nobles and of his subjects +in general.</p> +<p>Paul Stukely, now a married man with children of his own growing +up about him, watched with intense interest the course of public +events; and when Henry of Richmond--a lineal descendant of Edward +the Third by his son John of Gaunt--landed for the second time to +head the insurrection against the bloody tyrant, Sir Paul Stukely +and a gallant little following marched amongst the first to join +his standard, and upon the bloody field of Bosworth, Paul felt that +he saw revenged to the full the tragedy of Tewkesbury.</p> +<p>He was there, close beside Henry Tudor, when the last frantic +charge of the wretched monarch in his despair was made, and when +Richard, after unhorsing many amongst Henry's personal attendants +in order to come to a hand-to-hand combat with his foe, witnessed +the secession from his ranks of Sir William Stanley, and fell, +crying "Treason, treason!" with his last breath. He who had +obtained his crown by treachery, cruelty, and treason of the +blackest kind, was destined to fall a victim to the treachery of +others. As Paul saw the mangled corpse flung across a horse's back +and carried ignominiously from the field, he felt that the God of +heaven did indeed look down and visit with His vengeance those who +had set at nought His laws, and that in the miserable death of this +last son of the House of York the cause of the Red Rose was amply +avenged.</p> +<p>A few years later, in the bright summertide, when the politic +rule of Henry the Seventh was causing the exhausted country to +recover from the ravages of the long civil war, Sir Paul Stukely +and his two sons, fine, handsome lads of ten and twelve years old, +were making a little journey (as we should now call it, though it +seemed a long one to the excited and delighted boys) from his +pleasant manor near St. Albans through a part of the county of +Essex.</p> +<p>Paul had prospered during these past years. The king had +rewarded his early fealty by a grant of lands and a fine manor near +to St. Albans, whither he had removed his wife and family, so as to +be within easy reach of them at such times as he was summoned by +the king to Westminster. The atmosphere of home was dearer to him +than that of courts, and he was no longer away from his own house +than his duty to his king obliged him to be. But he had been much +engaged by public duties of late, and the holiday he had promised +himself had been long in coming. It had been a promise of some +standing to his two elder sons, Edward and Paul, that he would take +them some day to visit the spots which he talked of when they +climbed upon his knee after his day's work was done to beg for the +story of "the little prince," as they still called him. Paul +himself was eager again to visit those familiar haunts, and see if +any of those who had befriended the homeless wanderer were living +still, and would recognize the bronzed and prosperous knight of +today.</p> +<p>And now they were entering a familiar tract; and the father told +his boys to keep their eyes well open, for the village of Much +Waltham could not be far off and every pathway in this part of the +forest had been traversed by him and the prince in the days that +had gone by.</p> +<p>"I hear the sound of hammering," cried the younger Paul in great +excitement soon. "O father, we must be getting very near! It is +like a smith's forge. I am sure it must be Will Ives or his father. +Oh, do let us ride on quickly and see!"</p> +<p>The riders pressed onward through the widening forest path, and, +sure enough, found themselves quickly in the little clearing which +surrounded the village of Much Waltham. How well the elder Paul +remembered it all! the village church, the smithy, and the low +thatched cottages, the small gardens, now brighter than he had seen +them in the dreary winter months; the whole place wearing an air of +increased comfort and prosperity.</p> +<p>The flame within the forge burned cheerily, and revealed an +active figure within, hard at work over some glowing metal, which +emitted showers of brilliant sparks. Sir Paul rode forward and +paused at the door with a smile of recognition on his face. The +smith came forward to see if the traveller required any service of +him, but was somewhat taken aback by the greeting he received.</p> +<p>"Well, worthy Will Ives, time has dealt more kindly with you +than with me, I trow. You are scarce a whit changed from the day, +seventeen years back come November, when I first stopped in sorry +plight at this forge, with your pretty wife as my companion, to get +your assistance as far as Figeon's Farm. Why, and here is Mistress +Joan herself; and I warrant that that fine lad is the son of both +of you.</p> +<p>"Good Even to you, fair mistress!--Last time we met we scarce +thought that so many years would roll by before I should pay these +parts a visit. But fortune's wheel has many strange turns, and I +have been dwelling in regions far remote from here. But these lads +of mine have given me no peace until I should bring them on a visit +to Much Waltham and Figeon's Farm. I trust that I shall find all +the dwellers there hale and hearty as of yore, and that death has +passed this peaceful place by, whilst he has been so busy +elsewhere."</p> +<p>Great was the excitement of the place when it was realized by +the inhabitants that this fine knight, who rode with half-a-dozen +men-at-arms in his company, and two beautiful boys at his side, was +none other than the Paul Stukely that the men and women of the +place remembered, and the children spoke of as of the hero of some +romance dear to their hearts. The news flew like wildfire through +the village, and old and young came flocking out to see, till the +knight was the centre of quite a little crowd, and the excited and +delighted boys were hearing the familiar story again and again from +the lips of these friendly strangers.</p> +<p>When at length the little cavalcade moved up the gentle slope +toward Figeon's Farm, quite a large bodyguard accompanied it. Joan +herself walked proudly beside the knight, who had given his horse +in charge to his servant, and was on foot as he trod the familiar +track; and she was listening with flushing and paling cheek to the +tale of Tewkesbury, whilst the boys were asking questions of +everybody in the little crowd, and eagerly pushing on ahead to get +the first sight of the farm that had twice sheltered their father +in the hour of his need.</p> +<p>The old people were living yet, though infirm and feeble, and +more disposed to spend the day in the armchairs, beside the blazing +fire in the inglenook, than to stir abroad or carry on any active +occupation at home. Jack Devenish and his wife, Eva, managed the +house and farm, and brought up their sturdy and numerous family so +as to be a credit to the old name. It was Jack himself who came +hurrying out to meet his guests--a rumour of their approach having +gone on before--whilst his smiling wife stood in the door way to +welcome in the bronzed knight, whom once she had rescued from such +pitiful plight and from deadly danger.</p> +<p>What a welcome it was that they got from all at Figeon's Farm! +and how delightful to the boys to run all over the house--to see +the room in which their father had slept, the window from which he +had flung the robber who had come to carry away Mistress Joan, and +the little sliding panel behind which the recess lay that had been +so luckily emptied of its treasure before the search party +came!</p> +<p>Then, on the next day, there was the Priory to visit, and +Brother Lawrence to claim acquaintance with, and a long ride +through the forest to be made to visit the cave at Black Notley, +where Paul had once been dragged a prisoner, and had been so +roughly handled by the robbers. The days were full of excitement +and pleasure to the two lads, and scarcely less so to Paul himself, +save for the faint flavour of melancholy which could not but at +times assail him in recalling the episode of his romantic +friendship with Edward, Prince of Wales.</p> +<p>And when they returned home at last to tell their adventures to +wife and mother, they left behind them in Much Waltham many +substantial proofs of the gratitude the Stukelys must ever feel for +the protection accorded by its inhabitants in past days to the head +of the house; and round the firesides in cottage and farm there was +for many long years no more favourite story told by the old folks +to the eager children than the tale of adventure, peril, and +devotion in the days of the Wars of the Roses, which went by the +name, in that place, of "The Story of Paul and the Prince."</p> +<p> </p> +<h2><a name="Notes" id="Notes">Notes</a>.</h2> +<p><a name="note1" href="#glyph1" id="note1">{1}</a> Lichfield had +the right in these days of calling itself a county.</p> + +<p> </p> +<hr /> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE WARS OF THE ROSES***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 15769-h.txt or 15769-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/7/6/15769">https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/7/6/15769</a></p> +<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p>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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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 Wars of the Roses + A Story for the Young + + +Author: Evelyn Everett-Green + +Release Date: May 5, 2005 [eBook #15769] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE WARS OF THE ROSES*** + + +E-text prepared by Martin Robb + + + +IN THE WARS OF THE ROSES + +A Story for the Young + +by + +Everett Evelyn-Green. + +1901 + + + + + + + +CONTENTS + +Prologue. +Chapter 1: A Brush with the Robbers. +Chapter 2: A Hospitable Shelter. +Chapter 3: A Strange Encounter. +Chapter 4: Paul's Kinsman. +Chapter 5: In Peril. +Chapter 6: In The Hands of the Robbers. +Chapter 7: The Protection of the Protected. +Chapter 8: The Rally of the Red Rose. +Chapter 9: The Tragedy of Tewkesbury. +Chapter 10: The Prince Avenged. +Notes. + + + + +Prologue. + + +"Mother, will the little prince be there?" + +"Yes, my son. He never leaves his mother's side. You will see them +all today, if fortune favours us--the good King Henry, his noble +queen, to whom he owes so much, and the little prince likewise. We +will to horse anon, that we may gain a good view of the procession +as it passes. The royal party lodges this night at our good +bishop's palace. Perchance they will linger over the Sunday, and +hear mass in our fair cathedral, Our loyal folks of Lichfield are +burning to show their love by a goodly show of welcome; and it is +said that his majesty takes pleasure in silvan sports and such-like +simple pleasures, many preparations for the which have been +prepared for him to witness." + +"O mother, I know. Ralph and Godfrey have been practising +themselves this many a day in tilting and wrestling, and in the use +of the longbow and quarterstaff, that they may hold their own in +the sports on the green before the palace, which they say the king +will deign to watch. + +"O mother; why am I not as old and as strong as they? I asked Ralph +to let me shoot with his bow; but he only laughed at me, and bade +me wait till I was as tall and as strong as he. It is very hard to +be the youngest--and so much the youngest, too." + +The mother smiled as she passed her hand over the floating curls of +the gallant boy beside her; He was indeed a child of whom any +mother might be proud: beautiful, straight-limbed, active, and +fearless, his blue eyes glowing and shining, his cheek flushed with +excitement, every look and gesture seeming to speak of the bold +soldier spirit that burned within. + +And these were times when it appeared indeed as if England's sons +had need of all the warlike instincts of their race. Party faction +had well-nigh overthrown ere this the throne--and the authority of +the meek King Henry, albeit the haughty Duke of York had set forth +no claim for the crown, which his son but two short years later +both claimed and won. But strife and jealousy and evil purposes +were at work in men's minds. The lust of power and of supremacy had +begun to pave the way for the civil war which was soon to devastate +the land. The sword had already been drawn at St. Albans, and the +hearts of many men were full of foreboding as they thought upon the +perilous times in which they lived; though others were ready to +welcome the strife which promised plunder and glory and fame to +those who should distinguish themselves by prowess in field or +counsel in the closet. + +The gentle Lady Stukely, however, was not one of these. Her heart +sank sometimes when she heard the talk of her bold husband and +warlike sons. They had all three of them fought for the king at the +first battle, or rather skirmish, at St. Albans four years before, +and were ardent followers and adherents of the Red Rose of +Lancaster. Her husband had received knighthood at the monarch's +hands on the eve of the battle, and was prepared to lay down his +life in the cause if it should become necessary to do so. + +But if rumours of strife to come, and terrible pictures of +bloodshed, sometimes made her gentle spirit quail, she had always +one consolation in the thought that her youngest child, her little +Paul, would not be torn from her side to follow the bloody trail of +war. Her two first-born sons, the younger of whom was twenty-two, +had long been very finished young gallants, trained to every +military enterprise, and eager to unsheathe their swords whenever +rumour told of slight to King Henry or his haughty queen from the +proud Protector, who for a time had held the reins of government, +though exercising his powers in the name of the afflicted king. + +But Paul was still a child, not yet quite eight years old; and of +the five fair children born to her between him and his brothers, +not one had lived to complete his or her third year, so that the +mother's heart twined itself the more firmly about this last brave +boy, and in the frequent absences of husband and sons upon matters +of business or pleasure, the companionship between the pair was +almost unbroken, and they loved each other with a devotion that may +easily be understood. Paul felt no awe of his gentle mother, but +rather looked upon himself as her champion and defender in his +father's absence. It was no new thing for him to long for manhood +and its privileges; for would not these make him all the stouter +protector to his mother? + +But she was wont when he spoke such words to check him by gentle +counsel and motherly sympathy, and now she took his hand in hers +and patted it smilingly as she replied: + +"Ah, my little Paul, time flies fast, and you will be a man before +very long now; but be content for these next days to be yet a +child. Perchance the little prince will pay more heed to such as +are of his age. + +"You may chance to win a smile from him, even if the nobles and +gentlemen regard not children." + +Paul's face brightened instantly. + +"O mother, yes; I had not thought of that. But I do so long to see +the little prince. Oh, if he were to notice me--to speak to me--how +happy I should be! We were born on the same day, were we not, dear +mother--on the thirteenth of October? But I am older, am I not?" + +"Yes, my child; by two years. You will be eight upon your next +birthday, and he six. But I hear he is such a forward, kingly, +noble child, that both in appearance and discretion he is far in +advance of his actual age. Those who are brought up with royalty +early learn the lessons which to others come but with advancing +years." + +"I love the little prince, our good king's son," cried Paul with +kindling eyes; "I would that I had been called Edward, too. Mother, +why was I not given his name, as I was born on his day, and that of +the good St. Edward too?" + +The mother fondly caressed the golden curls of the beautiful child +as she answered: + +"Ah, my son, we knew not till long afterward that our gracious +queen had borne a little son on thy natal day. Paul is a name which +many of our race have borne before, and so we called our child by +it. It is the man that makes the name, not the name the man." + +"I know that, mother; yet I would fain have borne the name of the +little prince. But hark! I hear the sounds of the horses' feet. +They are bringing them round to the door. Sweet mother, lose no +time. Let us mount and depart. I would fain have been in the +gallant band of gentlemen who rode out this morning at dawn to +welcome and escort the king and queen; as my father and brothers +were. But let us not delay. I should be sorely grieved were we to +miss seeing the entry into the city." + +Lady Stukely smiled at the impatience of the child, knowing well +that many hours must elapse before the royal party would reach the +city walls; but she was willing to gratify the ardent desires of +her little son, and as she was already dressed for the saddle, she +rose and took him by the hand and led him out to the courtyard, +where some half dozen of the good knight's retainers were awaiting +their lady and her son. + +Stukely Hall was no very large or pretentious place, but it was +built in that quadrangular form so common to that age, and +accommodated within its walls the dependents and retainers that +every man of rank had about him under the old feudal system, which +obliged him to bring to his lord's service on demand a certain +following of armed and trained soldiers. + +In those days, when every article of common consumption was made at +home, the household of even a knight or gentleman of no great +wealth or note was no inconsiderable matter, and even the field +labourers almost always dwelt within the walls of their lord's +house, eating his bread, and growing old in his service as a matter +of course, without thinking of such a thing as change. + +So that although the greater part of the retainers had ridden off +at dawn with the knight and his sons, there were still a good +half-dozen stout fellows ready to escort their lady to the town; +and besides these were many menials of lower grade standing about +to see the start. Little Paul, who had grown up amongst them, ran +from one to the other, telling them excitedly how he was going to +see the prince that day, and eagerly accepting from the hands of +his old nurse a beautiful bunch of red roses which she had gathered +that morning, in the hope that her darling might have the chance to +offer them to queen or prince. + +Mother and son each wore the red rose broidered upon their state +robes, and the boy had stuck the crimson blossom in his velvet cap. +He was a perfect little picture in his white velvet tunic sloshed +with rose colour, his white cloth hosen laced with gold from ankle +to thigh, a short cloak flowing jauntily from his shoulders, and +his bright golden curls flowing from beneath the crimson and white +cap. + +No wonder that his stately mother regarded him with looks of fond +pride, or that his old nurse breathed a benediction on his pretty +head, and invoked the saints and the blessed Virgin on his behalf. +They little knew that the gallant child was riding forth to an +encounter which would be fraught for him with strange results; and +that the long-hoped-for meeting with the little prince would be the +first step in one of those passionate attachments which almost +always cost the owner of them dear. + +The sun shone hot and bright as the little cavalcade set forth from +the courtyard. The month was that of July, and merry England was +looking its best. The fair landscape lying before the eyes of the +riders seemed to breathe nothing but peace and plenty; and it was +hard to think that the desolating hand of war might, before many +years had passed, be working havoc and ruin over a land so smiling +and happy now. + +The rich valley in which the ancient city of Lichfield stands +looked peculiarly beautiful and fertile that day. Lady Stukely, +whilst replying to the eager talk of her excited little boy, could +not but gaze around her with admiration, familiar as the scene was +to her; and even the boy seemed struck, for he looked up and said: + +"I hope the little prince will be pleased with our town. He will +have seen many fine places on this progress, but I do think we +shall give him the best welcome of all. We all love him so." + +It seemed indeed as if the whole country had turned out to welcome +the royal guests; for as the riders drew near to the city walls, +they found themselves in the midst of a crowd of holiday folks, all +bent upon the same object--namely, to take up a good position for +witnessing the royal procession as it passed; and every few minutes +some joyous roisterer would raise a shout, "Long live the king!" +"Health to the queen!" "Down with the false friends--the House of +York!" which cries would be taken up by the multitude, and echoed +lustily along the road. + +And as the party from Stukely Hall rode up, way being made by the +crowd for persons of quality well known and beloved in those parts, +little Paul vented his excitement in a new cry of his own; for, +standing up in his stirrups and waving his cap in his hand, he +cried in his clear boyish tones: + +"Three cheers, good people, for the little prince! Three cheers for +Edward, Prince of Wales, our future king!" + +And this cheer was taken up with hearty goodwill by all the crowd; +partly for the sake of the cause ear to the hearts of these loyal +people, partly from admiration for the gallant child who had +started it; and Paul rode on with a flushed and happy face, looking +up to his mother and saying: + +"They all love the little prince. Oh how I wish he would come!" + +The captain of the little band of soldiers who guarded the gate by +which the royal procession was to enter, came forward doffing his +mailed head piece to greet the wife of the gallant Sir James, who +was a notable gentleman in those parts. By his courtesy the lady +and her child were allowed to take up a position so close to the +gate as would insure for them a most excellent view of the royal +party; whilst the humbler crowd was kept at a more discreet +distance by the good-humoured soldiers, who exercised their office +amid plenty of jesting and laughing, which showed that an excellent +understanding existed between them and their brethren of the soil. +The captain, as the hour for the entrance drew near, took up his +position beside the lady, and conversed with her in low tones. Paul +listened with all his ears the moment he discovered that the +soldier was talking about his beloved little prince. + +"I do not credit every idle tale I hear, or certes life would be +but a sorry thing for a soldier. But there is a queer rumour flying +about that some of the bold marauding fellows who follow the banner +of York, Salisbury, and Warwick have been following and hanging on +the trail of the royal party with a view to the capture--so it is +said--of the Prince of Wales, who, once in the hands of the rival +faction, would prove a hostage of no mean value. I can scarce +credit such a tale myself. Sure am I that it cannot have originated +in the mind of any of those noble earls, but must be the device of +some meaner churl, who hopes to gain a reward for his treachery. +Belike there is no truth whatever in it. Rumour is never idle, and +must have some food to satisfy its cravings. I credit not so wild a +tale, albeit I must be on the watch against all chances. + +"But hark! hear you not that sound in the distance? and methinks I +see on yonder height the glitter of the spearmen and the sheen of +an armed multitude. Ay, it is truly so. They come, they come! Why, +it is a goodly following our gallant knights and gentlemen have +furnished. Their gracious majesties will have no cause to grumble +at the loyalty of their trusty county of Lichfield {1}." + +Paul's breath went and came. The words of the captain had stirred +his heart, and now the actual approach of the royal family set +every pulse throbbing. Eagerly his eyes were fixed upon the +advancing column of gallant riders, the self-appointed bodyguard of +the king and queen--a bodyguard which, changing and shifting as the +royal party progressed through the kingdom, yet never deserted them +throughout the triumphal march, and did not a little to raise +within the breast of the queen that martial ardour which was to be +so severely tested in days to come. + +Nearer and yet more near came the gay procession; banners flying, +trumpets sounding, the joy bells from the town giving back gay +response. And now the mounted gentlemen--amongst whom Paul's quick +eyes have already discovered his father and brothers--wheel rapidly +aside to right and left, forming a sort of avenue to the gateway +through which the royal riders are to pass, to receive the loyal +welcome of the venerable prelate and the city dignitaries. + +Paul's breath comes and goes as the cheering in the crowd grows +vociferous. He grasps his bunch of roses firmly in his hands, his +cheeks glowing till they almost rival the damask bloom of the +flowers, his eyes fixed in all their eager brightness upon the +advancing band, which consists of the king and queen and prince and +their own immediate attendants. It is a moment never forgotten by +the boy in after life--the moment when first his glance fell upon +the royal child around whose history romance has woven so many a +tale; and it was with a start of peculiar surprises and a thrill of +emotion he could not have analyzed, that the boy beheld the little +prince of his dreams. For in those beautiful princely features, in +the alert graceful figure and the floating curls of gold, Paul +seemed to see his own lineaments reproduced, and gave one +bewildered glance toward his mother to see if perchance the same +thought struck her. + +And indeed it did; for the chance resemblance between the young +heir of the House of Lancaster and the son of an obscure +Staffordshire knight was so remarkable that none who saw the two +children could fail to be struck by it. Paul for a moment was +almost awed, feeling as if he had no right thus to have aped the +outward aspect of the little prince; but the next moment all else +was forgotten in the excitement of the moment and in the vigorous +cheering which greeted the close approach of royalty. + +The party moved slowly forward, returning the loyal salutations of +the crowd right graciously. The little prince was charming in his +friendly gestures, and Paul observed that to one and another of the +knights and gentlemen drawn up to do them honour he held out some +little token, which was received with every demonstration of +respect and gratification. + +His intense excitement caused the little Paul to push out somewhat +further than the line observed by the soldiers, and no one recalled +him to his place; and thus it was that when, as the cortege moved +forward, the Prince of Wales dropped the plumed hat with the white +ostrich feather, which he was raising in response to the +salutations showered upon him, it was Paul who had leaped to the +ground and caught up the costly headgear from beneath the very feet +of the king's horse, and, with glowing face and ardent gaze of +admiration and homage, had bent the knee to the princely child, and +restored the cap, whilst his bunch of roses was offered at the same +moment with an air of modest eagerness that touched all hearts. + +The little prince took both the cap and the flowers, thanking the +lad with friendly smiles; but when he saw how closely that bright +face resembled his own, and how those floating curls of shining +gold uncovered to the hot sunshine were but as the counterpart of +his, he too glanced at his mother, whose smiling face was bent with +a proud pleasure upon the pretty picture formed by the two +children, and he said in his clear, joyous tones: + +"Why, verily, this must be a brother or a cousin of mine own. Tell +me your name, good lad. Surely we must be akin." + +"Nay, gracious prince," answered Paul in low tones; "I am but the +son of a simple knight, who has ever been your royal father's loyal +servant. But I was born, like you, upon St. Edward's Day, and +perhaps our patron saint smiled kindly on us both." + +The boy was so excited he scarce knew what he said; but his words +seemed to please the little prince, who replied: + +"Nay, now, if you share the good offices of my patron saint, you +must wear my badge too, for love of me. See here, this little +silver swan, the device of my noble ancestor King Edward the Third, +it is now my badge, and you must wear it for my sake. Farewell for +the nonce; we shall meet again--I am sure of it--ere we say goodbye +to this pleasant city. I would I had a brother like you. But we +will meet anon. Farewell, and forget me not." + +The royal cavalcade was yet moving onward whilst these gracious +words of childish greeting were spoken. The next moment the +bewildered Paul was standing looking after the pretty child prince, +the silver swan he grasped tightly between his hands alone +convincing him that the whole encounter had not been a fair +fleeting dream. + +The great green meadow just without the walls of the city presented +an animated spectacle even to eyes accustomed to the gay and +party-coloured dresses of the Middle Ages, and to the hardy sports +of her bold sons. The whole town and countryside had assembled to +witness or bear a share in the merry silvan sports, instituted with +a view of amusing the royal guests, who had halted at Lichfield for +three nights in order that the pious monarch might hear mass on +Sunday at the cathedral; and the Saturday was given over to the +revels and pastimes at all times dear to the people, but more so +than ever when royalty deigned to be the witness of the feats of +skill and strength. And King Henry loved to watch the sports of his +subjects. His simple mind; that shrank from the intrigues of court +life, seemed to gather strength and health when removed from the +strife and turmoil of parties. His malady, which at times +completely incapacitated him from tasking part in the government, +was always liable to recur, and it was with a view of recuperating +his health, and calming his anxieties and fears for himself and +those he loved best, that the queen had decided upon this progress +through the loyal midland counties, and encouraged the people to +display their skill in manly sports before their king; for nothing +seemed more beneficial to him than the interest evoked by any +spectacles of this kind. + +And little Paul Stukely was an eager spectator of the encounters +and feats that were taking place before royalty that bright summer +day. Paul felt as if he were living and moving in a wonderful +dream. He kept pulling off his little velvet cap to make sure that +the silver swan--the prince's token--was still in its place; and +even when most interested in any contest going on upon the green, +his eyes would turn instinctively toward the fair child leaning +upon his father's knee, and eagerly watching the rustic revels. + +The royal guests were sumptuously lodged beneath a silken awning +under a mighty oak tree that gave a refreshing shade. A platform +had been erected for them beneath the awning, and chairs of state +set thereon. From this vantage ground they could watch everything +that went on, and reward the victors with words of praise, small +pieces of silver, or some fragment of lace or ribbon from the royal +apparel, as best suited the rank of the aspirant for honour; and +the kindly smiles and gracious words bestowed upon all who +approached increased each hour the popularity of the Lancastrian +cause and the devotion of the people to their king. + +But Paul had not, so far, ventured to present himself before the +platform where the little prince was standing. He had not forgotten +a single one of the kind words spoken by the youthful Edward +yesterday, but he was fearful of presuming upon the favour thus +shown him, and his very admiration for the princely child seemed to +hold him back. + +He knew that his father and brothers might rebuke him for +forwardness if he presumed to thrust himself into notice. Sir James +was one of those appointed to keep order upon the ground, and +withhold the rustics from incommoding in any way the royal +visitors; and the child knew that he would be the first to rebuke +his own son for putting himself unduly forward. As the youngest in +the house, Paul was accustomed to be held in small repute, and had +no desire to provoke a rebuff which might even reach the ears of +the little prince himself. + +So he contented himself by hanging about on the outskirts of the +crowd, casting many longing, lingering glances toward the group +beneath the giant oak, and at other times diverting himself by +watching the wrestlers, the mummers, or the archers, who in turn +came forward to try their skill and strength. The quarterstaff +contests were very exciting, and several broken heads were the +result of the hearty encounters with that formidable weapon. + +But Paul was familiar with most of the sports, and presently grew +weary of watching. It was hot, too, and there was not much shade to +be had in that big meadow; so he wandered a little apart, toward a +copse beside a small stream, on the opposite side of which a thick +forest rose stately and grand, and sitting down beside the merry +brook, he clasped his hands round his knees and sank into a +reverie. + +He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he did not notice the +light tread of approaching footsteps, and gave a great start when +he suddenly felt an arm flung caressingly about his neck. He sprang +to his feet with a cry of astonishment, and stood face to face with +the little prince. + +"You see I have found you," cried the child gleefully. "I saw you +several times in the crowd today, but you would not come near me. +Never mind; this is much better, for here we can talk, here we can +be friends. Are you aweary of their gay shows? So am I, in faith. +We have seen the same thing everywhere, and it is so good to be +alone sometimes. I love not to be always followed and watched. + +"See you that dim, dark wood? Let us e'en hide ourselves therein +for a short hour. My mother will miss me from her side anon, and +will send to seek me. I would not be found too easily. Come, let us +hide ourselves there, and you shall tell me all about yourself, and +we will play at being trusty friends and comrades. + +"It is dull work being always a prince. I would that we could +change parts for once. You shall be the prince and I will be the +bold knight's son, and your very faithful servant." + +"O my lord!" faltered Paul, almost overcome with excitement and +pleasure at this strange encounter. + +But the little prince stamped his foot and spoke with the air of a +regular little autocrat. + +"Nay, call me not that. Did I not say I would be nobody's lord for +the nonce? What is your name? Paul? Then I will be called Paul for +this next hour, and you shall be Edward. See, here is my jewelled +collar and the cap with the ostrich plume--the badge of the Prince +of Wales. Yes, put them on, put them on. Marry, I could think it +was my very self, but a short inch the taller. + +"Now, see, I take your cap instead; and now I am Paul, and you must +bid me follow you and attend you in your journey through the +forest. See, we will be fugitives, flying from the wicked Duke of +York, who would fain grasp at the king's power, but my mother will +not let him." + +For a moment the child's eyes flashed, and his clenched hands and +heaving breast showed that the spirit of Margaret of Anjou lived +again in her child; but pulling himself up short with a laugh, the +little prince added with a deferential bow, resuming his character +of subject, "But I crave your pardon, sweet prince, if I lose +control of myself in the thought of your wrongs. Lead on, noble +lord, and I follow. Let us seek safety in the dim aisles of yon +giant wood. Surely there is some ford or bridge nigh at hand which +will give us safe crossing without wetting ourselves." + +Children are children all the world over, and at any period of its +history. Childhood ever delights in romance and imaginative +situations and adventures; and before ten minutes had passed the +boys had completely entered into the spirit of their play. Paul, +shaking off the awe which had at first held him silent and abashed, +played the part of prince with an energy and zeal which evoked the +delight and admiration of his companion; whilst the younger boy was +amused to lay aside for the moment any pretence at royalty, and pay +his humble devoirs to his liege lord. + +Paul knew of some stepping stones which led across the stream into +the dark wood, and soon the boys were in what seemed to them the +heart of the great forest. The prince was delighted by all he saw. +The sense of freedom was enchanting, and his curiosity unbounded. +He had never in his life before enjoyed a game of play in so +unfettered a fashion with a comrade of nearly his own age; and soon +forgetting even their own game, the boys were walking with arms +twined round each other's neck, telling each other all that was in +their hearts, and exchanging vows of unalterable affection. + +"When I am grown to manhood, and am a belted knight with noble +gentlemen of mine own to attend me, you shall be my very first +esquire, Paul," said the prince emphatically; "and we will ride +through the world together, seeking adventures which shall make all +men wonder when they hear of them. And when I am king you shall be +my first counsellor and greatest lord. I will degrade from office +and dignity those proud nobles who have been traitors at heart to +my kingly father, and to you I will give their broad lands and high +titles. We will thus be comrades and friends through life. You +would never desert me, would you, Paul?" + +"I would lay down my life for your highness," cried Paul with +enthusiasm. "I will live and die true to the Red Rose--to the sign +of the silver swan." + +The little prince's eyes kindled. + +"I believe you would. I love you, Paul, and methinks that you would +love me too. I would that I could take you with me now to be my +friend and comrade through life; but perchance your lady mother +could ill spare you, by what you say. I know what a mother's love +is like." + +Paul's face was grave. For the first time in his life he was +confronted by the problem of a divided duty--that problem which +troubles us all more or less at some time in our history. + +"I would gladly go with your highness to the world's end," he said. +"I should love to live and die at your side; but I doubt me if it +would not be cruel to my mother. She sometimes tells me that her +life would be a lone one without me." + +"And you must stay with her," said the prince with decision; "at +least so long as you are a child. When you are a grown man it will +be different. Some day I will send for you, and you shall be my +first and best friend; but it cannot be now. My mother might not +approve my choice, and yours might not let you go. Princes as well +as other men have to wait for what they want"--and the child +sighed--"but some day our turn will come." + +Then they resumed their play, and the hoary wood resounded to the +merry shouts of the boys as they ran hither and thither in active +sport, till the little prince was fairly tired out, though, still +exulting in his escape from maternal vigilance, he stoutly +protested against going back. + +"See, good Paul," he said, "here is a right commodious hollow tree, +heaped with last year's dead leaves. I will rest awhile hidden away +here, where none will find me were they to look for me ever so. And +if you could find and bring me here a draught of water from the +brook or from some spring, I should be ever grateful. I am sore +athirst and weary, too." + +The child was nevertheless much pleased with his nest, and +forthwith curled himself up in it like a young dormouse, delighting +in the conviction that no attendants despatched by his mother to +capture him would ever find him here. Boys have been young pickles +ever since the world began, and were just as full of pranks in the +fifteenth century as they are now. Edward had: a full share of +boyhood's mischievous delight in his own way, and owing to the +strong will and the ever-present vigilance of his mother, he had +not had many chances of indulging his natural craving for +independence. Therefore he rejoiced the more in it now, and was +quite determined to return to his royal parents at such time only +as it suited his own whim. + +Paul was willing enough to do the behest of the prince, and stayed +only to make him comfortable before starting off on the quest for +water. He thought young Edward would soon be asleep, as indeed he +was, so luxurious was his leafy couch within the giant oak; and +resolved to run as far as a certain well he knew of in the wood, +the water of which was peculiarly fresh and cold and clear, and +where a cup was always kept by the brothers of a neighbouring +monastery for the benefit of weary travellers. + +Paul sped away on his mission with a light heart He was elated +above measure by his day's adventure, and his head was brimming +over with plans and dreams of the future, which was to be so +glorious and so distinguished. + +He the chosen comrade of their future king! he the loyal upholder +of that king's rights, the bulwark of the throne, the trusted +noble, the shrewd counsellor, the valiant warrior! A boy's ambition +is boundless--innocent of envy or evil, but wild in its flights. + +Paul went on his way with glowing cheeks and sparkling eyes, till a +stealthy sound in the bushes beside him made him stop short, +listening intently. He heard voices in cautious whisper. + +"He cannot be far away. He certainly came to the wood. Long Peter +says he had another boy with him; but be that as it may, he is +here, and close at hand. We must lose no time. The alarm will be +given if he is missed. Take one, or take both, it matters not if we +but get the prince into our hands. He may be known by his ostrich +plume and his golden curls, and the jewelled collar he wears about +his neck." + +Paul heard these words plainly, and it seemed as if his heart were +in his mouth. It beat so violently that he fancied the conspirators +must surely hear. The words he had heard but yesterday flashed back +into his mind. + +It was true then. There was a conspiracy to carry off the young +prince, and the band of men pledged to the deed were actually on +their track and close at hand. How could he warn the prince in +time? How could he save him from their hands? + +For a moment the boy's courage seemed to desert him. A cold sweat +broke out on his face, his knees trembled beneath him. But his fear +was not a selfish or unworthy one; it was all for the royal child, +whose peril was so imminent. + +And then, with a sudden revulsion of feeling, he recollected that +he himself wore the cap with the white plume, the jewelled collar +of royalty, and the dagger the little prince habitually carried in +his girdle. And had he not the same floating golden curls, the same +cast of features, the same active figure, and almost the same +stature? Might he not save the real prince by playing his part to +some purpose for the time being? The men would not distinguish +between the pair--he felt certain of that; they would at once make +off with their prize. Later on, of course, they would discover the +trick, but then the prince would be safe. His own followers would +have long since discovered him. Yes, he would do it--he would save +the prince at all cost. What did it matter if his own life were the +forfeit? The heir of England would be saved. + +It was no small act of heroism to which the boy made up his mind in +those few moments. Those were lawless days, and human life was held +very cheap. The band of fierce men who had believed they were +carrying off a prince, would think nothing of running him through +with their swords when they discovered how they had been tricked, +and that by a mere child. Paul set his teeth hard and braced +himself up for the task he had set himself. He knew his peril-he +realized it too; but he was a soldier's son, and had he not said he +would live and die for the prince? Would he ever be worthy of the +knighthood every lad looked forward to as the goal of his ambition, +if he shrank now from the task he had set himself? + +Hardly had that resolution been taken before there sprang out from +the thick underwood two or three fierce-looking men, armed to the +teeth. + +"Ha, my young springal! well met, in sooth," cried the foremost of +the band, laying a firm hand upon the boy's shoulder. "We have been +looking long for you. + +"To horse, brave fellows! we have our prize. We may not linger +here." + +"Hands off, varlet!" cried Paul, throwing himself into the +character of prince with great energy and goodwill. "Know you to +whom you speak--whom ye thus rough handle? Have a care; the Prince +of Wales is not thus to be treated." + +"Pardon, sweet prince," cried the leader, with ironical courtesy, +his grasp not relaxing one whit from the boy's arm. "Time leaves us +scant opportunity for the smooth speech of the court. We must use +all despatch in conveying your worshipful presence hence, to the +safe custody of England's friends. + +"Nay, struggle not, boy. We would not harm you. You are safe with +us--" + +"I know you not. I will not be thus insulted. I will to my royal +parents," cried Paul in well-feigned indignation. + +But remonstrance and resistance were alike useless. At the sound of +a peculiar whistle from one of the party, there immediately +appeared some half score of mounted troopers, leading other horses +with them. The boy was swung upon the saddle of one of the horses +and fastened there by means of thongs, which, although not +incommoding him whilst riding, utterly precluded all idea of +escape. Moreover the steed was placed between those of two of the +stalwart troopers, each of whom kept a hand upon the reins of the +supposed prince; and thus, silently but rapidly, the little band +threaded the intricacies of the wood, by paths evidently known to +them, and ere the dusk had fully come, had cleared the forest +altogether, and were galloping steadily and fast across the open +country toward the north. + +Paul had not spoken another word. He had been in terror lest by +some inadvertent phrase he might betray himself, and let those +fierce men know that he was not the prince; in which case not only +might his own life be forfeit, but the real prince might fall into +their hands. But now as the dusk overtook them, and still they were +flying farther and farther away from the city where the prince lay, +his heart rose, and beat with a generous triumph; for though his +own fate might be a speedy death, the heir of England was safe. + +It was dark before the lights of a wayside hostelry became visible +across the dreary waste they were traversing. The leader of the +band turned and addressed a few words to the troopers who had the +care of the captive; and at once he felt himself deprived of the +tell-tale cap and collar, the former of which was replaced by a +cloth cap belonging to one of the men, which almost concealed the +boy's features. He was also wrapped in a mantle that further +disguised him; and thus they rode up to the inn. + +A ruddy stream of light poured out from that comfortable hostelry, +and Paul saw, seated on his stout nag, with three of his servants +behind him, the well-known figure of a neighbouring farmer, whom +business often took to a town many miles from his native place. + +The troopers were dismounting and hurrying into the inn. Two only +remained with their prize. Paul's resolution was quickly taken. He +threw off the encumbering mantle and cap, and cried aloud: + +"Gaffer Hood, Gaffer Hood, come and help me! These men have carried +me off, and are taking me I know not whither. Come and help me to +get free, and my father will richly reward you. They think I am the +Prince of Wales, who was playing with me but this afternoon. Tell +them who I really am, and they will let me go." + +"By the mass, if that be not the voice of little Paul Stukely!" +exclaimed the honest farmer in great amazement, as he brought his +stout nag alongside the animal that carried the child. The troopers +drew their swords as if to interpose (and in those days it was +considered better to leave these reckless gentlemen alone when they +had booty in their hands, however come by, and no doubt they were +in league with the host of the inn); but the character of the +dialogue between the farmer and the child was so astounding that +the men remained mute and motionless, whilst the leader of the +gang, who had heard something of the words, came hurrying to the +spot, to see that his prize was safe. + +He was quite prepared to make short work of farmer and men alike if +there should be any futile attempt at rescue. The man knew his +trade, and long habit had made him utterly reckless of human life. +But the words he heard exchanged between the child and the farmer +held him spellbound, too. + +"I was playing with the prince," cried Paul, loud enough for all to +hear. "He bid me take his collar and cap and be prince in fantasy, +whilst he was my esquire. Afterwards, when he was weary, he lay +down to rest, and these fellows caught me and carried me off, +thinking I was prince indeed. I would not tell them what they had +done, lest they should return and capture him. But bid them loose +me now, good Gaffer, and give them all the money in your pouch as +my ransom, and I warrant my father will repay you double. + +"It is the heir of the House of Lancaster you want, gentlemen, not +a poor knight's youngest son, a lad of no account. This good man +will pay you some broad gold pieces if you will let me go; but if +you are resolved to take my life as the price of my deceit, why, +take it now. I am not afraid to die in a good cause, and this +worthy man will perchance take home my body to my mother, that it +may lie in time beside hers." + +"Nay, lad, we will all die ere they shall touch a hair of thy bonny +head," cried the honest farmer, signing to his men to come and be +ready. "If there's a man in this troop dastard enough to lay a hand +upon thee, he shall settle accounts with Gaffer Hood ere he leaves +the place. A farmer can fight, ay, and give good strong blows, too. + +"Now, gentlemen, which of you will lay hands on that gallant child? +for he will have to do it across my dead body first." + +"Tush, man, put up thy sword," cried the leader of the band, who, +being a man prompt both in action and thought, had taken in the +bearings of the situation with great rapidity, and upon whom the +simple heroism of the child had not been thrown away. + +Rough and self-seeking and cruel as lawless times had made such +men, they were not devoid of all better feelings; and although, had +there been no interposition on his behalf, Paul might have been a +victim to their irritation at being thus duped, as it was his life +was now safe enough. + +"We war not with babes and children. The boy has borne himself +gallantly, and we will take the gold pieces and let him go free. +Our chance may come another time, and we want not the cumbrance of +children on our march. He would not be hostage worth having, so +ransom him and begone. We have the prince's jewels if we have not +the lad himself. + +"Go your way, boy; you will make a soldier in time. You have the +right grit in you. Farewell! one day we may meet again." + +And thinking, perhaps, that he and his band had better not linger +longer, the captain gave the word to mount; and as soon as Paul's +thongs were cut and the ransom paid over, the troopers set spurs to +their horses' sides and vanished away in the darkness. + +Once again little Paul Stukely stood in the presence of royalty. +The prince's arm was about his neck, the proud queen's eyes--moist +now with tears--were bent upon him in loving gratitude, whilst from +the king's lips he was receiving words of praise that set the hot +blood mounting to his brow. Behind him stood his father, all around +were the attendants of the royal family; and Paul, unaccustomed to +be thus the centre of attention, almost wished the ground would +open to hide him, although his heart could not but beat high in +gratification and loving loyalty. + +All the city was ringing with the daring attempt that had been made +to carry off the young Prince of Wales, and the gallantry of the +boy who had dared to brave the consequences, and take upon himself +the personality of the youthful Edward. The child himself, the +farmer who had been the means of his restoration, and the knight +who owned so brave a son, all had been heroes of the past +six-and-thirty hours. + +A special mass of thanksgiving had been sung in the cathedral on +the Sunday. The captain of the town, who had heard a rumour which +had sent him flying into the forest the previous afternoon, to find +the true prince vainly seeking his missing comrade, could not make +enough of the boy whose simple-hearted gallantry had saved him from +a lasting remorse, and perhaps a lasting disgrace. Indeed, Sir +James Stukely had had to hurry his child home in haste to his +mother's care, lest he should hear too much of his own prowess; +and, thrusting him into her loving arms, had said, in a voice which +quivered in spite of himself: + +"Here, dame, take the boy and give him a kiss to show that he has +been a good lad. He has done his duty, as a Stukely ought to do, +and that should be enough for all of us. But let us have no +nonsense talked. What will the country come to if everyone who does +his duty as it should be done expects to be called a hero, and I +know not what besides? The prince is safe, and the boy likewise. +Now off to bed with him, and no more nonsense to be talked in my +hearing. + +"God bless you, child! You'll live yet to be a credit to the name +you bear." + +And Paul was made happier by that one word from his stern though +loving sire than by all the praises he had heard lavished upon +himself during the past hours. For there was no one in the wide +world that the child so reverenced as his dark-browed father, who +seldom praised his children, and was inflexible in his punishments +whenever they were deserved. To be told by him that he had done his +duty, and would be a credit to his house, was happiness far beyond +his deserts, he thought; and he registered a mental vow, deep down +in his brave little heart, that he would never in time to come give +the world cause to say he had not lived up to the promise of his +boyhood. + +The loving sympathy with which his mother listened to his story, +the caresses she showered upon him in thought of the deadly peril +in which he had stood, and the hearty approbation of his brothers +and the retainers and servants in his father's halls, were a small +pleasure as compared with those few brief, almost stern, words from +that father himself. Even the notification that he was to present +himself on the Monday before the king and queen added little to his +happiness, although the idea of seeing once again his admired +little prince could not but fill him with gratification. + +His father led him to the royal presence, and bowed low on hearing +himself thanked for having brought up sons who so well demonstrated +the loyalty and devotion which had been born and bred in them. But +Paul scarce heard what passed, for the little prince dashed forward +to take him round the neck, kissing him with all the natural grace +of childhood, whilst half rebuking him for having denied him his +own legitimate share in the adventure. + +"If we had but been together we would have achieved our own +liberty," he said, his bright eyes flashing with the spirit of his +ancestors. "We would have shown them what Plantagenet blood could +do. I would I had been there. I would I had shared the adventure +with you. It would have been a thing for our bards to write of, for +our soldiers to sing over their campfires. But now I shall have +none of the glory. I was sleeping in a tree. It was you who were +the hero, the prince." + +"Ah, sweet prince, had they once laid hold on the true prize, +methinks neither you nor I would so easily have escaped," said +Paul, who had vivid recollections of the iron hands that had been +laid upon him by the stern men who had carried him off. "I know not +how I could have escaped, had it not been that they were willing to +be quit of me when they found out I was not him whom they sought." + +But the prince was hardly satisfied with the rather tame ending to +the adventure. + +"To be rescued by a farmer, and carried home on his nag!" he said, +tossing back his curls with a gesture of hauteur. "Paul, I would +that you had cut your way through the very heart of them. I would +you had left at least one or two dead upon the spot. Had we been +together--" He clenched his hands for a moment, but then laughed a +little, and said in a whisper--"But no matter, Paul; they all say +that you played the hero, and I will not envy you for it. We shall +be men one day, and then I shall come and claim your promise. You +will be my faithful esquire, and I will be your liege lord. +Together we will roam the world in search of adventure, and well I +know that we shall meet with such as will not disgrace the royal +house of the Plantagenet." + +The child's eyes flashed, and an answering spark was kindled in the +breast of the hardy little Paul. He put his hand within that of the +prince, and cried loud enough to be heard by those who stood by: + +"Dear my lord, I will serve you to the death. I will go with you to +the world's end." + +Sir James laid a warning hand upon his son's shoulder. + +"Boy," he said in a low voice, "it becomes thee not thus to put +thyself forward in the presence of royalty. Be silent before thy +betters, and show thy loyalty by thy deeds, not by high-sounding +words of which thou canst have but little understanding." + +Paul was instantly abashed. Indeed, in those days it was not usual +for children to make their voices heard in the presence of their +elders; but the prince was privileged, and it was his words that +had drawn forth this exclamation from Paul. + +The king and the queen, however, smiled upon the boy; and the +latter said in tender tones, that would have amazed some amongst +her enemies: + +"Nay, chide not the boy, good Sir James; he does but speak as his +heart dictates, and I would indeed that my son might look forward +to the day when he and your gallant son might be companions in +arms. But I ask no pledge in these troublous, stormy days. Only I +will cherish the hope that when brighter days dawn for the House of +Lancaster, and her proud foes are forever subjugated to their right +position, this bold boy may appear again before us to receive at +our hands the guerdon he is too young for yet. And be sure that +never will knighthood be more gladly accorded to any than to him, +for the deed which saved England's heir and hope from the deadly +peril which menaced him but a few short hours ago." + +Sir James and his son both bowed low, and the father prepared to +lead away the boy. But the prince had once more thrown his arms +round Paul's neck, and was speaking in his eager way: + +"You and I will be knighted together when we are grown. I shall +think of you, and you will not forget me--promise that you will +not. And when we meet next, wherever it may be, we shall know each +other for the likeness we bear the one to the other. Kiss me, Paul, +and promise never to forget. Farewell now, but my heart tells me we +shall meet again." + +The king's son and the knight's embraced with all the warmth of a +real and deep affection, albeit of only a few hours' growth, and +gazing at each other to the last they parted. + +"I shall always wear the silver swan," Paul had said as their lips +met. "You will know me by that. And I--oh, I never could forget +you! Your face will live always in my heart." + +The doors closed behind the retiring knight and his son. The vision +alone conjured up by the words of the prince lived in the heart of +Paul Stukely. His face was very brightly grave as he rode home +beside his father. How little he or any in that noble company +guessed where and under what circumstances the prince and Paul +would meet next! + + + +Chapter 1: A Brush With The Robbers. + + +"Help--help--help!" + +This cry, growing feebler at each repetition, was borne by the +evening breeze to the ears of a traveller who was picking his way +along the dark mazes of Epping Forest one cool, fresh October day. +Instinctively he drew rein and listened, laying his band +unconsciously upon the hilt of his poniard. + +"A woman's voice," he said half aloud, as he spurred more rapidly +onward in the direction whence the cry proceeded. "A woman set +upon, no doubt, by some band of these marauders who are desolating +the country and disgracing humanity. Cowards! I wonder how many of +them there are? A solitary traveller has not much chance against a +gang of them; but at least I can sell my life dear. I have little +enough to live for now; and it would be a stain for ever upon my +father's fame were I to pass by unheeding the cry of a damsel in +distress. + +"Forward, then, good Sultan; there is work for both of us before we +can think of food or lodging after our weary day of travel. +Forward, good horse." + +The coal-black charger, who, despite his jaded air and look of +neglect, had evidently come of a good stock, and had both blood and +mettle of the true soldier sort in him, pricked his ears, arched +his neck, and appeared to be fully aware of what was required of +him by his loved master. He broke into a gentle canter, and despite +the roughness of the ground, maintained that pace for several +hundred yards, until the hand of the traveller upon his rein warned +him to moderate his pace. + +The shades of evening were falling fast, but a young moon rode high +in the sky, and helped to light up the expanse of broken ground and +piled-up tree trunks which suddenly became visible to the traveller +as he reached a clearing in the forest, through which the rough +trail or path he was pursuing led. And here in this clearing he +came upon the object of his search, and saw that his surmise as to +the cause of the cries he had heard was only too correct. Four big +burly men, all armed with the weapons of the day--bills, maces, and +even the handgun, which was beginning to find a place amongst the +more time-honoured arms of offence and defence--were surrounding +the struggling figure of a woman, a young woman the traveller +fancied, from her slimness and the cat-like agility which she +displayed in struggling with her captors. + +It appeared as if the men did not desire to hurt her if they could +avoid doing so, but rather wished to make of her a prisoner; whilst +she was making the most frantic efforts to escape from their +restraining hands, and was uttering strangled cries for help, which +were so deadened by the thick folds of the heavy driving cloak, +which had been wrapped about her head, as to be barely audible even +at a short distance. + +"Let her fight and struggle," said a tall, broad-shouldered man +with a darkly sinister face, who stood a little apart all this +while, keeping, however, a very close watch upon the group. "She +will soon tire herself out, and then we can carry her away +peacefully. Don't hurt her. Let her have her fling--it won't last +long--and she will be all the tamer afterward." + +The traveller, who was but a stripling himself, set his teeth hard +as he heard these words spoken. Something in the cool arrogance of +the man, who appeared to be a leader of the rest, stirred his blood +and made his hands tingle to be at his throat. + +But it would not do to act rashly in an encounter with four +stalwart men, all armed to the teeth, and plainly well used to the +practice of arms. The youth saw that he must husband his strength +and use his opportunity with every care. His best chance lay in +taking the party by surprise. + +He examined his weapons with a keen eye. He too possessed one of +the handguns of the period, and was a good marksman to boot. He +had, too--and glad enough was he of it at that moment--the deadly +guisarme, that old-fashioned weapon that combined a spear and +scythe, and was used with horrible effect in the charges of the +day. Then there was the short battle-axe, slung across his +saddlebow, which at close quarters would be a formidable weapon, +and the poniard in his belt had in its time done deadly work before +this. + +But although he had plenty of weapons for offence, he had not much +defensive armour upon him. Only a cloth cap protected his head, and +although his jerkin was of the tough leather which often defied the +thrust of a dagger almost as successfully as mail, it might not +prove a defence against the combined attack of a number of enemies; +and his legs were unprotected save by the long leather riding boots +laced up the front, and ornamented with silken tassels, now much +faded and stained. + +Altogether, he appeared hardly equipped for so desperate an +encounter as the one that lay before him; but it was plain that he +did not on that account shrink from it. His appearance upon the +scene had not been observed by any of the robbers--for such they +plainly were--and he was thus able to take his time and weigh his +chances carefully. + +The girl was suffering no injury from her captors; but what her +fate might be if rescue did not come was what no one could say. It +was plain that it was the desire of the leader of the band to +possess her as a captive. It was he who was the leading spirit in +the attack. He was just as determined to carry her off as he was +wishful to accomplish the capture without inflicting injury. + +The stripling astride the good warhorse--who seemed to scent +battle in the air, and stood perfectly still, quivering with +excitement--unslung his handgun from his shoulder, and levelled it +at the leader of the band. The next instant a sharp report rang +through the silent forest. The robber chief flung up his hands with +a stifled cry and sank down upon the ground; whilst the other men, +astonished beyond measure at this sudden attack from they knew not +what quarter, ceased to heed their prisoner, and turned round with +loud execrations, laying their hands upon their weapons. + +But before they had time to draw these the horseman was upon them. +He had his battle-axe in his hand--a light small axe, but one of +exquisite temper and workmanship--and dashing through the group, he +dealt such a blow with it upon the head of one of the ruffians as +cleft his skull in two; and the man dropped with never a groan, a +dead corpse upon the ground. + +"Two done for," quoth the youth to himself as he wheeled about for +a second encounter. "Well, a mounted man should be a match for two +on foot. + +"Ha! what is that?" for even as he spoke he felt a sharp, stinging +pain in one shoulder, and simultaneously the report of firearms +rang out once more. His adversaries had not been slow to avenge the +death of their comrade, and their aim was as true as his own. The +traveller knew that his only chance was now to close with his foes +and grapple with them before they could load their piece again. + +His right arm was partially disabled, as he felt in a moment. He +could no longer swing the trusty little axe which had done good +service before; but there was the deadly guisarme at his side. +Sultan could be trusted to carry him straight to the foe without +any guidance beyond that of the pressure of knee and foot; and +grasping the weapon in both hands, he gallantly charged back upon +the men, who stood grimly awaiting his next movement with every +intention of unhorsing and slaying him. + +The odds were heavy against him. The two ruffians who stood to bar +his way were stalwart, powerful fellows, well inured to this kind +of warfare; and the chief, who though wounded was not killed, had +struggled to his feet, and was plainly endeavouring, though with +difficulty, to reach the handgun and reload it. The girl was still +encumbered by the heavy cloak which had been knotted about her head +and hands, and was not at once thrown off. The traveller plainly +saw that there was no time to be lost if he was to escape with his +own life, or save the damsel from a fate perhaps worse than death. + +"Forward, Sultan!" he cried. + +And the good horse dashed back upon the enemy; and the youth, +holding his weapon in both hands, strove as he passed to deal a +deadly blow to one of his assailants. But the man was quick, and +his own strength impaired by the injury he had received. The +lance-like point of the weapon inflicted a deep gash upon the face +of one of his adversaries, causing him to yell with rage and pain, +but no vital injury had been inflicted upon either; whilst a savage +blow from the other upon the youth's left arm had broken the bone, +and he felt as if his last moment had surely come. + +But it did not occur to him even then to save himself by flight, as +he could well have done, seeing that he was mounted and that the +robbers were on foot. Disabled as he was, he wheeled about once +more, and half maddened by pain and the desperation of his case, +rode furiously upon the only man who had not yet received some +injury. The robber awaited his charge with a smile of triumph upon +his face; but he triumphed a little too soon. + +Sultan was a horse of remarkable intelligence and fidelity. He had +known fighting before now--had carried his rider through many a +skirmish before this; and his fidelity and affection equalled his +intelligence. With the wonderful instinct that seems always to +exist between horse and rider who have known each other long, he +appeared to divine that his master's case was somewhat desperate, +and that he needed an ally in his cause. And thus when the pair +bore down upon the robber, who was coolly awaiting the charge, +Sultan took law into his own hands, and overthrew the plan both of +attack and defence by a quick movement of his own. For he swerved +slightly as he approached the man, and rising suddenly upon his +hind legs, brought down all the weight of his iron shoe with +tremendous force upon the head of the adversary, who fell to the +ground with a low groan, and lay as helpless as his former comrade. + +But excellent as this manoeuvre was in one aspect, it disconcerted +the rider by its suddenness; and when as the horse reared the +second robber sprang upon the rider to try and drag him from his +seat, the effort was only too successful. The traveller was easily +pulled away from the saddle, and fell heavily to the ground; whilst +the foe uttered a savage exclamation of triumph, and knelt with his +knee upon the chest of the fallen man, his bloody and distorted +visage bent over him in evil triumph. He was feeling in his belt +for his dagger; and the young man closed his eyes and tried to +mutter a prayer, for he knew that his hour had come at last. + +He had sold his life dear, but sold it was, and the next moment he +felt certain would be his last; when all in a moment there was +another of those loud reports of the gun. The man kneeling upon his +chest fell suddenly backwards; and the youth, starting to his feet, +was confronted by the spectacle of the maiden he had rescued, white +and trembling, and almost overcome by her own deed, holding in her +hand the still smoking gun, whilst her eyes, dilated with horror, +were fixed upon the helpless creature in the dust. + +"Is he dead?" she asked in a hollow voice. + +"I cannot tell," answered the youth hastily. "It were better not to +linger longer here. Their own band will come and look to them if +they return not by sundown. Let us to horse and away before any of +the gang come. Sultan will carry the pair of us well, and you will +tell us which course to steer; for the night will be upon us ere +long, and I am a stranger to these dark forests." + +Whilst thus speaking, the traveller was throwing keen glances round +him, and saw that the men, though wounded, were not all +dead--though one certainly was, and the other, whom Sultan had +attacked, was scarce likely to look again upon the light of day. +The leader of the band had fallen again to the earth, and was +enveloped in the folds of the heavy cloak, from which he appeared +to be feebly struggling to disentangle himself. The girl followed +the direction of the youth's glance, and explained the matter in a +few short words. + +"He was loading the gun when I freed myself. I knew that he was +going to shoot you. I am very strong, and I saw that he was +bleeding and wounded. I sprang upon him and threw him down, and +tied the cloak about him, as he had bidden his men bind it about +me, By that time you were unhorsed, and I saw that the robber was +about to kill you. The gun was loaded, and I took it and shot him. +I never killed a man before. I hope it is not wicked; but he would +have killed you else. And you had risked your life a dozen times to +save me." + +"It was well and bravely done for me and for yourself," answered +the stranger, as he mounted the docile Sultan and assisted the girl +to spring up behind him. + +Wounded and spent as he was, the excitement of the encounter had +not yet subsided, and he was only vaguely conscious of his hurts, +whilst he was very much in earnest in his desire to get away from +this ill-omened spot before others of the band should return in +search of their missing comrades, and take a terrible vengeance +upon those who had slain or wounded them. + +His companion was no less anxious than he to be gone; and as the +good horse picked his way in the dim light through the intricate +forest paths pointed out by the girl, who was plainly a native of +the neighbourhood, she told him in whispers of the men from whom +she had escaped, and of the fate which had so narrowly overtaken +her. + +"They are the robbers of Black Notley," she said. "There are two +rival bands of robbers here--one at White Notley and one at Black +Notley. We call them the Black or the White Robbers, to distinguish +between them. The White are not so fierce or so lawless as the +Black; but both are a terror to us, for we never know what violence +we shall not hear of next." + +"And these Black Robbers would have carried you away with them, by +what I gathered from their words, at least from the words of him +they looked to as their leader?" + +The girl shuddered strongly. + +"Once he lived in our village--Much Waltham, as it is called. He +was no robber then; but a proper youth enough; and although I was +but a little maid, not grown to womanhood, he asked my hand of my +father in marriage." + +"And what said your father to his suit?" + +"Why, that I was too young to be betrothed as yet; but that if he +were a steady youth, as time went on perchance it might be even as +he wished. But instead of growing up to the plough or the anvils as +other youths of our village do, he must needs go off to see +somewhat of the wars; and when he returned it was as a swashbuckler +and roisterer, such as my father and mother cannot abide sight of. +When he came to Figeon's to ask me in marriage, he was turned from +the door with cold looks and short words; but he would ever be +striving to see me alone, and swear that he loved me and would wed +me in spite of all. I had liked him when I was but a child, but I +grew first to fear and then to hate him; and at last I spoke to +Will Ives, the smith's son, of how he troubled me and gave me no +peace of my life. And forthwith there was a great stir through the +village; and Will Ives set upon him and beat him within an inch of +his life, for all he was so proud of his skill and strength. And +the good brothers spoke to him seriously of his evil courses, and I +know not what besides. So the end was that he ran away once more +and joined himself to the Robbers of Black Notley, and was taken in +such favour by the captain of the band that he is half a captain +himself; and many is the time he has ridden through our village, +robbing his old neighbours, and doing more harm in a night than +months of hard work will put right; and often when I have chanced +to meet him he has given me a look that has frozen the blood in my +veins. I have always lived in fear of him all my life; but I was +never in such peril before today." + +"Peril enough, in all sooth," said the traveller. "How came it, +pretty maiden, that you chanced to be all alone in the wood so near +to the haunts of the robbers?" + +"Nay, I was far enough away from their regular haunts. I had but +come a short cut through the wood to see a sick neighbour, and I +tarried beside her longer than I well knew. I will never do the +like again, but I have been used from childhood to roam these +forest paths unharmed. The wood is thick, and if I hear the sound +of horse or man I always slip aside and hide myself. But today, +methinks, they must have tracked me and were lying in wait; for the +wood was silent as the church till I reached the clearing, and then +the whole four sprang up from behind the pile of felled trees and +set upon me. Had you not been at hand, by good providence; I should +ere this have been their helpless captive;" and again the girl +shuddered strongly. + +By this time the trees were growing somewhat thinner, and lights +began to twinkle here and there, showing that some village was nigh +at hand. A bell for vespers began to ring forth, and the traveller +was glad enough to think his toilsome journey nearly at an end. +Hardy as he was, and well inured to fatigues and hardship of all +kinds, he was growing exhausted from his day's travel and his sharp +fighting. He was wounded, too, and although there was no great +effusion of blood, his hurt was becoming painful, and his left arm, +which was undoubtedly broken, required some skilled attention. + +"Is it here that you live, fair maid?" he asked. "I know not how +you are named; but I gather that you are directing our course to +your own home." + +"My name is Joan Devenish," she answered, "and the lights you see +yonder are those of Much Waltham, and it is our church bell that +you hear ringing out so sweetly. My father's farm is a mile beyond. +But I beseech you ride thither with me. My mother would be ill +pleased did I not bring home the gallant stranger who had saved me +from my foes. And Figeon's will be proud to shelter such a guest." + +"I give you humble thanks, Mistress Joan, and gladly would I find +so hospitable a shelter. I am but a poor traveller, however, +roaming the world in search of the fame and fortune that come not. +I am one of those who have ever followed the failing fortunes of +the Red Rose of Lancaster, and sorry enough has often been my +plight. But if rumour speaks true, and the great Earl of Warwick +has placed King Henry once again on his throne, then perchance I +may retrieve the fallen fortunes of my house. My father and +brothers laid down their lives for his cause; his foes took +possession of our fair lands, and I was turned adrift on the wide +world. But tell me, ere we journey farther, which Rose you and your +house favour; for I would not bring trouble upon any, and my roving +life has taught me that the House of Lancaster has many bitter +foes." + +"O sir, be not afraid," answered Joan eagerly; "we country folk are +quiet and peaceable, and care little who wears the crown, so as we +may till our land in peace, and be relieved from the hordes of +robbers and disbanded soldiers who have swarmed the country so +long. We have called ourselves Yorkists these past years, since +King Edward has been reigning; but I trow if what men say is true, +and he has fled the country without striking a blow for his crown, +and the great earl has placed King Henry on the throne again, that +we shall welcome him back. I know little of the great matters of +the day. My father bids me not trouble my head over things too hard +for me. I tend the poultry and the young calves, and let the +question of kings alone." + +The traveller smiled at this; but his companion was evidently +something of a talker, and endued with her full share of feminine +curiosity. + +"I would gladly know your name, fair sir," she said shyly, "for I +shall have to present you to my good father ere long." + +"My name is Paul Stukely," he answered. "I am the youngest and only +surviving son of one of King Henry's knights and loyal adherents. +My parents are both dead, and I have long been alone in the world. +I have little to call my own save my good horse and trusty weapons. +But I sometimes hope that there may be better days in store, if the +rightful king gets back his own again." + +At that moment the travellers were passing by the village forge, +and a bright gleam of light streamed across their path, revealing +to a brawny young fellow at the door the weary horse and its double +burden. He came one step nearer, and exclaimed: + +"Why, Joan, what means this? You riding pillion fashion with a +stranger! What, in the name of all the saints, has befallen you?" + +Sultan had paused of his own accord at the forge, and Joan was +eagerly telling her story to a little crowd of listeners, and +making so much capital out of the heroism of her gallant rescuer +that all eyes were turned upon the battered stranger; and whilst +deep curses went up from the lips of many of the men as they heard +of the last attempt of the Black Robbers upon one of their own +village maidens, equal meed of praise and thanks was showered upon +Paul, who leaned over his saddlebow in an attitude that bespoke +exhaustion, though he answered all questions, and thanked the good +people for their kindly reception of him, whilst trying to make +light of his own prowess, and to give the credit of their final +escape to Joan, to whom, indeed, it was due. + +But the elder smith, John Ives, pushed his way through the little +group round the black horse, and scattered them right and left. + +"Good neighbours," he said, "can you not see that this gentleman is +weary and wounded, and that his good horse is like to drop as he +stands? + +"Go to, Will. Lift down the maid, and lead her yourself up to +Figeon's. I will conduct the gentleman thither, and tend his hurts +myself. + +"For, good sir, I know as much about broken bones as any leech in +the countryside; and if you will but place yourself in my hands, +I'll warrant you a sound man again before another moon has run her +course. 'Tis a farrier's trade to be a bit of a surgeon; and the +Iveses have been farriers in Much Waltham longer than any can mind. + +"On then, good horse. 'Tis but a short mile farther; and a good +stable and a soft bed, and as much fodder as you can eat, you will +find at Figeon's Farm." + +Paul was glad enough to have matters thus settled for him; and even +Sultan seemed to understand the promise made him, for he pricked up +his ears, dropped his nose for a moment into the kindly hand of the +smith, and with the guiding hand upon his rein stepped briskly +forward up the dark rough lane, through the thick belt of trees on +either side. For in the days of which I write the great forest of +Epping extended almost all over the county of Essex, the villages +were scarcely more than small clearings in the vast wood, and only +round the farms themselves were there any real fields worth calling +by the name. + +Will and Joan tripped on ahead more rapidly than Sultan or his +master cared to go. Paul did not trouble himself any longer about +the road he was traversing, leaving himself entirely in the kindly +care of the smith. He even dozed a little in the saddle as the +horse picked his way steadily through the darkness, and was only +fully roused up again by the sight of lanterns dancing, as it +seemed, over the ground, by the sound of rough yet pleasant voices, +and the glimmer of steadier light through the latticed windows of +some building near at hand. The next minute he was before the +hospitable door of the old farmhouse. + +A ruddy blaze streamed out through that open door. Friendly hands +assisted him to alight, and guided him to a rude oak settle placed +within the deep inglenook, which was almost like a small inner +chamber of the wide farm kitchen. Some hot, steaming drink was held +to his lips; and when he had drunk, the mist seemed to clear away +from his eyes, and he saw that he was the centre of quite a group +of simple rustics; whilst the pretty, dark-eyed Joan, in her gown +of blue serge, with its big sleeves of white cloth, was eagerly +watching him, all the time pouring out her story, which everybody +appeared to wish to hear again and again. + +"Just to think of it!" cried a burly man, whose dress bespoke him a +farmer no less than his ruddy cheeks and horny hands. "Would that I +had been there! He should not then have escaped with his life. + +"Child, why didst thou not stab him to the heart as he lay? + +"Well has he been called Devil's Own by his former comrades and +playfellows. A defenceless girl--my daughter! By good St. Anthony, +if he crosses my path again it shall be for the last time. I +will--" + +"Hush, I pray you, good husband," said his wife more gently, though +from the way in which she clasped her daughter to her breast it was +plain she had been deeply moved by the story of her peril. +"Remember what the Scriptures say: 'Thou shalt not kill,' +'Vengeance is mine,' and many like passages--" + +But the woman stopped suddenly short, silenced by the grip of her +husband's hand upon her arm. A quick look was exchanged between +them, and she lapsed into silence. + +The farmer glanced round him, and dismissed the serving wenches and +labourers who had gathered round to their own quarters, and indeed +in many cases to their beds; for early hours were all the fashion +in those days. The farmer's wife beckoned her daughter, and went to +prepare for the lodging of their guest; and before very long Paul +found himself in a bed which, however rude according to our +notions, was luxury itself to the weary traveller. + +The smith soon saw to his hurts, pronounced them only trifling, and +bound them up as cleverly as a leech would have done. Indeed, he +was the regular doctor for most kinds of hurts, and could practise +the rude surgery of the day with as much success as a more +qualified man. + +Paul had been weary enough half-an-hour before, but the good food +he had taken and the hot spiced wine had effectually aroused him. +He was very tough and well seasoned, and although glad enough to +lie still in bed, was not particularly disposed for sleep; and when +the smith was preparing to depart, he begged him to stay a while +longer, and tell him something about the place and about the people +he had come amongst. The worthy man was ready enough to chat, +though he had little notion of imparting information. Still, he +answered questions with frankness, and Paul was able to pick up a +good deal of gossip as to public opinion in those parts and the +feeling of the people round. + +But what he heard did not give him pleasure. He had been in the +north when he had heard of Warwick's sudden desertion of the +Yorkist cause, and before he had been able to reach London he had +heard the glad news that Henry of Lancaster was again on the +throne, placed there by the power of the King Maker, who had +dethroned him but a few years back. Glad as Paul was, he yet wished +that any other hand had been the one to place the crown upon the +gentle monarch's head. He could not but distrust Warwick, and he +was eager to learn the feeling of the country, and to know whether +or not the people welcomed back the sovereign so long a captive. + +But in this place, at least, it seemed as if there was no pleasure +in Henry's restoration. The smith shook his head, and said he had +no faith in his keeping the crown now he had got it. It seemed as +if the love borne by Londoners to Edward of York had extended as +far as this remote village: the people had been enjoying again, +under the later years of his reign, something of the blessings of +peace, and were loath that their calm should be disturbed. + +The feeling might not be patriotic, but it was natural, and Paul +admitted with a sigh that the cause of the Red Rose was not likely +to find favour here. A king who could fight and who could govern, +and hold his kingdom against all comers, was more thought of than +one who appeared a mere puppet in the hands of a designing noble or +a strong-willed queen. The sudden desertion of Warwick from his +banner had caused a momentary panic in Edward's army, and the king +had fled with his followers beyond the sea; but, as the hardy smith +remarked with a grim smile, he would not be long in coming back to +claim his kingdom. And if the country were again to be plunged into +the horrors of civil war, it would be better for the whole brood of +Lancaster to seek exile or death. + +Paul had not energy to argue for his cause, and fell asleep with +these sinister words ringing in his ears. + + + +Chapter 2: A Hospitable Shelter. + + +Figeon's Farm (the true spelling of the name should be Fitz-John's, +but nobody ever thought of calling it so) was a prosperous and +pleasant place enough. It had been in the hands of Devenishes ever +since the Norman conquest--so at least the common belief went--and +there was no tradition of the house or lands having been in other +hands than those of the present family. + +When Paul Stukely awoke from the deep sleep of exhaustion into +which he had fallen even while the worthy smith had been talking to +him overnight, his ears were assailed by the peaceful and +comfortable sounds inseparable from farmhouse life and occupation. +He heard the cackling of hens, the grunting of pigs, and the rough +voices of the hinds as they got the horses out of the sheds, and +prepared to commence the labours of the day with harrow or plough. +These sounds were familiar enough to Paul; they seemed to carry him +back to the days of his childhood, and he lay for several minutes +in a state between sleeping and waking, dreamily wondering if the +strange events of the past year were all a dream, and if he should +wake by-and-by to find himself a child once more, in his little bed +in the old home, and receive his mother's kiss as his morning's +greeting. + +But soon this sweet illusion faded, and the young man sat up in bed +and looked quickly round him, trying to recollect where he was and +what had brought him here. During the last two years, in which he +had been forced to lead the roving life of an adventurer--common +enough in those days, and by no means entirely distasteful to one +of his temperament and training--he had slept in many strange +places, and had known quarters far ruder than the unceiled, +raftered room of the gabled farm. + +In time it all came back to him--the attack upon the helpless girl +in the wood, his own successful defence, and the journey to the +farmhouse in the gathering darkness. Paul gave himself a shake to +see how he felt, and decided that although stiff and bruised, and +crippled in the left arm, he might yet make shift to rise and dress +himself. He saw his clothes all laid out in readiness for him, and +it was plain that some good friend had sat up far into the night +brushing and mending them; for they had been in somewhat sorry +plight after his adventure of yesterday, and now they were fresh +and clean and almost smart looking, as they had not been for many a +long day before. + +As Paul was slowly dressing, he was suddenly aware of the sound of +a woman's voice speaking or reading--he fancied from its monotonous +cadence that it must be the latter--in some room that could not be +far away from his own chamber. In those days such an accomplishment +as reading was not at all common to the inhabitants of a farm, and +Paul stood still in surprise to listen. + +Yes, there was no mistaking it, there was certainly somebody--some +woman--reading aloud in a chamber hard by. Presently the cadence of +the voice changed, and Paul was certain that the reading had +changed to prayer; but not the pattering Paternosters or Ave Marias +with which he was familiar enough. This style of prayer was quite +different from that; and the young man, after listening for a few +moments with bated breath, exclaimed to himself, in accents of +surprise and some dismay: + +"Lollards, in good sooth! By the mass, I must have stumbled into a +nest of heresy;" and he crossed himself devoutly, as if to shield +himself from the evil of contamination. + +Paul had been born and bred a Papist, as indeed was the case with +most of his countrymen in those days. The House of Lancaster was +deeply attached to the faith as they found it, and Henry the Sixth +had burned many a heretic at Smithfield; for he was at once a saint +and a fanatic--a very common combination then, hard enough as it +seems now to bracket the two qualities together--and led in all +things by his ghostly advisers. + +But the leaven of the new doctrines was silently working throughout +the length and breadth of the land in spite of all repressive +measures, and King Edward the Fourth, either from policy or +indifference, had done little or nothing to check its spread. +London--the place of all others which was ever loyal to him--was a +perfect hotbed of heresy (in the language of the priests), and that +alone was enough to deter the Yorkist monarch from stirring up +strife and bringing down upon his head the enmity of the powerful +city which served him so well. Now that the meek Henry wore the +crown again--if indeed he did wear it--the Lollards might well +tremble for their liberties and lives. + +As for Paul, he had seen and heard little of the new religion, as +he called it, and looked upon it as a terrible and deadly sin. At +the same time, he had knocked about the world enough to have won a +larger toleration for all sorts and conditions of men than he would +have done had he remained master of the ancestral estates at home; +and after a momentary thrill of dismay and repulsion, he decided to +take no notice of what he had inadvertently overheard. + +These people had been kind and friendly. If they desired him to +remain a short time beneath their roof until his wounds were +healed, he saw no particular reason against doing so. A spell of +rest and quiet would suit him and Sultan very well, and with their +private beliefs he had no concern; the less he knew of them the +better. + +So he finished his toilet, whistling a gay tune to drown the sound +of the unauthorized prayer nigh at hand; and when he had finished +he opened his door, and made his way down the narrow, winding +stairs, into the great kitchen he had entered the previous evening. + +The big place looked cheerful enough this bright morning: the door +standing wide open to the October sunlight--the huge fire of logs +crackling and blazing on the wide hearth and roaring up the vast +open chimney--the rude metal and wooden utensils as clean as +scrubbing could make them--and the brick floor clean enough to eat +off, as the saying goes. And this cleanliness was not so common in +those days of partial civilization as it is now: there were +farmhouses enough and to spare in the England of that day where men +and animals herded together amid filth that we should hardly +condemn pigs to in this enlightened age. Wherefore Paul was both +pleased and surprised by all he saw, and his dim misgivings fled +away promptly. + +In the wide inglenook before the oak settle a small table had been +drawn up, and upon this table stood one wooden platter, and some +homely viands sufficiently tempting to a hungry man, and a huge +joram of home-brewed ale. Paul did not doubt for a moment that this +was his own breakfast thus temptingly spread for him; and he was +fully disposed to do it ample justice, for he had eaten little +during the past four-and-twenty hours, and had ridden far and done +some good hard fighting to boot. But he did not like to sit down +uninvited, and as he stood warming his hands at the pleasant blaze, +there tripped into the room the girl he had last clearly seen, gun +in hand, in the forest, and she greeted him with the prettiest +smile and blush. + +"Good morrow, fair sir. I am pleased indeed to see you thus afoot, +and hope you feel little the worse for your brave encounter +yesterday. We know not how to thank you; in truth, I scarce slept +all last night, thinking what my fate must have been but for your +timely rescue. But I pray you be seated, and try this pie of +mother's own making, with a slice of home-cured ham (father is a +great rearer of pigs; and the brothers of Leighs Priory, who know +what good living is, always come to him for his primest bacon and +ham). You look as if you needed a good meal, for your face is but +wan this morning. Mother scarce looked to see you on your feet so +soon." + +Paul laughed as he sat himself down to the hospi table board. + +"Nay, I scarce feel any ill effects from the knocks I got. A rover +like myself is tough and wiry, or should be. I fear this arm may +not be serviceable for a few weeks to come, but--" + +"But if you will do us the pleasure to make this poor house your +home until such time as you can go forth a sound man, you will be +giving us great honour and pleasure; for I think that if harm had +befallen our dear and only daughter, her father's heart would have +broken, and her mother's hairs have gone down with sorrow to the +grave." + +It was a fresh voice that spoke these words, and Paul rose +instinctively to his feet as he found himself face to face with his +hostess. + +Mistress Devenish, as she was commonly called, was no ordinary +buxom, loud-tongued farmer's wife, but a slight, small woman, of +rather insignificant aspect, unless the expression of the face was +taken into account. Then indeed might be seen a refinement and +intellect seldom found in persons of her class in those rough and +uncultured times. Paul, who was a shrewd observer, detected at once +that this was no ordinary woman before him, and saw from whom Joan +had inherited her graceful, refined bearing and sweet, low-toned +voice. She was a much taller and finer woman than her mother had +ever been, for she had something of her father's strength and +stature; but for all that she owed much of her charm to her mother, +and plainly regarded her with true filial devotion. + +"I thank you heartily," answered Paul, as he held out his hand in +greeting. "I should be glad enough to rest, for a few days at +least, in such pleasant quarters; but I must not let myself become +a burden to you because that I have had the honour of rendering a +trifling service to fair Mistress Joan here." + +"Nay, sir, it was no trifling service you did her; it was such +service as must ever cause a mother's heart to swell with thankful +joy. What would have become of the maid carried off by that evil +man to his own secret haunts I dare not even think. Had they slain +her before her parents' eyes, it would have been less terrible than +to know her utterly at their mercy." + +"Ay, indeed it would," cried the girl, with dilating eyes. "Ah, +fair sir, you know not what monsters these terrible robbers can be. +Oh, I pray you go not forth again until you can go a hale and sound +man; for you have incurred by your act of yesterday the fury of one +who never forgives, and who is as cunning as he is cruel. He may +set his spies upon you; and dog your steps if you leave this place; +and if you were to be overcome by them and carried off to their +cave in the forest, some terrible and cruel death would surely +await you there. For they truly call him Devil's Own--so crafty, so +bloodthirsty, so full of malice and revenge has he ever shown +himself." + +The girl's cheek paled as she spoke; but Paul smiled at her fears. +Not that he was altogether foolhardy, or disposed to despise +warnings thus given him; but his life had taught him a certain +hardihood and contempt of danger, and he and his good horse had +proved match enough for formidable antagonists before now. + +"I thank you for your kind thought for me, and I will use all +prudence when I stir from the shelter of this hospitable roof. But +my next journey will be to London, and there, methinks, shall I +find more of law and order. It is a sad state of things when not +forty miles from the king's own city bands of robbers abound and +flourish, making honest folks tremble for their lives and +liberties." + +"You speak truly; young sir," answered Mistress Devenish, who had +now sat down to her spinning wheel in the inglenook, whilst her +daughter still hovered about restlessly, and waited assiduously +upon their disabled guest. "And had King Edward but kept his +throne, I verily believe he would have put down with a strong hand +these same marauders who devastate the country more than war +itself. Things were beginning to improve after the long and +disastrous civil strife, and we fondly told ourselves that the +worst was over, and that the distracted country would taste +something of the blessings of peace again. But since that haughty +earl men call the King Maker has gone to France to make his peace +with the Lancastrian queen, and has returned to place her husband +(poor man, it is no fault of his that he cannot sway the sceptre, +but can only submit to the dictates of others) on England's throne, +we shall again be plunged, I know it well, in bloody and terrible +strife. The lion-hearted Edward will never resign his rights +without a struggle. He will return and collect an army, and the +cruel bloodshed will recommence. This bloodless victory will not +last. God alone knows how the struggle will end. We know but too +well that misery and desolation will be the fate of the country +until the matter is finally settled one way or the other; and when +will that be?" + +Paul listened in grave silence to these words, so foreign to his +own hopes and the confident expressions he had heard from time to +time uttered by hot partisans of the Red Rose. He had hoped to find +the whole country rejoicing in the restoration of the gentle +monarch, whom he loved with the ardour of a generous and impetuous +temperament. But these simple folks, rustic and unlettered though +they were, managed somehow to throw a shadow over his spirit by +their grave and doubting words. + +He realized that King Henry would have a hard struggle ere the +whole of England owned his sway. Edward was yet the king in many a +part of the realm. He was more respected and beloved than the +feeble, monk-ridden monarch he had deposed; and if it came to be a +question of abstract right, none could dispute the superiority of +the claim of the House of York. Edward was the descendant of the +elder branch of the family of Edward the Third. It was only the +politic reign of the fourth Henry, and the brilliant reign of the +fifth, which had given to the House of Lancaster its kingly title. +Men would probably never have thought of disputing the sixth +Henry's sway had he held the sceptre firmly and played the part of +king, to any purpose. But his health and temperament were alike +feeble: he inherited the fatal malady of his grandsire of France, +and was subject to fits of mental illness which made him utterly +helpless and supine. His strong-minded queen was detested by the +nobles and unpopular with the mass of the people, whilst the +ambition of the powerful barons and peers had made civil strife an +easy and popular thing. + +There was no great issue at stake in these disastrous wars; no +burning question was settled by the victory of either side; no +great principle or national interest was involved. It was little +more in reality than the struggle for supremacy and place amongst +the overbearing and ambitious nobles; hence the ease and readiness +with which they changed sides on every imaginable pretext, and the +hopeless character of the struggle, which ruined and exhausted the +country without vindicating one moral or national principle. + +But Paul Stukely, at twenty years of age, was not likely to take +this dispassionate view of the case. His whole heart was in the +cause of the Red Rose, and he could scarce listen to these quiet +but telling words without breaking out into ardent defence of the +cause he had at heart. + +"But listen, good mistress," he exclaimed eagerly, when she had +ceased to speak: "there are better days dawning for the land than +they have seen either beneath the rule of the gentle Henry or the +bold but licentious Edward. His blessed majesty has no love for the +office of king, and his long captivity has further weakened his +health and increased his love for retirement. You speak truly when +you doubt if he will ever rule this turbulent nation, so long torn +with strife and divided into faction. But think--he need not sway +the sceptre which has proved too heavy for his hands. He has a +son--a fair and gallant prince--worthy of the royal name of Edward +which he bears. Men say that it will not be the feeble father who +will restore order to the country and bring peace again to its +shores, but that the task will be intrusted to the youthful Edward, +who in his person combines the graces of his stately mother and the +warlike prowess of his great ancestor whose cognizance he bears. +Trust me, good people, if you love not Henry you will love Henry's +son; and will it not be better to be ruled by him than by that +other Edward of York, the usurper, who, though I verily believe he +can be a lion in battle, yet spends his days, when not in arms, in +lolling in idleness and luxury amid his fine court beauties, and +beseems himself rather as a woman than a man? I would fain serve a +spotless prince, such as our noble Prince of Wales is known to be, +than one whose life is stained by the debaucheries of a luxurious +court, and gluttony such as it is a marvel even to hear of." + +Joan's eyes lighted, as the youth spoke with all the ardour of a +young and vivid imagination and a generous and undoubting love. +Even the grave-faced woman at the spinning wheel smiled to herself, +and though she heaved a little sigh, she answered gently enough: + +"Ay, young sir, if that could be! If we could be ruled by one who +was brave, and stainless, and wise, and just, then England might +count itself a happy land indeed; but I have lived through +troublous times, and I have lost hope in such a speedy and happy +conclusion to the matter. But we shall see--we shall see." + +"We have all favoured King Edward's cause here, as I told you +yesterday," said Joan; "for we seemed better off under his rule +than in the days before, when we were distracted by the war. But +tell us of this prince--the Prince of Wales, as you call him. Would +he be able to rule us wisely and well? Has he a strong arm and a +kind heart? And does he think for himself? or do the monks or the +queen direct him in all matters? Have you ever seen him? Do you +know what he is like?" + +"I have not seen him since he was a child and I a child, too," +answered Paul, his face lighting at the recollection of the little +prince of his dreams, which had never faded or grown dim. "In +sooth, he was the noblest, kingliest child the sun ever shone on. +And men say he has grown up to fulfil all the promise of his youth. +He is solemnly betrothed, so they say, to the Lady Anne, the +daughter of the proud Earl of Warwick, and it is into his hands +that the real government of the country will be intrusted. + +"Oh, you would love him if you could see him--I am sure of that. I +would he could come himself now, for the hearts of the nation would +surely go out to him. Shall I tell you a story of him when he was a +child--when we were children together? You will see how sweet and +lovable he was even then, and I warrant that he has not changed +now." + +Joan answered eagerly in the affirmative, and Paul told of his +adventure with the little prince in the forest hard by Lichfield; +and mother and daughter as they heard the tale exchanged glances, +as if it was not the first time they had heard something of the +kind. He had hardly finished the narrative before Joan broke +eagerly in: + +"O sir, was it in truth you that balked the robbers of their prey? +I pray you never speak of this to any in these parts, for truly it +might cost you your life. You have heard us speak of the Black +Notley robbers, whose lawless band our neighbour joined--the one +who tried yesterday to get me into his clutches? Well, this same +story that you have told to us he has heard a dozen times from his +chief--the chief of all the band--Fire Eater, as he is called in +their fierce language. It was he and his followers who hung upon +the royal party all those long years ago, and he who carried you +off in mistake for the Prince of Wales. He has often been heard to +swear terribly over that great disappointment, and regret that he +did not run his sword through the body of the daring boy who had +outwitted him. If he were to hear of your being here, he would move +heaven and earth to obtain your capture or death. + +"O sir, be advised, you are in more peril than you know. Go not +forth from the shelter of these doors till you can do so a sound +man, and then make hasty and swift flight for London, where +perchance you may be safe. These terrible robbers are not to be +smiled at; they are cunning and cruel and crafty beyond belief. I +shiver even for myself whenever I think of that terrible Simon +Dowsett, whom they call Devil's Own." + +Paul was not a little surprised to hear that his childish exploit +had been heard of here, and that the robber chief he had outwitted +was the real leader of the band some members of which he had slain +the previous day. He could not disguise from himself that he might +on this account be placed in a position of some danger. The man +whose villainous scheme he had frustrated would undoubtedly be his +deadly enemy, and it was possible that if his name became known in +the place, it would draw upon him the vengeance of the whole band. +True, the robber chieftain might have forgotten the name of the +child who had been carried off by him in mistake for the Prince of +Wales; but Paul remembered how he had called it out when appealing +to his friend the farmer for help, and it was possible that it +might be remembered against him. Certainly, in his present crippled +state, it seemed advisable to remain in hiding at the farm, as he +was so hospitably pressed to do; and after a short debate with +himself upon his position, he gratefully consented to do so. + +"That is right, that is right," cried the farmer, when he came in +at midday for the dinner that family and servants all shared +together; and presently, when the meal was over, and the women had +retired to wash up the platters in an adjoining room, whilst the +labourers had started forth for their labours, the master drew his +guest into the warm inglenook again, and said to him in a low +voice: + +"I'll be right glad to have a good Lancastrian abiding beneath my +roof for awhile. The good brothers of Leighs are our best +customers, and one or another of them is always coming across on +some errand, and 'twill do us no harm in their eyes to find a +follower of King Henry under our roof. I know not how it is, but of +late they have been somewhat changed toward us;" and the farmer +looked uneasily round, as if hardly knowing who might be listening. +"We go to mass as regular as any; and my little girl there has +worked a robe for the reverend prior himself as cost me a pretty +penny in materials, and half blinded her pretty eyes, she sat at it +so close. They have no need to look askance at us; but there, +there, I suppose they have had a deal of trouble with the heretic +books and such like as have been getting about the country of late. +They say they found a Wycliffe's Bible hidden under the hearth +stone of a poor woman's cottage in Little Waltham, nigh at hand +here; and if King Henry had been on the throne, she might have been +sent up to Smithfield to be burned, as an example and warning to +others. But King Edward was on the throne then, and he cares not to +burn his subjects for heresy--God bless him for that! But if King +Henry is coming back to reign, it behoves all good persons to be +careful and walk warily. So, young sir, if you can speak a good +word for us to the holy brothers, I will thank you with all my +heart. It's a bad thing when they get the notion that a house is +corrupted by heresy." + +The palpable uneasiness of the farmer betrayed to Paul full well +that he was very much afraid of the orthodoxy of his wife, and it +was not impossible that he himself might not be secretly favouring +the new religion whilst conforming outwardly in all things. Such +cases were by no means rare, and this village appeared Yorkist +enough in its sentiments to suggest suspicions as to its orthodoxy. + +But Paul was young and impressionable and generous; he liked these +good folks, and knew nothing whatever to their discredit. He was +sure that, whatever they might privately believe, they were good +and trustworthy folks, and he gave his word to do all that he +could, if chance offered, with an emphasis that won him the hearty +thanks of the farmer. + +Nor was the chance very long in coming: for only on the afternoon +of the next day a portly monk jogged up to the farm on his sleek +palfrey; and Paul, who was seated near to the door, rose and bent +his knee, asking the customary blessing; after which the monk +dismounted, and made his way into the kitchen to give some order to +the good mistress of the house. + +The monks of those days were regular gossips, and loved a chat, as +they sat in the chimney corner enjoying a cup of the best wine the +house afforded, or a substantial meal of the choicest products of +the larder. Brother Lawrence was no exception to this rule; and the +farmer's wife bestirred herself to get him everything he could +fancy, whilst he sat and questioned Paul as to his history and the +adventure which had brought him to this homestead. Very much did he +enjoy hearing of the discomfiture of the robbers, and laughed quite +merrily to think how they had been overcome by the handsome +stripling before him. + +Presently, when Mistress Devenish had gone away to make some +inquiries respecting the flitches of bacon required for the Priory, +Brother Lawrence beckoned Paul somewhat nearer, and said, in a low +voice, in his ear: + +"Be in no haste to depart from hence, my son. It may be that there +is work for you here for the Holy Church. It is whispered by one +and another that yon good woman, as I would fain believe her to be, +is somewhat tainted with the damnable heresy they call Lollardism, +and that she has in her possession one of those Bibles which that +arch-heretic Wycliffe translated into the vulgar tongue for the +undoing of the unlearned, who think that they can thus judge for +themselves on matters too high for them. You, my son, as a true son +of the Church, may do us great service by keeping open both ears +and eyes, and telling if you see or hear ought amiss. I would fain +learn that no such evil is done among these good folks; but if it +be that the leaven is working, it will be your duty to tell us +thereof, and we will see if the evil may not be stamped out ere it +has spread to others, or much corrupted even them that are tainted. +We trust that the days are dawning now when Holy Church will have +her ancient powers restored, and will be able to deal with heretics +even as they merit. But however that may be, be it your work to +watch and listen with all the powers you have. I trust that there +will be nought you will hear save what is to the credit of these +worthy folks." + +Paul secretly in his heart vowed that no syllable which should hurt +his hosts should ever pass his lips; but he bent his head with due +reverence before the monk, who smiled and nodded cheerily to him +before he went his way. It seemed strange that so jovial and kindly +a man should so lightly speak of burning to death fellow creatures +whom he had regarded for years with kindly goodwill. But there were +strange anomalies in those days, even as there are in our own, and +Paul saw nothing strange in this, nor in his own conduct, which +made him appear submissive to the dictates of the Holy Church, as +he ever called her in his thoughts, whilst all the time he was +resolved neither to hear nor to see any of the things which would, +if made known, injure his hosts in the eyes of the spiritual +authorities. The very teaching of those spiritual pastors +inculcated a certain amount of deceit and double dealing. What +wonder if the weapon so freely used by themselves sometimes turned +its double edge against them in its turn? + +Paul accompanied the monk to the gate which led to the so-called +road by which Figeon's was approached. It was nothing but a rude +cart track; and although well-tilled fields lay on one side of this +track, the forest lay upon the other, stretching away black and dim +into immeasurable distance. + +Paul lingered a little while beside the gate, watching the friar +descend the sloping path; and he might have remained longer than he +knew, for he was aroused from his day dream by the growl of one of +the farm dogs, who stood at his side. Looking quickly round him, he +fancied he detected amid the shadows of the trees across the road a +dark figure almost concealed behind a solid trunk, the face alone +visible--a dark, saturnine face, with a pair of eyes that gleamed +like those of some wild beast. + +The moment those eyes met Paul's the head was withdrawn, and the +youth stood asking himself if it were not all a dream; but if it +had been one, it was remarkably clear and vivid, and he walked to +the house with a look of deep thought upon his face. + + + +Chapter 3: A Strange Encounter. + + +"Let me go," said Paul; "I should like the walk through the wood. I +am quite strong again now, and I am weary of doing nothing from +morning to night." + +"Well, I don't know why you should not if it pleases your fancy," +said the farmer. "You will be welcome at the Priory, as all guests +are who come with news for the holy brothers from the world +without. 'Tis less than four miles away, and you have got the use +of your legs. Go, and welcome, if you will." + +"I would go with you, were I not bound to go to Chelmsford myself," +quoth Jack, the farmer's ruddy-faced son, of whom mention has not +yet been made. + +Paul had indeed seen but little of him so far, as his time was +mainly spent in the fields, and he had been absent from home on his +first arrival there, buying some fat sheep to be killed and salted +down for consumption in the winter. + +"I like well enough a visit to the Priory. There is always good +cheer there enough and to spare. They know what good living means, +those holy men. If all other trades failed, I would not mind +turning friar myself." + +"Nay, brother, jest not upon the holy men," quoth his sister in a +tone of gentle reproof. Then turning to Paul, she added, with +something of pleading in her tones, "But, sir, why peril yourself +by venturing into the forest alone? You have still but the use of +one arm, and were the robbers to be on the watch for you, you would +fall an easy prey into their hands." + +But Paul laughed, as also did Jack. + +"I trow the robbers have something else to do than to play the spy +continually on me and my movements," he said. "They cannot always +be on the watch, and the wood is dark and full of hiding places. +Were I to hear the sound of pursuit, I warrant me I could hide +myself so that none should find me. I have done the like many a +time before now. In this part of the country one must needs go into +the forest if one is ever to leave the shelter of the house at all. +Have no fear for me; I will take care not to run into danger." + +Joan looked as if hardly satisfied, though she was unable to uphold +her case by argument; for it was very true that if their guest was +to be anything but a close prisoner, he must adventure himself from +time to time in the forest. Jack, however, broke into one of his +hearty laughs, as he looked at Paul, and said: + +"Those same robbers are not such bad fellows, after all, as some of +our good folks would make out. True, they help themselves to our +goods from time to time; but they are capital company if you chance +to fall upon their haunts, and they make you welcome. I've spent +more than one night amongst them, and never a bit the worse. Men +must live; and if the folks in authority will outlaw them, why, +they must jog along then as best they may. I don't think they do +more harm than they can well help." + +Mistress Devenish shook her head in silence over the rather wild +talk of her son, but she said nothing. She was used to Jack's ways, +and she was proud of his spirit, though afraid sometimes that it +would lead him into trouble. She had noted of late that he had been +unwontedly absent from home during the long evenings of the summer +just gone by, and had wondered what took him off, for he seldom +gave account of himself. She noted, too, that he spoke in a very +different fashion from others of the robber band that was such a +terror to the village folks. She did not know whether or not to put +these two facts together as connected with each other; but she +listened eagerly to all he said on the subject, trying to discover +what might be the meaning of this strange leniency of opinion. +"It is different for you, brother--they owe you no grudge," said +Joan, with a slight shiver; whilst the farmer broke in roughly: + +"Tut, tut, Jack! what mean you by trying to make common cause with +the ruffians who would have carried your sister off as a prey of +that graceless scamp well-called Devil's Own? I marvel to hear such +words from you. You should know better." + +"They are not all brutes like Devil's Own," muttered Jack in a low +tone; but he did not speak aloud, for the fashion of the day +forbade the young to argue with the old, or children to answer back +when their parents spoke to them in reproof. + +But Paul was still resolved that he would be the messenger to carry +to the Priory that day the two fat capons the worthy mistress had +in readiness for the prior's table. They had been bespoken some +time, and could be no longer delayed. Paul was weary of an idle +life, and eager to see something of the country in which he found +himself. He was in comfortable quarters enough at the farm; but he +was growing stronger each day, and was beginning to fret against +the fetters which held him from straying far from the farm. + +He did not much believe in the lasting anger of the robber band. He +knew that those gentlemen would have other matters on hand than +that of revenging themselves upon him for his frustration of their +captain's design. He was content to rest yet awhile beneath the +hospitable roof of the Figeons, so long as he knew that his +presence there might be something of a protection and gain to its +inmates; but he had no intention of being a prisoner. His young +blood stirred within him, and he longed to be out in the free air +of heaven again. His strength had all come back, and even the +broken arm was mending so fast that he felt it would not be long +before he should gain its full use again. The love of adventure, +strong within him, made him fearless even of a second encounter +with the robbers. He felt certain he could hold his own against one +or two, and a whole band would never take him unawares. He should +hear or see them in plenty of time to hide away in some tree or +thicket. It was absurd to be chained within doors any longer. + +Paul was looking now a very different object from the battered and +way-worn traveller who had rescued Joan from the robbers. A couple +of weeks' rest and good feeding had given a healthy glow to his +cheek, had brightened his eye, and brought back the native +boyishness and brightness to his face. He was stronger, gayer, +blither than he had been since the never-to-be-forgotten day when +he had closed his dead mother's eyes, and been obliged to fly for +his life from his ancestral halls, ere the rapacious scions of the +House of York fell upon him there, to take into their own +possession all that should have been his. For his father and +brothers lay in a bloody grave, killed in one of those many risings +and insurrections scarce mentioned in history, whereby the +adherents of the Red Rose sought to disturb Edward's rule in +England, and incite the people to bring back him they called their +rightful king. + +Those days had changed Paul, a mere lad of seventeen, into a grave +and sad-faced man; but the impression had gradually worn somewhat +faint during the three years in which he had been a wanderer and an +outcast from his home. Of late it had seemed to him that his lost +youth was returning, and certainly there was that in his bright +glance and erect and noble bearing which won for him universal +admiration and affection. + +He was, in truth, a right goodly youth. His features were very +fine, and the dark-gray eyes with their delicately-pencilled brows +were full of fire and brilliance. The lips readily curved to a +bright smile, though they could set themselves in lines of resolute +determination when occasion demanded. The golden curls clustered +round the noble head in classic fashion, but were not suffered to +grow long enough to reach the shoulders, as in childhood's day; and +the active, graceful, well-knit figure gave indication of great +strength as well as of great agility. + +Paul's dress, too, was improved since we saw him last; for one of +the travelling peddlers or hawkers who roamed the country with +their wares, and supplied the remote villages with the greater part +of those articles not made at home, had recently visited Figeon's +Farm, and Paul had been able to supply himself with a new and +serviceable suit of clothes, in which his tall figure was set off +to the best advantage. + +It was made of crimson cloth and the best Spanish leather, and was +cut after one of the most recent but least extravagant fashions of +the day. Paul had been able to purchase it without difficulty, for +he had by no means exhausted the funds he had in his possession, +and the leather belt he wore next his person was still heavy with +broad gold pieces. + +Lady Stukely had seemed to have a prevision of coming trouble for +her youngest-born son for many long years before the troubles +actually came, and she had been making preparation for the same +with the patience and completeness that only a mother's heart would +have prompted. She had made with her own hands a stout leather +belt, constructed of a number of small pouches, each one of which +could contain a score of broad gold pieces. She knew full well that +lands might be confiscated, valuables forfeited, houses taken in +possession by foes, but the owner of the current gold of the land +would never be utterly destitute; so for years before her death she +bad been filling this ingeniously contrived belt, and had stored +within its many receptacles gold enough to be a small fortune in +itself. This belt had been in Paul's possession ever since the sad +day when she had kissed him for the last time and had commended him +to the care of Heaven. He had by no means yet exhausted its +contents, for he had often won wages for himself by following one +or another great noble in his private enterprises against some +lawless retainer or an encroaching neighbour. + +A little money went a long way in those days, when open house was +kept by almost all the great of the land, and free quarters and +food were always to be had at any monastery or abbey to which +chance might guide the wanderer's feet. So Paul had not been forced +to draw largely upon his own resources, and was a man of some +substance still, although his compact little fortune was so well +hidden away that none suspected its presence. + +And now, his health restored, his strength renewed and his outer +man refurbished in excellent style, Paul began to weary of the +seclusion and monotony of the farm, and was eager to enjoy even the +mild relaxation of a walk across to the brothers of the +neighbouring Priory. The basket was soon packed, and was intrusted +to his care; and off he set down the easy slope which led from +Figeon's to Much Waltham, whistling gaily as he moved, and swinging +his heavy burden with an ease that showed how little he made of it. + +Will Ives, the blacksmith's son, was looking out from the rude +forge as he passed, and came out to speak a friendly word to the +fine young gentleman, as he now looked to rustic eyes. Honest +Will's face had grown somewhat gloomy of late, though Paul did not +know it, and he was suffering, if the truth must be told, from the +keen pangs of jealousy. For he had long been courting Joan +Devenish, and hoped to make her his wife before the year's end, and +he fancied that she was disposed to his suit, although she had +never given a direct reply to his rather clumsy but ardent wooing. + +Of course it seemed to the young smith that every man in the world +must be equally enamoured of his sweetheart, and he was terribly +afraid that this fine young gentleman, with his handsome face and +graceful figure, and pleasant voice and ways, would altogether cut +him out with saucy Mistress Joan, who, it must be confessed, was +fond of teasing her faithful swain, and driving him to the verge of +distraction. So it showed Will's good-heartedness that he did not +shun and dislike his rival, but rather, when he found him bent on +an errand into the forest, offered to go with him part of the way, +to make sure that all was safe. + +"We haven't seen anything of the robbers round here lately, and +they always give the Priory a wide berth, being half afraid of +incurring the ban of Holy Church, though they care little about +anything else. Anyway, I'll walk a part of the way with you, and +carry the basket for a spell. Not but what you look brave and +hearty again, in good faith." + +Paul was ready enough for company, and Will soon got talking of his +own private affairs, and presently it all came out--how he had +loved Joan ever since they had been children together; how he had +worked hard these past three years to save money to furbish up a +little home for her; and how he was now building a snug little +cottage under shelter of his father's larger one, so that he might +have a little place for her all her own, seeing that she had been +used to the space and comfort of the farm. To all this Paul +listened with good-humoured interest, only wondering why Will's +face kept so lugubrious, as if he were speaking of something which +he had hoped for, but which could never be. + +"You will have to look a little brighter when you come a-wooing," +he said at length, "or Mistress Joan will be frightened to look at +you. And why have you kept away so much these last days? She has +been quite offended by it, I can tell you. It's always being said +that you are sure to come today; and when the day goes by and you +come not, she pouts and looks vexed, and casts about for all manner +of reasons to account for it. You had better not be too slack, or +you will offend her altogether." + +Will's face brightened up marvellously. + +"Then you think she cares?" + +"Why, of course she does. She's forever talking of you and all you +have done, and what a wonderful Will you are. When she sits at her +wheel and chatters to me as I lounge by the fire, she is always +telling of you and your sayings and doings. Why, man, did you not +know that for yourself? Did you think all the love was on your +side?" + +"I daresay I was a fool," said Will, getting fiery red. "But I +thought, perhaps, she would not care for a clumsy fellow like me +after she had seen a gentleman like you. You saved her life, you +know, and it seemed natural like that you should care for each +other afterward. I know I'm nothing like you." + +"No, indeed. I'm a mere wanderer--here today and gone tomorrow; a +soldier and an outcast, who could never ask any woman to share his +lot. My good sword is my bride. I follow a different mistress from +you. I may never know rest or peace till the House of Lancaster is +restored to its ancient rights. You need not fear me as a rival, +good Will; for no thought of marriage has ever entered my head, and +sometimes methinks it never will." + +The smith's face was a study as he listened to these welcome words, +and Paul laughed as he read the meaning of those changing +expressions. + +"Give me the basket, and get you gone to Figeon's, and make your +peace with your offended lady," he said, laughing. "You are but a +sorry wooer if you yield so soon to depression and despair. But I +warrant she will forgive you this time; and if you will but plead +your cause in good earnest, it may be that I shall yet have the +pleasure of treading a measure at your wedding feast." + +The blushing smith was easily persuaded to this course, and bade +farewell to his companion in eager haste. He was clad only in his +working apron, and his hands were grimy from his toil; but his open +face was comely and honest enough to please the fancy of any +maiden, and Paul thought to himself that Mistress Joan would scarce +reject so stalwart a champion after the fright and the shock of the +previous week but one. As Will Ives's wife she would be safer and +better protected than as Farmer Devenish's unwedded daughter. + +As for himself, thoughts of love and marriage had seldom entered +his mind, and had always been dismissed with a light laugh. As he +had said to Will, he was wedded to a cause, to a resolute aim and +object, and nothing nearer or dearer had ever yet intruded itself +upon him to wean away his first love from the object upon which it +had been so ardently bestowed. The little prince--as in his +thoughts he still called him sometimes--was the object of his +loving homage. King Henry was too little the man, and Queen +Margaret too much, for either of them to fulfil his ideal or win +the unquestioning love and loyalty of his heart; but in Edward, +Prince of Wales, as he always called him, he had an object worthy +of his admiration and worship. + +Everything he heard about that princely boy seemed to agree with +what he remembered of him in bygone years. He and not the gentle +and half-imbecile king would be the real monarch of the realm; and +who better fitted to reign than such a prince? + +The kindly welcome he received at the Priory from Brother Lawrence +and the prior himself was pleasant to one who had so long been a +mere wanderer on the face of the earth. The beautiful medieval +building, with its close-shorn turf and wide fish ponds, was a +study in itself, and lay so peacefully brooding in the pale +November sunshine, that it was hard to realize that the country +might only too soon be shaken from end to end by the convulsions of +civil war. + +Paul was eagerly questioned as to what he knew of the feeling of +the country, and he could not deny that there was great discontent +in many minds at the thought of the return to power of the +Lancastrian king. The monks and friars shook their heads, and +admitted with a sigh that they feared the whole county of Essex was +Yorkist to the core, and that it was the leaven of heretical +opinions which was at the root of their rebellion against their +lawful king. It was difficult to believe that the warlike Edward +would long remain an exile, content to deliver up a kingdom which +had once been his without striking a single blow, especially when +his own party was so powerful in the land.. London, a hotbed of +Lollardism, would soon raise its voice in the call for Edward of +York. The present hour was calm and bright, and Henry of Windsor +wore his crown again; but the mutterings of the coming storm seemed +already to be heard in the distance, and the brothers of the +monastery did not blind their eyes to the fact that the wheel of +fortune might still have strange turns in store. + +"Wherefore we must walk warily, and not stir up strife," quoth the +rubicund prior, who looked at once a benevolent and a strong-willed +man. "We will pray for the restoration--the permanent restoration +of the good king; but we must avoid stirring up the hearts of his +subjects in such a way as will make them his foes. + +"Young sir, what think you of your hosts at the farm? Are they +quiet and well-disposed people, seeking in all things the good of +the people, and giving due reverence to Holy Church?" + +Paul answered eagerly in the affirmative. He had heard or seen +nothing of a suspicious character of late, and had grown very fond +of the kindly folks, who made him so welcome to the best of what +they had. His reply was considered very satisfactory, and the prior +dismissed him with his blessing; for Paul had no wish to be belated +in the forest, and proposed to return immediately after the midday +meal which he had shared with the brothers. + +It was in somewhat thoughtful mood that he pursued his way through +the woodland paths. Conversation about the burning questions of the +day always left him with a feeling akin to depression. He longed +for the restoration of the house he loved and served, but knew that +a transitory triumph was not a true victory. There was still much +to be done before Henry's seat upon the throne could be called +secure; and what would be the result of the inevitable struggle of +the next months? + +He had unconsciously stopped still in deep thought as he asked +himself this question, and was leaning in meditation against a +great oak tree, when he suddenly became aware of a rapid tread +approaching along the narrow track. It seemed as if some youth were +advancing toward him, for he heard the clear whistle as of a boyish +voice, and the springy tread seemed to denote youth and agility. + +Although Paul was by no means afraid of a chance encounter in the +forest, he was well aware that it was possible to be overreached +and taken prisoner by some of the robbers, and that he was an +object of special hatred to some amongst them. He decided, +therefore, to act with caution; and as the spot in which he had +halted was rather an open one, through which meandered a little +brook, he resolved to slip silently into the thicket hard by, and +watch from that place of security what manner of person it was +advancing. + +A moment later he had effectually concealed himself, and hardly had +he done so before a figure came into view through the dim aisles of +the wood. + +The figure was that of a tall, slim, graceful youth of singularly +winning aspect. His frame displayed that combination of strength, +lightness, and agility which is the perfection of training, and his +face was as full of beauty as his frame of activity and grace. The +features were exceedingly noble, and the poise of the head upon the +shoulders was almost princely in its unconscious majesty. The eyes +were a deep blue gray, and looked out upon the world as if their +owner were born to rule. The hair was golden in hue, and clustered +round the head in manly fashion, not in the flowing love locks that +some in those days affected. The dress he wore was very simple, and +somewhat faded, and in his cap a little silver swan was fastened, +forming the only adornment on his person. + +Paul, as he lay in his ambush, gazed and gazed as if fascinated +upon the figure now standing stationary in the midst of the green +space. Instinctively he felt for the little silver swan in his own +cap, and looked to see if he had on by mistake the faded dress he +had previously worn, so like the one he now gazed upon. For it +seemed to him as though he saw his own double--or someone closely +resembling himself--and his heart began to beat almost to +suffocation; for had not this same experience been his before? and +could there be another, a third youth in the realm, whose face and +figure he had so accurately copied? Paul had not the royal mien of +this wanderer--he had not even the same absolute beauty of feature +or peculiar delicacy of colouring; but for all that the likeness +was so striking that it was bewildering to him to see it, and the +images and visions at once conjured up before his mind's eye were +of a nature to excite him beyond the bounds of consecutive thought. +Holding his breath, and still uncertain if he might not be +dreaming, he fastened his eyes upon the apparition, and waited for +what should happen. + +The youth paused and looked round him, and then spoke aloud: + +"Have I come on a fool's errand after all? Shall I ever accomplish +my object? Methinks if I had but a trusty comrade at hand somewhat +might be done; but I fear my poor Jacques never reached the land +alive, and I had trusted to him to be my guide and counsellor in my +quest. Alone I feel helpless--stranded--bewildered. + +"Ha! what is that? Who comes this way?" + +"Your faithful servant, gracious prince," cried Paul, springing out +of his concealment and throwing himself at young Edward's feet. "My +dear, dear lord, how come you here alone, unarmed, defenceless, in +the midst of a hostile country? Methinks I do but dream; but yet +the face, the voice--I cannot be mistaken. O sweet prince, did we +not truly say that we should meet again? Do you remember me?" + +"Remember you, good Paul? Of a truth I do, and that right well; and +it is indeed a happy chance that has thrown you across my path this +day. But Paul, on your life, on your loyalty as a subject, call me +not prince again. It might cost me my life, and you yours. + +"Hush! I will be obeyed, and I will explain in brief. I am here +unknown to all. I stole away from my mother's side, even as I stole +into the forest with you when we were but boys together. She thinks +me with her sister, the Princess Yolande. But I had my own purpose +in coming thus alone and disguised to our royal realm of England. +They say my father reigns here once again. The crown has been +placed upon his head by one I have almost the right now to call my +father-in-law. But what rule has he, in truth, who reigns not in +his people's hearts? What use to seek the empty glory of a golden +crown, who wins not the priceless guerdon of a nation's love? + +"Listen then, Paul. They tell me that in my hands will the kingly +power soon be placed. If that is to be so, I would fain learn for +myself the temper of my people. And this is not to be learned by +Edward, Prince of Wales, seated in the midst of proud nobles at his +father's court; but it may be learned by a humble wayfarer, who +travels from place to place seeking information from whence it may +truly be culled--namely, from the artless sons of the soil, who +speak not to please their listener but as their heart dictates. + +"Paul, tell me I have done well--smile upon me again; for I am very +lonely, and my heart sometimes sinks. But I love my people, and +would be loved by them, only I needs must grow to know them first." + +"O my lord," cried Paul enthusiastically, "how can they help loving +you when they see you? But how come you alone, and in these wild +woods, too, infested by fierce robber bands? It is not meet thus to +peril your royal life." + +The prince placed his hand smilingly on Paul's lips. + +"Use not that word again," he said smilingly, yet with a certain +imperiousness of manner that became him well. "I am thus solitary +through the untoward accident that drowned the faithful follower +who alone shared my design, and I knew not that I was in peril from +these lawless men in one part of the realm more than the other. +Paul, if I ever wield the kingly power, I will put down these bands +of marauders with a strong hand. My peaceful subjects shall not go +in terror of their liberties and lives. I would learn all their +wrongs that I may right them. They shall know at last that a prince +who loves them has been in their midst." + +"And, my lord, if you are thus alone and unattended, take me with +you on your travels. Did you not promise me long years ago that the +day would come when we should roam the world together? and has not +the time come now?" + +"Why, verily I believe it has," cried Edward, with brightening +eyes. "But, Paul, I have not asked you of yourself. Have you no +other tie--no stronger claim? And how comes it that you are here, +so far away from your home? I have asked not your history, though I +have told mine own." + +"Mine is soon told, sweet prince," said Paul. "I crave your pardon, +but I know not how else to frame my speech." + +Then in a few graphic words he sketched the history of himself and +his kindred during those troubled years of civil strife and of +Edward's reign; and young Edward listened with a sorrowful air and +drooping mien, and heaved a deep sigh at the conclusion. + +"Another faithful house ruined--another tale of woe for which it +seems we unhappy princes are the cause. Nay, Paul, I know what you +would say, brave loyal heart; but it lies heavy on my soul for all +that. And having suffered thus, why tempt your fate anew by linking +your fortunes with those of the hapless House of Lancaster? Why +not--" + +"My lord, break not my heart by rejecting my poor services," cried +Paul, plunging anew into the tale of his longing and ambition to be +one day called the servant of the Prince of Wales; and then as both +were young, both ardent, hot-headed, and hopeful, all stern and +sorrowful thoughts were laid aside, and the two youths began to +plan with eager vehemence the future of adventure which lay before +them. + +"And first, Paul, this you must learn once and for all: I am prince +no more, but Edward alone, Edward Stukely--for I will e'en borrow +your good name--your younger brother, who seeks his fortune with +you. I will pass as cousin here, where you are known, but elsewhere +it shall be as brothers we will travel. This strange likeness will +be my best safeguard, for none will doubt that we are close akin. +Not as knight and squire, as once we thought, will we roam the +world in search of adventure. This little realm of England will +suffice us, and hand in hand as brothers will we go. But methinks +we shall surely meet as many strange adventures as in our dreams; +and if I ever sit at last on England's throne, this journey of +thine and mine will be for years the favourite theme of minstrels +to sing in bower and hall." + + + +Chapter 4: Paul's Kinsman. + + +"Kinsman--marry, a brother in very sooth!" cried the hospitable +farmer, eying Paul's young companion with a glance of shrewd +admiration and surprise; "and right welcome shall he be to such +good cheer as my poor house can afford. + +"And how found you your brother, fair youth?--for it can scarce +have been chance that led you here. My guest spoke not of bringing +you home when he started forth today." + +"Nay, he knew it not himself," answered the prince, laughing +merrily. "Nor is he my brother, good mine host: our kinship is a +less close one than that, for all that we favour each other so +well. He had no thought of the encounter when he started forth +today, but kind fortune guided us to the meeting. As children we +loved each other and played together, but for years we have not +met. I am nought but a solitary wanderer, without friends or home. +It has been a happy chance that has brought to me this trusty +comrade and the welcome of this hospitable home." + +There was something so attractive in the aspect and speech of the +royal youth that all who heard him felt their hearts go out to him, +they knew not why. The farmer laid his horny hand on the lad's arm, +and cried in his jovial way: + +"All travellers, be they gentle or simple, are welcome at Figeon's +Farm, and doubly so anyone who claims kinship with our guest and +very good friend Paul Stukely. And you come at a good time, too, +young sir; for we have a wedding feast in prospect, and we shall +want all the blithe company we can assemble to make merry at it. + +"Come, my wench; you need not run away. You are not ashamed of +honest Will; and these gentlemen will doubtless honour our poor +home by remaining our guests a while longer, that they may tread a +measure at your marriage feast." + +Paul looked smilingly at the blushing Joan, whose face was alight +with happiness, and her father continued laughingly: + +"Oh ay, they have made it up together this very day; and poor Will, +who has been courting her these three years and more, cannot see +what there is to wait for--no more can I. For my part, since that +rascally Simon tried to carry off the girl, I have known no peace +about her. Figeon's is a lonely place, and the young know not how +to be cautious, and it's ill work for young blood to be cooped up +ever between four walls. Down in the village, with neighbours about +her, the wench will be safe enough, and Will's sturdy arm will be +her best protection. Simon might think twice about assaulting a +wedded woman to carry her away, when he would count a maid fair +spoil, seeing that he ever claimed to be called a lover of hers. So +all ways she will be safer wed, and I see no cause for them to +wait." + +And indeed in those unsettled and troubled times fathers were glad +enough to get their daughters safely married at the first +reasonable opportunity. Farmer Devenish had another reason in +wishing Joan to leave her home. He was afraid that she might imbibe +the views her mother had embraced, and which he and his son could +not but give credence to, whilst they made no protest of having +altered their old way of thinking. But he had always forbidden his +wife to disturb Joan in her pious faith in the old religion. Such +hard matters, he said, were not for young wenches; and the peril +which menaced those who embraced the reformed doctrines was +sufficiently terrible for the mother to be almost glad of the +prohibition. It would be an awful thing for her if her daughter +fell under the ban of the law, and was made to answer for her faith +as some had been in so cruel a fashion before now. + +So that there was no wish on the part of any at the old home to +hinder her marriage, and as soon as the young people had come to an +understanding with one another, their way was made perfectly plain +by those in authority. + +Joan looked shyly at Paul as he crossed the kitchen with some +pleasant word of congratulation, and said: + +"In faith, kind sir, I think we owe it all to you. Will tells me it +was you who sent him hither today. He had got some foolish notion +in his head which kept him away; but he said it was you who bid him +take heart and try his luck." + +"And very good luck he has had, it seems," answered Paul, laughing. +"And so the marriage is to be next week?" + +"My father and mother wish it so," answered the blushing Joan; "and +my mother has long had all my household linen spun against the +wedding day. I trust you will stay, and your kinsman also. +Perchance you have never before seen a rustic wedding." + +"Not for many years now," answered Paul, with a smile and a sigh; +"and I would fain be a witness of yours, fair mistress. But I must +ask my young companion there. We have linked our lives together for +the nonce." + +But young Edward was perfectly willing to be the farmer's guest for +awhile. Nothing could better have fitted in with his own wishes +than to have stayed in such unquestioned fashion beneath the roof +of one of his humble subjects. At the supper table that night he +won all hearts by the grace of his manners, the sweetness of his +smiles, his ready courtesy to all, and the brilliant sallies that +escaped his lips which set the whole table sometimes in a roar. He +possessed that ready adaptability to circumstances which is often +an attribute of the highest birth. The motherly heart of Mistress +Devenish went out to him at once, and she would fain have known +something of his history, and how it came that so fair and gentle a +youth was wandering thus alone in the wide world. + +Paul had told her all his story without the least reserve; but this +kinsman of his was more reticent, and if asked a question, +contrived to turn the edge off it without appearing to avoid giving +a direct answer. But Mistress Devenish was acute enough to perceive +that he did not intend to speak of his own past; and noting the +unconscious deference paid by Paul to one whom seniority would have +given him the right to dictate to and lead, she came to the +conclusion that, kinsfolk or no, the newcomer was of a more exalted +rank than his comrade, and that some romantic history attached to +him, as it did only too often, to wanderers in those days. Her +interest in him only deepened as she reached this conclusion, and +she wished that she knew how to help the two lonely youths whose +fates seemed now to be linked together. + +Supper was in course, and the whole party assembled round the +table, when a knock at the outer door, heralded by a great barking +of dogs without, caused one of the men to start to his feet; whilst +Joan turned red and pale, as she had had a trick of doing of late; +and the farmer looked a trifle uneasy, as a man may do who is half +afraid of some domestic visitation of an unpleasing kind. + +But when the door was opened, brows cleared and anxious looks +vanished; for the visitor was none other than the peddler of a few +days back, who, contrary to custom, had paid a second visit to the +village within a week of the first. + +"Good even, good folks," he said, stepping in with his heavy bags, +which he deposited with a grunt upon the floor. "You will wonder to +see me so soon again, but I was turned from my course by the +breaking down of the bridge at Terling, and so I thought I would +tramp back the way I had come. Reaching the village at sundown, I +heard the news of the wedding that is to be up here; and, thought +I, surely where a wedding is to be the peddler is always welcome. +So here I am, and I doubt not you will give me a night's shelter; +and the pretty maid is welcome to turn over my packs at her +leisure, whilst I take my ease in yon cozy inglenook." + +The peddler was always a welcome guest in those days, and Peter was +eagerly welcomed by all. He was speedily seated at the board, the +best of everything heaped upon his trencher; whilst as he talked +and ate at the same time, doing both with hearty goodwill, Joan and +one of the serving wenches slipped away to the tempting packs and +undid the strings, handling the wares thus exposed with tender care +and delighted curiosity. + +The father laughed as he saw his daughter thus employed, but bid +her choose the finest stuff to make herself a wedding kirtle; +whilst he himself turned again to the peddler, asking news of the +realm; and young Edward leaned his elbows on the table with his +head in his hands, listening eagerly to every word that passed. + +Paul almost wished he would not thus listen, for it was the same +old story everywhere: discontent at the present state of things; +longing for "the king"--by which was meant Edward the Fourth--to +come back and reclaim the kingdom; gloomy prognostications of civil +war; hopes that the proud Earl of Warwick would change sides once +more--a thing many quite expected of him. + +And invective against the feeble Henry and the warlike and +revengeful Margaret of Anjou, scornfully called "the Frenchwoman," +ran so high that Paul presently drew his kinsman away, and tried to +interest him in other matters. + +"Heed them not, my lord," he whispered. "We know there have ever +been two factions in the kingdom, and in these parts they are all +for the House of York. But the coming of this peddler may be good +for you. Said you not that you wished to purchase a riding dress? +His wares are good and not too costly for narrow purses. Since we +mean to ride to London shortly, this were no bad time to furnish +yourself with such things as you need for the journey." + +Edward roused himself with an effort, and shook off the melancholy +which had crept over his face as he listened to the talk round the +table. The peddler's wares were being unpacked and handed round for +inspection in a free and easy fashion enough; but the man made no +objection, and only kept a pretty keen watch upon his property, +glancing from time to time at the stranger youth with rather marked +scrutiny, which, however, the latter did not observe. + +There was a riding dress amongst the goods of the peddler somewhat +similar to the one recently purchased by Paul, and Edward decided +upon the purchase of it, if he could come to terms with the man. He +and Paul both desired to make some present to the bride, and picked +out, the one an elegant high-peaked headdress, such as the ladies +of the day loved to wear, though satirists made merry at the +expense of their "exalted horns;" the other, some of the long gold +pins to fasten both cap and hair which were equally acceptable as +an adjunct to a lady's toilet. + +Edward brought his purchases over to the corner where the peddler +had ensconced himself, and addressed him in a low tone: + +"See here, my good fellow. I am a wanderer from foreign parts; and +my servant, who had charge of my moneybag, lost his life, I fear +me, in trying to effect the landing on these shores, which I was +lucky enough to manage in safety. Thus it comes about that I have +but little gold about me. But your trade is one that barters all +kinds of gear, and I have this pearl clasp to offer to you in part +exchange for what I wish to take of you, so doubtless you will +furnish me over and above with money to put in my gipsire: for the +clasp is a valuable one, as any one who knows gems can see at a +glance; nor would I part with it, but that necessity compels me." + +The peddler looked at the clasp attentively, and then gave such a +quick, keen look at the prince as would have aroused Paul's anxiety +had he been near at hand. But he had not observed his comrade's +last move, and was still patiently holding out stuffs in good +natured if rather clumsy man fashion for the farmer's wife and +daughter to take stock of and compare one with another. + +"Hum--yes--a pretty trinket and a costly one, I doubt not, for +those that have a market for such things," returned the peddler. +"And how came you by it, young sir? It scarce seems in accord with +the simplicity of your dress and appointments." + +Edward flushed slightly. He was not used to being taken to task, +and that by a common peddler; but his common sense told him that he +must expect such treatment now, and not be over ready to take +offence, so he answered quietly enough: + +"It has been in our family these many years. I know not how it came +there first. I trow I am not the only youth who has jewels by him +in these days little in keeping with the bravery of his other +garments." + +The peddler nodded his head with a smile. + +"True, true, young sir; I meant no offence. Fortunes are lost and +won but too quickly in these times, and will be again, I misdoubt +me, ere England sees peace and prosperity once more. But at least +the vultures fatten if honest folks starve; and what care princes +how their subjects suffer, so as they and their nobles divide the +spoil?" + +"Nay, now, you wrong them," cried the lad with sudden heat. "He is +unworthy the name of prince who could thus think or act." + +Then pulling himself up quickly, as if afraid he had said too much, +he returned to the matter of the bargain, and asked what the +peddler would allow for the jewel. + +The offer was not a very liberal one, but the man professed that +jewels were difficult to get rid of, and Edward was no hand at +making a bargain. However, when he had paid for his purchases he +had a few gold pieces to put in his pouch, and he reflected that in +London he should be able to dispose of the other jewels in his +possession to better advantage. He had enough now to purchase a +horse to take him to London, and for the present that was all he +required. + +He and Paul shared the same room at night, and talked in low tones +far on into the small hours. Edward, who had suffered many +hardships and privations since leaving the French court, was glad +enough of a few days' rest in the hospitable farmhouse, and of the +opportunity of hearing all the village gossip which the wedding +festivity would give him. But after that event he desired to push +on to London, to learn what he could of public feeling in the great +metropolis. + +"For, Paul," he said, gravely and almost sadly, "the city of London +is like the heart of the nation. If that beat with enmity to our +cause and love to our foes, I fear me all is lost before a blow has +been struck. I know we have loyal friends in the west, and in some +of those fair towns like Coventry and Lichfield; but if London be +against us, that rich merchant city, the pride and wonder of the +world, I have little heart or hope of success. Folks ever talk as +if London were Yorkist to the core; but I yet have hopes that +amongst her humbler citizens there may beat hearts warm in Henry of +Lancaster's cause. At least I will go thither and see with my own +eyes, and hear with my own ears. Disguised as we shall be, we shall +hear the truth, and all men who are lukewarm will be inclining +toward the cause that has the mighty King Maker, as they call him, +in its ranks. We shall hear the best that is to be heard. If the +best be bad, I shall know that our cause is hopeless indeed." + +Paul pressed the hand he held, but said nothing. He feared only too +well what they would hear in London. But yet, inasmuch as he was +young and ardent, he hoped even whilst he feared; and talking and +planning their future in glowing colours, both the lads fell +asleep. + +The following days were bright and busy ones at the farm. The +peddler had vanished ere the travellers were downstairs next +morning; but they had bought all they required overnight, and did +not trouble about that. There was a great stirring throughout the +house, and the needles of mistress and maid were flying swiftly +whilst the short daylight lasted. + +Edward and Paul spent the morning hours in the selection of a horse +fit to carry the prince on his journey to London, and the farmer's +son brought all the spare colts and lighter steeds into the straw +yard for their guest to try and select for himself. There was no +horse quite so handsome or well bred as Sultan, and Paul was eager +for Edward to accept his steed in place of another. But the prince +only laughed and shook his head, in the end selecting a fine +chestnut colt only just broken to the wearing of the halter; and +the kinsmen spent the best part of the next days in teaching the +mettlesome though tractable creature how to answer to the rein and +submit to saddle and rider. It was shod at Ives's forge, and +christened by the name of Crusader, and soon learned to love the +lads, who, whilst showing themselves masters of its wildest moods, +were yet kindly and gentle in their handling. + +The young prince was in great spirits during these days. He had +been all his life somewhat too much under the close restraint of an +affectionate but dictatorial mother, and had been master of none of +his own actions. Such restraint was galling to a high-spirited +youth; and although the sweetness of disposition inherited from his +father had carried the prince through life without rebellion or +repining, yet this foretaste of liberty was very delightful, and +the romance of being thus unknown and obscure, free to go where he +would unquestioned and unmarked, exercised a great fascination over +him, and made him almost forget the shadow which sometimes seemed +to hang over his path. + +Paul was as light hearted as his companion in the main, though +there were moments when his joy at having his adored prince under +his care was dashed by the feeling of responsibility in such a +charge, and by the fear of peril to the hope of the House of +Lancaster. He wondered if it were his fancy that the farm was +watched; that there were often stealthy steps heard without in the +night--steps that set the dogs barking furiously, but which never +could be accounted for next day; that if he rode or walked down the +cart road to the village alone or with his comrade, their movements +were followed by watchful eyes--eyes that seemed now and again to +glare at him, as in the dusk that first evening, but which always +melted away into the shadows of the forest if looked at closely or +followed and tracked. + +He was disposed to think it all the trick of an excited +imagination, but he began to be not sorry that the day for +departure was drawing near. If he had provoked the enmity of the +robber chief, or if by a remoter chance the identity of his +companion had been suspected, it would be better to be off without +much more delay so soon as the wedding should be over. + +Joan herself was nervous and fearful, and seldom set foot outside +the door of her home. She sometimes said with a shiver that she was +certain there were fierce men hiding about the house ready to carry +her off if she did; and though her father and brother laughed at +her fear, they humoured her, and were willing enough to let her +keep safe at home: for Simon Dowsett was not a man to be trifled +with, and he might very likely have heard before now that the woman +he had vowed to make his wife was to be given in marriage to his +rival. + +The days, however, fled by without any event to arouse real +disquiet, and on the morrow Joan would pass to the sturdy keeping +of the young smith, whose new house stood well flanked between his +father's dwelling and the forge in the heart of the village where +law-abiding persons dwelt in fair security. + +The eve of the marriage day had come and gone. The household had +retired to rest. Paul and Edward were in their raftered room, which +was better lighted by the fire of logs than by the feeble rush +light glimmering on the table. Fuel was so plentiful in that wooded +country that all the hearths blazed in cold weather with the +sputtering pine logs, which gave out an aromatic scent pleasant to +the nostril. + +As they closed the door behind them, Edward laid a hand upon his +companion's arm and said: + +"Good Paul, shall we two hold a vigil this night? I misdoubt me +that some mischief is meditated toward Mistress Joan this night. I +would that we might keep watch and ward." + +"With all my heart," answered Paul readily, instinctively laying +his hand upon his poniard. "But what makes you think that evil is +intended?" + +"I scarce know, but so it is. Noted you not how quiet and sluggish +the dogs were at suppertime tonight? They would scarce come to +receive a morsel of meat, and as often as not turned away in +indifference, and curled themselves to sleep again. Indoors and out +they are all alike. And did you not hear Jack Devenish say as he +came in from his last round that he feared the great black watchdog +in the yard would not live till morning, he seemed so sick and out +of sorts? I wondered then that no one thought strange hands had +been tampering with them; but all the farmer said was that he +supposed they had gorged themselves upon the refuse meat of the +sheep they had been killing--and I liked not to say ought to alarm +them, for it may be as they say, and surely they ought best to +know." + +"Nevertheless we may well make ourselves watchdogs for tonight," +said Paul. "If evil is meant against the girl, this is the last +chance that bold Devil's Own, as they call him, will have of +getting her into his power. They all call him a desperate fellow, +and he will know that after the hard day's toil to have all in +readiness for the morrow the household will sleep sound tonight. +Why, even the maid had sleeping draught of spiced wine given her by +her mother, that she might look her best in her bridal kirtle +tomorrow. I think they all pledged themselves in the same bowl. + +"I warrant there will be no watchers but ourselves tonight. What +say you to look to our weapons and take the task upon ourselves?" + +Edward's eyes gave ready response. What youths do not love the idea +of facing the foe, and outwitting the cowardly cunning of those who +have planned an attack upon a sleeping household? Paul thought he +had been right now in fancying the house watched; but probably the +hope of the watchers had rather been to find and carry off the girl +than to take vengeance upon himself. He understood it all now, and +was eager to defeat them a second time. + +The nights were almost at their longest now, and the cold was very +great; but the watchers piled fresh logs upon the fire, and talked +quietly to each other as they sat in the dancing glow--for the +rushlight had long since gone out. Midnight had passed. All was +intensely still, and sleep seemed disposed to steal upon their +senses in spite of their resolution to banish his presence. Paul +was just about to suggest to his companion that he should lie down +awhile on the bed and indulge in a nap, whilst he himself kept +watch alone, when the prince laid a hand upon his arm, and gripped +him tight in a fashion which told that his quick ears had heard +something. + +The next moment Paul heard the same himself--stealthy sounds as of +approaching footsteps, which paused beneath the window and then +seemed to steal round the house. It was useless to look out of the +window, for the night was dark as pitch, and they themselves might +be seen; but they glanced at each other, and Paul whispered +excitedly: + +"It is to Mistress Joan's room they will find their way. I heard a +sound as though a ladder was being brought out. They will climb to +her window, force it open, and carry her away. + +"Hark! that was the whinny of a horse. They are mounted, and think +to baffle pursuit by their speed and knowledge, of the wood. There +is no time to lose. Call up the farmer and his son. I know which is +Mistress Joan's room. I will keep guard there till you come." + +Paul knew every inch of the house by heart; but Edward was less +familiar with its winding passages and crooked stairs. However, he +knew the position of the rooms occupied by the farmer and his son, +and groped his way thither; whilst Paul, with more certain step, +sped lightly along another passage toward the room in which he knew +Joan slept, not far from the serving wenches, but by no means near +the men of the place. + +All seemed profoundly quiet as he moved through the sleeping house; +but he had scarce reached the door of the maiden's room before he +heard the sound of a startled, muffled cry. + +In a second he had burst open the door and had sprung in. The sight +which met his gaze showed how truly he had guessed. The window was +open, and upon a ladder, with his body half in the room, was a +sooty-faced man, holding in his hand a flaring torch to light the +movements of his companion. This companion was already in the room; +he was in the very act of lifting from the bed the form of the +bride elect, who was so wrapped and smothered in the bed clothes +that she was unable either to cry aloud or to resist. Paul could +not see the face of the ruffian who was thus molesting her, and +knew not whether it was Simon Dowsett or another in his employ; but +he was disposed to think it was the captain himself, from the +stalwart proportions of his frame and the gigantic strength he +plainly possessed, of which he had heard so many stories told. + +This man was so engrossed in his efforts of lifting and carrying +away the struggling girl that he did not know it was any voice but +that of his companion which had uttered the exclamation he had +heard; and Paul, seeing that his presence was undetected, rushed +straight across the room toward the window, grasped the ladder in +both hands, and before the astonished ruffian upon it had recovered +his surprise sufficiently to grapple with him, had flung the ladder +and its occupant bodily to the ground, where the man lay groaning +and swearing on the frost-bound stones beneath. + +The torch had fallen within the room, and Paul snatched it up and +stuck it in a crevice of the boards, for he did not wish his other +adversary to escape in the darkness. The man had uttered a great +oath as he became aware that his occupation had been interrupted, +and dropping his burden upon the bed, he turned furiously upon his +opponent, so quickly and so fiercely that Paul had barely time to +draw his poniard and throw himself into an attitude of defence +before the man was upon him. + +"You again!" he hissed between his teeth, as his well-directed +blows fell one after the other, taxing Paul's strength and agility +not a little in evading or diverting them. "Have I not enough +against you without this? Do you know that no man thwarts Devil's +Own who lives not bitterly to rue the day? I have your name down in +a certain book of mine, young man, and some day you will learn the +meaning of that word. If I kill you not now, it is but that I may +take a more terrible vengeance later. Let me pass, I say, or I may +lose patience and cleave your skull as you stand." + +But Paul had no intention of letting this dangerous foe escape him. +He stood directly before the door, and barred the robber's way. It +might have gone ill with the lad in spite of his courage and +address, for he was but a stripling and the robber a man of +unwonted strength, and full of fury now at being thus balked; but +the sound of hurrying feet through the house toward the scene of +conflict told both the combatants that an end to the struggle was +approaching. + +Paul shouted to them to take care the prey did not escape by way of +one of the many crooked stairways, with which doubtless he was +familiar enough; and he, seeing that all hope of escape through the +house was now at an end, and knowing that he should inevitably be +overpowered by numbers if he waited longer, suddenly sprang +backwards and rushed to the window. Although it was high above the +ground, and the stones below were both slippery and hard, he +vaulted out like a deer, landing on the prostrate body of his +companion, who received him with an execration and a groan; and as +Paul rushed after him, intensely chagrined at this unexpected +escape, he was only in time to see him dash off into the forest, or +rather to hear his steps crashing through the thicket, until the +sound of a horse's steady gallop showed that he was off and away. + +The whole household was crowding into the room in various stages of +dishabille. The terrified Joan and the disappointed Paul had each +to tell their tale. But whilst the parents bent over their +daughter, soothing her terrors and calming her fears, Jack drew +toward Paul and his comrade, and said in low tones: + +"Simon Dowsett is not a foe to be set at defiance. I would counsel +you to take horse with the first gleam of day, and gain another +parish or the protection of London, at least, before he has +recovered from his discomfiture. I say this not without regret, as +I would fain keep you over our feast today; but--" + +The comrades exchanged glances, and spoke in one breath: + +"We understand: you have spoken kindly and well," they said. "If +you can have the horses in readiness, we will ride off with the +first streak of dawn. It will be best so for all." + +And though Joan Devenish and Will Ives were made man and wife that +very morning, Paul and the prince were not there to grace the +ceremony, but were far on their way to London. + + + +Chapter 5: In Peril. + + +"Edward, I am glad to see you back. Where have you been these many +hours? I have been watching and waiting, hoping you would come +before nightfall. I am very anxious. I much fear that we are +suspected--spied upon." + +"Nay, now, what makes you think that?" asked young Edward, as he +let himself be drawn within the small attic bedchamber in the +river-side inn, which he and his comrade had shared ever since they +had arrived in London; now some three weeks back. Paul had closed +the door before he began to speak, and now stood with his back +against it, his face looking pale and anxious in the fading light +of the winter's day. + +"What makes me think it? Why, more things than one; but mainly the +fact that the peddler we bought our clothes of is here." + +Edward smiled and laid a hand on Paul's shoulder. + +He was growing used to the anxieties of his elder comrade, who +deeply felt his responsibility in having the heir of England under +his care, and had begun to treat his words of warning with some +lightness. + +"And why should not the old man be here? The world is as free to +him as it is to us. Rather I should have looked upon him as a +friend. For did he not eat at the same board with us, and share the +hospitality of the same roof?" + +"Yes, yes," answered Paul quickly; "but so do all men of his +calling. They are always welcome wherever they appear. But I will +tell you why I misdoubt this man. He first came in whilst we of the +house were sitting at dinner, and his eye roved round the room till +it fell upon me, and I saw in it then a gleam of recognition which +I did not like. He went out then, and anon returned with a great +bearded fellow of sinister aspect. And I was certain that he +pointed me out to him; for though I would not raise my eyes, or +seem to notice, I knew that they whispered together, and that this +other man's black eyes were fixed full on my face." + +"That might well be," answered Edward lightly, "you are a right +goodly youth, made to find favour in all eyes." + +But Paul proceeded without heeding the interruption. + +"Presently the peddler shuffled round the table, and took the +vacant seat beside me--the seat that should have been yours, +Edward. He pretended that he had only just recognized me, and began +to talk in friendly fashion enough. He asked after you; but I said +we had little companionship now--that you had your own concerns to +attend to in the city, and that we might part company at any time. +I would have disclaimed you altogether, save that those at the inn +could have told him that I had a brother or comrade with me. He +kept his eye warily on me the whole time. I know that he was on the +watch for news of you." + +"And wherefore not? Methinks you are over fearful, good Paul." + +"Nay, Edward, think but a moment--What care would any feel for news +of you did they not suspect something? Who cares whither I go or +what I do? If you were but the obscure stranger you pass for, who +would trouble to heed whither your steps were bent or how your time +was passed? As you came in just now, did any man see you pass the +threshold?" + +"Nay, I know not. I was heeding little in the street. It was dark +enough in the narrow alley, darker than it is up here; but--" + +"Wait, Edward, answer me one question yet. Is it possible that the +peddler can have any clue by which he may know you? Did you betray +aught to him that evening when you bartered with him for your suit +of clothes? How did you pay him? Was it in French gold?" + +"Nay, I paid him no money at all. I gave him a pearl clasp which I +had, and he furnished me with funds for the journey to London. I +made a villainous bad bargain, it seems. The other jewels I have +disposed of in London I have got far better price for. + +"Now, Paul, why look you so troubled and wan? Have you yet another +lecture in store for your luckless comrade?" + +"O Edward, Edward," cried Paul in anxious tones, "is it really so? +Have you been mad enough to sell jewels which may be known and +traced? Did I not tell you from the very first that I had money +enough for both? You should not have done it. And why, if done it +must be, did you not tell me, and let me do the trafficking?" + +Edward smiled as he laid his hand upon his comrade's shoulder. + +"Good Paul, did you think that I would trade upon your love, to +filch from you the remains of that poor fortune which is all you +have left of the world's goods? I knew how readily your all would +have been laid at my feet; but it was not for me to accept the +sacrifice when I had means of raising money myself. And what danger +can there be? My mother's jewels can scarce be known here. I fear +your courage is but a sorry thing, you are so prone to idle fears +and gloomy portents." + +"Heaven grant I may be deceived; But the pearl clasp of which you +speak--tell me what it was like." + +"Why, a fine pearl set in a clasp of chased gold with an eagle in +relief, the claws forming the catch of the clasp. My royal mother +had a pair of them once; what befell the other I remember not. It +was lost, I have heard her say, long years ago." + +Paul clasped his hands closely together. + +"Edward," he said, "it was just such a clasp as that which fastened +the jewelled collar of the little Prince of Wales on the day when +he, in play, fastened that collar about my neck, which collar fell +a prey to certain robbers who carried off the humble knight's son +in mistake for the prince. + +"And listen further, Edward. Those same robbers who dogged your +steps years ago are now in hiding in the fastnesses of that great +Epping Forest through which we have lately journeyed. The peddler +knows them and traffics with them; that have I heard from others. +Most likely he has himself suspected something, and has gone with +his clasp to consult with the chieftain, who is a sworn foe to the +House of Lancaster. And having made out that the clasps are +fellows, and having their suspicions fully aroused, they have +followed on our trail--we made no secret that London was our +goal--and are seeking to get you into their power." + +Edward's face was grave now. It seemed as if Paul's fears were not +unfounded. + +"Yet what good would come to them by that?" he questioned +thoughtfully; and Paul had the answer only too ready. + +"Marry, every good in the world! Dear my lord, forgive the plain +speaking of one who loves you well; but we have not lived in this +great city all these weeks for nought. You know how it is with the +people of this land. They will never be ruled long by your saintly +father. They know his strange malady, and they think him more fit +for a monk's cell than a royal throne. Your mother--" + +"Ay, they hate her," answered Edward mournfully. "They cannot speak +her name without all manner of insulting epithets, which have made +my blood boil in my veins." + +"It is so, dear my lord; they have never loved her, and evil report +will spread and gather head, You see that they would never accept +her rule in your royal father's name. It would raise sedition and +tumult at once. The house and faction of York know this. They know +that their power would be secure were King Henry and his queen +alone in the matter; but there is still one more--the Prince of +Wales, against whom no man speaks evil, even the most rancorous +enemies of the House of Lancaster. All who have seen him love him; +all speak of his noble person, his graces of body and mind, his +aptness to rule, his kingly qualities. + +"You smile, but in truth it is so. The nation might rally beneath +the banner of such a prince; and the proud nobles of the rival king +know it well, and could they get the prince into their own power, +they know that victory is from that moment theirs. Wherefore, +Edward, if it be true that you are known, we must fly, and that +instantly. These lawless men will not quit the trail till they have +run the quarry down, and delivered you dead or alive into the hands +of the foe. They know well the value of the prize, and they will +not let it escape them." + +Edward felt the truth of these words. Paul had been anxious and +alarmed before, but never with the same cause. He had always been +fearful that the young prince might be recognized by some wayfarer, +who might have chanced to see him in past days or at the French +court; but he had never before made sure that this recognition had +actually taken place, and the likeness between the supposed +brothers, though more a likeness now in figure and colouring and +expression than actually in feature, was as great a safeguard as +could have been devised. + +Moreover, not a rumour of any kind had come over from France +reporting the escape or absence of the Prince of Wales, and it was +far fetched to imagine that anybody would suspect the identity of +the yellow-haired youth. But the occurrences of this day, combined +with Edward's admission about the clasp, had roused Paul's worst +fears, and it did indeed seem as if there were some watch set upon +their movements now. + +He looked earnestly into the flushed face of the fair young prince, +and then said thoughtfully: + +"Edward, I have a plan whereby I think you can escape this +threatened danger. Leave this house tonight--at once, if the coast +be clear--and go as fast as your steed can take you to your royal +father, and claim the protection of his state, and that of the earl +your future father-in-law. Tell all your story, and it will make of +you the idol even of this wayward city of London. All men will +delight in the presence of the Prince of the Silver Swan; and +methinks a happy end may be the result of the journey which seems +like to end in peril and gloom. + +"Good my lord, it is a joyous welcome you would receive. It would +rejoice the whole heart of the nation to have you back." + +Edward hesitated for a moment, but finally shook his head. + +"Nay, Paul, I will not do that, though I grant the scheme has its +attractions. If what you say be true and my presence in this city +is suspected, be sure that every alley to the palace is watched and +guarded by foes who would find a speedy way of preventing my +entrance there--ay, or thine, were that tried. + +"And over and above the danger, I am yearning to see the face of my +sweet bride again, my gentle Anne, whom I have loved right well +these many years, even whilst her father seemed our bitterest foe. +My return will be looked for ere the glad Christmas season, and if +I am not missed before, I shall be then, and I would not that my +good mother were kept long in anxiety as to what has befallen me. I +have been now four weeks absent. I laid careful plans whereby a +brief absence might not be discovered, but it is time I returned +now. + +"Moreover, my quest is done. I have learned all and more than I +came to do. My heart is heavy within me as I think on all I have +heard. Ere I come as prince to this realm, I would fain see and +have earnest speech with my mother. There are moments when methinks +it would be the wiser and happier thing to talk no more of ruling +here, but rather of securing to my father liberty and honour, and +such titles and estates as he can claim through his duchy of +Lancaster, and letting the crown remain on the head of him who +could have claimed it with a better right than we, were it not for +the kingly rule of my grandsire and his sire before him." + +Paul made no reply save what was expressed in a deep sigh. His hope +of the permanent restoration of the House of Lancaster had received +some rude shocks during the past weeks; but he had never before +heard Edward speak in this key, and he wondered if it were but the +expression of a passing emotion, or the result of a deeply-seated +conviction. + +"I trow my mother will call me craven-hearted," said the lad with a +slight smile, after a moment's silence, "and I myself may think +differently anon. But tonight all seems wrapped in gloom, and I +would I were far away from this city, which seems to breathe hatred +to all of our name and race. Paul, we had better linger here no +longer. Let us away the route we came, so shall we soonest reach +the coast; and we will pass together to the French court, and you +shall see the reception which will await us there from my mother +and my sweet betrothed. + +"Ah, I would the day had come! I long to see kindly faces once +again. And they will love you ever for the love you have borne to +me." + +The lad's face flushed with excitement at the bare thought, and the +prospect was welcome enough to Paul, who was sick at heart, and +weary with the strain of continual watchfulness; but he lowered his +voice to a mere whisper as he said: + +"Hist, sweet prince! speak not so loud. There may be spies without +the very door. We will indeed make shift to start the very first +moment we may. I shall not draw another easy breath till we are far +away from here. But think you it will be wise to go the way we +came? May not those roads be watched more closely there than +elsewhere?" + +"I think not so. I think they will guess that we shall make for one +of the southern ports, by which France can be the more easily +reached. If these wild robbers have left their former haunts to +pursue us, we may well be safest nearest to their lair. And we know +not the country to the south, whilst this great forest seems like a +friend to us; and we have sturdy friends within its sheltering +aisles if we are hard pressed. We can quicker reach the coast, too, +that way than any other. And the good brothers you have spoken of +at Leighs Priory will give us shelter tomorrow night, if we cannot +make shift to push on to the coast in one day." + +There seemed sound sense in the counsel thus offered by the prince, +and Paul was ever ready to obey his wishes, if he saw no objection +to them. They appeared to be menaced by peril on all sides, and he +would have been thankful if the prince would have thrown himself +into the keeping of his kingly sire; but as he had declined to do +this, and was not of the stuff to be balked of his will, the next +best thing was to slip off in silence and secrecy, and Paul thought +it quite probable that the route least watched and guarded might +well be the one which led back through the forest again. + +But it would not do to appear as if suspicious; and leaving Edward +locked up in the attic chamber--hoping that no one had observed his +entrance into the inn--he went down into the common room, where +preparations for supper were going on. + +There were a larger number of persons collected in the inn than +usual that night, and Paul fancied that many sharp glances were +fastened upon him as he entered the room. But he kept command over +his countenance well, and walked forward toward the fire with an +air of easy assurance. The peddler was sitting in the warmest +corner, and pushed away his next neighbour to make room for Paul, +who took the vacant seat readily. The man very quickly led up to +the subject of his companion and kinsman (laying an apparent and +rather suspicious emphasis on that word), asking if he did not mean +to come to supper, since he had seen him enter the inn at dusk. + +Paul replied that his comrade was unwell, and that he would retire +early to bed, and have something hot to take there. He was resolved +that Edward should not be exposed to the gaze of these rough men, +whose faces inspired him with the greatest uneasiness. + +Edward should be supposed to be sick, and that might divert +attention from his movements for the time being; and, long before +the morning dawned, he hoped that they might both be far away from +this ill-omened spot. + +"Ill!" quoth the peddler; "no doubt a colic or a chill, taken in +this villainous cold weather. I have a draught here that acts like +a charm in all such cases. If you will permit me, I will mix it for +you in a stoup of hot spiced wine, and I warrant he will sleep like +a dormouse all night, and wake in the morning as well as ever." + +Paul thanked the peddler, and the ingredients of the draught were +called for. He watched its preparation keenly, and noted that +several meaning glances were exchanged between the peddler and his +associates--as he now believed half the men in the inn to be. He +told the landlord to prepare two trenchers to be carried upstairs, +as he would sup with his friend that night; and he presently +carried up the hot and steaming tankard, together with the platters +of the savoury viands for which London was famous. + +Edward had meantime kindled the rushlight and set light to a small +fire on the hearth, for the weather was bitterly cold. The peddler +had advised Paul to partake of the hot draught also, and the +landlord had not heeded his request to place a tankard of ale on +the tray also: so that if either of the youths were to drink at +all, it must be of the potion concocted by the peddler. + +This fact greatly increased Paul's suspicions, which were quickly +shared by Edward. + +"We will not touch a drop of it," he said, "although it is tempting +enough this cold night. It is either drugged or poisoned, and given +us to keep us a certain prey for tonight. Perhaps in the end it +will prove our best friend; for if they think us tied by the heel, +they may be less vigilant in the watch they keep upon us." + +It was not with much appetite that the comrades ate their supper, +but they knew that they might need all their strength before the +next hours had passed, and they ate heartily from that motive. +Their trenchers had been so liberally piled, however, that there +was plenty of broken meat and bread left when they had finished, +and this was first allowed to grow cold, and then packed away into +one of their wallets, as it might be some considerable time before +they tasted food again, save such as they had with them. + +Paul made several excursions from the room to ask for this thing or +that, keeping up the fiction that his comrade was sick; and each +time he did so he found some person or another guarding the +door--at least watching hard by--though apparently bent upon some +private errand. He came to the conclusion at last that their +movements were most certainly spied upon, and that to attempt to +escape through the house that night would be impossible. A few +cautious words (which he caught as he entered the room where the +peddler and his companions were sitting) confirmed his impression +that Edward was certainly suspected, if not actually identified, +and that he would not be allowed to pass out of sight until +suspicion was either verified or laid at rest. He fancied, from the +few words he heard, that these men were awaiting a companion who +would be able absolutely to identify the prince, if it were really +he, and that meantime they did not intend that either of the youths +should escape their surveillance. + +It was with a sinking heart that Paul returned to Edward with this +news. But peril seemed only to act like a tonic upon the nerves of +the younger lad; and springing to his feet with energy and +resolution, he cried with flashing eyes: + +"And so they think to make a prisoner of the eaglet of England's +royal house! Let them try. Let them do their worst. They shall see +that his wings are strong enough for a higher and more daring +flight than they dream of; that he will not be fettered by a cage +of their treacherous making! Paul, it is not for nothing that I +have lain awake long nights dreaming dreams of peril and escape. I +know how we will outwit our pursuers this very night. Say, can yon +swim, as you can do all else that a brave Englishman should?" + +"Like a fish," answered Paul, who had many a time terrified and +astonished his mother by his feats in the salmon pool at home, and +had never lost the skill and strength to battle with wind or wave. + +"Good! I was sure of it; and I can do the same. Paul, come here to +the window. See you no means of escape as you look down into that +dark, sullen water below?" + +Paul started and looked eagerly out. The inn, as has before been +said, stood on the banks of the great river Thames. Indeed, it was +built so close to the waterside that the walls were washed by the +lapping waves on the backside of the house, and the windows looked +sheer down into the turbid, sullen stream. No watch could be kept +on this side, nor did it seem to be needful; for the old inn was a +lofty building of its kind, and the black water lay some sixty feet +below the small window of the room in which Paul and his companion +lodged. No man in his senses, it seemed, would hazard such a leap, +and none but an expert swimmer would care or dare to trust himself +to that swiftly-flowing flood, which might so easily sweep him to +his doom. And on a freezing December night the idea of escape in +such a fashion seemed altogether madness itself. + +Even Paul, menaced by a danger that might be worse than death, drew +in his head with something of a shudder; but Edward had dived into +a little press that stood in the room, and brought out a coil of +stout, strong rope. Paul gave a cry of surprise and pleasure. + +"Some instinct warned me it might be wanted. See here, Paul. We can +tie one end to this heavy bedstead, knotting it also around the +bolt of the door, and we can glide down like two veritable shadows, +and drop silently into the river: Then we must swim to one of those +small wherries which lie at anchor beside the sleeping barges. I +know exactly what course to steer for that; and once aboard, we cut +her loose, and row for dear life down with the tide, till we can +find some deserted spot where we can land, and thence we make our +way back to the coast through the friendly forest, as we planned." + +"On foot?" + +"Ay, we must leave our good steeds behind; it would be madness to +seek to take them. We are young and strong, and this frost makes +walking easy. We shall speed so well that we may chance to reach +the shelter of the Priory ere night falls on us again, and then the +worst of our troubles will be over. Say, Paul, will you come with +me? Will you follow me?" + +"To the death, my prince," answered Paul with enthusiasm; yet even +as he spoke a sort of shiver came over him, as though he had +pronounced his own doom. But he shook it off, and fell to upon the +simple preparations to be made. + +These were very simple, and consisted of rolling up into a compact +bundle their outer dress and a change of under tunic, which they +fastened, together with their food wallet and arms, upon their +heads, in the hope that they might keep them from the water. They +slung their boots about their necks, and then, with as little +clothing as possible upon them, commenced their stealthy descent +down the rope, which had been firmly attached as suggested by the +prince. Edward went first, whilst Paul remained in the room to +guard against surprise, and to hold the end if it slipped or gave. +But no such casualty befell; and the moment he heard the slight +splash which told that the prince had reached the water, he swung +himself lightly down the rope, and fell with a soft splash beside +him. + +But oh, how cold it was in that dark water! Hardy though the pair +were, it seemed impossible to live in that fearful cold; but they +struck out valiantly into midstream, and presently the exercise of +swimming brought a little life into their benumbed limbs. But glad +indeed was Paul to reach the side of the little wherry which they +intended to purloin, and it was all that their united efforts could +do to clamber in and cut the cord which bound it to the barge. + +"We must row hard, Edward," said Paul, with chattering teeth; "it +is our only chance of life. We shall freeze to death if we cannot +get some warmth into our blood. I feel like a block of ice." + +They were too much benumbed to try and dress themselves yet, but as +they rowed their hardest along the dark, still water, the life came +ebbing back into their chilled limbs, and with the welcome warmth +came that exultation of heart which always follows escape from +deadly peril. With more and more vigour they bent to their oars, +and at last Edward spoke in a natural voice again. + +"Let us float down quietly with the stream a while, Paul, whilst we +don our dry garments, if indeed they are dry. It will be better +here than on shore, where we might chance to be seen and suspected. +I am glowing hot now, freezing night though it be; but I confess I +should be more comfortable rid of these soaking clothes." + +So stripping off these, they found, to their great satisfaction, +that the leather jerkins in which the other clothing had been +wrapped had kept everything dry, and the feel of warm and +sufficient clothing was grateful indeed after the icy bath they had +encountered. Their boots were wet, but that mattered little to the +hardy striplings; and when, dressed and armed, they bent to their +oars again, it seemed as if all their spirit and confidence had +come back. + +"We have made so good a start that we shall surely prosper," cried +Edward boldly. "Our good friend the peddler will look blank enough +when morning comes and they find the birds are flown." + +But Paul could not triumph quite so soon; he was still far from +feeling assured of safety, and feared their escape might be quickly +made known, in which case pursuit would be hot. The best hope lay +in getting into the forest, which might give them shelter, and +enable them to baffle pursuit; but responsibility lay sore upon +him, and he could not be quite as gay as his comrade. + +The moon shone out from behind the clouds, and presently they +slipped beneath the arches of the old bridge, and past the grim +fortress of the Tower. Very soon after that, they were gliding +between green and lonely banks in a marshy land, and they presently +effected a landing and struck northward, guiding themselves by the +position of the moon. + +It was a strange, desolate country they traversed, and glad enough +was Paul that it was night when they had to cross this unprotected +fiat land. By day they would be visible for miles to the trained +eye of a highwayman, and if pursued would fall an easy prey. But by +crossing this desolate waste at night, when not a living thing was +to be seen, they might gain the dark aisles of the wood by the time +the tardy dawn stole upon them, and once there Paul thought he +could breathe freely again. + +All through the long hours of the night the lads trudged onwards +side by side. Paul was more anxious than weary, for he had been +inured to active exercise all his life, and had spent many long +days stalking deer or wandering in search of game across the bleak +hillsides. But Edward, though a hardy youth by nature, and not +altogether ignorant of hardship, had lived of late in the softer +air of courts, and as the daylight struggled into the sky he was so +weary he could scarce set one foot before another. + +Yet even as Paul's anxious glance lighted on him he smiled bravely +and pointed onwards, and there before them, in the rising sunlight, +lay the great black forest, stretching backwards as far as eye +could see; and Edward, throwing off his exhaustion by a manful +effort, redoubled his speed, until the pair stood within the +encircling belt of forest land, and paused by mutual consent at the +door of a woodman's cabin. + +Travellers were rare in that lone part, but the good folks of the +hut were kindly and hospitable and unsuspicious. Paul produced some +small pieces of silver and asked for food and shelter for a few +hours, as he and his comrade had been benighted, and had been +wandering about in the darkness many hours. The fare was very +coarse and homely, but the famished lads were not disposed to find +fault; and the cabin, if close, was at least warm, and, when a peat +fire had been lighted, was a not altogether uncomfortable place for +wanderers like themselves. + +As soon as his hunger was satisfied, Edward lay down upon the floor +and was soon sound asleep; but Paul had no disposition for slumber, +and sat gazing into the glowing turves with earnest, anxious eyes. +The heir of England was in his care, and already probably sought in +many directions by cruel and implacable foes. Until Edward were in +safety, he himself should know no peace. And as if suddenly +inspired by some new thought, he started up and went in search of +the good woman of the cabin, with whom he held a long and earnest +conversation. + +When he came back to the other room, it was with a smile of +satisfaction on his face and a queer bundle in his arms, and the +old woman was looking with great wonderment at a gold piece lying +on her palm, and marvelling at the strange caprice of the young and +rich. + + + +Chapter 6: In The Hands Of The Robbers + + +"But wherefore should I disguise myself rather than you?" cried +Edward, resisting Paul's efforts to clothe him in a long smock +frock, such as the woodmen of those days wore when going about +their avocations. "Our peril is the same, and it is I who have led +you into danger. I will not have it so. We will share in all things +alike. If we are pursued and cannot escape, we will sell our lives +dear, and die together. But let it never be said that I left my +friend and companion to face a danger from which I fled myself." + +The boy's eyes flashed as he spoke--he looked the very image of a +prince; and Paul's heart swelled with loving pride, although he +still persisted in his design. + +"Listen, Edward," he said, speaking very gravely and resolutely. +"It is needful for our joint safety that we be not seen together, +now that we are entering a region of country where we may easily be +recognized, and where watch may be kept for us. Yes, these woods +may be watched, although, as you have said, it is probable they +will watch even more closely the other routes to the coast. But we +have come slowly, toiling along on foot, and there has been ample +time for a mounted messenger to ride back and give the warning to +such of the robbers as are yet here. They know that the twain of us +are travelling together. Wherefore, for the few miles that separate +us now from the kindly shelter of the Priory, it will be better +that we journey alone. This smock and battered hat will protect you +from recognition, the more so when I have blackened your face with +charcoal, as I have means to do, and have hidden away all your +bright curls so that none shall see them. Walk with bent shoulders +and heavy gait, as the aged country folks do, and I warrant none +will guess who you are or molest you. Tonight, when we meet to +laugh at our adventures over the prior's roaring fire, we shall +forget the perils and the weariness of our long tramp." + +"But, Paul, I love not this clumsy disguise. It befits not a prince +thus to clothe himself. Wear it yourself, good comrade, for your +peril is as great as mine." + +"Nay, Edward, speak not thus idly," said Paul, with unwonted +gravity. "Princes must think not of themselves alone, but of the +nation's weal. Edward, listen. If harm befalls you, then farewell +to all the fond hopes of half of the people who obey the sway of +England's sceptre. You are not your own master; you are the servant +of your loyal and true-hearted subjects, who have suffered already +so much in the cause. To throw your life away, nay, even to run +into needless peril, were a sin to them and to the country. I say +nothing of your mother's despair, of the anguish of your bride, if +harm befell you: that you must know better than I can do. But I am +a subject. I know what your subjects feel; and were you to neglect +any safeguard, however trivial, in these remaining hours of +threatened danger, you would be doing England a wrong which might +be utterly irreparable." + +Edward was struck by this argument, and hesitated. + +"I only wish to do what is right; but I cannot bear to play the +coward's part, and save myself when you are still in peril." + +"Tush!" answered Paul lightly, "I am tougher than you, Edward; you +are so footsore and weary you can scarce put one leg before the +other. If foes were to spring upon us, you would fall an easy prey +at once. I am strong and full of life. I could lead them a fine +chase yet. But we may never sight an adversary. These woods are +still and silent, and we have heard no sounds of dread import all +these long, weary miles. It may well be that we shall reach the +Priory in safety yet; but it were better now to part company and +take different routes thither. And you must don this warm though +clumsy dress; it will keep you the safer, and shield you from the +piercing cold, which you feel more than I do." + +In truth, the youthful prince was nigh worn out from fatigue, +notwithstanding the fact that Paul had contrived to give him almost +the whole of their scanty provision, and had helped him tenderly +over the roughest of the way. It was true, indeed, that had they +been attacked Edward would have fallen an easy prey; but alone in +this disguise, hobbling along with the heavy gait of an aged +rustic, he would attract no suspicion from any robber band. And +Paul was eager to see him thus equipped; for they had reached the +part of the wood which was familiar to both, and the prince could +easily find the shortest and most direct way to the Priory, whilst +he himself would make a short circuit and arrive from another point +with as little delay as possible. + +A strong will and a sound argument generally win the day. Edward +submitted at last to be arrayed in the woodman's homely garments, +and was grateful for the warmth they afforded; for he was feeling +the bitter cold of the northern latitude, and was desperately tired +from his long day and night of walking. There was no pretence about +the limping, shuffling gait adopted; for his feet were blistered +and his limbs stiff and aching. + +Paul watched him hobbling away, his face looking swarthy and old +beneath the shade of the hat, his shoulders bent, and his blackened +hands grasping a tough ash stick to help himself along; and a smile +of triumph stole over his own countenance as he heaved a long sigh +of relief--for he felt quite certain that in the gathering dusk no +one would suspect the true character of the weary pedestrian, and +that he would reach the shelter of the Priory in safety. + +It seemed as if a millstone were rolled from Paul's neck as he +turned from contemplating that retiring figure. The strain upon his +faculties during the past twenty-four hours had been intense, and +when it was removed he felt an immense sensation of relief. But +with that relief came a greater access of fatigue than he had been +conscious of before. He had been spurred along the road by the +sense of responsibility--by the feeling that the safety and perhaps +the life of the young Prince of Wales depended in a great measure +upon his sagacity, endurance, and foresight. To get the prince to +Leigh's Priory, beneath the care of the good monks who were stanch +to the cause of the saintly Henry, was the one aim and object of +his thoughts. He had known all along that the last miles of the +journey would be those most fraught with peril, and to lessen this +peril had been the main purpose on his mind. Having seen the prince +start off on the direct path, so disguised that it was impossible +to anticipate detection, he felt as though his life's work for the +moment were ended, and heaving a great sigh of relief, he sank down +upon a heap of dead leaves, and gave himself up to a brief spell of +repose, which his weary frame did indeed seem to require. + +The cold, together with the exhaustion of hunger and fatigue, +sealed his senses for a brief space, and he remembered nothing +more. He fancied his eyes had been closed but for a few seconds, +when some noise close at hand caused him to raise his head with a +start. But the dusk had deepened in the great wood, and he saw that +he must have been asleep for quite half an hour. + +He started and listened intently. Yes, there was no mistaking the +sounds. A party of mounted horsemen were approaching him along the +narrow track which wandered through the wood. Paul would have +started to his feet and fled to the thicket, but his benumbed limbs +refused their office. It was freezing hard upon the ground, and he +had lain there till his blood had almost ceased to circulate, and +he was powerless to move. + +Yet even then his thoughts were first for Edward, and only second +for himself. He rapidly reviewed the situation. + +"They are on the path that he has taken. He has the start, but they +are mounted. Are they in pursuit of anyone? They have dogs with +them: that looks as if they were hunting something. It were better +that they should not come up with Edward. In another half hour he +will be safe at the Priory, if he make good speed, as methinks he +will; for with the hope of speedy ease and rest, even the weariest +traveller plucks up heart and spirit. If they are following him, to +find even me will delay them. If not, they will pass me by +unheeded. I am not likely even to attract their notice. I cannot +escape if I would. I am sore, weary, and chilled beyond power of +flight, and the dogs would hunt me down directly. My best chance is +to rest quiet and tranquil, as if I knew not fear. Perchance they +then will let me go unscathed." + +Possibly had Paul's faculties been less benumbed by fatigue and the +bitter cold, he would scarce have argued the case so calmly; but he +was calm with the calmness of physical exhaustion, and in truth his +chance of escape would have been small indeed. He could have made +no real effort at flight, and the very fact of his trying to hide +himself would have brought upon him instant pursuit and capture. + +So he lay still, crouching in his nest of leaves, until one of the +dogs suddenly gave a deep bay, and came rushing upon him, as if +indeed he had been the quarry pursued. + +"Halt there!" cried a deep voice in the gloom; "the dogs have +found. They never give tongue for a different trail than the right +one. + +"Dicon, dismount and see what it is; there is something moving +there be neath that bush." + +Seeing himself discovered, Paul rose to his feet, and made a step +forward, though uncertainly, as if his limbs still almost refused +to obey him. + +"I am a poor benighted traveller," he said; "I pray you, can you +direct me where I can get food and shelter for the night? I have +been wandering many hours in this forest, and am weary well-nigh to +death." + +"Turn the lantern upon him, fellows," said the same voice that had +spoken before; and immediately a bright gleam of light was cast +upon Paul's pale, tired face and golden curling hair. + +"Is this the fellow we are seeking?" asked the leader of his +followers; "the description seems to fit." + +"If it isn't one it is the other," answered the man addressed. "I +have seen both; but, marry, I can scarce tell one from the other +when they are apart. What has he done with his companion? They +have, been together this many a day, by day and by night." + +"You were not alone when you started on this journey last night," +said the robber, addressing Paul sternly. "Where is your companion? +You had better speak frankly. It will be the worse for you if you +do not." + +Paul's heart beat fast; the blood began to circulate in his veins. +He tried hard to keep his faculties clear, and to speak nothing +which could injure the prince. + +"We parted company. I know not where he is," he answered slowly. "I +told him to go his own way; I would not be a source of peril to +him. I bid him adieu and sent him away." + +It suddenly occurred to Paul that if, even for an hour, he could +personate the prince, and so draw off pursuit from him, his point +might be gained. He had not forgotten the episode of the first +adventure they had shared as children; and as we all know, history +repeats itself in more ways than one. + +The man who appeared the leader of the band, and whose face was not +unkindly, doffed his hat respectfully at these words, and said, "It +is true, then, that I am addressing the Prince of Wales?" + +Paul said nothing, but bent his head as if in assent, and the man +continued speaking, still respectfully. + +"It is my duty then, sire, to take your sacred person under my +protection. You are in peril from many sources in these lone woods, +and I have been sent out on purpose to bring you into a place of +safety. My followers will provide you with a good horse, and you +will soon be in safe shelter, where you can obtain the food and +rest your condition requires, and you will receive nothing but +courteous treatment at our hands." + +To resist were fruitless indeed. Politely as the invitation was +tendered, there was an undertone of authority in the man's voice +which convinced Paul that any attempt at resistance would be met by +an appeal to force. And he had no disposition to resist. The longer +the fiction was kept up, the longer there would be for the prince +to seek safe asylum at the Priory. When once those sanctuary doors +had closed behind Edward, Paul thought it mattered little what +became of himself. + +"I will go with you," he answered with simple dignity; "I presume +that I have indeed no choice." + +A draught from a flask tendered him by one of the men did much to +revive Paul, and the relief at finding himself well mounted, +instead of plodding wearily along on foot, was very great. He was +glad enough to be mounted behind one of the stout troopers, for he +was excessively drowsy, despite the peril of his situation. He had +been unable to sleep, as Edward had done, in the woodman's hut, and +it was now more than thirty-six hours since sleep had visited him, +and those hours had been crowded with excitement, peril, and +fatigue. The potent liquor he had just drunk helped to steal his +senses away, and as the party jogged through the dim aisles of the +wood, Paul fell fast asleep, with his head resting on the shoulder +of the stalwart trooper, and he only awoke with a start, half of +fear and half of triumph--for he knew the prince was safe enough by +this time--when the glare from the mouth of a great cavern, and the +loud, rough voices of a number of men who came crowding out, smote +upon his senses, and effectually aroused him to a sense of what was +passing. + +"Have you got them?" cried a loud voice, not entirely unfamiliar to +Paul, although he could not for the moment remember where he had +heard it before. + +"We have got one-got the most important one," answered the man who +had been leader of the little band. "The other has got off; but +that matters less." + +"By the holy mass, it was the other that I wanted the more," cried +the rougher voice, as the man came out swearing roundly; "I had an +account of my own to square with him, and square it I will one of +these days. But bring in the prize--bring him in. Let us have a +look at him. He is worth the capture, anyhow, as the Chief will say +when he returns. He is not back yet. We have all been out scouring +the forest; but you always have the luck, Sledge Hammer George. I +said if any one brought them in it would be you." + +Paul had by this time recognized the speaker, who was standing in +the entrance of the cave with the light full upon his face. It was +none other than his old adversary, Simon Dowsett, whom he had twice +defeated in his endeavour to carry off the lady of his choice; and +who was, as he well knew, his bitterest foe. His heart beat fast +and his breath came fitfully as he realized this, and he looked +quickly round toward the black forest, as if wondering if he could +plunge in there and escape. But a strong hand was laid upon his +arm, and he was pushed into the cave, where the ruddy glow of the +fire fell full upon him. + +Simon Dowsett, who in the absence of the Chief, as he was called, +acted as the captain of the band, strode forward and fixed his eyes +upon the lad, his face changing as he did so until its expression +was one of diabolical malice. + +"What?" he cried aloud; "at the old game again? You thought to +trick us once more, and again to get off with a sound skin?--Lads, +this isn't the prince at all; this is the other of them, who has +fooled you as he fooled the Chief himself long years ago. What were +you thinking of to take his word for it? And you have let the real +one slip through your fingers. + +"Ha, ha, Sledge Hammer George! you are not quite so clever as you +thought. Why did you not wring the truth out of him, when the other +quarry could not have been far off? You have been pretty gulls to +have been taken in like this!" + +The other man, who had now come up, looked full into Paul's face, +and asked, not savagely though sternly enough: + +"Which are you, lad? speak the truth. Are you the Prince of Wales, +or not?" + +It was useless now to attempt to keep up the deception. Paul +carried the mark of Simon Dowsett's bullet in his shoulder, and he +was too well known by him to play a part longer. Looking full at +the man who addressed him, he answered boldly: + +"I am Paul Stukely, not the prince at all. He is beyond the reach +of your malice. He is in safe shelter now." + +"Where is he?" asked the man quietly. + +"I shall not tell you," answered Paul, who knew that these robbers +were so daring that they might even make a raid on the Priory, or +watch it night and day, and to prevent the escape of the prince +from thence, if their suspicions were once attracted, to the spot. + +Sledge Hammer George laid a hand upon the young man's arm. + +"Now don't be a fool, lad; these fellows here will stand no more +from you. A valuable prize has escaped them, and they will wring +the truth out of you by means you will not like, but will not be +able to resist. You have a bitter enemy in Devil's Own, as he is +called, and he will not spare you if you provoke. I will stand your +friend, if you will but speak out and tell us where the prince is +to be found; for he cannot be very many miles away from this place, +as we are well assured. If you are obstinate, I can do nothing for +you, and you will have to take your chance. + +"Come, now, speak up. Every moment is of value. You will be made to +do so before long, whether you wish or not." + +Paul's lips closed tightly one over the other, and his hands +clasped themselves fast together. He thought of the vow he had +registered long years ago in his heart, to live or to die in the +service of his prince; and though what he might be called upon to +suffer might be far worse than death itself, his will stood firm, +and he gave no sign of yielding. The man, who would have stood his +friend if he would have spoken, looked keenly at him, and then +turned away with a slight shrug of the shoulders, and Simon's +triumphant and malicious face was looking into his. + +"Now, lad, once more: will you speak, or will you not? It is the +last time I shall ask you." + +"I will tell you nothing," answered Paul, raising his head and +looking at his old enemy with a contempt and lofty scorn which +seemed to sting the man to greater fury. + +"You will not! very good. You will be glad enough to speak before I +have done with you. I have many old scores to settle with you yet, +and so has the Chief when he comes back; but the first thing is to +wring from you where the prince is hiding himself. + +"Strip off his fine riding dress and under tunic, lads (it is a +pity to spoil good clothes that may be useful to our own brave +fellows), and string him up to that beam. + +"Get out your hide whips, Peter and Joe, and lay it on well till I +tell you to stop." + +With a brutal laugh, as if it were all some excellent joke, the men +threw themselves upon Paul, and proceeded to carry out the +instructions of their leader, who seated himself with a smile of +triumph where he could enjoy the spectacle of the suffering he +intended to inflict. Paul's upper garments were quickly removed, +and his hands and feet tightly bound with leather thongs. An +upright and a crossway beam, supporting the roof of the cave, +formed an excellent substitute for the whipping post not uncommon +in those days upon a village green; and Paul, with a mute prayer +for help and courage, nerved himself to meet the ordeal he was +about to undergo, praying, above all things, that he might not in +his agony betray the prince to these relentless enemies. + +The thick cow-hide whips whistled through the air and descended on +his bare, quivering shoulders, and he nearly bit his lips through +to restrain the cry that the infliction almost drew from him. But +he was resolved that his foe should not have the satisfaction of +extorting from him any outward sign of suffering save the +convulsive writhings which no effort of his own could restrain. How +many times the cruel whips whistled through the air and descended +on his back, he never knew--it seemed like an eternity to him; but +at last he heard a voice say: + +"Hold, men! + +"Dowsett, you will kill him before the Chief sees him, and that he +will not thank you for. He is a fine fellow, and I won't stand by +and see him killed outright. Take him down and lock him up safely +till the Chief returns. He will say what is to be done with him +next. It is not for us to take law into our own hands beyond a +certain point. You will get nothing out of him, that is plain; he +is past speech now." + +"The Chief will make him find his tongue," said Dowsett with a +cruel sneer; "this is only a foretaste of what he will get when the +Fire Eater returns. + +"Take him down then, men. 'Twere a pity to kill him too soon. Keep +him safe, and we will see what the Chief says to him tomorrow." + +Paul heard this as in a dream, although a merciful +semi-consciousness had deadened him to the worst of the pain. He +felt himself unbound and carried roughly along down some dark +passage, as he fancied. There was a grating noise, as if a door had +turned on its hinges, and then he was flung down on what seemed +like a heap of straw, and left alone in pitchy darkness. + +For a time he lay just as he had been thrown, in the same trance of +semi-consciousness; but after what had appeared to him a very long +time, he beheld as if a long way off a glimmering light, which +approached nearer and nearer, though he was too dizzy and faint to +heed its movements much. But it certainly approached quite close to +him--he saw as much through his half-closed eyelids--and then a +voice addressed him, a soft, sweet voice, strangely unlike those he +had just been hearing. + +"Are you indeed Paul Stukely?" asked the voice. + +The sound of his name aroused him, and he made a great effort to +see through the mists that seemed to hang over his eyes. A sweet +and very lovely face was hanging over him. He thought he must be +dreaming, and he asked faintly, hardly knowing what he said: + +"Is it an angel?" + +"Oh no, I am no angel, but only the daughter of the Chief; and I +want to help you, because I have heard of you before, and I cannot +bear that they should kill you by inches, as I know they will do if +you stay here. See, they are all fast asleep now, and there is no +chance of my father's return tonight. I have brought you your +clothes, and Madge has given me some rag steeped in a concoction of +herbs of her own making, which will wonderfully ease your wounds if +you will let me lay it on them. Old Madge is a wonderful leech, and +she cannot bear their cruel doings any more than I can, and she +said you were a brave lad, and she made you some soup, which I will +fetch for you to hearten you up for your journey. For you must get +away from here before morning, or nothing can save you from a +terrible fate. + +"See now, do not your poor shoulders feel better for this dressing? +If you can put your clothes on whilst I am gone, I will bring you +something that will go far to help you over your ride tonight." + +It was a great effort to Paul to collect his wandering faculties, +and get his lacerated and trembling limbs to obey his will; but he +was nerved to his utmost efforts by the dread of what might befall +him if he could not avail himself of this strange chance of escape. +By the time the fair-faced girl had returned with a steaming basin +in her hands, he had contrived to struggle into his garments, and +though quivering in every fibre of his being, was more himself +again, and able to understand better the rapid stream of words +poured out by the eager maiden. + +"Drink this," she said, giving him the basin. "It is very good. It +has all kinds of ingredients in it that will ease your pain and +give you strength and courage; but that you have without. Oh, I +think you are the bravest lad I ever knew. But listen, for I am +going to tell you a strange story. I told you that I was the, +daughter of the robber chief, did I not? Well, so I am; and my +father loves me the more, I think, that he never loved any other +being save my mother, and she died in this very cave when I was +born. He has always loved me and given me my own way; but these +last weeks a change seems to have come over him, and he talks of +giving me in wedlock to that terrible man T hate worse than them +all--the one they call Devil's Own. He has never spoken a soft word +to me all these years; but the past three weeks he has tried to woo +me in a fashion that curdles the very blood in my veins. I would +not wed him were I heart whole as a babe; and I am not that, for my +hand and heart are pledged to another, whose wife I will surely +be." + +The girl's eyes flashed, and it was plain that the spirit of the +sire had descended to her. Paul was slowly swallowing the contents +of the basin, and feeling wonderfully invigorated thereby; indeed, +he was sufficiently restored to feel a qualm of surprise at being +thus intrusted with the history of this young girl, and she seemed +to divine the reason of his inquiring look. + +"I will tell you why I speak thus freely; and I must be brief, for +the moments fly fast, and it is time we were on our way. The man I +love is one Jack Devenish, of a place they call Figeon's Farm; and +this very night, ere my father returns, I am to meet him; and he +will carry me to his home and his mother, and there shall I lie hid +in safety until such time as the priest may wed us. And, Paul, it +is a happy chance that brought you hither this night instead of +another; for we will fly together, and you will be safe at Figeon's +as I. For they will not suspect whither we have fled, nor would +they dare to attack a peaceful homestead near the village if they +did. They have made this country almost too hot to hold them as it +is, and are ever talking of a flight to the north. Methinks they +will soon be gone, and then I can draw my breath in peace." + +Paul listened in amaze. It was an effort to think of moving again +tonight, so weary and worn and suffering was he; but anything was +better than remaining behind in the power of these terrible men, +and he rose slowly to his feet, though wincing with every movement. + +"I know it pains you," cried the girl compassionately; "but oh, +what is that pain to what you would have to endure if you were to +stay? And you will not have to walk. My palfrey is ready tied up in +the wood, a bare stone's throw from here. You shall ride her, and I +will run beside you, and guide you to the trysting place, where my +Jack will be awaiting me, and his great roan will carry the pair of +us. Now silence, and follow me. There is a narrow exit from this +inner recess in the cave known only to me and to Madge. Not one of +the robbers, not even my father himself, knows of it. They think +they have you in a safe trap, and will not even keep watch tonight +after their weary search. + +"Tread softly when you reach the open, lest our footsteps be heard. +But it is far from the mouth of the cave, and I have never raised +an alarm yet, often as I have slipped out unawares. Give me your +hand--so; now stoop your head, and squeeze through this narrow +aperture. There, here are we beneath the clear stars of heaven, and +here is my pretty Mayflower waiting patiently for her mistress. + +"Yes, pretty one; you must bear a heavier burden tonight, but you +will do it gladly for your mistress's sake. + +"Mount, good sir; we shall soon be out of reach of all danger." + +It must be a dream thought Paul, as, mounted on a light palfrey, he +went speeding through the dun wood by intricate paths, a fairy-like +figure springing through the gloom beside him, and guiding the +horse, as he was utterly unable to do. + +It seemed as if his strength had deserted him. His hands had lost +their power, and it was all he could do to maintain his seat on the +animal that bounded lightly along with her unaccustomed burden. At +last they reached an open glade; a dark, motionless figure was +standing in the moonlight. + +"It is he--it is my Jack!" cried the fairy, springing forward with +a faint cry of welcome. + +"O Jack, I have brought your old friend Paul Stukely back to you. +You must take care of him as well as of me, for he has been in +deadly peril tonight." + + + +Chapter 7: The Protection Of The Protected. + + +"Nay, wife, why sit up for him? Since he has taken to these roving +habits at night there is no depending upon him. I must put an end +to them if they are to disturb you so. The boy is safe enough. Why +are you anxious about him tonight?" + +It was Farmer Devenish who spoke these words to his wife, half an +hour after the rest of the household had retired to rest, and he +found her still sitting beside the fire, which she had piled up +high on the hearth, as if she meant to remain downstairs for some +time; which indeed she distinctly told him was her intention, as +she did not wish to go to bed until Jack had come in. + +"He asked me to sit up for him tonight," she answered, "and he +never did so before. I was glad of it; for I have been uneasy for +the boy, wondering what could take him out so often at night." + +"Oh, he's going courting, you may depend upon it," laughed the +farmer in his hearty way; "and courting some young lass not of our +village, but one who lives a pretty step from here, I'll be bound. +I've held my peace, and let the boy go his own way. He'll speak out +when the time comes, depend upon it." + +"I believe he will speak out this very night," answered the mother. +"He told me he had a surprise in store for me, and begged that I +would sit up till his return, and stand his friend with you, if you +should be displeased at his choice. One might have thought he was +bringing his bride home with him, to hear him talk; but he would +never get wedded without speaking first. He is a good lad and a +dutiful, and his parents have the right to be told." + +The farmer's curiosity was piqued by what he heard, and he resolved +to share his wife's vigil. Jack, their only son, was very dear to +them, and they were proud of him in their own hearts, and thought +such a son had never lived before. Both were anxiously looking +forward to the day when he should bring home a wife to brighten up +the old home, since it had lost the sweet presence of the daughter +Joan; and they neither of them believed that Jack's choice would +fall upon anyone unworthy of him. + +The farmer dozed in his chair by the glowing hearth. The woman got +a large book from some secret receptacle upstairs, and read with +deep attention, though with cautious glance around her from time to +time, as if half afraid of what she was doing. It was long before +the silence outside was broken by any sound of approaching +footfalls; and when the ring of a horse hoof upon the frosty ground +became distinctly audible through the silence of the night, the +farmer would not unbar the door until his wife had glided away with +the volume she had been reading. + +A minute later and the parents both stood in the doorway, peering +out into the cloudy night, that was not altogether dark. + +"By holy St. Anthony, there are two horses and three riders," said +the farmer, shading his eyes from the glare of the lantern as he +peered out into the darkness beyond. + +"Jack, is that you, my son? And who are these that you have brought +with you?" + +"Friends--friends claiming the shelter and protection of your roof, +father," answered Jack's hearty voice as he rode up to the door; +and then it was seen that he was greatly encumbered by some burden +he supported before him on his horse. But from the other lighter +palfrey there leaped down a small and graceful creature of +fairy-like proportions, and Mistress Devenish found herself +suddenly confronted by the sweetest, fairest face she had ever seen +in her life, whilst a pair of soft arms stole caressingly about her +neck. + +"You are Jack's mother," said a sweet, soft voice in accents of +confident yet timid appeal that went at once to her heart. "He has +told me so much of you--he has said that you would be a mother to +me. And I have so longed for a mother all my life. I never had one. +Mine own mother died almost ere I saw the light. He said you would +love me; and I have loved you long. Yet it is not of myself I must +talk now, but of yon poor lad whom you know well. We have brought +Paul Stukely back to you. Oh, he has been sorely handled by those +cruel robbers--the band of Black Notley! He has been like a dead +man these last miles of the road. But Jack says he is not dead, and +that your kindly skill will make him live again." + +And before Mistress Devenish was well aware whether she were not in +a dream herself, her husband had lifted into the house the +apparently inanimate form of Paul Stukely, and had laid him down +upon the oak settle near to the hospitable hearth. + +Jack had gone to the stable with the horses; but one of the serving +men having been aroused and having come to his assistance, he was +able quickly to join the party beside the fire, and coming forward +with a glad and confident step, he took the hand of the fairy-like +girl in his own, and placed it within that of his mother. + +"Father, mother," he said, "I have brought you home my bride that +is to be. Listen, and I will tell you a strange story, and I know +you will not then withhold your love from one who has known little +of it, and who has led a strange, hard life amid all that is bad +and cruel, and is yet all that you can wish to find in woman--all +that is true and pure and lovely." + +And then Jack, with the sort of rude eloquence sometimes found in +his class, told of his wooing of the robber's daughter; told of her +hatred and loathing of the scenes she was forced to witness, of the +life she was forced to lead; told of her fierce father's fierce +love gradually waning and turning to anger as he discovered that +she was not pliable material in his hands, to be bent to his stern +will; told how he had of late wished to wed her to the terrible +Simon Dowsett, and how she had felt at last that flight alone with +her own lover could save her from that fate. + +Then he told of Paul's capture upon the very night for which the +flight had been planned; told how gallantly he had defied the +cruelty of the robber band, and how his Eva had effected his +liberation and had brought him with her to the trysting place. They +had planned before the details of the flight, and it would be death +to her to be sent back; but after her liberation of the captive, +the thought of facing that lawless band again was not to be thought +of. + +And the farmer, who had listened to the tale with kindling eyes and +many a smothered ejaculation of anger and pity, suddenly put his +strong arms about the slight figure of the girl, and gave her a +hearty kiss on both cheeks. + +"Thou art a good wench and a brave one," he said, "and I am proud +that my roof is the one to shelter thee from those lawless men, who +are the curse of our poor country. + +"Jack, I told the mother that you must be going courting, and that +I should be right glad when you brought a bride to the old home. +And a bride this brave girl shall be as soon as Holy Church can +make you man and wife; and we will love her none the less for what +her father was. I always heard that the Fire Eater, as they call +him, had carried off and married a fair maiden, too good by a +thousand times for the like of him; and if this is that poor lady's +daughter, I can well believe the tale. But she is her mother's +child, not her fierce father's, and we will love her as our own. + +"Take her to your heart, good mother. A brave lass deserves a warm +welcome to her husband's home." + +The gentle but high-spirited Eva had gone through the dangers of +the night with courage and resolution, but tears sprang to her eyes +at hearing these kindly words; and whilst Jack wrung his father's +hand and thanked him warmly for his goodwill. The girl buried her +face upon the shoulder of Mistress Devenish, and was once more +wrapped in a maternal embrace. + +And then, having got the question of Eva's adoption as Jack's +betrothed bride so quickly and happily settled, they all turned +their attention to poor Paul, who for a few minutes had been almost +forgotten. + +There was a warm little chamber scarce larger than a closet opening +from the room where the farmer and his wife slept, and as there was +a bed therein always in readiness against the arrival of some +unlooked-for guest, Paul was quickly transported thither, and +tenderly laid between the clean but coarse coverings. He only +moaned a little, and never opened his eyes or recognized where he +was or by whom he was tended; whilst the sight of his lacerated +back and shoulders drew from the woman many an exclamation of pity, +and from the farmer those of anger and reprobation. + +It was some time before they understood what had happened, or +realized that the young kinsman (as they had called him) of Paul's +was really the Prince of Wales, the son of the now reigning Henry, +and that the two lads had been actually living and travelling +together with this secret between them. But Eva had heard much +about both, and told how the presence of the prince in the country +had become known to her father and his band first through the +suspicions of the peddler, who had seen the one pearl clasp still +owned and kept by the robber chief, and had at once recognized its +fellow; and secondly, from the identification of Paul's companion +with the Prince of Wales by one of the band who had been over to +France not long ago, and had seen the prince there. + +The old likeness between the two youths was remembered well by the +band, who had been fooled by it before; and they had been for weeks +upon the track of the fugitives, who had, however, left Figeon's +before their enemies had convinced themselves of their identity; +and in London they were less easily found. Eva did not know the +whole story--it was Paul who supplied the missing links later; but +she told how a great part of the band had gone forth to seek them +in the city--how word had presently been brought by a mounted +messenger that the fugitives had escaped, just when they were +certain they had them fast--that all roads were being watched for +them, but that those who still remained in the forest were to keep +a close lookout, lest by some chance they should return by the way +they had come. + +The band had been scouring the woods all that day in different +detachments, and they had brought in Paul just before dark. The +prince had escaped their vigilance, and Paul had maintained silence +under their cruel questioning. Eva knew no more of him than the +farmer, but all were full of hope that he had escaped. Well indeed +for both--if Paul knew his hiding place--that he was out of the +power of the robbers. They would scarce in any case have let him +escape with his life, after the ill will many of them bore him; but +had he continued to set them at defiance by his silence, there is +no knowing to what lengths their baffled rage might not have gone. +Eva had heard of things in bygone days which she could not recall +without a shudder, and the farmer and Jack, with clenched hands and +stern faces, vowed that they would leave no stone unturned until +the country was rid of these lawless and terrible marauders. + +"We have stood enough; this is the last!" cried the burly owner of +Figeon's. "We will raise the whole countryside; we will send a +deputation to the bold Earl of Warwick; we will tell him Paul's +history, and beg him to come himself, or to send a band of five +hundred of his good soldiers, and destroy these bandits root and +branch. If these outrages are committed in the name of the House of +York, then I and mine will henceforth wear the badge of Lancaster. +What we simple country folks want is a king who can keep order in +this distracted land; and if that brave boy who dwelt beneath our +roof, and was kindly and gracious to all, is our future king, well, +God bless and keep him, say I, and let the sceptre long be held in +his kindly hands!" + +In the village of Much Waltham next day the wildest excitement +prevailed. Jack was down at his sister's house with the dawn to +tell how Paul had been rescued from the hands of the robbers the +previous night, and what cruel treatment he had received at their +hands. He was going off on a secret errand to the Priory that very +day on Paul's behalf, to ask for news of the prince; and when it +was known that the bright-haired lad (Paul's kinsman, as he had +been called) who had won all hearts was none other than their +future Prince of Wales, a great revulsion of feeling swept over the +hearts of the simple and loving rustics, and they became as warm in +their sympathies for Lancaster as they had been loyal hitherto to +York. + +But the burning feeling of the hour was the desire to put down by a +strong hand the depredations of these lawless robber hordes. Not a +house in the place but had suffered from them, not a farmer but had +complaints to make of hen roost robbed or beasts driven off in the +night. Others had darker tales to tell; and Will Ives clenched his +fists and vowed that he would be glad indeed to see the day when he +and Simon Dowsett might meet face to face in equal combat. But it +would be impossible to attack the robbers in their forest +fastnesses unless they had military help; and a deputation was to +start forthwith to London, to lay before the mighty earl the story +of the ravages committed, and the deadly peril which had just +threatened the heir of England, from which he might not yet have +escaped. + +Jack was in hopes that he might still be at the Priory, and that he +might bring him back and set him at the head of a party of loyal +rustics, who should escort him in triumph to his royal father in +London. But that hope was of short duration; for the news he +received at the Priory told that the prince was already far away, +and safe at sea on his way to France. + +He had arrived just at dusk the previous evening, and when he had +told his adventures and proved his identity to the satisfaction of +the Prior, strenuous efforts were made to convey him safely away +before further peril could menace him. It chanced that one of the +brothers was about to start for the coast on a mission for the +Prior; and disguised in a friar's gown, Edward could travel with +him in the most perfect safety. Stout nags were in readiness for +the pair; and after the lad had been well fed, and had enjoyed a +couple of hours' sleep beside the fire, he was sufficiently +refreshed to proceed on his way, only charging the Prior either to +send Paul after him if he should arrive in time, or to keep him in +safe hiding if that should not be possible. + +Before Jack left the place, the brother who had been the prince's +companion returned with the news that Edward had been safely +embarked in a small trading vessel bound for France, the captain of +which, an ardent Lancastrian, would defend his passenger from every +peril at risk of his own life if need be. The wind was favourable +and light, and there was every hope of a rapid and safe passage. +Before nightfall this very day Edward would probably be landed upon +French soil, out of all chance of danger from foeman's steel. + +As to the purposed overthrow of the robber band, the brothers most +heartily approved of it. They too, though in some sort protected by +the awe inspired by Holy Church, suffered from the bold dealings of +these lawless men, and gladly would they see the band scattered or +exterminated. + +The Prior shook his head somewhat as Jack explained how he wished +to wed the daughter of the chief of the crew; but when the lover +pleaded his cause with all the eloquence at his command, and +painted in piteous words the misery the gentle girl had endured in +the midst of her unhallowed surroundings, the kind-hearted +ecclesiastic relented, and forthwith despatched Brother Lawrence to +examine and counsel the maid, hear her confession, and absolve her +from her offences, and then, if all seemed well, to perform the +rite of betrothal, which was almost as binding as the marriage +service itself, and generally preceded it by a few weeks or months, +as the case might be. So Jack rode off in high feather, and talked +so unceasingly of his Eva the whole way to the farm, that the good +brother was almost convinced beforehand of the virtue and devotion +of the maid, and was willing enough a few hours later to join their +hands in troth plight. After that, unless the father were prepared +to draw upon himself the fulminations of the Church, he could not +lay claim to his daughter, or try to give her in wedlock to +another. Her place was now with her betrothed's kindred, where she +would remain until the marriage ceremony itself took place, and +made her indeed the daughter of the farm. + +Meantime Paul lay for a while sorely sick, and was tended with +motherly devotion by good Mistress Devenish, who learned to love +him almost as a son. Hardy and tough as he was, the fatigue and +suffering he had undergone had broken him down, and a fever set in +which for a time made them fear for his very life. But his hardy +constitution triumphed over the foe, and in a week's time from the +night he first set foot across the threshold of Figeon's Farm he +was held to be out of danger, though excessively weak and ill. + +During the long nights when his hostess had watched beside him, +thinking that he was either unconscious or delirious, Paul had seen +and heard more than she knew. He had heard her read, as if to +herself, strange and beautiful words from a book upon her +knee--words that had seemed full of peace and light and comfort, +and which had sunk into his weary brain with strangely soothing +power. Some of these same words were not quite unfamiliar to +him--at least he knew their equivalents in the Latin tongue; but +somehow when spoken thus in the language of everyday life, they +came home to him with tenfold greater force, whilst some of the +sweetest and deepest and most comforting words were altogether new +to him. + +And as his strength revived, Paul's anxiety to hear more of such +words grew with it; and one forenoon, as his nurse sat beside him +with her busy needle flying, he looked up at her and said, "You do +not read out of the book any more, and I would fain hear those +wonderful words again." + +"I knew not that you had ever heard." + +"Yes, I heard much, and it seemed to ease my pain and give me happy +thoughts. It is a beautiful and a goodly book. May I not hear +more?" + +"I would that all the world might hear the life giving words of +that book, Paul," said the good woman with a sigh. "But they come +from Wycliffe's Bible, and the holy brothers tell us that it is a +wicked book, which none of us should read." + +"It cannot be a wicked book which holds such goodly words--words +that in the Latin tongue the Holy Church herself makes use of," +said Paul stoutly. "It may be bad for unlettered and ignorant men +to try to teach and expound the words they read, but the words +themselves are good words. May I not see the book myself?" + +"You know the risk you run in so doing, Paul?" + +"Ay; but I am a good son of the Church, and I fear not to see what +manner of book this be. If it is bad, I will no more of it." + +The woman smiled slightly as she rose from her seat and touched a +spring in the wall hard by the chimney. A sliding panel sprang back +and disclosed a small shelf, upon which stood a large book, which +the woman placed in Paul's hands, closing the panel immediately. + +He lay still, turning the leaves with his thin hands, and +marvelling what the Church found to condemn in so holy a book as +this seemed, breathing peace and goodwill and truest piety; but a +slight stir without the house, and the trampling of horse hoofs in +the court below, caused the woman to raise her head with an +instinct of caution, and Paul to thrust the volume hastily but +cautiously deep beneath the pillows on which he lay. + +There were strange voices in the house, and the door was opened by +Brother Lawrence, who came in with a troubled look upon his face. +He was followed by three tall monks in a different habit, and with +none of the rubicund joviality upon their faces that was seen in +those of the brothers of Leighs Priory; whilst last of all, with a +cunning and malicious leer upon his face, followed the little +peddler, who, when he met the steady glance of Paul's eyes, shrank +back somewhat and looked discomfited. + +But the foremost of the tall monks, scarce heeding the respectful +salutation made him by Paul and the mistress, turned upon the +peddler and said: + +"Fellow, come forward and bear your testimony. It was, you who laid +the information that heretical books were hidden in this house, and +that you knew the hiding place. Make good your words, now that you +have brought us to the spot; for our worthy brother here speaks +well of those that live beneath this roof." + +"May it please your reverence, I know the place well, and that +there are heretical books concealed there always. If you will press +that spring in the wall here, you will see for yourself. If you +find not the forbidden Bible there, call me a prating and a lying +knave.", + +Brother Lawrence was looking both troubled and curious, but the +face of Mistress Devenish was perfectly calm, and Paul commanded +his countenance to a look of simple wonderment and surprise. + +The monk obeyed the direction of the peddler; the secret spring, +gave a sharp click, and the door flew open. But the little shelf +was bare, and told no tales, and the face of the peddler fell. + +"It has been removed--they have had notice of this visitation," +stammered the discomfited man; but Brother Lawrence cut him short. + +"Your reverence knows that that is impossible," he said, addressing +the tall monk: "no word of this visitation had reached even our +ears till your arrival this very morning. This house has ever been +well thought of by our fraternity, and pays its dues to Holy Church +as I would all other houses did. I trust your mind is satisfied." + +The monk bent his head; but before he could speak, Paul had raised +himself on his pillows, and was speaking in quick, earnest tones. + +"Holy father, listen, I pray you, to me," he said, "and trust not +the testimony of yon traitorous fellow, who, if he had had his +will, would have done to death the son of our sainted monarch King +Henry. + +"Nay, let him not escape," he cried, as he saw the man make an +attempt to reach the door, which was promptly frustrated by the +sudden appearance of Jack Devenish, who had heard of this sudden +incursion of monks, and had rushed to the house in some fear of +what might be happening there. + +"Hold him fast, Jack," cried Paul, with increasing energy, "till I +have told my tale;" and forthwith he described in graphic words how +this man had identified the prince, and had striven to sell him to +the enemy, that the House of York might triumph in his death, or in +possession of the heir whose life alone could redeem the cause of +Lancaster from destruction. The story was listened to with deep +attention and no little sympathy, for the visit, the peril, and the +flight of the prince were becoming known in this part of the +country, and the clergy of all degrees were thankful indeed that +the heir of England was safe, as they were all deeply attached to +the cause of the Red Rose. + +So Paul's story roused a great wave of anger against the mean +fellow, who would thus earn his own living by betraying those whose +bread he had eaten, or one whose life it should be his care to +protect; and scarce had Paul done speaking before Brother Lawrence +took up the gauntlet, and addressing himself to the tall monk, +pointed to Paul, as he lay still white and weak upon his pillows. + +"And hear farther, reverend father: this youth who now speaks to +you is he of whom I told you as we rode along, who bore torture +without yielding up the name of the hiding place to which he knew +the prince had escaped. But for him young Edward might yet have +fallen into the hands of these robbers; for they would have watched +our Priory and have set upon all who went or came, and ravaged the +whole country, so that even the habit of the monk would not have +protected or disguised him. And these good folks here at this farm +were they who rescued him from the hands of the robbers; for the +maiden alone, without the help of this stalwart youth, could not +have brought him, ill and fainting as he was, all these long weary +miles. And they took him in; and this woman, whom yon informer +would have you believe is a vile heretic, has nursed him like his +own mother, and brought him back from the very jaws of death. And +is she who has done a service that royal Henry will one day thank +her for publicly (for this pallid youth is as a brother in love to +young Edward, and his especial charge to us till he comes again to +claim him and bestow his well-earned knighthood upon him)--is she +to suffer from the unproven charges of a base spy and Yorkist tool +like yon fellow there, who would have betrayed his own king's son +to death? Away with such a fellow from the earth, I say; and let +those who have sheltered England's heir, and rescued this bold +youth from worse than death--let them, I say, live in peace and +honour for the service they have done their country! For I wot that +when young Edward comes in his own proper state again, his first +care will be for those who befriended him in his hour of need, his +first chastisement against those who have done aught to harm them, +if they be still cumbering the earth." + +And with that the usually jovial brother, moved now by a great +access of wrath, which had given him unwonted eloquence, pointed a +finger significantly at the trembling peddler; and Jack, who held +him by the collar, gave him a shake and said: + +"Give me leave to carry him to the village green and tell the good +folks there the tale, and I warrant that he will not cumber the +ground much longer." + +"Do with him as you will," said the tall monk, "he is no charge of +mine; and if all be true that is said, he well deserves his fate." + +The peddler was borne away, crying and entreating, and before an +hour had passed, his dead body was hanging on an oak tree nigh to +the blacksmith's forge--a warning to all informers; and when he had +gone the tall monk turned to Paul with a more benign air, and laid +his hand upon his head as he said: + +"Thou art a stanch lad; and for their care to thee these honest +folks deserve the gratitude of the Church. I believe none of the +accusations of that lewd fellow. I trow this is a godly house, +where the Lord is rightly honoured in His holy ordinances." + +"That indeed is so," answered Paul fervently. + +The visitors departed well satisfied; whilst Paul heaved a great +sigh of relief, and wondered if he had in any way sinned by thought +or word or deed. But his conscience was clear; he could not see +that there was sin in reading holy words from God's own Book. Such +matters of dispute were too hard for him, and he closed his tired +eyes and was soon sound asleep. He saw the great Bible no more +whilst he remained beneath that roof; but many of its words were +engraved upon his heart, and were a guide to his steps and a light +to his path throughout his subsequent life. + +"You have saved us from a great peril this day, Paul," said the +farmer that night, with a moisture in his eyes and a gravity upon +his jolly face. "If we have given shelter and protection to you, +your protection of us has been equally great. You must make this +your home, my boy, so long as you need one." + +The next days were full of excitement for Much Waltham. The request +made by the people of Essex had been listened to by the great earl, +and though he could scarce credit the fact that the king's son had +been so near, he was convinced at last, and burned to avenge +himself on those who had tried to take him captive. A band of armed +men was sent down, and the forest swept clear of the marauders--at +least for a while. Will Ives had his wish, and met Simon Dowsett +face to face in a hand-to-hand struggle; and although the latter +did all to deserve his undesirable sobriquet, he was overpowered at +last and slain, and his head carried in triumph to his native +village, where, after the savage custom of the day, it was exposed +on a pike on the village green. + +Paul heard of this fight by report alone, for he was able to get +only as far as the great kitchen fire, where he and Eva spent a +great part of their time in eagerly discussing the questions of the +day. Her father, the chief of the band, made his escape with some +few of his followers, and was heard of no more in those parts. His +daughter was glad he was not killed, though she could not desire to +see him more; and in a short time she and Jack were married, and +she almost forgot that she had been for so many years living +amongst the robbers of Black Notley. + + + +Chapter 8: The Rally Of The Red Rose. + + +"Paul! Is it really you? Now indeed I feel that I have reached my +native land again. O Paul, I have wearied sorely for you. Why +followed you not me to France, as we planned? Every day I looked +for tidings of you, and none came. But this meeting atones for +all." + +It was the bright dawn of an Easter day, and Paul, after a night's +hard riding, stood within the precincts of the Abbey of Cerne, not +far from the seaport of Weymouth. His hands were closely grasped in +those of young Edward, who was looking into his face with beaming +eyes. + +It was no longer the fugitive Edward of the winter months, but a +royally equipped and accoutred youth, upon whose noble face and +figure Paul's eyes dwelt with fond pride. Weary and tempestuous as +had been the voyage from France to England--a voyage that had +lasted seventeen days, in lieu of scarce so many hours--yet the +bright face of the Prince of Wales bore no signs of fatigue or +disappointment. The weary days of waiting were over. He and his +mother had come to share his father's royal state, and drive from +the shores--if he came--the bold usurper who had hitherto triumphed +in the strife of the Roses. His heart beat high with hope and lofty +purpose; and in joy at the eager welcomes poured upon him by the +friends and warriors who came flocking to his standard he forgot +all the doubts and fears of the past, and looked upon himself as +the saviour of his country, as indeed he was regarded by all his +party. + +The old comrades and friends looked each other well over with +smiling glances, and it seemed as if Edward marked in Paul as much +change in the outward man as he had done in the prince. + +"By my troth, Paul, fair fortune has smiled upon you since last we +met. And the gold spurs of knighthood too--nay, now, what means +that, good comrade? Were we not to have knelt side by side to +receive that honour? Have you outstripped me from the first?" + +"Pardon, my dear lord," answered Paul, blushing and smiling; "I +would sooner have received the honour at your hands than at those +of any other. But I was summoned to London, so soon as my wounds +were healed, by the great earl; and your royal father himself gave +me audience, to ask news of you (for it became known that you had +visited the realm by stealth); and after I had told him all my +tale, he with his own hand bestowed that honour upon me. Then the +noble earl made over to me a fair manor in the west country, which +I have not yet visited, but which has put money once more into my +purse. And here am I, your grace's loyal servant, to ask no better +than to follow and fight for you until the crown is safely placed +upon your head." + +And he bent the knee and pressed his lips upon the prince's hand. + +But Edward raised him, and linked his arm within that of his old +companion, walking with him along the pleasant green pathway of the +Abbey mead, not content till he had heard every detail of that +which had befallen Paul, from the moment they had parted up till +the present, and listening with intense excitement to his account +of what had befallen him in the robbers' cave, and how he had +escaped from thence, and had been tended and protected at Figeon's +by the kindly and honest folks there. + +"When I am king," said young Edward, with flashing eyes, "I will go +thither again, and reward them royally for all they have done for +you and me. I am glad they loved me still, Lancastrian though they +knew me at last to be. Oh, if they were willing to follow my +fortunes and own me as their king, methinks others will not be far +behind! And, God helping me, I will try to show them what manner of +man a king should be." + +For it had been fully recognized upon all hands now that the +prince's father was absolutely incapable of more than the name of +king, and it was well known that the prince was to be the real +ruler, with the name of regent, and that it would be his hands or +his mother's that would sway the sceptre of power, should the +Lancastrian cause triumph in the struggle. + +And no thought of aught but victory had as yet found place in young +Edward's heart. Was not the great invincible earl fighting on their +side? And had he not already placed Henry once more upon the +throne, not to be again deposed so long as he had a soldier left to +fight for him? + +But Paul's heart was scarce so light, although the sight of the +prince awakened his loyal enthusiasm. + +"O my lord, if you had but come sooner--had come before the proud +son of York had landed, and drawn to his standard a host of +powerful followers! I know not how it is, but his name is a magnet +that strangely stirs the hearts of men. Ere I left London I heard +that the rival armies were closely approaching each other, and that +the battle might not be much longer delayed. I knew not whether to +fly to welcome you, or to stay and draw the sword on your behalf, +and strive to be the one to bring to you the glorious news of +victory. I cannot think but what the great earl will again be +victorious; but the despatches he intrusted to me, with commands to +hasten westwards to try and meet you on your landing, will tell you +more of the chances of war than I can do. Men's mouths are full of +rumours. One knows not how to sift the false from the true. But the +men of London--ay, there is the peril--they all stand sullen when +we of the Red Rose pass by, and scarce a voice calls 'God save the +king.' If Edward of York were to succeed in reaching the city--" + +"But he must not--he shall not--he cannot!" cried young Edward, +with flashing eyes. "What! shall the proud crest of my great +father-in-law stoop before the traitorous host of York? Fie on +thee, Paul! talk not to me of defeat. Nay, after we have heard the +holy mass of this glad Easter day, let us rather to horse and +away--you and I together, Paul, as we have done times before--and +let us not draw rein till we ride into the victorious camp of the +king my father, and hear the glad welcome we shall receive from his +brave host. + +"O Paul, I have had my moments of doubt and desponding, but they +are all past now. I come to claim my kingdom, and to place a crown +upon the brow of my lovely bride. Ah, I must present you to her--my +gentle Lady Anne. I wot she will not be far off She will be seeking +for me, as is her fashion if we are long apart. She must thank you +herself for all that you have done and suffered for me. You will +feel yourself a thousandfold repaid when you have heard her sweet +words of recognition." + +And in effect, as they turned once more toward the Abbey, Paul saw +approaching them the slight and graceful figure of a young girl, in +the first blush of maiden bloom and beauty, her face ethereally +lovely, yet tinged, as it seemed, with some haunting melancholy, +which gave a strange pathos to its rare beauty, and seemed almost +to speak of the doom of sorrow and loss already hanging over her, +little as she knew it then. + +The solemn troth plight which had passed between her and young +Edward was almost equivalent to the marriage vow that would shortly +bind them indissolubly together, and their love for each other was +already that of man and wife. As the gentle lady listened to the +eager tale poured out by Paul, she stretched out her hand to him, +and when he would have bent the knee she raised him up with sweet +smiles, and told him how her dear lord had always praised him as a +very brother, and the type of all that was faithful and true in +comrade. Such words from such lips brought the boyish blush to +Paul's cheeks, and he stumbled bashfully over his undying +protestations of loyalty. + +Then, as they reached the refectory, which had been allotted by the +monks to their noble guests, he stopped short and fell upon his +knees; for in a tall and stately figure advancing to meet them he +recognized the great queen he had not seen since he was a child, +and scarce dared to raise his eyes to note the ravages that sorrow +and care had made upon that princely visage, or the silver +whiteness of the locks, covered for the most part by the tall, +peaked headdress of the day. + +The queen recognized Paul at once from the strange likeness to her +own son, and her welcome was kindly given. But she was anxious and +preoccupied, having but risen from the perusal of the despatches +Paul had brought; and although her natural courage and hopefulness +would not permit her to despond, she could not but admit that +danger menaced the cause of the Red Rose, whilst she realized, as +her young son could not do at his age, how utterly disastrous would +be a single victory of the enemy at such a juncture. + +The fortunes of the rival houses were trembling in the balance. The +first decisive, advantage to either would give a prestige and +fillip to that cause which might be absolutely fatal to the hopes +of the other. If it were true that some battle were being fought or +about to be fought that very day, such a battle might be either the +death blow to all their hopes or the earnest of a final triumph +nigh at hand. + +It was a strange Easter Day for the party at the Abbey. The mass +was quickly followed by the arrival of loyal adherents from the +surrounding country, who had heard of the landing of the +long-expected party from France, and flocked eagerly to pay their +homage to the queen and the prince, and look upon the fair face of +the Lady Anne, whose position as Warwick's daughter and Edward's +bride alike made her an object of the greatest interest and a +person of importance. Paul was deeply enamoured of the gentle and +lovely lady, and received many marks of favour from her hands. He +was given a post about the young prince, and kept close at his side +the whole day. + +It was inspiriting indeed to hear the loyal protestations of the +friends who kept flocking all day to join their standard, and there +was no riding forth to London for prince or attendant so long as +the light lasted. + +"But tomorrow morn we will sally forth ere it well be day," said +Edward, in low tones, as they parted for the night. "My heart tells +me that something of note has occurred this very day. We will be +the first to bring the news to my mother. Be ready with a couple of +horses and some few men-at-arms ere the sun be well risen over yon +ridge, and we will forth to meet the messengers of victory, and +bring them back with us to tell their welcome news." + +Paul had forgotten his vague fears in the gladness of the present, +and scarce closed his eyes that night, thinking of the coming +triumph for the prince he loyally loved. He was up and in the +saddle with the first glimmering light of day, and by the time that +the rosy glow of dawn was transforming the fair world of nature and +clothing it with an indescribable radiance of gossamer beauty, he +and the prince were already a mile from the Abbey, galloping along +in the fresh morning air with a glad exultation of spirit that +seemed in itself like a herald of coming triumph. + +"The very heavens have put on the livery of the Red Rose!" cried +Edward gaily, as he pointed to the vivid red of the east; and Paul +smiled, and tried to banish from his mind the old adage learned at +his nurse's knee, to the effect that a red morn was the herald of a +dark and dreary day. + +They had ridden a matter of some five miles forth in the direction +of the great road to London--as it was then considered, though we +should scarce call the rude tracks of those days roads--when the +quick eye of Paul caught sight of a little moving cloud of dust, +and he drew rein to shade his eyes with his hand. + +Edward followed his example, and together they stood gazing, their +hearts beating with sympathetic excitement. How much might the next +few moments contain for them of triumph or of despair! for from the +haste with which these horsemen rode, it was plain they were the +bearers of tidings, and if of tidings, most likely those of some +battle, in which the King Maker and the king he had first made and +then driven away would stand for the first time in hostile ranks. +Together they had been victorious; what would be the result when +they met as foes? + +Nearer and nearer came the riders, looming through the uncertain +morning mist, and emerging thence two jaded, weary figures, their +horses flecked with foam, nostrils wide, chests heaving, showing +every sign of distress; and Paul, recognizing in one of the riders +a follower of the Earl of Warwick, called upon him by name, and bid +him speak his tidings. + +"Lost--lost--all lost!" cried the man, addressing himself to Paul, +unconscious of the identity of his companion; "the battle is fought +and lost. The armies met on Barnet Heath. The Earl of Warwick, the +great earl, was there slain. His Majesty King Henry is again a +prisoner in the hands of Edward of York. Today he makes his +triumphant entry into London, which will open its gates to him with +joy and receive him as king." + +Paul sat rigid and motionless as he heard these words. He did not +dare to look at young Edward, who sat beside him as if turned to +stone. The second messenger, who had had a moment to draw breath +whilst his fellow had been speaking, now broke in with his share of +the terrible news. He had seen the prodigies of valour performed by +the mighty earl. He had witnessed the death of that warrior--such a +death as was fitting for one of his warlike race. The testimony of +eyewitnesses could not be doubted. The fatal day had again been +hostile to the cause of the Red Rose, and the mournful cry of those +who had seen and shared in the fight, as they fled pellmell from +the field, had been, "Lost--all lost! the House of Lancaster is +utterly overthrown!" + +Mournfully the little procession turned itself and rode back to the +Abbey. Edward had not spoken one word all this time, and the +messengers, who had now learned who he was, fell to the rear, and +observed an awed silence. But their tale had been told. They had +said enough. The worst was made known, and not even Paul dared +venture a word of consolation, or seek to know what was passing in +the mind of the prince, whose fair inheritance seemed thus to be +slipping away. + +Excitement, uncertainty, and suspense seemed in the very air, and +even before the silent little troop reached the courtyard of the +Abbey eager forms were seen hurrying out, and the tall and stately +figure of the royal Margaret stood outlined in the doorway. Perhaps +something in the very silence and confused looks of the little +group told a tale of disaster, for the queen came hurrying down the +steps with whitening face, and her son sprang from his saddle and +put his arm about her, as if to support her in the shock which +could not but fall upon her now. + +"Tell me all," she whispered hoarsely. "Do not keep me in suspense. +Speak, I command you, my son." + +"A battle has been fought--and lost," answered Edward, speaking +mechanically. "Our ally and friend the Earl of Warwick was killed +in desperate fight. My father is a prisoner in the enemy's hands. +Edward of York is even now making his triumphant entry into London, +which will receive him with open arms." + +Edward said no more; he had indeed told all his tale, and it had +been enough for the unhappy woman, who had landed on English soil +so confident of victory. She gave one short, low cry, a convulsive +shudder passed through her limbs, and she fell senseless to the +ground. That cry found its echo upon the pale lips of another--one +who had closely followed the queen to learn the tidings of the +travellers; and Edward turned to catch his bride in his arms, +whilst her tears rained down fast as she heard how her noble father +lay dead upon the fatal field that had lost her lord his crown, and +had dashed to the ground the warmest hopes of the Red Rose. + +"Let us to ship again," said Margaret, as she recovered from her +long swoon. "The cause is lost without hope. Warwick is slain. Whom +have we now to trust to? Let us back to France, and hide our +dishonoured heads there. My father's court will receive us yet, and +perchance we may in time learn to forget that we were ever princes +and sovereigns." + +Strange words, indeed, from the haughty and warlike Margaret; but +at that moment her proud spirit seemed crushed and broken, and it +was young Edward who answered her with words of hope and courage. + +"Nay, mother," he said, "let it not be said of the House of +Plantagenet that they turned their backs upon the foe, and fled +disgracefully, leaving their followers to butchery and ruin. It +might have been well for us never to have disturbed again the peace +of this realm; but having summoned to our banner the loyal +adherents of the Red Rose, it is not for us to fly to safety, and +leave them to the wrath and cruelty of Edward. No; one battle--one +defeat--does not lose us our cause. My father lives; shall we leave +him to linger out his days in hopeless captivity? I live; have I +not the right to strike a blow for the crown to which I was born? + +"Courage, sweet mother. You are a king's daughter. You have led men +to victory before. Say not--think not--that all is lost. Let us win +the crown of England by the power of the name and of the righteous +cause we own, and henceforth shall no man say that a subject crowns +and dethrones England's monarch at his will." + +These words, seconded and echoed by those of many a gallant knight +and noble, raised Margaret's broken spirit, and she began once more +to hope. That day they journeyed by rapid stages to Beaulieu Abbey, +a very famous sanctuary in those days, the ruins of which may still +be seen in the New Forest; and there the party found the widowed +Countess of Warwick, who had landed at Portsmouth before the royal +party had reached Weymouth, and had just heard of her terrible +loss. To have her daughter with her once again, and to mingle their +tears together, was some consolation, both for the countess and the +Lady Anne; but others had sterner work before them than weeping +over past misfortunes, and as soon as the retreat of the royal +Lancastrian became generally known, many stanch adherents flocked +to tender their allegiance and promise fealty to the cause. + +Foremost amongst these was the young Duke of Somerset, whose family +had ever been stanch to the Red Rose, as well it might. Some of the +unpopularity Margaret of Anjou had early won for herself at the +English court was due to her confidence in and affection for +Somerset, and his son might well be ardent in her cause. + +Margaret herself was still sunk in unwonted depression, but the +representations of the fiery young duke did much to give her heart. +With him came Jasper Tudor, the king's half brother, and they drew +glowing pictures of the loyalty of the western counties; and of +Wales, where a large band of troops was mustering for her support; +and represented that if she could but effect a junction with them, +the whole country would soon be hers, and she would be able to +dictate terms to the enemy at the gates of London. + +Margaret's elastic temper rose with the encouragement thus +received, and Edward's heart beat high with hope. The party began +their westward march, and through the bright days of April and May +they rode through the smiling land, receiving welcome and adulation +from all, and reinforcements to their little band from every town +through which they passed. Small wonder was it that they learned to +feel confident of ultimate success. The young prince, with Paul at +his side, would ride through the ranks of his followers day by day, +speaking bright, brave words to all he passed, and winning the +hearts of his troops as perhaps only the young and frank-hearted +and unspoiled can do. To him it seemed almost more like a triumphal +progress than a recruiting march. + +But Margaret's brow was often dark with anxiety. She knew the +temper of the bold Edward of York, as she called him, whom the +world still spoke of as king; and she knew that he would be upon +their track. Any day they might see his banners threatening their +rear, and still the Welsh army was at some distance; and until a +junction could be effected, even their lives could scarce be called +safe. + +Then at Gloucester a serious check met them. The place was held for +the king's brother, and the gates were resolutely closed against +her. It was here that she had reckoned upon crossing the deep and +treacherous waters of the Severn, and to be thus foiled might mean +the ruin of the enterprise. The sheltering mountains of Wales were +already in sight; but how was she to reach them if the passage of +the river were denied her? + +Paul had gone forth alone that day, and had not been present when +the queen had ridden herself to the fortified gates to demand an +entrance, which had been firmly and respectfully declined her. But +he had learned tidings which disquieted him not a little, and it +was at full gallop that he dashed back into the ranks, and sought +the prince himself, who was looking with darkening brow upon the +frowning battlements of the unfriendly city. + +"My liege, it brooks not this delay," he cried, reining up beside +Edward, and speaking in rapid whispers. "The army of York is scarce +a score of miles away, and in hot pursuit after us. They have had +certain news of our movements, and unless we can push on across the +river and meet our friends there, we shall be taken in the rear, +and at sore disadvantage. It behoves us to strain every nerve to +reach our friends before our foes are upon us." + +"I doubt not that," answered Edward calmly, yet with a look which +Paul did not understand; "but the wide river runs before us, and +the bridge is barred to us. Unless we reduce first this noble city, +we must turn and face the foe and fight him at sore odds." + +A look of dismay crossed Paul's face as he heard this piece of +news, and he silently followed the prince at his bidding to the +spot where the leading nobles and generals were gathered together +in warm debate. The news that Edward was just upon them ran like +wildfire through the ranks, and all the most experienced leaders, +including the royal Margaret herself, were of opinion that it would +be better not to run the risk of a battle, but retire rapidly and +stealthily from their present position, and not encounter the onset +of Edward's veteran troops, flushed with victory and thirsting for +blood, until their hardy mountain allies had contrived to join +them. + +But there is something revolting to young and ardent spirits in the +thought of flight, and the Duke of Somerset was eager for the fray. +He argued that an easy victory must be theirs if they did but act +boldly and hastened to the attack. To fly were fatal; their troops +would become disheartened and melt away. Their foes would openly +triumph, and all men would be drawn to them. Edward's soldiers, +weary with long marching, would be taken by surprise. It were a +thousand times better to risk the fight than to play the coward at +so critical a juncture. + +And these impetuous words carried the younger spirits along with +them. The prince drew his sword, and riding through the ranks, +asked if the soldiers would choose to fight or fly. There could +scarce be more than one reply to such an appeal so made. They drew +their swords and vowed to live or die with him, and the enthusiasm +of the moment was such that all were carried away; and orders were +instantly given for a march upon Tewkesbury, where it was thought +a spot might be found which would give them advantages for the +coming struggle. + +The troops had had a long march earlier in the day, but they +traversed the ten miles which lay between them and Tewkesbury with +cheerful alacrity. Paul and the prince rode side by side in the van +of the advancing host, and Edward looked straight before him with +glowing eyes, as if he felt that a crisis of his fate were at hand. + +"At last, my good Paul, we are riding forth to try conclusions with +the world, as we have purposed so long to do," he said, with a +strange, flashing smile. "In faith I am glad that the hour of +action is come. Ere another sun is set some blow shall have been +struck which shall set the crown of England upon some one head more +firmly than ever it has been set before. God grant the cause of +right may triumph! But whichever way the conflict goes, I pray that +this distracted land may find peace and rest, and that I may be +either a victor in the strife, or may find a soldier's grave. Paul, +will you give me your promise, trusty comrade, that ere I fall +alive into the hand of the foe, you will bury your knightly sword +in my heart yourself? It were the part of a true brother to save me +from the fate of my patient father. He has borne dethronement and +captivity; but methinks I should pine and die, and I would far +rather--" + +He gave Paul an expressive glance; but the young knight answered +gravely and steadfastly: + +"My liege, ask me not that beyond my power to grant. We may not +without sin raise our hands against the Lord's anointed, and I may +not do the thing you ask. Death or captivity I will gladly share +with you, or spend every drop of my blood to save you; but more +than this no loyal knight may promise. Forgive me, my liege, if I +offend in this." + +But Edward held out his mailed hand with his own bright, sweet +smile, grasping that of Paul, which he held in his own as he spoke. + +"You are in the right, Paul, you are in the right. Perchance it +were a coward thought; for should not a prince be ready for any +blow of adverse fortune? But ride you into the battle beside me. +Let us fight side by side, even as we have always hoped to do. I +would that you were in very truth my brother, as in love you have +long been. And if I fall whilst you escape, be it your office to +break the tidings to my mother and my gentle Anne; for methinks, +were it told them suddenly or untenderly, their hearts would break +with the sorrow." + +Paul gave this pledge willingly, though it scarce seemed possible +to him that he should live to carry such tidings, seeing he would +die a thousand deaths to save his prince from the foeman's steel. +And then, with grave faces but brave hearts and unclouded brows, +the comrades rode side by side into the town of Tewkesbury, whilst +the army intrenched itself on the summit of a small eminence called +the Home Ground, not half a mile away. + +Already the rival army was mustering, and the Yorkist troops +occupied the sloping ground to the south, that went by the name of +the Red Piece. The Lancastrians had the best of the situation, as +they were established amongst trenches and ditches, partly real and +partly artificial; which would render any attack by the enemy +difficult and dangerous. + +"I trow it would be hard to drive from this ground these brave men +thus posted," said Edward to Paul, as the two rode round the camp +at the close of the day. "They have only to stand firm and hold +their position, and all will be well. Oh that the night were past, +and that a new day had come! I would I could see the end of this +struggle. I would the veil of the future might be for one moment +lifted." + +But the future keeps its secrets well--well for us it is so--and +the youthful and high-spirited young prince saw not the black cloud +hanging already upon him. The soldiers greeted him with cheers and +blessings; the generals bent the knee to him, and vowed to die to +win him back his crown. The light of the setting sun illumined the +field so soon to be red with human blood, and the vesper bell from +the church hard by rang out its peaceful summons. + +Edward looked round him, and laid his hand affectionately on Paul's +shoulder. + +"This is a fair earth," he said dreamily. "I wonder what the world +beyond will be like, for those who leave this behind, as so many +will do tomorrow." + +Paul spoke not a word, but returned the look with one infinitely +loving, and together the two rode back to the town. + + + +Chapter 9: The Tragedy Of Tewkesbury + + +How the battle of Tewkesbury was lost and won is too well known to +need description in detail here. Whether the Lancastrian army could +have held the field before the Yorkist veterans had they been +skilfully generalled will never now be known; but the fiery and +impetuous Duke of Somerset, whose ill-judged ardour had forced the +battle upon his followers, undoubtedly lost the day for them by his +intemperate and reckless disregard of the dictates of common +prudence. After opening the fight by a discharge of ordnance, he +was mad enough to leave his intrenched position on the Home Ground, +and carry his men into the open for a charge upon the opposing +army. Here they were not only confronted by Edward's compact army, +but were taken in the flank and rear by a company of spearmen who +had been told off to guard against a possible ambush in a little +wood; which, however, the hot-headed Somerset had never thought to +place. + +Thrown into confusion, the Lancastrians were routed, and confusion +was rendered worse confounded by another impetuous act on the part +of the fiery young duke. As he and his flying soldiers fell back +upon the town of Tewkesbury, and reached the market place, they +found Lord Wenlock and his men sitting idle and motionless there, +as if there was no work for them to do. + +The reason for this extraordinary apathy on the part of one of the +leaders will never now be known. It was the curse of the strife of +the Roses that treachery and a change of sides was always +suspected, and too often with good cause, between men who had been +friends and allies heretofore. The Duke of Somerset at once +concluded that Lord Wenlock had turned traitor to the cause, and +riding furiously up to him as he sat, he dashed out his brains with +his battle-axe, without so much as pausing to ask a single +question. + +The followers of both leaders who saw the deed were struck with new +terror. With loud cries of "Treason, treason!" they threw down +their arms and fled they knew not whither, and the retreat became a +confused rout, in which the thought of each man was to save his own +life. + +Such, in brief, was the deplorable story of the battle of +Tewkesbury. But we are concerned less with the main course of the +fortunes of the day than with the individual adventures of certain +persons concerned, who, if isolated acts of gallantry and devotion +could have saved the day, would have turned the fortunes of even +the fatal field of Tewkesbury. + +The prince was stationed in the main body of the army, under the +care, as was supposed by his anxious mother, of the military Prior +of St. John's Longstruther. And by his side was his faithful +shadow, Paul, whose solemn purpose that day was to keep beside the +prince throughout the course of the battle, and shield him from +harm even at the cost of his own life. Some strange foreboding had +fallen upon Paul, and he scarce expected to see the light of +another day; but this presentiment of coming ill he bravely hid +from his companion, and the two rode into the ranks with smiling +faces, and looked across at the opposing lines of the enemy with a +steadfast and lofty courage. Then the prince turned to his +companion. + +"Our first battle, good Paul; for though as a child I saw fighting, +I never took part in it before. I am glad that we ride side by side +this day. Let us show our loyal people, whatever be the fortunes of +the field, that Englishmen can strike hard blows, and that they +never turn their backs upon the foe. If we ride not to victory, +Paul, let us ride to death with a courage that shall not disgrace +the kingly blood that both of us can boast in some measure." + +Then they looked to their weapons, and sat very silent, waiting +what would befall. + +Perhaps those that take part in a fierce fight know less about the +details than any others. Paul was presently aware that he and the +men about him, the prince still at his side, were charging down the +little eminence upon which they had been posted, straight at the +serried ranks of the Yorkist army, which kept its position, and +awaited their coming with cool intrepidity. Paul had not time to +think or reason, or he would surely have wondered at the rashness +of quitting an advantageous position, and putting themselves to +such disadvantage before the foe. All he knew was that the duke's +company had moved first, and had charged upon the enemy, and that +their military monk had given the word to follow and support their +friends; which was done without a moment's hesitation, whether the +movement were, strategically speaking, right or wrong. + +And then, all in a moment as it seemed, the prince and his comrade +found themselves in a fierce melee, in which for a while they could +scarce move hand or foot, jammed in by the press of men and steeds, +but surrounded by friends and comrades, who were eagerly pressing +forward toward the foe. Cries and shouts rent the air, mingled +sometimes with the shriek or groan which told that a well-directed +blow had gone home to its mark. The press became denser, and then +less dense; some riderless horses from the front rank came tearing +back through the crush, forcing their way in a sort of mad terror; +and Edward, snatching his battle-axe from its resting place across +his saddle bow, swung it over his head, and shouted to his +companion: + +"Follow me, Paul! yonder lies the foe. I will strike a blow for my +father's liberty and crown this day, whether I live or die." + +The way was open now, and Paul saw plainly that they were close to +the ranks of the foe. But there was no drawing back, even had he +wished it; his blood was up now, and not even fear for the possible +peril of the prince could withhold him from the charge. He knew not +whether the person of the prince was known, and whether young +Edward ran any especial danger in thus flinging himself upon the +enemy. But it was no longer his place to think--the moment for +action had arrived; and following Edward's example, he dashed into +the thick of the fray, the impetuosity and fury of his charge +bearing down all before him, and hewing down man and horse as he +clave a passage through the ranks for the prince, who closely +followed. + +They were not alone. A gallant little company was following in +their track, and with cries of "An Edward, an Edward, a Prince of +Wales!" smote down the rival warriors with a fury which for the +moment nothing could withstand. There is surely something magnetic +in a war cry or in a patriotic song, for it inspires those who use +it with an ardour and a strength which for the moment seem +invincible. + +To Paul and the prince it seemed as if the day were all but won. +Wherever they turned they dealt death and destruction. The wing of +the army upon which they charged was wavering and disorganized; the +infantry recoiled before the fierce charge of the horsemen, and the +opposing cavalry was mostly in another part of the field. + +"Victory, victory!" shouted those about Paul and the prince; and to +the enthusiastic and excited lads it seemed as if the day was +already theirs. The name of the Prince of Wales was in all mouths. +It was shouted by each soldier as he fell upon his foe, and the +enemy appeared to recoil before it. Onward and ever onward pressed +the eager little band, until it was entirely separated from the +main body of the army; and so certain were all who took part in +that isolated skirmish that the fortunes of the day were with the +House of Lancaster, that the peril of their position struck none of +the prince's followers till, thinned by the blows of their +adversaries, and weary with the impetuosity of their own charge, +they paused and drew together; whilst the foe, glad of a moment's +breathing space, did not molest them. + +There are pauses even on the battlefield when a few words can be +exchanged, and the prince, flushed with the foretaste (as it seemed +to him) of a glorious victory, turned to Paul with kindling eyes. + +"War is a glorious game in all truth, Paul. I would not have been +elsewhere for all the world. But you bleed--you are wounded. Tell +me where. I knew not that you were hurt. You must ride back to the +town and be tended there." + +"Nay, it is nought; I do not even feel it. I know not who struck +me, nor when. I will bind this scarf about my arm, and all will be +well. And think you not, my liege, that it were well to return to +the lines ourselves? I promised your royal mother and the Lady Anne +that you should not adventure yourself too much today within the +enemy's lines. But all such charge passed from my memory in the +heat of the fight." + +"Ay, and my place was here, in the midst of my good soldiers. Oh, +it has been a glorious day! 'Lancaster will remember it ever. And +see, Paul--see how they fly on yonder height! See how the battle +rages and becomes a flight! It is the same everywhere. The Red Rose +triumphs. Proud York is forced to fly. Shall we join them, and lead +again to victory? They are chasing them to the very walls of the +town." + +Paul looked in the direction indicated, and a change came over his +face. He had the wonderful long, keen sight which often comes to +those who have grown up in the open air, and have been used from +childhood to the exercise of hunting and hawking. The prince saw +only the flying rout, which he concluded to be the soldiers of +York; but Paul could distinguish more. He could see the colours, +and the badges they wore, and he recognized with a sinking heart +the terrible fact that it was the followers of the Red Rose who +were flying before the mailed warriors of Edward of York. + +The change in his countenance did not escape young Edward's keen +eye, and he at once divined the cause, The bright flush faded from +his own face, and his gaze was turned in the same direction again. + +Alas! it was but too plain now; for the rout was plainly in the +direction of the town, and it was easy to understand that had it +been the Yorkists who had fled they would have taken an opposite +direction, in order to reach their own lines. + +For a moment prince and subject sat spellbound, watching that +terrible sight in deep silence. But then the peril of their own +position, and the deadly danger that menaced the prince if the +situation should be realized by their foes surrounding them here, +flashed across Paul like a vivid and terrible lightning gleam. + +He turned and laid his hand upon the shoulder of the prince. + +"My liege," he said, "we may not linger here. We must regain our +comrades, and see if we may rally them yet. All may not be lost, +but it were madness to remain here. Let me call our followers +together, and we will charge back through the foe to our own lines. +It is not safe to be here." + +Edward made no reply. The face that had been flushed with victory +and bright with hope was now set in those stern lines which seem to +speak of a forlorn hope. He saw their peril as clearly as Paul; but +if the day were lost, what mattered it if his life were yet whole +in him? The face he silently turned upon his companion seemed to +have grown years older whilst he had been speaking. + +And to make matters worse, the knowledge of the disaster to their +own side spread to the soldiers who had followed the prince, and +that instant demoralization which so often accompanies and +aggravates defeat seized upon the men. They flung away their +heavier arms, and with a shout of "Treason, treason!"--for they +were assured there had been foul play somewhere--fled each man by +himself, without a thought for aught save his own life. + +Paul and the prince thus found themselves alone in the midst of a +hostile host--alone save for the presence of some half-dozen stout +troopers attached to the service of Paul, who since his advance in +worldly prosperity had been in a position to engage and retain the +services of some men-at-arms of his own. These faithful fellows, +who had learned to love their young master, sat doggedly in their +saddles, prepared to sell their lives dear, and to carry off if +possible their master and the prince living from the field. But +they, too, realized how desperate was the situation; and the +threatening and triumphant glances of their enemies, who now began +to close up round them, showed that others had realized that the +battle was already won by the Yorkist faction. + +"King Edward, King Edward!" shouted the fierce soldiers as they +grasped their weapons anew. "Down with the Red Rose! Down with all +false princes! Down with the traitors who would disturb the peace +of the land! King Edward, King Edward!" + +The prince looked at Paul, and Paul looked at the prince. The same +thought was in the minds of both. + +"We will at least sell our lives dear," said young Edward in low +tones. "My trusty comrade, your loyalty to the Red Rose has been +but a sorry thing for you. I would I could have rewarded you with +such honours as a prince has to give; but--" + +"It is honour enough for me, my liege, to die at your side--to die, +if it may be, in saving your life," said Paul. "Talk not so, I +beseech you. The happiness of my life has been in calling myself +your servant. It will be a happy death that is died at your side." + +"Not servant--comrade, friend, brother," said Ed ward, holding out +his hand once again, with a look that Paul never forgot. "No more, +Paul. I must play the man; and such words go deep, and bring the +tears to mine eyes. Paul, there are strange chances in battle, and +it may be that you will live through it, and that I may be slain: +If such be so, tell my mother and my wife (for she is that to me, +as I am her husband in love) that I died as a prince of the House +of Plantagenet should do--sword in hand and face to the foe. Tell +my mother that such a death is better than an inglorious life of +exile, and bid her not weep for me. There is yet another world than +this in which we shall meet, where the strife of war is not heard +and the malice of foes pursues us not. Let her look forward to our +meeting there. It were a better prospect, in all truth, than an +earthly crown, which methinks sits heavy on the head of him that +wears it." + +Paul said nothing, for he could not trust himself to speak, and +indeed the brief respite was at an end. With loud and threatening +cries the foe was closing round the devoted little band, and from +the other side of the field he could see that a knot of horsemen +were galloping in their direction, as though they had got some news +of the presence of the prince. + +Wounded as he was, and spent from having borne the brunt of that +first gallant charge, Paul yet set his teeth and nerved himself for +a last desperate rally. If they could cut their way through the +ranks of the foes and gain the town, they might be safe at least +for the moment; and that was the object of himself and his +servants. Placing the reluctant prince in the midst, so as if +possible to save at least him from steel or lead, the gallant +little band with axes and pikes commenced hewing its way through +the living wall which surrounded it. And so gallantly did the good +steeds respond to the urging of their riders, and so fierce were +the blows that rained down upon the heads of the footmen who barred +their passage, that for a moment it seemed as if they would yet win +their way back, and gain the protection of such of their comrades +as had not shared in the general rout. + +But alas! though the footmen gave way before them, the mounted +soldiers, who were speeding across the field, saw at once the line +they were taking, and galloped headlong to intercept them. Paul, in +the fury of his hot young blood, dashed forward alone, and fell +upon the foremost with so fierce a blow that his axe was wedged in +the head-piece of his opponent, so that he was unable to draw it +out. The man reeled in his saddle and fell, almost dragging Paul, +who still had hold of the axe, with him; and before he could +recover himself or draw his sword, he was set upon by half a score +mounted riders. + +For one moment he was aware of merciless blows raining down upon +him, battering him to the earth; he felt suffocated, crushed, more +utterly helpless and powerless than he had ever done in his life +before. Quick thrills of pain were running through him, stars +danced before his eyes; and through all this confusion and +distress he was yet aware of some terrible danger menacing the +prince--danger from which he had sworn to save him at the risk of +his own life. He struggled fiercely and blindly with the foes who +seemed to be above and about him, knocking the wind from his body, +and holding his throat in an iron clasp. Consciousness was fast +deserting him. The dancing stars had disappeared, leaving the +blackest darkness behind them. He made one frantic effort to break +the chain which seemed to be grinding his very life out of him, and +then followed a space of blankness that must surely have been like +death itself. + +It might have been minutes, hours, days, or even years before +Paul opened his eyes to the light of day once more, for all +consciousness he had of the flight of time; but when he did so it +was to meet the solicitous glance of a pair of friendly eyes, and +to feel himself supported by strong arms, whilst some potent spirit +was held to his lips, which, when he had drunk of it, seemed to +drive away the mists and give him back his senses again. + +He looked round him, and found himself lying upon a bloody field, +dead and wounded strewn about him. He was upheld by the arm of one +of his own stout servants; and no one else save a few wounded men +or dead corpses was near. In a flash it all came back--the fight, +the supposed victory, the disastrous defeat; and he groaned aloud, +and struggled to regain his feet. + +"The prince!" he cried, in tones sharpened by physical and mental +anguish, "the prince!--where is he?" + +"He is a prisoner; but he is unhurt. A gallant knight took him. His +name, I learned from one of his men-at-arms, is Sir Richard Crofts; +and he called out to his men, after you were down, that he would +have no hurt done to the prince. He was to be taken prisoner and +brought to the king--so he called him; and he had given out by +proclamation that whoever brought to him the prince, alive or dead, +should have a hundred pounds a year; and that the life of the +prince should be spared. This I learned from the man-at-arms who +stayed behind with me a while, to bind up a wound you had given +him, and to help me to unlace your helmet, which was going nigh to +choke you as you lay. + +"Fear not for the prince, good master. His life is safe; and +doubtless his noble aspect will win him favour with him they now +call king. + +"Nay, why do you struggle with me? you can scarce stand yet. +Whither would you go? Let me catch some riderless steed and carry +you to the town. Methinks the leaders have taken sanctuary with the +queen in the church. You had better join them there." + +"Ay, get me a horse," said Paul, with faint but vehement command; +and he leaned heavily upon his sword as his servant departed to do +his bidding. + +Battered, sore wounded as he felt himself to be, instinct told him +that he could act now as it would be impossible to do later, when +his wounds began to stiffen and his muscles to refuse to obey his +will. No bones were broken. He could still keep his feet and use +his arms; and when the faithful servant brought up a horse and +helped his master to mount, Paul felt that giddy and weak and +suffering as he was, he could yet make shift to ride as far as it +would be needful to do. The royal pennon floating over a certain +tent not so very far away told him that his goal might yet be +reached before his strength deserted him. The fiery spirit of which +he again partook gave him temporary power. He scarce knew what he +wished to do, save that he must stand beside his prince when he was +brought to Edward's presence, and if harm befell him there, share +it with him, as he had shared his peril that fatal day. + +"Save yourself, good Adam," he said to his servant when he was once +mounted; "I am going to follow the prince. But come not near the +enemy's lines yourself, lest mischief befall you." + +And before the astonished servant could speak a word of +remonstrance, Paul had set spurs to his horse and had galloped off +in the direction of the enemy's camp. + +Within the lines there was the confusion incident to a battle, and +no one heeded the battered rider, who, his helmet left behind and +his mail dinted and disfigured by the hard blows it had received, +had nothing about him to show to which army he belonged. Soldiers +were leaning on their swords and eagerly discussing the fortunes of +the day; and round and about Edward's royal tent a dense crowd had +gathered, out of curiosity, it was said--and Paul heard the +words--to see what manner of reception would be met at the +monarch's hands by the youthful Edward, called "Prince," who had +been brought into the lines by Sir Richard Crofts. + +The proclamation respecting him was widely known throughout the +camp, and it was said on all hands that the life of the prince +would be safe; but whether he would share his father's captivity or +be banished the kingdom with his French mother were points no one +could answer. + +And Paul rode silently and swiftly by, glad that no one heeded him +or challenged him to give an account of himself. + +Dismounting at last as he reached the outskirts of the crowd, and +turning his horse loose to find its own master if it could, Paul +was about to push his way into the eager knot of spectators, when a +hand was laid upon his arm; and turning suddenly, he found himself +confronted by a delicate page boy, whose white face and dilated +eyes seemed to bespeak the extreme of emotion and distress. Before +he had time to speak or to ask a question, the page addressed him; +and as soon as the voice smote upon his ears Paul started and +turned even paler than he had been; for he had heard those musical +tones before, and in the fair page before him he recognized, to his +horror and dismay, the gentle Lady Anne--young Edward's +bride--here, alone and unprotected, in the heart of the foe's camp. + +She saw that she was recognized, and laid her hand upon her lips in +token of silence. Paul choked back the words that were upon his +tongue, and looked at her in mute amaze. + +"I could not keep away," she whispered, "when they told me all was +lost and he had not returned. It was the only way. No one has +heeded me in the tumult and strife. I heard all. I heard he was +prisoner--that he was to be brought before Edward of York. Paul, I +knew that you would be near him. I knew, if living, I should find +you. See, they heed us not. They care not whether we be friends or +foes. Take me through the crowd; take me to him. I am safe with +you. Let us all die together." + +Paul, utterly bewildered and astonished by this extraordinary +meeting, could only obey in silence. It was all like some hideous, +oppressive dream. Little by little he and his companion made their +way through the throng until they reached the line of armed +sentries who kept their stations outside the royal tent. Here they +would have had to pause, had not Paul made a step forward and said +boldly: + +"I am the servant squire of the prisoner, and I claim the right to +stand at his side and share his fate, whatever it may be. Let me +and this lad, I pray you, go to him. We desire nothing better than +to lay down our lives with him." + +The sentries eyed the pair doubtfully. Their unarmed condition and +Paul's visibly battered state told that these were no dangerous +conspirators; and devotion to a lost cause always stirs the +generous feelings of brave men. It may, however, be doubted whether +the pair would have gained their wish had it not been for the fact +that at this moment Edward himself appeared, disarmed, but +otherwise treated with due honour and courtesy, attended by his +captor, who was leading him to the king's tent in obedience to a +summons just received. + +The moment that she saw her betrothed husband, no power on earth +would have been strong enough to hold back the fair-faced page, +under whose boyish dress a faithful woman's heart was beating. The +disguised maiden sprang forward and sank at the feet of her +supposed master, seizing his hand and covering it with kisses as +she tenderly murmured his name. + +Edward instantly recognized her--Paul saw that at once; but the +shock of the discovery steadied his nerves, as he realized the +peril in which she had placed herself, and he looked round for one +who might save her when he himself might be powerless to do so. It +was at that moment--as the crowd stood speechless, touched and +perplexed by the little scene, and reluctant to rough-handle so +fair a boy, and one whose devotion was so bravely displayed--that +Paul took occasion to step forward and present himself before +Edward. + +A look of relief instantly crossed the prince's face. + +"I might have known that you would have been here--ever nearest in +the hour of deadliest peril. Paul, whatever befalls me, take care +of him." Low as the words were spoken, the prince dared not use the +other pronoun. "Keep him safe. Take him to my mother; she will +protect him from the menaced peril." + +"I will, my liege, I will," said Paul; and it was he who raised the +form of the trembling page, and together the three were pushed not +ungently into the royal presence--Sir Richard being a man of kindly +nature, and having been touched by the devotion evinced by these +two youths (as he supposed them) in braving the dangers of the camp +in order to be with their prince when he was called upon to answer +for his life before the offended monarch. + +Edward was standing in his tent, surrounded by his nobles, +brothers, and his wife's kinsmen, as the young Plantagenet prince +was brought before him. Perhaps England hardly possessed a finer +man than its present king, who was taller by the head than almost +any of those who stood round him, his dress of mail adding to the +dignity of his mien, and his handsome but deeply-lined features, +now set in stern displeasure, showing at once the indications of an +unusual beauty and a proud and relentless nature. + +The youthful Edward was brought a few paces forward by the +attendants; whilst Paul stood in the background, longing to be +beside his prince, but obliged to support the trembling form of +Anne, who had been his liege's last charge to him. + +"Is this the stripling they falsely call the Prince of Wales?" +quoth Edward, stepping one pace nearer and regarding the noble lad +with haughty displeasure. "How dost thou dare to come thus +presumptuously to my realms with banners displayed against me?" + +"To recover my father's kingdom and mine own inheritance," was the +bold but unhesitating answer of the kingly youth, who, fettered and +prisoner as he was, had all the fearless Plantagenet blood running +in his veins. + +The eagle eye of Edward flashed ominously, and making one more step +toward his unarmed prisoner, he struck him in the face with his +iron gauntlet. In a moment a dozen swords flashed from their +scabbards. It seemed as if the bloodthirsty nobles awaited but this +signal for the ruthless attack upon the deposed monarch's son which +has left so dark a stain upon one page of history. + +Paul, all unarmed as he was, would have sprung forward to die with +his prince, but was impeded by the senseless burden now lying a +dead weight in his arms. At the king's blow the page had uttered a +faint cry; and as the first of those murderous weapons were plunged +in the breast of her youthful lover, she fell to the earth like a +stone, or would have done, but that Paul flung his arm about her, +and she lay senseless on his breast. + +For one awful moment the blackness returned upon him and swallowed +him up, and he knew not what terrible thing had happened; but when +a loud voice proclaimed the fact that the prince had ceased to +live, a wild fury fell upon Paul, and he started to his feet to +revenge that death by plunging his dagger into the breast of the +haughty monarch as he stood there, calm and smiling, in his +terrible wrath and power. + +Had Paul attempted to carry out this wild act, a fateful murder +would have been enacted in the tent that day; but even as he +released himself from the clinging clasp of Anne's unconscious +arms, there came to him the memory of those last words spoken by +his beloved prince. The young bride must be his first care. She +must be carried to safe sanctuary; that done, he would stand forth +to revenge his lord's death. But the prince's charge must be +fulfilled. + +Lifting the unconscious form in his arms, he walked unchallenged +from the tent. The deed now done sent a thrill of horror through +the camp, and men looked into each other's eyes, and were ashamed +that they had stood by to see it. + +Not an attempt was made to oppose the passage of the faithful +attendant, who carried in his arms the page boy, who had stood by +his master to the last. Room was made for them to pass through the +crowd; and staggering blindly along, Paul reached a spot where, to +his astonishment and relief, his own servant was waiting for him +with a horse ready caparisoned. + +"To the church, to the church," he whispered as Paul mounted +mechanically, holding his still unconscious burden in his arms. + +And he made a mute sign of assent; for he knew that within the +walls of the church he should find the wretched Margaret, who would +have taken sanctuary there at first tidings of defeat. + +Silently, and as in a dream, the horsemen passed along, and at last +drew rein at the door of the little church, where stood a priest +with the Host in his hand, ready, if need be, to stand betwixt the +helpless victims of the battle and their fierce pursuers. + +He knew Paul's face, he recognized that of the inanimate form he +carried in his arms, and he made way for him to pass with a mute +sign of blessing. + +Paul passed in. There beside the altar he saw the queen, bowed down +by the magnitude of her woe, for she had just heard the first +rumour of that terrible tragedy. + +As he approached someone spoke to her, and she turned, rose, and +came swiftly forward. + +"Paul," she said, "Paul--tell me--is it true?" + +Paul looked at her with dim eyes. + +"I have brought you his wife," he said. "It was his last charge. +Now I am going back. They have killed him; let them kill me, too." + +He placed his helpless burden in the queen's arms, turned, and made +a few uncertain steps, and then fell down helplessly. He had +fulfilled his life's purpose in living for the prince; but it was +not given to him to die uselessly for him, too. + + + +Chapter 10: The Prince Avenged. + + +Paul Stukely lived to see the foul crime that stained the victor's +laurels on the field of Tewkesbury amply avenged upon the House of +York in the days that quickly followed. + +He himself was carried away by his faithful men-at-arms, who saw +that their cause was finally lost; and when, many weeks later, the +raging fever which held him in its grasp abated, and he knew once +more the faces of those about him, and could ask what had befallen +him, he found that he had been carried away to his own small manor, +bestowed upon him by the great Earl of Warwick--which manor, +perhaps from its very obscurity and his own, was left quietly in +his hands; for its late owner had fallen upon the field of +Tewkesbury, and no claim was ever made which disturbed Paul from +peaceful possession. + +When he recovered his senses it was to hear that not only the +prince was dead, but his royal father also; that the queen, as +Margaret was still called by him, had returned to France; and that +the cause of the Red Rose was hopelessly extinguished. So Paul, +with the hopefulness which is the prerogative of youth, recovered +by degrees from the depression of spirit that the memory of the +tragedy of Tewkesbury cast over him, and learned by degrees to take +a healthy interest in his little domain, which he ruled wisely and +kindly, without meddling in public matters, or taking part in the +burning questions of the day. To him Edward always was and always +must be a cruel tyrant and usurper; but as none but princes of the +House of York were left to claim the succession to the crown, there +could be no possible object in any renewal of strife. + +Paul, in his quiet west-country home, watched the progress of +events, and saw in the tragedies which successively befell the +scions of the House of York the vengeance of Heaven for the foul +murder of the young Lancastrian prince. + +The Duke of Clarence, who had been one of the first to strike him, +fell a victim to the displeasure of the king, his brother, and was +secretly put to death in the Tower. Although Edward himself died a +natural death, it was said that vexation at the failure of some of +his most treasured schemes for the advancement of his children cut +him off in the flower of his age. And a darker fate befell his own +young sons than he had inflicted upon the son of the rival monarch: +for Edward of Lancaster had died a soldier's death, openly slain by +the sword in the light of day; whilst the murderer's children were +done to death between the stone walls of a prison, and for years +their fate was shrouded in terrible mystery. + +The next death in that ill-omened race was that of King Richard's +own son, in the tenth year of his age. As Duke of Gloucester, he +had stood by to see the death of young Edward, even if his hand had +not been raised to strike him. He had then forced into reluctant +wedlock with himself the betrothed bride of the murdered +prince--the unhappy Lady Anne. He had murdered his brother's +children to raise himself to the throne, and had committed many +other crimes to maintain himself thereon; and his own son--another +Edward, Prince of Wales--was doomed to meet a sudden death, called +by the chroniclers of the time "unhappy," as though some strange or +painful circumstance attached to it, in the absence of both his +parents: and lastly, the lonely monarch, wifeless and childless, +was called upon to reap the fruits of the bitter hostility and +distrust which his cruel and arbitrary rule had awakened in the +breasts of his own nobles and of his subjects in general. + +Paul Stukely, now a married man with children of his own growing up +about him, watched with intense interest the course of public +events; and when Henry of Richmond--a lineal descendant of Edward +the Third by his son John of Gaunt--landed for the second time to +head the insurrection against the bloody tyrant, Sir Paul Stukely +and a gallant little following marched amongst the first to join +his standard, and upon the bloody field of Bosworth, Paul felt that +he saw revenged to the full the tragedy of Tewkesbury. + +He was there, close beside Henry Tudor, when the last frantic +charge of the wretched monarch in his despair was made, and when +Richard, after unhorsing many amongst Henry's personal attendants +in order to come to a hand-to-hand combat with his foe, witnessed +the secession from his ranks of Sir William Stanley, and fell, +crying "Treason, treason!" with his last breath. He who had +obtained his crown by treachery, cruelty, and treason of the +blackest kind, was destined to fall a victim to the treachery of +others. As Paul saw the mangled corpse flung across a horse's back +and carried ignominiously from the field, he felt that the God of +heaven did indeed look down and visit with His vengeance those who +had set at nought His laws, and that in the miserable death of this +last son of the House of York the cause of the Red Rose was amply +avenged. + +A few years later, in the bright summertide, when the politic rule +of Henry the Seventh was causing the exhausted country to recover +from the ravages of the long civil war, Sir Paul Stukely and his +two sons, fine, handsome lads of ten and twelve years old, were +making a little journey (as we should now call it, though it seemed +a long one to the excited and delighted boys) from his pleasant +manor near St. Albans through a part of the county of Essex. + +Paul had prospered during these past years. The king had rewarded +his early fealty by a grant of lands and a fine manor near to St. +Albans, whither he had removed his wife and family, so as to be +within easy reach of them at such times as he was summoned by the +king to Westminster. The atmosphere of home was dearer to him than +that of courts, and he was no longer away from his own house than +his duty to his king obliged him to be. But he had been much +engaged by public duties of late, and the holiday he had promised +himself had been long in coming. It had been a promise of some +standing to his two elder sons, Edward and Paul, that he would take +them some day to visit the spots which he talked of when they +climbed upon his knee after his day's work was done to beg for the +story of "the little prince," as they still called him. Paul +himself was eager again to visit those familiar haunts, and see if +any of those who had befriended the homeless wanderer were living +still, and would recognize the bronzed and prosperous knight of +today. + +And now they were entering a familiar tract; and the father told +his boys to keep their eyes well open, for the village of Much +Waltham could not be far off and every pathway in this part of the +forest had been traversed by him and the prince in the days that +had gone by. + +"I hear the sound of hammering," cried the younger Paul in great +excitement soon. "O father, we must be getting very near! It is +like a smith's forge. I am sure it must be Will Ives or his father. +Oh, do let us ride on quickly and see!" + +The riders pressed onward through the widening forest path, and, +sure enough, found themselves quickly in the little clearing which +surrounded the village of Much Waltham. How well the elder Paul +remembered it all! the village church, the smithy, and the low +thatched cottages, the small gardens, now brighter than he had seen +them in the dreary winter months; the whole place wearing an air of +increased comfort and prosperity. + +The flame within the forge burned cheerily, and revealed an active +figure within, hard at work over some glowing metal, which emitted +showers of brilliant sparks. Sir Paul rode forward and paused at +the door with a smile of recognition on his face. The smith came +forward to see if the traveller required any service of him, but +was somewhat taken aback by the greeting he received. + +"Well, worthy Will Ives, time has dealt more kindly with you than +with me, I trow. You are scarce a whit changed from the day, +seventeen years back come November, when I first stopped in sorry +plight at this forge, with your pretty wife as my companion, to get +your assistance as far as Figeon's Farm. Why, and here is Mistress +Joan herself; and I warrant that that fine lad is the son of both +of you. + +"Good Even to you, fair mistress!--Last time we met we scarce +thought that so many years would roll by before I should pay these +parts a visit. But fortune's wheel has many strange turns, and I +have been dwelling in regions far remote from here. But these lads +of mine have given me no peace until I should bring them on a visit +to Much Waltham and Figeon's Farm. I trust that I shall find all +the dwellers there hale and hearty as of yore, and that death has +passed this peaceful place by, whilst he has been so busy +elsewhere." + +Great was the excitement of the place when it was realized by the +inhabitants that this fine knight, who rode with half-a-dozen +men-at-arms in his company, and two beautiful boys at his side, was +none other than the Paul Stukely that the men and women of the +place remembered, and the children spoke of as of the hero of some +romance dear to their hearts. The news flew like wildfire through +the village, and old and young came flocking out to see, till the +knight was the centre of quite a little crowd, and the excited and +delighted boys were hearing the familiar story again and again from +the lips of these friendly strangers. + +When at length the little cavalcade moved up the gentle slope +toward Figeon's Farm, quite a large bodyguard accompanied it. Joan +herself walked proudly beside the knight, who had given his horse +in charge to his servant, and was on foot as he trod the familiar +track; and she was listening with flushing and paling cheek to the +tale of Tewkesbury, whilst the boys were asking questions of +everybody in the little crowd, and eagerly pushing on ahead to get +the first sight of the farm that had twice sheltered their father +in the hour of his need. + +The old people were living yet, though infirm and feeble, and more +disposed to spend the day in the armchairs, beside the blazing fire +in the inglenook, than to stir abroad or carry on any active +occupation at home. Jack Devenish and his wife, Eva, managed the +house and farm, and brought up their sturdy and numerous family so +as to be a credit to the old name. It was Jack himself who came +hurrying out to meet his guests--a rumour of their approach having +gone on before--whilst his smiling wife stood in the door way to +welcome in the bronzed knight, whom once she had rescued from such +pitiful plight and from deadly danger. + +What a welcome it was that they got from all at Figeon's Farm! and +how delightful to the boys to run all over the house--to see the +room in which their father had slept, the window from which he had +flung the robber who had come to carry away Mistress Joan, and the +little sliding panel behind which the recess lay that had been so +luckily emptied of its treasure before the search party came! + +Then, on the next day, there was the Priory to visit, and Brother +Lawrence to claim acquaintance with, and a long ride through the +forest to be made to visit the cave at Black Notley, where Paul had +once been dragged a prisoner, and had been so roughly handled by +the robbers. The days were full of excitement and pleasure to the +two lads, and scarcely less so to Paul himself, save for the faint +flavour of melancholy which could not but at times assail him in +recalling the episode of his romantic friendship with Edward, +Prince of Wales. + +And when they returned home at last to tell their adventures to +wife and mother, they left behind them in Much Waltham many +substantial proofs of the gratitude the Stukelys must ever feel for +the protection accorded by its inhabitants in past days to the head +of the house; and round the firesides in cottage and farm there was +for many long years no more favourite story told by the old folks +to the eager children than the tale of adventure, peril, and +devotion in the days of the Wars of the Roses, which went by the +name, in that place, of "The Story of Paul and the Prince." + + + + +Notes. + + +{1} Lichfield had the right in these days of calling itself a county. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE WARS OF THE ROSES*** + + +******* This file should be named 15769.txt or 15769.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/7/6/15769 + + + +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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