initial commit of ebook 21757HEADmain

1 files changed, 10499 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/21757.txt b/21757.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3186626
--- /dev/null
+++ b/21757.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,10499 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hot Swamp, by R.M. Ballantyne
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Hot Swamp
+
+Author: R.M. Ballantyne
+
+Release Date: June 7, 2007 [EBook #21757]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HOT SWAMP ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England
+
+
+
+
+THE HOT SWAMP, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE.
+
+CHAPTER ONE.
+
+A ROMANCE OF OLD ALBION.
+
+OPENS WITH LEAVE-TAKING.
+
+Nearly two thousand seven hundred years ago--or somewhere about eight
+hundred years BuCu--there dwelt a Phoenician sea-captain in one of the
+eastern sea-ports of Greece--known at that period, or soon after, as
+Hellas.
+
+This captain was solid, square, bronzed, bluff, and resolute, as all
+sea-captains are--or ought to be--whether ancient or modern.  He owned,
+as well as commanded, one of those curious vessels with one mast and a
+mighty square-sail, fifty oars or so, double-banked, a dragon's tail in
+the stern and a horse's head at the prow, in which the Phoenicians of
+old and other mariners were wont to drive an extensive and lucrative
+trade in the Mediterranean; sometimes pushing their adventurous keels
+beyond the Pillars of Hercules, visiting the distant Cassiterides or Tin
+Isles, and Albion, and even penetrating northward into the Baltic, in
+search of tin, amber, gold, and what not.
+
+One morning this captain, whose name was Arkal, sauntered up from the
+harbour to his hut, which stood on a conspicuous eminence overlooking
+the bay.  His hands were not thrust into his pockets, because he had no
+pockets to put them into--the simple tunic of the period being destitute
+of such appendages.  Indeed, the coarse linen tunic referred to
+constituted the chief part of his costume, the only other portions being
+a pair of rude shoes on his feet, a red fez or tarbouche on his bushy
+brown locks, and yards of something wound round his lower limbs to
+protect them from thorns on shore, as well as from the rasping of
+cordage and cargo at sea.
+
+At the door of his hut stood his pretty little Greek wife, with a solid,
+square, bluff, and resolute, but not yet bronzed, baby in her arms.
+
+"Well, Penelope, I'm off," said the captain.  At least he used words to
+that effect, as he enveloped wife and baby in a huge embrace.
+
+Of course he spoke in a dialect of ancient Greek, of which we render a
+free translation.
+
+The leave-taking was of the briefest, for just then a loud halloo from
+his mate, or second in command, apprised the captain that all was ready
+to set sail.  But neither Penelope nor her husband were anxious souls or
+addicted to the melting mood.  The square baby was rather more given to
+such conditions.  In emulation of the mate it set up a sudden howl which
+sent its father away laughing to the harbour.
+
+"No sign of the young men," remarked the mate, as his superior came
+within hail.
+
+"It is ever the way with these half-fledged boys who think themselves
+men while their faces are yet hairless," growled the captain, casting a
+glance at his unfailing chronometer, the rising sun.  "They have no more
+regard for the movements of that ball of fire than if it was set in the
+sky merely to shine and keep them warm, and had no reference whatever to
+time.  If this youth from Albion does not appear soon, I shall set sail
+without him, prince though he be, and leave him to try his hand at
+swimming to the Cassiterides.  His comrade and friend, Dromas, assured
+me they would not keep us waiting; but he is no better than the rest of
+them--a shouting, singing, smooth-faced, six-foot set they are, who
+think they inherit the combined wisdom of all their grandfathers but
+none of their weaknesses; reckless fear-nothings, fit only for war and
+the Olympic games!"
+
+"Nevertheless, we could not do well without them," returned the mate,
+glancing significantly at the ship's crew, a large proportion of which
+was composed of these same stalwart fear-nothings of whom his leader
+spoke so contemptuously; "at least they would make a fine show at these
+games, and our ventures at sea would not prosper so well if we had not
+such to help us."
+
+"True, true, and I would not speak slightingly of them, but they do try
+one's patience; here is the wind failing, and we all ready to hoist
+sail," returned the captain with another growl, a glance at the sky, and
+a frown at his vessel, everything about which betokened readiness for
+instant departure.  The crew--partly composed of slaves--were seated at
+the oars; the fighting men and seamen were all on board arranging their
+shields round the vessel's sides, and the great sail was cast loose
+ready to hoist as soon as the mouth of the harbour should be cleared.
+
+Just then a band of young men issued from the town, and the captain's
+good humour was restored as they hurried towards him.  They seemed to be
+much excited, and talked in loud tones as they advanced, their manners
+and costumes indicating that they belonged to the upper ranks of
+society.
+
+One of the band, a fair youth, towered, like Saul, head and shoulders
+above his fellows.  Another, of dark complexion, handsome features, and
+elegant, active frame, hurried forward to salute the captain.
+
+"I fear we have kept you waiting," he said with a pleasant expression
+that disarmed reproof.
+
+"I will not deny that, Dromas," answered the captain, "but you have not
+detained me long.  Nevertheless, I was on the point of sailing without
+your friend, for the winds and waves respect no one."
+
+"But you are neither a wind nor a wave," remarked the youth.
+
+"True, but I am the humble friend of both," retorted the captain, "and
+am bound to accommodate myself to them.  I suppose this is the prince
+you spoke of," he added, turning to the towering youth already referred
+to, with the air of a man who had as little--or as much--regard for a
+prince as a peasant.
+
+"Yes, Captain Arkal, this is Prince Bladud.  Let me present him to you."
+
+As the prince and the seaman joined hands the latter looked up from an
+altitude of five feet six and squared his broad shoulders with the air
+of a man ready to defy all creation, and anxious rather than otherwise
+to do so.  The prince, on the other hand, looked down from an eminence
+of six feet seven, and bent his head with a modest grace and a genial
+smile that indicated a desire to be on good terms, if possible, with the
+world at large.
+
+Although almost equal as to physical strength, the inequality of the two
+men in height rendered their experience in those rude warlike times very
+dissimilar, for, whereas the sailor was often compelled to give proof of
+his strength to tall unbelievers, the prince very seldom had occasion to
+do so.  Hence, partly, their difference in manner, the one being
+somewhat pugnacious and the other conciliatory, while both were in
+reality good-natured, peace-loving men.
+
+No two men, however, could have been more unlike in outward aspect.  The
+prince was, if we may say so, built on the Gothic model--fair,
+blue-eyed, bulky of limb, huge, muscular, massive, with a soft beard and
+moustache--for he had not yet seen twenty-four summers--and hair that
+fell like rippling gold on his shoulders.  Captain Arkal, on the
+contrary, was dark, with a thick reddish beard, luxuriant brown hair,
+piercing black eyes, and limbs that were hardened as well as darkened by
+thirty years of constant exposure to elemental and other warfare.
+
+"I hope that I may be of some use to you," said the prince, "though I
+profess not to know more of seamanship than I acquired during my voyage
+hither, and as that voyage occurred six years ago, it may be that I have
+lost the little I had learned.  But if pirates should assail us, perhaps
+I may do you some service."
+
+"Little fear I have of that," returned the captain with an approving
+nod.  "Now, bid your comrades farewell and get on board, for the wind is
+failing fast, and it behoves us to get well forward on our voyage before
+night."
+
+It was evident that the leave-taking which ensued was not merely formal,
+for the youths from whom Bladud was parting had been his companions in
+study for six years, as well as his competitors in all the manly games
+of the period, and as he excelled them all in most things--especially in
+athletics--some looked up to the young prince from Albion as a sort of
+demi-god, while others to whom he had been helpful in many ways regarded
+him with the warmest affection.
+
+"Come here aside with me; I must have a few last words with you alone,"
+said Bladud, taking young Dromas by the arm and leading him aside.
+
+The prince's other friends made no objection to this evidence of
+preference, for Dromas had shared the same apartment with him while in
+Athens, and engaged in similar studies with Bladud for several years;
+had travelled with him in the East, and sailed over the sea in his
+company, even as far as Egypt, besides having been second to him in most
+of the games practised by the young men.  Indeed, at the high jump he
+equalled, and at the short race had even excelled him.
+
+"Dromas," said the prince impressively--"Come, now, my old friend and
+comrade," interrupted the Greek youth lightly, "don't put on such a long
+face.  I foresee that you are about to give me a lecture, and I don't
+want the tone of remonstrance to be the last that I shall hear.  I know
+that I'm a wild, good-for-nothing fellow, and can guess all you would
+say to me.  Let us rather talk of your speedy return to Hellas, for, to
+tell you the truth, I feel as if the loss of you would leave me like a
+poor man who has been crippled in the wars.  I shall be a mere shadow
+till you return."
+
+There was a slight tremor in the voice, which showed that much of the
+gaiety of the young man was forced.
+
+"Nay, I have no mind to give you a lecture," returned Bladud, "I only
+ask you to grant me two requests."
+
+"Granted, before mentioned, for you have ever been a reasonable
+creature, Bladud, and I trust you to retain your character on the
+present occasion."
+
+"Well, then, my first request is that you will often remember the many
+talks that you and I have had about the gods, and the future life, and
+the perplexing conditions in which we now live."
+
+"Remember them," exclaimed Dromas with animation, "my difficulty would
+be to forget them!  The questions which you have propounded and
+attempted to answer--for I do not admit that you have been quite
+successful in the attempt--have started up and rung in my ears at all
+kinds of unseasonable times.  They haunt me often in my dreams--though,
+to say truth, I dream but little, save when good fellowship has led me
+to run supper into breakfast--they worry me during my studies, which,
+you know, are frequent though not prolonged; they come between me and
+the worthy rhapsodist when he is in the middle of the most interesting--
+or least wearisome--passage of the poem, and they even intrude on me at
+the games.  The very last race I ran was lost, only by a few inches,
+because our recent talk on the future of cats caused a touch of internal
+laughter which checked my pace at the most critical moment.  You may
+rest assured that I cannot avoid granting your first request.  What is
+your second?"
+
+"That you promise to visit me in my home in Albion.  You know that it
+will be impossible for me ever again to re-visit these shores, where I
+have been so happy.  My father, if he forgives my running away from him,
+will expect me to help him in the management of his affairs.  But you
+have nothing particular to detain you here--"
+
+"You forget--the old woman," interrupted Dromas gravely.
+
+"What old woman?" asked Bladud in surprise.
+
+"My mother!" returned his friend.
+
+The prince looked a little confused and hastened to apologise.  Dromas'
+mother was one of those unfortunate people who existed in the olden time
+as well as in modern days, though perhaps not so numerously.  She was a
+confirmed invalid, who rarely quitted her house, and was seldom seen by
+any one save her most intimate friends, so that she was apt to be
+forgotten--out of sight out of mind, then as now.
+
+"Forgive me, Dromas--," began Bladud, but his friend interrupted him.
+
+"I cannot forgive when I have nothing to forgive!  Say no more about
+that.  But, now I come to consider of it, I grant your second request
+conditionally.  If my mother agrees to accompany me to Albion, you may
+expect to see me some day or other--perhaps a year or two hence.  You
+see, since my father and brother were slain in the last fight with our
+neighbours, I am the only one left to comfort her, so I cannot forsake
+her."
+
+"Then this will be our final parting," returned Bladud, sadly, "for your
+mother will never consent to leave home."
+
+"I don't know that," returned Dromas with a laugh.  "The dear old soul
+is intensely adventurous, like myself, and I do believe would venture on
+a voyage to the Cassiterides, if the fancy were strong upon her.  You
+have no idea how powerfully I can work upon her feelings.  I won't say
+that I can make much impression on her intellect.  Indeed, I have reason
+to know that she does not believe in intellect except as an unavoidable
+doorway leading into the feelings.  The fact is, I tried her the other
+day with the future of cats, and do you know, instead of treating that
+subject with the gravity it merits, she laughed in my face and called me
+names--not exactly bad names, such as the gods might object to--but
+names that were not creditable to the intelligence of her first-born.
+Now," continued Dromas with increasing gravity, "when I paint to her the
+beauty of your native land; the splendour of your father's court; the
+kindliness of your mother, and the exceeding beauty of your sister--fair
+like yourself, blue-eyed, tall--you said she was tall, I think?"
+
+"Yes--rather tall."
+
+"Of course not _quite_ so tall as yourself, say six feet or so, with a
+slight, feminine beard--no? you shake your head; well, smooth-faced and
+rosy, immense breadth of shoulders--ah!  I have often pictured to myself
+that sister of yours--"
+
+"Hilloa!" shouted Captain Arkal in a nautical tone that might almost
+have been styled modern British in its character.
+
+It was an opportune interruption, for Dromas had been running on with
+his jesting remarks for the sole purpose of crushing down the feelings
+that almost unmanned him.
+
+With few but fervently uttered words the final farewells were at last
+spoken.  The oars were dipped; the vessel shot from the land, swept out
+upon the blue waves of the Aegean, the sail was hoisted, and thus began
+the long voyage to the almost unknown islands of the far North-West.
+
+CHAPTER TWO.
+
+TEMPORARY DELAY THROUGH ELEMENTS AND PIRATES.
+
+But it is not our purpose to inflict the entire log of that voyage on
+our reader, adventurous though the voyage was.  Matter of much greater
+importance claims our regard.  Still it would be unjust to our voyagers
+to pass it over in absolute silence.
+
+At the very commencement of it, there occurred one of those incidents to
+which all voyagers are more or less subject.  A gale arose the very
+evening of the day on which they left port, which all but swamped the
+little vessel, and the violence of the wind was so great that their huge
+sail was split from top to bottom.  In spite of the darkness and the
+confusion that ensued, Captain Arkal, by his prompt action and skilful
+management, saved the vessel from immediate destruction.  Fortunately
+the gale did not last long, and, during the calm that followed, the rent
+was repaired and the sail re-set.
+
+Then occurred another incident that threatened to cut short the voyage
+even more disastrously than by swamping.
+
+The sea over which they steered swarmed with pirates at the time we
+write of, as it continued to swarm during many centuries after.
+Merchantmen, fully aware of the fact, were in those days also men of
+war.  They went forth on their voyages fully armed with sword, javelin,
+and shield, as well as with the simple artillery of the period--bows and
+arrows, slings and stones.
+
+On the afternoon of the day that followed the gale, the vessel--which
+her captain and owner had named the _Penelope_ in honour of his wife--
+was running before a light breeze, along the coast of one of the islands
+with which that sea is studded.
+
+Bladud and some of the crew were listening at the time to an account
+given by a small seaman named Maikar, of a recent adventure on the sea,
+when a galley about as large as their own was seen to shoot suddenly
+from the mouth of a cavern in the cliffs in which it had lain concealed.
+It was double-banked and full of armed men, and was rowed in such a way
+as to cut in advance of the _Penelope_.  The vigour with which the oars
+were plied, and the rapidity with which the sail was run up, left no
+doubt as to the nature of the craft or the intentions of those who
+manned it.
+
+"The rascals!" growled Arkal with a dark frown, "I more than half
+expected to find them here."
+
+"Pirates, I suppose?" said Bladud.
+
+"Ay--and not much chance of escaping them.  Give another haul on the
+sail-rope, mate, and pull, men, pull, if you would save your liberty--
+for these brutes have no mercy."
+
+The sail was tightened up a few inches, and the vessel was put more
+directly before the wind.  The way in which the slaves bent to the oars
+showed that the poor fellows fully understood the situation.
+
+For a few minutes Captain Arkal watched the result in stern silence.
+Then, with an unwonted look and tone of bitterness, he said in a low
+voice--
+
+"No--I thought as much.  She sails faster than we do.  Now, friend
+Bladud, you shall presently have a chance of proving whether your royal
+blood is better than that of other men."
+
+To this remark the prince made no other reply than by a good-natured
+smile as he took up the bronze helmet which lay beside his sword on the
+thwart and placed it on his head.
+
+Captain Arkal regarded him with a sort of grim satisfaction as he
+followed up the action by buckling on his sword.
+
+The sword in question was noteworthy.  It was a single-handed weapon of
+iron, made in Egypt, to suit the size and strength of its owner, and was
+large enough to have served as a two-handed sword for most men.
+
+"You can throw a javelin, no doubt?" asked the captain, as he watched
+the young man's leisurely preparations for the expected combat.
+
+"Yes, I have practised throwing the spear a good deal--both in peace and
+war."
+
+"Good.  I have got one here that will suit you.  It belonged to my
+grandfather, who was a stout man, and made powerful play with it during
+a neighbouring tribe's raid--when I was a baby--to the discomfort, I
+have been told, and surprise of his foes.  I always keep it by me for
+luck, and have myself used it on occasion, though I prefer a lighter one
+for ordinary use.  Here it is--a pretty weapon," he continued, drawing a
+javelin of gigantic proportions from under the gunwale and handing it to
+Bladud.  "But we must proceed with caution in this matter.  Take off
+your helmet at present, and try to look frightened if you can."
+
+"I fear me that will be difficult, captain."
+
+"Not in the least.  Look here, nothing is easier when you get used to
+it."
+
+As he spoke Arkal caused his stern visage to relax into a look of such
+amiable sheepishness that Bladud could not repress a sudden laugh which
+recalled and intensified the captain's fierce expression instantly.
+
+"Learn to subdue yourself, young man," he muttered sternly.  "If these
+pirates hear laughter, do you think they can be made to believe we are
+afraid of them?"
+
+"Forgive me, captain; if you had seen your own face, you would have
+joined in the laugh.  I will be more careful.  But how do you mean to
+proceed, and what do you wish me to do?"
+
+Captain Arkal, who was restored to good-humour by this compliment to his
+power of expression, as well as by the modesty with which the prince
+received his rebuke, explained his intentions--in low, earnest tones,
+however, for they were by that time drawing near to the piratical craft.
+
+Having got well ahead of the _Penelope_, it had backed its sail and lay
+still, awaiting her coming up.
+
+"Creep to the bow, Bladud, with your helmet off, and show as little of
+your bulk as may be.  Show only your head above the bulwarks, and look
+as miserable as I did just now--more so if you can.  Take your sword,
+javelin, and shield with you.  I need say no more to a man of war.  Use
+them when you see your opportunity."
+
+Bladud received his orders in silence, and obeyed them with that
+unquestioning and unhesitating promptitude which is one of the surest
+evidences of fitness to command.  Meanwhile the mate, who was accustomed
+to his captain's habits, and needed no instructions, had caused the
+sailors to lay their shields and swords out of sight at their feet, so
+that they might approach the pirates in the character of simple traders
+who were completely cowed by the appearance of the foe.  To increase
+this aspect of fear, the sail was lowered as they drew near, and the
+oars were used to complete the distance that yet intervened between the
+two vessels.
+
+This humble and submissive approach did not, however, throw the pirates
+quite off their guard.  They stood to their arms and prepared to spring
+on board their victim when close enough.  As the pirate vessel lay
+motionless on the water she presented her broadside to the trader.  The
+captain took care to steer so that this relative position should be
+maintained.  The pirate chief, a huge man in rude armour, with a
+breast-plate of thick bull-hide and a shield of the same on his left
+arm, gave orders to pull the oars on one side of his vessel so that the
+two might be brought alongside.
+
+They were about fifty yards apart at the moment.  Before the order could
+be carried into effect, however, Arkal uttered a low hiss.  Instantly
+the double banks of oars bent almost to the breaking point, and the
+_Penelope_ leaped forward like a sentient creature.  Each man seized
+sword and shield and sprang up, and Bladud, forgetting both helmet and
+shield in the hurry of the moment, poised the mighty javelin which had
+so astonished its owner's enemies in days gone by, and in another moment
+hurled it shrieking through the air.  It flew straight as a thunderbolt
+at the pirate chief; pierced through shield and breastplate, and came
+out at his back, sending him headlong into the arms of his horrified
+crew.
+
+The whole incident was so sudden that the pirates had scarcely time to
+recover from their surprise when the bow of the _Penelope_ crashed into
+the side of their vessel and stove it in, for the trader, like some of
+the war-vessels of the period, was provided with a ram for this very
+purpose.
+
+As the _Penelope_ recoiled from the shock, a yell of rage burst from the
+pirates, and a volley of javelins and stones followed, but, owing to the
+confusion resulting from the shock, these were ill-directed, and such of
+them as found their mark were caught on the shields.  Before another
+discharge could be made, the pirate vessel heeled over and sank, leaving
+her crew of miscreants struggling in the sea.  Some of them--being,
+strange to say, unable to swim--were drowned.  Others were killed in the
+water, while a few, taking their swords in their teeth, swam to the
+trader and made desperate attempts to climb on board.  Of course they
+failed, and in a few minutes nothing remained of the pirate vessel to
+tell of the tragedy that had been enacted, except an oar or two and a
+few spars left floating on the sea.
+
+"Would that all the sea-robbers in these parts could be as easily and
+thoroughly disposed of," remarked the captain, as he gave orders to
+re-hoist the sail.  "Ho!  Bladud, my worthy prince, come aft here.  What
+detains you?"
+
+But Bladud did not answer to the call.  A stone from the enemy had
+fallen on his defenceless head and knocked him down insensible.
+
+Four of the men now raised him up.  As they did so, one of the men--the
+small seaman, Maikar--was found underneath him in a state of
+semi-consciousness.  While they carried Bladud aft, the little sailor
+began to gasp and sneeze.
+
+"Not killed, I see," remarked the mate, looking into his face with some
+anxiety.
+
+"No, not quite," sighed Maikar, drawing a long breath, and raising
+himself on one elbow, with a slightly dazed look, "but I never was so
+nearly burst in all my life.  If an ox had fallen on me he could not
+have squeezed me flatter.  Do, two of you, squeeze me the other way, to
+open me out a little; there's no room in me left to breathe--scarcely
+room to think."
+
+"Oh! your battles are not yet over, I see," said the mate, going off to
+the stern of the vessel, where he found Bladud just recovering
+consciousness and smiling at the remarks of the captain, who busied
+himself in stanching the wound, just over his frontal bone, from which
+blood was flowing freely.
+
+"H'm! this comes of sheer recklessness.  I told you to take off your
+helmet, but I did not tell you to keep it off.  Man, you launched that
+javelin well!--better than I could have done it myself.  Indeed, I doubt
+if my old grandfather could have done it with such telling effect--
+straight through and through.  I saw full a hand-breadth come out at the
+villain's back.  What say you, mate?  Little Maikar wounded?"
+
+"No, not wounded, but nearly burst, as he says himself; and no wonder,
+for Bladud fell upon him."
+
+"Didn't I tell you, mate," said the captain, looking up with a grin,
+"that nothing will kill little Maikar?  Go to, man, you pretend to be a
+judge of men; yet you grumbled at me for engaging him as one of our
+crew.  Do you feel better now, prince?"
+
+"Ay, greatly better, thank you," replied Bladud, putting his hand gently
+on the bandages with which the captain had skilfully bound his head.
+
+"That is well.  I think, now, that food will do you service.  What say
+you?"
+
+"Nay, with your leave, I prefer sleep," said the prince, stretching
+himself out on the deck.  "A little rest will suffice, for my head is
+noted for its thickness, and my brain for its solidity--at least so my
+good father was wont to say; and I've always had great respect for his
+opinion."
+
+"Ah, save when it ran counter to your own," suggested Arkal; "and
+especially that time when you ran away from home and came out here in
+the long ship of my trading friend."
+
+"I have regretted that many a time since then, and I am now returning
+home to offer submission."
+
+"D'you think that he'll forgive you?"
+
+"I am sure he will, for he is a kind man; and I know he loves me, though
+he has never said so."
+
+"I should like to know that father of yours.  I like your description of
+him--so stern of face, yet so kind of heart, and with such an
+unchangeable will when he sees what is right.  But what _is_ right, and
+what is wrong?"
+
+"Ay--what is--who can tell?  Some people believe that the gods make
+their will known to man through the Delphic Oracle."
+
+"Boh!" exclaimed the captain with a look of supreme contempt.
+
+The turn of thought silenced both speakers for a time; and when Captain
+Arkal turned to resume the conversation, he found that his friend was
+sound asleep.
+
+CHAPTER THREE.
+
+ON THE VOYAGE.
+
+Weather has always been, and, we suppose, always will be, capricious.
+Its uncertainty of character--in the Levant, as in the Atlantic, in days
+of old as now, was always the same--smiling to-day; frowning to-morrow;
+playful as a lamb one day; raging like a lion the next.
+
+After the rough handling experienced by the _Penelope_ at the beginning
+of her voyage, rude Boreas kindly retired, and spicy breezes from Africa
+rippled the sea with just sufficient force to intensify its heavenly
+blue, and fill out the great square-sail so that there was no occasion
+to ply the oars.  One dark, starlight but moonless night, a time of
+quiet talk prevailed from stem to stern of the vessel as the grizzled
+mariners spun long yarns of their prowess and experiences on the deep,
+for the benefit of awe-stricken and youthful shipmates whose careers
+were only commencing.
+
+"You've heard, no doubt, of the great sea-serpent?" observed little
+Maikar, who had speedily recovered from the flattening to which Bladud
+had subjected him, and was busy enlivening a knot of young fellows in
+the bow of the ship.
+
+"Of course we have!" cried one; "father used to tell me about it when I
+was but a small boy.  He never saw it himself, though he had been to the
+Tin Isles and Albion more than once; but he said he had met with men who
+had spoken with shipmates who had heard of it from men who had seen it
+only a few days before, and who described it exactly."
+
+"Ah!" remarked another, "but I have met a man who had seen it himself on
+his first voyage, when he was quite a youth; and he said it had a bull's
+head and horns, with a dreadful long body all over scales, and something
+like an ass's tail at the end."
+
+"Pooh!--nonsense!" exclaimed little Maikar, twirling his thumbs, for
+smoking had not been introduced into the world at that period--and
+thumb-twirling would seem to have served the ancient world for leisurely
+pastime quite as well, if not better--at least we are led to infer so
+from the fact that Herodotus makes no mention of anything like a vague,
+mysterious sensation of unsatisfied desire to fill the mouth with smoke
+in those early ages, which he would certainly have done had the taste
+for smoke been a natural craving, and thumb-twirling an unsatisfactory
+occupation.  This absolute silence of the "Father of History," we think,
+almost proves our point.  "Nonsense!" repeated little Maikar.  "The
+youth of the man who told you about the serpent accounts for his wild
+description, for youth is prone to strange imaginings and--"
+
+"It seems to me," interrupted a grave man, who twirled his thumbs in
+that slow, deliberate way in which a contemplative man smokes--"it seems
+to me that there's no more truth about the great sea-serpent than there
+is about the golden fleece.  I don't believe in either of them."
+
+"Don't you?  Well, all I can say is," returned the little man, gazing
+fixedly in the grave comrade's face, "that I saw the great sea-serpent
+with my own eyes!"
+
+"No! did you?" exclaimed the group, drawing their heads closer together
+with looks of expectancy.
+
+"Ay, that did I, mates; but you mustn't expect wild descriptions about
+monsters with bulls' horns and asses' tails from me.  I like truth, and
+the truth is, that the brute was so far away at the time we saw it, that
+not a man of us could tell exactly what it was like, and when we tried
+the description, we were all so different, that we gave it up; but we
+were all agreed on this point, that it certainly _was_ the serpent."
+
+The listeners seemed rather disappointed at this meagre account and
+sudden conclusion of what had bidden fair to become a stirring tale of
+the sea; but Maikar re-aroused their expectations by stating his firm
+belief that it was all nonsense about there being only one sea-serpent.
+
+"Why, how could there be only one?" he demanded, ceasing to twirl, in
+order that he might clench his fist and smite his knee with emphasis.
+"Haven't you got a grandfather?" he asked, turning suddenly to the grave
+man.
+
+"Certainly, I've got two of them if you come to that," he answered,
+taken rather aback by the brusque and apparently irrelevant nature of
+the question.
+
+"Just so--two of them," repeated the little man, "and don't you think it
+likely that the sea serpent must have had two grandfathers also?"
+
+"Undoubtedly--and two grandmothers as well.  Perhaps he's got them yet,"
+replied the grave man with a contemplative look over the side, where the
+rippling sea gleamed with phosphoric brilliancy.
+
+"Exactly so," continued Maikar in an eager tone, "and of course these
+also must have had two grandfathers besides a mother each, and it is
+more than likely that the great sea-serpent himself is the father of a
+large family."
+
+"Which implies a wife," suggested one of the seamen.
+
+"Not necessarily," objected an elderly seaman, who had once been to the
+lands lying far to the north of Albion, and had acquired something of
+that tendency to object to everything at all times which is said to
+characterise the people of the far North.  "Not necessarily," he
+repeated, "for the serpent may be a bachelor with no family at all."
+
+There was a short laugh at this, and an illogical man of the group made
+some irrelevant observation which led the conversation into a totally
+different channel, and relegated the great sea-serpent, for the time
+being, to oblivion!
+
+While the men were thus engaged philosophising in the bow, Bladud and
+the captain were chatting in subdued voices in the stern.
+
+"It is impossible," said the latter, in reply to a remark made by the
+former, "it is impossible for me to visit your father's court this year,
+though it would please me much to do so, but my cargo is intended for
+the south-western Cassiterides.  To get round to the river on the banks
+of which your home stands would oblige me to run far towards the cold
+regions, into waters which I have not yet visited--though I know them
+pretty well by hearsay.  On another voyage I may accomplish it, but not
+on this one."
+
+"I am sorry for that, Arkal, because things that are put off to another
+time are often put off altogether.  But the men of the Tin Isles often
+visit my father's town in their boats with copper and tin, and there are
+tracks through the forest which horses can traverse.  Could you not
+visit us overland?  It would not be a journey of many weeks, and your
+trusty mate might look after the ship in your absence.  Besides, the
+diggers may not have enough of the metal ready to fill your ship, so you
+may be idle a long time.  What say you?"
+
+Captain Arkal frowned, as was his wont when considering a knotty
+question, and shook his head.
+
+"I doubt if I should be wise to venture so much," he said; "moreover, we
+are not yet at the end of our voyage.  It is of little use troubling
+one's-self about the end of anything while we are only at the
+beginning."
+
+"Nevertheless," rejoined Bladud, "to consider the possible end while yet
+at the beginning, seems not unreasonable, though, undoubtedly, we may
+never reach the end.  Many a fair ship sets sail and never returns."
+
+"Ay, that is true, as I know to my cost," returned the captain, "for
+this is not my first venture.  A long time ago I loaded a ship about the
+size of this one, and sent her under command of one of my best friends
+to the Euxine sea for gold.  I now think that that old story about Jason
+and his ship _Argo_ sailing in search of the golden fleece was running
+too strong in my youthful brain.  Besides that, of course I had heard
+the report that there is much gold in that direction, and my hopes were
+strong, for you know all the world runs after gold.  Anyhow, my ship
+sailed and I never saw her or my friend again.  Since then I have
+contented myself with copper and tin."
+
+A slight increase in the wind at that moment caused the captain to
+dismiss his golden and other memories, and look inquiringly to windward.
+
+"A squall, methinks?" said Bladud.
+
+"No, only a puff," replied his friend, ordering the steersman to alter
+the course a little.
+
+The squall or puff was only strong enough to cause the _Penelope_ to
+make a graceful bow to the controlling element and cleave the sparkling
+water with her prow so swiftly that she left a gleaming wake as of
+lambent fire astern.  It was short-lived, however, and was followed by a
+calm which obliged little Maikar and his comrades to cease their
+story-telling and ply their fifty oars.  Thus the pace was kept going,
+though not quite so swiftly as if they were running before a stiff
+breeze.
+
+"The gods are propitious," said the captain; "we are going to have a
+prosperous voyage."
+
+"How many gods are propitious?" asked Bladud.
+
+"That is a question much too deep for me to answer."
+
+"But not too deep to think of--is it?"
+
+"Of what use would be my thinking?" returned the captain, lightly.  "I
+leave such matters to the learned."
+
+"Now, mate," he added, turning to his subordinate, "I'm going to rest a
+while.  See that you keep an open eye for squalls and pirates.  Both are
+apt to come down on you when you least expect them."
+
+But neither squalls nor pirates were destined to interfere with the
+_Penelope_ during the greater part of that voyage.  Day after day the
+skies were clear, the sea comparatively smooth, and the winds
+favourable.  Sometimes they put ashore, when the weather became stormy
+and circumstances were favourable.  On such occasions they lighted
+camp-fires under the trees, the ruddy light of which glowed with a grand
+effect on the picturesque sailors as they sat, stood, or reclined around
+them.
+
+At other times they were obliged to keep more in the open sea, and
+occasionally met with traders like themselves returning home, with whom,
+of course, they were glad to fraternise for a time and exchange views.
+
+Once only did they meet with anything like a piratical vessel, but as
+that happened to be late in the evening, they managed, by plying the
+oars vigorously, and under the shade of night, to escape a second
+encounter with those robbers of the sea.
+
+Thus, in course of time, the length of the great inland sea was
+traversed, the southern coast of what is now known as France was
+reached, and the captain's prophecy with regard to a prosperous voyage
+was thus far fulfilled.
+
+CHAPTER FOUR.
+
+THE STORM AND WRECK.
+
+It was near daybreak on the morning of a night of unclouded splendour
+when the mate of the _Penelope_ aroused his chief with the information
+that appearances to windward betokened a change of some sort in the
+weather.
+
+"If there is a change at all it must be for the worse," said Arkal,
+raising himself on one elbow, rubbing his eyes, yawning, and then
+casting a glance over the side where the rippling foam told that the
+wind was increasing.  Raising his eyes to the windward horizon, he threw
+aside the sheepskin blanket that covered him and rose up quickly.
+
+"There is indeed a change coming.  Rouse the men and reduce the sail,
+mate.  Bestir you!  The squalls are sudden here."
+
+The orders were obeyed with promptitude.  In a few minutes the sail was
+reduced to its smallest size, and all loose articles about the vessel
+were made fast.
+
+"You expect a gale, captain?" asked Bladud, who was aroused by the noise
+of the preparations.
+
+"Ay--or something like one.  When a cloud like that rises up on the
+horizon there is usually something more than a puff coming.  You had
+better keep well under the lee of the bulwarks when it strikes us."
+
+Bladud's nautical experience had already taught him what to expect and
+how to act in the circumstance that threatened.  Standing close to the
+side of the ship, he laid hold of a stanchion and looked out to
+windward, as most of the crew were by that time doing.  Captain Arkal
+himself took the helm.
+
+The increasing daylight showed them that the bank of cloud was spreading
+quickly over the sky towards the zenith, while a soft hissing sound told
+of the approaching wind.  Soon the blackness on the sea intensified, and
+white gleams as of flashing light showed where the waves were torn into
+foam by the rushing wind.
+
+With a warning to "hold on fast!" the captain turned the vessel's head
+so as to meet the blast.  So fierce was it that it cut off the crests of
+the wavelets, blowing the sea almost flat for a time, and producing what
+is known as a white squall.  The sail was kept fluttering until the fury
+of the onset was over, then the wind was allowed to fill it; the
+_Penelope_ bent down until the sea began to bubble over the lee
+bulwarks, and in a few moments more she was springing over the fast
+rising waves like a nautical racehorse.
+
+Every moment the gale increased, obliging the mariners to show but a
+corner of the sail.  Even this had at last to be taken in, and, during
+the whole of that dismal day and of the black night which followed, the
+_Penelope_ drove helplessly before the wind under a bare pole.
+Fortunately the gale was favourable, so that they were enabled to lay
+their course, but it required all the skill and seamanship of Captain
+Arkal to prevent their being pooped and swamped by the waves that rolled
+hissing after them as if hungering mightily to swallow them up.
+
+To have the right man in the right place at such times of imminent
+danger is all-important, not only to the safety of the craft, but to the
+peace of mind of those whose lives are in jeopardy.  All on board the
+little vessel during that hurricane felt much comforted by the knowledge
+that their captain was in the right place.  Although a "square man," he
+had by no means been fitted into a round hole!  Knowing this, Prince
+Bladud felt no anxiety as to the management of the craft, and gave
+himself up to contemplate the grandeur of the storm, for the howling
+blast, creaking spars, and bursts of rattling thunder, rendered
+conversation out of the question.
+
+During a slight lull, however, Bladud asked the question whether the
+captain knew on what part of the coast they were running.
+
+"Not exactly," he replied, "we have been running so long in darkness
+that I can only guess.  If it holds on much longer like this I shall
+have to put her head to wind and wait for more light.  It may be that we
+have been driven too far to the left, and there are islands hereabouts
+that we must keep well clear of.  I would that we had put into some bay
+for shelter before this befell us.  Ho! mate."
+
+"Ay, captain."
+
+"See that you put our sharpest pair of eyes in the bow, and let a second
+pair watch the first, lest the owner of them should go to sleep."
+
+"Little Maikar is there, sir," shouted the mate, "and I am watching him
+myself."
+
+"We shall do well with Maikar in the bow, for he sees like a weasel, and
+is trustworthy," muttered the captain as he glanced uneasily over the
+stern, where the hungry waves were still hissing tumultuously after
+them, as if rendered furious by the delayed meal.
+
+At daybreak on the second day the gale moderated a little, and they were
+enabled once more to show a corner of their sail, and to encourage the
+hope that the worst was over.  But a fresh outburst, of greater fury
+than before, soon dashed these hopes, and obliged the captain to throw
+overboard all the spare spars and some of the heaviest part of the
+cargo.  Still the gale increased, and the impatient waves began to lip
+over the poop occasionally as if unable to refrain from tasting!
+
+"More cargo must go," muttered the captain, with a gloomy frown.  Being
+resolute, he gave orders to that effect.
+
+Presently the order was given to take soundings.  When this was done it
+was found that they were in twenty fathoms water.  On taking another
+cast, the depth reported was fifteen fathoms.
+
+There were no charts covered with soundings to guide the mariner in
+those days, but it did not require much experience to convince a seaman
+that land was probably too near, with such a sudden change from twenty
+to fifteen fathoms.  Arkal was, however, not unprepared for it, and
+quickly gave orders to stand by to let go the anchors.  At that moment
+the voice of little Maikar was heard shouting, in stentorian tones,
+"Land ahead!"
+
+The captain replied with a sharp "let go!" and four anchors were
+promptly dropped from the stern.  At the same moment he placed the helm
+fair amidships, and made it fast with rudder-bands.  As the stern of the
+_Penelope_ was formed like the bow, a sharp cut-water was by this means
+instantly presented to the sea, thus avoiding the necessity and danger
+incurred by modern ships, in similar circumstances, of anchoring by the
+head and swinging round.
+
+The hungry waves hissed tumultuously on, but were cleft and passed under
+the ship disappointed, for there was still enough of water beneath to
+permit of her tossing to and fro and rising to them like a duck, as she
+strained and tugged at the anchors.
+
+Just as these operations had been performed, the mists of darkness
+seemed to lift a little and revealed a wild rocky line of coast, against
+which the waves were breaking madly.
+
+"Now all hope is over; pray to your gods, men," said the mate, whose
+courage was not quite equal to his position.
+
+"There are no gods!" growled the captain bitterly, for he saw that he
+was now a ruined man, even though he should escape with life.
+
+"There is _one_ God," said Bladud quietly, "and He does all things
+well."
+
+As he spoke, the captain, whose eyes had not ceased to look searchingly
+along the coast, observed something like a bay a short way to the left
+of the place where they lay.
+
+"It looks like a sandy bay," he said.
+
+"It _is_ a sandy bay," exclaimed the anxious mate; "let us up anchors
+and run into it."
+
+"Have an easy mind and keep your advice till asked for," returned the
+captain with a look of scorn.  "If we are destined to escape, we _shall_
+escape without making haste.  If we are doomed to die, nothing can save
+us, and it is more manly to die in a leisurely way than in a hurry.
+When we can see clearly we shall know better how to act."
+
+Although this manner of submitting to the inevitable did not quite suit
+the mate, he felt constrained to repress his impatience, while the
+coolness of the captain had a quieting effect on some of the men who
+were inclined to give way to panic.  The sight of Bladud--as he sat
+there leaning on the hilt of his sword with an expression of what
+appeared to be serene contentment--had also a quieting effect on the
+men.
+
+When the increasing light showed that the sandy bay was a spot that
+might possibly be reached in safety, orders were given to cut the
+cables, loose the rudder-bands and hoist the sail.  For a few minutes
+the vessel ran swiftly towards the bay, but before reaching the shore
+she struck with violence.  The fore part of the _Penelope_ stuck fast
+immovably, and then, at last, the ravenous waves attained their
+longed-for meal.  They burst over the stern, swept the decks, tore up
+the fastenings, revelled among the tackling and began tumultuously to
+break up the ship.
+
+"Launch the skiff," shouted the captain, hastening to lend a hand in the
+operation.
+
+The men were not slow to obey, and when it touched the water they
+swarmed into it, so that, being overloaded, it upset and left its
+occupants struggling in the water.  A number of the men who could swim,
+immediately jumped overboard and tried to right the skiff, but they
+failed, and, in the effort to do so, broke the rope that held it.  Some
+clung to it.  Others turned and swam for the shore.
+
+A good many of the men, however, still remained in the wreck, which was
+fast breaking up.  To these the captain turned.
+
+"Now, men," he said, "those of you who can swim would do well to take to
+the water at once, for it is clear that we shall not have a plank left
+to stand on soon.  Come, mate, show them an example."
+
+The man, though not very courageous, as his pale face betrayed, happened
+to be a good swimmer, and at once leaped into the sea.  He was followed
+by all who could swim.  Those who could not, were encouraged to make the
+attempt with planks and oars to aid them.  As for Bladud, he busied
+himself like the captain in giving heart to the non-swimmers and showing
+them how best to use their floats.
+
+The last of the men to leave was little Maikar.
+
+He stood at the bow with his arms crossed on his chest and a look of
+melancholy interest on his countenance.
+
+"What! not gone yet?" exclaimed the captain, turning to him.
+
+"I cannot swim," said the man.
+
+"But neither can these," returned the captain, pointing to the men who
+had left last.
+
+"My father used to say," rejoined Maikar, as if murmuring to himself,
+"that I was born to be drowned, and I'm inclined to think he was right."
+
+"Surely you are not afraid," said Arkal.
+
+"Afraid!" exclaimed Maikar, with a sarcastic laugh.  "No, captain, but
+I'm sorry to part with you, because you've been a good captain to me."
+
+"An' I bear no ill-will to you, Bladud, though you _did_ squeeze most of
+the life out of me once.  Farewell, both."
+
+As he spoke the little man seized an oar, leaped overboard, and, after
+some trouble in steadying himself and pointing the oar in the right
+direction, struck out for the shore.
+
+It was a long way off, and often, while this scene was being enacted,
+was heard the bubbling cry of men whose powers were failing them.  Some
+were carried by currents against a point to the westward and,
+apparently, dashed against the rocks.  Others sank before half the
+distance had been traversed.
+
+Bladud and the captain looked at each other when Maikar had left them.
+
+"Can you swim?" asked the captain.  "Like a duck," returned the prince,
+"and I can help you if required."
+
+"I swim like a fish," returned the captain, "but it is hard to part from
+my _Penelope_!  She has never failed me till now, and as this venture
+contains all my goods, I am a ruined man."
+
+"But your life still remains," said the prince.  "Be of good cheer,
+captain.  A stout man can make his fortune more than once.  Come, let us
+go."
+
+A loud cry from Maikar at that moment hastened their deliberations.
+
+"Are you going to cumber yourself with your weapons?" asked Arkal, as
+they were about to spring from the side, observing that his friend took
+up his sword and shield.
+
+"Ay--that am I.  It is not a small matter that will part my good sword
+and me."
+
+Both men sprang overboard at the same moment, and made for the spot
+where little Maikar was still giving vent to bubbling yells and
+struggling with his oar.
+
+Bladud was soon alongside of him, and, seizing his hair, raised him out
+of the water.
+
+"Got the cramp," he shouted.
+
+"Keep still, then, and do what I tell ye," said the prince, in a tone of
+stern command.
+
+He caught the poor man under the armpits with both hands, turned on his
+back and drew him on to his chest.  Swimming thus on his back, with
+Captain Arkal leading so as to keep them in the right direction, the
+three were ultimately cast, in a rather exhausted condition, on the
+shore of the little bay.
+
+CHAPTER FIVE.
+
+AFTER THE WRECK.
+
+It was on the southern shore of what is now known as France that our
+hero and his comrades in misfortune were cast.
+
+At the time we write of, we need hardly say, the land was nameless.
+Even her old Roman name of Gaul had not yet been given to her, for Rome
+itself had not been founded.  The fair land was a vast wilderness, known
+only--and but slightly--to the adventurous mariners of the east, who,
+with the spirit of Columbus, had pushed their discoveries and trade far
+beyond the Pillars of Hercules.
+
+Of course the land was a vast solitude, inhabited, sparsely, by a few of
+those wandering tribes which had been driven westward--by conquest or by
+that desire for adventure which has characterised the human race, we
+suppose, ever since Adam and Eve began to explore the regions beyond
+Eden.  Like the great wilderness lying to the north of Canada at the
+present time, it was also the home of innumerable wild animals which
+afforded to its uncivilised inhabitants both food and clothing.
+
+Captain Arkal was the only one of the three survivors of the wreck who
+had seen that coast before or knew anything about it, for, when Bladud
+had entered the Mediterranean many years before, he had passed too far
+to the southward to see the northern land.
+
+As they staggered up the beach to a place where the thundering waves
+sent only their spray, Bladud looked round with some anxiety.
+
+"Surely," he said, "some of the crew must have escaped.  It can hardly
+be that we three are the only survivors out of so many."
+
+The party halted and looked back at the seething waves from which they
+had just escaped.
+
+"It would be foul shame to us," said the captain, "if we did not try to
+lend a helping hand to our comrades; but we shall find none of them
+here.  I observed when they started that, in spite of my warning, they
+made straight for the land, instead of keeping well to windward to avoid
+being swept round that point of rock to the west.  I led you in the
+right direction, and that is why we alone are here.  If any of the
+others have been saved, they must be on the other side of that point."
+
+While he was speaking, the captain had hurried into the woods, intending
+to cross the neck of land which separated them from the bay beyond the
+point referred to.
+
+Their strength returned as they ran, for their intense desire to render
+aid to those of their late comrades who might stand in need of it seemed
+to serve them in the stead of rest.
+
+"Come, quick!" cried little Maikar, whose catlike activity and strength
+enabled him to outrun his more bulky companions.  "We may be too late;
+and some of them can't swim--I know."
+
+They reached the crest of a ridge a few minutes later, and, halting,
+looked at each other in dismay, for the bay beyond the point was full of
+great rocks and boulders, among which the waves rushed with such fury
+that they spouted in jets into the air, and covered the sea with foam.
+
+"No living soul can have landed there," said the captain, in a tone that
+showed clearly he had given up all hope.
+
+"But some may have been swept round the next point," suggested Maikar
+eagerly, commencing to run forward as he spoke.
+
+Bladud followed at once, and so did the captain, but it was evident that
+he regarded any further effort as useless.
+
+It proved a longer and more toilsome march than they had expected to
+pass beyond the second point, and when at last it was reached, there was
+not a speck at all resembling a human being to be seen on the coast, in
+all its length of many miles.
+
+"No hope," murmured Bladud.
+
+"None," returned the captain.
+
+Little Maikar did not speak, but the expression of his countenance
+showed that he was of the same opinion.
+
+"Now," resumed the captain, after a brief silence, "if we would not
+starve we must go straight back, and see whether any provisions have
+been washed ashore."
+
+They did not, however, return to the spot where they had landed, for
+they knew that the same current which had carried their hapless comrades
+to the westward must have borne the remains of the wreck in the same
+direction.  Descending, therefore, to the foam-covered bay before
+referred to, they searched its margin carefully, but for some time found
+nothing--not even a scrap of wreck.
+
+At last, just as they were about to give up in despair, and turn to some
+other method of obtaining food, they observed a portion of the wreck
+that had been driven high up on the beach into a cleft of rock.  Running
+eagerly towards it, they found that it was only a plank.
+
+Bladud and the captain looked at it for a moment or two in silence, and
+Maikar gave vent to a groan of disappointment.
+
+"Never mind," said the prince, lifting the plank and laying it on his
+shoulder, in the quiet thoughtful way that was peculiar to him, "it will
+serve to make a fire and keep us warm."
+
+"But we need not to be kept warm, for the weather is fine and hot," said
+Maikar, with a rueful expression.  "Moreover, we need food, and we
+cannot eat a plank!"
+
+The prince did not reply, but led the way towards a neighbouring cliff.
+
+"Don't you think we had better make our fire in the woods, Bladud?"
+asked the captain.
+
+"That would oblige one of us to watch in case natives or wolves should
+attack us, and none of us are in a fit state to watch.  We must sleep."
+
+"But I can't sleep without first eating," said Maikar in a remonstrative
+tone.  "Should we not go to the woods first and try to catch something?"
+
+"Can you on foot run down the hare, the deer, the bear, the wild-boar,
+or even the rabbit?"
+
+"Not I.  My legs are swift enough, though short, but they are not equal
+to that."
+
+"Well, then, as we have neither bow nor shaft, and my good sword would
+be of little use against such game, why waste our time and strength in
+the woods?"
+
+"But we might find honey," suggested Maikar.
+
+"And if we did not find honey, what then?"
+
+"Berries," answered the little man.
+
+"Berries are not nearly ripe yet."
+
+"True, I forgot that."
+
+"Say you did not know it, man," interposed the captain with a laugh;
+"never be ashamed of confessing ignorance in regard to things that
+you're not bound to know.  Lead on, Bladud, we will follow.  You know
+more of woodcraft than either of us.  If it were the sea we had to do
+battle with I would claim to lead.  On land, being only a babe, I freely
+resign the helm to one who knows how to steer."
+
+Agreeing to this arrangement, Bladud led his companions up the steep
+face of a cliff until a projecting ledge was reached, which was just
+wide enough to form a camping-ground with a perpendicular cliff at the
+back, and with its other sides so precipitous as to render the approach
+of enemies--whether two or four-legged--exceedingly difficult.  By
+piling a few stones at the head of the path by which it was reached,
+they rendered it impossible for any one to approach without awakening
+the sleepers.
+
+Bladud then, using his sword as a hatchet, chipped off some pieces of
+the plank, and directed his companions to cut away the wet parts of
+these and reduce the dry parts to shavings.
+
+They obeyed this order in silence, and wonderingly, for a fire seemed
+useless, their encampment being well sheltered from the wind, and, as we
+have said, the weather was warm.  By means of a cord, a rude bow, and a
+drill made of a piece of dry wood, their leader soon procured fire, and,
+in a few minutes, a bright flame illumined their persons and the cliff
+behind them.
+
+As the shades of evening were falling by that time, the aspect of things
+was much improved by the change.
+
+"Now, comrades," said the prince, undoing the breast of his tunic, and
+drawing from either side a flat mass of dark substance that resembled
+old dried cow-hide, "we shall have supper, and then--to rest."
+
+"Dried meat!" exclaimed little Maikar, his eyes--and indeed his whole
+visage--blazing with delighted surprise.
+
+"Right.  Maikar.  I knew that you would be hungry when we got ashore, so
+I caught up two pieces of meat and stuffed them into my breast just as
+we were leaving--one for Arkal and me; the other for you.  It may not be
+quite enough, perhaps, but will do, I hope, to keep you quiet till
+morning."
+
+"Nay, I shall content me with my fair share, it I may claim a share at
+all of what I had no hand in procuring.  It was wise of you to do this.
+How came you to think of it?"
+
+"To say truth, I can lay claim to neither wisdom nor forethought,"
+answered the prince, dividing the food into equal portions.  "The meat
+chanced to be lying close to my hand as I was about to leap into the
+sea.  Had I seen it sooner, I would have advised all to take some in the
+same way.  There, now, set to and cook it.  For myself, I feel so sleepy
+that I'm half inclined to eat it raw."
+
+The jerked or dried meat which had been thus opportunely brought away,
+may be said to have been half cooked in the drying process, and indeed,
+was sometimes eaten in its dried condition, when it was inconvenient to
+cook it.  In a few minutes, therefore, the supper was ready, and, in a
+few minutes more, it was disposed of--for strong jaws, sound teeth and
+good appetite make short work of victuals.
+
+By that time the night had set in; the gale was moderating; the stars
+had come out, and there seemed every prospect of a speedy and favourable
+change in the weather.  With darkness came the wolves and other
+creatures of the night, both furred and feathered.  Against the former
+the party was protected by the steep ascent and the barricade, but the
+latter kept swooping down out of darkness, ever and anon, glaring at
+them for a moment with round inquiring eyes and sweeping off, as if
+affrighted, in unearthly silence.
+
+Little heed was paid to these sights and sounds, however, by our
+adventurers, who were filled with sadness at the loss of their ship and
+comrades.
+
+They spoke but little during the meal, and, after partially drying
+themselves, lay down with their feet towards the fire, and almost
+instantly fell asleep.  Being trained to a hardy life, they did not feel
+the want of couch or covering, and healthy exhaustion prevented dreams
+from disturbing their repose.
+
+Gradually the fire died down; the howling of the wolves ceased; the
+night-birds betook them to their haunts, and no sound was heard in or
+around the camp except the soft breathing of the sleepers and the
+booming of the distant waves.
+
+CHAPTER SIX.
+
+FIRST ANXIETIES AND TROUBLES.
+
+The day that followed the wreck was well advanced before the sleepers
+awakened.
+
+Their first thoughts were those of thankfulness for having escaped with
+life.  Then arose feelings of loneliness and sorrow at the sad fate of
+the crew of the _Penelope_, for though it was just possible that some of
+their comrades had reached the shore on the beach that extended to the
+westward, such an event was not very probable.  Still the bare hope of
+this induced them to rise in haste.  After a hurried breakfast on the
+remnants of the previous night's supper, they proceeded along the coast
+for several miles, carefully searching the shores of every bay.
+
+About noon they halted.  A few scraps of the dried meat still remained,
+and on these they dined, sitting on a grassy slope, while they consulted
+as to their future proceedings.
+
+"What is now to be done?" asked the captain of Bladud, after they had
+been seated in silence for some minutes.
+
+"I would rather hear your opinion first," returned his friend.  "You
+must still continue to act as captain, for it is fitting that age should
+sit at the helm, while I will act the part of guide and forester, seeing
+that I am somewhat accustomed to woodcraft."
+
+"And the remainder of our band," said little Maikar, wiping his mouth
+after finishing the last morsel, "will sit in judgment on your
+deliberations."
+
+"Be it so," returned Bladud.  "Wisdom, it is said, lies in small
+compass, so we should find it in you."
+
+Captain Arkal, whose knitted brows and downcast eyes showed that his
+thoughts were busy, looked up suddenly.
+
+"It is not likely," he said, "that any ships will come near this coast,
+for the gale has driven us far out of the usual track of trading ships,
+and there are no towns here, large or small, that I know of.  It would
+be useless, therefore, to remain where we are in the hope of being
+picked up by a passing vessel.  To walk back to our home in the east is
+next to impossible, for it is not only far distant, but there lie
+between us and Hellas far-reaching gulfs and bays, besides great
+mountain ranges, which have never yet been crossed, for their tops are
+in the clouds and covered, summer and winter, with eternal snow."
+
+"Then no hope remains to us," said Maikar, with a sigh, "except to join
+ourselves to the wild people of the land--if there be any people at all
+in it--and live and die like savages."
+
+"Patience, Maikar, I have not yet finished."
+
+"Besides," interpolated Bladud, "a wise judge never delivers an opinion
+until he has heard both sides of a question."
+
+"Now, from my knowledge of the lie of coast-lands, I feel sure that the
+Isles of the Cassiterides must lie there," continued the captain,
+pointing westward, "and if we travel diligently, it is not unlikely that
+we shall come down upon the coast of this land almost opposite to them.
+There we may find, or perhaps make, a boat in which we could cross
+over--for the sea at that part is narrow, and the white cliffs of the
+land will be easily distinguished.  Once there, I have no doubt that we
+shall find a ship belonging to one of my countrymen which will take
+Maikar and me back to our homes, while you, prince, will doubtless be
+able to return to your father's court on foot."
+
+It will be seen from this speech that the Phoenician captain included
+the southern shore of England in his idea of the Cassiterides.  His
+notion of the direction in which the islands lay, however, was somewhat
+incorrect, being founded partly on experience, but partly also on a
+misconception prevalent at the time that the islands referred to lay
+only a little way to the north of Spain.
+
+"Your plan seems to me a good one," said Bladud, after some thought,
+"but I cannot help thinking that you are not quite right in your notion
+as to the direction of the tin islands.  When I left Albion, I kept a
+careful note of our daily runs--being somewhat curious on such points--
+and it is my opinion that they lie _there_."
+
+He pointed almost due north.  The captain smiled and shook his head.
+Bladud looked at Maikar, who also smiled and shook his head.
+
+"If you want my opinion," said the little man, gravely, "it is that when
+two great, good and wise men differ so widely, it is more than likely
+the truth lies somewhere between them.  In _my_ judgment, therefore, the
+Cassiterides lie yonder."
+
+He pointed with an air of confidence in a north-west direction.
+
+"It does seem to me," said Bladud, "that Maikar is right, for as you and
+I seem to be equally confident in our views, captain, a middle course
+may be the safest.  However, if you decide otherwise, I of course
+submit."
+
+"Nay," returned the captain, "I will not abuse the power you have given
+me.  Let us decide the matter by lot."
+
+"Ay, let us draw lots," echoed Maikar, "and so shove the matter off our
+shoulders on to the shoulders of chance."
+
+"There is, there can be, no such thing as chance," said Bladud in a
+soliloquising tone.  "However, let it be as you wish.  I recognise the
+justice of two voices overriding one."
+
+Lots were drawn accordingly, and the longest fell to the little seaman.
+Without further discussion, therefore, the course suggested by him was
+adopted.
+
+"And now, comrades," said the prince, rising and drawing his knife--
+which, like his sword, had been procured in Egypt, and was of white
+metal--"we must set to work to make bows and arrows, for animals are not
+wont to walk up to man and request to be killed and cooked, and it won't
+be long before Maikar is shouting for food."
+
+"Sorry am I that the good javelin of my grandfather went down in the
+carcase of the pirate chief," remarked the captain, also rising, "for it
+seems to me by the way you handled it, Bladud, that you could have
+killed deer with it as well as men."
+
+"I have killed deer with such before now, truly, but the arrow is
+handier and surer."
+
+"Ay, in a sure hand, with a good eye to direct it," returned Arkal, "but
+I make no pretence to either.  A ship, indeed, I can manage to hit--when
+I am cool, which is not often the case in a fight--and if there are men
+in it, my shafts are not quite thrown away, but as to deer, boars, and
+birds, I can make nothing of them.  If I mistake not, Maikar is not much
+better than myself with the bow."
+
+"I am worse," observed the little man quietly.
+
+"Well then," said Bladud, with a laugh, "you must make me hunter to the
+party."
+
+While conversing thus they had entered the forest, and soon found trees
+suitable to their purpose, from which they cut boughs,--using their
+swords as hatchets.
+
+We have already shown that the prince had brought his sword, shield, and
+knife on shore with him.  Captain Arkal and Maikar had also saved their
+swords and knives, these having been attached to their girdles at the
+time they leaped from the wreck.  They were somewhat inferior weapons to
+those worn by Bladud, being made of bronze.  The swords of the seamen,
+unlike that of the prince, were short and double-edged, shaped somewhat
+like those used long afterwards by the Romans, and they made up in
+weight for what they lacked in sharpness.
+
+It did not take many hours for the party, under the direction of the
+prince, to form three strong and serviceable bows, with several arrows,
+the latter being feathered with dropped plumes, and shod with flint,
+according to the fashion of the times.  Bowstrings had to be made at
+first out of the tough fibrous roots of a tree, split into threads and
+plaited together.
+
+"Of course they are not so good as deer-sinews for the purpose,"
+remarked Bladud, stringing one of the bows and fitting an arrow to it,
+"but we must be content until we kill a deer or some other animal.
+Perhaps we shall have an opportunity soon."
+
+The remark seemed to have been prophetic, for, as the last word passed
+his lips, a fawn trotted out of a glade right in front of the party and
+stood as if paralysed with surprise.  The captain and Maikar were
+reduced to much the same condition, for they made no attempt to use
+their bows.
+
+"Ho!--" exclaimed the former, but he got no further, for at the moment
+Bladud's bow twanged, and an arrow quivered in the breast of the fawn,
+which fell dead without a struggle.
+
+"Well done!" exclaimed the captain heartily.  "If such luck always
+attends you, prince, we shall fare well on our journey."
+
+"It was not altogether luck," returned the other.  "See you that spot on
+the bark of yonder tree--about the size of Maikar's mouth as it now
+gapes in astonishment?"
+
+"I see it, clear enough--just over the--"
+
+He stopped abruptly, for while he was yet speaking an arrow quivered in
+the centre of the spot referred to.
+
+After that the captain talked no more about "luck," and Maikar, shutting
+his mouth with a snap, as if he felt that no words could do justice to
+his feelings, sprang up and hastened to commence the operation of
+flaying and cutting up the fawn.
+
+Having thus provided themselves with food, they spent the rest of the
+day in preparing it for the journey by drying it in the sun; in making
+tough and serviceable bowstrings out of the sinews of the fawn, fitting
+on arrow-heads and feathers, and otherwise arranging for a prolonged
+march through a country which was entirely unknown to them, both as to
+its character and its inhabitants.
+
+"It comes into my head," said the captain, "that Maikar and I must
+provide ourselves with shields and spears of some sort, for if the
+people of the land are warlike, we may have to defend ourselves."
+
+"That is as you say," returned the prince, rising as he spoke and going
+towards a long straight bough of a neighbouring tree, on which he had
+fixed a critical gaze.
+
+With one sweep of his heavy sword he severed it from the stem and
+returned to his companions.
+
+"Have you taken an ill-will at that tree, or were you only testing the
+strength of your arm?" asked Maikar.
+
+"Neither, my friend; but I must have a javelin to make my equipment
+complete, and I would advise you and the captain to provide yourselves
+with like weapons, for we may meet with four-footed as well as
+two-legged foes in these parts.  I will show you how to point the things
+with flint."
+
+"That is well said," returned the seaman, rising and going into the
+woods in search of a suitable branch, followed by the captain.
+
+It was late that night before the weapons were shaped and pointed with
+flint and all ready for a start on the following morning--the only thing
+wanting to complete their armament being a couple of shields.
+
+"We are sure to meet with a wild boar or a bull before long, or it may
+be a bear," said Maikar, "and the hides of any of these will serve our
+purpose well."
+
+"That is, if we use them well," remarked the captain.
+
+"No one said otherwise," retorted Maikar.  "Some people are so full of
+wise thoughts that they blurt them out, without reason, apparently to
+get rid of them."
+
+"Just so, Maikar, therefore blurt out no more, but hold thy tongue and
+go to sleep.  Good-night."
+
+CHAPTER SEVEN.
+
+CONVERSE AND ADVENTURES BY THE WAY.
+
+Day was just beginning to break in the east when the prince raised his
+head from the bundle of leaves that had formed his pillow, and looked
+sleepily around him.
+
+His companions lay still, sound asleep and sprawling, in all the
+_abandon_ characteristic of the heroes of antiquity.
+
+Some of these characteristics were wonderfully similar to those of
+modern heroes.  For instance, the captain lay flat on his back with his
+mouth wide open, and a musical solo proceeding from his nose; while
+Maikar lay on his side with his knees doubled up, his arms extended at
+full length in front of him, and his hands tightly clasped as if, while
+pleading with some one for mercy, he was suddenly petrified and had
+fallen over on his side.
+
+Rising softly, Bladud took up his bow and quiver, and, buckling on his
+sword, left the encampment without disturbing the sleepers.  He had not
+proceeded more than a mile when he startled several wild turkeys or
+birds of that species from their rest.  One of these he instantly
+brought down.  Following them up he soon shot another, and returned to
+camp, where he found his comrades as he had left them--the musical nose
+being if anything more emphatic than before.
+
+Although naturally a grave man, Bladud was by no means destitute of a
+sense of humour, or disinclined on occasion to perpetrate a practical
+joke.  After contemplating the sleepers for a moment he retired a few
+paces and concealed himself in the long grass, from which position he
+pitched one of the huge birds into the air, so that it fell on the
+captain's upturned visage.  The snore changed at once into a yell of
+alarm, as the mariner sprang up and grasped his sword, which, of course,
+lay handy beside him.
+
+Electrified by the yell, Maikar also leaped to his feet, sword in hand.
+
+"What d'ye mean by that?" cried the captain, turning on him fiercely.
+
+"What mean _you_ by it?" replied Maikar with equal ferocity.
+
+He had barely uttered the words, when the second turkey hit him full in
+the face and tumbled him over the ashes of the fortunately extinguished
+fire.
+
+"Come, come!" interposed the prince, stepping forward with a deprecating
+smile; "there should be no quarrelling among friends, especially at the
+beginning of a long journey.  See, I have fetched your breakfast for
+you.  Instead of tumbling on the fire and putting it out, Maikar, I
+think it would be wiser to see if there is a spark left and blow it into
+a flame.  Quick!  I am hungry."
+
+It need hardly be said that these orders were received with a laugh and
+a prompt obedience on the part of the little man.
+
+"Yes--there is fire," he said, blowing with tremendous energy until
+flame was produced.  "And, do you know, there is something within me
+that has a loud voice, but only utters one word--`Food! food! food!'
+There, now, you may get the birds ready, for the fire will be ready for
+them in two winks."
+
+There was no occasion, however, to give this advice to his friends, for
+already the birds had been plucked, split open at the breast, laid flat,
+and their interiors scraped out in a summary manner.  The plucking was
+not, indeed, all that could be wished, but what fingers failed to do a
+singe in the flames accomplished to the perfect satisfaction of men who
+were in no way particular.  Sharp-pointed sticks were then thrust
+through the expanded carcases, and they were stuck up in front of the
+blaze to roast.
+
+Underdone meat is an abomination to some, a luxury to others--reminding
+one of that very ancient proverb, "Tastes differ."  We cannot say
+whether on this occasion the uniformity of action in our heroes was the
+result of taste or haste, but certain it is that before the fowls were
+only half-roasted on one side, they were turned over so as to let the
+fire get at the other, and breakfast was begun while the meat was yet
+frightfully underdone.
+
+Thereafter the three men arose, like giants refreshed--if we may say so,
+for Maikar was indeed mentally, though not physically, a giant--buckled
+on their swords, slung bows and quivers on their backs, along with the
+turkey remains, and took up shields and javelins.  Having laid their
+course by the stars the night before, they set out on their journey
+through the unknown wilderness.
+
+The part of the country through which they passed at the beginning of
+the march was broken and diversified by hill and dale; in some places
+clothed with forests, in others covered with grass, on which many wild
+animals were seen browsing.  These, however, were remarkably timid, and
+fled at the first sign of the approaching travellers, so that it was
+impossible to get within bow-shot of them.
+
+"From this I judge that they are much hunted," said Bladud, halting on a
+ridge to note the wild flight, of a herd of deer which had just caught
+eight of them.
+
+"If so, we are likely to fall in with the hunters before long, I fear,"
+remarked the captain.
+
+"Why do you fear?" asked Maikar.
+
+"Because they may be numerous and savage, and may take a fancy to make
+slaves of us, and as we number only three we could not resist their
+fancy without losing our lives."
+
+"That would be a pity," returned Maikar, "for we have only one life to
+lose."
+
+"No; we have three lives to lose amongst us," objected the captain.
+
+"Which makes one each, does it not?" retorted the seaman.
+
+"True, Maikar, and we must lose them all, and more if we had them,
+rather than become slaves."
+
+"You are right, captain.  We never, _never_ shall be slaves," said
+Bladud.
+
+They say that history repeats itself.  Perhaps sentiment does the same.
+At all events, the British prince gave utterance that day to a
+well-known sentiment, which has been embalmed in modern song and shouted
+by many a Briton with tremendous enthusiasm--though not absolute truth.
+
+"Captain Arkal," said the little seaman, as they jogged quietly down the
+sunny slope of a hill, at the bottom of which was a marsh full of
+rushes, "how do you manage to find your way through such a tangled
+country as this?"
+
+"By observing the stars," answered the captain.
+
+"But I have observed the stars since I was a little boy," objected
+Maikar, "and I see nothing but a wild confusion of shining points.  How
+can these guide you?  Besides, there are no stars in the daytime."
+
+"True, Maikar; but we have the sun during the day."
+
+Maikar shook his head perplexedly.
+
+"Listen," said the captain, "and I will try to enlighten your dark mind;
+but don't object else you'll never understand.  All stars are not
+alike--d'ye understand that?"
+
+"Any fool could understand that!"
+
+"Well, then, of course _you_ can understand it.  Now, you have noticed,
+no doubt, that some stars are in groups, which groups may alter their
+position with regard to other groups, but which never change with regard
+to each other."
+
+"Each other," repeated Maikar, checking off each statement with a nod
+and a wave of his javelin.
+
+"Well," continued the captain, "there's one group of stars--about six--
+plainly to be seen on most fine nights, two stars of which are always
+pretty much in a line with a little star a short way in front of them--
+d'ye see?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Well, that star shows exactly where the cold regions lie--over _there_
+(extending his arm and pointing), and of course if you know that the
+cold regions lie _there_, you know that the hot regions must lie at your
+back--there, and it follows that the Pillars of Hercules lie _there_
+(pointing west), and home lies somewhere about _there_ (pointing
+eastward)."
+
+"Stop!" cried Maikar in great perplexity--for although a seaman he was
+densely ignorant.  "Hot regions, _there_, cold, _there_, home and the
+Pillars, _there_, and _there_, and _there_ (thrusting his arms out in
+all directions).  I've no more idea of where you've got me to now than--
+than--"
+
+"Oh, never mind," interrupted the captain, "it doesn't matter, as you
+are not our guide.  But, ho! look! look! down in the hollow there--among
+the rushes.  What's that?"
+
+"A boar!" said Bladud, in a low whisper, as he unslung his bow.  "Come,
+now, it will take all our united force to slay that brute, for, if I
+have not lost my power of judging such game, I'm pretty sure that he's a
+very big old boar with formidable tusks."
+
+While the prince was speaking, his comrades had also prepared their
+weapons, and looked to their guide for directions.
+
+These were hastily but clearly given.  As the boar was evidently asleep
+in his lair, it was arranged that the three friends should stalk him, as
+the broken ground was specially favourable for such a mode of attack.
+
+"We will advance together," said Bladud, "with our bows ready.  I will
+lead; you follow close.  When we get within range you will do as you see
+me do, and be sure that you aim at the brute's side--not at his head.
+Send your arrows with all the force you can.  Then drop the bows and get
+your javelins ready."
+
+With eager looks the captain and little sailor nodded assent.  They were
+much excited, having often heard tales of boar-hunting, though neither
+of them had ever taken part in that work.
+
+A few minutes' walk brought them to the edge of the rushes, where they
+had a fair view of the monstrous animal as it lay fully extended on its
+side, and not more than thirty yards distant.
+
+"Take him just behind the fore-leg," whispered Bladud, as he drew his
+bow.  His companions followed his example.  Two of the bows twanged
+simultaneously, but the third--that of Maikar--was pulled with such
+vigour that it broke with a crash that would have awakened the sleepiest
+of wild boars, had there been nothing else to arouse him.  As it was,
+other things helped to quicken his sensibilities.  Bladud's unfailing
+arrow went indeed straight for the heart, but a strong rib caught and
+checked its progress.  The captain's shaft, probably by good luck,
+entered deep into the creature's flank not far from the tail.
+
+To say that the forest was instantly filled with ear-splitting shrieks
+is to express the result but feebly.  We might put it as a sort of
+indefinite question in the rule of three, thus--if an ordinary civilised
+pig with injured feelings can yell as we all know how, what must have
+been the explosion of a wild-boar of the eighth century BuCu, in
+circumstances such as we have described?  Railway whistles of the
+nineteenth century, intermittently explosive, is the only possible
+answer to the question, and that is but an approximation to the truth.
+
+For one instant the infuriated creature paused to look for its
+assailants.  Catching sight of them as they were fitting arrows to their
+bows, it gave vent to a prolonged locomotive-express yell, and charged.
+Bladud's arrow hit it fair between the eyes, but stuck in the
+impenetrable skull.  The shaft of the captain missed, and the javelin of
+Maikar went wildly wide of the mark.
+
+By order of Bladud the three had separated a few yards from each other.
+Even in its rage the monster was perplexed by this, for it evidently
+perceived the impossibility of attacking three foes at the same moment.
+Which to go for was the question.  Like an experienced warrior it went
+for the "little one."
+
+Maikar had drawn his last weapon--the short sword of bronze--and, like a
+brave man as he was, "prepared to receive boarelry."  Another instant
+and the enemy was upon him.  More than that, it was over him, for,
+trusting to his agility--for which he was famed--he tried to leap to one
+side, intending to make a vigorous thrust at the same moment.  In doing
+so his foot slipped; he fell flat on his side, and the boar, tripping
+over him, just missed ripping him with its fearful tusks.  It fell, with
+a bursting squeak, beyond.
+
+To leap up and turn was the work of an instant for the boar, and would
+have been the same for the man if he had not been partially stunned by
+the fall.  As it was, the captain, who was nearest, proved equal to the
+emergency, for, using his javelin as a spear, he plunged it into the
+boar's side.  But that side was tougher than he had expected.  The spear
+was broken by a sharp twist as the animal turned on its new foe, who now
+stood disarmed and at its mercy.  Bladud's ponderous sword, however,
+flashed in the air at that moment, and fell on the creature's neck with
+a force that would have made Hercules envious if he had been there.
+Deep into the brawn it cut, through muscle, fat, and spine, almost
+slicing the head from the trunk, and putting a sudden stop to the last
+yell when it reached the windpipe.  The boar rolled head over heels like
+a shot hare, almost overturning Bladud as it wrenched the sword from his
+hand, and swept the captain off his legs, carrying him along with it in
+a confusion of blood and bristles.
+
+It was truly a terrific encounter, and as the prince stood observing the
+effect of his blow, he would probably have burst into a fit of laughter,
+had he not been somewhat solemnised by Captain Arkal's fearful
+appearance, as he arose ensanguined, but uninjured, from the ground.
+
+CHAPTER EIGHT.
+
+DISCOVERY AND FLIGHT.
+
+Being now provided with material for making shields, they resolved to
+spend a day in camp.  This was all the more necessary, that the shoes or
+sandals which they had worn at sea were not well suited for the rough
+travelling which they had now to undertake.
+
+Accordingly they selected a spot on the brow of a hill from which the
+surrounding country could be seen in nearly all directions.  But they
+were careful also to see that several bushes shielded themselves from
+view, for it was a matter of uncertainty whether or where natives might
+make their appearance.
+
+Here, bathed in glorious sunshine, with a lovely prospect of land and
+water, tangled wood and flowery plains, to gladden their eyes, and the
+savoury smell of pork chops and turkey to tickle their nostrils, they
+spent two days in manufacturing the various necessary articles.  Captain
+Arkal provided himself with a new javelin.
+
+Maikar made another bow, and both fabricated tough round shields with
+double plies of the boar's hide.  Out of the same substance Bladud made
+a pair of shoes for each of them.
+
+"The sandals you wear at home," he said, "are not so good as those used
+by us in Albion.  They don't cover the feet sufficiently, and they
+expose the toes too much.  Yet our sandals are easily and quickly made.
+Look here--I will show you."
+
+His companions paused in their labour and looked on, while the prince
+took up an oblong piece of boar-hide, over a foot in length and six
+inches broad, which had been soaking in water till it had become quite
+soft and limp.  Placing one of his feet on this he drew the pattern of
+it on the skin with a pointed stick.  Around this pattern, and about a
+couple of inches from it, he bored a row of holes an inch or so apart.
+Through these holes he rove a thong of hide, and then rounded away the
+corners of the piece.
+
+"There," said he, placing his foot in the centre of it and drawing the
+thong, "my sandal is ready."
+
+The tightening of the thong drew up the edges of the shoe until they
+overlapped and entirely encased his foot.
+
+"Good," said the captain, "but that kind of sandal is not new to me.
+I've seen it before, not only in your country, but in other lands."
+
+"Indeed?  Well, after all, it is so simple, and so likely to hit the
+minds of thoughtful men, that I doubt not it is used wherever travelling
+is bad or weather cold.  We shall need such sandals in this land, for
+there is, no doubt, great variety of country, also of weather, and many
+thorns."
+
+While our travellers were thus labouring and commenting on their work,
+unseen eyes were gazing at them with profound interest and curiosity.
+
+A boy, or youth just emerging from the state of boyhood, lay low in a
+neighbouring thicket with his head just elevated sufficiently above the
+grass to enable his black eyes to peer over it.  He was what we of the
+nineteenth century term a savage.  That is to say, he was unkempt,
+unwashed, and almost naked--but not uneducated, though books had nothing
+to do with his training.
+
+The prince chanced to look round, and saw the black eyes instantly, but
+being, as we have said, an adept in woodcraft--including savage
+warfare--he did not permit the slightest evidence of recognition to
+escape him.  He continued his gaze in the same direction, allowing his
+eyes slowly to ascend, as if he were looking through the tree-tops at
+the sky.  Then turning his head quietly round he resumed his work and
+whistled--for whistling had been invented even before that time.
+
+"Comrades," he said, after a few minutes, "don't look up from your work,
+but listen.  We are watched.  You go on with your occupations as if all
+was right, and leave me to deal with the watcher."
+
+His comrades took the hint at once and went quietly on with their
+labours, while the prince arose, stretched himself, as if weary of his
+work.  After a few minutes of looking about him, as though undecided
+what to do next, he sauntered into the bush at the side of their
+encampment opposite to that where the watcher lay.
+
+The moment he got out of range of the boy's eyes, however, his careless
+air vanished, and he sped through the underwood with the quietness and
+something of the gait of a panther--stooping low and avoiding to tread
+on dead twigs.  Making a wide circle, he came round behind the spot
+where the watcher was hid.  But, trained though he had been in the art
+of savage warfare, the boy was equal to him.  From the first he had
+observed in Bladud's acting the absence of that "touch of nature which
+makes the whole world kin," and kept a bright look-out to his rear as
+well as in his front, so that when Bladud, despite his care, trod on a
+dry stick the boy heard it.  Next moment he was off, and a moment after
+that he was seen bounding down the hill like a wild-cat.
+
+The prince, knowing the danger of letting the boy escape and carry
+information to his friends, dashed after him at full speed--and the rate
+of his running may be estimated when it is remembered that many a time
+he had defeated men who had been victors at the Olympic games.  But the
+young savage was nearly his match.  Feeling, however, that he was being
+slowly yet surely overtaken, the boy doubled like a hare and made for a
+ridge that lay on his left.  By that time the chase was in full view of
+the two men in camp, who rose and craned their necks in some excitement
+to watch it.
+
+"He's after something," said the captain.
+
+"A boy!" said Maikar.
+
+"Ay, and running him down, hand over hand."
+
+"There seems to be no one else in sight, so we don't need to go to his
+help."
+
+"If he needs our help he'll come for it," returned the captain with a
+laugh, "and it will puzzle the swiftest runner in the land to beat his
+long legs.  See, he's close on the lad now."
+
+"True," responded the other, with a sigh of disappointment, "but we
+shan't see the end of it, for the boy will be over the ridge and out of
+sight before he is caught."
+
+Maikar was right.  Even while he spoke the youthful savage gained the
+summit, where his slim, agile figure was clearly depicted against the
+sky.  Bladud was running at full speed, not a hundred yards behind him,
+yet, to the amazement of the spectators, the boy suddenly stopped,
+turned round, and waved his hand with a shout of defiance.  Next moment
+he was over the ridge and gone.  A few seconds later the prince was seen
+to halt at the same point, but instead of continuing the pursuit, he
+remained immovable for a few minutes gazing in front of him.  Then he
+returned toward the encampment with a somewhat dejected air.
+
+"No wonder you look surprised," he said, on arriving.  "The other side
+of that ridge is a sheer precipice, down which I might have gone if I
+had possessed wings.  There was no track visible anywhere, but of course
+there must have been a well-concealed one somewhere, for soon after I
+reached the top I saw the young wild-cat running over the plain far
+below.  On coming to the edge of a long stretch of forest, he stopped
+and capered about like a monkey.  I could see, even at that distance,
+that he was making faces at me by way of saying farewell.  Then he
+entered the woods, and that was the end of him."
+
+"I wish it was the end of him," observed the captain, with something
+like a growl--for his voice was very deep, and he had a tendency to
+mutter when disturbed in temper.  "The monkey will be sure to run home
+and tell what he's seen, and so bring all his tribe about our ears."
+
+"Ay, not only his tribe," remarked Maikar, "but his uncles, brothers,
+fathers, nephews, and all his kin to the latest walkable generation."
+
+"Are your weapons ready?" asked Bladud, taking up his sword and putting
+on his helmet.
+
+"All ready," answered the captain, beginning to collect things--"I have
+just finished two head-pieces out of the boar-hide for myself and
+Maikar, which will turn an arrow or a sword-cut, unless delivered by a
+strong arm.  Don't you think them handsome?"
+
+"They are suitable, at any rate," said Maikar, "for they are as ugly as
+our faces."
+
+"Come, then, we must make haste, for wild men are not slow to act,"
+rejoined Bladud.  "By good fortune our way does not lie in the direction
+the boy took.  We shall get as far away from them as possible, and
+travel during the night."
+
+In a few minutes the little party--by that time fully equipped for the
+chase or war--were hurrying down the hillside in the direction of the
+setting sun.  It was growing late in the evening, and as they reached
+the bottom, they had to cross a meadow which was rather swampy, so that
+their feet sank in some parts over the ankles.
+
+"I say, guide," observed Maikar, who, like his nautical commander, had
+small respect for rank, and addressed the prince by what he deemed an
+appropriate title, "it has just come into my head that we are leaving a
+tremendous trail behind us.  We seafaring men are not used to trouble
+our heads on that score, for our ships leave no track on the waves, but
+it is not so on the land.  Won't these naked fellows follow us up and
+kill us, mayhap, when we're asleep?"
+
+"Doubtless they will try," answered Bladud, "but we land-faring men are
+in the habit of troubling our heads on that score, and guarding against
+it.  Do you see yonder stream, or, rather, the line of bushes that mark
+its course?"
+
+"Ay, plainly."
+
+"Well, when we reach that, you shall see and understand without
+explanation."
+
+On reaching the stream referred to, they found that it was a small,
+shallow one, with a sluggish current, for the plain through which it
+flowed was almost flat.
+
+"You see," said Bladud, pausing on the brink, "that it flows towards the
+sea in the direction we have come from.  Now step into the water and
+follow me down stream."
+
+"Down?" exclaimed the captain in surprise, and with some hesitation.
+"We don't want to return to the sea whence we have just come, do we?"
+
+"Captain Arkal," returned Bladud, sternly, "when you give orders on
+board ship, do you expect to have them questioned, or obeyed?"
+
+"Lead on, guide," returned the captain, stepping promptly into the
+water.
+
+For about a quarter of a mile the prince led his followers in silence
+and with much care, for it was growing very dark.  Presently they came
+to a place where the banks were swampy and the stream deep.  Here their
+guide landed and continued to walk a short distance down the bank,
+ordering his followers to conceal their track as much as possible, by
+closing the long grass over each footprint.  The result, even to the
+unpractised eyes of the seamen, did not seem satisfactory, but their
+leader made no comment.  After proceeding about fifty yards further, he
+re-entered the stream and continued the descent for about a mile.  Then
+he stopped abruptly, and, turning round, said, "Now, comrades, we will
+land for a moment, then re-enter the stream and ascend."
+
+The astonishment of Captain Arkal was so great, that he was again on the
+point of asking an explanation, for it seemed to him that wandering down
+the bed of a stream for the mere purpose of turning and wandering up it,
+when haste was urgent, could only be accounted for on the supposition
+that the prince had gone mad.  Remembering his previous rebuff, however,
+he kept silence.
+
+On reaching the swampy part of the bank their leader did not land, but
+held straight on, though the water reached nearly to their armpits.
+They were somewhat cooled, but not disagreeably so, for the night was
+warm.
+
+In course of time they reached the spot where they had first entered the
+stream.  Passing it, without landing, they held on their course for a
+considerable distance, until they came to a place where the stream was
+not more than ankle-deep.  Here Bladud paused a few moments and turned
+to his companions.
+
+"Now, captain," he said, with a smile that may be said to have been
+almost audible though not visible, "do you understand my proceedings?"
+
+"Not quite, though, to say truth, I begin to think you are not just so
+mad as you seemed at first."
+
+"Don't you see," continued the prince, "that when we first came to the
+stream, I entered it so that our footprints on the bank would show
+clearly that we had gone downwards.  This will show our pursuers, when
+they arrive here, that, though we are wise enough to take to the water
+because it leaves no footprints, we are not experienced enough to be
+careful as to concealing the direction we have taken.  When they reach
+the swampy bank and deep water, they will be led to think we did not
+like getting wet, and the effort made to cover our footprints, will make
+them think that we are very ignorant woodsmen.  Then, with much
+confidence, they will continue to follow down stream, looking on the
+banks now and then for our footprints, until they begin to wonder
+whether we intend to make a highroad of the river all the way to the
+sea.  After that they will become perplexed, astonished, suspicious as
+to our stupidity, and will scurry round in all directions, or hold a
+council, and, finally they will try up stream; but it will be too late,
+for by that time we shall be far away on our road towards the setting
+sun."
+
+"Good!" ejaculated Maikar, when this explanation was finished.
+
+"Good!" echoed the captain, with an approving nod.  "You understand your
+business, I see.  Shove out your oars.  We follow."
+
+Without further remark Bladud continued his progress up stream.  It was
+necessarily slow at first, but as night advanced the moon rose, in her
+first quarter, and shed a feeble but sufficient light on their watery
+path.
+
+At last they came to a place where the leader's sharp eye observed signs
+of the presence of man.  Stopping short and listening intently, they
+heard subdued voices not far from the spot where they stood.
+
+"Stay where you are," whispered Bladud.  "Don't move.  I'll return
+immediately."
+
+He entered the bushes cautiously and disappeared.  Standing there
+without moving, and in profound silence, under the dark shadow of an
+overhanging bush, it is no wonder that the captain and his comrade began
+to think the time very long, yet it was only a few minutes after he had
+left them that their guide returned.
+
+"Only a single family," he whispered--"three men, two women, and four
+children.  We have nothing to fear, but we must pass on in silence."
+
+The discovery of those natives obliged them to continue the march up the
+bed of the stream much longer than they had intended, and the night was
+far advanced before they thought it prudent to leave the water and
+pursue the journey on dry land.
+
+Fortunately the country was open and comparatively free from underwood,
+so that they made progress much more rapidly; nevertheless, it was not
+thought safe to take rest until they had placed many a mile between them
+and the natives, who, it was thought probable, would be started in
+pursuit of them by the youth to whom Bladud had given chase.
+
+Much wearied, and almost falling asleep while they advanced, the
+travellers halted at last in a dense thicket, and there, lying down
+without food or fire, they were soon buried in profound repose.
+
+CHAPTER NINE.
+
+HOMECOMING.
+
+It is beyond the scope of this tale to describe minutely all that befell
+our adventurers on their long, fatiguing, and dangerous march through
+ancient Gaul, which land at that time had neither name nor history.
+
+Suffice it to say that, after numerous adventures with savage beasts,
+and scarcely less savage men, and many hair-breadth escapes and
+thrilling incidents by flood and field, they at last found themselves on
+the shores of that narrow channel which separated the northern coast of
+Gaul from the white cliffs of Old Albion.  They were guided thereto, as
+we have said, by the Pole-star, which shone in our sky in those days
+with its wonted brilliancy, though, probably, astronomers had not yet
+given to it a local habitation in their systems or a distinctive name.
+
+Of course their passage through the land had been attended with great
+variety of fortune, good and bad.  In some parts they met with natives
+who received them hospitably and sent them on their way rejoicing.
+Elsewhere they found banditti, fortunately in small bands, with whom
+they had to fight, and once they were seized and imprisoned by a tribe
+of inhospitable savages, from whom they escaped, as it were, by the skin
+of their teeth.
+
+In all these vicissitudes the gigantic frame and the mild, kindly looks
+of Bladud went far to conciliate the uncertain, attract the friendly,
+and alarm the savage, for it is a curious fact, explain it how we may,
+that the union of immense physical power with childlike sweetness of
+countenance, has a wonderful influence in cowing angry spirits.  It may
+be that strong, angry, blustering men are capable only of understanding
+each other.  When they meet with strong men with womanlike tenderness
+they are puzzled, and puzzlement, we think, goes a long way to shake the
+nerves even of the brave.  At all events it is well known that a sudden
+burst of wrath from one whose state of temper is usually serene, exerts
+a surprising and powerful effect on average mankind.
+
+Whatever be the truth as to these things, it is certain that nearly
+every one who looked up at the face of Bladud liked him, and more than
+once when his ponderous sword sprang from its sheath, and his blue eyes
+flashed, and his fair face flushed, and his magnificent teeth went
+together with a snap, he has been known to cause a dozen men to turn and
+flee rather than encounter the shock of his onset.
+
+Little Maikar, who was himself as brave as a lion, nearly lost his life
+on one occasion, because he was so taken up and charmed with the sight
+of one of Bladud's rushes, that he utterly forgot what he was about, and
+would have been crushed by the smite of a savage club, if the captain
+had not promptly turned aside the blow and struck the club-man down.
+
+"At last!" exclaimed the prince, with a gaze of enthusiasm at the
+opposite cliffs, "my native land!  Well do I love it and well do I know
+it, for I have stood on this shore and seen it from this very spot when
+I was quite a boy."
+
+"Indeed!  How was that?" asked Arkal.
+
+"I used to be fond of the sea, and was wont to travel far from my
+father's home to reach it.  I made friends with the fishermen, and used
+to go off with them in their little skiffs.  One day a storm arose
+suddenly, blew us off shore, and, when we were yet a long distance from
+this coast, overturned our skiff.  What became of my companions I know
+not.  Probably they were drowned, for I never more saw them; but I swam
+ashore, where I think I should have died of exhaustion if I had not been
+picked up by an old fisherman of this land, who carried me to his hut
+and took care of me.  With the old man I remained several months, for
+the fishermen on the two sides of the channel had been quarrelling at
+the time, and the old man did not dare to venture across.  I did not
+care much, for I enjoyed playing with his grandson, and soon learned
+their language.  After a time the quarrelling ceased, and the old man
+landed me on my own side."
+
+"That is interesting.  I only wish the old fisherman was here now with
+his skiff, for there is no village in sight and no skiff to be seen, so
+how we are to get over I cannot tell,--swimming being impossible and
+wings out of the question."
+
+"Ay, except in the case of fish and birds," observed Maikar.
+
+"True, and as we are neither fish nor birds," rejoined the captain,
+"what is to be done?"
+
+"We must find a skiff," said the prince.
+
+"Good, but where?"
+
+"On the other side of yon bluff cape," replied Bladud.  "It was there
+that my friend the old fisherman lived.  Mayhap he may live there
+still."
+
+Pushing on along shore they passed the bold cape referred to, and there,
+sure enough, they found the old man's hut, and the old man himself was
+seated on a boulder outside enjoying the sunshine.
+
+Great was his surprise on seeing the three strangers approach, but
+greater was his joy on learning that the biggest of the three was the
+boy whom he had succoured many years before.
+
+After the first greetings were over, Bladud asked if he and his friends
+could be taken across in a skiff.
+
+The old man shook his head.
+
+"All that I possess," he said, "you are welcome to, but my skiff is not
+here, and if it was I am too old to manage it now.  My son, your old
+companion, has had it away these two days, and I don't expect him home
+till to-morrow.  But you can rest in my poor hut till he comes."
+
+As there seemed nothing better to be done, the travellers agreed to
+this.  Next day the son arrived, but was so changed in appearance, that
+Bladud would not have recognised his old playmate had not his father
+called him by name.
+
+The skiff, although primitive and rude in its construction, was
+comparatively large, and a considerable advance on the dug-outs, or
+wooden canoes, and the skin coracles of the period.  It had a square or
+lug-sail, and was steered by a rudder.
+
+"My son is a strange man," remarked the old fisherman, as the party
+sauntered down to the shore, up which the skiff had been dragged.  "He
+invented that skiff as well as made it, and the curious little thing
+behind that steers it."
+
+"Able and strange men seem to work their minds in the same way,"
+returned Bladud; "for the thing is not altogether new.  I have seen
+something very like it in the East; and, to my mind, it is a great
+improvement on the long oar when the boat is driven through the water,
+but it is of no use at all when there is no motion."
+
+"No; neither is it of use when one wishes to sweep round in a hurry,"
+observed the captain, when this was translated to him.  "If it had not
+been for my steering-oar bringing you sharp round when we were attacking
+the pirate, you would hardly have managed to spit the chief as you did,
+strong though you be."
+
+It was found that the new style of skiff was a good sailer, for,
+although the wind was light, her lug-sail carried her over to the coast
+of Albion in about four hours.
+
+"There has been some bad feeling of late between the men from the
+islands and the men of our side--there often is," said the young
+fisherman, who steered.  "I am not sure that it will be safe to land
+here."
+
+"If that be so, hold on close along the shore in the direction of the
+setting sun," returned Bladud, "and land us after nightfall.  I know the
+whole country well, and can easily guide my comrades through the woods
+to my father's town on the great river."
+
+The young fisherman did not reply for a few seconds.  He seemed in doubt
+as to this proposal.
+
+"There has been war lately," he said, "between your father and the
+southern tribes, and it may be dangerous for so small a party to
+traverse the lands of the enemy.  I would gladly go and help you, but
+what could one arm more do to aid you against a host?  Besides, my
+father is dependent on me now for food.  I may not forsake the old one
+who has fed and guarded me since I was a little boy."
+
+"Concern yourself not about that, friend," replied the prince.  "We need
+no help.  During many days we have travelled safely enough through the
+great woods of the interior, and have held our own against all foes."
+
+"Without doubt we are well able to take care of ourselves," remarked the
+captain, "though it is but fair to admit that we have had some trouble
+in doing so."
+
+"Ay, and some starvation, too," added Maikar; "but having come safe over
+the mainland, we are not afraid to face the dangers of the isles, young
+man."
+
+"I said not that you were afraid," rejoined the fisherman, with
+something of dignified reproof in his manner; "but it is not disgraceful
+for brave men to act with caution."
+
+"Well said, my old comrade!" exclaimed Bladud; "and so we shall be
+pleased if you will land us here.  But your speech leads me to
+understand that you have had news of my father's doings lately.  Is the
+old man well?"
+
+"Ay, King Hudibras is well, and as fond of fighting as ever, besides
+being well able for it.  I am not sure that he would be pleased if he
+heard you call him the `old man.'"
+
+"Indeed?  Yet nearly fifty winters have passed over his head, and that
+is somewhat old for a warrior.  And my mother and sister--have you heard
+of them?"
+
+"Excellently well, I believe.  At least, so I have been told by the
+Hebrew merchant who came over sea with one of the Phoenician ships, and
+wanders over the whole land with his pack of golden ornaments--which so
+take the fancy of the women, indeed of the men also.  How the fellow
+escapes being robbed on his journeys is more than I can tell.  It is
+said that he travels by night and sleeps in caves during the day.  Some
+people even think that he is in league with evil spirits.  I doubt that;
+but he told me the other day, when I met him on our side of the channel,
+that your sister is about to be married to a neighbouring chief--I
+forget his name--Gunrig, I think--with whom your father wishes to be on
+friendly terms."
+
+"Married!" exclaimed Bladud, with a troubled look.
+
+"Ay, and it is said she does not like the match."
+
+"Does my mother approve of it?"
+
+"I think not, though the Hebrew did not seem to feel quite sure on that
+point.  But your father seems resolved on it, and you know he is not
+easily turned from his purpose when determined to have his way.  He is
+more difficult to move than a woman in that matter."
+
+"Come, friend," said Bladud gravely, "don't be too free in your remarks
+on my father."
+
+"And don't be too hard on the women-folk," added the captain, with a
+grim smile, "they are not all alike.  At least there is one that I know
+of in the East, whose spirit is like that of the lamb, and her voice
+like the notes of the songbird."
+
+Maikar looked as if he were on the point of adding something to the
+conversation, but his thoughts seemed too deep for utterance, for he
+only sighed.
+
+"Land us in yon creek," said Bladud promptly.  "It seems that I have not
+returned home a moment too soon.  There, under the cliff--so."
+
+The skiff ran alongside of a ledge of rock as he spoke, and next moment
+the prince leaped upon the shores of his native land.
+
+With a brief farewell to his old playmate, he turned, led his companions
+up the neighbouring cliff, and, plunging into the forest, set off at a
+pace which betrayed the urgency of his desire to reach home.
+
+Although they travelled almost night and day, it took them the better
+part of two weeks to reach the river, on the banks of which King
+Hudibras' chief town was built.  They arrived at the eastern bank
+without mishap, and found that people were crowding over from the
+western side to attend some display or fete which was obviously going on
+there.  Mingling with the crowd they went to the river's edge, where
+numerous wooden canoes and coracles were busily engaged in ferrying the
+people over.
+
+Approaching a man, whose apparel betokened him one of the poorer class,
+Bladud addressed him--
+
+"Can you tell me, friend, what is going on here to-day?"
+
+"Truly you must be a stranger if you know not, for every one--far and
+near--has heard of the wedding of our king's pretty daughter."
+
+"Is she, then, married?" asked the prince, scarcely able to conceal his
+anxiety.
+
+"Not yet, but she is to be married to-morrow--if no champion comes to
+claim her."
+
+"How?  What mean you?"
+
+"I mean what I say.  Gunrig, the great chief whom she is to wed, is a
+proud and a stout man.  Many chiefs have been courting the fair
+princess, and, in his pride of heart and strength, Gunrig has challenged
+any one to fight him in single combat, promising that the bride shall be
+given to the conqueror."
+
+"And does my--does the king agree to such a base proposal?"
+
+"Well, he objected to it at first, but Gunrig is such a dangerous enemy,
+and his tribe so powerful, that the king has given in at last.  Besides,
+he knows that the chief is so strong and big, and so well able to use
+his weapons, that none of the other chiefs are likely to venture a trial
+with him, or, if they do, they are sure to get the worst of it."
+
+"You don't seem to like this Gunrig, I think."
+
+"No.  I hate him.  Everybody hates him; he is such a proud brute, but
+what can _we_ do? when the king commands, all must obey.  If I was as
+big and stout as you are," added the man with a steady gaze at the
+prince, "I'd go at this fellow and win the fair princess myself."
+
+"Perchance I may have a try," returned Bladud with a light laugh.  "Does
+the princess hate him? and the queen?"
+
+"Ay, worse than poison."
+
+"Come, let us go and see the sport," said the prince to his companions,
+as he hurried away from the river.  "You know our language well enough,
+I think, captain, to understand what has been said?"
+
+"Ay, the most of it; and there is no doubt you are much wanted at this
+feast."
+
+In a few minutes our travellers arrived at the suburbs of the little
+town, which was embosomed among trees and green fields.
+
+As hundreds of people had come in from all the country round, and some
+of them were Phoenician mariners from ships then in port, our three
+adventurers might not have attracted much attention, had it not been for
+the towering height, stalwart frame, and noble bearing of Bladud.  As it
+was, people commented on them, bestowing looks of admiration
+particularly on the prince, but they did not address or molest them in
+any way--supposing, of course, that they had come from a distance to see
+the show; though many wondered that such a strapping fellow as the tall
+one could have come to the land without having been heard of.
+
+"Perhaps he has only just arrived in one of the ships," was the
+sagacious remark of one.
+
+"But the ships have been here a long time, and we have seen all their
+crews," was the comment of another.
+
+On arriving at the scene of festivities, they found that an immense
+assemblage encircled the arena, in which a number of young men were
+competing in athletic sports.  The captain and Maikar gently elbowed
+their way to the front, where they could see what was going on.
+
+"I will remain in the back row where I can see well enough," said
+Bladud.  "Keep a look-out for me when you feel lost.  I don't mean to
+make myself known just yet."
+
+CHAPTER TEN.
+
+THE SPORTS.
+
+At the further end of the ground enclosed for the sports, a slightly
+raised platform had been prepared for the king and his household.  The
+royal party ascended it soon after the travellers arrived, but the
+distance was too great to permit of faces being distinguished.  Bladud
+could easily perceive, however, the tall form of his father, and the
+graceful figure of his mother, as they took their places, closely
+followed by the chief warriors.  These, however, did not bring their
+women--that privilege being reserved for the household of the king only.
+Close behind the king and queen walked the young Princess Hafrydda.
+She was not only graceful, but beautiful, being very fair like her
+mother, with light-blue eyes like those of her brother Bladud; she had
+peach-bloom cheeks, and a brow of snow, save where her cap failed to
+protect it from the sun.
+
+After the princess, and shrinking behind her as if to escape the gaze of
+the courtiers, or rather warriors, who crowded the platform, came a girl
+of about nineteen summers, the companion of Hafrydda.  Branwen was a
+complete contrast to her friend in complexion.  She was the daughter of
+a famous northern chief, and was quite as beautiful as the princess,
+while her jet-black eyes and curly brown hair gave more of force and
+character to features which were delicately moulded.
+
+There was reason for poor Branwen's desire to escape observation, for
+the proud Gunrig was paying her attentions which were far too pointed
+and familiar in one who was about to marry the king's daughter.  Indeed,
+it was whispered that he had changed his mind since he had seen Branwen,
+and would have even resigned the princess in her favour, if he had dared
+to offer such an affront to the king.
+
+Hudibras himself was the last to ascend the platform.  He was a
+fine-looking, portly man, with a great shock of black hair, a long
+beard, and limbs so well proportioned that he did not seem taller than
+other men until he stood beside them.  He was a worthy sire of such a
+son as Bladud, though three inches shorter.
+
+There was a sort of barbaric splendour in the costumes of both men and
+women, combined with some degree of graceful simplicity.  The king was
+clothed in a softly-dressed deer-skin jacket, over which he wore a
+wolf-skin with the hair outside.  A tunic of purple cotton, brought by
+Phoenician ships from the far East, covered him as far down as the
+knees, which were bare, while his lower limbs were swathed in strips of
+scarlet cloth.  Leather sandals, resembling those made by Bladud while
+in Gaul, protected his feet.  No crown or other token of royalty rested
+on his brow, but over his dark and grizzled locks he wore a species of
+leather skull-cap which, being exceeding tough, served the purpose of a
+helmet.  On his breast was a profusion of ornaments in the form of beads
+and bosses of gold and tin, the former of which had been brought from
+the East, the latter from the mines of his native land.  A bronze sword
+with an ivory sheath, inlaid with gold, hung at his left side, and a
+knife of the same material at his right.  Altogether King Hudibras,
+being broad and strong in proportion to his height, presented a very
+regal appearance indeed, and bore himself with becoming dignity.  He had
+married the daughter of a Norse Jarl; and his two children, Bladud and
+Hafrydda, had taken after their gentle mother in complexion and
+disposition, though they were not altogether destitute of a sub-current
+of their father's passionate nature.
+
+The nobles, or rather warriors--for ability to fight constituted
+nobility in those days--were clothed in garments which, with sundry
+modifications, resembled those of the king.  As for the women of the
+court, their costumes were what may be styled flowing, and therefore
+graceful, though difficult to describe.  Like their lords, they were
+profusely ornamented with precious metals and bands and loops of
+coloured cloth.  Hafrydda and her companion Branwen allowed their hair
+to fall, after the manner of the times, in unrestrained freedom over
+their shoulders--that of the former resembling a cataract of rippling
+gold, while that of the latter was a wavy mass of auburn.  Both girls
+wore wild flowers among their tresses.  Of course the queen had rolled
+up her slightly grey hair in the simple knot at the back of the head,
+which is more becoming to age, and she wore no ornament of any kind on
+her head.
+
+Public games are pretty much the same in all lands, and have probably
+been similar in all times.  We shall not weary the reader by describing
+minutely all that went on.  There was racing, of course, and jumping
+both with and without a run, as well as over a willow-wand held high.
+There was also throwing the heavy stone, but the method pursued in this
+feat was not in accordance with modern practice, inasmuch as the
+competitor turned his back to the direction in which the stone was to be
+thrown, heeled instead of toed the line, seized the stone with both
+hands and hurled it backwards over his head.
+
+As the games proceeded it was evident that the concourse became much
+excited and deeply interested in the efforts of the various
+competitors--the king and his court not less so than the people.
+
+After the conclusion of one of the races, Captain Arkal left the front
+row, and pushing his way towards Bladud, whispered--
+
+"It seems to me that you could easily beat the winner of that race,
+smart though he be.  What say you?  Will you try?"
+
+"I fear being discovered by my father if I go so prominently before him,
+and I wish to announce myself in private."
+
+"Pooh! discovery is impossible!  Have you not told me that you were a
+smooth-chinned boy, and not grown to near your present height when you
+left home?  How can they ever recognise one who returns a sunburnt
+giant, with a beard that covers half his face?"
+
+"Perhaps you are right," returned the prince, looking as if uncertain
+how to act; but the advice of little Maikar corresponding with that of
+the captain decided him.
+
+In those primitive times the rules and ceremonies connected with games
+were few and simple.  "Entries" were not arranged beforehand; men came
+and went, and competed or refrained, as they pleased, though, of course,
+there were a few well-known greyhound-like men and athletes who competed
+more or less in all games of the various districts around, and whose
+superlative powers prevented other ambitious men from becoming too
+numerous.  These were, we may say, the "professionals" of the time.
+
+No special costumes were worn.  Each man, as he stepped to the front,
+divested himself of wolf-skin, deer-skin, boar-skin, or cat-skin mantle,
+and, perchance, also of his upper coat, and stood forth in attire
+sufficiently light and simple to leave his limbs unhampered.
+
+A long race--ten times round the course--was about to come off, and the
+men were being placed by the judges, when Bladud pushed through the
+crowd and made his way to the starting-point.  There was a murmur of
+admiration as his tall and graceful figure was seen to join the group of
+competitors in front of the royal stand.  He gave the Greek letter
+Omicron as his name, and no further questions were asked him.  Divesting
+himself of the rug or mantle, which he wore thrown over one shoulder
+after the manner of a plaid, he stood forth in the thin loose tunic
+which formed his only garment, and tightened his belt as he toed the
+line.
+
+It was with a feeling of satisfaction that he observed several of the
+king's warriors among the runners, and one of these was Gunrig.  Being
+an agile as well as a stout man, he did not consider it beneath his
+dignity to join in the sports.
+
+The king himself gave the signal to start.  He descended from his stand
+for the purpose, and Bladud was greatly pleased to find that though he
+looked at him he evidently failed to recognise him.
+
+At the signal, about twenty powerful fellows--mostly young, though some
+were in the prime of life--started out at full speed for a short
+distance, as if to test each other; then they began to slow, so as not
+to break their wind by over-exertion at the beginning.  Bladud felt at
+once that he was more than a match for the best of them, unless any one
+should turn out to have been concealing his powers.  He therefore placed
+himself alongside of Gunrig, and kept at his elbow about half a foot
+behind him the first two rounds of the course.
+
+At first Gunrig took no notice of this, but when he perceived that the
+tall stranger continued to keep the same position, he held back a
+little, intending to reverse the position for a time.  But Bladud also
+held back and frustrated his intention.  Exasperated by this, Gunrig put
+on what we in these times call a "spurt," and went ahead at a pace
+which, in a few seconds, left most of the runners a good way behind.
+This was received by the spectators with a cheer, in which surprise was
+fully as prominent as satisfaction, for although they knew that the
+chief was celebrated for his speed of foot, few of them had actually
+seen him run before that day, and it at once became evident that if his
+endurance was equal to his speed, it would go hard with his competitors.
+
+Bladud was left behind a few yards, but, without making a spurt, he
+lengthened his stride a little, and in a moment or two had resumed his
+former position at his rival's elbow.
+
+A wild cheer of delight ensued, for now it was recognised that in all
+probability the race would lie between these two.  As, however, all this
+occurred in the third round of the course, and all the other runners
+seemed to be doing their work with steady resolution, there was still
+the possibility of one or more of them proving themselves, by endurance
+perhaps, more than a match for the swift-footed.  The excitement,
+therefore, became intense, and, as round after round of the course was
+completed the relative position of the various men changed considerably.
+
+At the seventh round some, who had been husbanding their strength, let
+out, and, passing others with great ease, came close upon the heels of
+Gunrig and Bladud.  This was, of course, a signal for enthusiastic
+cheering.  Others of the runners, feeling that their chance of taking a
+respectable place was hopeless, dropped out of the race altogether and
+were cheered vociferously as they retired.
+
+At last, in the eighth round, it became practically, as had been
+anticipated, a race between the leading two, for they were far ahead of
+all the others by that time, but occupied exactly the same relative
+position as before.  Gunrig became so exasperated at this, that on
+commencing the ninth round, he made a sudden effort which carried him
+five or six yards ahead of his rival.
+
+The spectators could not avoid cheering him at this, but the cheer was
+feeble.
+
+"The tall man is losing wind," cried one in a disappointed tone.
+
+"I feared his legs were too long," observed another.  Most of the
+people, however, looked on in anxious silence.
+
+"I did not think he would give in so easily," murmured little Maikar
+regretfully.
+
+"He has not given in yet," returned the captain, with a satisfied nod.
+"See--he pulls up!"
+
+This was true.  To the unbounded surprise of the spectators, Bladud had
+actually stopped a moment to tighten his belt at the beginning of the
+tenth round.  Then, to their still greater amazement, he put on what we
+may call an Olympic spurt, so that he overtook his rival in less than a
+quarter of a minute; passed him easily, ran over the rest of the course
+at a rate which had not been equalled since Old Albion was created, and
+passed the winning-post full five hundred yards in advance of Gunrig,
+amid yells of delight and roars of laughter, which continued for some
+time--bursting forth again and again as the novelty and surprise of the
+thing became more and more forced home to the spectators' minds.
+
+"You have met more than your match to-day, Gunrig," remarked the king,
+with a laugh, as the defeated man strode angrily up to the platform.
+
+"I have met foul play," replied the chief angrily.  "He pretended that
+he could not run, else would I have put on more force.  But it matters
+not.  I will have another opportunity of trying him.  Meanwhile, there
+is yet the heavy stone to throw.  How now, wench?" he added, turning
+fiercely on Branwen, who had nearly hidden her face in her shawl, "do
+you try to hide that you are laughing at me?"
+
+Poor Branwen was in anything but a laughing mood.  She was too much
+afraid of the fiery chief for that, and had merely covered her face, as
+a modern beauty might drop her veil, to avoid his gaze.
+
+The fair-haired Hafrydda, however, was not so timid, her smile was
+evidently one of amusement at his defeat, which angered him all the
+more.
+
+"Gunrig," said the king, drawing himself up, and speaking impressively,
+"remember that you are my guest, and that it ill becomes you to insult
+my women before my face."
+
+"Pardon me," replied the chief, with an effort to recover himself.  "You
+must remember that I am not accustomed to defeat."
+
+"True," returned the king blandly, "so now you had better take to the
+heavy stone and come off the victor."
+
+Gunrig at once went down into the arena and sent a challenge to Bladud.
+
+The latter had returned to his place among the spectators, but his
+height rendered him easy to find.  He accepted the challenge at once,
+and, as no other competitor for the heavy stone offered, the two had it
+all to themselves.  This was no matter of wonder, for the heaviest stone
+among those laid out for trial was of a weight that many of the young
+men or warriors could barely lift, while the stoutest of them could not
+have thrown it more than a few feet.
+
+Boiling over as he was with indignation, Gunrig felt as if he was endued
+with more than usual strength.  He lifted the stone with ease, faced the
+platform, heeled the line, and hurled the stone violently over his head,
+so that it fell with a heavy thud far behind him.  Then Bladud took it
+up.
+
+"Oh! what a stout man he is!" whispered Branwen to Hafrydda, "and what a
+handsome face!"
+
+"That is true; and I hope he will win," replied the princess.
+
+"Hush! child, the king will be displeased if he hears you," said her
+mother earnestly.  "What ever you think, keep silence."
+
+The queen spoke with such unwonted energy that Hafrydda was surprised,
+but her thoughts were instantly diverted to Bladud, who made a
+magnificent cast and sent the stone a yard further than his opponent.
+But Gunrig seized it again and hurled it a foot beyond that.
+
+"Well done," said the king.  "Go on.  It is the best in three heaves
+that wins."
+
+Bladud grasped the stone and hurled it back over his head with all his
+force.  Up and up it went as if it had resolved to become an aerolite
+and visit the moon!  Then down it came with a mighty thud ten yards
+beyond Gunrig's mark.
+
+Once more the air rang with the enthusiastic plaudits of the multitude,
+while the king ordered the victor to approach the stand.
+
+Bladud did so with some trepidation, for now he knew that he would have
+to speak, and feared that though his appearance had not betrayed him,
+his voice would probably do so.
+
+CHAPTER ELEVEN.
+
+A NOTABLE DUEL FOLLOWED BY CHANGES AND PLOTS.
+
+Every eye was riveted with admiration and curiosity on the young
+stranger as he approached.
+
+"You have acquitted yourself well, young man," said the king, "and it
+becomes us to invite you to our palace and to ask if we can serve you in
+any way."
+
+Bladud had a deep voice, and, by way of increasing his chances of
+concealing his identity, he pitched it a note or two lower than usual as
+he replied.
+
+"I thank you, sir, for your hospitality and gladly accept it.  As to
+your offer to serve me, I would count it a favour if you will permit me
+to enter into combat with one of your friends."
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed the king, in great surprise, "that is a strange
+request, but I may not deny you.  Which of my warriors may it be?"
+
+"It is none of your warriors, sir," answered Bladud, "but one of your
+guests who has, I am told, challenged whoever will to fight him for the
+hand of your fair daughter.  I am here now to accept that challenge and
+to fight with Gunrig if he will."
+
+"Assuredly, young man, your ambition or presumption seems equal to your
+prowess," returned the king with an offended look; "know ye not that
+this challenge was delivered to chiefs of this country, not to unknown
+strangers, and although I admit that your tongue seems well accustomed
+to our language, it has a foreign smack about it which does not belong
+to those who are home-bred."
+
+"I am a chief," answered Bladud, proudly, "and this is my native land."
+
+"What is your name, then, and where come ye from?" demanded the king.
+
+"That I may not answer just now, but I am here, in your power, if what I
+say be not found true, you may do what you will with me.  Meanwhile I
+ask permission to accept the challenge."
+
+At this point Gunrig, unable to restrain himself longer, sprang forward.
+
+"Grant him permission, king," he cried.  "If I were not ready to abide
+by my word I were not worth my salt.  Nay, indeed, whether you grant him
+permission or not I will fight him, for he has twice beaten me this day,
+and now insults me, therefore there is a deadly feud between us."
+
+"You were always a hot-head, Gunrig," replied the king, with a grim
+smile.  "But have your way.  Only it does not follow that if you lose
+the day I will give my child to the conqueror."
+
+"Be that as you choose," said Gunrig, "I am now ready."
+
+As he spoke the fiery chief grasped his shield, leaped down into the
+arena and drew his sword.
+
+Bladud was not slow to follow.  In those days action usually followed
+close on the heels of purpose, and as the laws of chivalry had not yet
+been formulated there was no braying of trumpets or tedious ceremonial
+to delay the combat.
+
+"Oh!  I do hope he will conquer," whispered the Princess Hafrydda to her
+dark-eyed companion, "and save me from that horrid man."
+
+"I hope so too," returned Branwen, in a subdued voice, "but--"
+
+She stopped abruptly, and a blush deepened the rich colour of her cheek,
+which she sought to conceal by drawing her shawl still closer over it.
+This was needless, for the clash of swords at the moment, as the
+combatants met in deadly conflict, claimed the exclusive attention of
+the damsels, and caused the entire concourse to press close around the
+barricades with eager interest.
+
+"A strange way to mark his home-coming," muttered Captain Arkal,
+thrusting himself as near to the scene of action as possible, closely
+followed by Maikar, who, being little, kept easily in his wake.
+
+"He knows well what he's about," returned the little man, whose
+admiration for Bladud was great, and his belief in him unbounded.
+
+Maikar was one of those men--of whom there are no doubt thousands--who
+powerfully appreciate, almost venerate, and always recognise, the spirit
+of justice when displayed by their fellows, although they may not always
+be aware of the fact that they do recognise it--hence his belief in the
+prince.
+
+"A good day for the land if that long-legged fellow slays him," remarked
+one of the crowd.
+
+"That's true," said another.
+
+Indeed, this seemed to be the opinion of most of the spectators; there
+was also a general expression of confidence that the stranger was sure
+to be victorious, but some objectors--of whom there are, and necessarily
+must be a considerable number in the world--held that Gunrig was a stout
+man to tackle, and it was not always length of limb that gained the day.
+
+Such comments, however, were not numerous, for the concourse soon became
+too deeply absorbed to indulge in speech.
+
+The fight that now ensued gave some weight to the objectors' views.
+
+At first the combatants rushed at each other with the ferocity of men
+who mean to settle a dispute by instant and mutual destruction, and
+there was a sort of gasp of excited surprise among the people as the two
+swords fell at the same moment with something like a thunderclap on the
+respective shields.  Feeling that neither could overcome the other by
+the might of a resistless blow, each, after one or two rapid cuts,
+thrusts, and guards, ascertained that his adversary was so nearly his
+match as to render great care needful.  They retired a few paces, and
+then advancing, settled down to their work, point to point and foot to
+foot.
+
+Gunrig, although inferior in stature to the prince, was about equal to
+him in strength and weight, and, being a trained warrior in the prime of
+life, was possessed of a sturdy endurance which, to some extent, made up
+for the other's superior agility.  In other respects they seemed well
+matched, for each was highly trained and expert in the use of his
+weapons.
+
+After a second onset, somewhat similar to the first, and with much the
+same result, the two went at each other with cut and thrust so rapidly
+that it was almost impossible to distinguish their swords as they
+flashed like gleaming flames in the sunshine.
+
+Suddenly Gunrig drew back, and, springing at the prince with uplifted
+weapon, as if to cut him down, changed the attack into a quick thrust
+which, passing under the youth's uplifted shield, went straight to his
+breast.  But the quick eye of Bladud detected the intention in time.
+Leaping lightly backward, he caused the thrust to come short; at the
+same time he returned with a quick thrust at the chief's right shoulder
+which took effect slightly.  Giving him no time to recover, he made a
+sweeping cut at Gunrig's neck, which, had it fallen, would have shorn
+his head from his shoulders, but the chief, instead of guarding it,
+suddenly stooped, and, as the sword passed whistling above him, returned
+with a thrust so fierce that it pierced right through the thick shield
+opposed to it.
+
+Here was an opportunity of which Bladud was not slow to avail himself.
+Although the arm which held it was slightly wounded, he gave the shield
+a violent and sudden twist, which not only held the weapon fast but
+nearly wrenched it out of the chief's hand.  An ordinary sword would
+have been snapped, but Gunrig's weapon was a big bronze one that had
+done service in many a fray, and its owner's hand was strong.  He held
+it fast, but before he could withdraw it and recover himself Bladud cut
+him fair over the head.  Whether it was accident or design no one could
+tell, but the flat instead of the edge of his sword descended on the
+headpiece, and the blow which should otherwise have cleft his adversary
+to the chin only stretched him insensible on the field.
+
+A great sigh of relief, mingled with wild cheers of satisfaction,
+greeted this effective termination of the fight, and the king was
+evidently not ill-pleased.
+
+"Pick him up, some of you," he said, pointing to the prostrate Gunrig,
+"and carry him to the palace.  See that he is well cared for.  Go,
+Branwen, and see that everything is properly done for him."
+
+Branwen at once left the stand, and the king, descending into the arena,
+proceeded to congratulate the victor.
+
+Before he could do so, however, to his unbounded surprise, the queen
+also descended with her daughter and threw her arms round the prince's
+neck, while Hafrydda seized his hand and covered it with kisses.
+
+"Body of me! am I dreaming?" cried the king, after a few moments of
+speechless amazement.
+
+"Oh!  Bladud," exclaimed the queen, looking up in his smiling face, "did
+you really think you could deceive your own mother?  Fie, fie, I would
+have recognised you if you had come with your face painted black."
+
+By this time the king had recovered, and realised the fact that his
+long-lost son had returned home.  He strode towards him, and, grasping
+his hand, essayed to speak, but something in his throat rendered speech
+impossible.  King Hudibras was a stern man, however, and scorned to show
+womanly weakness before his people.  He turned suddenly round, kicked a
+few courtiers out of his way, remounted the platform, and, in a loud
+voice, announced the conclusion of the sports.
+
+Great was the rejoicing among the people assembled there, when the news
+spread that the long-lost Prince Bladud had returned home, and that the
+tall youth who had defeated Gunrig was he, and they cheered him with
+even more zest and energy than they had at the moment of his victory.
+
+Meanwhile Gunrig, having been conveyed to the residence of the king, was
+laid on a couch.  The palace was, we need scarcely say, very unlike our
+modern palaces, being merely a large hut or rude shanty of logs,
+surrounded by hundreds of similar but smaller huts, which composed this
+primitive town.  The couch on which the chief lay was composed of
+brushwood and leaves.  But Gunrig did not lie long upon it.  He was a
+tough man, as well as a stout, and he had almost recovered consciousness
+when the princess, returning from the games, arrived to assist her
+friend in attending to the king's commands.
+
+She found Branwen about to enter the chamber, in which the chief lay,
+with a bandage.
+
+"Hast heard the news?" she asked, with a gladsome smile.
+
+"Not I," replied Branwen, in a rather sharp tone.
+
+"Whatever it is, it seems to have made you happy."
+
+"Truly it has.  But let us go in with the bandages first.  The news is
+too good to be told in a hurry."
+
+The sound of their voices as they entered aroused Gunrig completely, and
+he rose up as they approached.
+
+"My father sent us," said the princess in some confusion, "to see that
+you are well cared for.  Your wounds, I hope, are not dangerous?"
+
+"Dangerous, no; and they will not prevent me from speedily avenging
+myself on the young upstart who has appeared so suddenly to claim you
+for a bride.  Stay, you need not go so quickly, or toss your head in
+pride.  I will stand by my word, and let him keep who wins.  But I have
+a word to say to you, Branwen.  Come along with me."
+
+Wooers among the ancient Albionites were not, it would seem, celebrated
+for politeness--some of them, at least!  The chief seized the shrinking
+girl by the wrist as he spoke, and led her out of the house and into a
+neighbouring thicket, where he bade her sit down on a fallen tree.
+
+"Now," he said, sitting down beside her, and putting his arm round her
+waist, despite her objections, "this young turkey-cock has fairly won
+Hafrydda, and he is welcome to her for all that I care--that is, if he
+lives to claim her hand after our next meeting, for, since I've seen
+your pretty face, Branwen, I would rather wed you than the fairest lass
+that ever owned to Norland blood.  What say you to take the princess's
+place and become my wife?"
+
+"Oh! no, no," exclaimed Branwen, in great distress, trying to disengage
+his arm, "you love Hafrydda, and it is impossible that you can love us
+both!  Let me go."
+
+"I'm not so sure that I ever really cared for the princess," replied the
+chief; "but of this I am quite sure, that I never loved her half as much
+as I love you, Branwen."
+
+The girl tore herself away from him, and, standing up with flushed face
+and flashing eyes, exclaimed--
+
+"Shame would crush you, if you were a brave man, for uttering such a
+speech.  But you are _not_ brave; you are a coward, and your late
+opponent will teach you that.  Be sure that I will never consent to wed
+one who is a disgrace to manhood."
+
+A fierce scowl crossed Gunrig's swarthy countenance, but it passed in a
+moment, and a look of admiration replaced it as he looked up with a
+smile.
+
+"I like maids with your temper," he said, still keeping his seat, "but
+you forget that if the king so wills it, you shall be compelled to
+accept me, and I think the king will scarce dare to thwart my wishes,
+especially now that another man has a right to the princess."
+
+"I defy you," returned the girl, still at a white heat of indignation,
+"and if the king tries to force me to wed you, I will defy him too!  The
+young stranger will be my champion--or, if he should refuse, there are
+other ways by which a helpless girl may escape from tyrants."
+
+She turned with these words and fled.  Gunrig sprang up to pursue, but,
+fortunately for the girl, a modest bramble, that scarce ventured to
+raise its branches above the ground, caught his foot and sent him
+headlong into a rotten stump, which seemed only too ready to receive
+him.  Extracting his head from its embrace, he stood up in a bewildered
+frame of mind, found that the light-footed Branwen had escaped him, and
+sat down again on the fallen tree to recover his equanimity.
+
+Meanwhile the poor girl ran back to the palace, rushed into Hafrydda's
+room, threw herself on a couch, and burst into tears.
+
+This was such an unwonted exhibition of weakness in Branwen that the
+princess stood looking at her for a few moments in silent surprise.
+Then she sought to comfort her, and made her relate, bit by bit, with
+many a sob between, what had occurred.
+
+"But why do you cry so bitterly?" asked Hafrydda.  "It is so unlike you
+to give way to despair.  Besides, you defied him, you say, and you were
+right to do so, for my dear father will never force you to wed against
+your wishes."
+
+"I know better," returned the other, with some bitterness.  "Did he not
+intend to make _you_ wed against your wishes?"
+
+"That is true," replied the gentle Hafrydda, with a sigh.  "But I am
+saved from that now," she added, brightening up suddenly, "and that
+reminds me of the good news.  Do you know who the handsome youth is who
+rescued me from this monster?"
+
+"No, I don't; and I'm sure I don't care," answered Branwen, with a touch
+of petulance.  "At all events, I suppose you will be glad of the change
+of husbands."
+
+"He will never be my husband," returned the princess, somewhat amused by
+her friend's tone, for she suspected the cause.  "He is my brother
+Bladud--my long-lost brother!"
+
+The change that came over Branwen's pretty face on hearing this was
+remarkable.
+
+"Your brother!" she exclaimed.  "No wonder that he is beautiful, as well
+as brave!"
+
+A merry laugh broke from the princess as she kissed her friend.  "Well,
+but," she said, "what will you do?  You know that always, when I have
+been perplexed or in trouble, I have come to you for help and advice.
+Now that things are turned the other way, I know not what advice to give
+you."
+
+"I have settled what to do," answered Branwen, drying her eyes, and
+looking up with the air of one whose mind has been suddenly and firmly
+made up.  "Your father, I know, will consent to Gunrig's wishes.  If he
+did not, there would be war again--horrible war--between the tribes.  I
+will never be the cause of that if I can help it.  At the same time, it
+would kill me to wed with Gunrig.  I would rather die than that;
+therefore--I will run away."
+
+"And leave me?" exclaimed the princess anxiously.
+
+"Well, I should have to leave you, at any rate, if I stay and am
+compelled to marry Gunrig."
+
+"But where will you run to?"
+
+"That I will not tell, lest you should be tempted to tell lies to your
+father.  Just be content to know that I shall not be far away, and that
+in good time you shall hear from me.  Farewell, dear Hafrydda, I dare
+not stay, for that--that monster will not be long in hatching and
+carrying out some vile plot--farewell."
+
+CHAPTER TWELVE.
+
+PLOTS AND PLANS.
+
+About three miles beyond the outskirts of King Hudibras' town--the name
+of which has now, like many other things, been lost in the proverbial
+mists of antiquity--an old man dwelt in a sequestered part of the
+forest.  His residence was a dry cave at the foot of a cliff, or,
+rather, a rude hut which, resting against the cliff, absorbed the cave,
+so to speak, into its rear premises.
+
+The old man had a somewhat aquiline nose, a long white beard, and a
+grave, but kindly, expression of countenance.  He was one of the sons of
+Israel--at that time _not_ a despised race.  Although aged he was
+neither bowed nor weak, but bore himself with the uprightness and vigour
+of a man in his prime.  When at home, this man seemed to occupy his time
+chiefly in gathering firewood, cooking food, sleeping, and reading in a
+small roll of Egyptian papyrus which he carried constantly in his bosom.
+
+He was well known, far and near, as Beniah the merchant, who trafficked
+with the Phoenician shipmen; was a sort of go-between with them and the
+surrounding tribes, and carried his wares from place to place far and
+wide through the land.  He was possessed of a wonderful amount of
+curious knowledge, and, although he spoke little, he contrived in the
+little he said to make a favourable impression on men and women.  Being
+obliging as well as kind, and also exceedingly useful, people not only
+respected Beniah, but treated him as a sort of semi-sacred being who was
+not to be interfered with in any way.  Even robbers--of whom there were
+not a few in those days--respected the Hebrew's property; passed by his
+hut with looks of solemnity, if not of awe, and allowed him to come and
+go unchallenged.
+
+Most people liked Beniah.  A few feared him, and a still smaller
+number--cynics, who have existed since the days of Adam--held him to be
+in league with evil spirits.  He was a tall, stalwart man, and carried a
+staff of oak about six feet long, as a support during his travels.  It
+had somehow come to be understood that, although Beniah was
+pre-eminently a man of peace, it was nevertheless advisable to treat him
+with civility or to keep well out of the range of that oaken staff.
+Possibly this opinion may have been founded on the fact that, on one
+occasion, three big runaway Phoenician seamen, who thought they would
+prefer a life in the woods to a life on the ocean wave, had one evening
+been directed to Beniah's hut as a place where strangers were never
+refused hospitality when they asked it with civility.  As those three
+seamen made their appearance in the town that same evening, in a very
+sulky state of mind, with three broken heads, it was conjectured that
+they had omitted the civility--either on purpose or by accident.  Be
+this as it may, Beniah and his six-foot staff had become objects of
+profound respect.
+
+Evening was drawing on and Beniah was sitting on a stool beside his open
+door, enjoying the sunshine that penetrated his umbrageous retreat, and
+reading the papyrus scroll already referred to, when the figure of a
+woman approached him with timid, hesitating steps.  At first the Hebrew
+did not observe her, but, as she drew nearer, the crackling of branches
+under her light footsteps aroused him.  He looked up quickly, and the
+woman, running forward, stood before him with clasped hands.
+
+"Oh! sir," she exclaimed, "have pity on me!  I come to claim your
+protection."
+
+"Such protection as you need and I can give you shall have, my daughter;
+but it is a strange request to make of such a man, in such a place, and
+at such a time.  Moreover, your voice is not quite strange to me," added
+the old man with a perplexed look.  "Surely I have heard it before?"
+
+"Ay, Beniah, you know my voice and have seen my face," said the woman,
+suddenly removing her shawl and revealing to the astonished eyes of the
+old man the pretty head and face of Branwen with her wealth of curling
+auburn hair.
+
+"Child," exclaimed the Hebrew, rising and letting fall his roll, while
+he took her hand in both of his, "what folly have you been guilty of,
+for surely nothing but folly could move you thus to forsake the house of
+your friends?"
+
+"Ay, father, you say truth," returned the girl, her courage returning as
+she noted the kindly tone of the old man's voice.  "Folly is indeed the
+cause of it, but it is the folly of man, not of women."
+
+Branwen then gave him a detailed account of the duel between Bladud and
+Gunrig, as well as of the subsequent proceedings of the latter, with
+regard to herself.
+
+The face of the old man elongated as she proceeded with her narration,
+and as it was long by nature--the face, not the narration--its
+appearance when she had concluded was solemnising in the extreme.
+
+"Assuredly you are right, my child, for it is amazing folly in such a
+man as Gunrig to suppose he is a fitting mate for you,--though it is no
+folly in him to wish to get you for a wife,--and it is no folly in you
+to flee from such an undesirable union.  But how to help you in this
+matter is more difficult to conceive than anything that has puzzled my
+brain since the day I left Tyre."
+
+"Can you not conceal me here till we have time to think what is best to
+be done?" asked Branwen simply, "for I will die rather than wed this--
+this monster Gunrig!"
+
+The Hebrew smiled pitifully, for he saw in the maiden's face and bearing
+evidence of a brave, resolute spirit, which would not condescend to
+boasting, and had no thought of using exaggerated language.
+
+"Truly I will conceal you--for a time.  But I cannot leave you here
+alone when I go on my wanderings.  Besides, the king will send out his
+hunters all over the land--men who are trained to note the slightest
+track of bear, deer, and wolf, and they will find it easy work to
+discover your little footprints.  No doubt, near the town, and even here
+where many wanderers come and go, they will fail to pick up the trail,
+but if you venture into the lonely woods the footmarks will certainly
+betray you, and if I go with you, my doom will be fixed, for my big
+sandal is as well known to the king's hunters as the big nose on my
+face, or the white beard on my chin."
+
+Poor Branwen became, and looked, very miserable on hearing this, for the
+idea of hunters and footprints had not once occurred to her.
+
+"Oh what, then, is to be done?" she asked with a helpless yet eager
+look.
+
+For some time the old man sat in silence, with closed eyes as if in
+meditation.  Then he said, with a sad smile, that he supposed there was
+nothing for it but to reveal one of his secrets to her.
+
+"I have not many secrets, Branwen," he said, "but the one which I am
+about to reveal to you is important.  To make it known would be the ruin
+of me.  Yet I feel that I may trust you, for surely you are a good
+girl."
+
+"No, I'm _not_," cried Branwen, with a look of firmness, yet of
+transparent honesty, that amused her companion greatly; "at least," she
+continued in a quieter tone, "I don't _feel_ good, and the queen often
+tells me that I am _very_ naughty, though I sometimes think she doesn't
+mean it.  But when I think of that--that monster and his insult to my
+dear Hafrydda, and his impudence in wanting me.  Oh!  I could tear him
+limb from limb, and put the bits in the fire so that they could never
+come together again!"
+
+"My dear child," returned Beniah remonstratively, while she paused with
+flashing eyes and parted lips, as though she had not yet given vent to
+half her wrath, "whatever other folk may say or think of you, you are
+good enough in my esteem, but it is wrong to give way thus to wrath.
+Come, I will reveal my little secret, and it behoves us to be quick, for
+they will soon miss you and send the hunters on your track."
+
+As he spoke the Hebrew led the refugee through his hut and into the cave
+beyond, the darkness at the further end of which was so great, that it
+would have been impossible to see but for a stone lamp which stood in a
+recess in the wall.  This revealed the fact that the place was used as a
+kitchen.
+
+"That is my chimney," said Beniah, taking up the lamp and holding it so
+that a large natural hole or crack could be seen overhead, it formed an
+outlet to the forest above--though the opening was beyond the reach of
+vision.  The same crack extended below in the form of a yawning chasm,
+five or six feet wide.  There seemed to be nothing on the other side of
+this chasm except the wall of the cliffs; but on closer inspection, a
+narrow ledge was seen with a small recess beyond.  Across the chasm lay
+a plank which rested on the ledge.
+
+"This is my secret--at least part of it," said the Hebrew, pointing to
+the plank which bridged the chasm.  "Give me your hand; we must cross
+it."
+
+Branwen possessed a steady as well as a pretty head.  Placing her hand
+unhesitatingly in that of her guide, she quickly stood on the ledge,
+close to a short narrow passage, by which they reached a smaller cave or
+natural chamber in the solid rock.  Here, to the girl's intense
+surprise, she found herself surrounded by objects, many of which she had
+never seen before, while others were familiar enough.  Against the wall
+were piled webs of cloth of brilliant colours, and garments of various
+kinds.  In one corner was a heap of bronze and iron weapons, shields and
+other pieces of Eastern armour, while in a recess lay piled in a
+confused heap many Phoenician ornaments of gold, silver, and bronze,
+similar to those which were worn by the warriors and chief men of King
+Hudibras' court.  It was, in fact, the stock in trade of the Hebrew--the
+fount at which he replenished his travelling pack; a pack which was a
+great mystery to most of his friends, for, however much they might
+purchase out of it, there seemed to be no end to its inexhaustible power
+of reproduction.
+
+"Here," said Beniah, amused at the girl's gaze of astonishment, "ye will
+be safe from all your foes till a Higher Power directs us what shall be
+done with you, for, to say truth, at this moment my mind is a blank.
+However, our present duty is not action but concealment.  Water and
+dried fruit you will find in this corner.  Keep quiet.  Let not
+curiosity tempt you to examine these things--they might fall and cause
+noise that would betray us.  When danger is past, I will come again.
+Meanwhile, observe now what I am about to do, and try to imitate me."
+
+He returned to the entrance, and, taking up the plank-bridge, drew it
+into the passage, guiding its outer end on a slight branch, which seemed
+to have fallen across the chasm accidentally, but which in reality had
+been placed there for this purpose.  Then, sliding it out again, he
+refixed it in position.
+
+"Is that too hard for you?  Try."
+
+Branwen obeyed, and succeeded so well, that old Beniah commended her on
+her aptitude to learn.
+
+"Now be careful," he added, when about to re-cross the bridge.  "Your
+life may depend on your attention to my instructions."
+
+"But what if I should let the plank slip?" said she in sudden anxiety.
+
+"There is another in the cave on the floor.  Besides, I have two or
+three planks in the forest ready against such a mishap.  Fear not, but
+commit yourself to the All-seeing One."
+
+He crossed over alone, leaving the girl on the other side, and waited
+till she had withdrawn the bridge, when he returned to the mouth of the
+outer cave, and sat down to continue the perusal of his roll.  Branwen
+meanwhile returned to the inner cave, or store, and sat down to meditate
+on thoughts which had been awakened by the Hebrew's reference to the
+All-seeing One.  She wondered if there was an All-seeing One at all,
+and, if there was, did He see all the wickedness that was done by men--
+ay, and even by women! and did He see the thoughts of her mind and the
+feelings of her heart?
+
+It will be gathered from this, that the maiden was considerably in
+advance of the uncivilised age in which she lived, for the ancient
+inhabitants of Albion were not addicted to the study of theology, either
+natural or speculative.
+
+"If I but knew of such an All-seeing One," she murmured, "I would ask
+Him to help me."
+
+Raising her eyes as she spoke, she observed the goods piled round the
+walls, and the light of the lamp--which had been left with her--
+glittered on the trinkets opposite.  This was too much for her.  It must
+be remembered that, besides living in a barbarous age, she was an
+untutored maiden, and possessed of a large share of that love for
+"pretty things," which is--rightly or wrongly--believed to be a peculiar
+characteristic of the fair sex.  Theology, speculative and otherwise,
+vanished, she leaped up and, forgetting her host's warning, began to
+inspect the goods.
+
+At first conscience--for she had an active little one--remonstrated.
+
+"But," she replied, silently, with a very natural tendency to
+self-justification, "although Beniah told me not to touch things, I did
+not _promise_ not to do so?"
+
+"True, but your silence was equivalent to a promise," said something
+within her.
+
+"No, it wasn't," she replied aloud.
+
+"Yes, it was," retorted the something within her in a tone of
+exasperating contradiction.
+
+This was much too subtle a discussion to be continued.  She brushed it
+aside with a laugh, and proceeded to turn over the things with eager
+admiration on her expressive face.  Catching up a bright
+blue-and-scarlet shawl, large enough to cover her person, she threw it
+over her and made great, and not quite successful, efforts to see her
+own back.  Suddenly she became motionless, and fixed her lustrous brown
+eyes on the roof with almost petrified attention.
+
+A thought had struck her!  And she resolved to strike it back in the
+sense of pursuing it to a conclusion.
+
+"The very thing," she said, recovering from petrification, "and I'll
+_do_ it!"
+
+The preliminary step to doing it seemed to be a general turn over of the
+Hebrew's shawls, all of which, though many were beautiful, she rejected
+one after another until she found an old and considerably worn grey one.
+This she shook out and examined with approving nods, as if it were the
+finest fabric that ever had issued from the looms of Cashmere.  Tying
+her luxuriant hair into a tight knot behind, and smoothing it down on
+each side of her face, and well back so as not to be obtrusive, she
+flung the old shawl over her head, induced a series of wrinkles to
+corrugate her fair brow; drew in her lips so as to conceal her teeth,
+and, by the same action, to give an aquiline turn to her nose; bowed her
+back, and, in short, converted herself into a little old woman!
+
+At court, Branwen had been celebrated for her powers of mimicry, and had
+been a source of great amusement to her companions in the use--sometimes
+the abuse--of these powers; but this was the first occasion on which she
+had thought of personating an old woman.
+
+Having thus metamorphosed herself, she looked eagerly round as if in
+search of a mirror.  It need scarcely be said that glass had not been
+heard of by the natives of the Tin Islands or of Albion at that time,
+nevertheless, mirrors were not unknown.  Espying in a corner, a great
+bronze shield, that might once have flashed terror at the siege of
+Troy--who knows--she set it up against the wall.  It was oval in shape,
+and presented her face with such a wide expanse of cheeks, that she
+laughed lightly and turned it the other way.  This arrangement gave her
+visage such lengthened astonishment of expression, that she laughed
+again, but was not ill pleased at her appearance on the whole.
+
+To make the illusion perfect, she sought and found an article of dress,
+of which the Albionic name has been forgotten, but which is known to
+modern women as a petticoat.  It was reddish brown in colour, and, so
+far, in keeping with the grey old shawl.
+
+While she was busy tying on this garment, and otherwise completing her
+costume, almost quite forgetful in her amusement of the danger which had
+driven her to that strange place, she heard voices in the outer cave,
+and among them one which turned her cheeks pale, and banished every
+thought of fun out of her heart.  It was the voice of Gunrig!
+
+That doughty warrior--after having partially regained the equanimity
+which he had sat down on the fallen tree to recover--arose, and returned
+to his apartment in the palace for the double purpose of feeding and
+meditation.  Being a robust man, he did not feel much the worse for the
+events of the morning, and attacked a rib of roast beef with gusto.
+Hearing, with great surprise, that his late antagonist was no other than
+Bladud, the long-lost son of the king, he comforted himself with another
+rib of roast beef, and with the reflection that a prince, not less than
+a man-at-arms, is bound to fight a duel when required to do so.  Having
+finished his meal, he quaffed a huge goblet of spring water, and went
+out to walk up and down with his hands behind his back.
+
+Doubtless, had he lived in modern days, he would have solaced himself
+with a glass of bitter and a pipe, but strong drink had not been
+discovered in those islands at the time, and smoking had not been
+invented.  Yet it is generally believed, though we have no authentic
+record of the fact, that our ancestors got on pretty well without these
+comforts.  We refrain, however, from dogmatising on the point, but it is
+our duty to state that Gunrig, at all events, got on swimmingly without
+them.  It is also our duty to be just to opponents, and to admit that a
+pipe might possibly have soothed his wrath.
+
+Of course, on hearing of Branwen's flight, the indignant king summoned
+his hunters at once, and, putting the enraged Gunrig himself at the head
+of them, sent him fuming into the woods in search of the runaway.  They
+did not strike the trail at once, because of, as already explained, the
+innumerable footprints in the neighbourhood of the town.
+
+"We can't be long of finding them now," remarked the chief to the
+principal huntsman, as they passed the entrance to Beniah's retreat.
+
+"It may be as well to run up and ask the old man who lives here if he
+has seen her," replied the huntsman.  "He is a man with sharp eyes for
+his years."
+
+"As you will," said Gunrig sternly, for his wrath had not yet been
+appreciably toned down by exercise.
+
+They found the Hebrew reading at his door.
+
+"Ho!  Beniah, hast seen the girl Branwen pass this way to-day?" cried
+Gunrig as he came up.
+
+"I have not seen her pass," replied the Hebrew, in a tone so mild that
+the angry chief suspected him.
+
+"She's not in your hut, I suppose?" he added sharply.
+
+"The door is open, you may search it if you doubt me," returned the
+Hebrew with a look of dignity, which he knew well how to assume.
+
+The chief entered at once, and, after glancing sharply round the outer
+room entered the kitchen.  Here Beniah showed him the chimney, pointed
+out the yawning chasm below, and commented on the danger of falling into
+it in the dark.
+
+"And what is there beyond, Hebrew?" asked the chief.
+
+Beniah held up the lamp.
+
+"You see," he said, "the rock against which my poor hut rests."
+
+Then the old man referred to the advantages of the situation for
+supplying himself with food by hunting in the forest, as well as by
+cultivating the patch of garden beside the hut, until his visitor began
+to show signs of impatience, when he apologised for intruding his
+domestic affairs at such a time, and finally offered to join and aid the
+search party.
+
+"Aid us!" exclaimed Gunrig in contempt.  "Surely we need no aid from
+you, when we have the king's head-huntsman as our guide."
+
+"That may be true, chief, nevertheless in the neighbourhood of my own
+hut I could guide you, if I chose, to secret and retired spots, which it
+would puzzle even the head-huntsman to find.  But I will not thrust my
+services upon you."
+
+"You are over-proud for your station," returned the chief angrily, "and
+were it not for your years I would teach you to moderate your language
+and tone."
+
+For a moment the eyes of the old man flashed, and his brows contracted,
+as he steadily returned the gaze of Gunrig.  In his youth he had been a
+man of war, and, as we have said, his strength was not yet much abated
+by age, but years and deep thought had brought wisdom to some extent.
+With an evident effort he restrained himself, and made no reply.  The
+chief, deeming his silence to be the result of fear, turned
+contemptuously away, and left the hut with his followers.
+
+During this colloquy, poor Branwen had stood in the dark passage,
+listening and trembling lest her hiding-place should be discovered.  She
+was a strange compound of reckless courage and timidity--if such a
+compound be possible.  Indignation at the man who had slighted her bosom
+friend Hafrydda, besides insulting herself, caused her to feel at times
+like a raging lion.  The comparative weakness of her slight and graceful
+frame made her at other times feel like a helpless lamb.  It was an
+exasperating condition!  When she thought of Gunrig, she wished with all
+her heart and soul that she had been born a big brawny man.  When she
+thought of Bladud, nothing could make her wish to be other than a woman!
+
+As she stood there listening, there occurred a slight desire to clear
+her throat, and she almost coughed.  The feeling came upon her like a
+shock--what if she had let it out!  But a sneeze!  It was well known
+that sneezes came even to people the most healthy, and at moments the
+most inopportune, and well she knew from experience that to repress a
+sneeze would ensure an explosion fit to blow the little nose off her
+face.  If a sneeze should come at that moment, she was lost!
+
+But a sneeze did not come.  The olfactory nerves remained placid, until
+the visitors had departed.  Then she retreated to the inner cave, drew
+the grey shawl over her head, and awaited the development of her plans.
+
+Presently she heard footsteps, and the voice of the Hebrew calling to
+her softly, but she took no notice.  After a moment or two it sounded
+again, somewhat louder.
+
+Still no answer.
+
+Then Beniah shouted, with just a shade of anxiety, "Branwen!"
+
+Receiving no reply, he ran in much alarm for one of his spare planks;
+thrust it over the chasm; crossed, and next moment stood in the inner
+cave the very embodiment of astonished consternation, for Branwen was
+gone, and in her place stood a little old woman, with a bowed form, and
+a puckered-up mouth, gazing at him with half-closed but piercingly dark
+eyes!
+
+The Hebrew was almost destitute of superstition, and a man of great
+courage, but this proved too much for him.  His eyes opened with
+amazement; so did his mouth, and he grew visibly pale.
+
+The tables were turned at this point.  The man's appearance proved too
+much for the girl.  Her eyes opened wide, her brilliant teeth appeared,
+and, standing erect, she burst into a fit of merry laughter.
+
+"Child!" exclaimed Beniah, his usually grave mouth relaxing into a broad
+smile, which proved that his teeth were not less sound than his
+constitution, "you have shown to me that fear, or something marvellously
+like it, is capable of lurking within my old heart.  What mean you by
+this?"
+
+"I mean that there is an idea come into my head which I shall carry
+out--if you will allow me.  I had thought at first of staying with you
+as your grand-daughter or your niece, but then it came into my head that
+I could not live long here in such a character without some one who knew
+me seeing me and finding me out--though, let me tell you, it would not
+be easy to find me out, for I can change my look and voice so that none
+but those who know me well could discover me.  Then the idea of being an
+old woman came into my head, and--you can speak to my success.  There is
+nothing more natural than that you should have an old woman to take care
+of your house while you go on your travels; so I can stay till you go
+and see my father and tell him to send for me."
+
+"Your father lives very far from here," returned the Hebrew, with the
+lines of perplexity still resting on his brow.
+
+"That is true; but Beniah's legs are long and his body is strong.  He
+can soon let my father know of his daughter's misfortune.  You know that
+my father is a powerful chief, though his tribe is not so strong in
+numbers as the tribe of King Hudibras, or that--that fiend Gunrig.  But
+his young men and my brothers are very brave."
+
+"Well, let it be as you say, for the present, my child, and you may
+consider this cave your private chamber while you remain in my house.
+But let me advise you to keep close when I am absent, and do not be
+tempted to prove the strength of your disguise.  It may not be as
+perfect as you think, and your voice may betray you."
+
+Having agreed upon this temporary plan, the Hebrew departed to make
+preparations for a long journey, while Branwen busied herself in
+arranging the apartment in which, for some time at least, she hoped to
+remain in hiding.
+
+CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
+
+MOTHER AND SON.
+
+We need scarcely say that the search for Branwen proved fruitless.
+Gunrig and the hunters returned to town crestfallen at being unable to
+discover the trail of a girl, and the chief went off in undiminished
+wrath to his own home--which was distant about a day's journey on foot
+from the capital of King Hudibras.
+
+Even in those savage times warriors were not above taking counsel,
+occasionally, with women.  The king went to consult on the situation
+with the queen, the princess, and Bladud; while Gunrig sought advice and
+consolation from his mother.  Of course neither of these men would for a
+moment have admitted that he needed advice.  They only condescended to
+let their women-folk know what had occurred, and hear what they had to
+say!
+
+"Why, do you think, has the ungrateful child fled?" asked the king in
+some indignation.
+
+"I cannot imagine," answered the queen.  "We have all been so kind to
+her, and she was so fond of us and we of her.  Besides, her visit was
+not half over, and her father would not be pleased if she were to return
+home so soon and so unexpectedly."
+
+Of course Hafrydda knew the cause, but she maintained a discreet
+silence.
+
+"Return home!" echoed the king in contempt, "how can a little delicate
+thing like her return home through miles and miles of forest swarming
+with wild beasts and not a few wilder men?  Impossible!  My hunters must
+go out again, every day, till she is found.  I will lead them myself
+since they seem to have lost the power of their craft."
+
+"Is this `little delicate thing' as beautiful as my sister describes her
+to be?" asked Bladud, somewhat amused by his father's tone and manner.
+
+"Ay, that she is," answered the king.  "Beautiful enough to set not a
+few of my young men by the ears.  Did you not see her on the platform at
+the games--or were you too much taken up with the scowling looks of
+Gunrig?"
+
+"I saw the figure of a young woman," answered the prince, "but she kept
+a shawl so close round her head that I failed to see her face.  As to
+Gunrig, I did not think it worth my while to mind him at all, so I saw
+not whether his looks were scowling or pleased."
+
+"Ha! boy--he gave you some trouble, notwithstanding."
+
+"He has gone away in anger at present, however, so we will let him be
+till he returns for another fight."
+
+Gunrig, meanwhile, having reached his town or village, went straight to
+the hut in which his mother dwelt and laid his troubles before her.  She
+was a calm, thoughtful woman, very unlike her passionate son.
+
+"It is a bad business," she remarked, after the chief had described the
+situation to her, and was striding up and down the little room with his
+hands behind his back, "and will require much care in management, for
+King Hudibras, as you know, is very fierce when roused, and although he
+is somewhat afraid of you, he is like to be roused to anger when he
+comes to understand that you have jilted his daughter."
+
+"But I have not jilted her," said Gunrig, stopping abruptly in his walk,
+and looking down upon his parent.  "That ass Bladud won her, and
+although he does turn out to be her brother, that does not interfere
+with his right to break off the engagement if so disposed.  Besides, I
+do not want to wed the princess now.  I have quite changed my mind."
+
+"Why have you changed your mind, my son?"
+
+"Because I never cared for her much; and since I went to visit her
+father I have seen another girl who is far more beautiful; far more
+clever; more winning, in every way."
+
+The woman looked sharply at the flushed countenance of her son.
+
+"You love her?" she asked.
+
+"Ay, that do I, as I never loved woman before, and, truly, as I think I
+never shall love again."
+
+"Then you must get her to wife, my son, for there is no cure for love."
+
+"Oh, yes, there is, mother," was the light reply of the chief, as he
+recommenced to pace the floor.  "Death is a pretty sure and sharp cure
+for love."
+
+"Surely you would not kill yourself because of a girl?"
+
+Gunrig burst into a loud laugh, and said, "Nay, truly, but death may
+take the girl, or death may take me--for, as you know, there is plenty
+of fighting among the tribes, and my day will surely come, sooner or
+later.  In either case love will be cured."
+
+"Can you guess why this girl has fled?" asked the woman.
+
+Gunrig's brows contracted, and a grim smile played on his lips as he
+replied, after a brief pause--
+
+"Well, I am not quite sure, mother.  It may be that she is not too fond
+of me--which only shows her want of taste.  But that can be cured when
+she finds out what a fine man I am!  Anyhow, I will have her, if I
+should have to hunt the forest for a hundred moons, and fight all the
+tribes put together."
+
+"And how do you propose to go about it, my son?"
+
+"That is the very thing I want you to tell me.  If it were fighting that
+had to be done I would not trouble you--but this is a matter that goes
+beyond the wisdom of a plain warrior."
+
+"Then, if you would gain your end, my son, I should advise you to send a
+message to King Hudibras by one of your most trusty men; and let the
+message be that you are deeply grieved at the loss of his daughter's
+hand; that--"
+
+"But I'm nothing of the kind, mother, so that would not be true."
+
+"What does it matter whether true or not, if the king only believes it
+to be true?"
+
+"I don't quite agree, mother, with your notions about truth.  To my mind
+a warrior should always be straightforward and say what he means."
+
+"Then go, my son, and tell the king what you have just told me, and he
+will cut your head off," replied the dame in a tone of sarcasm.
+
+"If I act on that advice, I will take my warriors with me and carry my
+sword in my hand, so that his head would stand as good a chance of
+falling as mine," returned Gunrig with a laugh.  "But go on with your
+advice, mother."
+
+"Well, say that you feel in honour bound to give up all claim to his
+daughter's hand, but that, as you want a wife very much to keep your
+house as your mother is getting too old, you will be content to take his
+visitor, Branwen, and will be glad to help in the search for her.  Will
+you send that message?"
+
+"It may be that I will.  In any case I'll send something like it."
+
+So saying the chief turned abruptly on his heel and left the room.
+
+CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
+
+A TERRIBLE CALAMITY.
+
+It may be imagined that the return home of Prince Bladud was the cause
+of much rejoicing in the whole district as well as in his father's
+house.  At _first_ the king, being, as we have said, a very stern man,
+felt disposed to stand upon his dignity, and severely rebuke the son who
+had run away from home and remained away so long.  But an undercurrent
+of tenderness, and pride in the youth's grand appearance, and great
+prowess, induced him to give in with a good grace and extend to him
+unreserved forgiveness.
+
+As for the queen, she made no attempt to conceal her joy and pride, and
+the same may be said of the princess.
+
+There was instituted a series of fetes and games in honour of the return
+of the prodigal, at which he was made--not unwillingly--to show the
+skill which he had acquired from practising with the competitors at the
+Olympic games, about which the islanders had heard from Phoenician
+traders from time to time, and great was the interest thus created,
+especially when he showed them, among other arts, how to use their fists
+in boxing, and their swords in guarding so as to enable them to dispense
+with a shield.  But these festivities did not prevent him from taking an
+interest in the search that his father and the hunters were still making
+for Branwen.
+
+When many days had passed, however, and no word of her whereabouts was
+forthcoming, it was at last arranged that a message regarding her
+disappearance should be sent to her father's tribe by a party of
+warriors who were to be led by the prince himself.
+
+"I will go gladly," he said to his sister, a day or two before the party
+was to set out.  "For your sake, Hafrydda, I will do my best to clear up
+the mystery; and I think it highly probable that I shall find the
+runaway safely lodged in her father's house."
+
+"I fear not," returned Hafrydda, with a sad look.  "It seems impossible
+that she could have made her way so far alone through the wild forests."
+
+"But she may not have been alone.  Friends may have helped her."
+
+"She had no friends in the town, having been here but a short time,"
+objected the princess.  "But do your best to find her, Bladud, for I
+feel quite sure that you will fall in love with her when you see her."
+
+The youth laughed.
+
+"No fear of that," he said, "many a pretty girl have I seen in the East;
+nevertheless I have, as you see, left them all without a thought of ever
+returning again."
+
+"But I did not say you would fall in love with Branwen because she is
+pretty.  I feel sure that you will, because she is sweet, and merry, and
+good--yet thoughtful--wonderfully thoughtful!"
+
+"Ay, and you may add," said the queen, who came into the room just then,
+"that she is sometimes thoughtless and wonderfully full of mischief."
+
+"Nay, mother, you are not just," returned the princess.  "Her mischief
+is only on the surface, her thoughtfulness lies deep down."
+
+"Well, well, whatever may be the truth regarding her, I shall not
+trouble my head about her; for I have never yet felt what men call love,
+and I feel sure I never shall."
+
+"I like to hear you say that, brother," rejoined Hafrydda; "for I have
+noticed, young though I am, that when men say they will never fall in
+love or marry, they are always pretty near the point of doing one or
+both."
+
+But poor Bladud was destined to do neither at that time, for an event
+was hanging over him, though he knew it not, which was to affect very
+seriously the whole of his after life.
+
+For several days previous to the above conversation, he had felt a
+sensation that was almost new to him--namely, that of being slightly
+ill.  Whether it was the unwonted exertions consequent on his efforts at
+the games, or the excitement of the return home, we cannot say, but
+headache, accompanied by a slight degree of fever, had troubled him.
+Like most strong men in the circumstances, he adopted the Samsonian and
+useless method of "shaking it off"!  He went down into the arena and
+performed feats of strength and agility that surprised even himself; but
+the fever which enabled him to do so, asserted itself at last, and
+finally compelled him to do what he should have done at first--pocket
+his pride and give in.
+
+Of course we do not suggest that giving in to little sensations of
+ailment is either wise or manly.  There are duties which call on men to
+fight even in sickness--ay, in spite of sickness--but "showing off" in
+the arena was not one of these.
+
+Be this as it may, Bladud came at last to the condition of feeling
+weak--an incomprehensible state of feeling to him.  He thereupon went
+straight home, and, flinging himself half petulantly on a couch,
+exclaimed--"Mother, I am ill!"
+
+"My son, I have seen that for many days past, and have waited with some
+anxiety till you should come to the point of admitting it."
+
+"And now that I have admitted it," returned the youth with a languid
+smile, "what is to be done?"
+
+The answer to that question was not the simple one of modern days, "Send
+for the doctor," because no doctors worthy of the name existed.  There
+was, indeed, a solemn-visaged, long-headed, elderly man among King
+Hudibras' followers who was known as the medicine-man to the royal
+household, but his services were not often in request, because people
+were seldom ill, save when they were going to die, and when that time
+came it was generally thought best to let them die in peace.  This
+medicine-man, though a quack in regard to physic, was, however, a true
+man, as far as his knowledge went in surgery--that is to say, he was
+expert at the setting of broken bones, when the fractures were not too
+compound; he could bandage ordinary wounds; he had even ventured into
+the realm of experimental surgery so far as to knock out a decayed back
+tooth with a bronze chisel and a big stone.  But his knowledge of drugs
+was naturally slight, and his power of diagnosis feeble.  Still,
+unworthy though he may be of the title, we will for convenience style
+him the doctor.
+
+"My poor boy," said the queen, in answer to his question, and laying her
+hand on his hot brow, "I am so sorry that we cannot have the services of
+our doctor, for he is away hunting just now--you know he is very fond of
+the bow and line.  Perhaps he may--"
+
+"Oh, never mind the doctor, mother," said Bladud impatiently, with that
+slighting reference to the faculty which is but too characteristic of
+youth; "what do _you_ think ought to be done?  You were always doctor
+enough for me when I was little; you'll do equally well now that I am
+big."
+
+"Be not hasty, my son.  You were always hot-headed and--"
+
+"I'm hot-headed _now_, at all events, and argument won't tend to cool
+it.  Do what you will with it, for I can stand this no longer.  Cut it
+off if you like, mother, only use a sharp knife and be quick about it."
+
+In those days, far more than in this our homeopathic era, it was the
+habit of the mothers of families to keep in store certain herbs and
+roots, etcetera, which, doubtless, contained the essences now held in
+modern globules.  With these they contrived decoctions that were
+unquestionably more or less beneficial to patients when wisely applied.
+To the compounding of something of this sort the queen now addressed
+herself.  After swallowing it, the prince fell asleep.
+
+This was so far well; but in the morning he was still so far from well,
+that the visit to Branwen's father had to be postponed.  Several days
+elapsed before the doctor returned from his hunting expedition.  By that
+time the fever had left the prince.  He began to get somewhat better,
+and to go about, but still felt very unlike his old self.  During this
+what we may style semi-convalescent period, Captain Arkal and little
+Maikar proved of great use and comfort to him, for they not only brought
+him information about the games--which were still kept up--but cheered
+him with gossipy news of the town in general, and with interesting
+reminiscences of their late voyage and the Eastern lands they had so
+recently left.
+
+One day these faithful friends, as well as the queen and princess, were
+sitting by Bladud's couch--to which unaccountable fits of laziness
+confined him a good deal--when the medicine-man was announced.
+
+He proceeded at once to examine the patient, while the others stood
+aside and looked on with that profound respect which ignorance
+sometimes, though not always, assumes in the presence of knowledge.
+
+The doctor laid his hand on Bladud's brow, and looked earnestly into his
+eyes.  Then he tapped his back and chest, as if to induce some one in
+his interior to open a door and let him in--very much as doctors do
+now-a-days.  Then he made him remove his upper garments, and examined
+his broad and brawny shoulders.  A mark, or spot, of a whitish
+appearance between the left shoulder and the elbow, at once riveted his
+attention, and caused an almost startled expression on his grave
+countenance.  But the expression was momentary.  It passed away and left
+the visage grave and thoughtful--if possible, more thoughtful than
+before.
+
+"That will do," he said, turning to the queen.  "Your treatment was the
+best that could have been applied.  I must now see his father, the
+king."
+
+"Alone?" asked the queen.
+
+"Alone," replied the doctor.
+
+"Well, what think ye of Bladud?" asked the king, when his physician
+entered his chamber, and carefully shut the door.
+
+"He is smitten with a fatal disease," said the doctor in a low, earnest
+voice.
+
+"Not absolutely fatal?" cried the king, with sudden anxiety.
+
+"As far as I know it is so.  There is no cure that I ever heard of.
+Bladud is smitten with leprosy.  It may be years before it kills him,
+but it will surely do so at last."
+
+"Impossible--impossible!" cried the king, becoming fierce and
+unbelieving in his horror.  "You are too confident, my medicine-man.
+You may, you must, be mistaken.  There is a cure for everything!"
+
+"Not for leprosy," returned the doctor, with sad but firm emphasis.  "At
+least I never heard of a cure being effected, except by some of the
+Eastern wise men."
+
+"Then, by all the gods that protect our race and family, my son shall
+return to the East and one of these wise men shall cure him--else--
+else--Have ye told the queen?"
+
+"Not yet."
+
+"That is well.  I will myself tell her.  Go!"  This summary dismissal
+was nothing new to the doctor, who understood the king well, and
+sympathised with his obvious distress.  Pausing at the door, however, he
+said--
+
+"I have often talked with Phoenician captains about this disease, and
+they tell me that it is terribly infectious, insomuch that those who are
+smitten with it are compelled to live apart and keep away from men.  If
+Bladud remains here the disease will surely spread through the house,
+and thence through the town."
+
+Poor Hudibras fell into a chair, and covered his face with both hands,
+while the doctor quietly retired.
+
+It is impossible to describe the consternation that ensued when the
+terrible fact was made known.  Of course the news spread into the town,
+and the alarm became general, for at various times the Phoenician
+mariners had entertained the islanders with graphic descriptions of the
+horrors connected with this loathsome disease, and it soon became
+evident, that even if the king and his family were willing to run the
+risk of infection by keeping Bladud near them, his people and warriors
+would insist on the banishment of the smitten man.
+
+To Bladud himself the blow was almost overwhelming--almost, but not
+quite, for the youth was possessed of that unselfish, self-sacrificing
+spirit which, in all ages of the world's history, has bid defiance to
+misfortune, by bowing the head in humble submission to the will of God.
+He knew well the nature of the dread disease by which he had been
+attacked, and he shuddered at the thought that, however long he might be
+spared to live, it would sap his strength, disfigure his person, and
+ultimately render his face hideous to look upon, while a life of
+absolute solitude must from that day forward be his portion.  No wonder
+that in the first rush of his dismay, he entertained a wild thought of
+putting an end to his own existence.  There was only one gleam of
+comfort to him, and that was, the recollection that he had caught the
+disease in a good cause--in the rescue of a poor old woman from
+destruction.  The comfort of the thought was not indeed great, still it
+was something in the awful desolation that overwhelmed him at the time.
+
+While travelling in the East, a short time previous to setting sail for
+home, he had come across an old woman who was being chased by a wild
+bull.  Her flight would have been short-lived in any case, for there
+chanced to be a steep precipice not far from her, towards which she ran
+in her terror and scrambled hastily down until she reached a spot where
+she could go no further without losing her foothold.  To the rock she
+clung and screamed in her despair.
+
+It was her screams that first attracted Bladud's attention.  Rushing
+forward, he was just in time to see the bull--which could not check its
+mad career--plunge over the cliff, at the bottom of which it was killed
+by the fall.
+
+Bladud at once began to descend to the help of the poor woman.  As he
+did so, the words "unclean! unclean!" met his ear.  The woman was a
+leper, and, even in her dire extremity, the force of habit caused her to
+give the usual warning which the Eastern law requires.  A shudder passed
+through the prince's frame, for he knew well the meaning of the cry--but
+as he looked down and saw the disfigured face and the appealing eyes
+turned towards him, a gush of intense pity, and of that disregard of
+self which is more or less characteristic of all noble natures, induced
+him to continue his descent until he reached the poor creature.
+Grasping her tightly round the waist, he assisted her up the perilous
+ascent, and finally placed her in safety at the top of the cliff.
+
+For a time Bladud felt some anxiety as to the result of the risk he had
+run, but did not mention his adventure to any one.  Gradually the fear
+wore off, and at length that feeling of invulnerability which is so
+strong in youth, induced him to dismiss the subject from his thoughts
+altogether.  He had quite forgotten it until the doctor's statement fell
+upon him with the stunning violence of a thunder-clap.
+
+It is usually when deep sorrows and great difficulties are sent to them,
+that men and women find out the quality of their natures.  Despair,
+followed by listless apathy, might well have seized on one who, a few
+days before, possessed all the advantages of great physical strength and
+manly beauty, with what appeared to be sound health and a bright life
+before him.  But, instead of giving way, he silently braced himself for
+a lifelong conflict.  He did not turn, in his extremity, to the gods of
+his fathers--whatever these might be--for he did not believe in them,
+but he did believe in one good supreme Being.  To Him he raised his
+heart, offered an unspoken prayer, and felt comforted as well as
+strengthened in the act.
+
+Then, being a man of prompt action, he thoughtfully but quickly formed
+his plans, having previously made fast his door--for well he knew that
+although his strong-minded father might keep him at arm's-length, his
+loving mother and sister would not only come to talk with him, but
+would, despite all risks, insist on embracing him.
+
+That he was not far wrong was proved the same evening, for when the king
+revealed the terrible news to his wife and daughter, they went straight
+to Bladud's door and knocked for admission.
+
+"Who goes there?" demanded the prince.
+
+"Your mother.  Let me in, Bladud."
+
+"I may not do so just now, dear mother.  Tomorrow you shall know all.
+Rest content.  I feel better."
+
+In the dead of night Bladud went out softly and sought the hut where
+Captain Arkal and Maikar slept.  He found them conversing in great
+sorrow about the terrible calamity that had overtaken their friend when
+he entered.  They started up in surprise to receive him.
+
+"Keep off," he said, shrinking back.  "Touch me not!  I know not whether
+the disease may not be catching even at its present stage.  Sit down.  I
+will stand here and tell you what I want you to tell my mother in the
+morning."
+
+The two men silently obeyed, and the prince continued.
+
+"I am on the point of leaving home--it may be for ever.  The Disposer of
+all things knows that.  The disease, as you know, is thought to be
+incurable.  If so, I shall die where no one shall find me.  If health
+returns I shall come back.  It will be of no use to search for me; but I
+think that will not be attempted.  Indeed, I know that my father would
+be compelled to banish me if I wished to remain at home.  It is partly
+to spare him the pain of doing so that I banish myself of my own accord;
+and partly to avoid leaving infection behind me that I go without
+farewell.  Let my dear mother and sister understand this clearly--and--
+comfort them if you can."
+
+"But where will you go to and what will you do?" asked the captain
+anxiously.
+
+"That I do not yet know.  The forests are wide.  There is plenty of room
+for man and beast.  This only will I reveal to you.  To-night I shall
+call at the hut of Beniah the Hebrew.  He is a wise man and will advise
+me.  If I send news of myself it shall be through him.  But tell not
+this to any one.  It would only bring trouble on the old man.  Farewell,
+my comrades.  I will remember you as brothers--always.  May the
+All-powerful One watch over us."
+
+Unable to restrain himself, little Maikar sprang up with the obvious
+intention of rushing at his friend and seizing his hand, but the prince
+stepped back, shut the door against him, and, in another moment, was
+gone.
+
+CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
+
+AN EAVESDROPPER IN THE CAVE.
+
+An hour later Beniah the Hebrew, who had been obliged to postpone for a
+time his journey to the North, was startled by hearing footsteps
+approaching his hut in the dell.  It was so unusual an event at that
+hour of the night, that he arose quickly and grasped the six-foot staff
+which was his only weapon.
+
+At a much earlier hour Branwen had retired to rest in the inner cave,
+and was buried in that profound sleep which proverbially accompanies
+innocence and youth.  The noise in the outer cave partially aroused her,
+but, turning on her other side with a profound sigh, she prepared for a
+little more of the perquisites of innocence and youth.  Presently she
+was startled into a condition of absolute wide-awakeness by the sound of
+a well-known voice, but it suddenly changed into that of the Hebrew.
+
+"I've dreamt it, I suppose," she muttered, in a tone of regret;
+nevertheless, she listened.
+
+"Come in," said Beniah, evidently to some one outside of his door.
+
+"I may not enter--I am a leper," answered the first voice; and Branwen
+sat up, with her great beautiful eyes opened to the utmost, and
+listening intently, though she could not make out clearly what was said.
+
+"It matters not; I have no fear.  Come in.  What!  Prince Bladud!"
+exclaimed Beniah in astonishment as our hero entered.
+
+"Even so.  But how is it that you know me?"
+
+"I saw you once, and, once seen, you are not easily forgotten.  But what
+mean ye about being a leper?"
+
+"Keep at a safe distance, and I will tell you."
+
+Hereupon the prince began to give the old man an account of his illness;
+the opinion expressed by the doctor as to its nature; and the
+determination he had formed of forsaking home, and retiring to the
+solitude of some unfrequented part of the forest for the remainder of
+his life.
+
+It would have been a sight worth looking at--had there been light to see
+it--the vision of Branwen, as she stood in the passage in partial
+_deshabille_, with her eyes wide, her lips parted, her heart beating,
+and a wealth of auburn hair curling down her back, listening, as it
+were, with every power of her soul and body.  But she could not hear
+distinctly.  Only a disconnected word reached her now and then.  In a
+state of desperate curiosity she returned to her cave.
+
+A few minutes later a noise was heard by the two men in the outer cave;
+and a little old woman in a grey shawl was seen to thrust a plank over
+the chasm and totter across towards them.
+
+Poor Beniah was horrified.  He did not know what to do or say.  Happily
+he was one of those men whose feelings are never betrayed by their
+faces.
+
+The old woman hobbled forward and sat down on a stool close to them.
+Looking up in their faces, she smiled and nodded.
+
+In doing so she revealed the fact that, besides having contorted her
+face into an unrecognisable shape, she had soiled it in several places
+with streaks of charcoal and earth.
+
+"Who is this?" asked Bladud in surprise.  Before the old man could
+reply, the old woman put her hand to her ear, and, looking up in the
+prince's face, shouted, in tones that were so unlike to her own natural
+voice that Beniah could scarce believe his ears--
+
+"What say you, young man?  Speak out; I'm very deaf."
+
+With a benignant smile Bladud said that he had merely asked who she was.
+
+"Haven't you got eyes, young man?  Don't you see that I'm a little old
+woman?"
+
+"I see that," returned the prince, with a good-humoured laugh; "and I
+fear you're a deaf old woman, too."
+
+"Eh?" she said, advancing her head, with her hand up at the ear.
+
+"You seem indeed to be extremely deaf," shouted the prince.
+
+"What does he say?" demanded the old woman, turning to the Hebrew.
+
+By this time Beniah had recovered his self-possession.  Perceiving that
+the maiden was bent on carrying out her _role_, and that he might as
+well help her, he put his mouth close to her ear, and shouted in a voice
+that bid fair to render her absolutely deaf--
+
+"He says he thinks you are extremely deaf; so I think you had better
+hold your tongue and let us go on with our conversation."
+
+"Deaf, indeed!" returned the woman in a querulous tone; "so I am, though
+I hear you well enough when you shout like that.  Perhaps he'll be as
+deaf as I am when he's as old.  There's nothing like youth for pride and
+impudence.  But go on, never mind me."
+
+"She's a poor creature who has sought refuge with me from her
+persecutors," said Beniah, turning to the prince, while the old woman
+fell to crooning a wild song in a low voice, accompanying the music--if
+such it may be called--by a swaying motion of her body to and fro.
+
+Seeing that she meant to sit there, and that she apparently heard
+nothing, Bladud resumed the conversation where it had been interrupted.
+
+"Now, as I was saying, you know the country in all directions, and can
+tell me of the most likely part where I can find what I want--a solitude
+where I shall be able to escape from the face of man, and build a hut to
+live in till I die.  It may be long, it may be short, before death
+relieves me.  Meanwhile, I can hunt and provide myself with food till
+the time comes."
+
+The crooning of the old woman stopped at this point, and she sank her
+face on her hands as if she had fallen asleep.
+
+"I know of a man--a hunter," said Beniah, "a wild sort of being, who
+lives a long way from here, in a beautiful part of the land, where there
+is a wonderful swamp with a hot spring in the midst of it.  Besides
+hunting, the man who lives there cultivates the ground a little, and
+keeps a few cattle and pigs.  It may be that he can put you in the way
+of finding what you want; and you need not tell him about your disease,
+for you are not yet sure about it.  Thus you will have an opportunity of
+keeping out of the way of men until you find out whether the doctor is
+right about it.  He may be wrong, you know.  Diseases sometimes resemble
+each other without being the same."
+
+Bladud shook his head.
+
+"There can be no doubt that I am doomed," he said.  "I know the disease
+too well."
+
+The Hebrew also believed that, if the doctor was right in his opinion,
+there was no hope for the youth.  Being unwilling, however, to dwell
+upon this point, he asked--
+
+"How did you come by it?"
+
+"Very simply," answered the prince, who thereupon entered into a graphic
+account of the incident which we have already recorded.  Having done so,
+he made up his mind, after some further talk, to pay a visit to the
+hunter who dwelt in the region of the Hot Swamp.
+
+"But you will not surely go without arms?" said Beniah.
+
+"Why not?  If I am doomed to die at any rate, why should I take the life
+of any man to save my own?"
+
+"Let me at least give you a bow and a sheaf of arrows.  You cannot
+procure food without these."
+
+"Well, you are right.  I will accept your kind offer.  To say truth, my
+heart was so crushed at first by this blow, that such matters did not
+occur to me when I left; for it is terrible to think of having to die of
+a slow disease without father, mother, or sister to comfort one!"
+
+"It is indeed, my son," returned Beniah with much feeling.  "If you will
+accept it, I can give you a word of comfort."
+
+"Give it me," said Bladud; "for I need it much,--if it be but true."
+
+"It is true," returned the Hebrew earnestly; "for in one of the books of
+our holy men who spoke for the All-Father, it is written, `When my
+father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.'"
+
+"It is a good word," returned the prince; "and I can well believe it
+comes from the All-Father, for is He not also All-Good?  Yet I can
+scarcely claim it as mine, for my father and mother have not forsaken
+me, but I them."
+
+A few minutes more, and Bladud rose to depart.  He took the bow and
+arrows in his left hand, and, totally forgetting for the moment the duty
+of keeping himself aloof from his fellow-men, he shook hands warmly with
+Beniah, patted the old woman kindly on the shoulder, and went out into
+the dark night.
+
+The moment he was gone Branwen started up with flashing eyes that were
+still bedewed with tears, and seized the old man's hand.
+
+"Child," he said, "thou hast been weeping."
+
+"Who could listen to his telling of that old woman's escape from the
+bull and the precipice without tears?" she replied.  "But tell me, what
+is this terrible disease that has smitten the prince?"
+
+"It is one well known and much dreaded in the East--called leprosy."
+
+Here the Hebrew went into a painfully graphic account of the disease;
+the frightful disfigurement it caused, and its almost, if not quite,
+certain termination in death.
+
+"And have the queen and Hudibras actually let him go away to die alone?"
+she exclaimed.
+
+"Not so, my child.  Before you interrupted us he told me that he had
+left home by stealth on purpose.  But, Branwen," continued the old man
+with some severity, "how could you run such a risk of being discovered?"
+
+"I ran no risk," she replied, with a laugh.
+
+"Besides, it was not fair to pretend to be deaf and thus obtain all his
+secrets."
+
+"I don't care whether it was fair or not," replied the girl with a
+wilful shake of her head.  "And was it fair of you to back me up as you
+did?"
+
+"Your rebuke is just, yet it savours of ingratitude.  I should not have
+done so, but I was completely taken aback.  Do you know that your face
+is dirty?"
+
+"I know it.  I made it so on purpose.  Now tell me--when are you going
+away to tell my father and brothers about me?"
+
+"I shall probably start to-morrow.  But many days must pass before I can
+bring them here, for, as you know, their town is a long way off.  But,
+child, you do not seem to reflect that you have betrayed me."
+
+"How?" asked Branwen, wonderingly.
+
+"Did you not thrust out the plank and cross over before the very eyes of
+Bladud?"
+
+Branwen pursed her lips into the form of an O and opened her eyes wide.
+
+"I never thought of that!" she said.  "But after all it does not matter,
+for the prince took no notice of the plank, and _he_ is not the man to
+go and betray secrets!"
+
+The Hebrew laughed, patted the girl on the head and sent her off to
+rest.  Then he busied himself in making preparation for his too
+long-delayed journey.
+
+Next morning, before daybreak, he set off, leaving Branwen in charge of
+the hut, with strict orders to keep well out of sight.  If any one
+should come to it she was to retreat to the inner cavern and withdraw
+the bridge.
+
+"They may do as seemeth to them good in the outer hut.  There is nothing
+there worth stealing, and they are welcome to make themselves at home."
+
+The Hebrew went on his mission; arrived in due time at his journey's
+end; reported Branwen's dilemma; guided a party of stout warriors under
+her father Gadarn, and led them to his hut in the dell in the dead of a
+dark night, for it was no part of the programme to abduct the girl by
+main force, unless peaceful or stealthy measures should prove
+unsuccessful.  When, however, he reached the dell and entered his
+dwelling, he found that the bird had flown!  Every nook and cranny of
+the place was carefully searched; but, to the consternation of the
+Hebrew, and the wrath of Gadarn and his men, not a vestige of Branwen
+was to be found.
+
+CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
+
+ADVENTURES IN THE FORESTS.
+
+Poor Branwen! it was an unfortunate day for her when, in her youthful
+ignorance and recklessness, she took to the wild woods, resolved to
+follow Bladud to his destination and secretly wait there and watch over
+him like a guardian angel, as it were, until the terrible disease should
+lay him on his deathbed, when she would reveal herself and nurse him to
+the end!
+
+Let not the reader suppose there was any lack of maiden modesty in this
+resolve.  It must be borne in mind that Branwen was little more than a
+child in experience; that she was of an age at which the world, with all
+its affairs, is enveloped in a halo of romance; that her soul had been
+deeply stirred by the story of the rescue of the leprous old woman, and
+her pity powerfully aroused by the calm, though hopeless, tones of the
+doomed man when he spoke of his blighted prospects.  Rather than leave
+him to die in absolute solitude she would sacrifice everything, and, in
+spite of infection and disfigurement, and the horrible nature of a
+disease which eats away the features before it kills, she would soothe
+his dying hours.  Besides this, it must be remembered that our
+ancestors' notions of propriety were somewhat different from ours, and--
+well, it was about eight hundred years BuC!
+
+Whether love was a factor in her resolve we cannot say, but we are
+firmly convinced that, if it were, she was ignorant of the fact.
+
+It is, however, one thing to resolve--quite another thing to carry
+resolution into effect.  Branwen had, in an incidental way, obtained
+from her protector, Beniah, information as to the direction in which the
+hunter of the Hot Swamp lived, and the distance to his dwelling; but
+when she actually found herself in the forest, with nothing to guide her
+save the position of the sun--and, on cloudy days not even that--she
+began to realise somewhat of the difficulties that attended her
+enterprise, and when, on the first night, she crouched among the forked
+branches of an old oak, and heard the cries of wolves and other wild
+creatures, and even saw them prowling about by the light of the moon as
+it flickered through the foliage, she began to appreciate the dangers.
+
+She had not, indeed, been so foolish as to set out on her expedition
+without a certain amount of forethought--what she deemed careful and
+wise consideration.  She knew that by noting the position of the sun
+when at its highest point in the sky she could follow pretty closely the
+direction which Beniah had pointed out to her.  She was quite aware that
+food was absolutely necessary to life, and had packed up a large bundle
+of dried meat, and also provided herself with one of her host's bows and
+a sheaf of arrows.  Besides this, she knew, like every girl of the
+period, how to snare rabbits, and was even expert in throwing stones, so
+that, if it should come to the worst, she could manage to subsist on
+little birds.  As to sleeping at night, she had been accustomed, as a
+little girl, to climb trees, which faculty had not yet departed from
+her, and she knew well that among the branches of many kinds of trees
+there were cosy resting-places where neither man nor beast would be
+likely to discover her.  She had also some idea of what it is to follow
+a trail, for she had often heard the king's chief hunter refer to the
+process.  As it was certain that Bladud, being an enormously big man,
+would leave a very obvious trail behind him, she would follow that--of
+course keeping well in the rear, so that he might never dream of her
+existence or intentions until the fatal time arrived when she should
+have to appear like a guardian angel and nurse him till he died.
+
+Poor Branwen felt dreadfully depressed when she thought of this
+termination, and was quite unlike her gay reckless self for a time; but
+a vague feeling of unbelief in such a catastrophe, and a determination
+to hope against hope kept her from giving way to absolute despair, and
+nerved her to vigorous exertion.
+
+It was in this state of mind that she had set the Hebrew's house in
+order; carried everything of value to the inner cave; removed the plank
+bridge; closed the outer door, and had taken her departure.
+
+As already said, she concealed herself among the branches of an old oak
+the first night, and, although somewhat alarmed by the cries of wild
+animals, as well as by the appalling solitude and darkness around, she
+managed to make a fair supper of the dried meat.  Then,--she could not
+tell when,--she fell into a profound slumber, which was not broken until
+the sun had risen high, and the birds were whistling gaily among the
+branches--some of them gazing at her in mute surprise, as if they had
+discovered some new species of gigantic acorn.
+
+She arose with alacrity, her face flushed with abounding health, and her
+eyes dancing with a gush of youthful hope.  But memory stepped in, and
+the thought of her sad mission caused a sudden collapse.  The collapse,
+however, did not last long.  Her eyes chanced to fall on the bundle of
+dried meat.  Appetite immediately supervened.  Falling-to, she made a
+hearty breakfast, and then, looking cautiously round to see that no
+danger was near, she slipped down from her perch, took up the bow and
+quiver and bundle of food, threw her blanket, or striped piece of
+Phoenician cloth, over her shoulder, and resumed her journey.
+
+It was soon after this that Branwen found out the misfortune of
+ignorance and want of experience.  Ere long she began to feel the
+cravings of thirst, and discovered that she had forgotten to take with
+her a bottle, or any other sort of receptacle for water.  About noon her
+thirst became so great that she half repented having undertaken the
+mission.  Then it became so intolerable that she felt inclined to sit
+down and cry.  But such an act was so foreign to her nature that she
+felt ashamed; pursed her lips; contracted her brows; grasped her bow and
+strode bravely on.
+
+She was rewarded.  The tinkling of water broke upon her senses like
+celestial music.  Running forward she came to a little spring, at which
+she fell on her knees, put her lips to the pool, and drank with
+thankfulness in her heart.  Arising refreshed, she glanced upward, and
+observed a bird of the pheasant species gazing fixedly down.
+
+"How fortunate!" exclaimed the maiden, fitting an arrow to her bow.
+
+It was not fortunate for the pheasant, evidently, whatever Branwen may
+have meant, for next moment the bird fell dead--transfixed with an
+arrow.
+
+Being high noon by that time, the demands of nature made our huntress
+think of a mid-day meal.  And now it was that she became aware of
+another omission--the result, partly, of inexperience.  Having plucked
+and cleaned the bird, she prepared to roast it, when a sudden
+indescribable gaze overspread her pretty face.  For a moment she stood
+as if petrified.  Then she suddenly laughed, but the laugh was not
+gleeful, for it is trying to human nature to possess a good appetite and
+a good dinner without the means of cooking!  She had forgotten to take
+with her materials for producing fire.  She knew, indeed, that sticks
+and friction and fungus were the things required, but she knew not what
+sort of sticks, or where to find the right kind of fungus, or tinder.
+Moreover, she had never tried her hand at such work before, and knew not
+how to begin.
+
+Laying the bird on a bank, therefore, she dined off the dried meat--not,
+however, so heartily as before, owing to certain vague thoughts about
+supply and demand--the rudimentary ideas of what now forms part of the
+science of Political Economy.  The first fittings of a careworn
+expression across her smooth brow, showed, at all events, that domestic
+economy had begun to trouble her spirit.
+
+"For," she thought to herself, "the dried meat won't last long, and I
+can't eat raw things--disgusting!--and I've a long, long way to go."
+
+Even at this early period of her mission, her character was beginning to
+develop a little and to strengthen.
+
+For several days she continued her journey through the great solitudes
+lying to the north-west of King Hudibras' town, keeping carefully out of
+the way of open places, lest wandering hunters should find her, and
+sleeping in the forked branches of trees at night.  Of course the
+necessity of thus keeping to the dense woods, and making her way through
+thorny thickets, rendered her journey very fatiguing; but Branwen was
+unusually strong and healthy, though the grace of her slender frame gave
+her a rather fragile appearance, and she did not find herself exhausted
+even at the end of a long day's march; while her dressed-deerskin skirt
+and leggings bid defiance to thorns.  So did the rude but serviceable
+shoes which her friend Beniah had constructed for her out of raw hide.
+
+One thing that troubled the poor girl much was the fact that she had not
+yet discovered the trail of Bladud.  In reality, she had crossed it more
+than once, but, not being possessed of the keen eye of the hunter, she
+had not observed it, until she came to a muddy swamp, on the edge of
+which there was an unmistakable track--a trail which a semi-blind man
+could hardly have missed.  Stopping for a few minutes to take particular
+note of it, she afterwards went on with renewed hope and energy.
+
+But this state of things did not last, for the trail became to her
+indistinguishable the moment the swamp was passed, and at last, during a
+very dark wet day, she lost herself as well as the trail.  At evening of
+the same day she climbed into a tree.  Opening out her bundle of dried
+meat, she began to eat and bemoan her fate.  Tears were in her eyes, and
+there was a slight tendency to sob in her voice, as she muttered to
+herself--
+
+"I--I wouldn't mind being lost so much, if I only knew what to do or
+where to go.  And this meat won't hold out another week at the rate I've
+been eating.  But I could hardly help it--I have been _so_ hungry.
+Indeed, I'm hungry _now_, but I must not eat so much.  Let me see.  I
+shall divide it into two parts.  That will last me twelve days or so, by
+which time I should be there--if I'm still going in the right direction.
+And now, divide the half into six--there--each of these will do for--
+Oh! but I forgot, that's only enough for breakfast.  It will need two
+portions for each day, as it will be impossible to do without supper.  I
+must just eat half of to-night's portion, and see how it feels."
+
+With this complicated end in view, she dried her eyes and began supper,
+and when she had finished it she seemed to "see" that it didn't "feel"
+enough, for, after much earnest consideration, she quietly began to eat
+the second portion, and consumed it.
+
+She was putting away the remnants, and feeling altogether in a more
+satisfactory state of mind, when her eyes fell upon an object which
+caused her heart to bound with alarm, and drove all the colour from her
+cheeks.
+
+At the foot of the tree, looking up at her in blank amazement--open-eyed
+and mouthed--stood a man; a big, rough-looking man, in hairy garments
+and with a hairy face, which was topped by a head of hair that rendered
+a cap needless.  He stood with his feet apart and an arrow across his
+bow, like one who sees a lovely bird which he is about to bring down.
+
+"Oh! don't shoot!" she cried, becoming suddenly and alarmingly aware of
+the action--"don't shoot!  It's me!  I--I'm a girl--not a beast!"
+
+To make quite sure that the man understood her, Branwen jumped to the
+ground quickly and stood before him.
+
+Recovering himself, the man lowered his bow and said something in a
+dialect so uncouth, that the poor girl did not understand him.  Indeed,
+she perceived, to her horror, that he was half-witted, and could
+articulate with difficulty.
+
+"I don't know what you say, good man, but I am lost in this forest, and
+belong to King Hudibras' town.  I am on my way to visit the hunter of
+the Hot Swamp, and I would think it so very, _very_ kind if you would
+guide me to his hut."
+
+The idiot--for such he was--evidently understood the maiden, though she
+did not understand him, for he threw back his head, and gave vent to a
+prolonged gurgling laugh.
+
+Branwen felt that her only chance was to put a bold face on matters.
+She, therefore, by a violent effort, subdued her emotion and continued.
+
+"You know King Hudibras?"
+
+The man nodded and grinned.
+
+"Then I am quite sure that if you behave well, and show me the way to
+the Hot Swamp, he will reward you in a way that will make your heart
+dance with joy.  Come, guide me.  We have a good deal of the day still
+before us."
+
+Thus speaking, she put her hand quietly within that of the idiot, and in
+a voice of authority said--"lead on!"
+
+Regarding the girl with a look of mute surprise, the man obeyed, but,
+instead of leading her to the region named, he conducted her over a
+neighbouring ridge, into what appeared to her to be a robber's den.
+There was nothing for it now but to carry out the _role_ which she had
+laid down.  The desperate nature of the case seemed to strengthen her to
+play her part, for, as she was led into the circle of light caused by a
+camp-fire, round which a band of wild-looking men were standing, a
+spirit of calm determination seemed to take possession of her soul.
+
+"What strange sort of animal is this you have caught, lad?" demanded one
+of the band.
+
+Before an answer could be given, a tall, fierce-looking woman came out
+of a booth, or temporary hut, close to the camp-fire, pushed her way
+through the crowd of men, who fell back respectfully, and, going up to
+Branwen, grasped her by the wrist.
+
+"Never ye mind what animal she is," cried the woman, shaking her fist at
+the man who had spoken, "she is my property."  Then, turning to her
+captive as she led her into the hut, she said:
+
+"Don't be afraid, my dear.  Black-hearted though some of them are, not
+one will dare to touch you as long as you are under my protection."
+
+CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.
+
+BRANWEN IN IMMINENT DANGER.
+
+It is a wonderful, but at the same time, we think, a universal and
+important fact, that love permeates the universe.  Even a female snail,
+if we could only put the question, would undoubtedly admit that it loves
+its little ones.
+
+At least we have the strongest presumption from analogy that the idea is
+correct, for do we not find lions and tigers, apes and gorillas, engaged
+in lovingly licking--we don't mean whipping--and otherwise fondling
+their offspring?  Even in Hades we find the lost rich man praying for
+the deliverance of his brethren from torment, and that, surely, was love
+in the form of pity.  At all events, whatever name we may give it, there
+can be no doubt it was unselfish.  And even selfishness is love
+misapplied.
+
+Yes, let us be thankful that in one form or another love permeates the
+universe, and there is no place, however unfavourable, and no person,
+however unlikely, that can altogether escape from its benign influence.
+
+We have been led to these reflections by the contemplation of that
+rugged, hard-featured, square-shouldered, angry old woman who so
+opportunely took Branwen under her protection.
+
+Why she did so was a complete mystery to the poor girl, for the woman
+seemed to have no amiable traits of character about her, and she spoke
+so harshly to every one--even to her timid captive--that Branwen could
+not help suspecting she was actuated by some sinister motive in
+protecting her.
+
+And Branwen was right.  She had indeed a sinister end in view--but love
+was at the bottom even of that.  The woman, whose name was Ortrud, had a
+son who was to the full as ugly and unamiable as herself, and she loved
+that son, although he treated her shamefully, abused her, and sometimes
+even threatened to beat her.  To do him justice, he never carried the
+threat into execution.  And, strange to say, this unamiable blackguard
+also loved his mother--not very demonstratively, it is true, except in
+the abusive manner above mentioned.
+
+This rugged creature had a strong objection to the wild, lawless life
+her son was leading, for instead of sticking to the tribe to which he
+belonged, and pillaging, fighting with, and generally maltreating every
+other tribe that was not at peace with his, this mistaken young man had
+associated himself with a band of like-minded desperadoes--who made him
+their chief--and took to pillaging the members of every tribe that
+misfortune cast in his way.  Now, it occurred to Ortrud that the best
+way to wean her son from his evil ways would be to get him married to
+some gentle, pretty, affectionate girl, whose influence would be exerted
+in favour of universal peace instead of war, and the moment she set eyes
+on Branwen, she became convinced that her ambition was on the point of
+attainment.  Hence her unexpected and sudden display of interest in the
+fair captive, whom she meant to guard till the return of her son from a
+special marauding expedition, in which he was engaged at the time with a
+few picked men.
+
+Whatever opinion the reader may have by this time formed of Branwen, we
+wish it to be understood that she had "a way with her" of insinuating
+herself into the good graces of all sorts and conditions of men--
+including women and children.  She was particularly successful with
+people of disagreeable and hardened character.  It is not possible to
+explain why, but, such being the case, it is not surprising that she
+soon wormed herself into the confidence of the old woman, to such an
+extent, that the latter was ere long tempted to make her more or less of
+a confidant.
+
+One day, about a week after the arrival of our heroine in the camp, old
+Ortrud asked her how she would like to live always in the green woods.
+The look of uncertainty with which she put the question convinced the
+captive that it was a leading one.
+
+"I should like it well," she replied, "if I had pleasant company to live
+with."
+
+"Of course, of course, my dear, you would need that--and what company
+could be more pleasant than that of a good stout man who could keep you
+in meat and skins and firewood?"
+
+Any one with a quarter of Branwen's intelligence would have guessed at
+once that the woman referred to her absent son, about whose good
+qualities she had been descanting at various times for several days
+past.  The poor girl shuddered as the light broke in on her, and a
+feeling of dismay at her helpless condition, and being entirely in the
+power of these savages, almost overcame her, but her power of
+self-restraint did not fail her.  She laughed, blushed in spite of
+herself, and said she was too young to look at the matter in _that_
+light!
+
+"Not a bit; not a bit!" rejoined Ortrud.  "I was younger than you when
+my husband ran away with me."
+
+"Ran away with you, Ortrud?" cried Branwen, laughing outright.
+
+"Ay; I was better-looking then than I am now, and not nigh so heavy.  He
+wouldn't find it so easy," said the woman, with a sarcastic snort, "to
+run away with me now."
+
+"No, and he wouldn't be so much inclined to do so, I should think,"
+thought Branwen, but she had the sense not to say so.
+
+"That's a very, very nice hunting shirt you are making," remarked
+Branwen, anxious to change the subject.
+
+The woman was pleased with the compliment.  She was making a coat at the
+time, of a dressed deer-skin, using a fish-bone needle, with a sinew for
+a thread.
+
+"Yes, it is a pretty one," she replied.  "I'm making it for my younger
+son, who is away with his brother, though he's only a boy yet."
+
+"Do you expect him back soon?" asked the captive, with a recurrence of
+the sinking heart.
+
+"In a few days, I hope.  Yes, you are right, my dear; the coat is a
+pretty one, and he is a pretty lad that shall wear it--not very handsome
+in the face, to be sure; but what does that matter so long as he's stout
+and strong and kind?  I am sure his elder brother, Addedomar, will be
+kind to you though he _is_ a bit rough to me sometimes."
+
+Poor Branwen felt inclined to die on the spot at this cool assumption
+that she was to become a bandit's wife; but she succeeded in repressing
+all appearance of feeling as she rose, and, stretching up her arms, gave
+vent to a careless yawn.
+
+"I must go and have a ramble now," she said.  "I'm tired of sitting so
+long."
+
+"Don't be long, my dear," cried the old woman, as the captive left the
+hut, "for the ribs must be nigh roasted by this time."
+
+Branwen walked quickly till she gained the thick woods; then she ran,
+and, finally sitting down on a bank, burst into a passion of tears.  But
+it was not her nature to remain in a state of inactive woe.  Having
+partially relieved her feelings she dried her tears and began to think.
+Her thinking was seldom or never barren of results.  To escape somehow,
+anyhow, everyhow, was so urgent that she felt it to be essential to the
+very existence of the universe--her universe at least--that she should
+lift herself out of the Impossible into the Stick-at-nothing.  The thing
+_must_ be done--by miracle if not otherwise.
+
+And she succeeded--not by miracle but by natural means--as the reader
+shall find out all in good time.
+
+CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
+
+THE PRINCE UNDERTAKES STRANGE WORK.
+
+When Prince Bladud entered upon what he really believed would be his
+last journey, he naturally encountered very different experiences, being
+neither so ignorant, so helpless, nor so improvident as his helpless
+follower.
+
+After a good many days of unflagging perseverance, therefore, he reached
+the neighbourhood of the Hot Swamp, in good spirits and in much better
+health than when he set out.  He was, indeed, almost restored to his
+usual vigour of body, for the fever by which he had been greatly
+weakened had passed away, and the constant walking and sleeping in fresh
+air had proved extremely beneficial.  We know not for certain whether
+the leprosy by which he had been attacked was identical in all respects
+with the fatal disease known in the East, or whether it was something
+akin to it, or the same in a modified form.  The only light which is
+thrown by our meagre records on this point is that it began with fever
+and then, after a period of what seemed convalescence, or inaction, it
+continued to progress slowly but surely.  Of course the manner in which
+it had been caught was more than presumptive evidence that it was at
+least of the nature of the fatal plague of the East.
+
+Although his immunity from present suffering tended naturally to raise
+the spirits of the prince, it did not imbue him with much, if any, hope,
+for he knew well he might linger for months--even for years--before the
+disease should sap all his strength and finally dry up the springs of
+life.
+
+This assurance was so strong upon him that, as we have said, he once--
+indeed more than once--thought of taking his own life.  But the
+temptation passed quickly.  He was too conscientious and too brave to do
+that; and had none of that moral cowardice which seeks escape from the
+inevitable in hoped-for oblivion.  Whether his life was the gift of many
+gods or of one God, he held that it was a sacred trust which he was
+bound in honour to guard.  Therefore he fought manfully against
+depression of spirits, as one of the destroyers of life, and even
+encouraged hope, frequently looking at the fatal white spot on his
+shoulder, and trying to persuade himself that it was not spreading.
+
+In this state of mind Bladud arrived one day at the abode of the hunter
+of the Hot Swamp.  It was not, indeed, close to the springs which caused
+the swamp, but stood in a narrow sequestered gully quite five miles
+distant from it.  The spot had been chosen as one which was not likely
+to be discovered by wanderers, and could be easily defended if it should
+be found.  Moreover, its owner, as Bladud had been warned, was a fierce,
+morose man, who loved solitude and resented interference of any kind,
+and this was so well known in the thinly-peopled neighbourhood that
+every one kept carefully out of his way.
+
+Sometimes this eccentric hunter appeared at the nearest village--twenty
+miles distant from his home--with some pigs to barter for the few
+commodities which he wanted from time to time; but he and his horse,
+cow, and dogs ate up all the remaining produce of his small farm--if
+such it might be called.
+
+It was a beautiful evening when the prince walked up to the door of the
+little hut, in front of which its owner was standing, eyeing him with a
+forbidding scowl as he approached.
+
+He was in truth a strange and formidable man, such as one would rather
+not meet with in a lonely place.  There appear to have been giants in
+those days; for this hunter of the Hot Swamp was nearly, if not quite,
+as tall as Bladud himself, and to all appearance fully as strong of
+limb.  A mass of black hair covered his head and chin; a skin
+hunting-shirt his body, and a hairy boar-skin was thrown across his
+broad shoulders.  Altogether, he seemed to his visitor the very
+personification of ferocity.  A huge bow, ready strung, leaned against
+his hut.  As Bladud advanced with his own bow unstrung, the man
+apparently scorned to take it up, but he grasped and leaned upon a staff
+proportioned to his size.
+
+Anxious to propitiate this mysterious being, the prince approached with
+steady, unaffected ease of manner, and a look of goodwill which might
+have conciliated almost any one; but it had no effect on the hunter.
+
+"What want ye here?" he demanded, when his visitor was near enough.
+
+"To enter your service."
+
+"_My_ service!" exclaimed the man with a look of surprise that for a
+moment banished the scowl.  "I want no servant.  I can serve myself well
+enough.  And, truly, it seems to me that a man like you should be
+ashamed to talk of service.  You are more fitted for a master than a
+servant.  I trow you must have some bad motive for seeking service with
+a man like me.  Have you murdered any one, that you flee from the face
+of your fellows and seek to hide you here?"
+
+"No, I am not a murderer."
+
+"What then?  Are you desirous of becoming one, and making me your
+victim?" asked the hunter, with a look of contempt; "for you will find
+that no easy job, stout though you be.  I have a good mind to crack your
+crown for coming here to disturb my solitude!"
+
+"Two can play at that game," replied Bladud, with a seraphic smile.
+"But I am truly a man of peace.  I merely want to look after your cattle
+for occupation; I will gladly live in the woods, away from your
+dwelling, if you will let me serve you--my sole desire being, like your
+own, to live--and, if need be, to die--alone."
+
+For a few moments there was a softened expression on the hunter's face
+as he asked, in a tone that had something almost of sympathy in it--
+
+"Is there a woman at the bottom of this?"
+
+"No.  Woman has nothing to do with it--at least, not exactly--not
+directly," returned Bladud.
+
+"Hah!" exclaimed the man, paying no regard to the modification implied
+in the answer; and advancing a step, with eager look, "did she tempt you
+on and then deceive you; and scorn you, and forsake you for another
+man?"
+
+"You mistake me.  The poor woman I was thinking of was an old one,
+labouring under a deadly disease."
+
+On hearing this the hunter's softened look vanished, and his former
+scowl returned.
+
+"Go!" he said, sternly; "I can take care of the cattle myself, without
+help.  But stay, a man of your peaceful nature and humility may,
+perchance, not be too proud to take charge of pigs."
+
+Bladud flushed--not so much because of the proposal as the tone of
+contempt in which it was uttered; but, remembering his condition and his
+object, he mastered his feelings.
+
+"I am willing to take charge of your pigs," he said, in a quiet tone;
+"where do they feed?"
+
+"A goodish bit from here.  Not far from the Hot Swamp, that lies on the
+other side of the hill."
+
+The man pointed to a high ridge, just visible beyond the gully in which
+his hut lay concealed, which was clothed from base to summit with dense
+forest.
+
+"There are plenty of pigs there," he continued in a milder tone.  "How
+many I don't know, and don't care.  I brought the old ones here, and
+they have multiplied.  If you choose to keep them together, you are
+welcome.  I want only a few of them now and then.  When I do, I hunt
+them together and drive them with my dogs.  You may kill and eat of them
+as you please; but don't come nigh my hut, mind you, else will I put an
+arrow in your heart."
+
+"Good, I will take care," returned the prince gravely.  "And if you come
+nigh _my_ dwelling, is it understood that I am to put an arrow in _your_
+heart?  I could easily do it, for I am a fair marksman."
+
+Something approaching almost to a smile crossed the hunter's swart
+visage at this reply.  It did not last, however.
+
+"Go!" he said.  "Keep your jesting for the pigs, if they have a mind to
+listen."
+
+"I will try them.  Mayhap they are more sociable than their owner.  And
+now, master, might I ask for the loan of one of your dogs?  It might be
+useful in herding."
+
+"None of them would follow you.  Yet--yes, the pup might do so.  It has
+not yet come to care for me much."
+
+So saying, the man went to the rear of his hut, and, from the kennel
+there, fetched a young but full-grown dog, somewhat resembling a
+retriever, which gambolled joyously at the prospect of being let out for
+a run.
+
+"There, take him.  He comes of a good breed.  Keep the leash on his neck
+till you have given him his first feed; he'll follow you after that."
+
+"What is his name?" asked the prince.
+
+"No name.  Like his master in that!"
+
+Taking the leash in his hand, Bladud said farewell, and went away into
+the woods, while the hunter of the Swamp, turning round, stooped as he
+entered his hut, and shut the door behind him.
+
+It may seem strange that the prince should thus voluntarily seek for
+menial occupation, but, in truth, he shrank from the idea of living
+absolutely to himself alone, and felt a strong desire to have some sort
+of responsibility in connection with a human being, however short his
+life on earth might be, or however uncouth the individual with whom he
+might have to do--for man is intensely social, as only those who have
+dwelt in absolute solitude can thoroughly understand.
+
+CHAPTER NINETEEN.
+
+PRINCE BLADUD TAKES POSSESSION OF HIS ESTATE AND BEGINS BUSINESS.
+
+Pondering over the circumstances of the strange being from whom he had
+just parted, Bladud proceeded to the summit of the hill, or ridge of
+high land, on the other side of which lay the region in which he had
+made up his mind to end his days.
+
+It took him full two hours to make his way through the dense underwood
+to the top; but when this point was reached, the magnificent panorama of
+land and water which met his view was a feast to his eyes, which for a
+time caused him to forget his forlorn condition.
+
+In all directions, wherever he gazed, ridges and knolls, covered with
+dense woods and richest vegetation, were seen extending from his
+elevated outlook to the distant horizon.  Cliffs, precipices, dells, and
+bright green open spaces varied the landscape; and in the bottom of the
+great valley which lay immediately beneath his feet there meandered a
+broad river, in whose waters were reflected here and there the
+overhanging trees, or green patches of its flower-bespangled banks, or
+the rich browns and yellows of spots where these banks had been broken
+away by floods; while, elsewhere, were seen glittering patches of the
+blue sky.
+
+Far away in the extreme distance a soft cloud of thin transparent vapour
+hung steadily over a partially open space, which he rightly conjectured
+to be the Hot Swamp, of which he had often heard wondrous stories in his
+boyhood, but which he had not been permitted to visit, owing to the
+tribes living near the springs having been at war with his father.
+During his absence in the East, King Hudibras had attacked and almost
+exterminated the tribes in question, so that the Hot Swamp region, just
+at the time when the prince arrived, was a land of desolation.
+
+Though desolate, however, it was, as we have tried to show, exceeding
+lovely, so that our wanderer was ravished with the prospect, and seated
+himself on a bank near the top of the ridge to contemplate its beauties
+in detail.
+
+His canine companion sat down beside him, and looked up inquiringly in
+his face.
+
+During the first part of the journey the pup had strained a good deal at
+the leash, and had displayed a strong desire to return to its former
+master, as well as a powerful objection to follow its new one.  It had
+also, with that perversity of spirit not uncommon in youth, exhibited a
+proneness to advance on the other side of bushes and trees from its
+companion, thus necessitating frequent halts and numerous
+disentanglements.  On all of these occasions Bladud had remonstrated in
+tones so soft, and had rectified the error so gently, that the pup was
+evidently impressed.  Possibly it was an observant pup, and appreciated
+the advantages of human kindness.  Perhaps it was a sagacious pup, and
+already recognised the difference between the old master and the new.
+
+Be this as it may, Bladud had not been long seated there in a state of
+dreamy abstraction, when he became conscious of the inquiring look.
+Returning it with interest, but without speaking, he gazed steadily into
+the soft brown eyes that were turned up to his.  At last the prince
+opened his lips, and the dog, turning his head slightly to one side with
+a look of expectancy, cocked his ears.
+
+"Browneyes," he said, "you'll grow to be a fine dog if you live."
+
+There was the slightest possible tremor in the pup's tail.  Of course
+there might have been more than a tremor if the caudal appendage had
+been at liberty instead of being sat upon.  It was enough, however, to
+indicate a tendency to goodwill.
+
+"Come here, Browneyes," said Bladud, holding out his hand.
+
+But the pup was hardly prepared for such a complete and sudden
+concession as the invitation implied.  He repeated the tremor, however,
+and turned his head to the other side, by way of a change, but sat
+still.
+
+A happy thought occurred to the prince--justifying the remark of Solomon
+that there is nothing new under the sun.  He opened his wallet, took out
+a small piece of meat, and held it out.
+
+"Here, Brownie, have a bit."  Another justification of Solomon, for the
+natural abbreviation of names is not new!
+
+The pup advanced with confidence, ate the morsel, and looked inquiringly
+for more, at the same time wagging its tail with unqualified
+satisfaction.
+
+"Yes, Brownie, you shall have more."
+
+The second morsel was bestowed; the tail wagged effusively; the name of
+Brownie became irrevocably associated with food, and a loving look and
+tone with favours to come.  Thus a title and a friendship were
+established which endured through life and was terminated only by death.
+So trivial sometimes are the incidents on which the great events of
+life are hinged!
+
+We pause here to deprecate the idea that this fine animal's affection
+was gained through its stomach.  Many a time had its old master thrown
+it savoury junks and bones of food; but a scowl and sometimes a growl,
+had often been thrown into the mess, thereby robbing the gift of all
+grace, and checking the outflow of affection.  Bladud's character
+similarly, was as clearly perceived by the manner of his gifts.  Indeed,
+it would have been a poor compliment to the intelligence of Brownie--or
+of any dog, young or old--to suppose it capable of misunderstanding the
+gentle tone, the kindly glance, and the patting hand of Bladud.  At all
+events, the result was that Brownie, with an expressive wag and bark,
+vowed fidelity from that date to the prince, and, in the same act,
+renounced allegiance to the hunter of the Hot Swamp.
+
+From that date, too, the master and the dog entered upon, and kept up at
+frequent though brief intervals, a species of conversation or mental
+intercourse which, if not profound, was equal to much that passes for
+intercourse among men, and was, at all events, a source of eminent
+satisfaction to both.
+
+Removing the leash, Bladud descended the hill, with Brownie gambolling
+delightedly round him.
+
+That night they slept together under the spreading branches of a
+magnificent oak.
+
+There was no need to keep watch against wild beasts, for Brownie slept,
+as it were, with one eye open, and the slightest symptom of curiosity
+among the wild fraternity was met by a growl so significant that the
+would-be intruder sheered off.
+
+The sun was high when the prince awoke and arose from his bed of leaves.
+The pup, although awake long before, had dutifully lain still, abiding
+his master's time.  It now arose and shook itself, yawned, and looked up
+with an expression of "what next?"
+
+Having lighted a fire, Bladud set up the carcase of a wild duck to
+roast.  He had shot it the day before on his way to the valley of the
+Swamp.  As this was a proceeding in which the pup had a prospective
+interest, he sat by attentively.
+
+"Ah!  Brownie," said his master, sitting down to wait for the cooking of
+the bird, "you little know what a sad life awaits you.  No companionship
+but that of a doomed man, and I fear you will be a poor nurse when the
+end comes, though assuredly you will not be an unsympathetic one.  But
+it may be long before the end.  That's the worst of it.  Come, have a
+bit."
+
+He threw him a leg as he spoke, and the two breakfasted peacefully
+together on the banks of the shining river, slaking their thirst, after
+it was finished, at the same pure stream.
+
+While doing so the prince observed with satisfaction that large trout
+were rising freely, and that several flocks of wild ducks and other
+aquatic birds passed both up and down the river.
+
+"Now, Brownie," he said, when the meal was concluded, "you and I must
+search for a convenient spot on which to build our hut."
+
+Before starting off, however, he uncovered his shoulder and looked
+anxiously at the white spot.  It was as obvious as ever, but did not
+seem to him increased since he left home.  A very slight matter will
+sometimes give hope to a despairing man.  Under the influence of this
+negative comfort, Bladud took up his weapons and sallied forth, closely
+followed by the pup.
+
+In the haste of departure and the depressed state of his mind he had, as
+has been said, forgotten his sword, or deliberately left it behind him.
+The only weapon he now possessed, besides the bow and arrows given to
+him by the Hebrew, was a small bronze hatchet, which was, however, of
+little use for anything except cutting down small trees and branches for
+firewood.  He carried a little knife, also, in his girdle, but it was
+much too small to serve the purpose of an offensive weapon, though it
+was well suited to skin wild animals and cut up his food.  As for his
+staff, or club--it might be of use in a contest with men, but would be
+of little service against bears or wolves.  Casting it aside, therefore,
+he cut for himself a ponderous oaken staff about five feet long, at one
+end of which there was a heavy knotted mass that gave it great weight.
+The other end he sharpened to a fine point.  This formidable weapon he
+purposed to wield with both hands when using it as a club, while, if
+need should arise, he might also use it as a spear.
+
+"I was foolish, Brownie," he remarked, while rounding off the head of
+this club, "to leave my good sword behind me, for though I have no
+desire to kill men, there may arise a need-be to kill bears.  However,
+it cannot be helped, and, verily, this little thing will be a pretty
+fair substitute."
+
+He twirled the little thing round his head with one hand, in a way that
+would have rejoiced the heart of a modern Irishman, had he been there to
+see, and induced the pup to jump aside in surprise with his tail between
+his legs.
+
+A few minutes later, and he was striding over the beautiful land in all
+directions, examining and taking possession, as it were, of his fair
+domain.
+
+In passing over a knoll which was crowned by several magnificent oaks,
+they came suddenly on a family of black pigs, which were luxuriating on
+the acorns that covered the ground.
+
+"My future care!" muttered the prince, with a grim smile, for he hardly
+believed in the truth of all he was going through, and almost expected
+to awake and find it was a dream.
+
+The pigs, headed by a huge old boar, caught sight of the intruders at
+the same time, and stood for a moment or two grunting in stolid
+astonishment.
+
+With all the gaiety of inexperience, the pup went at them single-handed,
+causing the whole herd to turn and fly with ear-splitting screams--the
+old boar bringing up the rear, and looking round, out of the corner of
+his little eyes, with wicked intent.
+
+Bladud, knowing the danger, sprang after them, shouting to the pup to
+come back.  But Brownie's war-spirit had been aroused, and his training
+in obedience had only just begun.  In a moment he was alongside the
+boar, which turned its head and gave him a savage rip with a gleaming
+tusk.  Fortunately it just barely reached the pup's flank, which it cut
+slightly, but quite enough to cause him to howl with anger and pain.
+
+Before the boar could repeat the operation, Bladud sent his club
+whizzing in advance of him.  It was well aimed.  The heavy head alighted
+just above the root of the boar's curly tail.  Instantly, as if
+anticipating the inventions of the future, fifty steam whistles seemed
+to burst into full cry.  The other pigs, in sympathetic alarm, joined in
+chorus, and thus, yelling inconceivably, they plunged into a thicket and
+disappeared.
+
+Bladud almost fell to the ground with laughing, while Brownie, in no
+laughing mood, came humbly forward to claim and receive consolation.
+But he received more than consolation, for, while the prince was engaged
+in binding up the wound, he poured upon him such a flood of solemn
+remonstrance, in a tone of such injured feeling, that the pup was
+evidently cut to the heart--his self-condemned, appealing looks proving
+beyond a doubt that the meaning of what was said was plain to him,
+though the language might be obscure.
+
+On continuing the march, Brownie limped behind his master--a sadder and
+a wiser dog.  They had not gone far when they came on another family of
+pigs, which fled as before.  A little further on, another herd was
+discovered, wallowing in a marshy spot.  It seemed to Bladud that there
+was no good feeding in that place, and that the creatures were dirtying
+themselves with no obvious end in view, so, with the pup's rather
+unwilling assistance, he drove them to more favourable ground, where the
+acorns were abundant.
+
+At this point he reached a secluded part of the valley, or, rather, an
+off-shoot from it, where a low precipice rose on one side, and thick
+flowering shrubs protected the other.  The spot was considerably
+elevated above the level of the low ground, and from an opening in the
+shrubbery at the further extremity could be seen the larger valley with
+all its wealth of forest and meadow, its knolls, and slopes, and wooded
+uplands, with the river winding like a silver thread throughout its
+whole extent.
+
+Here the prince resolved to fix his abode, and, not a little pleased
+with the successful way in which he had commenced his amateur
+pig-herding, he set vigorously and patiently to work with the little
+bronze hatchet, to fell such trees as would be required in the
+construction of his future home.
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY.
+
+A STRANGE ABODE AND A WILD VISITOR.
+
+Bladud's idea of a palace worthy of a prince was not extravagant.  He
+erected it in three days without assistance or tools, except the bronze
+axe and knife--Brownie acting the part of superintendent of the works.
+Until it was finished, he slept with the forest trees for a shelter and
+the sky for a canopy.
+
+The edifice was nothing better than a small hut, or booth, constructed
+of long branches bent in the shape of semi-hoops, the ends of which were
+thrust into the ground.  The whole was thatched with dried grass and
+bound down with ropes made of the same material.  It was further secured
+against the possible influence of high winds, by heavy branches being
+laid across it and weighted with stones.  Dried grass also formed the
+carpeting on the floor.
+
+Of course it was not so high that its architect could stand up in it,
+but he could sit in it erect, and could lie down at full length without
+showing his heels outside.  There was no door, but one end was left
+unfinished as a substitute.  Neither was there a fireplace, the space in
+front sufficing for a kitchen.
+
+While engaged in its erection, Bladud was too busy to indulge in gloomy
+thoughts, but as soon as it was finished and he had lain down to rest
+under its shade, the terrible, almost incredible, nature of his position
+rushed upon him in full force.  The opening of the hut had been so
+arranged as to present a view of the wide-spreading valley, and he gazed
+upon scenes of surpassing loveliness, in which all the sights that met
+the eye breathed of beauty and repose, while the sounds that broke upon
+the ear were suggestive of bird and beast revelling in the enjoyment of
+the gifts and sunshine of a bountiful Creator.  But such sights and
+sounds only enhanced the misery of the poor man, and he started up,
+after a few minutes' contemplation, and rushed outside in the vain hope
+of escaping from his misery by energetic action.
+
+"This will drive me mad," he thought, as he paused and stood for a few
+minutes irresolute.  "Better far to return to the East where tyrants
+reign and people dare not call body and soul their own, and die fighting
+in the front rank for liberty--but--but--who would let me join them,
+knowing my disease?  `Unclean!'  I may not even come within touch of my
+kind--"
+
+His head sank on his breast and he tried to banish thought altogether.
+At the same moment his eyes met the meek, patient look of Brownie.
+
+"Ah, pup," he exclaimed, stooping to fondle the soft brown head as he
+muttered to himself, "you teach me a lesson and put me to shame, despite
+your want of speech.  You are awaiting my commands, ready to give
+unquestioning obedience--whether to go to the right, or left, or to lie
+down.  And here am I, not only a prince, but supposed to be a reasoning
+man, rebelling against the decree of my Maker--my Spirit-Father!  Surely
+there must be One who called my spirit into being--else had I never
+been, for I could not create myself, and it must be His will that I am
+smitten--and for a _good_ end, else He were not good!"
+
+For a few minutes longer he continued to meditate in silence.  Then he
+turned quickly and picked up the axe which lay at the entrance of the
+hut.
+
+"Come, pup," he cried, cheerfully, "you and I must build another house.
+You see, we shall have plenty of game and venison soon to guard from the
+wolves, and it would be disagreeable to keep it in the palace along with
+ourselves--wouldn't it?  So, come along, Brownie."
+
+Thus appealed to, the pup gave its assent by some violent tail
+activities, and, in a few minutes, had resumed its former post as
+superintendent of the works, while its master toiled like a second
+Samson in the hope of driving mental distress away through the pores of
+his skin.
+
+He was not indeed altogether unsuccessful, for so intimate is the
+mysterious connection between spirit and matter that he felt comparative
+relief--even to the extent of cheerfulness--when the muscles were in
+violent action and the perspiration was streaming down his brow; but
+when the second hut, or larder, was completed his depression returned in
+greater power than before.
+
+Then he took to hunting with tremendous energy, a plan which was highly
+approved of by his canine companion.  He also devoted himself to his
+specific duties as swine-herd; collected the animals from all quarters
+into several large herds, counted them as well as he could, and drove
+them to suitable feeding-grounds.  On retiring each day from this work,
+into which he threw all his power, he felt so fatigued as to be quite
+ready for supper and bed.
+
+Gradually he became accustomed to the life, and at length, after a
+considerable time of it, a feeling of resignation to his fate began to
+tell upon him.
+
+The effect of prolonged solitude also began even to numb the powers of
+his mind.  He was fully aware of this, and tried to shake it off, for he
+shuddered more at the thought of mental than of physical decay.  Among
+other things, he took to talking more frequently to Brownie, but
+although the pup was, in many respects, a most valuable and sympathetic
+companion, he could not prevent the conversation from being rather
+one-sided.
+
+By degrees the summer merged into autumn; the foliage assumed the tints
+of green and gold.  Then it became russet, and finally the cold bleak
+winds of a northern winter shrieked through the valley and swept the
+leaves away.
+
+During all this time no human being had gone near that region, or paid
+the forlorn prince a visit, except once when the hunter of the Hot Swamp
+made his appearance.
+
+The rebellious tribes retained too vivid a recollection of the slaughter
+that had taken place during and after the fight with King Hudibras, to
+risk a second encounter with that monarch, so that the place was at that
+time absolutely deserted by human beings--though it was sufficiently
+peopled by the lower animals.  On the occasion when the hunter
+unexpectedly appeared, he demanded of Bladud an account of his
+stewardship.  The report was so satisfactory that the hunter became, for
+him, quite amiable; commended his swine-herd and drove off a number of
+the pigs to market.  On his return, laden with the few household goods
+for which he had bartered them, he paid the prince another visit, and
+even condescended to accept an invitation to enter his hut and partake
+of a roast of venison which was at the time being prepared for the
+mid-day meal.  He was still, however, very brusque and taciturn.
+
+"No one has been near me during the whole summer or autumn but
+yourself," observed Bladud with an involuntary sigh.
+
+"You must be pleased at that," returned the hunter, sharply; "you said
+you came here for solitude."
+
+"Truly I did; but I had not thought it would be so hard to bear."
+
+"Why do you seek it, then, if you don't like it?" asked the hunter in
+the same brusque, impatient manner which characterised all his words and
+actions.
+
+"I am forced to seek it by a Power which may not be resisted with
+impunity."
+
+"There is no such power!" exclaimed the hunter with a wild, demoniac
+laugh.  "I can resist any power--all powers.  There is nothing that I
+cannot resist and overcome."
+
+The gigantic man, with his dishevelled locks and shaggy beard, looked so
+fierce and powerful, as he sat on the opposite side of the fire glaring
+at his host, that Bladud became impressed with a hope that the maniac--
+for such he evidently was--would not attempt to prove his resistless
+power there and then.  In order to avert such a catastrophe, he assumed
+an air of the most perfect ease and indifference to the boast, and asked
+him with a bland smile if he would have another slice of venison.
+
+The hunter seemed to be disconcerted by the question, but, being a
+hungry man and a ravenous eater, he accepted the offer and began to eat
+the slice in moody silence.
+
+"Your good pup has been a real blessing to me," resumed the prince a few
+minutes later, during which time he had devoted himself to his own
+portion of food, "not only in the way of helping me to hunt and drive
+the pigs, but as a companion who can do all but speak."
+
+"He could speak if you would let him," returned the hunter.  "I speak to
+my dogs continually, and they always answer--not with their tongues, for
+that is not dog-language, but with their eyes--and I know every word
+they speak.  You would wonder how clever they are, and what droll things
+they say sometimes."
+
+He burst into a wild hilarious laugh at this point, as if the thought of
+the canine pleasantries were too much for him; then suddenly became
+grave, and scowled furtively at his host, as if he felt that he had
+committed himself.
+
+"You are right," replied Bladud, affecting not to observe the scowl.
+"My pup often speaks to me with his eyes, but I am not so good at
+understanding the language as you appear to be.  No doubt I shall
+acquire it in time."
+
+"Then you don't like being alone?" said the hunter, after a pause,
+during which Bladud saw that he was eyeing him keenly, though he
+pretended not to observe this.
+
+"No, I don't like it at all, but it can't be helped."
+
+"Well, it might have been helped, for I could have sent them to you."
+
+"Sent whom?"
+
+"A man and a boy.  They were not together, but came to my hut at
+different times inquiring for you, but, knowing your desire for
+solitude, I turned them away on the wrong scent."
+
+"I'm glad you did," returned the prince, "for I want to be troubled by
+neither man nor boy.  Yet I wonder who they could be.  Did they say why
+they wanted to find me?"
+
+"No, they did not say, and I would not ask; what cared I about their
+reasons?"
+
+"Yet you care enough for me, it appears, to say you would have sent them
+to me if you knew I had been lonely.  What was the appearance of the
+man?"
+
+"He was old, but very strong, though not so big as me--or you.  His hair
+was long and white; so was his beard.  He wore a long dark robe, and
+carried a very big staff."
+
+Bladud had no difficulty in recognising the description of his friend
+the Hebrew.
+
+"And the boy; what was he like?"
+
+"Like all boys, active and impudent."
+
+"I am afraid," returned the prince with a slight smile, "that your
+acquaintance with boys cannot have been extensive--they are not all
+active and impudent."
+
+"Most of those that have crossed my path are so.  At all events, this
+one was, for when I pointed out the direction you had gone--which was
+just the opposite way from here--he said, `I don't believe you!' and
+when I leaped on him to give him his deserts, he dodged me, and fled
+into the woods like a squirrel.  It was as well, for I should have
+killed him."
+
+"I am not sorry he escaped you, then," said Bladud, with a laugh,
+"though I scarcely think you would have killed the poor lad even if you
+had caught him."
+
+"Oh yes, I would.  And I'll kill _you_ if you venture to doubt my word."
+
+As he said this the hunter sprang to his feet, and, drawing his knife,
+seemed about to leap upon his host, who, however, sat perfectly still.
+
+"I should be sorry that you should die," said Bladud in a calm voice,
+while he kept his eyes steadily fixed on those of the maniac.  "_You_
+have heard, have you not, of that terrible disease of the East, called
+leprosy?"
+
+"Yes--the ship-captains have often spoken of it," said the madman, whose
+mind, like that of a child, could be easily turned into new channels.
+
+"Look!  I have got that disease.  The Power which you profess to despise
+has sent it to me.  If you so much as touch me, your doom is fixed."
+
+He uncovered his shoulder as he spoke and displayed the white spot.
+
+Bladud felt quite uncertain how this would be received by the madman,
+but he was scarcely prepared for what followed.  No sooner did the
+hunter see the spot and realise what it meant, than without a word he
+turned, caught up his bundle, uttered a yell of terror, and fled from
+the spot, closely followed by his dogs, which howled as if in sympathy.
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.
+
+A STRANGE ENCOUNTER AND A FRIEND IN NEED.
+
+About a week after the events narrated in the last chapter, an incident
+occurred which, trifling in itself, was nevertheless the cause of
+momentous issues in the life of our hero.
+
+He was returning one evening from a long ramble with his dog, when the
+screams of a pig in evident distress attracted his attention.  Hastening
+to the place he found that a small member of his charge had fallen over
+a cliff into a crevice in the rock, where it stuck fast and was unable
+to extricate itself.  The violent nature of the porcine family is well
+known.  Although very little hurt, this little pig felt its position so
+unbearable that it immediately filled the woods with agonising shrieks
+until Bladud dragged it out of the cleft, and carried it in his arms to
+the foot of the precipice, where he set it free.  Then the whirlwind of
+its outcry came to a sudden stop, thereby proving beyond a doubt that
+passion, not pain, was the cause of its demonstrations.
+
+From that date many of the pigs became affected by a cutaneous disease,
+which gradually spread among all the herds.  It was some time before
+Bladud observed this; but when he did notice it, he jumped at once to
+the conclusion that he must have communicated leprosy to his unfortunate
+herds while rescuing the little pig.  Whether or not he was right in
+this conjecture, we cannot say; but the probability of his mere touch
+being so contaminating was sufficient to increase greatly the depression
+of spirits which had been stealing over him--a condition which was not a
+little aggravated by the fact that the white spot on his arm was slowly
+but surely spreading.  Still the disease had not, so far, affected his
+general health or strength in any serious degree.
+
+About that time there set in a long period of fine sunny weather, during
+which Bladud busied himself in hunting and drying meat, as well as fish,
+which he stored in his larder for future use.  He also cut a large
+quantity of firewood, and built another booth in which to protect it
+from the weather, and otherwise made preparation for the winter when it
+should arrive.
+
+One day he had wandered a considerable way into the forest, and was
+about to turn to retrace his steps homeward, when he was surprised to
+hear some creature crashing through the woods towards him.  It could not
+have been startled by himself, else it would have run away from him.
+Stepping behind a tree, he strung his bow, called Brownie close to his
+heel, and waited.  A few seconds later a deer dashed close past him,
+but, as his belt was already hung round with game, and home was still
+far distant, he did not shoot.  Besides, he was curious to know what had
+startled the deer.  A few minutes revealed that, for suddenly the sound
+of footsteps was heard; then the bushes opposite were parted, and a boy,
+or youth just emerging from boyhood, ran past him at full speed, with an
+arrow sticking through his left sleeve.  He was unarmed, and gasped like
+one who runs for his life.  Catching sight of the prince as he passed
+the tree that had concealed him, the boy doubled like a hare, ran up to
+Bladud, and, grasping one of his hands, cried--"O! save me!--save me!--
+from robbers!" in the most agonising tones.
+
+"That will I, poor lad, if I can."
+
+He had barely time to make this reply when a man burst from the
+shrubbery on the other side of the tree, and almost plunged into his
+arms.  So close was he, and so unexpected the meeting, that the prince
+had not time or space to use his bow, but saluted the man's forehead
+with such an Olympic crack from his fist, that he fell prone upon the
+ground and remained there.  Bladud had dropped his bow in the act, but
+his club leant handily against the tree.  Catching it up, he wheeled
+round just in time to face three tall and strong men, with bows in their
+hands.  Seeing their leader on the ground, they simultaneously
+discharged three arrows, which were well aimed, and struck the prince
+full on the chest; but they did not penetrate far, for, in anticipation
+of some such possible encounter with foes, he had covered his chest with
+a breastplate of thick double-ply hide, which effectually checked them.
+
+Before they could draw other arrows Bladud rushed at them with a
+terrific shout, hurling his mighty club in advance.  The weapon caught
+the nearest robber full in the chest and laid him flat on the grass.
+The other two, dropping their bows, turned and fled.
+
+"Guard them, Brownie!" cried Bladud, as he followed.
+
+The dog obediently took up a position between the two fallen men, and
+eyed them in a way and with an ominous growl, that meant mischief if
+they dared to stir.
+
+Bladud easily overtook the other two, grasped them by their necks, and,
+using their heads as battering-rams, rapped them together.  They sank
+half-stunned upon their knees, and begged for mercy.
+
+"You shall have it," said Bladud, "on the condition that you go and tell
+your comrades that if they ever come within twenty miles of the Swamp,
+they shall find a man in the woods who will turn them inside out, and
+roast them all alive!  Away!"
+
+They went precipitately, as may be readily believed, and, as the prince
+had intended, spread a report that gave to him thenceforth the rank of a
+sorcerer, and secured him from future annoyance.
+
+Returning to the tree, Bladud found the fallen robbers beginning to
+recover consciousness--the one being held in submission by the fugitive
+youth, who stood, bow in hand, pointing an arrow at his throat; the
+other by Brownie, who merely curled his nose, displayed his magnificent
+teeth, and uttered a low growl of remonstrance.
+
+"Get up!" he said to the one he had knocked down with his fist.
+
+But as the order was not obeyed with sufficient promptitude, he lifted
+the man up by the collar, like a kitten, and sent him staggering against
+the tree with a violence that astounded him.  Calling off the dog, he
+gave a similar order to the second robber, who displayed much greater
+agility in his movements.
+
+Repeating the little threat with which he had dismissed their comrades,
+Bladud ordered them to be off.  The second robber thankfully turned and
+took to his heels; but the first stooped to pick up his bow, whereupon
+Bladud wrenched it from his grasp, broke it over his head, and
+belaboured him with the wreck for a couple of hundred yards through the
+woods, while the robber ran as if he thought the evil spirit was at his
+heels.
+
+Returning somewhat blown from this unusual exercise, he found the youth
+in a state of great amusement and satisfaction.
+
+"Hah! you may laugh, my lad; but I can assure you it would have been no
+laughing matter if these scoundrels had caught you."
+
+"You speak but the sober truth," returned the boy, still smiling; "for
+well assured am I that it would have cost me my life if they had caught
+me.  But, believe me, I am not only pleased to see such villains get a
+little of what they deserve, but am exceedingly grateful to you for so
+kindly and effectually coming to my aid."
+
+"As to that, I would aid any one in distress--especially if pursued by
+robbers.  But, come, sit down and tell me how you fell into their power.
+This bout has winded me a little.  I will sit down on this bank; do you
+sit on the bank opposite to me."
+
+"The explanation is simple and short," replied the boy; "I wanted to
+have my own way, like most other boys, so I left home without leave, or
+saying farewell."
+
+"That was bad," said the prince, shaking his head.  He was on the point
+of advancing some profitable reflections on this head, but the memory of
+his own boyhood checked him.
+
+"I know it was bad, and assuredly I have been well punished," returned
+the boy, "for these robbers caught me and have kept me with them for a
+long time, so long that I have quite lost count of the days now."
+
+"Does your father live far from here?"
+
+"Yes, very, very far, and I know not where to go or what to do,"
+answered the boy, with a pitiful look.
+
+"Never mind, you are safe at present, and no doubt I shall find means of
+having you sent safe home--though I see not the way just yet."
+
+"Is that blood on your coat?" asked the lad anxiously, as he pointed to
+the prince's breast.
+
+"It is.  The arrow-heads must have gone through the breastplate and
+scratched the skin.  I will look to it."
+
+"Let me help you," said the boy, rising and approaching.
+
+"Back! you know not what you do," said the prince sternly.  "You must
+not touch me.  You have done so once to-day.  It may cost you your life.
+Ask not why, but obey my orders."
+
+Not less surprised at the nature of these remarks than at the severe
+tone in which they were uttered, the boy re-seated himself in silence,
+while Bladud removed the breastplate and examined his wounds.
+
+They were deeper than he had imagined, the three arrow-heads being half
+imbedded in his flesh.
+
+"Nothing serious," he said, drawing out the heads and stanching the flow
+of blood with a little moss.  "Come, now, I will show you my home, and
+give you something to eat before you tell me more of your history.  You
+shall have a couch in one of my outhouses.  Have a care as you walk with
+me that you do not come against me, or touch me even with a finger.  My
+reasons you may not know, but--remember what I say."
+
+Bladud spoke the last words with the severity that he had assumed
+before; then, dismissing the subject, he commented on the beauty of the
+landscape, the wickedness of robbers, the liveliness of animated nature
+and things in general with the cheerful air that had been habitual to
+him before he was compelled to flee the face of man.  The pleasure he
+had felt in his brief intercourse with the gruff hunter of the Swamp had
+remained a bright spot in his lonely life.  He naturally enjoyed with
+much greater zest the company of the lively boy who had thus
+unexpectedly crossed his path, but when he retired for the night--having
+told the lad to make for himself a couch in the fire-wood hut--the utter
+desolation of his life became, if possible, more deeply impressed on
+him.
+
+During the night his wounds inflamed and became much more painful, and
+in the morning--whether from this cause or not, we cannot say--he found
+himself in a high fever.
+
+His new friend, like most healthy boys, was a profound sleeper, and when
+the time for breakfast arrived he found it necessary to get up and awake
+him.
+
+"Ho! lad, rise," he cried at the entrance to the firewood hut, "you
+slumber soundly.  Come out and help me to get ready our morning meal."
+
+The lad obeyed at once.
+
+"What is your name?" he asked, as the lad appeared.
+
+"Cormac," he replied.
+
+"Well, Cormac, do you roast the meat this morning.  Truly, it seems that
+you have come just in the nick of time, for I feel so ill that my head
+seems like a lump of stone, and my skin is burning.  It is not often
+that I have had to ask the aid of man in such matters.  Will you get me
+a draught of water from the spring hard by?  I will lie down again for a
+little."
+
+Cormac willingly ran to a neighbouring spring and filled thereat a cup
+made of the bark of the birch tree, with which he returned to Bladud's
+hut.
+
+"Just put it inside the door where I can reach it," shouted the prince.
+"Do not enter on any account."
+
+Lifting a corner of the skin that covered the entrance, the lad placed
+the cup inside, and then, sitting down by the fire outside, proceeded to
+prepare breakfast.
+
+When it was ready he called to Bladud to say whether he would have some,
+at the same time thrusting a savoury rib underneath the curtain; but the
+prince declined it.
+
+"I cannot eat," he said; "let me lie and rest if possible.  My poor boy,
+this is inhospitable treatment.  Yet I cannot help it."
+
+"Never mind me," returned Cormac, lightly.  "I like to nurse the sick,
+and I'll keep you well supplied with water, and cook venison or birds
+too if you want them.  I can even shoot them if required."
+
+"No need for that," returned Bladud, "there is plenty of food laid up
+for winter.  But don't come inside my hut, remember.  It will be death
+if you do!"
+
+All that day the lad sat by the fire or went to the well for water, of
+which his patient drank continuously.  During the night the prince was
+very restless, and groaned a good deal, so the boy resolved to sit up
+and watch by the fire.  Next morning Bladud was delirious, and as he
+could not rise even to fetch from the door the water for which he
+thirsted, Cormac resolved to disobey orders and risk the consequences.
+Entering the hut, therefore, and sitting down beside the patient, he
+tended him for many days and nights--taking what rest he could obtain by
+snatches beside the camp-fire.
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.
+
+THE PIGS' CURE.
+
+It was not long before our hero recovered from his delirium.  Leading,
+as he had been doing, an abstemious and healthy life, ordinary disease
+could not long maintain its grasp of him.  His superabundant life seemed
+to cast it off with the ease with which his physical frame was able to
+cast aside human foes.  But he could not thus shake off the leprosy.
+
+One of the first things he did on recovering consciousness was to
+uncover his arm.  The fatal spot had increased considerably in size.
+With something of a shudder he looked round his little hut, endeavouring
+to remember where he was and to recall recent events.  He was alone at
+the time, and he fancied the fight with the robbers and rescue of the
+boy must have been all a dream.  The name Cormac, however, puzzled him
+not a little.  Many a time before that had he dreamed of vivid scenes
+and thrilling incidents, but never in his recollection had he dreamt a
+name!
+
+Being thoughtfully disposed, he lay meditating listlessly on this point
+in that tranquil frame of mind which often accompanies convalescence,
+and had almost fallen asleep when a slight noise outside awoke him.  The
+curtain-door was lifted, and Cormac, entering, sat quietly down on a
+block of wood beside him.
+
+Bladud became suddenly aware that he had not been dreaming, but he did
+not move.  Through his slightly opened eyelids he watched the lad while
+he mixed some berries in a cup of water.  As he lay thus silently
+observant, he was deeply impressed with the handsome countenance of his
+nurse and the graceful movements of his slight figure.
+
+Presently the thought of his disease recurred to him--it was seldom,
+indeed, absent from his mind--and the strict injunctions which he had
+given to his young companion.
+
+"Boy!--boy!" he cried suddenly, with a vigour that caused the boy to
+start off his seat and almost capsize the cup, "did I not forbid you to
+enter my hut or to touch me?"
+
+At first Cormac looked alarmed, but, seeing that a decided change for
+the better had taken place in his patient, his brow smoothed and he
+laughed softly.
+
+"How dared you to disobey me?" exclaimed Bladud again in stern tones.
+
+"I dared because I saw you were unable to prevent me," returned the lad,
+with a quiet smile.  "Besides, you were too ill to feed yourself, so, of
+course, I had to do it for you.  Do you suppose I am so ungrateful to
+the man who saved my life as to stand aside and let him die for want of
+a helping hand?  Come, now, be reasonable and let me give you this
+drink."  He approached as he spoke.
+
+"Keep off!--keep off, I say," shouted the prince in a voice so resolute
+that Cormac was fain to obey.  "It is bad enough to come into my hut,
+but you _must not_ touch me!"
+
+"Why not?--I have touched you already."
+
+"How! when?"
+
+"I have lifted your head many a time to enable you to drink when you
+could not lift it yourself."
+
+A groan escaped Bladud.
+
+"Then it is too late!  Look at this," he cried, suddenly uncovering his
+arm.
+
+"What is that?" asked the boy, with a look of curiosity.
+
+"It is--leprosy!"
+
+"I am not afraid of leprosy!"
+
+"Not afraid of it!" exclaimed the prince, "that may well be, for you
+have the air of one who fears nothing; but it will kill you for all
+that, unless the Maker of all defends you, for it is a dread--a
+terrible--disease that no strength can resist or youth throw off.  It
+undermines the health and eats the flesh off the bones, renders those
+whom it attacks horrible to look at, and in the end it kills them.  But
+it is possible that you may not yet have caught the infection, poor lad,
+so you must keep away from me now, and let not a finger touch me
+henceforth.  Your life, I say, may depend on it."
+
+"I will obey you as to that," replied Cormac, "now that you are
+beginning to recover, but I must still continue to put food and water
+within your reach."
+
+"Be it so," rejoined the prince, turning away with a slight groan, for
+his excitement not less than the conversation had exhausted him.  In a
+few minutes more he was asleep with an expression of profound anxiety
+stereotyped on his countenance.
+
+It was not long after the fever left him that returning strength enabled
+Bladud to crawl out of his hut, and soon after that he was able to
+ramble through the woods in company with Cormac, and with Brownie--that
+faithful friend who had lain by his master's side during all his
+illness.  The sparkling river gladdened the eyes, and the bracing air
+and sunshine strengthened the frame of the prince, so that with the
+cheerful conversation of Cormac and the gambols of his canine friend he
+was sometimes led to forget for a time the dark cloud that hung over
+him.
+
+One day he was struck by something in the appearance of his dog, and,
+sitting down on a bank, he called it to him.  After a few minutes'
+careful examination he turned to Cormac with a look of deep anxiety.
+
+"My boy," he said, "I verily believe that the hound is smitten with my
+own complaint.  In his faithful kindness he has kept by me until I have
+infected him."
+
+"That cannot be," returned Cormac, "for, during my rambles alone, when
+you were too ill to move, I saw that a great many of the pigs were
+affected by a skin disease something like that on the dog, and, you
+know, you could not have infected the pigs, for you have never touched
+them."
+
+Bladud's anxiety was not removed but deepened when he heard this, for he
+called to remembrance the occasion when he had rescued one of the little
+pigs and carried it for some distance in his arms.
+
+"And, do you know," continued the lad, "I have observed a strange thing.
+I have seen that many of the pigs, affected with this complaint, have
+gone down to the place where the hot waters rise, and, after bathing
+there, have returned all covered with mud, and these pigs seem to have
+got better of the disease, while many of those which did not go down to
+the swamp have died."
+
+"That is strange indeed," returned the prince; "I must see to this, for
+if these waters cure the pigs, why not the dog?"
+
+"Ay," rejoined Cormac, "and why not the man?"
+
+"Because my disease is well known to be incurable."
+
+"Are you sure?"
+
+"We can hardly be sure of anything, not even of killing our mid-day
+meal," rejoined the prince.  "See, there goes a bird that is big enough
+to do for both of us.  Try your hand."
+
+"That will be but losing an opportunity, for, as you know, I am not a
+good marksman," returned the youth, fitting an arrow quickly to his bow
+nevertheless, and discharging it.  Although the bird in question was
+large and not far off, the arrow missed the mark, but startled the bird
+so that it took wing.  Before it had risen a yard from the ground,
+however, an arrow from Bladud's bow transfixed it.
+
+That night, after the bird had been eaten, when Brownie was busy with
+the scraps, and Cormac had retired to his couch in the firewood booth,
+Bladud lay in his hut unable to sleep because of what he had heard and
+seen that day.  "Hope springs eternal in the human breast"--not less in
+the olden time than now.  At all events it welled up in the breast of
+the royal outcast with unusual power as he waited anxiously for the
+first dawn of day.
+
+Up to this time, although living within a few miles of it, the prince
+had not paid more than one or two visits to the Hot Swamp, because birds
+and other game did not seem to inhabit the place, and the ground was
+difficult to traverse.  He had, of course, speculated a good deal as to
+the cause of the springs, but had not come to any conclusions more
+satisfactory than have been arrived at by the scientific minds of modern
+days.  That heat of some sort was the cause applied in one fashion or
+another to the water so as to make it almost boil he had no manner of
+doubt, but what caused the heat he could not imagine, and it certainly
+did not occur to him that the interior of the earth was a lake of fire--
+the lovely world of vision being a mere crust.  At least, if it did, he
+was never heard to say so.
+
+But now he went down to the swamp with a renewed feeling of hope that
+gave fresh impulse to his heart and elasticity to his tread.
+
+Arrived at the place, he observed that numbers of his porcine family
+were there before him.  On seeing him they retreated with indignant
+grunts--their hasty retreat being accelerated by a few remarks from
+Brownie.
+
+Making his way to what he believed to be the main fountain of the
+spring, the prince and the dog stood contemplating it for some time.
+Then the former dipped his hand in, but instantly withdrew it, for he
+found the water to be unbearably hot.  Following its course, however,
+and testing it as he went along, he soon came to a spot where the
+temperature was sufficiently cool to render it agreeable.  Here, finding
+a convenient hole big enough to hold him, he stripped and bathed.
+Brownie, who seemed much interested and enlivened by his master's
+proceedings, joined him on invitation, and appeared to enjoy himself
+greatly.  Thereafter they returned home to breakfast and found Cormac
+already up and roasting venison ribs before the fire.
+
+"I thought you were still sound asleep in your hut," he said in
+surprise, as they came up, "and I have been doing my best to make little
+noise, for fear of awaking you.  Have you been bathing at the springs?
+I see the hound's coat is muddy."
+
+"Thanks for your care, Cormac.  Ay, we have indeed had a bath--Brownie
+and I.  You see I have taken your advice, and am trying the pigs' cure."
+
+"Right, Bladud.  Wiser men have learned lessons from pigs."
+
+"Are you not presumptuous, my lad, to suggest that there may be a wiser
+man than I?"
+
+"Truly, no, for taking the advice of a mere stripling like me, is not a
+sign of wisdom in a man."
+
+"In the present case you are perhaps right, but there are some
+striplings whose wisdom is sufficient to guide men.  However, I will
+hope that even you, with all your presumption, may be right this time."
+
+"That encourages me to offer additional advice," retorted the lad with a
+laugh, "namely, that you should devote your attention to these ribs, for
+you will find them excellent, and even a full-grown man can hardly fail
+to know that without food no cure can be effected."
+
+"You are right, my boy.  Sit down and set me an example, for youth, not
+less than age, must be supported."
+
+Without more words they set to work, first throwing a bone to the hound,
+in order, as Bladud remarked, that they might all start on equal terms.
+
+From that day the health of the prince began to mend--slowly but
+steadily the spot on his arm also began to diminish and to assume a more
+healthy aspect.  Brownie also became convalescent, and much to the joy
+of Bladud, Cormac showed no symptoms of having caught the disease.
+Still, as a precaution, they kept studiously apart, and the prince
+observed--and twitted the boy with the fact--that the more he gained in
+health, and the less danger there was of infection, the more anxious did
+he seem to be to keep away from him!
+
+Things were in this state when, one evening, they received a visit--
+which claims a new chapter to itself.
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.
+
+IN WHICH VERY PERPLEXING EVENTS OCCUR.
+
+The visitor referred to in the last chapter was a tall, broad-shouldered
+old man with a snowy head of hair and a flowing white beard, a long,
+loose black garment, and a stout staff about six feet long.
+
+Cormac had gone to a spring for water at the time he arrived, and Bladud
+was lying on his back inside his hut.
+
+"Is any one within?" demanded the stranger, lifting a corner of the
+curtain.
+
+"Enter not here, whoever you are!" replied the prince quickly, springing
+up--"stay--I will come out to you."
+
+"You are wonderfully inhospitable," returned the stranger, as the prince
+issued from the hut and stood up with an inquiring look which suddenly
+changed to one of astonishment.
+
+"Beniah!" he exclaimed.
+
+"Even so," replied the Hebrew, holding out his hand, but Bladud drew
+back.
+
+"What! will you neither permit me to enter your house nor shake your
+hand?  I was not so churlish when you visited my dwelling."
+
+"You know well, old man, that I do not grudge hospitality, but fear to
+infect you."
+
+"Yes, I know it well," rejoined the Hebrew, smiling, "and knowing that
+you were here, I turned aside on my journey to inquire as to your
+welfare."
+
+"I have much to say about my welfare and strange things to tell you, but
+first let me know what has brought you to this part of the land--for if
+you have turned aside to see me--seeing me has not been your main
+object."
+
+"You are right.  Yet it pleases me well to use this opportunity, and to
+see by your looks and bearing, that the disease seems to have been
+arrested."
+
+"Yes, thanks be to the All-seeing One, I am well, or nearly so.  But
+proceed to explain the reason of your journey."
+
+"The cause of it is the unaccountable disappearance of the girl named
+Branwen."
+
+"What! she who is the bosom friend of my sister Hafrydda?"
+
+"The same.  She had fled, you may remember, from your father's court for
+fear of being compelled to wed with Gunrig, the chief whose crown you
+cracked so deftly on the day of your arrival.  She, poor thing, took
+refuge at first with me.  I hid her for some time--"
+
+"Then," interrupted the prince, "she must have been hidden in your hut
+at the time of my visit!"
+
+"She was.  But that was no business of yours."
+
+"Surely it was, old man, for my father's business is my business."
+
+"Yea, but it was not my business to enlighten you, or the king either,
+while I had reason to know that he meant unduly to coerce the maiden.
+However, there she was hidden, as I tell you.  Now, you are aware that
+Branwen's father Gadarn is a great chief, whose people live far away in
+the northern part of Albion.  I bade Branwen remain close in my hut, in
+a secret chamber, while I should go and acquaint her father with her
+position, and fetch him down with a strong band of his retainers to
+rescue her.  You should have seen the visage of Gadarn, when I told him
+the news.  A wild boar of the woods could scarce have shown his tusks
+more fiercely.  He not only ordered an armed band to get ready,
+instantly, but he roused the whole country around, and started off that
+same day with all his followers armed to the teeth.  Of course I led
+them.  In due course we arrived at my hut, when--lo!  I found that the
+bird was flown!"
+
+"I could see by the appearance of things," continued the Hebrew, "that
+the foolish girl had left of her own will, for there was no evidence of
+violence anywhere--which would doubtless have been the case if robbers
+had found her and carried her away, for they would certainly have
+carried off some of my goods along with her.  The rage of her father on
+making this discovery was terrible.  He threatened at once to cut off my
+old head, and even drew his sword with intent to act the part of
+executioner.  But I reminded him that if he did so, he would cut off the
+only head that knew anything about his daughter, and that I had still
+some knowledge regarding her with which he was not acquainted.
+
+"This arrested his hand just in time, for I actually fancied that I had
+begun to feel the edge of his sword slicing into my spinal marrow.  When
+he had calmed himself enough to listen, I told him that Branwen had
+spoken about paying a visit to the Hot Springs--that I knew she was bent
+on going there, for some reason that I could not understand, and that I
+thought it more than likely she had gone.  `Axe-men, to the front!  Form
+long line! hooroo!' yelled the chief--(or something of that sort, for
+I'm a man of peace, and don't understand warlike orders), and away went
+the whole host at a run, winding through the forest like a great snake;
+Gadarn and I leading them, except when the thickets became impenetrable,
+and then the axe-men were ordered to the front and soon broke them down.
+And so, in course of time, we came within a few miles of the Hot Swamp,
+and--and, as I have said, I have been permitted to turn aside to visit
+you."
+
+"Truly a strange tale," remarked the prince.  "And is the armed host of
+Gadarn actually within a few miles of us?"
+
+"It is; and, to say truth, I have come out to search for you chiefly to
+inquire whether you have seen any young woman at all resembling Branwen
+during your wanderings in this region?"
+
+The Hebrew looked keenly at the prince as he put this question.
+
+"You forget I have never seen this girl, and, therefore, could not know
+her even if I had met her.  But, in truth, I have not seen any woman,
+young or old, since I came here.  Nor have I seen any human being save
+my mad master, Konar, and a poor youth whom I rescued some time ago from
+the hands of robbers.  He has nursed me through a severe illness, and is
+even now with me.  But what makes you think that Branwen intended to
+come to the Swamp?"
+
+"Because--because, she had reasons of her own.  I do not profess to
+understand the workings of a young girl's mind," answered the Hebrew.
+
+"And what will you do," said Bladud, "now that you find she has not been
+here?  Methinks that when Gadarn hears of your failure to find her at
+the Swamp, your spinal marrow and his sword will still stand a good
+chance of becoming acquainted."
+
+The Hebrew looked perplexed, but, before he could answer, Brownie came
+bounding gaily round the corner of the hut.  Seeing a stranger, he
+stopped suddenly, displayed his teeth and growled.
+
+"Down, pup!  He is not accustomed to visitors, you see," said his master
+apologetically.
+
+At that moment Cormac turned the corner of the hut, bearing an earthen
+jar of water on his shoulder.  His eyes opened wide with surprise, so
+did those of the Hebrew, and the jar dropped to the ground, where it
+broke, and Brownie, quick to see and seize his opportunity, began to lap
+its contents.  The prince--also wide-eyed--gazed from one to the other.
+It was a grand _tableau vivant_!
+
+The first to recover himself and break the spell was Cormac.  Leaping
+forward, he grasped the old man by the hand, and turning so as to
+present his back to Bladud, gave the Hebrew a look so powerfully
+significant that that son of Israel was quite disconcerted.
+
+"My old, kind friend--is it--can it--be really yourself?  So far from
+home--so unexpected!  It makes me so glad to see you," said the youth.
+Then, turning to Bladud, "A very old friend of mine, who helped me once
+in a time of great distress.  I am so rejoiced, for now he will guide me
+back to my own home.  You know I have sometimes talked of leaving you
+lately, Bladud."
+
+"You say truth, my young friend.  Frequently of late, since I have been
+getting well, you have hinted at a wish to go home, though you have not
+yet made it clear to me where that home is; and sad will be the day when
+you quit me.  I verily believe that I should have died outright, Beniah,
+but for the kind care of this amiable lad.  But it is selfish of me to
+wish you to stay--especially now that you have found a friend who, it
+would seem, is both able and willing to guard you through the woods in
+safety.  Yet, now I think, my complaint is so nearly cured that I might
+venture to do that myself."
+
+"Not so," returned the lad, quickly.  "You are far from cured yet.  To
+give up using the waters at this stage of the cure would be fatal.  It
+would perhaps let the disease come back as bad as before."
+
+"Nay, but the difficulty lies here," returned the prince, smiling at the
+boy's eagerness.  "This good old man is at present engaged as guide to
+an army, and dare not leave his post.  A foolish girl named Branwen fled
+some time ago from my father's house, intending, it is supposed, to go
+to some friends living not far from the Hot Swamp.  They have been
+searching for her in all directions, and at last her father, with a host
+at his heels, has been led to within a few miles of this place, but the
+girl has not yet been discovered; so the search will doubtless be
+continued."
+
+"Is that so?" asked Cormac of the Hebrew, pointedly.
+
+"It is so."
+
+"What is the name of the chief whose daughter has been _so foolish_ as
+to run away from her friends?"
+
+"Gadarn," answered Beniah.
+
+"Oh!  I know him!" exclaimed Cormac in some excitement, "and I know many
+of his people.  I lived with them once, long, long ago.  How far off is
+the camp, did you say?"
+
+"An hour's walk or so."
+
+"In _that_ direction?" asked Cormac, pointing.
+
+"Yes, in that direction."
+
+"Then I will go and see them," said the lad, picking up his bow and
+arrows.  "You can wait here till I come back, Beniah, and keep Bladud
+company--for he is accustomed to company now!  Who knows but I may pick
+up this _foolish_ girl on my way to the camp!"
+
+The lad hurried into the woods without waiting a reply; but he had not
+gone a hundred yards when he turned and shouted, "Hi, Beniah!" at the
+same time beckoning with his hand.
+
+The Hebrew hurried towards him.
+
+"Beniah," said the lad impressively, as he drew near, "go back and
+examine Bladud's arm, and let me know when we meet again what you think
+of it."
+
+"But how--why--wherefore came you--?" exclaimed the Hebrew, pausing in
+perplexity.
+
+"Ask no questions, old man," returned the youth with a laugh.  "There is
+no time to explain--.  He will suspect--robbers--old mother--bad son--
+escape--boy's dress--fill up that story if you can!  More hereafter.
+But--observe, if you say one word about _me to anybody_, Gadarn's sword
+is sharp and his arm strong!  You promise?"
+
+"I promise."
+
+"Solemnly--on your word as a Hebrew?"
+
+"Solemnly--on my word as a Hebrew.  But--?"
+
+With another laugh the boy interrupted him, turned, and disappeared in
+the woods.
+
+"A strange, though a good and affectionate boy," remarked Bladud when
+the Hebrew returned.  "What said he?"
+
+"He bade me examine your arm, and tell him what I think of it on his
+return."
+
+"That is of a piece with all the dear boy's conduct," returned the
+prince.  "You have no idea what a kind nurse he has been to me, at a
+time when I was helpless with fever.  Indeed, if I had not been helpless
+and delirious, I would not have allowed him to come near me.  You have
+known him before, it seems?"
+
+"Yes; I have known him for some time."
+
+From this point the prince pushed the Hebrew with questions, which the
+latter--bearing in remembrance the sharpness of Gadarn's sword, and the
+solemnity of his promise--did his best to evade, and eventually
+succeeded in turning the conversation by questioning Bladud as to his
+intercourse with the hunter of the Swamp, and his mode of life since his
+arrival in that region.  Then he proceeded to examine the arm
+critically.
+
+"It is a wonderful cure," he said, after a minute inspection.  "Almost
+miraculous."
+
+"Cure!" exclaimed the prince.  "Do you, then, think me cured?"
+
+"Indeed I do--at least, very nearly so.  I have had some experience of
+your complaint in the East, and it seems to me that a perfect cure is at
+most certain--if it has not been already effected."
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR.
+
+DESCRIBES AN ARDENT SEARCH.
+
+While the prince and the Hebrew were thus conversing, Cormac was
+speeding towards the camp of Gadarn.  He quickly arrived, and was
+immediately arrested by one of the sentinels.  Taken before one of the
+chief officers, he was asked who he was, and where he came from.
+
+"That I will tell only to your chief," said the lad.
+
+"_I_ am a chief," replied the officer proudly.
+
+"That may be so; but I want to speak with _your_ chief, and I must see
+him alone."
+
+"Assuredly thou art a saucy knave, and might be improved by a
+switching."
+
+"Possibly; but instead of wasting our time in useless talk, it would be
+well to convey my message to Gadarn, for my news is urgent; and I would
+not give much for your head if you delay."
+
+The officer laughed; but there was that in the boy's tone and manner
+that induced him to obey.
+
+Gadarn, the chief, was seated on a tree-stump inside of a booth of
+boughs, leaves, and birch-bark, that had been hastily constructed for
+his accommodation.  He was a great, rugged, north-country man, of
+immense physical power--as most chiefs were in those days.  He seemed to
+be brooding over his sorrows at the time his officer entered.
+
+"A prisoner waits without," said the officer.  "He is a stripling; and
+says he has urgent business to communicate to you alone."
+
+"Send him hither, and let every one get out of ear-shot!" said Gadarn
+gruffly.
+
+A minute later Cormac appeared, and looked wistfully at the chief, who
+looked up with a frown.
+
+"Are you the pris--"
+
+He stopped suddenly, and, springing to his feet, advanced a step with
+glaring eyes and fast-coming breath, as he held out both hands.
+
+With a cry of joy, Cormac sprang forward and threw his arms round
+Gadarn's neck, exclaiming--
+
+"Father!--_dear_ father!"
+
+For a few moments there was silence, and a sight was seen which had not
+been witnessed for many a day--two or three gigantic tears rolled down
+the warrior's rugged cheeks, one of them trickling to the end of his
+weather-beaten nose and dropping on his iron-grey beard.
+
+"My child," he said at length, "where--how came you--why, this--"
+
+"Yes, yes, father," interrupted the lad, with a tearful laugh.  "I'll
+tell you all about it in good time; but I've got other things to speak
+of which are more interesting to both of us.  Sit down and let me sit on
+your knee, as I used to do long ago."
+
+Gadarn meekly obeyed.
+
+"Now listen," said Cormac, putting his mouth to his father's ear and
+whispering.
+
+The chief listened, and the first effect of the whispering was to
+produce a frown.  This gradually and slowly faded, and gave place to an
+expression of doubt.
+
+"Are you sure, child?--sure that you--"
+
+"Quite--quite sure," interrupted Cormac with emphasis.  "But that is not
+all--listen!"
+
+Gadarn listened again; and, as the whispering continued, there came the
+wrinkles of humour over his rugged face; then a snort that caused Cormac
+to laugh ere he resumed his whispering.
+
+"And he knows it?" cried Gadarn, interrupting and suppressing a laugh.
+
+"Yes; knows all about it."
+
+"And the other doesn't?"
+
+"Has not the remotest idea!"
+
+"Thinks that you're a--"
+
+Here the chief broke off, got up, placed his hands on both his sides and
+roared with laughter, until the anxious sentinels outside believed that
+he had gone mad.
+
+With the energy of a strong nature he checked himself and became
+suddenly grave.
+
+"Listen!" he said; "you have made me listen a good deal to you.  It is
+my turn now.  Before the sun stands there (pointing), you will be on
+your way to the court of King Hudibras, while I remain, and make this
+Hebrew lead me all over the country in search of--ha! ha!--my daughter.
+We must search and search every hole and corner of the land; for we
+must--we must find her--or perish!"
+
+Again the chief exploded, but subdued himself immediately; and, going to
+the entrance of the booth, summoned his lieutenant, who started forward
+with the promptitude of an apparition, and with an expression of some
+curiosity on his countenance, for he also had heard the laughter.
+
+"Get ready forty men," said the chief; "to convey this lad in safety to
+the court of King Hudibras.  He is well known there.  Say not that I
+sent you, but that, in ranging the country, you found him lost in the
+woods, and, understanding him to belong to the household of the king,
+you brought him in."
+
+Without a word the lieutenant withdrew, and the plotters looked at each
+other with that peculiarly significant expression which has been the
+characteristic of intriguers in all ages.
+
+"Thou wilt know how to act, my little one," said the chief.
+
+"Yes, better even than you imagine, my big one," replied Cormac.
+
+"What! is there something beyond my ken simmering in thy noddle, thou
+pert squirrel?"
+
+"Perchance there is, father dear."
+
+A sound at the root of Gadarn's nose betrayed suppressed laughter, as he
+turned away.
+
+Quarter of an hour later a band of foot-soldiers defiled out of the
+camp, with Cormac in their midst, mounted on a small pony, and Gadarn,
+calling another of his lieutenants, told him to let it be known
+throughout the camp, that if any officer or man should allow his tongue
+to wag with reference to the lad who had just left the camp, his tongue
+would be silenced for all future time, and an oak limb be decorated with
+an acorn that never grew on it.
+
+"You know, and they know, that I'm a man of my word--away!" said the
+chief, returning to the privacy of his booth.
+
+While these events were happening at the camp, Bladud and Beniah were
+discussing many subjects--religion among others, for they were both
+philosophical as well as seriously-minded.  But neither their philosophy
+nor their religion were profound enough at that time to remove anxiety
+about the youth who had just left them.
+
+"I wish that I were clear of the whole business," remarked the Hebrew
+uneasily, almost petulantly.
+
+"Why, do you fear that any evil can happen to the boy?" asked Bladud
+anxiously.
+
+"Oh!  I fear not for him.  It is not that.  He will be among friends at
+the camp--but--but I know not how Gadarn may take it."
+
+"Take what?" demanded the prince in surprise.
+
+"Take--take my failure to find his daughter."
+
+"Ha! to be sure; he may be ill-pleased at that.  But if I thought there
+was any chance of evil befalling Cormac in the camp, by all the gods of
+the east, west, north, and south," cried the prince, carried away by the
+strength of his feelings into improper and even boastful language, "I
+would go and demand his liberation, or fight the whole tribe
+single-handed."
+
+"A pretty boast for a man in present safety," remarked the Hebrew, with
+a remonstrative shake of the head.
+
+"Most true," returned the prince, flushing; "I spoke in haste, yet it
+was not altogether a boast, for I could challenge Gadarn to single
+combat, and no right-minded chief could well refuse to let the issue of
+the matter rest on that."
+
+"Verily he would not refuse, for although not so tall as you are, he is
+quite as stout, and it is a saying among his people that he fears not
+the face of any man--something like his daughter in that."
+
+"Is she so bold, then?"
+
+"Nay, not bold, but--courageous."
+
+"Humph! that is a distinction, no doubt, but the soft and gentle
+qualities in women commend themselves more to me than those which ought
+chiefly to characterise man.  However, be this as it may, if Cormac does
+not return soon after daybreak to-morrow, I will hie me to the camp to
+see how it fares with him."
+
+As next morning brought no Cormac, or any news of him, Bladud started
+for the camp, accompanied by the anxious Hebrew.
+
+They found the chief at a late breakfast.  He looked up without rising
+when they were announced.
+
+"Ha! my worthy Hebrew--is it thou?  What news of my child?  Have you
+heard of her whereabouts?"
+
+"Not yet, sir," answered Beniah with a look of intense perplexity.  "But
+I had thought that--that is, by this time--"
+
+"What! no news?" cried the chief, springing up in fierce ire, and
+dropping the chop with which he had been engaged.  "Did you not say that
+you felt sure you would hear of her from your friend?  Is this the
+friend that you spoke of?"
+
+He turned a keen look of inquiry, with not a little admiration in it, on
+Bladud.
+
+"This is indeed he," answered Beniah, "and I have--but, but did not a
+lad--a fair youth--visit your camp yesterday?"
+
+"No--no lad came near the camp yesterday," answered the chief gruffly.
+
+Here was cause for wonder, both for the Hebrew and the prince.
+
+"Forgive me, sir," said the latter, with a deferential air that greatly
+pleased the warrior, "forgive me if I venture to intrude my own troubles
+on one whose anxiety must needs be greater, but this youth left my hut
+yesterday to visit you, saying that he knew you well, and if he has not
+arrived some evil must have befallen him, for the distance he had to
+traverse was very short."
+
+"That is sad," returned the chief in a tone of sympathy, "for he must
+either have been caught by robbers, or come by an accident on the way.
+Did you not follow his footsteps as you came along?"
+
+"We never thought of following them--the distance being so short,"
+returned the prince with increasing anxiety.
+
+"Are you, then, so fond of this lad?" asked the chief.
+
+"Ay, that am I, and with good reason, for he has tended me with
+self-denying care during illness, and in circumstances which few men
+would have faced.  In truth, I feel indebted to him for my life."
+
+"Say you so?" cried the chief with sudden energy; "then shall we search
+for _him_ as well as for my daughter.  And you, Hebrew, shall help us.
+Doubtless, young man, you will aid us by your knowledge of the district.
+I have secured the services of the hunter of the Swamp, so we can
+divide into three bands, and scour the whole country round.  We cannot
+fail to find them, for neither of them can have got far away, whether
+they be lost or stolen.  Ho! there.  Assemble the force, instantly.
+Divide it into three bands.  My lieutenant shall head one.  You, Bladud,
+shall lead another, and I myself will head the third, guided by Beniah.
+Away!"
+
+With a wave of both hands Gadarn dismissed those around him, and retired
+to his booth to arm himself, and prepare for the pending search.
+
+The Hebrew was sorely tempted just then to speak out, but his solemn
+promise to Branwen sealed his lips.  The fact also that the girl seemed
+really to have disappeared, filled him with alarm as well as surprise,
+and made him anxious to participate in the search.  In a perplexed state
+of mind, and unenviable temper, he went away with Bladud to the place
+where the force was being marshalled.
+
+"Strange that fate should send us on a double search of this kind,"
+remarked the prince as they hurried along.
+
+"Whether fate sent us, or some mischievous sprite, I know not," growled
+the Hebrew, "but there is no need for more than one search."
+
+"How!" exclaimed Bladud sternly.  "Think you that my poor lad's fate is
+not of as much interest to me as that of Gadarn's daughter is to him?"
+
+"Nay, verily, I presume not to gauge the interest of princes and
+chiefs," returned Beniah, with an exasperated air.  "All I know is, that
+if we find the lad, we are full sure to find the lass not far off."
+
+"How?  You speak in riddles to-day."
+
+"Ay, and there are like to be more riddles tomorrow, for what the upshot
+of it will be is more than I can tell.  See you not that, as the two
+were lost about the same time, and near the same place, they will
+probably be found together?"
+
+"Your wits seem to be shaken to-day, old man," rejoined Bladud, smiling,
+"for these two were not lost about the same place or time."
+
+Fortunately for the Hebrew's peace of mind, an officer accosted them at
+that moment, and, directing the one to head a band just ready to march,
+led the other to the force which was to be commanded by the chief in
+person.
+
+In a few minutes the three bands were in motion, the main bodies
+marching north, south, and east, while strong parties were sent out from
+each to skirmish in all directions.
+
+"Think you we shall find them, Hebrew?" asked the chief, who seemed to
+be in a curiously impulsive state of mind.
+
+"I trust we may.  It seems to me almost certain."
+
+"I hope so, for your sake as well as my own, old man; for, if we do not,
+I will surely cut your head off for bringing me here for nothing."
+
+"Does it not seem unjust to punish a man for doing his best?" asked
+Beniah.
+
+"It may seem so to you men of the east, but to the men of the west
+justice is not held of much account."
+
+Proceeding round by the Hot Springs, the party led by Gadarn made a
+careful inspection of every cavern, defile, glade, and thicket,
+returning at evening towards the camp from which they set out, it having
+been arranged that they were all to meet there and start again to renew
+the search, in a wider circle, on the following morning.
+
+"No success," remarked Gadarn sternly, unbuckling his sword and flinging
+it violently on the ground.
+
+"Not yet, but we may have better fortune tomorrow," said Beniah.
+
+"Don't you think the small footprints we saw near the Springs were those
+of the boy?"
+
+"They may have been."
+
+"And those that we saw further on, but lost sight of in the rocky
+ground--did they not look like those of a girl?"
+
+"They certainly did."
+
+"And yet strangely like to each other," said the chief.
+
+"Marvellously," returned Beniah.
+
+A slight sound in Gadarn's nose caused the Hebrew to look up quickly,
+but the chief was gazing with stern gravity out at the opening of his
+booth, where the men of his force could be seen busily at work felling
+trees, kindling fires, and otherwise preparing for the evening meal.
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.
+
+MORE SECRETS AND SURPRISES.
+
+All went well with the party that conducted Branwen to King Hudibras'
+town until they reached the hut of Beniah the Hebrew, when the lad
+suggested to the leader of the escort that they should put up there, as
+it was too late to think of intruding on the king that night.
+
+As the lieutenant had been told to pay particular regard to the wishes
+of his charge, he at once agreed.  Indeed, during the journey, Cormac
+(as we may here continue to call the girl) had expressed his wishes with
+such a quiet, matter-of-course air of authority that the officer in
+charge had come to the conclusion that the youth must be the son of some
+person of importance--perhaps even of King Hudibras himself.  He
+therefore accorded him implicit obedience and deference.
+
+"The hut is too small for all of us," said Cormac; "the greater number
+of your men must sleep outside; but that does not matter on so fine a
+night."
+
+"True, it matters nothing," replied the officer.  "We will all of us sup
+and sleep round the campfires."
+
+"Nay, you and your lieutenant will sup with me.  Afterwards you can join
+the men.  By-the-by, there is an old woman here, who takes charge--or
+ought to take charge--of the Hebrew's dwelling during his absence."
+
+"I have not seen her," said the officer.
+
+"True--but she will no doubt make her appearance soon.  Let her come and
+go as she pleases without hindrance.  It is not safe to thwart her, for
+her temper is none of the sweetest, and she is apt to scratch."
+
+Supper was soon over, for the party had travelled all day, and were
+weary.  When it was finished Cormac again cautioned the officers not to
+interfere with the old woman, for she was dangerous.
+
+"I will have a care," said the officer, laughing, as he and his
+subaltern rose, bade their charge good-night, and took their leave.
+
+The instant they were gone Branwen pushed the plank-bridge across the
+chasm, and disappeared in the secret cave.
+
+Half an hour later the two officers were seated with some of the men at
+the camp-fire nearest the hut, making preparations for going to rest,
+when they were startled by the creaking of the hut door.  To their
+intense surprise it opened wide enough to let a little old woman step
+out.  She was much bent, wore an old grey shawl over her head, and
+leaned on a staff.  For some moments she looked from side to side as if
+in search of something.
+
+"See! the old woman!" murmured the officer in a low whisper.
+
+"True, but we did not see her enter the hut," replied the sub with a
+solemn look.
+
+In those days witchcraft was implicitly believed in, so, when they saw
+the old creature hobble towards them, they experienced feelings of alarm
+that had never yet affected their manly bosoms in danger or in war.
+Their faces paled a little, but their courage stood the test, for they
+sat still till she came close enough to let her piercing dark eyes be
+seen peering at them like those of a basilisk from out the folds of the
+shawl that enveloped her.
+
+"Y-you are the--the old woman, I suppose?" said the officer in a
+deferential tone.
+
+"Yes, I am the old woman, young man, and you will be an old woman too
+when you reach my time of life," she replied, in a deep metallic voice.
+
+"I hope not," returned the officer, sincerely.
+
+"At all events you'll be a dead man before long if you don't attend to
+what I say," continued the woman.  "Your young master in the hut there
+told me to tell you that he is tired and wants a good long rest, so you
+are not to disturb him in the morning till he calls you.  D'you hear?"
+
+"I hear, and will obey."
+
+"Eh?  What?  Speak out.  I'm deaf."
+
+"I hear, and will attend to your wishes."
+
+"Humph! it will be worse for you if you don't," muttered the old hag, as
+she turned away, hobbled into the woods, and slowly disappeared.
+
+It need scarcely be said that the lieutenant and his sub did not sleep
+much that night.  They discussed the subject of witches, their powers
+and propensities, and the bad luck likely to attend those who actually
+had the misfortune to see them, until the hair on their heads betrayed a
+tendency to rise, and the grey dawn began to appear.  Then they lay down
+and indulged in some fitful slumber.  But the discomforts of the night
+were as nothing to the anxieties of the morning, for the lazy Cormac
+seemed to have gone in for an extent of slumber that was out of all
+reason, considering his circumstances.  The ordinary breakfast hour
+arrived, but there was no intimation of his having awoke.  Hours passed,
+but there was no call from the hut, and the officer, with
+ever-increasing anxiety, bade his men to kick up a row--or words to that
+effect.  No command they ever received was more easy of fulfilment.
+They laughed and talked; they cut down trees and cleaned their breakfast
+utensils with overwhelming demonstration; they shouted, they even sang
+and roared in chorus, but without effect.  Noon arrived and passed,
+still Cormac slept on.  It was worse than perplexing--it was becoming
+desperate!
+
+The officer commanding the party was a brave man; so was the sub.  Their
+native courage overcame their superstitious fears.
+
+"I'll be battle-axed!" exclaimed the first, using a very objectionable
+old British oath, "if I don't rouse him, though all the witches in
+Albion should withstand me."
+
+"And I'll back you up," said the sub with a frown that spoke volumes--
+perhaps, considering the times, we should have written--rolls of
+papyrus.
+
+Accordingly the two went towards the hut, with pluck and misgiving
+contending for the mastery.
+
+"Perchance the witch may have returned while we slept," said the sub in
+a low voice.
+
+"Or she may have re-entered the hut invisibly--as she did at first,"
+replied the other.
+
+The door was found to be on the latch.  The lieutenant opened it a
+little and peeped in.
+
+"Ho!  Cormac!" he shouted; "hi! ho! hooroo hooh!" but he shouted in
+vain.
+
+Becoming accustomed to the dim light, he perceived that there was no one
+within to answer to the call, so he suddenly sprang in, followed by the
+sub and a few of the more daring spirits among the men.
+
+A hasty search revealed the fact that the lad was not to be seen.  A
+more minute and thorough inspection showed clearly that no one was
+there.  They did not, of course, discover the cave, for the plank had
+been removed, but they gazed solemnly into the depths of the dark chasm
+and wondered if poor Cormac had committed suicide there, or if the witch
+had murdered him and thrown him in.  Having neither rope nor ladder, and
+the chasm appearing to be bottomless, they had no means of settling the
+question.
+
+But now a point of far greater moment pressed on their consideration.
+What was to be said to King Hudibras about the disappearance of the lad?
+Would he believe them?  It was not likely.  And, on the other hand,
+what would Gadarn say?  Would _he_ believe them?  He might, indeed, for
+he knew them to be faithful, but that would not mitigate his wrath, and
+when he was roused by neglected duty they knew too well that their lives
+would hang on a thread.  What was to be done?  To go forward or backward
+seemed to involve death!  One only resource was left, namely, for the
+whole band to go off on its own account and take to the woods as
+independent robbers--or hunters--or both combined.
+
+In an unenviable frame of mind the lieutenant and his sub sat down to
+the discussion of these knotty points and their mid-day meal.
+
+Meanwhile the witch, who had been the occasion of all this distress,
+having got out of sight in the woods, assumed a very upright gait and
+stepped out with a degree of bounding elasticity that would have done
+credit to a girl of nineteen.
+
+The sun was just rising in a flood of glorious light when she entered
+the suburbs of King Hudibras' town--having previously resumed her stoop
+and hobbling gait.
+
+The king was lazy.  He was still a-bed snoring.  But the household was
+up and at breakfast, when the witch--passing the guards who looked upon
+her as too contemptible to question--knocked at the palace door.  It was
+the back-door, for even at that time palaces had such convenient
+apertures, for purposes, no doubt, of undignified retreat.  A menial
+answered the knock--after wearisome delay.
+
+"Is the Princess Hafrydda within?"
+
+"She is," answered the menial, with a supercilious look, "but she is at
+breakfast, and does not see poor people at such an hour."
+
+"Would she see rich people if they were to call at such an hour?"
+demanded the witch, sharply.
+
+"Per--perhaps she would," replied the menial with some hesitation.
+
+"Then I'll wait here till she has finished breakfast.  Is the king up?"
+
+"N-no.  He still slumbers."
+
+"Hah!  Like him!  He was always lazy in the mornings.  Go fetch me a
+stool."
+
+The manner of the old woman with her magnificent dark eyes and deep
+metallic voice, and her evident knowledge of the king's habits, were too
+much for the menial--a chord of superstition had been touched; it
+vibrated, and he was quelled.  Humbly but quickly he fetched a stool.
+
+"Won't you step in?" he said.
+
+"No, I'll stop out!" she replied, and sat herself doggedly down, with
+the air of one who had resolved never more to go away.
+
+Meanwhile, in the breakfast room of the palace, which was on the ground
+floor--indeed, all the rooms of the palace were on the ground floor, for
+there was no upper one--the queen and her fair daughter Hafrydda were
+entertaining a stranger who had arrived the day before.
+
+He was an exceedingly handsome man of about six-and-twenty; moderately
+tall and strong, but with an air of graceful activity in all his
+movements that gave people, somehow, the belief that whatever he chose
+to attempt he could do.  Both his olive complexion and his tongue
+betokened him a foreigner, for although the language he spoke was
+Albionic, it was what we now style broken--very much broken indeed.
+With a small head, short curly black hair, a very young beard, and small
+pointed moustache, fine intellectual features, and an expression of
+imperturbable good-humour, he presented an appearance which might have
+claimed the regard of any woman.  At all events the queen had formed a
+very high opinion of him--and she was a woman of much experience, having
+seen many men in her day.  Hafrydda, though, of course, not so
+experienced, fully equalled her mother, if she did not excel her, in her
+estimate of the young stranger.
+
+As we should be unintelligible if we gave the youth's words in the
+broken dialect, we must render his speech in fair English.
+
+"I cannot tell how deeply I am grieved to hear this dreadful news of my
+dear friend," he said, with a look of profound sorrow that went home to
+the mother's heart.
+
+"And did you really come to this land for the sole purpose of seeing my
+dear boy?" asked the queen.
+
+"I did.  You cannot imagine how much we loved each other.  We were
+thrown together daily--almost hourly.  We studied together; we competed
+when I was preparing for the Olympic games; we travelled in Egypt and
+hunted together.  Indeed, if it had not been for my dear old mother, we
+should have travelled to this land in the same ship."
+
+"Your mother did not wish you to leave her, I suppose?"
+
+"Nay, it was I who would not leave _her_.  Her unselfish nature would
+have induced her to make any sacrifice to please me.  It was only when
+she died that my heart turned with unusual longing to my old companion
+Bladud, and I made up my mind to quit home and traverse the great sea in
+search of him."
+
+A grateful look shot from Hafrydda's blue eyes, but it was lost on the
+youth, who sat gazing at the floor as if engrossed with his great
+disappointment.
+
+"I cannot understand," he continued, in an almost reproachful tone, "how
+you could ever make up your minds to banish him, no matter how deadly
+the disease that had smitten him."
+
+The princess's fair face flushed deeply, and she shook back her golden
+curls--her eyes flashing as she replied--
+
+"We did not `make up our minds to banish him.'  The warriors and people
+would have compelled us to do it whether we liked or not, for they have
+heard, alas! of the terrible nature of the disease.  But the dear boy,
+knowing this, went off in the night unknown to us, and without even
+saying farewell.  We have sent out parties to search for him several
+times, but without success."
+
+The youth was evidently affected by this burst of feeling.
+
+"Ah," he returned, with a look of admiration at the princess, "that was
+like him--like his noble, self-denying nature.  But I will find him out,
+you may depend on it, for I shall search the land in all directions till
+I discover his retreat.  If King Hudibras will grant me a few men to
+help me--well.  If not, I will do it by myself."
+
+"Thank you, good Dromas, for your purpose and your sympathy," said the
+queen.  "The king will be only too glad to help you--but here he comes
+to speak for himself."
+
+The curtain door was tossed aside at the moment, and Hudibras strode
+into the room with a beaming smile and a rolling gait that told of
+redundant health, and showed that the cares of state sat lightly on him.
+
+"Welcome, good Dromas, to our board.  I was too sleepy to see much of
+you after your arrival last night.  Mine eyes blinked like those of an
+owl.  Kiss me, wife and daughter," he added, giving the ladies a salute
+that resounded through the room.  "Have they told you yet about our poor
+son Bladud?"
+
+The visitor had not time to reply, when a domestic appeared and said
+there was an old woman at the door who would not go away.
+
+"Give her some cakes and send her off!" cried the king with a frown.
+
+"But she will not go till she has had converse with the princess."
+
+"I will go to her," said Hafrydda, rising.
+
+"Ay, go, my girl, and if thy sweet tongue fails to prevail, stuff her
+mouth with meat and drink till she is too stout to walk.  Come, my
+queen, what have we this morning for breakfast?  The very talking of
+meat makes me hungry."
+
+At this juncture several dogs burst into the room and gambolled with
+their royal master, as with one who is a familiar friend.
+
+When the princess reached the outer door she found the woman standing,
+and evidently in a rage.
+
+"Is this the way King Hudibras teaches his varlets to behave to poor
+people who are better than themselves?"
+
+"Forgive them, granny," said the princess, who was inclined to laugh,
+but strove to keep her gravity, "they are but stupid rogues at worst."
+
+"Nay, but they are sly rogues at best!" retorted the old woman.  "The
+first that came, took me for a witch, and was moderately civil, but the
+second took away my stool and threatened to set the dogs at me."
+
+"If this be so, I will have him cow-hided; but tell me--what would you
+with me?  Can I help you?  Is it food that you want, or rest?"
+
+"Truly it is both food and rest that I want, at the proper times, but
+what I want with you now, is to take me to your own room, and let me
+talk to you."
+
+"That is a curious desire," returned Hafrydda, smiling, "but I will not
+deny you.  Come this way.  Have you anything secret to tell me?" she
+asked, when they were alone.
+
+"Ay, that have I," answered the woman in her natural voice, throwing off
+her shawl and standing erect.
+
+The princess remained speechless, for her friend Branwen stood before
+her.
+
+"Before I utter a word of explanation," she said, "let me say that your
+brother is found, and safe, and well--or nearly so.  This is the main
+thing, but I will not tell you anything more, unless you give me your
+solemn promise not to tell a word of it all to any one, till I give you
+leave.  Do you promise?"
+
+Hafrydda was so taken aback that she could do nothing for some time but
+gaze in the girl's face.  Then she laughed in an imbecile sort of way.
+Then she burst into tears of joy, threw her arms round her friend's
+neck, hugged her tight, and promised anything--everything--that she
+chose to demand.
+
+When, an hour later, the Princess Hafrydda returned to the breakfast
+room, she informed the king and queen that the old woman was not a
+beggar; that she had kept her listening to a long story about lost men
+and women and robbers; that she was a thorough deceiver; that some of
+the servants believed her to be a witch, and that she had sent her away.
+
+"With an invitation to come back again, I'll be bound," cried the king,
+interrupting.  "It's always your way, my girl,--any one can impose on
+you."
+
+"Well, father, she _did_ impose on me, and I _did_ ask her to come back
+again."
+
+"I knew it," returned the king, with a loud laugh, "and she'll come, for
+certain."
+
+"She will, you may be quite sure of that," rejoined the princess with a
+gleeful laugh, as she left the room.
+
+About the same time, the little old woman left the palace and returned
+to the hut of the Hebrew.
+
+Here, as she expected, she found that her escort had flown, and, a brief
+inspection of their footprints showed that, instead of proceeding
+towards the town, they had returned the way they came.
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.
+
+FURTHER SEARCHINGS AND PERPLEXITIES.
+
+While these events were taking place at court, the bold chief Gadarn was
+ranging the country far and wide in search of his daughter Branwen.
+
+There was something in his manner which puzzled his followers not a
+little, for he seemed to have changed his character--at least to have
+added to it a strange, wild hilarity which suggested the idea that he
+enjoyed the hunt and was in no hurry that it should come to an end.
+Those who knew him best began at last to fear that anxiety had unsettled
+his reason, and Bladud, who liked the man's gay, reckless disposition
+and hearty good-humour, intermingled with occasional bursts of fierce
+passion, was not only puzzled but distressed by the wild inconsistency
+of his proceedings.  The Hebrew, knowing to some extent the cause of
+what he did, and feeling bound by his promise to conceal his knowledge,
+was reduced to a state of mind that is not describable.
+
+On the one hand there was the mystery of Cormac's total disappearance in
+a short walk of three miles.  On the other hand, there was the utter
+uselessness of searching for Branwen, yet the urgent need of searching
+diligently for Cormac.  Then there was the fear of consequences when the
+fiery Gadarn should come to find out how he had been deceived, or
+rather, what moderns might style humbugged; add to which he was debarred
+the solace of talking the subject over with Bladud, besides being, in
+consequence of his candid disposition, in danger of blurting out words
+that might necessitate a revelation.  One consequence was that, for the
+time at least, the grave and amiable Hebrew became an abrupt,
+unsociable, taciturn man.
+
+"What ails you just now, Beniah?" asked Bladud, one evening as they
+walked together to Gadarn's booth, having been invited to supper.  "You
+seem out of condition mentally, if not bodily, as if some one had rubbed
+you the wrong way."
+
+"Do I?" answered Beniah, with a frown and something between a grin and a
+laugh.  "Well, it is not easy to understand one's mental complaints,
+much less to explain them."
+
+Fortunately their arrival at the booth put a timely end to the
+conversation.
+
+"Ha! my long-legged prince and stalwart Hebrew!" cried the jovial chief
+in a loud voice, "I began to fear that you had got lost--as folk seem
+prone to do in this region--or had forgotten all about us!  Come in and
+sit ye down.  Ho! varlet, set down the victuals.  After all, you are
+just in the nick of time.  Well, Beniah, what think you of our search
+to-day?  Has it been close?  Is it likely that we have missed any of the
+caves or cliffs where robbers might be hiding?"
+
+"I think not.  It seems to me that we have ransacked every hole and
+corner in which there is a chance that the lad could be found."
+
+"The _lad_!" exclaimed Gadarn.
+
+"I--I mean--your daughter," returned the Hebrew, quickly.
+
+"Why don't you say what you mean, then?  One expects a man of your years
+to talk without confusion--or is it that you are really more anxious
+about finding the boy than my girl?"
+
+"Nay, that be far from me," answered the Hebrew.  "To say truth, I am to
+the full as anxious to find the one as the other, for it matters not
+which you--"
+
+"Matters not!" repeated Gadarn, fiercely.
+
+"Well, of course, I mean that my friendship for you and Bladud makes me
+wish to see you each satisfied by finding both the boy and the girl."
+
+"For my part," said Bladud, quietly, "I sincerely hope that we may find
+them both, for we are equally anxious to do so."
+
+"Equally!" exclaimed Gadarn, with a look of lofty surprise.  "Dost mean
+to compare your regard for your young friend with a father's love for
+his only child!"
+
+The prince did not easily take offence, but he could not refrain from a
+flush and a frown as he replied, sharply--
+
+"I make no useless comparisons, chief.  It is sufficient that we are
+both full of anxiety, and are engaged in the same quest."
+
+"Ay, the same quest--undoubtedly," observed the Hebrew in a grumbling,
+abstracted manner.
+
+"If it were possible," returned Gadarn, sternly, "to give up the search
+for your boy and confine it entirely to my girl, I would do so.  But as
+they went astray about the same place, we are compelled, however little
+we like it, to hunt together."
+
+"Not compelled, chief," cried Bladud, with a look and a flash in his
+blue eye which presaged a sudden rupture of friendly relations.  "We can
+each go our own way and hunt on our own account."
+
+"Scarcely," replied the chief, "for if you found my daughter, you would
+be bound in honour to deliver her up; and if I found your boy, I should
+feel myself bound to do the same."
+
+"It matters not a straw which is found," cried the Hebrew, exasperated
+at the prospect of a quarrel between the two at such an inopportune
+moment.  "Surely, as an old man, I have the right to remonstrate with
+you for encouraging anything like disagreement when our success in
+finding the boy,--I--I mean the girl,--depends--"
+
+A burst of laughter from the chief cut him short.
+
+"You don't seem to be quite sure of what you mean," he cried, "or to be
+able to say it.  Come, come, prince, if the Hebrew claims a right to
+remonstrate because he is twenty years or so older than I am, surely I
+may claim the same right, for I am full twenty years older than you.  Is
+it seemly to let your hot young blood boil over at every trifle?  Here,
+let me replenish your platter, for it is ill hunting after man, woman,
+or beast without a stomach full of victuals."
+
+There was no resisting the impulsive chief.
+
+Both his guests cleared their brows and laughed--though there was still
+a touch of exasperation in the Hebrew's tone.
+
+While the search was being thus diligently though needlessly prosecuted
+in the neighbourhood of the Hot Swamp by Gadarn, who was dearly fond of
+a practical joke, another chief, who was in no joking humour, paid a
+visit one evening to his mother.  Perhaps it is unnecessary to say that
+this chief was Gunrig.
+
+"From all that I see and hear, mother," he said, walking up and down the
+room, as was his habit, with his hands behind him, "it is clear that if
+I do not go about it myself, the king will let the matter drop; for he
+is convinced that the girl has run off with some fellow, and will easily
+make her way home."
+
+"Don't you think he may be right, my son?"
+
+"No, I don't, my much-too-wise mother.  I know the girl better than
+that.  It is enough to look in her face to know that she could not run
+away with any fellow!"
+
+"H'm!" remarked the woman significantly.
+
+"What say you?" demanded the chief, sharply.
+
+"I scarcely know what to say.  Perhaps the best thing to do would be to
+take a band of our own men and go off in search of the girl yourself."
+
+"That's just what I've made up my mind to do; but I wanted to see if
+Hudibras would get up a band to join mine, for I dare not take many away
+from the town when that scoundrel Addedomar is threatening to make a
+raid upon us."
+
+"My son," said the woman anxiously, "what threatened raid do you speak
+of?"
+
+"Did you not hear?  Since the last time we gave that robber a drubbing
+at the Hot Swamp, he has taken to the woods and gathered together a
+large band of rascals like himself.  We would not have minded that--for
+honest men are always numerous enough to keep villains in order--but two
+chiefs who have long been anxious to take possession of the land round
+the Swamp have agreed to join with him, so that they form a formidable
+body of warriors--too large to be treated with contempt."
+
+"This is bad news, Gunrig.  How does the king take it?"
+
+"In his usual way.  He does not believe in danger or mischief till it
+has overtaken him, and it is almost too late for action.  There is one
+hope, however, that he will be induced to move in time.  A young fellow
+has come from the far East, who was a great friend of that long-legged
+fellow Bladud, and he is bent on finding out where his friend has gone.
+Of course the king is willing to let him have as many men as he wants,
+though he sternly refuses to let Bladud return home; and I hope to
+induce this youth--Dromas, they call him--to join me, so that we may
+search together; for, of course, the search for the man may result in
+finding the girl.  My only objection is that if we do find Bladud, I
+shall have to fight and kill him--unless the leprosy has happily killed
+him already.  So, now, I will away and see what can be done about this
+hunt.  My object in coming was to get my men, and to warn those left in
+charge of the town to keep a keen look-out for Addedomar, for he is a
+dangerous foe.  Farewell, mother."
+
+The woman was not addicted to the melting mood.  She merely nodded as
+her son went out.
+
+In pursuance of this plan, a band of about two hundred warriors was
+raised, armed, and provisioned for a long journey.  Gunrig put himself
+at the head of a hundred and fifty of these, and Dromas, being a skilled
+warrior, was given command of the remaining fifty, with Captain Arkal,
+who begged to be allowed to go as his lieutenant, and little Maikar as
+one of his fighting men.
+
+The orders were, that they should start off in the direction of the Hot
+Swamp, searching the country as they went, making diligent inquiries at
+the few villages they might pass, and questioning all travellers whom
+they might chance to meet with by the way.  If Branwen should be found,
+she was to be sent back escorted by a detachment of a hundred men.  If
+the retreat of Bladud should be discovered, news of the fact was to be
+sent to the king, and the prince was to be left there in peace with any
+of the men who might volunteer to live with him.  But on no account were
+they or Bladud to return to Hudibras' town as long as there was the
+least danger of infection.
+
+"Is he _never_ to return?" asked the queen, whimpering, when she heard
+these orders given.
+
+"No, _never_!" answered the king in that awful tone which the poor queen
+knew too well meant something like a decree of Fate.
+
+"Oh, father!" remonstrated Hafrydda--and Dromas loved her for the
+remonstrance--"not even if he is cured?"
+
+"Well, of course, if he is cured, my child, that alters the case.  But
+how am I to know that he is cured?--who is to judge?  Our court doctor
+knows as much about it as a sucking pig--perhaps less!"
+
+"Perhaps the Hebrew knows," suggested Hafrydda--and Dromas loved her for
+the suggestion!
+
+"Ah, to be sure!  I forgot the Hebrew.  You may call at his hut in
+passing and take him with you, if he has come home yet.  He's an amiable
+old man, and may consent to go.  If not--make him.  Away! and cease to
+worry me.  That's the way to get rid of business, my queen; isn't it?"
+
+"Certainly--it is one way," answered the queen, turning to the two
+commanders.  "Go, and my blessing go with you!"
+
+"Success attend you!" murmured the princess, glancing timidly at
+Dromas--and as Dromas gazed upon her fair face, and golden curls, and
+modest mien, he felt that he loved her for herself!
+
+Success did not, however, attend them at first, for on reaching the
+Hebrew's hut they found it empty, and no amount of shouting availed to
+call Beniah from the "vasty deep" of the chasm, or the dark recesses of
+the secret chamber.
+
+Pursuing their way, therefore, the small army was soon lost to view in
+the forest.
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN.
+
+CROSS PURPOSES AND COMPLICATIONS.
+
+We turn now to another scene in the wild-woods, not far distant from the
+Hot Swamp.
+
+It is a thickly-wooded hollow on the eastern slopes of the high ridge
+that bounds one side of the valley of the Springs.  Sturdy oaks, tall
+poplars, lordly elms and beeches, cast a deep shade over the spot which
+was rendered almost impenetrable by dense underwood.  Even in brightest
+sunshine light entered it with difficulty, and in gloomy weather a sort
+of twilight constantly prevailed, while at night the place became the
+very abode of thick darkness.
+
+In this retreat was assembled, one gloomy afternoon, a large body of
+armed men, not connected with the searching parties which had been
+ransacking the region in the vain duplex search which we have tried to
+describe.  It was a war-party under the command of Addedomar the
+outlaw--if we may thus characterise a man in a land where there was
+little or no law of any kind, save that of might.
+
+It was a strong band, numbering nearly four hundred warriors, all of
+whom were animated with the supposed-to-be noble desire to commit theft
+on a very large scale.  It is true, they called it "conquest," which
+word in those days, as in modern times even among civilised people,
+meant killing many of the natives of a place and taking possession of
+their lands.  Then--as now--this was sometimes styled "right of
+conquest," and many people thought then, as some think even now, that by
+putting this word "right" before "conquest" they made it all right! and
+had somehow succeeded in abrogating the laws, "Thou shalt not steal,"
+and "Do to others as thou wouldest have others do to thee," laws which
+were written by God in the human understanding long before Moses
+descended with the decalogue from Sinai.
+
+However, as we have said, there was little or no law in the land of old
+Albion at the time of which we write, so that we can scarcely wonder at
+the aspirations of the band under Addedomar--aspirations which were to
+the full as strong--perhaps even as noble--as those of Alexander the
+Great or the first Napoleon.
+
+It had been ascertained by some stray hunter of Addedomar's party that
+considerable bands of men were ranging the valley of the Springs and its
+neighbourhood in search of something or some one, and that they went
+about usually in small detached parties.  The stray hunter, with an eye,
+doubtless, to his personal interest, conveyed the news to the robber
+chief, who, having made secret and extensive preparations, happened at
+the time to be on his way to raid the territories of King Hudibras,
+intending to take the town of Gunrig as a piece of by-play in passing.
+
+Here, however, was an opportunity of striking a splendid blow without
+travelling so far.  By keeping his force united, and sending a number of
+scouts in advance, he could attack and overwhelm the scattered
+detachments in succession.  He, therefore, in the meantime, abandoned
+his original plan, and turned aside to the neighbourhood of the Hot
+Swamp.  There he remained in the sequestered hollow, which has been
+described, awaiting the return of his scouts.  There was no difficulty
+in feeding an army in those days, for the forests of Albion abounded
+with game, and the silent bow, unlike the noisy fire-arm, could be used
+effectively without betraying the presence of the hunter.
+
+The eyes of Addedomar opened wider and wider as his scouts dropped in
+one by one, and his heart beat high with glee and hope at the news they
+brought, for it opened up a speedy conquest in detail of more foes than
+he had counted on meeting with, and left the prospect of his afterwards
+carrying into execution his original plan.
+
+The first scout brought the intelligence that it was not the men of King
+Hudibras who were in the neighbourhood, but those of Gadarn, the great
+chief of the far north, who had come there with an armed force in search
+of his daughter--she having gone lost, stolen, or strayed in the
+wilderness.
+
+"Is the band a large one?" demanded Addedomar.
+
+"It is; but not so large as ours, and it is weakened every day by being
+sent into the woods in different directions and in three detachments."
+
+"Excellent!  Ha! we will join Gadarn in this search, not only for his
+daughter, but for himself, and we will double the number of his
+detachments when we meet them, by slicing each man in two."
+
+A loud laugh greeted this pleasantry, for robbers were easily tickled in
+those days.
+
+"I also discovered," continued the scout, "that there is search being
+made at the same time for some boy or lad, who seems to have
+disappeared, or run away, or been caught by robbers."
+
+Again there was a laugh at the idea that there were other robbers about
+besides themselves, but the chief checked them.
+
+"Did you find out anything else about this lad?" he asked.
+
+"Only that he seemed from his dress to be a hunter."
+
+Addedomar frowned and looked at the ground for some moments in
+meditation.
+
+"I'm convinced," he said at last, "that this lad is none other than the
+girl who escaped in the hunting dress of my young brother, just the day
+before I returned to camp.  Mother was not as careful as she might have
+been at that time, and lost me a pretty wife.  Good!  Things are turning
+out well to-day.  We will rout Gadarn, find his daughter and this
+so-called lad, and then I shall have two wives instead of one."
+
+The robber chief had just come to this satisfactory conclusion, when
+another scout arrived.
+
+"How now, varlet?  Do you bring good news?"
+
+"That depends on what you consider good," answered the scout, panting.
+"I have just learned that a large body of King Hudibras' men--about two
+hundred, I believe--is on its way to the Swamp to search for his son
+Bladud--"
+
+"What! the giant whom we have heard tell of--who gave Gunrig such a
+drubbing?"
+
+"The same.  It seems that he has been smitten with leprosy, has been
+banished from court, and has taken up his abode somewhere near the
+Swamp."
+
+"But if he has been banished, why do they send out to search for him, I
+wonder?" said the robber chief.
+
+"It is said," returned the scout, "that a friend of Bladud from the far
+East wants to find him."
+
+"Good!  This is rare good luck.  We, too, will search for Bladud and
+slay him.  It is not every day that a man has the chance to kill a giant
+with leprosy, and a king's son into the bargain."
+
+"I also learned," continued the scout, "that some lady of the court has
+fled, and the army is to search of her too."
+
+"What! more women?  Why, it seems as if these woods here must be
+swarming with them.  I should not wonder, too, if it was Hudibras' own
+daughter that has run away.  Not unlikely, for the king is well known to
+be a tyrannical old fellow.  H'm! we will search for her also.  If we
+find them all, I shall have more than enough of wives--the king's
+daughter, and Gadarn's daughter, and this run-away-lad, whoever she may
+be!  Learned you anything more?"
+
+"Nothing more, except that Gadarn intends to make an early start
+to-morrow morning."
+
+"It is well.  We, also, will make an early--an even earlier--start
+to-morrow morning.  To your food, now, my men, and then--to rest!"
+
+While the robber chief was thus conversing with his scouts, two men were
+advancing through the forest, one of whom was destined to interfere with
+the plans which were so well conceived by Addedomar.  These were our
+friends Arkal and Maikar.
+
+Filled with a sort of wild romance, which neither the waves of the sea
+nor the dangers of the land could abate, these two shipmates marched
+through the woods all unconscious, of course, of the important part they
+were destined to play in that era of the world's history.  The two
+sailors were alone, having obtained leave to range right and left in
+advance of the column to which they were attached, for the purpose of
+hunting.
+
+"We are not much to boast of in the way of shooting," remarked Arkal;
+"but the troops don't know that, and good luck may prevent them finding
+it out."
+
+"Just so," returned Maikar, "good luck may also bring us within
+arrow-shot of a wolf.  I have set my heart on taking home a wolf-skin to
+that little woman with the black eyes that I've spoken to you about
+sometimes."
+
+"Quite right, young man," said the captain, in an approving tone.
+"Nothing pleases folk so much as to find that they have been remembered
+by you when far away.  Moreover, I think you stand a good chance, for I
+saw two wolves the other day when I was rambling about, but they were
+out of range."
+
+Chance or luck--whichever it was--did not bring a wolf within range that
+day, but it brought what was more important and dangerous--namely, a
+large brown bear.  The animal was seated under a willow tree, with its
+head on one side as if in meditation, when the men came upon it.  An
+intervening cliff had prevented the bear from hearing the footsteps of
+the men, and both parties, being taken by surprise, stared at each other
+for a moment in silence.
+
+No word was spoken, but next instant the bear ran at them, and stood up
+on its hind legs, according to bear-nature, to attack.  At the same
+moment both men discharged arrows at it with all their force.  One arrow
+stuck in the animal's throat, the other in his chest.  But bears are
+proverbially hard to kill, and no vital part had been reached.  Dropping
+their bows, the men turned and made for the nearest trees.  They
+separated in doing so, and the bear lost a moment or two in making up
+its mind which to follow.  Fortunately it decided in favour of Maikar.
+Had it followed Arkal, it would have caught him, for the captain, not
+being as agile as might be wished, missed his first spring up his tree,
+and slid back to the bottom.
+
+Maikar, on the other hand, went up like a squirrel.  Now, the little
+seaman had been told that some kinds of bears can climb while others
+cannot.  Remembering the fact, he glanced anxiously down, as he went up.
+To his horror he saw that this bear could climb! and that his only
+chance would be to climb so high, that the branches which would bear his
+weight would not support the bear.  It was a forlorn hope, but he
+resolved to try it.
+
+Arkal, in the meantime, had recovered breath and self-possession.
+Seeing the danger of his comrade, he boldly dropped to the ground,
+picked up his bow, ran under the other tree, and sent an arrow deep into
+the bear's flank.  With a savage growl, the animal looked round, saw the
+captain getting ready a second arrow, and immediately began to descend.
+This rather disconcerted Arkal, who discharged his arrow hastily and
+missed.
+
+Dropping his bow a second time he ran for dear life to his own tree and
+scrambled up.  But he need not have been in such haste, for although
+some bears can ascend trees easily, they are clumsy and slow in
+descending.  Consequently the captain was high up before his enemy began
+to climb.  That was of little advantage, however, for in a few moments
+the bear would have been up with him, had not Maikar, moved by the
+consideration no doubt, that one good turn deserves another, dropped
+quickly to the ground, picked up his bow and repeated the captain's
+operation, with even more telling effect, for his arrow made the bear so
+furious, that he turned round to bite it.  In doing so he lost his hold,
+and fell to the ground with such a thud, that he drove the arrow further
+into him, and a vicious squeal out of him.
+
+At this point little Maikar resolved to vary the plan of action.  He
+stood his ground manfully, and, when the bear arose with a somewhat
+confused expression, he planted another arrow up to the feathers in its
+chest.  Still the creature was unsubdued.  It made a rush, but the
+sailor sprang lightly behind a tree, getting ready an arrow as he did
+so.  When the animal rushed at him again, it received the shaft deep in
+the left shoulder, so that, with blood pouring from its many wounds, it
+stumbled and fell at its next rush.
+
+Seeing how things were going, you may be sure that Arkal did not remain
+an idle spectator.  He dropped again from the outer end of the bough he
+had reached, and when the bear rose once more to its feet, it found a
+foe on either side of it.
+
+"Don't shoot together," panted Maikar, for all this violent action was
+beginning to tell on him.  "Do you shoot first."
+
+This was said while the bear was in a state of indecision.
+
+The captain obeyed and put another arrow in its neck.  The bear turned
+savagely on him, thus exposing its side to Maikar, who took swift
+advantage of the chance, and, sending an arrow straight to its heart,
+turned it over dead!
+
+It must be remarked here, that all this shooting was done at such close
+range that, although the two seamen were, as we have said, rather poor
+shots, they had little difficulty in hitting so large an object.
+
+"Now, then, out with your knife and off with the claws for the little
+woman at home with the black eyes," said Arkal, wiping the perspiration
+from his brow, "and be quick about it, so as to have it done before the
+troops come up."
+
+The little man was not long in accomplishing the job, and he had just
+put the claws in his pouch, and was standing up to wipe his knife, when
+the captain suddenly grasped his arm and drew him behind the trunk of a
+tree, from which point of vantage he cautiously gazed with an anxious
+expression and a dark frown.
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT.
+
+ENEMIES, FRIENDS, SCOUTS, SKIRMISHES, AND COUNCILS OF WAR.
+
+Arkal's attention had been arrested by the figure of a man who suddenly
+appeared from behind a cliff not four hundred yards distant from the
+scene of their recent exploit.  The stealthy manner in which the man
+moved among the bushes, and the earnest gaze which he directed from time
+to time in one particular direction, showed clearly that he was watching
+the movements of something--it might be a deer or an enemy.
+
+"Evidently he has not seen us," whispered Maikar.
+
+"Clear enough that, for he is not looking this way," returned Arkal.
+"He presents his back to us in a careless way, which he would hardly do
+if he knew that two crack bowmen were a hundred yards astern of him."
+
+"Shall I shoot him?" whispered Maikar, preparing his weapons.
+
+"He may be a friend," returned the captain.  "But, see! yonder comes
+what interests him so much.  Look!"
+
+He pointed to a distant ridge, over the brow of which the head of
+Gunrig's column of men was just appearing.
+
+"He is a scout!" exclaimed Maikar.
+
+"Ay, and you may be sure that an enemy is not far off ahead of our
+column--unless, perchance, he may be the scout of some tribe friendly to
+the king.  Hold your hand, Maikar.  You are ever too ready to fight.
+Listen, now; yonder is a convenient hollow where I may get into the
+thick wood unseen by this scout, and run back to warn our friends.
+Ahead, yonder, is a narrow pass which leads, no doubt, into the next
+valley.  Run you, as fast as your legs can wag, get through that pass,
+and see what you can see.  In the nature of things the scout is almost
+sure to return through it, if he intends to carry the news of our
+approach to his people, who are probably there.  You must hide and do
+the best you can to prevent him from doing this--either by killing him
+or knocking him down.  Be off, we have no time to lose."
+
+"But how if he should be a friend?" asked Maikar with a smile.  "How am
+I to find out?"
+
+Arkal paused and was perplexed.
+
+"You must just exercise your wisdom," he replied.  "If the fellow has an
+ill-looking countenance, kill him.  If he looks a sensible sort of man,
+stretch him out somehow.  I would offer to go instead of you, being more
+of a match for him, but I could not match his legs or yours, so it might
+well chance that he would reach the pass before me."
+
+"Pooh, captain," retorted Maikar, with a look of scorn.  "Ye think too
+much of yourself, and are unwarrantably puffed up about the advantage of
+size."
+
+Without a reply--save a grin--Arkal turned, and, jumping into the
+bushes, was immediately out of sight.  His comrade, before starting off
+to carry out his part of the programme, took a good look at the scout
+whom he was bound to circumvent.
+
+He was evidently a tall, powerful man, armed with a bow, a short sword,
+and a stout staff somewhat longer than himself.  That he was also a
+brave and cool man seemed probable, from the fact that, instead of
+hurrying off hastily to warn his friends that troops were in sight, he
+stood calmly leaning on his staff as if for the purpose of ascertaining
+the exact number of the strangers before reporting them.
+
+He was still engaged in this inspection when Maikar started off and fled
+on the wings of hope and excitement toward the pass.  Arrived there, his
+first glance revealed to him the troops of Addedomar busy with their
+evening meal in the valley below.
+
+"The question is, are they friends or foes?" thought the little seaman.
+"H'm! it's an awkward thing for a poor fellow not to be quite sure
+whether to prepare for calms or squalls.  Such a misfortune never could
+befall one at sea.  Well, I must just take them to be foes till they
+prove themselves to be friends.  And this scout, what in the world am I
+to do about _him_?  I have no heart to hide in the bushes and shoot him
+dead as he passes."
+
+The little man had probably forgotten his readiness to shoot the scout
+in the back only a few minutes before--but is not mankind at large prone
+to inconsistency at times?
+
+"I know what I'll do," he muttered, pursuing his thoughts, and nodding
+his head, as he stepped aside into the shrubbery that clothed the slopes
+of the pass.
+
+Cutting down a suitable branch from a tree, he quickly stripped off the
+smaller branches and reduced it to a staff about six feet in length.
+Then, hiding himself behind a part of the cliff which abutted close on
+the footpath that had been worn through the pass by men and wild
+animals, he laid his bow and quiver at his feet and awaited the coming
+of the scout.
+
+He had not to wait long, for that worthy, having ascertained the size of
+the invading band, came down the pass at a swinging trot.  Just as he
+passed the jutting rock his practised eye caught sight of Maikar in time
+to avoid the blow of the pole or staff, which was aimed at his head, but
+not to escape the dig in the ribs with which the little man followed it
+up.
+
+Instantly the scout's right hand flew to his quiver, but before he could
+fix an arrow another blow from the staff broke the bow in his left hand.
+
+Blazing with astonishment and wrath at such rough treatment from so
+small a man, he stepped back, drew his sword and glared at his opponent.
+
+Maikar also stepped back a pace or two and held up his hand as if for a
+truce.
+
+"I too have a sword," he said, pointing to the weapon, "and can use it,
+but I have no desire to slay you till I know whether you are friend or
+foe."
+
+"Slay me! thou insignificant rat!" cried the scout in savage fury.
+"Even if we were friends I would have to pay thee for that dig in the
+ribs and the broken bow.  But I scorn to take advantage of such a
+squirrel.  Have at thee with my staff!"
+
+Running at him as he spoke, the scout delivered a blow that would have
+acted like the hammer of Thor had it taken effect, but the seaman deftly
+dipped his head and the blow fell on a neighbouring birch, and a foot or
+so of the staff snapped off.  What remained, however, was still a
+formidable weapon, but before the scout could use it he received another
+dig in the ribs which called forth a yell of indignation rather than of
+pain.
+
+The appropriateness of the name squirrel now became apparent, for Maikar
+even excelled that agile creature in the rapidity with which he waltzed
+round the sturdy scout and delivered his stinging little blows.  To do
+the scout justice, he played his part like a brave and active warrior,
+so that it seemed to rain blows and digs in all directions, and, once or
+twice, as by a miracle, Maikar escaped what threatened to be little, if
+at all, short of extermination.  As in running, so in fighting, it is
+the pace that kills.  After five minutes or so both combatants were
+winded.  They separated, as if by mutual consent, and, leaning on their
+staves, panted vehemently.
+
+Then at it they went again.
+
+"Thou little scrap of a pig's snout, come on," shouted the scout in huge
+disdain.
+
+"Thou big skinful of pride! look out!" cried Maikar, rendering the
+adoption of his own advice impossible by thrusting the butt of his staff
+against the scout's nose, and thereby filling his eyes with water.  At
+the next moment he rendered him still more helpless by bestowing a whack
+on his crown which laid him flat on the footpath.
+
+A cheer behind him at that moment caused the little man to look round,
+when he found that the head of Gunrig's column, led by Arkal, had come
+up just in time to witness the final blow.
+
+They were still crowding round the fallen man, and asking hurried
+questions about him, when a voice from the heights above hailed them.
+Instantly a score or two of arrows were pointed in that direction.
+
+"Hold your hands, men!" shouted Gunrig.  "I know that voice--ay, and the
+face too.  Is it not the white beard of our friend the Hebrew that I
+see?"
+
+A few minutes more proved that he was right, for the well-known figure
+of Beniah descended the sides of the pass.
+
+The news he brought proved to be both surprising and perplexing, for up
+to that moment Gunrig had been utterly ignorant of the recent arrival of
+Gadarn from the far north in search of his lost daughter, though of
+course he was well aware of the various unsuccessful efforts that had
+been made by King Hudibras in that direction.  Moreover, he chanced to
+be not on the best of terms with Gadarn just at that time.  Then the
+fact that Bladud had recovered his health and was actively engaged in
+the search--not, indeed, so much for Branwen as for a youth named
+Cormac--was also surprising as well as disagreeable news to Gunrig.
+
+"And who is this Cormac in whom the prince seems to be so interested?"
+he asked.
+
+Here poor Beniah, held fast by his solemn promise, was compelled to give
+an evasive answer.
+
+"All that I can tell about him," he replied, "is that he is a kind young
+fellow to whose attention and nursing the prince thinks himself indebted
+for his life.  But had we not better question this young man?" he added,
+turning to the scout.  "I have heard rumours about robbers lurking
+somewhere hereabouts--hence my coming out alone to scout the country
+round, little dreaming that I should find the men of King Hudibras so
+near."
+
+"If robbers are said to be hereabouts," broke in Maikar at this point,
+"I can tell you where to find them, I think, for I saw a band of men in
+the hollow just beyond this pass."
+
+"Say you so?" exclaimed Gunrig; "fetch the prisoner here."
+
+The scout, who had recovered his senses by that time, was led forward,
+but doggedly refused to give any information.
+
+"Kindle a fire, men; we will roast him alive, and perhaps that will
+teach him to speak."
+
+It was by no means unusual for men in those days to use torture for the
+purpose of extracting information from obstinate prisoners.  At first
+the man maintained his resolution, but when he saw that his captors were
+in earnest, and about to light the fire, his courage failed him.  He
+confessed that he was a scout, and that Addedomar was there with several
+other well-known chiefs and a body of four hundred men.
+
+Thereupon the man was bound and put in the safe keeping of several men,
+whose lives were to be forfeited if he should escape.  Then Gunrig,
+Dromas, Beniah, Arkal, Maikar, and several other chief men retired under
+a tree to hold a council of war.  Their deliberations resulted in the
+following conclusions.
+
+First, that the number of warriors at their disposal, counting those of
+King Hudibras and those under Gadarn, amounted to a sufficient force
+wherewith to meet the invaders in open fight; second, that a junction
+between their forces must be effected that night, for, according to
+usual custom in such circumstances, the enemy would be pretty sure to
+attack before daybreak in the morning; and, third, that what was to be
+done must be set about as soon as darkness favoured their operations.
+
+"You can guide us in the dark, I suppose," said Gunrig, turning to
+Beniah.
+
+"Ay, as well almost as in the light," replied the Hebrew.
+
+"Let the men feed, then, and be ready for the signal to start," said the
+chief to his officers, "and see that no louder noise be heard than the
+crunching of their jaws."
+
+The night was favourable to their enterprise.  The moon was indeed
+risen, but clouds entirely hid it, yet allowed a soft light to pass
+through which rendered objects close at hand quite visible.  Before
+midnight they started on the march in profound silence, and, led by
+Beniah, made a wide _detour_ which brought them to the encampment of
+Gadarn.  As may easily be understood, that chief was well pleased at the
+turn events had taken, for, to say truth, his little joke of trotting
+Beniah about the land and keeping him in perplexity, had begun to pall,
+and he had for some days past been hunting about for a plausible excuse
+for abandoning the search and going to visit King Hudibras.
+
+His difficulty in this matter was increased by his unwillingness to
+reveal the true state of matters to Bladud, yet he knew that unless he
+did so the prince would utterly refuse to abandon the search for Cormac.
+Another thing that perplexed the chief greatly was--how the Hebrew,
+knowing Branwen as he did, had failed to recognise her in the lad
+Cormac, for of course he knew nothing of the promise that held the
+Hebrew's lips tied; his daughter--who was as fond of a joke as himself--
+having taken care not to reveal _all_ the complications that had arisen
+in regard to herself.
+
+The sudden appearance, therefore, of foes with whom he could fight
+proved to be a sort of fortunate safety-valve, and, besides, he had the
+comfort of thinking that he would fight in a good cause, for the region
+of the Hot Swamp belonged to his friend Hudibras, and this robber
+Addedomar was a notorious rascal who required extirpating, while the
+chiefs who had joined him were little better.
+
+The council of war that was hastily called included Bladud, who was sent
+for, being asleep in his own booth when the party arrived.  The council
+chamber was under an old oak tree.
+
+When Bladud came forward he was suddenly struck motionless and glared as
+if he had seen a ghost.  For the first time in his life he felt an
+emotion of supernatural fear--for there, in the flesh apparently, stood
+his friend Dromas.
+
+A smile from the latter reassured him.  Leaping forward he seized his
+friend's hand, but the impulsive Greek was not to be put off thus.  He
+threw an arm round the prince's neck and kissed his cheek.
+
+"Dromas!" cried Bladud, "can it be?  Am I dreaming?"
+
+"This is all very well," interrupted the impatient Gadarn, "and I have
+no doubt you are excellent friends though somewhat demonstrative, but we
+are holding a council of war--not of affection--and as the enemy may be
+close at hand it behoves us to be smart.  Shake hands, Gunrig; you and I
+must be friends when we fight on the same side.  Now, let us to work.
+Who is to have the chief command?"
+
+By universal desire the council appointed Gadarn.
+
+"Well, then," said the commander-in-chief, "this is my view: Addedomar
+will come expecting to find us all asleep.  He will find us all very
+wide awake.  There is a slope in front of this camp leading down to the
+Swamp.  At the bottom is a nice level piece of flat land, bordering on
+the Swamp, that seems just made for a battlefield.  We will drive him
+and his men down the slope on to that flat, from which, after giving
+them the toothache, we will drive them into the Swamp, and as close up
+to the spring-head as we can, so that they may be half boiled alive, if
+possible.  Those who escape the Swamp will find men ambushed on the
+other side who will drive them into the river.  Those who escape the
+river may go home and take my blessing along with them."
+
+"Then do you intend to divide our troops into two bodies?" asked Bladud.
+
+"Of course I do.  We can't have an ambush without dividing, can we?"
+
+"Division means weakness," observed Gunrig.
+
+"You were ever obstinate, Gunrig," said Gadarn, sharply.
+
+"Division sometimes means strength," said Dromas in a conciliatory tone,
+for he was anxious at least to prevent division in the council.  "As
+Addedomar is ignorant of the strength of our force, his being attacked
+unexpectedly, and in the dark, by two or three bands at once, from
+different quarters, will do much to demoralise his men and throw them
+into confusion."
+
+"Right, my young friend," rejoined Gadarn; "though you do speak in the
+tones of one who has been born under other stars, there is sense in your
+head.  That is the very thing I mean to do.  We will divide into four
+bands.  I will keep the biggest at the camp to drive them down the slope
+and begin the fight.  Prince Bladud will take one detachment round
+through the woods to the river and fall upon them from that side.
+Gunrig, who I know loves the post of danger, will go down between the
+two mounds and meet the enemy right in the teeth when they are being
+driven out upon the flat land, and Dromas, as he seems to be a knowing
+man, might take the ambush on the other side of the Swamp."
+
+"Nay, if I may choose, I would rather fight under my friend Bladud."
+
+"Be it so.  Settle that among yourselves.  Only I must have Konar with
+me, for he knows the Swamp well and can roar splendidly.  All the enemy
+below a certain point of courage will turn and split off when they hear
+his yell.  I'm going to make him keep it for them as a little treat at
+the last.  The Hebrew will also keep by me.  Now marshal your men and
+take them off at once.  We shan't have to wait long, for Addedomar is an
+active villain."
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY NINE.
+
+THE BATTLE OF THE SPRINGS.
+
+Gadarn was right.  The robber chief was very early astir that morning,
+and marched with his host so silently through the forest, that the very
+birds on the boughs gave them, as they passed underneath, but a sleepy
+wink of one eye and thrust their beaks again under their wings.
+
+Not knowing the country thoroughly, however, Addedomar met some slight
+obstructions, which, necessitating occasional detours from the straight
+path, delayed him a little, so that it was very near dawn when he
+reached the neighbourhood of Gadarn's camp.  Hesitation in the
+circumstances he knew would be ruinous; he therefore neglected the
+precaution of feeling his way by sending scouts in advance, and made
+straight for the enemy's camp.  Scouts previously sent out had
+ascertained its exact position, so that he had no doubt of effecting a
+complete surprise.
+
+Many noted battles have been fought and described in this world, but
+few, if any, we should think, will compare with the famous battle of the
+Springs in the completeness of the victory.
+
+Coming out upon the flat which Gadarn had determined should be the
+battle-field, and to the left of which the hot springs that caused the
+swamp were flowing, Addedomar marshalled his men for the final assault.
+Before reaching the flat they had passed almost within bow-shot of the
+spot where Gunrig and his men lay in ambush, and that chief might easily
+have fallen upon and killed many of them, had he not been restrained by
+the strict orders of Gadarn to let them pass on to the camp unmolested.
+It is true Gunrig found it very hard to hold his hand, but as Gadarn had
+been constituted commander-in-chief without a dissentient voice, in
+virtue of his superior intelligence and indomitable resolution, he felt
+bound to obey.
+
+Bladud and his friend Dromas, with their contingent, being at the lower
+end of the flat and far out of bow-shot, were not thus tempted to
+disobey orders.  The ambuscade on the other side of the Swamp had been
+put under the command of Captain Arkal, with Maikar for his lieutenant.
+Being entirely ignorant of what was going on, the men of this contingent
+lay close, abiding their time.
+
+Inaction, during the development of some critical manoeuvre, while
+awaiting the signal to be up and doing, is hard to bear.  Arkal and his
+men whiled away the time in whispered conversations, which related more
+or less to the part they were expected to play.
+
+"If any of the robbers reach this side of the swamp alive," remarked
+Arkal, "there will be no need to kill them."
+
+"What then? would you let them escape?" asked Maikar in surprise.
+
+"Not on this side of the river," returned the captain.  "But we might
+drive them into it, and as it is in roaring flood just now, most of them
+will probably be drowned.  The few who escape will do us service by
+telling the tale of their defeat to their friends."
+
+He ceased to whisper, for just then the dawning light showed them the
+dusky forms of the enemy stealing noiselessly but swiftly over the flat.
+
+At their head strode Addedomar and a few of his stoutest men.  Reaching
+the slope that led to the camp the four hundred men rushed up, still,
+however, in perfect silence, expecting to take their victims by
+surprise.  But before they gained the summit a body of men burst out
+from the woods on either side of the track, and leaped upon them with a
+prolonged roar that must have been the rudimentary form of a British
+cheer.
+
+The effect on the robbers was tremendous.  On beholding the huge forms
+of Gadarn, Konar, and Beniah coming on in front they turned and fled
+like autumn leaves before a gale, without waiting even to discharge a
+single arrow.  The courageous Addedomar was overwhelmed by the panic and
+carried away in the rush.  Gadarn, supposing that the attack would have
+been made earlier and in the dark, had left the bows of his force
+behind, intending to depend entirely on swords and clubs.  But he found
+that the robbers were swift of foot and that terror lent wings, for they
+did not overtake them at once.  Down the slope went the robbers, and
+down went the roaring northmen, until both parties swept out upon the
+flat below.
+
+They did not scatter, however.  Addedomar's men had been trained to keep
+together even in flight, and they now made for the gully between the
+mounds, their chief intending to face about there and show fight on the
+slopes of the pass.  But the flying host had barely entered it, when
+they were assaulted and driven back by the forces under Gunrig, who went
+at them with a shout that told of previous severe restraint.  The
+fugitives could not stand it.  The arrows, which even during flight were
+being got ready for Gadarn's host, were suddenly discharged at the men
+in the gully; but the aim was wild, and the only shaft which took
+serious effect found its billet in the breast of Gunrig himself.  He
+plucked it savagely out and continued the charge at the head of his men.
+
+Turning sharp to the left, the robbers then made for the lower end of
+the flat, still followed closely by Gadarn's band, now swelled by that
+of Gunrig.  As had been anticipated, they almost ran into the arms of
+Bladud's contingent, which met them with a yell of rage, and the yell
+was answered by a shriek of terror.
+
+Their retreat being thus cut off in nearly all directions, the
+panic-stricken crew doubled to the left again, and sprang into the
+swamp, closely followed by their ever-increasing foes.  At first and at
+some distance from the fountain-head the water felt warm and grateful to
+the lower limbs of the fugitives, but as they plunged in deeper and
+nearer to the springs, it became uncomfortably hot, and they began to
+scatter all over the place, in the hope of finding cool water.  Some who
+knew the locality were successful.  Others, who did not know it, rushed
+from hot to hotter, while some, who were blindly struggling toward the
+source of the evil, at last began to yell with pain, and no wonder, for
+the temperature of the springs then--as it has been ever since, and is
+at the present day--was 120 degrees of Fahrenheit--a degree of heat, in
+water, which man is not fitted to bear with equanimity.
+
+"Now, Konar, give them a tune from _your_ pipe," said Gadarn, whose eyes
+were blazing with excitement.
+
+The hunter of the Swamp obeyed, and it seemed as though a mammoth bull
+of Bashan had been suddenly let loose on the fugitives.
+
+To add to the turmoil a large herd of Bladud's pigs, disturbed from
+their lair, were driven into the hot water, where they swam about in a
+frantic state, filling the whole region with horrid yells, which,
+mingling with those of the human sufferers, and the incessant barking of
+Brownie, rendered confusion worse confounded, and caused the wild
+animals far and near to flee from the region as if it had become
+Pandemonium!
+
+The pigs, however, unlike the men, knew how to find the cooler parts of
+the swamp.
+
+Perceiving his error when he stood knee-deep in the swamp, Gadarn now
+sought to rectify it by sending a detachment of swift runners back for
+his bows and arrows.  But this manoeuvre took time, and before it could
+be carried out the half-boiled host had gained the other side of the
+Swamp, and were massing themselves together preparatory to a retreat
+into the thick woods.
+
+"Now is _our_ time," said Arkal, rising up and drawing his sword.  Then,
+with a nautical shout, and almost in the words of a late warrior of
+note, he cried, "Up, men, and at them!"
+
+And the men obeyed with such alacrity and such inconceivable violence,
+that the stricken enemy did not await the onset.  They incontinently
+sloped at an angle of forty-five degrees with mother earth, and scooted
+towards the river, into which they all plunged without a moment's
+consideration.
+
+Arkal and his men paused on the brink to watch the result; but the
+seaman was wrong about the probable fate of the vanquished, for every
+man of the robber band could swim like an otter, besides being in a fit
+condition to enjoy the cooler stream.  They all reached the opposite
+bank in safety.  Scrambling out, they took to the woods without once
+looking back, and finally disappeared.
+
+During the remainder of that day Gadarn could do little else than
+chuckle or laugh.
+
+Bladud's comment was that it had been "most successful."
+
+"A bloodless victory!" remarked Beniah.
+
+"And didn't they yell?" said Arkal.
+
+"And splutter?" added Maikar.
+
+"And the pigs! oh! the pigs!" cried Gadarn, going off into another
+explosion which brought the tears to his eyes, "it would have been
+nothing without the pigs!"
+
+The gentle reader must make allowance for the feelings of men fresh from
+the excitement of such a scene, existing as they did in times so very
+remote.  But, after all, when we take into consideration the
+circumstances; the nature of the weapons used; the cause of the war, and
+the objects gained, and compare it all with the circumstances, weapons,
+causes, and objects of modern warfare, we are constrained to admit that
+it was a "most glorious victory"--this Battle of the Springs.
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY.
+
+SMALL BEGINNINGS OF FUTURE GREAT THINGS.
+
+There was one thing, however, which threw a cloud over the rejoicing
+with which the conquerors hailed this memorable victory.
+
+Gunrig's wound turned out to be a very severe one--much more so than had
+been at first supposed--for the arrow had penetrated one of his lungs,
+and, breaking off, had left the head in it.
+
+As Bladud was the only one of the host who possessed any knowledge of
+how to treat complicated wounds, he was "called in," much against the
+wish of the wounded man; but when the prince had seen and spoken to him,
+in his peculiarly soft voice, and with his gentle manner, besides
+affording him considerable relief, the chief became reconciled to his
+new doctor.
+
+"I thought you a savage monster," said the invalid, on the occasion of
+the amateur doctor's third visit; "but I find you to be almost as tender
+as a woman.  Yet your hand was heavy enough when it felled me at the
+games!"
+
+"Let not your mind dwell on that, Gunrig; and, truth to tell, if it had
+not been for that lucky--or, if you choose, unlucky--blow, I might have
+found you more than my match."
+
+The chief held out his hand, which the doctor grasped.
+
+"I thought to kill you, Bladud; but when I get well, we shall be
+friends."
+
+Poor Gunrig, however, did not from that day show much evidence of
+getting well.  His case was far beyond the skill of his amateur doctor.
+It was, therefore, resolved, a day or two later, to send him home under
+an escort led by Beniah.
+
+"I will follow you ere long," said Gadarn, as he grasped the hand of the
+invalid at parting, "for I have business at the court of King Hudibras."
+
+Gunrig raised himself in the litter in which he was borne by four men,
+and looked the northern chief earnestly in the face.
+
+"You have not yet found your daughter?" he asked.
+
+"Well--no.  At least not exactly."
+
+"Not exactly!" repeated Gunrig in surprise.
+
+"No; not exactly.  That's all I can say at present.  All ready in front
+there?  Move on!  My greetings to the king, and say I shall see him
+soon.  What, ho!  Konar, come hither!  Know you where I can find Prince
+Bladud?"
+
+"In his booth," replied the hunter.
+
+"Send him to me.  I would have speech with him."
+
+When the prince entered the booth of the commander-in-chief, he found
+that worthy with his hands on his sides, a tear or two in his eyes, and
+very red in the face.  He frowned suddenly, however, and became very
+grave on observing Bladud.
+
+"I sent for you," he said, "to let you know my intended movements, and
+to ask what you mean to do.  To-morrow I shall start for your father's
+town with all my men."
+
+"What! and leave your daughter undiscovered?"
+
+"Ay.  Of what use is it to search any longer?  There is not a hole or
+corner of the land that we have not ransacked.  I am certain that she is
+not here, wherever she may be; so I must go and seek elsewhere.  Wilt go
+with me?"
+
+"That will not I," returned Bladud decisively.
+
+"Wherefore?  The Hebrew tells me you are cured; and your father will be
+glad to have you back."
+
+"It matters not.  I leave not this region until I have made a more
+thorough search for and found the lad Cormac, or at least ascertained
+his fate."
+
+"Why so anxious about the boy? is he of kin to you?" said Gadarn in a
+tone that seemed to convey the slightest possible evidence of contempt.
+
+"Ay, he is of kin," returned Bladud, warmly; "for it seems to me
+sometimes that friendship is a closer tie than blood.  At all events, I
+owe my life to him.  Moreover, if he has been captured by robbers, I
+feel assured that he will escape before long and return to me."
+
+"Indeed!  Are you, then, so sure of his affection?  Has he ever dared to
+say that he--he is fond of you?"
+
+"Truly, he never has; for we men of the southern parts of Albion are not
+prone to speak of our feelings, whatever you of the north may be.  But
+surely you must know, chief, that the eyes, the tones, and the actions,
+have a language of their own which one can well understand though the
+tongue be silent.  Besides, I do not see it to be a very daring act for
+one man to tell another that he is fond of him.  And you would not
+wonder at my regard, if you only knew what a pure-minded, noble fellow
+this Cormac is,--so thoughtful, so self-sacrificing, for, you know, it
+must have cost him--it would cost any one--a terrible effort of
+self-denial to dwell in such a solitude as this for the sole purpose of
+nursing a stranger, and that stranger a doomed leper, as I thought at
+first, though God has seen fit to restore me."
+
+"Nevertheless, I counsel you to come with me, prince, for I have no
+intention of giving up the search for my child, though I mean to carry
+it on in a more likely region; and who knows but we may find Cormac--
+ha!"  (here there was a peculiar catch in Gadarn's throat which he
+sought to conceal with a violent sneeze)--"ha! find Cormac in the same
+region!"
+
+"That is not likely.  I see no reason why two people who were lost at
+different times, and not, as far as we know, in exactly the same place,
+should be found"--(here the chief had another fit of sneezing)--"be
+found together.  At any rate, I remain here, for a time at least.  My
+old friend Dromas will remain with me, and some of my father's men."
+
+As Gadarn could not induce the prince to alter his decision, and, for
+reasons of his own, did not choose to enlighten him, they parted there--
+the chief setting off with his troops in the direction of Hudibras'
+town, and the prince returning to his booth, accompanied by Captain
+Arkal, little Maikar, the hunter of the Hot Swamp, and about thirty of
+his father's men, who had elected to stay with him.
+
+"As I am now cured, good Konar," said Bladud to the hunter, while
+returning to the booth, "and as I have enough to do in searching for my
+lost friend, I fear that I must end my service with you, and make over
+the pigs to some other herd."
+
+"As you please, prince," returned the eccentric hunter with the utmost
+coolness, "the pigs were well able to look after themselves before you
+came, and, doubtless, they will be not less able after you go."
+
+Bladud laughed, and, putting his hand kindly on the man's shoulder,
+assured him that he would find for him a good successor to herd his
+pigs.  He also asked him if he would agree to act as hunter to his
+party, as he intended to remain in that region and build a small town
+beside the springs, so that people afflicted with the disease from which
+he had suffered, or any similar disease, might come and be cured.
+
+Konar agreed at once, for a new light burst upon him, and the idea of
+living to serve other people, and not merely to feed himself, seemed to
+put new life into him.
+
+"Do you really mean to build a town here?" asked Dromas, when he heard
+his friend giving orders to his men to erect a large booth to shelter
+them all for some time to come.
+
+"Indeed, I do.  So thankful am I, Dromas, for this cure, that I feel
+impelled to induce others to come and share the blessing.  I only wish I
+could hope that you would stay in Albion and aid me.  But I suppose
+there is some fair one in Hellas who might object to that."
+
+"No fair one that I know of," returned Dromas, with a laugh, "and as I
+have left neither kith nor kin at home, there is nothing to prevent my
+taking the proposal into consideration."
+
+"That is good news indeed.  So, then, I will ask you to come along with
+me just now, and mayhap you will make up your mind while we walk.  I go
+to fix on a site for the new town, and to set the men to work."
+
+That day the voices of toilers, and the sound of hatchets and the crash
+of falling trees, were heard in the neighbourhood of the Hot Swamp,
+while the prince and his friend examined the localities around in the
+immediate vicinity of the fountain-head.
+
+On coming to the fountain itself, the young men paused to look at it, as
+it welled up from the earth.  So hot was it that they could not endure
+to hold their hands in it, and in such volumes did it rise, that it
+overflowed its large natural basin continually, and converted a large
+tract of ground into a morass, while finding its way, by many rills and
+channels, into the adjacent river.
+
+"What a singular work of Nature!" remarked Dromas.
+
+"Why not say--a wonderful work of God?" replied the prince.
+
+"Come now, my friend, let us not begin again our old discussions.  What
+was suitable for the groves of Hellas is not appropriate to the swamps
+of Albion!"
+
+"I agree not with that, Dromas."
+
+"You were ever ready to disagree, Bladud."
+
+"Nay, not exactly to disagree, but to argue.  However, I will fall in
+with your humour just now, and wait for what you may deem a more fitting
+time.  But what, think you, can be the cause of this extraordinary hot
+spring?"
+
+"Fire!" returned the Greek promptly.
+
+"Truly that must be so," returned the prince, with a laugh.  "You are
+unusually sharp this morning, my friend.  But what originates the fire,
+and where is it, and why does it not set the whole world on fire, seeing
+that it must needs be under the earth?"
+
+"It would be better to put such questions to the wise men of Egypt, next
+time you have the chance, than to me," returned Dromas, "for I am not
+deep enough in philosophy to answer you.  Nevertheless, it does not seem
+presumptuous to make a guess.  That there is abundance of fire beneath
+the ground on which we tread is clear from the burning mountains which
+you and I have seen on our way from Hellas.  Probably there are many
+such mountains elsewhere, for if the fire did not find an escape in many
+places, it would assuredly burst our world asunder.  What set the inside
+of the world on fire at the beginning is, of course, a puzzle; and why
+everything does not catch fire and blaze up is another puzzle--for it is
+plain that if you were to set fire to the inside of your booth, the
+outside would be shrivelled up immediately.  Then," continued Dromas,
+knitting his brows and warming with his subject, "there must be a big
+lake under the earth somewhere, and quite close to the fire, which sets
+it a-boiling and makes it boil over--thus."
+
+He pointed to the fountain as he spoke.
+
+"There may be truth in what you say, Dromas.  At all events your theory
+is plausible, and this, I know, that ever since I came here, there has
+not been the slightest diminution in the volume of hot water that has
+poured forth; from which I would conclude that it has been flowing thus
+from the beginning of time, and that it will go on flowing thus to the
+end."
+
+We know not whether the reader will be inclined to class Bladud among
+the prophets, but there are some prophets who have less claim to the
+title, for it is a fact that in this year of grace, 1892, the output of
+hot water from the same fountain, in the town of Bath, is one million
+tons every year, while the quantity and the temperature never vary in
+any appreciable degree, summer or winter, from year to year!
+
+Having discussed the philosophical aspect of the fountain, the two
+friends proceeded with the work then in hand.
+
+Of course, as they gazed around at the richly wooded hills and
+attractive eminences, which were not only charming sites for the little
+town, but also well suited for fortresses to resist invasions they were
+naturally tempted to sacrifice the useful to the safe and beautiful.
+Fortunately wisdom prevailed, and it was that day decided that the site
+for Swamptown should be on a slope that rose gently from the river bank,
+passed close by the Hot Swamp, and was finally lost in the lovely
+wood-clad terraces beyond.
+
+"We must, of course, confine the hot stream within banks, train it to
+the river, and drain the Swamp," observed Bladud, as he sat brooding
+over his plans that night at supper.
+
+"Ay, and make a pond for sick folk to dip in," said Dromas.
+
+"And another pond for the healthy folk," suggested Captain Arkal; "we
+like to give ourselves a wash now and then, and it would never do for
+the healthy to go spluttering about with the sick--would it?"
+
+"Certainly not," interposed little Maikar, "but what about the women?
+They would need a pond for themselves, would they not?  Assuredly they
+would keep us all in hot water if they didn't have one."
+
+"I see," said Bladud, still in a meditative mood.  "There would have to
+be a succession of ponds alongside of the hot stream, with leads to let
+the water in--"
+
+"And other leads to let the overflow out," suggested the practical
+Arkal.
+
+"Just so.  And booths around the ponds for people to dry themselves and
+dress in.  Ha!" exclaimed the prince, smiting his knee with his hand.
+"I see a great thing in this--a thing that will benefit mankind as long
+as disease shall afflict them--as long as the hot waters flow!"
+
+He looked round on his friends with an air of combined solemnity and
+triumph.  The solemnity without the triumph marked the faces of his
+friends as they returned the look in profound silence, for they all
+seemed to feel that the prince was in a state of exaltation, and that
+something approaching to the nature of a prophecy had been uttered.
+
+For a few moments they continued to gaze at each other--then there was a
+general sigh, as if a matter of great importance had been finally
+settled, and the silence was at last broken by little Maikar solemnly
+demanding another rib of roast-beef.
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY ONE.
+
+MORE PLOTS AND PLANS.
+
+Having laid the foundations of the new town, drawn out his plans and set
+his men to work, Bladud appointed Captain Arkal superintendent, and set
+out on his quest after his lost friend Cormac, taking Dromas and Maikar
+along with him and four of the men--one of them being Konar the hunter.
+Brownie was also an important member of the party, for his master hoped
+much from his power of scent.
+
+Meanwhile Cormac--alias Branwen, _alias_ the little old woman--forsook
+the refuge of the Hebrew's house, and, in her antique capacity, paid a
+visit one afternoon to the palace of Hudibras.
+
+"Here comes that deaf old witch again," said the domestic who had
+formerly threatened to set the dogs at her.
+
+"Yes," remarked the old woman when she came up to the door, "and the old
+witch has got her hearing again, my sweet-faced young man--got it back
+in a way, too, that, if you only heard how, would make your hair stand
+on end, your eyes turn round, and the very marrow in your spine shrivel
+up.  Go and tell the princess I want to see her."
+
+"Oh!" replied the domestic with a faint effort at a sneer, for he was a
+bold man, though slightly superstitious.
+
+"Oh!" echoed the old woman.  "Yes, and tell her that if she keeps me
+waiting I'll bring the black cloud of the Boong-jee-gop over the palace,
+and that will bring you all to the condition of wishing that your
+grandmothers had never been born.  Young man--go!"
+
+This was too much for that domestic.  The unheard-of horrors of the
+Boong-jee-gop, coupled with the tremendous energy of the final "go!" was
+more than he could stand.  He went--meekly.
+
+"Send her to me directly," said Hafrydda, and the humiliated servitor
+obeyed.
+
+"Dearest Branwen!" exclaimed the princess, throwing back the old woman's
+shawl, straightening her up, and hugging her when they were alone, "how
+long you have been coming!  Where have you been?  Why have you forsaken
+me?  And _I_ have such quantities of news to tell you--but, what has
+become of your hair?"
+
+"I cut it short after I fell into the hands of robbers--"
+
+"Robbers!" exclaimed the princess.
+
+"Yes--I shall tell you all about my adventures presently--and you have
+no idea what difficulty I had in cutting it, for the knife was so blunt
+that I had to cut and pull at it a whole afternoon.  But it had to be
+done, for I meant to personate a boy--having stolen a boy's hunting
+dress for that purpose.  Wasn't it fun to rob the robbers?  And then--
+and then--I found your brother--"
+
+"_You_ found Bladud?"
+
+"Yes, and--and--but I'll tell you all about that too presently.  It is
+enough to say that he is alive and well--sickness almost, if not quite,
+gone.  I _was_ so sorry for him."
+
+"Dear Branwen!" said the princess, with an emphatic oral demonstration.
+
+Hafrydda was so loving and tender and effusive, and, withal, so very
+fair, that her friend could not help gazing at her in admiration.
+
+"No wonder I love him," said Branwen.
+
+"Why?" asked the princess, much amused at the straightforward gravity
+with which this was said.
+
+"Because he is as like you as your own image in a brazen shield--only
+far better-looking."
+
+"Indeed, your manners don't seem to have been improved by a life in the
+woods, my Branwen."
+
+"Perhaps not.  I never heard of the woods being useful for that end.
+Ah, if you had gone through all that I have suffered--the--the--but what
+news have you got to tell me?"
+
+"Well, first of all," replied the princess, with that comfortable,
+interested manner which some delightful people assume when about to make
+revelations, "sit down beside me and listen--and don't open your eyes
+too wide at first else there will be no room for further expansion at
+last."
+
+Hereupon the princess entered on a minute account of various doings at
+the court, which, however interesting they were to Branwen, are not
+worthy of being recorded here.  Among other things, she told her of a
+rumour that was going about to the effect that an old witch had been
+seen occasionally in the neighbourhood of Beniah's residence, and that
+all the people in the town were more or less afraid of going near the
+place either by day or night on that account.
+
+Of course the girls had a hearty laugh over this.  "Did they say what
+the witch was like?" asked Branwen.
+
+"O yes.  People have given various accounts of her--one being that she
+is inhumanly ugly, that fire comes out of her coal-black eyes, and that
+she has a long tail.  But now I come to my most interesting piece of
+news--that will surprise you most, I think--your father Gadarn is here!"
+
+Branwen received this piece of news with such quiet indifference that
+her friend was not only disappointed but amazed.
+
+"My dear," she asked, "why do you not gasp, `My father!' and lift your
+eyebrows to the roots of your hair?"
+
+"Because I know that he is here."
+
+"Know it!"
+
+"Yes--know it.  I have seen him, as well as your brother, and father
+knows that _I_ am here."
+
+"Oh! you deceiver!  That accounts, then, for the mystery of his manner
+and the strange way he has got of going about chuckling when there is
+nothing funny being said or done--at least nothing that I can see!"
+
+"He's an old goose," remarked her friend.
+
+"Branwen," said the princess in a remonstrative tone, "is that the way
+to speak of your own father?"
+
+"He's a dear old goose, then, if that will please you better--the very
+nicest old goose that I ever had to do with.  Did he mention Bladud to
+you?"
+
+"Yes, he said he had seen him, and been helped by him in a fight they
+seemed to have had at the Hot Swamp, but we could not gather much from
+him as to the dear boy's state of health, or where he lived, or what he
+meant to do.  He told us, however, of a mysterious boy who had nursed
+him in sickness, and who had somehow been lost or captured, and that
+poor Bladud was so fond of the boy that he had remained behind to search
+for him.  I now know," added the princess with a laugh, "who this dear
+boy is, but I am greatly puzzled still about some of his doings and
+intentions."
+
+"Listen, then, Hafrydda, and I will tell you all."  As we have already
+told the reader all, we will not tell it over again, but leap at once to
+that point where the princess asked, at the close of the narrative, what
+her friend intended to do.
+
+"That," said Branwen with a perplexed look and a sigh, "is really more
+than I can tell you at present.  You see, there are some things that I
+am sure of and some things that I am not quite so sure of, but that I
+must find out somehow.  For instance, I am quite sure that I love your
+brother more than any man in the world.  I am also quite sure that he is
+the bravest, handsomest, strongest, best, and most unselfish man that
+ever lived--much about the same as my father, except that, being
+younger, he is handsomer, though I have no doubt my father was as
+good-looking as he when he was as young.  Then I am also quite sure that
+Bladud is very fond of the boy Cormac, but--I am not at all sure that he
+will love the girl Branwen when he sees her."
+
+"But _I_ am sure of it--quite sure," said the princess, demonstrating
+orally again.
+
+At this there was a slight sound near the door of the apartment in which
+this confidential talk was held, which induced Branwen to spring up and
+fling it wide open, thus disclosing the lately humiliated servitor with
+the blush of guilt upon his brow.
+
+"Enter!" cried the princess, in an imperious tone, looking up at the
+man, who was unusually tall and limp.
+
+The servitor obeyed.
+
+"Sit down," said the princess, with a view to get the tall man's head on
+a level with her blue indignant eyes.  "Have you heard much?"
+
+"Not much," answered the man, with intense humility.  "I heard only a
+very little at the end, and that so imperfectly that I don't think I can
+remember it--I really don't."
+
+"Now, listen," said the princess, with a look that was intended to
+scorch.  "You know my father."
+
+"Indeed I do,--have known him ever since I was a boy."
+
+"Well, if you ever breathe a word of what you have seen or heard, or
+what you think you have seen or heard to-day, to any one, I will set my
+father at you, and that, as you know, will mean roasting alive over a
+slow fire at the very least."
+
+"And," said Branwen, advancing and shaking her forefinger within an inch
+of the man's nose, "I will set _my_ father at you, which will mean slow
+torture for hours.  Moreover, I will set the Boong-jee-gop on your
+track, and that will mean--no, I won't say what.  It is too horrible
+even to mention!"
+
+"Now--go!" said the princess, pointing to the door.
+
+The servitor went with an air of profound abasement, which changed into
+a look of complicated amusement when he got out of sight.
+
+"He is quite safe," said the princess, "not that I count much on his
+fear, for he is as brave as a she-wolf with whelps, and fears nothing,
+but I know he likes me."
+
+"I think he likes me too," said Branwen, thoughtfully.  "Besides, I feel
+sure that the Boong-jee-gop has some influence over him.  Yes, I think
+we are safe."
+
+"Well, now," she continued, resuming the interrupted conversation, "it
+seems to me that the only course open to me is to appear to Bladud as a
+girl some day, and see if he recognises me.  Yet I don't quite like it,
+for, now that it is all past and he is well again, I feel half ashamed
+of the part I have played--yet how could I help it when I saw the poor
+fellow going away to die--alone!"
+
+"You could not help it, dear, and you should not wish it were otherwise.
+Now, never mind what you feel about it, but let us lay our heads
+together and consider what is to be done.  You think, I suppose, that
+Bladud may go on for a long time searching for this youth Cormac?"
+
+"Yes, for a very long time, and he'll _never_ find him," replied Branwen
+with a merry laugh.
+
+"Well, then, we must find some means of getting him home without letting
+him know why we want him," continued the princess.
+
+"Just so, but that won't be easy," returned the other with a significant
+look, "for he is _very_ fond of Cormac, and won't easily be made to give
+up looking for him."
+
+"You conceited creature, you are too sure of him."
+
+"Not at all.  Only as Cormac.  I wish I were sure of him as Branwen!"
+
+"Perchance he might like you best as the little old woman in grey."
+
+"It may be so.  I think he liked me even as a witch, for he patted my
+shoulder once so kindly."
+
+"I'll tell you what--I'll go and consult father," said the princess.
+
+"No, you shan't, my dear, for he is not to know anything about it just
+yet.  But I will go and consult _my_ father.  He will give me good
+advice, I know."
+
+The result of Branwen's consultation with her father was that the Hebrew
+was summoned to his presence.  An explanation took place, during which
+Gadarn attempted to look grave, and dignified, as became a noted
+northern chief, but frequently turned very red in the face and vented
+certain nasal sounds, which betrayed internal commotion.
+
+"You will therefore start for the Hot Swamp to-morrow, Beniah," he
+finally remarked, "and let Bladud know that the king desires his return
+to court immediately.  I have been told by the king to send him this
+message.  But keep your own counsel, Hebrew, and be careful not to let
+the prince know what _you_ know, else it will go ill with you!  Tell
+him, from myself, that I have at last fallen on the tracks of the lad
+Cormac, and that we are almost sure to find him in this neighbourhood.
+Away, and let not thy feet take root on the road."
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY TWO.
+
+BRANWEN VISITS GUNRIG.
+
+Before going off on his mission the Hebrew paid a visit to his own
+residence, where he found Branwen busy with culinary operations.
+Sitting down on a stool, he looked at her with an expression of mingled
+amusement and perplexity.
+
+"Come hither, my girl," he said, "and sit beside me while I reveal the
+straits to which you have brought me.  Verily, a short time ago I had
+deemed it impossible for any one to thrust me so near to the verge of
+falsehood as you have done!"
+
+"I, Beniah?" exclaimed the maiden, with a look of surprise on her pretty
+face so ineffably innocent that it was obviously hypocritical--insomuch
+that Beniah laughed, and Branwen was constrained to join him.
+
+"Yes--you and your father together, for the puzzling man has
+commissioned me to set out for the Hot Swamp, to tell Bladud that he is
+urgently wanted at home.  And he would not even allow me to open my
+lips, when I was about to broach the subject of your disguises, although
+he almost certainly knows all about them--"
+
+"What! my father knows?" interrupted Branwen, with raised eyebrows.
+
+"Yes, and you know that he knows, and he knows that I know, and we all
+know that each other knows, and why there should be any objection that
+every one should know is more than I can--"
+
+"Never mind, Beniah," interrupted the girl, with the slightest possible
+smile.  "You are a dear, good old creature, and I know you won't betray
+me.  Remember your solemn promise."
+
+"Truly I shall not forget it soon," replied the Hebrew, "for the trouble
+it has cost me already to compose answers that should not be lies is
+beyond your light-hearted nature to understand."
+
+"Ah! yes, indeed," rejoined Branwen, with a sigh of mock humility, "I
+was always very lighthearted by nature.  The queen used frequently to
+tell me so--though she never said it was by `nature,' and the king
+agreed with her--though by the way he used to laugh, I don't think he
+thought light-heartedness to be _very_ naughty.  But come, Beniah, I am
+longing to hear what my father commissioned you to say or do."
+
+"Well, he was very particular in cautioning me _not_ to tell what I
+know--"
+
+"Ah! that knowledge, what a dreadful thing it is to have too much of it!
+Well, what more?"
+
+"He told me what I have already told you, and bid me add from himself
+that he has fallen on the tracks of the lad Cormac, and that he is sure
+to be found in this neighbourhood."
+
+"That, at least, will be no lie," suggested the maid.
+
+"I'm not so sure of that, for the lad Cormac will never be found here or
+anywhere else, having no existence at all."
+
+Branwen laughed at this and expressed surprise.  "It seems to me," she
+said, "that age or recent worries must have touched your brain, Beniah,
+for if the lad Cormac has no existence at all, how is it possible that
+you could meet with him at the Hot Swamp, and even make a solemn promise
+to him."
+
+Beniah did not reply to this question, but rose to make preparation for
+his journey.  Then, as if suddenly recollecting something that had
+escaped him, he returned to his seat.
+
+"My child," he said, "I have that to tell you which will make you sad--
+unless I greatly misunderstand your nature.  Gunrig, your enemy, is
+dying."
+
+That the Hebrew had not misunderstood Branwen's nature was evident, from
+the genuine look of sorrow and sympathy which instantly overspread her
+countenance.
+
+"Call him not my enemy!" she exclaimed.  "An enemy cannot love!  But,
+tell me about him.  I had heard the report that he was recovering."
+
+"It was the report of a sanguine mother who will not believe that his
+end is so near; but she is mistaken.  I saw him two days ago.  The
+arrow-head is still rankling in his chest, and he knows himself to be
+dying."
+
+"Is he much changed in appearance?" asked Branwen.
+
+"Indeed he is.  His great strength is gone, and he submits to be treated
+as a child--yet he is by no means childish.  The manliness of his strong
+nature is left, but the boastfulness has departed, and he looks death in
+the face like a true warrior; though I cannot help thinking that if
+choice had been given him he would have preferred to fall by the sword
+of Bladud, or some doughty foe who could have given him a more summary
+dismissal from this earthly scene."
+
+"Beniah, I will visit him," said Branwen, suddenly brushing back her
+hair with both hands, and looking earnestly into the Hebrew's face.
+
+"That will be hard for you to do and still keep yourself concealed."
+
+"Nothing will be easier," replied the girl, with some impatience; "you
+forget the old woman's dress.  I will accompany you as far as his
+dwelling.  It is only an easy day's journey on foot from here."
+
+"But, my child, I go on horseback; and I am to be supplied with only one
+horse."
+
+"Well, my father, that is no difficulty; for I will ride and you shall
+walk.  You will bring the horse here instead of starting straight from
+the palace.  Then we will set off together, and I will gallop on in
+advance.  When you reach Gunrig's house in the evening, you will find
+the horse fed and rested, and ready for you to go on."
+
+"But how will you return, child?"
+
+"By using my legs, man!  As an old witch I can travel anywhere at night
+in perfect safety."
+
+According to this arrangement--to which the Hebrew was fain to agree--
+the pair started off a little after daybreak the following morning.
+Branwen galloped, as she had said, in advance, leaving her protector to
+make his slower way through the forest.
+
+The sun was high when the domestics of Gunrig's establishment were
+thrown into a state of great surprise and no little alarm at sight of a
+little old woman in grey bestriding a goodly horse and galloping towards
+the house.  Dashing into the courtyard at full speed, and scattering the
+onlookers right and left, she pulled up with some difficulty, just in
+time to prevent the steed going through the parchment window of the
+kitchen.
+
+"Help me down!" she cried, looking full in the face of a lumpish lad,
+who stood gazing at her with open eyes and mouth.  "Don't you see I am
+old and my joints are stiff?  Be quick!"
+
+There was a commanding tone in her shrill voice that brooked no delay.
+The lumpish lad shut his mouth, reduced his eyes, and, going shyly
+forward, held out his hand.  The old woman seized it, and, almost before
+he had time to wink, stood beside him.
+
+"Where is Gunrig's room?" she demanded.
+
+All the observers pointed to a door at the end of a passage.
+
+"Take good care of my horse!  Rub him well down; feed him.  _I_ shall
+know if you don't!" she cried, as she entered the passage and knocked
+gently at the door.
+
+It was opened by Gunrig's mother, whose swollen eyes and subdued voice
+told their own tale.
+
+"May I come in and see him, mother?" said Branwen, in her own soft
+voice.
+
+"You are a strange visitor," said the poor woman, in some surprise.  "Do
+you want much to see him?  He is but a poor sight now."
+
+"Yes--O yes!--I want very much to see him."
+
+"Your voice is kindly, old woman.  You may come in."
+
+The sight that Branwen saw on entering was, indeed, one fitted to arouse
+the most sorrowful emotions of the heart; for there, on a rude couch of
+branches, lay the mere shadow of the once stalwart chief, the great
+bones of his shoulders showing their form through the garments which he
+had declined to take off; while his sunken cheeks, large glittering
+eyes, and labouring breath, told all too plainly that disease had almost
+completed the ruin of the body, and that death was standing by to
+liberate the soul.
+
+"Who comes to disturb me at such a time, mother?" said the dying man,
+with a distressed look.
+
+Branwen did not give her time to answer, but, hurrying forward, knelt
+beside the couch and whispered in his ear.  As she did so there was a
+sudden rush of blood to the wan cheeks, and something like a blaze of
+the wonted fire in the sunken eyes.
+
+"Mother," he said, with something of his old strength of voice, "leave
+us for a short while.  This woman has somewhat to tell me."
+
+"May I not stay to hear it, my son?"
+
+"No.  You shall hear all in a very short time.  Just now--leave us!"
+
+"Now, Branwen," said the chief, taking her hand in his, "what blessed
+chance has sent you here?"
+
+The poor girl did not speak, for when she looked at the great, thin,
+transparent hand which held hers, and thought of the day when it swayed
+the heavy sword so deftly, she could not control herself, and burst into
+tears.
+
+"Oh! poor, poor Gunrig!  I'm so sorry to see you like this!--so very,
+very sorry!"
+
+She could say no more, but covered her face with both hands and wept.
+
+"Nay, take not your hand from me," said the dying man, again grasping
+the hand which she had withdrawn; "its soft grip sends a rush of joy to
+my sinking soul."
+
+"Say not that you are sinking, Gunrig," returned the girl in pitying
+tones; "for it is in the power of the All-seeing One to restore you to
+health if it be His will."
+
+"If He is All-seeing, then there is no chance of His restoring me to
+health; for He has seen that I have lived a wicked life.  Ah!  Branwen,
+you do not know what I have been.  If there is a place of rewards and
+punishment, as some tell us there is, assuredly my place will be that of
+punishment, for my life has been one of wrong-doing.  And there is
+something within me that I have felt before, but never so strong as now,
+which tells me that there _is_ such a place, and that I am condemned to
+it."
+
+"But I have heard from the Hebrew--who reads strange things marked on a
+roll of white cloth--that the All-seeing One's nature is _love_, and
+that He has resolved Himself to come and save men from wrong-doing."
+
+"That would be good news indeed, Branwen, if it were true."
+
+"The Hebrew says it is true.  He says he believes it, and the All-seeing
+One is a Redeemer who will save all men from wrong-doing."
+
+"Would that I could find Him, Branwen, for that is what I wish.  I know
+not whether there shall be a hereafter or not, but if there is I shall
+hope for deliverance from wrong-doing.  A place of punishment I care not
+much about, for I never shrank from pain or feared death.  What I do
+fear is a hereafter, in which I shall live over again the old bad life--
+and I am glad it is drawing to a close with your sweet voice sounding in
+my ears.  I believe it was that voice which first shot into my heart the
+desire to do right, and the hatred of wrong."
+
+"I am glad to hear that, Gunrig, though it never entered into my head, I
+confess, to do you such a good turn.  And surely it must have been the
+All-seeing One who enabled me to influence you thus, and who now recalls
+to my mind what the Hebrew read to me--one of those sayings of the good
+men of his nation which are marked in the white roll I spoke of.  It is
+this--`God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.'"
+
+"That is a good word, if it be a true one," returned the chief, "and I
+hope it is.  Now, my end is not far off.  I am so glad and thankful that
+you have forgiven me before the end.  Another thing that comforts me is
+that Bladud and I have been reconciled."
+
+"Bladud!" exclaimed the girl.
+
+"Ay, the prince with whom I fought at the games, you remember."
+
+"Remember! ay, right well do I remember.  It was a notable fight."
+
+"It was," returned the chief, with a faint smile, "and from that day I
+hated him and resolved to kill him, till I met him at the Hot Swamp,
+where I got this fatal wound.  He nursed me there, and did his best to
+save my life, but it was not to be.  Yet I think that his tenderness, as
+well as your sweet voice, had something to do with turning my angry
+spirit round.  I would see my mother now.  The world is darkening, and
+the time is getting short."
+
+The deathly pallor of the man's cheeks bore witness to the truth of his
+words.  Yet he had strength to call his mother into the room.
+
+On entering and beholding a beautiful girl kneeling, and in tears, where
+she had left a feeble old woman, she almost fell down with superstitious
+fear, deeming that an angel had been sent to comfort her son--and so
+indeed one had been sent, in a sense, though not such an one as
+superstition suggested.
+
+A few minutes' talk with Gunrig, however, cleared up the mystery.  But
+the unwonted excitement and exertion had caused the sands of life to run
+more rapidly than might otherwise have been the case.  The chief's voice
+became suddenly much more feeble, and frequently he gasped for breath.
+
+"Mother," he said, "Branwen wants to get home without any one knowing
+that she has been here.  You will send our stoutest man with her
+to-night, to guard her through the woods as far as the Hebrew's cave.
+Let him not talk to her by the way, and bid him do whatever she
+commands."
+
+"Yes, my dear, dear son, what else can I do to comfort you?"
+
+"Come and sit beside me, mother, and let me lay my head on your knee.
+You were the first to comfort me in this life, and I want you to be the
+last.  Speak with Branwen, mother, after I am gone.  She will comfort
+you as no one else can.  Give me your hand, mother; I would sleep now as
+in the days gone by."
+
+The bronzed warrior laid his shaggy head on the lap where he had been so
+often fondled when he was a little child, and gently fell into that
+slumber from which he never more awoke.
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY THREE.
+
+THE HEBREW'S MISSION.
+
+We turn now to Beniah the Hebrew.  On arriving at the Hot Swamp he was
+amazed to find the change that had been made in the appearance of the
+locality in so short a time.
+
+"United action, you see," said Captain Arkal, who did the honours of the
+new settlement in the absence of Bladud and his friends, these being
+still absent on their vain search for the lad Cormac, "united action,
+perseveringly continued, leads to amazing results."
+
+He repeated this to himself, in a low tone, as if he were rather proud
+of having hit on a neat way of expressing a great truth which he
+believed was an original discovery of his own.  "Yes," he continued, "I
+have got my men, you see, into splendid working order.  They act from
+morning to night in concert--one consequence of which is that all is
+Harmony, and there is but one man at the helm, the consequence of which
+is, that all is Power.  Harmony and Power!  I have no faith, Beniah, in
+a divided command.  My men work together and feed together and play
+together and sleep together, united in the one object of carrying out
+the grand designs of Prince Bladud, while I, as the superintendent of
+the work, see to it that the work is properly done.  Nothing could be
+more simple or satisfactory."
+
+"Or more amazing," added Beniah, as they walked by the margin of a hot
+rivulet.  "I could scarcely have known the Swamp had I not recognised
+its beautiful surroundings."
+
+"Just so; it is all, as I have said, the result of union, which I hold
+to be the very foundation of human power, for united action is strong,"
+said the captain, with enthusiasm, as he originated the idea which,
+years afterwards, became the familiar proverb, "Union is Strength."
+
+"Most true, O mariner," returned Beniah, "your wisdom reminds me of one
+of our kings who wrote many of our wisest sayings."
+
+"Ah, wise sayings have their value, undoubtedly," returned Arkal, "but
+commend me to wise doings.  Look here, now, at the clever way in which
+Bladud has utilised this bush-covered knoll.  It is made to divide this
+rivulet in two, so that one branch, as you see, fills this pond, which
+is intended for the male population of the place, while the other branch
+fills another pond--not in sight at present--intended for the women.
+Then, you see that large pond away to the left, a considerable distance
+from the fountain-head--that is supplied by a very small stream of the
+hot water, so that it soon becomes quite cold, and branch rivulets from
+the cold pond to the hot ponds cool them down till they are bearable.
+It took six days to fill up the cold pond."
+
+"We have not yet got the booths made for the women to dress in,"
+continued the captain, "for we have no women yet in our settlement; but
+you see what convenient ones we have set up for the men."
+
+"But surely," said the Hebrew, looking round with interest, "you have
+far more hot water than you require."
+
+"Yes, much more."
+
+"What, then, do you do with the surplus?"
+
+"We just let it run into the swamp at present, as it has always done,
+but we are digging a big drain to carry it off into the river.  Then,
+when the swamp is dry, we will plant eatable things in it, and perhaps
+set up more booths and huts and dig more baths.  Thus, in course of
+time--who knows?--we may have a big town here, and King Hudibras himself
+may condescend to lave his royal limbs in our waters."
+
+"That may well be," returned the Hebrew thoughtfully.  "The Hot Spring
+is a good gift from the All-seeing One, and if it cures others as it has
+cured Prince Bladud, I should not wonder to see the people of the whole
+land streaming to the place before long.  But have you given up all
+thought of returning to your native land, Arkal?  Do you mean to settle
+here?"
+
+"Nay, verily--that be far from me!  Have I not a fair wife in Hellas,
+who is as the light of mine eyes; and a little son who is as the plague
+of my life?  No, I shall return home once more to fetch my wife and
+child here--then I shall have done with salt water for ever, and devote
+myself to hot water in time to come."
+
+"A wise resolve, no doubt," said Beniah, "and in keeping with all your
+other doings."
+
+"See," interrupted Arkal, "there is the river and the women's bath, and
+the big drain that I spoke of."
+
+He pointed to a wide ditch extending from the swamp towards the river.
+It had been cut to within a few yards of the latter, and all the men of
+the place were busily engaged with primitive picks, spades, and shovels,
+in that harmonious unity of action of which the captain had expressed
+such a high opinion.
+
+A few more yards of cutting, and the ditch, or drain, would be
+completed, when the waters of the swamp would be turned into it.  Those
+waters had been banked up at the head of the drain and formed a lake of
+considerable size, which, when the neck of land separating it from the
+drain should be cut, would rush down the artificial channel and
+disappear in the river.
+
+Engineering in those days, however, had not been studied--at least in
+Albion--to the extent which now prevails in England.  The neck of land
+was not equal to the pressure brought to bear on it, and while the
+captain and his friend were looking at it, there appeared symptoms which
+caused the former some anxiety.
+
+At that moment Konar the hunter came up.  Although attached to the
+settlement as hunter, he had agreed to take his turn with the diggers,
+for the water accumulated in the lake so fast that the work had to be
+done rapidly, and every available man at the place was pressed into the
+service.  The overseer himself, even, lent a hand occasionally.
+
+"I don't like the look of the lower part of that neck," he remarked to
+the hunter.
+
+Konar was a man of few words.  By way of reply he laid aside his bow and
+descended the bank to examine the weak point.  He was still engaged in
+the investigation and bending over a moist spot, when the entire mass of
+earth gave way and the waters burst into the drain with a gush and a
+roar quite indescribable.  Konar was swept away instantly as if he had
+been a feather.  Arkal and Beniah sprang down the bank to his
+assistance, and were themselves nearly swept into the flood which had
+swallowed up the hunter, but Konar was not quite gone.  Another moment
+and his legs appeared above the flood, then his head turned up, and then
+the raging waters tossed him as if contemptuously on a projecting spit
+of bank, where he lay half in and half out of the torrent.
+
+In a moment both Arkal and the Hebrew were at the spot, seized the
+hunter by an arm, the neck of his coat, and the hair of his head, and
+drew him out of danger; but no sign of life did the poor man exhibit as
+he lay there on the grass.
+
+Meanwhile the energetic labourers at the lower end of the drain heard
+the turmoil and stood motionless with surprise, but were unable to see
+what caused it, owing to a thick bush which intervened.  Another moment
+and they stood aghast, for, round the corner of the only bend in the
+drain, there appeared a raging head of foam, with mud, grass, sticks,
+stones, and rubbish on its crest, bearing down on them like a
+race-horse.
+
+With a yell that was as fully united as their method of work, the men
+scrambled out of the drain and rushed up the bank, exhibiting a unity of
+purpose that must have gladdened the heart of Captain Arkal.  And they
+were not a moment too soon, for the last man was caught by the flood,
+and would have been swept away but for the promptitude of his fellows.
+
+"H'm! it has saved you some work, lads," observed the captain, with a
+touch of grave irony as he pointed to the portion of the bank on which
+they had been engaged.  He was right.  The flood had not only overleaped
+this, but had hollowed it out and swept it clean away into the river--
+thus accomplishing effectively in ten minutes what would have probably
+required the labour of several hours.
+
+On carrying Konar up to the village of the Swamp--afterwards Swamptown,
+later Aquae Sulis, ultimately Bath--which had already begun to grow on
+the nearest height, they found that Bladud and his party had just
+arrived from the last of the searching expeditions.
+
+"What!  Beniah?" exclaimed the prince, when the Hebrew met him.  "You
+have soon returned to us.  Is all well at home?"
+
+"All is well.  I am sent on a mission to you, but that is not so urgent
+as the case of Konar."
+
+As he spoke the young men laid the senseless form on the ground.
+Bladud, at once dismissing all other subjects from his mind, examined
+him carefully, while Brownie snuffed at him with sympathetic interest.
+
+"He lives, and no bones are broken," said the prince, looking up after a
+few minutes; "here, some of you, go fetch hot water and pour it on him;
+then rub him dry; cover him up and let him rest.  He has only been
+stunned.  And let us have something to eat, Arkal.  We are ravenous as
+wolves, having had scarce a bite since morning."
+
+"You come in good time," replied the captain.  "Our evening meal is just
+ready."
+
+"Come along, then, let us to work.  You will join us, Beniah, and tell
+me the object of your mission while we eat."
+
+The men of old may not have been epicures, but there can be no question
+that they were tremendous eaters.  No doubt, living as they did,
+constantly in fresh air, having no house drains or gas, and being
+blessed with superabundant exercise, their appetites were keen and their
+capacities great.  For at least ten minutes after the evening meal
+began, Bladud, Arkal, Dromas, little Maikar, and the Hebrew, were as
+dumb and as busy as Brownie.  They spake not a single word--except that
+once the prince took a turkey drumstick from between his teeth to look
+up and repeat, "All well at home, you say?"  To which Beniah, checking
+the course of a great wooden spoon to his lips, replied, "All well."
+
+There was roast venison at that feast, and roast turkey and roast hare,
+and plover and ducks of various kinds, all roasted, and nothing whatever
+boiled, except some sorts of green vegetables, the names of which have,
+unfortunately, not been handed down to us, though we have the strongest
+ground for believing that they were boiled in earthenware pots--for, in
+recent excavations in Bath, vessels of that description have been found
+among the traces of the most ancient civilisation.
+
+"Now," said the prince, wiping his mouth with a bunch of grass when he
+came to the first pause, "what may be the nature of your mission,
+Beniah?"
+
+"Let me ask, first," replied the Hebrew, also wiping his mouth with a
+similar pocket handkerchief, "have you found the lad Cormac yet?"
+
+"No," answered the prince, gloomily, and with a slightly surprised look,
+for the expression of Beniah's countenance puzzled him.  "Why do you
+ask?"
+
+"Because that bears somewhat on my mission.  I have to deliver a message
+from your father, the king.  He bids me say that you are to return home
+immediately."
+
+"Never!" cried Bladud, with that Medo-Persic decision of tone and
+manner, which implies highly probable and early surrender, "never! until
+I find the boy--dead or alive."
+
+"For," continued the Hebrew, slowly, "he has important matters to
+consider with you--matters that will not brook delay.  Moreover, Gadarn
+bid me say that he has fallen on the tracks of the lad Cormac, and that
+we are almost sure to find him in the neighbourhood of your father's
+town."
+
+"What say you?" exclaimed Bladud, dropping his drumstick--not the same
+one, but another which he had just begun--"repeat that."
+
+Beniah repeated it.
+
+"Arkal," said the prince, turning to the captain, "I will leave you in
+charge here, and start off by the first light to-morrow morning.  See
+that poor Konar is well cared for.  Maikar, you will accompany me, and I
+suppose, Dromas, that you also will go."
+
+"Of course," said Dromas, with a meaning smile--so full of meaning,
+indeed, as to be quite beyond interpretation.
+
+"By the way," continued Bladud,--who had resumed the drumstick,--"has
+that fellow Gadarn found his daughter Branwen?"
+
+Beniah choked on a bone, or something, at that moment, and, looking at
+the prince with the strangest expression of face, and tears in his eyes,
+explained that he had not--at least not to his, Beniah's, absolutely
+certain knowledge.
+
+"That is to say," he continued in some confusion, "if--if--he has found
+her--which seems to me highly probable--there must be some--some mystery
+about her, for--it is impossible that--"
+
+Here the Hebrew choked again with some violence.
+
+"Have a care, man!" cried the prince in some alarm.  "However hungry a
+man may be, he should take time to swallow.  You seem to be
+contradicting yourself, but I don't wonder, in the circumstances."
+
+"Verily, I wonder at nothing, in the circumstances, for they are
+perplexing--even distressing," returned the Hebrew with a sigh, as he
+wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his coat.
+
+"Better not speak with your mouth full, then.  Ah! poor Gadarn," said
+Bladud, in an obviously indifferent tone of voice.  "I'm sorry for him.
+Girls like his daughter, who are self-willed, and given to running away,
+are a heavy affliction to parents.  And, truly, I ought to feel sympathy
+with him, for, although I am seeking for a youth of very different
+character, we are both so far engaged in similar work--search for the
+lost.  And what of my father, mother, and sister?"
+
+"All hale and hearty!" replied Beniah, with a sigh of relief, "and all
+anxious for your return, especially Hafrydda."
+
+At this point Dromas looked at the speaker with deepened interest.
+
+"She is a good girl, your sister," continued Beniah, "and greatly taken
+up just now with that old woman you met in my cave.  Hafrydda has
+strange fancies."
+
+"She might have worse fancies than being taken up with poor old women,"
+returned the prince.  "I'm rather fond of them myself, and was
+particularly attracted by the old woman referred to.  She was--what!
+choking again, Beniah?  Come, I think you have had enough for one meal.
+And so have we all, friends, therefore we had better away to roost if we
+are to be up betimes in the morning."
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR.
+
+BLADUD'S RETURN AND TRIALS.
+
+We need scarcely say that there was joy at the court of King Hudibras
+when Bladud returned home, cured of his terrible disease.
+
+The first person whom the prince hurried off to visit, after seeing his
+father, and embracing his mother and sister, was the northern chief
+Gadarn.  That jovial character was enjoying a siesta after the mid-day
+meal at the time, but willingly arose on the prince being announced.
+
+"Glad to see you, Gadarn," said Bladud, entering the room that had been
+apportioned to the chief, and sitting down on a bench for visitors,
+which, according to custom, stood against the inner wall of the
+apartment.  "I hope your head is clear and your arm strong."
+
+"Both are as they should be," answered Gadarn, returning the salutation.
+
+"I thank you," replied the prince, "my arm is indeed strong, but my head
+is not quite as clear as it might be."
+
+"Love got anything to do with it?" asked Gadarn, with a knowing look.
+
+"Not the love of woman, if that is what you mean."
+
+"Truly that is what I do mean--though, of course, I admit that one's
+horses and dogs have also a claim on our affections.  What is it that
+troubles you, my son?"
+
+The affectionate conclusion of this reply, and the chief's manner, drew
+the prince towards him, so that he became confidential.
+
+"The truth is, Gadarn, that I am very anxious to know what news you have
+of Cormac--for the fate of that poor boy hangs heavy on my mind.
+Indeed, I should have refused to quit the Swamp, in spite of the king's
+commands and my mother's entreaties, if you had not sent that message by
+the Hebrew."
+
+"Ah, Bladud, my young friend, that is an undutiful speech for a son to
+make about his parents," said the chief, holding up a remonstrative
+forefinger.  "If that is the way you treat your natural parents, how can
+I expect that--that--I mean--"
+
+Here the chief was seized with a fit of sneezing, so violent, that it
+made the prince quite concerned about the safety of his nose.
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed Gadarn, as a final wind up to the last sneeze, "the air
+of that Swamp seems to have been too strong for me.  I'm growing old,
+you see.  Well--what was I saying?--never mind.  You were referring to
+that poor lad Cormac.  Yes, I have news of him."
+
+"Good news, I hope?" said the prince, anxiously.  "O yes--very good--
+excellent!  That is to say--rather--somewhat indefinite news, for--for
+the person who saw him told me--in fact, it is difficult to explain,
+because people are often untrustworthy, and exaggerate reports, so that
+it is not easy to make out what is true and what is false, or whether
+both accounts may be true, or the whole thing false altogether.  You
+see, Bladud, our poor brains," continued the chief, in an argumentative
+tone, "are so--so--queerly mixed up that one cannot tell--tell--why,
+there was once a fellow in my army, whose manner of reporting any event,
+no matter how simple, was so incomprehensible that it was impossible
+to--to--but let me tell you an anecdote about him.  His name was--"
+
+"Forgive my interrupting you, chief, but I am so anxious to hear
+something about my lost friend that--"
+
+"Ha!  Bladud, I fear that you are a selfish man, for you have not yet
+asked about my lost daughter."
+
+"Indeed I am not by any means indifferent about her; but--but, you know,
+I have never seen her, and, to tell the plain truth, my anxiety about
+the boy drove her out of my mind for the moment.  Have you found her?"
+
+"Ay, that I have; as well and hearty as ever she was, though somewhat
+more beautiful and a trifle more mischievous.  But I will introduce her
+to you to-morrow.  There is to be a grand feast, is there not, at the
+palace?"
+
+"Yes; something of the sort, I believe, in honour of my return,"
+answered the prince, a good deal annoyed by the turn the conversation
+had taken.
+
+"Well, then, you shall see her then; for she has only just arrived, and
+is too tired to see any one," continued Gadarn, with a suppressed yawn;
+"and you'll be sure to fall in love with her; but you had better not,
+for her affections are already engaged.  I give you fair warning, so be
+on your guard."
+
+The prince laughed, and assured his friend that there was no fear, as he
+had seen thousands of fair girls both in East and West, but his heart
+had never yet been touched by one of them.
+
+At this the chief laughed loudly, and assured Bladud that his case had
+now reached a critical stage: for when young men made statements of that
+kind, they were always on the point of being conquered.
+
+"But leave me now, Bladud," he continued, with a yawn so vast that the
+regions around the uvula were clearly visible; "I'm frightfully sleepy,
+and you know you have shortened my nap this afternoon."
+
+The prince rose at once.
+
+"At all events," he said, "I am to understand, before I go, that Cormac
+_has_ been seen?"
+
+"O yes!  Certainly; no doubt about that!"
+
+"And is well?"
+
+"Quite well."
+
+Fain to be content with this in the meantime, Bladud hurried to the
+apartment of his sister.
+
+"Hafrydda!" he exclaimed, "has Gadarn gone out of his mind?"
+
+"I believe not," she replied, sitting down beside her brother and taking
+his hand.  "Why do you ask?"
+
+"Because he talks--I say it with all respect--like an idiot."
+
+Hafrydda laughed; and her brother thereupon gave her a full account of
+the recent interview.
+
+"Now, my sister, you were always straightforward and wise.  Give me a
+clear answer.  Has Cormac been found?"
+
+"No, he has not been found; but--"
+
+"Then," interrupted Bladud, in a savage tone that was very foreign to
+his nature, "Gadarn is a liar!"
+
+"Oh, brother! say not so."
+
+"How can I help it?  He gave me to understand that Cormac _has_ been
+found--at least, well, no, not exactly found, but _seen_ and heard of.
+I'm no better than the rest of you," continued Bladud, with a sarcastic
+laugh.  "It seems as if there were something in the air just now which
+prevents us all from expressing ourselves plainly."
+
+"Well, then, brother," said Hafrydda, with a smile, "if he told you that
+Cormac has been seen and heard of, and is well, surely that may relieve
+your mind till to-morrow, when I know that some one who knows all about
+the boy is to be at our festival.  We begin it with games, as usual.
+Shall you be there?"
+
+"I'd rather not," replied the prince almost testily; "but, of course, it
+would be ungracious not to appear.  This, however, I do know, that I
+shall take no part in the sports."
+
+"As you please, brother.  We are only too glad to have you home again,
+to care much about that.  But, now, I have something of importance to
+tell you about myself."
+
+Bladud was interested immediately; and for the moment forgot his own
+troubles as he gazed inquiringly into the fair countenance of the
+princess.
+
+"I am going to wed, brother."
+
+"Indeed!  You do not surprise me, though you alarm me--I know not why.
+Who is the man?--not Gunrig, I hope."
+
+"Alas! no.  Poor Gunrig is dead."
+
+"Dead!  Ah, poor man!  I am glad we met at the Swamp."
+
+Bladud looked sad for a moment, but did not seem unduly oppressed by the
+news.
+
+"The man who has asked me to wed is your friend Dromas."
+
+"What!" exclaimed the prince, in blazing surprise, not unmingled with
+delight.  "The man has been here only a few hours!  He must have been
+very prompt!"
+
+"It does not take many hours to ask a girl to wed; and I like a prompt
+man," returned the princess, looking pensively at the floor.
+
+"But tell me, how came it all about?  How did he manage it in so short a
+time?"
+
+"Well, brother dear--but you'll never tell any one, will you?"
+
+"Never--never!"
+
+"Well, you must know, when we first met, we--we--"
+
+"Fell in love.  Poor helpless things!"
+
+"Just so, brother; we fell, somehow in--whatever it was; and he told me
+with his eyes--and--and--I told him with mine.  Then he went off to find
+you; and came back, having found you--for which I was very grateful.
+Then he went to father and asked leave to speak to me.  Then he went to
+mother.  What they said I do not know; but he came straight to me, took
+my hand, fixed his piercing black eyes on me, and said, `Hafrydda, I
+love you.'"
+
+"Was that _all_?" asked Bladud.
+
+"Yes; that was all he _said_; but--but that was not the end of the
+interview!  It would probably have lasted till now, if you had not
+interrupted us."
+
+"I'm so very sorry, sister, but of course I did not know that--"
+
+They were interrupted at that moment by the servitor, to whom the reader
+has already been introduced.  He entered with a brightly intelligent
+grin on his expressive face, but, on beholding Bladud, suddenly
+elongated his countenance into blank stupidity.
+
+"The old woman waits outside, princess."
+
+"Oh, send her here at once."  (Then, when the servitor had left.) "This
+is the person I mentioned who knows about Cormac."
+
+Another moment and the little old woman in the grey shawl was ushered
+in.  She started visibly on beholding Bladud.
+
+"Come in, granny.  I did not expect you till to-morrow."
+
+"I thought I was to see you alone," said the old woman, testily, in her
+hard, metallic voice.
+
+"That is true, granny, but I thought you might like to see my brother
+Bladud, who has just returned home safe and well."
+
+"No, I _don't_ want to see your brother.  What do I care for people's
+brothers?  I want to see yourself, alone."
+
+"Let me congratulate you, at all events," interposed the prince, kindly,
+"on your having recovered your hearing, grannie.  This is not the first
+time we have met, Hafrydda, but I grieve to see that my old friend's
+nerves are not so strong as they used to be.  You tremble a good deal."
+
+"Yes, I tremble more than I like," returned the old woman peevishly,
+"and, perhaps, when you come to my age, young man, and have got the
+palsy, you'll tremble more than I do."
+
+"Nay, be not angry with me.  I meant not to hurt your feelings; and
+since you wish to be alone with my sister, I will leave you."
+
+When he was gone Branwen threw back the grey shawl and stood up with
+flashing, tearful eyes.
+
+"Was it kind--was it wise, Hafrydda, to cause me to run so great a risk
+of being discovered?"
+
+"Forgive me, dear Branwen, I did not mean to do it, but you arrived
+unexpectedly, and I let you come in without thinking.  Besides, I knew
+you could easily deceive him.  Nobody could guess it was you--not even
+your own mother."
+
+"There must be some truth in that," returned the maiden, quickly
+changing her mood, and laughing, "for I deceived my own father
+yesterday.  At the Swamp he found me out at once as Cormac, for I had to
+speak in my natural voice, and my full face was exposed; but the grey
+shawl and the metallic voice were too much for him.  Dear, good,
+patient, old man, you have no notion what a fearful amount of abuse he
+took from me, without losing temper--and I gave him some awful
+home-thrusts too!  I felt almost tempted to kiss him and beg his pardon.
+But now, Hafrydda, I am beginning to be afraid of what all this
+deceiving and playing the double-face will come to.  And I'm ashamed of
+it too--I really am.  What will Bladud think of me when he finds out?
+Won't he despise and hate me?"
+
+"Indeed he will not.  I know his nature well," returned the princess,
+kissing, and trying to reassure her friend, whose timid look and tearful
+eyes seemed to indicate that all her self-confidence and courage were
+vanishing.  "He loves you already, and love is a preventive of hate as
+well as a sovereign remedy for it."
+
+"Ay, he is fond of Cormac, I know, but that is a very different thing
+from loving Branwen!  However, to-morrow will tell.  If he cares only
+for the boy and does not love the girl, I shall return with my father to
+the far north, and you will never see Branwen more."
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE.
+
+THE PLOT THICKENS.
+
+During the residence of Gadarn at the court of King Hudibras, that wily
+northern chief had led the king to understand that one of his
+lieutenants had at last discovered his daughter Branwen in the hands of
+a band of robbers, from whom he had rescued her, and that he expected
+her arrival daily.
+
+"But what made the poor child run away?" asked the king at one of his
+interviews with his friend.  "We were all very fond of her, and she of
+us, I have good reason to believe."
+
+"I have been told," replied the chief, "that it was the fear of Gunrig."
+
+"Gunrig!  Why, the man was to wed my daughter.  She had no need to fear
+him."
+
+"That may be so, but I know--though it is not easy to remember how I
+came to know it--that Gunrig had been insolent enough to make up to her,
+after he was defeated by Bladud, and she was so afraid of him that she
+ran away, and thus fell into the hands of robbers."
+
+While the chief was speaking, Hudibras clenched his hands and glared
+fiercely.
+
+"Dared he to think of another girl when he was engaged to my daughter!"
+he said between his teeth.  "It is well that Gunrig is dead, for
+assuredly I would have killed him."
+
+"It is well indeed," returned Gadarn, "for if your killing had not been
+sufficient, I would have made it more effectual.  But he is out of the
+way now, so we may dismiss him."
+
+"True--and when may we expect Branwen back again, poor child?" asked the
+king.
+
+"In a day or two at latest.  From what was told me by the runner who was
+sent on in advance, it is possible that she may be here to-morrow, in
+time for the sports."
+
+The wily chief had settled it in his own mind that Branwen should arrive
+exactly at the time when there was to be a presentation of chiefs; which
+ceremony was to take place just before the commencement of the sports.
+This arrangement he had come to in concert with a little old woman in a
+grey shawl, who paid him a private visit daily.
+
+"Do you know, Gadarn, who this youth Cormac is, whom Bladud raves so
+much about?"
+
+The northern chief was seized at that moment with one of those violent
+fits of sneezing to which of late he had become unpleasantly subject.
+
+"Oh! ye--ye--y-ha! yes;--excuse me, king, but since I went to that Hot
+Swamp, something seems to have gone wrong wi'--wi'--ha! my nose."
+
+"Something will go worse wrong with it, chief, if you go on like that.
+I thought the last one must have split it.  Well, what know you about
+Cormac?"
+
+"That he appears to be a very good fellow.  I can say nothing more about
+him than that, except that your son seems to think he owes his life to
+his good nursing at a critical point in his illness."
+
+"I know that well enough," returned the king, "for Bladud has impressed
+it on me at least a dozen times.  He seems to be very grateful.  Indeed
+so am I, and it would please me much if I had an opportunity of showing
+my gratitude to the lad.  Think you that there is any chance of finding
+out where he has disappeared to?"
+
+"Not the least chance in the world."
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed the king in surprise.  "That is strange, for Bladud,
+who has just left me, says that he has the best of reasons for believing
+that we shall have certain news of him tomorrow.  But go, Gadarn, and
+consult my doctor about this complaint of yours, which interrupts
+conversation so awkwardly.  We can resume our talk at some other time."
+
+Gadarn obediently went, holding his sides as if in agony, and sneezing
+in a manner that caused the roof-tree of the palace to vibrate.
+
+Returning to his own room he found the little old woman in grey awaiting
+him.
+
+"You've been laughing again, father," she said.  "I see by the
+purpleness of your face.  You'll burst yourself at last if you go on
+so."
+
+"Oh! you little old hag--oh!  Cormac--oh!  Branwen, I hope you won't be
+the death of me," cried the chief, flinging his huge limbs on a couch
+and giving way to unrestrained laughter, till the tears ran down his
+cheeks.  "If they did not all look so grave when speaking about you, it
+wouldn't be so hard to bear.  It's the gravity that kills me.  But come,
+Branwen," he added, as he suddenly checked himself and took her hand,
+"what makes you look so anxious, my child?"
+
+"Because I feel frightened, and ashamed, and miserable," she answered,
+with no symptom of her sire's hilarity.  "I doubt if I should have
+followed Bladud--but if I had not he would have died--and I don't like
+to think of all the deceptions I have been practising--though I couldn't
+very well help it--could I?  Then I fear that Bladud will forget Cormac
+when he learns to despise Branwen--"
+
+"Despise Branwen!" shouted Gadarn, fiercely, as his hand involuntarily
+grasped the hilt of his sword.  "If he did, I would cleave him from his
+skull to his waist--"
+
+"Quiet you, my sweet father," said Branwen, with a little smile, "you
+know that two can play at that game, and that you have a skull and a
+waist as well as Bladud--though your waist is a good deal thicker than
+his.  I'm not so sure about the skull!"
+
+"I accept your reproof, child, for boastfulness is hateful in a warrior.
+But get up, my love.  What would happen if some one came into the room
+and found a little old hag sitting on my knee with her arm around my
+neck?"
+
+"Ah, true, father.  I did not think of that.  I'm rather given to not
+thinking of some things.  Perhaps that inquisitive servitor may be--no,
+he's not there this time," said Branwen, reclosing the door and sitting
+down on a stool beside the chief.  "Now come, father, and learn your
+lesson."
+
+Gadarn folded his hands and looked at his child with an air of meek
+humility.
+
+"Well?"
+
+"Well, first of all, you must tell the king tomorrow, at the right time,
+that I have just come back, and am very tired and shall not appear till
+you take me to him while the other people are being presented.  Then you
+will lead me forward and announce me with a loud voice, so that no one
+shall fail to hear that I am Branwen, your daughter, you understand?
+Now, mind you speak well out."
+
+"I understand--with a shout, something like my battle-cry!"
+
+"Not exactly so loud as that, but so as Bladud shall be sure to hear
+you; and he will probably be near to his father at the time."
+
+"Just so.  What next?"
+
+"Oh, that's all you will have to do.  Just retire among the other
+courtiers then, and leave the rest to me."
+
+"That's a very short lesson, my little one; would you not like to be
+introduced to Bladud too?  He does not know you, you know."
+
+"Certainly not; that would ruin all--you dear old goose.  Just do
+exactly what I tell you, and you will be sure to go right."
+
+"How like your dear mother you are, my little one, in your modest
+requirements!"
+
+Having finished the lesson, the little old woman retired to a remote
+part of the palace which, through Hafrydda's influence, had been
+assigned to her, and the great northern chief, unbuckling his
+sword-belt, called lustily for his mid-day meal.
+
+Customs at that date, you see, were more free-and-easy than they are
+now, and less ceremonious.  The visitors at the palace of King Hudibras
+were expected only to appear at the royal board at the evening meal
+after all the business or pleasure of each day was over.  At all other
+times they were supposed to do as they pleased and shout for food as
+they happened to require it.
+
+It is perhaps unnecessary to comment on the exceeding convenience of
+this custom, leaving, as it did, every one to follow the bent of
+inclination, from earliest morn till dewy eve, with the prospect of an
+enjoyable _reunion_ after dark--during which, of course, the adventures
+of each were narrated, exaggerated, underrated, or commented on, as the
+case might be, and the social enjoyments were enhanced by warlike and
+sentimental song as well as by more or less--usually more than less--
+thrilling story.
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY SIX.
+
+THE DENOUEMENT.
+
+It was a sunny, frosty, glorious forenoon when King Hudibras awoke to
+the consciousness of the important day that was before him, and the
+importunate vacuum that was within him.
+
+Springing out of bed with a right royal disregard of appearances he
+summoned his servitor-in-waiting and ordered breakfast.
+
+In the breakfast-room he met the queen, Hafrydda, Bladud, and Dromas--
+the latter being now considered one of the family--and these five
+proceeded to discuss and arrange the proceedings of the day during the
+progress of the meal.
+
+"You will join in the sports, of course, son Dromas," said the king,
+"and show us how the Olympic victors carry themselves.  Ha!  I should
+not wonder if a few of our lads will give you some trouble to beat
+them."
+
+"You may be right, father," returned the young man, modestly, "for one
+of your lads has already beaten me at most things."
+
+"You mean Bladud?" returned the king.
+
+"Dromas is only so far right," interposed the prince.  "It is true that
+where mere brute force is required I usually have the advantage, but
+where grace and speed come into play I am lost."
+
+Of course Dromas would not admit this, and of course Hafrydda's fair
+cheeks were crimsoned when the youth, accidentally looking up, caught
+the princess accidentally gazing at him; and, still more of course, the
+king, who was sharp as a needle in such matters, observed their
+confusion and went into a loud laugh, which he declared was only the
+result of merry thoughts that were simmering in his brain.
+
+The reception was to be held in the large hall of the palace.  No ladies
+were to be presented, for it must be remembered that these were
+barbarous times, and woman had not yet attained to her true position!
+Indeed, there was to be no ceremony whatever--no throne, no crown, no
+gold-sticks in waiting or other sticks of any kind.  It was to be a sort
+of free-and-easy conversazione in the presence of the royal family,
+where, just before the sports began, any one who was moved by that
+ambition might hold personal intercourse with the king, and converse
+with him either on the affairs of State, or on private matters, or
+subjects of a more light and social kind--such as the weather.
+
+At the appointed hour--which was indicated by that rough and ready but
+most natural of sun-dials, the shadow of a tree falling on a certain
+spot--the royal family adjourned to the large hall, and the
+unceremonious ceremony began.
+
+First of all, on the doors being thrown open a crowd of nobles--or
+warriors--entered, and while one of them went to the king, and began an
+earnest entreaty that war might be declared without delay against a
+certain chief who was particularly obnoxious to him, another sauntered
+up to the princess and began a mild flirtation in the primitive manner,
+which was characteristic of the sons of Mars in that day--to the
+unutterable jealousy of Dromas, who instantly marked him down as a fit
+subject for overwhelming defeat at the approaching games.  At the same
+time the family doctor paid his respects to the queen and began to
+entertain her with graphic accounts of recent cases--for doctors had no
+objection to talking "shop" in those days.
+
+We have said that no ladies were admitted to places of public
+importance, such as grand-stands or large halls, but we have also
+pointed out that the ladies of the royal family and their female friends
+formed an exception to the rule.  It was, as it were, the dawn of
+women's freedom--the insertion of the small end of that wedge which
+Christianity and civilisation were destined to drive home--sometimes too
+far home!
+
+Gradually the hall began to fill, and the hum of conversation became
+loud, when there was a slight bustle at the door which caused a
+modification though not a cessation of the noise.
+
+It was caused by the entrance of Gadarn leading Branwen by the hand.
+The girl was now dressed in the costume that befitted her age and sex,
+and it is best described by the word simplicity.  Her rich auburn hair
+fell in short natural curls on her neck--the luxuriant volume of it
+having, as the reader is aware, been sacrificed some time before.  She
+wore no ornament of any kind save, on one side of her beautiful head, a
+small bunch of wild-flowers that had survived the frost.
+
+At the time of their entrance, Bladud was stooping to talk with Hafrydda
+and did not observe them, but when he heard Gadarn's sonorous voice he
+turned with interest to listen.
+
+"King Hudibras," said the northern chief, in a tone that produced
+instant silence, "I have found the lost one--my daughter Branwen."
+
+As they moved through the crowd of tall warriors Bladud could not at
+first catch sight of the girl.
+
+"Ha!  Hafrydda," he said, with a pleasant smile, "your young friend and
+companion found at last.  I congratulate you.  I'm so glad that--"
+
+He stopped, the colour fled from his cheeks, his chest heaved.  He
+almost gasped for breath.  Could he believe his eyes, for there stood a
+girl with the features, the hair, the eyes of Cormac, but infinitely
+more beautiful!
+
+For some time the poor prince stood utterly bereft of speech.
+Fortunately no one observed him, as all were too much taken up with what
+was going on.  The king clasped the girl's hands and kissed her on both
+cheeks.  Then the queen followed, and asked her how she could have been
+so cruel as to remain so long away.  And Branwen said a few words in
+reply.
+
+It seemed as if an electric shock passed through Bladud, for the voice
+also was the voice of Cormac!
+
+At this point the prince turned to look at his sister.  She was gazing
+earnestly into his face.
+
+"Hafrydda--is--is that really Branwen?"
+
+"Yes, brother, that is Branwen.  I must go to her."
+
+As she spoke, she started off at a run and threw her arms round her
+friend's neck.
+
+"I cannot--cannot believe it is you," she exclaimed aloud--and then,
+whispering in Branwen's ear, "oh! you wicked creature, to make such a
+hypocrite of me.  But come," she added aloud, "come to my room.  I must
+have you all to myself alone."
+
+For one moment, as they passed, Branwen raised her eyes, and, as they
+met those of the prince, a deep blush overspread her face.  Another
+moment and the two friends had left the hall together.
+
+We need not weary the reader by describing the games and festivities
+that followed.  Such matters have probably been much the same, in all
+important respects, since the beginning of time.  There was a vast
+amount of enthusiasm, and willingness to be contented with little, on
+the part of the people, and an incredible desire to talk and delay
+matters, and waste time, on the part of judges, umpires, and starters,
+but there was nothing particularly noteworthy, except that Bladud
+consented to run one race with his friend Dromas, and was signally
+beaten by him, to the secret satisfaction of Hafrydda, and the open
+amusement of the king.
+
+But Branwen did not appear at the games, nor did she appear again during
+the remainder of that day, and poor Bladud was obliged to restrain his
+anxiety, for he felt constrained to remain beside his father, and,
+somehow, he failed in his various attempts to have a few words of
+conversation with his mother.
+
+At last, like all sublunary things, the games came to an end, and the
+prince hastened to his sister's room.
+
+"May I come in?" he asked, knocking.
+
+"Yes, brother."
+
+There was a peculiar tone in her voice, and a curious expression in her
+eyes, that the prince did not fail to note.
+
+"Hafrydda," he exclaimed, eagerly, "there is _no_ Cormac?"
+
+"True, brother, there is no Cormac--there never was.  Branwen and Cormac
+are one!"
+
+"And you knew it--and _she_ knew it, all along.  Oh, why did you agree
+to deceive me?"
+
+"Nay, brother, I did not mean to deceive you--at least not at first.
+Neither did Branwen.  I knew nothing about it till she came home, after
+being with you at the Swamp, and told me that she was impelled by sheer
+pity to follow you, intending to nurse you; thinking at first that we
+had let you go to die alone.  Then she was caught in the woods by
+robbers, and she only escaped from them by putting on a boy's dress and
+running away.  They gave chase, however, caught her up, and, had it not
+been for you, would have recaptured her.  The rest you know.  But now,
+brother, I am jealous for my dear friend.  She has expressed fear that,
+in her great pity for you, she may be thought to have acted an unwomanly
+part, and that you will perhaps despise her."
+
+"Unwomanly! despise!" exclaimed Bladud in amazement.  "Hafrydda, do you
+regard me as a monster of ingratitude?"
+
+"Nay, brother, that do I not.  I think that you could never despise one
+who has felt such genuine pity for you as to risk and endure so much."
+
+"Hafrydda, do you think there is no stronger feeling than pity for me in
+the heart of Branwen?" asked Bladud in a subdued, earnest voice.
+
+"That you must find out for yourself, brother," answered the princess.
+"Yet after all, if you are only fond of Cormac, what matters the feeling
+that may be in the heart of Branwen?  Are you in love with her already,
+Bladud, after so short an acquaintance?"
+
+"In love with her!" exclaimed the prince.  "There is no Cormac.  There
+is but one woman in the wide world now--"
+
+"That is not complimentary to your mother and myself, I fear,"
+interrupted his sister.
+
+"But," continued the prince, paying no regard to the interruption, "is
+there any chance--any hope--of--of--something stronger than pity being
+in her heart?"
+
+"I say again, ask that of herself, Bladud; but now I think of it," added
+the princess, leaping up in haste, "I am almost too late to keep an
+appointment with Dromas!"
+
+She went out hurriedly, and the prince, full of new-born hopes mingled
+with depressing anxieties, went away into the neighbouring woods to
+meditate--for, in the haste of her departure, Hafrydda had neglected to
+tell him where Branwen was to be found, and he shrank from mentioning
+her name to any one else.
+
+But accident--as we call it--sometimes brings about what the most
+laboured design fails to accomplish.
+
+Owing to a feeling of anxiety which she could not shake off, Branwen had
+gone out that evening to cool her fevered brow in the woods, just a few
+minutes before the prince entered them.  It was a strange coincidence;
+but are not all coincidences strange?
+
+Seating herself on a fallen tree she cast up her eyes towards the sky
+where a solitary star, like a beacon of hope, was beginning to twinkle.
+She had not been there more than a few minutes when a rustle in the
+neighbouring thicket startled her.  Almost before she had time to look
+round the prince stood before her.  She trembled, for now she felt that
+the decisive hour had come--whether for good or evil.
+
+Seating himself beside her, the prince took one of her hands in his and
+looked steadily into her downcast face.
+
+"Corm--Bran--" he began, and stopped.
+
+She looked up.
+
+"Branwen," he said, in a low, calm voice, "will it pain you very much to
+know that I am glad--inexpressibly glad--that there is no youth Cormac
+in all the wide world?"
+
+Whether she was pained or not the girl did not say, but there was a
+language in her eyes which induced Bladud to slip his disengaged arm
+round--well, well, there are some things more easily conceived than
+described.  She seemed about to speak, but Bladud stopped her mouth--
+how, we need not tell--not rudely, you may be sure--suffice to say that
+when the moon arose an hour later, and looked down into the forest that
+evening she saw the prince and Branwen still seated, hand in hand, on
+the fallen tree, gazing in rapt attention at the stars.
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN.
+
+THE LAST.
+
+When Bladud walked out to the Hebrew's hut next day and informed him of
+what had taken place, that long-suffering man heaved a deep sigh and
+expressed his intense relief that the whole affair was at last cleared
+up and had come to an end.
+
+"I cannot view matters in the same light that you do, Beniah," said the
+prince, "for, in my opinion, things have only now come to a satisfactory
+beginning.  However, I suppose that you are thinking of the strange
+perplexities in which you have been involved so long."
+
+"I would not style them perplexities, prince, but intrigues--obvious and
+unjustifiable intrigues--in which innocent persons have been brought
+frequently to the verge of falsehood--if they have not, indeed, been
+forced to overstep the boundary."
+
+"Surely, Beniah, circumstances, against which none of us had power to
+contend, had somewhat to do with it all, as well as intrigue."
+
+"I care not," returned the Hebrew, "whether it was the intrigues of your
+court or the circumstances of it, which were the cause of all the mess
+in which I and others have been involved, but I am aweary of it, and
+have made up my mind to leave the place and retire to a remote part of
+the wilderness, where I may find in solitude solace to my exhausted
+spirit, and rest to my old bones."
+
+"That will never do, Beniah," said the prince, laughing.  "You take too
+serious a view of the matter.  There is no fear of any more intrigues or
+circumstances arising to perplex you for some time to come.  Besides, I
+want your services very much--but, before broaching that point, let me
+ask why you have invited me to come to see you here.  Hafrydda gave me
+your message--"
+
+"My message!" repeated the Hebrew in surprise.
+
+"Yes--to meet you here this forenoon on urgent business.  If it is
+anything secret you have to tell me, I hope you have not got your
+wonderful old witch in the back cave, for she seems to have discovered
+as thorough a cure for deafness as I found for leprosy at the Hot
+Swamp."
+
+"Wonderful old witch!" repeated Beniah, with a dazed look, and a tone of
+exasperation that the prince could not account for.  "Do you, then, not
+know about that old woman?"
+
+"Oh! yes, I know only too much about her," replied Bladud.  "She has
+been staying at the palace for some time, as you know, and rather a
+lively time the old hag has given us.  She went in to see my mother one
+day and threw her into convulsions, from which, I think, she has hardly
+recovered yet.  Then she went to my father's room--the chief Gadarn and
+I were with him at the time--and almost before she had time to speak
+they went into fits of laughter at her till the tears ran down their
+cheeks.  I must say it seemed to me unnecessarily rude and unkind, for,
+although the woman is a queer old thing, and has little more of her face
+visible than her piercing black eyes, I could see nothing to laugh at in
+her shrivelled-up, bent little body.  Besides this, she has kept the
+domestics in a state of constant agitation, for most of them seem to
+think her a limb of the evil spirit.  But what makes you laugh so?"
+
+"Oh!  I see now," returned the Hebrew, controlling himself by a strong
+effort.  "I understand now why the old woman wished to be present at our
+interview.  Come forth, thou unconscionable hag!" added Beniah, in the
+voice of a stentor, "and do your worst.  I am past emotion of any kind
+whatever now."
+
+As he spoke he gazed, with the resigned air of a martyr, at the inner
+end of his cavern.  Bladud also looked in that direction.  A moment
+later and the little old woman with the grey shawl appeared; thrust out
+the plank bridge; crossed over, and tottered towards them.
+
+"Dearie me!  Beniah, there's no need to yell so loud.  You know I've got
+back my hearing.  What want ye with me?  I'm sure I have no wish to pry
+into the secrets of this young man or yourself.  What d'ye want?"
+
+But Beniah stood speechless, a strange expression on his face, his lips
+firmly compressed and his arms folded across his breast.
+
+"Have you become as dumb as I was deaf, old man?" asked the woman,
+petulantly.
+
+Still the Hebrew refused to speak.
+
+"Have patience with him, old woman," said Bladud, in a soothing tone.
+"He is sometimes taken with unaccountable fits--"
+
+"Fits!" interrupted the old woman.  "I wish he had the fits that I have
+sometimes.  Perhaps they would cure him of his impudence.  They would
+cure you too, young man, of your stupidity."
+
+"Stupidity!" echoed Bladud, much amused.  "I have been credited with
+pride and haste and many other faults in my day, but never with
+stupidity."
+
+"Was it not stupid of you to go and ask that silly girl to wed you--that
+double-faced thing that knows how to cheat and deceive and--"
+
+"Come, come, old woman," said the prince, repressing with difficulty a
+burst of indignation.  "You allow your old tongue to wag too freely.  I
+suppose," he added, turning to Beniah, "that we can conclude our
+conversation outside?"
+
+But the Hebrew still remained immovable and sternly dumb.
+
+Unable to understand this, Bladud turned again to the old woman, but,
+lo! the old woman was gone, and in her place stood Branwen, erect, with
+the grey shawl thrown back, and a half-timid smile on her face.
+
+To say that Bladud was thunderstruck is not sufficient to indicate his
+condition.  He stood as if rooted to the spot with his whole being
+concentrated in his wide-open blue eyes.
+
+"Is my presumption too great, Bladud?" asked the girl, hesitatingly.  "I
+did but wish to assure you that I have no other deceptions to practise.
+That I fear--I hope--that--"
+
+The prince, recovering himself, sprang forward and once again stopped
+her mouth--not with his hand; oh! by no means!--while Beniah, with that
+refinement of wisdom which is the prerogative of age, stepped out to
+ascertain whether it happened to be rain or sunshine that ruled at the
+time.  Curiously enough he found that it was the latter.
+
+That evening the doctor of the royal household was summoned by an
+affrighted servitor to the apartment of Gadarn, who had been overheard
+choking.  The alarmed man of medicine went at once, and, bursting into
+the room without knocking, found the great northern chief sitting on the
+edge of his couch purple in the face and with tears in his eyes.  The
+exasperated man leaped up intending to kick the doctor out, but,
+changing his mind, he kicked the horrified servitor out instead, and,
+taking the doctor into his confidence, related to him an anecdote which
+had just been told to him by Bladud.
+
+"It will be the death of the king," said Gadarn.  "You had better go to
+him.  He may need your services."
+
+But the king was made of sterner stuff than his friend imagined.  He put
+strong constraint upon himself, and, being not easily overcome by
+feeling--or anything else under the sun--he lived to relate the same
+anecdote to his wife and daughter.
+
+The day following, Bladud resumed with the Hebrew the conversation that
+had been interrupted by Branwen.
+
+"I was going to have said to you, Beniah, that I want your services very
+much."
+
+"You had said that much, prince, before Bran--I mean Cor--that is, the
+old woman--interrupted us.  How can I serve you?"
+
+"By going back with me to the Hot Swamp and helping to carry out a grand
+scheme that I have in my brain."
+
+The Hebrew shook his head.
+
+"I love not your grand schemes," he said, somewhat sternly.  "The last
+grand scheme that your father had was one which, if successfully carried
+out, would have added a large portion of Albion to his dominions, and
+would have swept several tribes off the face of the earth.  As it was,
+the mere effort to carry it out cost the lives of many of the best young
+men on both sides, and left hundreds of mothers, wives, sisters, and
+children to mourn their irreparable losses, and to wonder what all the
+fighting was about.  Indeed, there are not a few grey-bearded men who
+share that wonder with the women and children, and who cannot, by any
+effort of their imagination, see what advantage is gained by either
+party when the fight is over."
+
+"These grey-beards must be thick-skulled, then," replied the prince with
+a smile, "for does not the victor retain the land which he has
+conquered?"
+
+"Yea, truly, and he also retains the tombs of the goodly young men who
+have been slain, and also the widows and sweethearts, and the national
+loss resulting from the war--for all which the land gained is but a
+paltry return.  Moreover, if the All-seeing One cared only for the
+victors, there might be some understanding of the matter--though at the
+cost of justice--but, seeing that He cares for the vanquished quite as
+much as for the victorious, the gain on one side is counterbalanced by
+the loss on the other side, while the world at large is all the poorer,
+first, by the loss of much of its best blood, second, by the creation of
+a vast amount of unutterable sorrow and bitter hatred, and, third, by a
+tremendous amount of misdirected energy.
+
+"Look, for instance, at the Hot Swamp.  Before the late war it was the
+abode of a happy and prosperous population.  Now, it is a desolation.
+Hundreds of its youth are in premature graves, and nothing whatever has
+been gained from it by your father that I can see."
+
+"But surely men must defend themselves and their women and children
+against foes?" said Bladud.
+
+"Verily, I did not say they should not," replied Beniah.  "Self-defence
+is a duty; aggressive war, in most cases (I do not say in all), is a
+blunder or a sin."
+
+"I think that my mind runs much on the same line with yours, Beniah, as
+to these things, but I am pretty sure that a good many years will pass
+over us before the warriors of the present day will see things in this
+light."
+
+One is apt to smile at Bladud's prophetic observation, when one reflects
+that about two thousand seven hundred years have elapsed since that day,
+and warriors, as well as many civilians, have not managed to see it in
+this light yet!
+
+"However," continued the prince, "the scheme which runs in my head is
+not one of war--aggressive or defensive--but one of peace, for the
+betterment of all mankind.  As you know, I have begun to build a city at
+the Hot Swamp, so that all who are sick may go to that beautiful country
+and find health, as I did.  And I want your help in this scheme."
+
+"That is well, prince, but I see not how I can aid you.  I am not an
+engineer, who could carry out your devices, nor an architect who could
+plan your dwellings.  And I am too old for manual labour--though, of
+course, it is not for that you want me."
+
+"You are right, Beniah.  It is not for that.  I have as many strong and
+willing hands to work as I require, but I want wise heads, full of years
+and experience, which may aid me in council and guard me from the
+blunders of youth and inexperience.  Besides, man was not, it seems to
+me, put into this world merely to enjoy himself.  If he was, then are
+the brutes his superiors, for they have no cares, no anxieties about
+food or raiment, or housing, and they enjoy themselves to the full as
+long as their little day lasts.  There is surely some nobler end for
+man, and as you have given much study to the works and ways and reputed
+words of the All-seeing One, I want you to aid me in helping men to look
+upward--to soar like the eagle above the things of earth, as well as to
+consider the interests of others, and so, as far as may be, unlearn
+selfishness.  Will you join me for this end?"
+
+"That will I, with joy," answered the Hebrew with kindling eye; "but
+your ambition soars high, prince.  Have you spoken to Branwen on these
+subjects?"
+
+"Of course I have, and she, like a true woman, enters heartily into my
+plans.  Like myself, she does not think that being wedded and happy is
+the great end of life, but only the beginning of it.  When the wedding
+is over, our minds will then be set free to devote ourselves to the
+great work before us."
+
+"And what duties in the work will fall to the lot of Branwen?" asked
+Beniah, with an amused look.
+
+"The duties of a wife, of course," returned the prince.  "She will lend
+a sympathetic ear to all plans and proposals; her ingenious imagination
+will suggest ideas that might escape my grosser mind; her brilliant
+fancy will produce combinations that my duller brain would never think
+of; her hopeful spirit will encourage me to perseverance where accident
+or disaster has a tendency to demoralise, and her loving spirit will
+comfort me should failure, great or small, be permitted to overtake me.
+All this, I admit, sounds very selfish, but you asked me what part
+Branwen should play in regard to _my_ schemes.  If you had asked me what
+part I am to play in her life and work, the picture might be inverted to
+some extent--for our lives will be mutual--though, of course, I can
+never be to her what she will be to me."
+
+With this exalted idea of the married state, Prince Bladud looked
+forward to his wedding.  Whether Dromas was imbued with similar ideas we
+cannot tell; but of this we are sure, that he was equally devoted to the
+princess--as far as outward appearance went--and he entered with keenest
+zest and appreciation into the plans and aspirations of his friend, with
+regard to the welfare of mankind in general, and the men of Albion in
+particular.
+
+Not many days after that there was a double wedding at Hudibras town,
+which created a tremendous sensation throughout all the land.  For,
+although news travelled slowly in those days, the fame of Bladud and his
+wonderful cure, and his great size and athletic powers, coupled with his
+Eastern learning, and warlike attainments and peaceful proclivities, not
+to mention the beauty and romantic adventures of his bride, had made
+such an impression on what may be styled the whole nation, that noted
+chiefs came from all parts far and near, to his wedding, bringing as
+many of their distinguished followers with them as they deemed necessary
+to safe travelling in an unsettled country.  Some even came from the
+great western island called Erin, and others from the remote isle of the
+north which lay beyond Gadarn's country, and was at a later period named
+Ultima Thule.
+
+"I wonder when they're going to stop coming," remarked Gadarn to King
+Hudibras, as the self-invited guests came pouring in.
+
+"Let them come," replied the jovial king, with the air of a man of
+unlimited means.  "The more the merrier.  There's room for all, and the
+forests are big."
+
+"Some of them, I see," rejoined Gadarn, "are my mortal foes.  We shall
+now have a chance of becoming mortal friends."
+
+It might be supposed that the assemblage of such a host from all points
+of the compass would, as it is sometimes expressed, eat King Hudibras
+out of house and home; but this was not so, for it was the custom at
+that time for visitors at royal courts to hunt for their victuals--to go
+in, as it were, for a grand picnic on a continuous basis, so that the
+palace of our king, instead of being depleted, became surfeited with
+food.  As his preserves were extensive, and game of all kinds abundant,
+the expense attendant on this kind of hospitality was _nil_.
+
+It would have been very much the reverse had it been necessary to supply
+drink, but the art of producing liquids which fuddle, stupefy, and
+madden, had not yet been learnt in this country.  Consequently there was
+no fighting or bloodshed at those jovial festivities, though there was a
+certain amount of quarrelling--as might be expected amongst independent
+men who held different opinions on many subjects, although politics and
+theology had not yet been invented.
+
+Great were the rejoicings when it was discovered, by each band as it
+arrived, that there was to be a double wedding; that the Princess
+Hafrydda was to be one of the brides, and that the fortunate man who had
+won her was a famous warrior of the mysterious East, and one of the
+victors at the great games of that part of the world.
+
+How the ceremony of marriage was performed we have not, after the most
+painstaking research, been able to ascertain; but that it was performed
+somehow, and to the satisfaction of all concerned, we are absolutely
+certain, from the fact that Bladud and Branwen, Dromas and Hafrydda,
+lived happily together as man and wife for many years afterwards, and
+brought up large families of stalwart sons and daughters to strengthen
+the power and increase the prestige of Old Albion.
+
+This, however, by the way.  Of course the chief amusement of the guests
+was games, followed by songs and dancing in the evenings.  And one of
+the favourite amusements at the games was scientific boxing, for that
+was an entirely new art to the warriors, alike of Albion, Erin, and
+Ultima Thule.
+
+It first burst upon their senses as a new and grand idea when Bladud and
+Dromas, at the urgent request of their friends, stepped into the arena
+and gave a specimen of the manner in which the art was practised in
+Hellas.  Of course they did not use what we call knuckle-dusters, nor
+did they even double their fists, except when moving round each other,
+and as "gloves" were unknown, they struck out with the hands half open,
+for they had no wish to bleed each other's noses or black each other's
+eyes for mere amusement.
+
+At the beginning it was thought that Dromas was no match at all for the
+gigantic Bladud, but when the wonderful agility of the former was seen--
+the ease with which he ducked and turned aside his head to evade blows,
+and the lightning speed with which he countered, giving a touch on the
+forehead or a dig in the ribs, smiling all the time as if to say, "How
+d'ye like it?" men's minds changed with shouts of surprise and
+satisfaction.  And they highly approved of the way in which the
+champions smilingly shook hands after the bout was over--as they had
+done before it began.
+
+They did not, however, perceive the full value of the art until an
+ambitious young chief from Ultima Thule--a man of immense size and
+rugged mould with red hair--insisted on Dromas giving him a lesson.  The
+man from Hellas declined at first, but the man from Thule was urgent,
+and there seemed to be a feeling among the warriors that the young
+Hellene was afraid.
+
+"It is so difficult," he explained, "to hit lightly and swiftly that
+sometimes an unintentionally hard blow is given, and men are apt to lose
+their tempers."
+
+This was received with a loud laugh by the Thuler.
+
+"What!  _I_ lose my temper on account of a friendly buffet!  Besides, I
+shall take care not to hit hard--you need not fear."
+
+"As you will," returned Dromas, with a good-humoured smile.
+
+The Thuler stood up and allowed his instructor to put him in the correct
+attitude.  Then the latter faced him and said, "Now, guard yourself."
+
+Next moment his left hand shot out and gently touched his opponent's
+nose.  The Thuler received the touch with what he deemed an orthodox
+smile and tried to guard it after it had been delivered.
+
+Then he struck out with his left--being an apt pupil--but Dromas drew
+back and the blow did not reach him.  Then he struck out smartly with
+his right, but the Hellene put his head to one side and let it pass.
+Again he struck out rapidly, one hand after the other, without much care
+whether the blows were light or heavy.  Dromas evaded both without
+guarding, and, in reply, gave the Thuler a smartish touch on his
+unfortunate nose.
+
+This was received by the assemblage with a wild shout of surprise and
+delight, and the Thuler became grave; collected himself as if for real
+business, and suddenly let out a shower of blows which, had they taken
+effect, would soon have ended the match, but his blows only fell on air,
+for Dromas evaded them with ease, returning every now and then a tap on
+the old spot or a touch on the forehead.  At last, seeing that the man
+was losing temper, he gave him a sharp dig in the wind which caused him
+to gasp, and a sounding buffet on the cheek which caused him to howl
+with rage and feel for the hilt of his sword.  That dangerous weapon,
+however, had been judiciously removed by his friends.  He therefore
+rushed at his antagonist, resolved to annihilate him, but was received
+with two genuine blows--one in the wind, the other on the forehead,
+which stretched him on the sward.
+
+The Thuler rose therefrom with a dazed look, and accepted the Hellene's
+friendly shake of the hand with an unmeaning smile.
+
+After the sports had continued for several days King Hudibras proposed
+an excursion--a sort of gigantic picnic--to the Hot Swamp, where Bladud
+and his friend had made up their mind to spend their honeymoon.
+
+Arrived there, they found that immense progress had been made with the
+new city--insomuch that Dromas assured Hafrydda that it brought to his
+mind some very ancient fables of great cities rising spontaneously from
+the ground to the sound of pipes played by the gods.
+
+The baths, too, were in such an advanced stage that they were able to
+fill them on the arrival of the host and allow the interested and
+impatient chiefs to bathe.
+
+"Don't let them go in till you give the signal that the baths are
+ready," said Gadarn to the king in that grave, suppressed manner which
+indicated that the northern chief was inclined to mischief.
+
+"Why?" asked the king.
+
+"Because, as I understand, you love fair play and no favour.  It would
+not be fair to let some begin before others.  They might feel it, you
+know, and quarrel."
+
+"Very well, so be it," returned the king, and gave orders that no one
+was to go near the baths until they were quite full, when he would give
+the signal.
+
+The chiefs and warriors entering into the spirit of the thing, took
+quite a boyish delight in stripping themselves and preparing for a rush.
+
+"Now, are you ready?" said the king.
+
+"Ay, all ready."
+
+"Away, then!"
+
+The warlike host rushed to the brink of the largest bath and plunged
+in--some head, others feet, first.  But they came out almost as fast as
+they went in--yelling and spluttering--for the water was much too hot!
+
+"Ah!  I see now," growled the king, turning to Gadarn--but Gadarn was
+gone.  He found him, a minute later, behind a bush, in fits!
+
+Pacifying the warriors with some difficulty--for they were a hot-headed
+generation--the king, being directed by Bladud, ordered the water from
+the cold lake to be turned on until the bath became bearable.  Then the
+warriors re-entered it again more sedately.  The warm water soon
+restored their equanimity, and ere long the unusual sight was to be seen
+of bearded men and smooth chins, rugged men and striplings, rolling
+about like porpoises, shouting, laughing, and indulging in horse-play
+like veritable boys.
+
+Truly warmth has much to do with the felicity of mankind!
+
+Towards afternoon the warriors were ordered to turn out, and, after the
+water had been allowed to run till it was clear, King Hudibras descended
+into it with much gravity and a good deal of what was in those ages
+considered to be ceremonial effect.  This was done by way of taking
+formal possession of the Hot Springs.  He was greatly cheered during the
+process by the admiring visitors, as well as physically by the hot
+water, and it is said that while his son Bladud was dutifully rubbing
+him down in the neighbouring booth, he remarked that it was the best
+bath he ever had in his life, that he would visit the place periodically
+as long as he lived, and that a palace must be built there for his
+accommodation.
+
+From that day the bath was named the "King's Bath," and it is so named
+at the present day.
+
+Soon after that the queen visited the Swamp and, with her ladies, made
+use of the bath which had been specially prepared for women; and this
+one went by the name of the "Queen's Bath" thereafter.  Its site,
+however, is not now certainly known, and it is not to be confounded with
+the "Queen's Bath" of the present day, which was named after Queen Anne.
+
+Prince Bladud lived to carry out most of his plans.  He built a palace
+for his father in Swamptown.  He built a palace for himself and Branwen,
+with a wing to it for Dromas and Hafrydda, and took up his permanent
+abode there when he afterwards became king.  At the death of his father
+he added another wing for the queen-mother--with internal doors opening
+from each wing to the other, in order that they might live, so to speak,
+as one family.  This arrangement worked admirably until the families
+became large, and the younger members obstreperous, when the internal
+doors were occasionally, even frequently, shut.  He also built a snug
+house for Konar, and made him Hunter-General to the Royal Household.  It
+is said that, owing to the genial influence of Bladud's kind nature,
+Konar recovered his reason, and, forgetting the false fair-one who had
+jilted him, took to himself a helpmate who more than made up for her
+loss.
+
+Captain Arkal soon found that his passion for hot water cooled.  As it
+did so, his love for salt water revived.  He returned to Hellas, and,
+after paying his respects to his pretty Greek wife, and dandling the
+solid, square, bluff, and resolute baby, he reloaded his ship and
+returned to Albion.  Thus he went and came for many years.
+
+Little Maikar, however, did not follow his example.  True, he
+accompanied his old captain on his first trip to Hellas, but that was
+for the purpose of getting possession of a dark-eyed maiden who awaited
+him there; with whom he returned to Swamptown, and, in that lovely
+region, spent the remainder of his life.
+
+Even Addedomar was weaned from outlawry to honesty by the irresistible
+solicitations of Bladud, and as, in modern times, many an incorrigible
+poacher makes a first-rate gamekeeper, so the robber-chief became an
+able head-huntsman under the Hunter-General.  The irony of Fate decreed,
+however, that the man who had once contemplated three wives was not to
+marry at all.  He dwelt with his mother Ortrud to the end of her days in
+a small house not far from the residence of Konar.  Gunrig's mother also
+dwelt with them--not that she had any particular regard for them
+personally, but in order that she might be near to the beautiful girl
+who had been beloved by her son.
+
+Gadarn, the great northern chief, ever afterwards paid an annual visit
+to Swamptown.  While that visit lasted there was a general feeling in
+the palace--especially among the young people--that a jovial hurricane
+was blowing.  During the daytime the gale made itself felt in loud
+hilarious laughter, song, and story.  At night it blew steadily through
+his nose.  After his departure an unaccountable calm seemed to settle
+down upon the whole region!
+
+Beniah performed with powerful effect the task allotted to him, for,
+both by precept and example, he so set forth and obeyed the laws of God
+that the tone of society was imperceptibly elevated.  Men came to know,
+and to act upon the knowledge, that this world was not their rest; that
+there is a better life beyond, and, in the contemplation of that life,
+they, somehow, made this life more agreeable to themselves and to each
+other.
+
+Time, which never intermits the beating of his fateful wings, flew by;
+the centuries rolled on; the Roman invaders came; the Norsemen and
+Saxons came, the Norman conquerors came, and each left their mark, deep
+and lasting, on the people and on the land--but they could not check by
+one hair's-breadth the perennial flow of the springs in the Hot Swamp,
+or obliterate the legend on which is founded this Romance of Old Albion.
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hot Swamp, by R.M. Ballantyne
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HOT SWAMP ***
+
+***** This file should be named 21757.txt or 21757.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/2/1/7/5/21757/
+
+Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England
+
+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.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.