A PRINCE OF CORNWALL: A Story of Glastonbury and the West in the Days of Ina of Wessex;by Charles W. Whistler. PREFACE. CHAPTER I. HOW OWEN OF CORNWALL WANDERED TO SUSSEX, AND WHY HE BIDED THERE. CHAPTER II. HOW ALDRED THE THANE KEPT HIS FAITH, AND OWEN FLED WITH OSWALD. CHAPTER III. HOW KING INA'S FEAST WAS MARRED, AND OF A VOW TAKEN BY OSWALD. CHAPTER IV. HOW THE LADY ELFRIDA SPOKE WITH OSWALD, AND OF THE MEETING WITH GERENT. CHAPTER V. HOW OSWALD FELL INTO BAD HANDS, AND FARED EVILLY, ON THE QUANTOCKS. CHAPTER VI. HOW OSWALD HAD AN UNEASY VOYAGE AND A PERILOUS LANDING AT ITS END. CHAPTER VII. HOW OSWALD CROSSED THE DYFED CLIFFS, AND MET WITH FRIENDS. CHAPTER VIII. HOW OSWALD LOST A HUNT, AND FOUND SOMEWHAT STRANGE IN CAERAU WOODS. CHAPTER IX. WHY IT WAS NOT GOOD FOR OWEN TO SLEEP IN THE MOONLIGHT. CHAPTER X. HOW THE EASTDEAN MANORS AND SOMEWHAT MORE PASSED FROM OSWALD TO ERPWALD. CHAPTER XI. HOW ERPWALD FELL FROM CHEDDAR CLIFFS; AND OF ANOTHER WARNING. CHAPTER XII. OF THE MESSAGE BROUGHT BY JAGO, AND A MEETING IN DARTMOOR. CHAPTER XIII. HOW OSWALD AND HOWEL DARED THE SECRET OF THE MENHIR, AND MET A WIZARD. CHAPTER XIV. HOW OSWALD FOUND WHAT HE SOUGHT, AND RODE HOMEWARD WITH NONA THE PRINCESS. CHAPTER XV. HOW ERPWALD SAW HIS FIRST FIGHT ON HIS WEDDING DAY. CHAPTER XVI. OF MATTERS OF RANSOM, AND OF FORGIVENESS ASKED AND GRANTED. CHAPTER XVII. HOW OSWALD FOUND A HOME, AND OF THE LAST PERIL OF OWEN THE PRINCE. NOTES. PREFACE. A few words of preface may save footnotes to a story which dealswith the half-forgotten days when the power of a British prince hadyet to be reckoned with by the Wessex kings as they slowly andsteadily pushed their frontier westward. The authority for the historical basis of the story is theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle, which gives A. D. 710 as the year of thedefeat of Gerent, king of the West Welsh, by Ina of Wessex and hiskinsman Nunna. This date is therefore approximately that of theevents of the tale. With regard to the topography of the Wessex frontier involved, although it practically explains itself in the course of the story, it may be as well to remind a reader that West Wales was the lastBritish kingdom south of the Severn Sea, the name being, of course, given by Wessex men to distinguish it from the Welsh principalitiesin what we now call Wales, to their north. In the days of Ina itcomprised Cornwall and the present Devon and also the half ofSomerset westward of the north and south line of the river Parrettand Quantock Hills. Practically this old British "Dyvnaint"represented the ancient Roman province of Damnonia, shrinking as itwas under successive advances of the Saxons from the boundary whichit once had along the Mendips and Selwood Forest. Ina's victoryover Gerent set the Dyvnaint frontier yet westward, to the line ofthe present county of Somerset, which represents the limit of hisconquest, the new addition to the territory of the clan of theSumorsaetas long being named as "Devon in Wessex" by thechroniclers rather than as Somerset. The terms "Devon" or "Dyvnaint, " as they are respectively used bySaxon or Briton in the course of the story, will therefore beunderstood to imply the ancient territory before its limitation bythe boundaries of the modern counties, which practically took theirrise from the wars of Ina. With regard to names, I have not thought it worth while to use thearchaic, if more correct, forms for those of well-known places. Itseems unnecessary to write, for instance, "Glaestingabyrig" forGlastonbury, or "Penbroch" for Pembroke. I have treated propernames in the same way, keeping, for example, the more familiarlatinised "Ina" rather than the Saxon "Ine, " as being more nearlythe correct pronunciation than might otherwise be used without thehint given by a footnote. The exact spot where Wessex and West Wales met in the battlebetween Ina and Gerent is not certain, though it is known to havebeen on the line of the hills to the west of the Parrett, andpossibly, according to an identification deduced from the Welsh"Llywarch Hen, " in the neighbourhood of Langport. Local traditionand legend place a battle also at the ancient Roman fortress ofNorton Fitzwarren, which Ina certainly superseded by his ownstronghold at Taunton after the victory. As Nunna is named asleader of the Saxons, together with the king himself, it seems mostlikely that there were two columns acting against the Welsh advanceon the north and south of the Tone River, and that therefore therewere battles at each place. On the Blackdown Hills beyond Langporta barrow was known until quite lately as "Noon's barrow, " and itwould mark at least the line of flight of the Welsh; and if not theburial place of the Saxon leader, who is supposed to have fallen, must have been raised by him over his comrades. The line taken by the story will not be far wrong, therefore, as inany case the Blackdown and Quantock strongholds must have beentaken by the Saxons to guard against flank attacks, from whicheverside of the Tone the British advance was made. The course of the story hangs to some extent on the influence ofthe old feud between the British and Saxon Churches, which datedfrom the days of Augustine and his attempt to compel the adoptionof Western customs by the followers of the Church which had itsrise from the East. There is no doubt that the death of the wiseand peacemaking Aldhelm of Sherborne let the smouldering enmityloose afresh, with the result of setting Gerent in motion againsthis powerful neighbour. Ina's victory was decisive, Gerent beingthe last king of the West Welsh named in the chronicles, and wehear of little further trouble from the West until A. D. 835, whenthe Cornish joined with a new-come fleet of Danes in anunsuccessful raid on Wessex. Ina's new policy with the conquered Welsh is historic and wellknown. Even in the will of King Alfred, two hundred years later, some of the best towns in west Somerset and Dorset are spoken of as"Among the Welsh kin, " and there is yet full evidence, in bothdialect and physique, of strongly marked British descent among thepopulation west of the Parrett. There is growing evidence that very early settlements of Northmen, either Norse or Danish, or both, contemporary with the well-knownoccupation of towns, and even districts, on the opposite shores ofSouth Wales, existed on the northern coast of Somerset and Devon. Both races are named by the Welsh and Irish chroniclers in theiraccounts of the expulsion of these settlers from Wales in A. D. 795, and the name of the old west country port of Watchet being claimedas of Norse origin, I have not hesitated to place the Norsementhere. Owen and Oswald, Howel and Thorgils, and those others of theirfriends and foes beyond the few whose names have already beenmentioned as given in the chronicles, are of course only historicin so far as they may find their counterparts in the men of theolder records of our forefathers. If I have too early or lateintroduced Govan the hermit, whose rock-hewn cell yet remains nearthe old Danish landing place on the wild Pembrokeshire coastbetween Tenby and the mouth of Milford Haven, perhaps I may beforgiven. I have not been able to verify his date, but a saint isof all time, and if Govan himself had passed thence, one wouldsurely have taken his place to welcome a wanderer in the way and inthe name of the man who made the refuge. CHAS. W. WHISTLER. STOCKLAND, 1904. CHAPTER I. HOW OWEN OF CORNWALL WANDERED TO SUSSEX, AND WHY HE BIDED THERE. The title which stands at the head of this story is not my own. Itbelongs to one whose name must come very often into that which Ihave to tell, for it is through him that I am what I may be, and itis because of him that there is anything worth telling of my doingsat all. Hereafter it will be seen, as I think, that I could do noless than set his name in the first place in some way, if indeedthe story must be mostly concerning myself. Maybe it will seemstrange that I, a South Saxon of the line of Ella, had aught at allto do with a West Welshman--a Cornishman, that is--of the race andline of Arthur, in the days when the yet unforgotten hatred betweenour peoples was at its highest; and so it was in truth, at first. Not so much so was it after the beginning, however. It would bestranger yet if I were not at the very outset to own all that isdue from me to him. Lonely was I when he first came to me, andlonely together, in a way, have he and I been for long years thatfor me, at least, have had no unhappiness in them, for we have beenall to each other. I have said that I was lonely when he first came to me, and I musttell how that was. I suppose that the most lonesome place in theworld is the wide sea, and after that a bare hilltop; but next tothese in loneliness I would set the glades of a beech forest inmidwinter silence, when the snow lies deep on the ground underboughs that are too stiff to rustle in the wind, and the birds aredumb, and the ice has stilled the brooks. Set a lost child amid thebare grey tree trunks of such a winter forest, in the dead silenceof a great frost, with no track near him but that which his ownrandom feet have made across the snow, and I think that there canbe nought lonelier than he to be thought of: and in the depth ofthe forest there is peril to the lonely. I had no fear of the forest till that day when I was lost therein, for the nearer glades round our village had been my playground eversince I could remember, and before I knew that fear therein mightbe. That was not so long a time, however, save that the years of achild are long years; for at this time, when I first learned thefull wildness of the woods of the great Andredsweald and knew whatloneliness was, I was only ten years old. Since I could run alonemy old nurse had tried to fray me from wandering out of sight ofthose who tended me, with tales of wolf and bear and pixy, lest Ishould stray and be lost, but I had not heeded her much. Maybe Ihad proved so many of her tales to be but pretence that, as I beganto think for myself, I deemed them all to be so. But now I was lost in the forest, and what had been a playgroundwas become a vast and desolate land for me, and all the things thatI had ever heard of what dangers lurked within it, came back to mymind. I remembered that the grey wolf's skin on which I slept hadcome hence, and I minded the calf that the pack had slain close tothe village a year ago, and I thought of the girl who went mazedand useless about the place, having lost her wits through beingpixy led, as they said, long ago. The warnings seemed to me to betrue enough, now that all the old landmarks were lost to me, andall the tracks were buried under the crisp snow. I did not knowwhen I had left the road from the village to the hilltop, or inwhich direction it lay. It was very silent in the aisles of the great beech trunks, for theherds were in shelter. There was no sound of the swineherds' horn, though the evening was coming on, and but for the frost it was timefor their charges to be taken homeward, and the woodmen's axes wereidle. Even the scream of some hawk high overhead had been welcometo me, and the harsh cry of a jay that I scared was like the voiceof a friend. It was the fault of none but myself that I was lost. I had plannedto go hunting alone in the woods while the old nurse, whose care Iwas far beyond, slept after her midday meal before the fire. So, over my warm woollen clothing I had donned the deerskin short cloakthat was made like my father's own hunting gear, and I had taken mybow and arrows, and the little seax {i} that a thane's son mayalways wear, and had crept away from the warm hall without a soulseeing me. I had thought myself lucky in this, but by this time Ibegan to change my mind in all truth. Well it was for me that therewas no wind, so that I was spared the worst of the cold. I went up the hill to the north of the village by the track whichthe timber sleds make, climbing until I was on the crest, and thereI began to wander as the tracks of rabbit and squirrel led me on. Sometimes I was set aside from the path by deep drifts that hadgathered in its hollows with the wind of yesterday, and so I leftit altogether in time. Overhead the sky was bright and clear as thelow sun of the month after Yule, the wolf month, can make it. Iwandered on for an hour or two without meeting with anything atwhich to loose an arrow, and my ardour began to cool somewhat, sothat I thought of turning homewards. But then, what was to me awondrous quarry crossed my way as I stood for a moment on the edgeof a wide aisle of beech trees looking down it, and wondering if Iwould not go even to its end and so return. Then at once the wildlonging for the chase woke again in me, and I forgot cold and timeand place and aught else in it. Across the glade came slowly and lightly over the snow a great redhare, looking against the white background bigger than any I hadever set eyes on before. It paid no heed at all to me, even when Iraised my bow to set an arrow on the string with fingers whichtrembled with eagerness and haste. Now and again it stopped andseemed to listen for somewhat, and then loped on again and stopped, seeming hardly to know which way it wished to go. Now it cametoward me, and then across, and yet again went from me, and all asif I were not there. It was thirty paces from me when I shot, and I was a fair marksman, for a boy, at fifty paces. However, the arrow skimmed just over itsback, and it crouched for a second as it heard the whistle of thefeathers, and then leapt aside and on again in the same way. Butnow it crossed the glade and passed behind some trees before I wasready with a second arrow, and I ran forward to recover the first, which was in the snow where it struck, hoping thence to see thehare again. When I turned with the arrow in my hand I saw what made the harepay no heed to me. There was a more terrible enemy than even man onits track. Sniffing at my footprints where they had just crossedthose of the hare was a stoat, long and lithe and cruel. I knew itwould not leave its quarry until it had it fast by the throat, andthe hare knew it also by some instinct that is not to be fathomed, for I suppose that no hare, save by the merest chance, ever escapedthat pursuer. The creature seemed puzzled by my footprint, and satup, turning its sharp eyes right and left until it spied me; butwhen it did so it was not feared of me, but took up the trail ofthe hare again. And by that time I was ready, and my hand wassteady, and the shaft sped and smote it fairly, and the hare's onechance had come to it. I sprang forward with the whoop of the Saxonhunter, and took up and admired my prey, not heeding its scent atall. It was in good condition, and I would get Stuf, thehouse-carle, who was a sworn ally of mine, to make me a pouch ofit, I thought. I mind that this was the third wild thing that I had slain. One ofthe others was a squirrel who stayed motionless on a bough to stareat me, in summer time, and the second was a rabbit which Stuf hadshown me in its seat. This was quite a different business, and Iwas proud of my skill with some little reason. I should have somereal wild hunting to talk of over the fire tonight. Then I must follow up the hare, of course, and I thrust the longbody of the stoat through my girdle, so that its head hung one wayand its tail the other, and took up the trail of the hare where myprey had left it. Now, I cannot tell how the mazed creature learnedthat its worst foe was no longer after it, but so it must havebeen, else it had circled slowly in lessening rings until the stoathad it, and presently it would have begun to scream dolefully. ButI only saw it once again, and then it seemed to be listening atlonger spaces. Yet it took me a long way before it suddenly fledaltogether, as its footmarks told me. A forest-bred lad learnsthose signs soon enough, if he is about with the woodmen in snowtime. Then I turned to make my way home, following my own track for alittle way. That was crooked, and I went to take a straighter path, and after that I was fairly lost. Yet I held on, hoping every minute to come into some known glade orsight, some familiar landmark, before the sun set. But I foundnought but new trees, and new views over unknown white country allround me as I turned my steps hither and thither as one mark afteranother drew me. Then the sun set and the short day was over, andthe grey twilight of snow weather came after the passing of thewarm red glow from the west, shadowless and still. That was about the time when I was missed at home, for my fathercame back from Chichester town, and straightway asked for me. Andwhen I came not for calling, nor yet for the short notes of thehorn which my father had always used to bring me to him, one ranhere and another there, seeking me in wonted places about thevillage, until one minded that he had seen a boy, who must havebeen myself, go up the hill track forestwards. Then was fear enough for me, seeing that from our village more thanone child has wandered forth thus and been seen no more, and I wasthe only son of the long-widowed thane, and the last of the ancientline that went back to Ella, and beyond him even to Woden. So inhalf an hour there was not a man left in the village, and all thewoods and hillsides rang with their calls to me, while in the hallitself bided only the old nurse, who wept and wailed by the hearth, and my father, whose tall form came and went across the doorway, restless; for he waited here lest he should miss my cominghomeward. Up the steep street of the village the wives stood in thedoorways silent, and forgetting their ailments for once inlistening for the cries that should tell that I was found. If theyspoke at all, they said that I should not be seen again, for thecold had driven the wolves close to the villages. But I was by this time far beyond the reach of friendly voices, onthe edge of the great hill that falls sheer down through many ascore feet of hanging woods and thicket to the Lavington valley farbelow, and there at last I knew for certain that I was lostutterly, for this place or its like I had never seen before. Then Istayed my feet, bewildered, for the sun was gone, and I had nothingto tell me in which direction I was heading, for at that time thestars told me nought, though there were enough out now to directany man who was used to the night. When I stood still I found thatI was growing deadly cold, and the weariness that I had so farstaved off began to creep over me, so that I longed to sleep. And I suppose that I should have done so, and thereby met my deathshortly, but for a thing that roused me in an instant, and set thewarm blood coursing through me again. There came a rustling in the undergrowth of the hillside below me, and that was the most homely sound that I had heard since the wildgeese flew over me seaward with swish and whistle of broad wingsand call that I knew well. The silence of the great brown owls thatcircled swiftly over me now and then was uncanny. The rustling drew nearer, and then out into the open place underthe tall bare tree trunks where I stood trotted a grey beast thatwas surely a shepherd's dog, for he stayed and looked back andwhined a little as if his master must be waited for. I thought thatI could hear the cracking of more branches once farther down thehill. Then I called to the dog, knowing that he and the shepherd wouldnot be far apart, and at the call the dog turned quickly toward meand leaped back a yard, cowering a little with drooping tail. So Icalled him again, and more loudly. "Hither, lad! Hither, good dog!" But the beast backed yet more from me, and I saw the dull gleam ofyellow teeth and heard him snarl as he did so, and then he growledfiercely, so that I thought him sorely ill-tempered. But I had nofear of dogs, and I called him again cheerily, and at that he sankon his haunches and set back his head and howled and yelled as Ihad never heard any dog give tongue before. And presently from along way off I heard the like howls, as if all the dogs of somevillage answered him, and I thought their tongue was strange also. Then came the shout of a man, even as I expected, and there was thenoise of one who tears his way through briers and brambles inhaste; but at that shout the dog turned and fled like a grey shadowinto the farther thickets, and was gone. "Who calls?" one said loudly, and from the hillside climbed hastilyinto the open a tall man, bearded and strong, and with apleasant-looking, anxious face. He was dressed in leather like ourshepherds, and like them carried but quarterstaff and seax forweapons. I suppose that I was in some shadow, for at first he didnot see me. "Surely I heard a child's voice, " he said out loud--"or was it somepixy playing with the grey beast of the wood?" "Here I am, " I cried, running to him; "take me home, shepherd, forI think that I am lost. " He caught me up in haste, looking round him the while. "Child, " he said, "how came you here--and to what were youcalling?" "I was calling your dog, " I answered, "but he is not friendly. Doeshe look for a beating? for he ran away yonder when he heard youcoming. " "Ay, sorely beaten will that dog be if he comes near me just now, "the man said grimly. "Never mind him, but tell me how you camehere, and where you belong. " So I told him that I was Oswald, the son of Aldred, the thane ofEastdean, thinking, of course, that all men would know of us, andso I bade him take me home quickly. "I have been hunting, " I said, showing him my unsavoury prey, whichby this time was frozen stiff in my belt. "Then I followed the harethis was after, and I cannot tell how far I have come. " All this while the man had me in his strong arms, and he had lookedat the track of the dog in the snow, and now was walking swiftlyfrom it, through the beech trees, looking up at their branches asif wondering at the way the great trunks shot up smooth and barefrom the snow at their roots before they reached the first forking, fathoms skyward. "I am a stranger, Oswald, the thane's son, " he said. "I do notrightly know in which direction your home may lie. " I know now that he was himself as lost as I, but that he did nottell me, for my sake. It is an easy thing for a stranger to goastray in the Andredsweald. But I could not tell him more than thatI knew that I had left the sea always behind me so long as I knewwhere it lay. So he turned southwards at once when he heard that, and went on swiftly. Then I heard the howl of his dog again, and Ilaughed, for the other howls that answered him were nearer. "Listen, shepherd, " I said. "Your dog is making his comrades howlfor him, and the beating that is to come. "Are you cold?" For he had shivered suddenly, and his pace quickened. He had heardthe howl of the single wolf that has found its quarry, and callsthe answering pack to follow. But he did not tell me of my mistake. "I am not cold overmuch, " he answered. "Let us run and warm me. " Then he ran until we came to the top of a hill whence the lastglimmer of the sea over Selsea was plain before him, and there Iasked him to set me down lest I tired him. "Nay, but you keep me warm, " he said. "Tell me, are there oak treesas one goes seaward?" "Ay, many and great ones in some places. " Then he ran down the hill, and the sway of his even stride lulledme so that I dozed a little. I roused when he stayed suddenly. "Sit here, Oswald, for a moment, and fear nought while I rest me, "he said in a strange voice. We were halfway up a long slope and among fresh trees. Then helifted me and set me on the curved arm of a great oak tree, someeight feet from the ground, asking me if I was safe there. And whenI laughed and answered that I was, he set his back against thetrunk, and drew his heavy seax, putting his staff alongside him, where he could reach it at once if it was needed. It was lightenough, with the clear frosty starlight on the snow. Then I heard the swift patter of feet over the crisp surface, andthe grey beast came and halted suddenly not three yards from us, and on his haunches he sat up and howled, and I heard the answeringyells in no long space of time coming whence we had come. His eyesglowed green with a strange light of their own as he stared at myfriend, and for a moment I looked to see him come fawning to hismaster's feet. Suddenly he gathered himself together, and sprung silently at thethroat of the man who waited him, and there was a flash of the keensteel, and a sound as of the cleaving of soft wood, and the beastwas in a twitching heap at the man's feet. I knew what it was atlast, yet I could say nothing. The wolf was quite dead, with itshead cleft. Swiftly my friend hewed the great head from the trunk and tore oneof the leather cross garterings from his leg, and so leapt at abranch which hung above him and pulled it down. Then he bound thehead to its end with the thong and let it go, so that it dangled afathom and a half above him, and then he lifted me from my placeand ran as I had not thought any man could run, until he stayed atthe brow of the hill for sheer want of breath. Behind us at that moment rose the sound as of hungry dogs thatfight over the food in their kennels, and my friend laughed underhis breath strangely. "That will be a wild dance beneath the tree anon, " he said, as ifto himself. Then he said to me, "Are you frayed, bairn?" as he ran on again. "No, " I answered, "You can smite well, shepherd. " "Needs must, sometime, " he said. "Now, little one, have you amother waiting you at home?" "No. Only father and old nurse. " "Nor brother or sister?" "None at all, " I said. "An only child, and his father lonely, " the man said. "Well, I willchance it while the trees last. The head will stay them awhile, maybe. " Now he went swiftly across the rolling woodlands, and again I sleptin his arms, but uneasily and with a haunting fear in my dreamingthat I should wake to see the wild eyes of the wolf glaring acrossthe snow on us again. So it happens that all I know of the rest ofthat flight from Woden's pack has been told me by others, so that Ican say little thereof. The howls of the pack as they stayed to fall on the carcass oftheir fellow, after their wont, died away behind us, and beforethey were heard again my friend had come across a half-frozenbrook, and for a furlong or more had crashed and waded through itsice and water that our trail might be lost in it. Then he lit onthe path that a sounder of wild swine had made through the snow oneither side of it as they crossed it, and that he followed, inhopes that the foe would leave us to chase the more accustomedquarry. From that he leapt aside presently with a wondrous leap andstruck off away from it. He would leave nothing untried, thoughindeed by this time he had reason to think that the pack had lostus at the brook, for he heard no more of them. So at last he came within sound of some far-off shouts of those whowere seeking me, and he guessed well what those shouts meant, andturned in their direction. Had he not heard them I do not know whatplace of refuge, save the trees, he would have found that night, for he was then passing across the valley that winds down to ourhome. So it happened that when at last he saw the red light from the doorof our hall gleaming across the snow, for it had been left openthat perchance I might see it, he was close to the place, and hecame into the courtyard inside the stockading without meeting anyone, for he came from the side on which the village is not. There I woke as the house dogs barked, and at first it was with acry of fear lest the wolves were on us again; but the fear passedas I saw my father come quickly into the light of the doorway, andheard his voice as he stilled the dogs and cried to ask if the boywas found. "Ay, Thane, he is here, and safe, " my friend answered, and he setme down in the midst of the court, while the dogs leapt and fawnedround me. Then I ran to the arms that were held out for me, forgetting forthe moment the one who had brought me back to them, and left himstanding there. Then the man who had saved me turned after one long look at thatmeeting, and I think that he was going his way in silence, contentwith that he had done, but my father saw it and called to him: "Friend, stay, for I have not thanked you, and I hold that there isreward due to you for what you have brought back to me. " "It was a chance meeting, Thane, and I am glad to have been of use. No need to speak of reward, for it is indeed enough to have seenthe boy home safely. " "Why, then, " said my father, "I cannot have a stranger pass my hallat this time in the evening, when it is too late to reach the townin safety. Here you must at least lodge for the night, or Eastdeanwill be shamed. Your voice tells me that you are a stranger--butmaybe you have your men waiting for you at hand? There will be roomfor them also. " For there was that in the tones of the voice of this man which toldmy father that here he had no common wanderer. "I am alone, " my friend said. "But your men seek the little oneeven yet in the forest. Will you not call them in?" My father looked at the man for a moment, and smiled. "Ay, I forgot in my joy. They are well-nigh as anxious as I havebeen. " Then he took down the great horn that hung by the door, and woundthe homing call that brings all within its hearing back to thehall, and its hoarse echoes went across the silent woods until itwas answered by the other horns that passed on the message untilthe last sounds came but faintly to us. I heard men cheering also, for they knew by the token that all was well. My father had me inhis arms all this time, standing in the door. "There would have been sorrow enough had he been lost indeed, " myfather said. "He is the last of the old line, and the fathers ofthose men whom you hear have followed his fathers since the days ofElla. Come in, and they will thank you also. Where did you findhim?" Then as he turned and went into the hall the light flashed red onmy jerkin suddenly, and he cried, "Here is blood on hisclothing!--Is he hurt?" "No, " I said stoutly; "maybe it is the blood of the stoat I slew, or else it has come off the shepherd's sleeves. He hewed off thewolf's head and hung it on the tree. " Then my father understood what my peril had been--even that whichhe and all the village had feared for me, and his face paled, andhe held out his hand to the man, drawing in his breath sharply. "Woden!" he cried, "what is this, friend? Are you hurt, yourself?For the wolf must be slain ere his head can be hefted, as we say. " "No hurt to any but the wolf, " the man said, smiling a little. "Wedid but meet with one who called the pack on us. So I even hung hishead on a tree, that the pack when it came might stay to leap atit. They were all we had to fear, and maybe that saved us. " "I marvel that you are not even now in the tree, yourself--with theboy. " "Nay, but the frost is cruel, and he would have been sorely fearedwith the leaping and howls of the beasts. There were always treesat hand as we fled, if needs were to take to them. It was in mymind that it were best to try to get him home, or near it. " Then said my father, gripping the hand that met his: "There is morethat I would say, but I cannot set thoughts into words well. Only, I know that I have a man before me. Tell me your name, that neitherI nor the boy may ever forget it. " "Here, in the Saxon lands, men call me Owen the Briton, " heanswered simply. "I thought your voice had somewhat of the Welsh tone, " my fathersaid. "And your English is of Mercia. I have heard that there areBritons in the fenland there. " "I am of West Wales, Thane, but I have bided long in Mercia. " Then came my old nurse, and there were words enough for the time. Her eyes were red with weeping, but it was all that my father coulddo to prevent her scolding me soundly then and there for the frightI had given her. But she set a great bowl of bread and milk beforeme, and the men began to come in at that time, and they stood in aring round me and watched me eat it as if they had never seen mebefore, while my father spoke aside of the flight to Owen on thehigh place. But concerning his own story my father asked thestranger no more until he chose to open the matter himself. After supper there was all the tale to be told, and when that wasdone the Welshman slept before the hall fire with the house-carles, but my father had me with him in the closed chamber beyond the highseat, for it seemed that he would not let me go beyond his sightagain yet. Now, that is how Owen came to me at first, and the first thingtherefore that I owe to him is nothing less than life itself. Andfrom that time we have been, as I have said, together in allthings. On the next morning my father made his guest take him back over theground we had crossed together, for no fresh snow had fallen, andthe footprints were plain to be followed almost from the gate ofthe hall stockade. So they came at last to the tree, and on it thehead hung yet, but the body was clean gone. All round the tree thesnow was reddened and trampled by the fierce beasts who leapt toreach the head, and the marks of their clawing was on the trunk, where they had tried to climb it. From the footmarks it seemed thatthere were eight or nine of them. Three great ones had left thehead and followed us presently as far as the brook, half a mileaway. After that the two men went on to the place where Owen had foundme, and there my father, judging from the dress and loneliness ofthe Briton that he might be able to help him somewhat, said: "I do not know what your plans may be, but is there any reason whyyou should not bide here and help me tend the life you have keptfor me?" Then answered Owen: "You know nought of me, Thane. For all you ken, I may be but an outlaw who is fleeing from justice. " "Do I know nought about you? I think that last night and what Ihave seen today have told me much, and I have been held as a goodjudge of a man. If so be that you were an outlaw, which I do notthink, what you have done is enough to inlaw you again with anyhonest man--even had you taken a life, for you have saved one. DidI know you were an outlaw I would see to your pardon. But maybe youare on a journey that may not be hindered?" Now Owen was silent for a little, and there came a shadow over hisface as he answered, slowly and with his eyes on the far sea: "No man's man am I, and I am but drifting Westward again at random. Yet I can say in all truth, that I am no wanderer for ill reason inany wise. I will tell you, Thane, here and alone, that there arefoes in my home for whose passing, in one way or another, I mustneeds wait. Even now I was on my way to Bosham, where they tell meare Western monks with whom I might bide for a time, if notaltogether. I was lost in the forest last night. " Now my father saw that some heavy sorrow of no common sort laybeneath the quiet words of the man before him, and he forbore toask him more. Also, he deemed that in the Welsh land he wouldsurely rank as a thane, for his ways and words bespoke more thanhis dress would tell. Therefore he said: "Wait here with us for a while at least. There will be no morewelcome guest. " "Let me be of some use, rather, " Owen answered. "If I bide withyou, Thane, and I thank you for the offer, let it be as I havebided elsewhere from time to time--as one of the household, not asan idle guest, if it were but to help the woodmen in the forest. " "Why, that will be well. I need a forester, and it is plain thatyou are a master of woodcraft. Let it be so. Yet I must tell youone thing fairly, and that is, that I am what you would call aheathen. I know that you are a good Christian man, for I saw yousign your holy sign before you ate last night and this morning. YetI do not hate Christians. " "I had heard that all Sussex was turned to the faith, " Owen said. "If one says that all the men have gone to market, one knows thathere and there one is excepted for good reason. It is not for athane of the line of Woden to give up the faith of his fathersidly. I do not know what may be in the days to come, but here inthe Andredsweald some dozen of us will not leave the old gods. Itwas the bidding of Ethelwalch the king that we should do so, butthat is not a matter wherein a king may meddle, as it seems to us. " "I do not know why I should not bide with you, Thane, if so be thatthere is no hindrance to my faith. " "That there will be none. Why, the most of my folk are Christianenough. And if a man of the Britons did not honour his old faith itwould be as strange as if I honoured not that of my fathers. I haveno quarrel with the faith of any man, either king or thrall. " "Then I will be your forester, Thane, for such time as I may, and Ithank you. " "Nay, but the thanks are all on my side, " answered my father. "NowI shall know that the boy will have one with whom he may live allday in the woods if he will, and I shall be content. " So Owen bided with us, half as honoured guest and half as forester, and as time went on he was well loved by all who knew him, for hewas ever the same to each man about the place. As for me, it wasthe best day that could have dawned when he found me in the woodsas a lost child. And that my father said also. CHAPTER II. HOW ALDRED THE THANE KEPT HIS FAITH, AND OWEN FLED WITH OSWALD. Our Sussex was the last land in all England that was heathen. Isuppose that the last heathen thanes in Sussex were those whosemanors lay in the Andredsweald, as did ours. Most of these thaneshad held aloof from the faith because at the first coming of goodBishop Wilfrith, some twelve years ago, those who had hearkened tohim were mostly thralls and freemen of the lower ranks, and theywould not follow their lead. Yet of these there were some, like myfather, who had no hatred, to say the least, of the Christian andhis creed, and did but need the words of one who could speakrightly to them to turn altogether from the Asir. Maybe the only man who was at this time really fierce against thefaith was Erpwald, the thane of Wisborough, some half-score milesfrom us northwards across the forest. He had been the priest ofWoden in the old days, and indeed held himself so even now, thoughsecretly, for fear of Ina the Wessex king, who ruled our land welland strongly. This Erpwald was no very good neighbour of ours, asit happened, for he and my father had some old feud concerningforest rights and the like which he had taken to heart more thanthere was any occasion for, seeing that it was but such a matter asmost thanes have, unless they are unusually lucky, in a place whereboundaries are none. It is likely enough that but for the easy waysof my father, who gave in to him so far as he could, this feudwould have been of trouble some time ago, for as the power ofErpwald, as priest, waned he seemed to look more for power in otherways. Yet in the end both the matter of the faith and the matter ofthe feud seemed to work together in some way that brought troubleenough on our house, which must be told; for it set Owen and me outinto the world together for a time, and because of it there befellmany happenings thereafter which have not all been sad in theirending. Owen had been with us for a year and a half when what I am going totell came to pass, and in that time my father had come to look onhim rather as a brother than as a guest, and the thought that hemight leave him at any time was one which he did not like to keepin his mind. That being so, it was not at all surprising that in this summer myfather had at last borne witness that he wished to become aChristian altogether, and so it had come to pass that he and Owenand I used to ride to Bosham, the little seacoast village beyondChichester town, to speak with Dicul, the good old Irish priest, who yet bided there rather than in the new monastery which Wilfrithbuilt at Selsea, until we were taught all that was needful, and thetime came when we should be baptized. That my father would have done here at Eastdean, that all hispeople, who were Christians before him, should see and rejoice. Yetit was not an easy matter for him as it had been for them, for nowhe would stand alone among his fellows, the heathen thanes; andmost of all Erpwald the priest would be wroth with him for leavingthat which he had held so long. He must meet these men oftenenough, and he knew that they would have biting words to hurl athim, but that thought did not stay him for a moment. It was morethan likely that one or two more would follow him when once the oldcircle was broken. So on a certain day Dicul rode over from Bosham on his mule, andearly on the next morning he set up a little wooden cross by thespring above the hall, and there my father and I and Stuf, the headman of the house-carles, who had bided in the old faith for love ofmy father, were baptized, Owen and one of the village freemenstanding sponsors for us, and that was a wondrous day to us all, asI think. For when all was done my father gave their freedom to allour thralls, for the sake of the freedom that had been given him, and he promised that here, where he and they had been freed, achurch should be built of good forest oak, after the woodcutting ofthe winter to come. Then Dicul went his way homewards, with one of our men to lead hismule and carry some few presents for his people to Bosham, andafter he was gone we had a quiet feasting in our hall until thelight was gone. And even as our feasting ended there came in aswineherd from the forest with word that from the northward therecame a strong band of armed men through the forest, and he held itright that my father should be warned thereof, for he feared theywere some banded outlaws, seeing that there was peace in the land. That was no unlikely thing at all, for our forests shelter many, and game being plentiful they live there well enough, if notaltogether at ease. As a rule they gave little trouble to us, andat times in the winter we would even have men who were said to beoutlaws from far off working in the woods for us. Yet now and then some leader would rise among them and gather theminto bands which waxed bold to harry cattle and even houses, sothat there might be truth in what the swineherd told. Neverthelessmy father thought of little danger but to the herds, and so hadthem driven into the sheds from the home fields, and set the mentheir watches as he had more than once done before in like alarms. Presently I was awakened, for I had gone to rest before the messagecame, by the hoarse call of a horn and the savage barking of thedogs. I heard the hall doors shut and open once or twice as menpassed in and out, and in the hall was the rattle of weapons as themen took them from their places on the walls, but I heard no voicesraised more than usual. Then I got out of my bed and tried to openthe sliding doors that would let me out on the high place from myfather's chamber, where I always slept now, but I could not movethem. So I went back to my place and listened. What was happening I must tell, therefore, as Owen has told me, forI saw nothing to speak of. As the horn was blown, one of the men who had been on guard cameinto the hall hastily and spoke to my father. "The house is beset, Lord. Stuf blew the horn and bade me tell you. There are men all round the stockade. " "Outlaws?" The man shook his head. "We think not, Lord. But it is dark, and we cannot fairly see them. We heard them call one 'Thane. ' Nor are there any outland voicesamong them, as there would be were they outlaws. " Then my father armed himself in haste and went out. The night wasvery dark, and it was raining a little. Stuf had shut the stockadegates, which were strong enough, and had reared a ladder againstthe timbers that he might look over. Close to the ladder stood Owen, armed also, for he had been out tosee that all was quiet and that the men were on guard. "There are men everywhere, " he said. "I would we had some light. " "Heave a torch on the straw stack, " my father answered; "there willbe enough then. " The stack was outside the stockade, and some twenty yards from itscorner. One of the men ran to the hall and brought a torch from itssocket on the wall, and handed it to Stuf, who threw it fairly onthe stack top, from the ladder. It blazed up fiercely as it wentthrough the air, and from the men who beset us there rose a howl asthey saw it. Several ran and tried to reach it with their spears, but they were not in time. The first damp straws of the thatchhissed for a moment, dried, and burst into flame, and then noughtcould stop the burning. The red flames gathered brightness everymoment, lighting up two sides of the stockading, in the midst ofwhich the hall stood. Then an arrow clicked on Stuf's helm, and hecame down into shelter. "This is a strange affair, Master, " he said. "I have seen three menwhom I know well among them. " "Who are they?" "Wisborough men--freemen of Erpwald's. " My father and Owen looked at one another. Words my father knew heshould have to put up with, after today, from Erpwald, but thisseemed token of more than words only. Then came the blast of a horn from outside, and a strange voiceshouted that the thane must come and speak with those who calledhim. So my father went to the gate and answered from within it: "Here am I. What is all the trouble?" "Open the gate, and you shall know. " "Not so, Thane, " cried one of our men, who was peering through thetimbers of the stockade. "Now that I can see, I have counted fullfifty men, and they are waiting as if to rush in. " Then said my father: "Maybe we will open the gate when we are sure you are friends. Onemay be forgiven for doubting that when you come thus at midnight toa peaceful house. " "We are friends or not, as you choose, Aldred, " the voice answered. "I am Erpwald, Woden's priest, and I am here to stay wrong to theAsir of which I have heard. " "I will not pretend not to know what you mean, Erpwald, " answeredmy father. "But this, as it seems to me, is a matter that concernsme most of all. " "If it concerns not Woden's priest, whom shall it concern?"answered Erpwald. "It is true, then, that you have left the Asir tofollow the way of the thralls, led aside by that Welshman you havewith you?" "It is true enough that I am a Christian, " said my father steadily. "As for leaving the Asir, that is not to be said of one whose linegoes back to Woden, his forefather. But I cannot worship him anylonger. Forefather of mine he may be, but not a god. " "Ho! that is all I needed to hear. Now, I will not mince matterswith you, Aldred. Either you give up this foolishness, or I am hereto make you do so. " Now, my father looked round at the men and saw that all thehouse-carles and one or two from the village were in the courtyard, fifteen of them altogether, besides himself and Owen. They were allChristian men, and they stood in a sort of line behind him acrossthe closed gate with their faces set, listening. "Don't suppose that there is any help coming to you from thevillage, " said the hard voice from outside. "There is a guard overevery house. " "Erpwald, " said my father, "it is a new thing that any man shouldbe forced to quit his faith here in Sussex. Nor is it the way of athane to fall on a house at night in outlaw fashion. Ina the kingwill have somewhat to say of this. " "If there is one left to tell him, that is, " came back the reply. "There will not be shortly, unless I have your word that tomorrowyou come to me at Wisborough and make such atonement to the Asir asyou may, quitting your new craze. " Then said Stuf, the leader of the house-carles, growling: "That is out of the question, and he knows it. He means to fall onus, else had he spoken to you elsewhere first, Thane. It seems tome that here we shall die. " He looked round on his fellows, and they nodded, and one set hishelm more firmly on his head, and another tightened his belt, andone or two signed the cross on their broad chests, but not onepaled, though they knew there was small hope for them if Erpwaldchose to storm the house. The court was light as day with theflames of the stack by this time. "What think you of this, Owen, " my father said. "That it is likely that we must seal our faith with our blood, brother, " he answered. "Yet I think that there is more in this thanheathenism, in some way. " "There is an old feud of no account, " said my father, "but I wouldnot think hardly of Erpwald. After all, he was Woden's priest, andis wroth, as I myself might have been. It is good to die thus, andbut for the boy I would be glad. " "I do not think that he will be harmed, " said Owen, "even if theworst comes to the worst. " "Well, if I fall, try to get him hence. After that maybe Erpwaldwill be satisfied. I set him in your charge, brother, for once youhave saved him already. Fail me not. " Owen held out his hand and took his. "I will not fail you, " he said--"if I live after you. " Now from outside the voices began to be impatient, and Erpwald hadbeen crying to my father to be speedy, unheeded. But in the midstof the growing shouts of the heathen my father turned to the menand asked them if they were content to die with him for the faith. And with one accord they said that they would. Then with a thundering crash a great timber beam was hurled againstthe gate, shaking its very posts with the force of the six men whowielded it at a run, and in the silence that fell as they drew backErpwald cried: "For the last time, Aldred, will you yield?" But he had no answer, and after a short space the timber crashedagainst the gate again and again. And across it waited our few, silent and ready for its falling. I heard all this in the closed chamber, and the red light of thefire shone across the slit whence the light and fresh air came intoit, but it was too high for me to look out of. I got up and dressedmyself then, for no reason but that I must be doing something. Iwaxed excited with the noise and flickering light, and no one camenear me. My old nurse was the only woman in the house, for themarried house-carles lived in the village, and I daresay she sleptthrough it all in her own loft. There was no thunderstorm thatcould ever wake her. At this time my father sent a few of the men to the back of thehouse, that they might try at least to keep off the foe fromclimbing the stockade and so falling on them in the rear. But thetimbers were high, and the ditch outside them full of water, and asit happened there was no attack thence. Erpwald watched the back indeed, but all his force was bent on thegate. It was not long before that fell, crashing inwards, and across itstrode the heathen priest into the gap. He was fully armed, andwore the great golden ring of the temple--all that was left him ofhis old surroundings since Ethelwalch the king, who sent Wilfrithto us, had destroyed the building that stood with the image ofWoden in it hard by his house. Men used to take oath on that ring, as do we on the Book of the Gospels, and they held it holier thanthe oaken image of the god itself. I do not think that any man hadseen it since that time until this night. Now Erpwald stood for a moment in the gate, with his men hardbehind him, expecting a rush at him, as it would seem. But our folkstood firm in the line across the courtyard, shoulder to shoulder, with my father and Owen before them. So they looked at one another. Then Erpwald slipped the golden ring from his arm and held it up. There may have been some thought in his mind that my father washesitating yet. "By the holy ring I adjure you, Aldred, for the last time, toreturn to the Asir, " he said loudly. My father shook his head only, but Stuf the house-carle, who hadstood beside him at the font this morning, had another answer whichwas strange enough. "This for the ring!" he said. And with that he hurled a throwing spear at it as it shone in thefirelight, with a true aim. The spear went through the ring itselfwithout harming the hand of the holder, and coming a littleslantwise, twitched it away from him and stuck in the timber of thestockade whence the gatepost had been riven. The ring hung spinningon the shaft safely enough, but to Erpwald it seemed that histreasure had gone altogether, and he yelled with rage and sprangforward. After him came his men, and in a moment the two partieswere hand to hand. Then was fighting such as the gleemen sing of, with the light ofthe red fire waxing and waning across the courtyard the while. Thestrange lights and shadows it cast were to the advantage of our menfor a little while, but the numbers were too great against them forthat to be of much avail. Soon they who had not fallen were borneback to the hall door, and there stood again, but my father was notwith them. He fell at the first, as Owen tells me. Another has told me thatOwen stood across his body and would have fallen with him, but thatStuf drew him away, calling on him to mind his promise concerningme, and so he went back, still fighting, until he stood in the doorof the hall. There Erpwald and his men stayed their hands, like a ring of dogsthat bay a boar. There was a little porch, so that they could notget at him sideways, and needs must that they fell on him one at atime. It seemed that not one cared to be the first to go near theterrible Briton as he stood, in the plain arms and with the heavysword my father had given him, waiting for them. Well do I knowwhat he was like at that time, and I do not blame them. There is noman better able to wield weapons than he, and they had learnt it. Then the light of the straw stack went out suddenly, as a stackfire will, and the darkness seemed great. Yet from the well-lithall a path of light came past Owen and fell on his foes, so thathe could well see any man who was bold enough to come, and theyheld back the more. There were but six men of ours in the house behind Owen. Then came Erpwald, leaning, sorely wounded, on one of his men, andOwen spoke to him. "You have wrought enough harm, Erpwald, for this once. Let the restof the household go in peace. " "Harm?" groaned the heathen. "Whose fault is it? How could I thinkthat the fool would have resisted?" "As there are fifty men in the yard at this moment, it seems thatyou were sure of it, " answered Owen in a still voice. "If you knewit not before, now at least you know that a Christian thinks hisfaith worth dying for. " Now, whether it was his wound, or whether he saw that he had gonetoo far, Erpwald bethought himself, and seemed minded to maketerms. "I wish to slay no more, " he said. "Yield yourselves quietly, andno harm shall come to you. " "Let them not go, Thane, " said one of his men, "else will they beoff to Ina, and there will be trouble. You mind what you promisedus. " Now, Owen heard this, and the words told him that he was right inthinking that there was more than heathenry in the affair. Itseemed to him that the first thing was to save me, and that if hecould do that in any way nought else mattered much. It was plainthat no man was to be left to bring Ina on the priest for his illdeeds. "If that is all the trouble now, " he said, therefore, "as we are inyour power you can make us promise what you like. Give us terms atleast; if not, come and end us and the matter at once. " One of the men flew at him on that, and bided where he fell, acrossthe doorway of the porch; none stirred to follow him. "Swear that you will not go to Ina for a month's time with anytales, and you and all shall go free, " Erpwald said. The man who had spoken before put in at once: "What of the blood feud, Erpwald?--There is Aldred's son yet. " At that the priest lost temper with his follower, and turned on himsavagely: "Is it for men to war with children? What care I for a blood feud?Can I not fend for myself? Hold your peace. " Then he said to Owen: "They say that you are the child's foster-father now. If I give himto you, will you swear that you or he shall cross my path no more?You need not trouble to go to Ina, for he will not hearken to aBriton in any case. " Owen reddened under the last, but for my sake he did not answer, save to the first part of the saying. "I will swear to take the child hence and let this matter be for usas if it had not been, " he said, seeing that it was the best hecould win for me. What other thoughts were in his mind will be seen hereafter, but Iwill say now that it was not all so hopeless as it seemed toErpwald. "What of the other men, " asked one or two of Erpwald's following. "They shall bide here, where we can keep an eye on them, " thepriest answered. "They will not hurt us, nor we them, save only ifthey try to make trouble. " Then some of our house-caries said in a low tone to Owen: "Betterto die with the master. Let us out and fall on them. " But he said: "This is for the boy's sake. Let me be, my brothers; Ihave the thane's word to carry out. " Then they knew that he was right, but they bade him make Erpwaldswear to keep faith with them all. So he spoke again with the priest, asking for honest pledges inreturn for his own oath. Whereon from across the courtyard, where afew wounded men lay--a voice weak with pain cried, with a strangelaugh: "Get him the holy ring, that he may be well bound. It hangs yonderwhere I put it, in the gateside timbers. " Erpwald glowered into the darkness, but he could see nothing of theman who had spoken. But one of his men had seen the spear cast, andknew what was meant, though the fight had set it out of his mind. So he ran, and found the shaft easily in the darkness, and took thering from it, bringing it back to Erpwald. "It is luck, " he said. "Spear and ring alike have marked the placefor Woden. " "Hold your peace, fool, " snarled Erpwald, with a sharp look atOwen. And at that Stuf laughed again, unheeded. Then Owen swore as he had promised, on the cross hilt of his sword, and Erpwald swore faith on the ring, and so the swords weresheathed at last; and when they had disarmed all our men but Owen, Erpwald's men took torches from the hall and went to tend thewounded, who lay scattered everywhere inside the gate, and mostthickly where my father fell. Owen went to that place, with a little hope yet that his friendmight live, but it was not so. Therefore he knelt beside him for alittle while, none hindering him, and so bade him farewell. Then hewent to Stuf, who was sorely hurt, but not in such wise that hemight not recover. "What will you do with the child?" the man asked. "Have no fear for him. I shall take him westward, where my ownpeople are. He shall be my son, and I think that all will be wellwith him hereafter. " "I wit that you are not what you have seemed, Master, " Stuf said. "It will be well if you say so. " Then Owen bade him farewell also, and went to find me and get mehence before the ale and mead of the house was broached by thespoilers. And, as I have said, I was already dressed, and I ran tohis arms and asked what all the trouble was, and where my fatherhad gone, and the like. I think that last question was the hardestthat Owen ever had put to him, and he did not try to answer itthen. He told me that he and I must go to Chichester at once, at myfather's bidding; and I, being used to obey without question, waspleased with the thought of the unaccustomed night journey. Andthen Owen bethought him, and left me for a moment, going to thechest where my father had his store of money. It was mine now, andhe took it for me. It seemed strange to him that there was no ransacking of the house, as one might have expected. Had the foe fired it he would not havebeen surprised at all, but all was quiet in the hall, and thevoices of the men came mostly from the storehouses, whence he couldhear them rolling the casks into the courtyard; so he told me tobide quietly here in the chamber for a few minutes, and went out onthe high place swiftly, closing the door after him, that I mightsee nothing in the hall. There he found Erpwald himself close at hand, sitting in myfather's own chair while the wound that Owen himself had given himwas being dressed. At the side of the great room sat the rest ofour men, downcast and wondering, and half a dozen of the foe stoodon guard at the door. It was plain that nought in the house was tobe meddled with. Erpwald turned as he heard the sliding door open. "Get you gone as soon as you may, " he said sullenly. "There is one thing that I must ask you, Erpwald, " Owen said. "Itis what one may ask of one brave man concerning another. LetAldred's people bury him in all honour, as they will. " "There you ask too much, Welshman. But I will bury him myself inall honour in the way that I think best. He shall have the burialof a son of Woden for all his foolishness. " At least, there would be no dishonour to his friend in that, andOwen thought it best to say no more, but he had one more boon, asit were, to ask. "Let me take a horse from the stable for the child, " he said. "Wemay have far to go. " He thought that he would have been met with rage at this, but itwas worth asking. However, Erpwald answered somewhat wearily, andnot looking at him: "Take them all, if you will. I am no common reiver, and they arenot mine. The farther you go the better. But let me tell you, thatit will be safer for you not to make for Winchester and the king. Ishall have you watched. " "A plain warning not to be disregarded, " answered Owen. "We shallnot need it. " Erpwald said no more, and Owen came back to me, closing the doorafter him again. There was another door, seldom used, from thischamber to the back of the house where the servants had theirquarters, and through that he took me, wrapped in such warm furs ashe could find. Then he went to the stables, and in the dark, for hewould not attract the notice of Erpwald's men, who were round theale in the courtyard, he saddled my forest pony, and another goodhorse which he was wont to ride with my father at times. He did nottake the thane's own horse, as it would be known, and he would riskno questions as to how he came by it. Then we rode away by the back gate, and when the darkness closed onus as we passed along the well-known road towards Chichester thevoices of the foe who revelled in our courtyard came loudly to us. And I did but think it part of the rejoicing of that day as Ilistened. Through the warm summer rain we came before daylight had fullybroken to Bosham, not passing through Chichester, for the gateswould be closed. And just before the sun rose, Dicul the priestcame from his house to the little church and saw us sitting in theporch, waiting him, while the horses cropped the grass on thelittle green outside the churchyard, hobbled in forest fashion. He bade us back to his house, and there I fell asleep straightway, with the tiredness that comes suddenly to a child. And Owen and hetalked, and I know that he told him all that had happened and whathis own plans for me were, under the seal of secrecy. And then hebegged the good priest to tell me of my loss. So it came to pass that presently Dicul took me on his knee andtold me wonderful stories of the martyrs of old time, and of hisown land in times that are not so far off; and when it seemed to methat indeed there is nought more wonderful and blessed than to givelife for the faith, he told me how my father had fallen at thehands of heathen men, and was indeed a martyr himself. I do notknow that he could have done it more wisely or sweetly, for halfthe sting was lost in the wonder of it all. But he did not tell me who it was had slain my father, and that Idid not know for many a long day. After that we ate with him, and he gave us some little store for ajourney, and so Owen and I rode on again, westward, homelessindeed, but in no evil case. Now, as one may suppose, Owen's first thought was to get me beyondthe reach of Erpwald, whose mood might change again, from that inwhich he let us go with what we would, to that in which he came onus. So all that day we went on steadily, sleeping the night in alittle wayside inn, and pushing on again in the early morning, until Owen deemed it safe for us to draw rein somewhat, and for mysake to travel slowly. At this time he had no clear plan in his head for the ending of ourjourney, nor was there need to make one at once. We had store ofmoney to last us for many a long day, what with my father's andthat which Owen had of his own, and we were well mounted, and whatfew things we needed to seem but travellers indeed Owen bought insome little town we passed through on the third day. After that wewent easily, seeing things that had nought in them but wonder anddelight for me. Then at last we came in sight of the ancient town of Sarum on itshill, and there we drew up on the wayside grass to let a littletrain of churchmen pass us, and though I did not know it, thatlittle halt ended our wandering. In the midst of the train rode aquiet looking priest, who sang softly to himself as his mule ambledeasily along, and he turned to give us his blessing as Owenunhelmed when he passed abreast of us. Then his hand stayed as heraised it, and I saw his face lighten suddenly, and he pulled upthe mule in haste, crying to Owen by name, and in the Welsh tongue. And I saw the face of my foster-father flush red, and he leapt fromhis horse and went to the side of the priest, setting his finger onhis lip for a moment as he did so. Then the priest signed that his people should go on, and at oncethey left him with us, and Owen bade me do reverence to Aldhelm, the abbot of Malmesbury, before whom we stood. And after that theytalked long in Welsh, and that I could not follow, though indeed Iknew a fair smattering of it by this time, seeing that Owen wouldhave me learn from him, and we had used it a good deal in these fewdays as we rode. It seemed to me that Aldhelm was overjoyed to see Owen, and I knownow that those two were old friends of the closest at one time, when they met in Owen's own land. So from that meeting it came to pass that we found a home with thegood abbot at Malmesbury for a time, and there I learned much, asone may suppose, while Owen trained me in arms, and the monkstaught me book learning, which I liked not at all, and onlysuffered for love of Owen, who wished me to know all I might. Then one day, after two years in quiet here, came Ina the king withall his court to see the place and the new buildings that wererising under the hand of Aldhelm and Owen, who had skill in suchmatters, and then again was a change for us. It seems thatEthelburga the queen took a fancy to me, and asked that I might bewith her as a page in the court, and that was so good a place forthe son of any thane in the land that Owen could not refuse, thoughat first it seemed that we must be parted for a time. But it was needful that the king should hear my story, that hemight have some surety as to who I was, and if I were worthy bybirth to be of his household, and Owen hardly knew how to tell himwithout breaking his oath to Erpwald. Yet it was true that theheathen thane had scoffed at him, rather than forbidden him to seekIna, though indeed it was plain that he meant to bind us frommaking trouble for him in any way. But at last Owen said that ifthe king would forbear to take revenge for a wrong done to me, hemight speak, and so after promise given he told all. Very black grew the handsome face of the king as he heard. "Am I often deceived thus?" he said. "I will even send some to askof all the ins and outs of such another case hereafter. ThisErpwald sent to me to say that Aldred and all his house had beenslain by outlaws, and that he himself had driven them off and Ibelieved him. After that I made over the Eastdean lands to him, andI take it that they were what he wanted. Well, he has not livedlong to enjoy them, for he died not long ago, and now his brotherholds the lands after him, and I know that he at least is a worthyman. "Let it be. The child is my ward now, as an orphan, and I shouldhave had to set his estate in the hands of some one to hold till hecan take them. There will be no loss to him in the end. " Then he smiled and looked Owen in the face. "I know you well, Owen, though it is plain that you would not haveit so. Mind you the day when I met Gerent at the Parrett bridge? Ido not often forget a face, and I saw you then, and asked who youwere. Now there is good and, as I hope, lasting peace between ourlands, thanks to the wisdom of our good Aldhelm here, and I willask you somewhat, for I know that you also wrought for that peacewhile you might. Come to me, and be of the nobles who guard me andmine, and so wait in honour until the time comes when you mayreturn to your place. Then you will be with the boy also. " So it came to pass that we took leave of that good friend theabbot, and went from Malmesbury in the train of Ina of Wessex. Thereafter for six years I served Ethelburga the queen, beingtrained in all wise as her own child, and after that I was one ofthe athelings of the court in one post or another, but always withthe king when there was war on the long frontier of the Wessexland. CHAPTER III. HOW KING INA'S FEAST WAS MARRED, AND OF A VOW TAKEN BY OSWALD. At this time, when I take up my story again, I was two and twenty, not very tall indeed, but square in the shoulder, and well able tohold my own, at the least, with the athelings who were my comrades, at the weapon play or any of our sports. It would have been my ownfault if I were not so, for there was no better warrior in allIna's following than Owen, and he taught me all I knew. And thatknowledge I had tested on the field more than once, for Ina had noless trouble with his neighbours than any other king in England, whether in matters of raiding to be stopped or tribute to beenforced. Since I was too old to serve the queen as page any longerI had been of his bodyguard, and where he went was not always thesafest place on a field for us who shielded him. A court is always changing, as men come and go again to their ownplaces after some little service there, but Owen and I were ofthose to whom the court was home altogether. Owen was the king'smarshal now, and I was in command of the house-carles, and had beenso for a year or more. It was no very heavy post, nor responsibleafter all, for Ina's guard was the love of his people, and beyondthese warriors from the freemen who served as palace guard andwatch, were the athelings of the household, from whose number I hadbeen chosen for this post by right of longest service more than forany other reason, as I think. I knew all the ins and outs of everyhouse where Ina went, and had nothing fresh to learn in the matter. Still, if the men under me were few, the post had its ownprivileges, and was always held to lead to somewhat higher, and Iwas more than content therewith, for it kept me near Owen and theking, whom I loved next to my foster father. I do not think that by this time any one knew, save the king, thatI was not Owen's own son. I was wont to call him father always, andI cannot be blamed, for he was foster father and godfather to me, and well did he take the father's place to the orphan whom he hadsaved. And I had forgotten Eastdean, save as one keeps a memory ofthe home where one was a child. I never thought of it as a placethat should have been mine, for neither the king nor Owen everspoke to me concerning it. Sometimes, in remembrances of my father, I would wonder into whose hands the manors had passed, but ratherin hopes that some day those who owned them now would suffer me tosee that the grave where he lay was honoured, rather than as amatter which at all concerned me in any closer way. For, since I was but a child, the court had been my home, with Owenas my father, and Ina the king as the loved guardian for whom Iwould gladly give my life in need. All my training and thoughtswere centred here, not as what one calls a courtier at all, but asone of the household who feared the king and queen no more thanOwen himself, and yet reverenced all three as those to whom allhomage was due since he could remember. Thus things were with us at the end of the tenth year after we leftAldhelm at Malmesbury, and now the court was at Glastonbury in fairSomerset, keeping the Christmastide there in the place that is theholiest in all England by reason of the coming thither of Joseph ofArimathea, and the first preaching of the Gospel in our land byhim. It was not by any means the first time I had been in theplace, and here I had some good friends indeed; for Ina loved thevale of Avalon well, and often came hither with a few of us, orwith the whole court, to the house which he had made that he mightwatch the building of the wondrous church which he was raising overthe very spot where the little chapel of the saint had been in theold days. Fair is the place indeed, for it lies deep among green hills, andfrom the westward slope where the church stands, at their footstretch great meres to lesser hills toward the sunset beyond. Verypleasant are the trees and flowers of the rich meadows of theisland valley, and the wind comes but gently here even at Yuletide, hardly ruffling the clear waters that have given the place itsname, "Inys Vitryn, " and "Avalon" men called the place before weSaxons came, by reason of those still meres and the wondrousorchards which fear no frost among the hills that shelter them. Thesummer seems to linger here after it has fled from the uplands. There was a goodly company gathered in Ina's hall for the twelfthnight feasting. Truly, the hall was not so great as that in thepalace at Winchester, but it was all the brighter for that reason. It was hard to get that great space well lighted and warmed attimes, when the wind blew cold under eaves and through narrowwindows; but here all was well lit and comfortable to look on andto feel also, as one sat and feasted with the sweet sedges of themere banks deep under foot on the floor and the great fire in thehall centre near enough to every one. I think that this hall inGlastonbury was as pleasant as any that I know in all Wessex. There was a great door midway in the southern side of the hall, andas one entered, to right and left along that wall ran the tablesfor the house-carles and other men of the lower ranks, and forstrangers who might come in to share the king's hospitality and hadno right to a higher place. Then at either end of the hall werecross tables, where the thanes and their ladies had their places indue order, above the franklins whose cross tables were next tothose of the house-carles. And then, right over against the southwall and across the fire on the hearth, was the longest table ofall, and in the midst of that was the high place for the king andqueen and a few others. That dais was the only place where theguests did not sit on both sides of the tables, for the king'sboard stood open to the midst of the hall on its three low stepsthat he might see and be seen by all his guests, and be fitlyserved from in front. On the hearth a great yule log burnt brightly, and all round thewall were set torches in their sconces, so that the hall was verybright. On the walls were the costly hangings that we tookeverywhere with us, and above them shone the spare arms and helmsand shields of the house-carles, mixed with heads of boar and stagand wolf from the Mendips and Quantocks where Ina hunted, each headwith its story. Up and down in the spaces between the tableshurried the servants who tended the guests, so that the hall wasfull of life and brightness from end to end. There was peace in allWessex at this time, and so here was a full gathering of guests tothe little town. Ina and Ethelburga the queen were on the high place, and to theirleft was Herewald, the Somerset ealdorman, who lived inGlastonbury, and was a good friend of mine, as will be seen, withhis fair daughter Elfrida, and on the right of the king was Nunna, his cousin, and his wife. Owen was next to Herewald, at one end ofthe high place, and at the other end was Sigebald, the Dorsetealdorman, under whom I had fought not so long ago. There were manyothers of high rank in the west to the right and left of theseagain at the long tables. Indeed, there was but one whom I missed in all the gathering. Myold friend Aldhelm was gone. He died in the last year, after havingbeen Bishop of Sherborne for a little while. I missed him sorely, as did every man who knew him. I do not think that if one searched all England through there couldhave been found a more noble looking group than that at Ina's hightable. It is well known that our king and queen were beyond allothers for royalty of look and ways, and I will venture to say thatneither of the ealdormen had their equals, save in Nunna, anywhere. But it is not my word only, for it was a common saying, that Owenseemed most royal next to the king himself. Grave he always was, but with a ready smile and pleasant, in the right place, and thoughhe was now about five-and-forty he had changed little to my eyesfrom what he was twelve years ago, when he saved me from thewolves. He was one of those men who age but slowly. One other on the high place I have not mentioned in this way. Thatwas Elfrida, the Somerset ealdorman's daughter, of whom it was saidthat she was the fairest maiden in all Wessex. Certainly at thistime I for one would have agreed in that saying. She was two yearsyounger than I, if I dare say it, and it seemed to me that in thelast three years she had suddenly grown from the child that I usedto play with to a very stately lady, well fitted to take the placeof her mother, who used to be kind to me when I first came here asthe queen's somewhat mischievous page, and had but died a year orso ago. I think that this feast was the first Elfrida and herfather had been present at since then, and at least, that was thereason I heard given for her presence on the high place. Now I must say where my place was in the hall, for it may make moreplain what happened hereafter. The young nobles of the court whohad no relatives present sat at one of the cross tables at theking's right hand, and at the head of these tables was my seat byreason of my post as captain of the house-carles. So I sat with myback to the long chief table, with its occupants just behind me, and to my left was the open space in the centre of the hall, sothat if I was needed, or had to go out for the change of guard orother house-carle business, all that I had to do, being at one endof the bench, was to get up and go my way without disturbing anyone. At the same time I could see all the hall before me, and ahalf turn of the head would set my eyes on the king himself. The door of the hall was closed when the king entered from his ownchambers and took his place, so that the cold, and the draughts, which might eddy the smoke of fire and torches about the guests toomuch, was kept out. But it was closed against weather only, for anyman might crave admittance to the king's ball at the great feast, whether as wayfarer or messenger or suppliant, so that he had goodreason for asking hospitality. Several men had come in thus as thefeast went on, but none heeded the little bustle their coming made, nor so much as turned to see where they were set at the lowertables, except myself and perhaps Owen. There was merriment enoughin the hall, and room and plenty for all comers, even as Ina lovedto have it. Now there is no need to tell aught of that feast, until the meatwas done and the tables were cleared for the most pleasant part ofthe evening, when the servants, whether men or women, sat down attheir tables also, and the harp went round, with the cups, and mensang in turn or told tales, each as he was best able to amuse therest. There was a little bustle while this clearance went on, andmen changed their seats to be nearer friends and the like, for thecareful state of the beginning of the feast was over in somedegree; but at last all was ready, and the great door, which hadbeen open for a few minutes as the servants took out into thecourtyard the great cauldrons and spits, was closed, and then therefell a silence, for we waited for a custom of the king's. Here at Ina's court we kept up the old custom of drinking the firstcup with all solemnity, and making some vows thereover. This cupwas, of course, to be drunk by the host, and after him by any whomhe would name, or would take a vow on him. In the old heathen daysthis cup was called the "Bragi bowl, " and the vows were made in thenames of the Asir, and mostly ended in fighting before the year wasover. We kept the old name yet, but now the vows were made in thename of all the Saints, and if Ina or any other made one it wassure to be of such sort that it would lead to some worthy deedbefore long, wrought in all Christian wise. Maybe the last of theold pattern of vow was made when Kentwine our king swore to clearthe Welsh from the Parrett River to the sea, and did it. So when the time came we sat waiting, each with his horn or cupbefore him, brimming with ale or cider or mead, as he chose, andmen turned in their seats that they might see the pleasant littleceremony at the high place the better. As for me, I just turned inmy bench end so that my feet were clear of the table, on which myarm and cup rested, and faced right down the hall, with, of course, no one at all between me and the steps of the high place. For nowall had taken their seats except one cup bearer, who waited at thelowest step with the king's golden cup in one hand, and in theother a silver flagon of good Welsh wine to fill it withal. Onewould say that this was but a matter of chance, but as it happenedpresently it was well that I moved. Now, in the hush was a little talk and laughter among those whowere nearest the king, and then I saw the queen smile and speak toElfrida, who blushed and looked well pleased, and then rose andcame daintily round the end of the king's board. There a thane whosat at the table at the foot of the steps rose and handed her downthem to where the servant waited. Ina had asked her to hand him thecup after the old fashion, she being the lady of the chief house inGlastonbury next his own. There she took the cup from the man'shand, and held it while he filled it heedfully. A little murmurthat was all of praise went round the hall, and her colour roseagain as she heard it, for it was not to be mistaken, and from thelower tables the voices were outspoken enough in all honesty. Then she went up the steps holding the cup, and the king smiled onher as she came, and so she stood on the dais before the table andheld out the wine, and begged the king to drink the "Bragi bowl"from her hands in her father's town. The king bowed and smiled again, and rose up to take the cup fromthis fair bearer, and at that moment there was a sort of scuffle, unseemly enough, at the lower end of the hall near the door, andgruff voices seemed to be hushed as Ina glanced up with the cup yetuntouched by his hand. Then a man leapt from the hands of some who tried to hold him back, and he strode across the hall past the fire and to the very foot ofthe high place--as rough and unkempt a figure as ever begged forfood at a king's table, unarmed, and a thrall to all seeming. Andas he came he cried: "Justice, Ina the king!--Justice!" At that I and my men, who had sprung to our feet to hinder him, satdown again, for a suppliant none of us might hinder at any time. Idid not remember seeing this man come in, but that was the businessof the hall steward, unless there was trouble that needed thehouse-carles. Ina frowned at this unmannerly coming at first, but his browcleared as he heard the cry of the man. He signed to Elfrida towait for a moment, and looked kindly at the thrall before him. "Justice, Lord, " the man said again. "Justice you shall have, my poor churl, " answered the king gently. "But this is not quite the time to go into the matter. Sit you downagain, and presently you shall tell all to Owen the marshal, andthus it will come to me, and you shall see me again in themorning. " "Nay, but I will have justice here and now, " the man said doggedly, and yet with some sort of appeal in his voice. "Is it so pressing? Well, then, speak on. Maybe the vow that Ishall make will be to see you righted. " And so the king sat down again, and the lady Elfrida waited, resting one hand on the table at the end of the dais farthest fromme, and holding the golden cup yet in the other. "What shall be done to the man who slays my brother?" the thrallcried. And the king answered: "If he has slain him by craft, he shall die; but if in fair fightand for what men deem reason, then he shall pay the full weregildthat is due according to my dooms. " Then said the man, and his voice minded me of Owen's in some way: "But and if he slew him openly in cold blood, for no wrong done tohimself?" "A strange doing, " said the king--"but he should die therefor. " The king leant forward, with his elbow on the table to hear thebetter, and the man was close to the lowest step to be near him. Itseemed that he was very wroth, for his right hand clutched thefront of his rough jerkin fiercely, and his voice was harsh andshaking. "It is your own word, Ina of Wessex, that the man who has slain mybrother in this wise shall die. Lo, you! I am Morgan ofDyvnaint--and thus--" There flashed from under the jerkin a long knife in the man's hand, and at the king he leapt up the low steps. But two of us had seenwhat was coming, and even as the brave maiden on his left dashedthe full cup of wine in the man's face, blinding him, I was on him, so that the wine covered him and my tunic at once. I had him by theneck, and he gripped the table, and his knife flashed back at mewildly once, but I jerked him round and hurled him from the daiswith a mighty crash, and so followed him and held him pinioned, while the cups and platters of the overturned table rolled andclattered round us. Then rose uproar enough, and the hall was full of flashing swords. I mind that I heard the leathern peace thongs of one snap as thethane who tried to draw it tugged at the hilt, forgetting them. Soon I was in the midst of a half ring of men as I held the manclose to the great fire on the hearth with his face downward andhis right arm doubled under him. He never stirred, and I thought hewaited for me to loose my hold on him. Then came the steady voice of Ina: "Let none go forth from the hall. To your seats, my friends, forthere can be no more danger; and let the house-carles see to theman. " Two of my men took charge of my captive, even as he lay, and Istood up. Owen was close to me. "The man is dead, " he said in a strange voice. "I doubt it, " I answered, looking at him quickly, for the voicestartled me. Then I saw that my foster father's face was white anddrawn as with some trouble, and he was gazing in a still way at theman whom the warriors yet held on the floor. "His foot has been in the fire since you hove him there, yet he hasnot stirred, " he said. Then I minded that I had indeed smelt the sharp smell of burningleather, and had not heeded it. So I told the two men to draw thethrall away and turn him over. As they did so we knew that he wasindeed dead, for the long knife was deep in his side, driven homeas he fell on it. And I saw that in the hilt of it was a wonderfulpurple jewel set in gold. It was not the weapon of a thrall. That Ina saw also, and he came down from the high place, and stoodand looked in the face of this one who would have slain him, fixedly for a minute. Then he said, speaking to Owen in a low voice: "Justice has been done, as it seems to me. Justice from a higherhand than mine, moreover. " Then he went back to his place, and standing there said in the deadhush that was on us all: "It would seem that this man thought that he had somewhat againstme, indeed, but I do not know him, or who his brother may havebeen. Nor have I slain any man save in open field of battle at anytime, as all men know, save and except that I may be said to havedone so by the arm of the law. Yet even so, our Wessex dooms arenot such as take life but for the most plain cause, and that seldomas may be. Is there any one here who has knowledge of this man whocalls himself Morgan of Dyvnaint? It seems to me that I have heardthe name before. " Now Owen had gone back to his place, and while one or two thanescame forward and looked in the face of the man, whom they had notyet seen plainly, he spoke to the king, and Ina seemed to wonder atwhat he heard. Then Herewald the ealdorman said: "That is the name of one of the two Devon princes of the WestWelsh, cousins of Gerent the king. We have trouble with their men, who raid our homesteads now and then. " At that a big man with a yellow moustache and long curling hairrose from among the franklins and said loudly, in a voice which wasneither like that of a Briton nor a Saxon at all: "Let me get a nearer look at him, and I will soon tell you if he iswhat he claimed to be. " And with no more ceremony he came to where I and the twohouse-carles yet stood, and looked and laughed a little to himselfas he did so. "He is Morgan the prince, right enough, " he said. "And I can tellyou all the trouble. Your sheriff hung his brother, Dewi, threemonths since for cattle lifting and herdsman slaying on this sideParrett River, somewhere by Puriton, where no Welshman should be. Ihelped hunt the knaves at the time. The sheriff took him for acommon outlaw like his comrades, and it was in my mind that therewould be trouble. So I told the sheriff, and he said that if theking himself got mixed up with outlaws and cattle thieves he musteven take his chance with the rest. And thereon I said--" "Thanks, friend, " said Ina. "The rest shall be for tomorrow. Bidehere tonight, that you may tell all at the morning. " The man made a courtly bow enough, and went back to his seat, andthen Ina bade Owen see to his lodgment, and after that the thrallscarried out the body. I went quietly and walked along the lowertables, bidding my men see if more Welshmen were present, butfinding none, and then I found the hall steward wringing his hands, with an ashy face, at the far end of the hall. "Master Oswald, " he said, almost weeping, "how that man came inhere I do not know. I saw him not until he rose up. None seem tohave seen him enter, but men have so shifted their places that itseemed not strange to any near him that they had not seen himbefore. " "Had you seen him you could not have turned him away, " I said. "Hecame as a suppliant, and the king's word is strict concerning suchat these times. Good Saxon enough he spoke, too, in the way of manyof our half Welsh border thralls. I do not think that you will beblamed. Most likely he slipped in as the tables were cleared justnow. There was coming and going enough, and we have many strangershere. "Who is the yellow-haired man?" "A chapman from the town. Some shipmaster whom the ealdormanknows. " Now, after I was back in my place and the bustle was ended, therefell an uneasy silence, for men knew not if the feast was to go on. Many of the ladies had gone, with the queen, and Elfrida was thereno longer. But Ina stood up with a fresh cup in his hand, and hesmiled and said, while the eyes of all were on him: "Friends, we have seen a strange thing, but you have also seen thedeeds of a brave maiden and a ready warrior to whom I am beholdenfor my life, as is plain enough. Yet we will not let the wild waysof our western neighbours mar the keeping of our holy tide. Maybethere is more to be learnt of the matter, but if so that can rest. Think now only of these two brave ones, I pray you, for I have yetthe Bragi bowl to drink, and it is not hard to say whom I shouldpledge therein. " Then he looked round for Elfrida, not having noticed that she hadgone with the queen. "Why, " he said, "it was in my mind to pledge the lady first, but Ifear she has been fain to leave us. So I do not think that I can dobetter than pledge both my helpers together, and then Oswald cananswer for the lady and himself at once. " He rose and held the cup high, and I rose also, not quite sure if Iwere myself or some one else, with all the hall looking at me. "Drinc hael to the lady Elfrida, bravest and fairest in all theland of Somerset!" he cried. "Drinc hael, Oswald the king'sthane--thane by right of ready and brave service just rendered!" Then he drank with his eyes on me, and there went up a sort ofcheer at his words, for men love to see any service rewarded on thespot if it may be so. Now I was at a loss what to say, and the ladyshould have been here to bring the cup to me in all formality. Maybe I should have stood there silent and somewhat foolish, butthat the ealdorman, her father, helped me out. "Come and do homage for the new rank, lad, " he said in a low voice. He was at the lower table near me now, for the high table had beenbroken and the king stood alone on the dais. So I went to the steps, and bent one knee at their top, and kissedthe hand of the king, and then held out the hilt of my sword, thathe might seem to take it and give it me again. But he bade me rise, and so he took off his own sword, which was a wondrous one, and thetoken of the submission of some chief on the Welsh border beyondAvon, and he girt it on me with his own hands. "You nigh gave your life for me, my thane, " he said. "That man'sknife was perilously near you. " He touched my tunic with his hand, and I looked. Across it where myheart beat was a long slit that I had not found out yet, where theknife flew at me. That stroke must have been the man's bane, because to reach me thus he had thrown his arm across his chest, and so had fallen on his weapon. Then I was going, I think, though indeed I hardly know what I didat that moment, but the king stayed me, laughing. "Do not think that I am going to let you off the cup, though. Nowyou shall pledge me, and if you have any vow to make which isfitting for a thane, make it and let us all hear it. But you havealso the lady to think of in your words. " Then there was a little rustle at the door which was on the highplace, and the queen returned with some of her ladies, hearing thatall was seemly again, and she stood smiling at these last words. But Elfrida was not with her, and I was glad, else I had been moremazed yet. So I plucked up heart and took the cup from the hand ofthe king, trying to collect my thoughts into some sort of fittingwords. "Drinc hael Cyning, " I said, while my voice shook. "Here do I vowbefore all the Saints and before this company--that I will do mybest to prove myself worthy of this honour that has been set onme!" "Why, Oswald, " said the queen, "that is no sort of vow such as youshould make, for we know that already, and you have proved it nowif never before. And you have forgotten Elfrida. " Now, I thought to myself that the last thing that I was ever likelyto do was to forget that maiden, and with that a thought came intomy head, and as the queen was smiling at me, and every one waswaiting, I grew desperate, and must needs out with it. "Now, I cannot do better than this, " I said, finding my courage allof a sudden. "Here do I add to my vow that so long as my life shalllast I will not again forget the Lady Elfrida. Nor will I becontent until I am held worthy by her to--to guard her all the restof my days. " With that I drained the cup, and while the thanes laughed andcheered all round me, and Ina smiled as if well pleased enough, thequeen set her hand on my arm, smiling also, and said: "That was well said, my thane, but for one turn of the words. Whydid you not tell us plainly that you mean to win her? We all knowwhat you mean. " Then I went to my place, and I glanced at Herewald, to see how hewould take all this. Somewhat seemed to have amused him mightily, and his eyes brimmed with a jest as he looked at me. Presently, when men forgot me in listening to the vow Ina made, that he wouldadd somewhat to the new Church in thankfulness for this escape, theealdorman came near me and whispered: "You are a cautious youth, Oswald, for I never heard a man turn ahint from a lady better in my life. Nevertheless, if you are notcareful, Ethelburga will wed you to Elfrida for all your craft. " He laughed again, and said no more. But I was looking at Owen, whoseemed to have some thoughts of his own that were troubling himsorely. He smiled and nodded, indeed, when he caught my eye, butthen he grew grave again directly, and afterwards his horn stoodbefore him on the table untasted, and his look seemed far away, though round him men sang and all was merry. However, as one may suppose, the merriment was not what it shouldhave been, and none wondered much when Ina rose and left the tablewith a few pleasant parting words. He was never one to bide long ata feast, and he knew, maybe, that the house-carles and younger menwould be more at ease when his presence was no longer felt by them. With him went Owen and the ealdorman, and Nunna, at some sign ofhis, and after they went I had to stand no little banter concerningmy vow, as may be supposed. I was not sorry when a page came and bade me join the king in hisown chamber, though it was all good-natured and in no sort ofunkindness. I will not say that I did not enjoy it either. So Iwent as I was bidden, and found that some sort of council was beingheld, and that those four were looking grave over it. I supposedthey had some errand for me at first, but in no long time I knewthat what was on hand was nought more or less than the beginning ofparting between Owen and me. I will make little of all that was said, though it was a longmatter, and heavy in the telling, and maybe tangled here and thereto me as I listened. I think that Ina understood that trouble fellon me as I heard all, for he looked kindly on me from his greatchair, while Nunna sat on the table and was silent, stroking hisbeard, as if thinking. But Owen drew me to the settle by him, andbade me hearken while the king told me the tale I had to learn. Then I heard how Owen, my foster father, was indeed a prince of theold Cornish line that came from Arthur, and how his cousins, Morganand Dewi, had plotted to oust him from his place at the right handof Gerent the king, and had succeeded only too well, so that he hadhad to fly. It matters not what their lies concerning him had been, nor do I think that Owen knew all that had been said against him, but Gerent had banished him, and so he had wandered to Mercia, andthence after a year or two to Sussex, having heard of the Irishmonks of the old Western Church at Bosham. So he had met with me, and thus he and I had come to Ina's court together. And as I heard all, I knew that it had been for my sake that he wascontent to serve as a simple forester at Eastdean, for Ina told methat across the Severn among the other princes of the old Welshlands he would have been more than welcome. I could say nothing, but I set my hand on his and left it there, and he smiled at me, and grasped it. "And now, " said Ina, "your hand has in some sort avenged the oldwrong, for you have brought about the end of Morgan, who was Owen'sfoe. But this is a matter we need to hear more concerning. Do youbring us that stranger that he may tell us what he knows. " I went to the hall again, and found him easily enough, for all menwere looking at him. He was in the midst of the hall, juggling inmarvellous wise with a heavy woodman's axe, which he played with asif it were a straw for lightness. Even as I entered from the dooron the high place he was whirling it for a mighty stroke whichseemed meant to cleave a horn cup which he had set on a stoolbefore him, and I wondered. But he stayed the stroke as suddenly asif his great arms had been turned to steel, so that the axe edgerested on the rim of the vessel without so much as notching it, andat that all the onlookers cheered him. "Now it may be known, " said he, smiling broadly, "why men call meThorgils the axeman. " Then he threw the unhandy weapon into the air whirling, and caughtit as it came to hand again, so that it balanced on his palm, andso he held it as I went to him, and told him the king would speakwith him. Whereon he threw the axe at the doorpost, so that it stuck there, and laughed at the new shout of applause, and so turned down hissleeves and bade me lead him where I would. He made a stiff, outlandish salute as he stood before Ina, and theking returned it. "I have sent for you now, friend, rather than wait for morning, " hesaid, "for it seems to me that we have business that must be seento with the first light. Will you tell us what you know of this manwho has been slain? I think you are no Welshman of Cornwall. " "I am Thorgils the Norseman of Watchet, king, " he answered. "Thorgils the axeman, men call me, by reason, of some skill withthat weapon which your folk seem to hold in no repute, which is apity. Shipmaster am I by trade, and I am here to seek for cargo, that I may make one more voyage this winter with the more profit, having to cross to Dyfed, beyond the narrow sea, though it is latein the year. " "I thought you might be a Dane from Tenby. " "The Welsh folk know the difference between us by this time, "Thorgils said, with a little laugh. "They call them 'black heathen'and us 'white heathen, ' though I don't know that they love usbetter than they do them. By grace of Gerent the king, to bepolitic, or by grace of axe play, to speak the truth, we have alittle port of our own here on this side the water, at the end ofthe Quantocks, where we seek to bide peaceably with all men astraders. " "Ay! I have heard of your town, " said Ina. "Now, can tell us howMorgan and his brother came to be in company with outlaws?" "He fell out with Gerent over us, to begin with. I went with ourchiefs to Exeter when we first came seeking a home, to promisetribute if we were left in peace in the place we had chosen. Gerentwas willing enough, but Morgan, who claims some sort of right overthe Devon end of the kingdom, was against our biding at all, andthere were words. However, Gerent and we had our way, and so wethought to hear no more of the matter. But the next thing was thatMorgan gathered a force and tried to turn us out on his ownaccount, and had the worst of the affair. That angered Gerent, forhe lost some good men outside our stockades. And then other thingscropped up between them. I have heard that the old king found outold lies told by Morgan concerning Owen the prince, whom men hopeto see again, but I know little of that. Anyway, Morgan and hisbrother fled, and this is the end thereof. We heard too that heplotted to take the throne, and it is likely. " "Thanks, friend, " Ina said. "That is a plain tale, and all we needto know. But what say men of Owen, whom you spoke of? Is it knownthat he lives?" "Oh ay. They say that you know more of him than any one. Men haveseen him here at Glastonbury. Moreover, Gerent came to Norton, justacross the Quantocks, yesterday, and it is thought that he wants tosend a message to you asking after him. There will be joy in WestWales if he goes back to the right hand of the king, for one wouldthink that he was a fairy prince by the way he is spoken of. " Thereat Ina smiled at Owen, and Thorgils saw it, and knew what wasmeant in a moment. He turned to Owen with a quick look, and saidfrankly: "True enough, Prince, but I did not know that I spoke of alistener. On my word, if you do go back, you will have hard work tolive up to what is expected of you. Maybe what is more to the pointis this, that Morgan has more friends than enough, and it is likelythat they will stick at little to avenge him. "Howbeit, " he added with a quaint smile, "it shall not be said thatThorgils missed a chance. Prince, if you do go back to Gerent youwill be his right hand, as they say. Therefore I will ask you atonce to have us Norsemen in favour, so far as we need any. Somewhatis due to the bearer of tidings, by all custom. " Ina laughed, and even Owen smiled at the ready Norseman, butHerewald the ealdorman and I wondered at him, for he spoke as toequals, with no sort of fear of the king on him, which was notaltogether the way of men who stood before Ina. Then said Owen quietly: "Friend, I think there is a favour I may ask you, rather. I havebided away from my uncle, King Gerent, because I would not returnto him unasked, being somewhat proud, maybe. But now it seems toKing Ina and myself that needs must I go to him to take the news ofthis death of Morgan myself. It is a matter that might easily turnto a cause of war between Wessex and West Wales, for if the mantried to slay our king in his own court, it may also be told thathere was slain a prince of Dyvnaint. There is full need that thetruth should reach the king before rumour makes the matter overgreat. You have seen all, and are known to the Welsh court as afriend. Come with me, therefore, tomorrow and tell the tale. " "That I will, Prince, " Thorgils said. "You will be welcome; but asI warn you, there will be need for care. " "You know somewhat of the ways of the Welsh court, " said Ina. "Needs must, Lord King. I am a shipmaster, and every trader I carryacross the sea, sometimes to South Wales, and sometimes to Bristol, and betimes so far as to Ireland, tells me all he has learned. Itwere churlish not to listen, and then we need warning against suchattacks as that of Morgan. Moreover, one likes somewhat to talkof. " "That is plain enough, " said Nunna, laughing. "Maybe I do talk too much, " answered the Norseman. "It is a failingin my family. But my sister is worse than I. " Then the king laughed again, and so dismissed the shipman, andpresently Owen bade me make all preparation for riding to Norton onthe morrow early. Ina would have us take a strong guard, and Ishould bring them back, either with or without Owen, as thingswent. But little sleep had I that night, for I knew too well that fromhenceforth my life and that of my foster father must lie apart, andhow far sundered we might be I could not tell. There was no love ofthe Saxon in West Wales, nor of the Welshman in Wessex. CHAPTER IV. HOW THE LADY ELFRIDA SPOKE WITH OSWALD, AND OF THE MEETING WITHGERENT. Gerent, the king of the West Welsh, as we called him, ruled overall the land of Devon and Cornwall, from the fens of the Tone andParrett Rivers to the Land's End. Only those wide fens, acrosswhich he could not go, had kept our great King Kenwalch frompushing Wessex yet westward, and along their line had been ourfrontier since his days until, not long before Ina came to thethrone, Kentwine crossed them to the north and cleared themarauding Welsh of the Quantock hills and forests from the river tothe sea, setting honest Saxon franklins here and there in thenew-won land, to keep it for him. It was out of those deep woodedhills that Morgan had come on the raid that ended so badly for hisbrother and himself, for the wasted country was yet a sort ofno-man's land, where outlaws found easy harbourage, coming mostlyfrom the Welsh side. It would not need much to set the tide of warmoving westward again, now that our men knew the fenland as well asever the British learned the secrets of the paths. Now that the time seemed to have come for him to leave Ina, Owenfeared most of all that the long peace would end, for that wouldmean the rending of old friendships and certain parting from me. How much longer the peace would last was very doubtful, and mensaid that it was only the wisdom of Aldhelm that had kept it sowell, and now he was dead. It was not so long since that a westWelshman would not so much as eat with a Saxon, so great was thehatred they had for us, though that had worn off more or less. Maybe it would have passed altogether but that there were thedifferences between the ways of the two Churches which were alwayscropping up and making things bitter again, and those were thetroubles that Aldhelm, whom Gerent honoured, had most tried tosmooth away with some sort of success. Yet it was well known thatmany of the Welsh priests and people were sorely against peace withthe men who followed the way of Austin of Canterbury. As for me, I almost wondered that Ina seemed so ready to part withOwen, but presently I saw that if Gerent owned him again, my fosterfather would be a link between the two kingdoms, which would makefor peace in every way. But for all that, in my own heart was asort of half hope that in spite of what the Norseman had heard, Owen would not be welcomed back to the west, else I should lose himaltogether. There was no intercourse between our courts, now thatAldhelm was gone. But in the morning, when I came to say some of this to Owen, hesmiled at me, and said: "Wait, Oswald. Time enough for trouble when it comes. Maybe you andI will be back here this evening, and if not, I hope that mystaying with my uncle will mean peace between our lands. Let it beso till we have seen what may be our fortune at Norton. " So I tried to let the trouble pass, and indeed at the morning mealI had my new rank to think of, for my comrades would not forget it, nor would they let me do so. The first man to greet me as thane wasThorgils the Norseman, too, and he went with me to see to choosingmen and horses for our journey, and I was glad of his gossip, forit kept me from thinking overmuch of the heavier things that hadkept me waking. He would guide us across the hills to Norton, where Gerent was; forthough we knew somewhat of the Quantocks, beyond them we did notgo. The palace where the king lay was an ancient Roman stronghold, and had belonged to Morgan, who was dead; and though Thorgils hadheard that Gerent was there to seek Owen, it was more likely thathe had come to see that the outlawed brothers did not gather anyforce against him in their own place. It was many a year since hehad been so near our border. Presently Thorgils would go down the town to the inn where he hadbestowed his horse, and I went with him, having an hour left beforewe started, rather than face any more banter concerning mythanedom. It was almost in my mind to go to the ealdorman's houseto ask after Elfrida, but I forbore, being shy, I suppose, and soleft the Norseman to join us presently, and went back to the king'shall by a short cut from the village, whereby I had a meeting whichwas unlooked for altogether. That way was a sort of stolen short cut across the king's orchard, which some of us used at times in coming from village to hall, forit lay between the two on the south side of the hall where theground sloped sunwards. And as I leapt over the fence I was awareof a lady who was gathering some of the ruddy crab apples from theground under their bare tree, for the hot ale of the wassail bowl, doubtless, for we leave them out to mellow with the frost thus. Shedid not heed me as I came over the soft snow, and when she did atlast look up I saw that she was Elfrida. Just for a moment I wishedthat I had gone round by the road, but there was no escape for menow, for she had seen me. So I unbonneted and went to meet her. There was a little flush on her face when she saw me, but it wasnot altogether one of pleasure, for when I wished her good morrow, all that I had in return was a cold little bow and the few wordsthat needs must be spoken in answer. Whereat I felt somewhatfoolish; but it did not seem to me that I had done aught to deservequite so much coldness, not being a stranger by any means. So Iwould even try to find the way to a better understanding, and Ithought that maybe the sight of me had brought back some of theterror of last night. "Now, I hope that the rough doings of the feast have not beentroublous to you, Lady Elfrida, " I said, trying with as good agrace as I could not to see her cold looks. I saw that she did indeed shrink a little from them as I spoke, even in the passing thought. But she answered: "Such things are best forgotten as soon as may be. I do not wish tohear more of them. " "Nevertheless, " I answered, "there are some who will not forgetthem, and I fear that you must needs be ready to hear of your partin them pretty often. " "Ay, " she said somewhat bitterly, "I suppose that I am the talk ofthe whole place now. " "If so, there would be many who would be glad to be spoken of asyou must needs be. There is nought but praise for you. " Then she turned on me, and the trouble was plain enough in amoment. "But for yourself, Thane, there would have been nought that I couldnot have put up with. But little thought for me was there when youmade me the jest of your idle comrades over that foolish cup of theking's. " That was a new way of looking at the matter, in all truth. Isupposed that a vow of fealty to any lady would have been taken byher as somewhat on which to pride herself maybe, from whomsoever itcame. Which seemed to be foolishness in this fresh light. Still, itcame to me that her anger was not altogether fair, for I was theone who had to stand the jesting, and not one of my honest comradesso much as mentioned her name lightly in any wise. "That was no jest of mine, Elfrida, " I said gravely enough. "Ifthere is any jest at all that will come from my oath, it will bethat I have been foolish enough to vow fealty to one who despisesme. The last thing that I would do is anything that might hurt you. And my vow stands fast, whether you scorn me or not, for if it wasmade in a moment, it is not as if I had not had long years to thinkon in which we have been good friends enough. " "Ay, " she said, turning from me and reaching some apples that yethung on a sheltered bough, "I have heard the terms of that vow frommy father, more than once. You can keep it without trouble. " "Have I your leave to try to keep it?" "You have had full leave to be a good friend of ours all theseyears, as you say, and I do not see that the vow binds you to more. No one thinks that you are likely to forget last night, or any onewho took part in that cruel business. And if a friend will not helpto guard a lady--well, he would be just nidring, no more or less. " Then she took up her basket, which was pretty full and no burdenfor a lady, for she had picked fast and heedlessly as she spoke tome, and so turned away. "Nay, but surely you know that there was more than that meant, " Isaid lamely. "No need to have haled my name into the matter at all, " she said. And then, seeing that my eyes went to the basket, she smiled alittle, and held it to me with both hands. "Well, if you meant some new sort of service, you can begin bycarrying this for me. I am going to the queen's bower. " I took it without a word, and we went silently together to the doorthat led to the queen's end of the hall. There she stayed for amoment with her hand on the latch. But she had only a question to ask me: "Do you go with your father to the Welsh king's court, as it issaid that he will go shortly?" "We start together in an hour's time or thereabout, " I answered, wondering. "Well then, take this to mind you of your vow, " she said, and threwa little bronze brooch, gilt and set with bright enamel, into thebasket, and so fled into the house, leaving me on the doorstep withthe apples. I set them down there, and had a mind to leave the brooch also. However, on second thoughts I took it, and went my way in a puzzledstate of mind. It certainly seemed that Elfrida was desperatelyangry with me for reasons which were not easy to fathom, and yetshe had given me this--that is, if to have a thing thrown at one isto have it given. But I was not going to quarrel with the manner ofa gift from Elfrida, and so I went on with it in my hand, and as Iturned the corner into a fresh path I also ran into the abbot ofthe new minster, who was on his way to speak with Owen before heset out. He had been a great friend of Bishop Aldhelm's, and I hadknown him well since the old days of Malmesbury. "So Oswald, " he cried, "I have been looking for you, that I mightwish you all good in your thaneship. Why, some of us are proud ofyou. And I, having known you since you were a child, feel as if Ihad some sort of a share in your honours. But what is amiss? Onewould look to see you the gayest of the gay, and it seems as if theworld had gone awry with you. " Now, the abbot was just the friend to whom I could tell my presenttrouble without fear of being mocked, for he was wont to stand tous boys of the court as the good friend who would help us out of ascrape if he could, and make us feel ashamed thereof in privateafterward, in all kindliness. So I told him what was on my mind, for he was at the feast last night. "It is all that vow of mine, " I said. "I have just met Elfrida, andshe is angry with me for naming her at all. " "Unfair, " said the abbot. "You could not have helped it, seeingthat you were bidden to do so. " I had forgotten that, and it was possible that Elfrida did not knowit. So I said that I did not look for quite the scorn I had metwith, at all events. Whereon the abbot stayed in his walk and askedmore, trying to look grave as he heard me, and soon he had all thestory. "So you carried the basket like any thrall, and had my Yuletidegift to her in payment, " he said, with his eyes twinkling; "I willask if she has lost it presently, and you will be avenged. " He laughed again, and then said more gravely, but with a smile notfar off: "Go to, Oswald, don't ask me to make the ways of a damsel plain toyou, for that was more than Solomon himself could compass. But Ithink I know what is wrong. Her father has been making a jest toher of the way you worded your vow, laughing mightily after hismanner, and she is revenging herself on you. Never mind. Wait tillyou come back from this journey, and then see how things are withher. Now let us talk of your errand, for it is important. " Then we went slowly together, and he told me how that he hadforeseen for a long time that Owen would return to his uncle andtake his right place again. Also he told me that Morgan had astrong party on his side, and that we might have trouble with themif Owen was taken into favour again. "As I hope he may be, " he added with a sigh; "for I have seen thewar cloud drifting nearer every year under the guidance of Morganand his fellows. " Then we turned into the courtyard, and he went to speak to Owen inthe hall, turning with a last smile to bid me hide the brooch, lestElfrida should hear some jesting about that next. So I pinned itunder my cloak, and then went and donned my arms, and saw to allthings for the journey, both for Owen and myself; and so at lastthe hour came when I led the men round to the great door of thehall, and sent one to say that all was ready. Now the king came forth, and with him was Owen. Ina wore hiseveryday dress, but my foster father was fully armed, and as thosetwo stood there I thought that I had never seen a more kinglylooking pair, silent and thoughtful both, and with lines of care ontheir foreheads, and both in their prime of life. Behind me I heard Thorgils say to Godred, the chief house-carle:"If there were choice, I would take the king that wears the wargear. That is the only dress that to my mind fits a man who shalllead warriors. " Now the king came and spoke with me, bidding me be on my guardagainst any attack while we were at Norton, telling me plainly alsothat he deemed that there was danger to both of us at the first, somewhat in the way in which the abbot had already spoken to me. Idaresay the words were his, for he had been counselling Owen. Then the queen came forth with her ladies, and there was an honourfor us, for she herself brought the stirrup cup to Owen, biddinghim farewell, at the same time that the king must needs sendElfrida with another cup to me, saying that it was my due for lastnight's omission. But there was no smile as she set it in my hand, and she waited with head turned away until I gave it back to her, as if she looked at Owen rather than any one else. Then it was onlya short word of farewell that she said to me, and yet it did seemthat her eyes were less grave than she would seem in face as sheturned back to the other ladies on the hall steps. Then Owen unhelmed and turned his horse to the gates, and after himwe went clattering down the street. In a minute or two Thorgilscame alongside me. "So that was the lady of the vow, surely. Well, you may be excusedfor making it, though indeed it is rash to bind oneself--nay, butit seems that this is one of those matters whereon I must hold mytongue!" For I had spurred my horse a little impatiently, and he understoodwell enough. I did not altogether care that this stranger shouldtalk of my affairs--more particularly as they did not seem to begoing at all rightly. So he said no more of them, but began to talkof himself gaily, while Owen rode alone at our head, as he wouldsometimes if his thoughts were busy. Presently he reined up and came alongside us, taking his part inour talk in all cheerfulness. And from that time I had littlethought but of the pleasantness of the ride in the sharp winter airand under the bright sun with him toward the new court which I hadoften longed to see, with its strange ways, in the ancientBritish-Roman palace that he had so often told me of. So we rode along the ancient and grass-grown Roman road that lieson the Polden ridge, hardly travelled save by a few chapmen, sincethe old town they called Uxella was lost in the days of myforefathers. The road had no ending now, as one may say, for beyondthe turning to the bridge across the Parrett for which we weremaking it passed to nought but fen and mere where once had been thecity. All the wide waters on either side of the hills were hardfrozen, and southward, across to where we could see the blue hillof ancient Camelot, the ice flashed black and steely under the redlow sun of midwinter. Before us the Quantocks lay purple anddeepest brown where the woods hid the snow that covered them. Overus, too, went the long strings of wild geese, clanging in theirflight in search of open water--and it was the wolf month again, and even so had they fled on that day when Owen found me in thesnow. And therewith we fell into talk of Eastdean, and dimly enough Irecalled it all. I knew that an Erpwald held the place even yet, but I cared not. It was but a pleasant memory by reason of thecoming of Owen, and I had no thought even to see the place again. Only, as we talked it did seem to me that I would that I knew thatthe grave of my father was honoured. Then we left the old road, and crossed the ancient Parrett bridge, where the Roman earthworks yet stood frowning as if they would stayus. They were last held against Kenwalch, and now we were in thatno-man's land which he had won and wasted. Then we climbed the longslope of the Quantocks, whence we might look back over the land wehad left, to see the Tor at Glastonbury shouldering higher andhigher above the lower Poldens, until the height was reached andthe swift descent toward Norton began. There we could see all thewild Exmoor hills before us, with the sea away to our right, andThorgils shewed us where lay, under the very headlands of the hillswe were crossing, the place where his folk had their haven. He saidthat he could see the very smoke from the hearths, but maybe thatwas only because he knew where it ought to be, and we laughed athim. So we came to the outskirts of Norton, and all the way we had seenno man. The hills were deserted, save by wild things, and of themthere was plenty. And now for the first time I saw men living inhouses built of stone from ground to roof, and that was strange tome. We Saxons cannot abide aught but good timber. Here none of ushad ever come, and still some of the houses built after the Romanfashion remained, surrounded, it is true, by mud hovels ofyesterday, as one might say, but yet very wonderful to me. Many atime I had seen the ruined foundations of the like before, but onedoes not care to go near them. The wastes our forefathers made ofthe old towns they found here, and had no use for, lie deserted, for they are haunted by all things uncanny, as any one knows. Maybethat is because the old Roman gods have come back to their oldplaces, now that the churches are no longer standing. Through the village we went, and then came to the walls of theancient stronghold, and they seemed as if they were but latelyraised, so strong were they and high. The gates were in theirplaces, and at them was a guard, and through them, for they stoodopen, I could see the white walls and flat roof of the house, orrather palace, which was either that of the Roman governor of theplace, or else had been rebuilt or restored from time to time inexactly the same wise, so that it stood fair and lordly and fit fora king's dwelling even yet. Maybe the wattled hovels of the thrallsthat clustered round it inside the great earthworks were not whatwould have been suffered in the days of those terrible men who madethe fortress, but I doubt not that they stood on the foundations ofthe quarters of the soldiers who had held it for Rome. The guard turned out in orderly wise as we came to the gates, andthey wore the Roman helm and corselet, and bore the heavy Romanspear and short heavy sword. But that war gear I had seen before onthe other Welsh border, and I had a scar, moreover, that would tellthat I had been within reach of one weapon or the other. I knewtheir tongue, too, almost as well as my own, for Owen had taught itme, saying that I might need it at some time. It had already beenof use to the king in the frontier troubles, for I could interpretfor him, but I think that Owen had in his mind the coming of somesuch day as this. Now, Owen would have me speak to the guard and tell them ourerrand, and I rode forward and did so. The short day was almostover by this time; and the captain who came to meet me did not seemto notice my Saxon arms in the shadow of the high rampart. Hearingthat we bore a message for the king, he sent a man to ask fordirections, and meanwhile we waited. I asked him if there was anynews, thinking it well to know for certain if aught had been heardyet of the end of Morgan. News of that sort flies fast. "No news at all, " he answered. "What did you expect?" "I had heard of the death of a prince, and do not know the rightsthereof. " "Why, where have you been? That is old news. It was only Dewi, andhe is no loss. The Saxon sheriff hung him, even as the king said hewould do to him an he caught him, so maybe it is the same in theend. I have not heard that any one is sorry to lose him. " He laughed, and if it was plain that Morgan's brother was notloved, it was also plain that nought was known of the end of theother prince yet. We were first with the tidings here, and thatmight be as well. Now a message came to bid us enter, and the steward who brought ittold us that we were to be lodged in some great guest chamber, andthat we should speak with the king shortly. The men bided outside the walls, the captain leading them to a longrow of timber-built stables which stood close at hand by the gate. Presently, when the horses were bestowed, they would be brought tothe guest hall; so Thorgils went with them, while the steward ledOwen and myself through the gate and to the palace, which stoodsquarely in the midst of the fortress, with a space between it andthe other buildings which filled the area. By daylight I knew afterwards that it was uncared for, and somewhatdilapidated without, but in the falling dusk it looked all that itshould. We entered through a wide door, and passed a guardroomwhere many men lounged, armed and unarmed, and then were in acourtyard formed by the four sides of the building, wonderfullypaved, and with a frozen fountain in its midst. There were windowsall round the walls which bounded this court, and the light shonered from them, very cheerfully, and already there was bustle of menwho crossed and passed through the palace making ready for ourreception. The steward led us to the northern wing of the houseacross this court, and so took us into an antechamber, as itseemed, warm and bright, with hanging lamps, and with painted wallsand many-patterned tiled floor, but for all its warmth with no fireto be seen, which was strange enough to me. And so soon as the bright light shone on Owen I saw the stewardstart and gaze at him fixedly, and then as Owen smiled a little athim he fell on his knees and cried softly some words of welcome, with tears starting in his eyes. "Oh my Lord, " he said, "is it indeed you? This is a good day. --Athousand welcomes!" Owen raised him kindly, and set his finger on his lip. "It is well that you have been the first to know me, friend, " hesaid. "Now hold your peace for a little while till we see what saysmy uncle. I must have word with him at once, if it can be managed, before others know me. It will be best. " "He waits you, Lord. It was his word that he would see the Saxonalone. " Then he led us into another room like to that we left, but larger, and with rich carpets on the tiled floor, and there sat Gerentalone to wait us. I thought him a wonderful looking old man, andmost kingly, as he rose and bowed in return when we greeted him. His hair was white, and his long beard even whiter, but his eyeswere bright. Purple and gold he wore, and those robes and thegolden circlet on his head shewed that he had put on the kinglydress to meet with the messenger of a king. Almost had Owen sprung toward him, but he forbore, and when theking had taken his seat he went slowly to him, holding out a letterwhich Ina had written for him, saying nothing. And Gerent took itwithout a word or so much as a glance at the bearer from under hisheavy brows, and opened it. Owen stood back by me, and we watched the face of the king as heread. We saw his brows knit themselves fiercely at first, and thenas he went on they cleared until he seemed as calm as when he firstmet us. But the flush that had come with the frown had not fadedwhen at last he looked keenly at us. "Come nearer, " he said in a harsh voice, speaking in fair Saxon. "Know you what is written herein?" "I know it, " Owen said. "Here Ina says that this is borne by one whom I know. Is it you orthis young warrior?" Then Owen went forward and fell on one knee before the king, andsaid in his own tongue--the tongue of Cornwall and of Devon: "I am that one of whom Ina has spoken. Yet it is for Gerent to saywhether he will own that he knows me even yet. " I saw the king start as the voice of Owen came to him in thefamiliar language, and he knitted his brows as one who tries torecall somewhat forgotten, and he looked searchingly in the face ofthe man who knelt before him, scanning every feature. And at last he said in a hushed voice, not like the harsh tones ofbut now: "Can it be Owen?--Owen, the son of my sister? They said that onelike him served the Saxon, but I did not believe it. That is noservice for one of our line. " "What shall an exile do but serve whom he may, if the service be anhonoured one? Yet I will say that I wandered long, seeing andlearning, before there came to me a reason that I should serve Ina. To you I might not return. " But the king was silent, and I thought that he was wroth, whileOwen bided yet there on his knee before him, waiting his word. Andwhen that came at last, it was not as I feared. Slowly the king set forth his hand, and it shook as he did so. Helaid it on Owen's head, while the letter that was on his kneesfluttered unheeded to the floor as he bent forward and spokesoftly: "Owen, Owen, " he said, "I have forgotten nought. Forgive the oldblindness, and come and take your place again beside me. " And as Owen took the hand that would have raised him and kissed it, the old king added in the voice of one from whom tears are not sofar: "I have wearied for you, Owen, my nephew. Sorely did I wrong you inmy haste in the old days, and bitterly have I been punished. I prayyou forgive. " Then Owen rose, and it seemed to me that on the king the weight ofyears had fallen suddenly, so that he had grown weak and needful ofthe strong arm of the steadfast prince who stood before him, and Itook the arm of the steward and pulled him unresisting through thedoorway, so that what greeting those two might have for one anothershould be their own. Then said the steward to me as we looked at one another: "This is the best day for us all that has been since the prince whohas come back left us. There will be joy through all Cornwall. " But I knew that what I dreaded had come to pass, and that fromhenceforth the way of the prince of Cornwall and of the house-carlecaptain of Ina's court must lie apart, and I had no answer for him. CHAPTER V. HOW OSWALD FELL INTO BAD HANDS, AND FARED EVILLY, ON THEQUANTOCKS. It would be long for me to tell how presently Owen called me in tospeak with the king, and how he owned me as his foster son in suchwise that Gerent smiled on him, and spoke most kindly to me asthough I had indeed been a kinsman of his own. And then, after wehad spoken long together, Thorgils was sent for, and he told thetale of the end of Morgan plainly and in few words, yet in suchskilful wise that as he spoke I could seem to see once more ourhall and myself and Elfrida at the dais, even as though I were anonlooker. "You are a skilful tale teller, " the king said when he ended. "Youare one of the Norsemen from Watchet, as I am told. " "I am Thorgils the shipmaster, who came to speak with you two yearsago, when we first came here. Men say that I am no bad sagaman. " "This is a good day for me, " Gerent said, "and I will reward youfor your tale. Free shall the ship of Thorgils be from toil orharbourage in all ports of our land from henceforward. I will seethat it is known. " "That is a good gift, Lord King, " said the Norseman, and he thankedGerent well and heartily, and so went his way back to the guestchambers with a glad heart. Then Gerent said gravely: "I suppose that there are men who would call all these things thework of chance or fate. But it is fitting that vengeance on him whowronged you should come from the hand of one whom you have caredfor. That has not come by chance; but I think it will be well thatit is not known here just at first whose was the hand that slewMorgan. " "For fear of his friends?" asked Owen thoughtfully. "Ay, for that reason. Overbearing and proud was he, but for allthat there are some who thought him the more princely because hewas so. And there are few who know that he did indeed try to end mylife, for I would not spread abroad the full shame of a prince ofour line. Men have thought that I would surely take him into favouragain, but that was not possible. Only, I would that he had met abetter ending. " The old king sighed, and was silent. Presently Owen said that Imust see to the men and horses, and I rose up to leave the chamber, and then the king said: "We shall see you again at the feast I am making for you all. Thentomorrow you must take back as kingly a letter to Ina as he wroteto me, and so return to Owen for as long as your king will sufferyou to bide with us. " So I went to the stables first of all, and there was Thorgilsbidding a Welsh groom to get out his horse while he took off thearms that had been lent him from our armoury, for he was but halfarmed when he came. "There is no need to do that, " I said; "for if Ina arms a man, itis as a gift for service done, if he is not too proud to take it. But are you not biding for the feast?" "First of all, " he said, laughing, "none ever knew a Norseman tooproud to accept good arms from a king. Thank Ina for me in allform. And as to my going, seeing that tide waits for no man, if Ido not get home shortly I shall lose the tide I want for a bit of awinter voyage I have on hand; wherefore I must go. Farewell, andgood luck to you. This business has turned out well, after all, anda great man you will be in this land before long. Don't forget usNorsemen when that comes about, and if ever you need a man at yourback, send for me. You might have a worse fence than my axe, and Ihave a liking for you; farewell again. " I laughed and shook hands with him, and he swung himself into thesaddle and rode away. There was high feasting that night in the guest hall of Norton, asmay be supposed. I sat on the left of the king, and Owen on hisright, while all the great men who could be summoned in the timewere present, and it was plain enough that the homecoming of theirlost prince was welcome to every one in all the hall. Not one darklook was there as I scanned the bright company, and presently notone refused to join in the great shout of welcome that rose whenOwen pledged them all. It was a good welcome, and the face of the old king grew bright ashe heard it. Then the harpers sang; I did not think their ways here so pleasantas our own, where the harp goes round the hall, and every man takeshis turn to sing, or if he has no turn for song, tells tale or asksriddle that shall please the guests. Certainly, these Welsh folkwere readier to talk than we, and maybe the meats were more daintyand the wines finer than ours, and in truth the Welsh mead was goodand the Welsh ale mighty, but men seemed to care little for thesport that should come after the meal was over. Yet these harperssang well, and from them I learnt more about my foster father thanhe had ever cared to tell me, for they sang of old deeds of his. Doubtless they made the most of them, for it would seem from theirsongs that he had fought with Cornish giants as an everyday thing, and that he had been the bane of more than one dragon. But oneknows how to sift the words of the gleeman's song, and they told meat least that Owen had been a great champion ere he left his home. Still, I missed the bright fire on the hearth, and the ways of thecourt were too stately for me here. Men seemed not to like thecheerful noise of my honest house-carles, who jested and laughed asthey would have done in the hall of Ina, who loved to see and hearthat his men were merry. We should have thought that there wassomething wrong if there had not been plenty of noise at the end ofthe long tables below the salt. Now, I will not say that there was not something very pleasant insitting here at the side of the king as the most honoured guestnext to my foster father, but there was a sadness at the back of itall in the knowledge that it was likely that from henceforth ourways must needs go apart more or less, and that I might see himonly from time to time. For I was Ina's man, and a Saxon, and itcould not be supposed that I should be welcome here. I knew that Imust go back to my place, and he must bide in his that he had foundagain, and so there was the sorrow of parting to spoil what mightelse have made me a trifle over proud. Gerent did not stay long at the feast, nor did the ladies who werepresent, and Owen and I stayed for but a little while after theyhad gone. Then we were taken in all state to the room where weshould sleep, and so for the first time I was housed within stonewalls. There were a sort of wide benches along the walls coveredwith skins and bright rugs for us to sleep on, but after I hadhelped Owen to his night gear I took the coverings that were meantfor me and set them across the door on the floor and so slept. ForI had a fear of treachery and the friends of Morgan. It was in my mind to talk for a while before rest came, but Owenwould not suffer me to do so, saying that it was best to sleep onall the many things that happened before we thought much of whatwas to be done next. So I wrapt myself in my rugs on the strangelywarm floor and went to sleep at once, being, as may be supposed, fairly tired out with the long day and its doings. More than thatlittle space of time it seemed since we left Glastonbury, and evenmy meeting with Elfrida was like a matter of long ago to me. There was a bronze lamp burning with some scented oil, hanging fromthe ceiling, which seemed so low after our open roofs, and we hadleft it alight, as I thought it better to have even its glimmerthan darkness, here in this strange house. And presently I wokewith a feeling that this lamp had flared up in some way, shiningacross my eyes, so that I sat up with a great start, grasping mysword hastily. But the lamp burned quietly, and all that woke mewas the light of a square patch of bright moonlight from a highwindow that was creeping across the broad chest of Owen as heslept, and had come within range of my eyelids, for my face wasturned to him. The room was bright with it, and for a little Iwatched the quiet sleeper, and then I too slept, and woke not againuntil Owen roused me with the daylight from the same window fallingon his face. "That is where I should have slept, " I said, "for it is my place towake you, father. " He laughed, and said that it was his place in the old days, andthere was a sigh at the back of the laugh as he thought of thosetimes, and then we forgot the whole thing. Yet though it seems alittle matter in the telling, in no long time I was to mind thatwaking in a strange way enough, and then I remembered. We must part presently, as I found, at least for a little while. There was no question but that Owen would stay at the court here, and so Gerent had ready for me a letter which I should carry backto Ina at once. He spoke very kindly to me at that time, giving mea great golden bracelet from his own arm, that I might remember tocome back to bide for a time with him ere long. And then we brokeour fast, and my men were ready, and I parted from my foster fatherin the bright morning light that made the white walls of the oldpalace seem more wonderful to me than ever. "Farewell, then, for a while, " he said to me; "come back as soon asIna will spare you. There will be peace between him and Gerent now, as I think. " Then came a man in haste from out of the gateway where we stoodyet, and he bore a last gift from Gerent to me. It was a beautifulwide-winged falcon from the cliffs of Tintagel in the far west, hooded and with the golden jesses that a king's bird may wear onher talons. "It is the word of the king, " said the falconer, "that a thaneshould ride with hawk on wrist if he bears a peaceful message. Moreover, there will be full time on the homeward way for a flightor two. Well trained she is, Master, and there is no better passagehawk between here and Land's End. " That was a gift such as any man might be proud of, and I asked Owento thank the king for me. And so we parted with little sorrow afterall, for it was quite likely that I should be back here in a day ortwo for yet a little while longer with him. So I and my men were blithe as we rode in the still frosty airacross the Quantocks by the way we had come, and by and by, when wegained the wilder crests, I began to look about me for some chanceof proving the good hawk that sat waiting my will on my wrist. Soon I saw that the rattle and noise of men and horses spoiled agood chance or two for me, for the black game fled to cover, andonce a roe sprang from its resting in the bushes by the side of thetrack and was gone before I could unhood the bird. "Ho, Wulf!" I cried to one of the men who was wont to act asforester when Ina hunted, "let us ride aside for a space, and thenwe will see what sort of training a Welshman can give a hawk. " So we put spurs to our horses and went on until they were a milebehind us, and then we were on a ridge of hill whence a long woodedcombe sank northward to the dense forest land at the foot of thehills, and there we rode slowly, questing for what might give us afair flight. Bustard there were on these hills, and herons also, for below me I could see the bare branches of the tree tops onwhich the broad-winged birds light at nesting time, twigless andskeleton-like. For a while we saw nothing, however, and so rodewide of the track, across the heather, until we found the woodlandbefore us, and had to make our way back to the road, which passedthrough it. But before we came in sight of the road, from almostunder my feet, a hare bolted from a clump of long grass, and madefor the coverts. I cast off the hawk and shouted, but we were toonear the underwood, and it seemed that the hare would win to coverin time to save herself. Yet in a moment the hare was back again out of the cover, andrunning along its edge in the open as though she had met withsomewhat that she feared even more than the winged terror which shehad so nearly baffled. And that was strange, for it is hard to geta hare to stir from her seat if there is a hawk overhead, so thatsometimes men have even picked up the timid beast from her place. "There is a fox in the underwood, and she has seen him, " I cried, and then forgot all about the strangeness of the matter in watchingthe stoop of the ready hawk, who waited only for one more chance. Not far did the hare win this time. The hawk swooped and took herclose to the edge of the wood, and I rode quickly to take the birdagain and give her her share of the quarry. And then, while my eyeswere fixed on her, and I was just about to dismount, I was aware ofsomething like a streak of light that flew from the underwoodtoward me, and suddenly my horse reared wildly, and fell back onme, pinning me to the ground. At the same moment I heard Wulf roaring somewhat, and then he wasbetween me and the cover, and I saw him, through the dazedness ofmy eyes with the fall, dismount and unsling his shield from hisback, with his eyes ever on the wood. Then an arrow struck theground close to me, and I heard another smite Wulf's shield withthe clap that no warrior can mistake. At that his steed took frightand left us. "Get my horn and wind it, " I said, struggling to get free from thehorse. It was no mean bowman who had sent that first arrow, for thepoor beast never moved after it fell, and had spent its laststrength in rearing. "That is crushed flat, Master, " Wulf said between his teeth, and hetried to lift the weight that was on me. Then the arrows came thickly again, and he crouched over me withthe shield, behind the horse. It was lucky that I was almostcovered by it as I lay, for it was between me and the wood. Iwrithed and struggled and at last I was free again, and Wulf helpedme to get my own shield from my back as I rose, and then we stoodback to back and looked for our foes. "Morgan's people, I suppose, " I said. "We should not have left themen, for I knew that he was leagued with Quantock outlaws. " "A nidring set, too, " said Wulf savagely. "Can't they showthemselves?" As if the men had heard him, they came from the cover even as hespoke. There were more than I could count after a few moments, forthey poured out in twos and threes from all along the edge of thewood, and came cautiously toward us, in such wise as to surroundus. Wild looking men they were, with never a helm or mail shirtamong them, but they were all well armed enough with bow and spearand seax, and more than one had swords. Then I looked round to see if I could see my men coming, and myheart sank. We were hidden from the road by the crest of the hill, and I knew that the flight of the hawk had led us some way from it. We could not be less than a full mile from them at the rate we hadridden, and I did not think it likely that they had hurried afterus, for they would not spoil sport. Now the men were round us in a ring that was closing quickly, andWulf and I had our swords out and were back to back facing them. Not a word had been said on either side, and I was not going tobegin to talk to outlaws. If they had anything to say they mightsay it. But they had not, and I knew that they would make a rush onus directly. One who seemed to be the leader whistled sharply, and the rush camewith a wild howl and flight of ill-aimed spears that were of noharm. The circle was too close for a fair throw at us, lest theweapon should go too far. I had time to catch one as it passed me, and send it back with the Wessex war shout, and there was one manless against us. I think that I cut down one or two after that, and then I felt Wulfreel and prop himself against me. Then I had a score of mencrowding on me, and they clogged my sword arm and gripped my shieldand tore it aside, and then from behind or at the side one smote meon the head with a club or a stone hammer, and I went down. I heardone cry that I was not to be slain, as I fell. Then Wulf stood over me for a little while and fought all thatcrowd, until he was on his knees at my side, and my senses werecoming back to me. Then he fell over me, and the men threwthemselves on me and pinioned me and thrust something into my mouthand then bound me. I knew that Wulf was slain at that time, and that he had given hislife for me. That was what he would have wished to do, but in myheart there grew a wild rage with these men and with myself for mycarelessness that had led us into their hands. Now they dragged me into the cover, and thither also they broughtWulf and the fallen men, and for a little while all sat silent, andsoon I knew what they were waiting for. I heard the voices of mymen and the very click and rattle of their arms as they trottedslowly through the wood along the road, and I tried to shout tothem, but the gag would not let me. So their sounds died awaybeyond the hill, and after them crept some of the foe, to see thatthey did not halt or turn back, as one may suppose. I thought howthat they had at least three miles to ride before they could cometo any place whence they could see that I and Wulf were not beforethem, and then, when they missed us, how were they to begin to seekus? I suppose that my wits were sharpened with my danger, for I saw onething that might help them even while I was thinking this. My hawkhad gorged herself with her prey when the fight had turned asidefrom her, and so she was sitting sleepily and contented on the highbough of one of the trees that stood at the wood's edge. And shestill had her jesses on, so that my men would know her if theycaught sight of her by any chance. Now the men who had me, being sure that all fear was past, began totalk of what was to be done next, and they spoke in Welsh, plainlythinking that I could not understand them. There were three or fourwho seemed to take the lead under the one who had given the signalfor attack, and the rest gathered round them. At first they were for killing me offhand as it seemed, but theleader would not hear of that. "Search him first, and let us see who he is, " he said. "We may havecaught the wrong man, after all. " So they came to me and searched my pouch and thrust their grimyhands into the front of my byrnie, and there they found the king'sletter, which they seized with a shout of delight. Then they tookmy arms, wondering at the sword with its wondrous hilt. Only myring mail byrnie they could not take from me, as they feared tountie my arms. "Not much would I give for your life if this warrior got loose, "said one of them to that one who had the letter. "See how he glaresat you. " And true enough that was, moreover. I should surely have goneberserk, like the men Thorgils told me of as we rode yesterday, hadI been able to get free for a moment. They took my belongings to the leaders, and they asked for some onewho could read the letter, and there was none, even as I hadexpected, so that I was glad. "It does not matter much, " the leader said; "doubtless it has adeal of talk in it which would mean nought to us. We will have itread the next time one of us goes to the church, " and with that hegrinned, and the others laughed as at a good jest. "Let me look atthe sword he wore. " He looked and his eyes grew wide, and then he whistled a little tohimself. The others asked him what was amiss. "If we have got Owen's son, we have taken Ina's own sword as well, "he said. "Many a time have I seen the king wear it before the lawgot the best of me. It is not to be mistaken. Now, if we are notcareful we have a hornets' nest on us in good truth. Ina does notgive swords like this to men he cares nought for, and there will behue and cry enough after him, and that from Saxon and Welsh alike. " "Kill him and have done. That is what we meant to do when we laidup for him. " So said many growling voices, and I certainly thought that the endwas very near. "Ay, and have ourselves hung in a row that will reach from here tothe bridge, " the leader said coolly. "Mind you this, that with theWelsh up against us we cannot get to Exmoor, and with the Saxonsout also we cannot win to the Mendips, as we have done before now. " "There is the fen. " "And all the fenmen Owen's own men. Little safety is there inthat. " "But he slew Morgan, as they say. " "Worse luck for Morgan therefore. What is that to you and me, whenone comes to think of it?" Now I began to understand the matter more or less. It seemed to methat these were Morgan's outlaws, and that somehow they had heardall the story. No doubt that was easy enough, for it would be allover Norton before the night was very old after our coming. Andthese outlaws have friends everywhere. So they had laid up for me, and now the leader was frightened, as it would seem, or else he hadsome other plan in his head. It did not seem that he had wished meto be slain, from the first, if it could be helped. Maybe theothers had forced him to waylay me. A leader of outlaws has littlehold on his men. "Let him swear to say nought of us, and let him go then, " one ofthe other leaders said in a surly way. Then the chief got up and laughed at them all. "There are six of us slain and a dozen with wounds, and we willmake him pay for that and for Morgan as well before we have donewith him. Now we must not bide here, or we shall have his men backon us, seeking him. Let us get away, and I will think of somewhatas we go. There is profit to be made out of this business, if I amnot mistaken. " Then they brought my man's horse, which they had caught, and set meon it, making my feet fast under the girth. The men who had fallenthey hid in the bushes, and it troubled me more than aught to thinkthat Wulf should lie among them. My horse they dragged into ahollow, and piled snow over him. Then they went swiftly down thehillside into the deep combe, leaving only the trampled andreddened snow to tell that there had been a fight. I had a hope for a little while that the track they left would beenough for my men to follow if they hit on it, but there was littlesnow lying in the sheltered woodlands, and there the track waslost. And these men scattered presently in all directions, so thattrace of them was none. Only the leader and some dozen men stayedwith me. So they took me for many a long mile, always going seaward, untilwe were in a deep valley that bent round among the hills until itshead was lost in their folds, and there was some sort of a camp ofthese outlaws sheltered from any wind that ever blew, and with aclear brook close at hand. All round on the hillsides was theforest, but there was one landmark that I knew. High over the valley's head rose a great hill, and on that was anancient camp. It was what they call the "Dinas, " the refuge camp ofthe Quantock side, which one can see from Glastonbury and all theMendips. Here they took me from the horse and bound my feet afresh, and tookthe gag from my mouth and set me against a tree, and so waiteduntil the band had gathered once more, lighting a great firemeanwhile. Glad enough was I of its warmth, for it is cold workriding bound through the frost. When that was done the leader bade some of those with him fetch thegoods to this place, and catch some ponies ready against thejourney. I could not tell what this might mean, but I thought thatthey had no intention of biding here, and I was sorry in a dullway. It had yet been a hope that they might be tracked by my menfrom the place of the fight. After these men had gone hillward into the forest, others keptcoming in from one way or another until almost all seemed to havereturned. One by one as these gathered, they came and looked at me, andlaughed, making rough jests at me, which I heeded not at all, ifthey made my blood boil now and then. Once, indeed, their leadershouted roughly to them to forbear, when some evil words came witha hoarse gust of laughter to his ears, and they said under theirbreath, chuckling as at a new jest: "Evan has a mind to tell Tregoz that he treated the Saxon well, "and so left me. It seemed to me that I had heard that name atNorton. When the best part of the band had gathered again they lit anotherfire fifty yards from me, and round it they talked and wrangled fora good half hour. It was plain that they were speaking about me andmy fate, but I could hear little of what they said. The leader took not much part in the talk at first, but let therest have their say. And when they had talked themselves out, as itwere, he told them his plans. I could not hear them, but the restlistened attentively enough, and at the end of his speech seemed toagree, for they laughed and shouted and made not much comment. Then the leaders got up and came and looked at me. "Tell him what we are going to do with him, Evan, " one said to thechief. So Evan spoke in the worst Saxon I had ever heard, and I thoughtthat it fitted his face well. "No good glaring in that wise, " he said; "if you are quiet no harmwill come to you. We are going to hold you as a hostage until yourSaxon master or your British father pay ransom for you, and inlawus again. That last is a notion of my own, for I am by way of beingan honest man. The rest do not care for anything but the money weshall get for you from one side or the other, or maybe from both. By and by, when we have you in a safe place, you shall write aletter for us to use, and I will have you speak well of me in it, so that it shall be plain that you owe your life to me, and then Ishall be safe. That is a matter between you and me, however. Noneof these knaves ken a word of Saxon. " I suppose that I showed pretty plainly what I thought of this sortof treachery to his comrades, for one of the others laughed at me, and said: "Speak him fair, Evan, speak him fair, else we shall have troublewith him. " "I am just threatening him now, " the villain said in Welsh--"afterthat is time to give him a chance to behave himself, " and then hewent on to me in Saxon: "Now, if you will give your word to keepquiet and go with me as a friend I will trust you, but ifnot--well, we must take you as we can. How do you prefer to go?" He waited for an answer, but I gave him none. I would not even seemto treat with them. "Don't say that I did not give you a chance, " he said; "but if youwill go as a captive, that is your own fault. " And as I said nothing he turned away, and said to the rest: "We shall have to bind him. He will not go quietly. " "How shall we get him on board as a captive?" one asked. "That would be foolishness, " Evan said; "the next thing would bethat every one would know who the captive that was taken out ofWatchet was. I have a better plan than that. We will tie him uplike a sorely wounded man, and so get him shipped carefully andquietly with no questions asked. " "Well, then, there is no time to lose. We must be at the harbour infour hours' time at the latest. Tide will serve shortly afterthat, " one of the others said. "What about the sword?--shall wesell it to the Norsemen?" "What! and so tell all the countryside what we have been doing?--itis too well known a weapon. No, put it into one of the bales ofgoods, and I can sell it safely to some prince on the other side. No man dare wear it on this, but they will not know it there, orwill not care if they do. Now get a litter made, and bring me somebandages. " It seemed to me to be plain that they would try to get me acrossthe channel into Wales, or maybe Ireland, and my heart sank. Butafter all, Owen would gladly pay ransom for me, and that was theone hope I had. And then I wondered what vessel they had ready, andall of a sudden I minded that Thorgils had spoken of a wintervoyage that he was going to take on this tide, and my heart leapt. It was likely that these men were going to sail with him, so Imight have a chance of swift rescue. Now Evan went to work on me with the help of one of his men, whoseemed to know something of leech craft. "This, " said Evan, "is a poor friend of mine who has met with a badfall from his horse. His thigh is broken and his shoulder is out. Also his jaw is broken, because the horse kicked him as he lay. Forthe same reason he is stunned, and cannot move much. It is a badcase altogether, " and he grinned with glee at his own pleasantry. Then they fitted a long splint to my right leg from hip to ankle, so that I was helpless as a babe in its swaddlings, and made fastthe other leg to that. They did not do more than loosen the cordsthat bound me just enough to suffer them to pass the bandages rounduntil the splint was on, and the other men stood in a ring andgibed at me all the time. After that they bandaged my right armacross my chest as if for a slipped shoulder, but under thebandages were cords that pinioned my elbows to one another acrossmy back, so that I could only move my left forearm. Evan said thathe would tie that also if need was, but it might pass now. I couldnot reach my mouth with this free hand, if I did try to take out agag. Next they bandaged my head and chin carefully, so that only my eyeswere to be seen. I suppose that I might be thankful that they leftmy mouth uncovered more or less. And Evan said that he would gag meby and by. "No need to discomfort him more than this now, " he added. "Maybe hewill be ready to promise silence when he has gone some time in thisrig. " By this time some had caught half a dozen hill ponies, and on themthey loaded several bales of goods, which I thought looked likethose of some robbed chapman, and I have reason to think that theywere such. They opened one of these, and in it they stowed my swordand helm and the great gold ring that Gerent gave me. There wassome argument about this, but the leader said that it was better tosell it for silver coin which they could use anywhere. Now Evan and two others dressed themselves afresh, and washed inthe brook. One would have taken them for decent traders when thatwas done, for they were soberly clad in good blue cloth jerkins, with clean white hose, and red garterings not too new. Good cloaksthey had also, and short seaxes in their belts. Only Evan had ashort Welsh sword, and the peace strings of that were tied roundthe hilt. I wondered where the bodies of the honest men they hadtaken these things from were hidden in the wild hills. Half a dozen of the best clad of the other men took boar spears, and so they were ready for a start, for all the world like thechapmen they pretended to be. They put me into the litter they hadready then, and four of the men were told off to bear me, grumbling. It was only a length of sacking made fast to two stoutpoles, and when they had hoisted me to their shoulders a blanketwas thrown over me, and a roll of cloth from one of the bales setunder my head, so that I might seem to be in comfort at least. Then the band set out, and we went across the hills seaward and tothe west until we saw Watchet below us. There was a road somewhereclose at hand, as I gathered, for we stopped, and some of therabble crept onward to the crest of the hill and spied to see if itwas clear. It was so, and here all the band left us, and only Evanand the other two seeming merchants went on with their followers, who bore me and led the laden ponies. The road had no travellers onit, as far as I could see, nor did we meet with a soul until wewere close into the little town that the Norsemen had made forthemselves at the mouth of a small river that runs between hills tothe sea. Maybe there were two score houses in the place, wooden like ours, but with strange carvings on the gable ends. And for fear, nodoubt, of the British, they had set a strong stockade all round theplace in a half circle from the stream to the harbour. There wereseveral long sheds for their ships at the edge of the water, and arow of boats were lying on a sort of green round which the housesstood with their ends and backs and fronts giving on it, as eachman had chosen to set his place. CHAPTER VI. HOW OSWALD HAD AN UNEASY VOYAGE AND A PERILOUS LANDING AT ITSEND. I thought that Evan had forgotten to gag me, but before we went tothe gate of the stockade he came and did it well. I could not see asoul near but my captors, and it would have been little or no goodto shout. So I bore it as well as I might, being helpless. Then, within arrow shot of the gate, one of the men blew a harsh horn, and we waited for a moment until a man, armed with an axe andsword, lounged through the stockade and looked at us, and so made agesture that bid us enter, and went his way within. I hope that Imay never feel so helpless again as I did at the time when I passedthis man, who stared at me in silence, unable to call to him forhelp. Then we crossed the green without any one paying much heed to us, though I saw the women at the doors pitying me, and so we came tothe wharf, alongside which a ship was lying. There were several menat work on her decks, and it was plain that she was to sail on thistide, for her red-and-brown striped sail was ready for hoisting, and there was nothing left alongside to be stowed. She was not yetafloat however, though the tide was fast rising. Evan hailed one of the men, and he came ashore to him. The bearersset down my litter and waited. "Where is the shipmaster?" Evan asked. The man jerked his thumb over his shoulder, and lifted his voiceand shouted "Ho Thorgils, here is the Welsh chapman. " I saw the head of my friend rise from under the gunwale amidships, and when he saw who was waiting he also came ashore. Evan met himat the gangway. "I thought you were not coming, master chapman, " he said. "A littlelater and you had lost your voyage. Tide waits for no man, andThorgils sails with the tide he waits. Therefore Thorgils waits forno man. " Just for a moment a thought came to me that Thorgils was in leaguewith the outlaws, and that was hard. But Evan's next words told methat in this I was wrong. It would seem that the taking of hisill-gotten goods across the channel had been planned by Evan beforehe fell in with me, and maybe that already made plan was the savingof my life, by putting the thought of an easy way to dispose of meto some profit into the outlaw's head. "I had been here earlier, " he said, "but for a mischance to myfriend here. I want to take him with me, if you will suffer it. " He pointed to me as he spoke, and Thorgils turned and looked at meidly. I was some twenty yards from him as I lay, and I tried to cryout to him as his eyes fell on me, but I could only fetch a sort ofgroan, and I could not move at all. "He seems pretty bad, " said Thorgils, when he heard me. "What isamiss with him? I can have no fevers or aught of that sort aboard, with the young lady as passenger, moreover. " "There is nothing of that, " Evan answered hastily. "It is but thedoing of a fall from his horse. The beast rolled on him, and he hasa broken thigh, slipped shoulder, and broken jaw, so that it willbe long before he is fit for aught again, as I fear. Now he wantsto get back to his wife and children at Lanphey, hard by Pembroke, and our leech said that he would take no harm from the voyage. Itis calm enough, and not so cold but that we may hap him up againstit. If I may take him, I will pay well for his passage. " Thorgils looked at me again for a moment. "Well, " he said, "if that is all, I do not mind. It would be betterif the after cabin was empty, but of course the princess has that. There is room for him to be stowed comfortably enough under thefore deck with your bales, however, and it will be warm there. Ay, we will take the poor soul home, for his mind will be easier, andthat will help his healing. It is ill to be laid up in a strangeland. Get him on board as soon as you can, for there is but an hourto wait for tide. I will ask no pay for his passage, for he is butanother bale of goods, as it were, swaddled up in that wise, and Itold you that I would take all you liked to bring for what weagreed on. " Evan thanked him, and Thorgils laughed, turning away to go up thetown, and saying that he would be back anon. I groaned again as hepassed me, and he looked straight in my eyes, which were all thathe could see of me. "Better on board than in that litter, poor fellow, " he said kindly;"it is a smooth sea, and we shall see Tenby in no long time if thisbreeze holds. " He passed on with a nod and smile, and I could almost have wept inmy rage and despair. I could not have thought of anything morecruel than this, and there was a sour grin on Evan's face, as if heknew what was passing in my mind. Now they lifted me once more and carried me to the ship, setting medown amidships while they got the bales of goods on board. She wasa stout trading vessel, built for burden more than speed, but sheseemed light in the water, as though she had little cargo for thisvoyage. She had raised decks fore and aft, and there were low doorsin the bulkheads below them that seemed to lead to some sort ofcabins. Under the forward of these decks the outlaws began to stowtheir bales, the man who had called Thorgils ashore directing them. I lay just at the gangway, and a little on one side so as not toblock it, and I watched all that went on, helplessly. There was noone near me, or I think that I should have made some desperateeffort to call a Norseman to my help. Maybe Evan thought me saferhere than nearer the place where all were busy, as yet, butpresently I heard voices on the wharf as if some newcomers weredrawing near, and Evan heard them also, and left his cargo tohasten to my side. I saw that he looked anxious, and a little hopeof some fresh chance of escape stirred in me, though, as they hadcarried me on board feet foremost, I could not see who came. When they were close at hand their voices told me that one at leastwas a lady, and that she and her companions were Welsh. I supposedthat this was the princess of whom I had heard Thorgils speak justnow. I should know in a moment, for the first footsteps were on thelong gangplank and pattering across it, while Evan began to smileand bow profoundly. Then there came past my litter, stepping daintily across theplanks, a most fair and noble lady, tall and black haired andgraceful, wrapped against the sea air in the rare beaver skins ofthe Teifi River, and wonderful stuffs that the traders from theeast bring to Marazion, such as we Saxons seldom see but aspriceless booty, paid for with lives of men in war with West Walesin days not long gone by. She half turned as she saw me, and it gave me a little pang, as itwere, to see her draw her dress aside that it might by no meanstouch me, no doubt with the same fear of fever that had been in themind of my friend at the first. But then she stayed and looked atme and at Evan, who was yet cringing in some Welsh way of respectas she passed. Her companions stopped on the gangplank, and theywere silent. "Why is this sick man on the ship, " she said to my captor, withsome little touch of haughtiness. "And why is he swathed thus? Whatis wrong with him?" Evan bowed again, and at once began his tale as he had told it toThorgils. But he did not say that I came from near Pembroke at all. Now he named some other place whose name began with "Llan--" as myhome. "The good shipmaster has suffered me to take him home, Lady, subject to your consent, " he ended. "I pray you let it be so. " Now the eyes of the princess had grown soft as she heard the tale, and when Evan ended it there was pity in her voice as she answered. "Surely he may come, and if there is no fitting place for him heshall even have the cabin to himself. I can be well content inthese warm things of mine on deck in this calm air, and he musthave all shelter. " "Nay, Lady, but there is the fore cabin, where he will be wellbestowed, " Evan said hastily, beckoning at the same time to hiscomrades that they might take me from this too unsafe place atonce. He kept himself between me and her as much as he could all thistime, and I made no sign. It seemed to me that I could not, even inmy trouble, bring more pain to this soft-eyed princess by raisingthe groan which was all that I could compass. What good would itdo? I could tell her nothing, and she could not dream of the truereason that made me try to cry out. Maybe she would listen throughall the long hours to come to hear if the poor wretch she felt forwas yet in that dire pain that made him moan so terribly. "Is he well bandaged?" she said, then. "It is ill if broken bonesare not closely set and splinted, and the ship will plunge and rockpresently. " Evan assured her with many words that all was well done, and yetshe lingered. "I must see him well and softly bestowed in his place, " she said, half laughing, and turning to some who stood yet beyond my range ofsight. "Else I shall have no peace at all till we come to landagain. " Evan turned to me at that saying, to hide his face. He was growingashy pale, and the sweat was breaking out on his forehead. And thatmade me glad to see, for he was being punished. Even yet theprincess might wish to see that my swathings were comfortable, andif I once had my mouth freed for a moment all was lost to him. He signed to his comrades to lift me carefully, and then put a boldface on the matter, and thanked the princess for her kindness. "Lady, I may be glad to beg a warm wrap or two from your store, " hesaid. "If it pleases you, we will shew you where he is to lie. " So they went forward, I on my litter first, and the lady and herpeople following. Evan knew well enough that little fault could befound with the warm place that was ready for me among the balesunder the deck, and he was eager to get me out of sight beforeThorgils returned. They had made a place ready with some of thesofter bales for me to lie on, and there they lifted me from thelitter, very carefully indeed, that they might not have torearrange any of my bonds. Then the princess looked in through thelow doorway and seemed content. "It is as well as one can expect on board a ship, I suppose, " shesaid, with a little sigh. "But I will send him somewhat to coverhim well. " And then she bade me farewell, bidding me be patient for the littlewhile of the voyage, and also adding that presently, when she wasat home, she would ask Govan the hermit to pray for me; and so wenther way, with the two maidens who were with her, and followed by acouple of well-armed warriors, all of whom I could see now for thefirst time. Then Evan drew his hand over his forehead and cursed. As for theother Welshmen, they looked at one another, saying nothing, but Icould see that they also had been fairly terrified. One of the menof the princess came with a warm blanket to cover me, and he stayedto see it put over me. It was as well that he did so, for Evan hadno time to see that my arm was yet loose, unless he had forgottenthat it ever had been so. Then they all went out, shutting the doorafter them, and I was left to my thoughts, which were not happy. I began to blame myself as a fool for not trying to let theprincess see that all was not right. But still I could not losehope, for Thorgils might yet wish to see me, or the princess mightsend her men to look in on me. There were more chances now than alittle while ago, as I thought. I began to think over all that were possible, presently, and Itried to get the gag from my mouth. I could not reach it with myfree hand, however, my elbows being too tightly fastened back evenafter all the shaking of the journey. Then I thrust that free handand forearm well among the bandages across my chest, so that eitherof my captors who thought of it might think that the other hadbound it, for I dared not try to loosen myself more yet. Therewould be time for that when we were fairly at sea. After that I lay still, and so spied the bale in which my sword hadbeen put, and that gave me some sort of hope by its nearness to me, though indeed it did not seem likely that I should ever get it. I heard Thorgils come on board before very long, and I could hearalso the voice of the princess as she talked to him, though withthe length of the vessel between us, and the wash of the ripplesalongside in my ears, I did not make out if they spoke of me. Evanspoke with them also, and it is likely that they did so. Presently I could tell by the sway of the ship that she was afloat, and the men began to bustle about the deck overhead, while Thorgilsshouted some orders now and then. Soon the sides of the ship gratedalong the wharf as she was hauled out, and then the shore warpswere hove on board with a thud above me. I felt the lift of alittle wave and heard the rattle of the halliards as the sail washoisted and the ship heeled a little, and then began the cheerfulwash and bubble of the wave at her bows as she went to sea. The menhailed friends on shore with last jests and farewells, and thenfell to clearing up the shore litter from the decks. Then Evan came and looked at me. Through the door I could see thehills and the harbour beyond the high stern, and on that Thorgilswas steering, with his eyes on the vane at the masthead. His menwere coiling down ropes, and Evan's two men were sitting under theweather gunwale aft, talking with the guards of the princess. Shewas in the after cabin, I suppose, out of the way of the wind, withher maidens. I could not see her. "Art all well, friend?" said Evan, loudly enough for the nearestNorseman to hear. "Well, that is good. " Then he sunk his voice to a whisper, and said: "That gag bides inyour mouth, let me tell you. I will risk no more calling to theshipmaster. " He cast his eyes over me and grunted, and went out, leaving the lowdoor open so that he could see me at any time. It was plain that hethought his men had fastened my arm. Now I tried to get rid of the gag again, and I will say that theoutlaw knew how to manage that business. It filled my mouth, andthe bandage round the jaw held it firmly. In no way could I get itout, or so much as loosen it enough to speak. And then I was wornout, and the little heave of the ship lulled me, and I forgot mytroubles in sleep that came suddenly. I was waked by the clapping to of the cabin door and the thunder ofthe wind in the great square sail as the ship went on the othertack. We had a fair breeze from the southwest over our quarter asthe tide set up channel, but now it had turned and Thorgils waswearing ship. The new list of the deck flung the door to, and nonenoticed it, for it was dark now except for the light of the risingmoon, and I suppose that the other noises of the ship preventedEvan hearing that the door had closed. I felt rested with the short sleep, and now seemed the time to tryto get free if ever. I got my left hand out of the bandages where Ihad hidden it, and began to claw at my chin to try to free it fromthe swathings that kept my mouth closed, but I could hardly get atthem, so tightly were my elbows lashed behind my back, and itbecame plain that I must get them loose first if I could. It waseasy to get the bandages loose, but the knotted cord was adifferent matter, for the men who tied it knew something of thework, and the cord was not a new one and would not stretch. Then I heard two of the Norseman talking close to the cabinbulkhead. "This is as good a passage as we shall ever make in the old keel, "one said; "but we shall not fetch Tenby on this tide. Will Thorgilsput in elsewhere, I wonder?" "We could make the old landing place in an hour, " was the answer, "and we had better wait for tide there than box about in the openchannel in this cold. There is snow coming, I think. " I heard the man flap his arms across his chest, and the other said: "Where do these merchants want to get ashore? I expect thatThorgils will do as they think best. He is pretty good natured. " They went away, and it seemed that I might have an hour before me. I was sure that if he had a chance Evan would land as soon as hecould, and at some other place than at the Danes' town if possible, so that he might get me away without questions that might be hardto answer. So I strained at the cords which bound my elbows with all my might, but I only hurt myself as the lashings drew tighter. I twisted fromside to side as I did this, and presently hit my elbow hard againstsome metal fitting of the ship that seemed very sharp. Just atfirst I did not heed this, but by and by, when I had fairly tiredmyself with struggling, I minded it again, and so turned on my sideand set my free hand to work to find out what it was. There was a stout post which came from beneath and through therough flooring of the cabin on which I lay, and went upward to thedeck. I daresay it was to make the cable fast to, but I could notsee that, nor did it matter to me what it might be for. But what Ihad felt was a heavy angle iron that was bolted by one arm to thepost and by the other to a thick beam that crossed the ship fromside to side, so as to bind the two together. It had a sharp edgeon the part which crossed the floor, and it seemed to me as if ithad been set there on purpose, for if I could manage to reach itrightly I might chafe through the cords at my back. Of course, there was the chance of Evan coming in and seeing what I was at, but I could keep my covering on me, maybe, and if Thorgils came, somuch the better. He would see that something was amiss. It was no easy task to get myself in such wise that the cord wasfairly on the edge of the iron, but I did it at last, and, moreover, I got the thick blanket that was over me to cover meafresh. Then I started to try to chafe the cord through, and ofcourse I could only move a little at a time, and I could not besure that I was always rubbing it on the same place. And the greatpost was sorely in my way, over my shoulder more or less, so that Imust needs hurt myself now and then against it. But as this seemedmy one chance I would not give up until I must. Every now and then I stayed my sawing and had a great tug at thecords, in hopes that they would give way, but at last I knew I mustsaw them through almost to the last strand. It would have been easyif I could keep at work on the same spot, but that was impossible, for I could not see behind me, and the post kept shifting me as Istruck it. I wondered now that I had seen nothing of Evan for so long. Maybeif I had not been so busy the wonder would have passed, for Ishould have been seasick as he was. There was some sea over on thiscoast, and quite enough to upset a landsman. However, I was contentthat he did not come, without caring to know why. Then I became aware that the movement of the ship had changed insome way. There was less of it, and the roll was longer. Soon Iheard Thorgils calling to his men, and then the creak of the blocksand the thud of folds of canvas on deck told me that the sail waslowered. After that the long oars rattled as they were run out, andtheir even roll and click in the rowlocks seemed to say that theywere making up to some anchorage or wharf. The end of the voyagewas at hand, and I worked harder than ever at my bonds. I began tofear that the cords would never chafe through enough for me to snapthem, and my heart fell terribly. Now there was a shout from Thorgils, and his men stopped rowing. Iheard another shout from on shore, as it seemed, and the sound ofbreakers on rocks was not so very distant as we slipped into smoothwater. The men trampled across the deck over my head and cast themooring ropes ashore, and then the ship scraped along a landingstage of some sort and came to rest. I worked wildly at the rope. Judging from the voices I heard, there seemed to be a number ofpeople on shore, and soon I heard steps coming along the decktowards the cabin door. Hastily I straightened myself, and got afold of my blanket over my free forearm just as it opened, and Evanpeered in. Past his shoulder I could see that it was brightmoonlight, and I had a glimpse of tall snow-covered cliffs thattowered over us. "How goes it, friend?" he cried in a loud voice. "Hast slept well?We are in your own land, and will be ashore soon. " That was for others to hear. Then he stood aside to let a littlemore light into the cabin, and it seemed that he had no suspicionsthat all was not as he would have it. He came inside and felt mecarelessly enough. "Well, " he said. "You are warm in here, and no mistake. If Imistake not, you have been trying to wriggle out of these bonds. " He set his hand under some of the lashings and pulled them withoutuncovering me much, though it would not have mattered if he haddone so, as it was very dark in here. As I knew only too well, they were fast as ever, and he said: "Well, we can tie a knot fairly. Presently we will loosen you abit--in the morning maybe. " He went and closed the door, and I fell to work again. He wouldleave me now for a while. There was a long talk from ship to shore before the gangplank wasrun out, and presently Thorgils spoke to Evan, seemingly close tothe cabin door: "Here's a bit of luck for your princess, " he said. "Her father isup in the camp yonder, with his guards behind him. Maybe there istrouble with the Tenby Danefolk, or going to be some. It is as wellthat we put in here. Now he bids us take the lady up to him andbide to feast with him, Will you come with me?" "I stay by my goods, " answered Evan, with a laugh. "If there is alevy in the camp there will be men who will need watching amongthem. " "Why, then, we six Norsemen can go, and leave you to tend theship. " "That will be all right, " said Evan, somewhat gladly, as I thought;"so long as we are here you need have no fear. Every one knows thata chapman will fight for his goods if need be. But a Welshman willnot meddle with a Welshman's goods. " "So long as he is there to mind them, " laughed Thorgils. "Then wecan go. I do not know how soon we can be back, though. " "That is no matter. We are used to keeping watch. " "Ay. How is that hurt friend of yours after the voyage?" "Well as one could expect, " answered Evan, "He says he has sleptalmost all the way. He is comfortable where he is. " They went aft, and soon I heard the princess speaking with them. Then the well-known click and clash of armed men marching in ordercame to me, as the chief sent a guard for his daughter. It wasterrible to hear the voices of honest men so close to me and to behelpless, and I worked at the rope feverishly. I heard the princess and her party leave the ship, and almost asthe last footstep left the deck one strand of the cord went. Iworked harder yet, with a great hope on me. "Presently the Norsemen will be full of Howel's mead, " I heard Evansay to one of his men. "Then we will get ashore and leave swiftly. I think we need not stay to pay Thorgils for the voyage. " "Let us tell some of the shore men to bide here to help us, " saidthe other--"we have the Saxon to carry. " "That is a good thought. " They clattered over the plank ashore, and another strand of therope went at that time. I thought it was but one of another turn ofthe line, however. Five minutes more of painful sawing andstraining and I felt another strand give way. That made three, andnow one of the two turns of line that held my arms could have butone strand left, and that ought to be no more than I could break byforce. Then I wrestled with it with little care if my struggles asI bent and strove made noise that might call attention to me, forit was my last chance. The lines bruised and cut me sorely, eventhrough my mail, but I heeded that no more than I did the hardnessof the timbers against which I rolled; and at last it did snap, with a suddenness that let my elbow fly against the iron that hadbeen my saving, almost forcing a cry from me. I was yet bound to my splints, but with my arms free it was but thework of a few seconds to cast off the last of my bonds, and withinfive minutes after the strand had parted I was on my feet, andrubbing and stretching my bruised and cramped limbs into lifeagain. Then I felt in the darkness for the bale that held my gear, and found it and tore it open. How good it was to gird the sword on me again, and to feel the coldrim of the good helm round my hot forehead! I was myself again, andas I slipped Gerent's gold ring on my arm I thought that it wasalmost worth the bondage to know what pleasure can be in thewinning of freedom. I forgot that I was troubled with thirst andhunger, having touched nothing since I broke my fast with Owen;though, indeed, there was little matter in that, for I had donewell at that meal with the long ride before me, and one ought to beable to go for a day and a night without food if need be, as awarrior. Still, I was not yet out of the trouble. Thorgils had gone to someplace that I knew nothing of, and I had yet to learn if there wasany hope from Evan's shore going, which might make things easier ormight not. I could hear no one moving about the ship, so I pushedthe door open for an inch or two, and looked out into themoonlight, with my drawn sword ready in my hand. We were in a strange place. The ship's bows were landward, so thatas I looked aft I could see that we lay just inside the mouth of alittle cove, whose guarding cliffs towered on either side of thewater for not less than ten-score feet above the fringe ofbreakers, falling sheer to the water with hardly so much as ajutting rock at their feet. There was no sign of house or man atthe hilltop, so that it was plain that we were not at Tenby. Then I was able to see that we were alongside a sort of landingplace that was partly natural and partly hewn and smoothed from theliving rock into a sort of wharf at the foot of the cliff. Fromthis landing place a steep road, hewn with untold labour at someancient day, slanted sharply upward and toward the head of the covealong the face of the rocks, which were somewhat less steep on thisside than across the water. I could not see the top of this road, but no doubt it was that along which Thorgils and the princess hadgone, and no doubt also Evan thought to carry me up it before long. I had a hope that my friend would return too soon for that, but itwas a slender one. It was plain that he had gone too far for me tocall to him. Yet could I win clear of the ship I might find orfight my way up after him, and that seemed easy with only thesethree Welshmen against me, and they expecting no attack. I looked for the two who were left if I slew Evan. One sat underthe weather gunwale, wrapped in a great cloak, and seemed to besleeping. The other was not far off on the landing place, watchingEvan, who was speaking with a dozen men at the foot of therock-hewn road. I suppose that the coming in of the ship had drawnidlers from the camp I had heard of to see her, for they all hadarms of some sort. This was bad, for it seemed certain that the whole crowd would joinwith Evan in falling on me if he called on them. If I came forthnow I had full twenty yards to cover before I reached them from theship's side after I had settled with the men on watch. In thatspace all would be ready for me, and they were too many for me tocut through to the roadway. I thought too that I heard the voicesof more who came downward toward the ship, though I could not seethem whence I was. Then it came into my mind that if there was any place where I couldhide myself on deck I would try to creep to it while none had theireyes on the ship. Then Evan, as he went to the cabin to seek me, would have to deal with me from the rear. But that I soon saw washopeless. The deck was clear of lumber big enough to shelter me, and the moonlight was almost as bright as day on everything, andall the clearer for the snow that covered all the land. So I beganto turn over many other plans in my mind, and at last it seemedthat the only thing was to wait in the cabin for the best chancethat offered. Most likely Evan would do even as he had said, andtry and get away at once, with all he could lay hands on. If so, Ithought it would be certain that in his hurry he would bring allthese men on board in order to get his goods, and maybe thosebelonging to Thorgils also, out and away with all haste, and so Icould cut through them with a rush that must take them unawares, and so win to the camp with none to hinder me. There might besentries who would stay me, but I should be within calling distanceof my friend. Moreover, a sentry would see that I was some sort ofa leader of men, and might help me. So I began to wish for Evan toact, for my fingers itched to get one downward blow at him. I had not long to wait. He finished his talk with the men, and theyall came to the ship, even as I had hoped. But only half of themcame on board, leaving the rest alongside on the rock so that theymight help the goods over the side. That was not all that I couldhave wished, but I thought that I might get through them in thesurprise that was waiting for them. So I drew my sword, and forwant of shield wrapped the blanket from the floor round my leftarm, and stood by for the rush. Evan walked in a leisurely way toward the door, talking to one ofthe newcomers as he came. The rest straggled behind him. "I wonder how my sick man fares now, " he said, and set his hand tothe latch. Then he opened the door and I shouted and sprung forth, aiming ablow at him as I came. But I was not clear of the low deck, and mysword smote the beam overhead so that I missed him, and he threwhimself on the deck out of reach of a second blow, howling. I wassorry, but I could not stop, for I had to win to the shore and tothe road yet. The other men shrank from me, and I went through them easily, andso reached the shoreward gunwale. There I was stayed, for Evan hadnever ceased to cry to his fellows to stop me, and there was a rowof ready swords waiting for me. And there were more men coming downthe path, Welshmen as I could see by their arms, and by their whitetunics which glimmered in the moonlight. So that was closed to me, and it seemed that here I must fight my last fight. Then as I could not go over the side I went to the high stern andleapt on it, half hoping that the men on shore might not be quickenough to stay me from a leap thence, but they were there alongsidebefore me. Evan was up now, and cheering on the men on deck toattack me, but not seeming to care to lead them. They gatheredtogether and came aft to me slowly, planning, as it would seem, howbest to attack me, for the steering deck on which I was raised mefour feet or so above them. The men on shore could not reach me atall unless I got too near the gunwale, when some of them who hadspears might easily end me. Something alongside the ship caught my eyes, and I glanced at itwith a thought that here might be fresh foes. But it was only thelittle boat that belonged to the ship. The wind had caught her, andwas drifting her at the length of her painter as if she wanted tocross the cove to its far side. Perhaps the men saw that my eyeswere not on them for that moment, for they made a rush from thedeck to climb the steering platform. Then I had a good fight for a few minutes, until I swept them backto their place. Two had won to the deck beside me, and there theystayed. Now I had a hope that the men on shore would come round tothe ship and leave the way clear for me, but Evan called to them tobide where they were. He had not faced me yet, and I bade him doso, telling him that this was his affair, and that it was nidringto risk other men's lives to save his own skin. But even that wouldnot bring him on me. Now the men whom I had seen coming down from the cliffs' top hadhurried to see what all the shouting meant, and I saw that theywere well-armed warriors and mostly spearsmen. Evan cried to themto come and help, and they ranged up alongside. He told them that Iwas a Norseman who had gone berserk, and must needs be slain. "That is easily managed, " said the leader. "Get to your bows, men. " I saw half a dozen unslinging them, and I knew that without shieldI was done, and in that moment a thought came to me. I suppose thatdanger sharpens one's wits, for I saw that in the little boat wasmy last chance. I had not time to draw her to the side, and so Icut her painter, which was fast to a cleat close to me, and as Idid so the first arrow missed my head. Then I shouted and leapt from the high stern straight among thecrowd at Evan, felling one of his outlaw comrades as I lit on thedeck. But I could not reach him, and in a few seconds I should havebeen surrounded. So I cleared a way to the seaward side and wentoverboard, amid a howl from my foes. I thought that I should neverstop sinking, for I had forgotten my mail; but I came to thesurface close to the ship, and looked for the boat. She wasdrifting gently away from me, and I knew that I should have allthat I could do to reach her before the bowmen got to work againfrom the ship's deck. Some one threw an axe at me as I swam, whichwas waste of a good weapon, and I hoped that it was not Thorgils'best. Strange what thoughts come to a man when in a strait. The water struck icy cold to me, and I felt that I could not standit long, but I gained on the boat with every stroke, though it washard work swimming in my mail and with a sword in my hand. I gotrid of the blanket that was hampering my left arm, and by that timeI was far enough from the ship for my foes to be puzzled by it. Themoonlight was bright on the water, but the little waves tossed itso that it must have been hard for them to know which was I andwhich the floating stuff. Certainly, the first arrows that wereshot when the bowmen got a chance at me from the ship or over herwere aimed at the blanket, for I heard them strike it. Then oneleapt from wave to wave past me. I won to the boat just in time, for I could not have held on muchlonger. The cold was numbing me, and if I stopped swimming I musthave sunk with the weight of mail. None of our old summer tricks offloating and the like were of any use with that weight on me. Thearrows were coming thickly by that time, and I was glad to get tothe far side of the boat and rest my hand on the gunwale, while Imanaged to sheathe my sword. The men could not see plainly where Iwas, and the arrows pattered on the planks of the boat and hissedinto the water still, on the chance of hitting me. So I thought itwell to get out of range before I tried to get on board, and soheld the gunwale with one hand and paddled on with the other, untilthe arrows began to fall short, and at last ceased. A Welshman'sbow has no long range, so that I had not far to go thus. But allthe while I feared most of all to hear the plash of oars that wouldtell me that they had put off another boat in chase of me. A little later and I should have been helpless, as I found when Itried to get into the boat. The cold was terrible, and it had holdof my limbs in spite of the swimming. It was hard work climbingover the bows, as I must needs do unless I wanted to capsize thelight craft as I had overset a fisher's canoe more than once, byboarding her over the side, as we sported in the Glastonbury meresin high summer; but I managed it, and was all the better for thestruggle, which set the blood coursing in my veins again. Then Igot out the oars and began to pull away from the ship, with no carefor direction so long as I could get away from her. The foe had no boat, for they were all clustered in the ship orclose to her on the rock, and there was a deal of noise going onamong them. When I was fairly out of their way, and I could nolonger make out their forms, I began to plan where I had best go, and at first I thought of a little beach that I had seen on the farside of the cove, thinking that I could get up what seemed a gorgeto the cliff's top, and so hide inland somewhere. But when I couldsee right into the gorge, I found that it was steep and higher thanI thought. My foes would be able to meet me by the time I was atthe top. There was no other place that I could see, for none could climbfrom the foot of the cliffs elsewhere, since if he reached therocks he would have to stay where he leapt to them. So as there wasno help for it, I headed for the open sea. No doubt, I thought, Ishould find some landing place along the coast before I had gonefar, and meanwhile I was getting a fair start of the enemy, whowould have to follow the windings of the cliffs if they cared tocome after me. I pulled therefore for the eastern end of the cove, opposite to theplace where the ship lay, and so rounded the point and was out inthe open and tossing on the waves in a way that tried my rowingsorely, for I am but a fresh-water boatman. Lucky it was for methat there was little sea on, or I should have fared badly. Then Ipulled eastward, and against the tide also, but that was a thingthat I did not know. The boat was wonderfully light and swift, and far less trouble tosend along than any other I had seen. There are no bettershipwrights than the Norsemen, and we Saxons have forgotten thecraft. The terrible numbness passed off as I worked, but now the wind grewcold, and the clouds were working up from the southwest quickly, with wind overhead that was not felt here yet. I knew that I mustmake some haven soon, or it was likely that I should be frozen onthe sea, but the great cliffs were like walls, and at their feetwas a fringe of angry foam everywhere. I could see no hope as yet. Far away to the east of me a great headland seemed to bar my way, but I did not think that I should ever reach it. And all the whileI looked to see the black forms of men on the cliffs in themoonlight, but they did not come. That was good at least. Then at last my heart leapt, for I saw, as a turn of the cliffsopened out to me, another white beach with a cleft of the rocksrunning up from it, and I thought it best to take the chance itgave me, for I feared the blinding snow that would be here soon, and I felt that the sea was rising. If my foes were after me theywould have been seen before now, as they came to the edge of thecliffs to spy me out, and anyway I dreaded them less than thegrowing cold. Moreover, I thought that Evan would hardly get manymen to follow him on a chase of what he had told them was a madman, and a dangerous one at that. He had his goods to see to also. So I ran the boat into the black mouth of the gorge, and beachedher well by good chance. I had little time to lose, but I tied herpainter to a rock at the highest fringe of tide wrack, in hopesthat she might be safe. It was so dark here that I did not thinkthat Evan would see her from above. And then I began to climb upthe rugged path that led out of the gorge to the hilltops. There were bones everywhere in it. Bones and skulls of droves ofcattle on all the strand above the tide mark for many score yards. Their ribs stuck out from the snow everywhere, and the sightlesseye sockets grinned at me as I stumbled over them. But I had notime to wonder how they came there, for I must get to the summitbefore Evan and his men reached it by their way along the cliff. Iate handfuls of the snow and quenched my thirst that was growing onme again, and my strength began to come back to me as I hurriedupward. I was a better man when at last I reached the top of thegorge than when I came ashore. CHAPTER VII. HOW OSWALD CROSSED THE DYFED CLIFFS, AND MET WITH FRIENDS. Now I halted before I lifted my head above the skyline, andlistened with a fear on me lest I should hear the sound of runningfeet, and I was the more careful because I knew that the snow whichlay white and deep on all the open land might deaden any soundsthereof. But I heard nothing save the wail of the wind overhead asit rose in gusts. I wondered if Thorgils would be able to bide inthis little cove, or must needs put out to seek some other haven. There seemed to be a swell setting into it. So I crept yet farther up the path, crouching behind a point ofrock, and thence I saw a dark line on the snow that seemed topromise a road, and that must surely lead to some house or village. I went forward to it with all caution, and with my head over myshoulder, as they say, but I saw no man. This track led east andwest, and was well trodden by cattle, but there were few footprintsof men on it, so far as I could see. So I turned into it, goingever away from the ship, and hurrying. I had a thought that I heardshouts behind me, but there was more wind here on the heights thanI had felt on the sea, or it was rising, and it sung strangelyround the bare points of rock that jutted up everywhere. Maybe itwas but that. Inland I could see no sign of house or hut where I might find foodat least, but the cloud wrack had drifted across the moon, and Icould not see far now. It was a desolate coast, all unlike our own. Then I came to a place where the track crossed stony ground and waslost in gathered snow. When I was across that I had lost the roadaltogether, and had only the line of the cliffs to guide me to whatshelter I could not tell. And now a few flakes of snow flutteredround me, and I held on hopelessly, thinking that surely I shouldcome to some place that would give me a lee of rock that I couldcreep under. Then the snow swooped down on me heavily, with a whirl and rush ofwind from the sea, and I tried to hurry yet more from the chill. Then I was sure that I heard voices calling after me, and I ran, not rightly knowing where to go, but judging that the coastlinewould lead me to some fishers' village in the end. There seemed nohope from the land I had seen. Again the voices came--nay, but there was one voice only, and itcalled me by my name: "Oswald, Oswald!" I stopped and listened, for I thought of Thorgils. But the voicewas silent, and again I pressed on in the blinding snow, and atonce it came, wailing: "Oswald, Oswald!" It was behind me now and close at hand, and I turned with my handon my sword hilt. But there was nothing. Only the snow whirledround me, and the wind sung in the rocks. I called softly, butthere was no answer, and I was called no more as I stood still. "Oswald, Oswald!" I had turned to go on my way when it came this time, and now Icould have sworn that I knew the voice, though whose it was I couldnot say. "Who calls me, " I cried, facing round. Then a chill that was not of cold wind and snow fell on me, forthere was silence, and into my mind crept the knowledge of where Ihad last heard that voice. It was long years ago--at Eastdean inhalf-forgotten Sussex. "Father!" I cried. "Father!" There was no reply, and I stood there for what seemed a long timewaiting one. I called again and again in vain. "It is weakness, " I said to myself at last, and turned. At once the voice was wailing, with some wild terror as it seemed, at my very shoulder, with its cry of my name, and I must needs turnonce more sharply: "Oswald, Oswald!" My foot struck a stone as I wheeled round, and it grated on othersand seemed to stop. But as I listened for the voice I heard acrash, and yet another, and at last a far-off rumble that was belowmy very feet, and I sprang with a cry away from the sound, for Iknew that I stood on the very brink of some gulf. And then the snowceased for a moment and the moon shone out from the break in theclouds, and I saw that my last footprint whence the voice had mademe turn was on the edge of an awesome rift that cleft the levelsurface on the downland, clean cut as by a sword stroke, rightathwart my path. Even in clear daylight I had hardly seen that gulfuntil I was on its very brink, for I could almost have leapt it, and nought marked its edge. And in its depths I heard the crash andthunder of prisoned waves. I do not know that I ever felt such terror as fell on me then. Itwas the terror that comes of thinking what might have been, afterthe danger is past, and that is the worst of all. I sank down onthe snow with my knees trembling, and I clutched at the grass thatI might not feel that I must even yet slip into that gulf that wasso close, though there was no slope of the ground toward it. Sheerand sudden it gaped with sharp edges, as the mouth of some monsterthat waited for prey. There on the snow I believe that I should have bided to sleep thesleep of the frozen, for I hardly dared to move. The snow whirledround me again, but I did not heed it, and with a great roar thewind rose and swept up the rift with a sound as of mighty harps, but it did not rouse me. Only my father's voice came to me againand called me, and I rose up shaking and followed it as it camefrom time to time, until I was once more on the track that I hadlost. There it left me, but the sadness that had been in its tones wasgone when it last came. And surely that was the touch of nosnowflake that lit on my hand for a moment and was gone. Now I grew stronger, and the fear of the unseen was no longer onme, and I battled onward with wind and snow for a long way. Thanksto the wind, the track was kept clear of the snow, and I did notlose it again until it led me to help that was unlooked for. There came the sound of a bell to me, strange sounding indeed, buta bell nevertheless, and I knew that somewhere close at hand wassurely some home of monks who would take me in with all kindness. And presently the track led me nearer to the sound of the sea, andat last bent sharply to the right and began to go downhill, whilethe sound of the bell grew plainer above the roar of nearerbreakers yet. I felt that I was passing down such a gorge as thatup which I had come from the boat, but far narrower, for I had notgone far before I could touch the rocky walls with either hand. Then I came to steps, and they were steep, but below me stillsounded the bell, and the hoarse breakers were very near at hand. Iexpected to see the lights of some little fishing village everymoment, but the wind that rushed up the narrow space between thecliff walls and brought the salt spray with it almost blinded me. Suddenly the stairway turned so sharply that I almost fell, andthen I found my way downward barred by what seemed a greatrough-faced rock that was right across the gorge, if one may call amere cleft in the cliffs so, and barred my way, while the strangebell sounded from beyond it. But it was sheltered under thisbarrier, and I felt along it to find out where I had to climb over, thinking that the stairway must lead up its face. But there was nostair, and as I groped my hand came on cut stone, and when I feltit I knew that I had come to a doorway, for I found the woodwork, but in no way could I find how it opened. I kicked on it, therefore, and shouted, but it seemed that noneheard. The bell went on and then stopped, and I thought I heardfootsteps on the far side of the barrier. They came nearer, andthen were almost at the door, paused for a moment, and then thedoor was opened and the red light from a fire flashed out on me, showing the tall form of a man in monk's dress in its opening. "Come in, my son, " said a grave voice, speaking Welsh, that had nowonder in it, though one could hardly have expected to see an armedand gold-bedecked Saxon here in the storm. I stumbled into what I had thought a rock, and found when my eyesgrew used to the light that I was in a house built of great stones, uncemented but wonderfully fitted together, and warm and brightwith the driftwood fire, though I heard the spray rattle on theroof of flat stones, and the wind howled strangely around thewalls. Both ends of this house were of the living rock of the sidesof the gorge, and at one end seemed to be a sort of cave with anarrow entrance. The man who had bidden me in stood yet at the open door looking outon his staircase, but he did not bide there long. With a sigh heturned and closed the door and came in, hardly looking at me, butturning toward the cave I had just noticed. He was an old man, veryold indeed, with a long white beard and pale face lined withcountless wrinkles, and he stooped a little as he walked. But hisface was calm and kind, though he did not smile at me, and I feltthat here I was safe with one of no common sort. "Come, my son, " he said, "it is the hour of prime. Glad am I tohave one with me after many days. " He waited for no answer, and I followed him for the few steps thatled to the rock cavern; and there was a tiny oratory with its altarand cross, and wax lights already burning. The old man knelt in his place and I knelt with him, and as hebegan the office straightway I knew how worn out I was, and of asudden the lights danced before me and I reeled and fell with aclatter and clash of arms on the rocky floor. I seemed to know thatthe old man turned and looked and rose up from his knees hastily, and I tried to say that I was sorry that I had broken the peace ofthis holy place; but he answered in his soft voice: "Why, poor lad, I should have seen that you were spent ere this. The fault is mine. " He raised me gently, and seemed to search me for some wound. And ashe did so I came more to myself, and begged him to go on with hisoffice. "First comes care of the afflicted, my son, and after that may beprayer. In truth, to help the fainting is in itself a prayer, as Ithink. Come to the fireside and tell me what is amiss. " "Fasting and fighting and freezing, father, " I said, trying tolaugh. "Are you wounded?" he asked quickly. "No, not at all. " "That is well. It is a brave heart that will jest in such a case asyours, for you are ice from head to foot. Well, I had better hearyour story, if you will tell it me, in the daylight. Now get thosewet garments off you and put on this. I will get you food, and youshall sleep. " This was surely the last place where my foes would think of lookingfor me, and the snow would hide every trace of my path. So I madeno delay, but took off my byrnie and garments. There was a pool onthe floor where I stood, for it was true enough that I had been icecovered. Then I put on a rough warm brown frock with a cord roundthe waist, so that I looked like a lay brother at Glastonbury, andall the while I waxed more and more sleepy with the comfort of theplace. But I wiped my arms carefully while the old priest was busywith a cauldron over the fire, and we were ready at the same time. Then I had a meal of some sort of stew that seemed the best I evertasted, and a long draught of good mead, while the host looked onin grave content. And then he spread a heap of dry seaweed in acorner near the fire, and blessed me and bid me sleep. Nor did Ineed a second bidding, and I do not think that I can have stirredfrom the time that I lay down to the moment when I woke with afeeling on me that it was late in the daylight. So it was, and I looked round for my kind host, but he was not tobe seen. Outside the wind was still strong, but not what it hadbeen, for the gale was sinking suddenly as it rose, and into theone little window the sun shone brightly enough now and then as theclouds fled across it. There was a bright fire on the hearth, andover it hung a cauldron, whence steam rose merrily, and it wasplain that my friend of last night was not far off, so I lay stilland waited his return. Then my eyes fell on my clothes and arms as they hung from pegs inthe walls over against me, and it seemed as if the steel of mailand helm and sword had been newly burnished. Then I saw also that arent in my tunic, made when my horse fell, had been carefullymended, and that no speck of the dust and mire I had gathered on mygarments from collar to hose was left. All had been tended ascarefully as if I had been at home, and I saw Elfrida's littlebrooch shining where I had pinned it. That took me back to Glastonbury in a moment, but I had to countbefore I could be sure that it was but a matter of hours since Itook that gift in the orchard, rather than of months. And Iwondered if Owen knew yet that I was lost, or if my men sought mestill. Then my mind went to Evan, the chapman outlaw, and I thoughtthat by this time he would have given me up, and would be far awayby now, beyond the reach of Thorgils and his wrath. Now the seaward door opened, and a swirl of spray from the breakerson the rocks came in with my host, who set a great armful of driftwood on the floor, closed it, and so turned to me. "Good morrow, my son, " he said. "How fare you after rest?" "Well as can be, father, " I answered, sitting up. "Stiff I am, andmaybe somewhat black and blue, but that is all. I have no hurt. Butsurely I have slept long?" "A matter of ten hours, my son, and that without stirring. Youneeded it sorely, so I let you be. Now it is time for food, butfirst you shall have a bath, and that will do wonders with thesoreness. " Thankful enough was I of the great tub of hot water he had readyfor me, and after it and a good meal I was a new man. My host saidnought till I had finished, and then it was I who broke the silencebetween us. "Father, " I said, "I have much to thank you for. What may I callyou?" "They name me Govan the Hermit, my son. " "I do not know how to say all I would, Father Govan, " I went on, "but I was in a sore strait last night, and but for your bell Ithink I must have perished in the snow, or in some of the clefts ofthese cliffs. " "I rang the bell for you, my son, though I knew not why. It came onme that one was listening for some sign of help in the storm. " "How could you know?" I asked in wonder. Govan shook his head. "I cannot tell. Men who bide alone as I bide have strange bodingsin their solitude. I have known the like come over me before, andit has ever been a true warning. " Now it was my turn to be silent, for all this was beyond me. I hadheard of hermits before, but had never seen one. If all were likethis old man, too much has not been said of their holiness andnearness to unseen things. So for a little while we sat and looked into the fire, each on athree-legged stool, opposite one another. Then at last he asked, almost shyly, and as if he deemed himself overbold, how it was thatI had come to be on the cliffs. That meant in the end that he heardall my story, of course, but my Welsh halted somewhat for want ofuse, and it was troublesome to tell it. However, he heard me withsomething more than patience, and when I ended he said: "Now I know how it is that a Saxon speaks the tongue of Cornwallhere in Dyfed. You have had a noble fostering, Thane, for even herewe lamented for the loss of Owen the prince. We have seen him inPembroke in past years. You will be most welcome there with thisnews, for Howel, our prince, loved him well. They are akin, moreover. It will be well that you should go to him for help. " He rose up and went to the seaward door again, and I followed himout. The sea was but just below us, for the tide was full, and thebreakers were yet thundering at the foot of the cliffs on eitherhand. But I did not note that at first, for the thing which held myeyes at once was a ship which was wallowing and plunging past useastward, under close reefed sail, and I knew her for the vessel inwhich I had crossed. Thorgils had left the cove, and was making forTenby while he might. I should have to seek him there. "How far is it to the Danes' town, Father Govan?" I asked. "Yondergoes my friend's ship. " "Half a day's ride, my son, and with peril for you all the way. Ourpoor folk would take you for a Dane in those arms, and you have nohorse. Needs must that you seek Howel, and he will give you a guardwillingly. " Then he turned toward a great rock that lay on the beach, as if ithad fallen from the cliffs that towered above us. "Here is the bell that you heard last night, " he said. He took a rounded stone that lay on the rock and struck it, and Iknew that the clear bell note that it gave out was indeed thatwhich had been my saving. "Once I had a bell in the cote on the roof yonder, " he said, "butthe Danes caught sight of it when they first passed this way, andtook it from me. Then as I sorrowed that the lonely shepherds andfishers might no more hear its call, I seemed to see a vision of anangel who bade me see what had been sent me instead. And when Iwent out as the vision bade me, I could see nought but this rocknewly fallen, and was downcast. And so, from the cliff rolled alittle stone and smote it, and it rang, and I knew the gift. To myhearing it has a sweeter voice than the bell made with hands. " Then he showed me his well, roofed in with flat stones because thebirds would wash in it, and so close to the sea salt that it seemedaltogether wonderful that the water was fresh and sweet. And then Isaw that the cell did indeed stretch from side to side of thenarrow cleft down which I had come, so that each end of thebuilding was of living rock. "I built it with my own hands, my son, " he said. "I cannot tell howlong ago that was, for time is nought to me, but it was many years. Once I wore arms and had another name, but that also I care not torecall. " Then there came footsteps from above us, and looking up I saw a manin a rough fisher's dress coming in haste down the long flight ofrock-hewn steps that led from the cliff top down the cleft to thedoor that I had found last night, and soon we heard him calling tothe hermit. Govan left me, and went through the cell to speak with him, but wasback very shortly. "Howel the prince is coming hither, " he said. "The man you saw hasseen him on the way, and came to warn me to be at hand for him. Itis well for you, my son, as I am sure. " So we went together into the house, and I thought to arm myself, but Govan smiled and asked me not to do so, saying that hither evenHowel would come without his weapons, in all likelihood. I understood him, and did but see that my sword was in reach beforeI sat down and waited for the coming of the Welsh prince, and Ithought that all I need ask him was for help to reach Tenby, whither Thorgils must have gone. It was quite likely that Evanmight have raised the country against me in hopes of taking meagain. And maybe I would ask for justice on the said Evan. Also Iwanted to hear what had happened after my going. It was not long that I had to wait. There came the tramp of horsesat the top of the gorge, and the sound of a voice or two, and thenthe tread of an armed man came slowly down the stair, and Govanwent to meet him. I rose and waited for his entry. Now there came in, following Govan, unhelmed as he had greeted theholy man, a handsome, middle-aged warrior, black haired and eyedand active looking. He wore the short heavy sword of the Romanpattern, gold hilted and scabbarded, at his side, and the helm hecarried had a high plumed crest and hanging side pieces that seemedlike those pictured on the walls of Gerent's palace. He had no bodyarmour on, and his dress was plain enough, of white woollen stuffwith broad crimson borders, but round his neck was a wonderfultwisted collar of gold, and heavy golden bracelets rang as his armsmoved. I saw that his first glance went to me, and that his facechanged when he saw that I was not one of his own people, but aforeigner, as he would hold me. I saw too that he noted my arms asthey hung on the wall behind me. Govan saw it also, and made haste to tell him who I was. "This is one who should be welcome to you, Prince, for the sake ofold days, for he has come by mischance from Dyvnaint, being fosterson of one of the princes of Gerent's court, though a Saxon bybirth. Nevertheless he speaks our tongue well. He will tell you allthat presently, and I think that he needs your help. " "I thought you one of our troublesome neighbours, the Danes, " hesaid, with a smile now in place of the look of doubt. "But if youare from Dyvnaint there are many things that you can tell me. But Ihave come here to see that all is well with Father Govan, for thereis talk of a mad Norseman who is roving the country, unless thecold has ended him in the night. It is good to see that nought iswrong here. " Now I stood apart, and Govan and his guest spoke together for a fewmoments before my turn to tell Howel of my plight should come, andalmost the next thing that the prince said made me wonder that Ihad not thought who he was at once. Of course, he was the father ofthe kindly princess who had crossed the sea with Thorgils, and hadso nearly been the means of my earlier rescue. "Nona, my daughter, is here at the cliff top, Father Govan, " Howelsaid. "She came home in the Norse ship last night, as we planned;but tide failed for Tenby, and it chanced that the ship had to putin at the old landing place. Now she wants to thank you for yourprayers for her, and also to beg them for some sick man about whomshe is troubling herself--some poor hurt knave of a trader whocrossed in the ship with her. " "I will go out and speak with her, " Govan said, smiling. "It isever her way to think of the troubled. " "Tell her that I will not keep her long in the cold, " Howel said. "Bid her keep her horse walking, lest he take chill, if I may askas much, Father. " Govan threw his cowl over his head, and answered: "I will tell her. Now, Prince, this friend of mine has come here ina strange way, and I think he needs help that you can give him. " He passed out of the cliffward door and went his way up the longstairway. Then Howel asked me how he could help me. "Tell me about Dyvnaint also, for when I was a boy I was long atGerent's court. Did not Govan say that you were fostered by one ofthe princes? It is likely that I knew your foster father well, ifso; was he Morgan?" "Not Morgan, but Owen, " I answered, and at that Howel almoststarted to his feet. "Owen!" he cried. "Does he yet live? Surely we all thought himdead, or else he had come hither to us when he was banished. Iloved him well in the old days, and glad I am that you are notMorgan's charge. Tell me all about Owen. Is he home again?" "Morgan is dead, " I answered, feeling that here I had met with afriend in all certainty. "And because of that, Owen is in his placeagain, and I am here. It has all happened in this week, and to tellyou of it is to tell you all my trouble. " Now he was all impatience to hear, and I told him all that neededto be told, until I came to the time when Owen was back at Nortonwith the old king. Then he asked me some questions about mattersthere, and in the midst of my answers sprang up. "Why, " he cried, "here I have forgotten the girl, and she ought tobe hearing all this, instead of sitting in the cold on the cliff. She is Owen's goddaughter, moreover, and he was here only a littletime before he was banished. She can remember him well. " "Stay, though, " he said, sitting down again. "There is your owntale yet. Let us hear it. Maybe that is not altogether sopleasant. " My own thought was that I was glad I might tell it without thewondering eyes of the fair princess on me, being afraid in a sortof way of having her think of me as the helpless sick man she hadpitied. So I hastened to tell all that story. And when I came to the way in which Evan brought me, Howel's eyesflashed savagely, and a black scowl came over his handsome face, sudden as a thunderstorm in high summer. "It will be a short shrift and a long rope for that Evan when Icatch him, " he said. "He comes here every year, and I suppose thatthe goods I have had from him at times have been plunder. I wouldthat you had ended him last night. Now he has got away in peace, and is out of my reach, maybe, by this time. Well, how went it?" Then I told him the end of the tale, wondering how it was thatThorgils had let him go. I asked the prince if he could explainthat for me. "Not altogether, " he said. "Evan sent to me to ask me for men toguard the ship presently, after we began the feast, saying that hewas going ashore with his goods, and was responsible to theshipmaster. I told Thorgils, and he said it was well. So I sent aguard, and presently Evan came and spoke with Thorgils for a littlewhile, and drank a cup of wine, and so went his way. Next morning, before he sailed, Thorgils came and grumbled about the loss of hisboat, saying that Evan had taken some sick friend of his ashore inher, and that she had not come back. I paid him for it too, becauseI like the man, and so does my daughter. He sailed, and then Iheard of the fight for the first time. " Howel laughed a little to himself. "Master Evan must have paid my rascals well to keep up the story ofthe sick man to Thorgils, for he said nothing to me of any fight. Maybe, however, he never spoke to any of them, and it is likelythat they would not say much to him. And now, by the Round Table!if you are not the mad Norseman they prated of to me when I wantedto know who slew the two men, and if you are not the sick man thatNona is so anxious about! Here, she must come and see you!" With that he got up and went to the door before I could stay him, and called gaily to the princess, whose horse I could hear stampinghigh above us. "Ho, Nona, here is a friend of yours whom you will be glad to see. Ask Father Govan to let you come hither, and bid the men take yourhorse. " So I must make the best of it, and I will say that I felt foolishenough. It was in my mind, though, that I owed many thanks to theprincess for all her kind thought for me as sick man. I had alreadysaid as much to Howel. So I began to try to frame some sort ofspeech for her. One never remembers how such speeches always failat the pinch. The light footsteps came down the steps in no long time, and thenthe princess entered, dressed much as yesterday, with a brightcolour from the wind, and looking round to see the promised friend. "I have kept you long, daughter, " Howel said, taking her hand, "butI have been hearing good news. Here is Oswald of Wessex, a king'sthane, but more than that to us, for he is the adopted son of yourown godfather, Owen of Cornwall, and he brings the best of tidingsof him. " Now the maiden's face flushed with pleasure, and she held out herhand to me in frank welcome. Yet I saw a little wondering look onher face as she let her eyes linger on mine for a moment, and thatpuzzled me. "You are most welcome, Thane, " she said. "It is a wonderful thingthat here I should learn that my lost godfather yet lives. You willcome to Pembroke with us, and tell me of him there?" Then Howel laughed as if he had a jest that would not keep, and hecried: "Why, Nona, that is a mighty pretty speech, but surely oneasks a sick man of his health first. " She blushed a little, and glanced again at me. "Surely the thane is not hurt?" she said. "Yesterday he was, and that sorely. What was it, Thane?--Slippedshoulder, broken thigh, and broken jaw? All of which a certainmaiden pitied most heartily, even to lending a blanket to the poorman. " Then Nona blushed red, and I made haste to get rid of some of thethanks that were heartfelt enough if they came unreadily to mylips, and Howel laughed at both of us. I think that the princessfound her way out of the little constraint first, for she began tosmile merrily. "There must be a story for me to hear about all this, " she said. "But I was sure that I had seen your eyes before. I was wonderingwhere it could have been. " "Well, " said Howel, "I have sat with the thane for close on anhour, and now I do not know what colour his eyes are. " "They were all that I could see of him, father, " laughed theprincess, and then she put the matter aside. "Now we have been herelong enough, and good Govan shivers on the hilltop. Surely thethane will ride home with us, and we can talk on the way. " Howel added at once that this was the best plan for me, and what hewas about to ask me himself. "I know you will want to get home again as soon as may be, " hesaid. "No doubt Thorgils will take you at once. I will have wordsent to him at Tenby to stay for you. " "Father, you have forgotten, " the princess said, somewhatdoubtfully, as I thought. "Nay, but I have not, " answered Howel grimly. "But honest Thorgilsis a white heathen, and those Tenby men are black heathen. He doesnot come into our quarrels, and will heed me, if they will not. " I minded that I had heard of trouble between the Tenby Danes andthis prince, and it seemed that he spoke of it again. However, thatI might hear by and by. So I thanked him, and said that I couldwish for nothing better than to be his guest until I could go on myway hence. Now the princess went to the cliff top and called Govan, while Iarmed myself. The hermit came back, and I bade him farewell, withmany thanks for his kindnesses during the hours I had been withhim; and so I went from the little cell with the blessing of Govanthe Hermit on me, and that was a bright ending to hours which hadbeen dark enough. Govan the Saint, men call him, now that he hasgone from among them, and rightly do they give him that name, as Ithink. Howel dismounted one of his men, and set me on the horse in hisplace, and then we rode to the camp at the landing place by thetrack which had led me hither, passing the head of the rift fromwhich I had escaped, so that I saw its terrors in full daylight. And they were even more awesome to me than as I hung on the brinkwith the depths unknown below me. Then Howel told me how once ahunter had come suddenly on that gulf with his horse at fullgallop, and had been forced to leap or court death by checking thesteed. He had cleared it in safety, but the terror of what he haddone bided with him, so that he died in no long time; I could wellbelieve it. Then the princess told me many things of Govan, and among othersthat the poor folk held that when the Danes came and stole the bellfrom him he had been hidden from them in the rock wall of thechapel, which had gaped to take him in, closing on him and settinghim free when danger was past. Certainly there was a cleft in therock wall of the chapel wall that had markings as of the ribs of aman in its sides, and was just the height and width for one tostand in, but Govan said nought to me about it when he told of thetaking of the bell. Danes also slew all these cattle whose bones Ihad passed among. Then we came in sight of the camp, over which the red dragon bannerof Wales floated, and Howel told me how it was that he had met usthere with his guards. "Men saw Thorgils' ship from the lookout, and so I came here, forthey said that she could not make Tenby on this tide and must needscome in here. Nona has been for three months with her mother's folkin Cornwall--ay, she is half Cornish, and kin to Gerent and Owen. Iwas married over there, at Isca, and Owen was at the wedding as mybest man, though he is ten years younger than I. That is how hecame to be the girl's godfather, you see. Now I wanted her back, for it is lonely at Pembroke without her, and I am apt to wax testywith folk if she is not near to keep things straight. So I sentword by Thorgils six weeks ago that she was to come back, and hewas to bring her. I have had the men watching for the ship eversince. Good it is to see her again, and she has brought good newsalso, with yourself. I have a mind to keep you with us awhile, andlet the Norseman take back word of your safety. " But I said that, however pleasant this would be, it seemed plainthat I must get back to Owen with all speed, to warn him of thistrouble that was somewhat more than brewing. It could not bethought that I would send word and yet never move to his side tohelp. "If I might say what comes into my mind, " said the fair princess, "it seems almost better that none but Owen and yourself know thatthe plot is found out, while you guard against it. The traitorswill be less careful if they deem that nought is known. Thorgils issomewhat talkative, you know. " "That is right, " said Howel. "I have a good counsellor here, Thane, as you see. However, Thorgils will not sail today, for he has justput in, and I know that he was complaining of some sort of damagedone, as the gale set a bit of a sea into the cove, and he had someado to keep clear of the rocks for a time. We will even ride toPembroke, and I will send for Thorgils that he may speak with you. " And then he added grimly: "Moreover, I will send men on the track of Evan, the chapman, forthwith. " So we called out the guards from the camp, where there were linesof huts with a greater building in the midst as if it were oftenused thus, and so rode across the rolling land northwards till wecame to Pembroke. And there Howel of Dyfed dwelt in state in such apalace as that of Gerent, for here again the hand of the Saxon hadnever come, and the buildings bore the stamp of Imperial Rome. So once again I was lodged within stone walls, and with a roofabove me that I could touch with my hand, and I need not say how Ifared in all princely wise as the son of Owen. I suppose therecould be no more frank and friendly host than Howel of Dyfed. Tired I was that night also, and I slept well. But once I woke witha fear for Owen on me, for I had dreamed that I saw some mancreeping and spying along the wide ramparts of Norton stronghold. And it seemed that the man had a bow in his hand. CHAPTER VIII. HOW OSWALD LOST A HUNT, AND FOUND SOMEWHAT STRANGE IN CAERAUWOODS. I thought Pembroke a very pleasant place when I came to see it inthe fair winter's morning. The gale had passed, but it had broughta thaw with it, and there was a softness in the air again, and thelight covering of snow had gone when I first looked abroad. Therehad been no such heavy fall here as we had in Wessex beyond thesea. Maybe pleasant companionship had something to do with my thought ofthe place, for none can deny that a good deal does depend on who iswith one. And, seeing that after the morning meal her father wasbusy with his counsellors for a time, Nona the princess would shewme all that was to be seen while we waited the coming of Thorgils. Whoever chose the place for the building of this palace strongholdchose well, for it is set on a rocky tongue of land that dividesthe waters of an inland branch of the winding Milford Haven, sothat nought but an easily defended ridge of hill gives access tothe fortress. All the tongue itself has sheer rock faces to thewater, and none might hope to scale them. They and the wall acrossthe one way from the mainland, as one may call it, make Howel'shome sure, and since the coming of the Danes into the land he hadstrengthened what had fallen somewhat into decay in the long yearsof peace that had passed. We had never reached Dyfed, either from land or sea. So I saw hawksand hounds, stables and guardrooms and all else, and at last wewalked on the terraced edge of the cliffs in the southern sun, andthere a man came and said that Thorgils the Norseman had come. "Oh, " said Nona with a little laugh, "he knows not that you arehere! Let us see his face when he meets you!" "The prince is busy, " said the servant. "Is it your will that thestranger should be brought here?" "Yes, bring him. Tell him that I would speak with him, but saynought of any other. " The man bowed and went his way, and the princess turned to me witha new look of amusement on her face. "Pull that cloak round you, Thane, and pay no heed to him when hecomes; we may have sport. " They had given me a long Welsh cloak of crimson, fur bordered, anda cap to wear with it instead of my helm. And of course I had noton my mail, though Ina's sword was at my side, and Gerent'sbracelet on my arm, setting off a strange medley of black-and-bluebruises and red chafed places from the cords, moreover. So Ilaughed, and did as she bade me, even as I saw Thorgils broughtround the palace toward us from the courtyard where they had takencharge of his horse. There were two other men with him, tall, wirylooking warriors, and all three were well armed, but in a fashionwhich was neither Welsh nor Saxon, but more like the latter thanthe former. "Danes from Tenby, " said Nona; "I know them both, and like them. See what wondrous mail they have, and look at the sword hilt of theelder man. That is Eric, the chief, and I think he comes to speakwith my father. " The two Danes hung back as they saw that Howel was not present, butThorgils unhelmed and came forward quickly, with the courtly bow heknew how to make when he chose, as he saluted the princess. Then heturned slightly to me with his stiff salute, and as I nodded to himI saw him start and look keenly at me. Then he looked away again, and tried to seem unheeding, but it was of no use; his eyes cameback to me. "You seem to have met our friend before, Shipmaster, " said Nona, whose eyes were dancing. "I cannot have done so, Princess, " he answered. "But on my word, Inever saw so strange a likeness to one I do know. " "I trust that is a compliment to my friend, " she said. "Saving the presence of the one who is like the man I know, I maysay for certain that it is nought else to him. " I turned away somewhat smartly, for I wanted to laugh, and this wasgetting personal. The princess was not unwilling, I think, that itshould be more so. "Now you have offended the present, and I shall have to say thatthe absent need not be so. " "Nor the present either, Princess. See here, Lord, the man you areso wondrous like in face did the bravest deed I have seen for manya day. Moreover, he saved the life of a king thereby. Shall I tellthereof?" Now this was a new tale to Nona, for, as may be supposed, I had notsaid that it was myself who handled Morgan so roughly, as I toldthe tale of his end. It would have seemed like boasting myselfsomewhat, as I thought, so I did but say that he was dragged awayfrom the king in time. Nor had I spoken of Elfrida. The tale wastold hurriedly, and when it was done there had been no thought butof Owen. It was greater news here that he lived than that Ina hadnarrowly escaped. So she glanced round at me in some surprise, and then turned againto Thorgils. "Some time you shall, for I love your songs. Not now, for we havenot time. " "Thanks, Lady. It will be a good song, and is shaping well in mymind. There is a brave lady therein also. " "Well, you have not told us who the brave man is. "Did I not know that Oswald, son of Owen the Cornish prince, was bythis time in Glastonbury, I should have said he was here, so greatis the likeness. It is a marvel. "Now, Lord, you will forgive me, no doubt. " "Ay, freely, " I said, turning round sharply. "That is, if yourfriend has a sword as good as this, " and I shewed him the gemmedhilt of Ina's gift from beneath the folds of my great cloak. He stared at it, and then at my face again, and I took off my capto him with a bow. "It is strange that a shipmaster knows not his own passenger, " Isaid. But he was dumb for a moment, and his mouth opened. Nona laughed athim and clapped her hands with glee, and I must laugh also. "By Baldur, " he gasped, "if it is not Oswald, in the flesh! Whatwitchcraft brought you here? To my certain knowledge there is noship but mine afloat now in the Severn Sea. " "Why, then, I crossed with you, friend, " I said. "That you did not--" he began, but stopped short. "Thorgils, Thorgils--the sick man!" cried Nona. "Oh!" said Thorgils, "can you have been Evan's charge?" "Ay. Mind you that it was your own word that there might be dangerfrom the friends of Morgan?" Then I told him all, and he heard with growls and head shakings, which but for the presence of the lady might have been hard sayingsconcerning my captors. But when I ended he said: "If ever I catch the said Evan there will be a reckoning. All theworse it will be for him that for these five years past I haveknown him, and deemed him a decent and trustworthy man, for a Welshtrader. I have fetched him back and forth with his goods twice orthrice a year for all that time, and now I suppose he has made me acarrier of stolen wares! Plague on him. I mind me now that betimesI have thought he dealt in cast-off garments somewhat, but that wasnot my affair. Now one knows how that was. " "I liked the man well, also, " said the princess, with a sigh. "Hehas come here every year, and betimes as he shewed me hisgoods--not those you spoke of, Thorgils--it has seemed to me thathe was downcast, and as one who had sorrow in his heart. Maybe hehad, for his ill doings. He deserves to be punished, but yet Iwould ask that--that if you lay hands on him you will be merciful. " "He shewed little mercy to Oswald the thane, " growled Thorgils. "However, Princess, I think that you may be easy. He will not riskaught, and we shall see him no more. But the knave would beguileLoki. Never a word did I hear of any trouble, but he came and spoketo me as I sat with your men yonder, and paid me his passage money, and said he had asked for a guard for the ship as he wanted to beaway with the sick man. Also he said he would borrow the boat forhis easier passage ashore. I supposed she was smashed in the gale, as she came not back, and Howel paid me for her when I grumbled. " "I wonder he went near you, " I said. "Therein was craft. If he had not paid passage I would have letevery shipmaster beware of him, and he would have fared ill. Hethought you done for, no doubt, and so fell back on certainty, asone may say. It is a marvel you escaped the great rifts in yoncliffs in the storm. Now he will hear that you are none the worse, and he will be sorry he paid me. " Thorgils laughed grimly, but Nona sighed at the downfall of the manshe had liked. As for myself, it mattered little what became ofhim, so far as I was concerned. Howel's men were hunting him as Iknew, and I only hoped they might catch him, for then we mightlearn more of the plotting that was on hand from him. He would tellall to save his skin, no doubt. But now I told Thorgils how I needed to be back in Norton with allspeed, and it sent a sort of chill through me to see him shake hishead. "There is need, truly, " he said, "and all that may be done I willdo. But yestermorn we found that we had sprung a plank or two justabove the waterline, as we were in a bad berth for shelter. I madeshift to get the ship to Tenby, but on one tack she leaks like abasket, and she must be repaired. It will take all today, and maybetomorrow; but it shall be done, if we have to work double tides, orto make a cobbler's job of it in haste. I must be off therefore tosee to it. But I hope, if wind will serve us we may sail for hometomorrow night. Tide serves about midnight, and waits for no man. You had better be with us betimes. " He saw that I seemed downcast, and added thoughtfully enough: "Itis in my mind that you need have little care yet. Gerent will notlet Owen out of his sight for some time, as I think, and dangerbegins when he is abroad alone, and carelessly. Maybe not till heis at Exeter. " Then he beckoned to the two Danes who were waiting him, and madethem known to me after they had saluted the princess. Eric thechief was a fine old warrior, iron grey and strong, and the otherwas his son, who bade fair to be like his father in time. He was asturdy young man, and wore his arms well. They shook hands with mefrankly, and from their words it was plain that Thorgils had toldmy story at Tenby already. "This is the sick man I told you of, " he said now. "He turns out tobe a Thane of Glastonbury, and Evan had a hand in some plot of thefriends of Morgan. Took him by craft and brought him here forransom, doubtless. I had not thought that man such a knave, andshall distrust my judgment of men sorely in future. " Then Nona asked them what they would with the prince, and Eric toldher. "The deer are in the valleys, Lady, and we came to tell the princethat we have harboured the great stag of twelve points in the woodsbeyond Caerau. Will it please him to join our hunt?" "Doubtless, " she said. "Now there is no time to be lost, for theday is high already. " "None the worse, Princess, " said Eric. "The last snow is passinghourly. " So we went round to the front of the palace toward the gates, andthere waited half a dozen more men and horses by a gathering of menon foot with a pack of great hounds, the like of which I had neverseen. They were the Danish hounds, which had come hither with theirmasters, and were big and strong enough for any quarry, even wereit the bear that yet lurked in the Welsh mountain wilds. Then Howel came, and would have me mounted well, and in less thanhalf an hour we were riding eastward along the ancient way theycall the Ridgeway, which crowns the long hill between the sea andthe valleys where lie the windings of Milford Haven. And so we wenttill we could see Tenby itself far off on its rocky ness, and atthat point left Thorgils to go his way, while we turned northwardinto the inland valleys, and sought the deep combe where they hadharboured the stag. The snow lay here and there yet, but it was almost gone, and thegoing was somewhat heavy, but overhead the sky was soft and grey, and the wind was pleasant if chill. North and west it was, and thatwould be fair for our crossing, if only it would hold, as Thorgilsdeemed that it surely would. Now it was good to hear the horn and the cheer of the hunters asthey drew the deep cover for the deer, and the half-dozen couple ofhounds that were held back in leash while the rest were at theirwork strained and whimpered to be with them. And at last the greatstag broke from the cover, in no haste, but in a sort of disdain ofthose who had disturbed him, and after him came a few scurryinghinds who huddled to him for safely. They trotted to another cover, and after them streamed the hounds, and then the great stag wasdriven alone from his hiding, and so the pack was laid on and wewere away. He headed for the far waters of the haven I had seen glitteringfrom the hilltop, even as Howel told me was likely, and the pacewas fast at the first. So I settled myself to the work and rode asone should ride on another man's horse, and a good one, moreover, carefully enough. But these hills were easier than ours, forheather was none, and the loose stones that trouble us on Mendipsand Quantocks were not to be seen. It was fair grass land mostly. So I let my horse go, and in a little while had forgotten aught butthe sheer joy of the pace, and the cry of the great hounds, and thefull delight of such a run as one dreams of. Whereby I have littlemore to tell thereof. For a country may seem to be open enough as one looks down on itfrom a height, but as one crosses it the difference in what hasseemed easy riding is soon plain. Long swells of rolling groundrise as it were from nothing, and deep valleys that had been unseencross the path, and the clustered trees are found to be deep woodsas they are neared. Then the man who knows the country has theadvantage, and it is as well to follow him. But I was well mounted, and the pace was good where the gale had thinned the snow, and itcame about that before I had time to think what Howel and Eric andthe Danes who were on horseback were doing I rode down one side ofa little cover, past which the deer had gone with the hounds closeon him, while the rest went on the other. I heard one shout, but itdid not come into my mind that it was to me, for I thought thatthey needs must follow, and did not look round. Then I had to turnoff yet more to the right as the best way seemed to take me, andmeanwhile they were off to the left. So when I was clear of the thicket and could see across the openagain I had lost them. Unless I could hear the hounds I had nothingto guide me, and I drew rein and listened for them. As I heardnothing I rode on until I had a stretch of open country before me, but there I could see no more. Afterwards I learned that the deerhad turned and made for the hill again, but it did not seem likelythat he would do so with the waters of the haven so close at handas I could see them. It was more likely that he would head straightfor them, and so I spurred on once more in that direction. It wascertainly the best thing that I could do, and I had not far to gobefore a mile of the open water was before me. But there was noughton its banks but a row of patient herons, fishing or sleeping, andthe sight of them told me that no man had passed this way for manya long hour. I waited in that place for a few moments, to see if the deer madefor the refuge of the water from some cover that as yet hid himfrom me, but he did not come. It was plain to me then that the hunthad doubled back and that I was fairly thrown out, and I went nofarther. By this time Eric might be miles away, and I knew nothingof the lie of the land, save that along the crest of the Ridgewayran the road from Tenby to Pembroke, and that once on that road Icould make my way back in no long time. That, as it seemed to me, was the best thing that I could do, and I headed my horse at oncefor the hill, going slowly, for it was no great distance, and itwas heavy going in the places where the snow had gathered indrifts. I thought that maybe I should cross the track of the horsesand hounds, or hear Eric's horn before I had gone far, but Ireached the foot of the hill without doing either. Then I came to a place where the land began to draw upward moresharply, thickly timbered, with scattered rocks among the roots ofthe trees. Fox and badger and wildcat had their hiding places here, for I could trace them on all sides, and then I saw the track of awolf, and that minded me, as that track in snow ever must, of Owenand the day when he came to my help at Eastdean. That is theclearest memory I have of my childhood. Then I thought that I heard the horn, and stopped to listen, norwas it long before what I had heard came to my ears again. It wasnot the sound of the horn, however, but somewhat strange to me, andfor a while I wondered what forest bird or beast had a note likethat. For the third time I heard it, and now it was plainly like thehalf-stifled cry of some one in pain among the trees to the rightof me, and not far distant either. So I rode toward the placewhence the cry seemed to come, and as I went I called. At that thevoice rose more often, with some sound of entreaty in its tone, andit seemed to be trying to form words. I hastened then, crossingmore wolf tracks on the way, and then I struck the trail of manymen and a few horses; but these were not Eric's, for the hoof markswere rather those of ponies than of his tall steeds. I followedthat track, for it seemed to lead toward the weary voice that Iheard, and so I came to a circle of great oaks with a clear spaceof many paces wide between them, and there I found what I wasseeking. It was piteous enough. A man was tied to the greatest of the trees, with knees to chin, and bound ankles, while round his knees his hands were clasped andfastened so that a stout stake was thrust through, under his kneesand over his elbows, trussing him helplessly. The cords that boundhim to the tree were round his body in such wise that he could byno means fall on his side and so work himself free from the stake, and round his mouth was a ragged cloth tied, but not closely enoughto prevent him from calling out as I heard him. I think that hemust have gnawed it from closer binding than I saw now. Across thesnow behind him the paws of some daring wolf had left marks as ifthe beast had sniffed at his very back not so long since, andsurely but for the chance of my coming that way nought but hisbones had been left in that place by the pack before morning cameagain. It was a strange cry that this man gave when he saw me, for in noway could I take it for a cry of joy for rescue. I could ratherthink that he had raised the same when the wolf came near him. Andwhen I dismounted and led my horse after me toward him he seemed totry to shrink from me, as if I also meant him harm. I thought thatthe poor soul had surely gone distracted with the fear of theforest beasts on him, so that he no longer knew friend from foe, and I wondered how long he had been bound here in this lonelyplace. I had seen no house or trace of men between here and Tenby. I hitched the bridle rein over a low bough, and leaving my horsewent toward him to set him loose, wondering who had left him here. And as I drew my seax and went to cut the lashings he writhedafresh and cried piteously for mercy in what sounded like bad Saxonfrom behind the cloth across his face, as though he deemed that Icame to slay him. I did not notice the strangeness of his using myown tongue here in the heart of a Welsh land at the time, butthought he took me for one of those who had bound him. "Fear not, " I said, speaking in Welsh to comfort him. And if anything, that seemed to terrify him yet more. "Mercy, good Thane--mercy!" he mumbled from his half-stifled lips. Then it seemed to me that it was strange that he knew what I was, and before I cut the bonds I took the cloth from his face, and lo!the man was Evan the outlaw, my enemy! That told me why he feared me in good truth, for he had need to doso, and I stood back and looked at him with the bright weapon stillin my hand, and he cried and begged for mercy unceasingly. Itseemed but right that he should be bound helplessly as he had boundme, yet he had not the bitterness of seeing a friend look on himwithout knowing him as had I. It was a foe whom he saw, and that arighteous one. Then I was minded to turn away and leave him where he was, untilthe foe from the forest looked on him for the last time, for it wasall that he deserved, and I set my seax back in my belt and turnedaway to my horse with a great loathing of the man in my mind; andseeing that, he begged for mercy again most pitiably. That is a hard thing to hear unmoved, and I stayed and looked athim again. My first wrath was leaving me as I saw the fullness ofthe end of his plans, and I do not think that it is in me to beutterly revengeful. "What mercy can you hope from me!" I said coldly. "None, Thane--none. But let me go hence with you. Better the ropethan these wild beasts. Or slay me now, and swiftly. " "Who, of all your friends, tied you here?" I asked him. "Howel's men, " he answered. "They took my goods at the ford ofCaerau yonder, and so brought me here and left me. That was earlythis morning. " "I marvel that you bided in reach of any who might speak with me, "I said. "My comrades left me, for fear of that same. I must hire ponies toget the goods away. I thought you had died on the wild sea thatnight. " "It seems to me that this is but justice on you. The goods you havelost were stolen from honest men. And it were just if I left youbound as you bound me. " Then the man said slowly: "Ay, it is justice. But will you treat meeven as I treated you, Thane?" I looked at him in some wonder. The man's face had grown calm, though it was yet grey and drawn, and this seemed as if he wouldown his fault without excuse. I minded that Nona the princess andher father, ay, and Thorgils, had said that they thought well ofEvan the merchant up till this time. "Supposing I let you go--What then?" I said. "First of all, I would tell you somewhat for which you will thankme, Thane. " "Tell me that first, " I said, not altogether believing that he hadanything which could be worth my hearing, but with a full mind nowto let him go. Plainly, he had some sort of faith in me, or in the worth of whathe had to say, for he began eagerly: "Thane, when we took you, it was Owen of Cornwall for whom wewaited. We were not minding you at all until we saw that we mighthurt him through you. " "That I suppose. I know that you laid wait for Owen the prince. " "Ay, for you know the Welsh and heard all that we said. But listen, Thane, this is it. Eight of the friends of Morgan had sworn thedeath of Owen that morning, and it was the leader of them who setus on. He was not there, for he waited on another road. " "Were you one of the eight?" "That I am not, " he said. "I and my men were but hired, as Morganwas wont to hire us now and then. When we took you methought thatit was well for me, for through you I might be inlawed again, evenas I told you. " "Who was this leader?" I asked, heeding this last speech not atall. "Tregoz of the Dart, men call him, for he holds lands thereon. Alsothere are these of the great men of Cornwall and Dyvnaint. " He called over the names of the other seven, and I repeated themthat I should not forget. The only one that I had heard before wasthat of Tregoz. The outlaws had spoken of him, and now I rememberedhim as one of those who had seemed loudest in welcome to Owen whenhe came to Norton. So I told Evan, and he nodded. "I heard him boast of the same, " he said, and I believed him forthe way in which he said it. "How do they think to slay Owen, and wherefore?" I asked, and myblood ran cold at the thought of the treachery that was round him. Doubtless this Tregoz was back at court. "In any way that they may compass, and if in such a way as to stirup war with Ina of Wessex so much the better, as they say. It isrevenge for the death of Morgan, and hatred of the Saxon, mixed. " "Is there any more that I should know?" "None, Thane. But I have broken no oath in telling you this, as youmight think. We outlaws were not bound, for there seemed no need. " It was strange that he should care to tell me this, being what hewas. Once more I minded words of Thorgils--that the knave wouldbeguile Loki himself with fair words. Yet there was somewhat verystrange in all the looks and words of the man at this time. But Iwould not talk longer with him, and I cut his bonds and freed him. He tried to rise and stretch his cramped limbs, groaning with thepain of them as he did so. And that grew on him so that of a suddenhe swooned and fell all his length at my feet, and then I foundmyself kneeling and chafing the hands of this one who had bound me, so that he should come round the sooner. At last he opened hiseyes, and I fetched the horn of strong mead that Howel had biddenhis folk hang on my saddle bow when we rode out, and that broughthim to himself again. He sat up on the snow and thanked me humbly. "Now, what will you do?" I said. "Let me tell you that Thorgils isafter you, and that Howel has set a price on your head, or wasgoing to do so. And it is better that you cross the sea no more, for if ever any one of the men of Gerent or Ina catch you your lifewill be forfeit. " "I will get me to North Wales or Mercia, Thane, and there will Ilive honestly, and that I will swear. Only, I will pray you not totell Howel that I am free. " "I am like to tell no man, " I answered grimly. "For I should but becalled a soft-hearted fool for my pains. " "Yet shall you be glad that you freed me. Bid Owen the prince lookto the door before ever he opens it. Bid him wear his mail day andnight, and never ride unguarded. Let him have one whom he trusts tosleep across his doorway, until Tregoz and his men are allaccounted for. " "Well, then, " I said, "farewell--as well as you shall deservehereafter. You best know if you have one safe place left to you inEngland or in Wales. " "I was not all so bad until the law hounded me forth from men, " hesaid. "I have yet places where I am held as an honest man. " Now I had enough of him, and I would not ask him more of himselfyet I will say that my heart softened somewhat toward him, for Iknew that here also he had been well thought of. Almost did Iforget how he had treated me, for now that seemed a grudge againstTregoz. Maybe that was all foolishness on my part, but I am notashamed thereof today, as I was then. "Stay, have you any weapon?" I said, as I was turning away. "Thereare many ills that may befall an unarmed man in a wild country. " "There was a seax here, " he said, rising stiffly. "They left it onthe ground, that I might see help out of my reach, as it were. Ay, here it is. " He took it up, and I knew that after all he had felt somewhat as hehad made me feel when I saw help close to me and might not have it. I pitied him, for I knew well what his torture had been. Ay, and Iwill tell this, that men may know how this terror burnt into me. Many a time have I let a trapped rat go, because I would not seethe agony of dumb helplessness in anything. It frays me. There isno wonder that I set Evan free. I said no more, but left him staring after me with the seax in hishand, and rode on my way, thinking most of all of the peril thatwas about Owen, and longing to be back with him that I might guardhim. It seemed likely now that Gerent could take all these menwhose names I had heard without the least trouble, for they couldnot deem that their plans were known. Ina would surely let me bidewith my foster father till danger to him was past. So I came into the road that runs along the top of the Ridgeway, and then I knew where I was. I could see the great ness of Tenbyfar before me across the hills, and presently at a turn in the roadI saw Howel and Eric and his men ahead of me. They had taken thestag, and knew that I should make my way back, and so troubled notat all for me. There Howel and I parted from the Danes, they going back to Tenby, while we returned slowly to Pembroke. And when we came to thepalace yard we found a little train of horses and men there, asthough some new guests had come in lately. "I know who these will be, " said Howel. "You will have company inyour homeward crossing. Here is Dunwal of Devon, and his daughter, who have been on pilgrimage to St. Davids, for Christmastide. Theyknew that Nona returned at this time, and have come hither on thechance of a passage home in the ship which brought her. In goodtime they are, after all. " Presently I met these folk, and very courteous they were. Dunwalwas a tall, very dark, man, who chose to hold that he was beholdento myself for the passage home, when he heard why I was sailing sosoon. And his daughter was like him in many ways, being perhaps thevery darkest damsel I have ever seen, though she was handsomewithal. With them was a priest of the old Western Church, aCornishman, with his outlandish tonsure. He was somewhat advancedin years, and strangely wild looking at times, though silent. Heseemed to be Dunwal's chaplain, or else was a friend who had madethe pilgrimage with him. His name was Morfed, they told me. I do not think that I should have noted him much, but that when heheard my Saxon name he scowled heavily, and drew away from me; andpresently, when it came to pass that Howel told Dunwal the news Ihad brought, I saw his eyes fixed on me in no friendly way as helistened. Nor did he join with his friends in the words of gladnessfor Owen's return, though indeed I had some thought that theirsmight have been warmer. It was almost as if something was held backby the Devon man and his daughter, though why I should think so Icould not tell. At all events, their way of receiving the news wasnot like that of Howel and Nona. By and by, when we came to sit down at table in the largest room ofthe palace, bright with fair linen, and silver and gold and glassvessels before us, and soft and warm under foot with rugs on thetiled floor which hardly needed them, as I thought, there was aguest I was pleased to see. Thorgils had ridden from Tenby at thebidding of the princess, as it seemed, and his first words to mewere of assurance that all went well for our sailing. The good shipwould be ready for the tide of the morrow night. Pleased enoughalso he was with the chance of new passengers, as may be supposed. I do not think that I have ever sat at a feast whereat so few werepresent at the high table, and there were no house-carles at all. Truly, the room was not large enough for what we deem that a king'sboard should be, but we seemed almost in private. There were notmore than thirty guests altogether, but it was pleasant for allthat. The princess was on the right of her father, and Mara, thedaughter of Dunwal, on his left, but I sat next to Nona, and Dunwalto me again. On the other side of the prince were some of his ownnobles, and across the room sat Thorgils next to the Cornishpriest, among Welshmen of some lower rank. They seemed anill-assorted pair, but Thorgils was plainly trying to be friendlywith every one in reach of him, and soon I forgot him in thepleasantness of all that went on at our table. However, by and by Howel said to Nona suddenly, in a low voice: "Look yonder at the Norseman. He must be talking heathenry to yonpriest, for the good man seems well-nigh wild. What can we do?" Truly, the face of Morfed was black as thunder, while that of theNorseman was shining with delight in some long-winded story he wastelling. The white-robed servants were clearing the tables at thismoment, and the prince's bard, a fine old harper with golden collarand chain, was tuning his little gilded harp as if the time forsong had come. "Make him sing, " said Nona. "I bade him here tonight that he mightdo so. He has some wondrous tale to tell us. " Howel beckoned to the harper, and signed to him, and the old manrose at once and went to Thorgils. It was not the first time thathe had sung here, it was plain. Then I noted that the priest wasscowling fiercely at myself, and I wondered idly why. I supposed, so far as I troubled to think thereof that he was one of those whohated the very name of Saxon. Now Thorgils took the harp without demur, smiling at the bard inthanks, and so came forward into the space round which the tableswere set, while a silence fell on the company. "If my song goeth not smoothly in the British tongue, Prince, forgive me. I can but do my best. Truly, I have even now asked myneighbour, Father Morfed, if it is fairly rendered, but I have nothad his answer yet. " He ran his hand over the already tuned strings, and lifted hisvoice and began. It was not the first time that he had handled aBritish harp, by any means, but if he played well he sang better. Ido not think that one need want to hear a finer voice than his; andthough he had seen fit to doubt his powers, his Welsh was as goodas mine, and maybe, by reason of constant use, far more easy. And next moment I knew that he was going to sing nothing more orless than of King Ina's Yule feast, and what happened thereat. Hehad promised to tell the princess the story, and this was herdoing, of course. I could not stop him, and there I must sit andlisten to as highly coloured a tale as a poet could make of it. Once he saw that I was growing red, and he grinned gently at meacross the harp, and worked up the struggle still more terribly. And all the while Morfed the priest glowered at me, until at lengthhe rose and left the room. I was glad enough when Thorgils ended that song, but Nona must askhim for yet another, and that pleased him, of course, and he beganonce more. This time he sang, to my great confusion, of thedrinking of the bowl, and of my vow, and I wished that I wasanywhere but in Pembroke, or that I could reach the three-leggedstool on which he was perched from under him. I never knew a maneasy while the gleemen sang his deeds, save Ina, who was used toit, and never listened; and I knew not where to look, though maybemore than half the folk present did not understand that I was thehero of the song. Nevertheless, I had to put up with it, till heended with a verse or two of praise of our host and of the princesswho loved the songs of the bard, and so took his applause with ahappy smile and went and sat down, while Nona bade her maidens beara golden cup and wine to him. Then the princess turned to me with a quiet smile that had somemischief in it. "This last is more than I had thought to hear, Thane, " she said;"you told us nought of yourself and the lady Elfrida when we rodefrom the hermit's. " And so she must ask me many questions, under cover of some chantwhich the old bard began, and she drew my tale from me easilyenough, and maybe learnt more than I thought I told her, for beforelong she said: "Then it seems that, after all, you are not so sure that the ladyis pleased with you for your vow?" And in all honesty I was forced to own that I was not. I suppose Ishowed pretty plainly that I thought myself aggrieved in thematter, for the princess smiled at me. "Wait till you see how she meets you when you return, Thane. Noneed to despair till then. " It came into my mind to say that I did not much care how I was met, but I forbore. Maybe it was not true. And then the princess and thethree or four other ladies who were present rose and left thetable, and thereafter we spoke of nought but sport and war, and Ineed not tell of all that. But when I went to my chamber presently, and the two pages were about to leave me to myself some three hoursor so after the princess left the board, one of them lingered for amoment behind the other, and so handed me a folded and sealedpaper. "I pray you read this, Thane, " he said, and was gone. It was written in a fair hand, that did not seem as that of anyinky-fingered lay brother, but as I read the few words that werewritten I knew whose it was, for none but Nona would have writtenit. "Have a care, Thane. I have spoken with Mara, and I fear trouble. Dunwal her father is, with Tregoz his brother, at the right hand ofthe men who follow Morgan. Morfed the priest is a hater of all thatmay make for peace with the Saxon. He is well-nigh distraught withhatred of your kin. " Then there were a few words crossed out, and that was all. And totell the truth, it was quite enough. But as I came to think overthe matter, it seemed to me that until Dunwal knew that it was hisbrother who had tried to get rid of me I need not fear him. As forthe priest, his hatred would hardly lead him to harm the son ofOwen. So I slept none the less easily, but from my heart I thanked theprincess for the warning. It should not be my fault if Dunwal hadmuch power for harm when once I met Gerent. CHAPTER IX. WHY IT WAS NOT GOOD FOR OWEN TO SLEEP IN THE MOONLIGHT. It needs not that I should tell of the farewell of the next day. Iwent from Pembroke with many messages for Owen, and a promise thatif I might ever come over with him I would do so. The princess wasbusy with the lady who was to cross with Thorgils, and I did notfind one chance of telling her that I thanked her for her warning, but I found the page who gave me the letter, and bade him tell hismistress when we had gone that she had taught me to look in theface of a fellow passenger, which would be token enough that Iunderstood. Dunwal and his daughter had some few men and pack horses with them, and one Cornish maiden who attended Mara, so that we were quite alittle train as we rode from Pembroke toward Tenby in the lateafternoon, with a score of Howel's guards to care for us in allhonour. Part of the way, too, Howel rode, and when we came to thehill above the Caerau woods, and looked down on the winding watersagain, he said to me: "I have forgotten to tell you that my men took Evan. By this timehe has met his deserts. I have done full justice on him. " "Thanks, Prince, " I said with a shudder, as I minded what I hadsaved the man from. "Did your men question him?" Howel smote his thigh. "Overhaste again!" he cried in vexation. "That should have beendone; but I bade them do justice on him straightway if they laidhands on him. They did it. " I said no more, nor did the prince. It was in my mind that he wasblaming himself for somewhat more than carelessness. So presentlyhe must turn and leave us, and we bade him farewell with all thanksfor hospitality, and he bade me not forget Pembroke, and went hisway. Then I found Dunwal pleasant enough as a companion, and so also wasMara, and the few miles passed quickly, until we rode through thegates of the strong stockade which bars the way to the Danes' townacross the narrow neck of the long sea-beaten tongue of cliff theyhave chosen to set their place on. The sea is on either side, andat the end is an island that they hold as their last refuge if needis, while their ships are safe under one lee or the other from anywind that blows. Far down below us at the cliff's foot, as we rode through the town, where the houses had been set anywise, like those at Watchet, andwere like them timber built, we could see to our left a littlewharf, and beside it the ship that waited us. And the wind wasfair, and the winter weather soft as one might wish it for thecrossing. Now, so soon as Thorgils had seen the baggage of the Cornish folksafely bestowed I had time for a word with him, taking him apartand walking up the steep hill path from the haven for a little way, as if to go to the town. And so I told him who this man was, andwhat possible danger might be. He heard with a long whistle of dismay: "'Tis nigh as bad as crossing with Evan, " he said--"but one iswarned. Let them have the after cabin, and do you take the forwardone; it will be safer. Leave me to see to him when we get toWatchet, for it is in my mind that Gerent will want him. Moreover, so long as he thinks that you fear him not he will be careless, andI will watch him. He will want to learn more before he meddles withyou. As for the priest, I will tend him. " So we were content to leave the matter. Presently, when we were atsea, I do not think that Dunwal or Morfed had spirit left to carefor aught. I know that I had not. I need not speak of that voyage, save to say that it was speedy, and fair--to the mind of Thorgils, at least. At last I slept, nor did I wake till we had been alongside thewharf at Watchet for two hours, being worn out. Then I found thatDunwal and his party had gone already, and I wondered, with a mindto be angry, whereat Thorgils laughed. "I have even sent them on to Norton with a few of our men to helphim, and they will see that he goes there and nowhere else. Youwill find him waiting. I did not want him to fall on you on theroad. " "What is the news?" I asked. "Have you heard aught?" "The best, I think. Gerent is hunting Tregoz, and Owen has swept upevery outlaw from the Quantocks. Our folk helped him. Some of themtold all they knew when they were taken. " "Then, " I said gladly, "Owen knows that I am safe. " "Not so certainly, " Thorgils said. "None of our folk can say thatyou crossed with me, and as this is the only ship afloat at thistime of the year there is doubt as to where you are. It will begood for Owen to see you again. What a tale you have for him! On myword, I envy you the telling. " "Well, then, ride with me to Norton straightway, and you shall tellall and save me words. Owen shall thank you also for your care forme. " "What, for letting you sit on my deck while the wind blew? Nay, butthere are no thanks needed between us. You and I have seen astrange voyage together, and it has ended well. Maybe you and Iwill see more sport yet side by side, for I think that we are goodcomrades. Let us be going, then, for it was in my mind that I couldnot rest until I had seen you safe to your journey's end. " Then I found that he had his own horses ready for us, and two moremen, well armed and mounted also, were waiting with them on thegreen where I had been set down in the litter. So in a very shorttime Thorgils had told his men all that he would have done aboutthe ship, and we were riding fast along the road to Norton, whilethe thawing snow told of the going of the frost at last. I had been gone but these few days, but each of them seemed like amonth to look back upon as I rode under the shadow of the hillsthat I had last seen as a hopeless captive. It grew warm and softas the midday sun shone on us, and the road was muddy underfootwith the chill water that had filled all the brooks again, but Ihardly noticed the change, so eager was I to be back. Glad enough Iwas when we saw the village and the mighty earthworks above it, andyet more glad when the guards at the gate told us that Owen waseven now in the palace. I left Thorgils and his men to the care of the guard for the time, while I went straightway to the entrance doors and asked for speechwith him. "It is the word of the king that you shall have free admittanceinto the palace and to himself at any time, Thane, " the captain ofthe guards said. So I passed into the great chamber of the palace that was used asaudience hall for all comers, and also as the court of justice. The place was full of people, and those mostly nobles, so that Ihad to stand in the doorway for a moment to see what was going on. It was plainly somewhat out of the common, for there were guardsalong one end of the room. It seemed as if there were a trial. Gerent sat in the great chair which one might call his throne atthe upper end of the room, and beside him was Owen. I thought thatmy foster father seemed pale and troubled in that first glance, butI had every reason to know why this was so. Before these two stooda man, with his back to me therefore, and for the moment I did notrecognise him. On either side of this man were guards, and it wasplainly he who was in trouble, if any one. Gerent was speaking tohim. "Well, " he said, "hither you have come as a guest, and as a guestyou shall be treated. But you must know that here within the wallsof the place you shall abide. If you will give your word to do thatI shall not have to keep you so closely. " "This is not what I had looked for from you, King Gerent, " the mansaid. I knew the voice at once, for it was that of Dunwal, my fellowpassenger. So the treachery of his brother must be known, and hewas to be held here as a hostage, as one might say. Gerent's nextwords told me that it was so. "If there is any fault to be found, it is in the ways of yourbrother. Blame him that I must needs have surety for his behaviour. It cannot be suffered that he should go on plotting evil againstus, unchecked in some way. " Dunwal shrugged his shoulders, as if to say that all this was noconcern of his. "Shall you hold my daughter as well?" he said. "I trust that yourcaution will not make you go so far as that. " Gerent's eyes flashed at the tone and words, but he answered verycoldly: "She will bide here also, and in all honour. " Then he beckoned to a noble who stood near him, and spoke to himfor a moment. It chanced that this was one of the very few whom Iknew here. His name was Jago, and I had often seen him atGlastonbury, for he was a friend of our ealdorman, Elfrida'sfather, holding somewhat the same post in Norton as my friend inour town. Owen liked him well also, and he was certainly no friendto Morgan and his party. "Jago's wife will give your daughter all hospitality in his house, "Gerent said, turning again to Dunwal. "Have I your word as tokeeping within bounds during my pleasure?" "Ay, you have it, " answered Dunwal curtly. Then I slipped out of the door quietly, and went to that room whereOwen and I waited on our first coming here, and I sent a steward totell him of my arrival. There is no need for me to tell how hegreeted me, or how I met him. Then when those greetings were over I heard all that had been goingon, and my loss had made turmoil enough. My men had brought backthe news, having missed me very shortly, but it was long beforethey found traces of me. The first thing that they saw was my hawk, as I expected, and after that the bodies of the slain. As I was notwith them, they judged that I had escaped in some way, but theylost the track of the feet in the woodlands, and so rode back toOwen in all haste. Then was a great gathering of men for the hunting of the outlaws, for it would take a small army to search the wild hills andwoodlands of the Quantocks to any effect. The whole countrysideturned out gladly, and the Watchet Norsemen helped also. In the end, on the next day they penned the outlaws into somecombe, and took most of them, and then all was told by them, so faras they knew it. Gerent laid hands on four of the men who had swornthe oath Evan told me of, that evening after some leading outlawhad given their names, but Tregoz had escaped. He had been one of the most active in the matter of the hunt, toall seeming, and had ridden out with Owen and Jago and the rest. Then he took advantage of some turn in the hills, when men began toscatter, and was no more seen. Presently it was plain enough whythis was, when those who were taken were made to speak. Yet itseemed that he was not so far off, for already an attack had beenmade on Owen as he rode beyond the village, though it was no verydangerous one. Now it was to be hoped that the danger from him waspast, for his brother had been taken the moment he rode into thegate, and he would suffer if more harm was done. Then I asked if our king had been told of all this, and I learntthat he had heard at once, and had written back to Owen to say thathe would pay any ransom that might be asked for me if I yet lived, as was hoped. The outlaws had told of Evan's plan, but it was notknown if I had been taken out of the country yet. "All is well that ends well, " Owen said; "but I asked Ina not tosay aught of the matter yet for a while. There is one at least inGlastonbury who might be sorely terrified for you. " He laughed at my red face, for I knew that he meant Elfrida. It wasin my mind, however, that I wished she had heard, for then, perhaps, she would have been sorry that she had not been kinder tome--unless, indeed, she was glad that I was out of the way, in alltruth. Then there was my own long tale to be told, and of course I toldOwen all. It was good to hear him say that he himself could havedone nought but free Evan. Thereafter we sought Thorgils, who was happy in the guardroom, andhad seemingly been telling my tale there, for the men stared at mesomewhat. I do not suppose that it lost in the telling. Owen thanked him for his help, and took him to see Gerent; whichsaved me words, for the Norseman must needs tell how Evan hadbrought me on board his ship, and so we even let him say all thatthere was to be said. After that Gerent loaded him with presents, and so let him go wellpleased. I went out to his horse with him, and saw him start. His last wordas he parted from me was that if I needed a good axeman at my backat any time I was to send for him, and so he went seaward, singingto himself, with the men who had brought Dunwal hither behind him. After that there was more to say of Howel and his court. It seemedthat Gerent and Owen liked him well, and I wondered that Owen hadnot sought him when the trouble fell on him. I think he would notgo to Dyfed as a disgraced man, for I know he could not clearhimself at the time. Now at supper, presently, there was Dunwal, looking anxious, as Ithought, but trying not to shew it. His daughter Mara was therealso, and as it happened she sat next to me. I suppose theseneschal set her there as we had crossed from Dyfed together, unless she had asked it, or gone to that seat without asking. Shewas very pleasant, talking of the troubles of the voyage, and sowent on to speak sadly enough of the greater trouble that hadwaited her. "I am glad the king has kept us, however, " she said. "I can becontent with the court rather than with our wild Dartmoor, as youmay guess. But all these things are too hard for me, and how anyman can plot against so wonderful looking a prince as Owen passesme. I cannot but think that there is some mistake, and that myuncle has no hand in the affair. That will be proved ere long, I dobelieve. " I answered that indeed I hoped that it would prove so, and thenasked for Morfed, the priest who had crossed with us, as I did notsee him among the other clergy at the table. She told me that hehad left them, on foot, at the gate of Watchet, making his waywestward, as she believed. He had only joined their party foreasier travelling in Dyfed. Then she must needs ask me questions about Thorgils' song, andspecially of Elfrida. I had no mind to tell her much, but it ishard to refuse to answer a lady who speaks in all friendly wise andpleasantly, so that I had to tell her much the same that I toldNona the princess, and began to wonder if every lady who had thechance would be as curious to know all about what story there was. And that was a true foreboding of mine, for so it was, until I grewused to it. But all this minded me of Nona and her warning, and Iwas half sorry that the priest had not come here, to be taken careof with Dunwal. After that night we saw little of these two. Mara went to the houseof Jago, and Dunwal kept to himself about the palace boundarieswithin the old ramparts, and seemed to shun notice. As for me, wordwent to Ina that all was well, and he sent a letter back to saythat it would please him to know that I was with Owen for a timeyet. So I bided with him, and for a time all went well, for weheard nought of Tregoz in any way, while another of his friends wastaken and imprisoned in some western fortress of Gerent's. Nor werethere any more attacks made on Owen, so that after a little whilewe went about, hunting and hawking, in all freedom, for dangerseemed to have passed with the taking of Dunwal as hostage. Then one day a guard from the gate brought me a folded paper, onwhich my name was written in a fair hand, saying that it had beenleft for me by a swineherd from the hill, who said that it was fromsome mass priest whom I knew. The guard had let the man go away, deeming that, of course, there was no need to keep him. Nor hadthey asked who the priest might be, as it was said that I knew him. I took the letter idly and went to my stables with it in my hand, and opened and read it as I walked. "To Oswald, son of Owen. --It is not good to sleep in themoonlight. " That was all it said, and there was no name at the end of it. Ithought it foolish enough, for every one knows that the cold whitelight of the moon is held to be harmful for sleepers in the openair. But I was not in the way of sleeping out in this early seasonwith its cold, though, of course, it was always possible that onemight be belated on the hills and have to make a night in theheather of it when hunting on Exmoor or the Brendons. There was notmuch moon left now, either. So I showed the note to Owen presently, and he puzzled over it, seeing that it could not have been sent for nothing. At last weboth thought that whoever wrote it, or had it written, knew thatsome attack would be made on us with the next moon, when it wouldbe likely that we might be riding homeward by its light with nocare against foes. That might well be called "sleeping in themoonlight" as things were; and at all events we were warned intime. The trouble to me was that it seemed to say that danger wasnot all past. However, when there was no moon at all I forgot the letter for thetime, no more trouble cropping up, and but for a chance word Ithink that it had not come into my mind again until we were out inthe moonlight at some time. As we sat at table one evening when themoon was almost at the full again, some one spoke of moonstruckmen, and that minded me, and set me thinking. He said that once hehimself had had a sore pain in the face by reason of the moonlightfalling on it when he was asleep, and another told somewhat thesame, until the talk drifted away to other things and they forgotit. But now I remembered how that at our first coming here I hadwaked in the early hours and seen a patch of moonlight from a highsouthern window on the outer wall of the palace passing acrossOwen's breast as he slept. Then I was on the floor across the door, but now I slept in the same place that Owen had that night, whilehe was on the couch across the room and under the window. It waspossible, therefore, that the light did fall on my face, but I waspretty sure that if so it would have waked me. At all events, if the letter had aught to do with that, it was acumbrous way of letting me know that my bed was in a bad place forquiet sleep. The only thing that seemed likely thus was that thegood priest who wrote had left the palace before he had rememberedto tell me how he had fared in that room once, and so sent backword. There were many priests backward and forward here, as atGlastonbury with Ina. Then it seemed plain that this was themeaning of the whole thing, and so I would hang a cloak over thewindow by and by. And, of course, having settled the question in my own mind, Iforgot to do that, and was like to have paid dearly for forgetting. Two nights afterward, when the moon was at the full, I woke fromsleep suddenly with the surety that I heard my name called softly. I was wide awake in a moment, and found the room bright withmoonlight that did indeed lie in a broad square right across mychest on the furs that covered me. I glanced across to Owen, but hewas asleep, as there was full light enough to see, and then Iwondered why I seemed to have heard that call. In a few moments Iknew that, and also that the voice I heard was the one that hadcome to me in sore danger before. Idly and almost sleeping again I watched the light, to see ifindeed it was going to cross my face, and then a sudden shadowflitted across it, and with a hiss and flick of feathers a longarrow fled through the window and stuck in the plaster of the wallnot an inch above my chest, furrowing the fur of the white bearskinover me, so close was it. In a moment I was on the floor, with a call to Owen, and it waswell that I had the sense to swing myself clear from the light andleap from the head of the bed, for even as my feet touched thefloor a second arrow came and struck fairly in the very place whereI had been, and stood quivering in the bedding. Then was a yell from outside, and before Owen could stay me Ilooked through the window, recklessly enough maybe, but with afeeling that no more arrows would come now that the archer wasdisturbed. It needed more than a careless aim to shoot so well intothat narrow slit. Across the window I could see the black line ofthe earthworks against the light some fifty paces from the wall ofthe palace, with no building between them on this side at all; andon the rampart struggled two figures, wrestling fiercely insilence. One was a man whose armour sparkled and gleamed under themoon, and the other seemed to be unarmed, unless, indeed, that wasa broad knife he had in his hand. Then Owen pulled me aside. "The sentry has him, " he said, after a hurried glance. "Let us outinto the light, for there may be more on hand yet. " Now I hurried on my arms, but another look showed me nothing butthe bare top of the rampart. No sign of the men remained. I couldhear voices and the sounds of men running in the quiet, and Ithought these came from the guard, who were hurrying up from thegate. "The men have rolled into the ditch, " I said. "I can see nothingnow. " Then we ran out, bidding the captain of the guard to stand to armsas we passed through the great door of the palace, and so we wentround to the place whence the arrows had come. A score of men fromthe gate were already clustered there on the earthworks, talkingfast as Welshmen will, but heedful to challenge us as we came. Isaw that they had somewhat on the ground in the midst of them. "Here is a strange affair, my Prince, " one of them said, as he heldout his hand to help Owen up the earthworks. The group stood aside for us to look on what they had found, andthat was a man, fully armed in the Welsh way of Gerent's guards, but slain by the well-aimed blow of a strong seax that was yet leftwhere it had been driven home above the corselet. There was a warbow and two more arrows lying at the foot of the rampart, as ifthey had been wrested from the hand of the archer and flung there. The men had not seen these, but I looked for them at once when Isaw that there was no bow on the slain man. "Who is this?" Owen said gravely, and without looking closely asyet. "It is Tregoz of the Dart, whom the king seeks, " one or two of themen said at once. I had known that it must be he in my own mind before the name wasspoken. There fell a silence on the rest as the name was told, andall looked at my foster father. There was plainly some fault in thewatching of the rampart that had let the traitor find his way hereat all. "Which of you was it who slew him?" asked Owen. "None of us, Lord. We cannot tell who it may have been. Even thesentry who keeps this beat is gone. " "Doubtless it was he who slew him, and is himself wounded in thefosse. Look for him straightway. " There they hunted, but the man was not to be found. Nor was it hisweapon that had ended Tregoz. Then Owen said in a voice that had grown very stern: "Who was thesentry who should have been here?" The men looked at one another, and the chief of them answered atlast that the man was from Dartmoor, one of such a name. And thenone looked more closely at the arms Tregoz wore, and cried out thatthey were the very arms of the missing sentry, or so like them thatone must wait for daylight to say for certain that they were notthey. It was plain enough then. In such arms Tregoz could well walkthrough the village itself unnoticed, as one of the palace guardswould be, and so when the time came he would climb from some hidingin the fosse and take the place of his countryman on the rampart, and the watchful captain would see but a sentry there and deem thatall was well. Yet this did not tell us who was the one who had wrestled with andslain him, and Owen told what had been done, while I went andbrought the bow and arrows from the foot of the rampart, in hopesthat they might tell us by mark or make if more than Tregoz and thesentry were in this business. Then I looked at my window, and, though narrow, it was as fair a mark in the moonlight as one wouldneed. Without letting my shadow fall on the sleeper, it waspossible to see my couch and the white furs on it, though it wouldbe needful to raise the arm across the moonlight in the act ofshooting. It was all well planned, but it needed a first-ratebowman. "It was surely Tregoz who shot, " one of the men said. "The sentrywho was here was a bungler with a bow. None whom we know but Tregozcould have made sure of that mark, bright as the night is. Well itwas, Lord, that you were not sleeping in your wonted place. " Owen glanced at me to warn me to say nothing, and bade the men takethe body to the guardroom. They were already cursing the sentry whohad brought shame on their ranks by leaguing himself with atraitor, and it was plain that there was no need to bid them layhands on him if they could. That was a matter that concerned theirown honour. So we left the guarding of the place in their hands, and theydoubled the watches from that time forward. Then we went and spokewith the captain of the guard, who yet kept his post at the doors, as none had called him. "Maybe I am to blame, " he said, when he heard all. "I should nothave left a Dartmoor man from the country whence Tregoz came tokeep watch there. I knew that he was thence, and thought no harm. " "There is no blame to you, " Owen said. "It is not possible to lookfor such treachery among our own men. " Then we went into our room to show the captain what had been done. And thence the two arrows had already been taken. The hole in theplaster where the first struck was yet there, and the slit made bythe second in the tough hide of the bear was to be seen when Iturned over the fur, but who had taken them we could not tell. Only, it was plain that here in the palace some one was in the plotand had taken away what might be proof of who the archer had been, not knowing, as I suppose, that the attempt had failed so utterly. For an arrow will often prove a good witness, as men will use onlysome special pattern that they are sure of, and will often markthem that they may claim them and their own game in the woodlandsif they are found in some stricken beast that has got away for atime. It was more than likely that Tregoz would have been carefulto use only such arrows as he knew well in a matter needing suchclose shooting as this. Indeed, we afterwards found men who knewthe two shafts from the rampart as those of the Cornishman, withoutdoubt. This I did not like at all, for the going of these arrows broughtthe danger to our very door, as it were. Nor did the captain, forhe himself kept watch over us for the rest of that night, andafterwards there was always a sentry in the passage that led to ourroom. We were silent as we lay down again, and sleep was long in coming. I puzzled over all this, for beside the taking of the arrows therewas the question of who the slayer of Tregoz might be, and who hadwritten the letter that should have warned us. In all truth, it was not good to sleep in the moonlight! Somewhat of the same kind Owen was thinking, for of a sudden hesaid to me: "Those arrows were meant for me, Oswald. Did you notewhat the man said about my not sleeping in my wonted place?" "Ay, but I did not know that you had slept on this side. Since Icame back, at least, you have not done so. " Owen smiled. "No, I have not, " he said; "but in the old days that was always myplace, and you will mind that there I slept on the night we firstwere here together. That was of old habit, and I only shifted tothis side when you came back, because I knew that you would likethe first light to wake you. Every sentry who crosses the window onthe rampart can see in here if it is light within, but he could nottell that we had changed places, for the face of the sleeper ishidden. " Then he laughed a little, and added: "In the old days when I was in charge of the palace this face ofthe ramparts was always the best watched, because the men knew thatif I waked and did not see the shadow of the sentry pass and repassas often as it should, he was certain to hear of it in the morning. Tregoz would know that old jest. I suppose Dunwal may have had somehand in taking the arrows hence. " "It is likely enough, " I answered. "He will have to pay for hisbrother's deed tomorrow, in all likelihood, also. But who wrote theletter, and who slew Tregoz?" Owen thought for a little while. "Mara, Dunwal's daughter, is the most likely person to havewritten, " he said. "It would be like a woman to do so, and sheseems at least no enemy. Maybe the man was the sentry, after all, and fled because he had given up his arms, and so was sharer in thedeed that he repented of. Or he may have been some friend of ours, or foe of the Cornishman, who would not wait for the rough handlingof the guard when they found him there where he should not be. Nodoubt we shall hear of him soon or late. " But we did not. There was no trace of him, or of the writer of theletter. One may imagine the fury of Gerent when he heard all thisin the morning, but even his wrath could not make Dunwal speak ofaught that he might know. But for the pleading of Owen, the oldking would have hung him then and there, and all that my fosterfather could gain for him was his life. Into the terrible old Romandungeon, pit-like, with only a round hole in the stone covering ofit through which a prisoner was lowered, he was thrown, and therehe bided all the time I was at Norton. By all right the lands of these two fell again into the hands ofthe king, and he would give them to Owen. "Take them, " he said, when Owen would not do so at first: "they oweyou amends. If you do not want them yourself, wait until you sit inmy seat, and then give them to Oswald, that he may have good reasonfor leaving Ina for you. " So Owen held them for me, as it were, and was content. Some daythey might be mine, if not in the days of Ina, whom we loved. But Gerent either forgot or cared not to think of Mara, Dunwal'sdaughter, and she bided in the best house in the town, with Jago'swife, none hindering her in anything. There was no more sign oftrouble now that Tregoz and his brother were out of the way. CHAPTER X. HOW THE EASTDEAN MANORS AND SOMEWHAT MORE PASSED FROM OSWALD TOERPWALD. I bided at Norton with Owen until the Lententide drew near, andthen I must needs go back to my place with Ina. Maybe I should havegone before this, seeing that all was safe now, but our king hadbeen on progress about the country, to Chippenham, and so toReading and thence to London, and but half his guard was with him, so that I was not needed. Now he was back at Glastonbury, and Imust join him there and go back to royal Winchester with him forthe Easter feast. Owen and I also had been far westward at one time or another, inthis space, though there is little worth telling beyond that wewent even to the lands of Tregoz that had passed to him, and sotook possession of them. I could not see that any of the folk onthose lands, whether free or thrall, seemed other than glad thatOwen was their lord now. It was said that Tregoz was little loved. We left a new steward in the great half-stone and half-timberhouse, with house-carles enough to see that none harmed either himor the place, and so came back to Norton. Now, one may say that all this time, seeing that Glastonbury wasbut so short a distance from Norton, I was a laggard lover not tohave ridden over to see Elfrida, and maybe it would be of littleuse for me to deny it. However, I would have it remembered thatthere was always fear for Owen in my mind if I was apart from himat the first, and then there was this westward journey, and thehunting in new places, and many other things, so that the timeslipped by all too quickly. Also, when it is easy to go to a placeone is apt to say that tomorrow will do, and, as every one knows, tomorrow never comes. Nor had we said much of that damsel; if Owenhad not altogether forgotten my oath, he never spoke of it, nor didI care to remind him. Nevertheless, whenever we spoke of Howel andhis daughter, Owen's godchild, I minded that the princess hadbidden me see how Elfrida greeted me when I came back, and it wasin my mind that she would be no less glad to see me after a longabsence. That I should find out very shortly, but the thought troubled melittle. I will say that the parting from Owen was all that was ofconsequence to me, for it was hard enough. I could not tell when weshould meet again, for I must go east and he west now, andpresently all Devon, and maybe Cornwall, would lie between us, evenwhen our court was at Glastonbury. It would be hard to see him atall in the coming days, for not often was Gerent here. However, partings must needs be, and we made the least of it, and so at lastwe rode together to the old bridge that crosses the Parrett, andthere bade our last farewells, and went our ways, not looking back. It was a lonesome ride onward for me after all these days with him, and I had not a word for my house-carles, who had ridden fromGlastonbury hither to meet me, for the first few miles. Then Ibethought myself, and drew rein a little and let them come up withme, for I had ridden alone at their head for a while, and so heardall the news of the court and whatever talk was going about theplace, and my mind left Norton and went on, as it were, before meto Glastonbury and all that I should see there. There was a warm welcome waiting for me from the many friends, andbest of all from the king himself. With him I sat long in hischamber telling of my doings and of Owen, and hearing also of whathad been going on. At the last, when I was about to leave hispresence, he said: "There is one matter that we must speak of tomorrow, for it isweighty and needs thought. Let it bide now, for it is noughtunhappy, and so come to me at noon and we will speak thereof. Nowyour friends will seek you, and I will not say more. " I left him then with a little wonder as to what this business mightbe, but thought little of it, as it would very likely be a matterof taking some men on some errand or the like house-carle work, andthen I bethought me that I would even go and see how fared Elfrida. It was not unpleasant to think of taking her by surprise, for I didnot suppose that she had heard of my return yet. At all events, shewould have no chance of making up some stiff greeting for me. Wherefore I went down the street with my head in the air, making upmy mind how I would greet her, and maybe I thought of a dozen waysbefore I reached the ealdorman's door. His welcome was hearty enough at all events, but before I couldmake up my mind to ask for Elfrida, who was not to be seen atfirst, though I had counted on finding her at her wheel in thegreat hall of the house, as was her wont in the afternoon, he hadwasted a long hour in hearing all that he could of my affairs, asmay be supposed. There had been some strange rumours flying aboutsince I was lost. I began to wish that I had brought Thorgils homewith me, for it was plain that I should have to go over all thistoo often, and he cared not at all how many times he told the sametale. At last I was able to find a chance of asking how fared the ladyElfrida, and at that the ealdorman laughed. "What, has not all this put that foolishness out of your head?" hesaid. "No, it has not, " I answered pretty shortly. But all the same, the old thought that I had remembered her lessthan I would have it known did flash across me for a moment. "Well, I will send for her, and she will tell you for herself howshe fares. " He sent, and then in about half an hour she came, just as I wasthinking I would wait no longer. And if she had been stiff with mein the orchard it was even more so now, and I did not seem to geton with her at all. She said, indeed, that she was glad to see meback, but in no way could I think that she looked more so than anyone else I had met. So we talked a little, and then all of a sudden her father said: "Ho!--Here comes that South Saxon again. " Then at once a blush crept slowly over her fair face, and she triednot to look toward the great door in vain, though no one came in, and presently she was gone with but a few words to me. I did notlike this at all, but the ealdorman laughed at her and then at me, the more that he saw that I was put out. "Never mind, Oswald, " he said. "That vow of yours pledged you to nomore than duty to any fair lady. " "Maybe it is just as well that it did not, " I answered, trying tolaugh also. "Ay, that is right. You were bound to say somewhat, and you did itwell. But it has not pleased the girl, nevertheless. " "I did think, at least, she would have been more glad to see me. " "Trouble yourself not at all about the ways of damsels for the nextfive years, or maybe ten, Oswald, my friend, " said the ealdorman. "So will you have an easier life, and maybe a longer one. " Discontented enough I went away, and that same discontent lastedfor a full half-hour. At the end of that time I found myselflaughing at the antics of two boys who were sporting on a floodedmeadow in a great brew tub, while their mother threatened them witha stick from the bank. It was my thought that a cake would havefetched them back sooner than the stick, but maybe she knew best. It was like a hen with ducklings. Then I grew tired of loitering outside the town and nursing mywounded pride, and when it began to rain I forgot it, and went backto the palace and talked about the British warriors with Nunna andsome of the other young thanes until supper time. Next morning I waited on the king as he had bidden me, finding himin his chamber with a pile of great parchments and the like beforehim. He bade me be seated, and I sat in the window seat oppositehim. "It is no light matter that I have to speak of, " he said, "but Iwill get to the point straightway. What do you remember of your oldhome, Eastdean?" Now the thoughts of old days there that had sprung afresh in mymind in the parting with Owen, made me ready to answer that atonce. "Little, my King. I was but ten years old when we fled, " I answeredtherefore. "That is likely. But would you go back there? As the Thane ofEastdean, I mean; for I know that you would wish to see the placewhere your father lies. " I could not answer him this at once, for it was indeed a matterthat needed thought. So I said, and he turned to his writings witha nod and left me to myself. In all these thoughts of mine, pleasant as they were with somememories, it had never come to me to wish that the lands were mineagain. Save for that one thing of which Ina spoke, and for thepleasantness of seeing old scenes again, I had never cared to goback. Owen had not spoken of the lands that should have been minefor years, and even as he talked with me and Gerent he had notseemed to remember that old loss at all. Gerent had done so, sayingthat I should be back there, but even that did not stir me now. Iwas of the court, and here I had my place, and all my life was knitwith the ways of the atheling guard and the ordering of thehouse-carles under Owen. If I were to turn from all this to becomea forest thane it would be banishment. And then I thought of Owen, and how this would take me yet fartherfrom him. I would sooner, if I must be sent from Ina, go to him andfind what home I might on the lands of Tregoz in wild Dartmoor. Andthen the thought of leaving Ina, who had cared for me since I was achild, was almost as terrible. "I would not leave you, my King, " I said at last. Ina looked up at me with a smile, but was silent, stroking hisbeard as was his way when thinking, looking past me out of thenarrow window to the great Tor that towered beyond the new abbeybuildings. "Think!" he said at last--"partings must come, and lands are not tobe had lightly. Erpwald's brother, who held Eastdean, is dead. " "I need no lands, " I answered. "The ways of a captain of yourhouse-carles are good to me, and I need no more. If I took thoselands from your hand, my King, needs must that I gave up all thelife with you. Sooner would I let the land go and bide with you. Yet if I must needs take them, be it as you will. " "It is a great thing that you speak so lightly of giving up, " heanswered gravely; "Erpwald, the heathen, was willing to risk hislife for those lands, and he held them dear. And a captain of theking's house-carles will always look to be rewarded for servicewith lands. In time you will seek the same. " "That time has not yet come to me, King Ina. " "Eastdean lies in my hand here, " he said, taking up a parchmentwith a great seal on it. "I may give it to whom I will, but you arethe lawful heir who should hold it from me. If it goes not to you, it may be that one whom you would not shall have it. " Then I said, not seeing at all what the king would have me do, butthinking that he deemed me foolish for not taking the landsstraightway: "Let me bide with you even yet for a while. When the time comesthat I must leave you I must go to Owen, and neither he nor I carefor aught but to be here. He must leave you because of duty, and ifthis is indeed choice with me, let me choose to stay. It is noughtto me who holds the lands, save only that it might be one who willtend the grave of my father. " Then said Ina, looking into my face and smiling, as if wellpleased: "The choice is free, my Thane, and I should be wrong if I did notsay that I am glad to hear you choose thus. I have missed you inthese days, and I have work here for you yet. It was in my mindthat thus you would choose, and I am glad. Let it be so. I need oneto take the place of Owen, as second in command of the household, as one may say, and that you must do for me henceforward. "Nay, " he said quickly, raising his hand as I tried to find somewords of thanks for this honour; "you know the ways of Owen, andmen know you, and it will be as if there had been no change, andthat will mean that we shall have no grumbling in the palace, andthe right men will be sent to do what they are best fitted for--andall that, so that there will be quiet about the court as ever. Itis a matter off my mind, let me tell you, and no thanks areneeded. " So he laughed and let me kiss his hand, patting me on the shoulderas I rose, and then bade me sit down again. He had yet more to say. "With Erpwald who is dead, men would hold that you had a bloodfeud. That is done with; but his son yet lives. I do not think itis your way, or Owen's, to hold that a feud must be carried on inthe old heathen way of our forefathers. " "Most truly not, " I said. "What ill has a son of Erpwald done to meor mine?" "None! Nay, rather has he done well, for I know that he hashonoured the grave of your father, and even now is ready to do whathe can to make amends for the old wrong. He brought me this. " He took up the parchment that he had shewn me before. It was agrant of the manors of Eastdean to Erpwald, gained by those meansof utmost craft whereby the king thought that indeed the last ofour line had perished by other hands than those of the heathenthane. "Honest and straightforward and Christian-like is this youngErpwald, " the king said. "Well brought up by his Christian mother, if not very ready or brilliant in his ways. Now he has learned howhis father came into the lands, and though he might well have heldthem after his uncle on this grant, he has come hither to set thematter in my hands. 'It is not fair, ' quoth he, 'that I should holdthem if one is left of the line of Ella. I should not sleep easilyin my bed. Nevertheless, I will buy them if so be that one is leftto sell them to me. ' So he sighed, for the place is his home. " "All these years it has been no trouble to me that Erpwald'sbrother has held the place, my King. It will be no trouble to thinkthat a better Erpwald holds them yet. " "I do not think that he will be happy unless he deems that he haspaid some price--some weregild {ii}, as one may say; for slowminds as his hang closely to their thoughts when they are formed. See, Oswald, I have thought of all this, and the young man has beenhere for a fortnight. I brought him here from Winchester, where hejoined me. Let me tell you what I think. " "The matter is in your hands altogether, my King. " "As you have set it there, " he said, smiling gently. "Now all seemsplain to me, and I will say that this is even what I thought youwould wish to do. How shall it be if we bid Erpwald, for the deedof his father, to build a church in Eastdean and there to keep apriest, that all men shall know how that the martyr is honoured, and the land be the better for his death?" Nought better than this could be, as I thought, and I told the kingso. "Why, then, " he said, "that is well. I shall have pleased bothparties, as I hope. I know you will meet him in all friendliness. " Then he let me go, and it was with a light heart that I parted fromhim. Now I knew that my father's grave and memory would be held inmore than common honour, and I was content. Men would miss Owen sorely here, but, save for that, I had so oftenacted for him in these last two years that my being altogether inhis place made little difference to any one, or even to myself in afew days. That last was as well for myself, as it seems to me, forI was not over proud, as I might have been had the post been new tome. As it was, I do not think that there was any jealousy over it, or at least I never found it out. My friends rejoiced openly, andif any one wondered that the king should so trust a man of my age, the answer that I had saved Ina's life was enough to satisfy all. My men drank my health in their quarters that night, and after Igot over the little strangeness of sitting on the high place nextto Nunna, things went on, save for the want of Owen about thecourt, even as when he was the marshal and I but his squire, as itwere. I saw young Erpwald for the first time soon after the king hadspoken of him to me, and I liked the look of him well enough. Hewas some few years older than I, square and strong, with a roundred face and light hair, pleasant in smile, if not over wiselooking. One would say that he might be a good friend, but onecould hardly think of him as willingly the enemy of any man. Someone made me known to him as the son of Owen, as was usual, and assuch would I be known to him for a while; but for some time I sawlittle of him, not caring to seek his company, as indeed there wasno reason for me to do so. The next thing that I heard of him was that he had made a greatfriend of the ealdorman since he came here, being often at hishouse. It was not so long before I met him there, though my pride, which would not let me risk another rebuff, kept me away for somedays. I had an uneasy feeling that I should fare no better, and Icould find good reason enough to justify the thought in some ways, as any one may see from what had happened before. Maybe that was a token that my first feelings were cooling off, andI do not think that there is much wonder if they were. It wouldhave been strange, and not altogether complimentary to the fairdamsel if, after the deed at the feast and the vow that I had tomake, I had not thought myself desperately in love with her atlast, after a good many years of friendship. But now there hadbefallen the long days of peril and anxiety which had set her inthe background altogether, and I had had time to come to more soberthoughts, as it were. Men have said that I aged more in that shorttime than in the next ten years of my life, and it is likely. Nevertheless, it needed but a word or two of kindness to bring meto Elfrida's feet once for all, and but a little more coldness tosend me from her altogether. So at last I went to her home to find out how I should fare, thinking less of the matter than last time, and there she sat inthe hall, chatting merrily with Erpwald. That pleasantness stoppedwhen I came in, and after the first needful greetings Elfrida frozeagain, and Erpwald fell silent, as if I was by no means welcome. Icould see that I was the third who spoils company. However, theealdorman came in directly, and I talked to him, and as we paid noheed to those two they took up their talk once more, and presentlytheir words waxed low. Whereon the ealdorman glanced at them with asly grin and wink to me, and I understood. So I went away, for that was enough. Of course, I was very angry, by reason of the scratch to my pride; for it does hurt to thinkthat one is not wanted, and for a while I brooded over it just as Ihad done the other day. Then it came to me that at least I had noreason to be angry with Erpwald, who could know little or anythingabout me, being a newcomer, and it was not his fault if the girlmade a tool of him to scare me away, and after that I found mysenses again, rather sooner than before, perhaps. It was plain thatthe ealdorman took it for granted that I had no feeling now in thatdirection, and so others would do the same, which was comforting. So I supposed that there was no more to be said on the subject byany one, unless Elfrida chose to have the matter out, and setthings on the old footing of frank friendliness again. There I found that I was mistaken at once. Some one was coming downthe lane after me quickly, and then calling my name. I turned, andthere was Erpwald, with a very red face, trying to overtake me, andI waited for him. "A word with you, Thane, " he said, out of breath. "As many as you will. What is it?" "Wait until I get my breath, " he said. "One would think that youwere in a desperate hurry, by the pace you go. Plague on all suchfast walkers!" That made me laugh, and he smiled across his broad face in return. "It is all very well to grin, " he said, straightening his facesuddenly to a blankness; "but what I have to say concerns a mightyserious matter. " "Well, then, get it done with, " I answered, trying not to smile yetmore. "I don't rightly know how to begin, " he said in a hesitating kindof way. "Words are as hard to manage as a drove of forest swine, and I am a bad hand at talking. Can you not tell what I have tosay?" "Not in the least, " I answered. It flashed across me that he might have found out who I was, however, and wanted to speak of the old trouble. "Well, " he said at last, growing yet redder, "the Lady Elfrida isangry that her name has been coupled with yours pretty muchlately. " He stopped with a long breath, and I knew what he was driving at. "She has told me as much herself already, " I said solemnly. He heaved a sigh of relief. "But she did not tell me that, " he said in a puzzled sort of way. "Well, it must not go on, or--or else, that is, I shall have to seethat it does not. " "The worst of it is that I cannot help it, " said I. "Did the ladyask you to speak to me of the matter?" "Why, no; she did not. Only, I thought that some one must. Ofcourse, I mean that I will fight you if it goes on. " "Of course, " I said. "But I can in no wise stop it. Do you know howit began?" "Not altogether. How was it?" "Really, that you had better ask some one else, " I said, keeping agrave face. "I think that it would have been fairer to me to havedone so first. But if there was any real blame to me, do you thinkthat the ealdorman would have been glad to see me just now? I thinkthat it was plain that he was so. " "I am an owl, " Erpwald said. "Of course, he would not have been. But did you come to see the ealdorman, or the lady?" "Why, both of them, of course. I have known them for years. " He looked relieved when he heard that, and I thought that he mustbe badly smitten already. "Well, I will go and ask the ealdorman all about it, " he said. "Where shall I find you in an hour's time?" "In my quarters, " I answered; "but, of course, if you want to fightme you will have to send a friend to talk to me. " "I will send the ealdorman himself. " "Best not, for he is the man who is charged with the stopping ofthese affairs if he hears of them. Any atheling you meet will helpyou in such a matter. It is an honour to be asked to do so. Butdon't ever ask me to be your second if you have another affair, forI also have to hinder these meetings if I can. " "Is there any one else I must not ask?" he said in a bewilderedway. "Best not ask the abbot, " I said, and I could not help smiling. "Now you are laughing at me, and that is too bad. How am I to knowyour court ways?" "Well, you will not have to fight me unless you really want to picka quarrel. So it does not matter. Get to the bottom of thequestion, and then come and talk it over, and we will see what isto be done. " He nodded and left me, and I had a good chuckle over the wholebusiness. It was not likely that Elfrida had set him on me, in theleast; but I suppose he had heard some jest of her father's, whowas one of those who will work anything that pleases them to thelast. So I went my way, and saw to one or two things, and sat me down inthe room off the hall that had been Owen's, and presently Erpwaldcame in, and I saw that he was in trouble. "Well, " I said, "how goes the quarrel?" "I am a fool, " he replied promptly. "The lady should be proud ofthe affair, and the more it is talked of the better she should likeit. You are right in saying that it cannot be stopped. Why, thereis a gleeman down the street this minute singing the deeds ofOswald and Elfrida. As for the vow you made, the ealdorman saysthat it could not have been better done. Forgive me for troublingyou about it at all. " He held out his broad hand, and for a moment I hesitated abouttaking it. He bore his father's name, but in a flash it came to methat I was wrong. We were both children when the ill deed waswrought, and I was no heathen to hold a blood feud against all thefamily of the wrongdoer. He did not even know that one of us lived, and, as the king had told me, I knew that he was prepared to makeamends. So I took his hand frankly, and he had not noticed the moment'sslowness or, if he did, took it for the passing of vexation from mymind. "You will laugh at me again, " he said, "but now I am in hot waterin all sooth. The lady will not speak to me at all. " I did laugh. I sat down on the edge of the table and tried to stopit, but his red face was so rueful that I could not, and at last hehad to smile also. "Why, what have you done?" I asked. "Now it is my turn to knowreasons why. Here is a new offence to be seen into. " "I only told her that I had spoken to you on the subject, and wasgoing to talk to the ealdorman, her father, if she would not saveme the trouble by telling me herself all about it. " "And then?" "She got up and went away, tossing her head, without a word. So Ihad a talk with the ealdorman, and learnt all; but after that Itried to see her, and that black-haired Welsh maiden of hers toldme that she would not see me. " "It seems to me that you have had a bad day, " I said. "But whatdoes it matter? You have done what seemed right, and if it is takenin the wrong way you cannot help it. " "It does matter, " he said. "If she is wroth with me, I don't mindtelling you that I am fit to hang myself. Could you not set thingsright for me, somehow? You are an old friend. " "No, hardly; for I am not in favour there just now. " "Well, I shall go and try to get round the Welsh girl to speak forme. " Now, that was a servant I had never heard of, and I thought I knewall the household. So I could not tell him if that would be of use, and he left me in some sort of desperation to try what he could. Hewas very much in love. Next day he came back beaming. Somehow the Welshwoman had managedthings for him, and all was well again. I had my own thought thatElfrida was by no means unwilling to meet him halfway, but I didnot say so. I think I had fairly got over my feelings by this time, but I must say that I felt a sort of half jealousy about it. Butthe more I came to look on the South Saxon's round face, and tothink of him as Elfrida's favoured lover, the less I felt it. Itbecame a jest to watch the going of the affair, and I was not theonly one who found it so in a very short time. Erpwald made no secret of his devotion. He minded me of a greatfaithful stupid dog, whose trust was boundless and whose love wasworth having. One could lead him anywhere, but he was trueSussex--he would not be driven an inch. So Elfrida had a hopeless slave at her beck and call, and by and byI was on the old footing, and we used to make much of my vow ofservice to her. "I would that I had made that vow, " Erpwald said once. "It is not too late now, " answered the ealdorman, with his greatlaugh; "but I do not think it is needed. " After me went Erpwald when he was not at the ealdorman's, and Inatold me that he was glad to see that I harboured no thought ofrevenge. "Presently you will want to go to Eastdean to see that yourfather's grave is well honoured, and this friendliness will helpyou, " he said. "And for his friend such a man as Erpwald will domuch. The church at Eastdean will be no poor one, and you will helphim choose the place. We could not have asked him to do anythingthat has pleased him more. " One thing I feared was that when he found out who I was he would beill at ease with me, and I asked the king to tell him in the waythat seemed best to his wisdom, lest the knowledge should come bychance from some one else. So he did that, and in a day or two Erpwald came to me and told methat he knew at last who I was, and we had a long talk together. Itwas in his mind to try to make me take the lands again, and I hadhard work to make him believe that I was in earnest when I saidthat I did not want them. And at the end I made him happy bytelling him that the king would let me go to Eastdean with himbefore long, so that we could see to things together. "Well, " he said, "this is all very pleasant for me, and it iscommon saying that you will be some sort of prince in West Walesbefore long; but I shall ever feel that my family owes yours morethan I can repay. " After that he was a little uneasy with me for a time, but it soonwore off, and we used to talk of our ride to Eastdean often enough. And then happened a thing that set me back into trouble about Owenagain. I had had many messages from him, as may be supposed, and inall of them he said that there was no sign of danger, or even ofplotting against him. One of my men brought me a written message one evening. A thrallhad left it at the gate for me. And when I asked from whom it cameI had the same answer that was given me when that other writingwarned me not to sleep in the moonlight, for it was said to comefrom a priest whom I knew. So when I glanced at the writing I was not surprised to see that itwas the same, though the sight of it gave me a cold shudder. Somewhat the same also was the form in which the message ran: "To Oswald, son of Owen. --It is not good to take wine from the handof a Briton. " Now, I had some reason to believe that Mara had written the firstnote, as she seemed the only possible person to warn us of theplots of her kin, and that was a very plain warning to Owen ratherthan to myself, as it seemed. So I thought this might come from thesame hand, and be meant for him also, and that all the more thatthere was not a stranger left in Glastonbury, now that the feastingwas over, much less a Welshman. But Owen had none but Welsh roundhim, and it seemed to say that there was some plot among themagain. Maybe he would know who was meant by the "Briton. " Men havenicknames that seem foolish to any but those who are in the jest ofthem. We used to call Erpwald the "Saxon" sometimes, because he wasnot of Wessex, although we were as much Saxon as he, or more so, according to our own pride. I went straight down the street to the house of a man whom I knewwell, an honest franklin who had a good horse and knew the bordercountry from end to end, and I bade him ride with all speed to Owenat Norton with the paper. He was to give it into his own hand, andI made shift to scrawl a few words on the outside of it that hemight shew to my friend the captain of the guard, and so winspeedier entry to the palace. I did not send one of my own men, because he would have been known as coming from me, while this manwas often in Norton about cattle and the like, and none wouldwonder at seeing him. I was easier when I saw him mount and ride away, but I was illcontent until the morning came and brought him back with tidingsthat all was well, and that Owen would be on his guard. Also, the franklin was to tell me that Gerent's court went to Isca, which we call Exeter, in two days' time, and that Owen would fainsee me before he went westward, if I could come to him. Thereseemed to be difficulty in persuading Gerent to let him return toour court, even for a day now. Whereon I went to Ina and told him of this new trouble, and he bademe go. He thought that some fresh plot was being hatched in Exeter, but both he and I wondered that the warning was not sent direct tomy foster father, rather than in this roundabout way through myhands. He said the same thing to me that Howel had spoken when Iparted from him. "These plotters will not think twice about striking at Owen throughyou, if it seems the only way to reach him. And you mind that theprincess told you to have a care for yourself. Evan said that ifstrife was stirred up between us and Gerent they would be glad. Ifthey slew you, my Thane, it is likely that there would be trouble, unless Gerent is as wroth as I should be. " So I went with a few guards and spent the day and night with Owenat Norton. I knew it was the last chance I should have of seeinghim for a long time, but we talked of the coming summer, promisingourselves that journey together to see Howel. I told him how thingswent with Elfrida and me, and he did not seem to wonder much, norto think it of any consequence. He laughed at me, and told me toget over it as soon as I could, and that was all. But this last warning he could no more understand than I. It washis thought that it was meant for me rather than himself. "You will have to take heed to any Welshman you meet, " he said, "and as you are warned that should be no very difficult matter. NoBriton can ever pretend to be a Saxon. " I do not think that there is more to be said of that meeting, though indeed I would willingly dwell on it. Mayhap it will beplain why I would do so presently, for I left him bright and happyin his old place, with nought but the distance from the foster sonwhom he loved to trouble him. But when I rode away again the sorrow of that parting fell heavilyon me, and I could not shake it off. It seemed to me that I wouldnot see Owen again, though why it so seemed I could not tell. If Ihad any thought of danger to myself I should have cared little, soit was not that. I wonder if one can feel "fey" for another man ifhe is dear to you as no other can be? CHAPTER XI. HOW ERPWALD FELL FROM CHEDDAR CLIFFS; AND OF ANOTHER WARNING. In the coming week, after I had thus taken leave of Owen, my friendHerewald, the ealdorman, would have a hunting party before we allleft him and Glastonbury for Winchester, and so it came to passthat on the appointed day a dozen of us rode with a train of menand hounds after us along the westward slopes of the Mendips in thedirection of Cheddar, rousing the red deer from the warm woodlandsof the combes where they love to hide. We had the slow-hounds withus, and that, as it seems to me, is better sport than with theswift gaze-hounds I rode after on the Welsh hills with Eric. It isgood to hear the deep notes of them as they light on the scent ofthe quarry in the covers, and to see them puzzle out a lost line inthe open, and to ride with the crash and music of the full packahead of one in the ears, as the deer doubles no longer, but truststo speed for escape. Those who were with us were friends of mine and of the ealdorman, and there were three ladies in the party--one of these being, ofcourse, Elfrida. Erpwald was in close attendance on her, a matter which was takenfor granted by every one at this time. He was to go with the courtto Winchester, and thence he and I would ride to Eastdean. So we hunted through the forenoon, taking one deer, and then rodeonward until we came to the place where the great Cheddar gorgecleaves the Mendips across from summit to base, sheer and terrible. The village lies at the foot of the gorge on the western side ofthe hills, half sheltered between the first cliffs of the vastchasm, but on the hillside above is a deep cover that climbs upwardto the summit, and it was said that a good deer had been harbouredthere. So presently, while the hounds were drawing this wood below us, Iand Elfrida and Erpwald found ourselves together and waiting on thehilltop at the edge of the gorge. I was almost sorry to make athird in that little party, but Erpwald knew nothing of thecountry, and Elfrida had no more skill in matters of time and placeand distance than most ladies, which is not saying much, in alltruth, though I hardly should dare to set it down, save by way ofgiving a reason for my presence with so well contented a party oftwo. Now, if there is one who has not seen this Cheddar gorge, I willsay that it is as if the mighty hills had been broken across as aboy breaks a long loaf, or as if some giant had hewn a narrow gapwith the roughest pick that ever was handled. Our forefathers heldthat Woden had indeed hewn it so, and we have tales that the evilone himself cleft it in a night, and that the rocky islands ofSteep and Flat Holme, yonder in the mid channel, are the rubbishwhich he hewed thence and cast there. Maybe the overhanging cliffsare full four hundred feet high from the little white track whichwinds at their foot, and from cliff top to cliff top is but a shortbow shot. From where we waited one could look sheer down on the track belowus, and a man who was coming slowly along it seemed like a rat inits run, so far off did he appear. At least, so said Erpwald, wholooked over, riding to the very edge. I had no wish to do so, having been there before, and not altogether liking it. Then he wanted Elfrida to look over also, and that frightened her, and so we rode back and forth a little, for the wind was keen onthe hill, listening for sound of horn or hound in the cover. One reason why we were so near the edge of the cliffs was thatErpwald had not seen the place before, and had heard much of it;and another was that as no deer could cross the gorge we should besure to have the hunt before us when one broke. There are tales ofhunted deer, ay, and of huntsmen also, going over the cliffs atfull speed, but that is likely only when the pace has been hot andthe danger is forgotten. I had no mind, either, to see some ofHerewald's young hounds cast themselves over in eagerness if theychose to follow, as young ones will, the scent of some hill fox whohad his lair among the rocks and knew paths to safety on the faceof the cliffs, so that was yet another reason why we were in thatplace, and I tell this because it is likely that some one may askhow it was that I suffered my friends to bide in so perilous aspot, seeing what happened presently. It was not long before those two forgot me, and rode side by sidetalking. Maybe I forgot them, for the last time I was on the clifftops was across the channel, and I minded the two with whom I rodethen--Howel and Nona. Then suddenly the ringing of the horn roused us, and Erpwald cametoward me, thinking that, of course, Elfrida was close after him, but with his eyes too intently watching the place where I had saida deer was most likely to break cover to notice much else. I wassome twenty paces farther from the edge than they. The horsespricked up their ears at the well-known sound, and stood withlifted heads watching as eagerly as we. Then there came a little cry from Elfrida as she bade her horsestand, and I heard it trampling sharply, as if restive, behind us. I turned in my saddle to see what was amiss, and what I saw made myblood run cold, and the sweat broke out on my forehead in a moment. With the sound of the horn and the moving away of Erpwald the horsehad waxed restive, as horses will at a cover side when the time tomove on seems near. I think that it had probably reared a littleand that she had tried to check it, for now it was backing slowlyand uneasily toward the edge of that awesome cliff that was but tenpaces from its heels. Even now the girl was backing him yet more inher efforts to make him stand still, and I dared not make a move tocatch the bridle lest he should swing round at once from me and goover. "Spur him, Elfrida. Let his head go, and spur him, " I said asquietly as I could, but so that she must needs hear. It was all that I could do. She spurred him, and then as he made a little leap forward, checkedhim, and that was yet worse. Then I saw Erpwald, with an ashy face, dismount and go hastily toward the edge behind her, sidelong, and Iswung my horse away from him, so that by chance hers might followme out of danger. But that was useless. The brute was yet backing, and his heels werealmost on the brink. It seemed that his rider did not know how nearshe was. "Get off!" I said hoarsely. "Get off at once!" Then she knew, but could only turn and look. The hinder hoofs losthold on the rocky edge as the horse made its first slip backward, and even as the loosened stones rattled down, and it lurched withone leg hanging over the gulf, Erpwald leapt forward and toreElfrida from the saddle, and half threw her toward me. I do notremember when I dismounted, but I was there and grasped her handand dragged her back out of the way of the lashing fore feet. Then Erpwald was gone. The horse struggled wildly in one lasteffort to save itself, and swept my friend over with it. There wasa rattle of stones, a silence, and then a dull crash in the depthsbelow. One moment later and all three would have gone. I heard the shoutof the man on the track below, and I wondered in a dull way if hehad been killed also. And now I had Elfrida to tend, for she had fainted. What she hadseen I could not tell, but I hoped that at least she knew noughtbefore Erpwald went. It was as if she had lost consciousness whenhe reached her, for I saw the hand on the rein loosen helplessly. Icarried her back from the cliff and tried to bring her to herself, vainly, though indeed I almost wished that she might remain as shewas until we were back in Glastonbury. Then I wound my horn again and again to bring some to my help, andI tried not to think of that which surely lay crushed on the roadbelow. There could be no hope for either man or horse. Then came the sound of swift hoofs, and there was the ealdorman andone or two others, coming in all haste to know what the urgent callbetokened, but by the time that he had dismounted and asked ifthere was any hurt to his daughter I could only gasp and pointdownward. My mouth was dry and parched, and I did not know how toput into words the thing that had happened; but he saw thatElfrida's horse was not there, and that Erpwald's ran loose withmine, and he guessed. "Over the cliff?" he said, whispering, and I nodded. "Go and look, " he gasped, and he knelt down and took Elfrida fromme. The two who were with him were trying to catch the loose horses, and we were alone for the moment. So I crept to the edge and lookedover, fearing what I should see. But I saw nothing but the baretrack winding there, and I remembered that the cliff overhung. Then, as I scanned every rock and cranny below me a man came outfrom under the overhang at the foot of the cliff and looked up. Fora moment my heart leapt, for I thought it was Erpwald. But it wasonly the traveller we had seen, and he must have been looking atwhat had rolled into the hollow that hid it from me. He glanced upand caught sight of me. "How did it happen?" he called up to me. "Dead?" I called back, with a terror of what I knew would be hisanswer. Then he laughed at me. "Do you expect a horse to be leather all through, Master? Of coursehe is. --Saddle and all smashed to bits. " Then a dull anger took me that he thought of the horse only, as itseemed, unless he was mazed as I was with it all. "The man--the man, " I said. "There is no man here, Master. Did one fall?" he said in a newvoice, and he crossed to the other side of the gorge and scannedthe face of the cliff. "He is not to be seen, " he said. "Maybe he has caught yonder. " He pointed to a ledge that was plain enough to me, but nowhere nearthe place whence the fall was. There were no ledges to be seen as Ilooked straight down, and I knew that this place was the most sheerfall along all the length of the gorge. Now three more of our party came up, and at once they rode down tothe village and so round to where the man stood. It seemed a longtime before they were there and talking to him. "Ho, Oswald!" Their voices came cheerfully enough, and I looked down at them. "There seem to be clefts here and there, and in one of those hemust needs be, " they said. "We are going to the village to get acragsman with a rope, and will be with you anon. " There was at least hope in that, and I watched them ride swiftlyaway. The ravens were gathering fast now, knowing that what fellfrom above must needs be their prey, and two great eagles werewheeling high overhead, waiting. I heard the kites screaming to oneanother from above the eagles, and from the woods came the call ofthe buzzards. They knew more than I. Now the ealdorman could not bring Elfrida round, and he thought itbest to take her hence. So he had her lifted to him on his horse, and went slowly and carefully down the hill toward the village withher. I had told him all that had happened by this time, and I wasto bring word presently to him of how the search went. So I and those two friends who had first come sat there on thecliff top waiting in silence for the coming of the man with hisropes. All that could be said had been said. Here and there on the face of the cliff some yew trees had managedto find a holding, and their boughs were broken by the passage ofthe horse at least through them. But there were no shreds ofclothing on them, as if Erpwald had reached them. That might bebecause the weightier horse fell first. It seemed to me in thatmoment of the fall that he was between the horse and the cliff ashe went over the edge, for the forefeet of the horse struck hislegs and threw him backward, and the last thing that I minded wasseeing his head against the horse's mane in some way. That lastglimpse will bide with me until I forget all things. It seemed very long before our friends came back with the ropes. Backwards and forwards in front of us flew untiringly two ravens, now flying across the gorge, and then again almost brushing us withtheir wings as they swept up the face of the cliff from below. Wethought they had a nest somewhere close at hand, for it was theirtime. "If Erpwald were dead, " I said presently, "those birds would not beso restless. It is hard to think that they know where he is and howhe fares; but at least they tell us that he is not yet prey forthem. " Backward and forward they swept, until my eyes grew dazed withwatching them, and then suddenly they both croaked their alarmnote, wheeled quickly away from the cliff's face, and fled acrossthe gorge and were gone. Then was a rattle of stones, and a shout from some one in the trackbelow, and I started and saw a head slowly rising above the edge ofthe cliff as if its owner had climbed up to us. White and streakedwith blood was the face, but it was not crushed or marred, and itwas Erpwald's. "Lend me a hand, " he said, as we stared at him, as one needs muststare at one who comes back as it were from the grave. "My headswims even yet. " I grasped his hand and helped him to the grass, and once there hestood upright and shook himself, looking round in an astonished wayas he did so. "No broken bones, " he said. "Where is Elfrida? Is she all right? Iwas rough with her, I fear, but I could not help it. Could I havemanaged otherwise?" "In no way better, " I said, finding my tongue at length. "She hasgone to the village. But where have you been!" "In a long hole just over here, " he answered. "But how long has shebeen gone?" "How long do you think that you have been in your hole?" "A few minutes. It cannot be long. Yet it must have been longerthan I thought, for the shadows are changed. " It was a full hour and a half since he fell, but I did not say so, lest it should be some sort of shock to him. So I bade him sit downwhile I saw to a cut there was on his head--the only sign of hurtthat he had. "I thought that I was done for at first, " he said. "So thought I, until we found that you were not at the bottom. Evennow some of us have gone for ropes that we might search the clifffor you. We could not see you anywhere, and there does not seem tobe any ledge here that could catch you. " "Why, you could have touched me with a spear all the time, if youhad known where to thrust it. I think I fainted, or somewhatfoolish of the sort. My head hit the rock as I went over. Also thehorse ground me between it and the cliff, so that all my breathwent. But that pushed me into the hole, and I will not grumble. Atleast, I think that was it, but I cannot be sure. My senses went. " He began to laugh, but suddenly turned to me with a new look on hisface. "Oh, but was Elfrida feared for me?--What did she think?" "She saw nought of it, " I said. "I believe that she had faintedwith terror when you laid hold of her. The ealdorman came and tookher to the village, and I do not suppose she knows that you havebeen lost. " "That is well, " he said, with his great sigh. "Look over and see myhole. " I did not care to look over again, and, moreover, knew that I couldnot see it. I mind every jutting stone and twisted yew that is onthe cliff there, to this day. However, one of the others went alittle to one side, where Erpwald had appeared, and swung himselfto the tiny ledge that had given him foothold as he came up, and solooked at the place. There was a long cleft between two layers ofrock which went back into the cliff's face for some depth, with alittle backward slope that had saved the helpless man from rollingout again, and there was a raven's nest at one end of it. One maysee that cleft from below and across the gorge if one knows whereto look, but not by any means from above, by reason of the overhangof the brink. It was plain that, as he thought, the horse's body, or maybe its shoulder, thrust him into the cleft, but it was wellthat he was senseless and so could not struggle, or he would havesurely missed it. It is his saying that he had no trouble ingetting into the place, but more in climbing out. Now we called the good news to some of our people and the villagerswho were on the road below, and they broke into cheers as theyheard it. They could hardly believe that the man they had seen onthe edge just now was Erpwald himself. Then we went down to thevillage, meeting the men with the ropes halfway, and so came to thefirst houses of the street, where the ealdorman was standingoutside one of the better sort. He came to meet us, and I never sawanything like the look on his face when he saw Erpwald and heardhis cheerful greeting. I told him how things ended. "I have given a lot of trouble, as it seems" Erpwald said humbly;"but I could not help it. " "Trouble!" said the ealdorman. "Had it not been for you there wouldhave been nought but trouble for me all the rest of my life. " He took Erpwald's hand as he spoke and pressed it, but he would notsay more then. Maybe he could not. So he turned to me. "It is all right, Oswald, for Elfrida is herself again, and she sawnothing after she looked into the gulf below her. I have told hernothing. " "Do not tell her anything, Ealdorman, " Erpwald said. "No need tosay what a near thing it was, or that I handled her like a sack ofoats. She would never forgive me. But Oswald says it was all that Icould have done. It was a good thing that he was there to takeher. " "How are you going to account for the broken head, then?" "Say I was thrown from my horse afterward, or somewhat of thatkind, " he said. "Or, stay, these will do it. I have been birds'nesting. I thought these would please her. One gets falls whilescrambling after the like. " He put his hand into his pouch as he spoke. "Plague on it, one is broken, " he said, bringing out a raven's egg. "There were two in that place where I stopped falling. " The ealdorman and I stared at him in wonder. It amazed us that insuch a moment a man should think of this trifle. And now he wasturning his soiled pouch inside out and wiping it with a tuft ofgrass, grumbling the while. It was plain that the danger had madeno impression on him. "Were not you frightened when you found how nearly you had fallenfrom the cliff?" I asked him. "No; why should I be? I did not fall from it. I was feared enoughwhen I thought that I was going, and I thought I was at the bottomwhen I came to myself. But as I had not gone so far, there was anend. " I minded the story of the Huntsman's Leap, and how I had felt whenI knew my escape. It was plain that this forest-bred Erpwald, withhis cool head, and lack of power to picture what might have been, would make a good warrior, so far as dogged fearlessness goes, andthat is a long way. Now the ealdorman kept what else he might have to say until we wereat home, for it was time for us to be off. So we brushed Erpwalddown and hid his cut under a cap that the good franklin of thehouse lent him, for his own was gone, as he said, to make a bird'snest somewhere on the cliffs; and then Elfrida came from thecottage, looking a little white and shaken with her fright, butotherwise none the worse, and we started. Erpwald kept out of her sight for a little while, but as we werefairly on the way home it was not long before he found his way toher side, and we let those two have their say out together. One by one the friends who had joined us dropped out of the partyas their way led them aside, until by the time we reached theealdorman's house only half a dozen of us were left. Then Herewaldwould have us come in for some cheer after the long day, but wewere tired and stained, and I must be back at the guardroom, and sohe bade his folk bring somewhat out here to us. There was a cask ofale already set on the low wall by the gate for the men, and we saton our horses waiting, with a little crowd of thralls and childrenround us, looking at the two good deer that we brought back. Thenthe steward and some of the women of the house brought horns of alefrom the house for us. One of the women came to me, and without seeing who she was, orthinking of doing so, I reached out my hand for the horn that sheheld up, and at that moment some one from behind seemed to runagainst my horse's flank, and he lashed out and reared as if he washurt. My rein was loose, and I was bending carelessly over to takethe horn, and it was all that I could do to keep my seat for themoment. As for the girl, she dropped the horn and ran from theplunging horse into the doorway for safety. Then I heard the sharp crack of a whip, and the voice of the headhuntsman speaking angrily: "Out on you for a silly oaf!--What mean you by going near the thaneat all?" The whip cracked again, and the long lash curled round theshoulders of a ragged thrall, who tried in vain to escape it. "On my word, I believe you did it on purpose!" the huntsman cried, with a third shrewd lash that found its lodgment rightly. "Mercy, Master, " mumbled the man, writhing; "it is this terriblecrossing of the eyes. I do not rightly see where I go. " I had quieted the horse by this time, and I held up my hand to staythe lash from the thrall. Some one picked up the horn that the girlhad let fall. "Let him be, " I said. "It could but have been a chance, and he islucky not to have been kicked. See, he does squint most amazingly. " "Ay, " growled the huntsman, "so he does; but I never knew across-eyed man before who had any trouble in walking straightenough. " The thrall slunk away among his fellows. He was a round-shoulderedman with hay-coloured hair and a stubby beard of the same, and herubbed his shoulders with his elbows lifted as he went. Then thesteward gave me a fresh horn, and we said farewell to our host andhostess, and Erpwald and I went our way. "I thought that the horse would have knocked the Welsh girl over, "he said presently. "She was pretty nimble, however. That churl musthave kicked your horse sharply to make him plunge as he did. " "Trod on his fetlock most likely, " I answered. "Clumsy knave. " "Well, that huntsman knows how to use a lash, at all events, and hewill have a care in future. But how my head does ache!" "That is likely enough, " I said, laughing. "It was a shrewd knock, and it kept you in that hole for the longest hour and a half I haveever known. " "It does take somewhat out of the common to hurt me much, " he saidsimply. "Well, by tomorrow you will be famed all over Glastonbury as theman who fell over Cheddar cliffs and escaped by reason of lightingon the thickest part of him, " I answered. It was a poor jest enough, but it set him laughing. I did not wishhim to say more of what had just happened, for I was puzzled aboutit, and wanted to get my thoughts to work. He had spoken of thevery thing that I had been warned of, for almost had I taken thehorn from the hand of a Briton--the Welsh girl of whom he spokeonce before. I had forgotten her, for I do not think that I hadever seen her since she came here, until now. But at this moment Iseemed to have a feeling that her face was in some way familiar tome, though only in that half-formed way that troubles one, and Iwas trying to recall how this might be. Erpwald went off to the guest chamber where he was lodged, andpresently I found our old leech and took him to see after him. Hewent comfortably to sleep after his hurt had been dressed, and so Ileft him. I will say at once that he felt no more trouble from it. Then I went to the stables to see how fared my horse after theday's work, and found him enjoying his feed after grooming. Ilooked him over, but I could see no mark to show where the manmight have hurt him. But as I was running my hand along the smoothhock to feel for any bruise, my groom said to me: "Have you had a roll in a thorn bush, Master?" "No. --What makes you think I might have had one?" "I found this in his flank when I rubbed him down, and it was runthus far into him. " He held out a long stiff blackthorn spine, marking a full inch onits length with his thumbnail. "Enough to set a horse wild for a moment, " he went on. "And unlessyou had fallen, I could not think how it got there. " "In which flank was it?" I asked, taking the thorn from him. "The near flank, Master. " That was where the thrall ran against him, and surely the huntsmanwas not so far wrong when he said that he did so on purpose. If so, it was done at the right moment to give me a heavy fall, save for abit of luck, or maybe horsemanship. It was a strange business. "I was through a thicket or two today, " I said carelessly. "Maybe Ihit a branch in just the right way to drive it in. If we weregalloping he would not have noticed it. These little things happenoddly sometimes. " Then the man began to tell me some other little mishaps to horsesthat could not be explained, bustling about the while. And beforelong I left the stables and went to my own quarters, with the thornyet in my hand. It had been cut from the bush, and not broken, justas if it had been chosen. Now, if these hidden plotters wanted tofrighten me, I am bound to say that they succeeded more or less. Was the giving of the horn by the Welsh girl to be a signal to thethrall in some way? If there is one thing that a man need not beashamed to say that he fears, it is treachery, and I seemed to besurrounded by it. Hardly could a house-carle come to my door but itseemed to me that he must needs bring one of these unlucky notes. It was just as well that I had some unknown friend to write them tome, though I cannot say that I had profited by them so far. Now I sent two of my men to see if they could find the cross-eyedthrall, but of course he was not to be laid hands on. Only thepeople who had been at the ealdorman's door seemed to have seenhim, and they could not tell who or whence he was. He was so easilyknown, however, that I thought I should be certain to have himsooner or later. Such a squint as he had is not to be hidden, andthat made the wonder that he had dared to do this all the greater. I slept on it all, and woke with fewer fears on me, for I wasoverwrought yesterday after all the terrible waiting on the cliffand what went before. It was Sunday, moreover, and the earlyservices in the new church helped mightily to set a new face onthings. So when I had seen to the few duties of the morning, I wentdown the street to ask after Elfrida, being anxious to hear thather fright had done her no hurt. Erpwald had been there before me, but I had missed him since. Elfrida was well, and glad to see me. We sat and talked ofyesterday, and I found that Erpwald had said nothing of how hesaved her, and it was pleasant to tell her of it, while shelistened with eyes that sparkled. It was plain that I could havefound nothing that would please her better than to talk of him. SoI even told her how he had gone over the edge into the cleft, butwithout saying that we feared for his life for so long. Then herfather came in, and at once she asked after some sick person. "How goes it with him now, " she said. "Well enough, says the leech; but he had well-nigh died in thenight. " "What is it that ails him?--Can the leech tell that yet?" "He has taken somewhat that has poisoned him, " the ealdormananswered. "The leech asked if he had eaten of mushrooms, or rathertoadstools, by mistake. " "But there are none about as yet. " Now I asked who the sick man was, and Herewald told me that he wassuch an one who was with us yesterday. I minded him as one whostood near me at the door when my horse reared. I thought that hewas the man who picked up my dropped horn, and I was sorry for him. However, that was not much concern of mine, so we passed to othertalk for a little, and then Elfrida said: "Are there any tidings of my maiden? I fear for her. " "None at all, " the ealdorman said. "Here is a strange thing, Oswald; for that girl whom you so nearly rode over last evening isas clean gone as if she had never been. None saw her go, but whensupper time came she was nowhere to be found. Nor is there anytrace of her now. " I felt as if I had expected to hear that the Welsh girl had gone aswell as the thrall, and I cannot say that I was surprised; thoughas they had failed in whatever they meant to compass this time, Icould not see why they should not have tried again. "Whence came she, " I asked as carelessly as I could. "Maybe she hasonly gone home, fearing blame for dropping that horn. " "She has no home to go to, that we ken. She came from Jago atNorton only a little while ago, and she would hardly try to getback there across the hills alone. She is an orphan serf of his, and I fear that she has been stolen away. " "She has not been here long, then?" "She came when you were with Owen. Jago sent to ask if Elfridawould take her in, she being worth having as a maid. His wife hadno place for her, but would that she was well cared for. So shecame with the first chapman who travelled this way. " Now as I thought of this girl, in a moment it flashed across mewhere I had seen her before. It was on board the ship at Tenby, andshe came with Dunwal and his daughter Mara. I was certain of it, though I had only seen her that once, for there I was in a strangeland, and so noticed things and people at which I should hardlyhave glanced elsewhere. The Danish and British dress over there wasstrange to me also. Then, as soon as I had a chance I asked the ealdorman for a fewmoments of private speech, and we went into his own chamber thatopened on the high place of the hall where we had been sitting. There I told him all the trouble, for surely I needed all help thatI could find, and at the last I said: "Mara, the daughter of Dunwal, was at guest quarters with Jago. " Then I saw the face of my friend paling slowly under its ruddy tan, and he rose and walked across the room once or twice, biting hislip as though in wrath or sore trouble. I could not tell which itwas, but I thought that he was putting some new thought together inhis mind. "It is plain enough, " he said at last, staying his walk at a sidetable. "I saw my sick man pick up that horn the girl dropped, andhe looked into it and laughed and drank from it, saying that it wasa pity to waste good stuff. See, here it is. The curl of it mayhave kept a fair draught in it for him. " There were several horns standing in their silver or gilded restson the table at his elbow, and he held up that one which had beenbrought to me, and then dropped it. It fell with its mouth upward, rocking on the bend in its midst, sothat it might well have had a gill or two left in it, for it had atwist as well as the curve in its length, which was somewhat longerthan usual. "Poison!" he said in a low voice. "That a friend should be thustreated at my own door, by my own servant! What shall I say toyou?" "It is hard on you as on any one, Ealdorman, " I answered. "But thegirl did not come from Jago. Mara sent her in some way. I am sureit was she whom I saw at Tenby. " "Ay, " he said, "one could not dream that a message seeming to comefrom honest Jago was not in truth from him. The trick was sure tobe found out, and that soon, though. " "Not until the deed was done, maybe. This is the first chance thatthe Welsh girl has had to hand me aught. " The ealdorman held his peace for a moment, and then he broke outsuddenly: "By all the relics in Glastonbury, that thrall saved your life! Heis no fool either, for he knew that the horn must be spilt in oneway or the other, and it was worth while for you to run the risk ofa fall rather than that you should drink it. How had he knowledgeof what was to be done?" "Whoever wrote the warning told him. It was a chance, however, thatwe did not come into the house. " "There is some friend watching these traitors, " said Herewald. "Idid not know the thrall, but so often men from the hill who havefollowed us come here for the ale that they know will be going, that I thought nothing of a stranger more or less. But why choosemy house for this deed?" I knew well enough, and it was plain when I minded the ealdormanthat my vow was well known, and told, moreover, by Thorgils inMara's hearing. This was a house where I should often be, and whenMara found out that Jago was a friend of Herewald of Glastonburythe rest was easy. "Well, I will send to Jago today, and find out what he knows. ThatCornish damsel must be better watched. Come, let us go and tell theking. " So we went, and when Ina heard what we had to say he grew verygrave, and asked many questions before he told us what his thoughtswere. "They have struck at Owen through you, my Thane, even as I feared, "he said. "I think that the matter of the land of Tregoz has savedyou, for I seem to see in this thrall one of his men who hates himand will thwart his plans. There are yet men who will carry outwhat he planned ere he died. Now I am glad that we soon shall begone from hence, and that is the first time that I have been readyto leave Glastonbury. " Now I will say that when Herewald's messenger came back from Nortonit was even as we thought. Jago had no knowledge of the Welsh girl, or her sending. But Mara was gone a fortnight or more since, forGerent had sent her father for safer keeping to the terrible oldcastle of Tintagel on the wild shore, and she had followed to be asnear him as she might. Doubtless the girl might be found there alsoin time. So I had no more warnings, and in a few days the strain on my mindwore off. I sent a message through Jago to Owen to tell him whathad happened, so that he should have less anxiety for his owncomfort, while he knew that I was shortly to be far hence. Before that came about, however, Erpwald and Elfrida were betrothedwith all solemnity in the new church, for their wedding was to beheld here also in the summer, when all was ready for a new mistressat Eastdean. So Erpwald rode with us to Winchester a proud man, andby that time I thought I had forgotten that I ever held myselfentitled to the place he had won. But I did not forget the plotting, and as the days wore on, and mythoughts of it grew a little clearer, I began to wonder if thethrall who saved me from the poisoned horn might not be the man whoslew Tregoz on the ramparts at Norton in the moonlight. I must saythat it went against the grain for me to believe that Mara hadaught to do with contriving my end through her maid, but unlessthere was some crafty hand at work in the background, allunsuspected, it seemed that there could be none else. And then one day I found the little letter that Nona had sent me. In that I was warned against Morfed the Cornish priest, and I hadforgotten him. Now I will confess that two days after the Cheddar business I tookthat little brooch that Elfrida had given me, and dropped it intothree fathoms of water as I rode by the mere one day. There arefoolishnesses one does not care to be reminded of. CHAPTER XII. OF THE MESSAGE BROUGHT BY JAGO, AND A MEETING IN DARTMOOR. As one may be sure, there was no danger for me at Winchester, andif I had any anxiety at all it was for Owen, who had dangers roundhim which I did not know. I had sent him word by that old friend ofhis, Jago of Norton, how the last warning was justified, and hadheard from him that with the imprisonment of Dunwal his lastenemies seemed to have been removed or quieted. So I was more atease concerning him, and presently rode with Erpwald to Eastdean inthe fair May weather to see the beginning of that church whichshould keep the memory of my father. And all I will say concerning that is that when I came to visit theold home once more I knew that I had chosen right. The life of aforest thane was not for me, and Eastdean seemed to have nought ofpleasure for me, save in a sort of wonderment in seeing how mydreams had kept so little of aught of the true look of the place. In them it had grown and grown, as it were, and now I wasdisappointed with it. I suppose that it is always so with what onehas not seen since childhood, and for me it was as well. I felt noshadow of regret for the choice I had made. So after the foundation was laid with all due rites, I went back tothe king and found him at Chippenham, for he was passing hither andthither about his realm, as was his wont, biding for weeks or maybemonths here, and so elsewhere, to see that all went well. And Iknew that in Erpwald and his mother I left good and firm friendsbehind me, and that all would be done as I should have wished. Ay, and maybe better than I could have asked, for what Erpwald took inhand in his plain single-heartedness was carried through withoutstint. Through Chippenham come the western chapmen and tin traders, and sowe had news from the court at Exeter that all was well and quiet, and so I deemed that there was no more trouble to be feared. Itseemed as if Owen had taken his place, and that every foe wasstilled. And yet there grew on me an uneasiness that arose from a strangedream, or vision, if you will, that came to me one night andhaunted me thereafter, so soon as ever my eyes closed, so that Igrew to fear it somewhat. And yet there seemed nothing in it, asone may say. It was a vision of a place, and no more, though it wasa place the like of which I had never seen. I seemed to stand in a deep hollow in wild hills, and round meclosed high cliffs that shut out all but the sky, so that theysurrounded a lawn of fair turf, boulder strewn here and there, andbright with greener patches that told of bog beneath the grass. Inthe very midst of this lawn was a round pool of black, still water, and across on the far side of that was set a menhir, one of thosetall standing stones that forgotten men of old were wont to rearfor rites that are past. It was on the very edge of the pool, as itseemed, and was taller than any I had seen on our hills. And when in my dream I had seen this strange place, always I wokewith the voice of Owen in my ears calling me. That was the thingwhich made me uneasy more than that a dream should come often. Three times that dream and voice came to me, but I said nought ofit to any man. Then one day into the courtyard of the king's hallrode men in haste from the westward, and when I was called out tomeet them the first man on whom my eyes rested was Jago of Norton, and my heart fell. Dusty and stained he was with riding, and hisface was worn and hard, as with trouble, and he had no smile forme. "What news, friend?" I said, coming close to him as he dismounted. "As they took you, so have they taken Owen. We have lost him. " "Is he slain?" "We think not. He was wounded and borne away. We cannot trace himor his captors. Gerent needs you, and I have a letter to yourking. " I asked him no more at this time, but I took him straightway toIna, travel stained as he was. He had but two men with him, andthey were Saxons he had asked for from Herewald the ealdorman as hepassed through Glastonbury in haste. So Ina took the letter, and opened it, and as he read it his facegrew troubled, so that my fear that I had not yet heard the worstgrew on me. Then he handed it to me without a word. "Gerent of the Britons, to Ina of Wessex. --I pray you send meOswald, Owen's foster son, for I need him sorely. On my head be itif a hair of him is harmed. He who bears this is Jago, whom youknow, and he will tell my need and my loneliness. I pray you speedhim whom I ask for. " That was all written, and it seemed to me that more was not needed. One could read between the lines, after what Jago had said. "What is the need for you?" Ina asked, as I gave him back theletter. "To seek for Owen, my father, " I said. "Jago must tell what we haveto hear. " Then he told us, speaking in his own tongue, so that I had totranslate for the king now and then, and it was a heavy tale hebrought. Owen had gone to some house that belonged to Tregoz, in the wildedge of Dartmoor north of Exeter, and there men unknown had set onthe house and burnt it over him, slaying his men and sorelywounding himself. Only one man had escaped to tell the tale, and hewas wounded and could tell little. And the deed was wrought in thenight, and into the night he had seen the men depart, bearing theprince with them. But who and whence they were he could neithertell nor guess. Then Gerent had ridden in all haste to the house, and found even asthe wounded man had told, for all was still as the burners left it. But no man of all the village, nor the shepherds on the hills, could tell more. Owen was lost without trace left. Then said Ina: "What more could be done by Oswald?--Will men help aSaxon?" "This must be between ourselves, King Ina, " Jago said plainly. "Itis in my mind that if Oswald and I or some known lord of theBritish will go to that place and sit there quietly with rewards inour hands, we may learn much; for men fear Gerent the king in hiswrath, and they fled from his coming. " "So be it, " said Ina. "Oswald shall go, and it seems to me thatevery day is precious, so that he shall go at once. Is therethought that Owen may be taken out of the country, as Oswald wastaken?" "Every port and every fisher is watched, and has been so. For thatwas the first thing we feared. And word has gone to Howel of Dyfedand Mordred of Morganwg, farther up the channel, that they shouldwatch their shores also. Nought has been left undone that may bedone. " So it came to pass that on the next morning Jago and I rode awaytogether along the great road that leads westward to Exeter andbeyond, asking each train of chapmen whom we met if there was yetnews, and hearing nought but sorrow for the loss of the prince theyhad hailed with such joy again. Nor did we draw rein, save tochange horses, till we clattered up the ancient paved street of thecity on its hill, and dismounted at the gates of the white palacewhere Gerent waited me. There the first man who came out to greet me was one whom I wasaltogether glad to see, though his presence astonished me for amoment. Howel of Dyfed passed from the great door and bade mewelcome. "It is a different meeting from that which we had planned, Thane, "he said, somewhat sadly. "I am here to help you if I can; for whenwe heard that Owen was lost much as you were, we came overstraightway, there being reasons of her own which would not letNona rest till we had sailed. Presently you will hear them fromherself, for she is here. Glad am I to see you. " "There is no fresh hope?" I asked, as we went in. "None; but we hope much from you. At least, your coming will cheerthe old king, for he is well-nigh despairing. " Now I was prepared to see some change in Gerent by reason of allthis sorrow and trouble, but not for all that was plain when Ifirst set eyes on him presently. Old and shrunken he seemed, andhis voice was weary and dull. Yet there came a new light into hiseyes as he saw me, and he greeted me most kindly, bidding me, aftera few words of welcome, to rest and eat awhile after the long ride, before we spoke together of troubles. So in a little time I sought him again, and found him in a roomwith warm sunlight streaming into it, making the strange picturedwalls bright and cheerful, and yet somewhat over close for one wholoves the open air or the free timbered roof that loses itself inthe smoke wreaths overhead, with the wind blowing through it as itblows through the forest whence it was wrought, and with twitter ofbirds to mind one of that also. Nevertheless, the old king in hispurple mantle with its golden hem over the white linen tunic, andhis little golden circlet on his curling white hair, seemed inplace there, even as I minded thinking that Owen in his Britisharray seemed in place. Now Howel stood where Owen was wont to stand, and the only other inthe room was the lady, who rose from the king's side to greet me. And if her smile was a little sad, it was plain that Nona theprincess was glad as her father to see her guest again, and I willsay that to me the sight of her was like a bright gleam in the greyof sadness that was over all things. It did not seem possible thatshe and trouble could find place together. So I greeted her, and she went back to her place quickly, forhardly would Gerent wait for us to speak a few words before hewould talk of that which was in all his thoughts; and then cameJago and stood at the door, guarding it as it were againstlisteners. Now the old king told me all that I had heard from his thanealready, and I must tell what I thought thereof, and that waslittle enough beyond what I have said, and at last, when he seemedto wait for me to ask him more, I put a question that had come intomy mind as I rode, and asked if there might be any chance of Morfedthe priest having a hand in the matter. And at that the king's frown grew black, and he answered fiercely: "Morfed, the mad priest?--Ay, why had not I thought of him before?Look you, Oswald, into my hall of justice he came, barefoot andragged from his wanderings, but a few days before Owen left me; andbefore all the folk, high and low, who were gathered there he criedout on all those who spoke for peace with the men who owned therule of Canterbury, and who held traffic with the Saxon who hastaken our lands. And Owen was for speaking him fair, seeing that hewas crazed, but I bade him be silent, telling the priest that whatwas lost is lost, and there needed no more said thereof; and thatif the men of Austin and we differed it was not the part ofChristian men to make the difference wider, even as Owen andAldhelm were wont to say. And at that he raved, and threatened tolay the heaviest ban of the Church on Owen, and on all who heldwith him, and so he was taken from my presence, and I have seen himno more. But he was a friend of Morgan. " "That is the priest who was with Dunwal, surely, " Howel said. "The same, " I answered--"and I was warned of him, " and I lookedtoward the princess, and she smiled a little and flushed. "I mind how he glared at Oswald across my table, " Howel said. "Butone need fear little from him, as I think. Who will heed a crazypriest?" "Many, " answered Gerent. "The more because they deem him inspired. I will have him taken and brought to me. " There fell a little uneasy silence after that outburst of theking's, but I felt that I had not yet heard all that they wouldtell me. So we waited for the old king to speak, and at last heturned suddenly to the princess, setting his thin white hand on hershoulder, and said: "Now tell Oswald what foolishness brought you here, Nona, daughterof Howel, that he may say what he thinks thereof. " "Maybe he also will think it foolishness, King Gerent, " she said inher low clear voice. "But however that may be, I will tell him, forin what I have to say may be help. I cannot tell, but because itmight be so I begged my father to bring me hither. It was all thatI could do for my godfather. " There was just a little quiver in her lip as she said this, and thefierce old king's face softened somewhat. "Nay, " he said, "I meant no unkindness. I forgot that it is notright to speak to a child as to grown warriors. It is long sincethere was a lady about the place who is one of us. " Then Nona smiled wanly, and set her hand on that of the old king, and kept it there while she spoke. "Indeed, Thane, it may be foolishness, and now perhaps as time goeson it begins to seem so to me. Once, as I know now, on the nightwhen Owen first slept in his new house on the moor, I dreamed thathe was in sore danger, for I seemed to see shadows of men creepingeverywhere round the house that I have never set eyes on; andagain, on the next night, and that was the night of the burning, Isaw the house in flames, and men fought and fell around it amongthe flickering shadows, but I did not seem to see Owen. And then onthe next night, soon after I first slept, I woke trembling with themost strange dream of all. I think that the light had hardly gonefrom the west, but the moon had not yet risen. I dreamed that Istood at the end of a narrow valley, whose sides were of tallcliffs of rough grey stone, and in the depth of the valley I saw agreat menhir standing on the farther side of a black pool. And allthe surface of the pool was rippling as if somewhat had disturbedit, and set upright in the ground on this side was a sword, like tothat which King Ina gave you, Thane--ay, that which you wear now, not like my father's swords. And I thought that I heard one call onyour name. " Now I heard Jago stifle a cry behind me, and as for myself I stoodsilent, biting my lip that I might know that I was not dreamingalso, and I saw that Howel was looking at me in a wondering way, while Gerent glowered at me. All the time that she had beenspeaking, Nona had looked on the ground, in some fear lest weshould smile at this which had been called foolishness, and I wasglad when the king broke the silence with a short laugh. "Well, Oswald, what think you of this? On my word, it seems thatyou half believe in the foolishness that some hold concerningdreams. " "I would not hold this so, " said Howel, --"seeing that she hasdreamed of things that did take place, as we know too well. " "Fire and fighting? Things, forsooth, that every village girl onthe Saxon marches is frayed with every time she sleeps. " So said Gerent, and I answered him: "Foolishness I cannot call this, either, Lord King. I also haveseen the same in the night watches. I have seen pool and menhir, and the cliffs that hem them, even as the princess saw them. And Iwoke with the voice of Owen in my ears. " "Dreams, dreams!" the old king said. "Go to, you do but tell methese trifles to please me, and as if to give me hope that in suchan unheard-of place we shall find him whom we have lost. Say nomore, but go your ways on the morrow and search. And may you findyour dream valley and what is therein. " He rose up impatiently, and Howel gave him his arm from the room. Jago followed him, and when the heavy curtain fell across thedoorway, Nona, who had risen with Gerent, turned to me. "I am sure now that there we shall find Owen, " she said, with a newlight of hope in her eyes. "And also I am sure that at the bottomof all the matter is Morfed the priest. " "It was a needed warning against him that I had from your hand, Princess, " I said; "now let me thank you for it. " "I am glad you had it safely, for indeed I feared for you withthose people on the ship with you. What has become of them?" I told her the fate of Dunwal, so far as I knew it. I did not thenknow that Gerent had put an end to his plotting once for all twodays after Owen was lost. As for his daughter, I knew no more thanJago told the ealdorman. Then she said: "Now I would ask you to speak to my father, that hewould let me go with you to Dartmoor, that I may help you search. Ido not like to be far from him, but he says there may be danger. Which makes me the more anxious not to leave him, as you maysuppose. " She smiled, but as I made no answer she went on: "And maybe Owen will need nursing when you find him. They say hewas sorely wounded. Ay, I am sure we shall find him, else why didwe have these strange visions? And I think that were he notdisabled altogether he would have won to freedom in some way. " "It is that wounding that makes me fear the worst, " I said in a lowvoice; for indeed the thought of Owen as hurt, in the care, or wantof care, of those who hated him, was not easy to be borne. "It ismy fear that we shall be too late. " "Nay, but you must not fear that, " she said quickly. "That is nosort of mind in which you have to set to work. I will think ratherthat they have carried him to some safe tending. There will be timeenough to dread the worst when it is certain. There was nought inthe dreams to make us think that he was dead. " The bright face and voice cheered me wonderfully, and for themoment, at least, I felt sure that our search would not fail. ThenI tried to persuade her not to come with us. One could not say thatthere was any safety, even for her, among the men who would harmOwen, though I thought that none would be in the least likely tofall on Howel. Rather, they would keep out of his way altogether. In my own mind I wished that I was going alone, or with none butJago, though, on the other hand, it might be possible that menwould speak to him if they would not to me. And at last I didpersuade her to bide here until we had news, promising that if needwas she should come and see the place herself when all was known. "Well, maybe it is not so needful that I should go now, " she said. "I thought that I alone could tell my father when that valley wasfound, but you know as much of it as I, and will be sure when youstand in it. " And so we fell to talk of these visions which were so much alike, and there was but one difference in them. In the dream of theprincess the pool had been ruffled, and mine was still as glass. And that seemed strange, and we could make nothing of it. ThenHowel came back, and there is little more to say of the doings ofthat evening. There was no feasting in Gerent's house now. Very early in the next dawning Howel and I rode westward with fivescore men of Gerent's best after us, into wilder country than I hadever yet seen; and late in the evening we came to where thecountless folds of Dartmoor lie round the heads of Dart River. Andthere Tregoz had set his house, and I think that it was the firstthat had ever been in those wilds, save the huts of the villagers. Only the hall of the place had been burnt, and there yet stood thehouse of the steward on the village green, if one may call a meadowthat had a dozen huts round it by that name, and we bestowedourselves in the great room of that, while our men found places instables and outhouses and the huts. Every man of the place had fledas they saw us coming, for the fear of Gerent was on them; but thewomen and children remained, and they had heard of the son of Owen, at least, since he and I were in Dartmoor in the spring. I had someof them brought to me when we were rested, and told them that noneneed fear aught, knowing that they would tell their menfolk. And so it was, for after we had been quietly in the place for twodays the men were back and at their work again. I do not think thateven our Mendip miners were so wild as these people, and theirstrange Welsh was hard for me and Howel to understand. I will saythat the whole matter seemed hopeless for a time, for no man wouldsay anything to us about it. If we spoke to a man, questioning him, and presently wished to find him again, he was gone, and it wouldbe days ere he came back. Some of our guards knew the country as well as most, and with themwe rode many a long mile into the hills during the first few days, searching for the deepest valleys, and ever did I look to see thegreat menhir before me as we came to bend after bend of the hills. Circles of standing stones we found, and cromlechs, ruins ofancient round stone huts where villages had been before men couldremember, and once we saw a menhir on the hillside; but that wasnot what I sought, and none could tell us of the lost valley. Yet it was in my mind as I questioned one or two that their looksseemed to say that the description of the place was not unknown tothem, and if they would they could tell me more. At last, when Icame to know the speech better at the end of a week, I thought thatI would try another plan; I would trust to the shepherds, and ridealone for once across the hills. I thought that, even were I setupon, my horse would take me from danger more quickly than hillmencould run, and Howel, unwillingly enough, agreed that it seemed tobe the only chance. Maybe the men would speak more openly with meon the hillside and alone. So I asked if there was any one could tell me where there weremenhirs in the valleys, and a shepherd said that he knew two orthree. So I rode with him at my side to one of these, but it wasnot that which I sought; and, as I hoped, the man was more willingto speak, and we got on well enough. We had not met with a soul allday, but my hawk had taken two bustard after I saw the stone andwas disappointed. One of these as a gift to the shepherd had openedhis lips wonderfully, and we were talking as we rode in the dusk, and were not so far from the village, of another stone that I wasto see next day, when I asked him if he had ever heard of the lostvalley of pool and menhir. He did not answer, but shrunk to my side, looking round himfearfully. "What comes, Lord, " he said, whispering;--"see yonder?" He pointed across the bare hillside, and I looked but saw nothing. "I saw nought, " I said. "Is it unlucky to speak of the place?" "I saw somewhat leap from yonder rock, " he whispered; "it wentbehind that other. " Plainly the man was terrified, and I asked him what he feared. "The good folk, Lord. " "Pixies?--Do they come when one speaks of the lost valley?" "Speak lower, Lord, --lower! Look, yonder it is again!" Then I also saw in the dusk the figure of a man who crept softlyfrom one great boulder to another, and without thinking of theterror of the shepherd I spurred my horse, and rode straight forthe rock behind which the figure disappeared, having no mind tohave an arrow put into me at short range by one of the men ofTregoz--or of Morfed--unawares. The shepherd howled in fright when he was left, but I did not heedhim, and in a moment I was round the rock and almost on thecowering man whom I had seen. He turned to fly, and I cried to himto stop, but he only got another rock between me and him, for thehillside was covered with them, and shrank behind it, so that Icould only see his wild eyes as he glared at me across it. He saidnothing, and I did not think that he was armed, so far as the dimevening light would let me see. "Why are you dogging me thus?" I cried; "come out, and no harm willbefall you. " I rode round, and he shifted as I did, so that he was between meand the shepherd, and then I called to the latter that this was buta man, and bade him come and help me to catch him. Whereon the manlooked swiftly over his shoulder and saw that he was fairlytrapped. "Keep him back, Master, " he said in a strange growling voice, whichwas not that of a Dartmoor savage either in tone or speech. "Keephim back, and we will talk together; I mean no harm. " But I had no need to tell the shepherd not to come, for he bidedwhere he was, being afraid; but I held up my hand to him as if tobid him be still, lest the man should know that he would not helpme. "Come out like a man, " I said. "One would think that you were someevildoer. " "Master, I will swear that I am not. Let that be, for I havesomewhat to tell you that you will be glad to hear. " "If that is true, why did you not come openly, instead of waitingtill I had you in a corner? Every one knows that there is rewardfor news from any honest man. " "There are those who would take my life if they caught me, Master. I have been seeking for speech with you alone all this day; I hopedthe shepherd would leave you hereabout for his home, and then Iwould have come to you. " "Well, " I said, "if you could tell me what I need to hear I willhold you safe from any. " "Master, will you swear that?" said the man eagerly. Then it came across me that maybe this was one of those who fell onOwen, for one might well look for a traitor among so many. So I answered cautiously: "Save and except you are one of those whohave wrought harm to the prince you shall be safe. If you are onewho has him alive and in keeping you shall be safe also. " "Master, you have promised, and it is well known that you keep yourword. I am your man henceforward, by reason of that promise. I willgive you a token that I have not harmed the prince. " "What have you to tell?" "Master, they say that you seek the lost valley, of which none willspeak. " "That seems true; but speak up, and mouth not your words so. " "Here was I born and bred, Master, " said the man, still in the samegrowling voice. "I know where the lost valley is hidden, thoughnone may go there save at peril of life. It is unlucky so much asto speak thereof. " "Can you take me within sight of its place, so that I can find it?"I asked, with a wild hope at last springing up in me. "I can; and, Master, unluckier than I am I cannot be, so that lifeis little to me. Into that place I will even go for you, and riskwhat may befall me, if only you will find pardon for me. Only, I donot know if you will find aught of Owen the prince there. " "You must be in a bad way, my poor churl, " said I, "if things arethus with you. But if you will help me to that place, and there letme find what I may, there is naught that may not be forgiven you. Even were it murder, I will pay the weregild for you, and you shallhave cause to say that the place has no ill luck for you. " "Thane, " said the man, in a new voice that was strangely familiarto me, "you have spoken, and forgiven I shall surely be. " Then he rose from behind the rock and came to my side, and took myhand and kissed it again and again, and surely I had seen his formbefore. "Thane, I am Evan the outlaw, and my life is yours because youforgave me a little once, and saved me from the wolves, giving thatlife back to me when I knew it well nigh gone. " I looked at the pale hair and beard of the man, and wondered. Evan's had been black as night. "It is Evan's voice, " I said; "but you have changed strangely. " "Needs must I, Thane, with every man's hand against me, if I wouldserve you and Owen the prince for your sake. " Then I looked round for my shepherd, but he had fled. "Come to the house with me, " I said. "I think that none will knowyou, and if they do so I will answer for you. " "No, Thane; after tomorrow, seeing that even Howel sets such storeon finding the valley, as men tell me, I shall be safe even fromhim. I think that you are the only one who will trust me yet. " There I knew that he was most likely right. Had I not been certainthat he could have kept me from knowing him even yet, I think thatI might have been doubtful of him myself. "As you will, " I answered. "We can meet tomorrow. Now give me thattoken by which I am to know that you have not harmed Owen. " "It is right that you should not yet trust me, " Evan said, as if heread my thoughts, "for I do not deserve it. Here is one token: 'Itis not good to sleep in the moonlight. ' And I will give you yetanother, if I may, for, indeed, I would have you know that thewords I spoke yonder were true when I said that you should be gladthat you freed me, and that I have tried to serve you. That may beknown by the token of the blackthorn spine and the dog whip. " I reined up my horse in wonderment and stared at him, and he cameclose to my side, so that I could see him plainly. And, lo! hisshoulders grew rounded, and his eyes crossed terribly, and theybided so, and he mumbled the words he had said when the whip of thehuntsman fell on him. Then he straightened himself again and looked timidly at me. He wasnot like the man who had bound me so cruelly in Holford combe onthe Quantocks. "Evan, " I cried, "what you did for me at the ealdorman's gate isenough to win any pardon you may need. " "It is wonderful that, after all, pardon should come from you, Thane. Do you mind how I said to you that I hoped to win itotherwise through you when we took you on the Quantocks? It is goodto feel as a free man once more. " "Free, and maybe honoured yet, Evan, " I said; for I knew that hehad risked his life for me and Owen. "Presently you shall come withme to Wessex, where none know you, and there shall be a fresh lifefor you. It is in my mind that what you brought on me was as a lasthope. " "Ay, that is true, Thane. " And then I asked him to tell me all he knew of Owen, and of whathad happened here, and how it came about that he knew aught. And ashe told me it was plain that this was a true tale, for one couldfeel it so. He had followed Owen, keeping himself hidden, after I went toWinchester, for there he knew that I was safe, and yet he wouldserve me if he could. So from the hillside where he lay he had seenthe burning and the fight; and after Owen fell he followed them whobore him away, till he lost them in a grey mist that rolled fromthe hills and hid them in the darkness. Nor had he been able tofind trace of them again, though he had hunted far and wide. And so he waited for my coming, being sure that I would not belong. But he knew that they had gone toward what he called the lostvalley, if it was not likely that they would dare so much as lookinto it. "But, " he said, "there was a priest with them, seeming to leadthem. Maybe he would dare. " Into my mind at once came the certainty that this must be Morfed, but Evan knew nought of him. He had no more to tell me of this. CHAPTER XIII. HOW OSWALD AND HOWEL DARED THE SECRET OF THE MENHIR, AND META WIZARD. So we two rode on together over the wild hills, and talked of whatchance there might be of finding Owen on the morrow. He could nottell me if his wounds were deep, for he was far off and helpless, but he told me how he had fought, and that was even as I had knownhe would. Now the soft June darkness had fallen, and we were not a mile fromthe first houses of the village. Soon, if they were alert, weshould meet the first outpost of our men who guarded us, and mayhapit were better that Evan came no farther tonight. Yet I would knowsomewhat of himself and the way in which he had helped me thus. SoI stayed my horse and dismounted for a few minutes. "Tell me, Evan, " I said, "how came you into trouble at the first?" "It is easy, Thane, " he answered. "I was Evan the chapman, and wellknown near and far in Cornwall and Dyvnaint as an honest man, evenas I have seemed yet beyond the water. Two years ago I slew thesteward of this Tregoz in the open market place of Isca, and therewas indeed little blame to me, for I did but protect my goods whichhe would have taken by force, and smote too hard. Little order wasthere in that market if the king was not there, and Morgan and hisfriends were in the town. Men have taken heart again since thecoming back of Owen, for it was bad enough, as you may suppose bywhat happened to me. So I fled, and then Tregoz had me outlawed, with a price on my head, so that, being well known, I had to taketo Exmoor and herd with others in the same case. I knew that noweregild, as the Saxon calls it, would be enough to save me fromthe Cornishman. "There I was the one who could sell the stolen goods across thewater, being held in good repute there, and I traded with the Norsestrangers who ferried me across. So it was that when Owen came Iwas in Watchet, and there Tregoz saw me and laid hands on me. Thenhe needed men to carry out that which he would do, and he had meforth and spoke to me, saying that if I would manage the Quantockoutlaws for him he would forgive me and have me inlawed again. Iwas to have been hanged that day, Thane, and so you will see that Ihad no choice. Owen's coming saved me then. " Evan was not the first man whom I had known to be driven into evilways by misfortune and powerful enemies. I had little blame forhim. A man will do much to save his neck from the rope. But thisdid not tell me how he knew the plans of Tregoz after I set himfree in Dyfed. "Then you came back to the Cornishman after I freed you?" I asked. "That I did not, Thane, for the best of reasons. He would havehanged me at once if he were in power, and I had not meant to lethim set eyes on me again in any case, for he was treacherous. Icame back round the head waters of the Severn, through Wessex, where I was only a Weala, though, indeed, that is almost the sameas an outlaw there; and there, by reason of Gerent's seeking forme, I changed my looks and watched for Tregoz, for I found that hewas yet about the place in hiding. Thralls know and tell thesethings to men of their own sort, though they seem to know nothingif you ask them, Thane. " "Then you wrote the letters?" "I had them written by the old priest of Combwich by the ParrettRiver, who will tell you that he did so. I took them myself to thepalaces for you. " "And was it you who slew Tregoz?" "Ay, with that seax you gave me back at the Caerau wolf's den. Iheard that he had been speaking with a sentry, and thereafter Ifollowed him and heard his plan. I saw him change arms with thesentry, and presently I fell on him, but the arrow had sped and Ifeared I was too late. I had to cross the trench from the busheswhere I was hidden. " "But the poisoning at Glastonbury?--How did you know of that? "Easy it was to know of, but less easy to prevent. I lurked roundGlastonbury until I saw the girl, and knew that some fresh troublewas on hand for you. I knew her, for I had seen to that at Norton, that I might learn somewhat, if I could, while she attended on thelady, the daughter of Dunwal. She met her master there once ortwice with messages, and it was by following her that I found hishiding in the hills. It was not hard for me to get her to tell meall that she had to do, for I made her think that I was in theplotting. Then she found it harder than had been expected to serveyou, for she was kept about the lady. So she asked me, and I toldher to wait. I thought she would most likely lose her chancealtogether, and maybe but for your staying at the gate that day shewould have done so. " "It was not the first time that we have had half the householdoutside serving a hunting party, " I said. "And each time I have been there, Thane, lest this should happen. The girl told me that such times were her only chance, and I saidshe had better wait for such a one again. I knew that in the open Icould in some way spill the horn, so that she would be helpless andharmless afterward. Therefore I bade her not to try to harm you inthe house, for my own reasons, but told her that it were safer forherself to wait for some stirrup cup chance, as it were. That day Isaw that it had come, and I cut a thorn from the nearest bush andwas ready. I could not reach the girl to stumble against her. " I minded that Thorgils had said that this Evan could beguile Lokihimself with fair words, and I could well believe it. But he didnot do things by halves when he set himself a task, and I felt thatbut for him I should certainly have been a victim--to Mara, or towhom?" "Who wrought this plot? Was it Mara, the Cornish lady?" "I do not think so, " he answered, shaking his head. "There is onething that the girl would never tell me. In no wise could I get thename of the one who gave her the poison. I do not know where shefled to, but it is likely that it was to that one. " "Some day you shall know how grateful I am for this, Evan, " I said. "Now I must go. Only one thing more. --Where do you sleep?" "Wheresoever I may, that I may be near you, Thane. Now meet metomorrow at this place, and we will go to the lost valley. Afterthat let me serve you for good and all if I may. I can do manythings for you, and you had my life in your hand and gave it backto me; though indeed I know that it was hard for you to do so, seeing that a thane is sorely wronged by being bound by such as I. " "I can give you little, Evan; but I can, as I have said, find you aplace in the court, whence you may rise. " "Let me serve you, Master, " he said earnestly. "I have servedmyself for long enough, and it has not turned out well. If I pleaseyou not, I will go where you bid me, but in anywise let me try. " "As you will, " I said. "I owe you well-nigh aught you can ask, andthis is little enough. " Then I shook hands with him and parted. It was a strange meeting. I went back to Howel with a mind that was full of what I might findon the morrow, but with little hope that there would be anything ofsign that Owen yet lived. Howel was growing anxious for me as thedarkness fell, and was glad to greet me, and I suppose my face toldhim somewhat. "Why, " he said, as I stepped into the firelight on the hearth ofthe little house, "what is this? Have you heard news at last?" "I have found one who will take us to the lost valley, but nothingmore. I have heard nought fresh, but that there was indeed a priestwith the men who took Owen away. " "Well, we guessed as much as that; but I tell you plainly, Oswald, that I fear what may be in store for us in that place. Nona is notthe girl to fancy things, and I know that her dreams must have beenterrible to her. And then you also--" "I fear, too, " I said. "But I do not think that anything will beworse than this long uncertainty. Well, that is to be seen. Now Imust tell you who it is that is to guide us, and maybe you will saythat it is a strange story enough. Have patience until you hearall, however. " So I told him, beginning with the certainty that I had had somefriend at work for me, and then telling him at last that I hadfound the man who had indeed saved me from these two dangers, andwould also have saved Owen if he could. "Why, how is it that he kept himself hidden all the time?" "For good reason enough, in which you have some share, " I answered, laughing. "It is none other than Evan the chapman. " "Evan!--How did he escape the Caerau wolves? I tell you that I hadhim tied up for them--and hard words from Nona did I get thereforewhen she knew. I was ashamed of myself for the thing afterwards, and on my word I am glad he got away. But when I am wroth I waxhasty, and things go hard with those who have angered me. But hewas a foe of yours. " "Laugh at me as you will, " I said; "I made him my friend when I cuthis bonds in your woods. " He stared at me in wonder, and I told him what the hunting led to. And then I also told of what had sent Evan among the outlaws, andhow he came to fall in with me. "You are a better man than I, Oswald, " he said thoughtfully, when Iended. "I could not have let him go. I am glad that you did it, andthat for other reasons than that the deed has turned out to be ofuse. " Then he would hear more, and when it came to the way in which Evanhad beguiled the Welsh servant he laughed. "Surely he laid aside the squint when he made up to her, else fromyour account he would not have been welcome. But he could hardlyhave kept it up, lest the wind should change and it should bidewith him, as the old women say. Well, I used to like the man, andso did Nona, and it is good to think that one was not so farwrong. " Now we thought that on the morrow we would go with but half a dozenmen to the valley, if that would seem good to Evan. If he thoughtmore were needed it would be easy to call them to us from the placewhere we were to meet him; and so we slept as well as the thoughtof that search would let us, and it was a long night to me. I thinkit was so for Howel also, for once in the night he stirred andspoke my name softly, and finding that I waked he said: "I know why that girl of Mara's would not tell who set her on you. It is not like a maid to be sparing with her mistress' secrets, andMorfed is at the back of it. It is his work, and he laid a curse onthe girl if she told who sent her. About the only thing that wouldkeep her quiet. " "Why would Morfed want to hurt me?" "Plain enough is that. If you were slain, Gerent would hold Inaresponsible for Owen's sake, and Ina would blame Gerent, and therewould be a breach at the least in the peace that your bishop hasmade. " Then we were silent, and presently sleep came to me, until thefirst light crept into the house and woke me. In an hour we were riding across the hills with Evan, for whom wehad brought a horse, and there were fifty men with us. We shouldleave them at a place which Evan would show us, and so go on withhim without them. It was not so certain that we might not run intothe nest of the men who had taken Owen, though this would surelynot be in the lost valley. Many a long mile Evan led us into the hills northwestward, and farbeyond where I had yet been. I cannot tell how far it wasaltogether, for the way was winding, but I lost sight of alllandmarks that I knew, and ever the bare hills grew barer and yetmore wild, and I could understand that there were places where eventhe shepherds never went. At first we saw one or two of these watching us from a distance, but soon we passed into utter loneliness, and nought but the criesof the nesting curlew which we startled, and the wail of the ploverround our heads, broke the solemn stillness of the grey rocks onevery side. Even our men grew silent, and the ring of sword onstirrup seemed too loud to be natural at last. We were all fullyarmed, of course. Then we came to a place where the hills drew together, and doubledfold on fold under a cloud of hanging mist that hid their heads, and as we rode, once Evan pointed silently to a rock, and I lookedand saw strange markings on it that had surely some meaning inthem, though I could not tell what it was. And when I looked at himin question I saw that his face was growing pale and anxious, sothat I thought we must be near the place which we sought. So itwas, for after we had left that stone some two score fathoms behindus, as we passed up a narrow valley, there opened out yet another, wilder and more narrow still, and at its mouth he would have usleave the men and go on with him. Now, we had seen no man, but when it came to this, Howel said: "By all right of caution, we should have an outpost or two on thoseridges. If we are going into this place it will not do to betrapped there. " So without question Evan pointed out places whence men could watchwell enough against any possible comers, but he told me that wewere close to the place we would see, and a call from our hornswould bring help at once if it were needed. Howel sent men by twosto the hilltops, and the rest dismounted and waited where we stayedthem, while we three went on together up the valley. I bade one ofthe men give Evan his spear, for he had none. Grey and warm it was there, for the clouds hung overhead, and nobreeze could find its way into the depths of this place, and it wasvery silent, but it was not the lost valley itself. And now Howel, who had not yet so much as seemed to know Evan, rode alongside himfor a moment, and spoke kindly to him, telling him that he was gladof all that I had told him, and at last asking him to forget thatwhich he had done to him in the woods of Dyfed. And that was muchfor the proud prince to ask, as I think, and I held him the morehighly therefor in my mind. And Evan replied by asking Howel to forget rather that he had everdeserved death at his hands. "It shall be seen that I am not ungrateful to the Thane, my master, hereafter--if I may live after seeing this place, " he said. "Is it so deadly, then?" asked Howel, speaking low in the hush ofthe valley. "It is said that those who see it must die--at least, of us who kenthe curse on it. I do not think that it will harm you or the thaneto see it, for you are not of this land at all. I have known mensee this valley by mischance, and they have died shortly, cryingout on the terror thereof. Yet none has ever told what he sawtherein. " Now it seemed to me that it was possible that such men died of fearof what might be, as men who think they are accursed, whether bywitchcraft or in other ways, will die, being killed by the troubleon their minds, and so I said to Evan: "I will not take you into this place. Show us the way, and I willgo alone. " "No, Master, " he said, in such wise that it was plain that therewas no turning him. "I am a Christian man, and I will not let oldheathen curses hold me back, now that there is good reason why Ishould stand in that place. I will not be afraid thereof. " "Is the curse so old?" I asked. "Old beyond memory, " he said. "As old as what is in that place. " "As the menhir, therefore. " "I do not know that there is a menhir, Thane. How know you?" I reined up, and told him shortly. It was only fair that I shoulddo so. Then he said: "The prince is dead, and maybe that he lies there will end thecurse. Come, we will see. " A few paces more, and suddenly the hillside seemed to open in aragged cleft that made another branching valley into the heart ofthe left-hand hillside, so deep that it seemed rather to sinkdownward from the mouth than to rise as a valley ever will. In alltruth, none would ever have found that place unless he sought forit with a guide. I had not guessed that we were so near itsentrance. I looked round the hills, but from here I could see not one of ourmen on their watch posts, though one would have thought that wherethey stood it would have been impossible to lose sight of all. Wewere almost at the head of the wider valley along which we hadridden. Now I had thought to be the leader into the lost valley when wecame to it, but this Evan would not suffer. There was not room forus to ride abreast into its depths, for the narrow bottom of thecleft in the hills was littered with fallen boulders from thesteeps that bordered it, and through these we had to pick our way. There was no path, nor was it possible to trace any mark of thefoot of man or horse that might have been there before us, and thevalley turned almost in a half circle, so that we could see nodistance before us. Now, I know that Evan had a hard struggle with his fears, butnevertheless, without drawing rein he led on, only turning to mewith one word that told me that we had found the place; and as heturned I saw that his face was ashy pale, and as he rode on hecrossed himself again and again, and his lips moved in prayer. Down the long curve of the valley we rode, and it ever narrowedunder rocky hills that grew at last to cliffs, and I knew that thismust be but the bed of a raging torrent in the winter, for thestones that rattled under the horse hoofs were rounded, and hereand there were pools of clear water among them. Any moment nowmight set us face to face with what I longed to see. And when I saw Evan, ten paces ahead of me, straighten himself inthe saddle as if he would guard a blow from his face, and drawrein, I knew that we were there, and I rode to his side and looked. Suddenly the valley had ended in the place which I had seen in myvision--a rugged circle of cliffs, in whose only outlet, to allseeming, we stood. And in the midst of that circle was the pool ofstill, black water, and across that towered the tall menhir from agreen bank on which it stood facing me. All round the pool wasgreen grass, bright with the treacherous greenness that tells ofdeep bog beneath it, and then fair turf, and beyond the turf therocky scree from the cliffs again. The menhir was full thrice aman's height. It was even as I had seen it. I knew every rock and patch of green, and the very outline of the edge of the beetling crags that hadbeen so plain to me in the dream light ere Owen called me. But I did not heed these things at the first. My eyes went to theplace where Nona the princess had seen the sword in the long grasson the hither side of the pool's edge, but I could not see it now. Then I must ride forward and search for it, and at that time Howelwas close to me, and together we rode yet a little farther into thecircle that the cliffs made, and as we drew closer to the edge ofthe pool I scanned every inch of the ground, seeking the swordwhich it seemed impossible that I should not find. "It has gone, " said Howel in a hushed voice. And at that moment I saw a sparkle among the new grass at the veryedge of the bog that surrounded the pool, and I threw the reins tothe prince and sprang from my horse and went toward it. The lightwas very dull here, though it was nigh midday now, and indeed sohigh and overhanging were the cliffs that I do not think the sunever reached the surface of the pool, save at this high midsummer, and then but as it passed athwart the narrow entrance, which facedsouth. Then it would send its rays across the pool full on the faceof the menhir, as it seemed. So I could see nought again until I was close to the spot whencethe spark shone, and then I caught it once more, and hastily Icleared aside the rank grass with my spear butt, and lo! even asshe had seen it in dreams the sword of Owen was there, and it wasthe gleam from the gem in its hilt, which no damp could dim, whichhad caught my eye. But a little while longer and we should neverhave seen even that, for the weapon was slowly sinking into the bogin which its scabbard point had been set, and even as I steppedforward a pace to reach it the black ooze rose round my foot, andEvan, who was behind me, caught my hand and pulled me back from itsedge. Then I turned with the sword in my hand, and I saw that his facehad found its colour again, and that his fears had left him, for hehad looked on the valley of the mighty curse and yet lived. Hishorse was at his side, and he had sprung to help me, but I hardlyheeded him, for I had what I sought in my hand, and I held it up toHowel without a word, and a sort of fresh hope began to rise in myheart. Owen might not be so far from us. "How came it there?" Howel said, wondering. "Who can tell, " I answered, turning over many possibilities in mymind. "One thing is certain, " Evan said, --"no man set it in that placemeaningly, for there he must have known that it would be whelmedsoon or late. " "Nor could it have been dropped there, " I answered. "None would goso near the edge of the bog. It was surely thrown there. Onethought to hurl it into the pool. Yet if so he could have done it, or would have tried again. " "Come, let us search the place, " said Howel. I hung the sword to my saddle bow, while Evan took the horses. Theleather scabbard was black with the bog water of the turf where ithad been set, but the blade within it was yet bright and keen. Then I and the prince together walked slowly round the edge of theblack pool on the broad stretch of grass between the bog around itand the loosely piled stones of the cliffs' foot. Here and thereeven this turf shook to our tread, as if it too were underminedwith bog, and we went warily, therefore, wishing that we had notleft our spears by the horses. "One would call such a place as this 'the devil's cauldron' in ourland, " said Howel. "I mislike it altogether. " Then he sprang back with a start, and clutched my arm and pointedto the ground at his feet. The skull of a man grinned up at us, half sunk in the green turf, and the ends of ribs shewed how he towhom it had belonged lay. There went a cold chill through me as Ilooked; but I saw that the bones were old, very old. They hadnought to do with our trouble, and what had been to others aboutthe loss of him who had died here was long past and forgotten, oramended. But for the sake of what had been I was fain to unhelm fora moment as we stepped past them. So we went on silently until we were halfway to the menhir, andthen we saw that there was yet another way into this place, foracross the water a jutting wall of rock had hidden a gorge that hadsurely been cleft by water, for down it came a little stream thatseemed to sink into the turf so soon as it reached it. "That is what fills the pool, " said I, "and it must find its wayhence underground like the stream at Cheddar. The pool may befathomless. I would that I could look into its depths. " "What may not be in yonder gorge?" said Howel. "We must go andsee. " So we came to the menhir's foot, and though the bog came almost toit there was yet a little mound of turf on which it stood, and Iwent to that to see if thence I could peer deeper into the darkwater, but I could not. "Come, " Howel said, "it is midday, and I for one would not be onthese hills on Midsummer Eve. Call me heathenish if you like, butthis is an unlucky night whereon to walk in the haunts of the goodfolk. " I had forgotten that so it was, and even now I only smiled at theprince, for my mind was full of other things as I followed himtoward the glen whence the stream came. And now I was sure thathere was growing more clearly a trace as of a seldom trodden pathtoward its mouth. We passed a great flat rock, whereon were strangemarkings and a hollowed basin, which stood behind the menhir nearthe cliff, and to this the path led, but not beyond, from the glen. Now we were almost in the opening, when both of us stopped andlooked at one another. Surely there were footsteps coming among the rocks of the watercourse before us. Steep and crooked as this was, we could hearthem, though as yet if it were a man or men who came we could notsee. I pulled the prince back into cover, where the rocks hid usfrom any one who came down the stream, and I loosened my sword inits sheath, for I could not be so sure that it might not be sorelyneeded. The rattle of stones came nearer, and I saw Evan hurrying to us. Healso had heard, and he had made shift to tie the horses to somepoint of rock, and he ran with our spears in his hand to join us. "Get to the other side of the pool, Thane, " he said. "It may be theband of men who wrought the burning. " "No, " I answered. "Listen. Maybe there are three or four men, notmore. I want to take one if I can. He shall tell me all he knows ofthis place. " For I had made up my mind that one who would come here freely mustneeds be of those who had brought Owen. Then from the narrow portal of the glen passed quickly, lookingneither to the right nor left, a tall man, followed by two others, and they seemed not to see us, but went straight toward the menhiralong that path I thought I had traced, and Howel and I stared atthem, speechless and motionless, for the like of them we had neverseen. As for Evan, he reeled against the rock, and stared after them, clutching it with both hands, so that his spear fell rattling alongthe rocks. "The Druids!" he gasped. "We are dead men. " At the sharp rattle the leader of the three men turned, and I knewhim. He was clad in a wonderful gold and white robe that swept theground, priest-like, but not that of any Christian, and his hairwas bound with a golden fillet with which oak leaves were twisted, and in his ears were large earrings. On his bare right arm was acoiled golden bracelet, and a heavy golden torque was round hisneck, and a great golden brooch knit up the folds of his flowingwhite cloak on his right shoulder. But for all this strange dress Iknew him, and he was Morfed the priest, and I heard Howel mutterthe name also. Then a word from Morfed caused the other two to turn, and they sawus, and there flashed from under their robes--which were like thoseof their leader, save for golden ornaments--a long knife in thehand of each, and they made as if to fly on us. Morfed held up his hand, and they stayed, glaring at us. I listenedfor the coming of more of his followers down the water course, butI heard none. Then Morfed spoke a word or two to his men, and came toward us, leaving them standing where they were, some twenty paces or lessbehind him, and as he came his pale face shewed no sort of feelingof any kind. His strange bright eyes seemed to look past us, as ifwe were but stones at the path side. "So it is the Saxon, " he said, staying close before us. "Well, Ihave waited for you, if I did not look to see you here. And this isHowel of Dyfed. Surely a Briton knows that to break in on the ritesof the Druid is death? But Howel ever was rash. And this is theoutlaw. It is a true saying that he who sees this place shall die, Evan. " Then said Howel boldly: "Briton I am, and therefore I know that therites of the Druid are banned by Holy Church. Wherefore does one ofher priests come in this heathen robe to such a place as this onthe eve of midsummer?" "Seeing that none but the initiated may know what truth the ancientfaith holds, it is not for you to say that this is heathenry, Prince, " Morfed answered more quietly than I expected. "Ask yonSaxon if his Yule feast is less sacred to him now because it is notso long since that it was Woden's. Is tomorrow less Midsummer Daybecause it is the day of St. John? Hold your peace thereon, and gohence while I suffer you. " At that I glanced at the mouth of the valley whence we came, halflooking to see it blocked by men, but it was not. There was nothingto stay us three armed men in this place, with but three againstus, and they well-nigh defenceless. Morfed saw that glance andlaughed. "The Druid has other arms than those of steel, " he said, and hedrew slowly from the wide cincture round his waist a little goldensickle and balanced it in his hand before me, flashing it to andfro. Now I was sure that he was crazed in all truth, and I would speakhim fair that I might learn what he would tell me. Howel wassilent, seeming to look curiously at the golden toy in the priest'shand, as it shifted restlessly backward and forward. "We have come hither to pry into no ancient rites, Morfed, " I said. "Tell me what you know of Owen the prince, my foster father, and wewill go hence. I have seen that which tells me that he is near, butthere are yet things that I must learn of how he came and where helies. " But Morfed seemed to heed me not at all as I spoke. Only, he keptmoving the little sickle which Howel watched, and its glancingsdrew my eyes to it in spite of myself, for overhead the sky wasclearing somewhat and the sun was trying to break through, and thegold shone brightly. "Midday, " muttered the priest, "nigh midday, and what is to be doneagainst the morrow must be done, else will the tale of many athousand years be marred, and by me. Lo! the sun comes, and timepasses swiftly. " The sun did indeed shine out now as some cloud passed, and I sawthat its rays came slanting through the gap in the cliffs acrossthe pool, passing the menhir without lighting on it, but fallingnow on the flat rock that was behind it, though not fully yet. Halfthereof was still in the shadow thrown by the hills. Morfed glanced at that shadow, and his face changed, for I thinkthat he knew the time for some midday rite which we might not seewas near, and at that he seemed to make some resolve. He did notturn from us, but he lifted his voice in a strange chant, and saidsomewhat in Welsh that I could not understand, and as they heard ithis two followers placed themselves on either side of the flat rockthree paces behind him, and stood motionless. Then Morfed liftedhis arm and began to sing softly, swinging the sickle in time tothe song, with his eyes on us. I thought that maybe he would sing to us the end of Owen, as wouldThorgils, but the tongue in which the words were spoken was not theWelsh that I knew. I think now that it was the tongue of the menwho reared the menhir, and that which was the mother of the tongueof Howel and Gerent alike. It was an uncanny song, and I waxeduneasy as it went on, and the flashing sickle waved more quicklybefore my eyes. Soon the murmur of the song seemed to get into my brain, as itwere, and the sparkle of the gold in the sunlight wove itself intostrange circles of light before my eyes, widening and narrowing inmystic curves that dazzled me, until at last I would look nolonger, and with an effort I turned my head and glanced at Howel toask if this foolishness should not be ended. But he shook his head. "Let him be, " he said in a whisper. "It is ill to anger a crazedman. Surely he will tell what we need soon. " But beside him Evan seemed to be shrinking as in terror. I supposethe Briton has old memories of the Druids of past days which yetbid him fear them. "Hearken to me, and heed them not, " sang Morfed in words that Icould understand. "Hearken, for you have much to learn. " That was true, and I turned to him. I supposed that he was in truthabout to speak to me as I would, and straightway the look of Morfedwas on my face, and the song went back to its old burden, and theflashing sickle held my eyes with its circling, and I knew that ifI looked long I also must pass as it were from myself, as had thosetwo, and I wrenched my eyes from him. Then a movement on the stone caught my gaze, and I saw that the twomen yet stood motionless, but across the sunlit patch which hadcrept nearer the centre where the hollowed bowl was, a great adder, greater than any I had ever seen, thick and spade-headed, hadcoiled itself in shining folds peaceably and seeming not to heedthe men. Only its head was raised a little, and it swayed as intime to the chant of the priest, while the long forked tongueflickered forth now and then restlessly. But Morfed went on with his song and his waving, seeming to try todraw my look back to him, and I noted, as I glanced again at him, that a shade of doubt crossed his face, and at that a new thoughtcame to me. Maybe if he saw that I feared him not he would speak. So I looked in his eyes and bade him be silent and hearken to whatI said to him. Some wave of anger flushed his face then, and he drew a pace nearerto me, but he was not silent, and the waving sickle was not still. Neither of these things troubled me any longer, and I looked pastthem, in such wise that he might see that I meant him to obey me, even as one will look at a sullen thrall who delays to carry out anorder given. A captain of warriors will know what signs to watchfor in a man's face well enough, and slowly and at last I saw thelook for which I waited steal across the face of the man before me, and then I raised my hand and said: "Be still, and answer me. " The song stopped, and the lifted sickle sank with the hand thatheld it, and the eyes of Morfed left mine and sought the ground. "What will you?" he said. "Let me go, for it is time. " "When you have answered, " I said sternly. "Tell me, where is Owen?" "In yonder pool, " he said, as a child will answer its teacher. But if he answered as a child, his face was sullen as of a childthat is minded to rebel, and I knew that he would try not to tellme aught. "You lie, " I said coldly. "Neither Christian priest nor Druid woulddare set a prince of Cornwall in an unhallowed grave. Tell me thetruth. " "Ay, I lied, " he said, speaking in a strange voice that seemed tocome from him against his will. And then he spoke quickly, withoutfaltering or excuse. "I led the men who should slay the despiser ofthe faith of his youth and friend of the Saxon, and we came to thehouse and destroyed it, but they slew him not. Sorely wounded hewas, and yet they would not do my bidding and make an end, butmurmured at me. Then they bore him away into the hills, saying thatthey would heal him of his hurts and thereafter win his pardon, forhe was ever forgiving, and it is true that I told them not who itwas they were to slay. I said that it was Oswald the Saxon, whoslew Morgan, and they were glad. I do not know how it has come topass that you are here. I hate you!" "Speak on, Morfed, " I said, for he had stayed his words on that, and I bent all my mind into that command as it were, so that heknew that I meant to be his master in this. "Why should I not speak, " he said dully. "Let me end quickly. Ay, Iwent with them, thinking that he would die on the way, for he wassorely wounded, and I mocked them and threatened them in vain. Iled them to this place, and when they knew it they fled, and lefthim to me. Wherefore I brought him here, that I might see himdie--I and these two carried him on the litter the men made. Thenwill I bury him in no hallowed grave, for I myself spoke theuttermost ban of Holy Church against him, for that he had herdedwith the men of the Saxons who follow Canterbury, and has wroughtfor peace with them. " Then I knew at last that Owen was not dead, and I think that in mygladness I lost my hold on Morfed, as it were, for I half forgothim. And at that moment there came a little cry from one of the menwho waited by the flat altar stone, and both of them looked toMorfed for some command, as if a time had come. The stone was infull light now, and I noted that the shadow of the menhir wascreeping toward its base, but not yet quite pointing to it. But Morfed did not answer the cry, and the great adder, roused byit, moved restlessly in its coils, darting its long forked tongueinto the hollow of the stone as if it sought somewhat. Then one ofthe men who seemed the younger took from under his robe a goldenflask and poured what looked like milk into the hollow, and thecreature lowered its head and lapped it thence. At that cry Morfed started and half turned. But I had more to askhim, and I spoke sternly. Behind me was a rattle of arms, as ifHowel would have stayed him. "Morfed, " I said, "you have yet to tell me where Owen, the prince, is hidden. If you would finish what you are about here, tell mestraightway, or bid one of these men shew me, or we will stay allthis wizardry. " Maybe I spoke more boldly than I felt, for indeed the wholebusiness and the place made all seem uncanny. I know that mycomrades feared it all. But now Morfed heeded my word no longer. Slowly at last he turnedaway, and now he must needs look back toward the altar stone andthe menhir in turning, and the sight of them seemed to bring to hismind what work he had here, so that in a moment I was forgotten, and he sprang past me toward his attendants, one of whom waspointing silently, but with a white face, to the shadow of themenhir. And I saw that now it touched the stone and crept up on itssurface for an inch or less. I suppose that tomorrow that shadow would be so much shorter, andwould not lie on the flat top of the stone at all. Then for alittle space the sun would seem to one at the back of the altar tostand on the menhir's top, while all the stone and the bowl wherethe adder lay was in full light, even as men say the sun seems tostand on the great stone of Stonehenge on Midsummer Day at itsrising. I had seen that wonder once, and this minded me of it. But what Morfed saw told him that midday had come and was passing;and all that meant to him, beyond that the time for some rite hadbeen forgotten, I cannot tell. There came from his lips a cry thatwas of terror and of sorrow as I thought, and the adder lifted itshead from its lapping and coiled itself menacingly. He did not heed the creature, but threw abroad his hands sunwards, and began to speak hurriedly in that tongue which I could notfollow; and as his words went on the faces of his men grew haggard, and one of them wept openly. The younger threw the golden vessel hehad in his hand into the pool, and turned on me a look of the mostterrible hate, and his hand stole under his robes as if he soughtthe knife I had seen him draw when they first came. Now Howel and Evan were beside me, wondering, but spear in hand, and I was glad. There was more than enmity in the look of thesemen, and one to three has little chance. Whatever strange fears myfriends had felt passed with the sight of danger. But while Morfed spoke his followers were still, listening to himintently, until at last he seemed to dismiss them; and then theyturned from him with a strange deep reverence, and folded theirhands on their breasts, and came past where we stood, not lookingat us, but with their eyes on the ground as if they were goingback, up the water course whence they came. And at that I thoughtthey might be going to where Owen was, and that they would harmhim. "Quick, Evan, " I said; "follow them. See where they go. " "Ay, follow them, " said Morfed. "Now I care not what befalls. " And with that he raised his voice and called somewhat to the men, and they quickened their pace into the glen. I did not understandwhat they said in return, but somewhat in the words of the ancienttongue they spoke was more plain to Howel, and he cried to mehastily, hurrying after Evan. "Guard you the priest here, and beware of him!" Then he dashed up the water course into which Evan had alreadydisappeared, and I heard the feet of the four on the loose stone asthey climbed upward. I had almost a mind to follow them, for Ithought that their way led to Owen, but I dared not leave Morfed togo elsewhere. This might only be a plan to lead us astray. CHAPTER XIV. HOW OSWALD FOUND WHAT HE SOUGHT, AND RODE HOMEWARD WITH NONATHE PRINCESS. So I was left with Morfed the priest, and he did not offer tofollow his men, but stood and faced me with eyes that gleamed withthe fire of wrath or madness, or both. We waited, both of us, as Ithink, to hear if any sound beyond the lessening footfalls camefrom the water course, but they died away upward, and there wasstill no word between us. Then I thought that I would try one moreplan with him. "Morfed, " I said, "take me to Owen, and I will pledge my word thatGerent shall seek no revenge for what has been done by you. " "What I have done!" he broke out. "I sought to rid the land of afoe, and that was a deed worth doing. Know you what you havedone?--Through you is ended the tale of many a thousand years. Thetime is past when I, the priest and Archdruid of this poor land, should have done what has been done, since time untold, withoutfail, against tomorrow's rites. That day, therefore, through youshall be unobserved. It is strange that a mere Saxon warrior, withno thought beyond his feasting and fighting, should set his willagainst mine and prove the stronger. Now I wit well that this issome fated day, and that herein lies some omen of what shall be. " Then he turned a little from me, and looked at the shadow which hadpassed altogether from the altar stone now, and half to himself hesaid: "I had thought that this menhir had fallen when this came to pass. But maybe the old prophecy meant that not until it fell we mustcease our rites. But that was not how we read the words of oldtime. If we read them wrong, what else have we mistaken?" "Morfed, " I broke in on his musings, "end this idle talk, and tellme of Owen. Then I will go hence and leave you to work what youwill here. I had no wish to disturb your rites, whatsoever theywere. If aught has happened amiss, it was your own fault, not mine. Your own deed brought me here. " But he paid not the least heed to me, and yet I thought that hetried to put me off, as it were, by seeming wrapt in thoughts. "Surely it should have fallen on this day that sees the end, evenas runs the ancient prophecy--'When the pool shall whelm the stone, Druid rite and chant are done. ' But it has not fallen, and the endis not yet. But what shall amend this fault?" I had listened for some sound from Howel and Evan, but since thefootsteps passed up the glen I had heard none until this moment. Then came one cry from far upward, and silence thereafter. Morfedheard it and looked up, setting at the same time his hand on theedge of the altar stone. The golden sickle flashed as he did so, and at that, swift as theflash itself, the adder stiffened its coils, and its head flewback, baring the long fangs, and twice it struck the hand deeply. "I am answered, " Morfed said quietly. "My life shall amend. " But he never moved his hand, and the adder swiftly slid from offthe stone and sought some hiding place in the loose rocks at thecliff foot, and the priest watched it go, motionless. "Look you, Saxon, " he said, lifting his eyes to me; "now I mustdie, and with me ends the line of the Druids of this land of theolden faith. Yonder in the Cymric land beyond the narrow sea whenceHowel came it shall not be lost. The hills shall keep it, and therethe slow mind of the Saxon shall not slay the old powers as youhave slain them in me. Now I know that nought but the power of thecross shall avail on such minds as yours, for the lore of the olderdays is not for you. See! This is an end, and now you in yoursimpleness shall do one last thing for me. " I saw that the hand which yet rested on the altar was swellingalready, and was waxing fiery red with four black marks where thefangs struck it. And I had a sort of pity for him, seeing him bearthis, which he deemed his punishment, bravely. Still, he hadanswered nothing as to where Owen was. "Morfed, " I said, therefore--"if it is indeed the last hour foryou, make amends for another ill by telling me where Owen is, and Iwill do what you ask me, if it is what I may do honestly and as aChristian. " "Grave me a cross on yonder menhir in token that the days of theDruid are numbered, " he said softly, sitting down on the stone withhis head bowed, as if in deadly faintness. Two steps took me to the menhir, and I drew my seax that I might doas he asked me. It was a little thing, and Christian, and I thoughtthat maybe he had come to himself from the madness of which menspoke. Yet though it seemed long that Howel was away, and I longedto follow him, I dared not leave this man, seeing that for all Iknew Owen was somewhere close at hand, and it was not to be knownwhat this priest might do in his despair. Howel and Evan might befollowing the men yet into some hiding place. I set the point of my weapon to the stone and went to work, gravingthe upright stem of the cross first, thinking that Morfed wouldspeak when he saw that I was indeed doing as he asked me. The stonewas softer than I expected, and surely was not of the granite ofthe cliffs around, but had been brought from far, else I could nothave marked it at all. Yet I had to lean heavily on my seax as Icut, and it was no light task, as I stood sidewise that I might notlose sight of Morfed. "I die, " he said presently. "There will be none left who may bringback the ancient secrets hither from the land of the Cymro. See, this is an end. " He rose up, staggering a little, and cast the golden sickle fromhim into the pool with a light eddying splash, as if it skimmed thesurface ere it sank, but I did not look at it, and that was wellfor me. I saw his hand fly to his breast, as the hands of his menhad gone for their weapons when they first saw us, and I knew whatwas coming. Hardly had the golden toy touched the water when out flashed a longdagger from his robes, and he flew on me, thinking, no doubt, thatI must needs turn my head to watch the fall of his sickle, and Iwas ready for him. He was no warrior, and his hand was too high, but he was a priest, and on him I would not use my weapon. I swungaside from him, striking up his arm, and his blind rush carried himagainst the menhir, so that the blow which was meant for me fellthereon, scoring the stone deeply; and lo! his own hand ended withthat blow what I had begun, marking the cross-beam I had yet tomake, so that the holy sign was complete. And I saw that in a flash, even as he reeled back from the menhirand staggered. His foot splashed into the ooze of the bank and wentdown; and with that he lost his footing altogether and fellheadlong into the pool, swaying as he went, across the front of themenhir. Now there was a shout and the sound of hurrying footsteps behindme, but it was Howel's voice, and I did not turn. I leaned on themenhir to try to catch the white robes that swirled below me, andthen I felt a heave and quaking in the turf on which I knelt as Ireached over the black water, and Howel cried out and dragged meback roughly for a long fathom. The menhir was falling. Slowly at first, and then more swiftly, itbent forward over the pool, and then it gathered way suddenly, andwith a mighty crash it fell with all its towering height acrossit--and across the last flash of the white robes of the man who yetstruggled therein. For a moment the cross looked skyward, and then the wave swept overthe stone, and it was gone into the unknown depths that maybe heldso many secrets of the strange rites of those who had reared it. Only where its foot had been planted was a pit to shew thatsomewhat had been there, and that was slowly filling with the blackbog which had undermined the stone at last. The old prophecy hadcome to pass, and there was indeed an end. But I saw for a moment into that pit before it was filled, and init was laid open as it were a great stone chest, where the base ofthe menhir had been to cover it, and in that were skulls and bonesof men, and among them the dull gleam of ancient gold and flint. The wild tumult of the water died away, and the ripples came, andthen the pool was glassy as before, but there was no sign ofmovement in it, and now it was clear no longer. And still Howel andI stared silently at that place whence the great stone had passedlike a dream. "Nona saw it troubled, " Howel said at last. But I answered what was in my mind, with a sort of despair: "He never told me where Owen lies. " "But I think we have found him, or nearly, " Howel answered. "Comewith me. This is no place for us to bide in. Did you hear thosevoices?" I had heard the echoes from the rocks after the great crash, andthey were strange and wild enough, but I heard nothing more. "I heard one shout some time since, " I said, rising up from where Istill sat as Howel had left me. "Nay, but the wailing when the stone fell, " he said. "Wailing fromall around. Wailing as of the lost. Come hence, Oswald. " I do not know if the man of the more ancient race heard more thanI, mingled with those wild echoes, but I know that Howel the princefeared little. Now he was afraid, even in the bright sunlight, andowned it. But the first shock had passed from me, and I looked for ourhorses. They had gone. I think that the fall of the menhir scaredthem, for they were yet tied where Evan left them, just beforethat. "Howel, the horses have broken loose and gone, " I cried. "Let them be, " he said; "they will but go to the men down thevalley, and will be caught there. Come, we must get hence. " He fairly dragged me with him towards the glen, and it was notuntil we were out of the circle of cliffs round the pool andpicking our way among the boulders of the water course, that hespoke again. "That is better, " he said, --"one can breathe here. I do not care ifI never set eyes on that place again, and indeed I hope we neednot. Now we have to find Owen as quickly as we may. " "What of the two men?" "One turned on us, and we slew him perforce. The other Evan hastied up safely, though it took us all our time to catch him. I leftEvan trying to make him speak. " I wondered in what way he was trying, but the path grew steeper andsteeper, and the plash of water falling among the stones made ithard to hear. We went on and on, ever upward, until the walls ofthe narrow glen widened, and at last we were on a barren hillside, across which the little stream found its way in a belt of greengrass and fern and bog from farther heights yet, and there I lookedfor Evan. The path reappeared here again, and it went slantingacross the hill and over its shoulder, hardly more than a sheeptrack as it was. And here lay the body of the slain man. "Over the hill crest, " Howel said, noting my look around. "The manran across this track. Did you hear what Morfed said to them?" "No, I heard him call, of course, but his tongue is unknown to me. " "It was the ancient British, I think. I heard a word or two hereand there, but few of those we use yet. I heard more that arewritten in our oldest writings, and few enough of them. But what hesaid to his men was plain enough, happily. He bade them kill thecaptive to amend the wrong done. I do not know what the wrong was. " I knew then that Owen had had a narrow escape, and but for thefleetness of foot of Evan he would surely have been slain. I toldHowel of what had passed while he was absent, and so we came to thehilltop, and I saw a little below me the white robes of thecaptive, and Evan sitting by him, resting on his spear. He rose upas we came to him. "Has he spoken, Evan?" I said. "Ay, Master, " he answered, with a grin that minded me of other dayswith him. "He says he will take us to the place where Owen lies, ifwe will promise to spare his life. " "We will promise that, " I answered. "We will let him go his own wayafter we have seen all that we need. " "Let me rise, then, " the man said quietly. "I will shew you all. " "Do not untie his hands, Evan, but let him walk, " I said. "He isnot to be trusted, if he is like his master. " It was the elder of the two whom we had before us, and he seemeddowncast and harmless enough as we let him rise, though he wasunhurt. He had run on while the younger turned to stay thepursuers, but Evan had caught him. He led us along the path, whichI suppose his own feet and those of Morfed had worn, unless it wasold as the menhir itself, and on the way he said suddenly: "Let me ask one thing of you. Has the menhir fallen?" "Ay, with the cross graven on it, " I answered; and my words checkeda laugh that was on Evan's lips. "I knew it. I heard the crash, " the man said. "That is an endtherefore. " But Howel told the whole story as he had seen it take place, fromthe time when Morfed flew at me, to the time when the waters werestill again; and as he heard, the man clenched his hands and bowedhis head and went on quickly, as if that would prevent his hearing. After that he said nothing. Then the path took us round the shoulder of a hill, and before uswas a rocky platform on the sunward slope which went steeply downto another brook far below us. Far and wide from that platform onecould see over the heads of three streams, and across three hillpeaks that were right before us, and at the back of the level placewas a great cromlech made of one vast flat stone reared on threeothers that were set in a triangle to uphold it. Seven good feetfrom the ground its top was, and each of the three supportingstones was some twelve feet long, so that it was like a house forspace within, and the two foremost stones were apart as a doorway. And again beyond the cromlech was a hut, shaped like a beehive ofstraw, built of many stones most wonderfully, both walls and roof. There were things about this hut that seemed to tell that it was inuse, and even as our footsteps rang on the rocky platform, out ofits low doorway crept an ancient woman and stared at us wildly. "What is this?" she screamed. "How should these unhallowed onescome hither?" "Silence, mother, " our captive said. "All is done, and these mencome to take away the prince. " Then she saw that he was bound with Evan's belt, and at that shescreamed again, and a wild look came into her face, and with abound that was wonderful in one so old and bent she fled to thecromlech, and climbed up the rearward stone in some way, perchingherself on the flat top, whence she glared at us. "We will not harm you, mother, " I said, seeing her terror. And even as I spoke, from within the stone walls of the cromlechcame the voice that I longed to hear again, weak, indeed, but yetthat of Owen: "Oswald, Oswald!" Then I paid no more heed to the hag, but ran into the dark place, and there indeed was my foster father, swathed in bandages, andlying white and helpless on a rough couch, but yet with a brightsmile and greeting for me, and I went on my knees at his side andanswered him. I will not say more of that meeting. Outside the old woman cursedand reviled Howel and Evan and the captive in turns unceasingly;but I heeded her no more than one heeds a starling chattering onthe roof in the early morning. I had all that I sought, and aughtelse was as nothing to me. After a little while Howel's face came into the doorway, and Owencalled him in. I saw the look of the prince change as he marked themany swathings that told of Owen's sore hurts. "Nay, but trouble not, " Owen said, seeing this. "I am cut about abit, for certain, but not so badly that I may not be about againsoon. The old lady overhead has a shrewd tongue, but she is amarvellous good leech. I have not fared so badly here, and I knewOswald would not rest until he found me. " "Now we must take you hence, " I said. "Our men wait, and we can nodoubt get them here. " He smiled, being tired with the joy of seeing us and the speaking, and I went out to Evan. The old woman still sat on the cromlech, and when she saw me her voice rose afresh with more hard words, which I would not notice. "Evan, " I said, "how shall we take the prince hence?" "The litter they brought him on stands behind the hut yonder, " heanswered; "for this man tells me so. Also he says that we are nothalf a mile from our men, and that we can see one from just abovehere. " So I sent him to bring them, telling him how the horses were gone, so that we had no need to go back into the valley. To tell thetruth, I was as much relieved in my mind that we need not do so asit was plain that he was. Then when he was gone I went back toOwen, and he asked me if we had seen Morfed. I did not tell himmore than that we had done so, but that he was not here, one of histwo men having guided us, for the tale we must tell him by and bymight be better untold as yet. "It does not matter, " he said. "I cannot understand the man. At onetime I think that he was at the bottom of all the trouble, and atanother that he rescued me from the men who fell on the house. Ihave seen little of him here until yesterday and today. There is aman whom he calls 'the Bard, ' who has tended me well enough withthe old dame, and another whom he names 'the Ovate, ' whom I haveseen now and then--a younger man. I have set eyes on none but thesefour since the men of the burning left me to them in the hills. " We asked him how all that went, and he told us what he couldremember. He had waked from some sort of a swoon while he was beingcarried, in the midst of many men, and again had come to himselfwhen his litter had been set down. At that time there was seeminglya quarrel between Morfed and his two followers and these men, andit ended by the many departing and leaving him to the priest. Thatwas, as I knew, when the hillmen would not come into the lostvalley. "They set my sword beside me, " he said. "Presently in the dark Isaw the gleam of a pool, and I made shift to throw it into thewater, so that no outlaw or Morgan's man should boast that he woreit. Ina gave it me. One of the men saw me throw it, and was forstaying, but the other said he had heard the splash and that it wasgone. Morfed was not near at the time, having gone on. I heard himsinging somewhere beyond the water. " "I have found it, father, " I said. "It was on the edge of the pool, in long grass, and it helped us somewhat, for we knew you werenear. Now say if it is well to move you yet. We can bide here withthe men if not. " He laughed a little. "I think so, but that is a question for the leech. Ask the dame. Maybe she will answer if you speak her fair. " Howel went to do that, saying that maybe she would listen to aBriton, for most of her wrath was concerning my Saxon arms. Sopresently I heard her shrill voice growing calmer as Howel coaxedher, and then there was a sound as if she climbed from her perch, and Howel came back to us. "We may take you, she says. Hither come the men in all haste also, and we may get away from this place at once. These hills areuncanny on Midsummer Eve, and I am glad that we have long daylightbefore us. " Then said Owen: "Oswald, I have not withal, but I would fain reward the bard andthe old woman for their care of me. I think that even atGlastonbury there are none who would have healed these hurts ofmine more easily than she. " I had my own thoughts about the bard, but I said that I would seeto this, and went to him. The men were close at hand, and I sawthat they led our horses with them. "Bard, " I said, "Owen the prince speaks well of you. Is it truethat you would have slain him had you not been stayed on your way?" "I do not know, Lord, " he answered. "When I was with Morfed, needsmust I do his bidding, even against my will. Yet, away from him, Ithink that I should not have harmed the prince. I am a Christianman, for all that you have seen. " "There was somewhat strangely heathenish in what I did see, " Isaid. "But I suppose that is all done with?" "I might go across the sea to the British lands in the north or inthe south and learn to attain to druidship, " he said. "But I willnot. What I know shall die with me. He who was the next to meabove, even Morfed, is gone, and he who was next below is gonealso. Druid and Ovate both. I am the only one of the old line left, and I will be the last. Call me Bard no longer, I pray you. " "Well, " I said, for there was that in the face of the man whichtold me that he was in earnest, "I will believe you, and the morethat Owen trusts you. " I let loose his hands then, and he stretched his cramped arms andthanked me. I minded well what that feeling was like. "What would Morfed have done with the prince?" I asked. "I do not know. I have heard him plan many things. I think that ifhe had won him to his thoughts concerning the men of Canterbury hewould have taken him home. If not, I only know this, that he wouldnever have been seen in this land again. There was a thought ofcarrying him even across the sea to the Britons in the south--inGaul. But of all things Morfed hoped that he would die here. " So I supposed, but I said no more, for Evan and the men reined upclose to us. There was joy enough among them all as Owen was slowlyand carefully laid on the rough litter. And we left those twostaring after us, silent. But I suppose that the terror of thatstrange place will still lie on all the countryside, and I holdthat since the day when the wizards of old time reared the menhiron that which it covered, with cruel rites and terrible words thathave bided in the minds of men as a terror will bide, no man butsuch as Morfed has dared to pry into that valley lest the ancientcurse should fall on them--the curse of the Druid who would hidehis secrets. It may be, therefore, that it will not be known by thefolk that the menhir has fallen, even yet, for we who did know ittold them nought thereof. As for that falling, it is the saying of Howel that it was wroughtby the might of the holy sign, and maybe he is not so far wrong ina way. For if the slow creeping of the bog had at last underminedthe base of the tall stone so that it needed but little to disturbits balance, no wind could reach it in that cliff-walled place evenin the wildest gale, and it is likely that no hand but mine hadtouched it for long ages. I began, and the rush and blow of Morfedended, the work of overthrow, with the sign of might complete. AndEvan holds that but for the graving thereof he at least were bythis time a dead man. It was late evening when we came to the village, with no harm toOwen at all beyond tiredness, which a good sleep would amend; andafter that there is little that I need tell of Howel's going toExeter with the good news, and of his bringing back to us a littermore fitted for the carrying of the hurt prince, and then thewelcome that was for us from Gerent. When we were back with him, Owen passed into the loving hands ofNona the princess, and I do not think that he had any cause toregret his older leech of the beehive hut, skilful as she was, forwe who loved him saw him gain strength daily. Now I found means to send a letter to Ina, by the tin traders whowere on the way to London, telling him that all was well, andbegging him to suffer me to bide with my foster father for a timeyet, as I knew indeed that I might, for my new place in thehousehold had few duties save at times of ceremony, and in war, when I must lead the men of the household as the bearer of theking's own banner. And as the days went on it grew plain to me thatthere was somewhat amiss about the court here. There was no dislike of myself, as I may truly say, among the menof West Wales whom I met with, but there was a coldness now andthen which I could not altogether fathom, and that specially amongthe priests. It seemed that while Gerent had forgotten that I wasaught but the son of Owen, who had brought him back, no one elseforgot that I was a Saxon, and that there was more in theremembrance than should be in these times of peace. I could notthink that this was due to my share in the death of Morgan either, for it was plain that not one of his friends was about the court. At last I spoke of this to Howel, and found that he also had seensomewhat of the kind. "I know it, " he said. "If I am not very much mistaken, and I oughtto know the signs of coming trouble by this time, there is somewhatbrewing in the way of fresh enmity with your folk. It comes fromthe priests. " "There are more of the way of thinking of Morfed, therefore, " Ianswered. "And if that is so there may be more danger for Owen. It is wellknown that he is for peace, and that Gerent will listen to him inall things. " We talked of that for some time, not being at all easy yetconcerning the matter, after seeing how far some were willing to gotoward removing one who was in their way. I could not stay herelong, nor could Howel, and it was certain that Gerent could notwell guard Owen up to this time. And at last Howel spoke the best counsel yet, after many plansturned over between us. "We will even take him to Dyfed, and nurse him to strength inPembroke. Then if aught is in the wind it will break out at once, lest he should return and spoil all. Gerent will either have to bowto the storm and fight, or else he will get the upper hand andquiet things again. If he can do that last, at least till Owen isback, all will be well. Owen will take things in hand then, andwill be master. " That was indeed a way out of the trouble, and therein Nona helpedus with Owen, so that at last he consented. I will say that he knewlittle or nothing of possible trouble here, and we told himnothing, for, in the first place, we had no certainty thereof, andin the next, he was not strong enough to do anything against it ifwe had. When we came to ask Gerent if Howel might take him to Dyfed, wefound no difficulty at all, which surprised me not a little. Ithink that the king knew that it was well for him to be across thechannel in all quiet. So it came to pass that in a few days all was ready for our goingto Watchet to find Thorgils or some other shipmaster who would takeus over. We could wait at Norton until the time of sailing came, ifwe might not cross at once, and thence I should go back to Ina. One may guess without any telling of mine what the parting withOwen was for Gerent. As for myself, I was somewhat sorry to bid theold king farewell, for I liked him, and he was ever most kind tome. But I was not sorry to leave his court, by any means, for thosereasons of which I have spoken, and of them most of all for fear ofmore plotting against Owen. Now I will say that the ride to Watchet, slow and careful for hissake who must yet travel in the litter, and in fair summer weather, is one that I love to look back on. As may be supposed, by thistime I and the princess were very good friends, and it is likelythat I rode beside her for most of the way. We had many things totalk of. One thing I have not set down yet is, that it had been easy, afterwhat he had done for us, to win full pardon for Evan from Gerent. Now he rode with me, well armed and stalwart, as my servant, andone could hardly want a more likely looking one. And Nona had somegood words and friendly to say to him, which made him hold his headhigher yet after a time. Presently, since I was on my way back to Glastonbury and onwards, we must needs speak of Elfrida, and I told her how I had fared whenI came back from Dyfed. She laughed at me, and I laughed at myselfalso; for now I knew at last that the old fancy had in all truthpassed from my mind. So we came to Norton, and then sought Thorgils, and after that itwas a week before he was ready. I mind the wonder on the face ofthe Norseman when he saw Evan at my heels on the day when his shipcame home and I met him on the wharf; but he was glad to see himthere. "Faith, " he said, "it has been a trouble to me that a man whom Iwas wont to trust had turned out so ill. It shook my own belief inmy better judgment. I did think I knew a man when I saw him, untilthen. So I was not far wrong after all. Now I will make a new songof his deeds, and I do not think it will be a bad one. " Then it came to pass that one day, when the wind blew fair forTenby, I saw the ship draw away from me as her broad sail filled, while on the deck was Owen in a great chair, and from his side Nonawaved to me, and Howel shouted that I must come over ere long andfetch Owen home. Thorgils was steering, and he lifted his arm andcried his parting words, and so I turned away, feeling lonely as aman may feel for a little while. And presently I looked againtoward the ship, and I think that the last I saw of her was theflutter of Nona's kerchief in the soft wind, and I vowed thatnought should hinder me from Dyfed when the time came. Thereafter I rode to Glastonbury, and told Herewald what I thoughtof the trouble that was surely brewing in the west; and he saidthat he also had some reason to think that along his borders menwere getting more unruly, as if none tried to hinder them fromgiving cause of offence to us. "Well, if they will but keep quiet until this wedding is over itwill be a comfort, " he said. "I should be more at ease if onceElfrida was safely in Sussex. " Then I learned that the wedding was to be in a month's time or so, and already there were preparations in hand for it. With all myheart I hoped also that nought might mar it. Then I passed on to the king at Winchester, and glad was he to hearthat we had indeed found Owen. But as he listened to what I thoughtwas coming on us from the west, he said: "It is even what Owen and I foresaw with the death of Aldhelm. Thisis a matter that not even Owen could have prevented, for it comesof the jealousy of the priests. We will go to Glastonbury andwatch, and maybe we shall be in time for the wedding. But I willnot be the one to break the peace. If war there must be, it mustcome from Gerent. " And so he mused for a while, and then said: "Well, so it will be. And not before West Wales has tried herfailing force for the last time will there be a lasting peace. " CHAPTER XV. HOW ERPWALD SAW HIS FIRST FIGHT ON HIS WEDDING DAY. So we went to Glastonbury in a little time, and now it was as ifYuletide had come again in high summer, so full was the little townwith guests who came to the wedding. Erpwald had come soon afterus, with a train of Sussex thanes, who were his neighbours andwould see him through the business, and take him and his bride homeagain. Well loved were the ealdorman and his fair daughter, andthis was the first wedding in the new church, of which all the landwas proud. Only Ina was somewhat uneasy, though he would not shew it. For onall the Wessex border from Severn Sea to the Channel there wasunrest. It seemed that the hand of Gerent had altogether slackenedon his people, so that they did what they listed, and it was evenworse than it had been in the days of Morgan and his brother, forat least they were answerable for what the men of Dyvnaint wroughtof harm. There was none to take their place here, while the oldking bided in Exeter or in Cornwall, and never came to Norton atall now. So there was pillage and raiding across the Parrett, andat last Ina had sent messages to Gerent concerning it. A fortnight ago that was, and now the messengers had returned, bearing word from Gerent that he himself would come and speak toIna of Wessex and answer him, and it was doubtful what that answermeant. There might well be a menace of war therein, or it mightmean that he was only coming to Norton. It would not be the firsttime that the two kings had met there and spoken with one anotherin all friendliness concerning matters which might have been ofmuch trouble. And we heard at least of no gathering of forces bythe Welsh. Yet Ina warned all the sheriffs of the Wessex borderland, and coulddo no more. The levies would come up at once when the first summonscame. All of which the ealdorman spoke to me of, but neither Erpwald norElfrida knew that war was in the air. We did not tell them. Thus wehoped to keep all knowledge that aught was unrestful from them intheir happiness, until at least they two were beyond the sound ofwar, if it needs must come. But it came to pass on the day before the wedding that all men knewthereof in stern truth, and that was a hard time for many. Erpwald and I sat on the bench before the ealdorman's house in thelate sunshine of the long July evening, talking of the morrow, andof Eastdean, and aught else that came uppermost, so that it waspleasant to think of, and before us we could see the long road thatgoes up the slope of Polden hills and so westward toward the Devonborder. Along it came a wain or two laden high with the first ryethat was harvested that year, and a herd or two of lazy kinefinding their way to the byres for the evening milking. And thenbeyond the wains rose a dust, and I saw the waggoners draw aside, and the dust passed them, and the kine scattered wildly as itneared them; and so down the peaceful road spurred a little companyof men who shouted as they came, never drawing rein or sparing spurfor all that the farm horses reared and plunged and the kine fledterror stricken. I think that I knew what it meant at once, but Erpwald laughed andsaid: "More of our guests, belike. One rides fast to a bridal, butthey are over careless. " But I did not answer, for the hot pace of those who came neverslackened, and spurring and with loose rein they swept across thebridge over the stream and so thundered toward us. "Here is a hurry beyond a jest, " said Erpwald, sitting up;"somewhat is amiss, surely. " Never rode men in that wise but for life. In a minute they wereclose, and one of them spied me and called to me, waving his armtoward the palace and reeling in his saddle as he did so. His armwas bandaged, and I saw that the spear his comrade next him borewas reddened, and that the other two had leapt on their horses withnought but the halter to guide them withal, as if in direst needfor haste. Not much longer could their horses last as it seemed. I sprang up and followed to the king's courtyard, leaving Erpwaldwondering, and a footpath brought me there almost as they drew reininside the gates. One of the horses staggered and fell as soon ashe stayed, and his rider was in little better plight. That one whohad beckoned to me knew me, and spoke at once, breathless: "Let us to the king, Thane. The Welsh--the Welsh!" "An outlaw raid again?" I asked. "Would I come hither in this wise for that?" the man answered. He was a sturdy franklin from the Quantock side of the river--onewhose father had been set there by Kenwalch. "I can deal, and have dealt, with the like of them, but this iswar. They are on us in their thousands, and I have even been burntout for being a Saxon, by a raiding party. " "Whence?" "From Norton, " answered another of the men. "Gerent, their king, isthere with a host beyond counting. One fled from across the hillsand told us, and we believed him not till the raiders came. " With that I took the men straightway to the king, bidding thehouse-carles hold their peace awhile. And even as we talked withthis party, another man rode in from the Tone fenlands, and he hadseen the march of the West Welsh men, and knew that Gerent's forcewas halted at Norton. A swift and sudden gathering, and a swiftmarch that was worthy of a good leader, else had we heard thereofbefore this. After that man came another, and yet another, till all thecourtyard was full of reeking horses and white-faced men, and theealdorman was sent for and Nunna; and in an hour or less the wararrow was out, and the news was flying north and south and east, with word that all Somerset was to be here on the morrow to holdthe land their forebears had won from those who came. Presently with the quiet of knowing all done that might be done onus, the ealdorman and I went down to his house. "Here is an end of tomorrow's wedding, " he said sadly. "I do notknow how Elfrida will take it, for it is not to be supposed thatErpwald will hold back from the levy, though, indeed, if ever manhad excuse, he has it in full. " I knew that he would not, also, and said nothing. He was yetsitting on the settle where I had left him waiting for me, with thelevel sun in his face as it sank across the Poldens, and he lookedcontent with all things. "What a coil and a clatter has been past me, surely, " he said. "Idoubt there must be a raid over the border, from what I hear themen shouting. " "More than that, friend, " I said gravely, looking straight at him. "The Welsh are on us in all earnest, and tomorrow we must meet themsomewhere yonder, where the sun is setting. " He looked at me, and his face flushed redder and redder. "What, fighting in the air?" he said, with a sort of new interest. "War, --nothing more or less, " answered Herewald with a groan. "I am in luck for once, " he said, leaping up. "Let me go with you, Oswald; for this is what I have never seen. " "Hold hard, son-in-law, " cried the ealdorman. "What of thewedding?" His face fell, and he stared at us blankly, but his cheek paled. "Forgive me, " he said. "I never can manage to keep more than onething in my head at a time. Here was I thinking of nought but that, until this news came and drove out all else. Don't tell Elfridathat I forgot it. " "Trouble enough for her without that, " answered Herewald. "Youcannot hold back, maybe, though indeed, not one will think theworse of you if you do so. We must tell Elfrida what has befallen, however, and she must speak her mind on your doings. Come, let usfind her. " "Do you speak first, Ealdorman, " I said, and he nodded and went hisway. Erpwald and I followed him into the hall, and there stayed. He waslong gone thence to the bower where Elfrida sat with her maidenspreparing for the morrow. "What will she say?" asked Erpwald presently. "I think that she will bid you fight for the king, though it willbe hard for her to do so. " "I hope she will, though, indeed, I should like to think that itwill not be easy for her to send me away, " said the lover, torn intwo ways. "How long will it take to settle with these Welsh?" "I cannot tell, " I said, shaking my head. For, indeed, though I would not say it, a Welsh war is apt to be along affair if once they get among the hills. "If we have the victory, I think that the wedding will not be putoff for so very long, " I added to comfort him. He walked back and forth across the hall until Herewald came back, and then started toward him. "Go yonder and speak with her, " the ealdorman said, pointing to thedoor whence he came. Then he went hastily, and we two looked at one another. "How is it with her?" I said. "In the way of the girl who helped you slay Morgan, " he saidgrimly. "She would hold him nidring if he had not wished to go. " We went to the door and looked out. All the road was dotted withmen from the nearer villages who came to the gathering, and as theymarched, each after the reeve of the place, they sang. And past thehindmost of them came a single horseman hurrying. Another messengerwith the same news, doubtless. Then there were footsteps across the hall behind us, and Elfridaand Erpwald came to us. I stole one glance at her, and saw that shehid her sorrow and pain well, though it was not without an effort. She spoke fast, and seemingly in cheerful wise, as we turned toher. "Father, here is this Erpwald, who will go to the war, and I cannothold him back. What can you say to him?" "Nought, surely. For if he will not listen to you, it is certainthat he will hearken to none else. " She laughed a little strained laugh, and turned to Erpwald. "You must have your own way, as I can see plainly enough; and ourwedding must needs wait your pleasure. Even my father will not helpto keep you here. " "But, Elfrida--it was your own saying--" the poor lover went nofurther, for he was beyond his depth altogether. It would seem that this was not the way in which she had spoken tohim when they were alone. So I went to help him. "We will take care of him, Elfrida, " I said, trying to laugh; "butI think that he is able to do that for himself fairly well. " Then I was sorry that I had spoken, for it was a foolish speech, seeing that it brought the thought of danger more closely to herthan was need, or maybe than she had let it come to her yet. Sheturned into the half-darkness of the hall again, and after her wentErpwald. The ealdorman and I went to the courtyard and left them, feeling that we need say no more. Then through the dusk that horseman whom we had noted clattered up, and called in a great voice to us, asking if we knew where heshould find Oswald the marshal, and I answered him and went outinto the road to him. And there sat Thorgils, fully armed, on agreat horse that was white with foam, but had been carefullyridden. "Ho, comrade! have you heard the news?" he said, gripping my hand. "Twenty times in half an hour, " I answered. "But is there somewhatfresh?" "Have any of your twenty told you that these knaves of Welsh havebroken peace with us, tried to burn Watchet town--and had theirheads broken?" "News indeed, that, " said I. "What more?" "If you Saxons will stand by us, your kin, it may be worth yourwhile. Here have I ridden to tell you so. " Then I hurried him to the king, for this was a matter worthhearing. Watchet was on Gerent's left flank, and a force there wasa gain to us indeed, if only by staying the force at Norton for aday longer. We should have so much the more time in which to gatherthe levies. But, seeing that they were not yet gathered, it did not at firstseem possible to Ina that we could help to save the little town, whose few men had beaten off today's attack, but would be surelyoverwhelmed by numbers on the morrow if Gerent chose. But Thorgilshad not come hither without a plan in his head, and he set itbefore the king plainly. "Norton is on the southern end of the Quantocks, and Watchet is atthe northern end, as you know, King Ina. Between the two on thehills is the great camp which any force can hold, but nought but agreat one can storm. If you will give me two hundred men, I willhave that camp by morning, and that will save Watchet, and maybehold back Gerent in such wise that he will not care to pass itwithout retaking it. He will not know how few of us will be there, and you will be able to choose your own ground for the fightingwhile he bethinks him. There is but one road into Wessex across theQuantocks, and we shall seem to menace that while we cover the wayto Watchet. " "So the camp is held?" asked Ina. "Gerent is before me there. " "Held by the men we beat off from Watchet, King. One we took tellsus that they had no business to fall on our town, but turned asideto do it. Gerent has little hold on some of his chiefs. Now theyare there with a fear of us and our axes on them, and if we mayfall on them unawares we can take the camp without trouble, as Ithink. " "Oswald, " said Ina, after a little thought, "how many horsemen canyou raise now?" The town was full of horses by this time, and I thought that itwould not be hard to raise a hundred, and that in half an hour. Maybe if we did go with Thorgils we should meet many more men onthe way to the levy also. "Then you shall go with Thorgils, " the king said. "It is a risk, certainly, but it is worth it. We had held that camp, had we hadbut a day's earlier warning, and that loss may be made good thus. That outlaw of yours will know many a safe place of retreat for youif need is. Good luck be with you. " He shook hands with us both, and we did not delay. His only biddingwas that we should hold the camp until we had word from him, if wetook it, and he was to learn thereof by signal. So it came to pass that in an hour and a half Thorgils and I andErpwald, who would by no means let me go without him, and three ofhis Sussex friends, rode across the causeway to the Polden hills inthe dusk, with a matter of six score men behind us, well armed andmounted all--for these borderers have need to keep horse and armsof the best, and those ever ready. From the ealdorman's door Elfrida watched us go very bravely, andthe glimmer of her white dress was the lodestar that kept the eyesof her lover turned backward while it might be seen. It vanishedsuddenly, and he heaved a deep sigh, and I knew that she had beenfain to watch no longer lest her tears should be seen. As we went along the Polden ridge we met flying men, and men whocame to the levy, and by twos and threes we added to our littleforce, until we had a full hundred more than when we started. Thorgils took us to a tidal ford that crosses the Parrett River farbelow any bridge, which he thought would not yet be watched by theWelsh. There is a steep hill fort that covers this ford, but on itwere no fires as of an outpost yet. Then we were a matter of eightmiles from the great camp on the highest ridge of the Quantockswhich we had to take, and we had ridden five-and-twenty miles. Iwas glad that we had to wait an hour or more for the fall of thetide before we could cross, for we rode fast thus far. So we dismounted and watched the slow fall of the water, and weplanned what we would do presently; until at last we splashedthrough the muddy ford, and rode on through dense forest land untilthe great camp rose above us, a full thousand feet skyward, and wesaw the glow of the watch fires of those who held it. It seemedalmost impossible to scale this hill as we looked on its slope inthe darkness, but we reached its foot where the hill is steepest, and held on northward yet, until we came to where there is a longsteady rise up to the very gate of the earthworks. Now there should have been an outpost halfway along this slopetoward the camp, for whatever tribe of the Britons made thestronghold had not forgotten to raise a little fort for one. But wewere in luck, for this outpost was not held, and we rode past it, and knew that there was every chance now of our fairly surprisingthe camp. The first grey of dawn was coming when I passed the wordto the men to close up, and told them what we were to do. "We charge through the earthworks, for there is no barrier acrossthe gate, and spread out across the camp with all the noise we can. Follow a flight for no long distance beyond the earthworks, butscatter the Welsh. " So we rode on steadily until we were but a bow shot from thetrench, and yet no alarm was raised, for the foe watched hardly atall, deeming that no Saxon force would think of crossing where wecrossed the river, or of coming on them from the north at all. Then Thorgils and I and Erpwald rode forward, and I gave the wordto charge, and up the long smooth slope we went at the gallop, witha heavy thunder of hoofs on the firm turf of the ancient track. Andthat thunder was the first sign that the Welsh knew of our coming. I saw one come to the gateway and look, and then with a wild howlthrow himself into the outer ditch for safety, and the camp roaredwith the alarm, and the dim white figures flocked to the rampart, and through a storm of ill-aimed arrows we rode through theunguarded gate and were on them. "Ahoy!--Out, out!--Holy Cross!" The war shouts of Norseman and South Saxon and Wessex men were instartling medley together here, and that terrified the Welsh yetmore. It must have seemed to them that the Norsemen had calledunheard of allies to their help. There was no order or rallyingpower among them. We three were first through the gateway, and then we were ridingacross the camp with levelled spears, over men and through thefires, and a panic fell on the foe, so that without waiting to seewhat our numbers were, in headlong terror they fled from the chargeover the ramparts and into the forests in the valleys on eitherside beyond whence we came. I had no fear of their rallying thenceto any effect, for it would take them all their time to find theirleaders in the combes and the thick undergrowth that clothed theirsides. Once out of the camp, too, they could not see into it totell how few we were. I suppose that there were some five hundred Welsh in the place. Ido not think that we harmed many of them in the hurry and the dark, but we scared them terribly. Here and there one rolled under thehorses' hoofs, and we paid no heed to such as fell thus, and theyrose again and fled the faster. All but one, that is, so far as Iwas concerned. I charged a man, and my spear missed him as he leaptaside, and he struck at my horse as I passed him, and the nextmoment I was rolling on the ground with the good steed, and the manbehind me had to leap over us as we lay. That was one of the Sussexthanes, and he was no mean horseman or unready, luckily. Then hechased my enemy out of the camp, and came back to see if I werehurt. But I was not, and I bade him go on with the rest. We werealmost across the camp at this time. "Take my horse rather, " he said. "See, there is a bit of a standbeing made yonder. " There were yet some valiant and cooler-headed Welshmen whom thepanic had not carried away, and they were getting together to ourright. The camp was full three hundred paces across, and as wespread over it our line had gaps here and there, so that some atleast had seen what our numbers were. They had passed into the campagain over the earthworks, or had been passed by in the place byus, and they were gathering round one who wore the crested helm andgilded arms of a chief, and he was raving at the cowards who hadleft him. Even now he had not more than a score of men with him. Our men were chasing the flying foe across the open hilltop now, outside the camp, and there were but few left within its enclosure, though I saw the dim forms of some who were turning back withoutgoing beyond the rampart, and one of these was Erpwald. He also sawthe group of Welshmen, and called the other horsemen to him, andeven as the chief saw us two standing alone together, and led hisfew toward us, the shout of the four or five who charged with myfriend stayed them, and they closed up to meet the new attack. Then the Sussex thane, whose name was Algar, saw this, and againurged me to take his horse, saying that it was not fitting for theleader to be dismounted while work was yet in hand; but I saw athing that bade me forget him, and set me running at full speedtoward the Welshmen. Erpwald had ridden well ahead of his comrades, and as his spear crossed those of the foe one of them steppedforward before his chief and made a sweeping blow at the legs ofthe horse with a long pole-axe. Down the horse came, and Erpwaldflew over its head into the midst of the enemy, overthrowing one ortwo of them as if he had been a stone from a sling. In a moment they closed over him, but I was there before they couldget clear of one another to slay him. I cut my way through theturmoil before they knew I was on them, and stood over him sword inhand, while the Welsh shrank back for a space with the suddennessof my coming. There was Algar also hewing at them and trying toreach my side, having dismounted, and those who followed Erpwaldwere on them with their long spears. It was more as a shouting thana fight for a moment or two, but Erpwald never moved, beingstunned, as it seemed. It was like to go hard with me for a time, for my men could not reach me. Still, I held the Welsh back fromErpwald and myself. There was a great shout of "Ahoy, " and I saw from beyond the ringround me the rise and fall of a broad axe, and then Thorgils was atmy back, and close behind him was Evan. More of our men were comingup fast to where they heard the noise; but the foe were minded tomake a good fight of it, and only to yield when there was no shamein doing so. "It is no bad thing to have a good axe at one's back, " quothThorgils in a gruff shout between his war cries as he hewed, andwith that I heard the said axe crash on a foe again. Then I had the chief before me, and his men fell back a little tomake way for him to me. Our swords crossed, and I took his firstthrust fairly on the shield and returned it, wounding him a little, and he set his teeth and flew at me, point foremost, with thedeadly thrust of the Roman weapon. That the shield met again, and Istruck out over his guard and he went down headlong. And at thathis men made a wild rush on me, yelling. At that time I sawThorgils, with a great smile on his face, smite one man to hisright with the axe edge, and another on his left with the bluntback of the weapon as he swung it round, and Evan saved me from aman who was coming on me from behind. That is all I know of thefight, save that it seemed that I heard some cry for quarter, forof a sudden I went down across Erpwald for no reason that I couldtell. It was full daylight when I came round, and the first thing that myeyes lit on was the broad face of Erpwald, who sat by my side witha woebegone look that changed suddenly to a great grin when he sawme stir and look at him. Then I saw Evan also watching me, with hisarm tied up, and I was fain to laugh at his solemn face of trouble. Whereon from somewhere behind me Thorgils cried in his greatseafaring voice: "There now, what did I tell you two owls? His head is too hard tomind a bit of a knock like that. " Then he came and laughed at me, and I asked what sent me over. "The pole-axe man hit you with the flat of his unhandy weapon. Itis lucky for you that he was a bungler, however, for there is asore dint in your helm. " I sat up and looked round the camp. There was a knot of captives inits midst, among whom was the chief I had fought, wounded, indeed, but not badly, and our men were eating the enemy's provender andlaughing. A fire of green brushwood and heather was sending a tallpillar of smoke into the air to tell the watchers on the Poldensand at Watchet that we had done what we came to do. But here we hadto stay till we heard from Ina that we were to join him, and forErpwald's sake and Elfrida's I was not sorry. He had seen his first fight, and nearly found his end therein. I donot know how I could have looked Elfrida in the face again had heindeed risen no more from that medley. But I thought that he mademore than enough of my coming to his rescue. It was only a matterof holding back a crowd till help came. "All very well to put it in that way, comrade, " said Thorgils; "butwhere does my axe come in? You are not fair, for, by Thor's hammer, Erpwald, both of you had been mincemeat but for that. " "Nay, " said I, laughing; "you and I were those who held back thecrowd. I could not have done it alone. " "But you did, though, " the Norseman answered at once. "Nevertheless, it was as well that I happened up in good time. " Now we rode across the nearer hills until we could see into thefair valley which men call Taunton Deane since those days, and wesaw the answering fires which told us that all was well at Watchet, for we had saved the little town. Not until Gerent learned how fewwe were here would he dare to divide his forces. Far off to thesouthward in the valley we could see the blue reek of hiscampfires, and it would seem that he had not yet moved on theWessex border. All the day we waited and watched, anxious and restless, but noattack came on us here, and the smoke of the camp grew no thinnerat Norton. A few Norsemen rode up to us from Watchet, and they saidthat no move was on hand yet, so far as they could tell. And atlast, as the sun was setting, and shone level on the slope of thePoldens, above which the Tor of Glastonbury sent a waving wreath ofsmoke into the air to bid Wessex gather against the ancient foe, wesaw the long line of sparkling helms and spear points as our hostmarched from hill to causeway to the bridge that spans the Parrett. Ina would hold the heights above Norton before morning. But that made it the more needful that we should bide here till wewere sent for, seeing that we guarded the flank of our advance; andhard it was to sit still and do it, with a battle pending yonder. It was a long night to us, and hungry. Early in the next morning there was heavy smoke on these hills thattold of burning on the line of our march, and there was more awaytoward the far Blackdown hills, as if there were trouble beyondTone. And in the afternoon there fell a strange stillness on thewoods round us, and I wondered. There was never a buzzard or kite, raven or crow, left in all the woodland, and then I minded thatoverhead lately the birds of prey had all flown in one direction, and that toward where Norton lay. It was the cry of the kite and the voice of the songbirds that Imissed. The birds of prey had gone, and in the cover their littlequarry cowered in fear of the shadow of the broad wings which hadcrossed them so often. Even now two of the great sea eagles weresailing inland, and from these strange signs we knew for certainthat yonder a battlefield was spread for them, where Saxon andWelsh strove for mastery in the fair valley. But we must pace thehill crest, silent and moody, waiting for some sign that might tellus of victory. That came at last in the late afternoon. Slowly there gathered, over the trees where Norton was, a haze that thickened into asmoke, and that grew into heavy dun clouds which rose and driftedeven to the hilltops, for Norton was burning, and by that token weknew that Ina was victor. Presently there were flying men of the Welsh who could be seen onthe open hillsides, and some few came even up to this camp, and wetook them, and from them heard how the battle had gone. It had beena terrible battle, from their account, but they knew little morethan that, and that they were beaten. I suppose that Ina thought itbest for us to hold this camp for the night, for here we bided, chafing somewhat; and but for what we took from the Welsh, hungry, until early morning. Then at last a mounted messenger came to us, and we went to Norton. There, indeed, was high praise waiting for us from Ina, for itseemed that our work had checked the advance of Gerent, and hadgiven time for full gathering of the levies before he was over theborder. But now I learnt that there was another Welsh army in thefield, beyond the Tone River, and until we heard how it fared withthe Dorset levies in that direction it was doubtful if we mighthold that all was well yet. Gerent had not set everything on thisone attack, but had also marched on Langport across the Blackdownhills. Thither Nunna had led what men he could be spared, and wasto meet the Dorset levies, whose ealdorman, Sigebald, had sent wordto Glastonbury, soon after I left there, to tell of this attack. In the late evening there were beacon fires on the Blackdown hills, and a great one on the camp at Neroche which crowns and guards thehills in that direction. And so presently through the dusk one rodeinto Norton with word of the greatest battle that Wessex had foughtsince men could remember, for Nunna had met the foe on the way toLangport, and at last, after a mighty struggle which had longseemed doubtful, had swept them back across the hills whence theycame, in full flight homeward. So there was full victory forWessex, but we had to pay a heavy price therefor. Nunna had fallenin the hour of triumph, and Sigebald, the ealdorman, was lost toDorset also. Presently we laid Nunna in his mound on the Blackdown hills wherehe had fallen. There he bides as the foremost of Saxon leaders inthe new land we had won, and I do not think that it is an unfittingplace for such a one as he. It is certain that so long as a Wessexman who minds the deeds of his fathers is left the name of Nunnawill be held in honour with that of the king; his kinsman. CHAPTER XVI. OF MATTERS OF RANSOM, AND OF FORGIVENESS ASKED AND GRANTED. Now I must needs tell somewhat of the way in which Ina won Norton, for that had so much to do with my fortunes as it turned out, seeing that all went well by reason of our holding the hill fort, in which matter, indeed, Thorgils must have his full share ofpraise. Gerent halted in his march when the flying men from the camp camein to him, telling him that we were in strong force on the hill, and so our men crossed the Parrett unhindered, and won to the longcrest of the southward spurs of Quantocks, where the Welsh gatheredagainst Kenwalch in the old days and stayed his farther conquest. There was some sort of an advance post by this time in the Romancamp at Roborough, and Ina sent a few men to take it, and that waseasily done. Then Gerent heard that Ina was on him, and went tomeet him, and so the two armies met on the westward slope of thehills above Norton, and there all day long the battle swayed to andfro until the Welsh broke and fled back to the town itself. Thenwas a long fight across the ramparts, and at last Ina took theplace, and so chased his enemy in hopeless rout across the moorlandwestward yet, until there was no chance of any stand being made. But Gerent escaped, though it was said that it was sorely againsthis will. I was told that the old king came to the battle in awonderful chariot drawn by four white horses, and that he stood init fully armed, bidding his nobles carry him to the forefront ofthe fighting, but that they would not heed him. And presently whenthey knew that all was lost they hurried him from the field, thoughhe cursed them, and even hewed at them with his sword to stay themas they went. Now Ina's camp was set within the walls of Norton among the yetsmoking ruins of the palace, where not one stone was left onanother; and the Dragon banner of Wessex floated side by side withthe White Horse of the sons of Hengist, where I had been wont tosee the Dragon of the line of Arthur. All the afternoon of that day Ina sat and saw the long files ofcaptives pass before him, and I was there to question any he would, for he knew little or none of the Welsh tongue. Many of these captives were of high rank, men who had only yieldedwhen they must, and here and there I knew one of these by sight. They would be held to ransom by their captors, and the rest, freeman or thrall, as they had been, would be the slaves of thosewho took them, save they also could pay for freedom. It was a sadenough throng that passed under the shadow of the proud banners. At last I saw one whom I knew well, and whom the king knew, for itwas Jago. He stood in the line, looking neither to right nor left, but taking his misfortune like a brave man. "Here is Jago, the friend of Owen, whom you know, King Ina, " Isaid. The king glanced up at the Welsh thane. There was no pride ofconquest in the face of Ina as he gazed at his captives, and whenone came as Jago came he looked little at him, lest he should seemto exult. "Take him, and do what you will with him, Oswald. We owe you muchagain; if you see others for whom you would speak, tell me. I willdeal with friends of Owen as you will. That is known already, andnone will gainsay it. " I thanked the king quietly, but none the less heartily, and I ranmy eyes down the line, but I saw no more known faces. So I wentafter Jago, who had passed on. "Friend, you are free, " I said. "That is the word of our king, forthe sake of old friendship. " He could not answer, but the light leapt into his eyes, and he heldout his hand to me. Then I took him to the tent which myhouse-carles had pitched next the king's, where Nunna's should havebeen, and bade him sit down there. Then I went out and brought upmy own prisoners, passing the commoners into the hands of the menwho had been with me, but keeping the chief until the last. Two ofthe house-carles led him up, and his face had as black a scowl onit as I had ever seen, and he looked sullenly at us. "Who is he?" asked Ina, turning towards me. I did not know, and, to tell the truth, had forgotten to ask him inthe waiting for news of Nunna. So I asked him his name with allcourtesy, and could win no answer from him but a blacker scowl thanever. Judging from his arms, which were splendid, and of the halfRoman pattern that Howel wore, he might be of some note. I thoughtJago might know him, so I asked him. "Mordred, prince of Morganwg {iii}, from across the channel, "he answered, looking from the tent door. "He is a prize for whoevertook him. Gerent sent word to several of those princes, and his menare somewhere in the country yet, I suppose. They came at Gerent'sinvitation. " I went back to Ina, who had set the chief aside for the moment, andwhen some other man's captives had passed, bound to a long cord, mymen brought him forward again. "Ask him what brought him here, " said Ina, when he heard who hewas. "I have a mind not to answer you, " Mordred growled, when I put thequestion, "but seeing that there is no use in keeping silence, Iwill tell you. I hate Saxons, and so when Gerent asked me I came tohelp him. " "With your men?" "A shipload of them. They are up in the hills yonder, where youleft them, I suppose; and they will be a trouble to you until theyget home, if they can. I am well quit of the cowards. " Now I began to understand how it was that this force went aside tofall on Watchet, and had little heart in the defence of the camp. They were strangers, who hated the name of the Northmen from theirown knowledge of them, and could not miss a chance of a fight withthem here. After that the men of Gerent who were with them at thecamp cared nought for their strange leader. "Take him, and hold him to ransom, Oswald, " Ina said, when I toldhim all this. "From all I ever heard of Morganwg, he should be somesort of reward for what you have done. I should set his price highalso, for he deserves it for coming here. " So I took Mordred to my tent, telling him that I must speak of himof ransom. "Ransom? Of course, that will be paid. What price do you set onme?" Now that was a question on which I had no thought ready, seeingthat I had never held any man of much rank to ransom before, and Ihesitated. At last I remembered what some great Mercian thane hadto pay to Owen some years ago, and I named that sum, which was goodenough for me and Erpwald and Thorgils to share between us. Thereon his face flushed red, and he scowled fiercely at me. "What!--Is that the value of a prince of Morganwg? It is ill toinsult a captive. " "Nay, Prince, there is no insult--" "By St. Petroc, but there is, though! What will the men ofMorganwg--what will the Dyfed men say when they hear that the Saxonholds one of the line of Arthur at the value of a hundred cows? Ay, that is how I shall be known henceforth!--Mordred of the cows, forsooth. " He was working himself up into a rage now, and even Jago from thecorner of the tent where he sat, dejectedly enough, began to smile. I had spoken of fair coined silver, and I had some trouble myselfin keeping a grave face when this Welsh prince counted the cost ofcattle therein. "Will you double the sum, Prince?" I asked in all good faith. "I will pay the ransom that is fitting for a prince of Morganwg topay when his foes have the advantage of him. The honour of theCymro is concerned. " "Ask him his value, " said Jago in Saxon, knowing that Mordred didnot understand that tongue at all. "Never was so good a chance ofselling a man at his own price. " Then I could not help a smile, and Mordred waxed furious. He turnedon Jago with his fist clenched. "Silence, you miserable--" "Prince, Prince, " I cried. "He did but bid me ask you what wasfitting. " "Well, then, do it, " he cried, stamping impatiently, and glaring atJago yet. It was plain that if he did not understand the Saxon he saw thatthere was some jest. "It is a hard matter for me to set a price on you, Prince, " I saidgravely. "I have never held one of your rank to ransom before, sothat you will forgive seeming discourtesy if I have unwittinglydone what was not fitting in the matter. What would the men of yourland think worthy of you?" "Once, " he said slowly, "it was the ill luck of my--of someforebear of mine to have to be ransomed. They paid so much forhim. " He named a sum in good Welsh gold that it had never come into mymind to dream of. It was riches for all three of us. And I darednot say that it was too much and somewhat like foolishness, for itwas his own valuation. So I held my peace. "Not enough?" he asked, not angrily, but as if it would be anhonour to hear that I set him higher. "What more shall I add?" "No more, Prince. I see that I have yet things to learn. " Truly, I had always heard that the tale of the golden tribute toRome from Britain had tempted my forebears here first of all, andnow I believed it. I suppose these Welsh princes had hoards whichhad been carried from out of the way of us Saxons and Angles longago. "Ay, you have, " Mordred said grimly. "One day it shall be what theworth of a British prince is in good cold steel, maybe. Now let mehave a messenger who shall take word to my people and bring backwhat is needed. " He scowled when I mentioned Thorgils, but he knew him by repute atleast, and was willing to trust him, as I would do so. In the end, therefore, it was he who took the signet ring and the letter theprince had written and brought back the gold. Some of the coinswere of the days of Cunobelin, but the most of it was in bars andrings and chains, wrought for traffic by weight. Now I will say at once that neither of my comrades would share inthis ransom, though I thought that it was a matter between thethree of us, as leaders of the force that day. "Not I, " quoth Thorgils--"the man was your own private captive, foryou sent him down yourself. What do I want with that pile of gold?I have enough and to spare already, and I should only hoard it. Orelse I should just give it back to you for a wedding present by andby. What? Shaking your head? Well, what becomes of all my songs ifthey end not in a wedding? Have a care, Oswald, and see that youmake up your mind in time. " So he went away, laughing at me, but afterward I did make himpromise that if he needed a new ship at any time he would tell me, so that I might give him one for the sake of the first voyage inthe old vessel, and that pleased him well. Now I told Ina this, being always accustomed to refer anything tohim, and he was not surprised to hear that the Norseman would nottake the gold. "And if I may advise, " he said, "I would not offer a share toErpwald; for, in the first place, he does not expect it, seeingthat the captive is yours only, by all right of war; and in thenext, he deems that you have already given him Eastdean, and he isnot so far wrong. So it would hurt him. He will be all the happiernow that he will know that you have withal to buy four Eastdeans, if you will. " So against my will, as it were, that day made a rich man of me. Presently I gave the wealth into the hand of Herewald theealdorman, and he so managed it, being a great trader in his way, that it seemed to grow somewise, and I have a yearly sum therefromin ways that are hard to be understood by me, but which seem simpleenough to him. I handed over Mordred to the Norsemen to keep until Thorgilsreturned with the ransom, for before we could rest with the swordin its scabbard again it was needful that all care should be takenfor the holding of the new land we had won, and Ina would see tothat himself. Here and there we had fighting, but the Welsh nevergathered again in force against us, and at last we held every townand camp from sea to sea along the line of the hills that run fromExmoor southwards, and there was our new border. Jago went back to Exeter, seeing that his house was burnt at Nortonwith the rest of the town, and I heard afterwards that there he hadfound his wife, whom he had sent away when the certainty of wararose. I was in no trouble for him, as he had houses elsewhere. But we sent Erpwald back to Glastonbury in all haste, and he was innowise loth to go, as may be supposed. One may also guess how hewas received there. Then, as soon as Ina came back with us all, theealdorman set to work to prepare afresh the wedding that was sostrangely and suddenly broken in upon, and it was likely to belittle less joyous that it had been so. On the evening before the wedding the ealdorman came to me, whenthe day's duties were over, and said that Elfrida wished to speakto me. So I went, of course, not at all troubling that theealdorman could not tell me what was to be said, for there weremany things concerning tomorrow's arrangements with which I wascharged in one way or another. So I found her waiting me alone, in that chamber off the hall whereher father and I spoke of the poisoning. "I have not sent for you for nothing, Oswald, " she said, blushing alittle as if it were a hard matter she had to speak of. "There issomewhat on my mind that I must needs disburden. " "Open confession is good, " I said, laughing--"what is it? "Well--have you forgotten your vow of last Yuletide?" "Not in the least. Would you have me do so? For that were somewhathard. " "No--but yes, in a way. " There she stopped for a moment, and I waited for her to go on, nothaving any very clear notion of what was to come. She turned awayfrom me somewhat, letting her fingers play over one of the tallhorns on the table, when she spoke again. "It has been in my mind that you--that maybe you thought that Ihave been hard on you--in ways, since we spoke in the orchard. " So that was what troubled her, but I did not see why she shouldhave spoken of it, seeing that a lady has no need at all to justifyher ways in such a matter, surely. "No, " I answered, "that I never thought. If my vow displeased you, or maybe rather if I displeased you thereafter, I had no reason toblame any one but myself for the way in which it was needful that Ishould be shewn that so it was. It was just the best thing for me, for it cured me of divers kinds of foolishnesses. " "That is what I would have heard you say, " she said with alight-hearted laugh enough, while her face cleared. "Now I can saywhat I will. Do you know that you have kept your vow to the fullalready?" "Not at all. There are long years before you yet, as one may hope. " "Ay, Oswald, and through you those years seem bright to lookforward to. See, through you has come Erpwald, and now you havekept his life for me at risk of your own. All my life long I shallthank you for those two things. Surely your vow is fulfilled, forthis will be lifelong service. There is more that I would say toyou, but I cannot. " She turned away again, weeping for very happiness, as I think, thatcould not be told, and I had no word to speak that was worthuttering, though I must say somewhat. "It will be good to think of you two together--" "In the place you have given us, " she broke in on me. "Love and ahome for all my life! What more could your vow have wrought thanthat? Let me go, Oswald, or I shall weep. It was a good day thatsent you to be my champion. " Then she stepped swiftly to me and kissed me once, and fled, and Ido not mind saying that I was glad that she had gone. Too muchthanks for things that had been done more or less by chance, and asthey came to hand as it were, without any special thought for anyone, are apt to make one feel discomforted. The wedding on the morrow I have no skill to tell of, but as everyone has seen such a thing, that hardly matters. I will only setdown that never had I seen such a bright one, or so good a company, there being all the more guests present because many who came tothe levies stayed on to do honour to the ealdorman and hisdaughter. Elfrida looked all that a bride should, as I thought, andalso as the queen said in my hearing, so that I think I cannot bewrong. I gave her Gerent's great gold armlet, having caused it tobe wrought into such a circlet for her hair as any thane's wifemight be well pleased to wear. As for Erpwald, he was dazed and speechless with it all, but noneheeded him, though indeed he made a gallant groom, for that is theusual way as regards the bridegroom at such times. Which is perhapsall the more comfortable for him. Then was pleasant feasting, and after it some of us who had beenErpwald's closer friends here rode a little way with those twowedded ones on the first stage of their homeward journey. TheSussex thanes and their men were with them as guard, and they rodeon ahead and left us to take our leave. And by and by, after a mile or two, the rest turned back with gayfarewells, and left me alone with the two, for they knew that I wastheir nearest friend, and would let me be the last to speak withthem. We had not much to say, indeed, but there are thoughts, andmost of all, good wishes, that can be best read without words. "There is but one thing that I wish, " Elfrida said at the verylast, even when I had turned my horse and was leaving them. "What is that?" I asked, seeing that there was some little jestcoming. "Only, that I had seen the Princess Nona. " I laughed, and so they were gone, and I went back to Glastonbury, wondering if Elfrida guessed what my thoughts of that lady mightbe. I had not said much of her to any one, except as one must speakof people with whom one has been for a while. Strangely enough had come to pass that which I vowed to do forElfrida, though not in the way which had been in my mind when Idrank the Bragi bowl. Presently, when I came back to theealdorman's house, I had to put up with some old jests concerningthat vow, which seemed to others to have come to naught, but theydid not hurt me. Three days after the wedding Thorgils came to Glastonbury with hischarge, and glad enough I was to hand it to Herewald, as I havealready said, and to get the care of it off my mind. Yet I will saythat by this time there had come to me a knowledge concerning thisgold which was pleasant. Only the other day I had been but thesimple captain of house-carles, though I was also the friend of amighty king, and foster son of a prince indeed, and that had beenall that I needed or cared for. Lately there had come a new hopeinto my life, and it was one that was far from me at that time. Butnow, when the time came for me to go to Dyfed for Owen, I should gowith power to choose lands and a home for myself and for that onewhom I dared now to ask to share it. And that was the only reasonthat I cared to think of the new riches at all. If that hope cameto naught I should certainly care for them or need them littleenough, for my home would be the court as ever. Better to me than the gold was a letter from Owen. The honestNorseman had gone out of his way to put in at Tenby, knowing that Ishould be glad to have news thence, and not troubling about Mordredwho was waiting release, at all. So he had seen Owen, who was wellas might be, he said. "With two holes in one thigh, and his left arm almost growing againlike a crab's claw. I do not think that he was in the leastsurprised to hear of the war, nor indeed of its end. All he wantedto know was of you, as it seemed, at least from me. So it was alsowith Howel and the princess. It was good to see their faces when Itold them of the fight at the camp, and how you won glory there. Nevertheless, I was half afraid that I made the fighting a bit toofierce over Erpwald, for the princess turned pale enough in hearinghow you were knocked over. You ken that I am apt to make the mostof things when I am telling a story. My father was just the same, and maybe my grandfather before that, for saga telling runs in thefamily. " I laughed at him, but in my mind I thought of the day when I sawElfrida pale as she heard of Erpwald's danger at Cheddar, and Iwondered. Then I turned to Owen's letter, and it was long and somewhat sad, as may be supposed, for this war had a foreshadowing of longparting between him and me. But he said that he had known it mustcome, having full knowledge, before Morfed the priest took him, howthe war party were getting beyond control. Wherefore he saw that heand I had been saved much sadness by his absence, and it remainedto be seen how we should fare when he returned. At least, we shouldmeet soon in Dyfed, for he mended apace. I need not tell all of that letter, for it was mostly between ustwain. But in it were words for Ina concerning peace, such as anambassador from the British might well speak, and they helpedgreatly toward settlement by and by. And so the letter ended withgreetings from Howel and Nona, and many words concerning theirkindness to him. But when I spoke to Thorgils of crossing soon to bring Owen back heshook his head. "I suppose he has even made the best of things in the letter, butif he can bear arms again by Yule it will be a wonder, " he said. "Yet he is well for so sorely wounded a man. " Then he promised that it should not be so long before I heard newsfrom Owen again, for he had yet to make several voyages before thewinter. And he kept his promise well, for I think that he made onemore than he would have done, for my sake solely, though he willnot own it, lest the long winter should seem lonesome to me. For I will say at once that Owen did not come back by Yule. Allthat went on in the Cornish court I do not know, but it seemed thatGerent thought it well that he should not return until the lasthope of victory over Wessex had passed from among his people; andit may be that he did not wish it to be thought that Owen had anyhand in bringing about the peace which he must needs make. He wouldsee to that, and take all the blame thereof himself, caring nothingfor any man, if blame there should be from those who set the war onfoot. So although I waited to hear from time to time as Thorgils came andwent, getting also word from him when some Danish ship crossed toWatchet, nought was said of Owen's return. And I was not sorry, foras things went I could not have gone to Dyfed to meet him. There was the new land we had won to be tended, and for a time theplanning for that was heavy enough. All men know now how it endedin the building of the mighty fortress of Taunton at the southernend of the Quantock hills, to bar the passage from West to East forall time. There is no mightier stronghold in all England than this, at least of those built by Saxon hands, and there has been nonemade like it since Hengist came to this land. It stands some twomiles from where the Romans set Norton, for they had the same needto curb the wild British as have we, and the place they chose fortheir ways of warfare needed little amending for ours. While that was building, Ina dwelt in the house of some greatBritish lord at the place we call South Petherton, not far off fromthe fortress. As the place pleased him, presently he had a palacebuilt there for himself, which, as it turned out, Ethelburga thequeen never liked at all. However, that came about in after years. All day long now he was at Taunton, taking pride in overseeing all, so that there is no wonder that the place is strong. As for me, I was with Herewald the ealdorman on the new boundaryline with the levies and the king's own following, guarding againstany new attack, and trying to win the Welsh to friendship. That wasmostly my work, as I knew the tongue, and they knew me as Owen'sfoster son. We had some little trouble with them for a time, butsoon, as they came to know the justice of the king, and that he didnot mean to drive them from the land, they became content, andindeed there were many who welcomed a strong hand over them. Presently there would be Saxon lords over the manors as Ina foundmen to hold them, but there would be no change beyond that. Freemanshould be freeman, and thrall thrall, as before, each in his oldholding undisturbed, with equal laws for Saxon and Briton alike. Now, one day when I came to the house of the king at Petherton onsome affairs I needed his word concerning, presently there came amessage to me that Ethelburga the queen would speak with me, and, somewhat wondering, I was taken to her bower, and found her waitingfor me. "Oswald, " she said, after a few words of greeting, "there is onewho wronged you once, and has come to ask for your forgiveness. What answer shall I give?" "Lady, " I said, "I can remember none who need forgiveness from menow. Those who wrought ill against Owen have it already, or aregone. I have no foes, so far as I know, myself, and truly no wrongsunforgiven. " "Nay, but there is this one. " "Why then, my Queen, that one must needs be forgiven, seeing that Iknow not of wrong to me. " I laughed a little, thinking of some fault of a servant, or of aman of the guard, of which she had heard. But she went to a settlehard by and swept aside a kerchief which lay on it as if by chance, and under it were two war arrows. And I knew them at once for thosewhich had been shot into our window at Norton and had vanished. Now I will say that the sight of these brought back at once some ofthe old feeling against those who, like Tregoz, had sought Owen'slife and mine, and my face must needs show it. "Ay, " the queen said, seeing that, "these are indeed a token thatforgiveness is needed. " Then I remembered that there was but one who could come here withthese arrows, though how she had them I could not do more thanguess. It could be none other than Mara, the daughter of Dunwal. Then suddenly, from among the ladies at the end of the room, onewho was dressed in black rose up and came toward me, and she wasnone other than Mara herself, thin and pale indeed, and with thepride gone from her dark face. Her voice was very low as she spoketo me, and her bright black eyes were dim with tears. "I do not ask you to forgive my uncle, or indeed my father--forwhat they planned and well-nigh wrought is past forgiveness, " shesaid, "Forget those things if it be possible, but forgive my partin them. " "I have done that long ago, lady, " I said in all truth. I knew that she must have been made use of by the men in some ways, but I did not think at all that she had wished ill as they wishedit, since I knew that Morfed had trained the Welsh girl to the deedat Glastonbury. "Ay, " she said sadly. "But forgetfulness is not forgiveness. You donot know how I carried messages between my father and uncle, whenone was in bondage and the other in hiding, so that their planswere laid through me. I am guilty with them. Therefore I would hearyou say at least that you will try to forgive before I pass fromthe world into the cloister where I may pray for them, and for youalso, if I may. " Then I said, with a great pity on me for this lady whom I had knownso proud and careless: "Lady, I do forgive with all my heart. I do not think that youcould have stood aloof from your father, and I do not think thatyou are so much to blame in all the trouble as you would seem tomake me believe. In all truth I do forgive. " She looked searchingly at me while I spoke, and what she saw in myface was enough to tell her that she had all she needed, and withone word of thanks she went back to the ladies, and one of themtook her from the room. "She goes into my new nunnery at Glastonbury tomorrow, Oswald, " thequeen said, "and now she will rest content. It was a good chancethat brought you here today, my Thane, for she had begged me tosend for you, and that I could hardly do, seeing that one knows notwhere to find you from day to day. I could tell her truly that Iknew I could win your forgiveness: but that would not have beenenough for her, I think. " So Mara passed into the nunnery, and unless she has been one of theveiled sisters whom one sees in their places at the time of mass, Ido not know that I have ever set eyes on her again. I do not thinkthat it was the saddest end for her. CHAPTER XVII. HOW OSWALD FOUND A HOME, AND OF THE LAST PERIL OF OWEN THEPRINCE. All that winter, and through the spring, men toiled at the greatfortress, but Ina went back presently to Glastonbury, or to othersof his houses, after his wont, now and then riding even from far tous to see how all went. And I was fully busy in the new province, for we made a roll of those who owned land there, that all might beknown to the king, and that matter was set in my hand for thosereasons which had made me useful already in quieting the country. Moreover, the years at Malmesbury had made me able to write well, and now I was glad that I had learnt, though indeed it went sorelyagainst the grain with me to do so at the time. Truly, I had to goon this errand of the king's with sword in one hand and pen in theother, but I daresay I did better, and fared less roughly, thanwould one who could not speak to the British freemen in their owntongue. At least, if a man was sullen when I came to him, he was, as a rule, pretty friendly when I left, for he knew that no harmwas meant him, and that to be on this roll meant that on his landshe was to bide in peace. And I may not forget that Evan helped me greatly in the matter, forhe knew almost all of the best freemen. When the walls were strong, in the midst of the new fortress theybuilt a good house for Ina, and we thought that he meant to livehere at times, for he had it fully furnished, even to the rushes onthe floor, after Easter. By that time I had leisure to spend theholy season with the court at Glastonbury, for there was peaceeverywhere. And there I had a visit from Thorgils, who brought goodnews from across the sea. He had made his first voyage of the year, and had seen Owen, who was himself again, if yet weak. He had not written to me, but sent word by the Norseman that he didbut wait for me to come for him, if I might. If not he would comealone; but it seemed to him that we should have to part when wereached this side of the channel, for he must go to Gerent at once. Next day Ina and the queen must needs pass to Taunton to see theplace, for he said that when I might go for Owen depended on itsreadiness. So we rode with but a small train, meaning, after seeingthe fortress, to go on to Petherton for the night, which was quitea usual plan with the king nowadays, since all this building was onhand. So we went round all the walls, and saw the new bridge across theTone River, and then went into the hall that stood, as I have said, within the walls of the fortress itself. There all was ready forthe king, even to a fire on the hearth in the middle of the greathall, which was fully as large as that at Glastonbury itself. I hadnot seen this house of late, and now the king would have me go allover it and tell him what I thought thereof. Indeed, there was nought to say of it but good, for it would behard to find one better planned in all Wessex, as I think, whetherin the house itself, or about the buildings that were set along itswalls without for the thralls and workshops, or in the stables andother outhouses. It was indeed such a house as any thane would beproud to hold as his home. Presently, therefore, after seeing all, the king and queen and Istood by the hearth in the hall again, and Ina asked me my thoughtsof it. And I told him even as I have written, that all was welldone and completely. "Why, then, " he said, "let me come and stay here now and then. " I laughed at that. "I have heard, my King, of house-carles who led their masters, butthat is not our way. Where the king goes the household follows, inWessex. " He laughed also, for a moment. "Long may it be so, " he said. "Nevertheless, I think that I shallhave to be as a guest here now and then. " Then Ethelburga smiled at my puzzled face, and spoke in her turn. "Why, Oswald, it seems to me that you are the only man in allWessex who does not know who is to live here. " "It is always said that the king himself will make it one of hispalaces, lady, " I answered. Then Ina set his hand on my shoulder, and made no more secret ofwhat he meant. "I want you to bide here, my Thane, and hold this unquiet land forme. There is not one who can better rule it from this fortress forme than yourself; and the house and all that is in it is yours, ifyou will. " Then for a moment came over me that same feeling of loneliness thathad kept me from taking Eastdean again, and with it there was thethought that I was not able to take so great a charge on me. "How can I do this, my King?" I said, not knowing how to put intowords all that I felt. "I am not strong enough for such a post. " "Nay, " he said gravely. "It is said of me that I do not do thingshastily, and it is a true word enough, seeing that I know that Ioften lose a chance by over caution, maybe. Answer me a question ortwo fairly, and I think you will see that I may ask you to bidehere. " Then he minded me that I alone of all his athelings knew this Welshtongue as if born thereto, and also that men knew me as the son ofOwen the prince, so that the Welsh would hardly hold me as astranger. That I had found out in these last months while I hadbeen numbering the freemen and their holdings; and as I went aboutthat business I had seen every one that was of any account, so thatalready I knew all the land I had to rule better than any other. That task, however, had been set me, as I know now, in preparationfor this post. I had no answer to make against all this concerning myself, for itwas true enough, but I did not speak at once. It did not followthat I could rule as I should, even with all this to help me, and Iknew it. "What, is more needed?" Ina said. "Well, I at least have had aletter from Owen by the hand of Thorgils yesterday. See what iswritten in it. " He set the writing in my hand, and turned away while I read it. Itwas meant for my sight as well as his, for he had written to Owenconcerning this post for me. And after I had read it all I couldsay no more, for Owen told how he would help me in all wayspossible, and also that he knew how Gerent himself would be morecontent in knowing that no stranger was to be over the land he hadlost. So I gave the letter back to the king's hand, and said plainly: "Ithink that I may not hold back from what you ask me, my King, afterall that Owen says. Nevertheless I--" "But I am certain that you will do well, " said Ina. "Now I shallmiss my captain about the court, but I need him here. So you musteven stay. There is Owen on the west to help you keep the peace inone way, and Herewald on the east to help you with the levies ifneed be. Fear not, therefore. It is in my mind that you will havean easier time here than any other I could have bethought me of, ifI had tried. " Then, as in duty bound, I knelt and kissed the hand of the king intoken of homage, and he smiled at me contented. "You will be the first ealdorman of Devon, Oswald, when the Witanmeets, " he said; for it needed the word of the council of thethanes to give me the rank that was fitting. Then when I rose up and stood somewhat mazed with the suddenness ofit all, Ethelburga the queen, who had stood by smiling at me nowand then, said: "This is your hall, Oswald, remember. But it needsone thing yet. You were wrong when you said it was complete. " I looked round and saw nothing wanting, from the hangings on thewall to the pile of skins on the high place seats. "There are the pegs for the arms of the house-carles, " I said, "butno arms thereon yet. That will soon be mended. And I have to set upa head or two of game, to make all homely, maybe?" "More than that, Oswald, " she said, laughing. "Strange how dense aman can be! It is a mistress who is needed. Else the women of Devonwill have no friend at court. " I laughed, a little foolishly, perhaps, not having any answer atall, and Ina smiled and went out into the court by himself, sayingthat he would not meddle with such matters. So I was left to thequeen by the hearth. "Jesting apart, Oswald, " she said, "I had hoped that vow of yourswould have led to somewhat, and whose fault it was that nought cameof it I do not know. However, no harm seems to have been done, andthat may pass, though indeed Elfrida was a favourite of mine. Butsee to it that next time you are no laggard. Now, when are yougoing to Dyfed?" Then I suppose my face told some tale against me, for the queenlaughed softly. "Soon, Oswald?" I could not pretend to misunderstand her then, but when it was putto me so plainly it did not seem to me all so certain that my suitwould fare better than my vow. I had no fear once that the lastwould not have been welcome, and was mistaken enough. Now, perhapsbecause I was in real earnest, I did doubt altogether. "What, do you fear that there is no favour for you, my Thane?"Ethelburga said, with a smile lingering round the corners of hermouth. "I do not see how there can be, " I answered. "I am not worthy. Itis one thing for the princess to be friendly with me, and anotherfor her to suffer me to look so high. " I spoke plainly to the queen, as I was ever wont since I was achild in her train and she the kindly lady to whose hand I lookedfor all things, and from whom all my earlier happinesses had come. She was ever the same, and I know well that her name will beremembered as one of our best hereafter. It was almost therefore asmother to son that she spoke to me, rather than as mistress toservant. "But you had no doubts at all concerning Elfrida. " "That was foolishness, my Queen, and I see it now. This isdifferent altogether. " "I know it, and it was my fault in a way. Still, you were then butthe landless house-carle captain, and yet you dared to look up tothe daughter of the ealdorman. Now you are the Thane of Taunton, and to be the first ealdorman of Saxon Devon, with house and richesat your back, moreover. And she of whom you think is but thedaughter of a Welsh princelet. " "Nay, my Queen, but she is Nona. " "Go your ways, Oswald, " the queen said, laughing--"of a surety youare in earnest this time. Nay, but I will jest no more, and willwish you all speed to Pembroke. If there is no welcome, and more, for you there, I am mistaken, for you deserve all you wish. " So we spoke no more, but joined the king. Presently, when I came tothink of what the queen had said of my changed rank and all that, Isaw that she was right, and it heartened me somewhat. Not that Ithought it would make any difference to Nona, but that it surelymust to Howel, which was a great matter after all. In a week Ina gathered the Witan of Somerset here to Taunton, firstthat the last stone of the fortress should be laid with allsolemnity and due rites, even as the foundation had been laid withthe blessing of Holy Church on it, and then that he might takecounsel for the holding of the new land. Then in full Witan I didhomage and took the oaths that were fitting, and so the king girtmy sword on me afresh as I sat at the foot of his throne as thefirst ealdorman of Devon; and the Witan confirmed his choice, alsomaking sure to me all dues that should come to the man who held therank. They seemed well satisfied with the king's choice of me, andthat was a good thing, for I will say that I had somewhat fearedjealousy here and there. I do not think that their approval was dueto any special merit of my own at all, but it was plain that Istood in a halfway place, as it were, between the two courts in away that was in itself enough to make the choice good policy. After that Ina bade me go to Dyfed, while he was yet in the west, and would set all things in train for me, choosing my house-carles, and setting such men as I could work well with in places of trustin the land. There was much for the king to do yet. "Therefore take what time you will, Oswald, " he said kindly. "Youwill be busy enough when you come back, and I can trust you not tooverstay your time. If Owen can come to speak with me bring him, but that is doubtful yet. " One may suppose that I did not delay then. I sent Evan to Thorgils, and asked him to give me a passage over, and so had a fortnight towait for him, as he was on his way from some voyage westward at thetime. Then a fair summer sailing and a welcome from the Danefolk atTenby, where we put in rather than make for the long tidal watersof Milford Haven against a southwest breeze. There the Danes must needs set themselves in array in all holidaygear that I might ride to Pembroke as a prince's foster son, with abetter following than Evan and my half-dozen house-carles, and Irode with fifty men after me, so that the guard at the palace gatesmight have thought that Ina himself had come to see Owen, and therewas bustle of welcome enough. And so there were wonderful greetings for me, from Owen first, andafterward from Howel and from Nona, and I will not say much ofthem. If one knows what it is to see a father whom one had leftweak and ill, strong and well and fully himself again; if one hasmet a good friend after absence; if one knows what it may be to seeagain the one who is dearest in thought, there is no need for me totry and tell the greeting, and if not, I could not make itunderstood. Let it be therefore. It was all that I looked for, andI was more than content. And yet, for all that, it was a long week before I dared to tellNona that which I would, and how I did so is another thing that Icannot set down. Maybe all that I need say is that I need not havefeared, and that the new hall at Taunton waited for its mistressfrom that hour forward. And so at length I knew that I must be away, and I rode to Tenby tosee Thorgils, and found him in the haven, begrimed and happy, withmen and boys round him at work on the ship everywhere, painting andscraping in such wise that I hardly knew her. From stem to sternshe was bright green instead of her sea-stained rusty black, and abroad gilt band ran along her side below the oar ports. A great redand gold dragon from one of the warships of the Danes reared itscrest on the stem head, while its tail curved in red and gold overthe stern post, and even the mast was painted in red and whitebands, and had a new gilt dog vane at its head. "Here is finery, comrade, " I said. "What is the meaning thereof?" "Well, if you know not, no man knows. I have a new coat fortomorrow's wedding, and it is only fit that the ship that takeshome the bride should have one also. Wherefore the old craft willbe somewhat to sing about by the time I have done with her. " Then he showed me a new red-striped sail that Eric had given him, and an awning for the after deck which the women of the town hadwrought for the shelter of the princess whom they loved. It seemedlike a good speeding to Nona and to me. And so it was at the end of a fortnight thereafter. It would belong to tell of the morrow's wedding, and then of days at Pembrokebefore we sailed, passed all too quickly for me. But at last westood with Owen on the deck of the good ship while all the shorebuzzed with folk, Welsh and Danish alike, who watched us pass fromDyfed to the Devon coast, cheering and waving with mighty goodwill, and only Howel seemed lonely as he sat on his white horse, stilland yet smiling, with his men round him, where the cliff looks overthe inner harbour, to see the last for many days of the daughter hehad trusted to my keeping. We cleared the harbour, and then where she had been lying under theisland flew toward us under thirty oars the best longship that Ericowned, for it was his word that as the Danes had seen me intoPembroke by land, so they would see Nona from the shore with aking's following by sea, and that was well done indeed. The oldchief himself was steering in full arms, and all the rowers were intheir mail and helms, flashing and sparkling wondrously in the sunas they swung in time to the rowing song as they came. And all downthe gangway amidships between the rowers stood the armed men whoshould take their places when their turn came, full sixty warriors, well armed and mail clad as if they had need to guard us across thesea. I suppose that there is no more wonderful sight than such a ship asthis, fresh from her winter quarters, and with her full crew ofthree men to an oar in all array for war, and Owen and I gazed ather in all delight. As for my princess, she had more thought forthe kindliness of the chief in thus troubling himself and his men, I think, for she could not know the pleasure it gave each man ofthe Danes to feel his arms on him and the good ship swinging underhim again after long months ashore. "There is another ship in the offing, " I said to Thorgilspresently, when we, with the Dane just astern of us, were some fivemiles from land and had ceased to look back to Tenby. Nona had goneinto the cabin away from the wind, which came a little chill fromthe east on the open sea, and maybe also that she felt the chill ofparting from her father more than she would have us know. "Ay, " he said, looking at the far vessel under his hand, "I do notmake out what she is--but if she is a trader--well, our Danes arelikely to get some reward for their trouble. They will not havecome out for nothing. " I laughed, for any trader in the Severn sea knew that he must beready to pay more than harbour dues if he had the ill luck to meetwith the Danes. They would make him pay for freedom, but would notharm him unless he was foolish enough to fight. So we held on, and the strange sail, which was seemingly beating upchannel against the wind, put about and headed for us somewhatsooner than Thorgils expected. "She is making mighty short boards, " he said. "She should surelyhave headed over to the coast yet awhile. Would have fetched a bitof a breeze off the land there, maybe. " Thorgils watched this vessel curiously, for there were things abouther which seemed to puzzle him. The men, too, were beginning totalk of her and watch her. And presently I saw that our consort, the Dane, had slackened her speed, so that there was a mile ofwater between us astern. "Oh ay, " said Thorgils, as I spoke of this, "they mean to pick herup when we have passed her. They can overhaul her as they like. " Now we drew near to the strange ship, and it seemed to Owen and me, as we stood side by side on the after deck beside Thorgils at thehelm, that we saw here and there among the men on her deck thesparkle of arms as she lifted and swayed to the waves. She was along black ship, not like the Dane at all, and her sail was threecornered on a long tapering yard, quite unlike ours, which wassquare. Thorgils said that she was a trader from the far south, aforeigner, even from so far as Spain, though why she was here hecould not tell. Mostly such never came round the Land's End. "She wants to speak with us, " he said presently. "I suppose she haslost herself in strange waters. " The vessel was right across our bows now, some half mile away, andher tall sail was flapping in the wind as she hove to. Thorgils putthe helm down so as to pass to windward of her, and as he did sothe sail of the stranger filled again, and she headed as if waitingto sail with us for a while. Now we could see that many of hercrew, which did not seem large, were armed, and I thought little ofthat, seeing that there were Danes about. But Thorgils waxedsilent, and sent a man to the masthead suddenly, for some reasonwhich was not plain to me. No sooner was the man there than he shouted somewhat in broad Norsesea language, which made our skipper start and knit his brows. "How many?" he asked. "Like to herrings in a barrel. --More than I can tell, " the mastheadman answered. Then Thorgils turned to us. "This is more than I can fully fathom, " he said, leaning on thehelm a little, so that the ship edged up a trifle closer to thewind steadily. "She has her weather gunwale packed with men, whoare hiding under it--armed men. On my word, it is well that Eric iswith us. " Owen and I looked at one another. If I had been alone, or with himonly, I think I should have rejoiced in this seeming chance of afight at sea, but with Nona and her maidens on board there was asort of terror for me in what all this might mean. No honest vessel hid her men thus, and waited for the coming of twostrangers. "Get your arms on, prince and comrade, " said Thorgils. "It is in mymind that these are desperate folk of sorts. We are pranked up withthat dragon like any longship, and here is Eric astern of us, andyet there is some look of fighting in the hiding of these men. Willthey face two of us, or what is it?" "We may not fight with the lady on board, Thorgils, " Owen saidunder his breath. "If so be we can get away from them we must. Yetit will be the first time that Oswald and I have thought offlying. " "There is no merit in staying for a fight if there is need why oneshould be out of it, " Thorgils said. "See, she is going to try toget to windward of us, and now will be a bit of a sailing match. " Then he called one of the men, and he came aft and took a pole witha round red board on its top from where it hung along the gunwale, and, standing on the stern rail with his arm round the high sternpost, waved it slowly. He was signalling to Eric as Thorgils badehim. The ship forged up into the wind closer and closer, and the sprayflew over her bows as she met the sea. But the strange vessel wasno less weatherly, and kept pace with us, and now Eric was bearingdown on us more or less, sailing a little more free than we, thoughhe also had to luff somewhat to keep near us, taking a long slantacross our course as we sailed now. I sent Evan for our arms, for the men were arming silently. Theywere in the chests in the fore cabin where I had once been bound, and Nona knew nought of possible trouble on hand. To keep her fromit altogether I went to the low door of her rude shelter before Iput on my mail, and looked in, telling her to keep the cabin closedagainst the spray that was flying, and had a bright smile for mythought. Then I went back to the deck and armed, and all the whilethe two ships reached to windward, but even in that little time Isaw that the stranger had gained on us. The man was at worksignalling to Eric again. "We shall know if he means fighting in no long time, " said Thorgilsto me. "If he does I think that he is going to be surprised. " "How?" "Well, unless every man on board is clean witless they must deem usboth harmless. Maybe they have heard of a wedding party that is tocross and are waiting for us. Otherwise it seems impossible thatthey will face us and the Dane as well. " Now Eric was back on his old tack, and passing astern of us. I sawthe glint of his oar blades, which had been run out from theirports ready to take the water if need was presently. And then we knew that his help would be wanted. Suddenly thestrange ship's head flew up into the wind and she was round on theother tack, paying off wonderfully quickly; and as she did so, fromunder her gunwale, where they could be hidden no longer, rose thearmed men, seeming to crowd her deck in a moment. She was full ofthem from stem to stern, and our men shouted. She had won well towindward of us. But Thorgils had known what was coming, and had kept his quick eyeon the helmsman of the stranger. Even as her helm went down for theluff his went up and the men sprang to the sheets, and we weretearing across her bows even as her sail filled on the new tack, and heading away lift by lift toward Eric. And Eric hove to to meetus, and his sail fell and his oars flashed out and took the water, and he made for us like the sea dragon his ship seemed. "Down with you men under cover!" roared Thorgils. "Arrows, comrade!--Down with you!" The strange ship was only a bow shot from us, if a long one yet, but she was overhauling us apace. I saw her men forward bending their bows, and the Norsemen of ourcrew came aft with my men under the break of the deck on which westood, where they were in cover. Evan ran to me with his shield up. "Evan, " I cried, "shield Thorgils. " And I set myself before Owenwith my own shield raised to cover him, and he laughed at megrimly. He set his own alongside mine, and we three stood coveringThorgils. The Norseman's face was set and watchful, but his blueeyes danced under the knit brows, and I do believe that he wasenjoying the sport. Ay, and so would I but for her who was so close to me. It was thefirst time I had known aught but joy in battle, and what all mystrange new thoughts were I cannot say. I would not pass throughthat time again for worlds. Then the first arrow fled from the enemy toward us, falling shortby a yard or two, and at that there came one who looked like achief, and stood on the high bows and hailed us in Welsh. At sight of him Evan cried out, and Owen started. "Daffyd of Carnbre, Morfed's kinsman, " Owen said to me quietly. "This is the last of the crew who followed Morgan. " "Likewise the last of Daffyd, " Thorgils growled grimly. "Look!" But I could not. Now the arrow storm swept on us, and all the airseemed dark with shafts which dimpled the sea like a hailstorm, andclanged on our shields and smote the decks with a sharp click fromend to end of the vessel. Even at that time I saw that some of thearrows were British, but more of some outland make with cruellybarbed heads. One or two went near my helm, and I had several in myshield, but none of us were hurt. I had to watch them for the sake of Thorgils, who was unmailed, andI could not look where he pointed ahead of us. Then of a sudden the arrows ceased to rain on us, and there went acry as of terror from the decks of our enemy. The wild war song ofthe Tenby Danes rose ahead of us, and I turned and looked. Eric wasclose on us, and his men had risen from under the gunwales, wherethey too had been hiding until the foe was in their grasp, and nowthe dragon was on her prey, and that prey knew it. And yet Evan hadneed to shield me as I turned, for the chief whom they calledDaffyd was urging his men to shoot, and himself snatched a bow andloosed an arrow at us harmlessly. It was wonderful. Under the sweep of the thirty long oars thedragon ship tore past us, hurling the white foam from her sharpbows, while the thunder of war song and breaking wave and rollingoars filled my ears and set our men leaping and cheering as theysaw her. Eric was on the high forecastle, and he waved his broadaxe at us gleefully, and all along the decks the fighting men stoodabove the armed rowers; one shielding the toiler, and one with bentbow ready, steady as oaks on the reeling deck, and cheering us alsowith lifted weapons. The foe saw, and her oars ran out too late. The dragon met her, andthus, checking her speed as she passed her, swept her crowded deckwith arrows at half range; and yet the foe held on after us, forthe men of Daffyd and of Morgan were bent on ending Owen if theythemselves must die. The arrows were about us again, and Eric mustturn and be back to our help. It seemed that the foe would be on usbefore that help could come. I did not know the handiness of the longship under oars. She wasabout even as I looked again from the foe to her. And her sail washoisted, and under that and oars alike she was back on the foe; andthen the men of Daffyd forgot him and us in the greater business ofcaring for themselves, and left him raving on the foredeck, to seekshelter while they might. Then I suppose the helmsman was shot, for the ship luffedhelplessly, and in a moment the stem of the viking was crashing onher quarter, and the grappling irons were fast to her. Thorgilslaughed and luffed at once. "Somewhat to sing of, " he said cheerfully, as he hove to to watchthe fight. That it was in all truth. We were but a bow shot off, and could seeit all. We heard the ships grinding together, and we heard theshout of the Danes and the outland yells of the Welsh, and we sawthe vikings swarming on board while the axes flashed and the warsong rose again. "Eric has a mind to pay them for nigh spoiling a wedding voyage, "quoth our Norseman. It was no long fight, for I suppose that there are men of no racewho can stand before the Northmen at sea, at least since we haveforgotten the old ship craft of our forefathers. From stem to sternEric led his men, sweeping all before him, some foemen even leapingoverboard out of the way of the terrible axes, and so meetinganother death. I think that the Welsh chief Daffyd was the last tofall before old Eric himself. And then was a great cheer from thetwo ships, and after it silence. Then Eric hailed us, and Thorgils ran out his oars, and we wentalongside the Danish ship. And at that time Nona came from thecabin, and called me, looking wonderingly at the arrows thatlittered the deck at her feet. "Oswald, what is it all?--Do the good Danes leave us?" Then she saw my mail, and paled a little. "Fighting! and I not with you?" she cried. "Is any one hurt?" But I went to her side and told her how things had gone, asking herto bide in the shelter yet, for we had things to see that were notfor her. And so she went back again and closed the door, beingassured that the danger had passed. We went on board the Danish ship, for there was not enough sea toprevent our lying gunwale to gunwale for a moment. Both Owen and Iwould find out if possible how all this came about. There was a rowof captives on the deck of the enemy waiting question, and I lookeddown on them from beside Eric. Swarthy men and black haired they were, speaking no tongue which weknew, and one of them was black as his hair. I had never seen ablack man before, and he seemed uncanny. The Danes were staring athim also, and he was grinning at them with white teeth throughthick lips in all unconcern. Many of these men had chains on theirlegs, and this black among them. "Chained to the oar benches they were, poor thralls, " Eric said. "We could not bide that, so we cut them free. Then they fell ontheir lords and rent them. " Owen shuddered. He had seen the southern galleys before, and knewwhy no man was left alive of the foreigners who had fought. Our kindo not slay the wounded. But there were some Britons left among thecaptives, and one of them cried to Owen by name for mercy. We had that man on board the Dane and questioned him, and learntall. He had no reason to hide aught when he was promised safety. Daffyd had heard that we were to cross from Tenby, having had allthe doings of Owen spied upon since the winter. Then he learnedthat when I came over Owen was to return, and therefore he had mydoings watched also. He hired this foreign ship in Marazion, whereshe put in for trade just as he was wondering how to compass ourend on the journey, promising her fierce crew gold of his own andall plunder there might be, if they would help him to an easyrevenge. So they came into the Severn sea, and lay for a fortnightor more under Lundy Island, watching for us as a cat watches for amouse, and getting news now and then from Welsh fishers fromMilford Haven. It was from them that Daffyd learned of my wedding, and so it cameto pass that neither he nor the strangers thought for a moment thatour two ships held aught but passengers and much plunder, with aprincess to hold to ransom, moreover, for the taking. They took noaccount of the few house-carles we might have with us, and even Iknew nought of the crossing of the armed Danish ship with us, whichwas planned so that it came as a pleasant surprise to us all. Thorgils was right, and it had been a terrible one for them. So the plunder fell to Eric, and it was worth having. There was theship and arms and captives, and the gold of Daffyd, and that of thetraders, moreover, with some strange and precious woven goods fromsouthern looms, silken and woollen, which yet remained in the hold, wondrous to look on. Now, in halting words enough I went to thank Eric and his men forthat which he had done for me and mine, which indeed was more thanI knew how to put into words. "Hold on, comrade, " he said, staying me. "I will tell you somewhat. Good friends enough we are with Howel nowadays, but it was notalways so. It was the doing of your fair princess that things camenot to blows between us at one time, for we held that he wasunreasonable in some matter of scatt {iv} to be paid. Shesettled that matter for us with wise words, and we hold that to herwe owe it that we are in Tenby today. Howel could starve us out anytime he chose. And that the prince will own to you if you ask him, being an honest man, if hasty. We shall miss Nona the princesssorely--good luck to her. " Then he must needs have all the bales of rich goods set on boardour ship, as a wedding present to Nona, and so set a crew on boardthe prize, and she left us, heading homewards to Tenby. We wentback to our own ship at once after this was done, but Eric wouldsee us safely to Watchet before he was satisfied, and so we took upthe quiet passage again, little harmed enough. Eric had a fewwounded men, but we had not suffered from the arrows. Presently the stars came out, and Nona and I sat with Owen underthe awning in the quiet of the calm sea, while the men rowed underthe shadow of the sail that held a little wind enough to help themhomeward, and we went over all the things that the day had broughtus. And Owen said: "Now you may be at rest concerning me, Oswald, for there is not oneleft to lift a hand against me of whom I need think twice. Daffydwas the last of the crew to which Morgan and Tregoz and Dunwalbelonged, for Gerent has the rest in ward safely; and there theywill bide, if I know aught of him, until I have to beg him to setthem free beyond the shores of Cornwall. " I will say now that this was true, for thence forward no man liftedhand or voice against my foster father. The war and its hopelessending quieted the men whom Morfed had led, and there was peace, inwhich men turned to Owen as the one who could keep it, and hadgiven wise counsel which was once disregarded. So it came to pass that I took home Nona with me, and set her asprincess in the hall at Taunton amid the rejoicing of all the Welshfolk who were under me; for, as Ethelburga the queen had said, theyknew that they had a friend in her. And here we have bided eversince, and are happy in home and friends and work, for all seems tohave gone well with us. And as to those good friends of ours, theremay yet be a little to tell before I set the pen aside. Owen passed to Exeter at the time we came home, for he would seehis uncle before he went to speak with Ina. But presently he wasback with us at Taunton, bearing with him a wondrous present forthe bride from Gerent, and good and friendly words for me whichpromised well for the peace of the border, at least while he lived. And seeing that he lives yet, with Owen at his right hand, that hasbeen a long time. Now Owen comes and goes, and none think it strange that he is mostfriendly with Ina, for men have learnt that in the peace of the tworealms is happiness. Presently Jago came back to Norton, for I needed some Britishadviser at hand, for Evan, faithful and well trusted as he is asour honest steward, and able to tell me of the needs of the people, knows nought of the greater laws and ways, and Herewald minded meof him. They had ever been good friends, and I could fully trusthim. So he rebuilt his house at Norton, where the land lay wasteround the old Roman walls which our Saxons hate, and there he isnow, helping me mightily with his knowledge of the Welsh customs, which I do not wish to interfere with more than needful. For, in the wisdom of Ina, we did not follow the old plan ofdriving out and enslaving all the Welsh folk in this new-won land, as had been the rule in the days of the first coming of ourforefathers when Saxons were few. Those manors whose owners hadfallen or would not bide under the new rule, Ina gave to thanes ofhis own, and the men of Somerset and Dorset took what land theywould where the freeman had left them, but all others he left undernew and even-handed laws in peace. So I had to content the men of both races as well as I could, andmen say that I wrought well. At least, I have had no murmuring, andI may deem that they are right. As one may suppose, there is no more welcome guest in our hall thanThorgils, and at times he brings Eric or some other Tenby Dane withhim if a ship happens to cross hither. Once a year also he bringsHowel, and there is feasting in our hall, Saxon and Norseman, Briton of the west and Briton from over sea together in all goodfellowship. One evening it came to pass that Thorgils sat in our hall, whichwas bright with the strange stuffs that came from the ship ofDaffyd, and we talked of the old ship a little, after he had sungto us. And then I said idly: "She must be getting old, comrade. When am I to give you that newcraft we once spoke of?" Whereon he looked at Nona suddenly, and said: "I mind that old promise. But now there is a ship of another sortthat will be a better present. I will ask for that. " "What is it?" "Build us a church at Watchet, and set there a priest who shallteach us the way of the Christian. We have seen you forego a bloodfeud and do well to the innocent man whom our faith would havebidden you slay, and it is good. We know you for a brave warrior, and your faith has not taken the might from your heart as we weretold it must. Only let the priest be a Saxon. " Then he added, as if thinking aloud: "Ay, Odin and Thor and the rest of the Asir are far off from ushere. Our old faith falls from us, and we are ready for the new. Let it be soon. " There I think that the hand of Nona wrought, for the Norse folkfairly worshipped her. So it was not long before that good friendof mine, the Abbot of Glastonbury, found me the right man, and oneday thereafter Nona and I stood sponsors for Thorgils and one ortwo more whom we knew well, at the font in the new church which thegold of Mordred built instead of the ship, and soon all the littletown was Christian in more than name. There is happiness at Eastdean, and we meet with Erpwald andElfrida at the house of her father now and then, and they have beenhere also. But I have never had time to go to Eastdean again, though it is a promise that we will do so when we may. It is the word of Ina my master that all things go well where Ibear rule for him, and I fear little blame, if little praise may befor me, when Owen comes to us from time to time. If there is anypraise, it is due to my fair British princess, who is my bestadviser in all things. So there is peace; and some day, and that no distant one, therewill grow up here a new race in the west, wrought of the blood ofSaxon and Briton and Norseman; and the men of that Devon andSomerset that shall be, will have the doggedness of the Saxon andthe fire of the Welsh and the boldness of the Norse, to be first ofall England, maybe, in peace and in war, on shore and at sea. Andthat will have been brought to pass by the wisdom of Ina, whoseeven laws are held the wisest that the race of Hengist has everknown. It is in my mind that the lesson of the wisdom of equal rights forall men, whether conquered or conqueror, is one that will bide withus in the days to come, and be our pride. Now it seems that I have told my story so far as any will care tohear it. But if there has been aught worth telling it has centeredround that one who took me from the jaws of the wild wolf in theAndredsweald. First in my heart, and first in the hearts of hispeople now at last, must be set the name of my foster father, Owen--the Prince of Cornwall. THE END. NOTES. i The national weapon. A heavy blade between sword and dagger, with curved back and straight edge, fitted for almost any use. ii The fine to be paid in amends for an open "manslaying" inquarrel or feud. iii The ancient Welsh province now represented by the county ofGlarnorgan. iv Tribute due to an overlord by the settlers.