THE DRAGON OF WANTLEY

 HIS TALE

 _By_ Owen Wister

 _Illustrations by John Stewardson_

 SECOND EDITION

 Philadelphia J·B·LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 1895

[Illustration: ·COPYRIGHT·1892·

·BY·J·B·LIPPINCOTT·COMPANY·

PRINTED·BY·J·B·LIPPINCOTT·COMPANY

·PHILADELPHIA·USA·]

 TO MY ANCIENT PLAYMATES IN APPIAN WAY CAMBRIDGE THIS LIKELY STORY IS DEDICATED FOR REASONS BEST KNOWN TO THEMSELVES

 Preface

 When Betsinda held the Rose And the Ring decked Giglio's finger Thackeray! 'twas sport to linger With thy wise, gay-hearted prose. Books were merry, goodness knows! When Betsinda held the Rose. 

 Who but foggy drudglings doze While Rob Gilpin toasts thy witches, While the Ghost waylays thy breeches, Ingoldsby? Such tales as those Exorcised our peevish woes When Betsinda held the Rose. 

 Realism, thou specious pose! Haply it is good we met thee; But, passed by, we'll scarce regret thee; For we love the light that glows Where Queen Fancy's pageant goes, And Betsinda holds the Rose. 

 Shall we dare it? Then let's close Doors to-night on things statistic, Seek the hearth in circle mystic, Till the conjured fire-light shows Where Youth's bubbling Fountain flows, And Betsinda holds the Rose. 

 PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

We two--the author and his illustrator--did not know what we had doneuntil the newspapers told us. But the press has explained it in thefollowing poised and consistent criticism:

 "Too many suggestions of profanity. " --_Congregationalist_, Boston, 8 Dec. '92. 

 "It ought to be the delight of the nursery. " --_National Tribune_, Washington, 22 Dec. '92. 

 "Grotesque and horrible. " --_Zion's Herald_, Boston, 21 Dec. '92. 

 "Some excellent moral lessons. " --_Citizen_, Brooklyn, 27 Nov. '92. 

 "If it has any lesson to teach, we have been unable to find it. " --_Independent_, New York, 10 Nov. '92. 

 "The story is a familiar one. " --_Detroit Free Press_, 28 Nov. '92. 

 "Refreshingly novel. " --_Cincinnati Commercial Gazette_, 17 Dec. '92. 

 "It is a burlesque. " --_Atlantic Monthly_, Dec. '92. 

 "All those who love lessons drawn from life will enjoy this book. " --_Christian Advocate_, Cincinnati, 2 Nov. '92. 

 "The style of this production is difficult to define. " --_Court Journal_, London, 26 Nov. '92. 

 "One wonders why writer and artist should put so much labor on a production which seems to have so little reason for existence. " --_Herald and Presbyterian_, Cincinnati. 

Now the public knows exactly what sort of book this is, and we cannotbe held responsible. 

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

 CHAPTER I. PAGEHow Sir Godfrey came to lose his Temper 19

 CHAPTER II. How his Daughter, Miss Elaine, behaved herself in Consequence 35

 CHAPTER III. Reveals the Dragon in his Den 52

 CHAPTER IV. Tells you more about Him than was ever told before to Anybody 62

 CHAPTER V. In which the Hero makes his First Appearance and is Locked Upimmediately 77

 CHAPTER VI. In which Miss Elaine loses her Heart, and finds Something of theGreatest Importance 91

 CHAPTER VII. Shows what Curious Things you may see, if you don't go to Bedwhen you are sent 113

 CHAPTER VIII. Contains a Dilemma with two simply egregious Horns 136

 CHAPTER IX. Leaves much Room for guessing about Chapter Ten 168

 CHAPTER X. The great White Christmas at Wantley 187

 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

 Page

Ornamented title 3Copyright notice 4Head-piece--Preface 7Head-piece--Preface to the Second Edition 9Head-piece--Table of Contents 11Head-piece--List of Illustrations 13Half-title to Chapter I 17Head-piece to Chapter I 19Popham awaiteth the Result with Dignity 27The Baron pursueth Whelpdale into the Buttery 32Tail-piece to Chapter I 33Half-title to Chapter II 34Head-piece to Chapter II 35Sir Godfrey maketh him ready for the Bath 39Sir Godfrey getteth into his Bath 41Mistletoe consulteth the Cooking Book 43Elaine maketh an unexpected Remark 49Half-title to Chapter III 51Head-piece to Chapter III 52Hubert sweepeth the Steps 55Half-title to Chapter IV 61Head-piece to Chapter IV 62Hubert looketh out of the Window 69Tail-piece to Chapter IV 75Half-title to Chapter V 76Head-piece to Chapter V 77Geoffrey replieth with deplorable Flippancy to Father Anselm 84Tail-piece to Chapter V 89Half-title to Chapter VI 90Head-piece to Chapter VI 91The Baron setteth forth his Plan for circumventing the Dragon 96Geoffrey tuggeth at the Bars 101Tail-piece to Chapter VI 111Half-title to Chapter VII 112Head-piece to Chapter VII 113Elaine cometh into the Cellar 120Geoffrey goeth to meet the Dragon 128Half-title to Chapter VIII 135Head-piece to Chapter VIII 136The Dragon thinketh to slake his Thirst 142The Dragon perceiveth Himself to be Entrapped 148A Noise in the Cellar 155, 156Half-title to Chapter IX 167Head-piece to Chapter IX 168Sir Francis decideth to go down again 176Brother Hubert goeth back to Oyster-le-Main for the last Time 181Tail-piece to Chapter IX 185Half-title to Chapter X 186Head-piece to Chapter X 187Sir Thomas de Brie hastens to accept the Baron's polite Invitation 192The Court-yard 198The Dragon maketh his last Appearance 203L'Envoi 208

[Illustration: QUI NE SAULTE SAULTE SERA]

 CHAPTER I

 How _Sir Godfrey_ came to lose his Temper

[Illustration: THE BVTLER HIS BOY GODFREY DISSEISIN]

There was something wrong in the cellar at Wantley Manor. LittleWhelpdale knew it, for he was Buttons, and Buttons always knows whatis being done with the wine, though he may look as if he did not. Andold Popham knew it, too. He was Butler, and responsible to Sir Godfreyfor all the brandy, and ale, and cider, and mead, and canary, andother strong waters there were in the house. 

Now, Sir Godfrey Disseisin, fourth Baron of Wantley, and immediatetenant by knight-service to His Majesty King John of England, wasparticular about his dogs, and particular about his horses, and abouthis only daughter and his boy Roland, and had been very particularindeed about his wife, who, I am sorry to say, did not live long. Butall this was nothing to the fuss he made about his wine. When theclaret was not warm enough, or the Moselle wine was not cool enough, you could hear him roaring all over the house; for, though generous inheart and a staunch Churchman, he was immoderately choleric. Veryoften, when Sir Godfrey fell into one of his rages at dinner, oldPopham, standing behind his chair, trembled so violently that hiscalves would shake loose, thus obliging him to hasten behind the tallleathern screen at the head of the banquet-hall and readjust them. 

Twice in each year the Baron sailed over to France, where he visitedthe wine-merchants, and tasted samples of all new vintages, --thoughthey frequently gave him unmentionable aches. Then, when he wassatisfied that he had selected the soundest and richest, he returnedto Wantley Manor, bringing home wooden casks that were as big ashay-stacks, and so full they could not gurgle when you tipped them. Upon arriving, he sent for Mrs. Mistletoe, the family governess and(for economy's sake) housekeeper, who knew how to write, --somethingthe Baron's father and mother had never taught him when he was alittle boy, because they didn't know how themselves, and despisedpeople who did, --and when Mrs. Mistletoe had cut neat pieces ofcard-board for labels and got ready her goose-quill, Sir Godfrey wouldsay, "Write, Château Lafitte, 1187;" or, "Write, Chambertin, 1203. "(Those, you know, were the names and dates of the vintages. ) "Yes, mylord, " Mistletoe always piped up; on which Sir Godfrey would peer overher shoulder at the writing, and mutter, "Hum; yes, that's correct, "just as if he knew how to read, the old humbug! Then Mistletoe, whowas a silly girl and had lost her husband early, would go "Tee-hee, Sir Godfrey!" as the gallant gentleman gave her a kiss. Of course, this was not just what he should have done; but he was a widower, youmust remember, and besides that, as the years went on this littleceremony ceased to be kept up. When it was "Château Lafitte, 1187, "kissing Mistletoe was one thing; but when it came to "Chambertin, 1203, " the lady weighed two hundred and twenty-five pounds, and wore awig. 

But, wig and all, Mistletoe had a high position in Wantley Manor. Thehousehold was conducted on strictly feudal principles. Nobody, exceptthe members of the family, received higher consideration than did theold Governess. She and the Chaplain were on a level, socially, andthey sat at the same table with the Baron. That drew the line. OldPopham the Butler might tell little Whelpdale as often as he pleasedthat he was just as good as Mistletoe; but he had to pour outMistletoe's wine for her, notwithstanding. If she scolded him (whichshe always did if Sir Godfrey had been scolding her), do you supposehe dared to answer back? Gracious, no! He merely kicked the twohead-footmen, Meeson and Welsby, and spoke severely to the ninehouse-maids. Meeson and Welsby then made life a painful thing for thefive under-footmen and the grooms, while the nine house-maids boxedthe ears of Whelpdale the Buttons, and Whelpdale the Buttons punchedthe scullion's eye. As for the scullion, he was bottom of the list;but he could always relieve his feelings by secretly pulling the tailsof Sir Godfrey's two tame ravens, whose names were Croak James andCroak Elizabeth. I never knew what these birds did at that; butsomething, you may be sure. So you see that I was right when I saidthe household was conducted on strictly feudal principles. The Cookhad a special jurisdiction of her own, and everybody was more or lessafraid of her. 

Whenever Sir Godfrey had come home with new wine, and after the labelshad been pasted on the casks, then Popham, with Whelpdale beside him, had these carefully set down in the cellar, which was a vast dim room, the ceilings supported by heavy arches; the barrels, bins, kegs, hogsheads, tuns, and demijohns of every size and shape standing likeforests and piled to the ceiling. And now something was wrong there. 

"This 'ere's a hawful succumstence, sir, " observed Whelpdale theButtons to his superior, respectfully. 

"It is, indeed, a himbroglio, " replied Popham, who had a wide commandof words, and knew it. 

Neither domestic spoke again for some time. They were seated in thebuttery. The Butler crossed his right leg over his left, and wavedthe suspended foot up and down, --something he seldom did unless verygrievously perturbed. As for poor little Whelpdale, he mopped his browwith the napkins that were in a basket waiting for the wash. 

Then the bell rang. 

"His ludship's study-bell, " said Popham. "Don't keep him waiting. "

"Hadn't you better apprise his ludship of the facks?" asked Whelpdale, in a weak voice. 

Popham made no reply. He arose and briefly kicked Buttons out of thebuttery. Then he mounted a chair to listen better. "He has henteredhis ludship's apawtment, " he remarked, hearing the sound of voicescome faintly down the little private staircase that led from SirGodfrey's study to the buttery: the Baron was in the habit of comingdown at night for crackers and cheese before he went to bed. Presentlyone voice grew much louder than the other. It questioned. There came asort of whining in answer. Then came a terrific stamp on the ceilingand a loud "Go on, sir!"

"Now, now, now!" thought Popham. 

Do you want to hear at once, without waiting any longer, what littleWhelpdale is telling Sir Godfrey? Well, you must know that for thepast thirteen years, ever since 1190, the neighbourhood had beenscourged by a terrible Dragon. The monster was covered with scales, and had a long tail and huge unnatural wings, beside fearful jaws thatpoured out smoke and flame whenever they opened. He always came atdead of night, roaring, bellowing, and sparkling and flaming over thehills, and horrid claps of thunder were very likely to attend hisprogress. Concerning the nature and quality of his roaring, the honestcopyholders of Wantley could never agree, although every human beinghad heard him hundreds of times. Some said it was like a mad bull, only much louder and worse. Old Gaffer Piers the ploughman swore thatif his tomcat weighed a thousand pounds it would make a noise almostas bad as that on summer nights, with the moon at the full and othercats handy. But farmer Stiles said, "Nay, 'tis like none of your bullsnor cats. But when I have come home too near the next morning, mywife can make me think of this Dragon as soon as ever her mouth beopen. "

[Illustration: Popham awaiteth the Result with Dignity]

This shows you that there were divers opinions. If you were not afraidto look out of the window about midnight, you could see the sky beginto look red in the quarter from which he was approaching, just as itglares when some distant house is on fire. But you must shut thewindow and hide before he came over the hill; for very few that hadlooked upon the Dragon ever lived to that day twelvemonth. Thismonster devoured the substance of the tenantry and yeomen. When theirfields of grain were golden for the harvest, in a single night he cutthem down and left their acres blasted by his deadly fire. He ate thecows, the sheep, the poultry, and at times even sucked eggs. Manypious saints had visited the district, but not one had been able byhis virtue to expel the Dragon; and the farmers and country folk usedto repeat a legend that said the Dragon was a punishment for the greatwickedness of the Baron's ancestor, the original Sir GodfreyDisseisin, who, when summoned on the first Crusade to Palestine, hadentirely refused to go and help his cousin Godfrey de Bouillon wrestthe Holy Sepulchre from the Paynim. The Baron's ancestor, when a stoutyoung lad, had come over with William the Conqueror; and you must knowthat to have an ancestor who had come over with William the Conquerorwas in those old days a much rarer thing than it is now, and any onewho could boast of it was held in high esteem by his neighbours, whoasked him to dinner and left their cards upon him continually. But thefirst Sir Godfrey thought one conquest was enough for any man; and inreply to his cousin's invitation to try a second, answered in hisblunt Norman French, "Nul tiel verte dedans ceot oyle, " whichdispleased the Church, and ended forever all relations between thefamilies. The Dragon did not come at once, for this gentleman's son, the grandfather of our Sir Godfrey, as soon as he was twenty-one, wentoff to the Holy Land himself, fought very valiantly, and was killed, leaving behind him at Wantley an inconsolable little wife and an heirsix months old. This somewhat appeased the Pope; but the present SirGodfrey, when asked to accompany King Richard Lion Heart on hiscampaign against the Infidel, did not avail himself of the opportunityto set the family right in the matter of Crusades. This hereditaryimpiety, which the Pope did not consider at all mended by the Baron'smost regular attendance at the parish church on all Sundays, feastdays, fast days, high days, low days, saints' days, vigils, andoctaves, nor by his paying his tithes punctually to Father Anselm, Abbot of Oyster-le-Main (a wonderful person, of whom I shall have agreat deal to tell you presently), this impiety, I say, finished thegood standing of the House of Wantley. Rome frowned, the earthtrembled, and the Dragon came. And (the legend went on to say) thiscurse would not be removed until a female lineal descendant of thefirst Sir Godfrey, a young lady who had never been married, and hadnever loved anybody except her father and mother and her sisters andbrothers, should go out in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve, all by herself, and encounter the Dragon single handed. 

Now, of course, this is not what little Whelpdale is trying to tellthe Baron up in the study; for everybody in Wantley knew all about thelegend except one person, and that was Miss Elaine, Sir Godfrey's onlydaughter, eighteen years old at the last Court of Piepoudre, when herfather (after paying all the farmers for all the cows and sheep theytold him had been eaten by the Dragon since the last Court) had madehis customary proclamation, to wit: his good-will and protection toall his tenantry; and if any man, woman, child, or other person, caused his daughter, Miss Elaine, to hear anything about the legend, such tale-bearer should be chained to a tree, and kept fat until theDragon found him and ate him. So everybody obligingly kept the Baron'ssecret. 

Sir Godfrey is just this day returned from France with some famoustuns of wine, and presents for Elaine and Mrs. Mistletoe. His humouris (or was, till Whelpdale, poor wretch! answered the bell) of thebest possible. And now, this moment, he is being told by the lucklessButtons that the Dragon of Wantley has taken to drinking, as well aseating, what does not belong to him; has for the last three nightsburst the big gates of the wine-cellar that open on the hillside theManor stands upon; that a hogshead of the Baron's best Burgundy isgoing; and that two hogsheads of his choicest Malvoisie are gone!

One hundred and twenty-eight gallons in three nights' work! But Isuppose a fire-breathing Dragon must be very thirsty. 

There was a dead silence in the study overhead, and old Popham'scalves were shaking loose as he waited. 

"And so you stood by and let this black, sneaking, prowling, thieving"(here the Baron used some shocking expressions which I shall not setdown) "Dragon swill my wine?"

"St--st--stood by, your ludship?" said little Whelpdale. "No, sir; noone didn't do any standing by, sir. He roared that terrible, sir, wewas all under the bed. "

"Now, by my coat of mail and great right leg!" shouted Sir Godfrey. The quaking Popham heard no more. The door of the private staircaseflew open with a loud noise, and down came little Whelpdale head overheels into the buttery. After him strode Sir Godfrey in full mailarmour, clashing his steel fists against the banisters. The nose-pieceof his helmet was pushed up to allow him to speak plainly, --and mostplainly did he speak, I can assure you, all the way down stairs, keeping his right eye glaring upon Popham in one corner of thebuttery, and at the same time petrifying Whelpdale with his left. Fromfather to son, the Disseisins had always been famous for the manner inwhich they could straddle their eyes; and in Sir Godfrey the familytrait was very strongly marked. 

[Illustration: The Baron pursueth Whelpdale into the Buttery]

Arrived at the bottom, he stopped for a moment to throw a ham throughthe stained-glass window, and then made straight for Popham. But thehead Butler was an old family servant, and had learned to know hisplace. 

With surprising agility he hopped on a table, so that Sir Godfrey'sfoot flew past its destined goal and caught a shelf that was loadedwith a good deal of his wedding china. The Baron was far too dignifieda person to take any notice of this mishap, and he simply strode on, out of the buttery, and so through the halls of the Manor, where allwho caught even the most distant sight of his coming, promptlywithdrew into the privacy of their apartments. 

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

 CHAPTER II

 How his Daughter, Miss Elaine, behaued in Consequence

[Illustration: ELAINE MISTLETOE]

The Baron walked on, his rage mounting as he went, till presently hebegan talking aloud to himself. "Mort d'aieul and Cosenage!" hemuttered, grinding his teeth over these oaths; "matters have come to apretty pass, per my and per tout! And this is what my wine-bibbingancestor has brought on his posterity by his omission to fight for theTrue Faith!"

Sir Godfrey knew the outrageous injustice of this remark as well asyou or I do; and so did the portrait of his ancestor, which hehappened to be passing under, for the red nose in the tapestry turneda deeper ruby in scornful anger. But, luckily for the nerves of itsdescendant, the moths had eaten its mouth away so entirely, that theretort it attempted to make sounded only like a faint hiss, which theBaron mistook for a little gust of wind behind the arras. 

"My ruddy Burgundy!" he groaned, "going, going! and my rich, fruityMalvoisie, --all gone! Father Anselm didn't appreciate it, either, thatnight he dined here last September. He said I had put egg-shells init. Egg-shells! Pooh! As if any parson could talk about wine. TheseChurch folk had better mind their business, and say grace, and eattheir dinner, and be thankful. That's what I say. Egg-shells, forsooth!" The Baron was passing through the chapel, and hemechanically removed his helmet; but he did not catch sight of theglittering eye of Father Anselm himself, who had stepped quickly intothe confessional, and there in the dark watched Sir Godfrey with astrange, mocking smile. When he had the chapel to himself again, thetall gray figure of the Abbot appeared in full view, and craftilymoved across the place. If you had been close beside him, and hadlistened hard, you could have heard a faint clank and jingle beneathhis gown as he moved, which would have struck you as not the sort ofnoise a hair-shirt ought to make. But I am glad you were not there;for I do not like the way the Abbot looked at all, especially so nearChristmas-tide, when almost every one somehow looks kinder as he goesabout in the world. Father Anselm moved out of the chapel, and passedthrough lonely corridors out of Wantley Manor, out of the court-yard, and so took his way to Oyster-le-Main in the gathering dusk. The fewpeople who met him received his blessing, and asked no questions; forthey were all serfs of the glebe, and well used to meeting the Abbotgoing and coming near Wantley Manor. 

Meanwhile, Sir Godfrey paced along. "To think, " he continued, aloud, "to think the country could be rid of this monster, this guzzlingserpent, in a few days! Plenty would reign again. Public peace of mindwould be restored. The cattle would increase, the crops would grow, myrents treble, and my wines be drunk no more by a miserable, ignorant--but, no! I'm her father. Elaine shall never be permitted tosacrifice herself for one dragon, or twenty dragons, either. "

"Why, what's the matter, papa?"

Sir Godfrey started. There was Miss Elaine in front of him; and shehad put on one of the new French gowns he had brought over with him. 

"Matter? Plenty of matter!" he began, unluckily. "At least, nothing isthe matter at all, my dear. What a question! Am I not back all safefrom the sea? Nothing is the matter, of course! Hasn't your old fatherbeen away from you two whole months? And weren't those pretty dresseshe has carried back with him for his little girl? And isn't thewine--Zounds, no, the wine isn't--at least, certainly it is--to besure it's what it ought to be--_what_ it ought to be? Yes! But, Mortd'aieul! not _where_ it ought to be! Hum! hum! I think I am goingmad!" And Sir Godfrey, forgetting he held the helmet all this while, dashed his hands to his head with such violence that the steel edgestruck hard above the ear, and in one minute had raised a lump thereas large as the egg of a fowl. 

"Poor, poor papa, " said Miss Elaine. And she ran and fetched some coldwater, and, dipping her dainty lace handkerchief into it, she bathedthe Baron's head. 

"Thank you, my child, " he murmured, presently. "Of course, nothing isthe matter. They were very slow in putting the new" (here he gave agulp) "casks of wine into the cellar; that's all. 'Twill soon bedinner-time. I must make me ready. "

And so saying, the Baron kissed his daughter and strode away towardshis dressing-room. But she heard him shout "Mort d'aieul!" more thanonce before he was out of hearing. Then his dressing-room door shutwith a bang, and sent echoes all along the entries above and below. 

[Illustration: Sir Godfrey maketh him ready for the Bath]

The December night was coming down, and a little twinkling lamp hungat the end of the passage. Towards this Miss Elaine musingly turnedher steps, still squeezing her now nearly dry handkerchief. 

"What did he mean?" she said to herself. 

"Elaine!" shouted Sir Godfrey, away off round a corner. 

"Yes, papa, I'm coming. "

"Don't come. I'm going to the bath. A--did you hear me say anythingparticular?"

"Do you mean when I met you?" answered Elaine. "Yes--no--that is, --notexactly, papa. "

"Then don't dare to ask me any questions, for I won't have it. " Andanother door slammed. 

"What did papa mean?" said Miss Elaine, once more. 

Her bright brown eyes were looking at the floor as she walked slowlyon towards the light, and her lips, which had been a little open sothat you could have seen what dainty teeth she had, shut quite close. In fact, she was thinking, which was something you could seldom accuseher of. I do not know exactly what her thoughts were, except that thewords "dragon" and "sacrifice" kept bumping against each other inthem continually; and whenever they bumped, Miss Elaine frowned alittle deeper, till she really looked almost solemn. In this way shecame under the hanging lamp and entered the door in front of which itshone. 

[Illustration: SIR GODFREY getteth in to hys Bath]

This was the ladies' library, full of the most touching romances aboutRoland, and Walter of Aquitaine, and Sir Tristram, and a great numberof other excitable young fellows, whose behaviour had invariably gotthem into dreadful difficulties, but had as invariably made them, inthe eyes of every damsel they saw, the most attractive, fascinating, sweet, dear creatures in the world. Nobody ever read any of thesebooks except Mrs. Mistletoe and the family Chaplain. These two were, indeed, the only people in the household that knew how to read, --whichmay account for it in some measure. It was here that Miss Elaine camein while she was thinking so hard, and found old Mistletoe huddled tothe fire. She had been secretly reading the first chapters of a newand pungent French romance, called "Roger and Angelica, " that wasbeing published in a Paris and a London magazine simultaneously. Onlythus could the talented French author secure payment for his books inEngland; for King John, who had recently murdered his little nephewArthur, had now turned his attention to obstructing all arrangementsfor an international copyright. In many respects, this monarch was nocredit to his family. 

[Illustration: MISTLETOE; CONSVLTETH YE COOKYNGE BOOKE]

When the Governess heard Miss Elaine open the door behind her, shethought it was the family Chaplain, and, quickly throwing the shockingstory on the floor, she opened the household cookery-book, --anenormous volume many feet square, suspended from the ceiling by strongchains, and containing several thousand receipts for English, French, Italian, Croatian, Dalmatian, and Acarnanian dishes, beginning with apoem in blank verse written to his confectioner by the Emperor Charlesthe Fat. German cooking was omitted. 

"I'm looking up a new plum-pudding for Christmas, " said Mistletoe, nervously, keeping her virtuous eyes on the volume. 

"Ah, indeed!" Miss Elaine answered, indifferently. She was thinkingharder than ever, --was, in fact, inventing a little plan. 

"Oh, so it's you, deary!" cried the Governess, much relieved. She hadfeared the Chaplain might pick up the guilty magazine and find itspages cut only at the place where the French story was. And I amgrieved to have to tell you that this is just what he did do later inthe evening, and sat down in his private room and read about Roger andAngelica himself. 

"Here's a good one, " said Mistletoe. "Number 39, in the Appendix toPart Fourth. Chop two pounds of leeks and----"

"But I may not be here to taste it, " said Elaine. 

"Bless the child!" said Mistletoe. "And where else would you be onChristmas-day but in your own house?"

"Perhaps far away. Who knows?"

"You haven't gone and seen a young man and told him----"

"A young man, indeed!" said Elaine, with a toss of her head. "There'snot a young man in England I would tell anything save to go about hisbusiness. "

Miss Elaine had never seen any young men except when they came to dineon Sir Godfrey's invitation; and his manner on those occasions so awedthem that they always sat on the edge of their chairs, and said, "No, thank you, " when the Baron said, "Have some more capon?" Then theBaron would snort, "Nonsense! Popham, bring me Master Percival'splate, " upon which Master Percival invariably simpered, and said thatreally he did believe he _would_ take another slice. After thesedinners, Miss Elaine retired to her own part of the house; and thatwas all she ever saw of young men, whom she very naturally deemed aclass to be despised as silly and wholly lacking in self-assertion. 

"Then where in the name of good saints are you going to be?" Mistletoewent on. 

"Why, " said Elaine, slowly (and here she looked very slyly at the oldGoverness, and then quickly appeared to be considering the lace on herdress), "why, of course, papa would not permit me to sacrifice myselffor one dragon or twenty dragons. "

"What!" screamed Mistletoe, all in a flurry (for she was a fool). "What?"

"Of course, I know papa would say that, " said Miss Elaine, demure aspossible. 

"Oh, mercy me!" squeaked Mistletoe; "we are undone!"

"To be sure, I might agree with papa, " said the artful thing, knowingwell enough she was on the right track. 

"Oo--oo!" went the Governess, burying her nose in the householdcookery-book and rocking from side to side. 

"But then I might not agree with papa, you know. I might think, --mightthink----" Miss Elaine stopped at what she might think, for really shehadn't the slightest idea what to say next. 

"You have no right to think, --no right at all!" burst out Mistletoe. "And you sha'n't be allowed to think. I'll tell Sir Godfrey at once, and he'll forbid you. Oh, dear! oh, dear! just before Christmas Eve, too! The only night in the year! She has no time to change her mind;and she'll be eaten up if she goes, I know she will. What villain toldyou of this, child? Let me know, and he shall be punished at once. "

"I shall not tell you that, " said Elaine. 

"Then everybody will be suspected, " moaned Mistletoe. "Everybody. Thewhole household. And we shall all be thrown to the Dragon. Oh, dear!was there ever such a state of things?" The Governess betook herselfto weeping and wringing her hands, and Elaine stood watching her andwondering how in the world she could find out more. She knew now justenough to keep her from eating or sleeping until she knew everything. 

"I don't agree with papa, at all, " she said, during a lull in thetears. This was the only remark she could think of. 

"He'll lock you up, and feed you on bread and water till youdo--oo--oo!" sobbed Mistletoe; "and by that time we shall all beea--ea--eaten up!"

"But I'll talk to papa, and make him change his mind. "

"He won't. Do you think you're going to make him care more about a lotof sheep and cows than he does about his only daughter? Doesn't he paythe people for everything the Dragon eats up? Who would pay him foryou, when you were eaten up?"

"How do you know that I should be eaten up?" asked Miss Elaine. 

"Oh, dear! oh, dear! and how could you stop it? What could a girl doalone against a dragon in the middle of the night?"

"But on Christmas Eve?" suggested the young lady. "There might besomething different about that. He might feel better, you know, onChristmas Eve. "

"Do you suppose a wicked, ravenous dragon with a heathen tail is goingto care whether it is Christmas Eve or not? He'd have you for hisChristmas dinner, and that's all the notice he would take of the day. And then perhaps he wouldn't leave the country, after all. How can yoube sure he would go away, just because that odious, vulgar legend saysso? Who would rely on a dragon? And so there you would be gone, and hewould be here, and everything!"

Mistletoe's tears flowed afresh; but you see she had said all thatMiss Elaine was so curious to know about, and the fatal secret wasout. 

[Illustration: ELAINE MAKETH AN VNEXPECTED REMARK]

The Quarter-Bell rang for dinner, and both the women hastened totheir rooms to make ready; Mistletoe still boo-hooing and snuffling, and declaring that she had always said some wretched, abominablevillain would tell her child about that horrid, ridiculous legend, that was a perfect falsehood, as anybody could see, and very likelyinvented by the Dragon himself, because no human being with anyfeelings at all would think of such a cruel, absurd idea; and if theyever did, they deserved to be eaten themselves; and she would not haveit. 

She said a great deal more that Elaine, in the next room, could nothear (though the door was open between), because the Governess put herfat old face under the cold water in the basin, and, though she wenton talking just the same, it only produced an angry sort of bubbling, which conveyed very little notion of what she meant. 

So they descended the stairway, Miss Elaine walking first, verystraight and solemn; and that was the way she marched into thebanquet-hall, where Sir Godfrey waited. 

"Papa, " said she, "I think I'll meet the Dragon on Christmas Eve!"

[Illustration]

 CHAPTER III

 Reueals the _Dragon_ in his Den

[Illustration: BROTHER HUBERT]

Around the sullen towers of Oyster-le-Main the snow was fallingsteadily. It was slowly banking up in the deep sills of the windows, and Hubert the Sacristan had given up sweeping the steps. Patches ofit, that had collected on the top of the great bell as the slantingdraughts blew it in through the belfry-window, slid down from time totime among the birds which had nestled for shelter in the beams below. From the heavy main outer-gates, the country spread in a whiteunbroken sheet to the woods. Twice, perhaps, through the morning hadwayfarers toiled by along the nearly-obliterated high-road. 

"Good luck to the holy men!" each had said to himself as he looked atthe chill and austere walls of the Monastery. "Good luck! and I hopethat within there they be warmer than I am. " Then I think it verylikely that as he walked on, blowing the fingers of the hand that heldhis staff, he thought of his fireside and his wife, and blessedProvidence for not making him pious enough to be a monk and abachelor. 

This is what was doing in the world outside. Now inside the stonewalls of Oyster-le-Main, whose grim solidity spoke of narrow cells andof pious knees continually bent in prayer, not a monk paced thecorridors, and not a step could be heard above or below in thestaircase that wound up through the round towers. Silence waseverywhere, save that from a remote quarter of the Monastery came afaint sound of music. Upon such a time as Christmas Eve, it might wellbe that carols in plenty would be sung or studied by the saintly men. But this sounded like no carol. At times the humming murmur of thestorm drowned the measure, whatever it was, and again it came alongthe dark, cold entries, clearer than before. Away in a long vaultedroom, whose only approach was a passage in the thickness of the walls, safe from the intrusion of the curious, a company is sitting round acavernous chimney, where roars and crackles a great blazing heap oflogs. Surely, for a monkish song, their melody is most odd; yet monksthey are, for all are clothed in gray, like Father Anselm, and a roperound the waist of each. But what can possibly be in that huge silverrundlet into which they plunge their goblets so often? The song growslouder than ever. 

 We are the monks of Oyster-le-Main, Hooded and gowned as fools may see; Hooded and gowned though we monks be, Is that a reason we should abstain From cups of the gamesome Burgundie?

 Though our garments make it plain That we are Monks of Oyster-le-Main, That is no reason we should abstain From cups of the gamesome Burgundie. 

"I'm sweating hot, " says one. "How for disrobing, brothers? No dangeron such a day as this, foul luck to the snow!"

Which you see was coarse and vulgar language for any one to be heardto use, and particularly so for a godly celibate. But the words werescarce said, when off fly those monks' hoods, and the waist-ropesrattle as they fall on the floor, and the gray gowns drop down and arekicked away. 

Every man jack of them is in black armour, with a long sword buckledto his side. 

"Long cheer to the Guild of Go-as-you-Please!" they shouted, hoarsely, and dashed their drinking-horns on the board. Then filled them again. 

"Give us a song, Hubert, " said one. "The day's a dull one out in theworld. "

[Illustration]

"Wait a while, " replied Hubert, whose nose was hidden in his cup;"this new Wantley tipple is a vastly comfortable brew. What d'ye callthe stuff?"

"Malvoisie, thou oaf?" said another; "and of a delicacy many degreesabove thy bumpkin palate. Leave profaning it, therefore, and to thyrefrain without more ado. "

"Most unctuous sir, " replied Hubert, "in demanding me this favour, youseem forgetful that the juice of Pleasure is sweeter than the milk ofHuman Kindness. I'll not sing to give thee an opportunity to outnumberme in thy cups. "

And he filled and instantly emptied another sound bumper of theMalvoisie, lurching slightly as he did so. "Health!" he added, preparing to swallow the next. 

"A murrain on such pagan thirst!" exclaimed he who had been toasted, snatching the cup away. "Art thou altogether unslakable? Is thy bellya lime-kiln? Nay, shalt taste not a single drop more, Hubert, till wehave a stave. Come, tune up, man!"

"Give me but leave to hold the empty vessel, then, " the singerpleaded, falling on one knee in mock supplication. 

"Accorded, thou sot!" laughed the other. "Carol away, now!"

They fell into silence, each replenishing his drinking-horn. The snowbeat soft against the window, and from outside, far above them, sounded the melancholy note of the bell ringing in the hour formeditation. 

So Hubert began:

 When the sable veil of night Over hill and glen is spread, The yeoman bolts his door in fright, And he quakes within his bed. Far away on his ear There strikes a sound of dread: Something comes! it is here! It is passed with awful tread. There's a flash of unholy flame; There is smoke hangs hot in the air: 'Twas the Dragon of Wantley came: Beware of him, beware!

 But we beside the fire Sit close to the steaming bowl; We pile the logs up higher, And loud our voices roll. 

 When the yeoman wakes at dawn To begin his round of toil, His garner's bare, his sheep are gone, And the Dragon holds the spoil. All day long through the earth That yeoman makes his moan; All day long there is mirth Behind these walls of stone. For we are the Lords of Ease, The gaolers of carking Care, The Guild of Go-as-you-Please! Beware of us, beware!

 So we beside the fire Sit down to the steaming bowl; We pile the logs up higher, And loud our voices roll. 

The roar of twenty lusty throats and the clatter of cups banging onthe table rendered the words of the chorus entirely inaudible. 

"Here's Malvoisie for thee, Hubert, " said one of the company, dippinginto the rundlet. But his hand struck against the dry bottom. They hadfinished four gallons since breakfast, and it was scarcely eleven goneon the clock!

"Oh, I am betrayed!" Hubert sang out. Then he added, "But there is aplenty where that came from. " And with that he reached for his gown, and, fetching out a bunch of great brass keys, proceeded towards atall door in the wall, and turned the lock. The door swung open, andHubert plunged into the dark recess thus disclosed. An exclamation ofchagrin followed, and the empty hide of a huge crocodile, with a pairof trailing wings to it, came bumping out from the closet into thehall, giving out many hollow cracks as it floundered along, fresh froma vigourous kick that the intemperate minstrel had administered in hisrage at having put his hand into the open jaws of the monster insteadof upon the neck of the demijohn that contained the Malvoisie. 

"Beshrew thee, Hubert!" said the voice of a new-comer, who stoodeyeing the proceedings from a distance, near where he had entered;"treat the carcase of our patron saint with a more befittingreverence, or I'll have thee caged and put upon bread and water. Remember, that whosoever kicks that skin in some sort kicks me. "

"Long life to the Dragon of Wantley!" said Hubert, reappearing, verydusty, but clasping a plump demijohn. 

"Hubert, my lad, " said the new-comer, "put back that vessel ofinebriation; and, because I like thee well for thy youth and thy sweetvoice, do not therefore presume too far with me. "

A somewhat uneasy pause followed upon this; and while Hubert edgedback into the closet with his demijohn, Father Anselm frowned slightlyas his eyes turned upon the scene of late hilarity. 

But where is the Dragon in his den? you ask. Are we not coming to himsoon? Ah, but we have come to him. You shall hear the truth. Neverbelieve that sham story about More of More Hall, and how he slew theDragon of Wantley. It is a gross fabrication of some unscrupulous andmediocre literary person, who, I make no doubt, was in the pay of Moreto blow his trumpet so loud that a credulous posterity might hear it. My account of the Dragon is the only true one. 

[Illustration]

 CHAPTER IV

 Tells all about him

[Illustration]

In those days of shifting fortunes, of turbulence and rapine, ofknights-errant and minstrels seeking for adventure and love, and ofsolitary pilgrims and bodies of pious men wandering over Europe toproclaim that the duty of all was to arise and quell the pagandefilers of the Holy Shrine, good men and bad men, undoubted saintsand unmistakable sinners, drifted forward and back through everycountry, came by night and by day to every household, and lived theirlives in that unbounded and perilous freedom that put them at onemoment upon the top limit of their ambition or their delight, andplunged them into violent and bloody death almost ere the moment wasgone. It was a time when "fatten at thy neighbour's expense" was theone commandment observed by many who outwardly maintained a profoundrespect for the original ten; and any man whose wit taught him howthis commandment could be obeyed with the greatest profit and theleast danger was in high standing among his fellows. 

Hence it was that Francis Almoign, Knight of the Voracious Stomach, cumbered with no domestic ties worthy of mention, a tall slim fellowwho knew the appropriate hour to slit a throat or to wheedle a maid, came to be Grand Marshal of the Guild of Go-as-you-Please. 

This secret band, under its Grand Marshal, roved over Europe andthrived mightily. Each member was as stout hearted a villain as youcould see. Sometimes their doings came to light, and they were forcedto hasten across the borders of an outraged territory into newpastures. Yet they fared well in the main, for they could fight anddrink and sing; and many a fair one smiled upon them, in spite oftheir perfectly outrageous morals. 

So, one day, they came into the neighbourhood of Oyster-le-Main, wheremuch confusion reigned among the good monks. Sir Godfrey Disseisinover at Wantley had let Richard Lion Heart depart for the Holy Warswithout him. "Like father like son, " the people muttered in theirdiscontent. "Sure, the Church will gravely punish this secondoffence. " To all these whisperings of rumour the Grand Marshal of theGuild paid fast attention; for he was a man who laid his plans deeply, and much in advance of the event. He saw the country was fat and theneighbours foolish. He took note of the handsome tithes that came into Oyster-le-Main for the support of the monks. He saw all thesethings, and set himself to thinking. 

Upon a stormy afternoon, when the light was nearly gone out of thesky, a band of venerable pilgrims stood at the great gates of theMonastery. Their garments were tattered, their shoes were in saddisrepair. They had walked (they said) all the way from Jerusalem. Might they find shelter for the night? The tale they told, and themere sight of their trembling old beards, would have melted hearts farharder than those which beat in the breasts of the monks ofOyster-le-Main. But above all, these pilgrims brought with them asconvincing proofs of their journey a collection of relics andtalismans (such as are to be met with only in Eastern countries) ofgreat wonder and virtue. With singular generosity, which theyexplained had been taught them by the Arabs, they presented many ofthese treasures to the delighted inmates of the Monastery, whohastened to their respective cells, --this one reverently cherishing atuft of hair from the tail of one of Daniel's lions; another handlingwith deep fervour a strip of the coat of many colours once worn by theexcellent Joseph. But the most extraordinary relic among them all wasthe skin of a huge lizard beast, the like of which none in England hadever seen. This, the Pilgrims told their hosts, was no less a thingthan a crocodile from the Nile, the renowned river of Moses. It hadbeen pressed upon them, as they were departing from the City ofDamascus, by a friend, a blameless chiropodist, whose name was OmarKhayyam. He it was who eked out a pious groat by tending the feet ofall outward and inward bound pilgrims. Seated at the entrance of hishumble booth, with the foot of some holy man in his lap, he wouldspeak words of kindness and wisdom as he reduced the inflammation. Oneof his quaintest sayings was, "If the Pope has bid thee wear hair nextthy bare skin, my son, why, clap a wig over thy shaven scalp. " So themonks in proper pity and kindness, when they had shut the great gatesas night came down, made their pilgrim guests welcome to bide atOyster-le-Main as long as they pleased. The solemn bell for retiringrolled forth in the darkness with a single deep clang, and the soundwent far and wide over the neighbouring district. Those peasants whowere still awake in their scattered cottages, crossed themselves asthey thought, "The holy men at Oyster-le-Main are just now going totheir rest. "

And thus the world outside grew still, and the thick walls of theMonastery loomed up against the stars. 

Deep in the midnight, many a choking cry rang fearfully through thestony halls, but came not to the outer air; and the waning moon shonefaintly down upon the enclosure of the garden, where worked a band ofsilent grave-diggers, clad in black armour, and with blood-red hands. The good country folk, who came at early morning with their presentsof poultry and milk, little guessed what sheep's clothing the graycowls and gowns of Oyster-le-Main had become in a single night, norwhat impious lips those were which now muttered blessings over theirbent heads. 

The following night, hideous sounds were heard in the fields, andthose who dared to open their shutters to see what the matter was, beheld a huge lizard beast, with fiery breath and accompanied byrattling thunder, raging over the soil, which he hardly seemed totouch!

In this manner did the dreaded Dragon of Wantley make his appearance, and in this manner did Sir Francis Almoign, Knight of the VoraciousStomach, stand in the shoes of that Father Anselm whom he had put socomfortably out of the way under the flower-beds in the Monasterygarden, --and never a soul in the world except his companions in orgyto know the difference. He even came to be welcome at Sir Godfrey'stable; for after the Dragon's appearance, the Baron grew civil to allmembers of the Church. By day this versatile sinner, the GrandMarshal, would walk in the sight of the world with staid step, clothedin gray, his hood concealing his fierce, unchurchly eyes; by night, inside the crocodile skin, he visited what places he chose, unhinderedby the terrified dwellers, and after him came his followers of theGuild to steal the plunder and bear it back inside the walls ofOyster-le-Main. Never in all their adventures had these superbmiscreants been in better plight; but now the trouble had begun, asyou are going to hear. We return to Hubert and the company. 

"Hubert and all of you, " said Father Anselm, or rather Sir Francis, the Grand Marshal, as we know him to be, "they say that whom the godsdesire to destroy, him do they first make drunk with wine. "

"The application! the application!" they shouted in hoarse andmirthful chorus, for they were certainly near that state favourable todestruction by the gods. One black fellow with a sliding gait ran intothe closet and brought a sheet of thin iron, and a strange torch-liketube, which he lighted at the fire and blew into from the other end. Aplume of spitting flame immediately shot far into the air. 

[Illustration: Hubert Looketh out of ye Window]

"Before thy sermon proceeds, old Dragon, " he said, puffing unsteadybut solemn breaths between his words, "wrap up in lightning andthunder that we may be--may be--lieve what you say. " Then he shook theiron till it gave forth a frightful shattering sound. The GrandMarshal said not a word. With three long steps he stood towering infront of the man and dealt him a side blow under the ear with hissteel fist. He fell instantly, folding together like somethingboneless, and lay along the floor for a moment quite still, exceptthat some piece in his armour made a light rattling as though therewere muscles that quivered beneath it. Then he raised himself slowlyto a bench where his brothers sat waiting, soberly enough. Only youngHubert grinned aside to his neighbour, who, perceiving it, kept hiseyes fixed as far from that youth as possible. 

"Thy turn next, if art not careful, Hubert, " said Sir Francis veryquietly, as he seated himself. 

"Wonder of saints!" Hubert thought secretly, not moving at all, "howcould he have seen that?"

"'Tis no small piece of good fortune, " continued the Grand Marshal, "that some one among us can put aside his slavish appetites, and keepa clear eye on the watch against misadventure. Here is my news. Thathotch-pot of lies we set going among the people has fallen foul ofus. The daughter of Sir Godfrey has heard our legend, and last weektold her sire that to-night she would follow it out to the letter, andmeet the Dragon of Wantley alone in single combat. "

"Has she never loved any man?" asked one. 

"She fulfils every condition. "

"Who told her?"

"That most consummate of fools, the Mistletoe, " said the GrandMarshal. 

"What did Sir Godfrey do upon that?" inquired Hubert. 

"He locked up his girl and chained the Governess to a rock, where shehas remained in deadly terror ever since, but kept fat for me todevour her. Me!" and Sir Francis permitted himself to smile, thoughnot very broadly. 

"How if Sir Dragon had found the maid chained instead of the ancientwidow?" Hubert said, venturing to tread a little nearer to familiarityon the strength of the amusement which played across the GrandMaster's face. 

"Ah, Hubert boy, " he replied, "I see it is not in the Spring only, but in Autumn and Summer and Winter as well, that thy fancy turns tothoughts of love. Did the calendar year but contain a fifth season, inthat also wouldst thou be making honey-dew faces at somebody. "

But young Hubert only grinned, and closed his flashing eyes a little, in satisfaction at the character which had been given him. 

"Time presses, " Sir Francis said. "By noon we shall receive animportant visit. There has been a great sensation at Wantley. Thecountry folk are aroused; the farmers have discovered that the secretof our legend has been revealed to Miss Elaine. Not one of the clownswould have dared reveal it himself, but all rejoice in the bottom oftheir hearts that she knows it, and chooses to risk battle with theDragon. Their honest Saxon minds perceive the thrift of such anarrangement. Therefore there is general anxiety and disturbance toknow if Sir Godfrey will permit the conflict. The loss of hisMalvoisie tried him sorely, --but he remains a father. "

"That's kind in him, " said Hubert. 

Sir Francis turned a cold eye on Hubert. "As befits a clean-bloodedman, " he proceeded, "I have risen at the dawn and left you wine-potsin your thick sleep. From the wood's edge over by Wantley I've watchedthe Baron come eagerly to an upper window in his white night-shift. And when he looks out on Mistletoe and sees she is not devoured, hebursts into a rage that can be plainly seen from a distance. These sixmornings I laughed so loud at this spectacle, that I almost feareddiscovery. Next, the Baron visits his daughter, only to find her fooduntasted and herself silent. I fear she is less of a fool than therest. But now his paternal heart smites him, and he has let her out. Also the Governess is free. "

"Such a girl as that would not flinch from meeting our Dragon, " saidHubert; "aye, or from seeking him. "

"She must never meet the Dragon, " Sir Francis declared. "What could Ido shut up in the crocodile, and she with a sword, of course?"

They were gloomily silent. 

"I could not devour her properly as a dragon should. Nor could I carryher away, " pursued Sir Francis. 

Here Hubert, who had gone to the window, returned hastily, exclaiming, "They are coming!"

"Who are coming?" asked several. 

"The Baron, his daughter, the Governess, and all Wantley at theirbacks, to ask our pious advice, " said the Grand Marshal. "Quick, intoyour gowns, one and all! Be monks outside, though you stay menunderneath. " For a while the hall was filled with jostling grayfigures entangled in the thick folds of the gowns, into which thearms, legs, and heads had been thrust regardless of direction; thearmour clashed invisible underneath as the hot and choked members ofthe Guild plunged about like wild animals sewed into sacks, in theirstruggles to reappear in decent monastic attire. The winged crocodilewas kicked into the closet, after it were hurled the thunder machineand the lightning torch, and after them clattered the cups and thesilver rundlet. Barely had Hubert turned the key, when knocking at thefar-off gate was heard. 

"Go down quickly, Hubert, " said the Grand Marshal, "and lead them allhere. "

Presently the procession of laity, gravely escorted by Hubert, beganto file into the now barren-looking room, while the monks stood withhands folded, and sang loudly what sounded to the uninstructed ears ofeach listener like a Latin hymn. 

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

 CHAPTER V

 In which the Hero makes his first Appearance & is at Once locked up. 

[Illustration: FATHER ANSELM SIR GODFREY]

With the respect that was due to holy men, Sir Godfrey removed hishelmet, and stood waiting in a decent attitude of attention to thehymn, although he did not understand a single word of it. The longdeliberate Latin words rolled out very grand to his ear, and, to tellyou the truth, it is just as well his scholarship was faulty, for thisis the English of those same words:

 "It is my intention To die in a tavern, With wine in the neighbourhood, Close by my thirsty mouth; That angels in chorus May sing, when they reach me, -- 'Let Bacchus be merciful Unto this wine-bibber. '"

But so devoutly did the monks dwell upon the syllables, so earnestlywere the arms of each one folded against his breast, that you wouldnever have suspected any unclerical sentiments were being expressed. The proximity of so many petticoats and kirtles caused considerablerestlessness to Hubert; but he felt the burning eye of the GrandMarshal fixed upon him, and sang away with all his might. 

Sir Godfrey began to grow impatient. 

"Hem!" he said, moving his foot slightly. 

This proceeding, however, was without result. The pious chantcontinued to resound, and the monks paid not the least attention totheir visitors, but stood up together in a double line, vociferatingLatin with as much zest as ever. 

"Mort d'aieul!" growled Sir Godfrey, shifting his other foot, and notso gingerly this second time. 

By chance the singing stopped upon the same instant, so that theBaron's remark and the noise his foot had made sounded all over theroom. This disconcerted him; for he felt his standing with the Churchto be weak, and he rolled his eyes from one side to the other, watching for any effect his disturbance might have made. But, with thebreeding of a true man of the world, the Grand Marshal merelyobserved, "Benedicite, my son!"

"Good-morning, Father, " returned Sir Godfrey. 

"And what would you with me?" pursued the so-called Father Anselm. "Speak, my son. "

"Well, the fact is----" the Baron began, marching forward; but heencountered the eye of the Abbot, where shone a cold surprise at thisover-familiar fashion of speech; so he checked himself, and, in asrestrained a voice as he could command, told his story. How hisdaughter had determined to meet the Dragon, and so save Wantley; hownothing that a parent could say had influenced her intentions in theleast; and now he placed the entire matter in the hands of the Church. 

"Which would have been more becoming if you had done it at the first, "said Father Anselm, reprovingly. Then he turned to Miss Elaine, whoall this while had been looking out of the window with the utmostindifference. 

"How is this, my daughter?" he said gravely, in his deep voice. 

"Oh, the dear blessed man!" whispered Mistletoe, admiringly, toherself. 

"It is as you hear, Father, " said Miss Elaine, keeping her eyes away. 

"And why do you think that such a peril upon your part would do awaywith this Dragon?"

"Says not the legend so?" she replied. 

"And what may the legend be, my daughter?"

With some surprise that so well informed a person as Father Anselmshould be ignorant of this prominent topic of the day, Sir Godfreyhere broke in and narrated the legend to him with many vigourouscomments. 

"Ah, yes, " said the Father, smiling gently when the story was done; "Ido now remember that some such child's tale was in the mouths of thecommon folk once; but methought the nonsense was dead long since. "

"The nonsense, Father!" exclaimed Elaine. 

"Of a surety, my child. Dost suppose that Holy Church were so unjustas to visit the sins of thy knightly relatives upon the head of anyweak woman, who is not in the order of creation designed for personalconflict with men, let alone dragons?"

"Bravo, Dragon!" thought Hubert, as he listened to this wily talk ofhis chief. 

But the words "weak woman" had touched the pride of Miss Elaine. "Iknow nothing of weak women, " she said, very stately; "but I do knowthat I am strong enough to meet this Dragon, and, moreover, firmlyintend to do so this very night. "

"Peace, my daughter, " said the monk; "and listen to the voice of thymother the Church speaking through the humblest of her servants. Thislegend of thine holds not a single grain of truth. 'Tis a conceit ofthe common herd, set afoot by some ingenious fellow who may havethought he was doing a great thing in devising such fantastic mixture. True it is that the Monster is a visitation to punish the impiety ofcertain members of thy family. True it is that he will not depart tilla member of that family perform a certain act. But it is to be a maledescendant. "

Now Sir Godfrey's boy Roland was being instructed in knightly artsand conduct away from home. 

"Who told you that?" inquired the Baron, as the thought of hisprecious wine-cellar came into his head. 

"On last Christmas Eve I had a vision, " replied Father Anselm. "Thygrandfather, the brave youth who by journeying to the Holy War avertedthis curse until thine own conduct caused it to descend upon us, appeared to me in shining armour. 'Anselm, ' he said, and raised hisright arm, 'the Dragon is a grievous burden on the people. I can seethat from where I am. Now, Anselm, when the fitting hour shall come, and my great-grandson's years be mature enough to have made a man ofhim, let him go to the next Holy War that is proclaimed, and on thevery night of his departure the curse will be removed and our familyforgiven. More than this, Anselm, if any male descendant from medirect shall at any time attend a Crusade when it is declared, thecountry will be free forever. ' So saying, he dissolved out of my sightin a silver gleaming mist. " Here Father Anselm paused, and from underhis hood watched with a trifle of anxiety the effect of his speech. 

There was a short silence, and then Sir Godfrey said, "Am I tounderstand this thing hangs on the event of another Crusade?"

The Abbot bowed. 

"Meanwhile, till that event happen, the Dragon can rage unchecked?"

The Abbot bowed again. 

"Will there be another Crusade along pretty soon?" Sir Godfreypursued. 

"These things lie not in human knowledge, " replied Father Anselm. Helittle dreamed what news the morrow's sun would see. 

"Oh, my sheep!" groaned many a poor farmer. 

"Oh, my Burgundy!" groaned Sir Godfrey. 

"In that case, " exclaimed Elaine, her cheeks pink with excitement, "Ishall try the virtue of the legend, at any rate. "

"Most impious, my daughter, most impious will such conduct be in thesight of Mother Church, " said Father Anselm. 

"Hear me, all people!" shouted Sir Godfrey, foreseeing that beforethe next Crusade came every drop of wine in his cellar would beswallowed by the Dragon; "hear me proclaim and solemnly promise:legend true or legend false, my daughter shall not face this risk. Butif her heart go with it, her hand shall be given to that man who bynight or light brings me this Dragon, alive or dead!"

[Illustration: Geoffrey replyeth with deplorable Flippancy to FatherAnselm. ]

"A useless promise, Sir Godfrey!" said Father Anselm, shrugging hisshoulders. "We dare not discredit the word of thy respectedgrandsire. "

"My respected grandsire be----"

"_What?_" said the Abbot. 

"Became a credit to his family, " said the Baron, quite mildly; "and Islight no word of his. But he did not contradict this legend in thevision, I think. "

"No, he did not, papa, " Miss Elaine put in. "He only mentionedanother way of getting rid of this horrible Dragon. Now, papa, whatever you may say about--about my heart and hand, " she continuedfirmly, "I am going to meet the Monster alone myself, to-night. "

"That you shall not, " said Sir Godfrey. 

"A hundred times no!" said a new voice from the crowd. "I will meethim myself!"

All turned and saw a knight pushing his way through the people. 

"Who are you?" inquired the Baron. 

The stranger bowed haughtily; and Elaine watched him remove hishelmet, and reveal underneath it the countenance of a young man whoturned to her, and----

Why, what's this, Elaine? Why does everything seem to swim and growmisty as his eye meets yours? And why does he look at you so, anddeeply flush to the very rim of his curly hair? And as his glancegrows steadier and more intent upon your eyes that keep stealing overat him, can you imagine why his hand trembles on the hilt of hissword? Don't you remember what the legend said?

"Who are you?" the Baron repeated, impatiently. 

"I am Geoffrey, son of Bertram of Poictiers, " answered the young man. 

"And what, " asked Father Anselm, with a certain irony in his voice, "does Geoffrey, son of Bertram of Poictiers, so far away from his papain this inclement weather?"

The knight surveyed the monk for a moment, and then said, "As thou artnot my particular Father Confessor, stick to those matters whichconcern thee. "

This reply did not please any man present, for it seemed to savour ofdisrespect. But Elaine lost no chance of watching the youth, who nowstood alone in the middle of the hall. Sir Francis detected this, andsmiled with a sly smile. 

"Will some person inquire of this polite young man, " he said, "what hewishes with us?"

"Show me where this Dragon of Wantley comes, " said Geoffrey, "for Iintend to slay him to-night. "

"Indeed, sir, " fluttered Elaine, stepping towards him a little, "Ihope--that is, I beg you'll do no such dangerous thing as that for mysake. "

"For your sake?" Father Anselm broke in. "For your sake? And why so?What should Elaine, daughter of Sir Godfrey Disseisin, care for thecarcase of Geoffrey, son of Bertram of Poictiers?"

But Elaine, finding nothing to answer, turned rosy pink instead. 

"That rules you out!" exclaimed the Father, in triumph. "Your legenddemands a maid who never has cared for any man. "

"Pooh!" said Geoffrey, "leave it to me. "

"Seize him!" shouted Sir Godfrey in a rage. "He had ruled out mydaughter. " Consistency had never been one of the Baron's strongpoints. 

"Seize him!" said Father Anselm. "He outrages Mother Church. "

The vassals closed up behind young Geoffrey, who was pinioned in asecond. He struggled with them till the veins stood out in hisforehead in blue knots; but, after all, one young man of twenty is notmuch among a band of stout yeomen; and they all fell in a heap on thefloor, pulling and tugging at Geoffrey, who had blacked several eyes, and done in a general way as much damage as he possibly could underthe circumstances. 

But Elaine noticed one singular occurrence. Not a monk had moved toseize the young man, except one, who rushed forward, and was stopped, as though struck to stone, by Father Anselm's saying to him in aterrible undertone, "Hubert!"

Simply that word, spoken quickly; but not before this Hubert hadbrushed against her so that she was aware that there was somethingvery hard and metallic underneath his gray gown. She betrayed no signof knowledge or surprise on her face, however, but affected to beabsorbed wholly in the fortunes of young Geoffrey, whom she sawcollared and summarily put into a cage-like prison whose front wasthick iron bars, and whose depth was in the vast outer wall of theMonastery, with a little window at the rear, covered with snow. Thespring-lock of the gate shut upon him. 

"And now, " said Father Anselm, as the Monastery bell sounded oncemore, "if our guests will follow us, the mid-day meal awaits us below. We will deal with this hot-head later, " he added, pointing to theprisoner. 

So they slowly went out, leaving Geoffrey alone with his thoughts. 

[Illustration]

[Illustration: ELAINE]

 CHAPTER VI

 Miss Elaine loses her Heart & finds Something of the greatest Importance. 

[Illustration]

Down stairs the Grace was said, and the company was soon seated andready for their mid-day meal. 

"Our fare, " said Father Anselm pleasantly to Sir Godfrey, who sat onhis right, "is plain, but substantial. "

"Oh--ah, very likely, " replied the Baron, as he received a woodenbasin of black-bean broth. 

"Our drink is----"

The Baron lifted his eye hopefully. 

"----remarkably pure water, " Father Anselm continued. "Clement!" hecalled to the monk whose turn it was that day to hand the dishes, "Clement, a goblet of our well-water for Sir Godfrey Disseisin. One ofthe large goblets, Clement. We are indeed favoured, Baron, in havingsuch a pure spring in the midst of our home. "

"Oh--ah!" observed the Baron again, and politely nerved himself for aswallow. But his thoughts were far away in his own cellar over atWantley, contemplating the casks whose precious gallons the Dragon hadconsumed. Could it be the strength of his imagination, or else why wasit that through the chilling, unwelcome liquid he was now drinking heseemed to detect a lurking flavour of the very wine those casks hadcontained, his favourite Malvoisie?

Father Anselm noticed the same taste in his own cup, and did not setit down to imagination, but afterwards sentenced Brother Clement tobread and water during three days, for carelessness in not washing theMonastery table-service more thoroughly. 

"This simple food keeps you in beautiful health, Father, " saidMistletoe, ogling the swarthy face of the Abbot with an affection thathe duly noted. 

"My daughter, " he replied, gravely, "bodily infirmity is the reward ofthe glutton. I am well, thank you. "

Meanwhile, Elaine did not eat much. Her thoughts were busy, andhurrying over recent events. Perhaps you think she lost her heart inthe last Chapter, and cannot lose it in this one unless it is givenback to her. But I do not agree with you; and I am certain that, ifyou suggested such a notion to her, she would become quite angry, andtell you not to talk such foolish nonsense. People are so absurd abouthearts, and all that sort of thing! No: I do not really think she haslost her heart yet; but as she sits at table these are the things sheis feeling:

1. Not at all hungry. 

2. Not at all thirsty. 

3. What a hateful person that Father Anselm is!

4. Poor, poor young man!

5. Not that she thinks of him in _that_ way, of course. The idea!Horrid Father Anselm!

6. Any girl at all--no, not girl, _anybody_ at all--who had humanjustice would feel exactly as she did about the whole matter. 

7. He was very good-looking, too. 

8. Did he have--yes, they were blue. Very, very dark blue. 

9. And a moustache? Well, yes. 

Here she laughed, but no one noticed her idling with her spoon. Thenher eyes filled with tears, and she pretended to be absorbed with theblack-bean broth, though, as a matter of fact, she did not see it inthe least. 

10. Why had he come there at all?

11. It was a perfect shame, treating him so. 

12. Perhaps they were not blue, after all. But, oh! what a beautifulsparkle was in them!

After this, she hated Father Anselm worse than ever. And the more shehated him, the more some very restless delicious something made herdraw long breaths. She positively must go up-stairs and see what Hewas doing and what He really looked like. This curiosity seized holdof her and set her thinking of some way to slip away unseen. Thechance came through all present becoming deeply absorbed in what SirGodfrey was saying to Father Anselm. 

"Such a low, coarse, untaught brute as a dragon, " he explained, "cannot possibly distinguish good wine from bad. "

"Of a surety, no!" responded the monk. 

"You agree with me upon that point?" said the Baron. 

"Most certainly. Proceed. "

"Well, I'm going to see that he gets nothing but the cider and smallbeer after this. "

"But how will you prevent him, if he visit your cellar again?" FatherAnselm inquired. 

"I shall change all the labels, in the first place, " the Baronanswered. 

"Ha! vastly well conceived, " said Father Anselm. "You will label yourBurgundy as if it were beer. "

"And next, " continued Sir Godfrey, "I shall shift the presentpositions of the hogsheads. That I shall do to-day, after relabelling. In the northern corner of the first wine vault I shall----"

Just as he reached this point, it was quite wonderful how strict anattention every monk paid to his words. They leaned forward, forgetting their dinner, and listened with all their might. 

One of them, who had evidently received an education, took notesunderneath the table. Thus it was that Elaine escaped observationwhen she left the refectory. 

[Illustration: The Baron setteth forth his Plan for circumuenting theDragon]

As she came up-stairs into the hall where Geoffrey was caged, shestepped lightly and kept where she could not be seen by him. All wasquiet when she entered; but suddenly she heard the iron bars of thecage begin to rattle and shake, and at the same time Geoffrey's voicebroke out in rage. 

"I'll twist you loose, " he said, "you--(rattle, shake)--you--(kick, bang)----" And here the shocking young man used words so violent andwicked that Elaine put her hands tight over her ears. "Why, he is justas dreadful as papa, just exactly!" she exclaimed to herself. "Whoeverwould have thought that that angelic face--but I suppose they are alllike that sometimes. " And she took her hands away again. 

"Yes, I will twist you loose, " he was growling hoarsely, while thekicks and wrenches grew fiercer than ever, "or twist myself stark, staring blind--and----"

"Oh, sir!" she said, running out in front of the cage. 

He stopped at once, and stood looking at her. His breast-plate andgauntlets were down on the floor, so his muscles might have more easyplay in dealing with the bars. Elaine noticed that the youth's shirtwas of very costly Eastern silk. 

"I was thinking of getting out, " he said at length, still standing andlooking at her. 

"I thought I might--that is--you might----" began Miss Elaine, andstopped. Upon which another silence followed. 

"Lady, who sent you here?" he inquired. 

"Oh, they don't know!" she replied, hastily; and then, seeing howbright his face became, and hearing her own words, she looked down, and the crimson went over her cheeks as he watched her. 

"Oh, if I could get out!" he said, desperately. "Lady, what is yourname, if I might be so bold. "

"My name, sir, is Elaine. Perhaps there is a key somewhere, " she said. 

"And I am called Geoffrey, " he said, in reply. 

"I think we might find a key, " Elaine repeated. 

She turned towards the other side of the room, and there hung a greatbunch of brass keys dangling from the lock of a heavy door. 

Ah, Hubert! thou art more careless than Brother Clement, I think, tohave left those keys in such a place!

Quickly did Elaine cross to that closed door, and laid her hand uponthe bunch. The door came open the next moment, and she gave a shriekto see the skin of a huge lizard-beast fall forward at her feet, andalso many cups and flagons, that rolled over the floor, dotting itwith little drops of wine. 

Hearing Elaine shriek, and not able to see from his prison what hadbefallen her, Geoffrey shouted out in terror to know if she had cometo any hurt. 

"No, " she told him; and stood eyeing first the crocodile's hide andthen the cups, setting her lips together very firmly. "And they werenot even dry, " she said after a while. For she began to guess a littleof the truth. 

"Not dry? Who?" inquired Geoffrey. 

"Oh, Geoffrey!" she burst out in deep anger, and then stopped, bewildered. But his heart leaped to hear her call his name. 

"Are there no keys?" he asked. 

"Keys? Yes!" she cried, and, running with them back to the bars, begantrying one after another in trembling haste till the lock clickedpleasantly, and out marched young Geoffrey. 

Now what do you suppose this young man did when he found himself freeonce more, and standing close by the lovely young person to whom heowed his liberty? Did he place his heels together, and let his armshang gracefully, and so bow with respect and a manner at oncedignified and urbane, and say, "Miss Elaine, permit me to thank youfor being so kind as to let me out of prison?" That is what he oughtto have done, of course, if he had known how to conduct himself like awell-brought-up young man. But I am sorry to have to tell you thatGeoffrey did nothing of the sort, but, instead of that, behaved in amost outrageous manner. He did not thank her at all. He did not sayone single word to her. He simply put one arm round her waist and gaveher a kiss!

"Geoffrey!" she murmured, "don't!"

But Geoffrey did, with the most astonishing and complacentdisobedience. 

"Oh, Geoffrey!" she whispered, looking the other way, "how wrong ofyou! And of me!" she added a little more softly still, escaping fromhim suddenly, and facing about. 

"I don't see that, " said Geoffrey. "I love you, Elaine. Elaine, darling, I----"

"Oh, but you mustn't!" answered she, stepping back as he came nearer. 

[Illustration: Geoffrey tuggeth at the Bars]

This was simply frightful! And so sudden. To think ofher--Elaine!--but she couldn't think at all. Happy? Why, how wicked!How had she ever----

"No, you must not, " she repeated, and backed away still farther. 

"But I will!" said this lover, quite loudly, and sprang so quickly towhere she stood that she was in his arms again, and this time withoutthe faintest chance of getting out of them until he should choose tofree her. 

It was no use to struggle now, and she was still, like some wild bird. But she knew that she was really his, and was glad of it. And shelooked up at him and said, very softly, "Geoffrey, we are wastingtime. "

"Oh, no, not at all, " said Geoffrey. 

"But we are. "

"Say that you love me. "

"But haven't I--ah, Geoffrey, please don't begin again. "

"Say that you love me. "

She did. 

Then, taking his hand, she led him to the door she had opened. Hestared at the crocodile, at the wine-cups, and then he picked up asheet of iron and a metal torch. 

"I suppose it is their museum, " he said; "don't you?"

"Their museum! Geoffrey, think a little. "

"They seem to keep very good wine, " he remarked, after smelling at thedemijohn. 

"Don't you see? Can't you understand?" she said. 

"No, not a bit. What's that thing, do you suppose?" he added, givingthe crocodile a kick. 

"Oh, me, but men are simple, men are simple!" said Elaine, in despair. "Geoffrey, listen! That wine is my father's wine, from his own cellar. There is none like it in all England. "

"Then I don't see why he gave it to a parcel of monks, " replied theyoung man. 

Elaine clasped her hands in hopelessness, gave him a kiss, and becamemistress of the situation. 

"Now, Geoffrey, " she said, "I will tell you what you and I have reallyfound out. " Then she quickly recalled all the recent events. How herfather's cellar had been broken into; how Mistletoe had been chainedto a rock for a week and no dragon had come near her. She bade himremember how just now Father Anselm had opposed every plan for meetingthe Dragon, and at last she pointed to the crocodile. 

"Ha!" said Geoffrey, after thinking for a space. "Then you mean----"

"Of course I do, " she interrupted. "The Dragon of Wantley is nowdown-stairs with papa eating dinner, and pretending he never drinksanything stronger than water. What do you say to that, sir?"

"This is a foul thing!" cried the knight. "Here have I been damnablyduped. Here----" but speech deserted him. He glared at the crocodilewith a bursting countenance, then drove his toe against it with suchvigour that it sailed like a foot-ball to the farther end of the hall. 

"Papa has been duped, and everybody, " said Elaine. "Papa's Frenchwine----"

"They swore to me in Flanders I should find a real dragon here, " hecontinued, raging up and down, and giving to the young lady no part ofhis attention. She began to fear he was not thinking of her. 

"Geoffrey----" she ventured. 

"They swore it. They had invited me to hunt a dragon with them inFlanders, --Count Faux Pas and his Walloons. We hunted day and night, and the quest was barren. They then directed me to this island ofBritain, in which they declared a dragon might be found by any man whoso desired. They lied in their throats. I have come leagues fornothing. " Here he looked viciously at the distant hide of thecrocodile. "But I shall slay the monk, " he added. "A masqueradingcaitiff! Lying varlets! And all for nothing! The monk shall die, however. "

"Have you come for nothing, Geoffrey?" murmured Elaine. 

"Three years have I been seeking dragons in all countries, chasingdeceit over land and sea. And now once more my dearest hope fallsempty and stale. Why, what's this?" A choking sound beside him stoppedthe flow of his complaints. 

"Oh, Geoffrey, --oh, miserable me!" The young lady was dissolved intears. 

"Elaine--dearest--don't. "

"You said you had come for n--nothing, and it was all st--stale. "

"Ha, I am a fool, indeed! But it was the Dragon, dearest. I had madeso sure of an honest one in this adventure. "

"Oh, oh!" went Miss Elaine, with her head against his shoulder. 

"There, there! You're sweeter than all the dragons in the world, mylittle girl, " said he. And although this does not appear to be a greatcompliment, it comforted her wonderfully in the end; for he said it inher ear several times without taking his lips away. "Yes, " hecontinued, "I was a fool. By your father's own word you're mine. Ihave caught the Dragon. Come, my girl! We'll down to the refectoryforthwith and denounce him. "

With this, he seized Elaine's hand and hastily made for the stairs. 

"But hold, Geoffrey, hold! Oh--I am driven to act not as maidensshould, " sighed Elaine. "He it is who ought to do the thinking. But, dear me! he does not know how. Do you not see we should both be lost, were you to try any such wild plan?"

"Not at all. Your father would give you to me. "

"Oh, no, no, Geoffrey; indeed, papa would not. His promise was about adragon. A live or a dead dragon must be brought to him. Even if hebelieved you now, even if that dreadful Father Anselm could not inventsome lie to put us in the wrong, you and I could never--that is--papawould not feel bound by his promise simply because you did that. Theremust be a dragon somehow. "

"How can there be a dragon if there is not a dragon?" asked Geoffrey. 

"Wait, wait, Geoffrey! Oh, how can I think of everything all atonce?" and Elaine pressed her hands to her temples. 

"Darling, " said the knight, with his arms once more around her, "letus fly now. "

"Now? They would catch us at once. "

"Catch us! not they! with my sword----"

"Now, Geoffrey, of course you are brave. But do be sensible. You areonly one. No! I won't even argue such nonsense. They must never knowabout what we have been doing up here; and you must go back into thatcage at once. "

"What, and be locked up, and perhaps murdered to-night, and never seeyour face again?"

"But you shall see me again, and soon. That is what I am thinkingabout. "

"How can you come in here, Elaine?"

"You must come to me. I have it! To-night, at half-past eleven, cometo the cellar-door at the Manor, and I will be there to let you in. Then we can talk over everything quietly. I have no time to thinknow. "

"The cellar! at the Manor! And how, pray, shall I get out of thatcage?"

"Cannot you jump from the little window at the back?"

Geoffrey ran in to see. "No, " he said, returning; "it is many spansfrom the earth. "

Elaine had hurried into the closet, whence she returned with a dustycoil of rope. "Here, Geoffrey; quickly! put it about your waist. Windit so. But how clumsy you are!"

He stood smiling down at her, and she very deftly wound the cord upand down, over and over his body, until its whole length laycomfortably upon him. 

"Now, your breast-plate, quick!"

She helped him put his armour on again; and, as they were engaged atthat, singing voices came up the stairs from the distant dining-hall. 

"The Grace, " she exclaimed; "they will be here in a moment. "

Geoffrey took a last kiss, and bolted into his cage. She, with thekeys, made great haste to push the crocodile and other objects oncemore into their hiding-place. Cups and flagons and all rattled backwithout regard to order, as they had already been flung not two hoursbefore. The closet-door shut, and Elaine hung the keys from the lockas she had found them. 

"Half-past eleven, " she said to Geoffrey, as she ran by his cagetowards the stairs. 

"One more, darling, --please, one! through the bars!" he besought her, in a voice so tender, that for my part I do not see how she had theheart to refuse him. But she continued her way, and swiftly descendingthe stairs was found by the company, as they came from the hall, busily engaged in making passes with Sir Godfrey's sword, which he hadleft leaning near the door. 

"A warlike daughter, Sir Godfrey!" said Father Anselm. 

"Ah, if I were a man to go on a Crusade!" sighed Miss Elaine. 

"Hast thou, my daughter, " said Father Anselm, "thought better of thyrash intentions concerning this Dragon?"

"I am travelling towards better thoughts, Father, " she answered. 

But Sir Francis did not wholly believe the young lady; and was not atrest until Sir Godfrey assured him her good conduct should be nomatter of her own choosing. 

"You see, " insinuated the Abbot, "so sweet a maid as yours would be atreat for the unholy beast. A meal like that would incline him toremain in a neighbourhood where such dainties were to be found. "

"I'll have no legends and fool's tricks, " exclaimed the Baron. "Sheshall be locked in her room to-night. "

"Not if she can help it, " thought Miss Elaine. Her father hadimprudently spoken too loud. 

"'Twere a wise precaution, " murmured Father Anselm. "What are all thevintages of this earth by the side of a loving daughter?"

"Quite so, quite so!" Sir Godfrey assented. "Don't you think, " headded, wistfully, "that another Crusade may come along soon?"

"Ah, my son, who can say? Tribulation is our meted heritage. Were thythoughts more high, the going of thy liquors would not cause thee suchsorrow. Learn to enjoy the pure cold water. "

"Good-afternoon, " said the Baron. 

When all the guests had departed and the door was shut safe behindthem, the Father and his holy companions broke into loud mirth. "TheMalvoisie is drunk up, " said they; "to-night we'll pay his lordship'scellars another visit. "

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

 CHAPTER VII

 Shows what curious Things you may see, if you don't go to Bed when you are sent

[Illustration: GEOFFREY]

To have steered a sudden course among dangerous rocks and rapids andcome safe through, puts in the breast of the helmsman a calm contentwith himself, for which no man will blame him. What in this world isthere so lifts one into complacency as the doing of a bold andcool-headed thing? Let the helmsman sleep sound when he has got toland! But if his content overtake him still on the water, so that hegrows blind to the treacherous currents that eddy where all looksplacid to the careless eye, let him beware!

Sir Francis came in front of the cage where sat young Geoffrey inside, on the floor. The knight had put his head down between his knees, andseemed doleful enough. 

"Aha!" thought Sir Francis, giving the motionless figure a dark look, "my hawk is moulting. We need scarcely put a hood on such a tersel. "

Next he looked at the shut door of the closet, and a shaft of alarmshot through him to see the keys hanging for anybody to make use ofthem that pleased. He thought of Elaine, and her leaving the tablewithout his seeing her go. What if she had paid this room a visit?

"Perhaps that bird with head under wing in there, " he mused, lookingonce more at Geoffrey, "is not the simple-witted nestling he looks. Myson!" he called. 

But the youth did not care to talk, and so showed no sign. 

"My son, peace be with you!" repeated Father Anselm, coming to thebars and wearing a benevolent mien. 

Geoffrey remained quite still. 

"If repentance for thy presumption hath visited thee----" went on theFather. 

"Hypocrite!" was the word that jumped to the youth's lips; butfortunately he stopped in time, and only moved his legs with someimpatience. 

"I perceive with pain, my son, " said Father Anselm, "that repentancehath not yet visited thee. Well, 'twill come. And that's a blessingtoo, " he added, sighing very piously. 

"He plays a part pretty well, " thought Geoffrey as he listened. "Sowill I. " Then he raised his head. 

"How long am I to stay in this place?" he inquired, taking a tone ofsullen humour, such as he thought would fit a prisoner. 

"Certainly until thy present unbridled state of sin is purged out ofthee, " replied the Father. 

"Under such a dose as thou art, " Geoffrey remarked, "that will besoon. "

"This is vain talk, my son, " said the Abbot. "Were I of the childrenof this world, my righteous indignation----"

"Pooh!" said Geoffrey. 

"----would light on thee heavily. But we who have renounced the worldand its rottenness" (here his voice fell into a manner of chanting)"make a holiday of forgiving injuries, and find a pleasure even inpain. "

"Open this door then, " Geoffrey answered, "and I'll provide thee witha whole week of joy. "

"Nay, " said Father Anselm, "I had never gathered from thy face thatthou wert such a knave. "

"At least in the matter of countenances I have the advantage of thee, "the youth observed. 

"I perceive, " continued the Father, "that I must instruct thy spiritin many things, --submission, among others. Therefore thou shalt bidewith us for a month or two. "

"That I'll not!" shouted Geoffrey, forgetting his rôle of prisoner. 

"She cannot unlock thee, " Father Anselm said, with much art slippingElaine into the discourse. 

Geoffrey glared at the Abbot, who now hoped to lay a trap for him bymeans of his temper. So he went further in the same direction. "Herwords are vainer than most women's, " he said; "though a lover wouldtrust in them, of course. "

The knight swelled in his rage, and might have made I know not whatunsafe rejoinder; but the cords that Elaine had wound about himnaturally tightened as he puffed out, and seemed by their pressure tocheck his speech and bid him be wary. So he changed his note, and saidhaughtily, "Because thy cowl and thy gown shield thee, presume not tospeak of one whose cause I took up in thy presence, and who is as highabove thee in truth as she is in every other quality and virtue. "

"This callow talk, my son, " said the Abbot quietly, "wearies me much. Lay thee down and sleep thy sulks off, if thou art able. " Upon this, he turned away to the closet where hung the brass keys, and opened thedoor a-crack. He saw the hide of the crocodile leaning against it, andthe overturned cups. "Just as that boy Hubert packed them, " he thoughtto himself in satisfaction; "no one has been prying here. I flattermyself upon a skilful morning's work. I have knocked the legend out ofthe Baron's head. He'll see to it the girl keeps away. And as for yonimpudent witling in the cage, we shall transport him beyond the seas, if convenient; if not, a knife in his gullet will make him forget theDragon of Wantley. Truly, I am master of the situation!" And as hisself-esteem grew, the Grand Marshal rubbed his hands, and went out ofthe hall, too much pleased with himself to notice certain little dropsof wine dotted here and there close by the closet, and not yet quitedry, which, had his eye fallen upon them, might have set hima-thinking. 

So Geoffrey was left in his prison to whatever comfort meditationmight bring him; and the monks of Oyster-le-Main took off their gowns, and made themselves ready for another visit to the wine-cellars ofWantley Manor. 

The day before Christmas came bleakly to its end over dingle and fen, and the last gray light died away. Yet still you could hear thehissing snow beat down through the bramble-thorn and the dry leaves. After evening was altogether set in, Hubert brought the knight asupper that was not a meal a hungry man might be over joyful atseeing; yet had Hubert (in a sort of fellowship towards one who seemedscarcely longer seasoned in manhood than himself, and whom he had seenblacken eyes in a very valiant manner) secretly prepared much betterfood than had been directed by his worship the Abbot. 

The prisoner feigned sleep, and started up at the rattle which theplate made as it was set down under his bars. 

"Is it morning?" he asked. 

"Morning, forsooth!" Hubert answered. "Three more hours, and we reachonly midnight. " And both young men (for different reasons) wished intheir hearts it were later. 

"Thou speakest somewhat curtly for a friar, " said Geoffrey. 

"Alas, I am but a novice, brother, " whined the minstrel, "and falleasily back into my ancient and godless syntax. There is food. Paxvobiscum, son of the flesh. " Then Hubert went over to the closet, andvery quietly unlocking the door removed the crocodile and the variousother implements that were necessary in bringing into being the dreadDragon of Wantley. He carried them away to a remote quarter of theMonastery, where the Guild began preparations that should terrify anysuperstitious witness of their journey to get the Baron's wine. Geoffrey, solitary and watchful in his chilly cage, knew what workmust be going on, and waited his time in patience. 

[Illustration: Elaine cometh into the Cellar]

At supper over at Wantley there was but slight inclination to politebanter. Only the family Chaplain, mindful that this was Christmas Eve, attempted to make a little small talk with Sir Godfrey. 

"Christmas, " he observed to the Baron, "is undoubtedly coming. "

As the Baron did not appear to have any rejoinder to this, the youngdivine continued, pleasantly. 

"Though indeed, " he said, "we might make this assertion upon any dayof the three hundred and sixty-five, and (I think) remain accurate. "

"The celery, " growled the Baron, looking into his plate. 

"Quite so, " cried the Chaplain, cheerily. He had failed to catch theremark. "Though of course everything does depend on one's point ofview, after all. "

"That celery, Whelpdale!" roared Sir Godfrey. 

The terrified Buttons immediately dropped a large venison pasty intoMrs. Mistletoe's lap. She, having been somewhat tried of late, beganscreeching. Whelpdale caught up the celery, and blindly rushed towardsSir Godfrey, while Popham, foreseeing trouble, rapidly ascended thesideboard. The Baron stepped out of Whelpdale's path, and as he passedby administered so much additional speed that little Buttons flewunder the curtained archway and down many painful steps into thescullery, and was not seen again during that evening. 

When Sir Godfrey had reseated himself, it seemed to the Rev. Hucbald(such was the Chaplain's name) that the late interruption might bewell smoothed over by conversation. So he again addressed the Baron. 

"To be sure, " said he, taking a manner of sleek clerical pleasantry, "though we can so often say 'Christmas is coming, ' I suppose that ifat some suitable hour to-morrow afternoon I said to you, 'Christmasis going, ' you would grant it to be a not inaccurate remark?" TheBaron ate his dinner. 

"I think so, " pursued the Rev. Hucbald. "Yes. And by the way, I noticewith pleasure that this snow, which falls so continually, makes theevent of a green Christmas most improbable. Indeed, --of course theproverb is familiar to you?--the graveyards should certainly not befat this season. I like a lean graveyard, " smiled the Rev. Hucbald. 

"I hate a ---- fool!" exclaimed Sir Godfrey, angrily. 

After this the family fell into silence. Sir Godfrey munched his food, brooding gloomily over his plundered wine-cellar; Mrs. Mistletoeallowed fancy to picture herself wedded to Father Anselm, if only hehad not been a religious person; and Elaine's thoughts were hoveringover the young man who sat in a cage till time came for him to stealout and come to her. But the young lady was wonderfully wise, nevertheless. 

"Papa, " she said, as they left the banquet-hall, "if it is about meyou're thinking, do not be anxious any more at all. "

"Well, well; what's the matter now?" said the Baron. 

"Papa, dear, " began Elaine, winsomely pulling at a tassel on hisdining-coat, "do you know, I've been thinking. "

"Think some more, then, " he replied. "It will come easier when you'reless new at it. "

"Now, papa! just when I've come to say--when I want--when you--it'svery hard----" and here the artful minx could proceed no further, butturned a pair of shining eyes at him, and then looked the other way, blinking rapidly. 

"Oh, good Lord!" muttered Sir Godfrey, staring hard at the wall. 

"Papa--it's about the Dragon--and I've been wrong. Very wrong. Yes; Iknow I have. I was foolish. " She was silent again. Was she going tocry, after all? The Baron shot a nervous glance at her from the cornerof his eye. Then he said, "Hum!" He hoped very fervently there were tobe no tears. He desired to remain in a rage, and lock his daughterup, and not put anything into her stocking this Christmas Eve; andhere she was, threatening to be sorry for the past, and good for thefuture, and everything a parent could wish. Never mind. You can'texpect to get off as easily as all that. She had been very outrageous. Now he would be dignified and firm. 

"Of course I should obey Father Anselm, " she continued. 

"You should obey me, " said Sir Godfrey. 

"And I do hope another Crusade will come soon. Don't you think theymight have one, papa? How happy I shall be when your wine is safe fromthat horrid Dragon!"

"Don't speak of that monster!" shouted the Baron, forgetting all aboutfirmness and dignity. "Don't dare to allude to the reptile in mypresence. Look here!" He seized up a great jug labelled "ChâteauLafitte, " and turned it upside down. 

"Why, it's empty!" said Elaine. 

"Ha!" snorted the Baron; "empty indeed. " Then he set the jug downwrong side up, and remained glaring at it fixedly, while his chestrose and fell in deep heavings. 

"Don't mind it so much, papa, " said Elaine, coming up to him. "Thisvery next season will Mistletoe and I brew a double quantity ofcowslip wine. "

"Brrrrooo!" went Sir Godfrey, with a shiver. 

"And I'm sure they'll have another Crusade soon; and then my brotherRoland can go, and the Drag-- and the curse will be removed. Ofcourse, I know that is the only way to get rid of it, if Father Anselmsaid so. I was very foolish and wrong. Indeed I was, " said she, andlooked up in his face with eyes where shone such dear, good, sweet, innocent, daughterly affection, that nobody in the wide world couldhave suspected she was thinking as hard as she could think, "If onlyhe won't lock me up! if only he won't! But, oh, it's dreadful in me tobe deceiving him so!"

"There, there!" said the Baron, and cleared his throat. Then he kissedher. Where were firmness and dignity now?

He let her push him into the chimney-corner, and down into a seat; andthen what did this sly, shocking girl do but sit on his knee and tellhim nobody ever had such a papa before, and she could never possiblylove any one half so much as she loved him, and weren't he and shegoing to have a merry Christmas to-morrow?

"How about that pretty young man? Hey? What?" said Sir Godfrey, inhigh good-humour. 

"Who?" snapped Elaine. 

"I think this girl knows, " he answered, adopting a roguishcountenance. 

"Oh, I suppose you mean that little fellow this morning. Pooh!"

"Ho! ho!" said her father. "Ho! ho! Little fellow! He was a prettylarge fellow in somebody's eyes, I thought. What are you so red about?Ho! ho!" and the Baron popped his own eyes at her with vast relish. 

"Really, papa, " said Miss Elaine, rising from his knee, with muchcoldness, "I hardly understand you, I think. If you find it amusing(and you seem to) to pretend that I----" she said no more, but gave aslight and admirable toss of the head. "And now I am very sleepy, " sheadded. "What hour is it?"

Sir Godfrey took out his grandfather's sun-dial, and held it to thelamp. "Bless my soul, " he exclaimed; "it's twenty-two o'clock. "(That's ten at night nowadays, young people, and much too late for youto be down-stairs, any of you. )

"Get to your bed at once, " continued Sir Godfrey, "or you'll never bedressed in time for Chapel on Christmas morning. "

So Elaine went to her room, and took off her clothes, and hung up herstocking at the foot of the bed. Did she go to sleep? Not she. Shelaid with eyes and ears wide open. And now alone here in the dark, where she had nothing to do but wait, she found her heart beating inanswer to her anxious and expectant thoughts. She heard the wind comeblustering from far off across the silent country. Then a snore fromMistletoe in the next room made her jump. Twice a bar of moonlightfell along the floor, wavering and weak, then sank out, and the pat ofthe snow-flakes began again. After a while came a step through thehalls to her door, and stopped. She could scarcely listen, so hard shewas breathing. Was her father going to turn the key in her door, after all? No such thought was any longer in his mind. She shut hereyes quickly as he entered. His candle shone upon her quiet head, thatwas nearly buried out of sight; then laughter shook him to see thestocking, and he went softly out. He had put on his bed-room slippers;but, as he intended to make a visit to the cellar before retiring, itseemed a prudent thing to wear his steel breast-plate; and over thishe had slipped his quilted red silk dressing-gown, for it was a verycold night. 

[Illustration: GEOFFREY GOETH TO MEET THE DRAGON]

Was there a sound away off somewhere out-of-doors? No. He descendedheavily through the sleeping house. When the candle burned upright andclear yellow, his gait was steady; but he started many times atcorners where its flame bobbed and flattened and shrunk to a blue, sickly rag half torn from the wick. "Ouf! Mort d'aieul!" he wouldmutter. "But I must count my wine to-night. " And so he came down intothe wide cellars, and trod tiptoe among the big round tuns. With awooden mallet he tapped them, and shook his head to hear the hollowhumming that their emptiness gave forth. No oath came from him at all, for the matter was too grievous. The darkness that filled everywheresave just next to the candle, pressed harder and harder upon him. Helooked at the door which led from inside here out into the night, andit was comfortable to know how thick were the panels and how stout thebolts and hinges. 

"I can hold my own against any man, and have jousted fairly in mytime, " he thought to himself, and touched his sword. "But--um!" Thenotion of meeting a fiery dragon in combat spoke loudly to the betterpart of his valour. Suddenly a great rat crossed his foot. Ice andfire went from his stomach all through him, and he sprang on a woodenstool, and then found he was shaking. Soon he got down, with sweatyhands. 

"Am I getting a coward?" he asked aloud. He seized the mallet that hadfallen, and struck a good knock against the nearest hogshead. Ah--ha!This one, at least, was full. He twisted the wooden stop and drankwhat came, from the hollow of his hand. It was cowslip wine. Raginglyhe spluttered and gulped, and then kicked the bins with all his might. While he was stooping to rub his toe, who should march in but MissElaine, dressed and ready for young Geoffrey. But she caught sight ofher father in time, and stepped back into the passage in a flutter. Good heavens! This would never do. Geoffrey might be knocking at thecellar-door at any moment. Her papa must be got away at once. 

"Papa! papa!" she cried, running in. 

Sir Godfrey sprang into the air, throwing mallet and candle againstthe wine-butts. Then he saw it was only his daughter. 

"Wretched girl! you--you--if you don't want to become an orphan, nevertamper like that with my nerves again in your life. What are you comehere for? How dare you leave your bed at such an hour?"

"Oh, mercy forgive us!" whimpered a new voice. 

There was Mistletoe at the door of the passage, a candle lifted highabove her head and wobbling, so that it shook the grease all over hernight-cap. With the other hand she clutched her camisole, whilebeneath a yellow flannel petticoat her fat feet were rocking in theraw-wool foot-mittens she wore. 

"Oh, dear: oh, Sir Godfrey! Oh, me!" said she. 

"Saint Charity! What do you want? Holy Ragbag, what's the matter? Iseverybody in my house going stark mad?" Here the Baron fell over thestool in the dark. "Give me my candle!" he roared. "Light my candle!What business have either of you to come here?"

"Please, sir, it's Miss Elaine I came for. Oh, me! I'll catch my deathof cold. Her door shutting waked me up-stairs. Oh, dear! Where are wecoming to?"

"You old mattrass!" said Sir Godfrey. Then he turned to his daughter. But this young lady had had a little time to gather her thoughts in. So she cut short all awkward questionings with excellent promptness. 

"Papa!" she began, breathlessly. "There! I heard it again!"

"Heard it? What?" cried the Baron, his eyes starting. 

"It waked me up-stairs, and I ran to get you in your room, andyou----"

"It--it? What's it? What waked you?" broke in Sir Godfrey, his voicerising to a shriek. 

"There it is again!" exclaimed Elaine, clasping her hands. "He'scoming! I hear him. The Dragon! Oh!"

With this, she pretended to rush for the passage, where the squeaks ofMistletoe could be heard already growing distant in the house. Awaybolted Sir Godfrey after her, shouting to Elaine in terrorundisguised, "Lock your door! Lock your door!" as he fled up-stairs. 

So there stood Miss Elaine alone, with the coast clear, and no dangerfrom these two courageous guardians. Then came a knock from outside, and her heart bounded as she ran through the cellar and undid thedoor. 

"You darling!" said Geoffrey, jumping in with legs all covered withsnow. He left the door open wide, and had taken four or five kisses atthe least before she could stop him. "The moon was out for a while, "he continued, "and the snow stopped. So I came a long way round-about, that my tracks should not be seen. That's good strategy. "

But this strange young lady said no word, and looked at him as if shewere going to cry. 

"Why, what's the matter, dear?" he asked. 

"Oh, Geoffrey! I have been deceiving papa so. "

"Pooh! It's not to be thought of. "

"But I can't help thinking. I never supposed I could do so. And itcomes so terribly easy. And I'm not a bit clever when I'm good. And--oh!" She covered her face and turned away from him. 

"Stuff and nonsense!" Geoffrey broke out. "Do be reasonable. Here is adragon. Isn't there?"

"Yes. "

"And everybody wants to get rid of him?"

"Yes. "

"And he's robbing your father?"

"Yes. "

"So you're acting for your father's good?"

"Y--yes. "

"Then----"

"Now, Geoffrey, all your talking doesn't hide the badness in the leastbit. "

She was silent again; then suddenly seemed greatly relieved. "I don'tcare, " she declared. "Papa locked me up for a whole week, when all Iwanted was to help him and everybody get rid of the Dragon. And I amtoo old to be treated so. And now I am just going to pretend there's adragon when there's not. Oh, what's that?"

This time it was no sham. Faint and far from the direction ofOyster-le-Main came the roar of the Dragon of Wantley over fields andfarms. 

[Illustration]

 CHAPTER VIII

 Contains a Dilemma with two simply egregious Horns. 

[Illustration]

"Run instantly into the house, " said Geoffrey to Elaine, and hedragged out his sword. 

But she stared at him, and nothing further. 

"Or no. Stay here and see me kill him, " the boy added, pridefully. 

"Kill him!" said she, in amazement. "Do you suppose that papa, withall his experience, couldn't tell it was an imitation dragon? And youtalk of strategy! I have thought much about to-night, --and, Geoffrey, you must do just the thing that I bid you, and nothing else. Promise. "

"I think we'll hear first what your wisdom is, " said he, shaking hishead like the sage youth that he was. 

"Promise!" she repeated, "else I go away at once, and leave you. Now!One--two--thrrr----"

"I promise!" he shouted. 

"'Sh! Papa's window is just round the tower. Now, sir, you must goover yonder within those trees. "

"Where?"

"There where the snow has dipped the branches low down. And leave mealone in the cellar with the Dragon. "

"With the Dragon? Alone? I did not know you counted me a lunatic, "replied Geoffrey. Then, after a look over the fields where the stormwas swirling, he gave attention to the point of his sword. 

"Where's your promise?" said she. "Will you break your word so soon?"

A big gust of wind flung the snow sharp against their faces. 

"Did you expect----" began the young knight, and then said some wordsthat I suppose gentlemen in those old times were more prone to usebefore ladies than they are to-day. Which shows the optimists areright. 

Then, still distant, but not so distant, came another roar. 

"Geoffrey!" Elaine said, laying a hand upon his arm; "indeed, you musthear me now, and make no delay with contrary notions. There is nodanger for me. Look. He will first be by himself to clear the way ofwatchers. No one peeps out of windows when the Dragon's howling. Next, the rest will come and all go into papa's cellar for the wine. But wemust get these others away, and that's for you. " She paused. 

"Well? Well?" he said. 

"It will go thus: the passage shall hide me, and the door of it beshut. You'll watch over by the trees, and when you see all have comeinside here, make some sort of noise at the edge of the wood. "

"What sort of noise?"

"Oh, --not as if you suspected. Seem to be passing by. Play you are avillager going home late. When they hear that, they'll run away forfear of their secret. The Dragon will surely stay behind. "

"Why will he stay behind? Why will they run away?"

"Dear Geoffrey, don't you see that if these men were to be seen incompany with the Dragon by one who till now knew them as monks, wherewould their living be gone to? Of course, they will get themselves outof sight, and the Dragon will remain as a sort of human scarecrow. Then I'll come out from the passage-door. "

"One would almost think you desired that villain to kill you, " saidGeoffrey. "No, indeed. I'll not consent to that part. "

"How shall he kill me here?" Elaine replied. "Do you not see theDragon of Wantley would have to carry a maiden away? He would not dareto put me to the sword. When I come, I shall speak three words to him. Before there is time for him to think what to do, you will hear me say(for you must have now run up from the wood) 'the legend has cometrue!' Then, when I tell him that, do you walk in ready with yoursword to keep him polite. Oh, indeed, " said the lady, with her eyessparkling on Geoffrey, "we must keep his manners good for him. For Ithink he's one of those persons who might turn out very rude in atrying situation. "

All this was far from pleasing to young Geoffrey. But Elaine showedhim how no other way was to be found by which Sir Francis could betrapped red-handed and distant from help. While the knight was bendinghis brows down with trying to set his thoughts into some order thatshould work out a better device, a glare shone over the next hillagainst the falling flakes. 

"Quick!" said Elaine. 

She withdrew into the cellar on the instant, and the great door closedbetween them. Geoffrey stood looking at it very anxiously, and thenwalked backwards, keeping close to the walls, and so round the towerand into the court, whence he turned and ploughed as fast as he couldthrough the deep drifts till he was inside the trees. "If they spy mysteps, " he thought, "it will seem as though some one of the house hadgone in there to secure the door. "

Once more the glare flashed against the swiftly-descending curtains ofthe storm. Slowly it approached, sometimes illuminating a tree-trunkfor a moment, then suddenly gleaming on the white mounds where rockslay deeply cloaked. 

"He is pretty slow, " said Geoffrey, shifting the leg he was leaningon. 

[Illustration: The Dragon thinketh to slake his thirst]

A black mass moved into sight, and from it came spoutings of fire thatshowed dark, jagged wings heavily flapping. It walked a little andstopped; then walked again. Geoffrey could see a great snout and headrocking and turning. Dismal and unspeakable sounds proceeded from thecreature as it made towards the cellar-door. After it had got closeand leaned against the panels in a toppling, swaying fashion, came anoise of creaking and fumbling, and then the door rolled aside uponits hinges. Next, the blurred white ridge towards Oyster-le-Main wasdarkened with moving specks that came steadily near; and man by man ofthe Guild reached the open door crouching, whispered a word or two, and crept inside. They made no sound that could be heard above thehissing of the downward flakes and the wind that moaned always, butlouder sometimes. Only Elaine, with her ear to the cold iron key-holeof the passage-door, could mark the clink of armour, and shivered asshe stood in the dark. And now the cellar is full, --but not of graygowns. The candle flames show little glistening sparks in the blackcoats of mail, and the sight of themselves cased in steel, and eachbearing an empty keg, stirred a laughter among them. Then the kegswere set down without noise on the earthy floor among the bins. TheDragon was standing on his crooked scaly hind-legs; and to see thegrim, changeless jaw and eyes brought a dead feeling around theheart. But the two bungling fore-paws moved upwards, shaking like amachine, and out of a slit in the hide came two white hands thatlifted to one side the brown knarled mask of the crocodile. There wasthe black head of Sir Francis Almoign. "'Tis hot in there, " he said;and with two fingers he slung the drops of sweat from his forehead. 

"Wet thy whistle before we begin, " said Hubert, filling a jug for him. Sir Francis took it in both hands, and then clutched it tightly as asudden singing was set up out in the night. 

 "Come, take a wife, Come, take a wife, Ere thou learnest age's treasons!"

The tune came clear and jolly, cutting through the muffled noises ofthe tempest. 

"Blood and death!" muttered Hubert. 

Each figure had sprung into a stiff position of listening. 

 "Quit thy roving; Shalt by loving Not wax lean in stormy seasons. Ho! ho! oh, --ho! Not wax lean in----"

Here the strain snapped off short. Then a whining voice said, "Oh, Ihave fallen again! A curse on these roots. Lucifer fell only once, and'twas enough for him. I have looked on the wine when it was red, andmy dame Jeanie will know it soon, oh, soon! But my sober curse onthese roots. "

"That's nothing, " said Hubert. "There's a band of Christmas singershas strolled into these parts to chant carols. One of them has stoppedtoo long at the tavern. "

"Do I see a light?" said the voice. "Help! Give me a light, and let mego home. 

 "Quit thy roving; Shalt by loving----"

"Shall I open his throat, that he may sing the next verse in heaven?"Hubert inquired. 

"No, fool!" said Sir Francis. "Who knows if his brother sots are notbehind him to wake the house? This is too dangerous to-night. Awaywith you, every one. Stoop low till ye are well among the fields, andthen to Oyster-le-Main! I'll be Dragon for a while, and followafter. "

Quickly catching up his keg, each man left the cellar like a shadow. Geoffrey, from the edge of the wood, saw them come out and dissolveaway into the night. With the tube of the torch at his lips, SirFrancis blew a blast of fire out at the door, then covered his headonce more with the grinning crocodile. He roared twice, and heardsomething creak behind him, so turned to see what had made it. Therewas Miss Elaine on the passage-steps. Her lips moved to speak, but fora short instant fear put a silence upon her that she found no voice tobreak. He, with a notion she was there for the sake of the legend, waved his great paws and trundled towards where she was standing. 

"Do not forget to roar, sir, " said the young lady, managing her voiceso there was scarce any tremble to be heard in it. 

At this the Dragon stood still. 

"You perceive, " she said to him, "after all, a dragon, like a mouse, comes to the trap. "

"Not quite yet, " cried Sir Francis, in a terrible voice, and rushedupon her, meaning death. 

"The legend has come true!" she loudly said. 

A gleaming shaft of steel whistled across the sight of Sir Francis. 

"Halt there!" thundered Geoffrey, leaping between the two, and posinghis sword for a lunge. 

"My hour has come, " Sir Francis thought. For he was cased in the stiffhide, and could do nothing in defence. 

"Now shalt thou lick the earth with thy lying tongue, " said Geoffrey. 

A sneer came through the gaping teeth of the crocodile. 

"Valiant, indeed!" the voice said. "Very valiant and knightly, oh sonof Bertram of Poictiers! Frenchmen know when to be bold. Ha! ha!"

"Crawl out of that nut, thou maggot, " answered Geoffrey, "and tastethy doom. "

Here was a chance, the gift of a fool. The two white hands appearedand shifted the mask aside, letting them see a cunning hope on hisface. 

"Do not go further, sir, " said Elaine. "It is for the good of us allthat you abide where you are. As I shall explain. "

"What is this, Elaine?" said Geoffrey. 

"Your promise!" she answered, lifting a finger at him. 

There was a dry crack from the crocodile's hide. 

"Villain!" cried Geoffrey, seizing the half-extricated body by thethroat. "Thy false skin is honester than thyself, and warned us. Backinside!"

The robber's eyes shrivelled to the size of a snake's, as, with notenderness, the youth grappled with him still entangled, and withhands, feet, and knees drove him into his shell as a hasty travellertramples his effects into a packing-case. 

"See, " said Elaine, "how pleasantly we two have you at our disposal. Shall the neighbours be called to have a sight of the Dragon?"

"What do you want with me?" said Sir Francis, quietly. For he was aphilosopher. 

"In the first place, " answered Geoffrey, "know that thou art caught. And if I shall spare thee this night, it may well be they'll set thycarcase swinging on the gallows-tree to-morrow morning, --or, beingChristmas, the day after. "

"I can see my case without thy help, " Sir Francis replied. "Whatnext?"

At this, Elaine came to Geoffrey and they whispered together. 

[Illustration: The Dragon perceiueth hymself to be entrapped]

"Thy trade is done for, " said the youth, at length. "There'll be nomore monks of Oyster-le-Main, and no more Dragon of Wantley. But thouand the other curs may live, if ye so choose. "

"Through what do I buy my choice?"

"Through a further exhibition of thine art. Thou must play Dragonto-night once again for the last time. This, that I may show theecaptive to Sir Godfrey Disseisin. "

"And in chains, I think, " added Elaine. "There is one behind thepost. " It had belonged in the bear-pit during the lives of OrlandoCrumb and Furioso Bun, two bears trapped expressly for the Baron nearRoncevaux. 

"After which?" inquired Sir Francis. 

"Thou shalt go free, and I will claim this lady's hand from herfather, who promised her to any man that brought the Dragon to himdead or alive. "

"Papa shall be kept at a distance from you, " said Elaine, "and willnever suspect in this dimness, if you roar at him thoroughly. "

"Then, " continued Geoffrey, "I shall lead thee away as my spoil, andthe people shall see the lizard-skin after a little while. But thoumust journey far from Wantley, and never show face again. "

"And go from Oyster-le-Main and the tithings?" exclaimed Sir Francis. "My house and my sustenance?"

"Sustain thyself elsewhere, " said Geoffrey; "I care not how. "

"No!" said Sir Francis. "I'll not do this. "

"Then we call Sir Godfrey. The Baron will not love thee very much, seeing how well he loves his Burgundy thou hast drank. Thou gavest himsermons on cold spring-water. He'll remember that. I think thou'lt besoon hanging. So choose. "

The Knight of the Voracious Stomach was silent. 

"This is a pretty scheme thou hast, " he presently said. "And not thineown. She has taught thee this wit, I'll be bound. Mated to her, thou'lt prosper, I fear. "

"Come, thy choice, " said Geoffrey, sternly. 

A sour smile moved the lips of Sir Francis. "Well, " he said, "it hasbeen good while it lasted. Yes, I consent. Our interests lie together. See how Necessity is the mother of Friendship, also. "

The mask was drawn over his face, and they wound the chain about thegreat body. 

"There must be sounds of fighting, " said Elaine. "Make them when I amgone into the house. "

"If I had strangled thee in thy prison, which was in my mind, " saidthe voice of the hidden speaker, "this folly we--but there. Let it go, and begin. "

Then they fell to making a wonderful disturbance. The Dragon's voicewas lifted in horrid howlings; and the young knight continually bawledwith all his lungs. They chased as children in a game do: forward, back, and across to nowhere, knocking the barrels, clanking andclashing, up between the rows and around corners; and the dry earthwas ground under their feet and swept from the floor upward in a finefloating yellow powder that they sucked down into their windpipes, while still they hustled and jangled and banged and coughed and grewdripping wet, so the dust and the water mingled and ran black streamsalong their bodies from the neck downwards, tickling their backs andstomachs mightily. When the breath was no longer inside them, theystopped to listen. 

The house was stone still, and no noise came, save always the wind'ssame cheerless blowing. 

"How much more of this before they will awaken?" exclaimed Geoffrey, in indignation. "'Tis a scandal people should sleep so. "

"They are saying their prayers, " said Sir Francis. 

"It is a pity thou art such a miscreant, " Geoffrey said, heartily;"otherwise I could sweat myself into a good-humour with thee. "

But Sir Francis replied with coldness, "It is easy for the upper handto laugh. "

"We must at it again, " said Geoffrey; "and this time I will let themhear thou art conquered. " The din and hubbub recommenced. AndMistletoe could hear it where she quaked inside her closet holding thedoor with both hands. And the Baron could hear it. He was locked inthe bath-room, dreadfully sorry he had not gone to the Crusade. Quiteunknowingly in his alarm he had laid hold of a cord that set going theshower-bath; but he gave no heed at all to this trifle. And every manand woman in the house heard the riot, from the scullion up throughthe cook to Popham, who had unstrapped his calves before retiring, sothat now his lean shanks knocked together like hockey-sticks. LittleWhelpdale, freezing in his shirt-tail under the bed, was cryingpiteously upon all Saints to forget about his sins and deliver him. Only Miss Elaine standing in her room listened with calm; and she withnot much, being on the threshold of a chance that might turn untowardso readily. Presently a victorious shouting came from far down throughthe dark. 

"He is mine!" the voice bellowed. "I have laid him low. The Dragon istaken. " At this she hastened to summon Sir Godfrey. 

"Why, where can he be?" she exclaimed, stopping in astonishment at hisroom, empty and the door open wide. 

Down in the cellar the voice continued to call on all people to comeand see the Dragon of Wantley. Also Elaine heard a splashing anddripping that sounded in the bath-room. So she ran to the door andknocked. 

"You can't come in!" said the Baron angrily. 

"Papa! They've caught the Dragon. Oh why are you taking your bath atsuch a time?"

"Taking my grandmother!" Sir Godfrey retorted in great dudgeon. But helet the rope go, and the shower stopped running. "Go to your room, " headded. "I told you to lock your door. This Dragon----"

"But he's caught, papa, " cried Elaine through the key-hole. "Don't youhear me? Geoff----somebody has got him. "

"How now?" said the Baron, unlocking the door and peering out. "What'sall this?"

His dressing-gown was extremely damp, for stray spouts from theshower-bath had squirted over him. Fortunately, the breast-plateunderneath had kept him dry as far as it went. 

"Hum, " he said, after he had listened to the voice in the cellar. "This is something to be cautious over. "

"If the people of this house do not come soon to bear witness of myconquest, " said the voice in tones of thunder, "I'll lead this Dragonthrough every chamber of it myself. "

"Damnum absque injuria!" shrieked Sir Godfrey, and uttered much morehorrible language entirely unfit for general use. "What the Jeofailesdoes the varlet mean by threatening an Englishman in his own house? Ishould like to know who lives here? I should like to know who I am?"

The Baron flew down the entry in a rage. He ran to his bedside andpulled his sword from under the pillows where he always kept it atnight with his sun-dial. 

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

"We shall see who is master of this house, " he said. "I am not goingto--does he suppose anybody that pleases can come carting theirdragons through my premises? Get up! Get up! Every one!" he shouted, hurrying along the hall with the sword in his right hand and a lanternin his left. His slippers were only half on, so they made a slitheringand slapping over the floor; and his speed was such that the quiltedred dressing-gown filled with the wind and spread behind him till helooked like a huge new sort of bird or an eccentric balloon. Up anddown in all quarters of the house went Sir Godfrey, pounding againstevery shut door. Out they came. Mistletoe from her closet, squeaking. Whelpdale from under his bed. The Baron allowed him time to put on apair of breeches wrong side out. The cook came, and you could hear herpanting all the way down from the attic. Out came the nine house-maidswith hair in curl-papers. The seven footmen followed. Meeson andWelsby had forgotten their wigs. The coachman and grooms andstable-boys came in horse-blankets and boots. And last in theprocession, old Popham, one calf securely strapped on, and the otherdangling disgracefully. Breathless they huddled behind the Baron, whostrode to the cellar, where he flung the door open. Over in a cornerwas a hideous monster, and every man fell against his neighbour andshrieked. At which the monster roared most alarmingly, and all felltogether again. Young Geoffrey stood in the middle of the cellar, andsaid not a word. One end of a chain was in his hand, and he waitedmighty stiff for the Baron to speak. But when he saw Miss Elaine comestealing in after the rest so quiet and with her eyes fixed upon him, his own eyes shone wonderfully. 

At the sight of the Dragon, Sir Godfrey forgot his late excitement, and muttered "Bless my soul!" Then he stared at the beast for sometime. 

"Can--can't he do anything?" he inquired. 

"No, " said Geoffrey shortly; "he can't. "

"Not fly up at one, for instance?"

"I have broken his wing, " replied the youth. 

"I--I'd like to look at him. Never saw one before, " said the Baron;and he took two steps. Then gingerly he moved another step. 

"Take care!" Geoffrey cried, with rapid alarm. 

The monster moved, and from his nostrils (as it seemed) shot a plumeof flame. 

Popham clutched the cook, and the nine house-maids sank instantly intothe arms of the seven footmen without the slightest regard to howunsatisfactorily nine goes into seven. 

"Good heavens!" said the Baron, getting behind a hogshead, "what abrute!"

"Perhaps it might be useful if I excommunicated him, " said the Rev. Hucbald, who had come in rather late, with his clerical frock-coatbuttoned over his pyjamas. 

"Pooh!" said the Baron. "As if he'd care for that. "

"Very few men can handle a dragon, " said Geoffrey, unconcernedly, andstroked his upper lip, where a kindly-disposed person might see therewas going to be a moustache some day. 

"I don't know exactly what you mean to imply by that, young man, " saidthe Baron, coming out from behind the hogshead and puffing somewhatpompously. 

"Why, zounds!" he exclaimed, "I left you locked up this afternoon, and securely. How came you here?"

Geoffrey coughed, for it was an awkward inquiry. 

"Answer me without so much throat-clearing, " said the Baron. 

"I'll clear my throat as it pleases me, " replied Geoffrey hotly. "HowI came here is no affair of yours that I can see. But ask FatherAnselm himself, and he will tell you. " This was a happy thought, andthe youth threw a look at the Dragon, who nodded slightly. "I have aquestion to ask you, sir, " Geoffrey continued, taking a tone andmanner more polite. Then he pointed to the Dragon with his sword, andwas silent. 

"Well?" said Sir Godfrey, "don't keep me waiting. "

"I fear your memory's short, sir. By your word proclaimed this morningthe man who brought you this Dragon should have your daughter to wifeif she--if she----"

"Ha!" said the Baron. "To be sure. Though it was hasty. Hum! Had Iforeseen the matter would be so immediately settled--she's a greatprize for any lad--and you're not hurt either. One should be hurt forsuch a reward. You seem entirely sound of limb and without a scratch. A great prize. "

"There's the Dragon, " replied Geoffrey, "and here am I. "

Now Sir Godfrey was an honourable man. When he once had given hisword, you could hold him to it. That is very uncommon to-day, particularly in the matter of contracts. He gathered his dressing-gownabout him, and looked every inch a parent. "Elaine, " he said, "mydear?"

"Oh, papa!" murmured that young woman in a die-away voice. 

Geoffrey had just time to see the look in her brown eye as she turnedher head away. And his senses reeled blissfully, and his brain blewout like a candle, and he ceased to be a man who could utter speech. He stood stock-still with his gaze fixed upon Elaine. The ninehouse-maids looked at the young couple with many sympathetic thoughrespectful sighings, and the seven footmen looked comprehensively atthe nine house-maids. 

Sir Godfrey smiled, and very kindly. "Ah, well, " he said, "once I--buttush! You're a brave lad, and I knew your father well. I'll consent, of course. But if you don't mind, I'll give you rather a quickblessing this evening. 'Tis growing colder. Come here, Elaine. Comehere, sir. There! Now, I hate delay in these matters. You shall bemarried to-morrow. Hey? What? You don't object, I suppose? Then whydid you jump? To-morrow, Christmas Day, and every church-bell in thecounty shall ring three times more than usual. Once for the holyFeast, and may the Lord bless it always! and once for my girl'swedding. And once for the death and destruction of the Dragon ofWantley. "

"Hurrah!" said the united household. 

"We'll have a nuptials that shall be the talk of our grandchildren'schildren, and after them. We'll have all the people to see. And we'llbuild the biggest pile of fagots that can be cut from my timber, andthe Dragon shall be chained on the top of it, and we'll cremate himlike an Ancient, --only alive! We'll cremate the monster alive!"

Elaine jumped. Geoffrey jumped. The chain round the Dragon loudlyclanked. 

"Why--do you not find this a pleasant plan?" asked the Baron, surprised. 

"It seems to me, sir, " stuttered Geoffrey, beating his brains forevery next word, "it seems to me a monstrous pity to destroy thisDragon so. He is a rare curiosity. "

"Did you expect me to clap him in a box-stall and feed him?" inquiredthe Baron with scorn. 

"Why, no, sir. But since it is I who have tracked, stalked, and takenhim with the help of no other huntsman, " said Geoffrey, "I make boldto think the laws of sport vest the title to him in me. "

"No such thing, " said Sir Godfrey. "You have captured him in mycellar. I know a little law, I hope. "

"The law about wild beasts in Poictiers----" Geoffrey began. 

"What care I for your knavish and perverted foreign legalities overthe sea?" snorted Sir Godfrey. "This is England. And our Common Lawsays you have trespassed. "

"My dear sir, " said Geoffrey, "this wild beast came into your premisesafter I had marked him. "

"Don't dear sir me!" shouted the Baron. "Will you hear the law forwhat I say? I tell you this Dragon's my dragon. Don't I remember howtrespass was brought against Ralph de Coventry, over in Warwickshire?Who did no more than you have done. And they held him. And there itwas but a little pheasant his hawk had chased into another'swarren--and you've chased a dragon, so the offence is greater. "

"But if--" remonstrated the youth, "if a fox----"

"Fox me no foxes! Here is the case of Ralph de Coventry, " replied SirGodfrey, looking learned, and seating himself on a barrel of beer. "Ralph pleaded before the Judge saying, 'et nous lessamus nostrefaucon voler à luy, et il le pursuy en le garrein, '--'tis just yourposition, only 'twas you that pursued and not your falcon, which doesnot in the least distinguish the cases. "

"But, " said Geoffrey again, "the Dragon started not on your premises. "

"No matter for that; for you have pursued him into my warren, that is, my cellar, my enclosed cellar, where you had no business to be. Andthe Court told Ralph no matter 'que le feisant leva hors de legarrein, vostre faucon luy pursuy en le garrein. ' So there's goodsound English law, and none of your foppish outlandishries in Latin, "finished the Baron, vastly delighted at being able to display thelittle learning that he had. For you see, very few gentlemen in thosebenighted days knew how to speak the beautiful language of the law sofluently as that. 

"And besides, " continued Sir Godfrey suddenly, "there is a contract. "

"What contract?" asked Geoffrey. 

"A good and valid one. When I said this morning that I would give mydaughter to the man who brought me the Dragon alive or dead, did I sayI would give him the Dragon too? So choose which you will take, forboth you cannot have. "

At this Elaine turned pale as death, and Geoffrey stood dumb. 

Had anybody looked at the Dragon, it was easy to see the beast wasmuch agitated. 

"Choose!" said Sir Godfrey. "'Tis getting too cold to stay here. What?You hesitate between my daughter and a miserable reptile? I thoughtthe lads of France were more gallant. Come, sir! which shall it be?The lady or the Dragon?"

"Well, " said Geoffrey, and his blood and heart stood still (and so didElaine's, and so did another person's), "I--I--think I will choose thel--lady. "

"Hurrah!" cheered the household once more. 

"Oh, Lord!" said the Dragon, but nobody heard him. 

"Indeed!" observed Sir Godfrey. "And now we'll chain him in mybear-pit till morning, and at noon he shall be burned alive by theblazing fagots. Let us get some sleep now. "

The cloud of slimly-clad domestics departed with slow steps, and manya look of fear cast backward at the captured monster. 

"This Dragon, sir, " said Geoffrey, wondering at his own voice, "willdie of thirst in that pit. Bethink you how deep is his habit ofdrinking. "

"Ha! I have often bethought me, " retorted Sir Godfrey, rolling hiseyes over the empty barrels. "But here! I am a man of some heart, Ihope. "

He seized up a bucket and ran to the hogshead containing hisdaughter's native cowslip wine. 

"There!" he observed when the bucket was pretty well filled. "Put thatin to moisten his last hours. "

Then the Baron led the way round the Manor to the court-yard where thebear-pit was. His daughter kept pace with him not easily, for theexcellent gentleman desired to be a decent distance away from theDragon, whom young Geoffrey dragged along in the rear. 

[Illustration: HVCKBALD BELIEVES HE WILL TAKE JVST A LITTLE SIP]

 CHAPTER IX

 Leaues much Room for guessing about Ch. X

[Illustration]

As they proceeded towards the bear-pit, having some distance to go, good-humour and benevolence began to rise up in the heart of SirGodfrey. 

"This is a great thing!" he said to Miss Elaine. "Ha! an important andjoyful occurrence. The news of it will fly far. "

"Yes, " the young lady replied, but without enthusiasm. "The cattlewill be safe now. "

"The cattle, child! my Burgundy! Think of that!"

"Yes, papa. "

"The people will come, " continued the Baron, "from all sidesto-morrow--why, it's to-morrow now!" he cried. "From all sides theywill come to my house to see my Dragon. And I shall permit them to seehim. They shall see him cooked alive, if they wish. It is a veryproper curiosity. The brute had a wide reputation. "

To hear himself spoken of in the past tense, as we speak of the dead, was not pleasant to Sir Francis, walking behind Geoffrey on all fours. 

"I shall send for Father Anselm and his monks, " the Baron went on. 

Hearing this Geoffrey started. 

"What need have we of them, sir?" he inquired. To send for FatherAnselm! It was getting worse and worse. 

"Need of Father Anselm?" repeated Sir Godfrey. "Of course I shall needhim. I want the parson to tell me how he came to change his mind andlet you out. "

"Oh, to be sure, " said Geoffrey, mechanically. His thoughts werereeling helplessly together, with no one thing uppermost. 

"Not that I disapprove it. I have changed my own mind upon occasions. But 'twas sudden, after his bundle of sagacity about Crusades andvisions of my ancestor and what not over there in the morning. Ha! ha!These clericals are no more consistent than another person. I'llnever let the Father forget this. " And the Baron chuckled. "Besides, "he said, "'tis suitable that these monks should be present at theburning. This Dragon was a curse, and curses are somewhat of a churchmatter. "

"True, " said Geoffrey, for lack of a better reply. 

"Why, bless my soul!" shouted the Baron, suddenly wheeling round toElaine at his side, so that the cowslip wine splashed out of thebucket he carried, "it's my girl's wedding-day too! I had cleanforgot. Bless my soul!"

"Y--yes, papa, " faltered Elaine. 

"And you, young fellow!" her father called out to Geoffrey with lustyheartiness. "You're a lucky rogue, sir. "

"Yes, sir, " said Geoffrey, but not gayly. He was wondering how it feltto be going mad. Amid his whirling thoughts burned the one longing tohide Elaine safe in his arms and tell her it would all come rightsomehow. A silence fell on the group as they walked. Even to theBaron, who was not a close observer, the present reticence of thesetwo newly-betrothed lovers was apparent. He looked from one to theother, but in the face of neither could he see beaming any of the softtransports which he considered were traditionally appropriate to thehour. "Umph!" he exclaimed; "it was never like this in my day. " Thenhis thoughts went back some forty years, and his eyes mellowed fromwithin. 

"We'll cook the Dragon first, " continued the old gentleman, "and then, sir, you and my girl shall be married. Ha! ha! a great day forWantley!" The Baron swung his bucket, and another jet of its contentsslid out. He was growing more and more delighted with himself and hisdaughter and her lover and everybody in the world. "And you're a stoutrogue, too, sir, " he said. "Built near as well as an Englishman, Ithink. And that's an excellent thing in a husband. "

The Baron continued to talk, now and then almost falling in the snow, but not permitting such slight mishaps to interrupt his discourse, which was addressed to nobody and had a general nature, touching upondragons, marriages, Crusades, and Burgundy. Could he have seenGeoffrey's more and more woe-begone and distracted expression, hewould have concluded his future son-in-law was suffering from somesudden and momentous bodily ill. 

The young man drew near the Dragon. "What shall we do?" he said in awhisper. "Can I steal the keys of the pit? Can we say the Dragonescaped?" The words came in nervous haste, wholly unlike the bolddeliberateness with which the youth usually spoke. It was plain he wasat the end of his wits. 

"Why, what ails thee?" inquired Sir Francis in a calm and unmovedvoice. "This is a simple matter. "

His tone was so quiet that Geoffrey stared in amazement. 

"But yonder pit!" he said. "We are ruined!"

"Not at all, " Sir Francis replied. "Truly thou art a deep thinker!First a woman and now thine enemy has to assist thy distress. "

He put so much hatred and scorn into his tones that Geoffrey flamedup. "Take care!" he muttered angrily. 

"That's right!" the prisoner said, laughing dryly. "Draw thy swordand split our secret open. It will be a fine wedding-day thou'lt havethen. Our way out of this is plain enough. Did not the Baron say thatFather Anselm was to be present at the burning? He shall be present. "

"Yes, " said the youth. "But how to get out of the pit? And how canthere be a dragon to burn if thou art to be Father Anselm? Andhow----" he stopped. 

"I am full of pity for thy brains, " said Sir Francis. 

"Here's the pit!" said the voice of Sir Godfrey. "Bring him along. "

"Hark!" said Sir Francis to Geoffrey. "Thou must go to Oyster-le-Mainwith a message. Darest thou go alone?"

"If I dare?" retorted Geoffrey, proudly. 

"It is well. Come to the pit when the Baron is safe in the house. "

Now they were at the iron door. Here the ground was on a level withthe bottom of the pit, but sloped steeply up to the top of its wallselsewhere, so that one could look down inside. The Baron unlocked thedoor and entered with his cowslip wine, which (not being a verypotent decoction) began to be covered with threads of ice as soon asit was set down. The night was growing more bitter as its frosty hourswore on; for the storm was departed, and the wind fallen to silence, and the immense sky clean and cold with the shivering glitter of thestars. 

Then Geoffrey led the Dragon into the pit. This was a rude anddesolate hole, and its furniture of that extreme simplicity common tobear-pits in those barbarous times. From the middle of the stone floorrose the trunk of a tree, ragged with lopped boughs and at its topforking into sundry limbs possible to sit among. An iron trough wasthere near a heap of stale greasy straw, and both were shapeless whitelumps beneath the snow. The chiselled and cemented walls rose round ina circle and showed no crevice for the nails of either man or bear toclimb by. Many times had Orlando Crumb and Furioso Bun observed thiswith sadness, and now Sir Francis observed it also. He took into hischest a big swallow of air, and drove it out again between his teethwith a weary hissing. 

"I will return at once, " Geoffrey whispered as he was leaving. 

Then the door was shut to, and Sir Francis heard the lock grinding asthe key was turned. Then he heard the Baron speaking to Geoffrey. 

"I shall take this key away, " he said; "there's no telling whatwandering fool might let the monster out. And now there's but littletime before dawn. Elaine, child, go to your bed. This excitement hasplainly tired you. I cannot have my girl look like that when she's abride to-day. And you too, sir, " he added, surveying Geoffrey, "look atrifle out of sorts. Well, I am not surprised. A dragon is no joke. Come to my study. " And he took Geoffrey's arm. 

"Oh, no!" said the youth. "I cannot. I--I must change my dress. "

"Pooh, sir! I shall send to the tavern for your kit. Come to my study. You are pale. We'll have a little something hot. Aha! Something hot!"

"But I think----" Geoffrey began. 

"Tush!" said the Baron. "You shall help me with the weddinginvitations. "

[Illustration: Sir Francis decideth to go down agayne]

"Sir!" said Geoffrey haughtily, "I know nothing of writing and suchlow habits. "

"Why no more do I, of course, " replied Sir Godfrey; "nor would Isuspect you or any good gentleman of the practice, though I have mademy mark upon an indenture in the presence of witnesses. "

"A man may do that with propriety, " assented the youth. "But I cannotcome with you now, sir. 'Tis not possible. "

"But I say that you shall!" cried the Baron in high good-humour. "Ican mull Malvoisie famously, and will presently do so for you. 'Tis tohelp me seal the invitations that I want you. My Chaplain shall writethem. Come. "

He locked Geoffrey's arm in his own, and strode quickly forward. Feeling himself dragged away, Geoffrey turned his head despairinglyback towards the pit. 

"Oh, he's safe enough in there, " said Sir Godfrey. "No need to watchhim. "

Sir Francis had listened to this conversation with rising dismay. Andnow he quickly threw off the crocodile hide and climbed up the tree asthe bears had often done before him. It came almost to a level withthe wall's rim, but the radius was too great a distance for jumping. 

"I should break my leg, " he said, and came down the tree again, as thebears had likewise often descended. 

The others were now inside the house. Elaine with a sinking heartretired to her room, and her father after summoning the Rev. Hucbaldtook Geoffrey into his study. The Chaplain followed with a bunch ofgoose-quills and a large ink-horn, and seated himself at a table, while the Baron mixed some savoury stuff, going down his privatestaircase into the buttery to get the spice and honey necessary. 

"Here's to the health of all, and luck to-day, " said the Baron; andGeoffrey would have been quite happy if an earthquake had come andaltered all plans for the morning. Still he went through the form ofclinking goblets. But his heart ached, and his eyes grew hot as he satdismal and lonely away from his girl. 

"Whom shall we ask to the wedding?" queried the Rev. Hucbald, rubbinghis hands and looking at the pitcher in which Sir Godfrey had mixedthe beverage. 

"Ask the whole county, " said Sir Godfrey. "The more the merrier. Myboy Roland will be here to-morrow. He'll find his sister has got aheadof him. Have some, " he added, holding the pitcher to the Rev. Hucbald. 

"I do believe I will take just a little sip, " returned the divine. "Thanks! ah--most delicious, Baron! A marriage on Christmas Day, " headded, "is--ahem!--highly irregular. But under the unusual, indeed thetruly remarkable, circumstances, I make no doubt that the Pope----"

"Drat him!" said Sir Godfrey; at which the Chaplain smiledreproachfully, and shook a long transparent taper finger at hispatron in a very playful manner, saying, "Baron! now, Baron!"

"My boy Roland's learning to be a knight over at my uncle Mortmain's, "continued Sir Godfrey, pouring Geoffrey another goblet. "You'll likehim. "

But Geoffrey's thoughts were breeding more anxiety in him everymoment. 

"I'll get the sealing-wax, " observed the Baron, and went to a cabinet. 

"This room is stifling, " cried Geoffrey. "I shall burst soon, Ithink. "

"It's my mulled Malvoisie you're not accustomed to, " Sir Godfrey said, as he rummaged in the cabinet. "Open the window and get some freshair, my lad. Now where the deuce is my family seal?"

As Geoffrey opened the window, a soft piece of snow flew through theair and dropped lightly on his foot. He looked quickly and perceived aman's shadow jutting into the moonlight from an angle in the wall. Immediately he plunged out through the casement, which was not veryhigh. 

"Merciful powers!" said the Rev. Hucbald, letting fall his quill andspoiling the first invitation, "what an impulsive young man! Why, hehas run clean round the corner. "

"'Tis all my Malvoisie, " said the Baron, hugely delighted, andhurrying to the window. "Come back when you're sober!" he shoutedafter Geoffrey with much mirth. Then he shut the window. 

"These French heads never can weather English brews, " he remarked tothe Chaplain. "But I'll train the boy in time. He is a rare good lad. Now, to work. "

Out in the snow, Geoffrey with his sword drawn came upon Hubert. 

"Thou mayest sheathe that knife, " said the latter. 

"And be thy quarry?" retorted Geoffrey. 

"I have come too late for that!" Hubert answered. 

"Thou hast been to the bear-pit, then?"

"Oh, aye!"

"There's big quarry there!" observed Geoffrey, tauntingly. "Quite aroyal bird. "

"So royal the male hawk could not bring it down by himself, I hear, "Hubert replied. "Nay, there's no use in waxing wroth, friend! Mydeath now would clap thee in a tighter puzzle than thou art inalready--and I should be able to laugh down at thee from a betterworld, " he added, mimicking the priestly cadence, and looking atGeoffrey half fierce and half laughing. 

He was but an apprentice at robbery and violence, and in the bottom ofhis heart, where some honesty still was, he liked Geoffrey well. "Timepresses, " he continued. "I must go. One thing thou must do. Let notthat pit be opened till the monks of Oyster-le-Main come here. Weshall come before noon. "

"I do not understand, " said Geoffrey. 

[Illustration: Brother Hvbert goeth back to Oyster-le-Main for yelast Time]

"That's unimportant, " answered Hubert. "Only play thy part. 'Tis asimple thing to keep a door shut. Fail, and the whole of us areundone. Farewell. "

"Nay, this is some foul trick, " Geoffrey declared, and laid his handon Hubert. 

But the other shook his head sadly. "Dost suppose, " he said, "that weshould have abstained from any trick that's known to the accumulatedwisdom of man? Our sport is up. "

"'Tis true, " Geoffrey said, musingly, "we hold all of you in thehollow of one hand. "

"Thou canst make a present of us to the hangman in twenty minutes ifthou choosest, " said Hubert. 

"Though 'twould put me in quite as evil case. "

"Ho! what's the loss of a woman compared with death?" Hubertexclaimed. 

"Thou'lt know some day, " the young knight said, eying Hubert with acertain pity; "that is, if ever thou art lucky to love truly. "

"And is it so much as that?" murmured Hubert wistfully. "'Twas goodfortune for thee and thy sweetheart I did not return to look for mymaster while he was being taken to the pit, " he continued; "we couldhave stopped all your mouths till the Day of Judgment at least. "

"Wouldst thou have slain a girl?" asked Geoffrey, stepping back. 

"Not I, indeed! But for my master I would not be so sure. And he saysI'll come as far as that in time, " added the apprentice with a shadeof bitterness. 

"Thou art a singular villain, " said Geoffrey, "and wonderfully frankspoken. "

"And so thou'rt to be married?" Hubert said gently. 

"By this next noon, if all goes well!" exclaimed the lover withardour. 

"Heigho!" sighed Hubert, turning to go, "'twill be a merry Christmasfor somebody. "

"Give me thy hand, " cried Geoffrey, feeling universally hearty. 

"No, " replied the freebooter; "what meaning would there be in that? Iwould sever thy jugular vein in a moment if that would mend the brokenfortunes of my chief. Farewell, however. Good luck attend thee. "

The eyes of both young men met, and without unkindness in them. 

"But I am satisfied with my calling, " Hubert asserted, repudiatingsome thought that he imagined was lurking in Geoffrey's look. "Quitecontent! It's very dull to be respectable. Look! the dawn willdiscover us. "

"But this plan?" cried Geoffrey, hastening after him; "I knownothing. "

"Thou needest know nothing. Keep the door of the pit shut. Farewell. "

And Geoffrey found himself watching the black form of Hubert dwindleagainst the white rises of the ground. He walked towards the tavern inmiserable uncertainty, for the brief gust of elation had passed fromhis heart. Then he returned irresolute, and looked into the pit. Therewas Sir Francis, dressed in the crocodile. 

"Come in, come in, young fellow! Ha! ha! how's thy head?" The Baronwas at the window, calling out and beckoning with vigour. 

Geoffrey returned to the study. There was no help for it. 

"We have written fifty-nine already!" said the Rev. Hucbald. 

But the youth cast a dull eye upon the growing heap, and sealed themvery badly. What pleasure was it to send out invitations to his ownwedding that might never be coming off?

As for Hubert out in the night, he walked slowly through the widewhite country. And as he went across the cold fields and saw how thestars were paling out, and cast long looks at the moon setting acrossthe smooth snow, the lad's eyes filled so that the moon twinkled andshot rays askew in his sight. He thought how the good times ofOyster-le-Main were ended, and he thought of Miss Elaine so far beyondthe reach of such as he, and it seemed to him that he was outside thecomfortable world. 

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

 CHAPTER X

 The Great White Christmas at Wantley. 

[Illustration]

Now are all the people long awake and out of their beds. Wantley Manoris stirring busily in each quarter of the house and court, and thewhole county likewise is agog. By seven o'clock this morning it wasnoised in every thatched cottage and in every gabled hall that thegreat Dragon had been captured. Some said by Saint George in person, who appeared riding upon a miraculous white horse and speaking atongue that nobody could understand, wherefore it was held to be thelanguage common in Paradise. Some declared Saint George had nothing todo with it, and that this was the pious achievement of Father Anselm. Others were sure Miss Elaine had fulfilled the legend and conqueredthe monster entirely by herself. One or two, hearing the event hadtaken place in Sir Godfrey's wine-cellar, said they thought the Baronhad done it, --and were immediately set down as persons of unsoundmind. But nobody mentioned Geoffrey at all, until the Baron'sinvitations, requesting the honour of various people's presence at themarriage of his daughter Elaine to that young man, were received; andthat was about ten o'clock, the ceremony being named for twelve thatday in the family chapel. Sir Godfrey intended the burning of theDragon to take place not one minute later than half-past eleven. Accordingly, besides the invitation to the chapel, all friends andneighbours whose position in the county or whose intimacy with thefamily entitled them to a recognition less formal and more personal, received a second card which ran as follows: "Sir Godfrey Disseisin athome Wednesday morning, December the twenty-fifth, from half aftereleven until the following day. Dancing; also a Dragon will beroasted. R. S. V. P. " The Disseisin crest with its spirited motto, "Saute qui peult, " originated by the venerable Primer Disseisin, followed by his son Tortious Disseisin, and borne with so much renownin and out of a hundred battles by a thousand subsequent Disseisins, ornamented the top left-hand corner. 

"I think we shall have but few refusals, " said the Rev. Hucbald to SirGodfrey. "Not many will be prevented by previous engagements, Iopine. " And the Chaplain smiled benignly, rubbing his hands. He hadpublished the banns of matrimony three times in a lump beforebreakfast. "Which is rather unusual, " he said; "but under thecircumstances we shall easily obtain a dispensation. "

"In providing such an entertainment for the county as this will be, "remarked the Baron, "I feel I have performed my duty towards societyfor some time to come. No one has had a dragon at a private housebefore me, I believe. "

"Oh, surely not, " simpered the sleek Hucbald. "Not even Lady JumpingJack. "

"Fiddle!" grunted the Baron. "She indeed! Fandangoes!"

"She's very pious, " protested the Rev. Hucbald, whom the ladysometimes asked to fish lunches in Lent. 

"Fandangoes!" repeated the Baron. He had once known her exceedinglywell, but she pursued variety at all expense, even his. As forrefusals, the Chaplain was quite right. There were none. Nobody had aprevious engagement--or kept it, if they had. 

"Good gracious, Rupert!" (or Cecil, or Chandos, as it might be, ) eachdame in the county had exclaimed to her lord on opening the envelopebrought by private hand from Wantley, "we're asked to the Disseisinsto see a dragon, --and his daughter married. "

"By heaven, Muriel, we'll go!" the gentleman invariably replied, underthe impression that Elaine was to marry the Dragon, which would be ashow worth seeing. The answers came flying back to Wantley everyminute or two, most of them written in such haste that you could onlyguess they were acceptances. And those individuals who lived so faraway across the county that the invitations reached them too late tobe answered, immediately rang every bell in the house and ordered thecarriage in frantic tones. 

Of _course_ nobody kept any engagement. Sir Guy Vol-au-Vent (and nonebut a most abandoned desperado or advanced thinker would be willing todo such a thing on Christmas) had accepted an invitation to an ambushat three for the slaying of Sir Percy de Résistance. But the ambushwas put off till a more convenient day. Sir Thomas de Brie had beengoing to spend his Christmas at a cock-fight in the Count deGorgonzola's barn. But he remarked to his man Edward, who brought thetrap to the door, that the Count de Gorgonzola might go ---- Nevermind what he remarked. It was not nice; though oddly enough it wasexactly the same remark that the Count had made about Sir Thomas ontelling his own man James to drive to Wantley and drop the cock-fight. All these gentlemen, as soon as they heard the great news, started forthe Manor with the utmost speed. 

[Illustration: Sir Thomas de Brie hastens to accept the Baron's politeInuitation]

Nor was it the quality alone who were so unanimous in their feelings. The Tenantry (to whom Sir Godfrey had extended a very hospitablebidding to come and they should find standing-room and good meat andbeer in the court-yard) went nearly mad. From every quarter of thehorizon they came plunging and ploughing along. The sun blazed downout of a sky whence a universal radiance seemed to beat upon theblinding white. Could you have mounted up bird-fashion over thecountry, you would have seen the Manor like the centre of some greatwheel, with narrow tracks pointing in to it from the invisible rim ofa circle, paths wide and narrow, converging at the gate, troddenacross the new snow from anywhere and everywhere; and moving alongthese like ants, all the inhabitants for miles around. And throughthe wide splendour of winter no wind blowing, but the sound of chimingbells far and near, clear frozen drops of music in the brittle air. 

Old Gaffer Piers, the ploughman, stumped along, "pretty well foreighty, thanky, " as he somewhat snappishly answered to the neighbourswho out-walked him on the road. They would get there first. 

"Wonderful old man, " they said as they went on their way, and quicklyresumed their speculations upon the Dragon's capture. Farmer JohnStiles came driving his ox-team and snuffling, for it was pretty cold, and his handkerchief at home. Upon his wagon on every part, likeswallows, hung as many of his relations as could get on. His mother, who had been Lucy Baker, and grandmother Cecilia Kempe, and a litterof cousin Thorpes. But his step-father Lewis Gay and the children ofthe half-blood were not asked to ride; farmer Stiles had bitterlyresented the second marriage. This family knew all the particularsconcerning the Dragon, for they had them from the cook's second cousinwho was courting Bridget Stiles. They knew how Saint George had wakedFather Anselm up and put him on a white horse, and how the Abbot hadthus been able to catch the Dragon by his tail in the air just as hewas flying away with Miss Elaine, and how at that the white horse hadturned into a young man who had been bewitched by the Dragon, and wasgoing to marry Miss Elaine immediately. 

On the front steps, shaking hands with each person who came, was SirGodfrey. He had dressed himself excellently for the occasion;something between a heavy father and an old beau, with a beautifulpart down the back of his head where the hair was. Geoffrey stoodbeside him. 

"My son-in-law that's to be, " Sir Godfrey would say. And the gentrywelcomed the young man, while the tenants bobbed him respectfulsalutations. 

"You're one of us. Glad to know you, " said Sir Thomas de Brie, surveying the lad with approval. 

Lady Jumping Jack held his hand for a vanishing moment you couldhardly make sure of. "I had made up my mind to hate you for robbing meof my dearest girl, " she said, smiling gayly, and fixing him with herodd-looking eyes. "But I see we're to be friends. " Then she murmured achoice nothing to the Baron, who snarled politely. 

"Don't let her play you, " said he to Geoffrey when the lady had movedon. And he tapped the youth's shoulder familiarly. 

"Oh, I've been through all that sort of thing over in Poictiers, "Geoffrey answered with indifference. 

"You're a rogue, sir, as I've told you before. Ha! Uncle Mortmain, howd'ye do? Yes, this is Geoffrey. Where's my boy Roland? Coming, is he?Well, he had better look sharp. It's after eleven, and I'll wait fornobody. How d'ye do, John Stiles? That bull you sold me 's costingthirty shillings a year in fences. You'll find something ready down bythose tables, I think. "

Hark to that roar! The crowd jostled together in the court-yard, forit sounded terribly close. 

"The Dragon's quite safe in the pit, good people, " shouted SirGodfrey. "A few more minutes and you'll all see him. "

The old gentleman continued welcoming the new arrivals, chattingheartily, with a joke for this one and a kind inquiry for the other. But wretched Geoffrey! So the Dragon was to be seen in a few minutes!And where were the monks of Oyster-le-Main? Still, a bold face must bekept. He was thankful that Elaine, after the custom of brides, wasinvisible. The youth's left hand rested upon the hilt of his sword; hewas in rich attire, and the curly hair that surrounded his foreheadhad been carefully groomed. Half-way up the stone steps as he stood, his blue eyes watching keenly for the monks, he was a figure that mademany a humble nymph turn tender glances upon him. Old Piers, theploughman, remained beside a barrel of running ale and drank hishealth all day. For he was a wonderful old man. 

Hither and thither the domestics scurried swiftly, makingpreparations. Some were cooking rare pasties of grouse and ptarmigan, goslings and dough-birds; some were setting great tables in-doors andout; and some were piling fagots for the Dragon's funeral pyre. Popham, with magnificent solemnity and a pair of new calves, gaveorders to Meeson and Welsby, and kept little Whelpdale panting forbreath with errands; while in and out, between everybody's legs, andover or under all obstacles, stalked the two ravens Croak James andCroak Elizabeth, a big white wedding-favour tied round the neck ofeach. To see these grave birds, none would have suspected howfrequently they had been in the mince-pies that morning, though Pophamhad expressly ruled (in somewhat stilted language) that they should"take nothink by their bills. "

"Geoffrey, " said the Baron, "I think we'll begin. Popham, tell them tolight that fire there. "

"The guests are still coming, sir, " said Geoffrey. 

"No matter. It is half after eleven. " The Baron showed his sun-dial, and there was no doubt of it. "Here, take the keys, " he said, "andbring the monster out for us. "

"I'll go and put on my armour, " suggested the young man. That wouldtake time; perhaps the monks might arrive. 

"Why, the brute's chained. You need no armour. Nonsense!"

"But think of my clothes in that pit, sir, --on my wedding-day. "

"Pooh! That's the first sign of a Frenchman I've seen in you. Take thekeys, sir. "

The crackle of the kindling fagots came to Geoffrey's ears. He saw theforty men with chains that were to haul the Dragon into the fire. 

"But there's Father Anselm yet to come, " he protested. "Surely we waitfor him. "

[Illustration]

"I'll wait for nobody. He with his Crusades and rubbish! Haven't I gotthis Dragon, and there's no Crusade?--Ah, Cousin Modus, glad youcould come over. Just in time. The sherry's to your left. Yes, it's avery fine day. Yes, yes, this is Geoffrey my girl's to marry and allthat. --What do I care about Father Anselm?" the old gentleman resumedtestily, when his cousin Modus had shuffled off. "Come, sir. "

He gave the keys into Geoffrey's unwilling hand, and ordered silenceproclaimed. 

"Hearken, good friends!" said he, and all talk and going to and froceased. The tenantry stood down in the court-yard, a mass ofmotionless russet and yellow, every face watching the Baron. Thegentry swarmed noiselessly out upon the steps behind him, theirhandsome dresses bright against the Manor walls. There was a shortpause. Old Gaffer Piers made a slight disturbance falling over withhis cup of ale, but was quickly set on his feet by his neighbours. Thesun blazed down, and the growling of the Dragon came from the pit. 

"Yonder noise, " pursued Sir Godfrey, "speaks more to the point than Icould. I'll give you no speech. " All loudly cheered at this. 

"Don't you think, " whispered the Rev. Hucbald in the Baron's ear, "that a little something serious should be said on such an occasion? Ishould like our brethren to be reminded----"

"Fudge!" said the Baron. "For thirteen years, " he continued, raisinghis voice again, "this Dragon has been speaking for himself. You allknow and I know how that has been. And now we are going to speak forourselves. And when he is on top of that fire he'll know how that is. Geoffrey, open the pit and get him out. "

Again there was a cheer, but a short one, for the spell of expectancywas on all. The young man descended into the court, and the air seemedto turn to a wavering mist as he looked up at the Manor windowsseeking to spy Elaine's face at one of them. Was this to be the end?Could he kiss her one last good-by if disaster was in store for themafter all? Alas! no glimpse of her was to be seen as he moved along, hardly aware of his own steps, and the keys jingling lightly as hemoved. Through the crowd he passed, and a whispering ran in his wakefollowed by deeper silence than before. He reached the edge of thepeople and crossed the open space beyond, passing the leaping blaze ofthe fagots, and so drew near the iron door of the pit. The key wentslowly into the lock. All shrank with dismay at the roar which rentthe air. Geoffrey paused with his hand gripping the key, and therecame a sound of solemn singing over the fields. 

"The monks!" murmured a few under their breath; and silence fellagain, each listening. 

Men's voices it was, and their chanting rose by one sudden step to ahigh note that was held for a moment, and then sank again, mellow likethe harmony of horns in a wood. Then over the ridge fromOyster-le-Main the length of a slow procession began to grow. The graygowns hung to the earth straight with scarce any waving as the menwalked. The heavy hoods reached over each face so there was no tellingits features. None in the court-yard spoke at all, as the broodingfigures passed in under the gateway and proceeded to the door of thebear-pit, singing always. Howlings that seemed born of terror now rosefrom the imprisoned monster; and many thought, "evidently the evilbeast cannot endure the sound of holy words. "

Elaine in her white dress now gazed from an upper window, seeing herlover with his enemies drawing continually closer around him. 

Perhaps it was well for him that his death alone would not have servedto lock their secret up again; that the white maiden in the window isready to speak the word and direct instant vengeance on them and theirdragon if any ill befall that young man who stands by the iron door. 

The song of the monks ended. Sir Godfrey on the steps was wonderingwhy Father Anselm did not stand out from the rest of the gray peopleand explain his wishes. "Though he shall not interrupt the sport, whatever he says, " thought the Baron, and cast on the group of holymen a less hospitable eye than had beamed on his other guests. Geoffrey over at the iron door, surrounded by the motionless figures, scanned each hood narrowly and soon met the familiar eyes of Hubert. Hubert's gown, he noticed, bulged out in a manner ungainly andmysterious. "Open the door, " whispered that youth. At once Geoffreybegan to turn the key. And at its grinding all held their breath, anda quivering silence hung over the court. The hasty drops pattered downfrom the eaves from the snow that was melting on the roof. Then somestrip of metal inside the lock sprung suddenly, making a sharp song, and ceased. The crowd of monks pressed closer together as the irondoor swung open. 

[Illustration: THE DRAGON MAKETH HIS LAST APPEARANCE]

What did Geoffrey see? None but the monks could tell. Instantly asingle roar more terrible than any burst out, and the huge horribleblack head and jaws of the monster reared into the view of Sir Godfreyand his guests. One instant the fearful vision in the door-way swayedwith a stiff strange movement over the knot of monks that surroundedit, then sank out of sight among them. There was a sound of jerkingand fierce clanking of chains, mingled with loud chanting of pioussentences. Then a plume of spitting flame flared upward with a mightyroar, and the gray figures scattered right and left. There along theground lay the monster, shrivelled, twisted in dismal coils, and dead. Close beside his black body towered Father Anselm, smoothing the foldsof his gray gown. Geoffrey was sheathing his sword and looking atHubert, whose dress bulged out no longer, but fitted him as usual. 

"We have been vouchsafed a miracle, " said Father Anselm quietly, tothe gaping spectators. 

"There'll be no burning, " said Geoffrey, pointing to the shrunkenskin. But though he spoke so coolly, and repelled all besiegingdisturbance from the fortress of his calm visage and bearing, as abold and haughty youth should do, yet he could scarcely hold hisfinger steady as it pointed to the blackened carcase. Then all at oncehis eyes met those of Elaine where she watched from her window, andrelief and joy rushed through him. He stretched his arms towards her, not caring who saw, and the look she sent him with a smile drove allsurrounding things to an immeasurable distance away. 

"Here indeed, " Father Anselm repeated, "is a miracle. Lo, the emptyshell! The snake hath shed his skin. "

"This is very disappointing, " said Sir Godfrey, bewildered. "Is thereno dragon to roast?"

"The roasting, " replied the Abbot, impressively, "is even now begunfor all eternity. " He stretched out an arm and pointed downwardthrough the earth. "The evil spirit has fled. The Church hath takenthis matter into her own hands, and claims yon barren hide as arelic. "

"Well, --I don't see why the Church can't let good sport alone, "retorted Sir Godfrey. 

"Hope she'll not take to breaking up my cock-fights this way, "muttered the Count de Gorgonzola, sulkily. 

"The Church cares nothing for such profane frivolities, " observedFather Anselm with cold dignity. 

"At all events, friends, " said Sir Godfrey, cheering up, "the countryis rid of the Dragon of Wantley, and we've got a wedding and abreakfast left. "

Just at this moment a young horseman rode furiously into thecourt-yard. 

It was Roland, Sir Godfrey's son. "Great news!" he began at once. "Another Crusade has been declared--and I am going. Merry Christmas!Where's Elaine? Where's the Dragon?"

Father Anselm's quick brain seized this chance. He and his monksshould make a more stately exit than he had planned. 

"See, " he said in a clear voice to his monks, "how all is coming truethat was revealed to me this night! My son, " he continued, turning toyoung Roland, "thy brave resolve reached me ere thou hadst made it. Know it has been through thee that the Dragon has gone!"

Upon this there was profound silence. 

"And now, " he added solemnly, "farewell. The monks of Oyster-le-Maingo hence to the Holy Land also, to battle for the true Faith. Behold!we have made us ready to meet the toil. "

His haughty tones ceased, and he made a sign. The gray gowns fell tothe snow, and revealed a stalwart, fierce-looking crew in blackarmour. But the Abbot kept his gray gown. 

"You'll stay for the wedding?" inquired Sir Godfrey of him. 

"Our duty lies to the sea. Farewell, for I shall never see thy faceagain. "

He turned. Hubert gathered up the hide of the crocodile and threw afriendly glance back at Geoffrey. Then again raising their song, theblack band slowly marched out under the gate and away over the snowuntil the ridge hid them from sight, and only their singing could beheard in the distant fields. 

"Well, " exclaimed Sir Godfrey, "it's no use to stand staring. Now forthe wedding! Mistletoe, go up and tell Miss Elaine. Hucbald, tell theorganist to pipe up his music. And as soon as it's over we'll drinkthe bride's health and health to the bridegroom. 'Tis a lucky thingthat between us all the Dragon is gone, for there's still enough of myBurgundy to last us till midnight. Come, friends, come in, foreverything waits your pleasure!"

[Illustration]

 L'ENVOI

 Reader, if thou hast found thy Way thus far, Sure then I've writ beneath a lucky Star; And Nothing so becomes all Journeys' Ends As that the Travellers should part as Friends.