Bu SivA.Conan
CHAPTER XV. heir grevhounds behind them, in quest
; of qua r leveret.
The Prince with his Fnglish and Gas. °F AUREL OT FVEFCe. oo ost the box-
con army moved swiftly uthward in ’ ih hme $4
battle array and Si fic ha ing re- | Wood, and took together as to
Ld a) Dr Avia what they should do; while from be-
cruited his ranks wi low the up tlie buzz of voic
dred members € the neighing of horses,
Company,
Contpany woo and r of a great Sanh.
ezard, jc arm “ "sald ¥
the honor mission ride down
Prince, to 1
discover the
the Sp: 1
King
tle band
Navarre
Spal
Sir Nigel had with him Sir Wi
Felton, 8ir Oliver Buttesthorn,
old Sir Bimon Burley, the Scotch knight
errant, the Earl of Angus, and Sir Rich-
ard Causton, all accounted among the
bravest knights in the army, together
with sixty veteran men-at-arms and
three hundred and twenty archers. Bpies
had been sent out in the morning, and
returned after night-fall to say that
the King of Spain was encamped some
’ 3 3 3 : hath sai
fourteen miles off in the direction of | 7 to 0 -y
Burgos, having with him twenty thou then Sir Nigel?” asked sev-
ad into Sp
anc
they discover
the Scottish
know that there
yin thirty long
wound ti
and
t1 1
into the rugged
Sir Simon Bur-
14 i s madness, for
to rout this great ar-
vou to g0 and what,
stout
el, “I have a plan
nay attompt some
2.Ad yet, by the
able to draw off
Simon Burley
arce possible in
help of G
again; w
sand horse and forty thousand foot. ray L
A dry-wood fire ha lit, and round Ra Ses. :
this the leaders crouched, the glare “We shall lie here all day; for amid
beating upon thei ugged faces, while | this brushwood it is ill for them to. see
Then v
the hardy arche
ng comes we shall
n eve
d chatted 1 us.
amid the tethered ile they! sally out upon them and see if we may
munched their sc ions, not gain some honorable advancement
“For my part,’ ir Sigmon Bur-| from them. We shall have nightfall
ley; I am of ti
already done t t ih we have come
for. or dé we not now know where |the m
the king is, and #ow great a rollow
he hath, whigx was the end of our j
ney.”
“Trye,’
“buy T }
cause it fis
broken a spe:
shall not go bs
course with some cs
“I will not leave
returned Sir Simon Br Y;
an old soldier and one who
, much of wre I cannot but t
ve | to cover us when we draw off so that
wé tay make our way back through
I I would station a
here in the pas8s, with
jutting forth from the
vy nakirs an
>» have with us, so that
ow us in the fading
k that the whole army
upon them, and fear
think you of my
chat we
answered
ave
Sir Will
Be-
I think very well of
udent old commander.
men must needs run
y thousand, I cannot
v: “an
Js an 11 1g f four hur
! > re ; ar |
i = ; ni Hg it side and |. “A so say 1,” cried Felton, hearti-
a broad river on the ot! ” 7. “But I wish thé day were over, for
“Yet,” said Sir Richar i1 th ng for us if they
eahnot for tt honor upon us. ‘
with a blow str re scarce out of his
came a clatter of
4 or. arp clink of trotting
sit eT = dark-faced cavalier,
white horse, burst
hes and rodé swittly
from the end which
from the Spanish camp.
AO: i armed, with his vizor open and
ps perched upon his léft wrist
tell | he looked about him with the careless
us as much of the enemy and of his | 2ir OF 2 man who s dent whol? upon
forces as the prince would wish to |Pleasure, and unconscious of the pos-
hear ”» sibility of danger. Suddenly, nowever,
All Bight thes led thei horses his eyes lit upon the fierce faces which
gh ey 2( eir Ses, 1 . i ; + .
stumbling and groping through wiid | Slated Ou: 36 him fom the Yr
defiles and rugged alleys, following the | ae ged is h : ska Gnd das
ruldance of a frightened peasant Who | Spurs into his horses SIC es, anc ash-
guidance 9 : Se pease 19 | ed for the narrow opening of the gorge.
was strapped by the wrist to Black Si a moment it seemed as though he
mon's st ather. With the early ih
dawn they found themselves in a dark| trampled
ravine, with others sloping away from 4%
it on either side, and the bare brown| _,
very well,” pen 2
always h
worthy g&
and fine sk
valley
{ was farthest
Lightly
1 1
among
rmishing to be
their border. Bethink you, Sir
that we have this news from the
of common spies, who can scarce
up-1
reached 1t, for he had
over or dashed aside the ar-
ers who threw themselves in his
era rising iin long ble: 8 des all | ay; but Hordle John seized him by
ags rising in long bleak terraces a the foot in his grasp of iron and
round them. : : : > ad dragged him from the saddle, while
Bik 5a Jou. Jar Ord tw others caught the frightened horse.
“Ho, ho!” roared the great archer.
“How many cows wilt buy my mother,
if I set thee free?”
{ 1 sh that bull's bellowing!” cried
| sir Nigel impatiently. “Bring the®man
[ he re. By St. Paul! it is not the first
and since snot
we may hang him, it mig
to hurl him over yonder cli
The reading the
meaning in y and } %
accents dropped his knees, scream-
for mer
upon which
ht be well]
ey
time that we have met; for, if I mis-
take not, it is Don Diego Alvarez, who
( » prince's court.”
1,” said the Spanish
ust that I am now the
prisoner of some honorable knight or
gentleman.”
‘You are the prisoner of the man who
took you, Sir Diego,” answered Sir Ni-
sker Sir Will-
“Where is this |
yore you would |
rgin! By the blessed |
x 1 ied the trembling |
€ i you that in t
darkness I have myself lost the path, | 3
1- "At the instant, there the | 8¢l “And I may tell you that better
scream of a hundred bugles, with the | men than either you or I have found
deep rolling of drums and the clashing | themselves before now prisoners In
of cymbals, all sounding together in one | the hands of the archers of England.
deafening uproar. Knights and “What ransom; then, does he de-
ers sprahg to arms, convinced mand?” asked the Spaniard.
some gréat host was upon them; but Big John scratched his red head and
the guide dropped upon his knees and grinned in high delight when thé ques-
thanked Heaven for its mercies. tion was propounded to him. “Tell
“We have found them ecabaliergs!”|him,” said he, “that I shail have ten
he cried. This is their morning eall,” | COWS and a bull too, if it be but a lit-
As he spoke he scrambled down one | tle one. Also a dress of blue sendall
of the narrow ravines, and, climbing | for mother and a red one for Joan; with
over a low ridge at the further end, he | five acres of pasture-land, two Scythes,
led then into 4 Shot valley with a and 2 fine new _Erindstone. Likewise
stream purling down the centre of it, a Small house, Wits stalls for the cows
and 'a very thick gfowth of elder and |2nS thirty-six gallons of beer for the
box upon either side, Pushing their | thirsty w eather,
way through the dense brushwood, they | “Tut, tut,” said Sir Nigel, laughing.
looked upon which made their | "All these things may be had for mon-
hearts beat harder and their breath |e€y: and I think, Don Diego, that five
come fa thousand crowns is not too much for
| so renowned a knight.”
“It shall be duly paid him.”
“For yme days we must keep you
asant 1 swear
rose
arch-
In front of them
watered by two
covered with gre
lay a broad plain,
winding streams and
stretching away to
whete, In the f est distance, the | With us; and I must crave leave also
towers of Burgos bristled up against | to use your shield, your, ermor and
the light blue morning sky. Over ail | vour horse. 1 have need of it this day,
this vast meadow there lay & great eity but it shall be duly returned to you.
of iénts thousands upon thousands of | Set guards, Aylward, with arrow on
them, laid out in Streets and Squares | [ITIDE. at Either end of the pass; for
like a well-ordered town. High silken | Hoth L sinppen that Some Suef Saas
pavilions or coloréd marquees, Shoot- | BT >
ing up from among thé crowd of niean. | COME
er dwellings, marked where the great| All day the little band of Engligh-
lords and barons of Leon and Castile | men lay in thé sheltered gorge, look-
displayed their standards, while over | ing down upon the vast host of their
thé white roofs, as a8 eye could | unconscious enemies, The sun had
reach, the waving of anelents, pavons, | sunk behind a ecloud-bank in the west
pengils, and banderol with f of | before Sir Nigel at last gave word that
gold and glow of colors, proclaimed | the men should resume their arms and
that all the chivalry of Iberia were ve their horses ready. He had him-
mustered in the plain beneath them. thrown off his armor, and had
Far off, in the centre of the camp, a | dressed himself from head to foot in
huge palace of red and white silk, the
with the royal arms of Castile waving
from thé summit, announced that the! ion to attempt a small ceed, and I ask
gallant Henry lay there in the midst | you therefore that you will lead this
of his warriors. | outfall upon the eamn For me, IT will
As the English adventurers, peeping ride into their camp with my squire and
out from 1 hind their brushwood to AFohefd, T pray ¥ou to watch me,
screen, looke down upon this wondrous | 4. to ride forth when 1 am come
sight, they could see that the vast army { among the tants. You will leave, twen-=
in front of them was already afoot. The | "yop heahind here, and as we plannéd
first pink light of the rising sun glit- this morning. apd you Will ride back
tered upon the steel cape ! breast- | yore after vai have ventured as far
plates of Getnse Juaates of a nEers Aud as =eeme gnnd $6 van”
crosshowmen, ‘no ar ed anc marched | “w 9
in the spaces which had beeh left for | 1 will do ns you
thelr exercise. A thousand columns |
of smoke reeked up into the
harnéss of thé captured Spaniard.
“Sir William,” sald he, “it is my opin-
and
order, Nigel: but
what ie that vou nropnse to dn?”
“You will sea ahon, and indeed it is
r PUTe | hit a trifling matter. Alleyne, You {wp at him ¢ . “Phe w
morning. IF Shere ane Jaggots were | will come with me, and lead a spire Tan with the aay Moo yo! ¥en
piled and the camp-kettles dlready | bv the weldla T will have the | Lady Maude?’ .
simmering. In the open plain, ¢16uds | two archers wha reda with us through | “It fs Wy brother—my poor wnhappy
of light hotse galloped and swooped | France, for they are trusty thén and hrother!’ éried Alleyne, with Bis hand
with swaying bodies and waving fave- b
of stout heart. T.et them ridé behind
ne, and let them leave their hows here
among the bushes for it is not my
ling, after the faghion which the Span-
ish had adopted from their Moorish en-
emies All along hv the sedey banks | wish that they should know that we
of the rivers lonw lines of pages led | are Englishmen. Say nn word to any
their masters’ chargers down to water, | whom we may meet, and, if hy Speak
while the knights themselves Jouneed {tn vou, pass on as though you Heard
in gayly-dresged grouns about the doors! them not.
of theif pavilions, or rode out, with | 80 saving, Sir Nigél mounted the
te falcons upon theif wrists and! white hofge of the Spanish cavalier.
“CA 00)*
Copyrighted 1894. By Harper © Brot
75.
and rode quietly forth
cealment with his three companions
behind him, Alleyne leading his mas-
ter’'s own steed by thé bridle. So mény
small parties of French and Spanish
horse were sweeping hither and thither
that the small band attracted littl,
notice, and making its way at a gejjtle
trot across the plain, they came ag far
as the camp without challgpnoe or
hindrance. On and on (hey pushed
past the endless lines Af tents, amid
the dénsé swarms C7 horsemen and of
footmen, until tha Luge roval pavilion
stretehed in fieht of them. They were
closé upon, 1t when of a sudden there
broke Oat a wild huhknbh f-~m a dis-
tant ‘aortion of the camm, with screams
ald war-cries and all the wild tumult
of battle. At the sound soldie=~ ~ame
rushing from their tents, knights
shouted loudly for their squires, and
there was mad turmoil on every hand
of bewildered men and plunging horses.
At the royal tent a crowd of gorgeous-
ly dressed servants ran hither and
thither in helpless panic for the guard
of soldiers who were stationed there
had already ridden off in the diree-
tion of the alarm. A man-at-arms on
either side of the doorway were the
sole protectors of the roval dwelling.
“I have come for the king,” whisper-
ed Sir Nigel; “and, by Saint Paul!
must back with us or I must bid
here.”
Alleyne and Aylward sprang from their
horses, and flew at the two Sentries; who
were disarmed and beaten down in an in-
stant by so furious and nnexpected an at-
tack. Sir Nigel dashed into thé royal
tent, and was followed by Hordi® John as
soon as the horses had been sécuréd. From
within came wild sereamings and the clash
of steel, and then the two emerged once
more, thejr swords and forearms$ red-
dened with blood, while John bore over
his shoulder the senseless body of a man
whose gray snrcoat, adorned with the lions
and towers of Castile, proclaimed him to
belong to the royal house. A crowd of
white-faced sewers and page$ swarmed at
their heels; those behind pushing forwards;
while the foremost shrank buck from thé
flerce faces and reeking weapons of the
adventurers. The senseless body was
thrown across, thé spare horse, the four
sprang to their saddles, and away they
thundered with loose réins and busy spurs
through the swarming eamp.
But confusion and disorder stil reigned
among the Spaniards, for Sir William |
Felton and his men had swept through
half their camp, leaving a long litter of the
dead and dying to mark their course. Uh-
certain who were. their attackers, and un-
his eon-
from
able to tell their English enemies from
their newly-arrived Breton allies, the
Spanish knights rode wildly hither and
thither in aimless fury. The mad tur-
moil, the mixture of races, and the fading
light, were all in favor of the four who
alone knew their own purpose among the
vast uncertain multitude. Another five
minutes of wild galloping over the plain,
and they were ali back in their gorge,
while their pursuers fell back before the
rolling of the English drums and blare
of trumpets, which seemed to proclaim
that the whdle army of the princé was
about to emerge from the mountain
passes.
“By my soul! Nigel,’’ cried Sir Oliver,
‘‘what have we here?’
‘“It is a prisoner whom I have taken
and in sooth, as hé came from the royal
tent and wears the royal arms upon his
jupon, I trust that he is the King of
Spain:.’’
“The King of Spain!’ erfed thé com-
panions; crowding, round in amazement.
‘“Nay, Sir Nigel,’”’ said Felton, peering
at the prisener through the _ uncertain
light. “I have twice seen Henry of
Transtamare, and certes thi® man in no
way resembles him.
“Who are you, fellow?’ he added in
Spanish, ‘‘and how {s_it that you dare
to wear the arms of Castile?’
The prisoner was but recovering the
consciousness which had , been squeezed
from him by the grip of Hordle John.
“If it please you,’’ he answered, ‘‘I and
nine others are the body-squires of the
king, and must ever wear his arms; so
as to shield him from even such perils
as have threatened him this night. . The
king is at the tent of the brave Du Guesge-
lin, where he will sup to night. But I am
a caballero of Aragon, Don Sancho Pene-
losa, and, though I bé no king, I am yet
ready to pay au fitting price for my ran-
som:’”
“By Saint Paul! 1 will not téuch your
gold,’’ cried Sir Nigel. ‘‘Go back to your
master and give him greeting from Sir
Nigel Loring of Twynham Castle, telling
him that I had hoped té make his better
acquaintance this night, and that, if
have disordered his tént; it was but in
my eagerness to know %o famed and eour-
teous a knight. Spur on, comrades! for
we must cqyer many a league ere we can
venture to light firé or to loosen girth.
CHAPTER XVI
It was a cold, bleak morning in the hé-
ginning of March, and thé mist was drift:
ing in densé rolling ‘clouds through the
passes of the Cantabrian monntains. The
Company had passed the night in a shel-
tered gully. Here and there, through the
dense haze which surrounded thém, there
loomed out huge pinnacles and jutting
boulders of rock: while high abbve the
sea of vapor there towered up one gigantic
peak, with the pink glow of thé early sun-
shite wpon its snow-capped, head. ie
The camp, was loud with laughter and
merriment, for a messénger had. riddén in
from the prince with Words of heéart-stir-
ring praige for what they had done, and
with orders that they should still abide in
the forefront of the army:
“The Lord Loring craves your attend-
ance in his tent,’ said a young archer to
Alleyne.
The squire found the knight seated npon
a cushion, with his legs crossed in front
of him and _a broad ribbon of parchment
Inid across his knees, over which he wag
poring with frowning brows and pursed
lips.
‘““It eame this morning by the prince's
messenger,”’ sald he, ‘‘and was brought
from England by Sir John, Fallislee, who
is new come from Sussex,’’
Alleyne turned to the letter, and, as his
éyes rested upon it, his face turned pale
dnd a cry of surprise and grief burst from
his lips.
“What then?’ asked the knight, peering
to his brow. ‘‘He is dead.”
{ “By Saint Paul! T have never heard
that he had shown so much love for you
that yon should mourn him so.’
“Yet he was my brother—the only kith
or kin that T had upon darth. Alag! alas!
He has been slain—and #ain, I Pedr,
amidst ekime And violehck,'
“God be with thee, my honored lord,
and have thee in his hoy keeping. The
Lady Loring hath asked me, tue priest,
s¢ set down in writing what pan belalieu
at Twynbam, aud aud thal coucerus tue
death of thy ill neighbor the Socman ol
Minstead. For when ye had left us, this
evil man gathered around him all outlaws,
villeins, and wmasteriess men. until they
were come to such a force that they slew
nd scittered the king's men Who weut
(gainst them. Thef, coming forth fFow
ue woods, they laid siege to thy eastle,
ud for two days they girt us in and shot
udrd agéinst #5, With such numbers as
wefe a marvel to See. Yet the Lady Lor-
ng held the place stoutly, and on the
econd day the Socman was slain—by
ais own men, as some think—so that we
were delivered frum their handy yor
which praise be to all the gnints, and
nore especiallf t6 thé holt Aiselm; upon
whose feast it eame to. pass. The Eady
Loring and the Maude, thy fair
daughter, are in gobd hedlith. May all
thé saints pregrve thes!”
“My fair 1ord,”’ said Alleyne, with a
flush on pis weather
love ¥anr davighter,
un°yorthy as 1
deart’s blood to serve Her.”
“By St. Piul! Edricson,’”” said the
knight coldly, arching his eyebrows, ‘‘you
aim high in this matter. Our blood is
very old.”
‘‘And. mine also is very old,’ answered
the squire.
‘‘And the Lady Mande is our single
child. All our name and lands center upon
her.”’
‘*Alas! that 1 should say it, but I also
am now the only Edricson.”
“And why havé TI hot heard this from
you before, Alleyne? In sooth, I think
you have used me ill.”’
‘“Nay, my fair lord, say not so; for I
know not whether your daughter loves
me, and there is no pledge between us.’’
Sir Nigel pondered for a few moments,
and then burst out a-laughing. ‘By St.
Paul!”’ said he, “‘I know not why I should
mix in the matter; for I have ever, found
that thé Lady Maudé vas very well able
to look to her own affairs. Sinee first
she could stamp her little foot, she hath
ever been able to get that for which she
craved; and if she set her heart on thee,
Alleyne, and thou o=~ - =, I do not think
that this Spanish king, with his three-
score thousand men, cond Hold you apart.
Yet this I will say, that I Would §8e you
a full knight ere you gd to My dadghter
with words of Jove. I have ever said that
a brave lance #honid wed her; ahd, By my
soul! Edricsch, if ‘God Spare yon, I think
that you will acquit Fénrself well. But
enough of such triffes, for Wwe have our
work before us; and it will Be time to
speak of this matter When We Tee the
white cliffs of England once hore. Go to
Sir William Felton, I pray ton, and ask
him to comé hither; for it is timé that
we were marching. There i§ no pass at
the further end of the valley, and it is a
perilous place should an enemy come upon
us.’’
ained cheeks, “‘I
the Lady Maudé; and,
am, I would give my
Alleyne delivered his message, and then
wandered forth from the camp; for his
mind was all in a whirl with this un-
expected news, and with his talk with
Sir Nigel. Sitting upon a rock, with his
burning brow, resting upon his hands, he
thonght of his brother, of their Quarrel,
of the Lady Maude in her bedraggled rid-
ing-dress, of the gray old castle, of the
proud pale face in the armory, and of the
last fiery words with which she had sped
him on his w Then, he was but a
penniless, monk-bred lad, wnknown and
upfriended. Now he was himself Socman
of Minstead, the head of an old stock, and
the Lord of an estate which, if reduced
from its former size, was still ample to
preserve the dignity of his family, Further,
he had become a man of experience was
counted brave among men, had won the
esteem and confidence of her father, and
above all, has been listened to by him
when he told him the secret of his love.
As to the gaining of knighthood, in such
stirring times it was no great matter for
a brave gquire of gentlé birth to aspire to
that honor. He would leave his bones
among thésé Spanish ravines, or he would
do rome deed which would call the eyes
of men upon him.
% Alleyne was still seated on the rock, his
griefs and his joys drifting swiftly over
His mind like the shadow of clouds upon
a sunlit meadow, when 9¢f a Sudden he
becamé conscious of a low, deep sound
which came booming. up to him through
the fog. He shonted an alarm to the
camp.
“It is a great body of horse,’’ said Sir]
William Felton, ‘‘and they are riding very
swiftly hitherwards.”
The €ompany Stood
dense fog wreath, amidst a silence so
profound that the dripping of the water
from the rocks and the breathing of the
horses grew loud upon the ear. Suddenly
from out the sea of mist came the sound
of a neigh, followed by a long blast of a
bugle.
‘‘It is a Spanish eall, my fair lord,’ said
Black Simon.
“By my faith, said Sir Nigel, smiling,
‘“eve may promise them some sport ere
they sound the mort over us. But there
is a hill in the center of the gorge upon
which Wwe might maké our stand.”
“I marked it yeéster night,’’ said Felton,
‘and no better spot could be found for
our purpose, for it is very steep at the
back.’’
The whole. Company, leading . their
hdrses, , passed acro to thé small hill
which Téomed up from the mist. It was
indeed admirably designed for defence, for |
it sloped. down in front, ail jagged and
boulder strewn, while it fell away behind
n a sheer cliff of a hundred feet or more.
On the summit was a small,, uneven
plateau, with a Btréetch across of a hun-
dréd paces, and a depth of half as much
again.
f‘Unloose the horses,’ ®afd Sir Nigel.
“Now order the ranks, and fling wide the
banners, for our, souls are God's and our
bodies the king's, _and our swords for
Saint George and for England!”
Sir Nigel had Scarcely spoken when the
mist séeméd to thin in the valley, and to
sured away Intd long ragged clouds which
trafléd from the edges of the ¢liffs, and
the sun broke through. It gleamed and
SHimmered with dazzling brightness upon
the armor and headpieces of 4 vast body
of horSemen who stretched across the
barranta from oné iff to thé other, and
extended backwards until their rear-guard
were far out upon the plain beyond. Line
after Jine, and rank after mnk, they
chocked the neck of the valley with a
jong vista of tossing pénnond, twinkiing
lances, waving plumes and streaming
banderoles, while the eurvets and gam-
bades of the chargers lent a constant mo-
tion and shimmer to the glittering, many-
colored mass. A yell of exultatién, and a
forest of waving steel through the léength
and breadth of théir column, announced
that théy conld at last see their entrapped
enemies, while the swelling notes of a
hundred bugles and drums, mixed with the
clash of Moorish cymbals, broke forth into
a proud peal of martial triumph, Strange
it was to thesé gnllant and sparkilng eava-
fiers of Spain to lodk upon this handruwl
of men upon the Lill, +. ¢ thin lines of bow-
mén, the knots of knights and men-at-arms
with armor rasted and d&eblored from Yong
servicé, And to leirn that these were in-
deed the soldiers whose fame and prow-
ess had Ween the eamn-fire talk of every
army in Christendom. Very sti]l and silent
they stood, legning uypon thelr hows,
while thelr leaders, tdok counsel together
in front of them. No ©lang of hugle rose
from their stérn rank. Hat in the center
waved the teopardgs of England, on the
right the ensign of their Company with
the roses of Lorine. and on the left over
three score of Welsh howman, there float-
ed, the red bhannér of Merlin with the red-
hodr's heads of the Buttésthorns. Grave-
jy nd Eedately they stead heéfore the
moring sun, waiting for the onslaught
of their foemen,
‘By Saint Paul,’’ sald Sir Nigel, gazing
with puckered eye down the valley, ‘‘there
peering into the
‘Ha!’ said Sir Nigel: “Read on; I
Pray vou." ~
amoung thew. What is this golden ban-
wer which waves over the left?’
“It is the eusign of the Knights of
Calawava’ answered reltou.
“*And the one upon the right?”
““1t marks the Kuights of Sautiags, ang
I see by the bauuer that the grad mas-
ter rides at heuu.
**You are
them. Taere is Spauwsh blazonry
also ¥ 1 ewuld bul read im: Doft Diego,
you khow tue ar 5 or your own countty,
aud Who dre who have doné ud so
mu¢h hono;
The S@anish prisoner looked with exul-
tafit ¢ye¢s upon the deep and Serried ralks
% his countrymen,
ther
Tigut, Ior 1 can also see
auch
(
chiey
of
“Py Saint James’ he said, *‘if ye fail
this day; ye fall by no niean Hands for
the flower of the army of Castile ride
under the banner of Don Tello, with the
chivalry of Asturias, Toledo, Leon, Cor-
dova, Galicia and Seville and the knights
of France and Aragon, If you will take
my rede, you will come to a composi-
tion with them, for they will give you
Hh terms as you have given me.”
Nay; by Saint Paul; it were pity if
so many
and no little deed of arms come of it. Ha!
William, they adyance upon us, and by
my Soul it IS a sight worth coming over
the seas to witness.’
ish host; consisting of the Knights of
Calatrava on the one side and of Santiago
on the other , came swooping swiftly down
the valley, while the main body followed
more slowly behihd. The vanguard halted
a long bow-shot from the hill, and with
waving spears and vaunting shouts chal-
lenged their enemies to come forth, while
two cavaliers, pricking forward from the
glittering ranks, walked their horses slow-
ly between the two arrays with targets
braced and lances in rest like the chal-
lengers in a tourney.
‘By Saint Paul!” eriéd Sir Nigel, with
his eye glowing liké an ember,
appear to be two. very worthy and debo-
nair gentlemen. I do not call to mind
when I have seen any people who seemed
of so great a heart and so high of enter-
prise. We have our horses, Sir William:
shall be not relieve them of any vow which
they may have upon their souls?’
Felton’s reply was to bound upon his
charger, and to urge it down the slope,
while Sir Nigel followed not three spear’s-
lengths behind him. It was a rugged
course, rocky and uneveh, yet the two
knights, choosing their men, dashed on-
wards at the top of théir speed, while
the gallant Spaniards flew as swiftly to
meet them. The one to whom Felton
found himself opposed was a tall strig Z
with a stag's head upon his shield,
Sir Nigel’s man was broad and squat,
force as to split it from side to side, but
Sir William’s lance, crashed through the
camail which shielded the §S ard’s
throat, and he fell; sereaming hoarsely, to
the ground. Carried away by the héat anc
madness of fight, the English knight ne
drew rein, but charged straight on into t
array of the Knights of Calatrava. Long
time the silent ranks upon the hill could
see a swirleand, eddy deep down in the
heart of the Spanish column, with a
circle of rearing chargers and flashing
blades. Here and there tosséd the white
plume of the English helmet, rising and
falling like the foam upon a wave, with
the fierce gleam
round it, until at la
view, and another |
war to peace,
Sir Nigel, meanwhile, had fonnd a foe-
man worthy ef his steel, for his opponent
was none other than Sebagtian Gomez, the
picked lance of the ménkish Knights of
and sparkle ever circling
it had sunk from
ve man had turned
Santiago, who had won, K fame in a hunh-
dred bloody, combats with thé Méory of
Andalusia. So fierce s their meeting
that their spears shiveréd up to thé ver
grasp, and the Horses reared
until it seemed that they must crash down
upon their riders. Yet With consummate
horsemanship they hoth swung
a long curvet, and thén plucking ont their
swords they lashed at ‘each other like two
lusty smiths hammering upon
The chargers spun round ‘each ‘others, bit-
ing and striking, whilé the two blades
of dazzling light. Cut, parry, and thrast
followed so swiftly upon each others that
the eye could pot follow them, until at
last coming thigh té thigh, they cast their
arms around each other and rolled off
their saddies to the ground. The heavier
Spaniard threw himself upon his enemy,
and pinning him down beneath him raised
his sword td slay him, Whité a Shout of
triumph Tosé from thé ranks of his count-
rymen. But the Fatal blow never fel, for
even a8 his arm quivered before descend-
ing, the Spahigrd gave a shudder, and
stiffening him$el®, rolled heavily over upon
his side, with the blood gushing from his
arm-pit and from thé §lit of his vizor. Sir
Nigel sprang to his feet with his bloody
dagger I Kis left hand amd gazed down
upon his adverSary, but the fatal and
sudden stab in the Vital spot, which the
Spaniard hand exposed By raising his arm,
had proved instantly mortal. The Eng-
lishman leaped npon hi§ horse and made
for the hill, at the very instant that a yell
of ragé from a thousand voices and the
clang of a score of bugles anndéunced the
Spanish onset.
CHAPTER XVII
But the islanders were ready and eager
yellow bow-staves in their left hands, and
their quivers Sinng to the front, they had
which gave stréngth to their array, and
yet permitted every man to draw his arrow
freely without harm, to those in front.
On swept the Spaniards, over the level
and up to the slope, ere they met the
blinding storm of the English arrows.
Down went the whole ranks in a whirl
of mad confusion, horses plunging and
kicking, bewildered men falling, rising,
staggering on or back, while ever new
lines of horsemen came spurring through
the gaps and urged their chargers up the
fatal slope. All around him, Alleyne could
hear the stern, short orders of the master-
bowmen, while the air was filled with
the keen twanging of the strings and the
swish and patter of the shafts,
across the foot of the hill there had
sprung up a long wall of struggling horses
and stricken men, Which ever
héightened as fresh squadrons
the attack. So for five long
gallant horsemen of Spain and of
strove ever and again to force a ps
until the low wailing note of a bugle called
them back, and they rode slowly out of
bow-shot, leaving their best and their
grew and
poured on
minutes the
ge,
behind them.
But thére was 1itt1e rest for the vietars
front, the slingers had crept round upon
either flank and had gained a footing upon
the cliffs and behind the outlying rocks
A storm of stones broke snddenly
the defenders, who, drawn up in
upon the exposed summit,
mark to their hidden foes,
old archer, was struck
and fell dead
upon
lines
offered a fair
Johnston, the
upon the temple
moment. The others lay on thelr faces to
avoid the deadly hail, while at each side of
the platean a fringe of howmen exchanged
shots with the slihgers and erosshowmen
among the rocks, aiming mainly at those
who had swarmed np the cliffs ‘and burst-
Ing inte Maughter and checrs When a well-
nimed shaft bronght ons of thelr opponents
toppling down from hik lofty perch.
“By Baint Paul!” qneth Sir Nigel,
plucking the patch from his eye, “I think
that T am now clear of my vow, for this
Spanish knight was a person from w
much hohor might be Won. Indeed
was a very worthy gentleman, of gobA
courage, and great hardiness, and €it
appear to he some very Worthy people
grieves me that he should have come ¥
such 4 hurt* -
brave men; were drawn together |
As hé spoke the two wings of the Span-|
‘“these |
plain steel harness, and a pink and white
torse bound round his helmet. The first
struck Felton on the target with such |
backwards |
round in|
their anvil. }
wheeled and whizzed and circled in gleams |
for the encounter. With feet firmly
planted, their sleeves rolled back to give |
free play to their muscles, their long
waited in the four-deep harrow formation |
Right |
mee |
bravest in the ghastly, blood-mottled heap |
Whilst the knights haa charged them in |
. | this aa
{
' without a groan, whilogaee | Also come here,’’
teen of his bowmen and six of the The two squires hurried across to him,
at-arm§ were struck down nt the
Nigel!” of Sunva Leaky, harry
ing U%, with cpusternalioun Lpol WIS lace,
‘aylward tells me wat wuere are not
teu score arrows left in all tueir sueaves,
See! they are springing from: their uveses,
dud cutting their soilerets that tue) may
rush upon us. Might we Dol even uuw
retreat?’
“My soul will retreat from my body
arse. curred we ltue Emgut, “Here 1
aiff, #ud HERE 1 bide, whue God gives we
stteugth to lift a sword.”
"Aud 80 say 1!” suouted Sir Oliver,
throwing his ace hign iuto we air aud
catching it again by wwe handle,
“Lo your arms, wen! cried Sir Nigel.
‘Suoot while you may and t >
and let us live or aie
ihen sprose from the nil ia the
cddbrian valley
wake a
gged
4 Sound such as hau net
veel heard in wae
pares belore, nor was
again, until thé Calis. Which rippled
{alld the rocks had been frozen by over
{tour humdrea widters ani thawed Ly us
many returnip prings. Deep a full
and strong it de down the ravine
the fierce battle-&ll of a warrior r th e
| ast stern welcome to who so join
with them in that wotld-old
A 1 where
| the stake is death. Thrice it led TOLL
{and thrice it
ver
| set
sank away, ech
rating amidst the ¢
5, the Company rose
storm of stones; and loc
| thousands who sped swif
against them. Horse 1s
set aside, but on foot, with swoi
tle-axe, their broad shields
of them, the chivalry of Spain
| the attack.
And now arose a struggle so fell, so 16ng
| 8¢ evenly sustained, that even now the
{ memory of it is handed dowr zst the
| Calabrian mountaineers, and the omen-
ed knoll is still pointed out by fathers to
their children as thé “*Altura de los Ingle-
|
| 80s,”” where the men from aeross the seas
| fought the great fight with the knights
| of the south. The last arrow was p
| quick
i shot, nor could the 1
slingers hy their
| stones, so close were friend s From
{ side to side stretched the thir of the
| English, lightly armed and q footed,
{ while against it stormed and rad the
{ pressing throng of fiery Spaniards and of
{ gallant Bretons. The clink of crossing
| sword-blades, the dull thudding of heavy
blows, the panting and sping o weary
| g
and wounded rose tog
a wild,
men, all
er in
long-drawn note,
which swelled
upwards to the ears of th fering
peasants who looked down fre s edges
of the cliffs upon the swaying oil of
| the battle beneath them. 1 for=
ward reeled the leopard 2} now
borne up the slope by h and
weight of the onslaught, now pushing
downwards
again as Sir Nigel, Burle
and Black Simon, with their vetérin men=
at-arms, flung themselves madly fito the
\ Alleyne, at his lord's rigt
found himself swept hither a
thé desperate struggle, exch
thrnsts one instant with
lier, and the next torn av
hand,
1 thither in
ge
of men and dashed up ag
antagonist. To the right
ward, Hordle John, and the bowmen of
the Company fought furiously aganst the
monkish Knights of Santiago, wlo
led up the hill by their prior
chested man, who wore a bre
abit over his suit of mail.
he slew in three giant , but i
Oliver flung his arms round him, and the
two, staggering and straining, reelid back-
wards and fell, locked in each
grasp, over the edge of the
| Which flanked thé hill.
{ stormed And raved against tiin line
| Which marréd their path; the svord of
| AViward and the great aXe of Joht gléam-
ed in the forefront of the battle ad hr
| Jagged pieces of rack, h 8 Hy “the
ed and
were
grart-deep-
nonastie
»are
strok
other's
cliff
steep
In vain his kni
Strong arms of the Bowmen, eo
| hurtled amid their rank$. Slowly they
| gave Back ‘down thé hill, the archers still
hanging upon their 3Kirts, With a long
litter ‘of Writhing and tWwitted frures to
mark the ‘course which they hae taken.
At the same instant the Welshnen upon
| the Yeft, led ‘on By the Bedteh erl, had
charged out from among the Fels which
{ Sheltered them, and By the ALY of their
1
| ontfall had driven the Spaniards in front
| of them in headlong flight down the hill.
Tn thé céntre only things eemél to he
going 11 With the defenders. Bk Simon
| Was down—dying, a3 he wonld Wit: to have
| died, Tike a grim old Wolf i 18 ‘air with
1a ring of His 81a around him. Twice §
Nigel had Péen dverbome, and twice Al-
Teyne had fought over him unt! he had
Staggered té his fot once mioré Burley
Tay senseless, Stunned by a BOW from a
nace, ahd half of thé men-atirms lay
| littered upon the ground arowmd im, 8
| Nigel's shield way broken, his ert shorn,
{ his armor cnt and smashéd, and thé vizor
torn from his helmet; ¥ét he Spring hither
{and ‘thither with light ¥éot aid ready
hand, ‘engaging two Bieténs and a Span-
| Tard at the same instant thry Zz, stoop-
ling, dashing in, springing out le Al-
| Yeyne still fought by his §ide, stemming
| With a handful of Wen the ferce tide
| Which surged wp against them Yet it
| Would havé fared ill with them had not
| the archers from ‘either side ‘closél in upon
| the flanks of the attackers, aul pressed
{ them very slowly and foot By loot down
| the Tong slope, until they wel on the
| plain once more, wheré their fellows were
{already rallying for a fresh assfult.
But terrible indeed Was ‘thd cost at
which the Yast had been repelled. Of the
| three hundred and seventy men who had
| held the crest, one hundred and seventy-
two were left standing, many of Whom
| were sorely wounded and weak from loss
{of blood. Sir Oliver But thorn, Sir
| Richard Causton, Sir Simén Builey, Black
| Simon, Johnston, a hiundréd and fifty
hers, and forty-seven meén-at-nrms had
fallen, while thé pitiless hail of
was already whizzing and piping onc
| about their ears, thréatening
stant to farther reduce their
Sir Nigel fooked about him as
tered iks, and his face flusied
soldier's pride.
“By St. Paul!’’ he cried, ‘‘I Bave fought
in many a little bickering, but]never oue
that I would be more loth to hive missed
than this. But you are wounded Alleyne:
{ “It is nought,’”’ answered His Squire,
stanching thé Bbldéd which dipped from
a sword-cut across his forehead,
“These gentlemen of Spain scem to be
most courteons and worthy peaple. 1 sce
| that they ®ve already forming io continue
| this debate with us. Form up the bowmh
two deep instead of fonr. By my faitn!
| some ve brave men have gone from
| among us. Aylward, you are a trusty scl-
dier, for all that your shoulder has never
| elt accolade, nor your heels worn the
gold spurs, Do you take chafe of the
| right; I will hold the céntér, ard you, my
|
|
Ron's
with a
Lord of Angus, the left.”
“Ho! for Sir Samkin Aylward!” ‘erfed
a rough voice among the archers, and a
roar ‘of laughter greeted their mew leader,
“By my hilt!"’ said the old Bowman, *‘I
never thought to lead a wing fn a strick-
| én field, Stahd close, camara for, by
bese fingér-bones! we must ply the man
“Come hither, Alleyne,’’ saié
walking back to the
which formed the rear of their position.
‘And you, Norbury,’ he continnéd, Leck-
oning to the squire of Sir Ollyer, ‘‘do yon
Sir Nizel,
edge <f the cliff
and the three stood looking down into
the rocky ravine which lay a hundred and
fifty feet bhenegdh them,
“Thé prince must hear of how things
are With u§,’’ sald the knight. “‘Anoth-
er onfall we may withstand, ¥ut they are
many and we are few, so that the time
must comé when we can no longér form
line across the hill, Yet if help were
bronght Ws we might hold the crest until it
comes, Sée yonder horses which stray
among the rocks benenth nus’
‘'T see them my fair lord.’
‘And see yonder path whieh winds along
the hill upon the further end of the
valley ?*’
“1 wed it.
“Were you on those vores) and ding
a
ar” i
i
——
Sar Name.
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up
fo
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