In the Days of Chivalry: A Tale of the Times of the Black Prince

by Evelyn Everett-Green

  CHAPTER VI. THE PRINCE'S EXPLOIT.

  The woodman's cottage was quickly reached. It was a little rush-thatchedcabin of mud, lying in the very heart of the dim wood. The party had todismount and tie up their horses at some short distance from the place;but they had the good fortune to find the occupant at home, or ratherjust outside his cabin, gathering a few dried sticks to light his fire.

  He was a grizzled, uncouth-looking old man, but a certain dignity wasimparted to him by a look of deep and unspeakable melancholy upon hisface, which gave it pathos and character of its own. The rustic face isapt to become vacant, bovine, or coarse. Solitude often reduces manalmost to the level of the beasts. This old man, who for many years hadlived hidden away in this vast forest, might well have lost all but thesemblance of humanity; but such was not the case. His eyes had light inthem; his very melancholy showed that the soul was not dead. As he sawthe bright-faced boys approaching him, he first gave a great start ofsurprise, eagerly scanning one face after another; then, as he did sothe light of hope died out from his eyes, and the old despairing lookcame back.

  Something of this was observed by the Prince and his followers, but theywere at present too much bent upon their own mission to have thought tospare for any other concerns. They formed a circle round him, and askedhim of the robbers -- if he ever saw them; if he knew their haunts; ifthey had been near these parts during the past days?

  For a moment it seemed as though the old man was disappointed by thequestions asked him. He muttered something they did not rightlycomprehend about robbers worse than these, and a quick fierce lookpassed across his face, and then died out again. The young Prince wascourteous and patient: he allowed the old man's slow wits time to get towork; and when he did begin to speak he spoke to some purpose, and theboys listened and questioned with the most eager attention.

  It took some time to extract the necessary information, not from anyreluctance to speak on the old man's part, but from his inability to puthis thoughts into words. Still when this was by degrees achieved, theinformation was of the highest possible importance.

  The robbers, said the old man, were at that very moment not far away. Hehad seen them sally forth on one of their nocturnal raids about dusk theprevious evening; and they had returned home laden with spoil two hoursbefore the dawn. He was of the opinion that they had carried off somecaptive with them, for he had heard sounds as of bitter though stifledweeping as they passed his hut on their return. Did he know where theylay by day? Oh yes, right well he did! They had a hiding place in a cavedown in a deep dingle, so overgrown with brushwood that only those whoknew the path thither could hope to penetrate within it. Once there,they felt perfectly safe, and would sleep away the day after one oftheir raids, remaining safely hidden there till supplies were exhausted,when they sallied forth again. The old woodman showed them the tracks ofthe party that had passed by that morning, and to the eyes of the Gasconbrothers these tracks were plain enough, and they undertook to followthem unerringly to the lair. The old woodman had no desire to be mixedup in the matter. If he were to be seen in the company of the trackers,he firmly believed that he should be skinned alive before many days hadpassed. He plainly did not put much faith in the power of these lads toovercome a large band of desperate men, and strongly advised them to gohome and think no more of the matter. But his interest was only verypartially aroused, and it was plain that there was something on his ownmind which quite outweighed with him the subject of the forest outlaws.

  John would fain have questioned him about himself, being a youth ofkindly spirit; but the moment was not propitious, for the Prince was allon fire with a new idea.

  "Comrades," he said gravely and firmly, "the hour has come when we mustput our manhood to the proof. This very day, without the loss of aneedless moment, we must fall, sword in hand, upon yon dastard crew, anddo to them as they have done. You have heard this honest man's tale.Upon the day following a midnight raid they lie close in their caveasleep -- no doubt drunken with the excesses they indulge in, I warrant,when they have replenished their larder anew. This, then, is the daythey must be surprised and slain. If we wait we may never have suchanother chance. My brothers in arms, are you ready to follow me? Shallthe eagles fail for lack of courage when the prey is almost within sight?"

  An unanimous sound of dissent ran through the group. All were as eageras the Prince for the battle and the victory; but the face of John worean anxious look.

  "We must not go alone," he said. "We must summon our comrades to joinus. They are bound on the quest as much as we."

  "True," answered the Prince, looking round him. "It were madness, Itrow, for the six of us to make the attack alone. Yet did not Jonathanand his armour bearer fall unawares upon a host and put them to flight?Methinks some holy Father has told such a tale to me. Still thou artright, good John. We must not risk losing all because it has been givento godly men in times of old to work a great deliverance. See here,friends, what we will do. Our comrades cannot be very far away. Hark!Surely it is the baying of the hound I hear yonder over that woodedridge! Good Bernard, do thou to horse, gallop to them as fast as thoucanst, and tell them of the hap upon which we have fallen. Bid themfollow fast with thee, but leave the dogs and horses behind with thehuntsmen, lest their noise betray our approach. Master Huntsman may seekto withhold them from the quest, but when he knows that I, the Prince,with but four of my comrades to help me, have gone on in advance, andthat we are even then approaching the robbers' cave, he will not onlybid them all go, but will come himself doubtless, with the best of hisfollowers, and give us what help he may. Lose no time. To horse, andaway! And when thou hast called the band together, come back in allhaste to this spot. The forest trackers will be put upon the trail, andwill follow us surely and swiftly. You will find us there before you,lying in ambush, having fully reconnoitred. Be not afraid for us. HonestJohn will see that we run not into too great peril ere we have help. Isit understood? Good! Then lose not a moment. And for the rest of us, wewill follow these sturdy Gascons, who will secretly lead us to the hauntof the outlaws."

  Bernard was off almost before the last words had been spoken, and verysoon they heard from the sounds that he had mounted his horse and wasgalloping in the direction in which, from the faint baying of thehounds, he knew the hunting party to be.

  John looked somewhat anxious as the Prince signed to Gaston and Raymondto lead the way upon the robbers' track; but he knew the determinednature of the Prince, and did not venture open remonstrance. YetEdward's quick eye caught the uneasy glance, and he replied to it withfrank goodwill.

  "Nay, fear not, honest John; I will run into no reckless peril, for mysweet mother hath ever been forward to counsel me that recklessness isnot true bravery. Some peril there must needs be -- without it therecould be no glory; but that danger shall not be added to by anyhardihood such as my royal Sire would chide in me. Trust me; I will beprudent, as I trust I may yet show that I can be bold. We will use alldue caution in approaching this hiding place, and if it will pleasurethee, I will promise not to leave thy side before our friends come toour aid."

  John was glad enough of this promise. As the eldest of this ardent band,and the one who would be most harshly taken to task did any harm come ofthe enterprise, he was anxious above all things to insure the safety ofthe Prince. If Edward would remain beside him, he could certainly makesure of one thing -- that he himself did not survive his royal master,but died at his side fighting for his safety. The younger spiritsthought only of the glory of victory. John, with his feebler physiqueand more thoughtful mind, saw another possible ending to the day'sadventure. Still his heart did not fail; only his unspoken prayer wasthat no harm should befall the brave young Prince, who was so eager toshow the world that chivalry was not yet dead.

  The brothers from Gascony had no trouble whatever in finding and keepingthe trail the robbers had left behind them. Slowly but surely theypursued their way through the labyrinth of the gloomy forest. NeitherJohn nor any of his companions h
ad ever been here before. The dense woodwas gloomy enough to be almost terrible. Craggy rocks were visible fromtime to time as the party proceeded, and the thickness of the forest wasso great that almost all light was excluded.

  At last a spot was reached where the forest-bred boys paused. Theylooked back at those who were following, and beckoned them silentlyforward. So quietly had the party moved that the stillness of the foresthad scarce been broken. Mute and breathless, John and his companionstole up. They found that they had now reached the edge of a deepravine, so thickly wooded as to appear impassable to human foot. Butjust where they stood there were traces of a narrow pathway, wellconcealed by the sweeping boughs of a drooping willow; and that this wasthe dell and the path of which the old woodman had spoken the littleparty did not doubt for a moment.

  "It is doubtless the place," said the Prince, in a whisper. "Let ussoftly reconnoitre whilst our forces are assembling."

  "I and my brother will make the round of the dell," answered Gaston, ina like cautious tone. "Sweet Prince, stay you hither, where the restwill doubtless find us. It boots not for us to make too much stir. Soundcarries well in this still frosty air."

  The Prince made a sign of assent, and Gaston and Raymond crept away indifferent directions to make the circuit of this secluded hollow, andtry to ascertain how the land lay, and what was the chance of capturingthe band unawares. In particular they desired to note whether there wereany other pathway into it, and whether, if the robbers were taken bysurprise and desirous of flight, there was any way of gaining the forestsave by the overgrown path the exploring party had already found.

  The dell proved to be a cup-like hollow of no very great extent. On theside by which the party had approached it the ground shelved downgradually, thickly covered with bushes and undergrowth; but on theopposite side, as the Gascon boys discovered, the drop was almost sheer,and though trees grew up to the very edge of the dell, nothing couldgrow upon the precipitous sandy sides.

  "We have them like rats in a trap," cried Gaston, with sparkling eyes,as he once more joined the Prince, his brother with him. "They can onlyescape up these steep banks thickly overgrown, and we know that there isbut this one path. On the other side it is a sheer drop; a goat couldnot find foothold. If we can but take them by surprise, and post anambush ready to fall upon escaped stragglers who reach the top, therewill not be one left to tell the tale when the deed is done."

  The Prince set his teeth, and the battle light which in after days menlearned to regard with awe shone brightly in his eyes.

  "Good," he said briefly: "they shall be served as they have servedothers -- taken in their slumber, taken in the midst of their security.Nay, even so it will not be for them as it has been for their victims,for doubtless they will have their arms beside them, and will springfrom their slumber to fight like wild wolves trapped; but I trow thevictory will lie with us, and he who fears may stay away. Are we not allclad in leather, and armed to repulse the savage attacks of the wildboar of the woods? Thus equipped, need we fear these human wild beasts?Methinks we shall sweep this day from the face of the earth a foulerscourge than ever beasts of the forest prove."

  "Hist!" whispered Oliver de Brocas cautiously; "methinks I hear a soundapproaching. It is our fellows joining us."

  Oliver was right. The trail had now been cautiously followed by thehuntsmen and their young charges, and the next moment the whole twentystood at the head of the pathway, together with the Master Huntsman, andsome half-dozen stout fellows all armed with murderous-looking huntingknives, and betraying by their looks the same eagerness for the fight asthe band of youthful warriors.

  It was vain to plead with the Prince to be one of those told off toremain in ambush in order to intercept and slay any fugitive who mightescape the melee below. No, the young heir of England was resolved to beforemost in the fray; and the utmost that he would consent to was thatthe party should be led down by the Master Huntsman himself, whilst hewalked second, John behind him, the rest pressing on in single file, oneafter the other, as quickly as might be. Down went the gallant littleband -- with the exception of two stalwart huntsmen and four of theyounger amongst the boys, who were left to guard the head of the path --not knowing the risk they ran: whether they would find an alert andwell-armed foe awaiting them at the bottom, or whether they might fallupon the enemy unawares. Very silent and cautious were their movements.The Huntsman and the Gascon brothers moved noiselessly as cats, and eventhe less trained youths were softly cautious in their movements.Downwards they pressed in breathless excitement, till they foundthemselves leaving the thick scrub behind and emerging upon a rockyplatform of rude shape. Here the Master Huntsman made an imperative signto the Prince to stop, whilst he crept forward a few paces upon handsand knees, and peeped over the edge.

  After gazing for a moment at something unseen to those behind, he made acautious sign to the Prince to approach. Edward at once did so, andGaston and Raymond followed him, their agile, cat-like movements beingas circumspect as those of the leader himself.

  What they saw as they peeped down into the heart of the dell was awelcome spectacle indeed. Some distance below them, but in full view,was the opening into what looked like a large cavern, and at theentrance to this cavern lay two stout ruffians, armed to the teeth, butboth in a sound sleep, their mouths open, their breath coming noisilybetween their parted lips. There were no dogs to be seen. Nothing brokethe intense stillness that prevailed. It was plainly as the old woodmanhad said. Their nocturnal raid had been followed by a grand carouse onthe return home, and now the party, overcome by fatigue and strongdrink, and secure in the fancied privacy of their isolated retreat, hadretired to rest within the cave, leaving two fellows on guard, to besure, but plainly without the smallest apprehension of attack.

  "Good!" whispered the Prince, with eyes that shone like his father's inthe hour of action; and softly rising to his feet, he made a sign to hiscomrades to draw their long knives and follow him in a compact body.

  "No quarter," he whispered, as he surveyed with pride the brave facesround him: "they have shown no mercy; let no mercy be shown to them.Those who rob the poor, who slay the defenceless, who commit brutaloutrages upon the persons of women and children, deserve naught butdeath. Let them fight like men; we will slay them in fair fight, but wewill give no quarter. We will, if God fights for us, sweep the carrionbrood from off the very face of the earth!"

  And then, to the dismay of the Master Huntsman, who had hoped to stepupon the sleeping sentries unawares, and rid themselves of at least twoof the foe before the alarm was given, the Prince raised his voice in ashrill battle cry, and dashing down the slope with his comrades at hisheels, flung himself upon the taller of the guards and plunged his knifeinto the fellow's throat.

  Gaston and Raymond had simultaneously sprung upon the other, and with asharp cry of astonishment and rage he too fell lifeless to the ground.

  But the Prince's shout, the man's cry, and the sound of clashing armsaroused from their deep slumbers the robber crew within the cavern, andwith the alertness that comes of such a lawless life, every man of themsprang to his feet and seized his weapon almost before he was awake.

  The Master Huntsman, however, had not waited to see the end of thestruggle upon the platform outside. At the very moment that the Princeburied his weapon in the sentry's throat, this bold fellow, with threeof his underlings at his side, had sprung inside the cave itself, andluckily enough it was upon the prostrate figure of the chief of the bandthat his eye first lighted. Before the man could spring to his feet, ablow from that long shining knife had found its way to his heart. Theother hunters had set each upon his man, and taken unawares, thoseattacked were slain ere they had awakened sufficiently to realize whatwas happening. Thus the number had been diminished by six before therest came swarming out, as bees from a disturbed hive.

  It was well indeed then for the brave boys, who had thought themselvesthe match for armed men, that these latter were dazed with deeppotations and but half armed aft
er throwing aside their weapons erelying down to rest. Well was it also that they had amongst them theMaster Huntsman and his trusty satellites, who had the strength of men,as well as the trained eye, quick hand, and steady nerve that belong totheir calling in life. Then, again, the dress of these huntsmen was solike in character to that worn by many of the band, that the robbersthemselves suspected each other of treachery, and many turned one uponthe other, and smote his fellow to the earth. Yet notwithstanding allthese things in their favour, the Prince's youthful followers werehardly beset, and to his rage and grief young Edward saw more than onebright young head lying in the dust of the sandy platform.

  But this sight filled him with such fury that he was like a veritabletiger amongst the assailants who still came flocking out of the cave.His battle cry rang again and again through the vaulted cavern, hisshining blade seemed everywhere, dealing death and destruction. Boythough he was, he appeared endued with the strength of a man, and thatwonderful hereditary fighting instinct, which was so marked in his ownsire, seemed handed down to him. He took in the whole scope of the scenewith a single glance. Wherever there was an opening to deal a fatalblow, that blow was dealt by the Prince's trusty blade. It almost seemedas though he bore a charmed life in that grim scene of bloodshed andconfusion, though perhaps he owed his safety more to the faithfulsupport of the two Gascon brothers, who together with John de Brocasfollowed the Prince wherever he went, and averted from his head many afurious stroke that else might have settled his mortal career for ever.

  But the robbers began to see that this boy was their chiefest foe. Ifthey could but slay him, the rest might perchance take flight. Alreadytheir own ranks were terribly thinned, and they saw that mischief wasmeant by the deadly fury with which their assailants came on at them.They were but half armed, and the terror and bewilderment of the momentput them at great disadvantage; but amongst those who still retainedtheir full senses, and could distinguish friend from foe, were threebrothers of tall stature and mighty strength, and these three, takingmomentary counsel together, resolved to fling themselves upon the littleknot surrounding the person of the Prince, and slay at all cost theyouthful leader who appeared to exercise so great a power over the restof the gallant little band.

  It was a terrible moment for good John de Brocas, already wearied andready to drop with the exertions of the fight -- exertions to which hewas but little habituated -- when he saw bearing down upon them thegigantic forms, as they looked to him, of these three black-browedbrothers. The Prince had separated himself somewhat from the rest of theband. He and his three immediate followers had been pursuing somefugitives, who had fallen a prey to their good steel blades. They werejust about to return to the others, round whom the fight still raged,though with far less fierceness than at first, when these newadversaries set upon them from behind. John was the only one who hadseen the approach, and he only just in time to give one warning shout.Before the Prince could turn, an axe was whirling in the air above hishead; and had not John flung himself at that instant upon the Prince,covering his person and dragging him aside at the same moment, aglorious page in England's history would never have been written. ButJohn's prompt action saved the young Edward's life, though a frightfulgash was inflicted upon his own shoulder, which received the weight ofthe robber's blow. With a gasping moan he sank to the ground, and knewno more of what passed, whilst Gaston and Raymond each sprang upon oneof their assailants with a yell of fury, and the Prince flung himselfupon the fellow who had so nearly caused his death, and for all he knewhad slain the trusty John before his very eyes.

  The Prince soon made sure of his man. The fellow, having missed hisstroke, was taken at a disadvantage, and was unable to free his axe ordraw his dagger before the Prince had stabbed him to the heart. Gastonand Raymond were sore beset with their powerful adversaries, and wouldscarce have lived to tell the tale of that fell struggle had not helpbeen nigh at hand from the Master Huntsman. But he, missing the Princefrom the cave's mouth, and seeing the peril he was in, now came runningup, shouting to his men to follow him, and the three giant brothers weresoon lying together stark and dead, whilst poor John was tenderly liftedand carried out of the melee.

  The fighting was over now. The robbers had had enough of it. Some fewhad escaped, or had sought to do so; but by far the greater number laydead on or about the rocky platform, where the fiercest of the fightinghad been. They had slain each other as well as having been slain by thePrince's band, and the place was now a veritable shambles, at which someof the lads began to look with shuddering horror.

  Several of their own number were badly hurt. Three lay dead and cold.Victory had indeed been theirs, but something of the sense of triumphwas dashed as they bore away the bodies of their comrades and lookedupon the terrible traces of the fray.

  But the Prince had escaped unscathed -- that was the point of paramountimportance in the minds of many -- and he was now engrossed in strivingto relieve the sufferings of his wounded comrades by seeing their woundsskilfully bound up by the huntsmen, and obtaining for them draughts ofclear cold water from a spring that bubbled up within the cavern itself.

  Gaston and Raymond had escaped with minor hurts; but John's case wasplainly serious, and the flow of blood had been very great before anyhelp could reach him. He was quite unconscious, and looked like death ashe lay on the floor of the cave; and after fruitless efforts to revivehim, the Prince commanded a rude litter to be made wherein he might betransported to the Palace by the huntsmen who had not taken part in thestruggle, and were therefore least weary. The horses were not very faraway, and the rest of the wounded and the rescued captives could makeshift to walk that far, and afterwards gain the Palace by the help oftheir sturdy steeds.

  Thus it came about that Master Bernard de Brocas, who had believed thePrince and his party to be engaged in the harmless and (to them) safesport of tracking and hunting a boar in the forest, was astounded beyondall power of speech by seeing a battered and ghastly procession enterthe courtyard two hours before dusk, bearing in their midst a litterupon which lay the apparently inanimate form of his eldest nephew, hisbrother's first-born and heir.