In the Wars of the Roses: A Story for the Young

by Evelyn Everett-Green

  Chapter 1: A Brush With The Robbers.

  "Help--help--help!"

  This cry, growing feebler at each repetition, was borne by theevening breeze to the ears of a traveller who was picking his wayalong the dark mazes of Epping Forest one cool, fresh October day.Instinctively he drew rein and listened, laying his bandunconsciously upon the hilt of his poniard.

  "A woman's voice," he said half aloud, as he spurred more rapidlyonward in the direction whence the cry proceeded. "A woman setupon, no doubt, by some band of these marauders who are desolatingthe country and disgracing humanity. Cowards! I wonder how many ofthem there are? A solitary traveller has not much chance against agang of them; but at least I can sell my life dear. I have littleenough to live for now; and it would be a stain for ever upon myfather's fame were I to pass by unheeding the cry of a damsel indistress.

  "Forward, then, good Sultan; there is work for both of us before wecan think of food or lodging after our weary day of travel.Forward, good horse."

  The coal-black charger, who, despite his jaded air and look ofneglect, had evidently come of a good stock, and had both blood andmettle of the true soldier sort in him, pricked his ears, archedhis neck, and appeared to be fully aware of what was required ofhim by his loved master. He broke into a gentle canter, and despitethe roughness of the ground, maintained that pace for severalhundred yards, until the hand of the traveller upon his rein warnedhim to moderate his pace.

  The shades of evening were falling fast, but a young moon rode highin the sky, and helped to light up the expanse of broken ground andpiled-up tree trunks which suddenly became visible to the travelleras he reached a clearing in the forest, through which the roughtrail or path he was pursuing led. And here in this clearing hecame upon the object of his search, and saw that his surmise as tothe cause of the cries he had heard was only too correct. Four bigburly men, all armed with the weapons of the day--bills, maces, andeven the handgun, which was beginning to find a place amongst themore time-honoured arms of offence and defence--were surroundingthe struggling figure of a woman, a young woman the travellerfancied, from her slimness and the cat-like agility which shedisplayed in struggling with her captors.

  It appeared as if the men did not desire to hurt her if they couldavoid doing so, but rather wished to make of her a prisoner; whilstshe was making the most frantic efforts to escape from theirrestraining hands, and was uttering strangled cries for help, whichwere so deadened by the thick folds of the heavy driving cloak,which had been wrapped about her head, as to be barely audible evenat a short distance.

  "Let her fight and struggle," said a tall, broad-shouldered manwith a darkly sinister face, who stood a little apart all thiswhile, keeping, however, a very close watch upon the group. "Shewill soon tire herself out, and then we can carry her awaypeacefully. Don't hurt her. Let her have her fling--it won't lastlong--and she will be all the tamer afterward."

  The traveller, who was but a stripling himself, set his teeth hardas he heard these words spoken. Something in the cool arrogance ofthe man, who appeared to be a leader of the rest, stirred his bloodand made his hands tingle to be at his throat.

  But it would not do to act rashly in an encounter with fourstalwart men, all armed to the teeth, and plainly well used to thepractice of arms. The youth saw that he must husband his strengthand use his opportunity with every care. His best chance lay intaking the party by surprise.

  He examined his weapons with a keen eye. He too possessed one ofthe handguns of the period, and was a good marksman to boot. Hehad, too--and glad enough was he of it at that moment--the deadlyguisarme, that old-fashioned weapon that combined a spear andscythe, and was used with horrible effect in the charges of theday. Then there was the short battle-axe, slung across hissaddlebow, which at close quarters would be a formidable weapon,and the poniard in his belt had in its time done deadly work beforethis.

  But although he had plenty of weapons for offence, he had not muchdefensive armour upon him. Only a cloth cap protected his head, andalthough his jerkin was of the tough leather which often defied thethrust of a dagger almost as successfully as mail, it might notprove a defence against the combined attack of a number of enemies;and his legs were unprotected save by the long leather riding bootslaced up the front, and ornamented with silken tassels, now muchfaded and stained.

  Altogether, he appeared hardly equipped for so desperate anencounter as the one that lay before him; but it was plain that hedid not on that account shrink from it. His appearance upon thescene had not been observed by any of the robbers--for such theyplainly were--and he was thus able to take his time and weigh hischances carefully.

  The girl was suffering no injury from her captors; but what herfate might be if rescue did not come was what no one could say. Itwas plain that it was the desire of the leader of the band topossess her as a captive. It was he who was the leading spirit inthe attack. He was just as determined to carry her off as he waswishful to accomplish the capture without inflicting injury.

  The stripling astride the good warhorse--who seemed to scentbattle in the air, and stood perfectly still, quivering withexcitement--unslung his handgun from his shoulder, and levelled itat the leader of the band. The next instant a sharp report rangthrough the silent forest. The robber chief flung up his hands witha stifled cry and sank down upon the ground; whilst the other men,astonished beyond measure at this sudden attack from they knew notwhat quarter, ceased to heed their prisoner, and turned round withloud execrations, laying their hands upon their weapons.

  But before they had time to draw these the horseman was upon them.He had his battle-axe in his hand--a light small axe, but one ofexquisite temper and workmanship--and dashing through the group, hedealt such a blow with it upon the head of one of the ruffians ascleft his skull in two; and the man dropped with never a groan, adead corpse upon the ground.

  "Two done for," quoth the youth to himself as he wheeled about fora second encounter. "Well, a mounted man should be a match for twoon foot.

  "Ha! what is that?" for even as he spoke he felt a sharp, stingingpain in one shoulder, and simultaneously the report of firearmsrang out once more. His adversaries had not been slow to avenge thedeath of their comrade, and their aim was as true as his own. Thetraveller knew that his only chance was now to close with his foesand grapple with them before they could load their piece again.

  His right arm was partially disabled, as he felt in a moment. Hecould no longer swing the trusty little axe which had done goodservice before; but there was the deadly guisarme at his side.Sultan could be trusted to carry him straight to the foe withoutany guidance beyond that of the pressure of knee and foot; andgrasping the weapon in both hands, he gallantly charged back uponthe men, who stood grimly awaiting his next movement with everyintention of unhorsing and slaying him.

  The odds were heavy against him. The two ruffians who stood to barhis way were stalwart, powerful fellows, well inured to this kindof warfare; and the chief, who though wounded was not killed, hadstruggled to his feet, and was plainly endeavouring, though withdifficulty, to reach the handgun and reload it. The girl was stillencumbered by the heavy cloak which had been knotted about her headand hands, and was not at once thrown off. The traveller plainlysaw that there was no time to be lost if he was to escape with hisown life, or save the damsel from a fate perhaps worse than death.

  "Forward, Sultan!" he cried.

  And the good horse dashed back upon the enemy; and the youth,holding his weapon in both hands, strove as he passed to deal adeadly blow to one of his assailants. But the man was quick, andhis own strength impaired by the injury he had received. Thelance-like point of the weapon inflicted a deep gash upon the faceof one of his adversaries, causing him to yell with rage and pain,but no vital injury had been inflicted upon either; whilst a savageblow from the other upon the youth's left arm had broken the bone,and he felt as if his last moment had surely come.

  But it did not occur to him even then to save himself by flight, ashe could well have do
ne, seeing that he was mounted and that therobbers were on foot. Disabled as he was, he wheeled about oncemore, and half maddened by pain and the desperation of his case,rode furiously upon the only man who had not yet received someinjury. The robber awaited his charge with a smile of triumph uponhis face; but he triumphed a little too soon.

  Sultan was a horse of remarkable intelligence and fidelity. He hadknown fighting before now--had carried his rider through many askirmish before this; and his fidelity and affection equalled hisintelligence. With the wonderful instinct that seems always toexist between horse and rider who have known each other long, heappeared to divine that his master's case was somewhat desperate,and that he needed an ally in his cause. And thus when the pairbore down upon the robber, who was coolly awaiting the charge,Sultan took law into his own hands, and overthrew the plan both ofattack and defence by a quick movement of his own. For he swervedslightly as he approached the man, and rising suddenly upon hishind legs, brought down all the weight of his iron shoe withtremendous force upon the head of the adversary, who fell to theground with a low groan, and lay as helpless as his former comrade.

  But excellent as this manoeuvre was in one aspect, it disconcertedthe rider by its suddenness; and when as the horse reared thesecond robber sprang upon the rider to try and drag him from hisseat, the effort was only too successful. The traveller was easilypulled away from the saddle, and fell heavily to the ground; whilstthe foe uttered a savage exclamation of triumph, and knelt with hisknee upon the chest of the fallen man, his bloody and distortedvisage bent over him in evil triumph. He was feeling in his beltfor his dagger; and the young man closed his eyes and tried tomutter a prayer, for he knew that his hour had come at last.

  He had sold his life dear, but sold it was, and the next moment hefelt certain would be his last; when all in a moment there wasanother of those loud reports of the gun. The man kneeling upon hischest fell suddenly backwards; and the youth, starting to his feet,was confronted by the spectacle of the maiden he had rescued, whiteand trembling, and almost overcome by her own deed, holding in herhand the still smoking gun, whilst her eyes, dilated with horror,were fixed upon the helpless creature in the dust.

  "Is he dead?" she asked in a hollow voice.

  "I cannot tell," answered the youth hastily. "It were better not tolinger longer here. Their own band will come and look to them ifthey return not by sundown. Let us to horse and away before any ofthe gang come. Sultan will carry the pair of us well, and you willtell us which course to steer; for the night will be upon us erelong, and I am a stranger to these dark forests."

  Whilst thus speaking, the traveller was throwing keen glances roundhim, and saw that the men, though wounded, were not alldead--though one certainly was, and the other, whom Sultan hadattacked, was scarce likely to look again upon the light of day.The leader of the band had fallen again to the earth, and wasenveloped in the folds of the heavy cloak, from which he appearedto be feebly struggling to disentangle himself. The girl followedthe direction of the youth's glance, and explained the matter in afew short words.

  "He was loading the gun when I freed myself. I knew that he wasgoing to shoot you. I am very strong, and I saw that he wasbleeding and wounded. I sprang upon him and threw him down, andtied the cloak about him, as he had bidden his men bind it aboutme, By that time you were unhorsed, and I saw that the robber wasabout to kill you. The gun was loaded, and I took it and shot him.I never killed a man before. I hope it is not wicked; but he wouldhave killed you else. And you had risked your life a dozen times tosave me."

  "It was well and bravely done for me and for yourself," answeredthe stranger, as he mounted the docile Sultan and assisted the girlto spring up behind him.

  Wounded and spent as he was, the excitement of the encounter hadnot yet subsided, and he was only vaguely conscious of his hurts,whilst he was very much in earnest in his desire to get away fromthis ill-omened spot before others of the band should return insearch of their missing comrades, and take a terrible vengeanceupon those who had slain or wounded them.

  His companion was no less anxious than he to be gone; and as thegood horse picked his way in the dim light through the intricateforest paths pointed out by the girl, who was plainly a native ofthe neighbourhood, she told him in whispers of the men from whomshe had escaped, and of the fate which had so narrowly overtakenher.

  "They are the robbers of Black Notley," she said. "There are tworival bands of robbers here--one at White Notley and one at BlackNotley. We call them the Black or the White Robbers, to distinguishbetween them. The White are not so fierce or so lawless as theBlack; but both are a terror to us, for we never know what violencewe shall not hear of next."

  "And these Black Robbers would have carried you away with them, bywhat I gathered from their words, at least from the words of himthey looked to as their leader?"

  The girl shuddered strongly.

  "Once he lived in our village--Much Waltham, as it is called. Hewas no robber then; but a proper youth enough; and although I wasbut a little maid, not grown to womanhood, he asked my hand of myfather in marriage."

  "And what said your father to his suit?"

  "Why, that I was too young to be betrothed as yet; but that if hewere a steady youth, as time went on perchance it might be even ashe wished. But instead of growing up to the plough or the anvils asother youths of our village do, he must needs go off to seesomewhat of the wars; and when he returned it was as a swashbucklerand roisterer, such as my father and mother cannot abide sight of.When he came to Figeon's to ask me in marriage, he was turned fromthe door with cold looks and short words; but he would ever bestriving to see me alone, and swear that he loved me and would wedme in spite of all. I had liked him when I was but a child, but Igrew first to fear and then to hate him; and at last I spoke toWill Ives, the smith's son, of how he troubled me and gave me nopeace of my life. And forthwith there was a great stir through thevillage; and Will Ives set upon him and beat him within an inch ofhis life, for all he was so proud of his skill and strength. Andthe good brothers spoke to him seriously of his evil courses, and Iknow not what besides. So the end was that he ran away once moreand joined himself to the Robbers of Black Notley, and was taken insuch favour by the captain of the band that he is half a captainhimself; and many is the time he has ridden through our village,robbing his old neighbours, and doing more harm in a night thanmonths of hard work will put right; and often when I have chancedto meet him he has given me a look that has frozen the blood in myveins. I have always lived in fear of him all my life; but I wasnever in such peril before today."

  "Peril enough, in all sooth," said the traveller. "How came it,pretty maiden, that you chanced to be all alone in the wood so nearto the haunts of the robbers?"

  "Nay, I was far enough away from their regular haunts. I had butcome a short cut through the wood to see a sick neighbour, and Itarried beside her longer than I well knew. I will never do thelike again, but I have been used from childhood to roam theseforest paths unharmed. The wood is thick, and if I hear the soundof horse or man I always slip aside and hide myself. But today,methinks, they must have tracked me and were lying in wait; for thewood was silent as the church till I reached the clearing, and thenthe whole four sprang up from behind the pile of felled trees andset upon me. Had you not been at hand, by good providence; I shouldere this have been their helpless captive;" and again the girlshuddered strongly.

  By this time the trees were growing somewhat thinner, and lightsbegan to twinkle here and there, showing that some village was nighat hand. A bell for vespers began to ring forth, and the travellerwas glad enough to think his toilsome journey nearly at an end.Hardy as he was, and well inured to fatigues and hardship of allkinds, he was growing exhausted from his day's travel and his sharpfighting. He was wounded, too, and although there was no greateffusion of blood, his hurt was becoming painful, and his left arm,which was undoubtedly broken, required some skilled attention.

  "Is it here that you live, fair maid?" he asked. "I kno
w not howyou are named; but I gather that you are directing our course toyour own home."

  "My name is Joan Devenish," she answered, "and the lights you seeyonder are those of Much Waltham, and it is our church bell thatyou hear ringing out so sweetly. My father's farm is a mile beyond.But I beseech you ride thither with me. My mother would be illpleased did I not bring home the gallant stranger who had saved mefrom my foes. And Figeon's will be proud to shelter such a guest."

  "I give you humble thanks, Mistress Joan, and gladly would I findso hospitable a shelter. I am but a poor traveller, however,roaming the world in search of the fame and fortune that come not.I am one of those who have ever followed the failing fortunes ofthe Red Rose of Lancaster, and sorry enough has often been myplight. But if rumour speaks true, and the great Earl of Warwickhas placed King Henry once again on his throne, then perchance Imay retrieve the fallen fortunes of my house. My father andbrothers laid down their lives for his cause; his foes tookpossession of our fair lands, and I was turned adrift on the wideworld. But tell me, ere we journey farther, which Rose you and yourhouse favour; for I would not bring trouble upon any, and my rovinglife has taught me that the House of Lancaster has many bitterfoes."

  "O sir, be not afraid," answered Joan eagerly; "we country folk arequiet and peaceable, and care little who wears the crown, so as wemay till our land in peace, and be relieved from the hordes ofrobbers and disbanded soldiers who have swarmed the country solong. We have called ourselves Yorkists these past years, sinceKing Edward has been reigning; but I trow if what men say is true,and he has fled the country without striking a blow for his crown,and the great earl has placed King Henry on the throne again, thatwe shall welcome him back. I know little of the great matters ofthe day. My father bids me not trouble my head over things too hardfor me. I tend the poultry and the young calves, and let thequestion of kings alone."

  The traveller smiled at this; but his companion was evidentlysomething of a talker, and endued with her full share of femininecuriosity.

  "I would gladly know your name, fair sir," she said shyly, "for Ishall have to present you to my good father ere long."

  "My name is Paul Stukely," he answered. "I am the youngest and onlysurviving son of one of King Henry's knights and loyal adherents.My parents are both dead, and I have long been alone in the world.I have little to call my own save my good horse and trusty weapons.But I sometimes hope that there may be better days in store, if therightful king gets back his own again."

  At that moment the travellers were passing by the village forge,and a bright gleam of light streamed across their path, revealingto a brawny young fellow at the door the weary horse and its doubleburden. He came one step nearer, and exclaimed:

  "Why, Joan, what means this? You riding pillion fashion with astranger! What, in the name of all the saints, has befallen you?"

  Sultan had paused of his own accord at the forge, and Joan waseagerly telling her story to a little crowd of listeners, andmaking so much capital out of the heroism of her gallant rescuerthat all eyes were turned upon the battered stranger; and whilstdeep curses went up from the lips of many of the men as they heardof the last attempt of the Black Robbers upon one of their ownvillage maidens, equal meed of praise and thanks was showered uponPaul, who leaned over his saddlebow in an attitude that bespokeexhaustion, though he answered all questions, and thanked the goodpeople for their kindly reception of him, whilst trying to makelight of his own prowess, and to give the credit of their finalescape to Joan, to whom, indeed, it was due.

  But the elder smith, John Ives, pushed his way through the littlegroup round the black horse, and scattered them right and left.

  "Good neighbours," he said, "can you not see that this gentleman isweary and wounded, and that his good horse is like to drop as hestands?

  "Go to, Will. Lift down the maid, and lead her yourself up toFigeon's. I will conduct the gentleman thither, and tend his hurtsmyself.

  "For, good sir, I know as much about broken bones as any leech inthe countryside; and if you will but place yourself in my hands,I'll warrant you a sound man again before another moon has run hercourse. 'Tis a farrier's trade to be a bit of a surgeon; and theIveses have been farriers in Much Waltham longer than any can mind.

  "On then, good horse. 'Tis but a short mile farther; and a goodstable and a soft bed, and as much fodder as you can eat, you willfind at Figeon's Farm."

  Paul was glad enough to have matters thus settled for him; and evenSultan seemed to understand the promise made him, for he pricked uphis ears, dropped his nose for a moment into the kindly hand of thesmith, and with the guiding hand upon his rein stepped brisklyforward up the dark rough lane, through the thick belt of trees oneither side. For in the days of which I write the great forest ofEpping extended almost all over the county of Essex, the villageswere scarcely more than small clearings in the vast wood, and onlyround the farms themselves were there any real fields worth callingby the name.

  Will and Joan tripped on ahead more rapidly than Sultan or hismaster cared to go. Paul did not trouble himself any longer aboutthe road he was traversing, leaving himself entirely in the kindlycare of the smith. He even dozed a little in the saddle as thehorse picked his way steadily through the darkness, and was onlyfully roused up again by the sight of lanterns dancing, as itseemed, over the ground, by the sound of rough yet pleasant voices,and the glimmer of steadier light through the latticed windows ofsome building near at hand. The next minute he was before thehospitable door of the old farmhouse.

  A ruddy blaze streamed out through that open door. Friendly handsassisted him to alight, and guided him to a rude oak settle placedwithin the deep inglenook, which was almost like a small innerchamber of the wide farm kitchen. Some hot, steaming drink was heldto his lips; and when he had drunk, the mist seemed to clear awayfrom his eyes, and he saw that he was the centre of quite a groupof simple rustics; whilst the pretty, dark-eyed Joan, in her gownof blue serge, with its big sleeves of white cloth, was eagerlywatching him, all the time pouring out her story, which everybodyappeared to wish to hear again and again.

  "Just to think of it!" cried a burly man, whose dress bespoke him afarmer no less than his ruddy cheeks and horny hands. "Would that Ihad been there! He should not then have escaped with his life.

  "Child, why didst thou not stab him to the heart as he lay?

  "Well has he been called Devil's Own by his former comrades andplayfellows. A defenceless girl--my daughter! By good St. Anthony,if he crosses my path again it shall be for the last time. Iwill--"

  "Hush, I pray you, good husband," said his wife more gently, thoughfrom the way in which she clasped her daughter to her breast it wasplain she had been deeply moved by the story of her peril."Remember what the Scriptures say: 'Thou shalt not kill,''Vengeance is mine,' and many like passages--"

  But the woman stopped suddenly short, silenced by the grip of herhusband's hand upon her arm. A quick look was exchanged betweenthem, and she lapsed into silence.

  The farmer glanced round him, and dismissed the serving wenches andlabourers who had gathered round to their own quarters, and indeedin many cases to their beds; for early hours were all the fashionin those days. The farmer's wife beckoned her daughter, and went toprepare for the lodging of their guest; and before very long Paulfound himself in a bed which, however rude according to ournotions, was luxury itself to the weary traveller.

  The smith soon saw to his hurts, pronounced them only trifling, andbound them up as cleverly as a leech would have done. Indeed, hewas the regular doctor for most kinds of hurts, and could practisethe rude surgery of the day with as much success as a morequalified man.

  Paul had been weary enough half-an-hour before, but the good foodhe had taken and the hot spiced wine had effectually aroused him.He was very tough and well seasoned, and although glad enough tolie still in bed, was not particularly disposed for sleep; and whenthe smith was preparing to depart, he begged him to stay a whilelonger, and tell him something about the place and about the p
eoplehe had come amongst. The worthy man was ready enough to chat,though he had little notion of imparting information. Still, heanswered questions with frankness, and Paul was able to pick up agood deal of gossip as to public opinion in those parts and thefeeling of the people round.

  But what he heard did not give him pleasure. He had been in thenorth when he had heard of Warwick's sudden desertion of theYorkist cause, and before he had been able to reach London he hadheard the glad news that Henry of Lancaster was again on thethrone, placed there by the power of the King Maker, who haddethroned him but a few years back. Glad as Paul was, he yet wishedthat any other hand had been the one to place the crown upon thegentle monarch's head. He could not but distrust Warwick, and hewas eager to learn the feeling of the country, and to know whetheror not the people welcomed back the sovereign so long a captive.

  But in this place, at least, it seemed as if there was no pleasurein Henry's restoration. The smith shook his head, and said he hadno faith in his keeping the crown now he had got it. It seemed asif the love borne by Londoners to Edward of York had extended asfar as this remote village: the people had been enjoying again,under the later years of his reign, something of the blessings ofpeace, and were loath that their calm should be disturbed.

  The feeling might not be patriotic, but it was natural, and Pauladmitted with a sigh that the cause of the Red Rose was not likelyto find favour here. A king who could fight and who could govern,and hold his kingdom against all comers, was more thought of thanone who appeared a mere puppet in the hands of a designing noble ora strong-willed queen. The sudden desertion of Warwick from hisbanner had caused a momentary panic in Edward's army, and the kinghad fled with his followers beyond the sea; but, as the hardy smithremarked with a grim smile, he would not be long in coming back toclaim his kingdom. And if the country were again to be plunged intothe horrors of civil war, it would be better for the whole brood ofLancaster to seek exile or death.

  Paul had not energy to argue for his cause, and fell asleep withthese sinister words ringing in his ears.