The Pillars of the Earth

by Ken Follett

  Milius came to his rescue. "It's all very well to wish the king had given us outright ownership of the quarry, but he didn't, and the main question is, what do we do now?"

  "I should think that's fairly obvious," Remigius said immediately. "We can't expel the earl's men ourselves, so we'll have to get the king to do it. We must send a deputation to him and ask him to enforce his charter."

  There was a murmur of agreement. Andrew, the sacrist, said: "We should send our wisest and most fluent speakers."

  Philip realized that Remigius and Andrew saw themselves as leading the delegation.

  Remigius said: "After the king hears what has happened, I don't think Percy Hamleigh will be earl of Shiring much longer."

  Philip was not so sure of that.

  "Where is the king?" Andrew said as an afterthought. "Does anybody know?"

  Philip had recently been to Winchester, and had heard there of the king's movements. "He's gone to Normandy," he said.

  Milius quickly said: "It will take a long time to catch up with him."

  "The pursuit of justice always requires patience," Remigius intoned pompously.

  "But every day we spend pursuing justice, we're not building our new cathedral," Milius replied. His tone of voice showed that he was exasperated by Remigius's ready acceptance of a delay to the building program. Philip shared that feeling. Milius went on: "And that's not our only problem. Once we've found the king, we have to persuade him to hear us. That can take weeks. Then he may give Percy the chance to defend himself--more delay...."

  "How could Percy possibly defend himself?" Remigius said testily.

  Milius replied: "I don't know, but I'm sure he'll think of something."

  "But in the end the king is bound to stand by his word."

  A new voice was heard, saying: "Don't be so sure." Everyone turned to look. The speaker was Brother Timothy, the oldest monk in the priory. A small, modest man, he spoke rarely, but when he did he was worth listening to. Philip occasionally thought Timothy should have been prior. He normally sat through chapter looking half asleep, but now he was leaning forward, his eyes bright with conviction. "A king is a creature of the moment," he went on. "He's constantly under threat, from rebels within his own kingdom and from neighboring monarchs. He needs allies. Earl Percy is a powerful man with a lot of knights. If the king needs Percy at the moment when we present our petition, we will be refused, quite regardless of the justice of our case. The king is not perfect. There is only one true judge, and that is God." He sat back, leaning against the wall and half closing his eyes, as if he were not in the least interested in how his speech was received. Philip concealed a smile: Timothy had precisely formulated Philip's own misgivings about going to the king for justice.

  Remigius was reluctant to give up the prospect of a long, exciting trip to France and a sojourn at the royal court; but at the same time he could not contradict Timothy's logic. "What else can we do, then?" he said.

  Philip was not sure. The sheriff would not be able to intervene in this case: Percy was too powerful to be controlled by a mere sheriff. And the bishop could not be relied upon either. It was frustrating. But Philip was not willing to sit back and accept defeat. He would take over that quarry if he had to do it himself....

  Now there was an idea.

  "Just a minute," he said.

  It would involve all the able-bodied brothers in the monastery ... it would have to be carefully organized, like a military operation without weapons ... they would need food for two days....

  "I don't know if this will work, but it's worth a try," he said. "Listen."

  He told them his plan.

  They set out almost immediately: thirty monks, ten novices, Otto Blackface and his team of quarrymen, Tom Builder and Alfred, two horses and a cart. When darkness fell they lit lanterns to show them the road. At midnight they stopped to rest and eat the picnic the kitchen had hastily prepared: chicken, white bread and red wine. Philip had always believed that hard work should be rewarded by good food. When they marched on, they sang the service they should have been performing back at the priory.

  At some point during the darkest hour, Tom Builder, who was leading the way, held up a hand to stop them. He said to Philip: "Only a mile more to the quarry."

  "Good," said Philip. He turned to the monks. "Take off your clogs and sandals, and put on the felt boots." He took off his own sandals and pulled on a pair of the soft felt boots that peasants wore in winter.

  He singled out two novices. "Edward and Philemon, stay here with the horses and the cart. Keep quiet, and wait until full daylight; then join us. Is that clear?"

  "Yes, Father," they said together.

  "All right, the rest of you," Philip said. "Follow Tom Builder, now, in complete silence, please."

  They all walked on.

  There was a light west wind blowing, and the rustling of the trees covered the sound of fifty men breathing and fifty pairs of felt boots shuffling. Philip began to feel tense. His plan seemed a little crazy now that he was about to put it into operation. He said a silent prayer for success.

  The road curved to the left, and then the flickering lanterns dimly showed a wooden lodge, a stack of part-finished stone blocks, some ladders and scaffolding, and in the background a dark hillside disfigured by the white scars of quarrying. Philip suddenly wondered whether the men asleep in the lodge had dogs. If they did, Philip would lose the element of surprise, and the whole scheme would be jeopardized. But it was too late to back out now.

  The whole crowd shuffled past the lodge. Philip held his breath, expecting at any moment to hear a cacophony of barking. But there were no dogs.

  He brought his people to a halt around the base of the scaffolding. He was proud of them for being so quiet. It was difficult for people to stay silent even in church. Perhaps they were too frightened to make a noise.

  Tom Builder and Otto Blackface began silently to place the quarrymen around the site. They divided them into two groups. One group gathered near the rock face at ground level. The others mounted the scaffolding. When they were all in position, Philip directed the monks, with gestures, to stand or sit around the workmen. He himself stayed apart from the rest, at a point halfway between the lodge and the rock face.

  Their timing was perfect. Dawn came a few moments after Philip made his final dispositions. He took a candle from inside his cloak and lit it from a lantern, then he faced the monks and lifted the candle. It was a prearranged signal. Each of the forty monks and novices took out a candle and lit it from one of the three lanterns. The effect was dramatic. Day broke over a quarry occupied by silent, ghostly figures each holding a small, flickering light.

  Philip turned again to face the lodge. As yet there was no sign of life. He settled down to wait. Monks were good at that. Standing still for hours was part of their everyday life. The workmen were not so used to it, however, and they began to get impatient after a while, shuffling their feet and murmuring to one another in low voices; but it did not matter now.

  Either the muttering or the strengthening daylight woke the inhabitants of the lodge. Philip heard someone cough and spit, then there was a scraping noise as of a bar being lifted from behind a door. He held up his hand for dead silence.

  The door of the lodge swung open. Philip kept his hand in the air. A man came out rubbing his eyes. Philip knew him, from Tom's description, to be Harold of Shiring, the master quarryman. Harold did not see anything unusual at first. He leaned against the doorpost and coughed again, the deep, bubbling cough of a man who has too much stone dust in his lungs. Philip dropped his hand. Somewhere behind him, the cantor hit a note, and immediately all the monks began to sing. The quarry was flooded with eerie harmonies.

  The effect on Harold was devastating. His head jerked up as if it had been pulled by a string. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he saw the spectral choir that had appeared, as if by magic, in his quarry. A cry of fear escaped from his open mouth. He staggered back through the door
of the lodge.

  Philip permitted himself a satisfied smile. It was a good start.

  However, the supernatural dread would not last very long. He lifted his hand again and waved it without turning around. In response to his signal the quarrymen started to work and the clang of iron on rock punctuated the music of the choir.

  Two or three faces peeped fearfully from the doorway. The men soon realized they were looking at ordinary, corporeal monks and workmen, not visions or spirits, and they stepped out of the lodge for a better view. Two men-at-arms came out, buckling their sword belts, and stood staring. This was the crucial moment for Philip: what would the men-at-arms do?

  The sight of them, big and bearded and dirty, with their chainlink belts, their swords and daggers, and their heavy leather jerkins, brought back to Philip a vivid, crystal-clear memory of the two soldiers who had burst into his home when he was six years old and killed his mother and father. He was stabbed, suddenly and unexpectedly, by grief for the parents he hardly remembered. He stared with loathing at Earl Percy's men, not seeing them but seeing instead an ugly man with a bent nose and a dark man with blood in his beard; and he was filled with rage and disgust and a fierce determination that such mindless, godless ruffians should be defeated.

  For a while they did nothing. Gradually all the earl's quarrymen came out of the lodge. Philip counted them: there were twelve workmen plus the men-at-arms.

  The sun peeped over the horizon.

  The Kingsbridge quarrymen were already digging out stones. If the men-at-arms wanted to stop them, they would have to lay hands on the monks who surrounded and protected the workers. Philip had gambled that the men-at-arms would hesitate to do violence to praying monks.

  So far he was right: they were hesitating.

  The two novices who had been left behind now arrived, leading the horses and the cart. They looked around fearfully. Philip indicated with a gesture where they should pull up. Then he turned, met Tom Builder's eye, and nodded.

  Several stones had been cut by this time, and now Tom directed some of the younger monks to pick up the stones and carry them to the cart. The earl's men watched this new development with interest. The stones were too heavy to be lifted by one man, so they had to be lowered from the scaffolding by ropes, then carried across the ground on stretchers. As the first stone was manhandled into the cart, the men-at-arms went into a huddle with Harold. Another stone was put into the cart. The two men-at-arms separated from the crowd around the lodge and walked over to the cart. One of the novices, Philemon, climbed into the cart and sat on the stones, looking defiant. Brave lad! thought Philip, but he was afraid.

  The men approached the cart. The four monks who had carried the two stones stood in front of it, forming a barrier. Philip tensed. The men stopped and stood face to face with the monks. They both put their hands to the hilts of their swords. The singing stopped as everyone watched with bated breath.

  Surely, Philip thought, they won't be able to bring themselves to put defenseless monks to the sword. Then he thought how easy it would be for them, big strong men who were accustomed to the slaughter of the battlefield, to run their sharp swords through these people from whom they had nothing to fear, not even retaliation. Then again, they must consider the divine punishment they would risk by murdering men of God. Even thugs such as these must know that eventually they would stand at the Day of Judgment. Were they afraid of the eternal fire? Perhaps; but they were also afraid of their employer, Earl Percy. Philip guessed that the thought uppermost in their minds must be whether he would consider they had an adequate excuse for their failure to keep the Kingsbridge men out of the quarry. He watched them, hesitating in front of a handful of young monks, hands on their swords, and imagined them weighing the danger of failing Percy against the wrath of God.

  The two men looked at one another. One shook his head. The other shrugged. Together, they walked out of the quarry.

  The cantor hit a new note and the monks burst into a triumphant hymn. A shout of victory went up from the quarrymen. Philip sagged with relief. For a moment it had looked dreadfully dangerous. He could not help beaming with pleasure. The quarry was his.

  He blew out his candle and went over to the cart. He embraced each of the four monks who had faced the men-at-arms, and the two novices who had brought the cart. "I'm proud of you," he said warmly. "And I believe God is too."

  The monks and the quarrymen were all shaking hands and congratulating one another. Otto Blackface came over to Philip and said: "That was well done, Father Philip. You're a brave man, if I may say so."

  "God protected us," Philip said. His eye fell on the earl's quarrymen, standing in a disconsolate group around the door of their lodge. He did not want to make enemies of them, for while they were at a loose end there would always be a danger that Percy would use them to make further trouble. Philip decided to speak to them.

  He took Otto's arm and led him over to the lodge. "God's will has been done here today," he said to Harold. "I hope there are no hard feelings."

  "We're out of work," Harold said. "That's a hard feeling." Philip suddenly saw a way to get Harold's men on his side. Impulsively he said: "You can be back in work today, if you want. Work for me. I'll hire your whole team. You won't even have to move out of your lodge."

  Harold was surprised at this turn of events. He looked startled, then recovered his composure and said: "At what wages?"

  "Standard rates," Philip replied promptly. "Twopence a day for craftsmen, a penny a day for laborers, fourpence for yourself, and you pay your own apprentices."

  Harold turned away and looked at his colleagues. Philip drew Otto away to let them discuss the proposal in private. Philip could not really afford twelve more men, and if they accepted his offer he would have to postpone further the day when he could hire masons. That meant he would be cutting stone faster than he could use it. He would build up a stockpile, but it would be bad for his flow of cash. However, having all Percy's quarrymen on the priory payroll would be a good defensive move. If Percy wanted to try again to work the quarry himself, he would first have to hire a team of quarrymen; which might be difficult, once the news of today's events got around. And if at some future date Percy should try another stratagem to close the quarry, Philip would have a stockpile of stone.

  Harold appeared to be arguing with his men. After a few moments he left them and approached Philip again. "Who's to be in charge, if we work for you?" he said. "Me, or your own master quarryman?"

  "Otto here is in charge," Philip said without hesitation. Harold certainly could not be in charge, in case his loyalty should be won back by Percy. And there could not be two masters, for that would lead to disputes. "You can still run your own team," Philip said to Harold. "But Otto will be over you."

  Harold looked disappointed and returned to his men. The discussion continued. Tom Builder joined Philip and Otto. "Your plan worked, Father," he said with a broad grin.

  "We repossessed the quarry without shedding a drop of blood. You're amazing."

  Philip was inclined to agree, and realized he was guilty of the sin of pride. "It was God who worked the miracle," he said, reminding himself as well as Tom.

  Otto said: "Father Philip has offered to hire Harold and his men to work with me."

  "Really!" Tom looked displeased. It was the master builder who was supposed to recruit craftsmen, not the prior. "I shouldn't have thought he could afford it."

  "I can't," Philip admitted. "But I don't want these men hanging around with nothing to do, waiting for Percy to think of another way to get the quarry back."

  Tom looked thoughtful, then he nodded. "And it will do no harm to have a reserve of stone in case Percy succeeds."

  Philip was glad Tom saw the sense of what he had done.

  Harold seemed to be reaching agreement with his men. He came back to Philip and said: "Will you pay the wages to me, and leave me to distribute the money as I think fit?"

  Philip was dubious. That meant the ma
ster could take more than his share. But he said: "It's up to the master builder."

  "It's common enough," Tom said. "If that's what your team wants, I'm willing."

  "In that case, we accept," Harold said.

  Harold and Tom shook hands. Philip said: "So everyone gets what they want. Good!"

  "There's one who hasn't got what they want," Harold said.

  "Who's that?" said Philip.

  "Earl Percy's wife, Regan," Harold said lugubriously. "When she finds out what's happened here there's going to be blood all over the floor."

  II

  There was no hunting today, so the young men at Earlscastle played one of William Hamleigh's favorite games, stoning the cat.

  There were always plenty of cats in the castle, and one more or less made no difference. The men closed the doors and shuttered the windows of the hall of the keep, and pushed the furniture up against the wall so that the cat could not hide behind anything; then they made a pile of stones in the middle of the room. The cat, an aging mouser with gray in its fur, sensed the bloodlust in the air and sat near the door, hoping to get out.

  Each man had to put a penny into the pot for each stone he threw, and the man who threw the fatal stone took the pot.

  As they drew lots to determine the order of throwing, the cat became agitated, pacing up and down in front of the door.

  Walter threw first. This was lucky, for although the cat was wary it did not know the nature of the game, and might be taken by surprise. With his back to the animal, Walter picked a stone from the pile and concealed it in his hand; then he turned around slowly and threw suddenly.

  He missed. The stone thudded into the door and the cat jumped and ran. The others jeered.

  It was unlucky to throw second, for the cat was fresh and light on its feet, whereas later it would be tired and possibly injured. A young squire was next. He watched the cat run around the room, looking for a way out, and waited until it slowed down; then he threw. It was a good shot but the cat saw it coming and dodged it. The men groaned.

  It ran around the room again, faster now, getting panicky, jumping up onto the trestles and boards that were stacked against the wall, jumping back down to the floor. An older knight threw next. He feinted a throw, to see which way the cat would jump, then threw for real when it was running, aiming a little ahead of it. The others applauded his cunning, but the cat saw the stone coming and stopped suddenly, avoiding it.