CHAPTER VIII
The Isle of Axholme, to which Humphrey was determined to go, was amarshy tract of ground in the northwest part of what is nowLincolnshire, and its eastern boundary was the Trent River. It was someeighteen miles long from north to south, and some five miles wide fromeast to west. On its north side was the wide mouth of the Ouse; theriver Idle was south of it, and west of it was the Don. In the time ofthe Romans there had been a forest here which they had cut down, andthe low, level land afterward became a marsh. At this time few treeswere to be found there. But there were thickets of underbrush andpatches of rank grass, as well as pools and boggy places; and Humphreywas right in thinking the place comparatively safe from pursuit.Especially so as the pursuers would naturally think that the young lordJosceline would push on as rapidly as possible, that he might getacross to France to join his father.
"I go no more where the crowd goeth," declared Humphrey, when they wereon their way. "How many, thinkest thou, of all that be abroad in theseparts pass through Doncaster? Why, near all. We need not to showourselves further to draw pursuit. This is now the fourth day since weset out, and my lady and Josceline must be well along in their journey.I would I knew the doings of William Lorimer at the castle. He is abrave man and a true, though he would never tell me his plans that hemight take my counsel. He ever made naught of dreams and spake lightlyof omens. I hope he may not fare the worse for it."
Hugo made no reply. He, too, was wondering about how things were goingat the castle, but he kept his thoughts to himself.
"Now I will tell thee," said Humphrey, pausing and turning in hissaddle, "when thou seest me draw rein and hold up my hand, do thou stopinstantly. There be many robbers in this wood, and we have them to fearas well as king's men. And hold Fleetfoot fast. Let him not escapethee."
Hugo promised to obey in these particulars, and Humphrey, for a shortdistance, put his horse to the trot with Hugo following close behindhim. All that day they turned and wound through the forest, going fastwhere they dared, and at other times creeping silently along. To Hugoit seemed they must be lost; but, when darkness fell, they had reachedthe edge of the Isle of Axholme, and, putting the horses through theDon, were safe in its marshy wastes.
"Here be no keepers and rangers," said Humphrey, exultingly. "And heremay we kill and eat what we choose, while Fleetfoot may hunt forhimself. We stir not till the moon rise, and then we seek a place tosleep," he concluded, patting the wet coat of the horse he rode.
Hugo said nothing. He did not know it, but he was nervous. All day hehad been on the alert, and now to stay perfectly still in this strange,silent place, not daring to stir in the darkness lest he splash intosome pool, or mire in a bog; with his eyes attempting to see, when itwas too dark to see anything but the glow-worms in the grass and thewill-o'-the-wisp, was an added strain.
Two hours went by, and the curtain of darkness began to lift. Themoonlight made visible a fringe of small trees and the shine of thewater on whose bank they grew. The breeze rose and sighed and whistledthrough rush and reed. An owl hooted, and then Humphrey, who had beennodding on his horse's back, suddenly became very wide awake.
"Hast been here before, Hugo?" he cried cheerily.
"Nay," answered the boy, listlessly.
"No more have I," returned Humphrey. "But what of that? A man who hathproper dreams may be at home in all places. I will now seek out ourresting-place, and do thou and Fleetfoot follow me." So saying, hechirruped to his patient horse and led the way carefully; for, howevermuch Humphrey imagined he depended on dreams, he generally exercised asgood judgment and care as he was able. To-night weary Hugo hadforgotten that Humphrey was his servant, and, as such, bound to obeyhim. He felt himself nothing but a tired and homesick boy, and was gladhimself to obey the faithful Saxon, while he thought regretfully of hisuncle the prior, Lady De Aldithely, Josceline, and the valiant WilliamLorimer.
It was not Humphrey's intention to go farther that night thanabsolutely necessary; and a little later he dismounted and stamped hisfeet with satisfaction. "Here be solid ground enough and to spare forus and the horses and hound," he said, "and here will we rest."
A lone, scrubby tree was at hand, and to that Humphrey made fast thehorses and dog. "No fire to-night. Thy cloak must be thy protectionfrom the damp," he said. "But the swamp is not so damp as the king'sdungeon, nor so dismal. So let us eat and sleep."
Hugo said nothing. He ate a morsel with a swelling heart, and then, insilence, lay down. He was beginning to find leading evil men a merrychase a rather unpleasant business.
In the moonlight Humphrey looked at him. "He is a good lad," hethought, "and seemeth no more to me like a stranger. I begin to seethat he seemed no stranger to my lady neither. My lord will make himhis page, no doubt, if he getteth safely over to France. France is agood country when a bad king ruleth at home." Then faithful Humphrey,the animals fed, himself lay down to sleep.
It was late the next morning when Hugo awoke. Humphrey had beenstirring two hours; and the first thing the boy's eyes rested upon wasa little fire made of bits of punky wood collected by Humphrey; andspitted above the coals were two small birds roasting.
"Ay, lad!" cried Humphrey. "Open thine eyes now, and we will tobreakfast presently. What sayest thou to a peewit each? Is that notbetter than brawn?"
Hugo smiled and arose at once. His despondency of the night before wasgone, together with his fatigue, and he looked about him with interest.To the left were reeds some twelve feet tall which fringed a pool; tothe right, thick sedge that fringed another; and they seemed to be on asort of tiny, grassy isle, though the water which divided them from thenext bit of solid earth could, in some places, be stepped across. Thesun shone with agreeable warmth. There were frequent whirrs of wings inthe air as small flocks of game birds rose from the water and sedgenear by.
Hugo looked about him with interest]
"This is not the wood nor is it Brockadale; but here one may breathe alittle without having his eyes looking on all sides for an enemy," saidHumphrey, with satisfaction. "It is the turn of the peewits to lookout. Knowest thou the peewit?"
"On the table only," answered Hugo, pleasantly.
"Ay," observed Humphrey. "Thine uncle, the prior, hath many a fat feastin the priory, I warrant thee. But here thou shalt see the peewit athome. Had we but come in April, we had had some eggs as well as birdsto eat."
Humphrey had made a fresh meal cake in the embers, and the two--boy andserving-man--now sat devouring birds and cake with great appetites.
"Thou knowest the pigeon?" asked Humphrey.
"Yea," replied Hugo.
"The peewit is the size of a pigeon."
"So I should guess," remarked Hugo.
"There be those that call it the lapwing," pursued Humphrey.
"My uncle, the prior, is of the number," smiled Hugo.
"Ay, priests ever have abundance of names for everything. It cometh, nodoubt, from knowing Latin and other outlandish gibberish."
Hugo smiled indulgently. His feeling toward Humphrey had, during thelast day, undergone a complete change. And, though he was but a Saxonserving-man, the heart of the boy had now an affection for him.Humphrey was quick to detect it, and he too smiled.
"Had the peewit short legs like the pigeon," he continued, "and did hebut want what they call the crest on the back of his head, and couldyou see only the back of the bird, he might be thought a pigeon, sincehe shineth on the back like a peacock in all colors blue and green canmake when mixed together. But when he standeth on his somewhat longlegs, and thou seest that his under parts be white, why, even aFrenchman would know he was no pigeon, but must be the peewit orlapwing. And I warrant thee we shall eat our fill of peewits if weremain here long."
"When thinkest thou of going?" asked Hugo, interestedly.
"Why, that I know not. I would fain have another dream. I know not howit may be with other men, but when I am right weary I dream not. WhichI take as an omen not to stir till I be rested and ready to use mywits. Th
ou hast noticed that weariness dulleth the wits?"
"Yea," replied Hugo.
"Why, I have seen in my time many fall into grievous snares fromnothing more than being weary, and so, dull of sight and hearing. Buthere cometh Fleetfoot sleek and satisfied. I did but turn him loose twohours ago, and I warrant thee he hath had a fine meal. I will make himfast once more, and then we go farther into the island to seek anotherresting-place for the night. This is too near the edge of the marsh,and too near the Don."
Mounting the horses, and with Fleetfoot once more in leash, they setout, Humphrey picking his way and Hugo following. And by mid-day theyhad come to what Humphrey decided was probably the best location forthem on the island. It was another solid, grassy place, and was gracedwith three little scrub trees which gave them a leafy roof under whichto lie. From the fringe of neighboring rushes the two cut enough tostrew their resting-place thickly, and so protect their bodies from thedamp ground. Then Humphrey dug a shallow fire-pit at the north, and,after their mid-day meal, set diligently about collecting a store offuel. Little was to be found solid enough to cook with, and that littlehe stored carefully apart, reserving a great heap of dead rushes andreeds for the blaze which was to ward off the night dampness and makethem comfortable. In all these labors Hugo bore his share, for the two,by tacit consent, were no longer master and man but comrades in needand danger.
In collecting the reeds they took few from their immediateneighborhood, wishing to be as protected from chance observation aspossible. And they found their wanderings in search of fuel full ofinterest. At some distance from their camping-place they came upon amuddy shallow. And there on the bank Hugo saw his first avoset or"scooper," as Humphrey called him. The bird was resting from his laborswhen the two first observed him. Though the ooze was soft the bird didnot sink into it. There he stood, his wide-webbed toes supporting himon the surface of the ooze, and it seemed a long way from his feet uphis blue legs to his black-and-white body. But the oddest thing abouthim was his long, curved, and elastic bill turning up at the end. Thebird had not observed them, and presently set to work scooping throughthe mud after worms. Then he waded out a little way into the shallow,where he did not stay long, for, catching sight of Hugo and Humphrey,he rose a little in the air and flew swiftly away. Farther on they cameupon a wading crane with an unlucky snake in his mouth. And stillfarther away they caught sight of a mother duck swimming with her youngbrood upon a pool. And every now and then a frog plumped into thewater. But nowhere did they discover, by sight or sound, another humanbeing beside themselves.
When darkness fell the glow-worms shone once more, the will-o'-the-wispdanced, and the owls hooted. The fire of dead rushes and reeds, fed bythe patient Humphrey, blazed brightly and shed a grateful warmth upontheir sheltered resting-place under the three scrub trees. And, lyingat ease upon the rushes, the hours of darkness went by till, when themoon arose, the fire had died down, Hugo slept, and Humphrey had gonein search of a favoring dream.
Near Doncaster that night camped Richard Wood with his three newlyhired men-at-arms; while within the town at an inn called the GreenDragon lay Walter Skinner. He was newly equipped with a horse. "I needno men-at-arms," he said to himself, "nor will I hire them. I willcatch the young lord and his serving-man with arrow and bow if I butcome up with them again."
And that night, safe out of the forest of Galtus, Lady De Aldithely andher party encamped on the border of Scotland.
That night also Robert Sadler, pausing to rest on his return journey tothe castle, looked often at the package he carried, and wondered whatit contained.
That night also the valiant William Lorimer and his men-at-arms restedfrom their labors well satisfied. For, while the moat at the great gateheld only its usual allowance of water, by means of the new dam theyhad constructed, that part of the moat near the postern was level full.
The next morning marked the beginning of the sixth day of theirjourney, and Humphrey rose with unimpaired cheerfulness. Once moreHugo's waking eyes beheld two peewits spitted over the coals and a mealcake baking in the embers. "I did dream of gold last night," saidHumphrey, by way of a morning greeting. "Knowest thou what thatbetokeneth?"
"Nay," responded Hugo, pleasantly.
"It betokeneth success in thy present undertaking after first meetingwith difficulties. We have met with difficulties, and what were theybut the king's men? They be now behind us, and success is to be ours.But come thou to breakfast now. To-morrow morn we set forth again."
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