by G. A. Henty
Chapter 16: A Letter For The King.
A large number of Flemings had settled in Wales, having left their owncountry in consequence of the constant troubles there; and many ofthese had set up cloth mills, at Welshpool and other places. Havingsuffered great destruction of property at the hands of Glendower, andseeing no hope of the insurrection being put down by the English, theyresolved to take the matter into their own hands. Fifteen hundred ofthem gathered, secretly, and surrounded Glendower in one of hismountain intrenchments.
He repulsed their attacks, but the situation was desperate. Provisionsran short. He was unable to summon help, and at last determined, withhis little body of followers, to endeavour to cut his way out throughthe besiegers. The attack was sudden and fierce. The Flemings, who,knowing the smallness of his force, had made no preparations to repelan attack, were seized with a panic at the fierce appearance and thewild cries of the Welsh, who fell upon them with such fury that twohundred of the Flemings were slain, and the Welsh cut their way throughthe beleaguering line.
The news of this feat was received with immense enthusiasm, throughoutthe principality. Great numbers flocked to Glendower's standard; thebards sung songs of his victory, at every village in Wales; and soformidable did his position become that the Lords of the Marches wroteto the king, saying that the matter had gone altogether beyond them,and that his presence, with an army, was urgently needed.
Even in Ludlow, extra sentries were placed upon the walls, the garrisonwas kept in a constant state of vigilance, and mounted men werestationed, miles out, to bring in the news of the approach of anyhostile force.
"'Tis a thousand pities," Sir Edmund said, when the news of the defeatof the Flemings reached him, "that these fellows did not send news tome, a day or two before they undertook this business; for in that caseI would have myself headed a force of a couple of hundred of my bestmen-at-arms, and joined them at some spot in the mountains; and had webeen there, you may be sure that Glendower would never have fought hisway out. The Flemings are doubtless stout fighters, as they have provedover and over again, in their own country; but they are all unused tomountain warfare, or to fight with wild men, and were doubtless scaredby the shrill cries with which the Welsh always advance to battle.Doubtless, too, these men Glendower keeps with him are his bestfighters, and they knew that, if they did not succeed in making theirway out, no mercy would be shown to them, seeing that they have shownnone themselves. Had the battle been on a plain, I doubt not that theFlemings would have stood against many times the number of Welshmenthat Owen had with him; but this hill warfare was altogether strange tothem, and of course they had not the habit of quickly rallying, andmeeting the attack, that is second nature with our men-at-arms. Theaffair is serious, and unless the king comes hither with an army,Glendower is likely to have it all his own way on his side of theborder; and, ere long, there won't be an Englishman left west of theSevern."
However Henry, when informed of the danger, lost no time in assemblinganother great army; and in the beginning of June advanced into Wales,and ravaged a wide extent of country, carrying his arms intoCardiganshire, and destroying the Abbey of Strata Florida, one of themost venerable and famous abbeys in Wales. Founded in 1164, it wasburnt down in 1294, during the wars of King Edward the First with theWelsh, but was soon rebuilt. Here Llewellyn, in 1237, convened all thechieftains of Wales to take the oath of allegiance. There were twocopies of the national records, one of which was kept at this abbey,and the other at that of Conway.
The abbey having fallen, Henry's army met with scarcely any resistance,Glendower knowing that his wild followers were no match for the royaltroops. He therefore contented himself with harassing them continually,and the army suffered greatly by this continued annoyance, as well asfrom fatigue and famine. Thus the king returned across the borderwithout having achieved any success, whatever.
The Lords of the Marches were not now ordered to contribute any troops,but were to hold their castles strongly; lest, when the army was fairlyentangled among the mountains, Glendower should make a great incursioninto England. The only advantage gained by the English invasion wasthat the king, by promises of pardon and rewards, drew away a number ofthe leading men who had hitherto acted with Glendower. Their defection,however, was more than made up by the enthusiasm excited by thespectacle of the second retirement of a great English army, withouthaving effected anything of importance.
So evident was this, that in October Henry again advanced, with thecontingents of no fewer than twenty-two counties. The season, however,was already unfavourable for operations and, after enduring greathardships and suffering, the army again fell back, having effected evenless than the two which had preceded it.
Things, however, turned out fortunately for Oswald. The army hadadvanced a week across the border when a messenger arrived at Ludlow,with a letter from London for the king.
"It will be no easy matter to forward it," Sir Edmund said, as thedespatch was handed to him. "Indeed, I see not how it is to be done.Beyond the fact that the king intended to march west, I know nothingwhatever of his intentions, or of the exact road he was likely to take.His orders were strict, that we were to keep our forces well in hand;and to send the letter forward would need two hundred men, at least, asan escort. It places me in an awkward position, indeed."
"If it so please you, Sir Edmund," said Oswald, who was one of thegroup standing round, when the messenger handed the letter to Mortimer;"I will endeavour to carry the despatch for you. Methinks that, whilefifty men would not succeed in getting through to the army, two might,perchance, manage to do so. I shall, of course, ride first toShrewsbury, through which the king passed; and so follow up the coursehe took. There should be no great difficulty in doing that, for themarch of so great a body of men must have left many traces behind. Theywill, doubtless, have harried the country, for some distance each sideof the line they followed; and it is not likely that I should meet anyof the Welsh, until I was near the army. Then, of course, great cautionwould have to be used; for it is like enough that there are parties ofGlendower's men hanging on its skirts, to cut off stragglers, andplunder any waggons whose horses may have fallen by the way."
"'Tis a terribly dangerous service," Sir Edmund said, gravely; "but intruth, I see no other way of forwarding this letter; which, for aught Iknow, may be of high importance. But if this is a desperate enterprise,it is also one that will bring you great credit, if safely carriedthrough. I will myself, if you go, give you a letter to the king,saying that you have volunteered for this desperate undertaking, fromyour loyalty to his person, and because it is possible that the lettermay contain matter of the highest importance, to him and the realm ingeneral. I shall add that you have already greatly distinguishedyourself, in service against the Welsh, and are the trusty esquire ofmy brother-in-law, Sir Henry Percy."
"I quite feel, Sir Edmund, that the enterprise is a dangerous one; butI am nevertheless determined, with your permission, to undertake it. Myhenchman and myself have, together, gone through dangers as great; andmay pass through this, as well."
"I will give you my answer in half an hour, Master Oswald, when I havetalked it over with my knights, and heard their opinions as to whetherany better plan can be devised."
Oswald bowed and retired and, seeking out Roger, told him of the offerthat he had made.
"Well, master, if you are bent upon this enterprise, you will not findme backward; and indeed, I am so sick of this six months of idleness,and of seeing others marching to Wales to fight, while we do nothinghere; that, by Saint Bride, were you to ask me to go into Glendower'sstronghold, and pluck him by the beard, I would willingly go with you."
Oswald laughed.
"'Tis not so bad as that, Roger, and yet 'tis a service of greatdanger. How think you that we had best set about it, on horse or onfoot?"
Roger looked surprised at the question.
"It would surely be better to go on horseback, master; for if we mettoo many Welshmen to fight, we might at least ride
away from them."
"There is truth in that, Roger; but, on the other hand, our feet willcarry us up and down mountains, and fells, where our horses could notgo. If mounted, we must travel by beaten tracks, and might be seized byparties of Welsh, lurking in the woods, before we knew of theirpresence. Without horses, we could ourselves keep within shelter of thetrees, and could so evade the observation of any who might be stationedon lofty hills, to watch if any body of troops were following the trackof the army. Moreover, we should have no trouble about forage and waterfor our steeds."
"Enough, master, I see which way your inclinations lie; and as my legshave had a long holiday, it is but right that they should carry me fora bit; and assuredly, 'tis easier for footmen to hide than it is forhorsemen."
"I should say, Roger, that it would be best to leave armour, as well ashorses behind. If we are attacked by numbers, our armour will serve usbut little; while if without it, we may be able, even if chased, toavoid the hands of these Welshmen. They say that they are swift offoot; but, as we can hold our own with the Northumbrian border men, weought to be able to do so against these Welsh, especially as our legsare nigh a foot longer than those of the greater part of them."
"Very well, master. I myself have no great love for travelling inarmour, and would almost as soon march in a monk's gown, again, as inbreastplate and back piece."
"Very well, so we will arrange it. We shall have to carry ourprovisions, for you may be sure that we shall get nothing, whatever,while we are following the army. They will strip the country clean. Youknow how terribly they have suffered by famine, on the two previousexpeditions; and it will assuredly be no better, now. Food, however, wecan procure at Shrewsbury, from which point we shall take our start."
A retainer, at this moment, came out from the hall, and informed Oswaldthat Sir Edmund would speak with him. When he entered, Mortimer said:
"My knights and I agree that this letter ought to be sent forward tothe king; for if it contains matters of importance, great harm mightresult from delay, and the king's anger be excited against us, for nothaving sent it to him. His orders to me were strict, that neither I norany of my force should join him; therefore I accept your offer, withthanks. Have you formed any plan for your proceeding?"
Oswald repeated the substance of what he had said to Roger.
"I think, perhaps, you are right," Mortimer said, "and that you mayhave more chance of getting safely through, on foot, than if you rodewith but a small force to escort you. When you are ready to start, Iwill speak to you in private, touching some things connected with yourjourney."
When Oswald returned, Mortimer said to him:
"You see, Master Oswald, the position is by no means simple. There canbe no doubt that the king regards me with no favourable eye. He holdsmy nephews in his keeping, and doubtless imagines that I bear him illwill. As their uncle, he supposes that, should at any time a party beformed to place the Earl of March on the throne, I should be the leaderin the matter; though assuredly I have never given him any reason todoubt my loyalty.
"I say not that I approved of the deposition of King Richard; andindeed I have not, like Lord Grey and many other nobles, among them thePercys, been a warm supporter of King Henry's cause. I hold myselfaltogether neutral, in that matter. I saw that nothing would be moreruinous, for the country, than that a boy like my nephew should mountthe throne; and had a party been formed to make him king, instead ofHenry, I would have taken no share in it. Nevertheless, there is nogetting over the fact that, by right, the Earl of March is King ofEngland, and there is no saying what may come about in the future; butassuredly, at the present time, I am as ready to do my duty towardsKing Henry as are those who are louder in their expressions ofattachment to him.
"Nevertheless, I am well aware that the king distrusts me. As you see,he has not, these three times that he has invaded Wales, come nearLudlow. He has not summoned me to join his banner; nay, more, hasstrictly ordered me not to send a man-at-arms to join him.
"I own that this letter troubles me, somewhat. Why should it not havebeen carried to Shrewsbury, instead of being brought hither? It has,indeed, come from London, and those who sent it may not know that theking would move by Shrewsbury, and not by this line; which would,indeed, be more direct for him in advancing into Montgomery andCardiganshire. On the other hand, it may be a snare. If I send it notforward, he might blame me greatly for holding it back. If I send itforward, and perchance it falls, on the way, into the hands of theWelsh, he might harbour the thought, even if he did not accuse meopenly, of conniving with Glendower. One pretext is as good as another,however unlikely it may be, when a king desires to make a quarrel withone of his vassals. Your offer to carry it is, then, a very seasonableone, and goes far to get me out of the difficulty.
"In the first place, by sending it by you, I afford no ground for himto say that I have disobeyed his orders, to send no one of my followingto his army; and in the next place, whatever suspicion he may have ofme, assuredly he can have none of the Percys, to whom he so largelyowes his crown; and that a trusted squire of Hotspur should be thebearer of the letter, is sufficient proof that all that could be done,was done, for its safe carriage. Should you fail to deliver it, he can,at least, not put it down to any fault of mine.
"Sir James Burgon and Sir Philip Haverstone both offered to carry it,urging that the danger should fall on them; and not upon you, who arestill an esquire, and have no duty towards me in the affair; and thatit were a shame that they should remain here, idle, while you rode,perhaps, to your death.
"Assuredly, my feelings were with them and, were it not for thecircumstances in which I am placed, I should certainly intrust theenterprise to them; but on my laying the whole matter before them, andpointing out that the coming of two of my knights to him would be abreach of the king's orders, they saw that, since you were willing toundertake it, it were best that it should be so.
"I doubt not that Henry would, not unwillingly, fasten some quarrel onme. He has his army at hand and, did he march hither, he could seize mylands, and those of my nephew, and partition them out among hisfriends; for I am in no condition to strike a single blow in mydefence. We know, well enough, that when a king wishes to get rid ofone of his nobles, there is never any great difficulty in finding apretext for his arrest, and execution."
"I quite understand, Sir Edmund; and for my part, I will assuredly domy best to place this letter in the hands of the king. I shall saythat, being of Sir Henry Percy's household, and knowing that my lordwould be glad that I should have the opportunity of striking a blowunder the king's leading, I volunteered at once, when the letterarrived, to bear it to him; and that, seeing his majesty had laid hisorders on you, to keep all your force in readiness to repel Glendower,should he issue out in this quarter, you granted my request that Ishould be its bearer."
"That will do well, Oswald. I know that the danger is by no meanssmall, but I trust that you may surmount it. I shall send off a letter,today, to Hotspur. Doubtless you will, yourself, be writing to him, andexplain to him why I have suffered you to undertake so dangerous anenterprise."
Two hours later, Oswald, having despatched the messenger to Hotspurwith his own letter, and that of Mortimer, mounted, and with Roger rodeto Shrewsbury. Here he was able to gather but little news, as to thepresent position of the army. For four days no messengers had arrivedfrom the king.
The last news was to the effect that the army was marching forward,through Montgomeryshire. On first starting, they had made a long marchto Welshpool, and thence had proceeded to Newtown. On the way, theWelsh had rushed down from the hills, and had fallen on the baggage,slain many of the drivers, and killed so many horses that it had beennecessary to leave some of the waggons behind.
At Newtown they halted, and parties had been sent out in all directionsto harry the country, while a part of the force left at Welshpoolmarched upon Llanfair. This was the last news that had come throughfrom the king.
But from Welshpool they heard, next day, th
at there had been severalskirmishes with the Welsh, and that heavy rains had made the roads allbut impassable. No more messages had come. This was not surprising, asit was certain that the Welsh would close in behind the army, as itadvanced; and as there would be no great occasion to send news back,the king would not care to weaken himself, by detaching escorts ofsufficient strength to make their way down.
"If we could have been sure which way the king had been going, Roger,it would have been much shorter for us to have made direct forLlanidloes."
"Certainly it would, Master Oswald; but you see, he might have turnedmore to the north, in which case we should have, perhaps, been unableto gather news of his whereabouts, while we should have run no smallrisk of getting our throats cut."
"It is evident, Roger, that the king is marching, at present, in thedirection of Plinlimmon. No doubt he hopes that Glendower will comedown and give him battle, but methinks he will not be foolish enough todo so. The weather, and the hills, will fight far better for him thanthe Welsh, themselves, can do; and he has but to leave the army towander about through the mountains and forests, as he did last time, toensure that they must, ere long, fall back."
At daybreak the next morning, they set out and rode to Welshpool. Thisbeing a walled town, and the population almost entirely English, theycould leave their horses here, in safety. They first went to thegovernor's, and upon Oswald's explaining that they were the bearers ofa letter for the king, and asking whether he could give them anyinformation as to the direction they had best take, he shook his head.
"No news has come hither, for the last five days," he said. "A herd ofbullocks arrived here, three days since, and were to have beenforwarded on to the army; but the Welsh are out in force, and everyroad beset. Parties have come down from the hills overlooking us, andhave fired several houses, that escaped when they last attacked us. Myforce is sufficient to hold the town against any attacks, but I cannotspare so many men as would be required to convoy the cattle. I told theking so, before he went on; but he said that no Welshman would dareshow himself, when the army had once passed on; and that every Welshhouse and village would be destroyed, and all within them put to thesword, so that I should have no difficulty in sending forward cattle,and other supplies.
"That the villages have been destroyed I have no doubt, for themessengers who came in from Llanfair told me that, as they passed overthe hills, they could see smoke rising from the forests in alldirections; but whether the inhabitants remained, quietly awaiting thearrival of the troops, is more than doubtful. There were beacon fireson all the hills, the night before the army left Shrewsbury, and againon the next night. Since then, we have seen no more from here, butthose who came from Llanfair told us that they were burning, on everyhill, the night they got there; so I have no doubt that the old men,women, and children were at once sent off, probably to shelter in thePlinlimmon district, or mayhap in the forests of Cader Idris. At anyrate, we may be sure that very few will be found at their villages. Itwas so the last time the king's army marched along, and the same whenhe made his way through Denbigh to Anglesey.
"The Welsh care little for the burning of their houses. It takes buttwo or three days' work to rebuild them. The harrying of the villageswill not bring the matter a day nearer to a conclusion. It is bydestroying the castles and houses of the better class that an effectwill be produced. The peasants have little to lose. The Welsh gentryhave houses and estates, and the fear of losing these may drive them toabandon Glendower, and to come over to us. Many did so, after theking's last invasion. Methinks the best policy would be to spare thevillagers, and give the peasants no cause for complaint, and to waronly against their leaders.
"But as to yourself, sir, there is not the most remote chance of yourgetting through; and you had best wait here until the army returns, orsome levies, who may have arrived late at Shrewsbury, come up on theirway to join the king."
"I inquired at Shrewsbury, last night, sir; but I heard that no moreparties were expected, the contingents from all the counties havingjoined the king, at Worcester, on the day ordered. My intention is thatI and my man-at-arms will leave our horses here, and go forward onfoot. In that way we can travel, for the most part, through theforests; and may escape being seen. We have already left our armourbehind us, at Ludlow, so as to be able to move more rapidly. We areboth Northumbrians, and are accustomed to traverse moors and fells;and, even should we be seen by any straggling party of the enemy, weshall have a fair chance of outrunning them, and throwing them off ourtrack. At any rate, it is my duty to endeavour to carry the letter tothe king."
"Is it a matter of life and death?"
"That I know not, sir. A royal messenger brought it, from London, toLudlow. He had ridden with relays of horses, but had no means ofgetting farther, and begged Sir Edmund Mortimer to forward it. Imyself, an esquire of Sir Henry Percy, was staying as a guest with SirEdmund--who is, as you know, my lord's brother-in-law--and Ivolunteered to carry it, being anxious to have an opportunity of doingservice to the king."
"It was a bold offer, young man, and doubtless, when you made it, youwere scarce aware how dangerous was the business that you undertook.Did I think that it would be of any use, I would furnish you withtwenty men-at-arms to ride with you; but I know that such a forcewould, in no way, add to your safety. You might get as far asLlanidloes, or Llanfair, whichever route you might choose, though Ithink not that you would do so; but beyond that, it would be hopelessfor any force, of less than five hundred good fighting men, to attemptto make their way through.
"From what I hear, there are at least fifteen thousand Welshmen inarms. Many, doubtless, are with Glendower himself. The rest will bescattered among the hills, ready to pounce upon any party who may bemoving up the valleys to join the king; and there are plenty of placeswhere a couple of hundred men could check the advance of an army."
"Then it is all the more necessary, sir, that we should trust to goodfortune, and to making our way unseen. May I pray you to take care ofour horses, till we return to claim them? Should we never do so, thereare doubtless many upon whom you could bestow them; and they are bothrarely good animals, for one was presented to me by Sir Henry Percy,and the other by Sir Edmund Mortimer."
"I will take care of them, willingly. If you do not return, before theking marches back; and I find, when he comes, that you did not reachhim; I will use the horses myself, holding them always as your propertyshould you, at any time, return to claim them. Is there aught else thatI can do to help you?"
"No, sir; what would, of all other things, be most valuable to us wouldbe a guide; but, from what I have seen and heard of the Welsh, I fearthat no reliance, whatever, can be placed on one of them."
"Certainly not at present. Did you take one, he would but slip away atthe first opportunity; and there is no Englishman, so far as I know,who could guide you through the mountains."
"In that case, sir, we must perforce travel close to the roads, so asto be sure that we do not wander from the track, but keeping in theshelter of the forest."
"That is the only possible course," the governor agreed; "to be lost,among those hills, would be certain death. If you failed to fall inwith anyone, you would die of hunger. If you did meet anyone, you wouldbe killed. Glendower spares no Englishman who falls into his hands."
"I don't know that he can be greatly blamed for that, sir," Oswald saidwith a smile, "seeing that the Welsh meet with such scant mercy, fromus."
"'Tis a savage war," the governor said, shrugging his shoulders, "andit seems to me that it will continue, until the last Welshman isexterminated."
"That will be a difficult thing, indeed, to effect," Oswald laughed;"as difficult as was the extermination of wolves in England; but I hopethat matters will arrange themselves, long before that. Surely, intime, the Welsh leaders will see that the struggle is a hopeless one;and that they will lose their homes, and their possessions, and theirlives, if they continue it.
"Brave as the Welsh may be, they cannot withstand the whole st
rength ofEngland. They may exist in the forests, for a time; but, with all thevalleys and fertile lands in English hands, they will at last be forcedto submit."
"It would seem so; but Edward said the same thing, of Scotland. Hecarried fire and sword through it, time after time; and yet Scotlandhas still its king, and holds its own on the border."
"That is so, sir; but Scotland is a large country, whereas Wales is asmall one; and the towns and castles are English, as are all the ports;and the people themselves, although brave, are wholly withoutdiscipline, and are able to fight only in the mountains; while theScots are strong enough to give battle to us on level ground, and havedefeated us, more than once."
"My advice to you is to leave the town at night," the governor said, asOswald rose to leave. "There may be many of the Welsh lying round usnow; and doubtless they learn, from their countrymen here, all that isdoing. I will give you a scroll, ordering that you are allowed to passout at any time, by night or day."
"Thank you, sir. I had intended to start tomorrow morning, two hoursbefore daybreak, so as to get well into the forest before sunrise. Ishall, of course, go first to Llanidloes; where, doubtless, a strongguard will have been left. As far as that I cannot well miss my way, asI shall have but to keep along the side of the valley."
"That is so. Beyond that, the river is a mere streamlet, and you willhave to make across the hills."
"Do you know, sir, whether the force that went to Llanfair was toeffect a junction with the king?"
"No, I believe not; at any rate, not for the present. The party was tomarch west; the king's force was to move south of Plinlimmon; LordTalbot's to cross the range of hills, and come down upon the riverDovey and, if possible, prevent Glendower, if he is still onPlinlimmon, from making his way to Dinas Mowddwy, or Cader Idris, or upto Snowdon again. The plan is doubtless as good as another, but I doubtwhether Talbot's force, if ten times as numerous as it is, couldprevent Glendower from slipping away."
That evening Oswald bought a supply of bread and meat, sufficient tolast Roger and himself for three days. This was divided in halves andplaced in bags, which would be slung over their shoulders. The horseshad already been sent up to the castle and, after sleeping for a fewhours, the two left the town and, turning to the right, ascended thehill.
Oswald carried his sword and dagger. Roger, in addition to these, had aheavy oaken quarterstaff.
"This," he said, "may be of service in mountain work, and may sufficeto crack the skulls of any half-dozen Welshmen we may fall in with."
Both had put on plain leather jerkins and cloth caps, and wore,underneath, their own suits with the Percy cognizance embroidered onthem, in order that they might present themselves in proper attire,should they arrive at the king's camp. The weather was already becomingcold, and the double suit was therefore not uncomfortable. As the dressof the Welsh, in the towns and valleys, was very similar to that wornby English villagers; they would attract but little attention, shouldthey have cause to take to the road, for any short distance.
Keeping within the edge of the belt of trees, they followed the valleydown past the ruins of Montgomery, and passed Newtown without enteringit. Many times during the morning they heard loud shouts, from thewoods in which they were, answered by similar cries from the other sideof the valley; and were obliged to move with great caution, for it wasevident that a considerable number of Welsh were in ambush in thewoods, in readiness to attack any party who might be proceeding up ordown the valley.
Towards noon, they were obliged to leave the edge of the forest, and toascend to the brow of the hills; as it was certain that any parties ofthe enemy, who might be in the forest, would be assembled near itsedge, in readiness to pour suddenly down.
More than once they heard voices, but a short distance away; andpaused, for a time, to allow parties of men to cross ahead of them.Their greatest danger lay in crossing the side valleys, but as theWelsh would be expecting no one to come down these, they succeeded incrossing without being observed.
They were well content when, just as night was falling, they came downupon Llanidloes. Crossing the wooden bridge over the stream, theyentered the town boldly; for, looking down upon it, they had seen manymen in armour in the streets, and knew that the place was occupied bythe English.
At the gate at the end of the bridge they were asked their business,but they replied that they could only answer that to the officercommanding, and were taken before him.
"Whence come you, friends?" the latter said. "Surely you must beEnglish, by your height; but what you are doing here, in times like thepresent, I know not. Come you from the king's army, or from the north?"
"We left Welshpool before daybreak," Oswald said, "and have travelledthrough the forest."
"Then you must be as bold as you are tall, sirs, for the woods are fullof these wild Welsh."
"Of that we are aware, sir, and we had some difficulty in making ourway through them, unobserved. I would not answer the guard, when weentered; for we are going farther, and had it been mentioned, in thehearing of a Welshman, news might have been sent on ahead."
"I think not that you can reach the king. When we last heard, hisforemost divisions were marching forward, and devastating the countryon both sides of their line of march. We have heard reports that someof the parties have been attacked, and well-nigh destroyed; and certainit is that Glendower's men are scattered all over the country.
"We were three days without news, but this morning a strong party came,in escorting sick and wounded. They had to fight hard, but beat offtheir opponents, and got in with the loss of a third of their number.They had started at night, and fortunately arrived within five miles ofhere, before they were attacked."
"And where is the king now, sir?"
"The king himself is at Capel Bangor, and the army lies between thatplace and Yspetty Cynfyn."
"Then 'tis but a day's march from here!"
"It would be but a short day's march, could you follow the road; but itwould be impossible to do so, for 'tis beset everywhere, and 'tis sorough and hilly that, in places, the men-at-arms had to dismount. Youwill have to wait here till a large force sets out, with provisions;for those who came in declare that they will not attempt to return, sogreat is the number of Welshmen along there, and so fierce and recklessare they.
"But you have not yet told me who you are, and why you would push on tothe army thus rashly."
Oswald opened his jerkin, and showed the handsome attire beneath it,embroidered with the Percy cognizance.
"I am an esquire of Sir Henry Percy," he said, "and have been stayingfor a while with Sir Edmund Mortimer, whose sister is my lord's wife. Aroyal messenger arrived at Ludlow, with a letter for the king; and asthere was no other way of bringing it forward, I volunteered to carryit, with my man-at-arms, here."
"It was a brave offer, young sir, but I fear that you will scarce beable to carry it into effect. The men who came here report that it isunsafe to stir a yard from the camp; for those who wander away, forhowever short a distance, are sure to be slain by the lurking Welshmen.No resistance is offered when strong parties go out, but less than twohundred men-at-arms cannot hope to move, unattacked."
"'Tis for that reason that I have come on foot," Oswald said. "I sawthat it would be hopeless for two horsemen to get through, but on footwe may travel through the woods without being discovered; while if weare seen, methinks it would need speedy feet to catch us."
"Well, since you bear a royal letter I cannot stop you; but it seems tome that your chance of getting through is small, indeed."