by A. D. Crake
hisaid. My only endeavour was to get the lady Edith and her remainingchildren safe from the castle; and it was only by dissembling myfeelings, by talking face to face with the man of blood, by pretendingto trust him, that I could succeed. Had he not thought us all perfectlysatisfied, he would never have left the hall to go foraging in person;and now all would be well, but for this sad, sad chance, which hasplaced the poor lad Elfric in his power."
"But," said Alfred, "this makes the case worse than ever. Poor Elfric!they will kill him. Oh, can this be Ragnar?"
The Benedictines expressed themselves convinced, because the suppositionexplained the present circumstances so clearly, and accounted for thathitherto unaccountable circumstance--the murder. The steward andchamberlain both fancied they recognised the family likeness; and so thesolution at which Father Cuthbert had arrived was accepted by all.
The question was now what course to adopt, for the night was fastwearing away.
"Two things are to be done," said Father Cuthbert. "The first is tosecure the safety of the lady Edith and her children from any suddenattack from the castle, to which effect I propose holding all thevassals in arms; and, in case of any force leaving the hall, I purposegiving the lady Edith and her daughter instant sanctuary in the priory,while the vassals gather round its precincts; for, I fear me, thisRagnar is a heathen, and would but little respect the house of God."
"Could we not attack the hall and release Elfric? Think of Elfric," saidAlfred.
"It would be madness; Redwald has more than a hundred and fifty men ofwar within it. The place is full; we could not attack with the leastchance of success. No: the second thing I meant to propose was this,that we should send an instant message to King Edgar, who is near athand, and explain the whole circumstances to him. He has many causes ofenmity against Redwald, and would probably come to our aid at once, asthe safety of his realm would require him to do eventually."
"Let me be the messenger; he will surely listen to the pleadings of abrother for a brother."
"I had so designed," said Father Cuthbert; "and in order that no chancemay be thrown away, I will adventure myself in the lion's den, andthreaten with the penalties of excommunication this vindictive Redwaldor Ragnar."
"No, father; you will never come out alive. No, no!" said they all.
The last proposal was universally discouraged. Redwald had alreadyspecial cause of enmity against Father Cuthbert, who had robbed him ofpart of his destined prey; and it was ultimately settled that FatherSwithin, another of the order, should be charged with the mission, withthe power to make conciliatory offers, or to act on the other course ashe should see fit; in short, to use all his wit for Elfric.
Alfred did not delay a moment unnecessarily, but in the dawning lightset forward to seek Edgar, of whom he had no definite information, butwho was believed to linger in the neighbourhood of the battlefield,holding council with earls and thanes as to the further steps to betaken, and receiving the submission of the whole Mercian, East Anglian,and Northumbrian nobility.
Therefore, mounted upon a good steed, and accompanied by Oswy, herapidly traversed the country over which his brother had been sopainfully borne; slowly, however, in places, for here and there largetracts of swamp obstructed the way, and in other places the thicketswere dense and impervious; even where the country was cultivated theunpaved roads were rough and hazardous for riders.
It was past the hour of nones, the ninth hour of the day, when theriders reached the battlefield, which still bore frightful traces of therecent combat; reddened with blood, which had left its dark traces onlarge patches of the ground, and encumbered with the bodies of horsesand men which had not yet found sepulture, although bands of theows fromthe neighbouring estates were busily engaged in the necessary toil,excavating huge pits, and placing the dead--no longer rivals--reverently and decently in their last long home. Several wolves could bediscerned, hanging about under the skirts of the forest, but not daringto come out into the plain while the day lasted and the men were about;whole flocks of ravenous birds flew about the scene, now settling downon the spots where the strife had been hottest, now soaring away whendisturbed in their sickening feast.
It was the first time Alfred had ever gazed upon a battlefield; and nowhe saw it stripped of all the romance and glamour which bards had thrownover it, and the sight appalled him.
He drew near a large pit into which the thralls were casting the dead.Many of the bodies presented, as we have already seen, a most ghastlyspectacle; and nearly all had begun to decompose. Mentally he thankedGod that Elfric, at least, was not there; and he turned aside his headin horror at the sight.
He now inquired of the foreman of the labourers whether he knew wherethe Etheling Edgar would be.
"You mean King Edgar, for the Mercians will acknowledge no other king.The people of Wessex may keep the enemy of the saints, if they like."
"King Edgar, I mean. Where is he now?"
"He has been holding a council at Tamworth town, in the old palace ofKing Offa; and they say all the tributary kings have come there to behis men, and all the great earls."
"Can you tell me the nearest road to Tamworth?"
"Why, it lies through the forest there, where you see those wolveslurking about. They will begin to be dangerous when the sun goes down,and perhaps some of them would not mind a snap at a horse or even a man,now."
"We must take our chance;" said Alfred: "life and death hang on ourspeed," and he and Oswy rode on.
The wolves were no longer seen. In the summer they generally avoidedmen, at least during the day, and they were gradually becoming moreuncommon at that date. Alfred entertained little fear as he proceeded,until the darkening shadows showed that night was near, and they werestill in the heart of the forest, when he began to feel alarmed. Theroad before them was a good wide woodland path, and easy to follow evenin the gathering darkness.
Suddenly their horses started violently, as a loud howl was heardbehind, and repeated immediately from different quarters of the forest.
Alfred felt that it was the gathering of the ferocious beasts, which hadbeen attracted from distant forests by the scent of the battlefield, andhad thus happened to lie in increased numbers around their path. Thehowling continued to increase, and their horses sped onward as if madwith fear--it was all they could do to guide them safely.
Nearer and nearer drew the fearful sound; and looking back they beheldthe fiery eyes swarming along the road after them. They had begun toabandon hope, when all at once they heard the sound of advancinghorsemen in front of them, accompanied by the clank of arms. The wolvesheard it too, and with all the cunning cowardice of their race scamperedaway from their intended prey, just as Alfred and Oswy avoided impalingthemselves upon the lances of the coming deliverers.
"Whom have we here, riding at this pace through the woods?" cried out arough, manly voice.
"The wolves were after the poor fellows," said another.
"They may speak for themselves," said the leader, confronting Alfred."Art thou a Mercian and a friend of King Edgar? Under which king? Speak,or die!"
"I seek King Edgar. My name is Alfred, son of Ella of Aescendune."
"Who sheltered the men of Wessex, and entertained the impious Edwy inhis castle."
"We had no power to resist had we wished to do so."
"Which you evidently did not. May a plain soldier ask you now why youseek King Edgar?"
"Because," said Alfred, "my father has been murdered, and my brothermade a prisoner by Redwald, the captain of King Edwy's hus-carles, whoholds our house, and has driven us all out."
"Your father murdered! Your family expelled! Your brother a prisoner!These are strange news."
"Why this delay!" cried another speaker, riding up from behind. "Theking is impatient to get on. Ride faster."
"The king!" cried Alfred. "Oh, lead me to him."
"Who is this," demanded the second officer, "who demands speech of theroyal Edgar?"
"Alfred of Aescendune. He tells us that the
infamous Redwald holds thefortified house there, has murdered the thane Ella, and expelled thefamily, save the brother, whom he holds to ransom."
"No, not to ransom," cried Alfred. "It is his life that is threatened.Oh, take me to Edgar!"
"He is close behind, in company with the Ealdorman of Mercia and Siwardof Northumbria."
"Stay behind with him, Biorn, and let us continue our route. You mayintroduce him to the king, if he will see him."
The first party--the advance guard--now passed on, and was succeededalmost immediately by the main body, foremost amongst whom rode Princeor rather King Edgar, then only a youth of fifteen years of age. We lastbeheld him a boy of twelve, at the date of Elfric's arrival at the courtof Edred. By his side rode Siward, Ealdorman of