CHAPTER 12
Ralph Entereth Into the Burg of the Four Friths
When they came up to the wall they saw that it was well builded of goodashlar, and so high that they might not see the roofs of the townbecause of it; but there were tall towers on it, a many of them, strongand white. The road led up straight to the master-gate of the Burg,and there was a bailey before it strongly walled, and manned withweaponed men, and a captain going about amongst them. But they enteredit along with men bringing wares into the town, and none heeded themmuch, till they came to the very gate, on the further side of a moatthat was both deep and clean; but as now the bridge was down and theportcullis up, so that the market-people might pass in easily, for itwas yet early in the day. But before the door on either side stoodmen-at-arms well weaponed, and on the right side was their captain, atall man with bare grizzled head, but otherwise all-armed, who stoppedevery one whom he knew not, and asked their business.
As Ralph came riding up with Roger beside him, one of the guard laidhis spear across and bade them stand, and the captain spake in a drycold voice: "Whence comest thou, man-at-arms?" "From the Abbey of St.Mary at Higham," said Ralph. "Yea," said the captain, smiling grimly,"even so I might have deemed: thou wilt be one of the Lord Abbot'slily lads." "No I am not," quoth Ralph angrily. "Well, well," said thecaptain, "what is thy name?"
"Ralph Motherson," quoth Ralph, knitting his brow. Said the captain"And whither wilt thou?" Said Ralph, "On mine own errands." "Thouanswerest not over freely," quoth the captain. Said Ralph, "Then is iteven; for thou askest freely enough." "Well, well," said the captain,grinning in no unfriendly wise, "thou seemest a stout lad enough; andas to my asking, it is my craft as captain of the North Gate: but nowtell me friendly, goest thou to any kinsman or friend in the Burg?"
Then Ralph's brow cleared and he said, "Nay, fair sir." "Well then,"said the captain, "art thou but riding straight through to anothergate, and so away again?" "Nay," said Ralph, "if I may, I would abidehere the night over, or may-happen longer." "Therein thou shalt dowell, young man," said the captain; "then I suppose thou wilt to somehostelry? tell me which one."
Said Ralph, "Nay, I wot not to which one, knowing not the town." ButRoger close by him spake and said: "My lord shall go to the Flower deLuce, which is in the big square."
"Truly," said the captain, "he goes to a good harbour; and moreover,fair sir, to-morrow thou shalt see a goodly sight from thine inn; thoumayst do no better, lord. But thou, carle, who art thou, who knowestthe inside of our Burg so well, though I know thee not, for as well asI know our craftsmen and vavassors?"
Then Roger's words hung on his lips awhile, and the knight bent hisbrow on him, till at last he said, "Sir Captain, I was minded to lie,and say that I am this young knight's serving-man." The captain brokein on him grimly, "Thou wert best not lie."
"Yea, sir," quoth Roger, "I deemed, as it was on my tongue's end, thatthou wouldst find me out, so I have nought to do but tell thee the verysooth: this it is: I am a man made masterless by the thieves of theDry Tree. From my land at Hampton under Scaur have I been driven, mychattels have been lifted, and my friends slain; and therefore by yourleave would I ride in the host of the Burg, that I may pay back theharm which I had, according to the saw, 'better bale by breeding bale.'So, lord, I ask thee wilt thou lend me the sword and give me the loaf,that I may help both thee, and the Burg, and me?"
The captain looked at him closely and sharply, while the carle facedhim with open simple eyes, and at last he said: "Well, carle, thou wertabout to name thyself this young knight's serving-man; be thou even sowhiles he abideth in the Burg; and when he leaveth the Burg then comeback to me here any day before noon, and may be I shall then put asword in thy fist and horse between thy thighs. But," (and he waggedhis head threateningly at Roger) "see that thou art at the Flower deLuce when thou art called for."
Roger held his peace and seemed somewhat abashed at this word, and thecaptain turned to Ralph and said courteously: "Young knight, if thouart seeking adventures, thou shalt find them in our host; and if thoube but half as wise as thou seemest bold, thou wilt not fail to gainhonour and wealth both, in the service of the Burg; for we be overmuchbeset with foemen that we should not welcome any wight and warywarrior, though he be an alien of blood and land. If thou thinkestwell of this, then send me thy man here and give me word of thy mind,and I shall lead thee to the chiefs of the Port, and make the way easyfor thee."
Ralph thanked him and rode through the gate into the street, and Rogerstill went beside his stirrup.
Presently Ralph turned to Roger and spake to him somewhat sourly, andsaid: "Thou hadst one lie in thy mouth and didst swallow it; but howshall I know that another did not come out thence? Withal thou mustneeds be my fellow here, will I, nill I; for thou it was that didst putthat word into the captain's mouth that thou shouldst serve me while Iabide in the Burg. So I will say here and now, that my mind misgivesme concerning thee, whether thou be not of those very thieves andtyrants whom thou didst mis-say but a little while ago."
"Yea," said Roger, "thou art wise indeed to set me down as one of theDry Tree; doubtless that is why I delivered thee from their ambush evennow. And as for my service, thou mayst need it; for indeed I deem theenot so safe as thou deemest thyself in this Burg."
"What!" said Ralph, "Dost thou blow hot and cold? why even now, when wewere in the wood, thou wert telling me that I had nought at all to fearin the Burg of the Four Friths, and that all was done there by reasonand with justice. What is this new thing then which thou hast foundout, or what is that I have to fear?"
Roger changed countenance thereat and seemed somewhat confused, as onewho has been caught unawares; but he gat his own face presently, andsaid: "Nay, Sir Knight, I will tell thee the truth right out. In thewood yonder thy danger was great that thou mightest run into the handsof them of the Dry Tree; therefore true it is that I spake somewhatbeyond my warrant concerning the life of the folk of the Burg, as howcould I help it? But surely whatever thy peril may be here, it isnought to that which awaited thee at Hampton."
"Nay, but what is the peril?" said Ralph. Quoth Roger, "If thou wiltbecome their man and enter into their host, there is none; for theywill ask few questions of so good a man-at-arms, when they know thatthou art theirs; but if thou naysay that, it may well be that they willbe for turning the key on thee till thou tellest them what and whencethou art." Ralph answered nought, thinking in his mind that this waslike enough; so he rode on soberly, till Roger said:
"Anyhow, thou mayst turn the cold shoulder on me if thou wilt. Yetwere I thee, I would not, for so it is, both that I can help thee, as Ideem, in time to come, and that I have helped thee somewhat in timepast."
Now Ralph was young and could not abide the blame of thanklessness; sohe said, "Nay, nay, fellow, go we on together to the Flower de Luce."
Roger nodded his head and grumbled somewhat, and they made no stayexcept that now and again Ralph drew rein to look at goodly things inthe street, for there were many open booths therein, so that the wholestreet looked like a market. The houses were goodly of building, butnot very tall, the ways wide and well-paved. Many folk were in thestreet, going up and down on their errands, and both men and women ofthem seemed to Ralph stout and strong, but not very fair of favour.Withal they seemed intent on their business, and payed little heed toRalph and his fellow, though he was by his attire plainly a stranger.
Now Ralph sees a house more gaily adorned than most, and a sign hungout from it whereon was done an image of St. Loy, and underneath thesame a booth on which was set out weapons and war-gear exceedinggoodly; and two knaves of the armourer were standing by to serve folk,and crying their wares with "what d'ye lack?" from time to time. So hestayed and fell to looking wistfully at the gleam and glitter of thosefair things, till one of the aforesaid knaves came to his side and said:
"Fair Sir, surely thou lackest somewhat; what have we here for thyneeds?" So Ralph thought and called to mind that strong li
ttle steelaxe of the man whom he had slain yesterday, and asked for the sight ofsuch a weapon, if he might perchance cheapen it. And the lad brought avery goodly steel axe, gold-inlaid about the shaft, and gave him theprice thereof, which Ralph deemed he might compass; so he brought roundhis scrip to his hand, that he might take out the money. But while hishand was yet in the bag, out comes the master-armourer, a tall and verystark carle, and said in courteous wise: "Sir Knight, thou art astranger to me and I know thee not; so I must needs ask for a sight ofthy license to buy weapons, under the seal of the Burg."
"Hear a wonder," said Ralph, "that a free man for his money shall notbuy wares set out to be bought, unless he have the Burg-Reeve's handand seal for it! Nay, take thy florins, master, and give me the axeand let the jest end there." "I jest not, young rider," quoth thearmourer. "When we know thee for a liegeman of the Burg, thou shaltbuy what thou wilt without question; but otherwise I have told thee thelaw, and how may I, the master of the craft, break the law? Be notwrath, fair sir, I will set aside thine axe for thee, till thou bringme the license, or bid me come see it, and thou shalt get the saidlicense at the Town Hall straight-way, when they may certify thee nofoeman of the Burg."
Ralph saw that it availed nothing to bicker with the smith, and so wenthis way somewhat crestfallen, and that the more as he saw Rogergrinning a little.
Now they come into the market-place, on one side whereof was the masterchurch of the town, which was strongly built and with a tall tower toit, but was not very big, and but little adorned. Over against it theysaw the sign of the Flower de Luce, a goodly house and great.Thitherward they turned; but in the face of the hostelry amidmost theplace was a thing which Roger pointed at with a grin that spoke as wellas words; and this was a high gallows-tree furnished with four forks orarms, each carved and wrought in the fashion of the very bough of atree, from which dangled four nooses, and above them all was a boardwhereon was written in big letters THE DRY TREE. And at the foot ofthis gallows were divers folk laughing and talking.
So Ralph understood at once that those four men whom he had seen ledaway bound yesterday should be hanged thereon; so he stayed a franklinwho was passing by, and said to him, "Sir, I am a stranger in the town,and I would know if justice shall be done on the four woodmen to-day.""Nay," said the man, "but to-morrow; they are even now before thejudges."
Then said Roger in a surly voice, "Why art thou not there to look on?""Because," quoth the man, "there is little to see there, and not muchmore to hearken. The thieves shall be speedily judged, and notquestioned with torments, so that they may be the lustier to feel whatthe hangman shall work on them to-morrow; then forsooth the show shallbe goodly. But far better had it been if we had had in our hands thegreat witch of these dastards, as we looked to have her; but now folksay that she has not been brought within gates, and it is to be fearedthat she hath slipped through our fingers once more."
Roger laughed, and said: "Simple are ye folk of the Burg and knownought of her shifts. I tell thee it is not unlike that she is in theBurg even now, and hath in hand to take out of your prison the fourwhom ye have caught."
The franklin laughed scornfully in his turn and said: "If we be simple,thou art a fool merely: are we not stronger and more than the DryTree? How should she not be taken? How should she not be known if shewere walking about these streets? Have we no eyes, fool-carle?" And helaughed again, for he was wroth.
Ralph hearkened, and a kind of fear seemed griping his heart, so heasked the franklin: "Tell me, sir, are ye two speaking of a woman whois Queen of these strong-thieves?" "Yea," said he, "or it might betterbe said that she is their goddess, their mawmet, their devil, the veryheart and soul of their wickedness. But one day shall we have her bodyand soul, and then shall her body have but an evil day of it till shedieth in this world."
"Yea, forsooth, if she can die at all," quoth Roger.
The franklin looked sourly on him and said: "Good man, thou knowestmuch of her, meseemeth--Whence art thou?" Said Roger speedily: "FromHampton under Scaur; and her rebel I am, and her dastard, and herrunaway. Therefore I know her forsooth."
"Well," the Franklin said, "thou seemest a true man, and yet I wouldcounsel thee to put a rein on thy tongue when thou art minded to talkof the Devil of the Dry Tree, or thou mayst come to harm in the Burg."
He walked away towards the gallows therewith; and Roger said, almost asif he were talking to himself; "A heavy-footed fool goeth yonder; butafter this talk we were better hidden by the walls of theFlower-de-Luce." So therewith they went on toward the hostel.
But the market place was wide, and they were yet some minutes gettingto the door, and ere they came there Ralph said, knitting his browsanxiously: "Is this woman fair or foul to look on?" "That is nought soeasy to tell of," said Roger, "whiles she is foul, whiles very fair,whiles young and whiles old; whiles cruel and whiles kind. But notethis, when she is the kindest then are her carles the cruellest; andshe is the kinder to them because they are cruel."
Ralph pondered what he said, and wondered if this were verily the womanwhom he had delivered, or some other. As if answering to his unspokenthought, Roger went on: "They speak but of one woman amongst them ofthe Dry Tree, but in sooth they have many others who are like unto herin one way or other; and this again is a reason why they may not layhands on the very Queen of them all."
Therewithal they came unto the hostel, and found it fair enough within,the hall great and goodly for such a house, and with but threechapmen-carles therein. Straightway they called for meat, for it wasnow past noon, and the folk of the house served them when the groomshad taken charge of Falcon. And Roger served Ralph as if he wereverily his man. Then Ralph went to his chamber aloft and rested awhile, but came down into the hall a little before nones, and foundRoger there walking up and down the hall floor, and no man else, so hesaid to him: "Though thou art not of the Burg, thou knowest it; wiltthou not come abroad then, and show it me? for I have a mind to learnthe ways of the folk here."
Said Roger, and smiled a little: "If thou commandest me as my lord, Iwill come; yet I were better pleased to abide behind; for I am wearywith night-waking and sorrow; and have a burden of thought, one which Imust bear to the end of the road; and if I put it down I shall have togo back and take it up again."
Ralph thought that he excused himself with more words than were needed;but he took little heed of it, but nodded to him friendly, and went outof the house afoot, but left his weapons and armour behind him by therede of Roger.