CHAPTER 15
How Ralph Departed From the Burg of the Four Friths
Himseemed he had scarce been asleep a minute ere awoke with a sound ofsomeone saying softly, "Master, master, awake!" So he sat up andanswered softly in his turn: "Who is it? what is amiss, since thenight is yet young?"
"I am thy fellow-farer, Roger," said the speaker, "and this thou hastto do, get on thy raiment speedily, and take thy weapons without noise,if thou wouldst not be in the prison of the Burg before sunrise."
Ralph did as he was bidden without more words; for already when he laydown his heart misgave him that he was in no safe place; he looked tohis weapons and armour that they should not clash, and down they cameinto the hall and found the door on the latch; so out they went andRalph saw that it was somewhat cloudy; the moon was set and it wasdark, but Ralph knew by the scent that came in on the light wind, and alittle stir of blended sounds, that it was hard on dawning; and eventherewith he heard the challenge of the warders on the walls and theircrying of the hour; and the chimes of the belfry rang clear and loud,and seeming close above him, two hours and a half after midnight.Roger spake not, and Ralph was man-at-arms enough to know that he musthold his peace; and though he longed sore to have his horse Falcon withhim, yet he wotted that it availed not to ask of his horse, since hedurst not ask of his life.
So they went on silently till they were out of the Great Place and cameinto a narrow street, and so into another which led them straight intothe houseless space under the wall. Roger led right on as if he knewthe way well, and in a twinkling were they come to a postern in thewall betwixt the East Gate and the South. By the said postern Ralphsaw certain men standing; and on the earth near by, whereas he waskeen-eyed, he saw more than one man lying moveless.
Spake Roger softly to the men who stood on their feet: "Is the ropetwined?" "Nay, rope-twiner," said one of them. Then Roger turned andwhispered to Ralph: "Friends. Get out thy sword!" Wherewithal thegate was opened, and they all passed out through the wall, and stoodabove the ditch in the angle-nook of a square tower. Then Ralph sawsome of the men stoop and shoot out a broad plank over the ditch, whichwas deep but not wide thereabout, and straightway he followed theothers over it, going last save Roger. By then they were on the otherside he saw a glimmer of the dawn in the eastern heaven, but it wasstill more than dusk, and no man spoke again. They went on softlyacross the plain fields outside the wall, creeping from bush to bush,and from tree to tree, for here, if nowhere about the circuit of theBurg, were a few trees growing. Thus they came into a little wood andpassed through it, and then Ralph could see that the men were sixbesides Roger; by the glimmer of the growing dawn he saw before them aspace of meadows with high hedges about them, and a dim line that hetook for the roof of a barn or grange, and beyond that a dark mass oftrees.
Still they pressed on without speaking; a dog barked not far off andthe cocks were crowing, and close by them in the meadow a cow lowed andwent hustling over the bents and the long, unbitten buttercups. Daygrew apace, and by then they were under the barn-gable which he hadseen aloof he saw the other roofs of the grange and heard the bleatingof sheep. And now he saw those six men clearly, and noted that one ofthem was very big and tall, and one small and slender, and it came intohis mind that these two were none other than the twain whom he had comeupon the last night sitting in the hall of the Flower de Luce.
Even therewith came a man to the gate of the sheep-cote by the grange,and caught sight of them, and had the wits to run back at once shoutingout: "Hugh, Wat, Richard, and all ye, out with you, out a doors! Herebe men! Ware the Dry Tree! Bows and bills! Bows and bills!"
With that those fellows of Ralph made no more ado, but set off runningat their best toward the wood aforesaid, which crowned the slopeleading up from the grange, and now took no care to go softly, norheeded the clashing of their armour. Ralph ran with the best andentered the wood alongside the slim youth aforesaid, who stayed not atthe wood's edge but went on running still: but Ralph stayed and turnedto see what was toward, and beheld how that tall man was the last oftheir company, and ere he entered the wood turned about with a bent bowin his hand, and even as he nocked the shaft, the men from the Grange,who were seven in all, came running out from behind the barn-gable,crying out: "Ho thieves! ho ye of the Dry Tree, abide till we come!flee not from handy strokes." The tall man had the shaft to his ear ina twinkling, and loosed straightway, and nocked and loosed anothershaft without staying to note how the first had sped. But Ralph sawthat a man was before each of the shafts, and had fallen to earth,though he had no time to see aught else, for even therewith the tallman caught him by the hand, and crying out, "The third time!" ran onwith him after the rest of their company; and whereas he waslong-legged and Ralph lightfooted, they speedily came up with them, whowere running still, but laughing as they ran, and jeering at the men ofthe Burg; and the tall man shouted out to them: "Yea, lads, thecounterfeit Dry Tree that they have raised in the Burg shall be dryenough this time." "Truly," said another, "till we come to water itwith the blood of these wretches."
"Well, well, get on," said a third, "waste not your wind in talk; thosecarles will make but a short run of it to the walls long as it was forus, creeping and creeping as we behoved to."
The long man laughed; "Thou sayest sooth," said he, "but thou art thelongest winded of all in talking: get on, lads."
They laughed again at his word and sped on with less noise; while Ralphthought within himself that he was come into strange company, for nowhe knew well that the big man was even he whom he had first met at thechurchyard gate of the thorp under Bear Hill. Yet he deemed that therewas nought for it now but to go on.
Within a while they all slacked somewhat, and presently did but walk,though swiftly, through the paths of the thicket, which Ralph deemedfull surely was part of that side of the Wood Perilous that lay southof the Burg of the Four Friths. And now Roger joined himself to him,and spake to him aloud and said: "So, fair master, thou art out of theperil of death for this bout."
"Art thou all so sure of that?" quoth Ralph, "or who are these that bewith us? meseems they smell of the Dry Tree."
"Yea, or rebels and runaways therefrom," said Roger, with a dry grin."But whosoever they may be, thou shalt see that they will suffer us todepart whither we will, if we like not their company. I will be thywarrant thereof."
"Moreover," said Ralph, "I have lost Falcon my horse; it is a sore missof him."
"Maybe," quoth Roger, "but at least thou hast saved thy skin; andwhereas there are many horses on the earth, there is but one skin ofthine: be content; if thou wilt, thou shall win somewhat in exchangefor thine horse."
Ralph smiled, but somewhat sourly, and even therewith he heard a shrillwhistle a little aloof, and the men stayed and held their peace, forthey were talking together freely again now. Then the big man put hisfingers to his mouth and whistled again in answer, a third whistleanswered him; and lo, presently, as their company hastened on, thevoices of men, and anon they came into a little wood-lawn whereinstanding about or lying on the grass beside their horses were more thana score of men well armed, but without any banner or token, and all inwhite armour with white Gaberdines thereover; and they had with them,as Ralph judged, some dozen of horses more than they needed for theirown riding.
Great was the joy at this meeting, and there was embracing and kissingof friends: but Ralph noted that no man embraced that slender youth,and that he held him somewhat aloof from the others, and all seemed todo him reverence.
Now spake one of the runaways: "Well, lads, here be all we four wellmet again along with those twain who came to help us at our pinch, astheir wont is, and Roger withal, good at need again, and a friend ofhis, as it seemeth, and whom we know not. See ye to that."
Then stood forth the big man and said: "He is a fair young knight, asye may see; and he rideth seeking adventures, and Roger did us to witthat he was abiding in the Burg at his peril, and would have him away,even if it were somewha
t against his will: and we were willing that itshould be so, all the more as I have a guess concerning what he is; anda foreseeing man might think that luck should go with him." Therewithhe turned to Ralph and said: "How say ye, fair sir, will ye takeguesting with us a while and learn our ways?"
Said Ralph: "Certain I am that whither ye will have me go, thithermust I; yet I deem that I have an errand that lies not your way.Therefore if I go with you, ye must so look upon it that I am in yourfellowship as one compelled. To be short with you, I crave leave todepart and go mine own road."
As he spoke he saw the youth walking up and down in short turns; buthis face he could scarce see at all, what for his slouched hat, whatfor his cloak; and at last he saw him go up to the tall man and speaksoftly to him awhile. The tall man nodded his head, and as the youthdrew right back nigh to the thicket, spake to Ralph again.
"Fair sir, we grant thine asking; and add this thereto that we givethee the man who has joined himself to thee, Roger of the Rope-walk towit, to help thee on the road, so that thou mayst not turn thy faceback to the Burg of the Four Friths, where thine errand, and thy lifewithal, were soon sped now, or run into any other trap which the WoodPerilous may have for thee. And yet if thou think better of it, thoumayst come with us straightway; for we have nought to do to tarry hereany longer. And in any case, here is a good horse that we will givethee, since thou hast lost thy steed; and Roger who rideth with thee,he also is well horsed."
Ralph looked hard at the big man, who now had his salade thrown backfrom his face, to see if he gave any token of jeering or malice, butcould see nought such: nay, his face was grave and serious, notill-fashioned, though it were both long and broad like his body: hischeek-bones somewhat high, his eyes grey and middling great, andlooking, as it were, far away.
Now deems Ralph that as for a trap of the Wood Perilous, he had alreadyfallen into the trap; for he scarce needed to be told that these weremen of the Dry Tree. He knew also that it was Roger who had led himinto this trap, although he deemed it done with no malice against him.So he said to himself that if he went with Roger he but went aroundabout road to the Dry Tree; so that he was well nigh choosing togo on with their company. Yet again he thought that something mightwell befall which would free him from that fellowship if he went withRoger alone; whereas if he went with the others it was not that hemight be, but that he was already of the fellowship of the Dry Tree,and most like would go straight thence to their stronghold. So hespake as soberly as the tall man had done.
"Since ye give me the choice, fair sir, I will depart hence with Rogeralone, whom ye call my man, though to me he seemeth to be yours.Howbeit, he has led me to you once, and belike will do so once more."
"Yea," quoth the big man smiling no whit more than erst, "and that willmake the fourth time. Depart then, fair sir, and take this word withthee that I wish thee good and not evil."