The White Company

  CHAPTER XXXV. HOW SIR NIGEL HAWKED AT AN EAGLE.

  To the south of Pampeluna in the kingdom of Navarre there stretcheda high table-land, rising into bare, sterile hills, brown or gray incolor, and strewn with huge boulders of granite. On the Gascon side ofthe great mountains there had been running streams, meadows, forests,and little nestling villages. Here, on the contrary, were nothing butnaked rocks, poor pasture, and savage, stone-strewn wastes. Gloomydefiles or barrancas intersected this wild country with mountaintorrents dashing and foaming between their rugged sides. The clatterof waters, the scream of the eagle, and the howling of wolves the onlysounds which broke upon the silence in that dreary and inhospitableregion.

  Through this wild country it was that Sir Nigel and his Company pushedtheir way, riding at times through vast defiles where the brown, gnarledcliffs shot up on either side of them, and the sky was but a longwinding blue slit between the clustering lines of box which fringed thelips of the precipices; or, again leading their horses along the narrowand rocky paths worn by the muleteers upon the edges of the chasm, whereunder their very elbows they could see the white streak which markedthe _gave_ which foamed a thousand feet below them. So for two days theypushed their way through the wild places of Navarre, past Fuente,over the rapid Ega, through Estella, until upon a winter's evening themountains fell away from in front of them, and they saw the broad blueEbro curving betwixt its double line of homesteads and of villages. Thefishers of Viana were aroused that night by rough voices speaking in astrange tongue, and ere morning Sir Nigel and his men had ferried theriver and were safe upon the land of Spain.

  All the next day they lay in a pine wood near to the town of Logrono,resting their horses and taking counsel as to what they should do. SirNigel had with him Sir William Felton, Sir Oliver Buttesthorn, stout oldSir Simon Burley, the Scotch knight-errant, the Earl of Angus, and SirRichard Causton, all accounted among the bravest knights in the army,together with sixty veteran men-at-arms, and three hundred and twentyarchers. Spies had been sent out in the morning, and returned afternightfall to say that the King of Spain was encamped some fourteen milesoff in the direction of Burgos, having with him twenty thousand horseand forty-five thousand foot.

  A dry-wood fire had been lit, and round this the leaders crouched, theglare beating upon their rugged faces, while the hardy archers loungedand chatted amid the tethered horses, while they munched their scantyprovisions.

  "For my part," said Sir Simon Burley, "I am of opinion that we havealready done that which we have come for. For do we not now know wherethe king is, and how great a following he hath, which was the end of ourjourney."

  "True," answered Sir William Felton, "but I have come on this venturebecause it is a long time since I have broken a spear in war, and,certes, I shall not go back until I have run a course with some cavalierof Spain. Let those go back who will, but I must see more of theseSpaniards ere I turn."

  "I will not leave you, Sir William," returned Sir Simon Burley; "andyet, as an old soldier and one who hath seen much of war, I cannot butthink that it is an ill thing for four hundred men to find themselvesbetween an army of sixty thousand on the one side and a broad river onthe other."

  "Yet," said Sir Richard Causton, "we cannot for the honor of England goback without a blow struck."

  "Nor for the honor of Scotland either," cried the Earl of Angus. "BySaint Andrew! I wish that I may never set eyes upon the water ofLeith again, if I pluck my horse's bridle ere I have seen this camp oftheirs."

  "By Saint Paul! you have spoken very well," said Sir Nigel, "and I havealways heard that there were very worthy gentlemen among the Scots, andfine skirmishing to be had upon their border. Bethink you, Sir Simon,that we have this news from the lips of common spies, who can scarcetell us as much of the enemy and of his forces as the prince would wishto hear."

  "You are the leader in this venture, Sir Nigel," the other answered,"and I do but ride under your banner."

  "Yet I would fain have your rede and counsel, Sir Simon. But, touchingwhat you say of the river, we can take heed that we shall not have itat the back of us, for the prince hath now advanced to Salvatierra, andthence to Vittoria, so that if we come upon their camp from the furtherside we can make good our retreat."

  "What then would you propose?" asked Sir Simon, shaking his grizzledhead as one who is but half convinced.

  "That we ride forward ere the news reach them that we have crossed theriver. In this way we may have sight of their army, and perchance evenfind occasion for some small deed against them."

  "So be it, then," said Sir Simon Burley; and the rest of the councilhaving approved, a scanty meal was hurriedly snatched, and the advanceresumed under the cover of the darkness. All night they led theirhorses, stumbling and groping through wild defiles and rugged valleys,following the guidance of a frightened peasant who was strapped by thewrist to Black Simon's stirrup-leather. With the early dawn they foundthemselves in a black ravine, with others sloping away from it on eitherside, and the bare brown crags rising in long bleak terraces all roundthem.

  "If it please you, fair lord," said Black Simon, "this man hath misledus, and since there is no tree upon which we may hang him, it might bewell to hurl him over yonder cliff."

  The peasant, reading the soldier's meaning in his fierce eyes and harshaccents dropped upon his knees, screaming loudly for mercy.

  "How comes it, dog?" asked Sir William Felton in Spanish. "Where is thiscamp to which you swore that you would lead us?"

  "By the sweet Virgin! By the blessed Mother of God!" cried the tremblingpeasant, "I swear to you that in the darkness I have myself lost thepath."

  "Over the cliff with him!" shouted half a dozen voices; but ere thearchers could drag him from the rocks to which he clung Sir Nigel hadridden up and called upon them to stop.

  "How is this, sirs?" said he. "As long as the prince doth me the honorto entrust this venture to me, it is for me only to give orders; and,by Saint Paul! I shall be right blithe to go very deeply into thematter with any one to whom my words may give offence. How say you, SirWilliam? Or you, my Lord of Angus? Or you, Sir Richard?"

  "Nay, nay, Nigel!" cried Sir William. "This base peasant is too smalla matter for old comrades to quarrel over. But he hath betrayed us, andcertes he hath merited a dog's death."

  "Hark ye, fellow," said Sir Nigel. "We give you one more chance tofind the path. We are about to gain much honor, Sir William, in thisenterprise, and it would be a sorry thing if the first blood shed werethat of an unworthy boor. Let us say our morning orisons, and it maychance that ere we finish he may strike upon the track."

  With bowed heads and steel caps in hand, the archers stood at theirhorse's heads, while Sir Simon Burley repeated the Pater, the Ave, andthe Credo. Long did Alleyne bear the scene in mind--the knot of knightsin their dull leaden-hued armor, the ruddy visage of Sir Oliver, thecraggy features of the Scottish earl, the shining scalp of Sir Nigel,with the dense ring of hard, bearded faces and the long brown heads ofthe horses, all topped and circled by the beetling cliffs. Scarce hadthe last deep "amen" broken from the Company, when, in an instant, thererose the scream of a hundred bugles, with the deep rolling of drums andthe clashing of cymbals, all sounding together in one deafening uproar.Knights and archers sprang to arms, convinced that some great host wasupon them; but the guide dropped upon his knees and thanked Heaven forits mercies.

  "We have found them, caballeros!" he cried. "This is their morning call.If ye will but deign to follow me, I will set them before you ere a manmight tell his beads."

  As he spoke he scrambled down one of the narrow ravines, and, climbingover a low ridge at the further end, he led them into a short valleywith a stream purling down the centre of it and a very thick growth ofelder and of box upon either side. Pushing their way through the densebrushwood, they looked out upon a scene which made their hearts beatharder and their breath come faster.

  In front of them there lay a broad plain, watered by two winding streamsand covered wit
h grass, stretching away to where, in the furthestdistance, the towers of Burgos bristled up against the light bluemorning sky. Over all this vast meadow there lay a great city oftents--thousands upon thousands of them, laid out in streets and insquares like a well-ordered town. High silken pavilions or coloredmarquees, shooting up from among the crowd of meaner dwellings, markedwhere the great lords and barons of Leon and Castile displayed theirstandards, while over the white roofs, as far as eye could reach, thewaving of ancients, pavons, pensils, and banderoles, with flash of goldand glow of colors, proclaimed that all the chivalry of Iberia weremustered in the plain beneath them. Far off, in the centre of the camp,a huge palace of red and white silk, with the royal arms of Castilewaiving from the summit, announced that the gallant Henry lay there inthe midst of his warriors.

  As the English adventurers, peeping out from behind their brushwoodscreen, looked down upon this wondrous sight they could see that thevast army in front of them was already afoot. The first pink light ofthe rising sun glittered upon the steel caps and breastplates of densemasses of slingers and of crossbowmen, who drilled and marched in thespaces which had been left for their exercise. A thousand columns ofsmoke reeked up into the pure morning air where the faggots were piledand the camp-kettles already simmering. In the open plain clouds oflight horse galloped and swooped with swaying bodies and wavingjavelins, after the fashion which the Spanish had adopted from theirMoorish enemies. All along by the sedgy banks of the rivers long linesof pages led their masters' chargers down to water, while the knightsthemselves lounged in gayly-dressed groups about the doors of theirpavilions, or rode out, with their falcons upon their wrists and theirgreyhounds behind them, in quest of quail or of leveret.

  "By my hilt! mon gar.!" whispered Aylward to Alleyne, as the youngsquire stood with parted lips and wondering eyes, gazing down at thenovel scene before him, "we have been seeking them all night, but nowthat we have found them I know not what we are to do with them."

  "You say sooth, Samkin," quoth old Johnston. "I would that we were uponthe far side of Ebro again, for there is neither honor nor profit to begained here. What say you, Simon?"

  "By the rood!" cried the fierce man-at-arms, "I will see the color oftheir blood ere I turn my mare's head for the mountains. Am I a child,that I should ride for three days and nought but words at the end ofit?"

  "Well said, my sweet honeysuckle!" cried Hordle John. "I am with you,like hilt to blade. Could I but lay hands upon one of those gay prancersyonder, I doubt not that I should have ransom enough from him to buy mymother a new cow."

  "A cow!" said Aylward. "Say rather ten acres and a homestead on thebanks of Avon."

  "Say you so? Then, by our Lady! here is for yonder one in the redjerkin!"

  He was about to push recklessly forward into the open, when Sir Nigelhimself darted in front of him, with his hand upon his breast.

  "Back!" said he. "Our time is not yet come, and we must lie here untilevening. Throw off your jacks and headpieces, least their eyes catch theshine, and tether the horses among the rocks."

  The order was swiftly obeyed, and in ten minutes the archers werestretched along by the side of the brook, munching the bread and thebacon which they had brought in their bags, and craning their necks towatch the ever-changing scene beneath them. Very quiet and still theylay, save for a muttered jest or whispered order, for twice during thelong morning they heard bugle-calls from amid the hills on either sideof them, which showed that they had thrust themselves in between theoutposts of the enemy. The leaders sat amongst the box-wood, and tookcounsel together as to what they should do; while from below theresurged up the buzz of voices, the shouting, the neighing of horses, andall the uproar of a great camp.

  "What boots it to wait?" said Sir William Felton. "Let us ride down upontheir camp ere they discover us."

  "And so say I," cried the Scottish earl; "for they do not know thatthere is any enemy within thirty long leagues of them."

  "For my part," said Sir Simon Burley, "I think that it is madness, foryou cannot hope to rout this great army; and where are you to go andwhat are you to do when they have turned upon you? How say you, SirOliver Buttesthorn?"

  "By the apple of Eve!" cried the fat knight, "it appears to me thatthis wind brings a very savory smell of garlic and of onions from theircooking-kettles. I am in favor of riding down upon them at once, if myold friend and comrade here is of the same mind."

  "Nay," said Sir Nigel, "I have a plan by which we may attempt some smalldeed upon them, and yet, by the help of God, may be able to draw offagain; which, as Sir Simon Burley hath said, would be scarce possible inany other way."

  "How then, Sir Nigel?" asked several voices.

  "We shall lie here all day; for amid this brushwood it is ill for themto see us. Then when evening comes we shall sally out upon them and seeif we may not gain some honorable advancement from them."

  "But why then rather than now?"

  "Because we shall have nightfall to cover us when we draw off, so thatwe may make our way back through the mountains. I would station a scoreof archers here in the pass, with all our pennons jutting forth from therocks, and as many nakirs and drums and bugles as we have with us, sothat those who follow us in the fading light may think that the wholearmy of the prince is upon them, and fear to go further. What think youof my plan, Sir Simon?"

  "By my troth! I think very well of it," cried the prudent old commander."If four hundred men must needs run a tilt against sixty thousand, Icannot see how they can do it better or more safely."

  "And so say I," cried Felton, heartily. "But I wish the day were over,for it will be an ill thing for us if they chance to light upon us."

  The words were scarce out of his mouth when there came a clatter ofloose stones, the sharp clink of trotting hoofs, and a dark-facedcavalier, mounted upon a white horse, burst through the bushes and rodeswiftly down the valley from the end which was farthest from the Spanishcamp. Lightly armed, with his vizor open and a hawk perched upon hisleft wrist, he looked about him with the careless air of a man who isbent wholly upon pleasure, and unconscious of the possibility of danger.Suddenly, however, his eyes lit upon the fierce faces which glared outat him from the brushwood. With a cry of terror, he thrust his spursinto his horse's sides and dashed for the narrow opening of the gorge.For a moment it seemed as though he would have reached it, for he hadtrampled over or dashed aside the archers who threw themselves in hisway; but Hordle John seized him by the foot in his grasp of iron anddragged him from the saddle, while two others caught the frightenedhorse.

  "Ho, ho!" roared the great archer. "How many cows wilt buy my mother, ifI set thee free?"

  "Hush that bull's bellowing!" cried Sir Nigel impatiently. "Bring theman here. By St. Paul! it is not the first time that we have met; for,if I mistake not, it is Don Diego Alvarez, who was once at the prince'scourt."

  "It is indeed I," said the Spanish knight, speaking in the Frenchtongue, "and I pray you to pass your sword through my heart, for how canI live--I, a caballero of Castile--after being dragged from my horse bythe base hands of a common archer?"

  "Fret not for that," answered Sir Nigel. "For, in sooth, had he notpulled you down, a dozen cloth-yard shafts had crossed each other inyour body."

  "By St. James! it were better so than to be polluted by his touch,"answered the Spaniard, with his black eyes sparkling with rage andhatred. "I trust that I am now the prisoner of some honorable knight orgentleman."

  "You are the prisoner of the man who took you, Sir Diego," answered SirNigel. "And I may tell you that better men than either you or I havefound themselves before now prisoners in the hands of archers ofEngland."

  "What ransom, then, does he demand?" asked the Spaniard.

  Big John scratched his red head and grinned in high delight when thequestion was propounded to him. "Tell him," said he, "that I shall haveten cows and a bull too, if it be but a little one. Also a dress ofblue sendall for mother and a red one for Joan; with five acres ofpasture-land, tw
o scythes, and a fine new grindstone. Likewise a smallhouse, with stalls for the cows, and thirty-six gallons of beer for thethirsty weather."

  "Tut, tut!" cried Sir Nigel, laughing. "All these things may be had formoney; and I think, Don Diego, that five thousand crowns is not too muchfor so renowned a knight."

  "It shall be duly paid him."

  "For some days we must keep you with us; and I must crave leave also touse your shield, your armor, and your horse."

  "My harness is yours by the law of arms," said the Spaniard, gloomily.

  "I do but ask the loan of it. I have need of it this day, but it shallbe duly returned to you. Set guards, Aylward, with arrow on string, ateither end of the pass; for it may happen that some other cavaliers mayvisit us ere the time be come." All day the little band of Englishmenlay in the sheltered gorge, looking down upon the vast host of theirunconscious enemies. Shortly after mid-day, a great uproar of shoutingand cheering broke out in the camp, with mustering of men and calling ofbugles. Clambering up among the rocks, the companions saw a long rollingcloud of dust along the whole eastern sky-line, with the glint of spearsand the flutter of pennons, which announced the approach of a large bodyof cavalry. For a moment a wild hope came upon them that perhaps theprince had moved more swiftly than had been planned, that he had crossedthe Ebro, and that this was his vanguard sweeping to the attack.

  "Surely I see the red pile of Chandos at the head of yonder squadron!"cried Sir Richard Causton, shading his eyes with his hand.

  "Not so," answered Sir Simon Burley, who had watched the approachinghost with a darkening face. "It is even as I feared. That is the doubleeagle of Du Guesclin."

  "You say very truly," cried the Earl of Angus. "These are the levies ofFrance, for I can see the ensigns of the Marshal d'Andreghen, withthat of the Lord of Antoing and of Briseuil, and of many another fromBrittany and Anjou."

  "By St. Paul! I am very glad of it," said Sir Nigel. "Of these SpaniardsI know nothing; but the French are very worthy gentlemen, and will dowhat they can for our advancement."

  "There are at the least four thousand of them, and all men-at-arms,"cried Sir William Felton. "See, there is Bertrand himself, beside hisbanner, and there is King Henry, who rides to welcome him. Now they allturn and come into the camp together."

  As he spoke, the vast throng of Spaniards and of Frenchmen troopedacross the plain, with brandished arms and tossing banners. All day longthe sound of revelry and of rejoicing from the crowded camp swelled upto the ears of the Englishmen, and they could see the soldiers of thetwo nations throwing themselves into each other's arms and dancinghand-in-hand round the blazing fires. The sun had sunk behind acloud-bank in the west before Sir Nigel at last gave word that the menshould resume their arms and have their horses ready. He had himselfthrown off his armor, and had dressed himself from head to foot in theharness of the captured Spaniard.

  "Sir William," said he, "it is my intention to attempt a small deed, andI ask you therefore that you will lead this outfall upon the camp. Forme, I will ride into their camp with my squire and two archers. I prayyou to watch me, and to ride forth when I am come among the tents. Youwill leave twenty men behind here, as we planned this morning, and youwill ride back here after you have ventured as far as seems good toyou."

  "I will do as you order, Nigel; but what is it that you propose to do?"

  "You will see anon, and indeed it is but a trifling matter. Alleyne, youwill come with me, and lead a spare horse by the bridle. I will have thetwo archers who rode with us through France, for they are trusty men andof stout heart. Let them ride behind us, and let them leave their bowshere among the bushes for it is not my wish that they should know thatwe are Englishmen. Say no word to any whom we may meet, and, if anyspeak to you, pass on as though you heard them not. Are you ready?"

  "I am ready, my fair lord," said Alleyne.

  "And I," "And I," cried Aylward and John.

  "Then the rest I leave to your wisdom, Sir William; and if God sends usfortune we shall meet you again in this gorge ere it be dark."

  So saying, Sir Nigel mounted the white horse of the Spanish cavalier,and rode quietly forth from his concealment with his three companionsbehind him, Alleyne leading his master's own steed by the bridle. Somany small parties of French and Spanish horse were sweeping hither andthither that the small band attracted little notice, and making its wayat a gentle trot across the plain, they came as far as the camp withoutchallenge or hindrance. On and on they pushed past the endless lines oftents, amid the dense swarms of horsemen and of footmen, until the hugeroyal pavilion stretched in front of them. They were close upon it whenof a sudden there broke out a wild hubbub from a distant portion of thecamp, with screams and war-cries and all the wild tumult of battle. Atthe sound soldiers came rushing from their tents, knights shouted loudlyfor their squires, and there was mad turmoil on every hand of bewilderedmen and plunging horses. At the royal tent a crowd of gorgeously dressedservants ran hither and thither in helpless panic for the guardof soldiers who were stationed there had already ridden off in thedirection of the alarm. A man-at-arms on either side of the doorway werethe sole protectors of the royal dwelling.

  "I have come for the king," whispered Sir Nigel; "and, by Saint Paul! hemust back with us or I must bide here."

  Alleyne and Aylward sprang from their horses, and flew at the twosentries, who were disarmed and beaten down in an instant by so furiousand unexpected an attack. Sir Nigel dashed into the royal tent, and wasfollowed by Hordle John as soon as the horses had been secured. Fromwithin came wild screamings and the clash of steel, and then the twoemerged once more, their swords and forearms reddened with blood,while John bore over his shoulder the senseless body of a man whose gaysurcoat, adorned with the lions and towers of Castile, proclaimed himto belong to the royal house. A crowd of white-faced sewers and pagesswarmed at their heels, those behind pushing forwards, while theforemost shrank back from the fierce faces and reeking weapons of theadventurers. The senseless body was thrown across the spare horse, thefour sprang to their saddles, and away they thundered with loose reinsand busy spurs through the swarming camp.

  But confusion and disorder still reigned among the Spaniards for SirWilliam Felton and his men had swept through half their camp, leavinga long litter of the dead and the dying to mark their course. Uncertainwho were their attackers, and unable to tell their English enemiesfrom their newly-arrived Breton allies, the Spanish knights rode wildlyhither and thither in aimless fury. The mad turmoil, the mixture ofraces, and the fading light, were all in favor of the four who aloneknew their own purpose among the vast uncertain multitude. Twice erethey reached open ground they had to break their way through smallbodies of horses, and once there came a whistle of arrows and singing ofstones about their ears; but, still dashing onwards, they shot outfrom among the tents and found their own comrades retreating for themountains at no very great distance from them. Another five minutes ofwild galloping over the plain, and they were all back in their gorge,while their pursuers fell back before the rolling of drums and blare oftrumpets, which seemed to proclaim that the whole army of the prince wasabout to emerge from the mountain passes.

  "By my soul! Nigel," cried Sir Oliver, waving a great boiled ham overhis head, "I have come by something which I may eat with my truffles! Ihad a hard fight for it, for there were three of them with their mouthsopen and the knives in their hands, all sitting agape round the table,when I rushed in upon them. How say you, Sir William, will you not trythe smack of the famed Spanish swine, though we have but the brook waterto wash it down?"

  "Later, Sir Oliver," answered the old soldier, wiping his grimed face."We must further into the mountains ere we be in safety. But what havewe here, Nigel?"

  "It is a prisoner whom I have taken, and in sooth, as he came from theroyal tent and wears the royal arms upon his jupon, I trust that he isthe King of Spain."

  "The King of Spain!" cried the companions, crowding round in amazement.

  "Nay, Sir Nigel,"
said Felton, peering at the prisoner through theuncertain light, "I have twice seen Henry of Transtamare, and certesthis man in no way resembles him."

  "Then, by the light of heaven! I will ride back for him," cried SirNigel.

  "Nay, nay, the camp is in arms, and it would be rank madness. Who areyou, fellow?" he added in Spanish, "and how is it that you dare to wearthe arms of Castile?"

  The prisoner was bent recovering the consciousness which had beensqueezed from him by the grip of Hordle John. "If it please you," heanswered, "I and nine others are the body-squires of the king, and mustever wear his arms, so as to shield him from even such perils as havethreatened him this night. The king is at the tent of the brave DuGuesclin, where he will sup to night. But I am a caballero of Aragon,Don Sancho Penelosa, and, though I be no king, I am yet ready to pay afitting price for my ransom."

  "By Saint Paul! I will not touch your gold," cried Sir Nigel. "Go backto your master and give him greeting from Sir Nigel Loring of TwynhamCastle, telling him that I had hoped to make his better acquaintancethis night, and that, if I have disordered his tent, it was but in myeagerness to know so famed and courteous a knight. Spur on, comrades!for we must cover many a league ere we can venture to light fire or toloosen girth. I had hoped to ride without this patch to-night, but itseems that I must carry it yet a little longer."