Brian turned without giving him a direct answer and shouted in the direction of the men-at-arms.
"Tom Seiver!"
Tom detached himself from the group and came over.
"Tom," said Brian, "we need at least two men who know something about stealing horses. Go find us some. We'll wait here."
"Aye, Sir Brian," said Tom Seiver, turning back toward the men-at-arms.
"Is Theoluf still there with you?" Brian called after him.
Tom stopped and turned back.
"Yes, Sir Brian," he answered.
"Perhaps Theoluf can be of advice and assistance. In any case, see to it. Bring us two such, right away," said Brian.
"Right away, Sir Brian," said Tom, as matter-of-factly as if he was starting off to fetch a couple of flasks of wine. He strode back to the group.
"You understand now, James?" Brian asked. "This is what such men as Tom are for, set up to be captain among the other men-at-arms. They already know if any of the others have horse-stealing skills. There will be no public asking or answering aloud, but merely understanding and an order."
"Yes," said Jim wearily. It seemed that he would forever be learning about this new world that he and Angie had decided to live in. All that its inhabitants knew from birth, almost without knowing how they learned it, he needed to learn by trial and error.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Tom was back within five minutes with two men. One was a small, brisk-looking youngster with a brush of red hair above an open, guileless face. The other was a taller, leaner, and older man with thinning black hair. Both moved and wore their weapons like the experienced men-at-arms they were.
"This of the red hair is Jem Wattle," said Tom. "With him is Hal Lackerby. Sir Brian knows them well, Sir James, but I thought you might wish to be told their names if you had not known them before." A hard smile crossed Tom Server's face. "They're just the men you need to spy out the French lines after dark."
"Thank you, Tom," answered Jim.
"Jem—Hal!" said Brian. "Attend Sir James until he sends you back to your usual duties." He turned to Jim. "Shall I stay with you James, or—"
"If you would, Brian," said Jim. "I'm going to be talking to Sir Raoul. It'll do no harm to have someone back here who knows what we're busy about."
"Come then," said Brian.
He turned his horse, leading the way. James rode with him, and the two men-at-arms silently brought up on foot behind them as they rode over to where Sir Raoul was standing beside his own horse.
"Sir Raoul," said Jim, as the other knight looked up at him, "we would like to speak to you—a little aside if you don't mind."
Sir Raoul swung up into the saddle of his own horse and the five of them moved off across the grass of the meadow into the lengthening shadow of the trees. Out of earshot of the others, Jim halted his horse and turned it back to face Sir Raoul's and incidentally that of Brian, as well as the two men-at-arms.
"Sir Raoul," said Jim, "you know we need horses for the archers, and another horse, of some value, for the Prince. I've found two men who might be useful in helping us get such horses. Will you guide us to the rear of the French lines again?"
"Not the English lines, of course, for that," said Sir Raoul sardonically. "Oh well; I expected it would be the French lines. Come with me, then, all of you."
It was full dark when they reached the rear of the French lines. They had been reduced to going slowly, for the trees were still about them and, while the sun was all the way down, the moon had not yet risen. However as they reached the rearmost wagons of the French baggage train, the thin moon began to rise. With the aid of its increasing glow, they found their way up into the main baggage area of the French.
"We are now in the center of the baggage area behind the French lines," said Sir Raoul. "There'll be horses, both alone and herded together, picketed to the right and left of us. Whatever you want to do from here on is up to you. I'm simply in attendance until the time comes to guide you back to our people."
Brian had been talking in a low voice to his two men-at-arms.
"Away with you then, lads," he concluded. "You know what's needed. Horses, saddle gear, armor, and weapons for His Highness. See that you find it all."
The two men vanished among the baggage carts and other paraphernalia. Brian turned back to Jim.
"Now, James," he said, "we simply wait."
"I think I'll take advantage of the situation by examining the area myself, while we're waiting," said Jim. "Would you stay here, Brian, in case Jem and Hal return before we do? That way we can all regather on you."
"I'll hold this spot," he said grimly.
"Thanks Brian," Jim said gratefully. "I won't be long."
He turned to Sir Raoul.
"Raoul?" he said. "Will you show me where you think the most likely place might be for the King and his bodyguard to stand while the battle takes place? I'd like to have an idea of the ground over which we might need to charge."
"I can only guess, Sir James," said Raoul, a little stiffly, "but if that is what you wish…"
"It is what I wish," said Jim.
Sir Raoul rode off. Jim caught up with him and they rode their horses around and through the baggage carts, toward the first of what looked like a small row of hillocks. As they got closer, the hillocks turned out to be medieval versions of tents. Most of these were lighted from inside; and from within them came the sound of men enjoying themselves, most undoubtedly with the help of food and drink, probably mostly the latter.
Sir Raoul rode through this line of tents and led Jim on to a point where the ground rose a little bit and became freer of trees. They were at the very edge of the open area in which the two armies confronted each other.
"I think this is the most likely place for His Majesty to want to place himself so that he can view the battle," said Sir Raoul. "Again, remember this is only a guess on my part. I promise nothing. But if I were in command of this army, this is the place I would choose."
Jim rode about, examining the land in several different directions. If this was indeed to be the place that the King would choose, then it was ideal for Jim's purposes. There were a number of directions that gave enough open space for his group to get up to charging speed, even after emerging from the tree line, which surrounded this open area as if holding it in a cup.
"If the King picks this spot, we've a good chance," he told Raoul, who only grunted in answer. "Now tell me. Is there any place not too far from here where we might put the Prince with some guards, and where those guards could defend him in case anyone stumbles across him? He'll need to be close, if we win through to the King and Malvinne; but not too close, in case he gets seen and taken before we've had a chance to do our work."
Sir Raoul's head bowed for a minute toward his breast as if he was thinking.
"There's another stone ruin," Raoul said, after a few seconds, "not too far from here, back in the woods. It's not so large as the place which we have made our headquarters so far. This may have been just a wayside chapel at some time. Nonetheless, it's also of stone; and it may be that in its ruin there's a defensive position. I'll take you there."
He lifted his reins and led off. Jim followed. In not more than a matter of minutes they came to a mound of darkness rising above the level of the forest floor. It was, as Raoul had said, of stone, and possibly looted many times.
"If you'll hold my horse, Raoul," Jim said, "I will investigate this on foot."
He got down and began feeling his way around the pile of stone in the gloom. As Raoul had said, it was much smaller than the ruined chapel, and if anything, was in a worse ruin. Still, he found a way in among some of the blocks for a distance of about eight feet. It could only be traveled by one person at a time. With the Prince at the inner end of this, and one or more people standing guard before him, whoever wished to get at the royal individual would literally have to get there over the body of the guard. Jim backed out, brushing the stone dust and dirt from his
hands, and remounted his horse.
"Good," he said briefly to Sir Raoul. "Now, let's get back to Brian."
When they reached Brian, Jem Wattle and Hal Lackerby had already returned with not merely four, but five horses. One was larger and healthier looking than the rest—at least as for as Jim could tell in the darkness—and laden with what must be the armor.
They had, indeed, managed to steal a knight's horse, or at least a horse a knight would be willing to ride, for the young man.
"All set?" Jim said to Brian. When the other nodded, he turned his horse's head away.
The ride back went swiftly. By this time the moon was well up, and by its light, the three archers were allowed to try out their horses and show that—as Dafydd had said—sure enough, they could ride well.
"Everybody turn in and get what rest you can," said Jim. "We'll have to mount a guard through the night. And the last guard is to start rousing the rest of us at moonset, which should be a good hour or more before sunrise. I want us on our way to the rear of the French camp before full daybreak."
A hand on Jim's shoulder, shaking it—Jim never found out whose hand—woke him in the early morning. He got creakily to his feet, stiff from the cold in spite of having wrapped himself in a saddle blanket and chosen what he thought was a wind-protected niche among the fallen stones of the chapel. The stiffness, cold, and a hunger for more sleep almost conquered him. But he told himself that if he got up and moved around, all of this would improve.
He left the protection of the chapel, and began trying to check on whether all the rest were up.
They certainly seemed to be, although it was still too dark to count heads. Most of them could be seen moving about much more briskly than he. Jim had come to envy the people around him ever since he had become a denizen of this world. Nearly all of them seemed able to sleep in any position, under any conditions, wake up at a moment's touch, and ignore any of the feelings that were bothering Jim now. Practice, begun in infancy, he supposed.
He bumped into several people in the darkness before he was able to discover Brian.
"Is everybody up?" he asked Brian, more to have something to say than anything else.
"Yes, yes," said Brian, with that slight testiness that had a tendency to afflict him on the morning of any action. "Of your love, Jim, give me room. I must get into my armor now. So should you. Where is your Theoluf? A squire should be with his master at all times such as this. Ho! John Chester!"
"Here, Sir Brian," spoke up a voice out of the darkness near Jim's elbow.
"Where's my breast plate? Go find Theoluf and have him fetch Sir James's armor and bring it here to start to help him dress!" said Brian. "Where have you been all this time?"
"Right here, Sir Brian," answered the voice of John Chester. "I was but waiting for Sir James to finish speaking to you and stand aside."
Jim hastily moved off to the left and bumped into somebody else, which must have been one of the men-at-arms, for with an apologetic, "sorry, m'Lord," the other figure disappeared into the gloom.
"As soon as there is any light in the sky at all so that we can see each other," said Jim, "I want you to go off with me a little ways. I need your help in trying out something."
"Certainly, James. Certainly. John Chester, the breast plate goes over the breast, not the stomach!" said Brian.
"Sorry, Sir Brian," said John.
"Indeed you'll be sorrier, if you don't learn how to dress me properly and with more dispatch!" said Brian. "Yes. Certainly, Jim. As soon as I'm dressed. Just come get me. John Chester—"
But Jim was already moving off in the darkness.
He cannoned into another body.
There was a rattle of something metallic falling to the earth.
"Sorry, m'Lord," said the voice of Theoluf. "I was just bringing your armor…"
"Oh," said Jim. He stood still. "Well then, if you can see well enough to do it, you'd better start getting me into it."
How Theoluf had recognized him in the darkness, or how that other man-at-arms had done so, Jim had no idea. It could be he still smelled differently to these other people. He and Angie took regular baths, but over the months they had gotten used to the smells of the unbathed people who lived in their clothes around them; particularly those of the servants. On the other hand, he had not had a bath since leaving home, which was a matter of some weeks now. Still, perhaps a difference remained. He stood as quietly as he could, enduring Theoluf fastening the pieces of plate armor around his legs and arms and body. It went on over a sort of padded jacket and leggings, which were supposed to take up some of the shock that the metal passed on when a weapon struck it. Jim had never noticed that they did any good; and invariably when he had to wear full armor, it turned out to be a broiling hot day with a bright sun beaming down, and the heat from that weight of clothes upon him was almost more than he could take.
But everyone else took it for granted; so he had learned to grit his teeth, say nothing and put up with it. Finally, he was fitted with all of his armor, right down to the spurs on his heels. The only piece of equipment Theoluf did not put on him was his helmet, which would be left off until the last moment, not only because of the discomfort of being enclosed by it, but because it limited eyesight with its small, hinged visor.
Theoluf tucked the helmet solicitously under his arm.
"Shall I bring up m'Lord's horse?" he said, standing back.
There was now enough light to pale the stars in the eastern half of the sky and allow them to make out the shapes of those around them.
"Not just yet," said Jim. "Bring me Sir Brian first. Then bring both our horses."
"Yes m'Lord."
Theoluf went off, disappeared in fact into the grayness about them that was scarcely better than the absolute blackness to which Jim had wakened. The new squire was back in a few moments, just behind a fully armored Brian, also carrying his helmet. Theoluf had both their horses saddled and bridled and was leading them forward by the bridles.
In the armor, it was much easier to ride than walk. Jim climbed heavily and clumsily into his saddle, with Theoluf's help, while Brian vaulted into his own saddle without help. He hung his helmet on the front point of his high saddle, and Jim did the same.
"Where to, James?" asked Brian.
"Just off from the rest far enough so that we can't be seen," said Jim.
They rode off a small distance; and at Jim's direction they both dismounted once more. Jim searched around and found a bush, from which he broke a twig bearing several leaves. He tucked this in the niche between the visor and the helmet proper of Brian, making sure that the twig was firmly in place.
"What's afoot?" asked Brian, clearly mystified.
"Nothing too important," said Jim. "I just want to check out a piece of magic with your help. Put the helmet on your head, would you?"
Brian did so, automatically whipping up his visor once the helmet was on. The twig, Jim was glad to see, stayed in place.
"Now, just stand there a moment, if you don't mind," said Jim, "while I work this magic."
He had given what he was about to do considerable thought. Invisibility was something that Jim's twentieth-century mind could not believe in; and that therefore he could not envision. But someone who looked straight at something, but refused to admit that he saw it—that he could believe in it. It was a common hypnotic trick.
Even as he thought this, he was writing on the inside of his forehead:
ANYONE WTTHOUTLEAVES→WON'TSEE ANYONE WITHLEAVES
To Jim's eyes Brian vanished.
"When are you going to do the magic?" Brian's voice boomed hollowly out of the vacancy before him.
Jim tucked the other twig into the hinge of his own helmet and put it on. Brian was suddenly visible again, directly in front of him.
"I said when are you going to do this magic?" Brian asked. "I don't wish to complain, James, but there are orders to be given, and we should be getting people together if we're going to move."
>
"It's more or less been done," he said. "Just one thing more. Stand still while I walk around behind you."
Brian did so. Jim walked around behind him, took the twig out of Brian's helmet as well as his own, and tossed them away.
"I don't understand this at all," said Brian as Jim came back around in front of him. "What is this business with the twigs? When are you going to do the magic? As I say, we should be getting back."
"We can go now," said Jim, "it's all been taken care of. Would you give me a hand up onto my horse before getting on your own?"
"Now I am to play squire to you," grumbled Sir Brian, helping Jim onto his horse. Jim let the grumble pass. Brian's temper was, if anything, a little worse than usual this battle morning. He would cheer up instantly once they had reached a point of going into action.
With Jim safely on his horse, Brian mounted his own, and the two of them rode back to the waiting men. In spite of Brian's insistence that he was urgently required back at the chapel, to Jim's eye everything was pretty well taken care of. The men-at-arms had armed and armored themselves, taken their light lances, and were all on horseback. So also, were the archers and the other knights. Apparently they had only been waiting for Jim and Brian to get back.
However, as Jim returned, a slim figure without armor and wearing the same clothes the Prince had worn since they had first picked him up, rode up to him. The figure had a helmet on and a heavy lance in one hand. The visor was down.
"Sir James." The figure put the visor up to reveal the Prince's face; and the horse was reined in beside Jim's. "The armor would not fit."
"I was afraid of that, Highness," said Jim. "However, I think we can contrive things so that you won't miss your share of action, even though you may have to stand aloof from some of the early parts of it."
"I was counting on charging with the rest of you!" complained the Prince.
"So was I, Highness," lied Jim, "but of course, without armor, we don't want you in the wedge. I'll tell you what; we'll arrange a safe place for you, close enough so that you can come out as soon as we have broken up the bodyguard and opened a way to King Jean, Malvinne, and the false impostor."