The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-12-25

angle of the wall. She had been kneel-
ing all night before the image of the
virgin, with her lips upon the feet of
her who also was a woman and who
by treachery had lost g. son.
L would have your permission to de-
part, my Lady Countess said Sholto,
bowling his head upon his breast, that
he might not intrude on her eyes of
grief. ''The castle is safe, and 1 can
be well spared. By Gods grace shall
not return till I bring either tlte maids
themselves or settled news Of them.
Have I your leave?"
The lady of Douglas looked at him a
moment without speech.
You are not the same who rode
away behind my son William. You
went out light and gay as David. my
young son. There is now a look of
Earl William himself in your face-his
mother tells you So Well, you We're
sucked by the same mothers milk as
/ he. May double portion of his spirit
rest on you It is the Douglas mark.
Follow on and turn not back till you
find. Strike and cease not till all be
avenged. l have no son left to save
or to strike. Go, Sholto McKim. He
who is dead loved you and made you
knight. l said at the time that you
were too young, and would have dis
Suaded him. But when did a Douglas
listen to woman's advice, his mothers
or his wifes. Foster brother you are
brother you shall be. By this kiss I
make you my SON"
She bent and laid her lips on the
young mans brow. They were hot as
/ iron uncooled from the smithy anvil
Come with mel" she added, and with
a vehemence strangely at odds with
/ her calm of the night before, she took
| Sholto by the hand and drew him after
! her into the room that had been Earl
! Williams.
| From the bundle of keys at her side
/ she took a small one of French design.
With this she unlocked a tall cabinet
which stood in a corner. She threw the
! folding doors open, and there in the re-
/ cess hung a wonderful suit of armor,
! of the sort called secret
This" said the lady of Douglas, "I
/ had designed for my son. Ten years
/ was it in the making. His father tryst-
! ed it from q, cunning artificer in Italy.
All these years has it been perfecting
/ for him. 1t comes too late. His eyes
| shall never see it nor his body wear it.
! But 1 give it to you. No Avondale shall
/ ever put it upon him. 1t will fit you, for
/ you and he were of a bignesS. No
! sword can cut through these links, were
! it steel Of Damascus forged for a sui
! tan. No spear thrust can pierce it,
though 1 leave you to avenge the bruise.
Yet it will lie soft as silk, concealed and
unsupported, under the rags of a, beg
gar or the robes of a king. The cap will
turn the edge of an ak, even when
] swung by a giants hand, yet it will fit
in the lining of Spanish hat or velvet
bonnet. This your present errand may
prove more dangerous than you imag-
/ inc. Go and put it on"
Sholto kneeIed down and kissed the
hand of his liege lady. Then, when he
had risen, she gave him down the armor
piece by piece, busting each with her
kerchief with a sort of reverent action,
as one might touch the face of the dead
In Sholto's hands it proved indeed light
almost as woven cloth of homespun
| from Dame Barbara'S loom, and flexible
as the spun silk of Lyons which the
great wear next their bodies.
With it there went a light undersuit
of finest and softest leather, that the
skin should not be chafed by the cum
ming links as they worked smoothly
over each other at each movement OF
the body within.
Sholto buckled on his lady's gift with
! a swelling heart. 1t was his dead mas
| ter's. And as piece by piece fitted him
as a glove fits the hand, the spirit of
William Douglas seemed to enter more
and more into the lad,
Then Sholto covered this most valua-
! BILE gift with his own clothing, which
he had brought from the house of Car
! linwark, and presently emerged, q we'll
/ looking but still slim squire of decent
family.
Then the countess belted on him the
sword of price which went Herewith. a
blade of matchless Ferrarean steel, but
! covered with a plain scabbard of black
Digskin.
Draw and thrust" commanded the
! lady, pointing at the rough stone of the
wall at the end Of the passage.
Sholto looked ruefully at the glitter
J ing blade, which he held in his hand,
flashing blue from point to double
! guard
Thrust. and fear not!" said the
countess of Douglas, the second time.
Sholto lunged out at the stone with
all his might. Fire flew from the smit-
ten blue whinStone where the point,
with all the weight of his young body
behind it, impinged on the wall. A
tingling Shock of acutest agony ran up
the strikers wrist to the shoulder
| blade. The sword dropped ringing on
the pavement, and Sholto's arm fell
numb and useless to his side.
Lift the sword and look!" command
ed the Lady Douglas
Sholto did as he was hidden with his
left hand, and TO- the point which had
bent like hoop was sharp and bright
as if just from the armorer's.
Can you strike with your left hand?'
asked the lady.
''As with my right" answered the
son of Malise the Brawny.
There was bar at a window in the
wall bending outward in fhape like the
letter U.
Then strike cutting stroke with
yoIr let hand"
Sl3olto took the sword. 1t seemed to
him short-sighted policy that on the
hour of his departure on a Derilous
quest he should disable himself in both
arms. But Sholto AIackim was not the
youth to question an order. He lifted
the sword in his left hand, and with a
strong, ungraceful motion struck with
ali his might.
At first he thought that he had missed
altogether. There was no tingling in
his arm, no jar when the blade should
have encountered the iron. But the
countess was examining the center of
the iron hoop.
Il have missed!' said Sholto
Come hither and looki" she said,
without turning round.
And when he looked, 10, the thick iron
had been cut through almost without
bending. The edges Of the break were
fresh and bright and true.
Now look at the edge Of your
sword" she said.
There was not the slightest dint any
where uDon it, SO that Sholto, armor-
er's son as he was, turned about the
blade to see if by any chance he could
have smitten with the reverse.
Failing in this, he could only kneel
to his lady and say, This is a great