Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-08-16

he made to Andrew Darcy, the Eng
lish knight. If any can aid you, 1t will
be Jebal, who hates the houses Of MUIR
ed-din and of Ayoub. So, I charge you,
let n%othing-I say n~othing-tnrn you
aside from seeking him"
For a homer the dying man was a.
lent, until his face lit up as with a
great gladness. and he cried in a loud,
clear voice. Beloved wife, I hear you!
o God. I Gomez
Then, though his eyes stayed open
and the smile still rested on his face,
his Jaw fell.
Thus died Sir Andrew Darcy.
I'VE have seen n great DEATH" said
Goodwin presently. Let us learn a
lesson from 1t, that when our time
comes we may die like him."
Aye" answered Wulf, springing to
his feet. But first let us take venge-
nnce for 1t. why, what is this? Rosa
mund's writing! Read it. Goodwin"
Goodwin took the parchment and read:
Follow me to Saladin. In that hope
l live on"
Surely we will follow you, Rosa
mund!' he cried aloud. Follow you
through life to death or victory"
Then he threw down the paper, and
calling for the chaplain to come to
watch the body they ran into the hall.
By this time about half Of the folk
were awake from their drugged sleep,
while others who had been doctored in
the barn staggered into the hall. A
few were found strong enough In wit
ND hnIy tN ~ro~A tI,,,, su~,.-t.
the darkness and the falling snow to
Stangate abbey, to Southminster II
to the houses Of their neighbors, al
though of these there were none near,
praying that every true man would
arm and ride to help them In the hunt;
also Wulf called The priest Matthew
and charged him to climb the church
tower as swiftly as he could and set
light to the beacon hat was laid ready
there.
Away he went, taking flint, steel and
finder with him, and ten minute later
the blaze was harlng ~furiously above
the roof Of Steeple church warning all
men of the need for help. Then they
armed, saddled such horses as they
had, among them the three that had
been left there by the merchant Geor-
gios, and gathered all of them who
were not too sick to ride or run in the
courtyard Of the hall.
At length the dawn began to break,
and oy its first gray light they saw
men mounted and afoot feeling their
way through the snow, shouting 10 each
other as they came to know what
dreadful thing had happened at Stee-
pie. Soon as a band was got together
perhaps thirty men In all-and there
was light to stir by they set out and
began to search, though where to look
they knew not, for the snow had row.
cred up all traces of their foes.
"One thing Is certain" said Goodwin,
they must have come by water"
Aye answered Wulf, land landed
near by, since had they far to 60 they
would have taken the horses and must
run the risk also Of losing their path
in the darkness. To the staithe. Let
us try Steeple staithe."
So on they went across the meadow
to the creek. Beneath the thin coating OF
rime they found a mark in the mud
by the staithe, made by the PROV Of a
large boat, and not far from it a hole
In the earth into which a peg had been
driven to make her fast.
"To st. Peter's-on-the-Wall." cried
Wulf. ITO st. Peters. I say, for there
the boats or ship must pass, and may be
that In the darkness they have not yet
won out to sea-"
So they turned their horses heads,
and those of them that We're mounted
rode for st. Peters. On they galloped
through the falling snow, Goodwin and
Wulf leading the way, while behind
them Numbered an ever gathering
train Of knights, squires and yeomen,
who had seen the beacon fare on Stee-
pie tower or learned the tale from
messengers.
Hard they rode, but the lanes were
heavy with fallen snow and mud be-
meath, and the way was far, SO that an
hour had gone by before Bradwell was
left behind and the shrine Of st, Chad
lay but half a mile in front. Now Of
a sudden the snow ceased. and a strong
northerly wind springing up drove the
thick mist before it.
nat is tnat! Salu GOuWlu pres
emily, pointing to a great dim thing
Upon the vapor hidden sea.
AS he spoke a strong gust Of wind
tore away the last wells of mist, reveal
ing the red face Of the risen sun and
not a hundred yards away from them
for the tide was high-the tall masts Of
a galley creeping out to sea beneath
her banks OF oars. AS they stared tha
wind caught her, and on the mainmast
rose her bellying sail, while a shout Of
laughter told them that they them
selves were seen. To the fore peak
ran up the yellow flag Of Saladin
streaming there like gold in the golden
sunlight.
Nor was this all. for on the higS
poop Appeared the tall shape of Rosa
mund herself and on one side of her,
clad now In coat Of mail and turban.
the emir Hassan. whom they had
known as the merchant Georglos, and
on the other a stout man, also clad in
mail, who at that distance looked like
a Christian knight.
In his fury and despair Wulf drove
his horse into the water till The waves