The Greeley tribune., 1906-08-16

, .,.od bc with thee, my honorcd lord
and have thee in his holy keeping. Inc
LADY l,oriug hath asked me, tue Privs.'
!, sci down in writing whht hatn uei"'isn
| Al Twynham. and all that concerns 'ns
daaIh ~ thy III neighbor the Socmah Oh
a,i,s,.ad For when ye had left US, TINS
III nan gathered around him all outlaws
| ~uI,Ius and masterless men. untii tney
gor. come to such force that tney slew
md scattered the kins men VINO wen.
,.ntu,t them. Then, coming tor'h from
n. woods, they laid siege 10 tny sasue
md for TWO days the! sir. NO IN anu s"os w
,nrd against US, with such numbers as
,,,r, , marvel to see. Yet the Lady Lor-
ing held the place stoutiy. anu on the
.crond day the Socinan was slain-by
tIs own men, as some thiuk-so that We
u.Src Ieliyered from their hands; for
which praise he to all the saints. and
more especially to the holy Anseim. upon
whose feast it came TO pass. tn" Lady
,orinc and the Lady Mau.t. "7
daughter. are in good he - sii'" III
the saints preserve thee
MY fair lord" sail me. with a
flush on his weather. ned cheeks. Il
love your daughter. the Lady Maude: and.
unworthy AS am. | would give my
hearts blood 10 serve her
IY 81. fanli fsNrlcspn. SAlu 1ne
knight coldv, arching his eyebrows, you
aim high In this matter. Our blood Is
very old. -
'And mine also is very old" answered
the squire.
And the Lady Maude is our single
child. All our name and lands center upon
her. -
alas that / should say 1t, but also
am now the only Edricson."
And why have I not heard this from
you before, Alleync? In sooth. I think
you have used me IN"
Nay. my fair lord. say not so: for I
know not whether your daughter loves
me- and there Is no pledge between us
Sir Nigel pondered for few moments.
and then burst out a-nughing. by st.
Paul. said he. 81 know not why I should
mix in the matter: for ! have ever found
that the Lady Maude vas very well able
TO look to her own affairs. Since first
she coria stamp her little foot, she hath
ever been able to get that for which she
craved; and II she set her heart on thee.
Alcyne. and thou o. =, do not think
that this Spanish king. with his three
score thousand men. could hold Won apart.
Yet this | will say, that would see yon
n full knight ere YOU go to my daughter
with words Of love. have ever said that
n brave lance should we'd her: and by my
soul! Edricson. IL God spare you. I think
that you will acquit yourself well. But
enough Of such triHes. for we have our
work before us. and 1t will he time To
speak Of this matter when we see the
white cliffs of England once more. Go to
Sir William FELTON,. pray you. and ask
him TO come hither. for 1t is time that
we were marching. There is no pass at
the further end of the valley. and 1t Is
perous place should an enemy come upon
us.
Alleyne delivered his message. and then
wandered forth from the camp. for his
mind was all In whirl with this un-
expected news, and with his talk with
Sir Nigel. Sitting upon rock. with his
burning brow resting upon his hands. he
thought OF his brother. OF their quarrel.
of the Lady Mandc in her bedraggled rid
inS-dress, Of the gray old castle OF the
proud pale face in the armory, and of the
last fiery words with which she had sped
him on his way. Then he was but a
monk-hred lad unknown and
Now he was himself Socman
OF Minstead. the head of nm old stock. and
the Lord of an estate which. if reduced
from its former size. was still ample to
preserve the dignit- OF his family. Further,
he had become man of experience was
brave among men. had won the
esteem and confidence OF her father. and
above all, has been listened to by him
when he told him the secret of his love.
As to the gaining of kn.ghthcod In such
stirring times 1t was no great matter for
A brave squire of gentle birth to aspire to
that honor. He would leave his bones
among these Spanish ravines. or he would
10 some deed which would call the eyes
II men upon him.
Alleyne was still seated on the rock, his
sriefs and his joys drifting swiftly over
his mind like the shadow of clouds upon
sunlft meadow, when of sudden he
became conscious OF low. deep sound
which came booming up TO him through
the fog. He shouted an alarm to the
amp.
1T is a great body OF horse said Sir
FELTON,. "and they are riding very
swiftly hitherwards.
The Company stood peering into the
1ense fog wreath, amidst silence so
that the dripping OF the water
from the rocks and the breathing of the
horses grew loud upon the ear. Suddenly
from out the sea of mist came the sound
IF a neigh, followed by long blast of a
bugle.
1T is Spanish call. my fair lord" said
Black Simon.
by my faith, said Sir Nigel. smiling
we may promise them some sport ere
they sound the mort over MS. But there
Is hill In the center of the gorge upon
which we might make stand"
Il marked it yestcr night said Felton,
''and better spot could be found for
our purpose, for 1t is very steep at the
back
The whole Company. leading their
horses. passed across to the small hill
which loomed up from the mist. 1t was
indeed admirably designed for defence for
It sloped down In front, all jagged and
boulder strewn, while 1t fell away behind
In sheer clin of hundred feet or more
On the summit was small. uneven
plateau. with a stretch across of n hum
dred PAGES. and a depth of half as much
again.
Unloose the horses" said Sir Nigel
Now order the ranks. and fling wide the
banners, for our souls are Gods and our
bodies the kings, and our swords for
Saint George and for England.'
Sir Nigel had scarcely spoken when the
mist seemed to thin In the valley, and to
snred away Into long ragged clouds which
trailed from the edges Of the cliffs. and
the sun broke through. 1t cleaned and
shimmered with dazzling brightness upon
the armor and hcadpieces of n vast body
Of horsemen who stretched across the
barranca from one cliff to the other. and
extended backwards until their rear-yunrd