Charlevoix county herald., 1906-08-11

among them. What is this golden ban
ner which waves over the lefty
| 1t is the ensign OF the knights OF
| Calatraya answered telton.
And the one upon the rightF
1T marks the Knights of Santiago and
| see by the banner that the grand mas
| ter rides at their head.
You are right, for 1 can also see
| them. There is much Spanish Dlazonry
| also If L could but read IL. Don Diego,
you know the arms OF your own country,
and who are they who have done US so
much honorT'
The Spanish prisoner looked with exul-
| tant eyes upon the deep and serried ranks
OF his countrymen.
by Saint Annes' he said. ''if ye fail
this day, ye fall by no mean hands for
the flower of the army of CASTLE ride
under the banner of Don Tello, with the
chivalry of Asturias, Toledo, Leon, Cor
| dova, Galicia and Seville and the knights
or France and Aragon. III you VIII take
my rede, you will come to a compost
| tion with them, for they will give you
| such terms as you have given me-.
NAY, by Saint Paul, 1t were pity II
so many brave men, were drawn together
and no little deed OF arms come OF II. Ha!
| William, they advance upon us, and by
my soul 1t is sight worth coming over
/ the seas 10 Witness.
AS he spoke the two wings Of the Span
ish host. consisting of the Knights of
| Calatrava on the one side and of Santiago
on the other came swooplng swiftly down
| the valley, while the main body followed
more slowly behind. The vanguard halted
a long bow-shot from the hill, and with
waving spears and vaunting shouts chal-
lenged their enemies to come forth, while
| two cavaliers, pricking forward from the
| glitternp ranks walked their horeps Slow
| ly between the two arrays with targets
braced and lances In rest like the chal-
lengers In a tourney.
by Saint Paul!'' cried Sir Nigel, with
his eye glowing like an ember, "these
appear to be two very worthy and debo-
| nair gentlemen. i do not call to mind
when 1 have seen any people who seemed
| of so great a heart and so high Of enter
prise. We have our horses, Sir William:
| shall be not relieve them Of any VOW which
| they may have upon their soulsT
Felton's reply was to bound upon his
charger, and to urge 1T down the slope,
while Sir Nigel followed not three spears s.
lengths behind him. 1t was a rugged
course, rocky and uneven, yet the two
| knights, choosing their men, dashed on
wards at the top of their speed, while
the gallant Spaniards flew as swiftly to
| meet them. The one to whom FELTON,
| found himself opposed was a tall STRIPPING
/
| Sir Nigel's man was broad and squat with
| plain steel harness, and a pink and white
| torse bound round his helmet. The first
struck FELTON, on the target with such
| force as to split 1t from side to side, but
| Sir Williams lance crashed through the
CANAL which shielded the Spaniard' s
| throat, and he fell, screaming hoarsely, to
the ground. Carried away by the heat and
madness of fight, the English knight never
drew rein. but charged straight on into the
array of the Knights of Calatrava. Long
| time the silent ranks upon the hill could
see swirl and eddy deep down in the
| heart Of the Spanish column, with a
circle of rearing chargers and flashing
blades. Here and there tossed the white
plume of the English helmet, rising and
| falling like the foam upon wave, with
| the fierce CLEAN and sparkle ever circling
round 1t, until at last it had sunk from
view and another brave man had turned
| war to peace.
Sir Nigel, meanwhile, had found a foe
| man worthy Of his steel, for his opponent
was none other than Sebastian Gomez, the
picked lance Of the monkish knights Of
Santiago, who had won fame in a hun
dred bloody Acombats with the Moors OF
| Andalusia. So fierce was their meeting
| that their spears shivered up to the very
grasp, and the horses reared backwards
until 1t seemed that they must crash down
upon their riders. Yet with consummate
horsemanship they both swung round in
| n long curvet, and then plucking out their
swords they lashed at each other like two
lusty smiths hammering upon their anvil.
The chargers spun round each others, Bit
ing and striking, while the two blades
wheeled and whizzed and circled in CLEANS
of dazzling light. Cut, parry, and thrust
followed so swiftly upon each others that
the eye could not follow them, until at
last coming thigh to thigh, they cast their
arms around each other and rolled off
their saddles to the ground. The heavier
Spaniard threw himself upon his enemy,
and pnning him down beneath him raised
his sword to slay him, while a shout Of
| triumph rose from the ranks of his count
| rymen. But the fatal blow never fell, for
even as his arm quivered before descend
| ing, the Spaniard gave shudder, and
stiffening himself, rolled heavily over upon
! his side, with the blood gushing from his
| arm-pit and from the slit of his vizor. Sir
| Nigel sprang to his feet with his bloody
dagger in his left hand and gazed down
upon his adversary, but the fatal aud
sudden stab in the vital spot, which the
| Spaniard had exposed by raising his arm.
had proved instantly mortal. The Eng
| lshman leaped upon his horse and made
for the hill, at the very instant that yell
of rage from a thousand voices and the
clang Of score of bugles announced the
| Spanish onset
| CHAPTER XVII.
! But the islanders were ready and eager
| for the encounter. With feet firmly
| planted, their sleeves rolled back to give
| free play to their muscles, their long
yellow bow-staves i'm their left hands, and
| their quivers slung to the front, they had
waited I'm the four-deep harrow formation
which gave strength to their array, and
yet permitted every man to draw his arrow
| freely without harm to those in front.
| On swept the Spaniards, over the level
and up to the slope, ere they met the
| binding storm of the English arrows.
Down went the whole ranks in a whirl
of mad confusion, horses plunging and
| kicking, bewildered men falling, rising,
! staggering on or back, while ever new
| lines of horsemen came spurring through
the gaps and urged their chargers up the
I fatal slope. All around him, Alleyne could
| hear the stern, short orders of the master
bowmen while the air was filled with
| the keen twanging of the strings and the
swish and patter of the shafts. Right
| across the foot of the hill there had
sprung up a long wall of struggling horses
and stricken men, which ever grew and
heightened as fresh squadrons poured on
| the attack So for five long minutes the
\ Of Snain of France