Amador ledger. (Jackson, Amador County, Calif.) 1875-19??, 1906-08-17
CHAPTER XIV.


1.-THE Prince WITH his English and Cas-
Con army moved swiftly southwark in
battle array and Sir Nigel having re-
cruited- hiss ranks with the two hun
6fed. members of the original White
Company, from the woods near Mont
!. pezard Joined the army and received
the honorable commission from the
Prince, itoa7push ahead into Spain and
discover the location and strength of
the Spanish and French army under
King Henry. of Transtamare. The lit
tie band wound through the passes of
Navarro and into the rugged land Of
Spain. .
~ Sir Nigel had with him Sir William
FELTON,, Sir Oliver. Buttesthorn, stout
sold Sir'Simon Burley the Scotch knight
errant, theiEarl of Angus, and Sir Rich
s ard Causton, ALI accounted among the
bravest knights In the army, together
: with sixty veteran men-at-arms, and
three hundred and twenty archers. Spies
had been sent out in the morning, and
returned after night-fall to say that
the King of Spain was encamped some
: fourteen miles of in the direction of
; Burgos. having with him twenty thou
sand horse and forty-five thousand foot.
A, dry-wood fire had been lit, and round
this the leaders crouched, the glare
beating upon their rugged faces, while
the hardy archers lounged and chatted
amid the tethered horses, while they
munched their scanty provisions.
= For my part" said Sir Simon Bur-
ley, L am of the opinion that we have
already done that which we have come
for For do. we not now know where
. he hath, which was the end of our jour-
;ney." ::
True. answered Sir William FELTON,,
''but I haver come on this venture be-
cause It is a long time since I have
broken a spear in war, and, certes, L
shall not go back until have run a
course with some cavalier of SPAIN"
81 will not leave you, Sir William"
returned Sir Simon Burley; land yet, as
an old soldier, and one who hath seen
much of war,.I cannot but think that it
Is an Ill thing for four hundred men
to find themselves between an ARM
Of sixty thousand on the one side and
q broad, river on the other"
'Yet," said Sir Richard Causton, 1--WE
cannot for the honor of England go
back without a blow struck"
Z. Nor for the honor of Scotland,
either" cried the Earl of Angus.
..By Saint PAUL. NyouS, have spoken
very wel1,"- said Sir Nigel, and I have
always heard that there were very
worthy gentlemen among the Scots,
and fine diminishing to be had upon
their border Bethink you, Sir Simon,
that we have this news from the lips
Of common spies, who can; scarce tell
US as much of the enemy and of his
sforcesy as .ths, prince would wish to
hear" - -+-s1
All night they led their horses,
stumbling and cropping through wild
Adefiles and, rugged alleys following the
guidance of. a frightened peasant who
wass strapped by the wrist to Black ST.
mons stirrup- leather u With the early
dawn they found themselves in dark
ravine, with others sloping away from
1t on either side, and the bare brown
crags rising in long bleak terraces all
round Them -is-;'
'If it pleaset you,e fair lord" said
Black Simon this man hath misled US,
and since there is no tree upon which
We may hang him, it might be well
to hurI him over yonder cliff"
- The peasant reading the soldiers
meaning in his fierce, eyes and harsh
accents dropped upon,his knees, scream
ing loudly for mercy. .a-..,s
HHow comes it, dog?" asker Sir WILL
lam FELTON, in Spanish, "Where is this
camp to which you swore you would
lead us?" ;.+y IA -
by the sweet virgin! BY the blessed
peasant, swearcto you} that in the
darkness I have myself lost the path,
f-"At the instant, there rose the
scream of hundred bugles, with the
deep rolling of drums and the clashing
of cymbals, all sounding together in one
deafening uproar. knights and arch
ers. sprang to arms, convinced
some great host was upon them; but
the guide dropped upon his knees and
thanked Heaven for it's mercies.
1--WE have found them .caballeros"
he cried This is their morning CALL
= AS he spoke he scrambled down one
OF the narrow ravines, and, climbing
over low ridge at the further end, he
led them into short valley with a
stream purling down the centre of It,
and a very thick growth of elder and
box upon either side. Pushing their
way through the dense brushwood, they
looked upon q. scene which made their
=. hearts beat HARDER and their breath
acme faster.
! In front of them lay a broad plain,
Watered by two winding streams and
covered with grass, stretching away to
where, In the furthest distance, the
towers of Burgos bristled up against
the light blue morning sky. Over all
/. this vast meadow there lay great city
Of tents-thousands upon thousands of
them, laid out in streets. and squares
like well-ordered town. High silken
pavilions or colored Una rquees, shoot
ing up from. among the crowd OF mean
-er dwellings, marked where the great
lords and ibarons Of Leon and, CASTLE
displayed their standards, while over
the white roofs, as far as eye could
reach, the waving of ancients, pavons,
.pensils, and ?banderoles, with flash of
gold and glow of colors, proclaimed
that all the chivalry of iberia were
mustered in the plain beneath them.
Far off, in the centre of the camp, a
of red and white silk.
with the royal arms of CASTLE waving
from the summit, announced that the
gallant Henry lay there in the midst
Of his warriors.
AS the English adventures, peeping
out from behind their brushwood
screen, looked down upon this wondrous
sight, they could see that the vast army