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captive passed the day gazing from her casement in one of the rooms in

the upper part of the keep, towards the forest whence she hoped rescue

would come.

Within the forest hot discussions were going on as to the best course

to pursue. An open attack was out of the question, especially as upon

the day following the arrival there of Lady Margaret, 300 more

mercenaries had marched in from Worcester, so that the garrison was now

raised to 500 men.

"Is there no way," Cnut exclaimed furiously, "by which we might creep

into this den, since we cannot burst into it openly?"

"There is a way from the castle," Cuthbert said, "for my dear lord told

me of it one day when we were riding together in the Holy Land. He said

then that it might be that he should never return, and that it were well

that I should know of the existence of this passage, which few beside the

earl himself knew of. It is approached by a very heavy slab of stone in

the great hall. This is bolted down, and as it stands under the great

table passes unnoticed, and appears part of the ordinary floor. He told

me the method in which, by touching a spring, the bolts were withdrawn

and the stone could be raised. Thence a passage a quarter of a mile long

leads to the little chapel standing in the hollow, and which, being

hidden among the trees, would be unobserved by any party besieging the

castle. This of course was contrived in order that the garrison, or any

messenger thereof, might make an exit in case of siege."

"But if we could escape," Cnut asked, "why not enter by this way?"

"The stone is of immense weight and strength," Cuthbert replied, "and

could not be loosed from below save with great labour and noise. There

are, moreover, several massive doors in the passage, all of which are

secured by heavy bolts within. It is therefore out of the question that

we could enter the castle by that way. But were we once in, we could

easily carry off the lady through this passage."

The large force which Sir Rudolph had collected was not intended merely

for the defence of the castle, for the knight considered that with his

own garrison he could hold it against a force tenfold that which his

rival could collect. But he was determined if possible to crush out the

outlaws of the forest, for he felt that so long as this formidable body

remained under an enterprising leader like Sir Cuthbert, he would never

be safe for a moment, and would be a prisoner in his own castle.

Cuthbert had foreseen that the attack was likely to be made and had

strengthened his band to the utmost. He felt, however, that against so

large a force of regularly armed men, although he might oppose a stout

resistance and kill many, yet that in the end he must be conquered. Cnut,

however, suggested to him a happy idea, which he eagerly grasped.

"It would be rare sport," Cnut said, "when this armed force comes out

to attack us, if we could turn the tables by slipping in, and taking

their castle."

"The very thing," Cuthbert exclaimed. "It is likely that he will use the

greater portion of his forces, and that he will not keep above fifty or

sixty men, at the outside, in the castle. When they sally out we will at

first oppose a stout resistance to them in the wood, gradually falling

back. Then, at a given signal, all save twenty men shall retire hastily,

and sweeping round, make for the castle. Their absence will not be

noticed, for in this thick wood it is difficult to tell whether twenty

men or two hundred are opposing you among the bushes; and the twenty who

remain must shoot thick and fast to make believe that their numbers are

great, retiring sometimes, and leading the enemy on into the heart of

the wood."

"But supposing, Sir Cuthbert, that they should have closed the gates and

lifted the drawbridge? We could not gain entrance by storming, even if

only twenty men held the walls, until long after the main body would have

returned."

Cuthbert thought for some time, and then said, "Cnut, you shall

undertake this enterprise. You shall fill a cart high with faggots, and

in it shall conceal a dozen of your best men. You, dressed as a serf,

shall drive the oxen, and when you reach the castle shall say, in answer

to the hail of the sentry, that you are bringing in the tribute of wood

of your master the franklin of Hopeburn. They will then lower the

drawbridge and open the gates; and when you have crossed the bridge and

are under the portcullis, spring out suddenly, cut loose the oxen so

that they will not draw the cart further in, cut the chains of the

drawbridge so that it cannot be drawn off, and hold the gate for a

minute or two until we arrive."

"The plan is capital," Cnut exclaimed. "We will do the proud Norman yet.

How he will storm when he finds us masters of his castle. What then will

you do, Sir Cuthbert?"

"We can hold the castle for weeks," Cuthbert said, "and every day is in

our favour. If we find ourselves forced to yield to superior numbers, we

can at last retire through the passage I have spoken of, and must then

scatter and each shift for himself until these bad days be past."

CHAPTER XXIV

THE SIEGE OF EVESHAM CASTLE.

Upon the day before starting out to head the expedition against the

outlaws, Sir Rudolph sent word to the Lady Margaret that she must prepare

to become his wife at the end of the week. He had provided two tiring

maids for her by ordering two of the franklins to send in their daughters

for that purpose, and these mingled their tears with Margaret's at the

situation in which they were placed. She replied firmly to the messenger

of the knight that no power on earth could oblige her to marry him. He

might drive her to the altar; but though he killed her there, her lips

should refuse to say the words which would unite them.

The following morning, early, the castle rang with the din of

preparation. The great portion of the mercenaries were encamped in tents

outside the walls, for, spacious as it was, Evesham could hardly contain

400 men in addition to its usual garrison. The men-at-arms were provided

with heavy axes to cut their way through the bushes. Some carried bundles

of straw, to fire the wood should it be found practicable to do so; and

as it was now summer and the wind was blowing high, Sir Rudolph hoped

that the dry grass and bushes would catch, and would do more even than

his men-at-arms in clearing the forest of those whom he designated the

villains infesting it. They had, too, with them several fierce dogs

trained to hunting the deer, and these, the knight hoped, would do good

service in tracking the outlaws. He and the knights and the men-at-arms

with him were all dismounted, for he felt that horses would in the

forest be an encumbrance, and he was determined himself to lead the way

to the men-at-arms.

When they reached the forest, they were saluted by a shower of arrows;

but as all were clad in mail, these at a distance effected but little

harm. As they came closer, however, the clothyard arrows began to pierce

the coarse and ill-made armour of the foot soldiers, although the finer

armour of the knight kept out the shafts which struck against it. Sir

Rudolph and his knights leading the way, they entered the forest, and

gradually pressed their invisible foe backwards through the trees. The

dogs did good service, going on ahead and attacking the archers; but, one

by one, they were soon shot, and the assailants left to their own

devices. Several attempts were made to fire the wood. But these failed,

the fire burning but a short time and then dying out of itself. In

addition to the fighting men, Sir Rudolph had impressed into the service

all the serfs of his domain, and these, armed with axes, were directed to

cut down the trees as the force proceeded, Sir Rudolph declaring that he

would not cease until he had levelled the whole forest, though it might

take him months to do so.

The assailants gained ground steadily, the resistance being less severe

than Sir Rudolph had anticipated. Several small huts and clearings in the

forest which had been used by the outlaws, and round which small crops

had been planted, were destroyed, and all seemed to promise well for the

success of the enterprise.

It was about two hours after they had left the castle, when a heavy cart

filled with faggots was seen approaching its gates. The garrison, who had

not the least fear of any attack, paid no attention to it until it

reached the edge of the moat. Then the warder, seeing that it contained

faggots, lowered the drawbridge without question, raised the portcullis,

and opened the gates.

"From whom do you bring this wood?" he asked, as the man driving the oxen

began to cross the bridge.

"From the franklin of Hopeburn."

"It is well," said the warder, "for he is in arrear now, and should have

sent in the firewood two months since. Take it to the wood-house at the

other end of the court."

The heavy-waggon crossed the drawbridge, but as it was entering the gate

it came suddenly to a stop. With a blow of his ox goad Cnut levelled the

warder to the ground, and cutting the cords of the bullocks, drove them

into the yard ahead. As he did so the pile of faggots fell asunder, and

twelve men armed with bow and pike leaped out. The men-at-arms standing

near, lounging in the courtyard, gave a shout of alarm, and the garrison,

surprised at this sudden cry, ran to their arms. At first they were

completely panic-stricken. But seeing after a time how small was the

number of their assailants, they took heart and advanced against them.

The passage was narrow, and the twelve men formed a wall across it. Six

of them with their pikes advanced, the other six with bent bows standing

behind them and delivering their arrows between their heads. The garrison

fought stoutly, and although losing many, were pressing the little band

backwards. In vain the assistant-warder tried to lower the portcullis, or

to close the gates. The former fell on to the top of the waggon, and was

there retained. The gates also were barred by the obstacle. The chains of

the drawbridge had at once been cut. Cnut encouraged his followers by his

shouts, and armed with a heavy axe, did good service upon the assailants.

But four of his party had fallen, and the rest were giving way, when a

shout was heard, and over the drawbridge poured Cuthbert and 150 of the

outlaws of the forest. Struck with terror at this attack, the garrison

drew back, and the foresters poured into the yard. For a few minutes

there was a fierce fight; but the defenders of the castle, disheartened

and taken by surprise, were either cut down or, throwing down their arms,

cried for quarter.

Ten minutes after the waggon had crossed the drawbridge, the castle was

safely in possession of Sir Cuthbert. The bridge was raised, the waggon

removed, the portcullis lowered, and to the external eye all remained

as before.

Cuthbert at once made his way to the chamber where the Lady Margaret was

confined, and her joy at her deliverance was great indeed. So unlimited

was her faith in Sir Cuthbert that she had never lost confidence; and

although it did not seem possible that in the face of such disparity of

numbers he could rescue her from the power of Sir Rudolph, yet she had

not given up hope. The joy of the farmers' daughters who had been

carried off to act as her attendants was little inferior to her own; for

once in the power of this reckless baron, the girls had small hopes of

ever being allowed to return again to their parents.

The flag of Sir Rudolph was thrown down from the keep, and that of the

late earl hoisted in its stead; for Cuthbert himself, although he had

assumed the cognizance which King Richard had granted him, had not yet

any flag or pennon emblazoned with it.

No words can portray the stupefaction and rage of Sir Rudolph when a man

who had managed to slip unobserved from the castle at the time of its

capture, bore the news to him in the forest. All opposition there had

ceased, and the whole of the troops were engaged in aiding the peasants

in cutting wide roads through the trees across the forest, so as to make

it penetrable by horsemen in every direction. It was supposed that the

outlaws had gradually stolen away through the thickets and taken to the

open country, intending to scatter to their homes, or other distant

hiding-places; and the news that they had by a ruse captured the castle,

came as a thunderclap.

Sir Rudolph's first impulse was to call his men together and to march

towards the castle. The drawbridge was up, and the walls bristled with

armed men. It was useless to attempt a parley; still more useless to

think of attacking the stronghold without the proper machines and

appliances. Foaming with rage, Sir Rudolph took possession of a cottage

near, camped his men around and prepared for a siege.

There were among the mercenaries many men accustomed to the use of

engines of war. Many, too, had aided in making them; and these were at

once set to work to construct the various machines in use at that time.

Before the invention of gunpowder, castles such as those of the English

barons were able to defy any attack by an armed force for a long period.

Their walls were so thick that even the balistas, casting huge stones,

were unable to breach them except after a very long time. The moats

which surrounded them were wide and deep, and any attempt at storming by

ladders was therefore extremely difficult; and these buildings were

consequently more often captured by famine than by other means. Of

provisions, as Sir Rudolph knew, there was a considerable supply at

present in the castle, for he had collected a large number of bullocks in

order to feed the strong body who had been added to the garrison. The

granaries, too, were well stored; and with a groan Sir Rudolph thought of

the rich stores of French wines which he had collected in his cellars.

After much deliberation with the knights with him and the captain of the