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The king slightly coloured, for he resented all imputations on his favourite, and was about to make a sharp reply, when a voice which made him start, replied: "Quite right, reverend father! as you say, success was impossible while spies and traitors commanded our forces." All looked up in amazement; two guests had ente...
"No need whatsoever, if you will first allow us to explain the reasons of our presence here. We have somewhat startling news from the enemy." "The enemy, by my last advices, lies quiet in the Isle of Wight," said Edric. "I will not dispute your knowledge, my lord Edric," replied the Prince, "considering the intimacy yo...
"You might own that, too, without much exaggeration, since the good bishop will bear me witness that he is the father of lies." "Edmund, this is unbearable," said the king. "Pardon, my father and liege, but truth will out." The company sat in amazement, while the hand of Edric played convulsively with the hilt of his d...
"Stay, Edric," whispered the king; "thou art my Edric. I was never false to thee, nor will I be now; did I not, for thy sake, look over the death of Elfhelm of Shrewsbury, and put out the eyes of his sons? canst thou not trust me now?" Thus strengthened, Edric remained, and uneasy whispers passed around the assembly. A...
He told his tale, how he had conceived suspicions that the Danes intended a winter descent; how he had risked his life (in the exuberance of youthful daring) to ascertain the truth; how, trusting to his knowledge of Carisbrooke, wherein he had spent many pleasant days in his boyhood, he had ventured amongst the Danes a...
"Edric Streorn." "How didst know him?" "Because he threatened my life on St. Brice's night, and I had often seen him while dwelling in Mercia." "A Dane witnessing against a free-born Englishman? Can it be endured?" cried Ethelred. "What, here, my royal guard!--here! here! your King is insulted--insulted, and by his son...
The guard rushed in, their weapons in their hands. "Seize my son, the false Edmund." "Here I am," quietly said the hero of the English army, for such he was, although not recognised as such by the government of his father. "Here I am; what Englishman will bind me?" The men stood as if paralysed.
"Will you not obey?" shouted the weak Ethelred, and stamped in impotent anger on the floor. But they would not--they could not touch Edmund. Edric whispered in the king's ear. "I was wrong," said the king; "retire, guards.
"Edmund, come with me; tell me what you have seen. I will hear you, and judge between you and my Edric--judge fairly." "Wait till my return, Alfgar." Alfgar waited. No one spoke to him; all the company seemed utterly bewildered, as well they might be until, after the expiration of an hour, during which time Ednoth had ...
"Where is the prince?" "He has had a stormy interview with his father, and has just left him, refusing to lodge in the palace, to sleep without the precincts. I am to conduct you thither." Leaving the palace, they were passing through some thick shrubbery, when all at once two strong men sprang upon Alfgar. At the same...
"Here, Higbald, we have brought thee a prisoner from our lord." The wretch looked upon Alfgar with the eyes of an ogre bent on devouring a captive, and then said: "The chamber where blind Cuthred was slaughtered looks out on the woods behind where no one passes, and it is strong; it will be better for you to take him t...
"Here, Wolf" said the uncouth gaoler, "smell him, and see you have to guard him." The dog seemed to comprehend. He smelt around the prisoner, then displayed his huge fangs, and growled, as if to tell Alfgar what his fate would be if he tried to escape. The poor lad turned to his captors who had brought him there, for t...
No reply. "At least bear a message to one who will think I have deserted him in his need." Again they were silent. They had ascended a rough staircase. At the summit a passage led past two or three doors to one made of the strongest plank, and strengthened with iron.
They opened it, thrust him in, showed him, by the light of their torches, a bed of straw in the corner. "There you can lie and sleep as peacefully as at Carisbrooke," said one of his guards. "And let me tell you," added Higbald, "that it will be certain death to try to get away; for if you could escape me, my dog Wolf,...
"What would Edmund think of him?" "He will know I am faithful. He will not think that the lad whose life he saved has deserted him. He will search till he find me even here." Thus in alternate hope and despair he sank at last to sleep--nature had its way--even as the criminal has slept on the rack. CHAPTER XIV. THE SON...
A stormy scene had meanwhile taken place in an interior chamber of the palace of the bishop, which had been metamorphosed into a council chamber for the king. There were present Ethelred himself, his irrepressible son, the traitor Edric, the bishop, the sheriff of the shire, and the reeve of the borough, with the capta...
"The case before us," said the king, "is a difficult and trying one, but one which we must discharge in our bounden duty towards our subjects. Perhaps it is well that the accusation so often urged by backbiters against our faithful subject Edric should--" "Your majesty begs the question when you call that coward 'faith...
The bishop here interposed. "Prince, remember that God has said, 'Honour thy father.'" "Has he not somewhere also said, 'Parents, provoke not your children to anger'?" "God judge between you, then," said the bishop, "but I warn you that you appear the greater transgressor."
"Meanwhile," said Edric, "I feel like a man who is being put unjustly to the torture. What is the accusation against me?--let it be stated in plain words." "That just after the army disbanded in October, you visited the camp of Sweyn, and gave him to understand that the country was at his mercy, opposition being remove...
"Perhaps it was in the Greek calends," said Edric. "I do not know when the Greek calends are, nor do I want to; my mother spent her time, I thank God, in teaching me to speak the truth, and to be true to my country, and not in teaching me outlandish gibberish." "Still," said the bishop, "it is important to learn the da...
"His statement would need verification," said Ednoth. "He is as true and brave as any man here." "Of course, all Danes are true and brave," said Edric. "He is a Christian."
"Yes; I think he became one on St. Brice's day," suggested Edric. "To save his life, no doubt," said the sheriff. Meanwhile Ethelred had changed colour, and Edric cried out: "Have we not forgotten in whose presence we are? The king, who was quite ignorant of the mistaken zeal which misinterpreted his wishes that day, c...
"I suppose he put on mourning for Elfhelm," whispered Edmund in the bishop's ear. "Forget not that he is your father." "We are wasting time," said the king. "Edric, what is your answer to this accusation?" "That when the army disbanded I went on pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Joseph at Glastonbury, and can produce, in...
"Art thou not ashamed, my son, to have brought such a charge against the venerator of the Saints, one of the few in whom faith yet lives?" "No, for I do not believe he was ever there at all." "Witness the holy thorn." "Thorns may be plucked in bushels round Dorchester or any other place."
"It is a question of pure testimony," said the bishop. "It is," added the sheriff and the reeve. "Then, may I produce my witness?" said Edmund. "Certainly," said the king.
"By all means," added Edric. The bishop called an attendant, and ordered him to fetch Alfgar. "Before he enters I must remind you all," said Edric, "that the word of a Dane is to be opposed to that of a Christian." "I have already said that Alfgar is a Christian."
But Edric had already, by his adroit suggestion about St. Brice's day, predisposed the company to doubt the genuineness of Alfgar's conversion. A long pause succeeded, which no one seemed to care to break. Ethelred was anxious for his favourite; the traitor himself was studying how to meet the accusation; the Prince wa...
"About half-an-hour since." "There is some vile treason here," said Edmund. "Treason! on whose part?" said Edric. "Thine, villain."
"I am glad you think so, for you give me an opportunity of demonstrating to the court how unreasonable your hatred makes you, and how unjust. I have not left the king's presence since your first appearance." "It is true," said Ethelred. Edmund was completely baffled. "It appears to me," said the king, "that he fears th...
"Wait at least a few minutes," said Edmund, and went forth himself. Vainly he sought through all the courts of the palace--once he thought Alfgar, whose fidelity he never suffered himself to doubt, might be in the chapel, and went there in vain. At last he found a servitor who had seen him go with some men into the cit...
"He is true as life," he said. "But the king himself is witness that Edric has not left his presence." "If not, he has plenty of villains about him to anticipate his orders, vile as Godwin, port-hund of Shrewsbury. Depend upon it they have murdered him, but if so, I will have vengeance, such vengeance--I will challenge...
"Do you then sympathise with the hypocrite?" "Alas, my son! who can read the heart of man? I know not what to think." "But you could read the history of the last campaign. A fool might--I beg pardon--were not all our plans known beforehand? Did not all our enterprises fail? Were not all our ambushes anticipated? Did we...
"Then I can, for I heard Sweyn say that they had a friend in the English camp." "Then you actually put your head in the lion's mouth, prince?" and the good bishop, purposely to relieve the prince's mind, drew out from him all the story of his late adventures. Deep was the distrust which Ednoth himself entertained of th...
The chamber in which Alfgar was confined contained a box-like recess for the straw bed, a chair, and a rough table, and these were all the comforts at his disposal, but they were enough for one in that hardy age. It was very strongly built, not a loose plank about it, although the wind found its way through numerous cr...
Edric Streorn stood before him. The captor eyed his captive with a look of conscious pride, and said with some complacence, "You see, and perhaps repent, your rashness in the accusation you made." "It was true." "I do not think it worth my while to deny it here; but what of that?--I am an Englishman by birth, but (let ...
Alfgar felt confused. "But I did not come here to exchange compliments with you, nor to prove, as to the fools you have chosen to serve, that I was on pilgrimage at the time you name. I have a direct purpose in detaining you here, for I have lately seen Sweyn." "Traitor!" "I thought we had agreed that we could not thro...
"Therefore," he continued, "unless you can satisfy me of two or three points, I shall deliver you to Sweyn." Alfgar thought at first that this was simply an idle threat, since it would be almost impossible to convey him secretly through the country to the Isle of Wight. Edric understood his thoughts. "You forget," he s...
"But I said I might release you, or at least mitigate your fate, on one condition, that you answer me a plain question directly and plainly. Under what name does Edmund travel, and what disguise, and does he purpose to trust himself in the Danish camp again? Where is he at present residing? he has disappeared from the ...
His manner throughout had been like that of a cat playing with a mouse, and there was quite a gratified smile upon his lips as he went. Strange to say, Alfgar felt less miserable after he was gone. The wickedness of Edric seemed so great, his hypocrisy so unblushing, that in his simple faith Alfgar could not believe th...
"Seek innocency, and take heed to the thing that is right: for that shall bring a man peace at the last." "So, come what will," said he, "I will trust in Him and never will I save my life by uttering one word which might betray the innocent." In this manner days lengthened into weeks. He tried in vain to open any inter...
SUNDAY BEFORE ADVENT.-- The evening, after the Vesper service in the church was over, and darkness had closed in, we all sat down to our evening meal. The doors were shut to keep out the storm, and I had already said grace, when the Etheling suddenly appeared. His manner struck us all. He looked wild and agitated, and ...
"Is he not with you, what has happened?" said I and Herstan, speaking in the same breath. "No, I have lost him. I had hoped to find him here; they must have murdered him," he cried. "Murdered him?" "Yes, he was too dangerous to Edric to be suffered to live. I might have foreseen it; and they have put him out of the way...
There was too much reason in his words. "Besides," said he, "if he were well and uninjured, would he not have come here, where he was sure of a welcome?" "I will go to Dorchester at once," said Herstan. "It is useless," said Edmund; but my brother, having learnt all that the prince could tell him, mounted and rode into...
Meanwhile Edmund evidently needed our care; we found he had not eaten all day. "I have risked my life for my country," he said, "and now that I bring tidings which ought to circulate through the land like the wind, and rouse every man to action, I am disbelieved. Nay, it is hinted that I drank too much Danish wine and ...
"But did you not expose his treachery?" asked I. "I tried to do so; but he pulled out a bit of some hedge, which he said was a holy thorn from St. Joseph's tree at Glastonbury, and that he was there on pilgrimage when Alfgar saw him--saw him, mark you--at the Danish camp on the borders of Sussex; and I saw men, I won't...
He soon entered the room. We saw at a glance that he had laboured in vain, and spent his strength for nought. "No one has seen him," he said. "Have you asked many people?" we inquired. "Yes, scores. The sheriff, the bishop, the watchmen, the tradesfolk--no one has seen or heard aught. I will go again tomorrow."
"Meanwhile, do the people know what passed at the banquet last night?" "No; it has all been kept quiet," was the reply. We could do no more, and all retired to rest. I have sat up to say my mattins and finish this diary. It is now nearly the third hour of the morn, and-- Monday Night, 23d Nov. 1006.--
I had written as far as the word "and," when I was alarmed by a loud cry from the chamber next my own, which was occupied by the Etheling. I rose, and knocked at the door, but, receiving no answer, opened it and went in. I saw at once that the prince was delirious; the fever, which I had marked in his eyes and manner, ...
I tried to soothe him. "It is Edric; he is turned into a snake, and is trying to sting me. Kill him! kill him!" I got him into bed with some difficulty, and sat by him, after giving him a composing draught--for I never travel without a few simples at hand, in case of sickness amongst those to whom I minister. He slept ...
I watched by him all through the night, and in the morning he was evidently too ill to rise. His mind became clear for a short time, and yet his memory was so confused that he scarcely comprehended where he was, or how he got here. So my return to Abingdon is indefinitely delayed, for Herstan and my sister both insist ...
Saturday.--Vigil of St. Andrew, and Eve of Advent Sunday.-- All this week I have been watching by the sickbed of the Etheling. I hope the crisis is past, but he is still very weak. He has been delirious nearly the whole time, and today has but a confused idea of things around him. All our inquiries about Alfgar have be...
The ferryman, whose hut is situate at the bend of the river below the Synodune hills, where people cross for Wittenham, says that late on the night in question a boat with four people passed down the river, and that it struck him that one only rowed, while two of the rest seemed guarding the fourth passenger. He did no...
"And so was I," said he, "and I have persuaded the king to place guards and watchers all through the coasts opposite the Wight, and with Edric's aid we elaborated a goodly plan." "Indeed," said I, "but I wish Edric had nought to do with it." "So did I at first, but I feel convinced that the young Dane who vanished so s...
"Advanced guards have been placed all along the coasts of Hampshire, beacons prepared on every hill, with constant attendants, so that the Danes would find their coming blazed over the country at once." "But if so, what men have we to oppose to them?" "The sheriff has promised that the levies shall appear in case of ne...
"I hardly think he believes in it; but the beacons will give sufficient warning." "Who has arranged the guards and chosen the sites for the beacons?" "Edric, of course, as general of the forces under the king." I could say no more--it was useless--but I felt very sick at heart. After the noon meat I left the palace, an...
Well, all we can do is to prepare ourselves for the worst. I find that no tidings have been sent by any authority to the men of this estate to hold themselves in readiness for sudden alarm. I wonder whether the same remissness prevails elsewhere. No one expects danger. The Danes, they say, never fight in winter. Advent...
"Then I had a strange sense of woe and desolation, for my country was in danger, and I could not even warn her. All at once I heard steps rushing towards me, and Alfgar appeared bearing a lighted torch. He thrust it into the pile, and it fired at once. Other beacon fires answered it, and the country was aroused. Then I...
I have written a full account of all things to my brother at Aescendune. Father Adhelm is still there ministering to the flock. Saturday, December 12th, 1006.-- The week has passed monotonously enough. The Etheling is now able to leave his room, but the stormy weather, with its torrents of rain, makes it impossible for...
A very severe frost has set in this week, and there has been much snow; the whole country is decked in her winter braveries for Christmas. O that it may pass in peace, as the birthday of the Prince of Peace should pass! I intend to spend it at Clifton, after which I shall return to my flock at Aescendune. Edmund has be...
We have heard nothing of Alfgar--we fear there is no hope; but the prince clings to it, and says his dream will come true, and that Alfgar has yet a great work to do. Christmas Eve, 1006.-- O happy happy Christmastide! All griefs seem hushed and all joys sanctified by the blessed mystery of the Incarnation. O that Mary...
We sing a midnight mass in an hour in the little church, another tomorrow at dawn, a third in the full daylight. All the good people here will communicate, and the evening will be given up to such merrymaking as is befitting amongst Christians. All the ceorls and serfs will be at the Hall, and the prince will share the...
At last the weather became very cold, and being without a fire, his sufferings were great, until his ferocious gaoler, finding him quite stiffened, brought up a brazier of coals, which saved his prisoner's life, while it filled the room with smoke, which could only escape by the crevices in walls and roof, for to open ...
"Drink," he said, "and drown care. It is Yuletide, and drink thou must and shalt." Alfgar drank moderately, for sooth to say it was invigorating and welcome that cold day, but Higbald finished the bowl then and there, and then staggering down, drew the outer bolt in such a way that it missed the staple, which fact he w...
Not till then did Alfgar pass silently through the open door, and listen at the head of the staircase. Before him was the outer door, the key in the lock. The question was--Could he reach it unobserved by men or mastiff? Liberty was worth the attempt. He descended the stairs softly. At the bottom he looked around. The ...
It was a sharp double-edged sword. He grasped it with eagerness. It was now a case of liberty or death. He knew how to wield it full well. Stealthily he turned the key and the door stood open. Still his captors sang, and he caught the words: "When we cannot get blood we can drink the red wine, The Sea King sang in his ...
Now he was on the outer side of the door, and he shut it, and then locked it and tossed the key into the snow. But which way was he to go? He could not make out the locality, but it was evident that the hill rose above him, and he knew that from its summit he could discern the bearings of places, so he resolved to asce...
Redder and redder as he ascended, until he suddenly emerged upon the open hill. Before him were earthworks, which had been thrown up in olden wars, before Englishman or Dane had trodden these coasts. He scrambled into a deep hollow filled with snow, then out again, and up to the summit, when he saw the cause of the ill...
But what sound is that which makes him start and pause? It is the bay of the mastiff. He is pursued. He clasps his sword with desperate tenacity, in which a foe might read his doom, and rushes on, crushing through the brushwood. Again the bay of the hound. Onward, onward, he tramples through bush and bramble, until he ...
He coasts along its banks, keeping up stream. The bay of the dog seems close at hand, and the trampling of human feet accompanies it. All at once he comes upon a road descending to the brink, and sees a ferry boat at the foot of the descent. He rushes towards it and enters. The pole is in the boat. He unlooses the chai...
"When you catch me; and even then you must fight for it. Meanwhile, if you be an Englishman, warn the good people of Dorchester that the Danes are upon them. Your Edric has betrayed them." Reaching the other shore, Alfgar finds smooth meadows all covered with snow. He knows his way now. A little higher up he strikes th...
So thither flocked the young and the old: the wood rangers and hunters from the forests of Newenham, where Herstan had right of wood cutting; the men who wove baskets and hurdles of osier work from the river banks; the theows who cultivated the home farm; the ceorls who rented a hide of land here and a hide there--all,...
Meanwhile, one of those whom he strove in vain to forget for the time drew nearer and nearer; a haggard figure, wan and worn by painful imprisonment, the garments dishevelled, the hair matted, the whole figure wild with excitement, he drew near the outer gate. He heard the song of joy and peace within as he paused one ...
He blew the horn, and had to blow it again and again before he was heard. At length a solitary serf came to the gate: "Who is there?" "A messenger for the Etheling; is Prince Edmund with you? I would see him."
"All are welcome tonight, but I fear you will find the Etheling ill-disposed to leave the feast." "Let me in." Astonished at the tone of the request, the porter reluctantly complied, first looking around. "Why, thou art wild and breathless; is aught amiss?"
"Step out and look over the hills; what dost thou see?" "Why, the heaven is in fire; is it the northern lights?" "Southern, you mean; the Danes are upon us." Staggered by the tidings, the man no longer opposed his entrance, and Alfgar staggered into the hall, forgetting that he was come amongst them like one risen from...
He entered the hall at first unnoticed, but the merry laughter and cheerful conversation withered before his presence, as of one who came to blast it. Father Cuthbert and Edmund, amongst others, turned round to see what caused the lull, and started from their seats as they beheld at the end of the room Alfgar, his face...
"My son!" cried Father Cuthbert, "whence hast thou come? dost thou yet live?" "Father; Prince; I live to warn you--the Danes, the Danes!" and he sank fainting into the arms of Herstan. "Surely he raves," said they all. The porter here ventured to speak.
"My lord, please go to the front of the house and look over the water." Father Cuthbert and Edmund at once left the hall, followed by several others. The mansion was seated on a considerable elevation; below them rolled the Isis; across the river a couple of miles of flat meadow land lay between them and the Synodune h...
The inhabitants of Clifton stood on the terrace in front of the hall, gazing upon the fiery horizon, wrapped in emotions of surprise and alarm. Living as they did in an unsettled age, and far more prepared than we should be for such a contingency, yet the sense of the rapid approach of a cruel and remorseless foe struc...
The tolling of the alarm bells, the sound of distant shouts, the blowing of trumpets rolled in a confused flood of noise across the intervening space--a distance of between two and three miles--and manifested the intense alarm of the city, so cruelly aroused from dreams of peace. "But what shall we do?" "Defend the pla...
"And how are you provided with weapons?" "Each man has a battle-axe, and there are scores of spears in the armoury." "And arrows?" "Whole sheaves of them; and as good yew bows as were ever bent."
"Come, we shall do; and now about provisions?" "You see we have bounteous fare now, but it would not last many days." "Many days we shall not want it--many days? Why, the levies must all be out within twenty-four hours, and the Danes are not strong enough to maintain themselves here. It is but a raid; but they might al...
"Assuredly; it would be madness to sacrifice such a position. If the Danes are about in the neighbourhood, it would be far more dangerous to expose your helpless ones without the fortifications. Have you all your people here, or are there a few sick?" "A few sick, only." "Let them be sought at once; the heathen will be...
"I accept the post. To tell the truth, it will be a treat for me after the illness and confinement I have gone through; the thought of the struggle makes me feel myself again." And so this strangely constituted man went forth and spoke to the assembled multitude, who stood passively gazing at the distant conflagration....
"Well said, men. Now, one good hearty cheer; no, stop, I should like them to be caught in their own traps. I know their plan. If they find the good people of Dorchester are awake, as the noise shows, they will swarm all over the neighbourhood like wasps after honey, to plunder the isolated houses and farms, and carry o...
"I don't want to be shut up with the women. I have killed a wolf. I shot him with my bow in Newenham wood." "Well, we will see by and by, my brave boy. We shall have work for all; go and arm with the rest. "Well, Alfgar?" "Let my post be near you."
"You will fight in this quarrel, then?" "Yes; to save Christian blood." "Then I adopt you as an Englishman--Dane no longer. I know your courage and coolness, and will employ it where it is wanted. Now, you know the place; come and place the outposts where they can retire easily." The small sally port, as it would have ...
The building was large and irregular, and had been added to at various times, the hall, looking over the river, forming its most conspicuous portion; but it had not originally been built for purposes of defence, and could not have endured the Danish assault for a moment, but for external defences, utterly independent o...
The farm buildings lay some little distance without, and the Etheling and Alfgar, with two or three farm servants, carried out the task hastily but effectually. Duties were meanwhile assigned to all the able-bodied women and boys: some provided buckets and ladders, that, in case the Danes attempted to kindle a flame, t...
"Let us withdraw," he said. They fell back quietly; Alfgar, passing rapidly round, warned all the other sentinels, and when all had entered, the gates were closed; all was done in profound silence. Then Edmund caused the men to fit their arrows to the string, and to lie upon the inward slope of the earthworks, so as to...
"Returned?" "Yes, he went to the church to bring in the sacred vessels and vestments." Alfgar rose instantly. "I will go and seek him," he cried.
"Then pass out by the postern gate, on the angle nearest the church; I fear the danger is great, but he must be told that the foe is near, or he may fall into their hands." Alfgar left the hall and passed to an angle of the defences where a little gate led out towards the church; the bridge had been removed, and he had...
"Indeed! so soon?" "We must enter by the postern gate." "I could hardly cross the snow burdened as I am; is it unsafe to try the other gate? I hear no sound, see no symptom of danger." They paused; all was so quiet that Alfgar yielded, and they passed round the mansion. The drawbridge was up, and no danger seemed near;...
Alfgar gave the signal, and the drawbridge was lowered; but they had scarcely set foot upon it when dark figures rushed from the shadows behind them. The bridge, which they both had passed, was actually rising, when the foremost Dane leapt upon it, but was rewarded by a blow from the battle-axe of Alfgar, which sent hi...
But in one place a gigantic warrior succeeded in hewing an aperture with his axe, wielded by giant strength, and all might have been lost had not Edmund perceived it, and rushed to its defence, collecting by his shout half-a-dozen followers. Several Danes strove to pass the breach; one was already through, and Edmund a...
All was again silent. The Danes, discomfited for the moment, having lost half their number, had retired, probably waiting for reinforcements, and the victor addressed Edmund. "Look," he cried; "this man is a servant of Edric Streorn." "Is it true, fellow?" said Edmund sternly. "What if it is? I am dying now, and it can...
The last words were interrupted by a convulsive struggle. "Art thou an Englishman or a Dane?" said the Etheling, bending over the dying ruffian in his anxiety to learn the whole truth. "What is that to thee?" "Much, if thou wouldst escape death."
"Escape death! I cannot. Neither wilt thou escape Edric Streorn, and I shall not die unavenged. Ah! young springal, thou wilt not escape again. To think that thy puny hand should give Higbald his death blow! Ah, I am choked!" Alfgar's sword had pierced his lungs, and a gush of blood rushing to the mouth stopped the bre...
A sudden burst of fiery light illuminated the scene, and the defenders looked forth, in spite of their danger, from their fortifications. The little church of St. Michael burst forth into billowing eddies of smoke and flame. "This is a grievous sight, to see the place we had dedicated to God destroyed by the bloody hea...
"The poor horses and oxen!" cried the Lady Bertha. "They are safe," said Edmund. "You may hear the trampling of hoofs even now. The fools of Danes are hunting them in all directions. I do not think they will catch many." Lights appeared in two or three places, and soon it became evident that the ruthless foe had gained...