Both Sides the Border Part 40

"I am an esquire of Sir Henry Percy, and have brought hither a letter for the king."

The man looked doubtfully at him, and Oswald continued, "I know not whether the Earl of Talbot is in the camp, but if so he will, I think, recognize me."

"The earl arrived, with five hundred of his men, yesterday," the officer said, with a tone of more respect than he had before used. "I will take you to his tent;" and he led the way to a tent, pitched a short distance away from that before which the royal standard waved.

Oswald took off his cloak, which was rolled up over his shoulder, and handed it to Roger, and then opened his jerkin. As they came up to the tent the front opened, and the earl himself came out.

"Whom have we here?" he asked the officer.

"They have just come out of the forest, my lord, and this gentleman asked to be taken to you, saying that you would recognize him."

The earl looked scrutinizingly at Oswald.

"I seem to know your face, sir," he said, "but I cannot recall where I have seen it."

"My name is Oswald Forster, an esquire of Sir Henry Percy. I joined you at Chester, my Lord Talbot, with a band of his men; and some of Sir Edmund Mortimer's, led by one of his knights."

"I remember now," the earl said. "Yes, I see you wear the Percy badge; but how have you got here, and why have you come?"

"I come as a simple messenger, my lord. A royal courier arrived at Ludlow, with a letter from London for the king. His majesty had laid his commands on Sir Edmund Mortimer, that he was not to weaken his force by a single lance; and as, for aught Sir Edmund knew, the letter might be of great importance, I volunteered to endeavour to carry it through; taking with me only this man-at-arms, on whom I could wholly rely, whatever might happen, he having accompanied me on more than one dangerous expedition.

"Sir Edmund consented. We rode first to Shrewsbury, to obtain information as to the course the king had taken. At Welshpool we left our horses behind us, thinking it easier to make our way through the woods on foot, seeing that the roads were said to be beset by the Welsh. So we reached Llanidloes; and then, hearing where the king was then posted, from a convoy of wounded that had been brought in that day, and who had been attacked and very hardly treated as they came along, we thought to make a detour through the woods, so as to get behind any Welshmen who might be watching the road.

"Unfortunately, in the storm of rain, having no guide, we lost our way; and were so detained, near two days, in the forest. This morning, the weather having changed and the sun come out, we learned the direction that we must take. On the way we fell in with a party of some twenty Welshmen, who pursued us hotly. We outran all but five. As their shouts would have brought large numbers upon us, we stopped and slew them; and though search was hot for us, we succeeded in making our way through, without adventure, until we came out from the forest, close by."

"Truly it was an adventure of great peril," the earl said, "for the Welsh are swarming round us; though we see nought of them, when we are once in the saddle. a.s.suredly you would never have got through, even as far as Llanidloes, if you had followed the road on horseback; for the last party that came along brought word that the Welsh had felled trees across it, in many places, and had broken down the bridges.

"It was a gallant exploit, sir. I will, myself, take you in to the king."

Oswald took off his jerkin.

"I am but in poor plight to show myself before his majesty," he said, as he handed it to Roger.

"Ah! I remember this good fellow," the earl said. "He is not one easily forgotten, for 'tis seldom one sees so stout a man-at-arms.

"As to your dress, 'tis nought; and indeed, it is in better order than most in camp, for the soldiers have no tents, and have, for the last forty-eight hours, been over their ankles in mud and water.

"Have you been with Mortimer ever since we harried Glendower's valley?"

"No, my lord. I returned after that to the north, and was at Alnwick for nine months. Then Sir Henry sent me back again to Ludlow, in order that I might keep him well informed of the extent of this rebellion, concerning which but few tidings came to him."

They had, by this time, arrived at the entrance of the king's tent. The two sentries on duty there stood back and saluted, as the earl entered, followed by Oswald.

"This, sire, is a messenger, one Master Oswald Forster, an esquire of Sir Henry Percy's. He had been sent by his lord to Ludlow, to keep him acquainted with the extent of this rebellion. Some few days since, a royal messenger reached the town, with a letter for you; as doubtless, in London, they cannot have known which way you were marching, and directed it there, so that it might be forwarded to you thence. Sir Edmund, having your royal order not to send any force away, would have been at a loss how to forward it; deeming that it would need a strong body of men-at-arms to penetrate to you, as he knew, from what had happened on the two last expeditions, that the Welsh, being unable to oppose your advance, would swarm behind you, so as to prevent reinforcements or convoys of provisions from reaching you. He was, therefore, doubtful as to what course to adopt, when this gentleman volunteered to carry it to you; and this he has accomplished, attended by but a single follower. Knowing that he could only hope to reach you on foot, he and his man-at-arms left their horses at Welshpool; and have made their way through the woods on foot, not without adventure, having lost their way in the storm, and having slept in the wood for two days, and killed five Welshmen, scarcely escaping a crowd of others as they came in."

"A very gallant deed, sir," the king said to Oswald, as the latter bent upon one knee and handed the letter to him. "By Our Lady, it was no slight thing to venture through the woods, swarming with these wild Welshmen. How long have you been an esquire to Percy?"

"Over three years, sire."

"I met Master Forster at Chester," the earl said. "He commanded a score of Percy's men, and rode with us when we captured Glendower's house.

The knights with him told me that he and his little band had done excellent service, in the fight when the Welsh made their first irruption; and that Sir Henry Percy had written in the warmest terms to Mortimer, saying that the gentleman stood high in his regard, and that he had the most perfect confidence in him, and had selected him for the service since he was able to write well, and could, therefore, communicate freely with him as to the troubles on the Welsh border."

"And have you been at Mortimer's ever since that time?" the king asked.

Oswald noticed that each time Mortimer's name was mentioned, the king's brow was somewhat clouded.

"Not so, your majesty. I returned to the north, with Percy's men, a few days after the capture of Glendower's house. I came back to Ludlow in the spring."

"Why did Sir Henry Percy despatch you there again?" the king asked, sharply.

"From what he said, sire, it was because he was anxious to know whether the rebellion was growing, fearing that there might be some correspondence between Glendower and the Scots; and that, if it should come to a point when you might have to lead the whole force of the south to put the Welsh down, the Scots might make a great irruption into the northern counties, and it would be needful for him to keep a larger body of men than usual under arms; as the earl, his father, and the Earl of Westmoreland, would have to stand the whole brunt of the matter, for a time, without aid from the south."

The king's brow cleared.

"It was a thoughtful act of Sir Henry," he said; "and 'tis like enough that the Scots will, as you say, take advantage of our troubles here; and it is well, therefore, that the Lords of the Northern Marches should hold themselves in readiness.

"What think you, Talbot? It seems to me that the bold service this esquire has performed merits reward."

"I think so, indeed," the earl said. "It was a singular act of courage."

The king drew his sword from his scabbard.

"Kneel, sir," he said.

And, as Oswald knelt, the king laid the sword across his shoulder, and said, "Rise, Sir Oswald Forster."

Oswald rose.

"I thank you, my Lord King," he said, "and trust that I may live for many years to do worthy knightly service to my liege, who has so highly honoured me."

"My lord," the king said to Talbot, "I leave it to you to see that this young knight is provided with horse and armour. Unfortunately there is more than one suit without an owner, at present. You will do well to wait with me while I open this letter; which, maybe, contains matter of moment."

Feeling that his audience was over, Oswald bowed deeply, and left the tent to rejoin Roger.

"What said the king, master?"

"He spoke much more highly of what we had done, Roger, than it deserved; and as a reward for the service, he has just knighted me."

"I think that he has done well, master!" Roger exclaimed, joyously. "I had hoped that Hotspur would have done it, after that adventure with the Bairds; of which, as Alwyn told me, he spoke to him in tones of wondrous praise."

"That was a private business, Roger, and he would know that I would much rather that, when knighthood came, I should receive it for service in the field. The king regards our coming here as a service to himself, and therefore rewarded me; but I would rather that it should have been for service in the field, against the enemy, than for tramping through the forest."

"Yes, but a forest full of Welshmen," Roger said, "who are more to be feared, in that way, than when met in open fight."

"Earl Talbot spoke very kindly of me, and said that he had heard that, with Percy's men, I had done good service in that fight with the Welsh, near Knighton."

"That was certainly pretty hot work, master--I shall get to say Sir Oswald, in time; but at present my tongue is not used to it. What are we to do now?"

"The king asked Lord Talbot to provide me with armour, and a horse; so we must wait until he comes this way."