The Coming of the King Part 34

"What, man! You never saw her neck."

"Ay, but I did, and her face too. I never saw it till she was brought to the river's bank. But I saw it then, and I shall never forget it. Ay, I would know it among ten thousand."

I felt Mistress Constance grasp my arm more tightly with her right hand, while with her left she drew her mantle more closely around her face.

"Shall we go back?" she asked.

"What, towards the prison?"

"Oh no--let us go on."

Indeed we could do nought else, for the men had caught sight of us by this time, and I heard one man exclaim, "Ay, here is a man and a wench coming!"

"Do not fear," I whispered: "there be but three, and they are wellnigh drunk. If the worst comes to the worst I will fight them all--and meanwhile you can escape."

I felt her shiver, even while her fingers gripped my arm still more tightly. Brave as she was, she was still a woman, who shrank from being brought into contact with brutal and profane men.

"Do not leave me if you can help it," she whispered, and then she seemed to master herself, and we walked boldly towards them.

"Good morrow," said one of the men.

"Good morrow," I replied.

"And whither go you?"

"That is my business."

"Ay, and mine too. Know you I am a constable and carry a truncheon?

Come, tell me who you are."

"Ay, and let the wench show us her face," said another.

"Ay, and let her give us a kiss," said the third.

My anger was getting the better of me now, for not only did they say what I have written down, but much more, which must have been sorely distasteful to Mistress Constance's ears.

Without any more ado, therefore, I drew my sword.

"The man who approaches a step nearer will have to swallow six inches of steel," I said.

Drunk as they were they started back. One, however, who did not seem quite as drunk as the others, eyed us closely.

"Now, then, Peter Blewitt," he said, "you boast that you are a brave man, and you carry a truncheon. At him! At him!"

But Peter Blewitt did not move.

"And you say you are never frightened!" sneered the other. "You say that you will take me to the lock-up. You! you haven't the courage of a bantam c.o.c.k!"

This seemed to sting the drunken constable, for he made as though he would come towards me, and throwing off Mistress Constance's hand, I seized a pistol, and held it towards them.

"Unless you go your way I shoot," I cried.

"Now then, Peter Blewitt, surely you are not afraid of a boy's popgun?

At him, man! at him!"

With drunken gravity the constable drew his truncheon and came towards me. I was loth, great as the danger was, to use my weapons, for though I had been trained to the use of both, I had never had occasion to defend myself by them before. In this case my hesitation almost led to my undoing, for the feel of the truncheon having evidently given the constable fresh courage, he rushed upon me suddenly, and struck at me with all his might. He did not miss me by more than six inches, and had I not slipped aside, I should have been completely at his mercy, for he was a strong man. As it was, however, he missed me completely, and not only that, but wellnigh fell down at my feet. Peter Blewitt's action, however, proved an example for the others.

"I'll see who the wench is, pistol or no pistol," I heard one say, and I saw him seize Mistress Constance's cloak, and try to pull it aside.

At this I hesitated no longer, but struck at him with my sword. Whether the blade cut its way through the man's thick clothes I know not, but he dropped his arm in a moment, and then, carried away by my desire to be rid of them, I lifted my left arm and fired. I have been told since that the bullet only grazed the man's shoulder, but he cried out like one in the death agony. "I'm killed, I'm killed! Help!" he cried.

At this he took to his heels, and flew as though the furies were at his heels, while the others, apparently frightened at the report of the pistol, followed him howling at the top of their voices.

"Are you hurt?" asked Mistress Constance.

"No; and you are safe!"

"Yes. The man did not see my face. Come, let us go."

We hurried along the road for it may be five minutes; then she stopped.

"There is a stile here somewhere," she said. "I am sure we have not pa.s.sed it. Ah, there it is."

She leaped lightly over it, and then followed the windings of a footpath. Through two fields we pa.s.sed together without speaking, then she turned on me suddenly.

"Thank you, Master Rashcliffe," she said; "you are a brave man."

"What do you mean?" I stammered.

"I am safe now. You need not fear for me any more. I thank you from the depths of my heart."

"But you are not arrived at your destination yet."

"No, but I shall be there soon. You see those trees? Once behind them I am safe."

"But----"

"It will not be well for you to come farther, Master Rashcliffe. You need not fear for me. Forgive me if I desire to be alone. It is not because I am not grateful. You have saved me from death, a terrible death. Good-bye. We shall never meet again."

My heart grew cold within me. "You have told me nothing," I stammered.

"That is, the time may come when I can be of--that is, I desire to be your friend, even as I told you more than a week ago at--that is, on the night I saw you first."

"No, no. I had better tell you nothing. If I am not taken prisoner again--which I shall not be; no, I will die first!--you will never see me more. But I will pray for you, pray that G.o.d will preserve you and give you happiness. But tell me," she cried, and it seemed as though she had remembered something else, "can you get away in safety? You must have had difficulty in coming to me."

"There is no need to fear for me, Mistress Constance," I said, fearing to give her pain on my account, and thus saying words which I was far from being sure of. "I will get away from Bedford without any man being the wiser, and you need not fear that I will ever tell any man that I have seen you. But I thought not to part from you so soon. There are many things I would ask of you. Much hath happened since I saw you last, and perchance you can give me an explanation."

"I can tell you nothing, nothing."

"But you spoke to that old man. You knew him, I saw him also. I had speech with him, and I would know who he was. The knowledge would advantage me much."