The Last of the Vikings Part 13

"What ho there, you drunken brutes! What ho, Jules!" shouted the Count, frantic with rage. But again the response was in a similar strain:--

"We're freemen all, but have our liege, For William is our lord; We've wine and ale and venison To crown our festive board.

_Chorus._--Ho, comrades, all," etc.

"What ho there!" roared the Count, more l.u.s.tily than ever, and furiously beating the door with an oaken footstool. But all in vain, the song ran its course oblivious of all beside, and with, if possible, an increase in its roystering loudness:--

"No foemen can our arms withstand, The Saxons are our scorn.

We'll drink and laugh, and sing at eve, And chase them in the morn.

_Chorus._--Ho, comrades all," etc.

CHAPTER XV.

OUTLAWS AND WOLFSHEADS.

"To be forewarned is to be forearmed."

_Proverbial Saying._

Count de Montfort, the born autocrat, it may be inferred, was not the man to permit any remnant of the conquered Saxons to a.s.sume an independent authority, or to defy him in his exercise of unlimited power. Nor did he relish the fearless tone in which Oswald had addressed him. Such an affront must not be tolerated for a moment; so he determined to organise an expedition which should explore the hills and root out any incipient rebellion which might be afoot. It is needless to say that the mysterious escape and reappearance of Oswald also caused increased vigilance in guarding the castle to be resorted to.

Now Badger had manifested a wonderful tact in ingratiating himself with the rough Norman troopers. It was much more common to see him sallying forth cheek by jowl with some of these, fishing, hawking, or boar-hunting, than to see him companying with his Saxon comrades. But there was method in it all, for he was always possessed of their plans and purposes; and when he communicated to me this determination of theirs we made haste to apprise our countrymen of it. That night Badger quietly issued from the postern gate of the Abbey, leading his mountain pony s.h.a.ggy, and followed by his faithful wolf-hound Grizzly. Every light was extinguished. Not a sound fell on the stillness of the night air, saving the horrid braying of a stag in the distant wood, and the screeching of owlets as they fluttered amid the branches of the trees in quest of prey. No sooner had they pa.s.sed through the gate at the northern extremity of the Abbey's ground than Badger mounted s.h.a.ggy's back, and they steadily threaded their way through the forest, making as quickly as possible for the hill country. Steady riding for half an hour brought them to the first spur of the mountain, when Badger threw himself from the pony's back, and led the way at a brisk walk. Soon they reached the top of this lower promontory, when, again mounting s.h.a.ggy, they dashed along, sending the rabbits by hundreds scurrying away to their holes. But Badger steadily forged ahead towards the huge eminences, which seemed to rise out of utter darkness, and throw their black and ominous outlines against the starlit sky. Half an hour's more riding and patient climbing, and he neared the top. Choosing as the easiest path a deflection between two peaks, he was proceeding at a rapid pace, when, of a sudden, two men on horseback came bearing down upon him like a whirlwind, and drew up in front of him with swords drawn. "Saxon or Norman?" sang out one of them in a tone of inquiry.

"Saxon!" shouted Badger. "Down with the Normans!"

As the well-known voice was heard, the swords were sheathed, and the two hors.e.m.e.n greeted him with a loud laugh.

"Why, you are living yet, then, Badger!" said one. "We have been calculating your chances; and we had come to the conclusion you would be killed and eaten by this time. You would be worth money, Badger, for your _skins_ alone, this cold weather."

"Better shed every extra skin, Badger, or you'll lose your own, I'm thinking," said the other.

"Yes, his skins are valuable, but his carcase is good for nothing.

Badgers are just carrion, and nothing more."

"We are right glad to see you, however," said the pair. And indeed they seemed inclined to hug him in the exuberance of their delight.

"Well, and s.h.a.ggy's living too! What next, and next. These Normans are becoming most merciful," again broke out the first one.

"Yes, yes," retorted the second one, "that's right enough. But they aren't human beings either of them, or they'd have been murdered before this."

"What news, Badger? I declare he's gone in a trance. Have they burnt the castle down? Are they murdering everybody?"

"They'll have a mighty job to murder some of you," retorted Badger, finding his tongue at last, "unless they could fly. You take mighty good care of your skins. And i' faith, you've only one to take care of. But I wager that will be whole at the finish, unless you should happen to tumble and break your neck with running away."

"Hold there!" said the pair, bursting into a loud laugh at Badger's retort. "When the time comes we shall be amongst the first at the Normans' throats."

"All in good time, my hearties. They are coming in the morning to disturb your roosts, so there will be a chance for you; but come along, I can't stand here, I must see Oswald forthwith about this matter."

"This is our station for the night, Badger. This valley would almost certainly be selected for a night attack, or day attack either, for the matter of that. So we must watch until daybreak."

"Oh, come along, I know everything is perfectly quiet. Not a Norman astir, I will be bond for it. You will be useful, so come along."

"If you will take the responsibility, Badger."

"That I will readily, so come along."

Then the pair turned their horses' heads round, and joined Badger in his errand. As they sped across the moor they heard to the right of them a fierce baying; and presently some half-dozen wolves came bearing down upon them. The horses began to tremble in every limb, and show evidences of bolting. So the three dismounted, and stood at the horses' heads with Grizzly fiercely growling in front. This seemed to rea.s.sure the horses; but as the wolves drew near they were evidently mistaken in their prey, for they turned tail and fled. But Grizzly with a terrific growl dashed after them, throwing himself on the haunches of the hindmost, and rolling him over. Then, seizing him by the throat, he would speedily have made an end of him, if the hors.e.m.e.n had not come up and dispatched him with their swords. The monster turned out to be a large gaunt dog wolf, who would have been an ugly customer for an unarmed man to meet when the pinch of hunger was upon him.

"I hope they've got the sheep, and cattle, and swine all trim and tight, or I'm feared they'll be missing some of them in the morning, with these beasts prowling about," remarked one horseman.

"They're getting too plentiful to be at all pleasant. There's been little time for wolf-hunting since these Normans came; they are getting bold too, and are beginning to pack," remarked the second horseman.

"I wish they were the worst foes we had to deal with," said Badger; "I should be a happier man by a good deal. But these dastardly Normans, I fear me we shall never more shake them off. The villainous brood are swarming all over the land, and there will soon be never a patch of soil that a Saxon can call his own. We shall all either have to be slaves or feed on the wind ere long."

"Not me, Badger," said one. "I have neither child nor chick, and a freeman I'll be at all costs. The limestone caves and the greenwood shall make me shelter. As for feeding on air, I'll not want something more substantial if any Norman this side Baldley Heights or Whernside Fell has a sheep in the fold or an ox in the stall."

"Well, don't be downhearted, comrades," said Badger. "When the wind shifts, the cloud lifts. It's a broad ford that can't be bridged. The strongest bow soonest relaxes, and the spent arrow falls lightly. Our time will come, for these Normans are not Viking rovers, but like fat living, and that breeds laziness; and we shall be able to shake ourselves down comfortably if we can't push them out of the bed."

Whilst this conversation was proceeding the three were rapidly pressing on, Badger having by this time put eight or ten miles between himself and the Norman foe. But in the vast distance before them there seemed to loom an unending stretch of moorland, vast and drear and dark. In the pale moonlight the mists could be seen climbing the heights, or creeping lazily along the hollows, where damp and bogs abounded. Like huge repositories of old-world histories these grim old hills seemed--dwarfing human nature into nothingness in their presence--"everlasting hills," broad-based and firm; defying the storms of winter, and bathing their heads in the golden sunshine of summer; unmoved amid the changes, transformations, and fierce race struggles which were being fought out with relentless cruelty around their base; and offering a cold, unsympathetic shelter to fugitives flying to them for safety.

"Keep to the left, Badger. We must keep on the outskirts of that vapour, or we shall be speedily up to the knees in a bog. We have not far to go.

Do you see the tops of those fir-trees just peeping over those boulders?

That is our headquarters, and Oswald will be there."

Presently the persons of two scouts could be seen moving amid the stones, and evidently reconnoitring the new-comers. A low, shrill whistle is given by one of them, and is answered by Badger's friends; at which signal they drew near to interview the strangers. Then it was seen that the tops of the fir trees were but the outermost ring of a dense wood, which lined the sides of a mammoth ravine, with a still lake of water, or tarn, lying placidly in its hollow.

"Is Oswald here to-night?" was the first inquiry.

"Yes. What news?"

"All right so far; but there will be a lively time to-morrow. Badger, here, has brought the news. Let him have speech with the Earl forthwith."

So the three dismounted, and began slowly to thread their way by a path, winding and difficult, with branches hanging low, and brushwood closing up, so as to make progress impossible except in single file. By-and-bye the bottom is reached, and before them there stands--what was totally concealed from any one skirting the wood on the outside--a s.p.a.cious one-storied building near the head of the tarn. As they drew near, a fierce growling of a watch-dog was heard, and a challenge was addressed to them by some one hid from view by the dense brushwood. The answer being satisfactory the horses were tied to the trees, and the stranger led them by a winding path to the rear of the dwelling. A gentle tap being given to the door, a woman's voice challenges the visitors; but soon the bolts are withdrawn, and the party enters what was evidently the kitchen quarters.

"Has the Earl retired?" said Bretwul to his wife.

"Yes, long ago. There has not been a sound in the house these two hours."

After consulting together it was deemed a matter of sufficient importance to summon Oswald, and to him Badger briefly related the news which had brought him.

Then ensued a council of war, some advocating evasive tactics. But this brought them face to face with the fact that the Normans were all aware that they were hiding not far away, and they would be sure to persevere until they had unearthed them. So it was decided that a lesson in retaliation was necessary. Word was sent round at once for all cattle and non-fighters to keep especially close, also for the able-bodied men to meet the Earl at daylight at the cave on Deepdale Head.

Badger's errand being now accomplished, he led his pony to the clear.