by Various
CHAPTER XXVIII--HOW THE BURGUNDIANS HUNTED HARES, WITH THE END OF THATHUNTING
"Tell me, what tidings of him?" Barthelemy Barrette asked me, on the dayafter that unbought feast at Royaulieu.
He was sitting in the noonday sun on the bridge of Compiegne, and strangeit was to see the place so battered yet so peaceful after five months ofwar. The Oise sliding by and rippling on the piers was not more quietthan this bridge of many battles, yet black in places with dried-up bloodof men slain. "Tidings can I find none," I answered. "He who saw thecordelier last was on guard in the boulevard during the great charge. Hemarked Brother Thomas level his couleuvrine now and again, as we ran forthe bastille, and cried out to him to aim higher, for that the ball wouldgo amongst us."
"You were his target, I make no doubt," said Barthelemy, "but by reasonof the throng he had no certain aim."
"After we broke into the bastille, I can find no man who has set eyes onhim," and I cursed the cordelier for very rage.
"He is well away, if he stays away: you and I need scarce any longer prayfor eyes in the backs of our heads. But what make we next?"
"I have but one thought," I said: "to pluck the Maid out of the hands ofthe English, for now men say that she is sold to them by Jean ofLuxembourg. They mean to take her to Arras, and so by Crotoy at themouth of Seine, and across Normandy to Rouen. Save her France must, forthe honour of France."
"My mind is the same," he said, and fell into a muse. "Hence thestraight road, and the shortest," he said at last, "is by Beauvais on toRouen, where she will lie in chains," and drawing his dagger he scratchedlines on the bridge parapet with its point. "Here is Compiegne; there,far to the west, is the sea, and here is Rouen. That straight line,"which he scratched, "goes to Rouen from Compiegne. Here, midway, isBeauvais, whereof we spoke, which town we hold. But there, between usand Beauvais, is Clermont, held by Crevecoeur for the Burgundians, andhere, midway between Beauvais and Rouen, is Gournay, where Kyriel and theLord Huntingdon lie with a great force of English. Do you comprehend? Wemust first take Clermont ere we can ride to rescue the Maid at Rouen!"
"The King should help us," I said. "For what is the army that hasdelivered Compiegne but a set of private bands, under this gentleman'sflag or that, some with Boussac, some with Xaintrailles, some with adozen others, and victuals are hard to come by."
"Ay, many a peaceful man sits by the fire and tells how great captainsshould have done this, and marched there, never thinking that men fighton their bellies. And the King should help us, and march with D'Alenconthrough Normandy from the south, while our companies take Clermont if wemay, and drive back the English and Burgundians. But you know the King,and men say that the Archbishop of Reims openly declares that the Maid isrightly punished for her pride. He has set up a mad shepherd-boy to takeher place, Heaven help him! who can fight as well as that stone canswim," and he dropped a loose stone over the bridge into the water.
"Whoever stays at home, we take the field," I said; "let us seek counselof Xaintrailles."
We rose and went to the Jacobins, where Xaintrailles was lodged, andthere found him at his dejeuner.
He was a tall young knight, straight as a lance, lean as a greyhound; forall his days his sword had won his meat; and he was hardy, keen, andbright, with eyes of steel in a scarred face, and his brow was alreadyworn bald with the helmet. When he walked his legs somewhat straggledapart, by reason of his much riding.
Xaintrailles received us in the best manner, we telling him that we hadridden with the Maid, that I was of her own household, and that to saveher we were willing to go far, and well knew that under no banner couldwe be so forward as under his.
"I would all my company were as honest as I take you twain to be," hesaid, "and I gladly receive you under my colours with any men you canbring."
"Messire, I have a handful of horse of the Maid's company," saidBarthelemy, hardily; "but when do we march, for to-day is better than to-morrow."
"As soon as may be," said the knight; "the Marechal de Boussac leads usagainst Clermont. That town we cannot leave behind us when we set forthfrom Beauvais. But, with these great bombards, which we have won fromthe Burgundians, we may have reason of Clermont, and then," clapping hishands together, and looking up, "then for Rouen! We shall burst the cageand free the bird, God willing!"
He stood like one in prayer, crossing himself, and our hearts turned tohim in loyalty.
"If but the King will send a force to join hands with La Hire inLouviers, the English shall have news of you, Messire!" I made bold tosay.
"Ay, if!" quoth Xaintrailles, and his face grew darker, "but we must makegood speedy for the midwinter draws nigh."
Therewith we left him, and, in few days, were marching on Clermont,dragging with long trains of horses the great bombards of theBurgundians.
To our summons Messire de Crevecoeur answered knightly, that Clermont hewould hold till death or rescue, so we set to battering his house abouthis ears. But, alas! after four days a sentinel of ours saw, too late,an English knight with nine men slip through the vines, under cover ofdarkness, and win a postern gate in the town wall. Soon we heard a joy-fire of guns within Clermont town, and foreboded the worst. At midnightcame a peasant to Xaintrailles, with tidings that a rescue was riding toClermont, and next morning it was boots and saddles and away, so hastilythat we left behind us the great bombards of the Burgundians. On thisthey made much mirth; but they laugh best who laugh last, as shall heseen.
And the cause of our going was that the Earl of Huntingdon had ridden outof Gournay, in Normandy, with a great force of English, to deliverClermont. Against foes within the town and foes without the town thecaptains judged that we were of no avail. So we departed, heavy atheart. Now the companies scattered, and Barthelemy and I, sorry enough,rode behind Xaintrailles, due north to Guermigny, whence we threatenedAmiens.
At Guermigny, then, for a short season, lay Xaintrailles, gathering allthe force he might along the Picardy marches, for the Duke of Burgundywas in Peronne, full of wrath and sorrow, so many evils had befallen him.For ourselves, we were in no gentler temper, having lost our hope ofpushing on to Rouen.
I was glad, therefore, when Xaintrailles himself rode one day to the doorof our lodging in Guermigny, strode clanging into our chamber, and askedif we were alone? We telling him that none was within ear-shot, he sathim down on the table, playing with his dagger hilt, and, with his hawk'seye on Barthelemy, asked, "You know this land well?"
"I have ridden over it, in war or peace, since I was a boy."
"How far to Lihons?"
"A matter of two leagues."
"What manner of country lies between?"
"Chiefly plain, rude and untilled, because of the distresses of thesetimes. There is much heath and long grasses, a great country for hares."
"Know you any covert nigh the road?"
"There runs a brook that the road crosses by a bridge, midway betweenGuermigny and Lihons. The banks are steep, and well wooded with suchtrees and undergrowth as love water."
"You can guide me thither?"
"There is no missing the road."
"God could not have made this land better for me, if He had asked mycounsel," said Xaintrailles. "You can keep your own?"
"Nom Dieu, yea!" said Barthelemy.
"And your Scots friend I can trust. A good-day to you, and thanks many."
Thereupon he went forth.
"What has he in his mind?" I asked Barthelemy.
"Belike an ambush. The Duke of Burgundy lies at Peronne, and hasmustered a great force. Lihons is midway between us and Peronne, and isin the hands of Burgundy. I deem Xaintrailles has tidings that theyintend to ride from Peronne to Lihons to-night, and thence make earlyonfall on us to-morrow. Being heavy-pated men of war, and bemused withtheir strong wine, they know not, belike, that we have more with us thanthe small garrison of Guermigny. And we are to await them on the road, Idoubt not. You shall see men that wear your cross of St. Andrew,
but notof your colour."
I shame not to say that of bushments in the cold dawn I had seen as muchas I had stomach for, under Paris. But if any captain was wary in war,and knew how to discover whatsoever his enemy designed, that captain wasXaintrailles. None the less I hoped in my heart that his secret tidingsof the Burgundian onfall had not come through a priest, and namely acordelier.
Dawn found us mounted, and riding at a foot's-pace through the greatplain which lies rough and untilled between Guermigny and Lihons. Allgrey and still it was, save for a cock crowing from a farmstead here andthere on the wide wold, broken only by a line of trees that ran acrossthe way.
Under these trees, which were mainly poplars and thick undergrowth ofalders about the steep banks of a little brook, we were halted, and heretook cover, our men lying down.
"Let no man stir, or speak, save when I speak to him, whatever befalls,on peril of his life," said Xaintrailles, when we were all disposed inhiding. Then touching me on the shoulder that I should rise, he said--
"You are young enough to climb a tree; are your eyes good?"
"I commonly was the first that saw the hare in her form, when we wentcoursing at home, sir."
"Then up this tree with you! keep outlook along the road, and hideyourself as best you may in the boughs. Throw this russet cloak overyour harness." It was shrewdly chill in the grey November morning, ahoarfrost lying white on the fields. I took the cloak gladly andbestowed myself in the tree, so that I had a wide view down Lihons way,whence we expected our enemies, the road running plain to see forleagues, like a ribbon, when once the low sun had scattered the mists. Itwas a long watch, and a weary, my hands being half frozen in my steelgauntlets. Many of our men slept; if ever a wayfarer crossed the bridgehard by he was stopped, gagged, and trussed in a rope's end. Butwayfarers were few, and all were wandering afoot. I was sorry for twolasses, who crossed on some business of their farm, but there was noremedy.
These diversions passed the time till nigh noon, when I whispered toXaintrailles that I saw clouds of dust (the roads being very dry) aleague away. He sent Barthelemy and another to waken any that slept, andbade all be ready at a word.
Now there came shouts on the wind, cries of venerie, loud laughter, andsnatches of songs.
And now, up in my perch, I myself broke into a laugh at that I saw.
"Silence, fool!" whispered Xaintrailles. "Why laugh you, in the name ofBehemoth?"
"The Burgundians are hunting hares," I whispered; "they are riding alldisorderly, some on the road, some here and there about the plain. Oneman has no lance, another is unhelmeted, many have left their harnessbehind with the baggage!" Even as I spoke rose up a great hunting cry,and a point of the chase was blown on a trumpet. The foremostBurgundians were spurring like madmen after some beast, throwing at itwith their lances, and soon I saw a fox making our way for its very life.
"To horse," cried Xaintrailles, and, leaving thirty men to hold thebridge, the whole of our company, with spears in rest, drove down onthese hare-hunters of Burgundy.
Two hundred picked men in all, fully armed, were we, and we scattered theforemost riders as they had scattered the hares. Saddles were emptied,archers were cut down or speared ere they could draw bows, theBurgundians were spurring for their lives, many cried mercy, and weretaken to ransom, of whom I had my share, as I shall tell.
But a few men made a right good end. Thomas Kyriel, a knight of England,stood to his banner, his archers rallied about it, with three or fourknights of Burgundy. There, unhelmeted for the most part, they chose theway of honour, but they were of no avail where so many lances werelevelled and so many swords were hewing at so few. There was a greatslaughter, but Geoffrey de Thoisy, nephew to the Bishop of Tournay,plucked from danger fortune, for he so bore him that he being fully armedwe took him for Messire Antoine de Vienne, a very good knight. For hiscourage we spared him, but Antoine, being unhelmeted and unknown, wassmitten on the head by Barthelemy Barrette, with a blow of a casse-tete.
For this Barthelemy made much sorrow, not only that so good a knight wasslain, but that he had lost a great ransom, whereby he should have been arich man. Yet such is the fortune of war! Which that day was strangelyseen; for a knight having yielded to me because his horse threw him, andhe lost for a moment all sense with the fall and found my boot on hisneck when he came to himself, who should he be but Messire Robert Heron,the same whom I took at Orleans!
Who, when he knew me, took off his salade for greater ease, and, sittingdown on a rock by the way, swore as never I heard man swear, French,English, Spaniard, or Scot; and at length laughed, and said it wasfortune of war, and so was content. This skirmish being thus ended, wereturned, blithe and rich men every one of us, what with prisoners,horses, arms, and all manner of treasure taken with the baggage. Thatnight we slept little in Guermigny, but feasted and drank deep. For myown part, I know not well where I did sleep, or how I won to what bed,which shames me some deal after all these years.
On the morrow we left Guermigny to the garrison of the place for theirill-fortune, and rode back towards Compiegne.
And this was the sport that the Burgundians had in hare-hunting.
This Battle of the Hares was the merriest passage of arms for our party,and bourdes were made on it, and songs sung, as by the English on thatother Battle of the Herrings. Now, moreover, I might be called rich,what with ransoms, what with my share of the plunder in horses, rings,chains of gold, jewels, silver dishes, and rich cloths, out of thebaggage of the enemy. Verily lack of wealth could no more sunder Elliotand me! For Pothon was as open of hand as he was high of heart, and wasno greedy captain, wherefore men followed him the more gladly.
