By England's Aid; Or, the Freeing of the Netherlands, 1585-1604

by G. A. Henty

  CHAPTER XII.

  RECRUITING THEIR FUNDS.

  As soon as Gerald Burke began conversing with the merchants, Geoffreyfell back and took his place among their servants, with whom he at onceentered into conversation. To amuse himself he continued in the samestrain that he had heard Gerald adopt towards the merchants, and spokein terms of apprehension of the dangers of the journey, and of therough treatment that had befallen those who had ventured to offeropposition to the robbers. He was not long in discovering, by theanxious glances they cast round them, and by the manner of theirquestions, that some at least of the party were not to be relied uponin case of an encounter.

  He was rather surprised at Gerald remaining so long in company with themerchants, for their pace was a slow one, as they were followed byeight heavily-laden mules, driven by two muleteers, and it would havebeen much pleasanter, he thought, to have trotted on at their usualpace. About midday, as they were passing along the edge of a thickwood, a party of men suddenly sprang out and ordered them to halt.Geoffrey shouted to the men with him to come on, and drawing his sworddashed forward.

  Two of the men only followed him. The others hesitated, until a shotfrom a musket knocked off one of their hats, whereupon the man and hiscomrades turned their horses' heads and rode off at full speed. Themerchants had drawn their swords, and stood on the defensive, andGeoffrey on reaching them was surprised to find that Gerald Burke wassitting quietly on his horse without any apparent intention of takingpart in the fight.

  "Put up your sword, Geoffrey," he said calmly; "this affair is nobusiness of ours. We have nothing to lose, and it is no business ofours to defend the money-bags of these gentlemen."

  The robbers, eight in number, now rushed up. One of the merchants,glancing round, saw that two of their men only had come up to theirassistance. The muleteers, who were probably in league with therobbers, had fled, leaving their animals standing in the road. Theprospect seemed desperate. One of the merchants was an elderly man, theothers were well on middle age. The mules were laden with valuablegoods, and they had with them a considerable sum of money for makingpurchases at Cadiz. It was no time for hesitation.

  "We will give you five hundred crowns if you will both aid us to beatoff these robbers."

  "It is a bargain," Gerald replied. "Now, Geoffrey, have at thesefellows!"

  Leaping from their ponies they ranged themselves by the merchants justas the robbers attacked them. Had it not been for their aid the combatwould have been a short one; for although determined to defend theirproperty to the last, the traders had neither strength nor skill atarms. One was unhorsed at the first blow, and another wounded; but thetwo servants, who had also dismounted, fought sturdily, and Gerald andGeoffrey each disposed of a man before the robbers, who had notreckoned upon their interference, were prepared to resist their attack.The fight did not last many minutes. The traders did their best, andalthough by no means formidable opponents, distracted the attention ofthe robbers, who were startled by the fall of two of their party.Geoffrey received a sharp cut on the head, but at the same moment ranhis opponent through the body, while Gerald Burke cut down the manopposed to him. The other four robbers, seeing they were nowoutnumbered, at once took to their heels.

  "By St. Jago!" one of the traders said, "you are stout fighters, youngmen, and have won your fee well. Methought we should have lost ourlives as well as our goods, and I doubt not we should have done so hadyou not ranged yourselves with us. Now, let us bandage up our wounds,for we have all received more or less hurt."

  When the wounds, some of which were serious, were attended to, thefallen robbers were examined. Three of them were dead; but the man lastcut down by Gerald Burke seemed likely to recover.

  "Shall we hang him upon a tree as a warning to these knaves, or shallwe take him with us to the next town and give him in charge of theauthorities there?" one of the traders asked.

  "If I were you I would do neither," Gerald said, "but would let him gofree if he will tell you the truth about this attack. It will be justas well for you to get to the bottom of this affair, and find outwhether it is a chance meeting, or whether any of your own people havebeen in league with him."

  "That is a good idea," the trader agreed, "and I will carry it out,"and going up to the man, who had now recovered his senses, he said tohim sternly: "We have made up our minds to hang you; but you may saveyour life if you will tell us how you came to set upon us. Speak thetruth and you shall go free, otherwise we will finish with you withoutdelay."

  The robber, seeing an unexpected chance of escape from punishment, atonce said that the captain of their band, who was the man Geoffrey hadlast run through, came out from Seville the evening before, and toldhim that one Juan Campos, with whom he had long had intimate relations,and who was clerk to a rich trader, had, upon promise that he shouldreceive one-fifth of the booty taken, informed him that his master withtwo other merchants was starting on the following morning for Cadizwith a very valuable lot of goods, and twenty-five thousand crowns,which they intended to lay out in the purchase of goods brought by somegalleons that had just arrived from the Indies. He had arranged tobribe his master's two servants to ride away when they attacked thegang, and also to settle with the muleteers so that they should take nopart in the affair. They had reckoned that the flight of two of theservants would probably affect the others, and had therefore expectedthe rich booty to fall into their hands without the trouble of strikinga blow for it.

  "It is well we followed your suggestion," one of the traders said toGerald. "I had no suspicion of the honesty of my clerk, and had we notmade this discovery he would doubtless have played me a similar trickupon some other occasion. I will ride back at once, friends, for if hehears of the failure of the attack he may take the alarm and make offwith all he can lay his hands upon. Our venture was to be in common. Iwill leave it to you to carry it out, and return and dismiss Campos andthe two rascally servants." The three traders went apart and consultedtogether. Presently the eldest of the party returned to the young men.

  "We have another five days' journey before us," he said, "and but twoservants upon whom we can place any reliance. We have evidence of theunsafety of the roads, and, as you have heard, we have a large sum ofmoney with us. You have already more than earned the reward I offeredyou, and my friends have agreed with me that if you will continue tojourney with us as far as Cadiz, and to give us the aid of your valourshould we be again attacked, we will make the five hundred crowns athousand. It is a large sum, but we have well-nigh all our fortunes atstake, and we feel that we owe you our lives as well as the saving ofour money."

  "We could desire nothing better," Gerald replied, "and will answer withour lives that your goods and money shall arrive safely at Cadiz."

  The traders then called up their two serving-men, and told them that ontheir arrival at Cadiz they would present them each with a hundredcrowns for having so stoutly done their duty. The employer of thetreacherous clerk then turned his horse's head and rode back towardsSeville, while the others prepared to proceed on their way. The twomuleteers had now come out from among the bushes, and were busyrefastening the bales on the mules, the ropes having become loosened inthe struggles of the animals while the fight was going on. Themerchants had decided to say nothing to the men as to the discoverythat they were in league with the robbers.

  "Half these fellows are in alliance with these bands, which are ascourge to the country," one of the traders said. "If we were to informthe authorities at the next town, we should, in the first place, beblamed for letting the wounded man escape, and secondly we might bedetained for days while investigations are going on. In this countrythe next worse thing to being a prisoner is to be a complainant. Law isa luxury in which the wealthy and idle can alone afford to indulge."

  As soon, therefore, as the baggage was readjusted the party proceededon their way.

  "What do you think of that, Geoffrey?" Gerald Burke asked as he rodefor a short distance by the side of his supposed servant.


  "It is magnificent," Geoffrey replied; "and it seems to me that thereal road to wealth in Spain is to hire yourself out as a guard totravellers."

  "Ah, you would not get much if you made your bargain beforehand. It isonly at a moment of urgent danger that fear will open purse-stringswidely. Had we bargained beforehand with these traders we might havethought ourselves lucky if we had got ten crowns apiece as the price ofour escort to Cadiz, and indeed we should have been only too glad iflast night such an offer had been made to us; but when a man sees thathis property and life are really in danger he does not stop to haggle,but is content to give a handsome percentage of what is risked for aidto save the rest."

  "Well, thank goodness, our money trouble is at an end," Geoffrey said;"and it will be a long time before we need have any anxiety on thatscore."

  "Things certainly look better," Gerald said laughing; "and if Inezconsents to make a runaway match of it with me I sha'n't have to askher to pay the expenses."

  Cadiz was reached without further adventure. The merchants kept theiragreement honourably, and handed over a heavy bag containing a thousandcrowns to Gerald on their arrival at that city. They had upon the roadinquired of him the nature of his business there. He had told them thathe was at present undecided whether to enter the army, in which somefriends of his had offered to obtain him a commission, or to join in anadventure to the Indies. They had told him they were acquainted withseveral merchants at Cadiz who traded both with the east and west, andthat they would introduce him to them as a gentleman of spirit andcourage, whom they might employ with advantage upon such ventures; andthis promise after their arrival there they carried out.

  "Now, Geoffrey," Gerald said as they sat together that evening at acomfortable inn, "we must talk over matters here. We have five hundredcrowns apiece, and need not trouble any longer as to how we are tosupport life. Your great object, of course, is to get out of thiscountry somehow, and to make your way back to England. My first is tosee Inez and find out whether she will follow my fortunes or remain tobecome some day Marchesa of Sottomayor. If she adopts the formeralternative I have to arrange some plan to carry her off and to get outof the country, an operation in which I foresee no little difficulty.Of course if we are caught my life is forfeited, there is no questionabout that. The question for us to consider is how we are to set aboutto carry out our respective plans."

  "We need only consider your plan as far as I can see," Geoffrey said."Of course I shall do what I can to assist you, and if you manage toget off safely with the young lady I shall escape at the same time."

  "Not at all," Burke said; "you have only to wait here quietly until yousee an opportunity. I will go with you to-morrow to the merchants I wasintroduced to to-day, and say that I am going away for a time and shallbe obliged if they will make you useful in any way until I return. Inthat way you will have a sort of established position here, and canwait until you see a chance of smuggling yourself on board some Englishor Dutch vessel. Mine is a very different affair. I may talk lightly ofit, but I am perfectly aware that I run a tremendous risk, and that thechances are very strongly against me."

  "Whatever the chances are," Geoffrey said quietly, "I shall share themwith you. Your kindness has saved me from what at best might have beenimprisonment for life, and not improbably would have been torture anddeath at the hands of the Inquisition, and I am certainly not going towithdraw myself from you now when you are entering upon what isundoubtedly a very dangerous adventure. If we escape from Spain weescape together; if not, whatever fate befalls you I am ready to risk."

  "Very well; so be it, Geoffrey," Gerald Burke said, holding out hishand to him. "If your mind is made up I will not argue the questionwith you, and indeed I value your companionship and aid too highly totry to shake your determination. Let us then at once talk over what isnow our joint enterprise. Ribaldo estate lies about half-way betweenthis and Seville, and we passed within a few miles of it as we camehither. The first thing, of course, will be to procure some sort ofdisguise in which I can see Inez and have a talk with her. Now, itseems to me, for I have been thinking the matter over in every way aswe rode, that the only disguise in which this would be possible wouldbe that of a priest or monk."

  Geoffrey laughed aloud. "You would in the first place have to shave offyour moustachios, Gerald, and I fear that even after you had done sothere would be nothing venerable in your appearance; and whatever themission with which you might pretend to charge yourself, your chancesof obtaining a private interview with the lady would be slight."

  "I am afraid that I should lack the odour of sanctity, Geoffrey; butwhat else can one do? Think it over, man. The way in which you playedthe idiot when you were picked out of the water shows that you arequick at contriving a plan."

  "That was a simple business in comparison to this," Geoffrey replied."However, you are not pressed for time, and I will think it overto-night and may light upon some possible scheme, for I own that atpresent I have not the least idea how the matter is to be managed."

  As in the morning there were several other travellers taking breakfastin the same room, the conversation was not renewed until Gerald Burkestrolled out, followed at a respectful distance by Geoffrey, who stillpassed as his servant, and reached a quiet spot on the ramparts. HereGeoffrey joined him, and they stood for some minutes looking over thesea.

  "What a magnificent position for a city!" Geoffrey said at last."Standing on this rocky tongue of land jutting out at the entrance tothis splendid bay it ought to be impregnable, since it can only beattacked on the side facing that sandy isthmus. What a number of shipsare lying up the bay, and what a busy scene it is with the boatspassing and repassing! Though they must be two miles away I fancy I canhear the shouts of the sailors."

  "Yes, it is all very fine," Gerald said; "but I have seen it severaltimes before. Still, I can make allowances for you. Do you see thatgroup of small ships a mile beyond the others? Those are the Englishand Dutchmen. They are allowed to trade, but as you see they are keptapart, and there are three war galleys lying close to them. No one isallowed to land, and every boat going off is strictly examined, and allthose who go on board have to show their permits from the governor totrade; so, you see, the chance of getting on board one of them isslight indeed. Higher up the bay lies Puerto de Santa Maria, where agreat trade is carried on, and much wine shipped; though more comesfrom Jeres, which lies up the river. You know we passed through it onour way here.

  "Yes, this is a splendid position for trade, and I suppose the commercecarried on here is larger than in any port in Europe; though Antwerpranked as first until the troubles began in the Netherlands. But thisought to be first. It has all the trade of the Atlantic sea-board, andstanding at the mouth of the Mediterranean commands that also; whileall the wealth of the New World pours in here. That is great already;there is no saying what it will be in the future, while some day thetrade from the far East should flow in here also by vessels tradinground the south of Africa.

  "Cadiz has but one fault: the space on which it stands is too small fora great city. You see how close the houses stand together, and hownarrow are the streets. It cannot spread without extending beyond therock over the sands, and then its strength would be gone, and it wouldbe open to capture by an enterprising enemy having command of the sea.There now, having indulged your humour, let us return to more importantmatters. Have you thought over what we were talking about last night?"

  "I have certainly thought it over," Geoffrey said; "but I do not knowthat thinking has resulted in much. The only plan that occurs to me asbeing at all possible is this. You were talking in joke at Madrid ofturning robber. Would it be possible, think you, to get together asmall band of men to aid you in carrying off the young lady, eitherfrom the grounds of her father's house or while journeying on the road?You could then have your talk with her. If you find her willing to flywith you, you could leave the men you have engaged and journey acrossthe country in some sort of disguise to a port. If she objected, youcould con
duct her back to the neighbourhood of the house and allow herto return. There is one difficulty: you must, of course, be preparedwith a priest, so that you can be married at once if she consents toaccompany you."

  Gerald Burke was silent for some time. "The scheme seems a possibleone," he said at last; "it is the question of the priest that bothersme. You know, both in Seville and Cadiz there are Irish colleges, andat both places there are several priests whom I knew before theyentered the Church, and who would, I am sure, perform the service forme on any ordinary occasion; but it is a different thing asking them totake a share in such a business as this, for they would renderthemselves liable to all sorts of penalties and punishments from theirsuperiors. However, the difficulty must be got over somehow, and at anyrate the plan seems to promise better than anything I had thought of.The first difficulty is how to get the ruffians for such a business. Icannot go up to the first beetle-browed knave I meet in the street andsay to him, Are you disposed to aid me in the abduction of a lady?"

  "No," Geoffrey laughed; "but fortunately you have an intermediary readyat hand."

  "How so?" Gerald exclaimed in surprise. "Why, how on earth can you havean acquaintance with any ruffians in Cadiz?"

  "Not a very intimate acquaintance, Gerald; but if you take the troubleto go into the court-yard of the inn when we get back you will see oneof those rascally muleteers who were in league with the robbers whoattacked us on the way. He was in conversation when we came out with aman who breakfasted with us, and was probably bargaining for a load forhis mules back to Seville. I have no doubt that through him you mightput yourself into communication with half the cutthroats of the town."

  "That is a capital idea, Geoffrey, and I will have a talk with the manas soon as we get back; for if he is not still there, I am sure to beable to learn from some of the men about the stables where to find him."

  "You must go very carefully to work, Gerald," Geoffrey said. "It wouldnever do to let any of the fellows know the exact object for which youengaged them, for they might be sure of getting a far larger sum fromthe marquis for divulging your plans to carry off his daughter than youcould afford to pay them for their services."

  "I quite see that, and will be careful."

  On their return to the inn Gerald Burke at once made inquiries as tothe muleteer, and learned that he would probably return in an hour tosee if a bargain could be made with a trader for the hire of his mulesback to Seville.

  Gerald waited about until the man came. "I want to have a talk withyou, my friend," he said.

  The muleteer looked at him with a suspicious eye. "I am busy," he saidin a surly tone; "I have no time to waste."

  "But it would not be wasting it if it were to lead to your putting adozen crowns in your pocket."

  "Oh, if it is to lead to that, senor, I can spare an hour, for I don'tthink that anything is likely to come out of the job I came here to tryto arrange."

  "We will walk away to a quieter place," Gerald said. "There are toomany people about here for us to talk comfortably. The ramparts are buttwo or three minutes' walk; we can talk there without interruption."

  When they arrived upon the ramparts Gerald commenced the conversation."I think you were foolish, my friend, not to have taken us into yourconfidence the other day before that little affair. You could have madean opportunity well enough. We stopped to luncheon; if you had drawn measide, and told me frankly that some friends of yours were about tomake an attack upon the traders, and that you would guarantee that theywould make it worth my while-"

  "What do you mean by saying my friends, or that I had any knowledge ofthe affair beforehand?" the man asked furiously.

  "I say so," Gerald replied, "because I had it on excellent authority.The wounded robber made a clean breast of the whole affair, and of yourshare in it, as well as that of the rascally clerk of one of thetraders. If it had not been for me the merchants would have handed youover to the magistrates at the place where we stopped that night; but Idissuaded them, upon the ground that they would have to attend aswitnesses against you, and that it was not worth their while to losevaluable time merely for the pleasure of seeing you hung. However, allthis is beside the question. What I was saying was, it is a pity youdid not say to me frankly: Your presence here is inopportune; but ifyou will stand apart if any unexpected affair takes place, you will getsay two thousand crowns out of the twenty-five thousand my friends aregoing to capture. Had you done that, you see, things might have turnedout differently."

  "I did not know," the muleteer stammered.

  "No, you did not know for certain, of course, that I was a soldier offortune; but if you had been sharp you might have guessed it. However,it is too late for that now. Now, what I wanted to ask you was if youcould get me half a dozen of your friends to take service under me in alittle adventure I have to carry out. They will be well paid, and I donot suppose they will have much trouble over it."

  "And what would you pay me, cabbalero?" the muleteer asked humbly; forhe had been greatly impressed with the valour displayed by the youngIrishman and his servant in the fray, and thought that he intended toget together a company for adventures on the road, in which case hemight be able to have some profitable dealings with him in the future.

  "I will give you twenty crowns," Gerald replied; "and considering thatyou owe your life to my interposition, I think that you ought not tohaggle about terms."

  "The party who attacked us," the muleteer said, "lost their captain andseveral of their comrades in that fray, and would I doubt not gladlyenter into your service, seeing that they have received such proof ofyour worship's valour."

  "Where could I see them?" Gerald asked.

  "I think that they will be now in Jeres, if that would suit you, senor;but if not I could doubtless find a party of men in this town equallyready for your business."

  "Jeres will do very well for me," Gerald said; "I shall be travellingthat way and will put up at the Fonda where we stopped as we camethrough. When are you starting?"

  "It depends whether I make my bargain with a man at your hotel," themuleteer replied; "and this I doubt not I shall do, for with the twentycrowns your honour is going to give me I shall not stand out for terms.He is travelling with clothes from Flanders, and if your worshipthought--"

  "No," Gerald said. "I do not wish to undertake any adventures of thatsort until I have a band properly organized, and have arrangedhiding-places and methods of getting rid of the booty. I will go backwith you to the inn, and if you strike your bargain you can tell me asyou pass out of the gate what evening you will meet me at Jeres."

  On arriving at the inn Gerald lounged at the gate of the court-yarduntil the muleteer came out.

  "I will meet your worship on the fifth night from this at Jeres."

  "Very well; here are five crowns as an earnest on our bargain. If youcarry it out well I shall very likely forget to deduct them from thetwenty I promised you. Do not be surprised if you find me somewhatchanged in appearance when you meet me there."

  At the appointed time the muleteer with his train of animals enteredthe court-yards of the Fonda at Jeres. Gerald was standing on the stepsof the inn. He had altered the fashion of his hair, had fastened onlarge bushy eyebrows which he had obtained from a skilful perruquier inCadiz, and a moustache of imposing size turned up at the tips; he worehigh buff leather boots, and there was an air of military swagger abouthim, and he was altogether so changed that at the first glance themuleteer failed to recognize him. As soon as the mules were unburdened,Gerald found an opportunity of speaking with him.

  "I will go round at once," the man said, "to the place where I shallcertainly obtain news of my friends if they are here. I told yourhonour that they might be here, but they may have gone away on someaffair of business, and may be on the road or at Seville. They alwayswork between this town and Seville."

  "I understand that you may not meet them to-night; if not, I will meetyou again in Seville. How long will you be finding out about them?"

  "I s
hall know in half an hour, senor; if they are not here I shall beback here in less than an hour, but if I find them I shall be detainedlonger in order to talk over with them the offer your worship makes."

  "Very well; in an hour you will find me in the street opposite the inn.I shall wait there until you come. If all is well make a sign and Iwill follow you. Do not mention to them that I have in any waydisguised myself. Our acquaintance was so short that I don't fancy theyhad time to examine me very closely; and I have my own reasons forwishing that they should not be acquainted with my ordinary appearance,and have therefore to some extent disguised myself."

  "I will say nothing about it," the muleteer replied. "Your worship candepend upon my discretion."

  "That is right," Gerald said. "We may have future dealings together,and I can reward handsomely those I find trustworthy and punish thosewho in the slightest degree disobey my orders."

  In an hour and a half the muleteer returned, made a signal to Geraldand passed on. The latter joined him at a short distance from the hotel.

  "It is all settled, senor. I found the men much dispirited at the lossof their captain and comrades; and when I proposed to them to takeservice under the cabbalero who wrought them such mischief the otherday, they jumped at the idea, saying that under such a valiant leaderthere was no fear of the failure of any enterprise they mightundertake."

  A quarter of an hour's walking took them to a small inn of villainousappearance in one of the smallest lanes of the town. Gerald was wrappedfrom head to foot in his cloak, and only his face was visible. He had abrace of pistols in his belt, and was followed at a short distance,unnoticed by the muleteer, by Geoffrey, who had arranged to keep closeto the door of any house he entered, and was to be in readiness to rushin and take part in the fray if he heard the sound of firearms within.

  Gerald himself had not at first entertained any idea of treachery; butGeoffrey had pointed out that it was quite possible that the robbersand the muleteer had but feigned acquiescence in his proposals in orderto get him into their power, and take revenge for the loss of theircaptain and comrades, and of the valuable booty which had sounexpectedly slipped through their fingers owing to his intervention.

  The appearance of the six ruffians gathered in the low room, lighted bya wretched lamp, was not very assuring, and Gerald kept his hand on thebutt of one of his pistols.

  The four robbers who had been engaged in the fray, however, saluted himrespectfully, and the other two members of the band, who had beenabsent on other business, followed their example. They had heard fromthose present of the extraordinary valour with which the two travellingcompanions of the trader had thrown themselves into the fray, and hadalone disposed of their four comrades, and being without a leader, andgreatly disheartened by their ill-luck, they were quite ready toforgive the misfortunes Gerald had brought upon them, and to acceptsuch a redoubtable swordsman as their leader.

  Gerald began the conversation. "You have heard," he said, "from ourfriend here of the offer I make you. I desire a band of six men on whomI can rely for an adventure which promises large profit. Don't supposethat I am going to lead you to petty robberies on the road, in which,as you learned to your cost the other day, one sometimes gets more hardknocks than profit. Such adventures may do for petty knaves, but theyare not suited to me. The way to get wealthy is to strike at the rich.My idea is to establish some place in an out-of-the-way quarter wherethere is no fear of prying neighbours, and to carry off and hide therethe sons and daughters of wealthy men and put them to ransom. In thefirst instance I am going to undertake a private affair of my own; andas you will really run no risk in the matter, for I shall separatemyself from you after making my capture, I shall pay you only anearnest-money of twenty crowns each. In future affairs we shall actupon the principle of shares. I shall take three shares, a friend whoworks with me will take two shares, and you shall take one shareapiece. The risk will really be entirely mine, for I shall take chargeof the captives we make at our rendezvous. You, after lending a hand inthe capture, will return here and hold yourself in readiness to joinme, and carry out another capture as soon as I have made all thenecessary arrangements. Thus, if by any chance we are tracked, I aloneand my friend will run the risk of capture and punishment. In that waywe may, in the course of a few months, amass a much larger booty thanwe should in a lifetime spent in these wretched adventures upontravellers.

  "Now, it is for you to say whether these terms will suit you, andwhether you are ready to follow my orders and obey me implicitly. Thewhole task of making the necessary arrangements, or finding out thehabits of the families one of whose members we intend carrying off, ofbribing nurses or duennas, will be all my business. You will simplyhave to meet when you are summoned to aid in the actual enterprise, andthen, when our captive is safely housed, to return here or scatterwhere you will and live at ease until again summoned. The utmostfidelity will be necessary. Large rewards will in many cases be offeredfor the discovery of the missing persons, and one traitor would bringruin upon us all; therefore it will be absolutely necessary that youtake an oath of fidelity to me, and swear one and all to punish thetraitor with death. Do you agree to my proposal?"

  There was a unanimous exclamation of assent. The plan seemed to offerprobabilities of large booty with a minimum of trouble and risk. One ortwo suggested that they should like to join in the first capture on thesame terms as the others, but Gerald at once pronounced this to beimpossible.

  "This is my own affair," he said, "and money is not now my object. Asyou will only be required to meet at a given hour some evening, and tocarry off a captive who will not be altogether unwilling to come, therewill be little or no risk in the matter, and twenty crowns will not bebad pay for an evening's work. After that you will, as I have said,share in the profits of all future captures we may undertake."

  The band all agreed, and at once took solemn oaths of fidelity to theirnew leader, and swore to punish by death any one of their number whoshould betray the secrets of the body.

  "That is well," Gerald said when the oaths had been taken. "It may be aweek before you receive your first summons. Here are five crowns apiecefor your expenses up to that time. Let one of you be in front of thegreat church as the clock strikes eight morning and evening. Do notwait above five minutes; if I am coming I shall be punctual. In themeantime take counsel among yourselves as to the best hiding-place thatcan be selected. Between you you no doubt know every corner and hole inthe country. I want a place which will be at once lonely and farremoved from other habitations, but it must be at the same timemoderately comfortable, as the captives we take must have no reason tocomplain of their treatment while in my hands. Think this matter overbefore I again see you."

  Gerald then joined Geoffrey outside, and found that the latter wasbeginning to be anxious at his long absence. After a few words sayingthat everything had been successfully arranged, the two friendsreturned together to their inn.