Both Sides the Border: A Tale of Hotspur and Glendower

by G. A. Henty

  Chapter 4: An Unequal Joust.

  "You must don your best costume tomorrow, Oswald," his uncle said, whenhe returned from the banquet. "Sir Henry Percy's first question, afterasking as to the health of the garrison, was:

  "'Has this nephew of yours, of whom you were speaking to me, come yet?'

  "I told him that you had been here well-nigh four months, that you hadbeen practising in arms with my best swordsmen, who spoke highly ofyou, and that the whole of your spare time had been spent at themonastery, where you had been studying to acquire the art of readingand writing, thinking that such knowledge must be useful to you in hisservice. I told him that brother Roger had reported that you had shownmarvellous sharpness there, and could already read from a missal,barring only some of the long words.

  "'Oh, he had the fighting monk for his master!' Sir Henry said,laughing. 'Truly he must have been a good pupil, if he has come out ofit without having his head broken, a dozen times. The friar is a thornin the abbot's flesh, and more than once I have had to beg him off, orhe would have been sent to the monastery of Saint John, which is aplace of punishment for refractory monks. But in truth he is an honestfellow, though he has mistaken his vocation. He is a valiantman-at-arms, and the abbot's contingent would be of small value,without him.

  "'Well, I will see your nephew in the morning. His perseverance inlearning, and his quickness in acquiring it, show him to be a youth ofgood parts, and intelligent; but until I see him, I cannot say what Iwill make of him.'"

  Accordingly, the next morning the lad accompanied his uncle to SirHenry's private apartment, and found the knight alone. Sir Henry, LordPercy, was now about forty years old. He had received the order ofknighthood at the coronation of Richard the Second, when his father wascreated earl; and, nine years later, he was made governor of Berwickand Warden of the Marches; in which office he displayed such activityin following up and punishing raiders, that the Scots gave him the nameof Hotspur. He was then sent to Calais, where he showed great valour.Two years later he was made Knight of the Garter, and was thenappointed to command a fleet, sent out to repel a threatened invasionby the French. Here he gained so great a success that he came to beregarded as one of the first captains of the age.

  At Otterburn, his impetuosity cost him his freedom; for, pressingforward into the midst of the Scotch army, he and his brother Ralphwere taken prisoners, and carried into Scotland. He had just beenappointed, by King Henry, sheriff of Northumberland, and governor ofBerwick and Roxburgh, and received other marks of royal favour.

  Although of no remarkable height, his broad shoulders and long, sinewyarms testified to his remarkable personal strength. His face waspleasant and open, and showed but small sign of his impetuous and fierydisposition.

  "So this is the young springal," he said, with a smile; as, with aquick glance, he took in every detail of Oswald's figure andappearance. "By my troth, you have not overpraised him. He bearshimself well, and is like to be a stout fighter, when he comes to hisfull strength. Indeed, as the son of John Forster of Yardhope, and asyour nephew, good Alwyn, he could scarce be otherwise; although I havenot heard that either his father, or you, ever showed any dispositionfor letters."

  "No indeed, Sir Henry; nor have we, as far as I have ever seen, beenany the worse for our lack of knowledge on that head. But with the ladhere, it is different. Under your good patronage he may well hope toattain, by good conduct and valour, a promotion where book learning maybe of use to him; and therefore, when he expressed a desire to learn, Idid my best to favour his design."

  "And you did well, Alwyn. And since he has gained so much, in so shorta time, it were a pity he should not follow it up; and he shall, if itlikes him, so long as he is in this castle, have two hours everymorning in which he can visit the fighting monk, until he can read andwrite freely.

  "Now, young sir, the question is, how can we best employ you? You aretoo old for a lady's bower, but not old enough, yet, for an esquire."

  "Nor could I aspire to such a position, my lord, until I have provedmyself worthy of it. My uncle told me that he had suggested that Imight be useful as a bearer of messages, and orders; and as I knowevery foot of the border, from near Berwick to Cumberland, methinksthat I might serve you in that way. I ride lightly, know every morassand swamp, and every road through the fells; and have at times, whenthere was peace, crossed the Cheviots by several of the passes, to payvisits to my mother's sister, who is married to one of the Armstrongs,near Jedburgh. If your lordship will deign to employ me in suchservice, I can promise to do so safely, and to justify my uncle'srecommendation; and shall be ready, at all times, to risk my life incarrying out your orders."

  "Well spoken, lad. I like the tone of your voice, and your manner ofspeech. They are such as will do no discredit to my household, and Ihereby appoint you to it; further matters I will discuss with youruncle."

  Oswald expressed his thanks in suitable terms, and then, bowing deeply,retired.

  "A very proper lad, Alwyn. I would have done much for you, old friend,and would have taken him in some capacity, whatever he might haveturned out; but, frankly, I doubted whether John Forster, valiant mosstrooper as he is, would have been like to have had a son whom I couldenroll in my household, where the pages and esquires are all sons ofknights and men of quality. It is true that his father might have beena knight, had he chosen, since the earl offered him that honour afterOtterburn; for three times he charged, at the head of a handful of hisown men, right into the heart of the Scottish army, to try and rescueme; but he has always kept aloof in his own hold, going his own way andfighting for his own hand; and never once, that I can recall, has hepaid a visit to us here, or at our other seats. I feared that undersuch a training as he would be likely to have, the lad would have beenbut a rough diamond. However, from his appearance and bearing, he mightwell have come of a noble family."

  "'Tis his mother's doing, methinks, Sir Henry. She is of gentle birth.Her father was Sir Walter Gillespie. He was killed by the Scots, whenshe was but a girl, or methinks he would scarcely have given her inmarriage to my brother John. She went with a sister to live with an oldaunt, who let the girls have their way, without murmur; and seeing thatthey had no dowry, for their father was but a poor knight, there werenot many claimants for their hands; and when she chose John Forster,and her sister Adam Armstrong, she did not say them nay. She has made agood wife to him, though she must have had many an anxious hour, anddoubtless it is her influence that has made the lad what he is."

  "How think you I had best bestow him, among the pages or the esquires?"

  "I should say, Sir Henry, as you are good enough to ask my opinion,that it were best among the esquires. It would be like putting ahunting dog among a lady's pets, to put him with the pages. Moreover,boys think more of birth than men do. The latter judge by merit, andwhen they see that the lad has something in him, would take to him;whereas were he with the pages there might be quarrels, and he mightfall into disgrace."

  "I think that you are right, Alwyn. He might get a buffet or two, fromthe esquires, but he will be none the worse for that; while with thepages it might be bickering, and ill will. He shall take his chancewith the squires. Bring him to me at twelve o'clock, and I will myselfpresent him to them, with such words as may gain their goodwill, andmake the way as easy as may be for him."

  Accordingly, at twelve o'clock, Oswald went to Hotspur's room, and wastaken by him to the hall where the esquires, six in number, had justfinished a meal. They varied in age from eighteen to forty. They allrose, as their lord entered.

  "I wish to present to you this young gentleman, my friends. He is theson of John Forster of Yardhope, whose name is familiar to you all, asone of the most valiant of the defenders of the border against theScottish incursions. None distinguished themselves more at the battleof Otterburn, where he performed feats of prodigious valour, in hisendeavours to rescue me and my brother from the hands of the Scots. Theearl my father offered him knighthood, but he said bluntly that hepreferred remai
ning, like his father, plain John Forster of Yardhope.The lad's mother is a daughter of Sir Walter Gillespie, and he isnephew of Alwyn, captain of the men-at-arms here.

  "He knows every foot of the border, its morasses, fells, and passes;and will prove a valuable messenger, when I have occasion to sendorders to the border knights and yeomen. I have attached him to myhousehold. You will find him intelligent, and active. He comes of afighting stock; and will, I foresee, do no discredit to them in thefuture. I hesitated whether I should place him with the pages or withyou, and have decided that, with your goodwill, he will be far morecomfortable in your society, if you consent to receive him."

  "We will do so willingly, on such recommendation," the senior of theesquires said; "as well as for the sake of his brave uncle, whom we allrespect and like, and of his valiant father. The addition of youngblood to our party will, indeed, not be unwelcome; and while,perchance, he may learn something from us, he will assuredly be able totell us much that is new of the doings on the border, of which nothingbut vague reports have reached our ears."

  "Thanks, Allonby," Hotspur said. "I expected nothing less from you. Hewill, of course, practise at arms regularly, when not occupied incarrying messages; and you will be surprised to hear that he will gofor two hours daily to the monastery, where he has, for the last threemonths, been learning reading and writing at the hands of BrotherRoger, the fighting monk. It is his own desire, and a laudable one; andwhen I say that he has succeeded in giving Brother Roger satisfaction,you may well imagine that he must have made great progress."

  A smile ran round the faces of the esquires, for Brother Roger'spugnacious instincts were widely known.

  "Truly, Sir Henry, if brother Roger did not lose patience with him, itwould be hard, indeed, if we could not get on with him; and in truth,this desire to improve himself speaks well for the lad's disposition."

  When Hotspur left, Allonby said, "Take a seat, Master Oswald. Butfirst, have you dined?"

  "I took my meal an hour since, with my uncle," Oswald replied.

  "Ay, I remember that your uncle sticks to the old hours. Tell us, wereyou with your father in that foray he headed, to carry off some cattlethat had been lifted by the Bairds? We heard a report of it, lastnight."

  "I was not with him, to my great disappointment; for he said thatanother year must pass, before I should be fit to hold my own in afray. The affair was a somewhat hot one. Three of my father's men werekilled, and some ten or twelve of those under other leaders; and myfather and several of the band were wounded, some very sorely. Ithappened thus."

  And he then told the details of the affair.

  "It might well have been worse," Allonby said, "for, had the Bairds hadtime to assemble, it would have gone hardly with your father's party;especially as there is, as I have heard, a blood feud between him andthem."

  "They have scored the last success," Oswald said, "seeing that theyaccompanied Sir Richard Rutherford in his raid, nigh two months ago;and, as I hear, while the rest came on harrying and plunderingCroquetdale, the Bairds and their gathering remained at our hold, whichthey found deserted, for indeed my father could not hope to defend itsuccessfully, against so large a force; and there they employedthemselves in demolishing the outer wall, and much of the hold itself;and would have completed their task, had it not been for the defeatinflicted upon the rest of the Scots by Sir Robert Umfraville, whenthey were forced to hasten back across the border. My father sent me amessage afterwards, saying that he and my mother, with their followers,had been forced to take to the fells; and that, on their return, theyfound the place well-nigh destroyed; but that he was going to set towork to rebuild it as before, and that he hoped, some time, to demolishthe Bairds' hold in like fashion. It will be some time before the placeis restored; for, my father's means being limited, he and his retainerswould have to turn masons; but as the materials were there, he doubtednot that, in time, they would make a good job of it."

  "Truly, it is a hard life on the border," the squire said, "and it iswonderful that any can be found willing to live within reach of theScotch raiders. I myself have done a fair share of fighting, under ourlord's banner; but to pass my life, never knowing whether I may notawake to find the house assailed, would be worse than the hardestservice against an open foe.

  "Now, Master Oswald, we will go down to the courtyard, and see whatyour instructors have done for you, in the matter of arms. With whomhave you been practising, since you came here?"

  "Principally with Godfrey Harpent, Dick Bamborough, and William Anell;but I have had a turn with a great many of the other men-at-arms."

  "The three men you name are all stout fellows, and good swordsmen. As aborderer, I suppose that you have practised with the lance?"

  "We call it by no such knightly term. With us it is a spear, and noughtelse; but all borderers carry it, both for fighting and for pricking upcattle; and from the time that I could sit a horse I have alwayspractised for a while, every day, with some of my father's troopers, orwith himself, using blunt weapons whitened with chalk, so as to showwhere the hits fell. Although in a charge upon footmen, our borderspearmen would couch their weapons and ride straight at their foe; inskirmishes, where each can single out an enemy, and there is a seriesof single combats, they do not so fight, but circle round each other,trusting to the agility of their horses to avoid a thrust, and todeliver one when there is an opening. Our spears are nothing like soheavy as the knightly lances, and we thrust with them as with the pointof a sword."

  "But in that way you can hardly penetrate armour," one of the otheresquires said.

  "No, it is only in a downright charge that we try to do so. When we arefighting as I speak of, we thrust at the face, at the armpit, thejoints of the armour, which in truth seldom fits closely, or below thebreastplate. The Scotch use even less armour than do our borderers,their breast pieces being smaller, and they seldom wear back pieces. Itis a question chiefly of the activity of the horses, as of the skill oftheir riders, and our little moor horses are as active as young goats;and although neither horse nor rider can stand a charge of aheavily-armed knight or squire, methinks that if one of our troopersbrought him to a stand, he would get the better of him, save if theknight took to mace or battle-axe."

  "Have you your horse with you, Oswald?"

  "Yes, it is in the stable. I have gone out with it, every morning, assoon as the castle gates were opened, and have ridden for a couple ofhours before I began my exercises."

  "Do you take him in hand first, Marsden," Allonby said to one of theyounger esquires, a young man of two or three and twenty.

  Light steel caps with cheeks, gorgets, shoulder and arm pieces, andpadded leathern jerkins were put on; and then, with blunted swords,they took their places facing each other. The squire took up a positionof easy confidence. He was a good swordsman, and good-naturedlydetermined to treat the lad easily, and to play with him for a timebefore scoring his first hit.

  He soon, however, found that the game was not to be conducted on thelines that he had laid down. Oswald, after waiting for a minute or two,finding his opponent did not take the offensive, did so himself; andfor a time Marsden had all his work to do, to defend himself. Severaltimes, indeed, it was with the greatest difficulty that he guarded hishead. The activity of his assailant almost bewildered him, as hecontinually shifted his position, and with cat-like springs leapt inand dealt a blow, leaping back again before his opponent's arm had timeto fall.

  Finding at last that, quick as he might be, Marsden's blade always methis own, Oswald relaxed his efforts, as he was growing fatigued; and ashe did so Marsden took the offensive, pressing him backwards, foot byfoot. Every time, however, that he found himself approaching a barrier,or other obstacle, that would prevent his further retreat, Oswald, witha couple of springs, managed to shift his ground. When he saw thatMarsden was growing breathless from his exertions, he again took theoffensive, and at last landed a blow fairly on his opponent's helm.

  "By my faith," the squire said, with a lau
gh that had nevertheless alittle mortification in it, "I would as soon fight with a wildcat; andyet your breath scarce comes fast, while I have not as much left in meas would fill an eggshell."

  "It was an excellent display," Allonby said.

  "Truly, lad, your activity is wonderful, and you might well puzzle theoldest swordsman, by such tactics. Marsden did exceedingly well, too.Many times I thought that your sword would have gone home, but up tothe last, his guard was always ready in time. As for yourself, we hadscarce the opportunity of seeing how your sword would guard your head,for you trusted always to your legs, rather than your arms.

  "Well, lad, you will do. Your arm is like iron, or it would have tiredlong before, with that sword, which is a little over heavy for you. Asto your wind, you would tire out the stoutest swordsman in the Percys'train. I do not say that, in the press of a battle, where your activitywould count for little, a good man-at-arms would not get the better ofyou; but in a single combat, with plenty of room, it would be a goodman, indeed, who would tackle you; especially were he clad in armour,and you fighting without it. His only chance would be to get in onedownright blow, that would break down your guard. As Marsden says, youfight like a wildcat, rather than as a man-at-arms; but as the time maycome when you will ride in heavy armour, and so lose the advantage ofyour agility, you had best continue to practise regularly with us, andthe men-at-arms, and learn to fight in the fashion that would beneeded, were you engaged in a pitched battle when on horseback, and inarmour."

  "I shall be glad, indeed, to do so," Oswald said modestly. "I know thatI am very ignorant of real swordsmanship, and the men-at-arms have mequite at their mercy, when they insist upon my not shifting my ground.At home, I have only practised with my father's troopers, and we alwaysfight on foot, and with stout sticks instead of swords, and withoutdefences save our head pieces; but fighting in knightly fashion I knewnothing of, until I came here."

  "You will soon acquire that, lad. With your strength of arm, length ofwind, quickness of eye, and activity, you will make a famous swordsman,in time.

  "Ah! Here is Sir Henry."

  "Have you been trying the lad's metal?" Hotspur asked, as he saw Oswaldin the act of taking off his steel cap. Marsden had already done so.

  "That have we, Sir Henry, and find it as of proof. Marsden here, who isno mean blade, has taken him in hand; and the lad has more than heldhis own against him, not so much by swordsmanship as by activity, andwind. It was a curious contest. Marsden compared Oswald to a wildcat,and the comparison was not an ill one; for, indeed, his springs andleaps were so rapid and sudden that it was difficult to follow him, andthe fight was like one between such an animal, and a hound. Marsdendefended himself well against all his attacks, until his breath failedhim, and he was dealt a downright blow on his helm, on which I see ithas made a shrewd dent. As for his blows, they fell upon air, for thelad was ever out of reach before the ripostes came. In his own style offighting, I would wager on him against any man-at-arms in the castle."

  "I am glad to hear it," Hotspur said. "I shall feel the less scruple,in sending him on missions which are not without danger. He will needtraining, to fit him for combat in the ranks. No doubt he has had noopportunity for such teaching, and would go down before a heavy-armedman, with a lance, like a blade of grass before a millstone."

  "He thinks not, Sir Henry, at least not in a single combat, for by hisaccounts his horse is as nimble as himself; but of course, in chargeshe and his horse would be rolled over, as you say."

  "He thinks not? Oh, well, we will try him! I have an hour to spare.

  "Do you put on a suit of full armour, Sinclair, and we will ride out tothe course beyond the castle.

  "What will you put on, lad?"

  "I will put on only breast piece and steel cap; but I only said Ishould have a chance against a lance, Sir Henry. I do not pretend thatI could stand against any man-at-arms, armed with sword and mace; butonly that I thought that, with my horse, I could evade the shock of afully-accoutred man, and then harass and maybe wound him with myspear."

  "Well, we will try, lad. Put on what you will, and get your horsesaddled. It will be rare amusement to see so unequal a course. We shallbe ready in a quarter of an hour."

  Oswald went up to his uncle, and told him what was proposed. Alwyn, whohad witnessed his exercises with the rough riders of his father, smiledgrimly.

  "If you can evade his first charge, which I doubt not that you can, youwill have him at your mercy, with your light spear against his lance,and your moor horse against his charger; but put on the heaviest ofyour two steel caps, and strong shoulder pieces. 'Tis like enough that,in his temper, he may throw away his lance and betake him to his sword.I will demand that he carries neither mace nor battle-axe, and that youshould only carry sword and spear. Your horse's nimbleness may keep youout of harm, which is as much as you can expect, or hope for. Put on alight breast plate, too, for in spite of the wooden shield to his lancehead, he may hurt you sorely if he does chance to strike you."

  Oswald saw that his horse was carefully saddled. He procured from hisuncle a piece of cloth; and, removing the spearhead, wrapped this roundthe head of the shaft, until it formed a ball the size of his fist.This he whitened thickly with chalk.

  In a few minutes Sinclair, who was the heaviest and strongest of theesquires, rode out into the courtyard in full armour. Sir Henry, withhis own esquires, and several of the gentlemen of the earl's household,came down; and Hotspur laughed at the contrast presented by the twocombatants: the one a mass of steel, with shield and lance, on awarhorse fully caparisoned; the other a slight, active-looking figure,with but little defensive armour, on a rough pony which had scarce anounce of superfluous flesh.

  "Now, gentlemen," he said, "we may be engaged in warfare with theScots, before long; and you will here have an opportunity of seeing thenature of border fighting. The combat may seem to you ridiculouslyunequal, but I know the moss trooper, and I can tell you that, in asingle combat like this, activity goes far to counterbalance weight andarmour. You remember how Robert Bruce, before Bannockburn, mounted onbut a pony, struck down Sir Robert Bohun, a good knight and a powerfulone."

  As the party went out, through the gates, to the tilting ground outsidethe walls, the men-at-arms, seeing that something unusual was going totake place, crowded up to the battlements, looking down on the ground.

  "Now, gentlemen," Percy said, "you will take your places at oppositeends of the field; and when I drop my scarf, you will charge. It isunderstood that you need not necessarily ride straight at each other;but that it is free, to each of you, to do the best he can to overthrowhis opponent."

  As he gave the signal, the two riders dashed at full speed at eachother; and, for a moment, the spectators thought that Oswald was goingto be mad enough to meet his opponent in full course. When, however,the horses were within a length of each other, the rough pony swervedaside with a spring like that of a deer; and, wheeling round instantly,Oswald followed his opponent. The latter tried to wheel his charger,but as he did so, Oswald's spear struck him in the vizor, leaving awhite mark on each side of the slit; and then he too wheeled his horse,maintaining his position on the left hand, but somewhat in rear, of hisopponent; who was, thereby, wholly unable to use his lance, whileOswald marked the junction of gorget and helmet with several whitecircles. Furious at finding himself incapable of either defendinghimself, or of striking a blow, the squire threw away his lance, anddrew his sword.

  Hotspur shouted, at the top of his voice:

  "A breach of the rules! A breach of the rules! The combat is at anend."

  But his words were unheard, in the helmet. Making his horse wheel roundon his hind legs, Sinclair rode at Oswald with uplifted sword. Thelatter again couched his spear under his arm and, touching his horsewith his spur, the animal sprung forward; and before the sword couldfall, the point of the spear caught the squire under the armpit, andhurled him sideways from his saddle.

  Hotspur and those round him ran forward. Sinclair
lay without moving,stunned by the force with which he had fallen. Oswald had already leaptfrom his horse, and raised Sinclair's head, and began to unlace thefastenings of his helmet. Hotspur's face was flushed with anger.

  "Do not upbraid him, my lord, I pray you," Oswald said. "He couldscarce have avoided breaking the conditions, helpless as he felthimself; and he could not have heard your voice, which would be lost inhis helmet. I pray you, be not angered with him."

  Hotspur's face cleared.

  "At your request I will not, lad," he said; "and, indeed, he has beenpunished sufficiently."

  By the time that the helmet was removed, one of the soldiers from thebattlements ran out from the castle, with a ewer of water. This wasdashed into the squire's face. He presently opened his eyes. A heavyfall was thought but little of in those days; and as Sinclair wasraised to his feet, and looked round in bewilderment at those who werestanding round him, Hotspur said good temperedly:

  "Well, Master Sinclair, the lad has given us all a lesson that may beuseful to us. I would scarce have believed it, if I had not seen it;that a stout soldier, in full armour, should have been worsted by a ladon a rough pony; but I see now that the advantage is all on thelatter's side, in a combat like this, with plenty of room to wheel hishorse.

  "Why, he would have slain you a dozen times, Sinclair. Look at yourvizor. That white mark is equal on both sides of the slit, and hadthere been a spear head on the shaft, it would have pierced you to thebrain. Every joint of your armour, behind, is whitened; and thatthrust, that brought you from your horse, would have spitted youthrough and through.

  "Now, let there be no ill feeling over this. It is an experiment, and auseful one; and had I, myself, been in your place, I do not know that Icould have done aught more than you did."

  Sinclair was hot tempered, but of a generous disposition, and he heldout his hand to Oswald, frankly.

  "It was a fair fight," he said, "and you worsted me, altogether. No onebears malice for a fair fall, in a joust."

  "The conditions were not at all even," Oswald said. "On a pony likemine, unless you had caught me in full career, it was impossible thatthe matter could have turned out otherwise."

  "I often wondered," Hotspur said, as they walked towards the gate,"that our chivalry should have been so often worsted by the roughScottish troopers; but now I understand it. The Scotch always choosebroken ground, and always scatter before we get near them; and,circling round, fall upon our chivalry when their weight and array areof no use to them. Happily, such a misadventure has never happened tomyself; but it might well do so. The Scotch, too, have no regard forthe laws of chivalry; and once behind will spear the horse, as indeedhappened to me, at Otterburn. 'Tis a lesson in war one may well take toheart; and when I next fight the Scots, I will order that on noaccount, whatever, are the mounted men to break their ranks; but,whatever happens, are to move in a solid body, in which case they coulddefy any attacks upon them by light-armed horse, however numerous."

  At the gate of the castle, Alwyn Forster met them.

  "You have given me a more useful addition to my following than I dreamtof, Alwyn," Hotspur said. "Did you see the conflict?"

  "I watched it from the wall, Sir Henry. I felt sure how the matterwould end. The lad is quick and sharp at border exercises. I have seenhim work with his father's troopers. There were not many of them whocould hold their own against him, and in fighting in their own way, Iwould back the moss troopers against the best horsemen in Europe. Theyare always accustomed to fight each man for himself, and though a scoreof men-at-arms would ride through a hundred of them, if they met thecharge; in single combat their activity, and the nimbleness of theirhorses, would render them more than a match for a fully-caparisonedknight."

  "So it seems," Hotspur said; "and yet, if Sinclair had but known thatthe lad was about to swerve in his course, which indeed he ought tohave known--for it would have been madness to meet his charge--he tooshould have changed his course to his left, when a couple of lengthsaway; for he might be sure that the lad would turn that way, so as toget on his left hand, and in that case he would have ridden over himlike a thunderbolt."

  "Yes, Sir Henry, but Oswald would have had his eye on knee and bridle;and the moment the horse changed his direction, he would have beenround the other way, like an arrow from a bow; and would have plantedhimself, as he did, in the squire's rear."

  "Perhaps so," Hotspur said thoughtfully. "At any rate, Alwyn, the boyhas given us all a lesson, and you have done me good service, bypresenting him to me."