VIII.
How the King and the Duke of Suffolk were assailed by Herne's Band--And what followed the Attack.
Henry and Suffolk, on leaving the forester's hut, took their way fora sort space along the side of the lake, and then turned into a pathleading through the trees up the eminence on the left. The king was ina joyous mood, and made no attempt to conceal the passion with which thefair damsel had inspired him.
"I' faith!" he cried, "the cardinal has a quick eye for a pretty wench.I have heard that he loves one in secret, and I am therefore the morebeholden to him for discovering Mabel to me."
"You forget, my liege, that it is his object to withdraw your regardsfrom the Lady Anne Boleyn," remarked Suffolk.
"I care not what his motive may be, as long as the result is sosatisfactory," returned Henry. "Confess now, Suffolk, you never behelda figure so perfect, a complexion so blooming, or eyes so bright. As toher lips, by my soul, I never tasted such."
"And your majesty is not inexperienced in such matters," laughedSuffolk. "For my own part, I was as much struck by her grace as by herbeauty, and can scarcely persuade myself she can be nothing more than amere forester's grand-daughter."
"Wolsey told me there was a mystery about her birth," rejoined Henry;"but, pest on it; her beauty drove all recollection of the matter out ofmy head. I will go back, and question her now."
"Your majesty forgets that your absence from the castle will occasionsurprise, if not alarm," said Suffolk. "The mystery will keep tillto-morrow."
"Tut, tut!--I will return," said the king perversely. And Suffolk,knowing his wilfulness, and that all remonstrance would prove fruitless,retraced his steps with him. They had not proceeded far when theyperceived a female figure at the bottom of the ascent, just where thepath turned off on the margin of the lake.
"As I live, there she is!" exclaimed the king joyfully. "She has divinedmy wishes, and is come herself to tell me her history."
And he sprang forward, while Mabel advanced rapidly towards him.
They met half-way, and Henry would have caught her in his arms, butshe avoided him, exclaiming, in a tone of confusion and alarm, "ThankHeaven, I have found you, sire!"
"Thank Heaven, too, sweetheart!" rejoined Henry. "I would not hide whenyou are the seeker. So you know me--ha?
"I knew you at first," replied Mabel confusedly. "I saw you at the greathunting party; and, once beheld, your majesty is not easily forgotten."
"Ha! by Saint George! you turn a compliment as soothly as the mostpractised dame at court," cried Henry, catching her hand.
"Beseech your majesty, release me!" returned Mabel, struggling to getfree. "I did not follow you on the light errand you suppose, but to warnyou of danger. Before you quitted my grandsire's cottage I told youthis part of the forest was haunted by plunderers and evil beings, andapprehensive lest some mischance might befall you, I opened the windowsoftly to look after you--"
"And you overheard me tell the Duke of Suffolk how much smitten I waswith your beauty, ha?" interrupted the king, squeezing her hand--"andhow resolved I was to make you mine--ha! sweetheart?"
"The words I heard were of very different import, my liege," rejoinedMabel. "You were menaced by miscreants, who purposed to waylay youbefore you could reach your steed."
"Let them come," replied Henry carelessly; "they shall pay for theirvillainy. How many were there?"
"Two, sire," answered Mabel; "but one of them was Herne, the weirdhunter of the forest. He said he would summon his band to make youcaptive. What can your strong arm, even aided by that of the Duke ofSuffolk, avail against numbers?"
"Captive! ha!" exclaimed the king. "Said the knave so?"
"He did, sire," replied Mabel; "and I knew it was Herne by his antleredhelm."
"There is reason in what the damsel says, my liege," interposed Suffolk."If possible, you had better avoid an encounter with the villains."
"My hands itch to give them a lesson," rejoined Henry. "But I will beruled by you. God's death! I will return to-morrow, and hunt them downlike so many wolves."
"Where are your horses, sire?" asked Mabel.
"Tied to a tree at the foot of the hill," replied Henry. "But I haveattendants midway between this spot and Snow Hill."
"This way, then!" said Mabel, breaking from him, and darting into anarrow path among the trees.
Henry ran after her, but was not agile enough to overtake her. At lengthshe stopped.
"If your majesty will pursue this path," she cried, "you will come to anopen space amid the trees, when, if you will direct your course towardsa large beech-tree on the opposite side, you will find another narrowpath, which will take you where you desire to go."
"But I cannot go alone," cried Henry.
Mabel, however, slipped past him, and was out of sight in an instant.
Henry looked as if he meant to follow her, but Suffolk ventured toarrest him.
"Do not tarry here longer, my gracious liege," said the duke. "Danger isto be apprehended, and the sooner you rejoin your attendants the better.Return with them, if you please, but do not expose yourself furthernow."
Henry yielded, though reluctantly, and they walked on in silence. Erelong they arrived at the open space described by Mabel, and immediatelyperceived the large beech-tree, behind which they found the path. Bythis time the moon had arisen, and as they emerged upon the marsh theyeasily discovered a track, though not broader than a sheep-walk, leadingalong its edge. As they hurried across it, Suffolk occasionally cast afurtive glance over his shoulder, but he saw nothing to alarm him. Thewhole tract of marshy land on the left was hidden from view by a silverymist.
In a few minutes the king and his companion gained firmer ground, andascending the gentle elevation on the other side of the marsh, madetheir way to a little knoll crowned by a huge oak, which commanded afine view of the lake winding through the valley beyond. Henry, who wasa few yards in advance of his companion, paused at a short distance fromthe free, and being somewhat over-heated, took off his cap to wipe hisbrow, laughingly observing--"In good truth, Suffolk, we must henceforthbe rated as miserable faineants, to be scared from our path by a sillywench's tale of deerstealers and wild huntsmen. I am sorry I yielded toher entreaties. If Herne be still extant, he must be more than a centuryand a half old, for unless the legend is false, he flourished in thetime of my predecessor, Richard the Second. I would I could see him!"
"Behold him, then!" cried a harsh voice from behind.
Turning at the sound, Henry perceived a tall dark figure of hideousphysiognomy and strange attire, helmed with a huge pair of antlers,standing between him and the oak-tree. So sudden was the appearance ofthe figure, that in spite of himself the king slightly started.
"What art thou--ha?" he demanded.
"What I have said," replied the demon. "I am Herne the Hunter. Welcometo my domain, Harry of England. You are lord of the castle, but I amlord of the forest. Ha! ha!"
"I am lord both of the forest and the castle--yea, of all this broadland, false fiend!" cried the king, "and none shall dispute it withme. In the name of the most holy faith, of which I am the defender, Icommand thee to avoid my path. Get thee backwards, Satan!"
The demon laughed derisively.
"Harry of England, advance towards me, and you advance upon your peril,"he rejoined.
"Avaunt, I say!" cried the king. "In the name of the blessed Trinity,and of all holy angels and saints, I strike!"
And he whirled the staff round his head. But ere the weapon coulddescend, a flash of dazzling fire encircled the demon, amidst which hevanished.
"Heaven protect us!" exclaimed Henry, appalled.
At this juncture the sound of a horn was heard, and a number ofwild figures in fantastic garbs--some mounted on swarthy steeds, andaccompanied by hounds, others on foot-issued from the adjoining covert,and hurried towards the spot occupied by the king.
"Aha!" exclaimed Henry--"more of the same sort. Hell, it would seem, haslet loose her hosts; but I ha
ve no fear of them. Stand by me, Suffolk."
"To the death, sire," replied the duke, drawing his sword. By thistime one of the foremost of the impish crew had reached the king, andcommanded him to yield himself prisoner.
"Dost know whom thou askest to yield, dog?" cried Henry furiously.
"Yea," replied the other, "thou art the king!"
"Then down on thy knees, traitor!" roared Henry; "down all of ye, andsue for mercy."
"For mercy--ha! ha!" rejoined the other; "it is thy turn to sue formercy, tyrant! We acknowledge no other ruler than Herne the Hunter."
"Then seek him in hell!" cried Henry, dealing the speaker a tremendousblow on the head with his staff, which brought him senseless to theground.
The others immediately closed round him, and endeavoured to seize theking.
"Ha! dogs--ha! traitors!" vociferated Henry, plying his staff with greatactivity, and bringing down an assailant at each stroke; "do you dare tolay hands upon our sacred person? Back! back!"
The determined resistance offered by the king, supported as he was bySuffolk, paralysed his assailants, who seemed more bent upon securinghis person than doing him injury. But Suffolk's attention was presentlydiverted by the attack of a fierce black hound, set upon him by a stoutfellow in a bearded mask. After a hard struggle, and not before he hadbeen severely bitten in the arm, the duke contrived to despatch hisassailant.
"This to avenge poor Bawsey!" cried the man who had set on the hound,stabbing at Suffolk with his knife.
But the duke parried the blow, and, disarming his antagonist, forcedhim to the ground, and tearing off his mask, disclosed the features ofMorgan Fenwolf.
Meanwhile, Henry had been placed in considerable jeopardy. Like Suffolk,he had slaughtered a hound, and, in aiming a blow at the villain who setit on, his foot slipped, and he lay at his mercy. The wretch raised hisknife, and was in the act of striking when a sword was passed throughhis body. The blow was decisive; the king instantly arose, and therest of his assailants-horse as well as foot--disheartened by what hadoccurred, beat a hasty retreat. Harry turned to look for his deliverer,and uttered an exclamation of astonishment and anger.
"Ah! God's death!" he cried, "can I believe my eyes? Is it you, SirThomas Wyat?"
"Ay," replied the other.
"What do you here? Ha!" demanded the king. "You should be in Paris."
"I have tarried for revenge," replied Wyat.
"Revenge!--ha!" cried Henry. "On whom?"
"On you," replied Wyat.
"What!" vociferated Henry, foaming with rage. "Is it you, traitor, whohave devised this damnable plot?--is it you who would make your king acaptive?--you who slay him? Have you leagued yourself with fiends?"
But Wyat made no answer; and though he lowered the point of his sword,he regarded the king sternly.
A female figure now rushed forward, and bending before the king, criedin an imploring voice--"Spare him, sire--spare him! He is no party tothe attack. I was near him in yon wood, and he stirred not forth till hesaw your life in danger. He then delivered you from the assassin."
"I did so because I reserved him for my own hand," said Wyat.
"You hear him confess his treason," cried Henry; "down on your knees,villain, or I will strike you to my feet."
"He has just saved your life, my liege," cried the supplicant. "Oh,spare him!"
"What make you here, Mabel?" cried Henry angrily. "I followed yourmajesty unseen," she replied, in some confusion, "and reached yon woodjust as the attack commenced. I did not dare to advance farther."
"You should have gone home--gone home," rejoined the king. "Wyat," hecontinued, in a tone of stern reproach, "you were once a loyal subject.What means this change?"
"It means that you have robbed me of a mistress," replied Wyat; "and forthis cause I have damned myself."
"Pardon him!-oh, pardon him, sire," cried Mabel.
"I cannot understand you, Wyat," said Henry, after a pause; "but I havemyself suffered from the pangs of jealousy. You have saved my life, andI will spare yours."
"Sire!" cried Wyat.
"Suffolk," exclaimed Henry, looking towards the duke, who was holdingFenwolf by the throat, "shall I be justified in letting him go free?
"Strike!--strike!" cried a deep voice in Wyat's ear; "your rival is nowin your power."
"Far be it from me to thwart your majesty's generous impulses," rejoinedSuffolk. "It is true that Wyat has saved your life; and if he had beendisposed to take it, you have this moment exposed yourself to him."
"Sir Thomas Wyat," said the king, turning to him, "you have my full andfree pardon. Quit this forest instantly, and make your way to Paris. Ifyou are found within it to-morrow you will be lodged in the Tower."
Wyat knelt down, and would have pressed Henry's hand to his lips, butthe latter pushed him aside.
"No--no! Not now--on your return."
Thus rebuffed, Wyat strode away, and as he passed the tree he heard avoice exclaim, "You have escaped him, but think not to escape me!"
"And now, sweetheart," said Henry, turning to Mabel, "since you are sofar on the way, you shall go with me to the castle."
"On no account, my liege," she returned; "my grandsire will wonder whathas become of me. He must already be in great alarm."
"But I will send an attendant to quiet his fears," urged Henry.
"That would only serve to increase them," she rejoined. "Nay, I mustgo."
And breaking from him, she darted swiftly down the hill, and glancedacross the marsh like a moonbeam.
"Plague on it!" cried Henry, "I have again forgotten to question herabout her birth."
"Shall I despatch this knave, my liege?" cried Suffolk, pointing withhis sword to Fenwolf.
"By no means," said the king; "something may be learnt from him. Harkthee, thou felon hound; if thou indeed servest the fiend, thou seest hedeserts thee, as he does all who put faith in him."
"I see it," replied Fenwolf, who, finding resistance vain, had foldedhis hands doggedly upon his breast.
"Then confess thy evil practices," said the king.
"Give me my life, and I will," replied Fenwolf. And as he uttered thewords, he caught sight of the dark figure of Herne, stationed at theside of the oak, with its right arm raised menacingly.
"What seest thou?" cried Henry, remarking his fixed gaze towards thetree, and glancing in that direction.
Fenwolf made no reply.
Henry went up to the tree, and walked round it, but he could seenothing.
"I will scour the forest to-morrow," he muttered, "and hang every knaveI find within it who cannot give a good account of himself."
"Ho! ho! ho!" laughed a voice, which seemed to proceed from the branchesof the tree. Henry looked up, but no one was visible.
"God's death--derided!" he roared. "Man or devil, thou shalt feel mywrath."
"Ho! ho! ho!" again laughed the voice.
Stamping with rage, Henry swore a great oath, and smote the trunk of thetree with his sword.
"Your majesty will search in vain," said Suffolk; "it is clearly thefiend with whom you have to deal, and the aid of holy priests must beobtained to drive him from the forest."
"Ho! ho! ho!" again laughed the voice.
A party of horsemen now appeared in view. They proved to be the royalattendants, who had ridden forward in search of the king, and wereinstantly hailed by Henry and Suffolk. They were headed by CaptainBouchier, who at a sign from the king instantly dismounted.
"Give me your horse, Bouchier," said Henry, "and do you and half-a-dozenof your men remain on guard at this tree till I send a troop ofarquebusiers to relieve you. When they arrive, station them near it, andlet them remain here till I return in the morning. If any one appears,make him a prisoner."
"Your majesty's orders shall be faithfully obeyed," replied Bouchier.
Bound hand and foot, Fenwolf was thrown upon the back of a horse, andguarded by two halberdiers, who were prepared to strike him dead onthe slightest movement. In this
way he was conveyed to the castle, andplaced in the guard-chamber of the lower gate till further orders shouldbe issued respecting him.
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