“Oh, no. It is too soon.”
“But I see men on horseback.”
They looked out into the rain.
“Yes,” she said. “Now I see them.”
They watched as the men came nearer.
“Where is my father?” asked Shan.
“I do not see him,” said his mother, “but I see your uncle.”
“There is one horse without a rider,” said Shan.
“Yes,” she said, “and your uncle is leading it.”
“That is my father’s horse!” said Shan.
“But your father—! Shan, he is not with the others!”
She ran down the stairs and into the courtyard. Shan ran after her.
They were waiting there in the rain when Lionel and his friends rode up to the castle.
“Where is my father?” asked Shan.
The men looked at one another. One by one they rode away until only Lionel was left.
Shan’s mother spoke to him. “Where is my lord?”
“I bring sad news,” he said.
“What news?” she asked.
“Do you know the quicksand on this side of the river?” said Lionel. “My brother rode into it. His horse saved himself, but my brother was lost. We saw him go down in the quicksand. We were too late to save him.”
Lady Marian’s face was white. She started toward the castle, walking as if she could not see. Shan helped her across the courtyard and up the stairs to her room.
“Don’t leave me,” she said.
Lionel came up to the room. “Dear lady, what can I say? This is a terrible day for us all.”
“Go away,” she said. “Leave me alone with my son.”
THE SWORD
5
For many days Lady Marian did not leave her room. She wanted no one near her except Shan.
Every day someone from the kitchen left food outside the door. Every night wood was brought to the room.
It was a time of fog and cold. Sometimes there was not enough wood to keep the room warm.
“I’ll go tell them to bring more,” Shan would say, and his mother would say, “Don’t leave me, Shan. Stay with me. You are all I have now.”
One night, as they sat by the fire, she said, “Hear the men singing and laughing below. They do not care how sad we are.”
“Let me go speak to them,” he said.
“No, don’t leave me,” she said.
“Mother, we cannot always stay in this room,” said Shan. “Some day I must go out, and so must you.”
She looked at him in surprise. “Yes, that is true,” she said. “Go, then.”
He went down the stairs. Lionel and his friends were at the table in the great hall. Servants were bringing food and wine. They were servants Shan had never seen before.
He stood in the doorway. “Look, you!” he said. “This is a sad time for my mother and me. If you must make your noise, make it somewhere else.”
Lionel set down his wine cup. “These are my friends,” he said, “so take care how you speak to them.”
“Take care how you speak to me,” said Shan.
He went back to his mother. “There are strange faces here,” he said. “I do not know what it means.”
In the morning he went to the kitchen and the garden and the stables. Everywhere he went, he saw new faces. Most of the old servants were gone. New ones had taken their places.
Shan saw his uncle riding across the courtyard. He spoke to him. “Who brought in new servants and sent the old ones away?”
“Some of my friends have come here to live,” said Lionel. “They brought their own servants. We had no need of so many, and I sent some of the old ones away.”
“Why did you not ask me first?”
“Why should I have asked you?”
“Now that my father is gone,” said Shan, “I am Lord Weldon. I am master of the castle.”
“You?” Lionel threw back his head and laughed. “You are a boy!”
He started to ride away. Shan saw that he wore a sword with a gold hilt. The hilt was set with red stones.
“Stop!” he cried. “Why do you wear that sword?”
“Why should I not wear it?” asked his uncle.
“It was my father’s,” said Shan. “Now it is mine.”
“This is a sword for a man, not a boy. Out of my way!” Lionel rode off across the courtyard.
Shan looked after him. He said in a low voice, “The sword is not his. It is mine, and I’ll have it back.”
That night, when everyone else was in bed, he went down to the great hall. A fire still burned in the big fireplace. By its light he could see the room. On the wall behind his uncle’s chair was the sword.
He took it down and put it back into its box. He looked about for a place to hide it. There was no place in the great hall.
He went out into the garden. His first thought was to bury the box in the ground. Then he looked up at the oak tree and remembered the hollow in its trunk.
In the great hall he found a piece of rope and tied it to the box. With the rope about his shoulders and the box on his back, he climbed the oak tree. He found the hollow in the trunk.
There were sticks and leaves in the opening. He pulled them out and pushed the box inside. It fell softly into the hollow.
He climbed down. He felt his way through the quiet garden and into the castle.
In the morning he met his uncle in the courtyard.
“The sword!” cried Lionel, in a rage. “What have you done with the sword?”
“The sword is in a safe place,” said Shan.
“Bring it to me. Bring it at once.”
“The sword is mine,” said Shan.
Lionel lifted a hand as if to strike him. Shan did not move. Lionel let his hand fall to his side.
“Listen to what I say, and listen well,” he said. “If the sword is not back in its place by tomorrow, I’ll have you in the dungeon!”
“You forget that I am master here,” said Shan, “and now I am going out to find our old servants and friends and bring them back.”
He went to the stables. A stableman opened a window and looked out at him.
“Saddle a horse and bring it here to me,” said Shan.
“I cannot, sir,” said the man.
“You cannot?”
“No, sir,” said the stableman. “Not until my master bids me to.”
“I bid you to,” said Shan. “I am your master.”
“No, sir. My master is Lord Lionel.” The man closed the window.
Shan was about to beat on the window and shout “Bring me a horse, or I’ll make you pay for this!” Then he looked up and saw Nappus by the castle wall. The old man looked at him and slowly shook his head.
Shan knew that the old man was trying to tell him something. He started over to the wall. Again Nappus shook his head, and he made a sign for Shan to go away.
Shan told his mother that night, as they sat by the fire, “Most of our old servants are gone, but Nappus is with us still.”
“I am glad of that,” she said.
“It may be that my uncle is afraid to send Nappus away,” said Shan. “He thinks Nappus is a man of magic.”
“Poor Nappus is no man of magic,” said Lady Marian, “but he does know many things, and he is our friend. I wish we had more such friends—”
“Listen!” said Shan. “Did you hear someone on the stairs?”
“No,” she said.
“It may be my uncle, looking for the sword,” he said.
“What sword?”
“The sword that was my father’s,” said Shan. “I have it hidden. My uncle says if I do not give it up, he will have me in the dungeon.”
“Give him the sword,” she said.
“I never will!” said Shan.
“But what if he takes you to the dungeon?”
“Listen!” said Shan again.
There was a soft knock at the door.
“If it is your uncle, give him
the sword,” she said in a whisper.
Shan opened the door. The man outside was not his uncle. It was Nappus.
WORDS IN THE ASHES
6
Nappus’ cloak was wet from the fog. There were drops of water on his beard.
He looked quickly from Shan to Lady Marian. He knelt by the fire and raked some ashes out upon the hearth. With his finger he made some marks in the ashes.
Shan and his mother bent over the hearth.
Nappus rubbed out the marks and made some more.
“What is he doing?” asked Shan.
“He is writing words in the ashes,” said Lady Marian.
“Can you read them?” asked Shan.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Oh, yes!”
She took up a candle and held it over the hearth. The candle shook in her hand.
It seemed a long time before Nappus was through writing in the ashes. When he stood up, he looked at Lady Marian.
She nodded. “Yes, I understand.”
He knelt and kissed the hem of her dress. He threw his cloak about him. Like a shadow he was gone.
Lady Marian sat down and put her hands over her face. “Oh, Shan, what shall we do now?”
“What were the words in the ashes?” he asked. “What did they say?”
“Shan, listen to me. Because Nappus cannot hear, most people think he cannot understand. But he can look at their faces and read their lips. Today he read your uncle’s lips as he talked to one of his friends—”
Her voice broke.
Shan bent over her. “Mother, what is it?”
“Your father did not die in the quicksand,” she said. “He fell into a trap that was laid by your uncle.”
Shan looked at her. He could not speak.
“Now,” she said, “you and I are in the same danger.”
“But why? What did my father do?” he cried. “What have we done?”
“Softly, Shan. Do you not see? With you and your father and me out of the way, your uncle will be lord of Weldon Castle.”
He started to the door. She caught his arm. “Where are you going?”
“To settle with my uncle,” he said.
“How can you settle with him? You cannot fight him and all his friends and their servants. Shan, there is only one way for us to save ourselves.”
“What is that?” he asked.
“We must leave here. We must leave quickly.”
“And give up our castle to my uncle?”
“If we stay, we cannot save our castle. If we go, we may save our lives. Do you understand?”
“I understand,” he said.
She opened a chest and took out a cloak and a purse. “I have some money and my jewels,” she said. “And here is the bread and cheese left from our supper.”
“I have a little money,” he said. He went to his room. From one of his chests he took a purse and a cloak. From another he took a knife, some string, and a tinderbox.
Back in his mother’s room, he said, “I saw no one on the stairs. I think it is safe to go.”
“The night watchmen are on the wall,” she said.
“The fog is thick. The night watchmen cannot see us.”
“Then let us go,” she said.
They went down the stairs. She looked out into the night. “Can you see?” she asked.
“Only a little,” he said.
They felt their way through the fog. They came to the castle gate. It was closed for the night.
Shan found the small door in the gate. He opened it. He helped his mother through.
They found the road and began to run. When they stopped for breath, Shan turned for a last look at the castle, but he could not see it. He could see only the night and the fog.
THE ROBBERS
7
All night they walked. When morning came, they hid in the woods. They did not stop at any of the farms near the castle. They knew that Lionel might find them there.
All day they hid. They ate the food that Lady Marian had brought from home. There was only a small piece of bread and a smaller piece of cheese.
At night they started on again. Once they heard horsemen on the road behind them. They hid by the roadside until the men went by.
“Do you think that was my uncle and his men?” asked Shan.
“I do not know,” said his mother, “but I fear the roads are not safe for us, even at night. We had better take to the woods.”
They walked through the woods. Slowly they made their way, until Lady Marian said, “I must rest.”
They sat down on the roots of a tree. Shan felt the cold fog on his face. All about him he heard strange sounds. Some were the sounds of animals moving among the trees. He knew there were deer and foxes and rabbits in the woods. They would do no harm. But he knew there were wolves, too. A fire would keep them away, he thought.
He dug among the roots of the tree until he found dry leaves and sticks. From his purse he took his tinderbox. He struck a spark with the flint and steel. The spark fell into the tinder and caught fire. He lighted the dry leaves and sticks.
In a little while the fire was burning brightly. His mother held out her hands to it.
“It feels good,” she said. “Now if only we had something to eat.”
“I’ll find something tomorrow.” He sat down by her. “Mother, where are we going? What are we going to do?”
“The only plan I have is for us to go on—so far from Weldon Castle that your uncle can never find us,” she said. “Then I hope we can find friends who will help us.”
“I hope that will be soon,” said Shan. “I am tired of hiding and running away.”
He leaned back against the tree.
“Go to sleep, Shan,” she said.
“You sleep if you can,” he said. “I’ll stay awake and keep watch.”
She lay down by the fire and was soon asleep. Shan tried to keep watch, but he was very tired. He began to nod. Slowly his eyes went shut.
When he woke, three strange men stood in the light of the fire. They were looking down on him and his mother. Their swords were drawn.
One of the men came closer. He wore a fine velvet hat with a feather. The rest of his clothes were in rags.
“Who are you?” he asked in a rough voice. “Why do you come here?”
Lady Marian woke and cried out.
Shan got to his feet. “My mother and I are going to the next town,” he said. “We stopped here for rest and sleep.”
“Are you alone?” asked the man.
“You can see we are alone,” said Lady Marian.
“Stay and rest, then,” said the man, “but we’ll have your purses before we go.”
Lady Marian threw her purse at the man’s feet. “You are brave men,” she said, “to rob a woman and a boy.”
“Hold your tongue.” The robber said to Shan, “Quick, boy, your purse!”
Shan gave the robber his purse. “There is nothing much in it,” he said. “Only a tinderbox, some string, and a few coins. Will you take the coins and leave me the rest?”
The robber looked into the purse.
“We have not had food for a long time,” said Shan. “I need the string to make a trap to catch rabbits. I need the tinderbox so that we may have a fire.”
The robbers went back into the shadows. They talked in low voices.
Shan saw one of them put something down on a stone. Then they disappeared into the woods.
Shan went to see what they had left. “Mother,” he said, “here is my tinderbox and string!”
“The jewels and money are gone,” she said.
“But here is something else,” said Shan. “Look.”
It was a loaf of bread.
“I want no gift from a robber,” she said.
Shan broke the loaf in two and put half down beside her. He began to eat the other half.
“The bread is good,” he said.
She looked at the half loaf beside her. She picked it up and tasted it.
<
br /> “The bread is good,” she said, “and I should not be so proud when I am hungry.” She began to eat.
When they had eaten the loaf, Shan found more dry wood to burn. Then they lay down by the fire and rested until morning.
MAGNUS
8
They walked all morning. They waded across a stream and pushed their way through vines and bushes that tore their clothes.
“This is a strange place,” said Lady Marian. “See how thick and dark the woods are.”
“I am glad they are thick and dark,” said Shan. “My uncle can never find us here.”
He saw how slow her steps had grown. He knew that she was very tired.
He stopped under a tree and made her a bed of leaves. “Rest here, while I look for food.”
She lay down. In a little while she was asleep.
Shan went on through the woods. From his purse he took the string he had brought from home. He began to make a rabbit trap out of it.
Then he had a better idea. He took out his knife and cut some branches off a tree. Quickly he made a bow and arrow.
He hid behind a tree and watched for a rabbit or a squirrel. There was a sound in the bushes. He set the arrow to the bowstring and waited.
Something came out of the bushes—something small and white with soft brown eyes. It was a baby goat.
Shan put down his bow and arrow. The goat saw him and ran straight into his arms.
Shan laughed as he rubbed the baby goat’s nose and ears. “I wouldn’t hurt you,” he said. “You are someone’s pet.”
With the goat in his arms, he got to his feet.
“Stop, you!” said a voice.
Shan turned. There stood a boy and a dog.
The boy was as tall as Shan. He was dressed in goatskins, and his long hair hung down over his eyes. The dog was big and spotted. Its hair hung down over its eyes. Shan thought the boy and dog looked a little alike.
“What do you mean,” said the boy, “trying to make off with my kid?”
Shan put the goat down. “I wasn’t making off with him. I was going to show him to my mother.”
“There’s a fine story,” said the boy. “Maybe you wanted to show him to all your brothers and sisters, as well!”
The Sword in the Tree Page 2
