Текст книги "Английские легенды / English Legends"

Hereward reluctantly agreed, and, with Martin’s help, bound the two hand and foot and laid them before the altar; then, kissing the maiden’s hand, and swearing loyalty and truth, he turned to leave. But the princess had one question to ask.

“Who are you, noble stranger, so chivalrous and strong? I would like know for whom to pray.”

“I am Hereward Leofricsson[70]70
  Leofricsson – Леофриксон


[Закрыть], and my father is the Earl of Mercia.”

“Are you that Hereward who killed the Fairy Bear? No wonder that you managed to kill the Pictish monster and set me free[71]71
  set free – освободить


[Закрыть].”

Then master and man left the chapel, after carefully turning the key in the lock. They succeeded in getting a ship to carry them to Ireland, and eventually reached Waterford.

The Danish kingdom of Waterford was ruled by King Ranald, whose only son, Sigtryg, was about Hereward’s age, and was as noble-looking a youth as the Saxon hero. The king was at a feast, and Hereward, entering the hall with the captain of the ship, sat down at one of the lower tables. But he was not one of those who can pass unnoticed. The prince saw him and his noble bearing, and asked him to come to the king’s own table. Hereward gladly did so, and as he drank to the prince and their goblets touched together he dropped the ring from the Cornish[72]72
  Cornish – корнцы (этнотерриториальная группа кельтского происхождения)


[Закрыть] princess into Sigtryg’s cup. The prince saw and recognised it as he drained his cup, and soon left the hall, followed by his guest.

Outside in the darkness Sigtryg turned hurriedly to Hereward, saying, “You bring me a message from my betrothed?”

“Yes, if you are that Prince Sigtryg to whom the Princess of Cornwall was promised.”

“Was promised! What do you mean? She is still my lady and my love.”

“Yet you leave her there without your support, while her father gives her in marriage to a horrible Pictish giant, breaking her betrothal, and driving the helpless maid into despair[73]73
  drive into despair – приводить в отчаяние


[Закрыть]. What kind of love is yours?”

Hereward said nothing yet about the killing of the giant, because he wished to test Prince Sigtryg’s sincerity, and he was satisfied, for the prince burst out[74]74
  burst out – выпалить, взорваться


[Закрыть]: “I wish to God I had gone to her before! but my father needed my help against foreign invaders and native rebels. I will go immediately and save my lady or die with her!”

“No need of that, for I killed that giant,” said Hereward coolly, and Sigtryg embraced him in joy and they swore blood-brotherhood together.

Then he asked: “What message do you bring me, and what means her ring?”

The other replied by repeating the Cornish maiden’s words, and asking him to start at once if he wanted to save his betrothed from some other hateful marriage.

The prince went to his father, told him the whole story, and got a ship and men to journey to Cornwall and rescue the princess; then, with Hereward by his side, he set sail, and soon landed in Cornwall, hoping to reach his bride peaceably. Alas!—he learnt that the princess had just been promised to a wild Cornish leader, Haco[75]75
  Haco – Хако


[Закрыть], and the wedding feast was to be held that very day. Sigtryg was greatly enraged, and sent forty Danes to King Alef demanding the fulfilment of the promise, and threatening vengeance if it were broken. To this the king returned no answer, and no Dane came back to tell of their reception.

Sigtryg would have waited till morning, trusting in the honour of the king, but Hereward disguised himself as a minstrel and got to the wedding feast, where he soon won applause by his beautiful singing. The bridegroom, Haco, offered him any gift he liked to ask, but he demanded only a cup of wine from the hands of the bride. When she brought it to him he put her betrothal ring inside, the very token she had sent to Sigtryg, and said: “I thank you, lady, give back the cup, richer than before.”

The princess looked at him, then into the goblet, and saw her ring; then, looking again, she recognised her deliverer and knew that rescue was at hand[76]76
  at hand – рядом, близко


[Закрыть].

While men feasted, Hereward listened and talked, and found out that the forty Danes were prisoners, to be released in the morning when Haco was sure of his bride, but released useless and miserable, since they would be blinded. Haco was taking his lovely bride back to his own land, and Hereward saw that any rescue, to be successful, must be attempted on the march. Yet he knew not the way the bridal company would go, and he lay down to sleep in the hall, hoping that he might hear something more. When everything was still, a dark shape came through the hall and touched Hereward on the shoulder. It was the princess’s old nurse. “Come to her now,” the old woman whispered, and Hereward went, though he knew not that the princess was still true to her lover. In her tower, which she was soon to leave, Haco’s aggrieved bride awaited the messenger.

She smiled sadly on the young Saxon: “I knew your face again in spite of the disguise, but you come too late. Give my farewell to Sigtryg, and say that my father’s will, not mine, makes me forget my promise.”

“Have you not been told, lady, that he is here?” asked Hereward.

“Here?” the princess cried. “I have not heard. He loves me still and has not abandoned me?”

“No, lady, he is too true a lover for falsehood. He sent forty Danes yesterday to demand you of your father.”

“And I did not know of it,” said the princess softly; “yet I had heard that Haco had taken some prisoners, whom he wants to blind.”

“Those are our messengers, and your future subjects,” said Hereward. “Help me to save them and you. Do you know Haco’s plans?”

“Only this, that he will march tomorrow along the river, and where the ravine is darkest and forms the border between his kingdom and my father’s, the prisoners are to be blinded and released.”

“Is it far from here?”

“Three miles to the east from this hall,” she replied.

“We will be there. Have no fear, lady, whatever you may see, but be bold and look for your lover in the fight.” So saying, Hereward kissed her hand and went out of the hall unnoticed.

Returning to Sigtryg, the young Saxon told all that he had learnt, and the Danes planned an ambush in the ravine where Haco had decided to blind and set free his captives. All was in readiness, and side by side Hereward and Sigtryg were watching the pathway from their covert. The bridal procession came in a strange way: first the Danish prisoners bound each between two Cornishmen, then Haco and his unhappy bride, and last a great group of Cornishmen. Hereward had taken command[77]77
  take command – (зд.) взять на себя командование


[Закрыть], so that Sigtryg might take care of safety of his lady, and his plan was simplicity itself. The Danes were to wait till their comrades, with their guards, had passed through the ravine; then, while the leader engaged Haco, and Sigtryg took care of the princess, the Danes would release the prisoners and kill every Cornishman[78]78
  Cornishman – мужчина, представитель корнцев


[Закрыть], and the two parties of Danes, uniting their forces, would restore the order in the land and destroy the followers of Haco.

The plan was carried out exactly as Hereward had planned. The Cornishmen, with Danish captives, passed first without attack; next came Haco, riding angry and morose beside his silent bride: he was sure of his success, while she was looking eagerly for any signs of rescue. As they passed, Hereward sprang from his shelter, crying, “Upon them, Danes, and set your brothers free!” and himself struck down Haco and smote off his head. There was a short fight, but soon the rescued Danes were able to help their deliverers, and the Cornish guards were all killed; while the men of King Alef, who never cared too much about Haco, fled, and the Danes were left masters of the field. Sigtryg had in the meantime seen to the safety of the princess, and now, together with Hereward, he escorted her to the ship, which soon brought them to Waterford and a happy wedding feast.

The Prince and Princess of Waterford always recognised in Hereward their deliverer and best friend, and in their gratitude wished him to always live with them in their castle; but he knew “how hard a thing it is to look into happiness through another man’s eyes”, and would not stay. His reckless and daring temper drove him to deeds of arms[79]79
  deeds of arms – ратные подвиги


[Закрыть] in other lands, where he was going to win many a battle. But he always felt glad in his own heart that his first deeds had been to rescue two maidens from their fate, and that he was rightly known[80]80
  was rightly known – был справедливо назван


[Закрыть] as Hereward the Saxon, the Champion of Women.

William of Cloudeslee[81]81
  Cloudeslee – Клодесли


[Закрыть]

In the green forest of Englewood, in the “North Country”, not far from the fortified town of Carlisle[82]82
  Carlisle – Карлайл


[Закрыть], lived a merry band of outlaws. They were not villains, but sturdy archers and yeomen, whose outlawry had been caused only by shooting the king’s deer. The royal claim to exclusive hunting in the vast forests of Epping, Sherwood, Needwood, Barnesdale, Englewood, and many others seemed preposterous to the yeomen who lived on the borders of the forests, and they took their risks and shot the deer and ate it, convinced that they were wronging no one and risking only their own lives. Thus it happened that they were accused of that “crime”, which legally made them outlaws.

The outlaws of Englewood were under the headship of three famous archers, brothers-in-arms, who swore to stand by each other, though they were not brothers in blood. Their names were Adam Bell, William of Cloudeslee, and Clym[83]83
  Clym – Клим


[Закрыть] of the Cleugh; and of the three William of Cloudeslee alone was married. His wife, fair Alice of Cloudeslee, lived in a strong house within the walls of Carlisle, with her three children, because they were not included in William’s outlawry. It was possible, therefore, for her to send her husband warning of any attack planned by the Sheriff of Carlisle on the outlaws, and she had saved him and his comrades from surprise several times already.

When the spring came, and the forest was beautiful with its fresh green leaves, William began to miss his home and family; he had not dared to go into Carlisle for some time, and it was more than six months since he had seen his wife’s face. So he announced his intention to his home, at the risk of capture by his old enemy the Sheriff. In vain his comrades tried to make him stay. Adam Bell especially urged him remain in the greenwood: “If the sheriff or the justice learn that you are in the town, your life will end soon. Stay with us, and we will fetch you tidings of your wife.”

William replied: “No, I must go myself; I cannot rest content with tidings only. If all is well I will return by tomorrow morning, and if I don’t you may be sure I am taken or killed; and I pray you guard my family well, if that be so.”

William made his way unobserved into the town and came to his wife’s house. It was shut, with doors strongly bolted, and he had to knock long on the window before his wife opened it to see who was the visitor. “Let me in quickly, my Alice,” he said. “I have come to see you and my three children. How have you been this long time?”

“Alas!” she replied, hurriedly letting him in, and bolting the door again, “why have you come now, risking your life to have news of us? Don’t you know that this house has been watched for more than six months, so eager are the sheriff and the justice to capture and hang you? I would have come to you in the forest, or sent you word[84]84
  send word – отправить весточку


[Закрыть] of our welfare. I fear—oh, how I fear!—that they will know!”

“But now that I am here, let us be merry,” said William. “No man has seen me enter, and I would like enjoy my short stay with you and my children, for I must be back in the forest by morning. Can you not give a hungry outlaw some food and drink?”

Then Dame Alice prepared the best she had for her husband; and, when all was ready, it was a very happy family that sat down to the meal, husband and wife talking cheerfully together, while the children watched in wondering silence the father who had been away so long and came to them so seldom.

There was one inhabitant of the house who saw in William’s return a means of making shameful profit. She was an old bedridden woman, apparently paralysed, whom he had saved from complete poverty seven years before. During all that time she had lain on a bed near the fire, had shared all the life of the family, and had never once moved from her couch. Now, while husband and wife talked together and the room got dark, this old impostor slipped from her bed and glided quietly out of the house.

It happened that the king’s trial was being held just then in Carlisle, and the sheriff and his friend the justice were sitting together in the Justice Hall. There this treacherous old woman hurried with all speed. She entered the hall, forcing her way[85]85
  force one’s way – прокладывать себе путь


[Закрыть] through the crowd till she came near the sheriff.

“Ha! what do you want, good woman?” asked he, surprised.

“Sir, I bring you news of great value.”

“Tell your news, and I shall see if they be of value or no. If they are, I will reward you handsomely.”

“Sir, this night William of Cloudeslee has come into Carlisle, and is even now in his wife’s house. He is alone, and you can take him easily. Now what will you pay me, for I am sure this news is much to you?”

“It’s true, good woman. That bold outlaw is the worst of all who kill the king’s deer in his forest of Englewood, and if only I could catch him, I would be well content. Dame, you shall not go without a reward!”

The old woman was given a piece of scarlet cloth, enough for a dress. She hid the gift under her cloak, hurried back to Alice’s house, and slipped unnoticed into her place again, hiding the scarlet cloth under the bed-coverings.

As soon as he had heard of Cloudeslee’s presence in Carlisle, the sheriff with all speed raised the whole town, for, though none hated the outlaws, men dared not to disobey the king’s officer. The justice, too, joined the sheriff in capturing an outlaw whose sentence was already pronounced. With all the forces at their disposal[86]86
  at one’s disposal – в чьём—либо распоряжении


[Закрыть], they went towards the house where William and Alice, unconscious of the danger besetting them, still talked lovingly together. Suddenly the outlaw’s ears, sharpened by woodcraft[87]87
  woodcraft – навыки жизни в лесу


[Закрыть] and by constant danger, heard a growing noise coming nearer and nearer. It was, he knew, the sound of the footsteps of many people, and among them he recognised marching soldiers.

“Wife, we are betrayed,” cried William. “Here comes the sheriff to take me!”

Alice ran quickly up to her bedroom, opened a window looking to the back, and saw, to her despair, that soldiers beset the house on every side and filled all the neighbouring streets. Behind them was a great crowd of citizens, who seemed wanting to leave the capture of the outlaw to the soldiers. At the same moment William from the front called to his wife that the sheriff and justice were besieging the house on that side.

“Alas! Dear husband, what shall we do?” cried Alice. “Accursed be all treason! But who could have betrayed you to your enemies? Go into my bedchamber, dear William, and defend yourself there, for it is the strongest room in the house. The children and I will go with you, and I will guard the door while you defend the windows.”

The plan was carried out, and while William took his stand by the window, Alice got an axe and stood by the door: “No man shall enter this door alive while I live!”

From the window Cloudeslee could see his mortal enemies, the justice and the sheriff; and drawing his good bow, he shot with deadly aim exactly at the breast of the justice. It was well for the latter that he wore a good chain-mail under his clothes; the arrow hit his breast and split in three.

“Cursed be the man that gave you that mail coat! You would have been a dead man now if your coat had been no thicker than mine,” said William.

“Surrender, Cloudeslee, and lay down your bow and arrows,” said the justice. “You cannot escape!”

“Never shall my husband surrender; it is evil advice you give,” exclaimed the brave wife from her post at the door.

The sheriff, who grew more and more angry as the hours passed on and Cloudeslee was not taken, now cried aloud: “Why do we waste time here? The man is an outlaw and his life is forfeit. Let us burn him and his house, and if his wife and children will not leave him, they shall all burn together, for it is their own choice.”

This cruel plan was soon carried out. Fire was set to the door and wooden shutters, and the flames spread fast; the smoke went up in thick clouds into the bedroom, where the little children, crouching on the ground, began to cry for fear.

“Alas! Must we all die?” cried fair Alice, grieving for her children.

William opened the window and looked out, but there was no chance of escape; his enemies filled every street around the house. “Surely they will not touch my wife and children,” he thought; and, tearing the sheets from the bed, he made a rope, with which he let down to the ground his children and his crying wife.

He called aloud to the sheriff: “Sir Sheriff, I have trusted to you my chief treasures. For God’s sake do them no harm, but wreak all your wrath[88]88
  wreak all one’s wreath – обрушить


[Закрыть] on me!”

Gentle hands received Alice and her babies, and friendly citizens led them from the house; but Alice went reluctantly, in great grief, knowing that her husband must be burnt with his house or taken by his enemies; and if it was not for her children she would have stayed with him.

William continued his wonderful archery, never missing his aim, till all his arrows were spent, and the flames came so close that his bow was burnt in two. Blazing pieces were falling upon him from the burning roof, and the floor was hot beneath his feet. “An evil death is this!” thought he. “Better it were that I should take my sword and jump down among my enemies and so die fighting than stay here and let them see me burn.”

So he leaped lightly down, and fought so fiercely that he nearly escaped through the crowd, for the worthy citizens of Carlisle were not at all anxious to capture him; but the soldiers, urged by the sheriff and justice, threw doors and windows upon him, and finally caught and bound him, and cast him into a deep dungeon.

“Now, William of Cloudeslee,” said the sheriff, “you shall be hanged in no time, as soon as I can have a new gallows made. So famous an outlaw is worthy of not just a common hanging. Tomorrow morning you shall die. There is no hope of rescue, for the gates of the town shall be shut. Your dear friends, Adam Bell and Clym of the Cleugh, would be helpless to save you, even if they bring a thousand more people, or even all the devils in Hell.”

Early next morning the justice went to the soldiers who guarded the gates and forbade them to open till the execution was over; then he went to the market-place and superintended the building of a specially high gallows.

Among the crowd who watched the gallows being built there was a little lad, the town swineherd, who asked one of the watching citizens the meaning of the new construction.

“It is put up to hang a good yeoman, William of Cloudeslee, and that’s a pity! He has done no wrong but kill the King’s deer, and why should he be hanged for that? It is a shame that such injustice can be done in the king’s name.”

The little lad had often met William of Cloudeslee in the forest, and had carried him messages from his wife; William had given the boy many a dinner of deer, and now he decided to help his friend if he could. The gates were shut and no man could pass out, but the boy found a hole in the wall. Then he hastened to the forest of Englewood, and met Adam Bell and Clym of the Cleugh.

“Come quickly, good yeomen, before it’s too late. While you are at ease in the greenwood your friend, William of Cloudeslee, is taken, condemned to death, and ready to be hanged. He needs your help this very minute!”

Adam Bell groaned. “Ah! If he had taken our advice, he would have been here in safety with us now.” Then, bending his bow, he shot with unerring aim[89]89
  with unerring aim – точно в цель, недрогнувшей рукой


[Закрыть] a deer, which he gave to the lad to recompense him for his labour and goodwill.

“Come,” said Clym to Adam Bell, “let us wait no longer, but take our bows and arrows and see what we can do. By God’s grace we will rescue our brother, though we may pay for it dearly ourselves. We will go to Carlisle without delay.”

The morning was fair as the two yeomen waked from the deep green shades of Englewood Forest along the hard white road leading to Carlisle Town. They were in time as yet, but when they came near the wall they were surprised to see that the gates were shut.

Stepping back into the green bushes beside the road, the two outlaws discussed their options. Adam Bell was for a valiant attempt to storm the gate, but Clym suddenly suggested a wiser plan.

“Let us pretend to be messengers from the king, with urgent letters to the justice. Surely that should let us in. But alas! I forgot. How can we bear out our pretence, for I am no learned clerk. I cannot write.”

Adam Bell said: “I can write well. Wait one instant, and I will have a letter written; then we can say we have the king’s seal. The plan will do well enough, for I believe the gate-keeper is no learned clerk, and this will deceive him.”

Indeed, the letter which he quickly wrote and folded and sealed was very well and clearly written, and addressed to the Justice of Carlisle. Then the two bold outlaws hurried up the road and knocked long and loud on the town gates. The warder came in great wrath, asking who dared to make such disturbance.

Adam Bell replied: “We are two messengers come straight from our lord the king.”

Clym of the Cleugh added: “We have a letter for the justice which we must deliver into his own hands. Let us in quickly so that we fulfill our task, for we must return to the king in haste.”

“No,” the warder replied, “that I cannot do. No man may enter these gates till the thief and outlaw William of Cloudeslee, who has long deserved death, is safely hanged.”

Now Clym saw that the situation was becoming desperate, and time was passing too quickly, so he spoke in a more violent tone. “Ah, rascal, scoundrel, madman! If we are delayed here any longer, you yourself shall be hanged for that thief! To keep the king’s messengers waiting like this! Can’t see the king’s seal? Can’t thou not read the address of the royal letter? Ah, you shall pay dearly for this delay when my lord knows of it.”

Thus speaking, he showed the forged letter, with its false seal, in the porter’s face; and the man, seeing the seal and the writing, believed what was told him. Reverently he took off his hood and bent the knee to the king’s messengers, for whom he opened wide the gates, and they entered.

“At last we are within Carlisle walls,” said Adam Bell, “but when and how we shall go out again Christ only knows.”

“Now if we had the keys ourselves we should have a good chance of life,” said Clym, “for then we could go in and out whenever we wanted.”

“Let us call the warder then.”

When he came running at their call both yeomen sprang upon him, flung him to the ground, bound him hand and foot, and cast him into a dark cell, taking his keys.

Adam laughed and shook the heavy keys. “Now I am gate-ward of merry Carlisle. See, here are my keys. I think I shall be the worst warder they have had for three hundred years. Let us bend our bows and hold our arrows ready, and walk into the town to save our brother.”

When they came to the market-place they found a huge crowd of sympathizers watching pityingly the hangman’s cart, in which lay William of Cloudeslee, bound hand and foot, with a rope round his neck. The sheriff and the justice stood near the gallows, and Cloudeslee would have been hanged already, but the sheriff ordered to measure the outlaw for his grave.

Cloudeslee’s courage was still with him. “I have seen it before now,” said he, “as a man who digs a grave for another may lie in it himself, in as short a time as from now to the next morning.”

“You speak proudly, my fine fellow, but hanged you shall be, even if I do it with my own hand,” replied the sheriff furiously.

Now the cart moved a little nearer to the scaffold, and William was raised up to be ready for execution. As he looked round the mass of faces his keen sight soon made him aware of his friends. Adam Bell and Clym of the Cleugh stood at one corner of the marketplace with arrow on string[90]90
  with arrow on string – со стрелой на тетиве


[Закрыть], aiming at the sheriff and justice, whose horses raised them high above the murmuring throng. Cloudeslee showed no surprise, but said aloud: “Look! I see comfort, and hope to have a safe journey. Yet if I might have my hands free I would care little about what else befell me.”

Now Adam said quietly to Clym: “Brother, you take the justice, and I will shoot the sheriff. Let us both loose at once and leave them dying. It is an easy shot, though a long one.”

Thus, while the sheriff yet waited for William to be measured for his grave, suddenly men heard the twang of bows and the whistling flight of arrows through the air, and at the same moment both sheriff and justice fell from their horses, with the grey goose feathers in their breasts. The crowd fled from the dangerous neighbourhood, and left the gallows, the cart, and the mortally wounded officials alone. The two bold outlaws rushed to release their comrade, cut his bonds, and lifted him to his feet. William got an axe from a soldier and chased the fleeing guard, while his two friends with their deadly arrows killed a man at each shot.

When the arrows were all used Adam Bell and Clym of the Cleugh threw away their bows and took swords in their hands. The fight continued till midday, for in the narrow streets the three comrades protected each other, and slowly drew towards the gate. Bell still carried the keys, and they could pass out easily if they could just reach the gateway. By this time the whole town was in a commotion; and the Mayor of Carlisle himself came in person with a big group of armed citizens, angered now at the fighting in the streets of the town.

The three yeomen retreated as steadily as they could towards the gate, but the mayor followed them armed with an axe, with which he cut Cloudeslee’s shield in two. He soon realised what the object of the outlaws was, and told his men to guard the gates well, so that the three would not be able to escape.

The mess in the town now was terrible, for trumpets blew, church-bells rang, women cried over their dead in the streets, and over all there was the clash of arms, as the fighting drew nearer the gate. When the gatehouse came in sight[91]91
  come in sight – показаться, быть на виду


[Закрыть] the outlaws were fighting desperately. Their strength was leaving them, but the thought of safety outside the walls gave them force. With backs to the gate and faces to the enemies, Adam and Clym and William managed to frighten the townsfolk, who fled in terror, leaving a breathing-space in which Adam Bell turned the key, flung open the great gate, and closed it again, soon as the three had passed through.

The door was locked, and the three friends stood in safety outside, with their pleasant forest home within easy reach[92]92
  within easy reach – поблизости, в лёгком доступе


[Закрыть]. The change of feeling was so intense that Adam Bell, always humorous, laughed lightly. He called to the citizens behind the gate:

“Here are your keys. I resign my job as warder—one half-day’s work is enough for me; and as I have resigned, I advise you to find a new one. Take your keys, and much good may you get from them. Next time I advise you not to stop an honest yeoman from coming to see his own wife and having a chat with her.”

He flung the keys over the gate on the heads of the crowd, and the three brothers ran away into the forest, where they found fresh bows and arrows in such abundance[93]93
  in abundance – в изобилии


[Закрыть] that they almost wanted to be back in Carlisle with their enemies before them.

While they were yet discussing all the details of the rescue they heard a woman’s dolorous lament and the crying of little children.

“Listen!” said Cloudeslee, and they all heard in the silence the words she said.

It was William’s wife, and she cried: “Alas! Why did I not die before this day? Woe to me that my dear husband is killed! He is dead, and I have no friend to grieve with me. If only I could see his comrades and tell what has befallen him, my heart would be eased of some of its pain.”

William, as he listened, was deeply touched, and walked gently to fair Alice, as she hid her face in her hands and wept. “Welcome, wife, to the greenwood!” said he. “By heaven, I never thought to see you again when I lay in bonds last night.” Dame Alice sprang up most joyously.

“Oh, William, all is well with me now you are here; I have no care or woe.”

“For that you must thank my dear brothers, Adam and Clym,” said he; and Alice began to thank them, but Adam cut short[94]94
  cut short – прервать


[Закрыть] her expression of gratitude. “No need to talk about a little matter like that. If we want any supper we had better kill something, for the meat we must eat is still running in the forest.”

With three such good archers, game[95]95
  game – дичь


[Закрыть] was easily shot and a meal was soon prepared in the wood. William devotedly served his wife with deepest love and reverence, for he could not forget how she had defended him and risked her life to stand by him.

When the meal was over, and they were resting round the fire, William began thoughtfully:

“It is in my mind that we should speedily to go to London and try to win our pardon[96]96
  win one’s pardon – заслужить прощение


[Закрыть] from the king. Unless we approach him before news can be brought from Carlisle he will surely execute us. Let us go at once, leaving my dear wife and my two youngest sons in a covert here; but I would fain take my eldest boy with me. If all goes well he can bring good news to Alice to the nunnery which is here nearby, and if all goes badly he will bring her my last wishes. But I am sure I am not to die by the law.”

His brothers approved the plan, and they took fair Alice and her two youngest children to the nunnery, and then the three famous archers with the little boy of seven set out at the top of their speed for London, watching the passers-by carefully, so that no news of the doings in Carlisle should reach the king before them.

On arriving in London, they made their way at once to the king’s palace, and walked boldly into the hall, paying no attention to the astonished and indignant shouts of the royal porter. He followed them angrily into the hall, and began reproaching them and trying to make them go, but in vain.