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 WE SHALL REACH EDINBURGH TO SUP AND 
 REST. 1 ' (Page 12)
 
 
 
 A STORY OF ADVENTURE IN THE 
 
 TIME OF KING JAMES 
 
 THE FIRST 
 
 BY 
 
 RUTH HALL 
 
 BOSTON AND NEW YORK 
 
 HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY 
 
 1898
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1898, BY RTTTH HALL. 
 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 
 TO 
 
 MY NEPHEWS 
 
 FOK WHOM IT WAS WKITTEN 
 
 THIS STORY IS 
 
 DEDICATED 
 
 2228372
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 I HAVE chosen, for the period in which 
 these scenes are laid, the ten years between 
 the death of Queen Elizabeth and the first 
 settlement at Manhattan. 
 
 It is a time seldom approached in fiction, 
 and yet rich in notable personages and ro- 
 mantic adventures. It portrays the condition, 
 at that date, of Europe and of America, and 
 thus betrays the reasons which induced emi- 
 grants to leave their homes to begin life again 
 in a new country. More than all, it shows 
 the relations of the earliest colonies that 
 dotted the shores of what are now the United 
 States, and the conditions which governed 
 them. That decade saw the true beginnings 
 of a nation. 
 
 Because so much now depends upon what 
 happened then, because our country rose to
 
 vi PREFACE 
 
 be what she is from what other countries 
 were, I have written the adventures of two 
 boys, three hundred years ago, for young 
 Americans of the end of the nineteenth 
 century.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. THE DEATH-BED OF A QUEEN ... 1 
 
 II. HOW THE NEWS BEACHED HOLYROOD . 11 
 
 III. THE HOUSE ON THE MOOB .... 22 
 
 IV. KING JAMES PASSES SENTENCE ... 33 
 V. KIDNAPED . 43 
 
 VI. IN THE OAK ROOM 54 
 
 VH. FBOM THE TOWER TO WINCHESTER . . 67 
 
 VIII. ENTER GUY FAWKES 79 
 
 IX. THE GUNPOWDER PLOT 91 
 
 X. AT HOLBEACH 101 
 
 XI. PRINCE HENRY AND CAPTAIN SMITH . .113 
 
 XII. THE TOWN CLOCK AT SLUYS ... 124 
 
 XIII. WITH PRINCE MAURICE 134 
 
 XIV. KLAASZOON THE MARTYR .... 145 
 XV. BEFORE GROLL 155 
 
 XVI. THE RECORDER'S GUEST .... 165 
 
 XVII. IN GIBRALTAR BAY 176 
 
 XVIII. WHEN THE SMOKE CLEARED . . . 186 
 
 XIX. THE KING'S SWORD 195 
 
 XX. ON THE HALF MOON 206 
 
 XXI. TAKEN CAPTIVE 218 
 
 XXII. WHAT HAPPENED ON HUDSON'S RIVER . 230 
 
 XXIII. WINONA'S TOTEM 243 
 
 XXIV. THE VICTIM OF RAVAILLAC .... 256 
 XXV. THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE .... 267 
 
 XXVI. AN ARCTIC WINTER 279 
 
 XXVII. MUTINY 290 
 
 XXVIII. ADRIFT WITH HUDSON 302 
 
 XXIX. FROM BAY TO RIVER 315 
 
 XXX. YOUNG AMERICANS . 325
 
 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE DEATH-BED OF A QUEEN 
 
 " GILES ! art awake, Giles ? " 
 
 It was a windy, rainy night in March. 
 Giles Valentine sprang from his bed. A 
 pebble had been thrown against the lattice. 
 A voice called to him from the garden below. 
 He ran to the window and thrust the sash 
 aside. Through the dark he could make out 
 a man's figure, a figure holding a lighted 
 lantern in one hand. 
 
 The boy leaned forward : " Who 's there ? " 
 
 " Hist ! " said the man, raising his finger 
 to his lip. "Canst climb from the window, 
 Giles? I would not that the household be 
 roused, but I need thee, lad." 
 
 It was the voice of Giles's guardian, and of 
 the family's nearest neighbor, Sir Robert 
 Carey. The idea of disobedience never 
 entered the boy's head, and a thrill of
 
 2 AV THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 pleasure ran through his veins at the chance 
 of so mysterious an adventure. 
 
 " In one moment," he answered. " It 
 shall not take long to dress. I can swing 
 myself down by the vine and the laburnum. 
 Wait only one moment." 
 
 " Haste ! " was the reply. " Make haste ! " 
 
 With nervous trembling, Giles hurried into 
 his clothing. He threw his short cloak over 
 his shoulder, and seized his plumed bonnet. 
 At last he was ready. He cautiously crept 
 upon the window-sill. As he thrust out one 
 foot to find lodging in the stout ivy stalk 
 nailed against the house, the man, waiting for 
 him in the garden, called to him in the same 
 hushed tones : 
 
 " Hast money with thee, Giles ? " 
 
 The boy paused, surprised, and looked 
 down at him from his perch. " All I own," 
 he answered, " is in my belt. I have " 
 
 " No matter. Thy mother keeps thee well 
 supplied. And art warmly wrapped ? We 
 may ride far to-night." 
 
 Much wondering what this could mean, 
 Giles nodded assent, continuing his climb. 
 It was an easy feat for a strong, nimble fel- 
 low used to the sport. He caught a surer 
 foothold upon a swinging tree-branch, thus
 
 THE DEATH-BED OF A QUEEN 3 
 
 throwing himself from the vine to that sup- 
 port, and thence sliding quickly to the 
 ground. Carey seized him at once by the 
 shoulder. 
 
 " Now thy pony," he whispered in the boy's 
 ear. " Have him at the park gate as speedily 
 as may be. I shall wait thee there. Haste, 
 lad. Thou canst not guess the need for 
 haste. Thy whole future may depend on 't." 
 
 Puzzled indeed by these words, impres- 
 sively delivered, the boy sped across the draw- 
 bridge, always down in these peaceful days 
 of Queen Elizabeth. He dashed at a tangent 
 over the bowling green, and disappeared from 
 sight among the offices that clustered close to 
 the Grange. When he reappeared, leading 
 his pony over the grass-plots that there might 
 be no sound, his guardian was nowhere to be 
 seen. At the park gate they met again. 
 
 " Ride like the wind," commanded Carey, 
 swinging himself to his own saddle. He 
 gathered up the reins, and gave his horse 
 the spur. " Follow me," he cried over his 
 shoulder, " and ride like the wind ! " 
 
 Nothing loth, Giles mounted, and slapped 
 Dapple smartly with his palm. A delicious 
 sensation of excitement and exultation pos- 
 sessed him.
 
 4 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 " Lead on, sir," he called as his steed broke 
 into a gallop. " I shall follow you." 
 
 On and on they rode, through the rough 
 tracks that at that time were called the high- 
 road, on and on, in a breathless silence, 
 past leafless hedgerows, and here and there 
 a silent house, sleeping in the quiet before 
 the dawn. The pattering raindrops fell upon 
 them. The raw cold crept through Giles's 
 cloak and his close-fitting, lace-trimmed vest. 
 The romance of this adventure was all he felt. 
 He urged Dapple at the heels of his guar- 
 dian's horse. 
 
 They entered Richmond. He began to 
 question within himself if it could be possible 
 that the palace was their destination. The 
 queen lay ill, some men said dying, within 
 that dusky pile of buildings that stretched out 
 before them. Scattered lights gleamed in 
 the casements. Carey glanced up towards 
 one window with a face of such keen anxiety 
 that Giles remarked the look. 
 
 " Not yet," the man muttered between his 
 teeth. 
 
 He pulled up his horse by the roadside, 
 beckoning the boy to come closer to him. 
 
 " Now it is your part," he said rapidly, 
 bending over his saddle so that his face
 
 THE DEATH-BED OF A QUEEN 5 
 
 approached his ward's. " Giles, thou hast a 
 friend among the queen's pages, young 
 Verrooy?" 
 
 " Oh, Jan ? Yes, sir, I know Jan right 
 well." 
 
 " Go thou to him at once. Seek him out, 
 and tell him I would have speech with him 
 without delay. He wih 1 doubtless plead duty. 
 But all is confusion there. Her Majesty is 
 nigh death. Tell him thou wilt take his 
 place for the time, and I must speak with 
 him." 
 
 "Ay," said Giles readily. And then ? " 
 
 Carey dropped his voice still lower. Giles 
 saw that the hand laid on his saddle-bow was 
 shaking. " Then thou must make thy way to 
 the queen's apartments. Hush ! this is no 
 time for parley. Do as I tell thee. Thou 
 art a brave lad, and cunning. Thou must 
 not be detected nor noted. But slip thyself 
 in there thou shalt. Bring me word all that 
 takes place ; if the queen sinks or gains, and 
 what is said about her. Thou must see her 
 Majesty with thine own eyes, to tell me how 
 she fares. No one will mark thee among the 
 boys that wait upon her. And thou shalt be- 
 hold " (.he kept his keen glance upon Giles's 
 reluctant face) " what many men would give
 
 D IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 one eye to witness, the death-bed of Eliza- 
 beth." 
 
 With all the incentive of curiosity and of 
 risk, it was not a task to Giles's liking. Still 
 he had no notion of downright refusal to his 
 guardian's demand. He threw his reins to 
 Carey, and slid softly to the ground. Across 
 the road he ran, watched his chance, and 
 slipped unnoticed into the very doorway of 
 the palace. As the man had surmised, all 
 was unsettled there. Giles had never visited 
 Jan before. He had never seen the queen, 
 although she had appeared in public not long 
 since. A question or two brought him to 
 the presence of his friend. Two boys sat 
 upon a bench in an antechamber, leaning 
 against each other, blinking and rubbing 
 their eyes. 
 
 It was a favorable moment for Carey's 
 plan. Jan was but partially wakened by 
 Giles's touch on his shoulder, and Giles's 
 whisper in his ear. He met the propo- 
 sition that the new-comer should take his 
 place without the demur he would have made 
 had he realized what it meant. The other 
 attendant stretched his arms wide, smiled 
 from one to the other, and threw his full 
 length upon the bench. In an instant he
 
 THE DEATH-BED OF A QUEEN 1 
 
 was fast asleep. Jan looked at him enviously, 
 yawned, and, with drooping eyelids and lag- 
 ging step, sauntered away to the appoint- 
 ment. 
 
 Giles drew a long breath. 
 
 A heavy curtain hung across one door 
 opposite to him. Behind this he could hear 
 soft voices and hurried steps. Another door, 
 near this, stood open. 
 
 Presently, through this last, a little proces- 
 sion came walking solemnly. Giles recog- 
 nized the leader, a grave-faced man, in black 
 velvet cap and gown. It was the secretary, 
 Cecil. 
 
 A courtier glanced towards the seat where 
 Giles was watching with earnest eyes. The 
 boy's heart gave a leap. The man motioned 
 to him. Here was his opportunity. He 
 sprang to his feet. This was the queen's 
 Council, he was sure, and they were going to 
 the death-bed. Giles sped across the room. 
 He pulled the curtain aside. He stood back 
 to watch the company file through the door- 
 way. Then in their shadow he entered the 
 royal presence. 
 
 An enormous, high-canopied bedstead stood 
 in the centre of the apartment. Beside it, 
 on the rich Turkey rug, knelt weeping women.
 
 8 IN TUE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 A physician, glass in hand, stood at the head- 
 board. On the white pile of pillows, one 
 of the luxuries of that day, lay the mighty 
 queen. Giles could not take his eyes from 
 her. 
 
 It was an old, old woman that he saw : she 
 seemed even older than her years. Her 
 streaming locks had the peculiar ashy appear- 
 ance of light hair turned gray. Her features 
 were sharply drawn. Her nose and mouth 
 had a peevish, pinched expression. Her hazel 
 eyes looked out wistfully from her pale face, 
 as if they tried to speak. 
 
 The secretary approached her bed. He 
 bent the knee reverently. 
 
 " Madam," he said, " your faithful servants 
 have returned for some sure token of your 
 Majesty's will. One hour ago," he kept 
 watch of those speaking eyes, "we asked 
 whose was the succession. You answered 
 us : * No rascal's son, but a king's.' Your 
 gracious Majesty knows what this means to 
 the land you will leave comfortless. We pray 
 you make your wishes plain. Who is to rule ? 
 Is it to be James of Scotland ? " 
 
 Every eye in the room was fixed upon her 
 now. Giles suddenly felt assured that this 
 was his errand. He remembered boasts from
 
 THE DEATH-BED OF A .QUEEN 9 
 
 Carey of his patron in Edinburgh. The an- 
 swer of Elizabeth was what he was to carry 
 to his guardian. 
 
 She tried to speak again and again. No 
 articulate sound could force its way through 
 the shrunken lips. At last it seemed an 
 endless time she slowly, painfully raised 
 her two hands, those beautifully shaped hands 
 that princes were wont to praise. Above her 
 head they crept. Over her forehead they 
 formed a crown. 
 
 " It is King James," said Cecil. 
 
 Giles left the room, no one heeding nor 
 hindering. He hastened noiselessly past Jan's 
 slumbering comrade, through the passages to 
 the outer air. He found his friend, covered 
 by Carey's cloak, asleep on the dry grass 
 where the horses were stamping restlessly 
 close at hand. His guardian sprang from 
 out the shadow. 
 
 "Well?" he breathed. 
 
 Giles told his story in the fewest words. 
 He saw Carey's face light up. His hand 
 tightened upon the hilt of his sword. " As I 
 hoped and believed," he cried. " Lad, lad, 
 our fortunes are made ! " 
 
 Still he did not remove his gaze from the 
 building. His eyes were fastened upon the
 
 10 IX THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 light within one window, in no little anxiety 
 and impatience. 
 
 The casement moved. Carey flung his rein 
 to the boy. He sprang across the road. A 
 lady's head appeared in the lighted square. 
 It bent forward. A white hand threw some- 
 thing to the watcher below. He seized it, 
 looked, and then made one bound towards 
 the nearest door. He glanced inside. 
 
 Back he came, like a shadow. He scram- 
 bled into his saddle, and motioned in agita- 
 tion to Giles. He thrust one hand into his 
 doublet. The boy saw that it held a glisten- 
 ing ring. 
 
 " Turn," he hissed, " and ride as thou 
 never hast before ! Our fortunes are made, I 
 tell thee, Giles. Elizabeth is dead, and thou 
 and I we shall carry the news to King 
 James."
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 HOW THE NEWS REACHED HOLYROOD 
 
 " MY poor Giles," said Sir Robert, looking 
 back as he rode. " Thou art nigh done for, 
 art thou not ? " 
 
 His ward drew a long, gasping breath. 
 He was bent forward upon the pommel. One 
 stiff hand loosened itself from the rein. The 
 other reached out to return Carey's kindly 
 touch. It was seldom that anything in the 
 nature of a caress was given to him by this 
 stern, quiet man. The boy, thoroughly ex- 
 hausted by this ceaseless exertion, was much 
 affected. He said quickly, though his tone 
 showed the fatigue he would not acknow- 
 ledge : 
 
 " Methinks I shall be myself again when I 
 have had a good night's sleep. It is the 
 change from one relay of horses to another 
 that tires me most. With Dapple, I could 
 stand as long a ride, I know." 
 
 " 'T is the night work," observed Sir Rob- 
 ert. " Thou art full young for such an en-
 
 12 IN THE B RAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 terprise, yet thou hast proven thyself a man. 
 Courage ! We shall reach Edinburgh to sup 
 and rest. We shall " 
 
 The horse made a misstep. His tired rider 
 was off his guard, sitting carelessly. He 
 pitched forward, feU heavily over the ani- 
 mal's head, and at full length in the roadway. 
 In an instant Giles was upon the ground. He 
 knelt beside the prostrate figure that remained 
 without movement or word. 
 
 " Sir, speak to me ! " implored the boy. 
 " Tell me, are you sorely hurt, and where ? 
 Oh, what shall I do? what shall I do?" 
 
 Blood streamed down the man's ghastly 
 face from a long wound under his curling 
 hair. Giles wrung his hands, looking about 
 him to search the landscape for a sign of 
 help. Since they left Norhani Castle behind 
 them that day, they had met few fellow way- 
 farers. None was visible now. There was 
 no habitation in sight. He felt utterly at a 
 loss. 
 
 Without the slightest warning, Sir Robert 
 started to his feet. He staggered like a 
 drunken man, and leaned heavily upon his 
 ward. But his blood-stained features were 
 set in determination. 
 
 " Help me to mount," was all he said.
 
 HOW THE NEWS REACHED HOLYROOD 13 
 
 " Oh, sir, you cannot. See ! you know not 
 how you are hurt. You falter " 
 
 " Help me to mount." 
 
 The boy shook his head in perplexity and 
 distress. He settled his guardian in the sad- 
 dle, and handed him the reins. 
 
 " You cannot hold out," he began, despair- 
 ingly. " You must wait " 
 
 " I tell thee I will not wait ! Until we reach 
 Holyrood I can hold out, and I will." 
 
 Five hours later, the guards who stood be- 
 fore the king's bedchamber were startled by 
 an unwonted sight. A travel-worn stranger, 
 white as death, with blood upon his face, 
 half led by a trembling boy, pushed through 
 their ranks imperiously. 
 
 " Make way for word from London ! " he 
 cried. 
 
 He thrust back their protests. He was 
 past them, dragging his ward with him. 
 Again Giles entered a royal presence. 
 
 It was a dreary waste of room, poorly fur- 
 nished, lighted by candles that betrayed, it 
 must be confessed, no little dirt as well as 
 poverty. In a high-backed, richly carved 
 chair sat the only occupant of this immense 
 apartment. He was dressed in a thickly wad- 
 ded suit of hunters'-green clothes that were
 
 14 J.V THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 the worse for wear and not scrupulously clean. 
 His figure was tall and slender, with spin- 
 dling legs that seemed too slight to support 
 his body. His eyes were prominent and star- 
 ing. When he spoke, it was hard for Giles 
 to understand him, so Scotch were his phrases 
 and so indistinct was his voice. 
 
 Carey threw himself on his knees before 
 him. Seizing one hand, he pressed it to his 
 lips. 
 
 " Hail, James," he said, " King of England 
 and Scotland ! " 
 
 " Is 't true ? Is 't true, mon ?" queried his 
 sovereign, pulling Carey towards him. He 
 looked up into the man's face, then averted 
 his eyes quickly, patting the arm he grasped. 
 " Is 't true, then ? Is she deid ? " 
 
 " Your gracious Majesty," Carey replied, 
 " it is quite true." 
 
 "How dost ken?" 
 
 " Lady Scrope flung this ring " he held it 
 out " from the window, as we had agreed, 
 for a token. I glanced into one room, at 
 random. The women were all weeping to- 
 gether. Then I took horse and rode, at 
 once, and night and day, to you. I was re- 
 solved that you should hear this from no one 
 else, ere I had kept my word."
 
 HOW THE NEWS REACHED HOLY ROOD 15 
 
 " Ay, ay," James nodded. " 'T was well 
 done. Thou hast long since engaged to bring 
 me back the ring when Elizabeth should de- 
 part hence. When was 't, good Carey ? " 
 
 " On Thursday, your Majesty." 
 
 "Thursday?" His dull face lighted up. 
 " That is the Tudor day. Henry died on 
 Thursday, and Mary, and Edward, and now 
 Elizabeth. But, Carey " he gazed wistfully 
 at the other, stroking his arm more coaxingly 
 " said she aught of me ? " 
 
 Carey was prepared for this question. He 
 beckoned Giles to come forward. 
 
 " This lad, an' it please your Majesty," he 
 said, " can tell what happened at the death- 
 bed, and in what express terms her Majesty's 
 royal cousin was named." 
 
 Giles was a handsome little fellow. His 
 rosy cheeks and waving chestnut locks com- 
 mended him to a monarch partial to pretty 
 boys. The king's eyes glittered as he lis- 
 tened to the story. In a few bashful words 
 that scene by the bedside of the English 
 Semiramis was described, to the delight of the 
 auditor. James hesitated. This was the hap- 
 piest moment of his life. Yet he hated to 
 part with anything that belonged to him. 
 Slowly he drew from his finger the sapphire
 
 16 I.V THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 ring Carey had brought him and held it out 
 to Giles. 
 
 " Take this, bonny wee mon," said he, 
 " and tell me more of thee. Who art thou, 
 laddie?" 
 
 " Giles Valentine, your Majesty. My father 
 was killed in the Low Countries. My mother 
 is Margaret Valentine, of the Grange nigh 
 Richmond." 
 
 " Art a good son, Giles ? " 
 
 " I strive to be. This gentle " he bowed 
 to Carey " is my guardian- He knows." 
 
 " He is the best of lads," Carey said heart- 
 ily. " And he stood this fearful ride like a 
 hero." 
 
 Possibly the speaker was not averse from 
 reminding the king what a ride it had been. 
 But James shunned the subject, as he shunned 
 the sight of Carey's wound. Blood was mor- 
 bidly abhorrent to him, and the thought of 
 obligation was none too strong. 
 
 " Gave thy mother permission that thou 
 shouldst do this thing ? " he inquired sharply 
 of Giles in his thick-tongued Scotch. 
 
 " Your Majesty, I had no time to ask it. 
 My guardian bade me, and I came. He sent 
 word to my home that I was with him, and 
 safe. It was the best that I could do."
 
 HOW THE NEWS REACHED HOLYROOD 17 
 
 "And why bring the lad?" asked the 
 king. 
 
 Carey explained. He wished an eyewit- 
 ness of Elizabeth's design, and he felt that 
 
 O ' 
 
 the message he carried was too valuable to 
 trust to one person, with the accidents that 
 might befall. 
 
 " We have a good son," said the Scotch 
 king, breaking in on Sir Robert's speech, 
 and addressing Giles. " We have two lad- 
 dies. Thou shalt see Baby Charles. But 
 Prince Henry Ah, he is my heart's jewel ! 
 he is with the Earl of Mar. Some day, 
 wee mon, some day, long, long to come, he 
 shall rule over thee and thine, shall our son, 
 as Henry the Ninth." 
 
 He started from his chair. " Ring the 
 bell, ring the bell ! " he cried imperiously to 
 Carey. " And begone, good sirs. I love ye 
 kindly. I I shall not forget ye. But now 
 I must see my queen. We shall put ye in the 
 care of those," he glanced askance at Carey's 
 face, " who will tend to your injuries." 
 
 Thus dismissed, Giles and his guardian 
 backed themselves from the presence. 
 
 Carey was immediately seized upon by a 
 group of courtiers, who guessed his errand 
 and were desirous of hearing the particulars.
 
 18 JN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 Giles was addressed by a youth some years 
 his elder, clad in shabby and outgrown cloth- 
 ing. His thin features had a ferret-like ex- 
 pression. His small eyes were sly. He linked 
 their arms together, introducing himself as a 
 fellow countryman of the name of George 
 Earl. He led Giles into the dining-hall, 
 throwing aside a threadbare curtain of tar- 
 nished gold, and ushering his companion to 
 the welcome sight of a spread table. 
 
 Giles made a hearty meal of the coarse 
 food, while George plied him with questions. 
 He not only soon learned the two messengers' 
 tidings, but also what Giles could tell him of 
 his family and himself. The proudest fact 
 in the boy's short life was soon related : 
 
 " My father was with the Lord High Ad- 
 miral on the Triumph. He fought in the 
 Channel against the Armada of Spain." 
 
 George gave a little cry of surprised admi- 
 ration. Giles thrust one hand beneath his 
 vest and unbuckled the belt he always wore 
 under it about his waist. George's small eyes 
 twinkled covetously, as he watched the other 
 turn the pocket of soft leather inside out, and 
 the tiny heap of coins that fell jingling to 
 the board. Among them was a medal. 
 
 "It was struck in Holland," explained
 
 HOW THE NEWS REACHED HOLYEOOD 19 
 
 Giles, pushing it forward. " On one side 
 thou seest Philip's ships in order. Then there 
 is the date, 1588, and the motto, ' Flavit et 
 dissipati sunt.' ' 
 
 " What is the reverse ? " asked George, 
 weighing the medal in his palm. 
 
 " The church on a rock, surrounded by 
 stormy waves," Giles answered. " And the 
 motto, l Allidor non Laedor.' I value that 
 medal next to my father's sword." 
 
 He opened his lips to point out to George 
 the initials A.V. scratched lightly in the sail 
 of one of the engraved ships. At that mo- 
 ment they were interrupted by Carey. 
 
 Official word had arrived, he said, from 
 London. They themselves had not many 
 hours' start of this courier, who was raging to 
 find that Elizabeth's death was already known. 
 King James intended to bid farewell to his 
 people in the church. All the court were to 
 attend that service on Sunday. 
 
 Giles felt deeply the impressiveness of the 
 scene. James, with Anne of Denmark by his 
 side, stood in his place surrounded by weep- 
 ing folk who pressed forward to touch his 
 hand. It was like a father's leave-taking from 
 his children. There was something homely 
 about it, presenting a worthier view of the
 
 20 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 often misjudged man who was England's new 
 ruler. 
 
 In about ten days he left Edinburgh for 
 the border. Again a curious picture was pre- 
 sented to the onlooker. In the streets, a 
 gaping crowd about him, the king kissed his 
 wife and bade her good-by for a season. 
 She was to follow with their children a few 
 weeks later. 
 
 George had struck up a rather cne-sided 
 friendship with the Englishmen who were to 
 make part of James's train. While the two 
 lads rode side by side together, he was voluble 
 in his joy that his face was turned homeward 
 again. " I came to Holyrood," he explained, 
 " a year since with my uncle. I have pined 
 for Warwick each day of that year. Wist 
 thou, Giles, that Archie was mine uncle ? " 
 
 Archie was the court fool. 
 
 " Nay," said Giles, marveling that George 
 spoke as if this were some honor. " Thou 
 hast told me naught of it." 
 
 He felt vaguely that he should be kinder 
 to George for this discovery. When they 
 made their first halt at night, the younger 
 men and boys were quartered, after the rud- 
 est fashion, in outhouses, sleeping upon piles 
 of straw or their own cloaks. Giles would
 
 HOW THE NEWS REACHED HOLYEOOD 21 
 
 have preferred biding by his guardian, or, 
 since that could not be, by some one of the 
 steadier young Scotchmen. Still he would 
 not hurt George by any avoidance, and George 
 kept close to him. 
 
 The morning dawned raw and gloomy. 
 Giles rose betimes, that he might bathe and 
 dress before the others. He felt at once that 
 his belt was loosely hanging at his side. He 
 ran his fingers along its surface. It was ex- 
 actly as he feared. 
 
 The pocket was empty. His money and 
 medal were gone.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 THE HOUSE ON THE MOOR 
 
 CAREY did not give his ward much sym- 
 pathy when Giles found him out to tell him 
 of his loss. 
 
 "'Tis of no avail trying to trace it," he 
 said, "among all these strangers. In time 
 thou mayst discover the medal. I do not 
 wish to raise a hue and cry with the Scotch- 
 men. They have no love for us as it is. It 
 would go hard with thee, I fear me, shouldst 
 thou accuse them of theft." 
 
 Giles looked very sober. "I know not 
 what my mother will say," quoth he, " when 
 I return to her without the medal." 
 
 " It may come to light ere this progress is 
 done," Carey suggested. " Cheer thee, lad. 
 There are worse losses than thine. What 
 thinkst thou his Majesty announced but 
 now?" 
 
 Giles had no idea. 
 
 " He has given thee nothing for thy ride 
 to him. Nothing, Giles. For me, I am to
 
 THE HOUSE ON THE MOOR 23 
 
 be gentleman of the bedchamber. A fine 
 office, forsooth ! Gentleman of the bedcham- 
 ber for all my reward ! " 
 
 The boy began to speak. 
 
 " Hush," whispered Carey, busying himself 
 about the harness of his horse. " Say no- 
 thing. Yon comes young Earl. I trust not 
 that fox-faced varlet. Men tell me that 
 Archie the fool coveted this new post of 
 mine, poor though it be, for George's brother 
 in the Mid-Counties." 
 
 George hung about the younger boy per- 
 sistently, in this long drawn-out Southern 
 journey. Giles had no less suspicion of him 
 than his guardian felt. He endeavored to 
 shun George whenever he could quietly do 
 so. Sometimes he felt that his schemes for 
 avoidance were guessed and resented. 
 
 The monotonous round of country gayety 
 and entertainment was drawing to a close. 
 They had entered upon the last half of the 
 tour. One afternoon of a mild spring day 
 Giles found himself riding alone, having fallen 
 behind the train of horsemen. Twilight was 
 
 o 
 
 closing in. They were to stop for the night, 
 he knew, with a gentleman called Sir Oliver 
 Cromwell. Giles jogged slowly along the 
 rough road, absorbed in thought : of the odd
 
 24 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 life he was leading, of bis recent loss, of his 
 mother, his little sister Meg, of Jan, and what 
 he might be doing. 
 
 Suddenly there was a tremendous crash. 
 His horse stumbled, pitching upon his knees. 
 Giles was thrown violently over his head. He 
 fell, apparently, from a considerable height. 
 Confused ideas rushed through his mind. 
 Then everything became black before him, 
 and he knew nothing more. 
 
 When the boy recovered consciousness, it 
 was in the dusk of the long afterglow. About 
 him stretched what looked like an unending 
 black wall. He gazed up a distance of ten 
 or twelve feet before he could see the branches 
 of trees etched against the clear sky. 
 
 He felt each limb cautiously, putting his 
 hand to his head. There was no wound any- 
 where. When he finally staggered to his 
 feet, he saw that, shaken though he was, no 
 bones were broken by the fall. He was evi- 
 dently in a deep pit. Doubtless, his horse 
 had wandered from the track ; he, busy with 
 recollections of home, had not noticed this. 
 The hole was some rude excavation, common 
 in that rough country, and a serious sort of 
 mantrap when the captured had no comrade 
 at liberty to extricate him.
 
 THE HOUSE ON THE MOOR 25 
 
 Giles seated himself again, to think over 
 calmly what was to be done. His riderless 
 steed might never find the others. In a 
 strange land, it would be curious if he chanced 
 to fall in with the king's men, or be recog- 
 nized by any one. Carey would miss his 
 charge in time, although not, very possibly, 
 until several days had gone by, and until the 
 company were far advanced upon their way 
 again. He saw little of the boy, during these 
 interrupted times of constant change. None 
 of the others would be interested to institute 
 a search for him, unless George Earl should 
 do so. And Giles had his doubts of George's 
 friendship. 
 
 No, it was manifest that there was no re- 
 liance to be placed upon any outside help. 
 He must try to save himself, or Giles did 
 not like to dwell upon the alternative. He 
 might linger here, in this dismal hole, 
 scorched by the sun, beaten upon by the 
 rain, whipped by the winds, till, worn out by 
 exposure and the torture of hunger and 
 thirst, he died, and his bones were found, at 
 some distant hour, to tell the tale, if aught 
 remained for recognition, to his mother and 
 little Meg. 
 
 Yet all about him the dark walls rose,
 
 26 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 sheer, without a break. It was like a shal- 
 low well. There was no foothold anywhere 
 by which he could scramble even part way 
 towards the surface of the ground. 
 
 What should he do? 
 
 After carefully examining the pit, Giles 
 began to consider its outer resources. On 
 the brink of the descent was a stout sapling. 
 It was thus temptingly close at hand, and 
 yet far away, at least six feet from the out- 
 stretched fingers of the boy when standing 
 on tiptoe. It would give a support to a pul- 
 ley, he mused, looking up at it longingly. 
 Ah, he had an inspiration ! 
 
 Unwinding the long, silken sash from about 
 his waist, he tore it lengthwise in two. It 
 was stout, requiring his dirk to cut it, but 
 he was glad of this, for it showed the strength 
 of the stuff. There were a few loose stones 
 upon the rocky bottom of the pit. He tied 
 one of these within the fringe of his sash. 
 Aided by the clearness of the light, and by 
 the rising moon, he began his efforts to es- 
 cape. 
 
 Over and over again he made the attempt, 
 throwing the loaded, improvised rope, so that 
 one end should surround the tree trunk and 
 fall back within the hole, while he still held
 
 THE HOUSE ON THE MOOR 27 
 
 the other in his left hand. Over and over he 
 failed, until, if the experiment had not been 
 so desperate, he should have given it up in 
 despair. This was life or death, so Giles 
 put forth another effort, and another, and 
 another. 
 
 Sometimes the silken sling fell far short of 
 the tree. Sometimes it went around it, as 
 it should, but did not return to him in his 
 prison. He tried again and again, his arm 
 aching and his sight failing from excessive 
 fatigue. 
 
 It was a desperate, not a deliberate aim 
 that finally achieved what he had so long at- 
 tempted in vain. Almost at random Giles 
 made a careless fling. To his astonishment 
 there fell at his feet the entangled end of silk 
 while its middle encircled the tree trunk. He 
 had a ladder ready to his hand. 
 
 He tied the two pieces together, pulling 
 hard upon them. They stood the strain per- 
 fectly, and the sapling, though it swayed, was 
 strong. Hand over hand Giles pulled himself 
 up the rock. He was bruised against it. The 
 young tree shook, and jarred him with its 
 trembling. The distance was slight, after all. 
 It was the work of a few moments to climb 
 out from this treacherous spot. With a sen-
 
 28 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 sation of intense thankfulness, Giles felt the 
 grass brush his cheek. He drew up his knees, 
 and his feet touched the earth. He was safe. 
 
 He left the sash dangling upon the tree. 
 Perhaps it would serve for a danger signal 
 for some other traveler. And here the ques- 
 tion confronted him, Where should he find 
 shelter for the night ? AU about him lay a 
 bleak expanse of waste land. Darkness was 
 settling down upon the dreary scene, only 
 relieved by the crescent moon. Far as the 
 eye could see there was no sign of human be- 
 ing or of house. He walked forward at a 
 venture, stumbling towards what he thought 
 was the direction of the road, straining his 
 sight to catch the glimmer of a light through 
 the deepening gloom. 
 
 Was that a spark or a tiny star low on the 
 horizon ? No. Yes. It was a distant flicker 
 of fire or candle, and it meant some compan- 
 ionship, at least. 
 
 On and on Giles ran towards that point of 
 light, quickening his steps when the hunger 
 he was beginning to feel pricked him for- 
 ward, slowing his pace when his tired feet 
 refused to keep up longer. It seemed hours 
 before the light grew more distinct. By and 
 by it resolved itself into a glow that came from
 
 THE HOUSE ON THE MOOR 29 
 
 one side of a long, low building. He was 
 approaching some sort of house. He was 
 impressed by the meanness of the surround- 
 ings, the unkempt ground, the tumbled-down 
 aspect of the thatched hut, for it was no- 
 thing more, while he drew close to the win- 
 dow and peered within. 
 
 A bit of oiled paper answered the purpose 
 of a pane. The rickety shutter hung half off. 
 Inside the room into which Giles looked 
 sat a beetle-browed, cadaverous man, clad in 
 rusty finery, brooding over the fire, the only 
 light in the room. A saddle of rich work- 
 manship lay upon the mud floor. A broken 
 chair or two, a stool for a table, seemed to 
 comprise the furniture. Upon the stool sat 
 a flagon and the remains of a meat pasty. 
 Towards this last Giles gazed lovingly. He 
 stole around to the door and knocked. 
 
 " Who is there ? " called a gruff voice. 
 
 " One Giles Valentine," answered the boy. 
 " A lad from the king's retinue who has lost 
 his way and craves a night's lodging." 
 
 There was an exclamation of surprise. A 
 bolt slipped, the door opened upon the crack. 
 The beetle-browed man looked out. 
 
 " Art alone, then ? " he demanded. 
 
 " Alone, good sir, and lost."
 
 30 IN TUE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 " Enter," was the churlish invitation. 
 
 Giles squeezed through the narrow open- 
 ing, his host still holding the door. He 
 walked into the house. 
 
 "What's this tale of thine?" said the 
 man, bolting the entrance again, and looking 
 the boy over from head to foot. 
 
 Giles related his mishap in detail. When 
 he had finished, the man waved one hand 
 towards the table. " There canst thou eat," 
 said he. " And there," he pointed to a pallet 
 covered with a riding^cloak in the obscurity 
 of a corner, " there canst thou pass the 
 night." 
 
 This surly hospitality was thankfully re- 
 ceived. Giles refreshed himself, while his 
 host, reseated by the fire, so far unbent as to 
 question him minutely in regard to the royal 
 progress. Such interest was so natural that 
 Giles felt no hesitancy in telling him whatever 
 he wanted to know. 
 
 He was dead tired and soon craved permis- 
 sion to seek the bed. The man, he fancied, 
 rather hiirried him into it. In spite of his 
 fatigue there was something in the situation 
 that kept the boy from sleep. Yet he saw 
 the man by the fire cast so many sharp glances 
 towards his corner that he soon shut his eyes,
 
 THE HOUSE ON THE MOOR 31 
 
 breathing slowly and heavily, to see what 
 would come of this. 
 
 He heard a sigh of relief. Very soon he 
 detected a light tap upon the window. The 
 man heard it too. He sprang up, and, mov- 
 ing on tiptoe, stole softly outside the house. 
 Giles could catch the murmur of conversation. 
 Presently the man returned and the door was 
 secured. There was a subdued tinkle and 
 jingle, as of coins carefully handled. He 
 dared not open his eyes. 
 
 A hushed silence followed. He could hear 
 the crackle of the fire and the squeaking of 
 the rickety chair. A loud noise broke the 
 stillness : the trample of horses' feet, a pound- 
 ing upon the door. Giles leaped from the 
 bed, the man from his chair. 
 
 " Open in the king's name ! " 
 
 The man dragged himself slowly to the 
 door. He moved the bolt and it flew back 
 from without. A mob fell into the room. 
 Giles recognized them all. Carey was among 
 their number. The foremost placed one hand 
 upon the arm of his host. 
 
 " John Simon," he said, " thou art my 
 prisoner." 
 
 It was all over in an instant. The boy 
 found himself at his guardian's side. Before
 
 32 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 them on the stool lay an open wallet, from 
 which a few coins had fallen. Carey picked 
 up one, looked at it, and again more sharply. 
 
 He handed it to Giles. " Here, lad," he said, 
 " however thou earnest here, thou wert upon 
 the track of thine own. See this." 
 
 It was the Dutch medal.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 KING JAMES PASSES SENTENCE 
 
 GILES could only look his astonishment at 
 his guardian. 
 
 " Who is he ? " he inquired, while they were 
 swept with the crowd outside of the room. 
 " Why is he apprehended? " 
 
 Sir Robert caught his bridle from a wait- 
 ing groom. " Thou canst ride with me," he 
 said. " Here, step on the stirrup and clasp me 
 round the waist. As we go thou shalt tell 
 me how thou cam'st in that den of thieves. 
 Afterwards I will give thee the history of 
 what has happed since I saw thee last at day- 
 break." 
 
 Giles accordingly mounted behind his guar- 
 dian. He related his adventures in all haste, 
 so eager was he to hear the other's story. 
 Carey, too, made quick work of his news. 
 For some days different members of the royal 
 train had been complaining of losses. Money 
 and jewels such money and such jewels as 
 the poor Scots possessed had been stolen.
 
 34 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 Last night the growing agitation over this mys- 
 terious pilfering had in some fashion reached 
 the king's ears. He declared that the thief 
 must be found, and must be made an exam- 
 ple. A few hours since, two courtiers were 
 stopped and robbed while riding by themselves 
 along a lonely bit of road. Their description 
 of the offender identified him with a notori- 
 ous highwayman, to Sir Oliver Cromwell's 
 mind. It was guessed that this Simon might 
 have been following the company for the past 
 week, and might be the scoundrel whose in- 
 iquities could now be brought home to him. 
 
 " Thy medal will go far to convict him," 
 Sir Robert observed. 
 
 " Oh, sir, must it be so ? " Giles grew pale. 
 " 'T was pilfered ere we left Scotland " 
 
 " Surely," said his guardian in amazement, 
 " thou wouldst not shield the fellow ? " 
 
 " 'T is not that ; but he gave me shelter 
 when I was in need. I would not be the one 
 to harm him in return." 
 
 " Hush thy folly," was the stern response. 
 "Justice waits not on thy concerns. Leave 
 this in my hands. And here we are at 
 Huntingdon." 
 
 A massive pile rose before them in the 
 moonlight. The house stood in the midst of
 
 KING JAMES PASSES SENTENCE 35 
 
 an irregularly laid-out park, where sheep and 
 horses grazed by day among the trees, with 
 which the meadow-land was sprinkled. 
 
 As Giles slid from the horse to the ground, 
 a hand came out of the darkness and seized 
 his arm. He was dragged away from his 
 guardian, away from the group about the 
 doorway, into the deeper shadow of an im- 
 mense cedar. 
 
 " Spy I " a hoarse voice hissed in his ear. 
 " Thou cowardly spy ! " 
 
 " Who calls me spy ? " cried the boy indig- 
 nantly. "He who hides in the gloom and 
 draws me from the presence of witnesses ? 
 Does he call me coward and spy ? " 
 
 " I tell thee thou art a cur." Now he knew 
 it for the utterance of George Earl, though 
 it shook with passionate anger. " Thou art a 
 cur. Thou hast sought out one who was good 
 to thee, only that thou mightest lead these 
 human bloodhounds there. Thou hast cause 
 to be proud of thy work, Giles Valentine ! " 
 
 " Giles Valentine ! " called some one, like 
 an echo. 
 
 Both lads started and looked whence the 
 sound came. A man stood in the open door- 
 way of the great house, his figure outlined 
 against the light that streamed from within.
 
 36 I.V THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 " Giles Valentine," he cried. " The king 
 hath need of Giles Valentine." 
 
 With a heavy heart the reluctant witness 
 came forward to the steps. He paid no heed 
 to George, whom he heard following close 
 behind. Up the broad entrance-way went the 
 twain, past the man at the door, and so inside 
 the hall. 
 
 It was a superb apartment which lay before 
 them. The hall was some forty-five feet long, 
 with height and breadth in proportion. A 
 monstrous fire burned in the chimney oppo- 
 site them. The dark wall was hung with 
 gloomy portraits. A winding, enormously 
 broad staircase led to the gallery above. 
 
 Before the fire, upon a sort of dais, sat 
 King James in a chair hung with tapestry. 
 Beside the platform was stationed the master 
 of the house, a large-framed, strong-featured 
 man, who held a little boy by the hand. The 
 prisoner stood before them, and a clerk who 
 was taking notes of a witness's evidence. 
 
 When it pleased him to lay aside his state, 
 James the First was the most familiar of mon- 
 archs. He looked up at Giles's entrance, nod- 
 ding affably to him. 
 
 " Here is our bonny mon," quoth he. 
 " Come, Giles, laddie, and tell us thy story.
 
 KING JAMES PASSES SENTENCE 37 
 
 Sir Robert says that thou hast evidence to 
 hang yon wretch." 
 
 Giles sickened at the words, which the sul- 
 len prisoner, in an attitude of obstinate pride, 
 affected not to hear. The boy's white face 
 and anxious eyes attracted the attention of 
 the small son of the house. He pulled him- 
 self away from Sir Oliver to run to Giles. 
 
 " Poor lad," he said. " Has the naughty 
 king frighted thee ? I '11 tell my father to 
 chide him, an' thou sayest the word." 
 
 There was a broad laugh, led by the easy- 
 going sovereign. 
 
 " Well spoken, my brave young Oliver," 
 he exclaimed. " Thou hast a spirit beyond 
 thy years. Would that our Charles," and he 
 sighed, " who must be nigh as old as thee, 
 had thy vigor and thy mind." 
 
 More than forty years afterwards, when 
 Giles Valentine was growing to be an old 
 man, the death of Charles recalled to his mind 
 those words of King James. He thought how 
 little his Majesty guessed that he was speak- 
 ing to one who was to be instrumental in 
 destroying that dear son of his. 
 
 " Come hither to me, laddie," called James. 
 " Look at this mass of stuff." He indicated 
 a pile of money and trinkets on the table
 
 38 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 between him and Sir Oliver. " Kenst thou 
 aught of these ? " 
 
 Giles took his courage in both hands. He 
 sank on his knees at the platform's edge. 
 
 " May it please your Majesty," he began, 
 " the man gave me food and lodging this 
 night. Must I return his kindness with such 
 foul ingratitude ? " 
 
 " Good Giles," said King James earnestly, 
 " when public ends are to be served, private 
 matters must not be weighed against them. 
 Majesty has learned that lesson, and 't is 
 bitter hard, my mon, as all must learn it 
 some time who come in contact with public 
 doings. We are parts of a whole, laddie, I 
 and thou alike. Consider the whole and not 
 the part. And now tell us if thou seest 
 aught familiar in this collection, and if thou 
 canst identify it without handling or coming 
 
 nearer." 
 
 
 
 "Yon Dutch medal," said Giles slowly, 
 pointing while he spoke, " I think to be mine, 
 and so shall know it by one sign. 'T was my 
 father's. He scratched the letters A. V. in 
 the farther sail upon the right of the fleet." 
 
 The king examined the coin, handing it 
 afterwards to Sir Oliver. The latter bowed 
 gravely.
 
 KING JAMES PASSES SENTENCE 39 
 
 " Now tell us," James continued in the 
 same gentle tone, " where thou lost thy token, 
 and when." 
 
 Giles did so. His beseeching glance made 
 the king inquire his further wish. 
 
 " May I go now, your Majesty ? " he asked. 
 " Am I needed longer ? " 
 
 He was stifling, his head whirling, and his 
 heart beating fiercely. It was impossible to 
 tarry here in the glare of light and heat, to 
 hear the man who had befriended him doomed 
 to punishment, no matter how deserved. 
 
 James gave his permission, seeing how ill 
 the boy looked, and perhaps fearing a com- 
 plete breakdown. Suffering of any sort was 
 always shunned by this Stuart. 
 
 Giles pushed through the throng to the 
 stairway. He had some notion of seeking 
 Sir Robert, who was not in the hall, and of 
 hiding himself for the remainder of the night 
 from sight or sound. Little Oliver again ran 
 after him, grasping him by the coat. His 
 father had given him directions in a hasty 
 aside. The child he was not yet five years 
 old had a manly expression upon his small, 
 ugly face. 
 
 " I '11 show thee where thou art to sleep," 
 he said, leading the way up the stairs. " I '11
 
 40 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 take thee to the turret-room and make thee 
 snug. Grieve not, good boy. Naught can 
 harm thee whilst thou art with me." 
 
 Giles smiled sadly at the brag. Leaning 
 over the railing, gaping down at the commo- 
 tion below, was Archie, the court fool. He 
 straightened himself and glared at the ap- 
 proaching pair. His deep-set eyes were wild 
 with rage. 
 
 " Thou shalt pay dear for thy medal ! " he 
 muttered while they passed. 
 
 What could it all mean, thought Giles, 
 this intense interest shown by George and 
 Archie in the fate of a common thief ? Why 
 their fury against him for the unwilling part 
 he had been obliged to play ? 
 
 Little Oliver kept his word. He found his 
 guest a comfortable bed upon the floor of 
 an antechamber. " Within there," said he, 
 pointing to a larger room, " Sir Robert Carey 
 sleeps. So my father bade me tell thee. 
 Thou shalt be near thy friend. And now, 
 good-night to thee ; good-night and pleasant 
 dreams." 
 
 This was a mockery, however well it was 
 meant. Giles tossed upon his lowly couch 
 the whole night long, seeking some respite 
 from the tormenting remembrance of his tes-
 
 KING JAMES PASSES SENTENCE 41 
 
 timony, of its probable consequences, and of 
 the ill-will sbown him by so powerful an en- 
 emy as the king's jester and prime favorite. 
 
 With the first streak of dawn he was upon 
 his feet. Making a hasty toilet, he noiselessly 
 left the room and sought egress from the 
 house, feeling that the sweet, keen spring air 
 of out of doors might drive away the blinding 
 ache of his head, the result of a wakeful 
 night and the accompaniment to an aching 
 heart. 
 
 He threaded his course through many 
 winding passages, by countless closed doors, 
 to the great staircase which led down to the 
 hall. Here a sleepy servant was just kind- 
 ling the fire. He let the boy out of the 
 door, with much clanking of bolt and chain. 
 
 Giles stood for a moment, his hand to his 
 head, upon the step, uncertain which path to 
 take for his stroll in the park. Something 
 caught his eye : a figure lying face down- 
 ward in the grass. He ran towards it. 
 
 George Earl lifted a tear-stained face to 
 meet his pitying gaze. With a scream of 
 aversion he jumped to his full height. 
 
 " Dost thou dare approach me ? " he cried 
 shrilly. " Thou viper ! Away ! Away, and 
 rue the day thou thus repaid my brother's
 
 42 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 offer of a roof to thee, thou hound of mis- 
 chief ! " 
 
 "Thy brother?" gasped Giles, a light 
 breaking in upon him. 
 
 " Yes, wretch, my only brother, known by 
 many names besides our father's. Hast come 
 to gloat upon thy deed ? Look there ! " 
 
 His shaking hand was uplifted towards the 
 woods back of the house. Giles wheeled 
 about mechanically in the same direction. A 
 horrid sight was thus revealed. 
 
 The trees, in their earliest dress of green, 
 stood out against the sunrise. From a branch 
 of an old oak-tree, in the pitiless light, was 
 dangling the body of a man. They had 
 hanged John Earl who called himself John 
 Simon, to show how the new king was minded 
 to deal with miscreants such as he.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 KIDNAPED 
 
 IT was useless to say a word to George. 
 He only became the more infuriated with any 
 effort towards sympathy or explanation. At 
 the attempt he broke into horrible threats, of 
 which Giles would have made light, had it 
 not been for the recollection of Archie's 
 malevolent salutation of the night before. 
 
 It was best to lay the whole affair before 
 Sir Robert's superior judgment, the boy con- 
 sidered, and bent his steps towards the house 
 once more. 
 
 That worthy gave a prolonged whistle when 
 Giles had sought him out in his room. " The 
 fool is, in truth, a formidable foe," he observed 
 ruefully. " Be on thy guard, lad, and watch. 
 Thou mayst receive, on the sudden, a signal 
 to be gone." 
 
 He pondered the matter while he was 
 dressing. 
 
 " Great festivities are preparing for to-day," 
 he said. " There is to be one of those hunt-
 
 44 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 ing parties, in which his Majesty delights. 
 Presents will be offered him, and the peasantry 
 round about will fling up the cap and shout 
 for the king. We have become wonted to 
 the particulars of a progress, have we not? 
 They say Sir Oliver is to outdo all our other 
 hosts. 'T will be hard in the bustle and hurry 
 to find time to lay out a course of action. 
 And yet " Sir Robert laid down the sword 
 he was buckling at his side, and glanced ap- 
 prehensively toward his ward. He would not 
 say the words, yet Giles understood his fur- 
 ther thought : the busy, noisy day would be 
 the time of times for the carrying out of a 
 private grudge. How should he guard the 
 boy? 
 
 Whenever it proved possible, they kept 
 side by side throughout the morning. Sir 
 Robert, who was more alarmed for Giles than 
 Giles was for himself, did not allow his ward 
 to go out of his sight. A banquet took up 
 part of the day, a meal of which one feature 
 awakened the admiration of even these much- 
 entertained Scotchmen. Two roasted boars 
 stood in the middle of the table, harnessed to 
 a mammoth plum pudding that had been 
 made in the form of a wagon. 
 
 A presentation of gifts followed the feast,
 
 KIDNAPED 45 
 
 after which the hunt was announced to take 
 place in the park. Giles's horse had been 
 traced and recovered since the previous day. 
 He ran to the stables to see to its preparation. 
 His courage asserted itself. His natural high 
 spirits were rising ; subdued though he felt by 
 the highwayman's fate, he was now disposed 
 to make sport of his relatives' revenge. 
 
 A groom hastened down from the house 
 behind him, the steed he was leading trotting 
 briskly. 
 
 " Is 't Master Valentine ? " asked the man. 
 
 " Yes," said Giles. 
 
 " This is for you, then." 
 
 He handed him a feather. 
 
 Stout though the boy's heart was, it stopped 
 in its regular beat at the sight of this symbol. 
 He understood its significance well It meant 
 flight. 
 
 " Whence came this token ? " he demanded 
 abruptly. 
 
 The servant scratched his head, a dull, 
 hopeless expression crossing his face. 
 
 " I know not the gentles," he began slowly. 
 " How can I tell who it might be ? 'T was a 
 fine, gay sir, in a velvet coat, the very color 
 of an oak leaf in November." 
 
 Sir Robert had been dressed in that rich
 
 46 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 red-brown to-day, but so had others of the 
 train, Archie, Giles quickly recalled, with 
 the rest. 
 
 " A tall, dark man ? " he inquired. 
 
 " Yes. No. Upon my honor, sir, I can- 
 not say. I marked him not." 
 
 Was it a true warning, or was it a trap ? 
 In the first event every moment was precious. 
 
 " Sent he aught of message ? " he finally 
 asked. 
 
 " Good young sir, forgive me. Yes. He 
 said you were to wait for him at the postern 
 gate, and he would tell you more." 
 
 Giles must risk all, then. He must speed 
 to the appointed place, and see what came of 
 the meeting. 
 
 The man led out his horse. "I shall be 
 prepared," he thought. " Neither friend nor 
 foe shall take me by surprise." 
 
 It was a weary time so it appeared to 
 his agitated mind that he paced Brown 
 Bess up and down before the wicket ; under 
 the trees, out into the sun, back to the shadow 
 again, and so under the trees. 
 
 A low whistle echoed through the woods. 
 Involuntarily Giles turned his head in the 
 direction of the sound. Like a flash of light- 
 ning some one clutched him from behind and
 
 KIDNAPED 47 
 
 dragged him from the saddle. He struggled 
 vainly. His limbs were tightly pinioned. 
 He was thrown to the ground. A huge bag 
 was drawn over his head. He felt himself 
 lifted between two persons, who caught him 
 by the shoulders and the feet. He was placed 
 upon a horse's back, roughly bound to the 
 saddle, and there followed the racking motion 
 of the animal urged to a brisk canter. 
 
 Nothing was said. Everything was done 
 in perfect stillness. Giles could hear the 
 quick beat of horse's hoofs beside the one he 
 rode. When his ear became accustomed to 
 the sounds, he felt certain that he had two 
 attendants, one upon each side, either of 
 whom placed a hand upon him from time 
 to time, to steady the swaying sack which 
 held him imprisoned. His head was raised 
 against the pommel so high that there was no 
 rush of blood. His brain was calm, despite 
 the anguish he suffered in his uncomfortable 
 position. His thoughts flew here and there 
 like frightened birds. 
 
 He had no doubt that his captors were 
 Archie and George. He resigned himself to 
 inevitable torture, such as their hatred could 
 devise. And would they dare to kill him ? 
 
 He was by no means sure of this. He was,
 
 48 
 
 in a sense, under the protection of King 
 James. His guardian was of the royal house- 
 hold. Yet whatever they could do, those 
 enemies of his, that, he knew, would be 
 tried. 
 
 It was not long, although it seemed an 
 age, before his doubts were changed to cer- 
 tainty. His horse was pulled to a halt. The 
 straps that bound him to it were loosened. 
 The sack was lifted to the ground. He was 
 once more picked up, carried a few steps, and 
 then He was thrown from the height of 
 several feet, and fell upon a bed of rock and 
 stones. For an instant the agony was ex- 
 treme, but the quick-witted boy realized that 
 no bones were broken, and the cuts and 
 bruises, he speedily reflected, were nothing in 
 comparison with the fate which might have 
 met him at those cruel hands. He heard the 
 horses in retreat. He waited and waited 
 for any other sound. No. It was evident 
 that he had been left alone. 
 
 The full intention of the plot burst upon 
 him. The whole had been cunningly devised. 
 He never could accuse the jester and his 
 nephew of the attack. He had neither seen 
 them nor heard them speak. Nothing could 
 be traced to them. They had forsaken him
 
 KIDNAPED 49 
 
 here, in some out of the way hole, so bound 
 that he could not help himself, beyond the 
 help of others, to a lingering death, such as 
 the most exquisite enmity might deliberately 
 devise. 
 
 But was he past his own help? He twisted 
 and wriggled like an eel. The bag was so 
 large that it did not confine his movements. 
 The bands about his arms had been too hur- 
 riedly secured to make them perfect in their 
 hold. The jar of the fall, too, had loosened 
 them a trifle. Giles pulled his wrists up and 
 down, encouraged by every trace of progress, 
 till, after a long, long time, he triumphantly 
 jerked one hand through the loop. It was 
 a simple thing to cut the sacking away with 
 his knife from about his head, and to free 
 his ankles. He sat up, gazing inquisitively 
 around him. 
 
 He lay down again on his stony bed, and 
 laughed, laughed till the hollow rocks 
 resounded with his merriment. They had 
 thrown him into the very pit from which he 
 had clambered not twenty-four hours ago. 
 
 " What I have done once, I can assuredly 
 do again," thought he. 
 
 He did not wear a sash to-day, and that 
 he had left, hanging to the tree, was gone.
 
 50 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 The rope that had been wound about him, and 
 about the bag, would do as well. He made a 
 sling of a bit of the sacking, tying one end of 
 the cord to another, and a stone into the sling. 
 It was a neat piece of work, not to be hurried. 
 The sun was still high, and Giles wrought 
 cheerfully at his task. The tree was not so 
 hard to reach now, when he was less nervous, 
 and surer that he should succeed. After a 
 half-dozen futile efforts, the sling flew around 
 its trunk. It fell into the pit, and he 
 gathered it into his grasp, with the other 
 end of the rope. He was badly cut in many 
 places by his fall. He paid no heed to his 
 injuries. Up the rope he went like a mon- 
 key. Once more he stood on the brink of 
 the hole, looking about him. Afar in the 
 distance, the only house in sight, the one 
 landmark, was the highwayman's hut. He 
 was loth to visit it, yet he knew no other 
 refuge. 
 
 It was growing dusk when he reached the 
 place. A piteous whinny came from a tum- 
 ble-down shed in the rear of the larger build- 
 ing. 
 
 " They carried away the man," Giles ex- 
 claimed, " and forgot to take his horse. The 
 very thing for me ! Archie and George have
 
 KIDNAPED 51 
 
 mine ; this is fair exchange for it, if I capture 
 what should be George's as his brother's 
 heir. I will send it back to him when I reach 
 home. How surprised he will be to receive it 
 with my message." 
 
 He let the poor beast out of the stable after 
 giving it water and food. He brought forth 
 the saddle he found in the house and har- 
 nessed the animal, evidently a fine one, used 
 to travel. 
 
 " We shall go far to-night," he said, strok- 
 ing the horse's sleek sides. " Wilt thou carry 
 me to my mother, and to little Meg ? " 
 
 He was beginning to suffer from his long 
 fast, but he could touch nothing from John 
 Earl's house. He wheeled the impatient steed 
 about, looked for some sign of the road, and 
 then he thought : 
 
 " I will leave it to the horse. He can lead 
 me, for he knows his master's haunts. He 
 shall take me where he will." 
 
 Giles's fixed determination was to seek his 
 home at once. He would not run the chances 
 of another encounter with the jester. He was 
 confident that his guardian would guess the 
 cause of his absence and soften any displea- 
 sure of the king's. He could send word to Sir 
 Robert from Richmond. Meanwhile he had
 
 52 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 some money in his belt, enough to keep him- 
 self and the horse. 
 
 Faithfully did the highwayman's thorough- 
 bred justify his rider's trust. They speedily 
 struck into such rough tracks as were reck- 
 oned then a tolerable sort of road. Mile by 
 mile they went at a steady, rapid pace, and 
 did not draw rein until Bedford was reached 
 that night. Here they remained until an 
 early hour of the morning. Then, refreshed 
 and eager, they took the road again. On and 
 on, to stop for food, or to give the noble 
 beast the rest he never craved. The time 
 went in an unvarying succession of such brief 
 pauses, and of hard riding through St. Al- 
 ban's, Watford, and Brentford, till Richmond 
 came in sight. 
 
 Giles's eyes grew moist as he guided his 
 horse into the well-known lane. Here was 
 the copse where he found a bird's-nest full 
 of twittering young ones once. Here was the 
 blackberry tangle where he had gathered the 
 fruit last summer with Jan and his pretty sis- 
 ter Annemie, and with little Meg in her scar- 
 let cloak. Here was the home-field ; there 
 were the cows grazing beside the river. He 
 stood in his stirrups and gave a lusty halloo. 
 It was more than a month since he had left
 
 KIDNAPED 53 
 
 home ; its chimneys were just rising above the 
 woods. 
 
 As if his shout had called him, a boy's fig- 
 ure came into sight at the moment from 
 behind the hedgerow. Giles gave another 
 cry, for it was Jan. 
 
 " Is it really Giles ? " exclaimed the page 
 in French. " My dear friend, where do you 
 come from ? " 
 
 He gripped the other by the hand. 
 
 " Welcome ! " he said, " thrice welcome. I 
 never was so glad to see you. And, Giles," 
 he drew closer still to the horse's side, pla- 
 cing one hand on the pommel ; he hesitated 
 for a second, "have you heard gossip of 
 anything wrong ? " he asked.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 IN THE OAK ROOM 
 
 GILES'S brown cheek grew white. " My 
 mother?" he gasped. 
 
 " No, no ! Nothing is wrong with Madame 
 Valentine ; nor with your sister. This is a 
 public matter that I would speak of." 
 
 Giles remembered the king's words to him, 
 in the hall at Huntingdon, of those who come 
 in contact with public affairs. It was strange, 
 he thought, how he, until a few weeks ago, 
 a home-abiding, quietly living boy, had been 
 dragged of late into the doings of the Eng- 
 lish nation. 
 
 He flung himself from his horse, drawing 
 one arm through the bridle. 
 
 " We can walk together towards the house," 
 he said ; " on the way you can tell me your 
 meaning. First of all, though, Jan, how came 
 you here ? " 
 
 " That is soon explained. When her gra- 
 cious Majesty died, your good mother sent for 
 me. She said that I must wait at the Grange
 
 IN THE OAK ROOM 55 
 
 for word from my uncle in France as to what 
 is to become qf me. Nothing has been heard 
 as yet, so I linger on here. I am content, you 
 may suppose, with my pleasant life ; yet I wish 
 I knew what I am to do later on. Madame 
 Valentine is kindness itself, now as always, 
 to the son of her husband's old friend and 
 comrade-in-arms." 
 
 " Yes, she loves you now for yourself. 
 Before your uncle brought you here, she was 
 desirous of seeing the face of Wilhelm Ver- 
 rooy's only son, he who, it chanced, was the 
 one to hear my father's last messages before 
 he died in those far Netherlands." 
 
 Giles's voice broke at the remembrance of 
 the dark days when that sad intelligence was 
 received at the Grange. Jan caught hold of 
 his arm in a sympathizing pressure. " And 
 now to what you had to tell me," the young 
 Englishman went on. 
 
 Jan wrinkled his forehead in doubt. " I 
 don't know how to put it. Any words may 
 seem in excess of the facts. But, Giles, I am 
 beginning to fear that all is not right with 
 Master Wentworth." 
 
 "My tutor?" 
 
 " Yes. You remember how silent and 
 reserved he is? I suspect something more
 
 56 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 now than silence and reserve behind that long 
 visage of his. I believe him to be involved 
 in a plot against the king." 
 
 " A plot against his Majesty ? Oh, surely 
 not already ! " 
 
 " Hush ! speak lower. The hedgerows may 
 have ears. Yes, that there is a plot on foot 
 I am confident. It may be that he is inno- 
 cent in the matter ; but he is altogether too 
 friendly with one William Watson, who, I 
 vow, is deep in some such scheme." 
 
 " Such scheme as what ? " 
 
 " Of course I know nothing certainly. I 
 mistrust it to be a plan to kidnap his Majesty. 
 Watson visits your tutor often, and they hold 
 secret conferences by the hour. Mine is the 
 oak room, you know, next to Master Went- 
 worth's. There are deep wardrobes between 
 the two. Of late I have played the spy. 
 Though I have only suspicion so far, I have 
 built up a theory on broken sentences these 
 two have let fall for me to overhear." 
 
 Giles looked, as he felt, deeply perplexed. 
 " Is nothing clear enough to go upon ? " 
 
 " No ; there 's the trouble. We cannot 
 accuse any man, let alone a member of your 
 household, on what I have so far heard. 
 Giles, we must hear more ! "
 
 IN THE OAK BOOM 57 
 
 " I loathe this eavesdropping ! " broke im- 
 patiently from the other. 
 
 Jan drew himself up haughtily. " Do you 
 think it is congenial employment for me ? 
 Still I would lower myself farther than that 
 to save your mother from the scandal that 
 would arise if it were found some day 
 that conspirators, in even the most abortive 
 of plots, had been harbored underneath her 
 roof." 
 
 " Yes, yes ! " said Giles hastily. " Forgive 
 me, Jan ; I meant nothing against your honor. 
 We could not afford to lose any chance to 
 discover what might harm the king, or yet 
 be hurtful to this home of mine. We must 
 watch Master Wentworth ; I see that clearly." 
 
 He shuddered at the recollection of what 
 the consequences might be not to James, for 
 he had small opinion of his tutor's schemes, 
 but to his gentle mother should anything 
 come to Archie's knowledge that could be 
 turned against the Valentine household. 
 
 They were drawing near to the house. A 
 tall, slender lady, in her black hood and veil, 
 was strolling up and down across the bowling 
 green. A little maiden played beside her, 
 tossing her chestnut curls back, the better to 
 see whom Jan was conducting to them. She
 
 58 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 gave another look from her bright dark eyes. 
 She uttered a scream of pleasure. 
 
 " mother, mother, look ! " she called. 
 'T is Giles, our Giles!" 
 
 She was across the drawbridge and racing 
 through the park like a whirlwind. Giles 
 had never known so happy a moment as that 
 in which he was clasped once more in those 
 dear arms, and felt his sister clinging to his 
 hand. A stifling sob rose in his throat. He 
 
 O 
 
 remembered all Jan had hinted. He resolved : 
 " I would stoop yes, to the level of a spy 
 to save these two from harm ! " 
 
 Master Wentworth appeared after they were 
 seated at the supper ordered for the traveler. 
 He said little, he never said much, but 
 Giles was on his guard, and noticed how at- 
 tentively he listened to every tiniest piece 
 of information which was given in reply to 
 Meg's countless questions relative to the king. 
 The boy was careful in what he answered. 
 It was natural that all of his small audience 
 should wish to hear the details of his career 
 at court. After they had separated for the 
 night, Jan came to his room to say that he 
 would keep up his watch. 
 
 " And if I hear what makes me sure of 
 mischief, I shall come to you. Then you can
 
 IN THE OAK ROOM 59 
 
 listen yourself or not. I shall throw the 
 responsibility into your hands." 
 
 Time went on. They heard of the king at 
 Theobald's, where Cecil entertained him mag- 
 nificently, and where he arranged his new 
 privy council. Sixty-two titles of nobility 
 were conferred. Wentworth told, without 
 other comment than a sly smile, of a paper 
 found fastened to the door of St. Paul's, 
 offering lessons in the titles of the new 
 nobles. 
 
 Then came word of the festivities at Stam- 
 ford Hill. Here the royal train was met by 
 the mayor and aldermen. A stag hunt, en- 
 joyed by his Majesty above all things, had 
 been so arranged that he should be conducted 
 by it to the Charterhouse. From thence he 
 proceeded to the Tower and Whitehall. His 
 wife and two children " Baby Charles " 
 being too sickly to stand the journey were 
 twenty days behind him upon the road. He 
 sent clothes and jewels from Elizabeth's col- 
 lection to Berwick for the new queen, who 
 was entertained at many country-houses along 
 her route ; at Althorpe, by a masque written 
 by Ben Jonson. Finally news was received 
 of the arrival at Windsor of her Majesty, 
 Prince Henry, and her daughter Elizabeth.
 
 60 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 One morning Giles and Jan went to court 
 to see the reception of the Baron of Rosny, 
 afterwards famous in French history as Sully, 
 who came from Henry of Navarre. Little 
 Meg was vastly entertained with their account 
 of the gifts he brought : a superbly capari- 
 soned horse for the king, a Venetian mirror 
 set in gold and diamonds to the queen, and 
 for Prince Henry a gold lance and a jeweled 
 helmet. Though he had said nothing in 
 advance of his intention, it turned out that 
 Master Wentworth was also present on this 
 occasion. He related a speech which some 
 one had overheard a Scotch courtier make 
 respecting the new ruler of England. 
 
 " Did ye ever see a jackanapes, mon ? If 
 so, ye must ken that if ye hauld him in your 
 hand ye can gar him bite me ; but if I hauld 
 him, I can gar him bite ye." 
 
 This had been uttered in relation to the 
 forthcoming treaty with France. Giles, how- 
 ever, applied it to himself and Archie, ques- 
 tioning whether the jester might not soon 
 have his opportunity. 
 
 Two days later, when they went up the 
 broad stairway together, Jan drew his friend 
 in the direction of his own room. 
 
 " Come watch with me to-night," he said ;
 
 IN THE OAK ROOM 61 
 
 " I saw Watson enter the house as we came 
 out from supper. I believe there will be mis- 
 chief brewed before he leaves it." 
 
 " If we must, we must," Giles answered 
 reluctantly. " I dare scarcely tread. If they 
 hear me with you, they may guess our plans 
 and be too sly for us." 
 
 Jan gave a little, noiseless laugh. " The 
 tutor has no fear of me alone. He thinks I 
 cannot understand English, because French is 
 what I speak. I so soon found that it was 
 wise to have that advantage of him, that I 
 have never enlightened the good sir. Enter 
 on tiptoe. Stand motionless until I make all 
 secure and bid you stir again." 
 
 He bolted the door and moved rather 
 noisily around the room, dragging a heavy 
 chest forward, letting the fire-irons fall, and, 
 under cover of this, motioning to Giles to 
 steal forward to the dividing wall and slide 
 behind the tapestry into a wardrobe's recess. 
 
 Jan removed his riding-boots with another 
 thump upon the floor. With lightest step he 
 crept across the Turkey rug to a position 
 beside his friend. They pressed closely 
 against the crevice Jan's quick eyes had de- 
 tected. The murmur of conversation came 
 from the next room.
 
 62 IN THE BEAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 "What says Sir Griffin Markkam?" in- 
 quired Wentworth. 
 
 "He is ready for the kidnaping. He 
 thinks the times propitious. This intelligence, 
 methinks, will deter even his foolhardiness." 
 
 " You call him foolhardy ? " 
 
 " He would risk all. There were rumors 
 that the guard of armed gentlemen that slept 
 at Greenwich had been increased, yet he took 
 no steps to find the truth of the tale. Ay, I 
 call him foolhardy, man." 
 
 The boys had by no means caught every 
 word of this talk. The last sentence or two 
 came louder, in Watson's excitement. 
 
 " What is to be done ? " Master Wentworth 
 asked. 
 
 " I have seen Lord Grey to-day, and put 
 the same question to him. He says that we 
 must postpone the attempt till later, when our 
 Scotch king goes to hunt at Hanworth." 
 
 Some further talk took place, but nothing 
 more was disclosed. All appeared to relate 
 to the story which had been already told. 
 The two listeners, stiffened with their strained 
 posture, crept out into the room. 
 
 " Come with me," Giles whispered. " To- 
 gether we can discuss what shall be done." 
 
 They stole to the door, slid back the bolt,
 
 IN THE OAK BOOM 63 
 
 and glided softly along the passage to the 
 safer precincts of Giles's own quarters. Once 
 here, they stood and faced each other, an 
 exclamation of horror passing from one to 
 another. 
 
 " Your guardian ! " Jan began. 
 
 " How can I tell him ? " Giles interrupted 
 " It might entangle him for he has a cun- 
 ning enemy at court in the affairs of this 
 house. We must get rid of Master Went- 
 worth without delay. Yet I cannot denounce 
 him, Jan." 
 
 " Nor I. Heartily though I dislike the 
 man, shocked as I am to hear this of him, I 
 could not bring him to the block." 
 
 " My Lord Grey is a person of influence," 
 Giles said doubtfully, at length. " How would 
 it do to send him tidings instantly that the 
 plot is known ? I hate an anonymous letter, 
 no less than the deed we have been forced 
 into this night. But it may pull us out of 
 our present difficulty. They could not act 
 without Wilton, and he would tell the rest 
 when he received the warning." 
 
 Jan thought well, on the whole, of this 
 proposal. There was no sleep for the friends 
 that night. They spent the long hours in 
 concocting the sentences necessary in telling
 
 64 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 enough, yet not too much, in so disguising 
 the script as to conceal its authorship, and 
 possibly to thus enhance the authority of its 
 words. 
 
 In the early light, Giles disappeared from 
 the house. His colleague was to explain his 
 absence without arousing suspicion. When 
 he reappeared, the family were assembled on 
 the green, watching the feats of horseman- 
 ship with which Jan was amusing Meg. 
 
 There were exclamations and inquiries. In 
 the midst of them, Giles stole a look at his 
 friend which was received and understood. 
 The warning had been given. 
 
 Preparations were making for the coro- 
 nation. In spite of the plague, which was 
 raging in London, the Valentine household 
 looked forward "to viewing what the public 
 might see of this august event. About three 
 weeks beforehand, one morning, Giles entered 
 the library for his usual Latin reading. His 
 tutor was striding up and down the room, 
 wringing his hands and sobbing like a child. 
 Tears streamed down his stern, set face. 
 
 " What is wrong ? " asked the boy, eyeing 
 him in amazement. 
 
 " All is lost ! " Wentworth cried. 
 
 " What do you mean ? "
 
 IN THE OAK ROOM 65 
 
 Giles's sharp tone was intended to recall 
 him to himself. He passed one hand con- 
 fusedly across his forehead. "I have had 
 dire intelligence," said he. 
 
 "Of what?" 
 
 " It seems, although it was none of my de- 
 vising, there has been a plot hatched to carry 
 off his Majesty. He was to be kept in confine- 
 ment till he made certain concessions. If he 
 refused, the Lady Arabella Stuart was to be 
 raised to the throne. I swear I knew naught 
 of the rogues' doings, yet some of them were 
 my best friends. The foul thing was planned 
 for the Hanworth hunt, last month. Lord 
 Grey postponed it then, and now Watson 
 thou hast seen Watson here ? has told the 
 whole to one priest Gerard. He must needs 
 carry it to Cecil. Right and left, men have 
 been apprehended and thrown into prison " 
 
 " Watson, too ? " Giles inquired. 
 
 " Watson, too. But I am innocent, lad ! 
 Thou knowest that I am innocent ? " 
 
 Giles's only answer to this assertion was a 
 hint that it might be as well, in any case, to 
 betray less agitation, and no sympathy with 
 the conspirators. Master Wentworth thanked 
 him almost servilely for the suggestion. 
 
 Jan opened the door and interrupted them.
 
 66 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 "I have come for my task," said he. 
 " Giles, you must ask our good master to 
 excuse you. You have a visitor." 
 
 "A visitor?" 
 
 " Yes. It is a young sir from court. He 
 gave his name as George Earl."
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 FROM THE TOWER TO WINCHESTER 
 
 GEORGE EARL came forward very jauntily 
 to meet his young host. He had been stand- 
 ing- in the deep bay of the wainscoted morn- 
 ing-room. The sneer with which he had 
 looked out upon the moat and the meadow 
 still lingered on his lips. Giles thought he 
 was gloating over the destruction of this 
 happy home. 
 
 He bowed gravely to the intruder, not ex- 
 tending his hand. 
 
 "Art surprised to see me here?" inquired 
 his guest. " I am come to thank thee for the 
 safe return of my of my horse." A quiver 
 of pain, at the recollection of whose steed it 
 had been, crossed his thin face. Giles was 
 sorry, for the moment, for him. 
 
 " Perhaps I should apologize," he said 
 coolly, making no motion towards a seat for 
 himself, nor for young Earl, " for borrowing 
 that gallant beast. I could not crave thy 
 permission when we parted upon the moor."
 
 68 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 George grew red. " I fail to understand " 
 
 he began. 
 
 " No matter. Hast other errand, may I 
 inquire ? " 
 
 A sly glance crept into the ferret eyes. 
 " Thou seemst almost to expect it. Ay, have 
 I. I come with tidings to thy good friend 
 what name hath he ? Oh, Wentworth, Ralph 
 Wentworth, I trow. Mayhap thou wilt break 
 to hun that his colleague, William Watson, 
 hath been taken to the Tower." 
 
 Giles raised his eyebrows. " Tidings have 
 but now reached us of the conspiracy, and of 
 the arrest. Why thy solicitude for Master 
 Wentworth?" 
 
 George could not admit his real motive, 
 
 that he came here in hopes to detect some- 
 thing amiss to carry with him back to court, 
 now that the air was rife with surmises. " I 
 thought to warn thee," he answered boldly, 
 "that thy name hath been mentioned more 
 than once this day in connection with thy 
 tutor, and his friends, who have conceived 
 this scheme of kidnaping his Majesty." 
 
 " Thou hast not as yet explained thy inter- 
 est in me and my instructor," Giles replied ; 
 "nor how the fact that he was known to 
 William Watson should bring him into the
 
 FROM THE TOWER TO WINCHESTER 69 
 
 affair. But, if thy conscience is discharged 
 of its duty, I shall be so inhospitable as to 
 bid thee good-morrow, Master Earl." 
 
 He bowed low in mock courtesy. George's 
 eyes glittered dangerously. "Not so fast," 
 he said. "I have some queries to put to 
 thee. Thine own share in this plot ; it may 
 be" 
 
 A door opened behind them. 
 
 " Giles," said a gentle voice, " thy guest, 
 will he not break his fast with us ? " 
 
 The boys turned in the direction of the 
 sound. Mistress Valentine stood on the thresh- 
 old, her sweet, pale face framed in the time- 
 stained oak. She extended one hand frankly. 
 
 "I am rejoiced to meet, under my roof, 
 any friend of my son's," she said. 
 
 Giles felt as if he must step between George 
 Earl and that dear figure, innocent of harm, 
 knowing nothing of what this new-comer had 
 done in the past, nor what was his errand 
 now. Even George's malignity was not proof 
 against the lady's serene unconsciousness. He 
 sank on one knee, kissed her fingers, and 
 then, muttering some excuse, he hurried from 
 the room. 
 
 Giles brushed unceremoniously past his 
 mother, fixed in her surprise at this curious
 
 70 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 conduct, and followed George to the hall. 
 He would not betray anything like cowardice. 
 George stood still for an instant to say : 
 
 " I could not break her bread. No ! Nor 
 would I harm her, when she spoke thus to 
 me! Butthou" 
 
 A glare of hatred was sufficient finish to 
 the sentence. 
 
 Giles bowed low once more. "We shall 
 meet again," he said. And neither boy 
 guessed when nor how that meeting should 
 come to pass. 
 
 All sorts of rumors flew about, in those 
 next few weeks before St. James's Day, when 
 the coronation took place. Watson, with his 
 accomplices, made many so-called confessions. 
 None, happily, implicated Master Wentworth, 
 who was recommended to take a journey to 
 his home in Yorkshire, and thus was put out 
 of the way for a time. After all, he was too 
 small game. The conspirators accused Lord 
 Cobham and Sir Walter Raleigh. The ex- 
 citement was feverish when these two were 
 committed to the Tower. The tale ran that 
 Lord Grey's had been but a bye-plot (the 
 name under which it has come down in his- 
 tory) to a main plot that concerned Cobharn 
 and Raleigh.
 
 FROM THE TOWER TO WINCHESTER 71 
 
 The plague spread. King James went to 
 the palace, but would not proceed thence to 
 the Tower, for the procession to Westminster. 
 This was one grievous disappointment to the 
 throngs of people. Another was that St. 
 James's fair was forbidden to be held in the 
 precincts of the palace. Every precaution 
 was taken against the double terrors of 
 plague and plot. 
 
 The royal couple went to Westminster by 
 water. Meg, clinging to her brother's hand, 
 was impressed with the appearance of her 
 Majesty, whose lovely hair hung upon her 
 shoulders, while she wore a golden crown. 
 Directly after the ceremony the court repaired 
 to Woodstock, to be out of the way of con- 
 tagion. It was a dull, dreary summer, with 
 constant apprehension from illness, or from 
 some new story of a stratagem against King 
 James. Jan's uncle sent word from France 
 that, till the plague should abate, he could 
 not risk a visit to England, and he plainly 
 did not wish his nephew to resort to him 
 while there was any like chance of bringing 
 the disease. 
 
 With the autumn came the trial of the 
 plotters, and that remarkable defense which 
 Raleigh made for himself. It was cur-
 
 72 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 rently reported, during the summer, that he 
 had attempted suicide in his despair. The 
 two boys made their way into the trial cham- 
 ber to hear Sir Walter, for whom they enter- 
 tained much sympathy, since scarcely any one 
 shared the court's impression of his guilt. 
 They were present at the tragic scene when 
 Elizabeth's old courtier was convicted of high 
 treason. 
 
 Watson was executed not long after this. 
 To Giles's horror one day, in visiting his 
 guardian at Winchester, where the court was 
 now removed, he spied the head of his tutor's 
 old friend and accomplice set up on the castle 
 tower. 
 
 A wet November morning brought the time 
 when Lord Grey, Sir Griffin Markham, and 
 Lord Cobham were to be beheaded. The 
 boys went with all the masculine world of 
 London to witness this last passage of the 
 Bye. The sheriff first brought out Sir 
 Griffin, looking very serious, but with a firm 
 and haughty step. A handkerchief was 
 handed to him. He pushed it aside. 
 
 " I can face death without blushing," said 
 he. 
 
 A hand was laid on Giles's arm. A pant- 
 ing, hurrying figure pushed between Jan and
 
 FROM THE TOWEE TO WINCHESTER 73 
 
 himself. A man, whose dress had been torn 
 by the crowd, whose face was white and 
 strained, raised himself upon the boys' shoul- 
 ders. 
 
 " Lift me up ! " he muttered hoarsely. 
 " Lift me up ! 'T is a matter of life and 
 death ! " 
 
 The friends complied. Holding the stran- 
 ger above the heads of the throng, they saw 
 that he waved a paper frantically towards the 
 sheriff. 
 
 " A message," he called, "a message 
 from his Majesty ! " 
 
 Sir Benjamin Tichborne motioned the man 
 it was King James's clerk to a private 
 conference. By and by he came back to Sir 
 Griffin, who had stood quietly in his place. 
 
 "As you are so ill-prepared," he said, 
 " you shah 1 have two hours' grace." 
 
 Markham looked astonished, but merely 
 bowed. He was led from the scaffold, and 
 locked into the castle hall. 
 
 Lord Grey was brought forth. He was 
 foppishly dressed, surrounded by a group of 
 young men friends. He knelt, and began a 
 prayer for himself, and, when that was 
 finished, one for the king. This lasted for 
 an hour, during which the crowd stood silent
 
 74 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 in the rain. When the condemned man rose 
 to his feet, Sir Benjamin stepped forward. 
 
 " The order has been changed," he an- 
 nounced ; " Lord Cobham is to precede you, 
 sir," and led the bewildered man back to 
 where Markham was waiting in the castle. 
 
 Lord Cobham was now brought to the 
 scaffold. He began a speech in which he 
 persisted in the story he had told against 
 Raleigh, a story the latter declared to be 
 the silliest of falsehoods. A moment of si- 
 lence fell. All watched what the sheriff would 
 do. All were thunderstruck to see Lord Grey 
 and Sir Griffin once more led forth and to- 
 gether. The three men stared at each other 
 in bewilderment. 
 
 " Gentlemen," said Sir Benjamin, " his 
 Majesty, in his mercy, has vouchsafed your 
 lives to you." 
 
 A mighty shout went up, a shout that 
 rose to the heavens. Giles pointed to a win- 
 dow of the tower, and a face that looked 
 down on them. " See, Jan ! " he said ; " Sir 
 Walter Raleigh listens. Let us pray that it 
 is a token of good for him." 
 
 The next morning brought a note to Giles 
 from Carey, bidding him go to Winchester on 
 some errand for himself. The writer was at
 
 75 
 
 his home near by, but did not wish his ward 
 to visit him. 
 
 " I am not well," he added, " and, though I 
 have none of the fear of the great sickness 
 that is felt at court, nor any thought that my 
 megrims may prove the like, yet, 't is wise to 
 take precautions. Thus I have shut myself 
 up here for a season." 
 
 The business at the castle did not warrant 
 delay. Thither Giles proceeded at once. 
 He was graciously received by the member of 
 the Privy Council whom Sir Robert had told 
 him to seek out. A singular apparition 
 joined Bruce as Giles was making his fare- 
 well. It was a Frenchman, clad in jewel- 
 trimmed velvet clothes of priceless value. 
 He wore gloves of finest leather that exhaled 
 an overpowering perfume. Pearls were twined 
 in his hair, and his cheeks were painted. A 
 tiny lap-dog peeped from one pocket of his 
 coat. The boy did not know that he looked 
 upon one of the last of the Mignonnes of 
 Henry Third of France. 
 
 He was quitting the royal household, as un- 
 obtrusively as might be, when he was hailed 
 by an imperious yet pleasant salutation. A 
 youth of his own age hurried after him, catch- 
 ing him by the hand.
 
 76 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 " Thou'rt Giles Valentine, art thou not?" 
 he asked. 
 
 It was Prince Henry, the heir to the throne. 
 
 Giles dropped to his knees. With right 
 good-will he kissed the hand of the best and 
 the most brilliant of all the Stuart line. The 
 handsome, gay little fellow snatched away his 
 fingers, and gave him a playful tap. 
 
 "Tut, tut!" he cried. "No homage! 
 What are we save two young rogues to- 
 gether ? And thou hast won thy spurs. I 
 have long wished to see the lad who took that 
 famous ride into Scotland. Bruce told me 
 of thy visit, just in time to overtake thee. 
 Come ! " He linked his arm through Giles's. 
 " Thou art my prisoner." 
 
 They both laughed. Giles thought, if this 
 boy were king, how willingly he would lay 
 down his life for Henry the Ninth. But 
 Henry the Ninth was never to reign. 
 
 "Thou knowest George Earl?" the prince 
 rattled on. " Ah ! so I have been told " 
 (with a shrewd glance at his companion). 
 " Didst hear that he was ill, lying in yon 
 outhouse ? " Giles uttered an exclamation. 
 " Oh, naught serious," said Henry lightly. 
 " Or so Archie told us, and Archie has full 
 charge of him."
 
 FROM THE TOWER TO WINCHESTER 77 
 
 " But these illnesses," Giles began un- 
 easily. 
 
 " I tell thee this is naught. Stay, we will 
 stop at the door and inquire. I like thee, 
 good Giles, for thine anxiety." 
 
 " My prince, you must not go." 
 
 " Wilt not believe me when I say *t is 
 naught ? Ah, here is Archie. He will allay 
 thy fears. Nay ? Why, Archie, man, what 
 is it?" 
 
 The fool burst from the building towards 
 which their steps were bent. He flew past 
 them, huddled into a heap of terror, not not- 
 ing Giles, but, even in his passion of fear, 
 with the sense to make a wide circuit from the 
 royal boy. His face was buried in a hand- 
 kerchief. 
 
 " Back, back ! " he shrieked. 'T is the 
 plague ! The swelling has come 'neath his 
 arm. 'Tis the plague. I tell you, keep 
 away !" 
 
 Henry was every inch the prince as he 
 thundered out : 
 
 " And who is with the lad ? " 
 
 " No one, no one. Who would bide with 
 the stricken? Your highness, I tell you, 
 away ! " 
 
 And with that Archie was gone.
 
 78 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 Henry made one bound towards the en- 
 trance. Quick as he was, Giles was before 
 him. He seized his sovereign's son about the 
 waist. 
 
 " Are you mad ? " he hissed between his 
 teeth. " You shall not enter there." 
 
 " And leave the dying alone ? For shame J 
 Unhand me, ere I strike." 
 
 " Strike, an it pleaseth you. Nay, of what 
 avail ? I am the stronger. You shall not 
 go. I will take care of Earl. I will shut 
 myself inside that room. But cross the 
 threshold you shall not ! " 
 
 "He is our servant," Henry gasped, "and 
 our charge. 'T is no concern of thine, for he 
 is not thy friend." 
 
 "Ay, it is my concern, for he is mine 
 enemy." 
 
 They reached the spot in their wrestling 
 struggle. The prince drew himself together 
 for a final effort. Giles was on the alert. 
 He loosened the other's grasp by one sudden 
 movement. He made a dash and threw his 
 weight against the door. It fell in with him. 
 He was inside, and he slid the bolt.
 
 CHAPTER VIH 
 
 ENTER GUY FAWKES 
 
 " MY kind nurse," murmured George feebly, 
 " lay thee down and take thy rest." 
 
 " Thou art mending," Giles answered, stoop- 
 ing over the pallet where the invalid was 
 stretched. He set down his dish of cooling 
 drink, and took the skeleton fingers in his. 
 " Thy fever is abated ; thy pulse beats stronger. 
 Please God, we shall bring thee out of this." 
 He smiled down upon George who, to his 
 grief, burst into a flood of childish tears. 
 
 " Under Providence, 't is all thy doing," 
 he answered, while Giles strove in vain to 
 soothe him. " Thou hast watched beside me 
 night and day. Thou hast given me fondest 
 care. Thou hast gone without food or sleep, 
 lest I suffer. And I what have I done to 
 thee?" 
 
 " Hush, lad. Thou shalt not agitate thy- 
 self like this. By and by. Wait till thou 
 art stronger, if thou wouldst bring up the 
 past."
 
 80 IN THE BEAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 "No, I cannot," he sobbed. "'Tis not 
 out of my mind for a moment. I dwell on 
 naught save thy kindness and my base con- 
 duct. Giles, 't was I that stole thy gold and 
 thy medal." 
 
 " Ay, George," his nurse answered, patting- 
 his hand; " I guessed as much." 
 
 " Is 't so ? And and I was one to way. 
 lay thee, and cast thee in the pit, like Joseph's 
 wicked brethren." 
 
 "But I escaped, like Joseph," said Giles 
 with a smile. " Why tell me this, poor 
 lad?" 
 
 " 'T is a relief. And one thing more. I 
 have tried to injure thee to his Majesty. 
 There was not much that I could do. Yet 
 what influence was mine was given against 
 thee. And there was another more power- 
 ful adversary, working ever to poison the 
 king's mind, Giles." 
 
 The listener understood that he did not 
 wish to mention Archie by name, although it 
 was plain that the confession was a warning 
 for him to beware of the jester's schemes. 
 
 "I am such a harmless subject," he re- 
 joined, to reassure his informant. "How 
 could my sovereign be made to believe that 
 a mere boy threatened his throne ? "
 
 ENTER GUY FAWKES 81 
 
 " Boy or man, none is to be despised in 
 these times. I tell thee to be on thy guard 
 against the effects of what has already been 
 done. Naught more will be essayed against 
 thee ; at the least I can promise that." 
 
 It was certainly probable that the fool, 
 although he still kept aloof from his nephew's 
 sick-room, himself would be grateful to 
 Giles, who had proved the stancher friend. 
 Through Prince Henry, those in quarantine 
 had been supplied with food and drink and 
 medical attendance. Archie, too, sent mes- 
 sages by the physician. 
 
 " Thou wilt forgive me, Giles ? " pleaded 
 George. 
 
 " I forgive thee freely. Now bide still and 
 sleep." 
 
 " If thou wouldst rest ! " 
 
 " I will," Giles answered with an inspira- 
 tion. " If thou wilt lie quite quietly, I \vill 
 throw myself down beside thee and mayhap 
 I too may sleep." 
 
 George eagerly assured him that he would 
 not stir. Giles intended only to compose the 
 other, forcing him to the repose his weak 
 state demanded. He, too, was utterly worn 
 out. After a short time of listening to his 
 patient's regular breath, of watching beneath
 
 82 IN THE BBAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 his half-closed eyelids the peaceful slumber 
 into which the invalid sank, he lost conscious- 
 ness and knew no more. 
 
 He was aroused by a subdued, impatient 
 rapping upon the door. He staggered to his 
 feet, rubbing his heavy eyes. 
 
 " Who knocks ? " he asked, stealing across 
 the room. 
 
 " 'T is I, Carey. Giles, I must have 
 speech with thee." 
 
 Instantly the boy knew that something was 
 wrong at home. His hand faltered that would 
 fain unbolt the door which stood between 
 himself and liberty. His sense of duty kept 
 him where he stood. 
 
 " I cannot open," he said. " 'T is a plague- 
 stricken spot." 
 
 " Lad, this is no time for parley," was the 
 response. " And I have but just arisen from 
 the plague." 
 
 Giles gave a cry of surprise. His scruples 
 vanished ; he threw open the door and stepped 
 outside. His guardian grasped his hand. 
 
 " My good, brave boy," he exclaimed. 
 " Would that the tidings I brought thee were 
 less heavy ! " 
 
 "My mother?" 
 
 "Thy mother is ill, Giles." It was the
 
 ENTER GUY FAWKES 83 
 
 court physician who spoke. He stood beside 
 Sir Robert. " We have deemed it right to 
 send thee to her." 
 
 Giles looked up piteously into his face. 
 " But the chance of contagion ? " he said. 
 
 " My dear lad, there is no danger." 
 
 He understood that his mother was struck 
 down with the plague. 
 
 He clasped his hands in desperation. " How 
 can I leave George ? " he asked. 
 
 " I will attend to that. Trust me, he shall 
 not suffer. Nay, go now while he sleeps. 
 'T is the better way. And, mayhap, 't were 
 well that thou shouldst hasten." 
 
 Giles lost hope from that moment. His 
 guardian had a horse waiting for him. Their 
 ride was so conducted that they held no inter- 
 course with others upon the road. Sir Rob- 
 ert had brought fresh clothing for his charge, 
 who left that which was tainted with infection 
 to be burned by the surgeon. They had also 
 food in their saddle-bags, and they made rare 
 halts for rest until the chimneys of the Grange 
 came once more into sight. 
 
 What was known of the lady's seizure was 
 imparted to her son as they rode. It was the 
 result of her charity. She had heard through 
 her servants that Sir Robert lay neglected in
 
 84 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 a home whence all the other members had 
 fled at the first symptoms of his disease. She 
 had gone to him, accompanied by the physi- 
 cian who attended the two families. She had 
 saved his life, the grateful man declared ; 
 Giles saw that he feared it might be at the 
 expense of her own. 
 
 Indeed, there was not one sign in her favor. 
 She recognized her children, and welcomed 
 her only son. She commended him for what 
 he had done at Winchester, telling him how 
 entirely Jan had tried to take his place at her 
 side. She gave little Meg into her brother's 
 care. Evidently their future weighed heavily 
 upon her mind. Mistress Valentine had a 
 last wish to express to Giles's guardian. It 
 was that he and his sister might be surren- 
 dered to Jan's French uncle when he should 
 come for Jan. 
 
 "His wife will look after my little girl," 
 she said, almost at the very last. " Meg will 
 need a woman's influence. And she will have 
 a companion in Annemie Verrooy." 
 
 Giles reached his home on Christmas Eve. 
 The Christmas sun rose brightly on the 
 desolate house. It found these children 
 motherless. 
 
 Perhaps it was well for the boy Meg was
 
 ENTER GUY FAWKES 85 
 
 too young to comprehend the extent of her 
 loss that he sickened, after all need for 
 further exertion was over, and lay for weeks 
 in a prostrate condition, even when his most 
 alarming symptoms were passed. Jan and 
 the little girl escaped, but Dame Tryon, Mis- 
 tress Valentine's attendant, and her children's 
 old nurse, fell ill, requiring long-continued 
 care. So the winter wore slowly away. 
 With the spring, since M. Chapelain did not 
 appear from Paris, while Sir Robert's duties 
 at court kept him constantly away from home, 
 he rented the Grange to old acquaintances of 
 the family. The understanding was that Meg 
 was to be looked after here for the present, 
 while the boys went to a tutor in London. 
 
 This arrangement would have been admira- 
 ble if the preceptor had proved trustworthy. 
 Master Carr soon showed himself careless of 
 his charges, while absorbed in his own affairs. 
 He was a profound scholar, engaged upon a 
 book of disputation. As soon as the day's 
 lessons were finished he shut himself into his 
 study, not emerging to know anything of the 
 youths' employment. 
 
 They spent many idle hours wandering 
 about the ugly, straggling suburbs of the 
 town. Often night found them at a distance
 
 86 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 from home. They had money at their com- 
 mand, and no account to render to Master 
 Carr; so they rather enjoyed a search for 
 lodgings. 
 
 "Where are we now, Giles?" the young 
 Dutchman asked. 
 
 They had gone on a long tramp into the 
 country. Giles, who usually acted as leader, 
 had proposed their stopping at Saint Clement's 
 Inn for the night. Dusk was falling, but no 
 sign of hostelry appeared. Giles was looking 
 about him irresolutely when his friend put the 
 question. 
 
 " I have no idea. We must have missed 
 the road. I see no house. Wait ! what is 
 that there in the midst of the fields? " 
 
 " It is a house," said Jan. " But surely it 
 is not Saint Clement's." 
 
 "No matter. The inmates cannot refuse 
 us entrance. We can pay them well. It 
 looks like a poor place where gold might open 
 the door if pity would not." 
 
 " There is no light whatever," Jan observed 
 after they had stumbled forward to a nearer 
 view. " The house is empty.". 
 
 "All the better. This is an adventure 
 indeed. If the door is bolted it will be hard 
 if we cannot raise a window."
 
 ENTER GUY FAWKES 87 
 
 This proved necessary. They tried several 
 entrances, finally coming on a loose sash which 
 could be pried up from the outside. Jan was 
 a slender, lithe little fellow. He pushed 
 himself, though not without some difficulty, 
 through the narrow aperture. He opened the 
 door, let his friend in, and they made all secure 
 again. Their refuge was a mere hovel, a 
 room below, and two apparently above this, 
 one reached by a stairway, the other by a 
 rough ladder. It was a boyish freak that 
 induced them to climb to this last chamber 
 and pull the ladder up after them. 
 
 They made themselves a bed upon the 
 floor. 
 
 " Hark ! " Jan whispered. 
 
 " It is the wind." 
 
 " No, it is not the wind. Hark ! " 
 
 There were steps in the room beneath them. 
 The outer door had opened. Through chinks 
 in the floor they saw a lantern glimmer, and 
 then that it was shut off. All was darkness, 
 yet their eyes, now accustomed to the gloom, 
 could make out a circle of shadowy forms. 
 It was characteristic of the dreadful state of 
 the kingdom, and of what the last year had 
 brought forth, that neither had a single 
 thought now of the meanness of eavesdrop-
 
 88 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 ping : all they had in mind was that some 
 terrible iniquity was brewing, and it was their 
 duty to discover it. 
 
 The door opened again very softly and two 
 more men entered. Murmured greetings fol- 
 lowed. Some one went to the windows and 
 hung a cloak at each one. The lantern slide 
 flew back. The watchers saw a group of five 
 dark-faced men, all gloomy determination and 
 savage daring. One after another they sank 
 upon their knees. Each one, as his name was 
 called, took an awful oath of secrecy. They 
 were Robert Catesby, Thomas Winter, Guy 
 Fawkes, Thomas Percy, and John Wright. 
 
 They clustered close about the one who 
 called himself Catesby. 
 
 " This is my plan," said he. " Speak ye if 
 a better could be devised. Vinegar House at 
 Westminster is to be let. It has a shed 
 against the House of Parliament. Through 
 it a hole may be cut in the foundation wall and 
 powder introduced " 
 
 There was an outcry. The boys, for a wild 
 moment, thought that it came from them- 
 selves. But it was John Wright who had ut- 
 tered the word " Shame ! " 
 
 "Shame?" repeated Catesby, turning on 
 him. " Have we no right to use such mea-
 
 EN TEE GUY FAWKES 89 
 
 sures as come to hand with the Scottish swine, 
 who take away our property, our gold, our 
 liberty of conscience ? Any weapon against 
 them, say I." 
 
 " But this would mean the Commons as 
 well ; the bishops " 
 
 " Ay, and the king, and the Prince of 
 Wales. We shall wipe them all out of exist- 
 ence. Come, man, be wise. Reflect that, if 
 we strike, we must strike hard." 
 
 John Wright heaved a deep sigh. It was 
 echoed by Winter. The other three looked 
 scornfully defiant. 
 
 "And now we will seek Garnet," said 
 Catesby. " He lies in the chamber above. 
 Methinks," as a gentle snore was heard, " he 
 sleeps the sleep of a just man." 
 
 The boys seized each other madly. That 
 sound came close to them. Could it be that 
 there was another occupant of the garret, 
 whose presence they had not suspected be- 
 fore ? Were those desperate fellows about to 
 enter their room and discover them ? 
 
 No. They made their way to the staircase. 
 They heard them steal up one by one. They 
 caught the tones of some one roused from 
 sound slumber on the other side of the thin 
 partition wall. The murmur of conversation
 
 90 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 came to them. They dared not move to listen 
 closer at hand. 
 
 By and by the men crept down the stair- 
 way again. They conferred together shortly. 
 They unbolted the door. They had all quitted 
 the house before the boys drew a long breath, 
 or stirred from their fixed position.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE GUNPOWDER PLOT 
 
 " THERE is, at least, time for considera- 
 tion," said Giles, as they left the dreadful 
 house. They had waited for daylight, that 
 they might not run across any watchers lurk- 
 ing outside. 
 
 " Yes. Their fiendish plot will require 
 months of preparation." Jan assented. "And, 
 happily, we know the very spot where they 
 will be employed. We can keep an eye on 
 them, while we are making up our minds 
 what it is best to do. Do you suppose it 
 would be wisest to take the whole thing at 
 once, in such detail as we have collected, to 
 your guardian at the court ? " 
 
 " I doubt it," Giles replied. " Think, when 
 the Bye was frustrated, how Raleigh was 
 dragged into it. Sir Robert is known to have 
 been disappointed by the position given him. 
 His Majesty's mind has been colored by 
 Archie's hints. No. Frankly, I dare not 
 tell my guardian, for his own good. Not
 
 92 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 unless we resort to that in the end, in desper- 
 ation." 
 
 Boys such as these, bright, constantly upon 
 the watch, made the cunningest of spies, 
 where men, about the same business, would 
 have been soon detected. They learned that 
 one Thomas Percy had rented the Westmin- 
 ster House. Robert Kay, evidently a new 
 member of the band, had taken another at 
 Lambeth, whence fagots, coal, and powder 
 were conveyed, little by little, by Fawkes, 
 who was represented to the world as Percy's 
 servant. Sir Robert innocently told the 
 friends one day, in a visit to them, that 
 Percy had obtained a license from King 
 James to collect a troop in the service of the 
 Archduke Albert in Flanders. Catesby, he 
 said, was to be a captain in this enterprise, 
 and both men were gathering together arms 
 and horses. 
 
 Jan trod on Giles's foot underneath the 
 table. This, of course, was part of the con- 
 spiracy ; these were preparations for the one 
 horrible event. 
 
 One day, Jan urged a reflection that 
 had been harassing him of late. George 
 Earl, they heard, had gone to Scotland to 
 recruit his health. Archie was with the
 
 THE GUNPOWDER PLOT 93 
 
 court. Although his insinuations against 
 Giles might have ceased since his nephew's 
 illness, what he had said in the past was 
 probably remembered by the king, not 
 only against Carey, but also against his ward. 
 Would it not all be revived if it ever came 
 out that the boy had been acquainted with 
 the workings of this gunpowder plot? 
 
 " I understand the hazards of my position," 
 Giles answered steadily. " Well, I can only 
 do my duty as it appears to me, leaving the 
 result in the hands of Providence." 
 
 By hanging about Vinegar House, and 
 seizing their opportunity, the boys managed 
 to slip inside. They found a close, dark 
 closet on the ground floor, from which they 
 could hear a good deal and see something of 
 what was going on. Their lives, they thor- 
 oughly appreciated, were in jeopardy. They 
 were obliged to be careful beyond words to 
 describe. For the plotters, now eight in 
 number, had laid in a supply of food, and left 
 the place so seldom that there was always 
 some one on guard. Happily their work in 
 the cellar was such close employment that Jan 
 and Giles did get in and out of the upper 
 floor unseen by them. They were trying to 
 undermine the foundation, but water ran in
 
 94 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 on them, making this impossible. Then they 
 began to bore through the wall. It was labor 
 
 o o 
 
 to which none of them was accustomed. 
 There were many mishaps when the stones 
 were moved : they had been laid three yards 
 thick, and the task was endless. 
 
 The crash of one of these rocks, as it fell 
 one morning to the ground, was followed by 
 a strange noise overhead. Again Giles caught 
 his companion in a nervous grasp ; again, as 
 in the house by St. Clement's Inn, he sup- 
 posed the sound came from close to them- 
 selves, and that detection was inevitable. Jan 
 was beset by another alarm. He believed the 
 foundations of the building had been shaken ; 
 that it was falling about their heads. 
 
 They heard the rapid running of feet up 
 the cellar steps. They held their breath. 
 They did not move as the man came nearer 
 their hiding-place. He passed them, and went 
 on out of doors. After a long interval he 
 returned. They could tell by his descending 
 footfalls that he was reentering the cellar. 
 
 "'Tis a coal dealer," said Guy Fawkes, 
 " removing his stock from vaults beneath the 
 Parliament House. He goes into business 
 elsewhere." 
 
 Percy dropped his pickaxe. "The very
 
 THE GUNPOWDER PLOT 95 
 
 thing ! " he exclaimed. " Guy, thou shalt 
 hire it in my name, an the place be to let. 
 Thither thou canst convey the powder and 
 the fagots. Friends, it is given into our 
 hands. We need not thus to strive to enter 
 it from without." 
 
 The boys gathered further that, since spring 
 was advancing, nothing was to be done, be- 
 yond such plans as these for the storing of 
 the powder, until Parliament should assemble 
 in the autumn. There was no more for them 
 to discover here, after they had seen thirty- 
 six barrels, whose deadly contents they could 
 guess, carried into the vaults next door, with 
 armfuls of wood and wagon-loads of coal. 
 Now Jan devised an idea, and, during the 
 long days of summer, they were prepared to 
 carry it into effect. 
 
 They had overheard the names of several 
 new conspirators who had recently joined the 
 party. One was a John Grant, living near 
 Stratford, an acquaintance of Wentworth, 
 who, they were told, was staying with him. 
 Under cover of a wish to see Giles's old tutor, 
 they might seek out this man. Perhaps they 
 could let fall a hint that, while it shielded 
 themselves from any share in the scheme, 
 should warn Grant that the plot was known.
 
 96 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 This much they could do in safety. Obtain- 
 ing permission from Master Carr to absent 
 themselves, they set out for Warwickshire. 
 
 After various misadventures, they were set 
 upon the way to the house they sought. It 
 was a dark and gloomy spot, shut in by 
 frowning walls, on the outskirts of the quiet 
 village, and giving a glimpse of the river 
 Avon. The boys inquired at the gate for 
 Wentworth. 
 
 " He left Stratford this morning," the 
 lodge-keeper answered, "to return to York- 
 shire. If ye are fain to follow him, he has 
 five hours' start." 
 
 They exchanged glances of dismay. " What 
 is to be done now ? " Jan asked, speaking, as 
 usual, in French. 
 
 " At least we must see the master of the 
 house," was the reply in the same language. 
 " It may be that we can do something with 
 him. But this absence of Master Wentworth 
 is a severe blow to our device." 
 
 They were ushered into the presence of 
 Grant, a nervous, frail-looking man. As 
 Giles and his friend entered the room he 
 was tearing up a letter. He stooped to col- 
 lect the scraps of paper before he spoke to 
 them, or motioned them to seats.
 
 THE GUNPOWDER PLOT 97 
 
 "Your errand, young sirs?" he said, in 
 tones that betrayed agitation. 
 
 Giles bent forward to catch his shifty eye. 
 " We came seeking my one-time tutor, Master 
 Wentworth. Would you hear our mission to 
 him?" 
 
 Grant sank uneasily into the depths of an 
 immense oaken chair. " As you will," he 
 answered coldly. The boys thought his white 
 fingers twitched in their grasp upon the bits 
 of paper. 
 
 " We meant to warn him," Giles went on, 
 speaking steadily, though his heart beat fast, 
 " that he had been on the brink of accusation 
 in the Bye. It might not go as well with 
 him another time, if he were found so close 
 to a bigger plot when exposure came." 
 
 Grant jumped to his feet. His movement 
 was so violent that the great chair was over- 
 thrown. " What meanst thou ? " he stuttered. 
 " The Parliament the the commissioners 
 have they discovered aught ? " 
 
 " Mayhap you mean the commissioners for 
 the union of England and Scotland," Jan in- 
 terrupted coolly ; " those who have been 
 lodged at Vinegar House in Westminster. 
 What should they have discovered?" 
 
 " I know not," the miserable wretch replied.
 
 98 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 He spent a moment readjusting his chair in 
 its place. " The mention of a plot that 
 was it. I fail to understand thee." looking 
 
 * o 
 
 at Giles, "with thy half sentences. What 
 meanst thou, boy ? " 
 
 Giles saw Jan stoop, as if to put a damask 
 cushion in its place. He saw, too, without 
 the apparent flicker of an eyelash, that his 
 colleague had gathered a bit of paper, in that 
 swift movement, into his palm. 
 
 " A word to the wise is proverbially suffi- 
 cient," he answered courteously. " Sir, we 
 intend but kindness, and no harm. We come 
 from London. You here, safe hid away from 
 the turmoil of that life, may not guess what 
 talk there arises of stratagems and schemes. 
 'T was in these we meant to beg Master Went- 
 worth to refrain from show of complicity. 
 And now farewell." 
 
 Grant raised his hand in detention. " Meant 
 you some special plot ? Have ye heard aught 
 of one?" 
 
 With perfect truth they could say, Yes. 
 Indeed they had heard sufficient, from Catesby 
 and his followers, to warrant a full assent. 
 Of course Grant understood them to mean 
 that the matter was known to the world. 
 His pale face grew whiter.
 
 THE GUNPOWDER PLOT 99 
 
 " It hath not reached the court ? " he 
 asked. 
 
 " I think not yet," Giles answered. " You 
 may well see that it is only a question of 
 time. All will be speedily laid before the 
 king." 
 
 Grant reached out a hand, which Giles pre- 
 tended not to see. 
 
 " I thank ye both," he said, his voice shak- 
 ing with terror. " I thank ye in Master 
 Wentworth's name. I will devise means to 
 let him know what ye say. And now you 
 will have some refreshment?" 
 
 " Naught whatever, sir," they cried in a 
 breath. " Time presseth," Jan went on. " We 
 must be far on our road to-night." 
 
 They bowed and left the room. Giles 
 glanced back, for a last look, and saw their 
 host fallen sidewise in the oaken chair. His 
 trembling fingers tapped his chin. His fea- 
 tures were dark with thought. 
 
 No sooner were they outside the garden, 
 and the lodge gate closed behind them, than 
 Jan opened his tightly shut fingers. He held 
 up the scrap they had concealed. 
 
 " See my prize ! " he cried. " Let us read 
 it together." 
 
 Giles looked over his shoulder.
 
 100 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 "A cipher!" he exclaimed in sore disap- 
 pointment. 
 
 " Not at all. What rare good fortune ! 
 You remember Fawkes said he had been in 
 the Netherlands. 'T is Dutch, boy, and from 
 Guy, I take it. It reads, 
 
 " ' Parliament has been prorogued from 
 October to November. Can it be that we 
 are mistrusted ? '
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 AT HOLBEACH 
 
 THE boys felt much relieved as they gal- 
 loped along the country roads on their way 
 back to town. 
 
 " The plot has been discovered," Giles said 
 excitedly, " without any appearance of you or 
 me in the unveiling. The country is safe, 
 and so are our necks ! " 
 
 " I doubt," the more cautious Jan re- 
 sponded, " that all fear is past of our seeing 
 the inside of the Tower. I do wish " (with a 
 long-drawn breath) " that we were outside 
 England." 
 
 " Where could we go ? To your distracted 
 Netherlands ? " For Jan's uncle had been 
 during the past summer in Holland, sent by 
 the French government on affairs of state. 
 
 "Better there than here," Jan contended 
 stoutly. " But, alas ! it is little use wishing. 
 They are the dark schemes of troubled Lon- 
 don, into which we are throwing ourselves 
 once more."
 
 102 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 So they approached the city. Jan went 
 straight to Westminster, while Giles sought 
 out White Webbs, a lonely house near Enfield 
 Chase, which they knew the conspirators had 
 lately hired. In this manner, when they met 
 later on at their lodgings, both had something 
 to tell of what they had gathered from their 
 perilous observation. Jan said that Fawkes 
 was fully reassured. The commissioners had 
 walked over the spot where his barrels of 
 powder were concealed, and talked easily to- 
 gether the while. The postponement of Par- 
 liament might be due to several causes. He 
 was confident that it was not from detection 
 of the plot. 
 
 Giles had learned still more. There were 
 recent accessions to the ranks. Sir Everett 
 Digby had given a large sum of money. He 
 was to invite his friends to a hunting party 
 in Warwickshire, so that they should be gath- 
 ered together in readiness to take up arms as 
 soon as the train of powder had been fired. 
 Fawkes was to use a slow-match, which would 
 give him time to take a boat before the explo- 
 sion, and reach a ship ready to convey him to 
 Flanders. 
 
 The Princess Elizabeth was to be proclaimed 
 Queen after the death of her father and
 
 AT HOLBEACH 103 
 
 brothers, if Charles was of the royal party ; 
 otherwise he was to reign. A wealthy coun- 
 try gentleman, Francis Tresham, was among 
 the later plotters, and, Giles said, was felt by 
 the others he was Catesby's convert, and 
 brought in because of his long purse to be 
 of so fickle a nature as to endanger the suc- 
 cess of anything he undertook. 
 
 " Catesby himself regrets his presence, now 
 it is too late," the boy added. " I heard 
 him complain to several of the company of 
 the dreadful dreams that were tormenting 
 him. He is losing heart." 
 
 " Is the time set for the 5th ? " asked Jan. 
 
 " Yes, but there is a hitch. Almost every 
 plotter has some friend whom he wishes to 
 save. Catesby, alone, stands out, utterly blood- 
 thirsty. He says he would lose his own son 
 rather than run any danger of revealing 
 the plot by putting him upon his guard. 
 The rest could not see it in the same light. 
 It is agreed that each who chooses to do 
 so shall send some message to a friend, bid- 
 ding him stay away from the house that day. 
 Those warnings give us our opportunity, Jan." 
 
 " Yes," Jan thoughtfully assented, " That 
 is our chance. This fickle Tresham, whom 
 does he desire to save ?"
 
 104 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 " His brother-in-law, Lord Monteagle." 
 
 " Let us watch his brother-in-law. We 
 can reach the council best through him, I 
 fancy." 
 
 Lord Monteagle's movements were readily 
 learned. On the night of October 27, the 
 two heard that he had sent orders to his house 
 at Hoxton to have supper for him. They 
 were lurking outside when he arrived. Pre- 
 sently a tall, dark man, wrapped in a long 
 cloak, appeared from the shadow of the wall. 
 He had been on the lookout, too. The 
 friends were sauntering easily along, arm in 
 arm. There was nothing suspicious in their 
 air. The man held out a letter to Giles. 
 
 " I will give thee a piece of gold," he be- 
 gan, " if thou wilt deliver this into the hands 
 of my lord." 
 
 Giles did not move his fingers even to push 
 away the coin. He could not so much as 
 touch the thing that was cursed because of its 
 owner. For he guessed this to be Francis 
 Tresham. 
 
 " I will take your message," he answered. 
 
 " Give it to none else than my lord him- 
 self." 
 
 " It shall be done." 
 
 The man glided away. Giles demanded
 
 AT HOLBEACH 105 
 
 entrance at the door, while Jan waited for 
 him under the wall outside. There was the 
 excuse of an important letter. Giles was ad- 
 mitted to Monteagle's presence. He surren- 
 dered the paper with the explanation that a 
 passer-by in the street had urgently begged 
 him to see it delivered. The master of the 
 house tore open the sheet. He stared at its 
 contents in blank surprise. 
 
 " A feigned hand," he muttered. "Neither 
 signed nor dated. Here, Ward," handing it 
 over to one of his esquires. " Read the whole 
 aloud ! " 
 
 Giles's memory always retained a few sen- 
 tences of that letter, of which he thus heard 
 the contents. 
 
 "'Out of the love I have to some of your 
 friends, I have a care of your preservation. 
 ... I would advise you, as you tender your 
 life, to devise some excuse to shift attendance 
 at this Parliament. ... I say they shall re- 
 ceive a terrible blow, this Parliament.' ' 
 
 My lord sprang up. " I must to White- 
 hall ere I sleep ! " said he. 
 
 Giles rejoined his companion outside the 
 gate. " All is well ! " he cried, flinging an 
 arm about Jan's neck. " All is well, and we 
 have not been seen to move in it at all."
 
 106 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 Jan made no answer. 
 
 Sir Robert came a little later to look to 
 their welfare before taking a journey to 
 Ireland on the king's business. He spoke 
 of rumors at court, of a gigantic plot against 
 all the heads of the nation. Monteagle had 
 brought a letter concerning it, to show to 
 James. 
 
 " Our hands are washed of it all," said 
 Giles, after his guardian had taken his leave. 
 
 "I hope they may be," Jan answered. 
 " And, lad ! since there is no further good 
 purpose to serve, don't go near Westminster 
 nor White Webbs again." 
 
 Giles opened his eyes very wide. " Are 
 you grown timid ? " he said in jest. 
 
 "Yes, and none too soon. Can you not 
 see that we two have been too often hanging 
 about those men? We have visited Grant, 
 and you were Tresham's messenger to Lord 
 Monteagle. It is high time to. think of our 
 own good." 
 
 " Ah, but I must see what Fawkes is about 
 in the vaults," Giles pleaded. "Just one 
 more visit, Jan, and I shall be prudence itself 
 henceforth. Only let me witness the end of 
 the tragedy." 
 
 Jan shook his head, but his friend had his
 
 AT HOLBEACH 107 
 
 way. On Monday he went to Westminster, 
 where he saw my Lord Chamberlain and 
 Monteagle looking about the House of Lords, 
 as if in preparation for the next day's recep- 
 tion of the king. They made an excuse 
 about some missing hangings to go down 
 into the vaults. Guy Fawkes stood in one 
 corner beside a pile of fagots. 
 
 " What art doing here ? " demanded Suf- 
 folk. 
 
 " I am Master Percy's servant, an 't please 
 my lord," he answered. " I am looking after 
 my master's stock of fuel." 
 
 " Thy master has a good stock," said Mont- 
 eagle. And so they left him. 
 
 Giles was too excited to quit the spot. He 
 found himself an old hiding-place in a corner 
 of the building. He watched there, through 
 that long night, for what should happen. He 
 saw a guard of soldiers gather, and knew that 
 the end was near. Midnight was called by 
 the watchman, and one o'clock, and two. A 
 tall, cloaked figure crept up out of the vault. 
 There was a murmured word of command. 
 The soldiers moved forward like one body. 
 Guy Fawkes was surrounded. The men 
 bound him hand and foot, he making neither 
 sound nor movement when he saw how use-
 
 108 IN THE BEAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 less resistance would be. The commander, a 
 Westminster magistrate, descended into the 
 vault. Giles pushed behind him in the mob. 
 Back of the door was a dark lantern burning. 
 The fagots were quickly pulled from their 
 places. Hogsheads and barrels were found 
 beneath them. The soldiers tapped one after 
 another. From each trickled the same thin 
 stream of a dark, odorous powder. 
 
 Sir Thomas Knevett came out of the cellar. 
 He pointed towards his prisoner. " To his 
 Majesty," he said. "He shall examine into 
 this matter." And leaped upon his horse. 
 
 Giles knew that he should return home to 
 Jan, who would be watching for him. He 
 knew that he should keep himself out of any 
 further implication with the discovery. But 
 he was rash enough to go to White Webbs, 
 instead, to see how the other plotters bore the 
 arrest of Fawkes. The conduct of these men, 
 for that last month before the complete dis- 
 closure, has always remained a mystery. Be- 
 sides such warnings as Grant must have given 
 them, Monteagle's letter was repeated to 
 one of them, in substance, by Ward. Their 
 boldness is hard to credit. Giles found that 
 Percy and Winter were mounting to ride to 
 Dunmoor. Keyes and Rookwood, he learned,
 
 AT HOLBEACH 109 
 
 were to wait until the following morning for 
 the latest news. 
 
 When Giles fell into his bedroom, full of 
 the story which Jan must awaken to hear, 
 prudence flew to the winds. Both were tin- 
 gling with the electricity with which all Lon- 
 don was charged. At noon they found them- 
 selves, they could not have told how, waiting 
 on horseback to witness the flight of the 
 White Webbs party. They had not discussed 
 it together, yet they understood that they in- 
 tended to follow these men and see them 
 brought to bay. Keyes had already quitted 
 the house. Rookwood rode forth at noon. 
 At Brickhill he overtook Catesby with John 
 Wright. Soon afterwards they fell in with 
 Percy and Christopher Wright. They rode 
 at the top of their speed, outstripping the 
 boys, who saw them fling their cloaks over a 
 hedge to lighten their weight. When the 
 home of Catesby 's mother was reached, at 
 Ashby, Saint Leger's, Rookwood had gone 
 eighty miles in the six hours. Another group 
 were just sitting down to supper here, but, 
 worn out as they were, they all went on to 
 Dunchurch, where Sir Everard Digby awaited 
 them. 
 
 The boys kept upon their track as best they
 
 110 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 might. They found that the eight men, with 
 their servants, had made for Warwickshire. 
 They must now have given up the pursuit 
 had they not fallen in with a company of 
 country people, under the sheriff's leadership. 
 The news had come down from London, and 
 these men were looking for the fugitives. 
 Jan was aghast at his friend's recklessness, 
 but Giles had altogether lost his head. Spur- 
 ring his tired horse to the officer's side, he 
 begged : 
 
 " Oh, sir, mount us and let us go with you ! 
 We can identify every one. We have heard 
 them plan this flight, and know whither they 
 go. Take us with you> and you will see that 
 we speak the truth." 
 
 " Horses for these youths ! " cried the 
 sheriff. " And now ride on." 
 
 They were led across Worcestershire also. 
 On the evening of the 7th they traced their 
 prey to a house at Holbeach. Here, it was 
 evident, they were determined to make a 
 stand, and hold out the place against attack. 
 The sheriff of Worcester was roused, but 
 deemed it wise to wait till day for action. 
 Giles and Jan rode restlessly around the house 
 watching for signs of life within. They saw 
 a troop of servants steal away. Then came
 
 AT HOLBEACH 111 
 
 out a gentleman, it was the master of the 
 house, followed by Sir Everard. 
 
 Directly afterwards there was a tremendous 
 noise. A huge bag of gunpowder flew up 
 through the roof. There had been an explo- 
 sion in the house. It was learned later that 
 there was an accidental discharge of drying 
 powder. Several men were injured. Robert 
 Winter, wild with horror, rushed out of doors 
 and into the neighboring woods. 
 
 At noon came the pursuers. The sheriff, 
 in a loud shout, demanded their surrender. 
 Catesby looked down from a window and re- 
 turned a defiant answer. 
 
 " Fire the buildings," called the sheriff to 
 part of his men. To the rest he gave the 
 order, " Storm the gateway," and they pushed 
 forward. 
 
 The entrance doors flew open. Out into 
 the courtyard marched Catesby, Rookwood, 
 Thomas Winter, the Wright brothers, and 
 Percy. They were armed with their swords, 
 but had no opportunity to use them. Winter 
 was shot at once in his right arm. Catesby 
 sprang to his side. 
 
 " Stand by me, Tom ! " said he. " We will 
 die together ! " 
 
 They placed themselves back to back.
 
 112 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 There was another shot, and another. Two 
 bullets from the same musket had pierced 
 them both through the body. Those nearest 
 the house saw Catesby creep back on his 
 hands and knees to the hall. He grasped the 
 image of the Virgin that looked down on the 
 bloody scene. He fell over and died holding 
 it to his breast. 
 
 Percy was fatally wounded. The Wright 
 brothers were both killed. Rookwood was 
 run through the body by a pike, and had a 
 broken arm. He was captured in the rush 
 from the courtyard. He lived to regard his 
 companions, who perished in the assault upon 
 Holbeach, as more fortunate than he. For 
 his own end was certain. Not two months 
 later he suffered the fate of a traitor.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 PRINCE HENRY AND CAPTAIN SMITH 
 
 THE servant at their tutor's lodgings came 
 in about this time with a message. 
 
 " There is one Dame Tryon without," he 
 announced. " She asks for Master Valentine. 
 She has a child with her." 
 
 Giles looked at his friend. " It is Nurse 
 Janet," he said, " and little Meg. What can 
 be the matter?" 
 
 He went into the passage. His old nurse 
 stood waiting for him, with Meg clinging to 
 her cloak. As the brother stooped over the 
 child he asked : 
 
 " What brings thee here, Janet ? Naught 
 amiss, I trust." 
 
 For answer she handed him a pheasant's 
 feather. 
 
 His cheek paled. " Whence came this? " 
 
 " A groom stopped me as my little lady and 
 I were taking our walk in the lane at sunset. 
 He had horses ready. He bade me mount 
 and lead him to ye, an I loved my old mis-
 
 114 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 tress's children. What could I do but come? 
 When we reached the house he gave me this. 
 I was to tell you a boat lay in the stream, and 
 a barge was ready off St. Katharine's Wharf 
 to set sail. Do you understand, Master 
 Giles?" 
 
 The woman looked at him piteously. She 
 had all sorts of dark forebodings. 
 
 " Ay," said Giles quickly. " I under- 
 stand." 
 
 He went straight to Jan with the intelli- 
 gence. They flew about the room, collecting 
 their small treasures. There was no time for 
 talk ; there was no possibility here of a trap. 
 
 Giles wrote two hasty notes, one to be 
 given to his tutor, the other to be sent out to 
 the family at the Grange. Then they joined 
 Dame Tryon. Giles took his sister in his 
 arms and they hurried down the stairs. 
 
 Out in the street the groom still waited. 
 The horses had disappeared. He approached 
 Giles, removing his broad-brimmed hat. His 
 bow was so low, and his cloak so muffled about 
 his chin, that his face was still concealed. 
 
 " A vessel sails to-night," said a disguised 
 voice, "for Ostend. Passage has been en- 
 gaged for a party of four. Are ye ready to 
 embark?"
 
 PEINCE HENRY AND CAPTAIN SMITH 115 
 
 " At whose suggestion ? " Giles demanded. 
 
 There was a light laugh underneath the 
 broad-brimmed hat, a laugh that had some- 
 thing vaguely familiar in its tones. Then the 
 disguised voice went on : 
 
 " Heard ye never of friends at court ? 
 Ah ! " more seriously. " His Majesty hath 
 been informed, and it likes him not, of your 
 connection with this plot, but you have true 
 hearts to rely upon in the very shadow of the 
 king's displeasure. Will you place your de- 
 pendence upon them?" 
 
 Giles glanced towards his companion. Jan 
 returned the look. " Yes," said they both. 
 
 The groom fell respectfully behind them on 
 the walk towards the river. 
 
 " Where have I heard that voice before ? " 
 mused Giles. " It is feigned, yet it is that of 
 some one I have known. Who is it, Jan ? " 
 
 " I have no idea," was the answer. " There 
 is nothing to recall any one whatsoever to my 
 mind." 
 
 They spied a boat lying out in the Thames, 
 and a slim little figure waiting for them on 
 the bank. He motioned to the oarsmen, who 
 approached. Then he stepped close to Giles. 
 It was George Earl. 
 
 To Giles's boundless astonishment he threw
 
 116 IN TIIE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 both arms about him and sobbed upon his 
 shoulder. " Should they seize thee yet ! " he 
 cried. " Dear, dear lad, make haste and 
 away ! " 
 
 " Peace, George," quoth the groom impa- 
 tiently. " Thy worry may work the very 
 mischief thou fearest. Here, fellows ! " The 
 hoarse, unnatural tones had been forgotten 
 in the outburst. They were resumed for the 
 boatmen's benefit. " Take the woman and 
 the child on board with ye." 
 
 Giles could not repress a smile to see how 
 the servant gave orders like a lord. He had 
 penetrated the secret now. He saw through 
 the youthful freak of the heir to the throne. 
 In the bustle he caught Henry's hand. It 
 was snatched away, but not before he had 
 raised it to his lips. 
 
 " My prince, what have you done for 
 me?" 
 
 Henry's eyes were fastened upon Jan climb- 
 ing down into the boat. He wrung Giles's 
 fingers in his hearty grasp. 
 
 " Thou wert ready to save my life from 
 peril at Winchester. This is only fair return, 
 for me and for Earl, remember." 
 
 George and his old enemy exchanged a 
 murmured farewell. The two upon the em-
 
 PEINCE HENRY AND CAPTAIN SMITH 117 
 
 bankment watched them, waving a last greet- 
 ing, while the little craft dropped down the 
 stream. They arrived at the waiting barge, 
 where they were evidently expected. They 
 were taken on board. The anchor was 
 weighed. For the first time the two boys 
 breathed freely. 
 
 It was only when the passing dread of cap- 
 ture was gone that they began to contemplate 
 a future which, in truth, was none of the 
 brightest. From Ostend, that port riddled 
 by the Spaniards five years before, they must 
 seek the Chapelains at Sluys, across a coun- 
 try desolated by the long war. They would 
 be incumbered in their movements by the 
 presence of a woman and a helpless child. 
 After Jan's uncle was reached, they could not 
 foresee their next step. He of course could 
 take charge of Meg and her nurse. But the 
 boys had no desire to return with him to 
 Paris. 
 
 " What I should like best," said Giles, 
 " would be to fight under Prince Maurice, as 
 my father did before me." 
 
 " And my father," Jan rejoined. " Yes, if 
 my uncle would consent to that, we should 
 know what to do. But we are so young ! " 
 
 " So young for what ? " asked some one.
 
 118 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 They were lying on deck in the sun, their 
 backs set against a coil of rope, their eyes 
 strained to catch the last glimpse of the 
 English coast. Another passenger had been 
 pacing up and down before them. Their 
 discussion was so earnest that they had paid 
 no heed to him. Now he paused beside 
 the friends, and they stared up, startled, into 
 his smiling face. He was a fine-looking 
 man, though weather-beaten and scarred. His 
 smile was kindly and interested. 
 
 " What are ye too young to do ? " he de- 
 manded again. 
 
 The boys scrambled into more respectful 
 attitudes. 
 
 "To fight for the Netherlands, sir," said 
 Giles. 
 
 The stranger seated himself beside them on 
 the coil of rope. 
 
 " You might be admitted on a war vessel," 
 he suggested, with instant sympathy. " Would 
 ye fancy an ocean life ? " 
 
 " Oh, sir, it would be the very thing ! " 
 
 " Ye are about the same years, are you 
 not?" 
 
 " There are only four months between us. 
 We are each thirteen." 
 
 " Ay, I guessed right. I was thirteen
 
 PRINCE HENRY AND CAPTAIN SMITH 119 
 
 when I quitted my master in London and 
 ran away to sea." 
 
 The boys looked at him. " Had you many 
 adventures, sir ? " 
 
 Their new acquaintance laughed outright. 
 
 " Some few," he said. " I have been in 
 France and the Low Countries, in Italy and 
 Egypt. I have fought the Turks in Hungary, 
 and conquered the Pagans in single combat. 
 I have been slave to the Bashaw of Nalbrits, 
 and escaped from his tyranny as by a miracle. 
 I am just returned from the wars in Morocco, 
 and have lifted my battle-axe in Spain. Yea, 
 lads, you say truly I have had my share of 
 adventure, when it comes to that." 
 
 The boys' eyes shone. Their breath came 
 quicker. " Tell us more," pleaded Giles. 
 
 " No more of my past. I will tell thee 
 what I plan now. I go to the Netherlands, 
 to seek a friend, one Henry Hudson, with 
 whom I hope to arrange for sailing in the 
 Western seas. Thou hast heard the tales of 
 the Spaniards' prizes? Of the treasure they 
 find in the Indies ? " 
 
 " Ay, that have we." Jan sprang to his 
 feet. " Oh, sir, take us with you ! " 
 
 " No, no." 
 
 Giles joined in the entreaty.
 
 120 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 " 'T is not to be thought of," answered 
 Captain John Smith, for it was he. " Should 
 your parents consent " 
 
 " We are orphans." 
 
 " Your guardians, then : were they willing, 
 I would not subject ye to the hardships and 
 the chances of such a life. Nay, nay. Wait 
 a few years. There will be opportunities, no 
 lack." 
 
 He eyed the disappointed countenances with 
 considerable compassion. " This I will do," 
 he said. " I will speak of ye both to Hudson. 
 I will bear you in mind myself. Should I 
 make a later voyage, or should my friend, 
 when you are grown but a little older, and, 
 it may be, wiser, I will surely send ye word. 
 You shall have your chance to go with me 
 then." 
 
 This was far from contenting them, but 
 they gave him their names, and told him 
 where trace of them could always be obtained. 
 
 " You will make the right sort of pioneers, 
 I can see that," said Captain Smith consol- 
 ingly. " All in good time, my lads. But I 
 deemed ye both eager to join the forces of 
 the States General. Why this change of 
 mind?" 
 
 Jan tried to explain. " It is my country,"
 
 PRINCE HENRY AND CAPTAIN SMITH 121 
 
 said he, " and my father died in its defense, 
 as did Giles's, though he was an Englishman. 
 Of course we would defend it, too. Still, 
 men say the war is drawing to a close. And 
 oh, sir, a new life in a new land, that is 
 the best fate of all." 
 
 "I agree with thee." The man's eyes 
 kindled, too, at the ardent tone. " Thou 'rt 
 right. There 's naught like that in this world. 
 I hope it will be the lot of ye both." 
 
 "It shall be!" Giles cried. "I sicken 
 when I think of England tangled in count- 
 less plots ; of the Low Countries and of Ger- 
 many, prostrate under the weight of conflict ; 
 of France with its religious factions. I long 
 to live my life in a new, free world, and 
 shape it for myself." 
 
 " We two together," said Jan, clasping 
 his hand. 
 
 The man smiled gently at their enthusiasm. 
 " You will win your desire some day," he 
 assured them, " if you desire it with all your 
 heart." 
 
 At Ostend they parted from their new 
 friend, but not before he had given them in- 
 valuable aid, from his varied experience and 
 his knowledge of the Netherlands, as to their 
 further journey. They saw all about them,
 
 122 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 at the seaport, relics of the hideous siege. 
 The country through which they now traveled 
 showed signs everywhere of a generation of 
 war. Yet what a marvelous land it was ! 
 These fields of rich grass supported oxen of 
 fabulous weight, and sheep and calves with- 
 out number. Wherever the natural fertility 
 of the Netherlands had not been frustrated, 
 for the time, by troops of soldiers and by 
 battle, the travelers could bear witness, even 
 in these dismal times, to the prosperous indus- 
 try of its inhabitants. 
 
 So they arrived at Sluys. Poor little Meg 
 was delighted by the sight of Jan's sister. 
 Giles thought Annemie grown prettier than 
 ever. She was but one year his junior, and 
 resembled her French mother in her gayety 
 and her dark-eyed beauty, as Jan exactly 
 reproduced his father's strong Dutch features. 
 Mme. Chapelain gave the young people a 
 motherly reception that comforted Giles in 
 regard to his sister's future care. Her hus- 
 band was absorbed in his own affairs, but 
 more careless than selfish, or indifferent to 
 his ward's best interests. 
 
 He was soon to return to France, the ser- 
 vice which had brought him hither having 
 been successfully performed. He listened,
 
 PEINCE HENRY AND CAPTAIN SMITH 123 
 
 however, attentively, to the boys' plans, and 
 was somewhat influenced by them. 
 
 " I see no reason," he said reflectively, 
 " why you should not strike a blow in behalf 
 of the poor Netherlands. Young as you are, 
 you have proved yourselves brave and apt. I 
 will see what can be done : I have an acquaint- 
 ance with the envoy in Paris, who gave me a 
 letter to his father, Recorder Aerssens, at the 
 Hague. I have used it for myself. Now I 
 will use it for you. You shall go to him, and 
 offer your services. He can best put you in 
 the way of seeing a little gunpowder burned. 
 I agree with you, lads, that there is no educa- 
 tion, in these times, like a taste of warfare. 
 Aerssens will manage that you have it." 
 
 It was nearer to them than the Hague, but 
 this they did not imagine. While they all 
 lingered on at Sluys, there came an adventure 
 which Giles was not to forget, and which 
 Jan never ceased regretting did not fall, in 
 part, to him to share.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE TOWN CLOCK AT SLUYS 
 
 IT was a lovely night in June. Giles could 
 not sleep, although he could give no reason 
 for his wakefulness. He counted hour after 
 hour by the tall clock on the staircase, out- 
 side his room. He listened enviously to Jan's 
 regular breathing. He tossed and turned, 
 and sprang from his bed to walk up and down 
 the little room, hoping thus to induce drowsi- 
 ness. 
 
 The night was drawing towards dawn, and 
 he had scarcely closed his eyes. 
 
 " It is clear and calm outside," he mused, 
 drawing the spotless curtain to peer from the 
 window, " or I should think it must be thun- 
 der in the air that has so wrought upon me. 
 Plainly, it is of no use to try to rest. I shall 
 dress quietly, and steal out of the house. 
 Perhaps a long stroll through the peaceful 
 streets will be the best cure for my wretched 
 excitement, after all." 
 
 No sooner thought than done. He pulled
 
 THE TOWN CLOCK AT SLUYS 125 
 
 on his clothes, and took a last look at his 
 sleeping comrade, with the reflection : 
 
 " Poor fellow ! It would be barbarous to 
 wake him, or how he would enjoy a mid- 
 night prowl ! " 
 
 He glided softly down the stairs, pushed 
 the bolt quickly, and let fall the chain. In 
 another instant he stood in the street out- 
 side. 
 
 He had no definite plan for a walk. He 
 rambled about altogether at random. Only 
 the night before, he had overheard Monsieur 
 Chapelain discussing with a friend the absurd 
 rumor that Du Terrail was contemplating an 
 attack upon the town. Both had laughed* at 
 the notion. Sluys was defended by a chain 
 of forts and water batteries, and by a mag- 
 nificent citadel. It may be that, ridiculous 
 as the idea appeared, it had had more effect 
 upon one listener than he supposed. The 
 remembrance of Du Terrail's project may 
 have driven away his sleep. 
 
 Be that as it may, Giles was pondering it 
 while he walked. Since the attempt must 
 result in failure, would it not be a lively bit 
 of action where all had moved tamely for so 
 long ? There was no danger of any repeti- 
 tion of the horrors of Ostend, for instance.
 
 126 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 " We can repel them with the first shot," 
 he reflected. " We can so silence them 
 What is that ? " 
 
 In his aimless course, he had reached the 
 vicinity of the western gate. He heard the 
 stealthy tread of armed men close at hand. 
 There was the undertoned direction, the 
 hushed step of soldiers marching in silence, 
 yet with the inevitable clanking of their 
 weapons. 
 
 This could mean nothing else but mischief. 
 What mischief, Giles resolved straightway to 
 discover. 
 
 Keeping in the shade of the tall, peaked 
 houses, moving like a very shadow himself, he 
 crept closer to the oncoming troops. He 
 could hear the drip of wet clothing, the mut- 
 tered complaints of those who, he afterwards 
 learned, had waded through the submerged 
 land of Cadzand. They had stolen past the 
 forts without detection. Their petards had 
 forced a breach in the gate ; through this, 
 he made out, the intruders were pushing, two 
 by two. 
 
 They had entered Sluys. 
 
 It was time for immediate action, and yet 
 what could he do ? All sorts of wild thoughts 
 flew distractedly through Giles's brain while
 
 THE TOWN CLOCK AT SLUYS 127 
 
 the men filed down the one street, and he 
 lurked in the dark corner of another, watch- 
 ing them from this distance. If they would 
 only speak of their plans ! If he could tell 
 what the next move was, he might do some- 
 thing anything to circumvent them. 
 
 And still if that speech should be in Span- 
 ish, or German, or Dutch, of what avail would 
 it be to him to overhear ? He understood 
 nothing save his own tongue, and the French 
 that Jan and he always used together. 
 
 At last one soldier ran past, with lightest 
 step, and another, equally cautious and still 
 more swift, came close at his heels. They 
 were both Irishmen, and, by the happiest 
 stroke of fortune, they addressed each other 
 in English. 
 
 Giles thanked the Lord for what seemed 
 a special providence. He craned his neck to 
 watch the two men and listen to their dis- 
 putes. 
 
 One was urging some scheme which his 
 comrade stoutly opposed. " No, no," he re- 
 peated vehemently. " The first party that 
 makes an entrance is to march to the oppo- 
 site end of the city. When the town clock 
 strikes two, there is to be a simultaneous at- 
 tack upon all the guard-houses. The garri-
 
 128 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 son will be cut down at one great blow. Not 
 that way, I tell thee. Thou seest where the 
 others are going. Ah, here comes our leader 
 himself." 
 
 There was a little confusion. The men re- 
 traced their steps towards the latest arrivals 
 through the narrow gap in the gate. Giles, 
 in his corner, was left to himself. 
 
 Now he knew what to do. 
 
 Up the silent street he ran like a race-hound, 
 away and away, his feet making scarcely a 
 sound, his body bent forward, his hands 
 clinched at his sides. The soldiers, mean- 
 while, were pouring out of the gateway, and 
 proceeding through the cross-street, as he had 
 seen. 
 
 He must reach the town hall and the clock. 
 It must be his failing breath grew fainter 
 with fear now very close to the appointed 
 hour, the time for slaughter. That hour must 
 never strike. This was the first duty. What 
 lay beyond was to be determined afterwards. 
 
 He reached the frowning building, in its 
 narrow, turreted solemnity. He was prepared 
 for the barred doors. He smiled grimly to 
 himself, while he dug his heels and toes into 
 the smooth brickwork, and drew himself up 
 to a window-ledge.
 
 THE TOWN CLOCK AT SLUYS 129 
 
 " I have had practice in house-breaking," 
 he thought, " at Vinegar House and at 
 White Webbs." 
 
 He pried open the sash with his knife. He 
 dropped down inside into a gulf of darkness. 
 It was a long fall, and he bruised himself 
 severely where he struck the floor. But he 
 was on his feet in an instant, and groping his 
 path through the room. Stairs were found 
 after a sickening delay, and after more than 
 one false hope. Every moment, every second, 
 counted, and there were so many delays ! He 
 climbed up and up. Sometimes he could not 
 touch the railing ; sometimes he was not 
 certain of his footing in that utter blackness. 
 The platforms were only to be crept across 
 on his face, lying at full length, while his 
 outreaching fingers clutched for the edge. 
 Should Giles make one false move now, not 
 only he might be dashed to pieces in unknown 
 depths below, but and this was his first 
 thought the alarm would be given, the gar- 
 rison would be slain, and the city would sur- 
 render to Du Terrail. 
 
 He had a general notion where the works 
 of the clock must stand. He had seen its 
 round visage often enough in his comings 
 and goings past the hall. By and by he
 
 130 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 could hear the loud, steady tick that guided 
 his dizzy climbing. There was a rumble, a 
 premonitory growl, as it were, in the ma- 
 chinery. It was on the stroke of two. 
 
 Giles fell forward. He thrust out one 
 hand and caught at something, he knew not 
 what, for support. With the other arm he 
 pushed away recklessly among the cogs and 
 wheels. He seized the pendulum ; he tugged 
 at the weight. His fingers were torn and 
 bleeding. He paid no heed to anything ex- 
 cept this ; he had stopped the clock. The 
 signal would never sound. 
 
 A half hour later the governor, Colonel 
 Van der Noot, was roused from his bed by a 
 voice outside his window. He sprang up, 
 rushed to the sash, and called lustily in re- 
 turn. 
 
 " What is it ? Is anything amiss ? " 
 
 "Hearken," said an English voice. "Do 
 you hear the trumpets ? " 
 
 Every one could hear them now. They 
 were playing a Spanish air. It sounded in 
 gay triumph through the Dutch town. 
 
 A shout clashed with the music. There 
 was an indescribable tumult in Sluys. 
 
 The governor hurried into his clothes. 
 Half dressed, he sprang down the stairs at
 
 THE TOWN CLOCK AT SLUTS 131 
 
 a flying leap, and threw himself out of the 
 door. 
 
 Giles hastened forward to meet him. They 
 ran on together, the boy telling, in panting 
 breaths, what he had learned of the enemy's 
 movements. Fortunately, there had been 
 such numbers of his countrymen in the Neth- 
 erlands, from time to time engaged in the 
 war, that many Dutch could speak and un- 
 derstand English. The governor questioned 
 him closely. Twelve hundred of Du Terrail's 
 troops had entered the place. They feared 
 a possible ambush, making their progress 
 through the town. They were ever on the 
 alert for an onslaught. Their leader, with 
 some of his men, had not stirred from the 
 western gate. They stood there awaiting the 
 sign for the attack upon the guard-houses. 
 
 The guard were in arms, and the whole 
 garrison. From every house thronged men 
 just awakened from sleep, but prepared for 
 combat. Colonel Van der Noot was ready to 
 atone, by his bravery, for the false security 
 that had rendered the surprise possible. He 
 led the irregular army, with hastily caught 
 up musket and pike. Together they fell 
 upon the venturesome band who had dared to 
 break the wall of Sluys.
 
 132 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 Giles kept close to the governor. He had 
 only his knife for weapon, but there was no 
 need for his offices. The intruders were re- 
 pelled with almost ludicrous haste. 
 
 The gap in the gate had served very well 
 to gain them entrance to the town. It was 
 quite another matter when the panic-stricken 
 foreigners pushed by each other in their en- 
 deavors to flee through the same narrow pas- 
 sage. It was a picture of frantic terror, of 
 tremendous noise, of frightful carnage. Five 
 hundred of the enemy were killed at the gate. 
 Of those who managed to escape, the larger 
 number were drowned, or smothered in the 
 marshes that lay without the town on the 
 road they had taken to win it. 
 
 Giles returned to a household all agog with 
 the events of the night. M. Chapelain and 
 Jan were away. Madame shed tears of pity 
 over the boy's torn hand, and the terribly 
 bruised shoulder that had received the worst 
 hurt when he sprang down from the town 
 hall window. His old nurse, and Annemie 
 and Meg, treated him as the hero of the whole 
 affair. 
 
 When they were returned and had heard his 
 story, Jan and his uncle were equally proud of 
 the exploit. The governor sent for Giles
 
 THE TOWN CLOCK AT SLUYS 133 
 
 during the day, and praised the boy's fore- 
 thought. He questioned him in regard to 
 his future movements, and delighted the boys 
 by saying that he remembered both Wilhelm 
 Verrooy and Anthony Valentine. 
 
 " You are the worthy sons of your fathers," 
 he said in faltering English. " If you and 
 young Verrooy like, I will arrange matters 
 for you. You say you wish to see fighting. 
 You both bore yourselves well last night. I 
 cannot place you on any warship, but I can 
 send you and I will to Prince Maurice. 
 He is gathering an army at Deventer. I will 
 give you letters to one of his officers. Will 
 that content you for the present, young 
 sirs?" 
 
 Their faces beamed with pleasure. It was 
 hardly necessary to answer Yes.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 WITH PRINCE MAURICE 
 
 " UGH, what a climate ! " exclaimed Giles. 
 " I begin to wonder that you were not web- 
 footed, Jan." 
 
 He threw aside his wet cloak, seating him- 
 self at the tent's opening before the glowing 
 peat fire. 
 
 " You know as well as I do that this rainy 
 season is no less remarkable to my people than 
 to you." Jan was lounging, in a languid 
 attitude, upon the edge of his camp bed. He 
 spoke rather tartly. Giles did not notice 
 this, rattling on with his complaints. 
 
 " Think of a fire at midsummer, too ! " He 
 warmed his hands at the pleasant blaze. " It 
 is as cold to-day as it was when we reached 
 the Netherlands last winter." 
 
 "And you've heard it said a thousand 
 times," Jan retorted, " the soldiers are for- 
 ever repeating it, that no such summer has 
 ever been experienced before. It's as the 
 commander said to some one last night : ( All
 
 WITH PRINCE MAURICE 135 
 
 the seasons have come together. One can't 
 tell whether it is spring, summer, autumn, or 
 winter.' ' 
 
 He stretched himself full length upon the 
 couch. " For my part, I don't see what you 
 mean by grumbling about the cold. I am 
 burning with heat, myself." 
 
 " Why, your cheeks are like fire ! " Giles 
 said, regarding him curiously for the first 
 time. " Are you ill, Jan ? " 
 
 " No, no ! I feel well enough except for the 
 heat. What are they doing outside ? " 
 
 " They are all gathered on the river bank. 
 If you really are equal to it I don't like 
 your looks myself we might go down there 
 and see the enemy's attempts to cross." 
 
 The war that had lasted for forty years was 
 drawing to a close. Its cost to the Nether- 
 lands, in what that fertile land had suffered, 
 might be readily seen and estimated. Its 
 money cost to Spain was reckoned at more 
 than $300,000 monthly. The Marquis Spi- 
 nola, the great Spanish leader, had been very 
 ill. It was hoped that the Dutch would strike 
 decisively, and end the contest, during his en- 
 forced absence from the field of action. But 
 Holland's coffers, too, were almost emptied. 
 Prince Maurice was hampered by lack of
 
 136 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 money and of soldiers. Another delay was 
 caused by a dispute between Henry Fourth 
 and the Duke of Bouillon. It was relative to 
 this last matter that M. Chapelain had visited 
 the Netherlands. 
 
 Early in June, Spinola arrived in Brussels. 
 Assembling a large force, he divided it into 
 two parts, one of which he gave to the com- 
 mand of Bucquoy, with 10,000 foot, 12 guns, 
 and 1200 cavalry. This army reached Mook, 
 on the Meuse, on the 18th of July. Spinola 
 on the same day occupied Goor, in Overyssel, 
 with 11,000 infantry, 2000 horse, and 8 guns, 
 having crossed the Rhine at the redoubts 
 of Ruhrort. But his plans to repeat his cam- 
 paign of 1605 were frustrated by the weather, 
 at which Giles had just now been railing. 
 The roads became rivers, and the rivers lakes. 
 Friesland was an impassable bog. Turning 
 away from the east, he set out for the west, 
 in execution of a plan which he had long 
 had in mind. 
 
 The Yssel and the Waal rivers formed, as 
 it were, two moats on the sides of a vast 
 natural fortress guarding Utrecht, through 
 which lay the route to Holland and Zeeland. 
 Could Spinola but obtain the control of those 
 two streams, he might yet, by the invincible
 
 WITH FEIN CE MAURICE 137 
 
 position he would then hold, put an end to 
 the Dutch rebellion at one stroke. Should 
 he pass the rivers, he could bring his two 
 forces together and the thing was done. 
 
 The importance of every movement at this 
 juncture was fully appreciated upon both 
 sides. The defense of the Waal had been 
 given by Maurice to Warner Du Bois, with 
 7000 men. They were to prevent the pas- 
 sage of Bucquoy's troops. He himself was 
 pitted against Spinola. 
 
 Jan's uncle had taken his family with him 
 and gone back to France. There was a new 
 sense of desolation when the friends watched 
 their departure, and felt that, through their 
 own deliberate choice, they were turned out 
 upon the world. Mme. Chapelain assured 
 them of the welcome they would find in Paris 
 at any time they chose to claim it. The 
 boys bade them all farewell, and then set out 
 for Spardorp and Du Bois, to whose protec- 
 tion the governor of Sluys had commended 
 them. And thus, on this wet summer day, 
 that might, so far as weather was con- 
 cerned, have been midwinter, they were spec- 
 tators of the last land action in the revolt of 
 the Low Countries. 
 
 When the two reached the river, they
 
 138 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 beheld its yellow, swollen tide rolling upon a 
 scene of most curious interest and activity. 
 Armed vessels dotted its waters ; armed men 
 lined the banks like a wall. There was a 
 dead silence among the watchers. 
 
 Upon the opposite banks one Pompeio 
 Giustiniani was making preparations to cross 
 the stream. A number of barges set out from 
 shore. The Dutch noted eagerly the ap- 
 proach of the boats. It was obvious what 
 they meant to do. As they drew nearer, it 
 could be seen that they were full of troops. 
 
 " Huzza ! " cried Jan. 
 
 He tossed his cap into the air. He had 
 noticed the first boat slacken its speed. He 
 saw the boatmen turn its course. The com- 
 mander pushed forward and began an agi- 
 tated remonstrance. He waved his hand 
 towards Du Bois. They could catch the 
 sound of his loud tones in his effort to cheer 
 his men, and impel them on in the dangerous 
 struggle for victory. Through the dropping 
 rain, the whistle of the bleak wind, the rush- 
 ing of the mighty river, the imploring, cajol- 
 ing, threatening voice was wafted to the bank 
 of the Waal. The solid ranks of men waited 
 the result in dogged determination, their eyes 
 fastened upon the wavering line of boats.
 
 WITH PEINCE MAURICE 139 
 
 "Huzza!" 
 
 Jan's cry was caught up from a thousand 
 throats. The first boat fell away. It dropped 
 down the stream. The next, and the next: 
 one by one, the advancing enemy beat the 
 same retreat. Upon the pretext that the cur- 
 rent here was too strong for them, they re- 
 sisted every entreaty or command. Gradually 
 they stole back to their comrades upon the 
 shore. 
 
 An ear-piercing shout of derision followed 
 them as they went. A Spanish officer in the 
 last of the straggling line shook his sword in 
 impotent wrath at the Hollanders. 
 
 Upon the Yssel, Maurice was keeping the 
 same effective guard. In vain did the cun- 
 ning Spinola move from point to point, watch- 
 ing his chance to break through the line of 
 forts hastily thrown up by the stadholder. 
 There was no weak spot. It was all defended 
 beyond surprise. 
 
 " It is like a cat and a mouse," said Giles, 
 " only that in this case the mouse seems to 
 have the best of it." 
 
 " The cat has effected something," Jan 
 answered from the bed. " He has captured 
 Lochem " 
 
 " Pooh ! what was that tiny town ? There
 
 140 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 was no glory, and not much profit, in taking 
 a place, with next to no garrison, that surren- 
 dered without a struggle." 
 
 " I know all that," Jan pettishly replied. 
 " But there is Groll, too. Spinola has taken 
 Groll, and they say he is on the march to 
 Rheinberg. Oh, Giles, how cold I am ! " 
 
 His tone had altered abruptly. His lips 
 became blue. His teeth chattered. Giles 
 flew to his side in alarm. 
 
 " You are like ice," he murmured, catching 
 the boy's hand in his. " What shall I do ? 
 I will run for help, if you can be left alone." 
 
 For he thought his friend was dying. 
 
 Jan made no answer. Giles looked about 
 him distractedly. He flung every covering 
 that was at hand upon the bed. He seized a 
 can of water and ran to the fire to heat it. 
 He really did not dare quit the bedside, but 
 the measures he took were quite as effective 
 as anything could be in the course of such a 
 chill. He made Jan drink the scalding water, 
 and put a bottle of it to his feet. In his hur- 
 ried search for another can, a small packet 
 fell out of the doublet he had tossed aside. 
 
 Some recollection, vaguely distressing, was 
 roused by its sight. Giles knit his brows : 
 why did the squarely folded paper bring up
 
 WITH PRINCE MAUEICE 141 
 
 to his mind another time of illness and of 
 harassment ? 
 
 " I have it ! " he cried, relieved. " It was 
 one day at York, in the course of the royal 
 progress. How long ago it seems ! My 
 guardian was taken down with a sickness 
 like this, and Sir Walter Raleigh heard of it. 
 He sent us, through his Majesty's surgeon, a 
 powder that, he said, the Indians use and find 
 that it works marvels. Dear Jan, it is Provi- 
 dence that brings it to light in our need. I 
 have found the cure ! All will soon be right." 
 
 Much cheered at the belief, he mixed a 
 draught and brought it to the bedside. 
 " Don't refuse it because it is bitter," he 
 begged. " I remember the outcry Sir Robert 
 made. He said the cinchona was worse than 
 the chill." 
 
 Jan was too ill to listen to much of this 
 harangue. However, he mustered the spirit 
 to determine that he would show more forti- 
 tude than Carey. He swallowed the dose at 
 a mouthful, and lay back upon his couch. 
 
 A shadow darkened the tent opening. Giles 
 looked up from resettling his patient under 
 the pile of clothes. Warner Du Bois stood 
 looking in upon them. Behind him, and 
 glancing over his shoulder, was another war-
 
 142 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 rior. He was clad in a complete suit of 
 armor, and carried a helmet, with waving 
 orange plumes, in his right hand. Giles no- 
 ted abstractedly his fair, round face, his 
 large blue eyes, the scanty locks that crowned 
 his head. He bowed to the two men, and 
 moved aside as they entered the tent. 
 
 " What is the matter here ? " asked the 
 stranger in Dutch. 
 
 Du Bois hastily interposed. He explained 
 that Giles was an Englishman. The boy 
 heard his name used, and his father's. A 
 pleasant smile crossed the soldier's face. He 
 held out his hand, saying in English : 
 
 "I remember Anthony Valentine well. I 
 am glad to meet his son in the field where 
 he died in our behalf. For his sake I would 
 do aught that I could for you. What is 
 wrong here ? " 
 
 He approached the bedside. Du Bois 
 whispered to Giles : 
 
 " It is the prince." 
 
 Jan answered the kindly questions as well 
 as his miserable condition would permit. 
 Maurice listened attentively. Giles stepped 
 forward. 
 
 " It has been so with him," he said, " ever 
 since we reached the Waal. First a fever,
 
 WITH PRINCE MAURICE 143 
 
 and then a chill. He has not heen able to 
 escape one or the other, though none ere this 
 hath been so severe." 
 
 "Ay, ay, I see," the stallholder replied. 
 " We must get him out of this quagmire ; 
 that is the first thing. Then a sea voyage 
 would be the surest remedy of all." His 
 quick gaze, roving from one face to the other, 
 caught the expression of pleasure that crossed 
 them both. " You would like that better 
 than sitting in this bog?"- 
 
 " Oh, sir, it is the wish of our hearts to 
 embark on a war vessel and see action upon 
 the water." 
 
 " Would that all desires could be so easily 
 gratified," said Maurice. He glanced towards 
 Du Bois. " Admiral Haultain," he continued, 
 " is to sail but shortly for the Spanish coast 
 to pick up a golden prize. 'Tis the very 
 adventure in which these youths would de- 
 light." 
 
 He spoke in his own tongue. Jan answered 
 him. His chill was departing. His eyes spar- 
 kled so brilliantly that his friend feared the 
 fever had returned. 
 
 "I should not ask more of fortune," said 
 he. " And Giles, here, is of the same mind. 
 If the admiral will take us "
 
 144 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 " The admiral will take you," Prince Mau- 
 rice interrupted haughtily. " I shall do my 
 part. Come, my lad, you must hasten to re- 
 cover sufficiently to be moved. That is your 
 share of the compact." 
 
 With that he quitted the tent, with Du 
 Bois, and left them to talk it all over to- 
 gether.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 KLAASZOON THE MAETYE 
 
 THE boys were full of excitement, not only 
 at the prospect of sailing at all, but of sailing 
 in a fleet commanded by Haultain. They 
 had heard, in the previous year, of his exploit 
 off Dover, how he bound Sarmiento's Span- 
 ish legion two and two together, and tossed 
 them into the sea. They knew him for a 
 cruel man, and they believed, with the general 
 belief, that he was as brave as he was severe. 
 They were speedily to learn the truth of this. 
 
 Nineteen war galleots of the first class and 
 two well-equipped yachts comprised the squad- 
 ron. The vice-admiral was Regnier Klaas- 
 zoon, from Amsterdam. " They say he, too, 
 has the spirit of a lion," Jan informed his 
 friend. 
 
 Jan was already much improved in health, 
 whether due to Raleigh's medicine, or to. 
 Maurice's, could not be determined. Both 
 were transported with delight as they coasted, 
 day after day, along the shore of Western
 
 146 JN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 Europe. A few months before, the admiral 
 had made the same voyage for the like .pur- 
 pose, to watch for and to overcome the out- 
 going Portuguese merchantmen, and the fleets 
 homeward bound, gold-laden, from America. 
 He had not effected much at that time. The 
 merchantmen had unloaded their cargoes, and 
 postponed their voyage to the East Indies. 
 Nothing was to be seen of the American ves- 
 sels, and he had lost six of his own ships in a 
 storm. Now he was returned on a further 
 search for the treasures of Mexico and Peru. 
 
 They learned soon that the treasure fleet 
 had not yet arrived, and were constantly upon 
 the lookout for the first sign of its approach. 
 They feh 1 in with several merchant ships which 
 they chased into harbor. Two or three land- 
 ings were made and a village was burned. 
 The sight was horrid to Giles and his com- 
 panion, although they had been trained in 
 a rough school of constant conflict. 
 
 Then fell a heavy storm. It lasted a day 
 and a night. The friends were thankful 
 that they were together, when hour after hour 
 seemed likely to be their last. They were 
 still more grateful that they had not been 
 stationed on different ships when the second 
 morning broke. Six vessels were gone.
 
 KLAASZOON THE MAETYB 147 
 
 It was a fortnight later. They had been 
 cruising, in tedious monotony, off Cape St. 
 Vincent, when Jan was sent aloft to scan the 
 horizon. He shielded his eyes with his hand, 
 and gazed searchingly out into the west. 
 Those on the deck awaited the result of this 
 oft-repeated outlook. 
 
 " They must come soon ! " muttered the 
 admiral, pacing up and down. 
 
 " A sail ! " cried Jan. There was a faint 
 stir. " Another ! And another ! The ocean 
 is white with them. It is the fleet ! " 
 
 There was a shout of rapture. Men flew 
 here and there, in obedience to hurried 
 words of command. Giles wondered that Jan 
 tarried at his post. He looked aloft, and saw 
 him still clinging with one arm to the mast, 
 still shading his eyes with his other hand and 
 looking out to sea. He stood, struck by a 
 strange sense of something amiss. 
 
 Jan descended from his perch. He crossed 
 the deck to where the admiral stood. That 
 worthy's features were wreathed in smiles. 
 
 " What, lad," he cried boisterously. " Why 
 that long face, as if you did not like the 
 prospect ? You saw the squadron ? " 
 
 Jan shook his head. " It was not the 
 squadron."
 
 148 IN THE HEAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 Haul tain took a step to Avar ds him. His 
 fierce eyes blazed with rage. He lifted one 
 arm to strike the boy. " Have you deceived 
 us ? " he demanded hoarsely. " What does 
 this fooling mean ? Speak, rogue, or it will 
 be the worse for you ! " 
 
 Jan drew himself up proudly. " I reported 
 what I saw," he answered. " But those are 
 no merchantmen. See for yourself." He 
 pointed to the distance. " They are Spanish 
 warships, and they outnumber us three to 
 one." 
 
 The admiral ran to the vessel's side. He 
 could indeed see for himself. Bearing down 
 upon them, now coming plainly into view, 
 was the largest fleet that had sailed those 
 waters in many years. Eighteen galleons 
 Jan had counted, and eight galleys, besides 
 a number of smaller vessels. It was a sight 
 to alarm the stoutest heart, knowing their 
 own resources, and seeing how terribly the 
 odds were in the Spaniards' favor. 
 
 Haultain issued an instant order for a con- 
 ference with his chief officers. The men 
 stood meanwhile about the decks muttering 
 to each other. They eyed the approaching 
 ships, some of them with gloomy prophecies 
 as to the result of a meeting ; others defiant,
 
 KLAASZOON* THE MARTYR 149 
 
 or vaingloriously sure that the Dutch could 
 follow up their prowess on the seas by a vic- 
 tory in the teeth of such forces brought 
 against them. 
 
 The hurried conference was over. The 
 officers hastened back to their vessels, the 
 vice-admiral shaking his head in gloomy 
 dissatisfaction. 
 
 " I don't like that," Giles said aside. Jan 
 and he were watching the boat speed on its 
 course through the water. " See how Klaas- 
 zoon sits in the stern, his head on his breast, 
 his forehead set in a frown. He is displeased 
 with the decision, whatever it may be." 
 
 " I am afraid we may all wish it other than 
 it is," Jan answered. " You could see the 
 spirit of the men just now in what they said. 
 Flight would be cowardice, and yet it looks 
 very much as if we were to end by running 
 away." 
 
 Giles nodded. " Hear that," he whispered. 
 
 The order was sent forth. The fleet was 
 to manoeuvre for the weather-gauge. It 
 would then be seen whether escape or contest 
 was the next move. 
 
 " Discretion or valor ! " muttered Jan. " As 
 if a Dutchman should hesitate between the 
 two ! "
 
 150 IN THE BRAVE* DAYS OF OLD 
 
 A gale sprang up that sent the unfortunate 
 ships reeling beneath close-reefed topsails. It 
 was some comfort to see that the Spanish war- 
 galleys could not ride out the storm. They 
 were forced under the lee of the land. " We 
 have lost that much of the enemy's strength," 
 quoth Giles. 
 
 " Ah, but the galleons ! After all, there is 
 nothing like them for mischief. And see how 
 they weather the gale ! " 
 
 The eighteen powerful vessels, reinforced 
 by several great carracks, were bearing down 
 before the wind upon the Netherlands fleet. 
 They scattered right and left. The confusion 
 became inextricable. The wind howled, and 
 the spray beat upon the decks. Suddenly 
 Giles seized Jan by the arm. 
 
 " These are no manoeuvres," he called above 
 the tumult of the storm. " It is neither more 
 nor less than flight. And each ship is strug- 
 gling to be the foremost in it. Oh, what a 
 shameful day for the States ! " 
 
 With a gesture of overpowering despair, 
 Jan flung himself upon the deck. He cov- 
 ered his face with his hands to shut out the 
 sight of his country's disgrace. An exclama- 
 tion from Giles caused him to lift his head 
 again.
 
 KLAASZOON THE MARTYR 151 
 
 "Is it not so bad?" he inquired. 
 
 " Oh, that glorious Klaaszoon ! See, see, he 
 is standing fast ! Jan, he is meeting unaided 
 the onset of the Spaniards." 
 
 Yard-arm to yard-arm, a terrific combat 
 followed. The unequal fight was too much 
 for even the admiral's caution to witness. To 
 the joy of his crew he checked the retreat, 
 rallied five vessels the rest were hopelessly 
 scattered and went to Klaaszoon's relief. 
 
 The Spaniards were discomfited for the 
 time. The day was dragging to a close. At 
 sunset, the vice-admiral's ship, crippled as it 
 was, received a fresh onslaught. Those with 
 
 x O 
 
 Haultain looked to him to move once more to 
 the former's assistance. What was their hor- 
 ror when the command was given, and ran 
 throughout the remnant of the fleet ! 
 
 " Crowd all sail ! " the admiral had said. 
 
 " And Klaaszoon ? " Giles turned his white 
 face to his friend. 
 
 Jan was pale, too, with despair and rage. 
 " Klaaszoon is to be abandoned to his fate, 
 you see ! " 
 
 The Dutch were displaying the seamanship 
 in which they undoubtedly excelled the adver- 
 sary, only to get as rapidly as they could out 
 of the Spaniards' reach. They heard the
 
 152 IN THE HEAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 guns from Klaaszoon's ship boom out over 
 the seas as they disappeared in the twilight. 
 The last glimpse any of them caught of the 
 doomed vessel was one never to be forgotten. 
 It was stamped indelibly upon the memory. 
 Against the glare of the setting sun, its red 
 clouds suspended over the victim, the devoted 
 ship, hemmed in by its foes, forsaken by its 
 friends, wrecked and broken, was fighting to 
 the end. 
 
 Its future was known to the world soon 
 after the admiral, who eventually fell in with 
 the missing ships, brought back twelve of the 
 thirteen, uninjured, to port. He had no very 
 comforting reception. The States General 
 made it clear, and the public agreed with the 
 government, that, if the dozen had showed 
 the courage of the one, the Spanish squadron 
 could have been dispersed. 
 
 Nor was Haultain's lot rendered easier by 
 the fact that he had only missed by a few 
 days the American fleet that now sailed safely 
 to land. He had lost his honor, he had lost 
 his vice-admiral, and he had lost the oppor- 
 tunity to capture the richest prize that had 
 ever been carried to impoverished Spain. 
 Eight millions of dollars, cargoes of Brazil 
 wood, silk, cochineal, indigo, sarsaparilla, and
 
 KLAASZOON THE MARTYR 153 
 
 hides ; there was wealth galore coming out of 
 the west, and directly in his path when the 
 Dutchman sailed away from Cape St. Vincent. 
 
 Meanwhile Holland was ringing with the 
 tale of Klaaszoon and his men. They had 
 never entertained the notion of surrender. 
 They knew that escape was out of the ques- 
 tion. For forty-eight hours they drifted 
 about, the flag of the States still flying at the 
 broken mast, a shot now and then speaking 
 their undying defiance. 
 
 The ship began to sink. The Spanish 
 admiral, Don Luis Fazardo, made a demand 
 for surrender, with a promise of quarter. 
 There were sixty men alive with Klaaszoon, 
 and scarcely one unwounded. He went about 
 among them announcing his plan. They 
 must all agree or he would change his pur- 
 pose. But they did agree. 
 
 They knelt upon the deck, the injured sup- 
 ported by their comrades. Klaaszoon offered 
 up a prayer to the God who had led the 
 Dutch, as He led the Hebrews in the wilder- 
 ness for forty years. He asked Him to accept 
 one more sacrifice in the cause of liberty. 
 The others said a hearty and unwavering 
 amen. 
 
 Then the vice-admiral rose and approached
 
 154 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 the powder magazine. He tossed within it a 
 lighted scrap of tarred rope. He went back 
 to the group and fell upon his knees again. 
 
 There was a wild flash of flame, a report 
 that shook the ocean to its depths. Klaas- 
 zoon and his men had chosen to give them- 
 selves into the hands of the Lord rather than 
 those of man. 
 
 Two survivors were picked up floating 
 about on the waves. The Spaniards brought 
 them aboard one of their fleet, and questioned 
 them in regard to what had happened. They 
 were horribly mutilated. It was the final 
 struggle of nature with which they told, and 
 gloried in the telling, of Regnier Klaaszoon 
 the Martyr, and the sixty faithful men who 
 had gone with him to death. 
 
 This was the story that was electrifying 1 
 the States and crowning the ignominy of 
 Haultain.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 i 
 
 BEFORE GROLL 
 
 GILES and Jan were again with Prince 
 Maurice in his encampment before Lochem. 
 They were welcomed by the stadholder, with 
 some trace of amusement at the evidence of 
 their spirit and determination to be upon the 
 scene of action. His face darkened when he 
 questioned them about the happenings off 
 Cape St. Vincent. It lightened again with 
 enthusiasm at Jan's comment. 
 
 " Can those Spaniards think," cried the boy, 
 " that a nation capable of such deeds as Klaas- 
 zoon's could ever give up the struggle for its 
 rights ? " 
 
 " From their own side the struggle is almost 
 over," was the prince's comment. "My lads, 
 you are witnessing the end of a contest that 
 began before your fathers were born." 
 
 It was hard to realize this fact, while the 
 fighting still continued on both sides as inde- 
 fatigably as ever. Lochem was taken again 
 by Maurice's forces after a five days' siege.
 
 156 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 It was a dismal experience to the young com- 
 batants, little as the fierce old soldiers thought 
 of such an event. About them lay the corpses 
 of Spanish nobles, to be recognized by their 
 perfumed gloves and their rich clothing. 
 The unburied dead were a horrible sight. 
 The forsaken streets, the departing occupants 
 of the town, defiant in their degradation, 
 touched the boys' generous hearts, and made 
 them feel that first hatred of warfare that was 
 afterwards to grow to a loathing in them 
 both. 
 
 Maurice now besieged Groll with 15,000 
 infantry and 3000 horse. The strangely 
 prevalent rains were still pouring down, 
 although and this appeared a mere freak 
 of bad fortune at the very time that he 
 wished to cross the Yssel, a short space of 
 dry weather intervened, so that certain of its 
 shallows were not navigable for his transports. 
 The long trains of munitions and artillery 
 were dragged overland to Groll, whereupon 
 the flood-gates were opened once more. 
 
 It seemed impossible to effect anything in 
 such weather. Nor was there, apparently, 
 necessity for prompt action. The Spanish 
 forces were dispersed, and on the verge 
 of mutiny. The Dutch felt, in a measure,
 
 BEFORE GROLL 157 
 
 secure. The siege was conducted after a lei- 
 surely fashion. 
 
 One November day Giles ran into their 
 tent in a state of intense excitement. 
 
 " Spinola is advancing on Groll ! " he cried. 
 
 " Impossible ! " 
 
 " I wish it were. It only proves too true. 
 The news has just arrived. It is buzzing 
 about through the camp." 
 
 " And it is no idle rumor ? There are so 
 many rumors in the air." 
 
 " It is the truth." 
 
 Jan was off his couch and into his cloak 
 in an instant. Giles regarded him in no little 
 anxiety as they proceeded out into the storm. 
 He knew his friend did not like to be ques- 
 tioned about his health. Jan acted as if this 
 disease (of course nowadays it would be called 
 malaria) was something girlish and of which 
 to be ashamed. 
 
 " I fancy you would be as well," Giles 
 commented, with a glance at the flushed 
 cheeks and unnaturally sparkling eyes, " for 
 another dose of Sir Walter Raleigh's magical 
 remedy." The only answer vouchsafed him 
 was a sort of growl of disgust. 
 
 They soon learned not only the truth, but 
 further particulars of the tale that Giles had
 
 158 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 picked up. Spinola's army, made up of about 
 seven thousand infantry and twelve compa- 
 nies of horse, was marching towards Groll. 
 A morass lay in his path. Soldiers in noisy 
 groups were vehemently proclaiming this 
 statement, and that there would be time, be- 
 fore its passage was made, for the prince to 
 complete his intrenchments. Work was be- 
 gun at once, in spite of the deluge pouring 
 down upon the camp. 
 
 Before anything had been effected, tidings 
 came as startling and as true as the first 
 piece of intelligence. Again Giles hastened 
 to his friend's bedside. Again he roused him 
 with 
 
 " The Spaniards have crossed the swamp ! " 
 
 Jan sat up among his wraps, for the poor 
 fellow was in the agony of a chill. He glared 
 at his comrade with an expression as much 
 of anger as of disbelief. 
 
 " What silly tale have you brought me 
 now?" 
 
 Giles answered, " It is worse than silly ; it 
 is true." 
 
 " I tell you this is absurd. The swamp is 
 impassable." 
 
 " Yet Spinola has passed it." 
 
 " How can you be so positive ? It could
 
 BEFORE GBOLL 159 
 
 not be done with such speed. Why, Giles," 
 the invalid's querulous voice assumed a more 
 persuasive tone, "you know how little you 
 understand these Dutchmen, just a word 
 here and there, and how easily you might 
 be mistaken in what you overheard. I know 
 you have improved wonderfully in the lan- 
 guage " 
 
 " Oh, don't bother to flatter me," Giles 
 interrupted with a laugh. " I own that I am 
 at disadvantage with your countrymen ; only 
 unfortunately, it was one of the English sol- 
 diers who told me this." 
 
 " Then it is true ? " 
 
 " Of course. But, after all, why should 
 we not rejoice? I can't understand the way 
 you take this news, Jan. And the men feel 
 as I do ; we have a larger force ; we are on 
 our own ground, which is partly intrenched. 
 It is the golden opportunity to gain the de- 
 cisive victory of the year over Spinola." 
 
 As usual, Jan was more cautious than his 
 friend, although Giles was inclined to regard 
 his present humor as the gloom of illness. 
 
 " We have the advantage in men," he an- 
 swered. "But they say the prince has lost 
 confidence in his cavalry since they deserted 
 his brother at Mulheim. Then it is a fact
 
 1GO IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 that perhaps half of the infantry are disabled. 
 This rain has bred one sort of illness and 
 another, like flies." 
 
 Giles would not entertain for a second the 
 notion of anything except glorious success 
 for Maurice, and utter defeat for the Span- 
 iards. 
 
 " We shall see," he said, tossing his head 
 significantly. 
 
 " Yes," Jan added, in a very different tone, 
 " I am afraid that we shall see." 
 
 At all events, Spinola was aware of the 
 weakest spot in the rebel lines, and was pro- 
 ceeding straight towards that particular place. 
 The prince drew together the wings of his 
 forces, concentrating them upon the little 
 town of Lebel. Now came a time of passion- 
 ate suspense. The camp was full of desire 
 for the battle which the soldiers thought was 
 close at hand ; another battle and they all 
 believed it would be the last in the defense 
 of the States. Sick men hobbled from their 
 beds and declared themselves restored to 
 health, although their looks belied their 
 words. Gloomy spirits, that had sunken be- 
 neath the long-continued dark days and 
 splashing rain, were high at the prospect of 
 an easy conquest.
 
 BEFORE GEOLL 161 
 
 " The Spaniards are in our hands," Giles 
 said jubilantly. " They are worn out by their 
 forced marches through those fearful bogs, 
 suffering from the same weather that was so 
 hard upon us lying here at our ease. There 
 could not be a more perfect chance for their 
 destruction." 
 
 Jan said nothing. 
 
 The young Dutchman was not only thought- 
 ful and observant, but he was a sort of pet of 
 the prince's, who was especially pleased with 
 the pluck that defied hardships, and even this 
 persistent ill health, in a love of country. Such 
 spirit was sure to commend itself to the stad- 
 holder, who often called the invalid into his 
 quarters. They were far from comfortable, 
 but, at least, better than those of the troops. 
 Here Jan was enjoined to take such ease as 
 was possible to the misery he constantly en- 
 dured. Sir Walter's cinchona could not effect 
 a cure while the cause of the malady contin- 
 ued. Jan's illness was sometimes tended by 
 the hands of the prince himself. He gath- 
 ered here and there, and put together, by 
 combining observation and reflection, theo- 
 ries as to the relation of the States General 
 with their commander-in-chief . 
 
 He saw that the responsibility of the cam-
 
 162 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 paign had been thrown upon Maurice in a 
 peculiarly ostentatious manner. He guessed 
 that the prince was less free to act than was 
 generally supposed, and that, although Olden- 
 Barneveld and some of his colleagues, who 
 had visited the camp about a month before, 
 had been inclined towards action, there was a 
 restraint that was not comprehended by the 
 world at large. 
 
 And the eyes of all Christendom were 
 upon this little camp of Lebel. England and 
 France, James and Henry, were watching 
 anxiously for the next move to be made. It 
 would be hard to find a parallel in history for 
 that scene. All the partakers appreciated to 
 the full the part they were playing. 
 
 " It is the culmination of this generation of 
 battles," said Giles in one of their countless 
 talks. " Philip is gone, and Alva, and Wil- 
 liam the Silent ; think of all who have dis- 
 appeared in the forty years of the Netherlands 
 struggle ! Everything points to the end. 
 Prince Maurice has the last stroke given over 
 to his sword here in the swamps of Zutphen. 
 And the nations are afire to see him draw the 
 blade from its scabbard." 
 
 It was a terrific shock to the boy that Jan 
 raised to his a face that was white and set.
 
 BEFORE GROLL 163 
 
 " I know every syllable you utter ! " he 
 cried ; " and I feel its truth better far than 
 would be possible to you. For this is my 
 fatherland, not yours. Its fate and its good 
 name must be dearer to me than ever they 
 could be to an Englishman. Yet I am bra- 
 cing myself to bear a stupendous blow." 
 
 " What sort of blow ? " stammered Giles, 
 completely taken aback. 
 
 " I cannot say certainly. I know this : 
 whatever is done will be, not our commander's 
 fault, but that of the States General. He is 
 in daily correspondence with them. Every step 
 he takes, or fails to take, is by their advice. 
 We ourselves, little as we understand the 
 workings of his mind, can see that many of 
 their plans have been carried out by him sorely 
 against his better judgment." 
 
 " But Jan you cannot mean nobody 
 could mean " Giles was becoming unin- 
 telligible in his dismay. "It can't be that 
 the government could counsel him to refuse 
 battle now ? " 
 
 " That remains to be seen," answered Jan 
 coldly. But there were actually tears in his 
 eyes. 
 
 " And the prince would bear all the censure 
 of the lookers-on ? "
 
 1G4 IN TIIE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 " Yes, that is so. He will he would bear 
 the blame." 
 
 There was a tumult in the camp, the 
 noise of shouting. The boys looked at each 
 other. 
 
 " That was from our soldiers," said Giles. 
 " And it was not joy." 
 
 " No," Jan answered between his teeth ; 
 " it was rage." 
 
 They met a man as they ran out of the 
 tent. He was hurrying past them, head down 
 and face distorted. 
 
 " What is the news ? " Jan inquired briefly. 
 
 He hurled his answer at them over his 
 shoulder as he hastened on. There was an 
 expression of fury upon his features. 
 
 " The siege is raised. The field is aban- 
 doned. Retreat is the order of the day." 
 
 He told the plain truth. Maurice broke 
 camp, and led his forces to the village of 
 Zelem. The same day the Marquis Spinola 
 retired into Munster, having relieved the city. 
 It was the close of the campaign. The last 
 land battle had been fought in the forty 
 years' war. To the rage of the prince's men, 
 the execrations of his allies, it had not been 
 the battle of Groll.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 THE RECORDER'S GUEST 
 
 " IT is truly an ill wind that blows no one 
 any good," said Giles. " Even at the price 
 of such disappointment, I am thankful that 
 we are out of those sickly marshes, and have 
 brought you safely to the Hague." 
 
 " And here," Jan answered, " I am recov- 
 ering my health by the minute." He could 
 bear to speak of his illness when it was in 
 the past. He was marvelously improved 
 already. They had carried M. Chapelain's 
 letter, reinforced by one from Maurice, to 
 Recorder Aerssens, who took them into his 
 family at once. He encouraged them to be- 
 lieve that, if they wished for another voyage, 
 they might yet see ocean warfare, and wipe 
 out the disgrace of last September, when the 
 spring should come. 
 
 They were waiting for this in the Hague, 
 and learning something, in the agreeable life 
 they led there, of the Dutch manners and 
 customs that were almost as strange to Jan
 
 166 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 he had been so young when he was carried 
 off to England as to his companion. They 
 were sturdy fellows, bearing privations with- 
 out complaint. Still, it was pleasant to see 
 prosperity about them again, and to indulge in 
 luxuries unknown to them under King James's 
 rule. Life at home had been one of magnifi- 
 cent dress, of lavish splendor. But Elizabeth 
 was always cramped in resource, as well as 
 penurious in expenditure. Her successor en- 
 tered upon like conditions ; he loved money, 
 and he had not enough of it to spend. The 
 people of Holland lived in comfort, for they 
 used their incomes on such things as pleased 
 them, and cared nothing for merely outshin- 
 ing their neighbors. They dressed richly; 
 they ate heartily; and their homes were pro- 
 vided with innumerable niceties all new to 
 the recorder's visitors. Spices for their food 
 were one little item appreciated in days when 
 there was no variety, and more coarse profu- 
 sion than delicate cookery. 
 
 They were eating with boyish appetites, 
 one day in February, when a guest appeared at 
 Aerssens's dinner table. " Draw up, cousin," 
 said the recorder heartily, after the first greet- 
 ings were over. " The meal has but just been 
 placed upon the board."
 
 THE RECORDER'S GUEST 167 
 
 The new-comer was Werner Cruwel, a 
 tradesman from Brussels, who had recently 
 failed in business. Aerssens supposed that 
 his doleful manner was the result of this mis- 
 fortune. When his relative refused the in- 
 vitation to join them, he was impatient with 
 such excessive grief over what was past and 
 done with. 
 
 " Cheer up, man," he urged. " It will do 
 your affairs no good, but rather hurt, to fast 
 because of them." 
 
 Cruwel paid no attention to this. " You 
 have little idea," said he coldly, " of what is 
 on my mind." He took a letter from his 
 pocket-book, and handed it across the board 
 to Aerssens. 
 
 The recorder's eyes grew big as he read. 
 There was absolute silence in the room. 
 
 " What I have to tell you," said his cousin, 
 when the letter was finished, " will wait till 
 later." 
 
 He glanced significantly at the family. 
 Aerssens nodded his head. When the cloth 
 had been removed, and the recorder's wife 
 and children rose, Giles and Jan sprang up 
 to accompany them. Aerssens checked them 
 by a look. 
 
 " You may stay, if you choose," he told
 
 168 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 them. " The introductions you brought were 
 vouchers for you both. Perhaps you will be 
 glad some day to have heard my cousin's 
 message. I think it will make history." 
 
 They sank back in their seats. The re- 
 corder addressed Cruwel. "This letter," tap- 
 ping it with his forefinger, "purports to come 
 from President Bichardot." 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 "I can hardly believe what it appears to 
 state." 
 
 "You can altogether believe it," Cruwel 
 answered, " if it tells you that I am sent on 
 a secret mission from the President and 
 Father Neyen." 
 
 " That mission being " 
 
 " A treaty for a truce. I have here a mem- 
 orandum," he produced it from his carefully 
 guarded pocket-book " signed by the Mar- 
 quis Spinola and by Father Neyen. They 
 agree to a ten or twelve year's armistice, upon 
 one condition only, that the States abstain 
 from Indian navigation." 
 
 Giles stole a look under his eyelashes at 
 Jan. They had of late been hearing fairy- 
 like tales of America. Their traveling com- 
 panion, Captain Smith, had sent what was 
 supposed to be gold-dust to England. Wild
 
 THE RECORDER'S GUEST 169 
 
 stories were afloat of his adventures with 
 Powhatan, " the emperor of Virginia." The 
 Netherlands were as greedy as the English 
 for a share of these possible treasures. A 
 West India Company was established where 
 an East India Company was already in exist- 
 tence. The boys were beginning to look for- 
 ward once more to a journey to those new 
 countries, the land of the cannibal and of 
 the inexhaustible mines, if Captain Smith's 
 friend Hudson were to sail again. 
 
 The recorder rose to his feet. 
 
 " I think it best," he said, " to confer with 
 the advocate. With your permission, cousin, 
 we will postpone this interview until I have 
 laid the matter before him." 
 
 " It is as you please," said Cruwel. 
 
 " Would you care to accompany me ? " 
 Aerssens asked the boys. They assented 
 eagerly. 
 
 Barneveld they found in bed and asleep. 
 He was at once awakened to hear this impor- 
 tant intelligence. It was rather amusing to 
 notice the cool way in which Aerssens spoke 
 of his relative. He said that he thought 
 business reverses had changed the man, and, 
 " in spite of his sly and lumpish manner, he 
 is false and cunning."
 
 170 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 His advice was for the advocate to ques- 
 tion Cruwel before witnesses. Barneveld lis- 
 tened in silence. 
 
 " The prince must hear what he has to 
 say," he declared at length. " And you 
 shall be present. Of course you answer for 
 these youths ? " 
 
 He shot a quick look from Giles to Jan. 
 
 " Prince Maurice answers for them," said 
 the recorder. 
 
 " Then you," he addressed Jan, " can 
 be our messenger. Go to the stadholder, and 
 tell him what you have heard. Ask him if 
 he will question Cruwel in our presence." 
 
 Jan was elated by this responsibility. He 
 faithfully discharged the trust. For reward, 
 perhaps, he was allowed to be present two 
 days later when Cruwel delivered to the 
 prince, the advocate, and the recorder the 
 memorandum signed by Spinola and Father 
 Neyen, with another signed by the latter 
 alone. In this the friar offered to make a 
 secret visit to the Hague, unknown to any one 
 in the States except those who now learned 
 his design. 
 
 Maurice treated this last document with 
 contempt. 
 
 " Tell Neyen," he announced, " that if he
 
 THE RECORDER'S GUEST 171 
 
 would address me on matters of such im- 
 portance, he must send me in writing a pro- 
 posal that merits serious attention. This " 
 he flipped the paper scornfully, " is ap- 
 parently nothing save a trick." 
 
 This was the conclusion of all three men 
 regarding the affair, even when Cruwel re- 
 appeared at the end of a week with a formal 
 avowal from Neyen. He declared himself 
 authorized to treat with the States by the 
 archdukes, who promised to surrender all 
 right to the "so-called United Provinces," 
 but demanded to know what would be given 
 in return. The prince and the advocate said 
 to each other and to Aerssens that the arch- 
 dukes might intend to recognize their free- 
 dom, and yet secretly do all they could to 
 corrupt their government. War could be 
 renewed after dissensions had been sown, 
 and they would be worse off than before. 
 
 It was, however, thought best to treat with 
 the friar. Neyen and Cruwel arrived at a 
 village one and a half miles from the Hague. 
 They were disguised as traveling tradesmen. 
 
 Since Jan had seen the recorder's cousin, 
 he was appointed to accompany the carriage 
 sent to meet these men. 
 
 "You Dutchmen hang together," sighed
 
 172 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 Giles. " I wish I had your chance. Or no, 
 not that ! but that there were two chances, 
 one for each." 
 
 Although it was almost morning before 
 Jan returned, he was awake to greet him. 
 The messenger fell into the nearest seat, 
 and stretched his arms in a prodigious yawn. 
 
 " Ugh, how tired I am ! " he exclaimed. 
 (( I feel as if I could sleep for a week." 
 
 "Well?" Giles hinted. 
 
 " Well, I know you are curious to hear 
 every word. Let me see, where shall I be- 
 gin? I sat inside the carriage in state. 
 There were two mounted musketeers on 
 either side. I felt like a royal personage. 
 When we arrived at Ryswick I gave direc- 
 tions to stop a few yards away from the inn. 
 I proceeded there on foot, and soon found 
 my men. They were dressed as burghers. 
 The friar played his part well. Of course 
 Cruwel was just himself. I spoke to him, 
 and he recalled me without my credentials 
 from the recorder. He remained at the inn. 
 When we entered the carriage, Neyen was 
 alarmed at the sight of the armed men. I 
 told him they were an escort, and that quieted 
 him. We drove to the palace. I took him 
 by the hand, and conducted him along the
 
 THE BECOEDEWS GUEST 173 
 
 corridors without a word. My instructions 
 were to add to the impressiveness of those 
 deserted halls, and I did so. He looked quite 
 frightened. We reached an inner apartment. 
 I knocked at the door. The prince received 
 us standing by a table littered with papers 
 and books. With him was the advocate. 
 
 " They both welcomed him cordially. 
 Prince Maurice asked him how he dared to 
 enter the Hague relying upon the word of a 
 beggar." 
 
 Both boys smiled. They knew, as the 
 friar had done, that Maurice alluded to the 
 once scornful epithet afterwards adopted by 
 a political party, which had become a stock 
 name for the Dutch rebels. 
 
 " He answered," continued Jan, " that he 
 knew no one who would shrink from confi- 
 dence in so exalted and respectable a beggar. 
 They all laughed a little. Then he produced 
 letters from the archdukes. He said this 
 did sound absurd, although he acted as if he 
 believed in it himself that the royal souls 
 of the writers shone forth in those papers. 
 They had not a thought for their own advan- 
 tage : they were moved solely by the remem- 
 brance of the tears of thousands of human 
 beings reduced to misery. They cared no-
 
 174 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 thing at all for what would be said by the 
 kings of Europe as to their excessive indul- 
 gence. This was too much for the stad- 
 holder's patience. l What indulgence ? ' said 
 he sharply. 
 
 " The monk answered : * Is it not a great 
 indulgence to give up their inherited right to 
 these provinces ? To declare those people to 
 be free against whose rebellion they have 
 waged war that bade fair to be endless ? ' 
 
 " Prince Maurice took him up quickly upon 
 that. He said : 
 
 " ' Our right hands gained this freedom. 
 The archdukes have not granted it. We 
 have bought it at the price of treasure freely 
 spent, and by the blood of countless heroes/ 
 I thought, Giles, of your father's life and of 
 mine. They went to purchase Holland's lib- 
 erty. The stadholder went on : ' All Chris- 
 tian kings, save him of Spain and his relatives, 
 have acknowledged our independence. We 
 ask no gift from the archdukes. We claim 
 the recognition of our freedom. If they are 
 unwilling to give it, we can still fight. They 
 shall find, in the future as in the past, that 
 we love liberty more than life.' 
 
 " Well, then they dismissed Neyen. I was 
 called from my corner, and carried him off to
 
 THE RECORDER'S GUEST 175 
 
 the captain of the citadel, where he was given 
 a bed in all comfort. What I want most 
 now is mine." 
 
 The treaty was next discussed before the 
 States General. As had been foreseen, pub- 
 lic comment and advice complicated matters. 
 Neyen went back and forth between Brussels 
 and the Hague. At the former place, when 
 the armistice was announced, it was received 
 with anger by the nobles, and rapture from 
 the common people. 
 
 This was in the middle of April. But 
 Giles and Jan by that time were far away.
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 IN GIBRALTAR BAY 
 
 ONE day in the latter part of March, 
 Prince Maurice sent for Jan and his friend. 
 He received them with a jest. His face was 
 bright and determined. 
 
 " Are ye still bent upon going to sea ? " he 
 asked them. 
 
 " Oh, sir, is there any chance," Giles cried, 
 " of a voyage to the Indies ? " 
 
 " Not yet. At least that is not what I had 
 in mind. What think ye of an expedition to 
 Spain?" 
 
 They gave a cry of pleasure that warmed 
 the warrior's heart. 
 
 " That is the true ring of good metal," he 
 said. " Ye are, then, wishful to wipe out the 
 stain of Cape St. Vincent ? " 
 
 " To follow in Klaaszoon's footsteps, if 
 occasion serve," Jan answered with kindling 
 eyes. 
 
 " There spake the Dutch blood in sooth. 
 Yea, and you will have for commander another
 
 IN GIBRALTAR BAY 111 
 
 Regnier Klaaszoon. Heard ye ever of Jacob 
 van Heemskerk ? " 
 
 "All must have heard of him," Giles re- 
 plied. " Of his terrible sufferings in Nova 
 Zembla, of his many voyages, of the Portu- 
 guese carrack, bursting -with treasure, that he 
 brought back to the Netherlands." 
 
 " Good ! I am about to send ye down the 
 western coast with Van Heemskerk." 
 
 When the boys arrived on board the ^Eolus^ 
 and were summoned to the admiral's presence, 
 they could hardly believe that the fine-fea- 
 tured, fair-haired man, with the gentle man- 
 ner and quiet dress, who was laughing softly 
 over the prince's letter, was the valiant sailor 
 of whom they had heard so much. 
 
 He congratulated them, as if their warlike 
 ardor was rather a joke, on the opportunity 
 they would probably soon enjoy. They 
 learned from the men that they were bound 
 to the coast of Portugal, to meet the arma- 
 ments that were preparing in port, the Amer- 
 ican fleet that was expected, and the cruisers 
 that should put out against the East Indian 
 merchantmen. 
 
 There were twenty-six of the Dutch vessels, 
 with four tenders. Their names were fierce 
 enough, the Red Lion, the Golden Lion,
 
 178 7.V THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 the Griffin, the Tiger, the Black Bear, the 
 White Bear, the Sea Dog, among the number. 
 Two of the other commanders in the fleet 
 were familiar to Dutch history, " Long 
 Harry " of Amsterdam, and the admiral, 
 called by his men " Pretty Lambert." Both 
 were seamen as brave as lions. 
 
 On arriving at the mouth of the Tagus, 
 Heemskerk sent a lugger, disguised as a 
 trader, up that river to spy out the condition 
 of affairs. The boys pleaded to *be allowed 
 to accompany the expedition, but the admiral 
 refused. ^ 
 
 " No, no," he insisted, smiling at their con- 
 tempt of danger. " The prince gave you into 
 my hands to see fighting, not, perhaps, to 
 have your brave young heads popped off by 
 a chance musket-shot on a scouting inland 
 expedition. You will have action in plenty 
 later on. Bide your time." 
 
 The spies brought back tidings that the 
 Indian fleet would not sail from Portugal for 
 months to come ; that no returning argosies 
 were looked for. The faces that had length- 
 ened at this intelligence, brightened at the 
 additional news, there was an immense 
 war fleet now in Gibraltar Strait. These gal- 
 leons were set to intercept the Dutch traders
 
 IN GIBRALTAR BAY 179 
 
 which should enter the Mediterranean Sea, 
 or sail along it, homeward bound, from the 
 East. 
 
 No news could have been more congenial 
 to the admiral. Here was an adversary worth 
 attacking. He had rather scorned the idea 
 of capturing merchantmen who could not 
 resist to any advantage. The warships were 
 in every way his superiors. All the greater 
 the glory for him and for Holland only 
 that he put Holland first if they did win. 
 He never doubted that they should. 
 
 The squadron reached Gibraltar Bay on the 
 morning of the 28th of April. The Dutch 
 rebels had been victorious in the Channel and 
 the German Ocean, as well as along the 
 Indies. Now they had come to the very 
 stronghold of the king whose allegiance they 
 had thrown off, who claimed universal sover- 
 eignty on land and sea. His mighty vessels 
 lay at anchor under the shadow of the for- 
 tress on the rock, ten immense galleons, 
 eleven carracks, and smaller war-vessels. Their 
 admiral was D'Avila, whose son was captain 
 of the flag-ship St. Augustine. 
 
 An order was sent out for all the captains 
 to assemble upon the ^Eolus. Van Heems- 
 kerk addressed them, standing in front of the
 
 180 IN TUE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 mainmast. Giles and Jan approached as close 
 as they dared, not to lose one word. 
 
 " We are between two continents," he said. 
 " Europe and Africa are watching what we 
 do. It would be hard for the Netherlands 
 not to win upon the seas. But you must 
 understand that it is either victory or death. 
 We cannot escape the one or the other. The 
 enemy's vessels are greater than ours; this 
 makes them more unwieldy, and the better 
 targets. They have larger crews ; our shot 
 must take effect upon those decks that are 
 black with men. We are good sailors. They 
 are landsmen, upset by the rolling of the 
 water. And now farewell. Remember that 
 to-day may give our fatherland the power of 
 dictating terms to the haughty Spaniards, and 
 lay the foundations of peace with honor." 
 
 The speaker told them curtly his course of 
 action. The ^Eolus was to grapple with the 
 St. Augustine upon one side and the Tiger 
 upon the other. Two and two, the Dutch 
 ships were thus to attack the galleons, the 
 admiral leading, and the rest following him. 
 
 The solemn oath to stand by one another 
 was administered. The sentences had a 
 peculiar significance to Giles and Jan, who 
 hearkened to the pledge with a quickened
 
 IN GIBRALTAR BAY 181 
 
 remembrance of that cruel flight off Cape St. 
 Vincent, and the last glimpse of Regnier 
 Klaaszoon, his crippled ship lying black 
 against the sunset. 
 
 The captains went back to their vessels. 
 The fleet began to move forward. When 
 D'Avila saw the advancing ships, he called for 
 a Dutch skipper who was a captive on board, 
 and inquired if those sail were his country- 
 men's. 
 
 He said quietly, " Yes." 
 
 "What can they be after?" asked D'Avila. 
 "Why do they approach us ? " 
 
 " I think it is highly probable," said Ge- 
 vaerts, " that they are coming to fight with 
 you." 
 
 The admiral roared with laughter. His 
 captive stood in silence, waiting any further 
 speech. 
 
 " Why, the St. Augustine alone," exclaimed 
 D'Avila, still shaking with mirth, " shall sink 
 every vessel in the whole Dutch fleet." 
 
 The skipper bowed, in the same odd silence, 
 and went away. 
 
 There was certainly no lack of combatants 
 for Spain. The admiral had over 4000 sol- 
 diers under him, besides the sailors. At the 
 prospect of a battle with the hated Nether-
 
 182 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 landers, volunteers by the hundred, of Philip's 
 noblemen, came out from shore to take a part 
 in the humiliation of the rebels who had 
 presumed to seek them in their very homes. 
 
 It was about noon. The Dutch were close 
 at hand. On every ship prayer had been 
 offered up : they asked the Lord of battle to 
 defend the right, to deliver the enemy into 
 their hands, or to grant them the death of 
 honor. 
 
 Heemskerk led the way. He told his gun- 
 ners not to fire till the ^Eolus struck the side 
 of the St. Augustine. 
 
 " Wait till you hear it crack ! " was his 
 order. 
 
 He added, raising his voice that all might 
 hear him : " One hundred florins to the man 
 who pulls down that flag ! " and he pointed 
 to the pennant fluttering in the dying breeze 
 from the mast of the St. Augustine. 
 
 D'Avila's laugh had been very loud, but 
 perhaps there was not so much heartiness in 
 it after all. He assuredly did not set about 
 his self-appointed task of sinking the entire 
 opposing fleet. Instead of that, he gave 
 hasty orders to cut the cable of the flag-ship, 
 and they drifted out into the bay. 
 
 Heemskerk's men looked at each other,
 
 IN GIBRALTAR BAY 183 
 
 wondering what he would do. They soon 
 learned. He issued a command, in his usual 
 low-pitched tones, to steer past the two or 
 three galleons between him and his victim? 
 and went crashing against the side of the St. 
 Augustine. The guns spoke out at the sig- 
 nal. Pretty Lambert saw what was expected 
 of him, and brought the Tiger to the other 
 side. 
 
 The flag-ship fired upon Van Heemskerk, 
 but without doing a great deal of damage. 
 She fired again. Giles was standing near the 
 admiral when a cannon-ball whistled over 
 him, so close that it made him fall back be- 
 fore its force. The next moment he wished 
 that he had been struck, for it carried away 
 the head of a sailor also in its path, and cut 
 off Van Heemskerk's leg at the thigh. 
 
 A group gathered about their leader as 
 he fell upon the deck. A gush of blood 
 flooded the boards. His orange scarf was 
 dyed an ominous scarlet. Captain Verhoef 
 bent over the stricken man. 
 
 " Fight to the last," whispered Van Heems- 
 kerk. His face was growing ghastly white. 
 Jan knelt beside him, supporting his head 
 upon one knee. 
 
 " I will," the captain promised.
 
 184 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 " And don't let the rest know that I am 
 gone." 
 
 " No." 
 
 "You will win, Verhoef, without me," he 
 said. " May God receive my soul ! " 
 
 Jan made a motion to the captain. He 
 sadly inclined his head. The dead body was 
 laid upon the deck. Giles spread his cloak 
 reverently over the still features, and crossed 
 the hands above the orange scarf. The guns 
 were firing, and the battle waged fiercely. 
 None except those upon the JEolus knew that 
 their admiral had been killed. The men on 
 the flag-ship were mad to avenge his death. 
 
 A broadside from her did awful injury to 
 the St. Augustine. When the smoke par- 
 tially dispersed, they could see D'Avila's body 
 carried below. He had not sunk the Nether- 
 lands fleet, and he had been slain. 
 
 Hemming her in, the ^Eolus and the Tiger 
 were fighting their adversary. The Dutch 
 vice-admiral had been prevented from carry- 
 ing out the directions Van Heemskerk had 
 given him. While preparing to lay his ves- 
 sel alongside the Spanish vice-admiral's, he 
 had been set upon by two galleons. Three 
 of his comrades' ships attacked the enemy, 
 whom he was obliged to ignore, as he fought
 
 ZZV GIBRALTAR SAY 185 
 
 on the defense. Our Lady of La Vega, after 
 a sharp combat, was set on fire. The Dutch 
 sails were burning, too, from their close neigh- 
 borhood, and the three vessels drew off for a 
 time, busied with extinguishing the flames. 
 Meanwhile the blazing ship drifted about at 
 random. From time to time a gun would 
 boom out over the fiery deck. The men 
 threw themselves into the sea. The ship 
 burned on and on, till there was nothing save 
 a blackened and smoking hulk floating on 
 the waters of the bay. 
 
 The vice-admiral had a hard struggle with 
 his two adversaries. One he finally managed 
 to sink. The other he drove upon shore, 
 wrecked and silenced. 
 
 Admiral Janszoon had set another ship on 
 fire. This, also, was burning to the ocean's 
 edge. Word finally crept to the ^Eolus that 
 Long Harry had been killed. It was not a 
 day of unmixed triumph for the Netherlanders. 
 
 The light from the burning ships went out. 
 There was the darkness of night upon the 
 water. And yet it was mid-afternoon of a 
 bright April day. The clouds that obscured 
 the sight were the smoke of battle. They 
 put out the light of the sun.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 WHEN THE SMOKE CLEARED 
 
 JAN crossed to his friend over the deck 
 strewn with the hideous litter of warfare. 
 He placed his mouth close to Giles's ear, 
 shrieking above the noise : 
 
 " Captain Verhoef is trying to bring the 
 most distant vessels into the action, those 
 that the admiral stationed this morning on 
 the edge of the bay to guard against the 
 enemy's escape." 
 
 " This morning ! " Giles repeated. " It 
 seems an eternity since then. Here they come ! 
 Can you see ? " 
 
 The approaching sails were dimly visible 
 through the dusk. As they peered out over 
 the side, watching the advance, something 
 happened, they knew not what. There 
 was a report, beside which all the former 
 tumult was as silence. They were pitched 
 with tremendous force against each other, and 
 fell headlong upon the deck. At that mo- 
 ment they thought the end of the world had
 
 WHEN THE SMOKE CLEARED 187 
 
 come. The foundations of the globe were 
 shaken. They were tossed like a ball in the 
 grasp of a giant. Nor was this the extent of 
 the horror. The explosion had been caused 
 by a hot shot from a Dutch ship falling into 
 the powder magazine of one of the largest 
 galleons. Every man on board was blown 
 into eternity. Burning bits of the wreck 
 floated about among the other vessels. Two 
 were set on fire. Their guns went off with 
 fearful sound. Then they, too, exploded. 
 Once more Giles and Jan were flung about 
 like cockleshells upon an angry sea. Gibral- 
 tar itself quivered. The whole bay was 
 lighted by a fire as terrible as the darkness 
 that it succeeded. No more hideous picture 
 was ever witnessed in this world of awful 
 deeds. 
 
 By the glare it was first ascertained what 
 was the real condition of the opposing forces. 
 Now one saw that every galleon was burned 
 or sunk except the St. Augustine. She ran 
 up a white flag that flew out almost piteously 
 against the blazing sky where the sun was 
 setting. Giles pointed out the symbol of 
 defeat to his friend. Jan looked up, and 
 then made a dash forward. 
 
 " No one sees it," he cried. " They are all
 
 188 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 like wolves. Watch those faces, Giles. How 
 shall we stop them ? " 
 
 He could not get sight of any one in com- 
 mand to point out what had been manifestly 
 overlooked in the heat of the victory that was 
 assured. Despite the Spanish plea for quar- 
 ter, the crews of the Tiger and the ^Eolus 
 were swarming on board the flag-ship. The 
 expression of the attackers was what Jan had 
 described it, as that of animals, and not of 
 men. 
 
 The boys could not join at night with 
 their comrades in the rejoicing at the com- 
 pleteness of their enemy's overthrow. For 
 the last act of that day's tragedy was nothing 
 short of slaughter. It was a cruel age, of in- 
 cessant contest, of men accustomed to bloody 
 sights. But there was something so merciless, 
 so wanton, in the brutal close of the conflict, 
 that they said to each other : 
 
 " Van Heemskerk would never have so 
 treated a fallen foe. Would that he had 
 lived to the end of the day ! " 
 
 It was the remembrance of his death, of 
 the heavy tidings that must mitigate the glory 
 with which they returned to Holland, that 
 hardened the victors' hearts. They fell upon 
 the dying men who covered the deck of the
 
 WHEN THE SMOKE CLEARED 189 
 
 St. Augustine, and put them out of their 
 misery, but not in pity. A trumpeter climbed 
 up the mast and hauled down D'Avila's flag, 
 the last one flying for Spain. Thus he 
 gained the one hundred florins that Heems- 
 kerk had offered that morning. 
 
 A number of Dutch prisoners were found 
 in the hold. They told their rescuers that 
 twice a man had been sent to kill them dur- 
 ing the fray, and each time the messenger 
 had been struck down by a shot from the 
 Netherlands' guns. This intelligence served 
 further to infuriate their countrymen, already 
 beside themselves, as if they had drunken 
 bloodshed until it had made them mad. Some 
 of the wretches who sought to escape their 
 swords and muskets flung themselves into the 
 water. Boats were let down, and rowed 
 among them, the Dutch shooting, stabbing, 
 and drowning by hundreds. The bay was 
 full of floating bodies. Indeed, several thou- 
 sands were thus put to death. 
 
 Among the papers of D'Avila, found when 
 the St. Augustine was searched, there were 
 secret instructions ordering barbarous perse- 
 cutions of the Hollanders, and of those who 
 should give them help in any way and any- 
 where. This fact had spread about among
 
 190 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 the fleet. It added the last touch to their 
 ferocity. They understood what Spanish 
 oppression meant, and they said they paid to- 
 day nothing more than the interest on a debt 
 of ill-usage borne by the Netherlands for a 
 century. 
 
 It was useless to argue afterwards, or to 
 point out that evil for evil is neither sanc- 
 tioned by the Gospel, nor by the unwritten 
 law that would show mercy to those who can- 
 not retaliate. At the time, all that Jan and 
 Giles could do was to take to a boat them- 
 selves, and, keeping among the swarm of des- 
 olate creatures swimming towards the shore, 
 defend them where they could, and give suc- 
 cor if it were possible. They incurred the 
 fury of other pursuers, bent upon butchery, 
 rather than stand by, passive witnesses to the 
 wholesale murder of helpless men. 
 
 The hulk of the St. Augustine drifted 
 ashore after it had been abandoned by the 
 Dutch. Strange to say, a handful of Span- 
 iards remained concealed within it, after all 
 the ransacking in quest of plunder and of 
 victims that the vessel had undergone. 
 When they reached land they set fire to the 
 wreck, to prevent the Dutch again taking 
 possession of her.
 
 WHEN THE SMOKE CLEARED 191 
 
 It was twilight, and the fight had been in 
 progress since half-past three. All of that 
 night, and until the next, the Hollanders 
 remained in the bay. By unspoken consent, 
 the boys kept apart from the others, side by 
 side together. They saw the people of the 
 town hurrying in terror away inland, carrying 
 their household possessions. 
 
 " To think," said Giles, " that the despised 
 Dutch rebels could spread such consternation 
 on the shores of Spain ! " 
 
 "Yes, my countrymen have many a time 
 taken flight like that," was Jan's rejoinder, 
 eyeing the busy scene. " We have won a 
 tremendous triumph, as the admiral prophe- 
 sied. The States can dictate terms to Spain. 
 But what a price we have paid ! " 
 
 Giles understood what he meant. His 
 glance followed Jan's towards the spot where 
 preparations were making for the embalm- 
 ment of Van Heemskerk's body. The young 
 Dutchman heaved a deep sigh. 
 
 " And if the glory were but unsullied by 
 any touch of cruelty ! " 
 
 " Don't be so cast down. War is a cruel 
 trade. I never guessed how horrible it could 
 be until I came to see a little of it for myself. 
 One can't fight and keep one's sword free
 
 192 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 from stain. The main thing is to be on the 
 right side. And we know that we stood 
 there." 
 
 " Yes," said Jan. " I am heartily glad it 
 is all well-nigh finished. I have had enough 
 of it, for my part. I hope I am no coward, 
 but I never want to besiege a town, nor take 
 part in scuttling a ship again." 
 
 " Nor I. We have learned our lesson. 
 But there are other adventures to enjoy. 
 There is the New World to conquer. I would 
 rather contend against wild beasts, and strange 
 lands, and the obstacles of the soil, than 
 against my fellow-men." 
 
 In this tremendous fight there had been 
 only one hundred seamen killed on the Hol- 
 landers' side, and not one ship had been lost. 
 Skipper Gevaerts observed, sitting in the fore- 
 castle of the ^Eolus and relating his conver- 
 sation with D'Avila, that this was rather 
 different from what the Spanish admiral had 
 foretold, when he could hardly speak for 
 laughing. 
 
 The fleet was now dispersed. Van Heems- 
 kerk had cared little for treasure and much 
 for fame. The other commanders were not 
 so high-minded. They had thriftier inten- 
 tions. They sailed with their ships to the
 
 WHEN THE SMOKE CLEARED 193 
 
 Canaries, the Azores, and the coast of Portu- 
 gal, first touching on the shores of Africa. 
 Only two vessels were sent back to Holland 
 with, the news of their gain and their loss. 
 One of these bore the body of their fallen 
 leader. The other carried sixty wounded 
 men. Van Heemskerk was given a splendidly 
 spectacular funeral at Amsterdam, at the ex- 
 pense of the State. It was the first time the 
 republic had paid this token of respect to one 
 of her heroes. 
 
 The two friends returned to Holland at 
 their desire. They were impatient to make 
 final arrangements, and find a place surely 
 there must be one for them on an expedi- 
 tion sent out by either the new or the older 
 India Company. The prince received them, 
 heard the particulars of the battle of Gibral- 
 tar in silence, and then he asked their plans. 
 
 " It is the old story," said Jan. " We want 
 to sail for America." 
 
 " You have had enough of fighting ? " with 
 a keen glance. 
 
 " Yes," Jan answered. He did not explain, 
 and Maurice understood. 
 
 " We all have," was his only comment. 
 " This armistice is to last for eight months. 
 During that time it is to be hoped that our
 
 194 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 deputies and those of the archdukes can 
 arrange, if not peace, at all events a truce for 
 fifteen or twenty years. I think we have 
 fought our last for the fatherland." 
 
 He reflected for a moment before he spoke 
 further. 
 
 " Don't resent it, my lads, I trust you may 
 understand me, when I say you were too 
 young for soldiers. You could not help shrink- 
 ing from what is too often a plain part of the 
 soldier's work. Rely upon it, you are not old 
 enough for pioneers. Wait for a twelve- 
 month or two. Go to Paris. Stay with M. 
 Chapelain. Study more. Learn whatsoever 
 you can. No voyager ever knew too much of 
 any sort of useful knowledge. In two years 
 from now, if you will come back to me, I pro- 
 mise, if I am living, to find you passage to the 
 New World. But not now." 
 
 " It is what Captain Smith said," Giles was 
 forced to acknowledge. " He bade us wait." 
 
 " He was right. Be sure he has learned, in 
 that Jamestown settlement of his, what poor 
 work unlearned gentlemen make at colonizing. 
 For the present I will help you in any fashion 
 on your journey into France. God be with 
 you, lads ! I shall not forget you. I trust you 
 will not forget Maurice."
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 THE KING'S SWORD 
 
 THE Aerssens family bade the boys fare- 
 well, with sorrow upon both sides. They had 
 been very kind to their guests, and Jan and 
 Giles appreciated what had been done for 
 them. 
 
 In the course of a week after their inter- 
 view with the stadholder, they were on their 
 road to France. Maurice was better than his 
 promise. Guides, routes, and means of con- 
 veyance were provided rather in excess of 
 what the young fellows would have liked. 
 Their preference was for roughing it; but 
 until after they crossed the border, there was 
 no opportunity for any misfortune. 
 
 One lovely night in early June found them 
 riding at ease through a barren country, a 
 land that Sully' s vigorous measures were im- 
 proving, but still left much to desire. Their 
 path led along a stream bordered by a strip 
 of verdure. Great stones covered the bleak 
 stretch on either side this greener spot. Here
 
 196 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 and there they could catch a glimpse of vines, 
 or some such trace of cultivation. 
 
 " If we cross that meadow," Giles sug- 
 gested, indicating the patch of grass by the 
 water, " we may strike the highway. I think 
 we have lost it here." 
 
 " Lead on," Jan answered. 
 
 Giles gave the spurs to his horse. To his 
 surprise the animal snorted and backed away. 
 It half turned. It seemed determined not to 
 traverse the lowland. 
 
 " Perhaps he smells a wolf," called Jan, 
 pulling upon his own rein. " Oh, look ! Selim 
 is performing in the same way." 
 
 His horse was rearing and plunging. It 
 was useless to urge either one. The cause 
 became apparent. Giles, in advance of his 
 friend, felt a quick, forward movement. He 
 slipped in the saddle. His steed was sinking 
 beneath him. The frightened beast uttered 
 a shrill cry, quivering in every limb. 
 
 " Keep back ! keep back ! " shouted Giles. 
 " We are in a quagmire." 
 
 Jan was frantic with distress. There was 
 no chance of assisting his companion. He 
 had all that he could do in managing Selim. 
 He could neither dismount nor guide the 
 horse. Meanwhile, Giles saw that his was
 
 THE KING'S SWORD 197 
 
 making desperate efforts to extricate his body. 
 He floundered on, each second sinking deeper. 
 His forefeet struck a slender vein of rock. 
 He displayed the utmost intelligence, ground- 
 ing those two feet here, while pulling with 
 strength that was given to him for that su- 
 preme moment. 
 
 With the violent wrench he had jerked his 
 rider safely from the bog. Springing across 
 the brook he alighted on firmer soil, his sides 
 plastered with mud through which the foam 
 was oozing. 
 
 Giles breathed a prayer of thanksgiving. 
 Jan joined in it with all his heart, as he 
 wheeled his willing horse about and sought a 
 crossing farther along the water. 
 
 They proceeded by the border of the marsh 
 for three or four miles. Finally they struck 
 a narrow path which wound on into a wood. 
 
 " I don't fancy this," muttered the careful 
 Jan. " It looks like the hiding-place of rob- 
 bers and murderers. Are you positive we are 
 on the right road, Giles ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes. This forest is accounted for. 
 We must cross it on our way to the night's 
 lodgings. Now I rather like it. The moon 
 is rising ; we shall be lighted. And if some- 
 thing happens, all the better."
 
 198 IN TUE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 Jan made a queer little noise in his throat. 
 
 " Something is going to happen," he said. 
 
 Giles listened intently. " It is rain." 
 
 " No, it is not rain. There is a combat 
 over there to the left. Come on." 
 
 Jan gave his horse a slap with the reins 
 and bent forward in his seat. The animal 
 broke into a gallop. Giles followed close 
 behind. They soon reached a small, green 
 glade in the woods. The sound of striking 
 steel grew louder. The moon shone down 
 upon a singular group. 
 
 A little man in riding-clothes, masked and 
 encumbered with a cloak, was backed against 
 an oak-tree. He was set upon by three fig- 
 ures, all likewise masked. His sword flew 
 hither and thither like magic, parrying the 
 others' thrusts. The unequal contest was 
 carried on without the exchange of a syllable. 
 
 Giles selected one antagonist and fell on 
 him ; Jan on another. The attacked had 
 only one adversary left. Him he quickly dis- 
 armed. He had given a startled cry when he 
 saw the two youths flying thus to his rescue. 
 The opposing party still uttered no sound. 
 Giles wounded his man slightly in the sword- 
 arm. Jan forced his to the ground. He was 
 the leader, for, as the boy raised him to his
 
 THE KING'S SWORD 199 
 
 feet, he gravely and silently bowed his grati- 
 tude, and glided away through the trees. The 
 others instantly followed. 
 
 The little man turned that eerie-looking 
 black velvet mask full upon his rescuers. 
 " To whom am I indebted ? " he inquired in 
 a rich and winning voice, "for this unex- 
 pected succor ? " 
 
 Giles told him their names. He repeated 
 his thanks. 
 
 " I trust you are uninjured, sir ? " said Jan. 
 
 " Oh, quite. It was nothing, my good 
 young friends. The whole affair was no- 
 thing. They dared not so much as wound 
 me. They simply wished to hold me as a sort 
 of hostage to certain desires of their chief's." 
 
 The boys felt curiously reproved. They 
 knew that they had done the man service, and 
 yet his manner betrayed annoyance, and 
 they fancied a wish to get rid of them. 
 
 " Believe me, I am truly obliged," he re- 
 peated. " And now I will not detain you 
 longer upon your journey." 
 
 Thus curtly dismissed, they again set out 
 to return to the path. On the way they 
 passed two horses under another tree, at a 
 considerable distance from the open space. 
 A man, also masked, lay wrapped in his
 
 200 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 cloak, and soundly snoring beside the tethered 
 beasts. 
 
 " What a mystery ! " Giles exclaimed. 
 
 They had some difficulty in finding the 
 road. As they jogged along it, their tired 
 horses stumbling over every obstacle, the clat- 
 ter of hoofs came from behind them. Two 
 men rode gayly by at a canter. The smaller 
 waved his hand and called out, " Well met 
 once more ! " as he passed them. 
 
 " It is our friend who resented our assist- 
 ance," said Jan, watching his figure grow dim 
 in the distance. 
 
 When they arrived at the roadside inn 
 which was to shelter them for the night, he 
 pointed out to Giles two horses tied near the 
 door. " We have overtaken those men," he 
 observed. 
 
 They found them inside the place, seated 
 astride the rough benches, drinking with a 
 company of peasants, who were enjoying the 
 wine at the strangers' expense. One man was 
 evidently a servant ; the other was the boys' 
 acquaintance of the forest. Such of his fea- 
 tures as could be traced through the mask 
 were the smiling mouth, showing, underneath 
 the heavy beard and shaggy moustaches, the 
 nutcracker jaw and the sparkling eyes.
 
 THE KING'S SWORD 201 
 
 Those eyes shot a lightning glance towards 
 the new-comers. They interpreted it rightly 
 to mean, " Silence ! " That encounter was 
 to remain a secret. The merry-making trav- 
 eler invited them to drink with him. They 
 excused themselves, saying that they required 
 food first of all. 
 
 While the landlord was occupied in pro- 
 ducing such fare as his house could boast, 
 Giles and Jan were amused at the conversa- 
 tion that was going on among the party at 
 the other end of the little room. They were 
 discussing weapons. They thought the ser- 
 vant was nervous, and anxious to get his mas- 
 ter away. The master lingered, playing some 
 feats of swordsmanship for the simple aston- 
 ishment of the peasants. 
 
 "Do you know the temper of a Toledo 
 blade ? " he asked. " See this ! " 
 
 He drew the sword from a scabbard that 
 sparkled with jewels. His man made a quick 
 step forward. He had seen the lookers-on 
 open their eyes at those flashing gems. The 
 little gentleman shook his head at him laugh- 
 ingly. He fell back into his place. 
 
 It was a strong, steady arm that wielded 
 the heavy blade. It dashed it again and 
 again with the utmost force against the stone
 
 202 IN THE BEAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 wall. Then the owner passed it about from 
 hand to hand for inspection. There was not 
 a trace of harm upon it. 
 
 " But my arm aches to the shoulder," said 
 he, rubbing it. 
 
 Jan examined the hilt of the sword, rather 
 than its point. So the swordsman noticed. 
 He stepped hastily forward. He bent over 
 the boy as if to recover his property. Giles 
 thought he muttered something in the ear of 
 his friend. The two wayfarers by and by 
 departed, the servant showing signs of relief, 
 the master gay and talkative to the last. 
 Giles and Jan were shown to their sleeping- 
 quarters. They were, for the first time, 
 alone. 
 
 " What did that man whisper to you ? " 
 demanded Giles, kicking off his heavy boots. 
 
 Jan smiled mischievously. " He said, ( You 
 have kept one secret. Preserve this other for 
 my sake.' ' 
 
 " What did he mean ? " 
 
 " Simply that I had recognized and he 
 saw I had the royal arms of France." 
 
 Giles dropped one boot with a crash. " That 
 was n't Henry of Navarre ? " 
 
 " It was no other man in Christendom." 
 
 Afterwards they heard gossip to which they
 
 THE KING'S SWORD 203 
 
 patched the incident of that kingly contest 
 in the forest, and made sense of the whole. 
 D'Entrague had set upon his Majesty, who 
 was stealing in disguise to an interview with his 
 assailant's daughter. Both sides were anx- 
 ious to keep the escapade from the world. It 
 became public through one of the attendants. 
 
 The next day our friends rode into Paris, 
 a very different Paris from the city of to- 
 day. The streets were crooked, narrow, and 
 dirty. The flimsy houses encroached upon 
 each other, shutting out light and air. Ar- 
 mies of starving dogs fed upon the refuse 
 with which the gutters were piled. The lanes 
 that threaded the town were unsafe after 
 dark. Henry and Sully were doing what 
 they could to mend this bad state of affairs. 
 They could effect but a small part of the gen- 
 eral reformation that was required. 
 
 After all, Paris meant home now to these 
 boys. Mme. Chapelain gave them each a 
 motherly embrace. Her husband was hearty 
 in his welcome. Dame Try on wept for joy 
 at the sight of them ; pretty Annemie de- 
 clared that she should scarcely have known 
 her brother or his friend. 
 
 " You have so grown," she said, with a 
 coquettish glance.
 
 204 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 " And improved ? " asked Giles, laughing. 
 
 She made another swift observation from 
 beneath her curling lashes. " Well, yes," she 
 answered. "You have become manly and 
 fine, Jan and you." 
 
 Two years went speedily and happily by. 
 In the bitter cold of the following winter they 
 heard of the meeting of Maurice and Spinola 
 upon the Hoorn bridge, outside the Hague, 
 their first encounter in peace and in the inter- 
 ests of peace. The long-delayed arrangements 
 were still postponed. The treaty for a twelve 
 years' truce was only signed on the 9th of 
 April in 1609. 
 
 Meanwhile the young Englishman and the 
 young Dutchman were hard at work in their 
 French home. They studied, as the prince 
 had recommended, and observed and asked 
 questions, and tried experiments in every 
 direction which might prove of value to them 
 in the land towards which they were always 
 looking. 
 
 They relied upon Maurice's promise. It 
 proved trustworthy. On a certain March 
 morning Giles bounded into the room where 
 madame sat at her lace-work with the two 
 girls. Jan was close at his heels. They 
 waved a paper in triumph.
 
 THE KING'S SWOED 205 
 
 " It has come ! it has come ! " cried Jan. 
 
 " We are to sail with Hendrik Hudson," 
 Giles exclaimed. 
 
 Annemie burst into tears. Meg hid her 
 face in her hands. Mme. Chapelain herself 
 grew pale. " Oh, my dear boys," she fal- 
 tered ; " it is so hazardous ! You may never 
 return to us." 
 
 " Yes, we will," Giles answered, putting his 
 arms around his little sister. " We will come 
 back some day or other for you, too."
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 ON THE HALF MOON 
 
 THE friends were interested in the bustling 
 activity of Amsterdam. The discoveries made 
 in the past century had opened up an enor- 
 mous traffic, in which the Netherlands took 
 the most important part. Amsterdam was 
 their commercial capital. Its population had 
 nearly doubled in the last twenty years. It 
 was to gain more than double in the coming 
 decade. Those who crowded into the city, 
 to seek their fortunes, often built themselves 
 temporary huts in the suburbs. A bit of 
 land that a man's hand could almost cover 
 was worth a ducat. The narrow streets, with 
 their canal-ways, were alive with hurrying 
 men, intent upon making money. The East 
 India Company's house was pointed out to the 
 boys, where they were to meet their captain. 
 
 This was a handsome, substantial building, 
 two stories in height, with imposing gables 
 and tiny-paned windows ornamented by cor- 
 nices. The doors were approached by high
 
 ON THE HALF MOON 207 
 
 flights of steps, such as one sees in the mod- 
 ern American city house of a familiar type. 
 
 When the boys drew near, two men were 
 talking together in the court. One looked at 
 them, said a few words to the other, and 
 seemed to take his leave. He came forward 
 and saluted Jan. 
 
 " This is young Verrooy, I think ? " he said 
 in Dutch. 
 
 Jan answered him. 
 
 " And this is Giles Valentine ? " 
 
 He spoke in excellent English. " I am a 
 countryman of yours," he went on, taking 
 each by the arm and walking away with them. 
 " I am rejoiced to fall in with two of my fel- 
 low-travelers." 
 
 " Are you Master Hendrik Hudson ? " in- 
 quired Giles in surprise. 
 
 " Henry Hudson, yes. I have come to 
 Holland to take the Half Moon upon this 
 voyage, but I am no Hollander." 
 
 He was a handsome man, with wavy hair, 
 regular features, and large, brilliant eyes. 
 His manner, strolling along between the two 
 young fellows, was particularly frank and 
 pleasing. They were captivated by his con- 
 descension. 
 
 " I have heard of you lads from my friend,
 
 208 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 Captain John Smith," Hudson went on. 
 " When we met last summer in London, he 
 asked had I seen aught of ye in the Low 
 Countries. But I had been cruising wi' an 
 English company, and so, methinks, I missed 
 ye. I had scarce landed again in Amsterdam 
 ere Prince Maurice told me of your wish. Ye 
 have powerful allies, you younkers." 
 
 61 And good ones," assented Jan heartily. 
 " It was right kind of Captain Smith to bear 
 us in mind so long. Goes all well with him 
 in his Jamestown settlement ? " 
 
 " Indifferent well," answered Hudson. " He 
 is in England for a season. Court and peo- 
 ple talk of naught save his strange happen- 
 ings. Another friend of his and mine, one 
 Robert Juet, sails with us in the Half Moon." 
 
 After they set out, the boys learned that 
 Juet was the only other Englishman on board. 
 The crew were Dutch, a rough, wild set, 
 from whom they kept as much aloof as might 
 be. The mate was kind to them, as was the 
 captain. The men quickly raised a cry of 
 favoritism, and took a dislike to Giles on 
 account of his nationality. He speedily saw 
 that, if it were not for Jan, his life would be 
 rendered miserable. 
 
 A disappointment met these two before
 
 ON THE HALF MOON 209 
 
 they had well left port. Since the prince 
 and Hudson both understood their desire to 
 visit America, they supposed that this must 
 be the destination for which they had shipped. 
 
 " But what do you think the mate just told 
 me ? " Jan informed his friend. " This is 
 nothing more nor less than a voyage of ex- 
 ploration, an attempt to find a shorter way to 
 the East, either at the northeast or the north- 
 west. We are bound for the coast of Nova 
 Zembla." 
 
 " And not to the West at all ? " 
 
 " No. It will be a polar expedition. The 
 mate says that Henry Hudson knows as much 
 of the northern waters as any man living." 
 
 Giles gave a groan of discomfiture. " I 
 can't understand Prince Maurice," he said. 
 " He told us in his letter that this was our 
 long-looked-for chance, as if America was 
 almost in sight." 
 
 " Nor can I comprehend our captain. He 
 has spoken in the same fashion more than 
 once to me." 
 
 Jan accordingly put a respectful question 
 to Hudson at the earliest opportunity. Their 
 leader gave a peculiar smile. 
 
 " Wait and see," was all he said. 
 
 On the little Half Moon sailed, through the
 
 210 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 North Sea, around the North Cape, on towards 
 Nova Zembla. Here Hudson had been di- 
 rected by the East India Company to seek a 
 passage by the north and east sides of the 
 island. Ice began to impede them. Day by 
 day they found it harder to struggle through 
 its fields. Every hour brought new difficul- 
 ties, while they struck out futile paths in the 
 lanes of water between broad plains of ice 
 that closed tighter and more impassably about 
 them. The risk of loss to the ship was tre- 
 mendous. The certainty came that they 
 should be imprisoned in the floes if they did 
 not beat a rapid retreat. 
 
 " It is what the captain has known all the 
 time," Juet said in confidence to Giles. " The 
 company were resolved he should try this 
 course. There was naught for him but to 
 essay it." 
 
 " Now will he strike out due west ? " Giles 
 questioned eagerly. 
 
 " What other way is there ? Ah ! here 's 
 the pipe for all hands on board. We will see 
 what Hudson's plans may be." 
 
 The commander proceeded to lay them be- 
 fore his men. 
 
 " There has been a vast deal of grumbling 
 of late," he said, " while we endeavored to
 
 ON THE HALF MOON 211 
 
 push on in the way pointed out to us by the 
 company whose servants we are. We have 
 proven it to be impracticable. Two courses 
 still lie before us. We can try to make the 
 northwest passage, or we can sail farther 
 south along the coast of America. I myself 
 am confident that there is an arm of the sea 
 jutting through the land somewhere north of 
 the Virginia colony. I believe that it would 
 lead us to the Indies. Men, which shall it 
 be ? I leave the decision to you." 
 
 They were all suffering from cold. They 
 hated this strange, white region in its loneli- 
 ness and isolation. 
 
 " The southern way ! " cried every one. 
 
 Hudson smiled. It was his fondest dream 
 to find that watercourse that would give un- 
 dying fame to its explorer, and overwhelming 
 advantages to the world, now all intent upon 
 a " short cut " in the much-traveled road to 
 India. He fancied himself a second Colum- 
 bus, with, if it should please Providence, a 
 happier fate. His views had not been at- 
 tended to by the company. He had cun- 
 ningly brought the crew to choose their way, 
 so that nothing could be set down in their 
 movements, whatever happened, as his own 
 visionary scheme. He was sailing, at the
 
 212 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 demand of others, on his longed-for path to 
 the west. 
 
 In about six weeks land came in sight, the 
 fog-haunted banks of what is now called 
 Newfoundland. 
 
 " We are still too far to the north," said 
 Hudson. 
 
 Due south they steered. Day by day, in the 
 pleasant weather, they coasted a vast tract of 
 land that stretched out into interminable ex- 
 tent. Giles asked the mate once as to the 
 colonists in this country. He was thinking 
 of his idea, and Jan's, of some day finding a 
 home there ; of living a full, free life among 
 those wonderful forests. 
 
 " Jamestown is no place for you," said 
 Juet. " 'T is choked full o' adventurers and 
 idle gentlemen. Sickness and starvation, with 
 bloody dissensions, are the tale of that settle- 
 ment. The Engh'sh have made, and aban- 
 doned, a footing to the north, in what the 
 French fur traders, who are established there, 
 call Acadia. The Spanish are far to the 
 south. They have made other attempts, 't is 
 said, to found colonies " (these were in Ne- 
 braska, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah). 
 " There are Frenchmen not many miles from 
 Jamestown " (in South Carolina). " Other-
 
 ON THE HALF MOON 213 
 
 wise," and he laughed, " methinks you two 
 could pick out a home anywhere in these 
 thousands of leagues, and fight out possession 
 with the savages alone." 
 
 Jan now joined them. " There is the 
 usual complaining in the fo'castle," he ob- 
 served, seating himself beside the others. 
 " The men say that we have certainly reached 
 that mysterious arm of the sea in the body of 
 water to the starboard. Yet there are rumors 
 that we are not even to explore it, but are to 
 put about and sail due north." 
 
 Giles looked at Juet, who nodded saga- 
 ciously. " Ay, ay," said he. " The captain 
 has found his bearings. He has been search- 
 ing in the dark ere this. John Smith told 
 him of this bay, for 't is but a bay, mighty 
 though its waters seem and that 'twas to the 
 north that he had heard tales of an inland- 
 stretching sea. We shall be upon the right 
 road now, lads, the road mayhap to India." 
 
 " I hope, for the captain's sake, 't is true," 
 Giles answered. " For mine own self, I would 
 fain tarry in this America." 
 
 " And I," Jan added, his eyes sweeping the 
 lofty horizon, " to the end of my days." 
 
 " To have thy bones picked by cannibals?" 
 Juet inquired with a grim smile. " Captain
 
 214 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 Smith could tell thee tales of the natives' 
 fiendish ways." 
 
 Jan touched his knife significantly. "I 
 should die protesting," he answered. 
 
 " And in these times a man must fight 
 wheresoe'er he be," said Giles. " There is 
 no such thing as peace. Here, at the least, are 
 discoveries to be made, lands to be occu- 
 pied, homes to be raised, and, I trow, friend- 
 ships to form among those savages, canni- 
 bals, as you call them. They have not all 
 proved unkindly to the Virginia settlers." 
 
 " New countries for the young," said Juet, 
 rising to seek the captain. " For me, seafar- 
 ing is a pretty trade enow. But may my 
 frame be laid in the Limehouse churchyard 
 at the last, an' it go not to the bottom of the 
 sea in some storm or other ! " 
 
 As he had foreseen, the course was changed. 
 Jan told the men of Smith's directions, and 
 of their leader's reasoning. They were satis- 
 fied in regard to this point, yet they resented 
 the youth's superior information. 
 
 " The English are all for the English," they 
 grumbled. " Why should you be in the cap- 
 tain's secrets because your crony is his coun- 
 tryman ? Why should the fame of finding 
 the passage be given to another nation ?
 
 ON THE HALF MOON 215 
 
 Why did not the company send out the Half 
 Moon under a Hollander ? " 
 
 Jan knew that sailors were proverbially dis- 
 contented. Still, he thought that their pre- 
 sent attitude, among such scamps as many of 
 the crew daily showed themselves to be, 
 threatened harm to some one, scarcely to 
 the captain or to the mate, but very proba- 
 bly to Giles. 
 
 One soft, bright day in the late summer, 
 there was a cry from the lookout : not land, 
 but water, was what they were seeking. Af- 
 ter leaving the mouth of the Chesapeake, they 
 had sailed in time past the Delaware, and yet 
 Hudson was confident that this was not the 
 much talked of " arm of the sea " for which 
 he was in quest. Still they sped to the north. 
 Now here they found the ocean ran landward 
 into an expanse of bay. 
 
 Giles scrambled aloft for a further survey. 
 He slid down to the deck to seek his captain. 
 He raced to the cabin. Men were runnino- 
 hither and thither in no little excitement. 
 Hudson strove to be calm, although his bright 
 eyes shone like stars. 
 
 'T is the passage to India," Giles declared. 
 
 The fingers trembled that were rolling a 
 
 chart. Hudson's tone was not quite under
 
 216 IN TUE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 control. " I believe thee," was all he trusted 
 himself to say. 
 
 On they pushed their way. A great river 
 lay before them, lined to the west with a 
 rocky wall. An island faced them, its green 
 hills crowned with trees, and sloping to the 
 water's edge. Masses of flowering vines flung 
 a veil over the stately forest. Dashes of bril- 
 liant color threw out the blossoms against the 
 verdure. 
 
 A little curl of smoke rose gently from a 
 distant valley. It was like an enchanted pic- 
 ture of a fairy world. 
 
 " 'T is a good and pleasant land," quoth 
 Hudson. 
 
 As they thronged to the vessel's side to 
 view the scene, a creature, such as none of 
 them had ever spied before, marched slowly 
 from the shadow of the trees. This was a 
 tall, straight figure, of a dusky, reddish skin, 
 clad in a scanty dress of tanned fur, and bear- 
 ing a bow in one hand. A quiver hung over 
 his shoulder. His black hair was braided on 
 one side, and flowing loosely on the other 
 about his stern, set features. He stalked on, 
 unsuspectingly, to the water. He reached the 
 beach. His sharp eyes were raised from the 
 ground upon which they had been bent.
 
 ON THE HALF MOON 217 
 
 For a short space of time he stood still as a 
 statue. Then he uttered a whoop that cut 
 through the awful silence like a knife. He 
 wheeled about, and sprang with the fleetness 
 of a deer into the security of the woods 
 again.
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 TAKEN CAPTIVE 
 
 " I WISH he had n't disappeared so quickly," 
 said Jan. " Still, I suppose we shall see 
 enough of the savages before we have made 
 our way through the land." 
 
 " Lucky for us," growled one of the crew, 
 " if we do not see far too much of them. I 
 am afraid of the red men. Aha ! he is coming 
 back, bringing some of his friends with him." 
 
 A number of birch canoes shot around the 
 end of the island. A supple figure sat in each, 
 paddling rapidly in the direction of the ship. 
 Meanwhile their hosts awaited them in the 
 keenest curiosity. The natives climbed nim- 
 bly up the ropes that were flung to them, and 
 swarmed upon the deck. The white men 
 gathered around them, making signs, laugh- 
 ing freely, acting as if these were monkeys, 
 able to amuse them without comprehending 
 the contempt in which they were held. 
 
 " I don't like it," said Giles aside. 
 
 " Nor I," Jan answered. " This is their
 
 TAKEN CAPTIVE 219 
 
 home, not ours. They welcome us. I wish 
 our men behaved less like the heathen, when 
 they themselves have such Christian ways." 
 
 The visitors produced long copper pipes, 
 showing the crew their method of filling and 
 lighting them, and the tobacco they carried. 
 The captain and mate had acquired the habit 
 of smoking, perhaps from John Smith him- 
 self. Tradition says that Hudson introduced 
 tobacco into Holland. At all events, many 
 of the men understood its uses. They wak- 
 ened a smile in the savages by snatching and 
 puffing upon their pipes. Next, the Indians 
 brought out baskets of oysters, and showed 
 them how to open the shells. This was a 
 very acceptable gift, although the receivers 
 might have manifested less greed and more 
 gratitude. Another present was not hailed 
 with any pretense of thanks, except from the 
 officers and the two boys. The Indians called 
 them " pompions." They were great golden 
 balls, that looked like a rare sort of orange. 
 They cut hopefully through the rind, and bit 
 generous mouthfuls from the core. But raw 
 pumpkin was not at all to their liking. 
 
 " They appear very friendly," said Giles, 
 " if the crew would treat them decently." 
 
 " At least Hudson will do his part," Jan
 
 220 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 replied. " He is going to invite some of them 
 to a dinner, and have his men show them 
 tricks and sports. He thinks it is wise to be 
 on good terms with the natives before he ven- 
 tures inland." 
 
 All began well with this entertainment. 
 There were songs and dances, and some sim- 
 ple attempts at sleight-of-hand that amazed 
 the red men. A squaw was one of the party. 
 She was ugly and worn, like all Indian wives, 
 but her dignity and modest behavior were 
 very pleasing to Giles and his friend, who 
 waited upon her, and saw that she had a good 
 position from which to witness the sailors' 
 performance. She accepted their attentions 
 in stiff silence, unaccustomed as she must have 
 been to such kindness. They could not have 
 told that she noticed any difference between 
 their manner and that of the others. They 
 had forgotten all about her, when she came 
 up to Jan, as he stood at the outer circle of 
 the gazers, and touched him imperiously on 
 the shoulder. He glanced in surprise at her 
 shriveled face. She lifted her hand in a 
 beckoning gesture. 
 
 " She wants you to follow her," said Giles, 
 who was watching them attentively. " Let 
 us see what it is she means."
 
 TAKEN CAPTIVE 221 
 
 The woman led the way across the deck, 
 looking back once or twice to see if they un- 
 derstood and were coming too. Behind a coil 
 of rope she paused. She pointed at her feet. 
 The boys glanced over her shoulder. 
 
 The chief lay on the deck. His head was 
 pitched forward upon his breast ; his arms and 
 legs were twisted underneath him. He looked 
 as if he had been thrown down in a heap and 
 left there. The woman crouched beside him, 
 touching his closed eyes, his mouth, and his 
 breast. She raised one hand : it fell heavily 
 back to his side. Her features quivered ; her 
 dark eyes, gazing piteously up at the boys, 
 were like those of some harmless beast that 
 had been trapped. 
 
 The man had been given strong drink. 
 
 " Oh, those wretches ! " Jan hissed between 
 his teeth. " Some of the sailors have been 
 plying the poor fellow with aqua vitce. How 
 furious Hudson will be ! " 
 
 " She thinks he is ill," said Giles. " It is 
 hard to know how to undeceive her." 
 
 Another Indian stole up at the moment. 
 He saw his chief's deplorable state. There 
 was a loud, shrill outcry. In an instant the 
 deck was alive with men. They flocked about 
 the figure and the woman kneeling at her
 
 222 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 husband's head. They consulted together, 
 eyes flashing and hands waving to and fro, or 
 clutching meaningly at their arrows. Some 
 one produced a string of beads and laid them 
 about the chieftain's neck. They watched, 
 apparently with high hopes for a time; but 
 these had no effect upon him, although they 
 were a valued charm. Then a warrior stooped 
 over the squaw Winona, and asked her some 
 question. She looked up, swept the circle 
 about with her sad eyes, and rested them on 
 one sailor's face. He shrank back, but it 
 was too late. She leveled her forefinger at 
 him, uttering a torrent of sound. The red 
 men seized him. Their menacing gestures 
 alarmed the entire crew. The accused, one 
 Dirk Bloom, set up a vehement appeal for 
 help. 
 
 Hudson looked perplexed, as truly he felt. 
 He must protect his men. Yet this indig- 
 nity placed upon their principal guest was 
 supposed by the Indians to be of peculiar 
 treachery. He crossed to Bloom's side, call- 
 ing out as. he moved : 
 
 " For our lives we must pretend to do then* 
 bidding. Don't resist ! Don't resist ! They 
 are five to one and armed." 
 
 He made rapid motions to the furious vis-
 
 TAKEN CAPTIVE 223 
 
 itors. Happily the other white men saw what 
 he meant, and joined in his artifice. He as- 
 sured Winona and her adherents among 
 them her son, the young chief that he him- 
 self would bind the offender (suiting the ac- 
 tion to the word), and he gestured that death 
 should follow, but not now, if they wished it. 
 
 They sullenly acquiesced. The body of 
 the grossly deceived savage was carried to a 
 canoe. His wife and boy followed, and the 
 Indians all quitted the ship. Hudson drew a 
 long breath of relief. 
 
 " We are not out of the scrape," he said to 
 the culprit. " When I think what you have 
 brought upon us, I am minded to string you 
 up to the yardarm with my own hands." 
 
 Bloom muttered sulkily that he had in- 
 tended no harm. 
 
 " You knew what a ticklish business our 
 inland voyage would be, and how necessary 
 was the natives' alliance. To think you should 
 imperil all our chances for a brutal joke ! " 
 
 However, on the following day, the chief 
 made his reappearance at the Half Moon's 
 side. He was rather sheepish, but good-na- 
 tured as ever. His followers, too, behaved as 
 if they had lost their animosity. Hudson did 
 not understand the character of the men with
 
 224 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 whom he had to deal. He did not know that 
 this affectation of forgiveness was part of their 
 sly vindictiveness that only awaited a safe 
 opportunity for revenge. He lost his fears, 
 released Bloom, and he, the mate, and the 
 crew speedily forgot the whole affair. 
 
 "But I don't like Winona's look," said 
 Jan to his comrade. " I have seen her glance 
 at Bloom when she thought no one noticed 
 her ; and I think we have n't heard the last 
 of her husband's adventure." 
 
 The older men were not of his opinion. 
 Preparations were making for the journey up 
 the river, the journey that, so they thought, 
 would conduct them through the country 
 to Asia. On the afternoon before that ap- 
 pointed for the voyage, Giles saw the sailor 
 of the drinking escapade lower himself into a 
 boat. 
 
 " Where are you going ? " he called in his 
 faltering Dutch. 
 
 " On shore," was the curt reply. He bent 
 to his oars. Giles hastened to the cabin, 
 made a hurried request for leave of absence, 
 and was back again in a twinkling. Bloom 
 stared in amazement when he dropped into 
 the boat beside him. 
 
 " What is this for ? " he asked.
 
 TAKEN CAPTIVE 225 
 
 " I am going with you." 
 
 " But why ? I am sent for water. That 
 keg," he thrust out his foot towards it, " is 
 not so heavy as to call for two to carry it." 
 
 " Say, then, that I choose to go," Giles 
 retorted. 
 
 Bloom especially disliked the young Eng- 
 lishman, who had not invariably concealed his 
 hatred of the other's cruelty and coarseness. 
 
 " I don't choose to have you go," said he, 
 laying down his oars. 
 
 Giles bent forward. " If you had seen," 
 he began, " the murderous looks the old squaw 
 has given you from time to time, I think you 
 would prefer any companion to the risk of 
 facing her and her people alone. At least 
 she is friendly with me." 
 
 A startled expression crossed the Dutch- 
 man's face. He picked up his oars again and 
 pulled along in silence. The boat ran up on 
 the beach. 
 
 " Have your arquebuse ready," Giles ad- 
 vised, springing to land. There was a quiet 
 all about them that seemed ominous. The 
 waters and the shore were usually swarming 
 with Indians. Their approach must have been 
 observed, and yet there was no sign of life. 
 
 Bloom swung the keg over his shoulder.
 
 226 IN TUE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 He held his weapon in one hand as they 
 walked across the pebbles. Within the woods 
 a few yards, altogether out of sight of the 
 Half Moon at anchor, was the spring where 
 they obtained drinking-water from day to 
 day. They entered the forest. Giles cast one 
 look back at the ship. He was asking him- 
 self whether he should ever see it again. All 
 depended, he was sure, upon the amount of 
 gratitude Winona might feel for him. And, 
 after all, he had done very little for her. 
 
 " Whatever betide, it was right that I 
 came," he reflected. " Bloom's life would be 
 worthless without me : that much I know. 
 For the rest, I can but place the result in the 
 hands of the Lord." 
 
 The tangled underbrush was something to 
 which the Europeans were altogether unaccus- 
 tomed. They pushed through it with stealthy 
 tread. 
 
 " Do you hear singing ? " whispered Bloom. 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 They came out upon the glade where the 
 spring was situated. It was a wide, open 
 space, and it was filled with Indians. In a 
 hollow square they advanced towards a sap- 
 ling post in the middle of the clearing. They 
 were daubed red, and white, and black, and
 
 TAKEN CAPTIVE 227 
 
 armed with clubs and bows. One of their 
 number, the chief's boy son, carried a stone 
 hatchet, which he threw towards the post. 
 It clove and clung to the wood. Even these 
 ignorant strangers realized that they were 
 witnessing the signal for a combat, or a defi- 
 ance. Giles swept the set faces with an ago- 
 nized look. Winona was nowhere to be seen. 
 
 "Fire ! " he cried, and shot his arquebuse 
 into the air. The report was followed by 
 Bloom's musket. 
 
 The warriors fell back, amazed at the 
 strange noise. The boy thought that it 
 would be received on shipboard as a token 
 of danger. He knew that help would come 
 to them. The only question was whether it 
 would come in time. 
 
 They turned to try flight to the boat. It 
 would mean being a little nearer to their 
 friends. The Indians were too many for 
 them, while their better acquaintance with the 
 forest stood them then in good stead. Before 
 Giles and his companion had taken a half 
 dozen strides they were surrounded. Lassoes 
 were thrown around their necks. They were 
 prisoners. 
 
 They were dragged along over the roots of 
 trees, over rocks and moss, through thorns
 
 228 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 and bogs, for what seemed hours of flight. 
 Giles understood the purpose, to bring them 
 beyond the reach of assistance. His sinking 
 heart admitted that there was every proba- 
 bility of success. How could Hudson and 
 his men trace them through this trackless 
 forest ? 
 
 " Ah 1 is lost ! " gasped Bloom, when they 
 paused at length. 
 
 " Keep up hope," Giles answered. But he 
 had little hope himself. 
 
 A bark village dotted the valley upon which 
 they had descended. The captives were led 
 to a wigwam which was stationed in the cen- 
 tre, so that it was observable from every point 
 of the compass. They were thrust inside, 
 falling over, half dead with fatigue, upon the 
 mats with which the shelter was lined. 
 
 " If I had a drop of water," said Bloom, 
 " I think I should be willing to die. My 
 thirst is greater than my fear." 
 
 " And your thirst, at least, can be allayed," 
 replied Giles. For the mat which hung across 
 one of the two entrances was thrust aside. A 
 dish of water and another of parched ground 
 corn were set down near them by a stooping 
 figure, dim in the twilight. In another in- 
 stant they were left alone once more.
 
 TAKEN CAPTIVE 229 
 
 " Cheer up," said Giles. " You see they 
 don't mean to torture us." 
 
 He had been thinking, during that weary 
 journey, of some of Captain Smith's stories, 
 repeated by Juet, regarding the Virginian 
 natives, and of other dreadful tales brought 
 home by the French fur-traders from Canada, 
 to which he had often listened in the old days 
 in Paris. 
 
 Bloom drank heavily. He even ate a 
 handful of the strange food. He announced 
 that it heartened him. " Come, Valentine," 
 he added, " take what ease you can." 
 
 Giles felt that this was the part of common 
 sense. He made a good meal. Afterwards 
 he lay down beside his comrade, alert for a 
 move from their captors. 
 
 " Whatever they do," he mused, " will be 
 done quickly, for fear of pursuit." 
 
 And some one again thrust aside the mat 
 which hung at the door of the tent.
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 WHAT HAPPENED ON HUDSON'S RIVER 
 
 THE prisoners sprang to their feet. A war- 
 rior, hideous in the dashes of color upon his 
 cheeks, was beckoning to them. 
 
 " Are we going to our trial ? " said Bloom, 
 turning his pale face towards Giles. 
 
 " I am afraid we can scarcely expect jus- 
 tice. More likely it will be swift execution. 
 Be brave, man. If God wills that we die, we 
 can but die like heroes." 
 
 Giles's poor Dutch put a barrier between 
 them at this moment, when he ardently longed 
 to be a support to his fellow-captive. 
 
 They stepped outside the wigwam. " Did 
 you see Winona anywhere ? " Bloom hur- 
 riedly inquired. 
 
 " Not in the attack. But naturally there 
 would have been no women present there. I 
 will look again now. She is our sole earthly 
 reliance." 
 
 They were led to the council-house, a larger 
 building than that in which they had been
 
 WHAT HAPPENED ON HUDSON'S EIVER 231 
 
 confined, but of the same hasty construction 
 which sufficed for these nomadic tribes. A 
 fire of piled logs burned beneath the hole in 
 the apex of the great tent, through which one 
 could watch the tree-tops and the stars. By 
 the glow it could be seen that the room was 
 half filled with men, lying on their backs or 
 leaning on one arm, all smoking long pipes 
 and surrounding the chief. As the captives 
 were led to the great man's presence, Giles cast 
 a last glance here and there, seeking Winona. 
 Yes, she stood back of her husband, gazing 
 directly at him. Her eyes were blazing with 
 anger. They did not soften when they met 
 his own. 
 
 Now he surrendered all hope. He felt that 
 her presence was intentional, that she was 
 to be their accuser. * 
 
 The chief shot a penetrating glance at 
 Bloom. He said a few words to the woman. 
 She stepped forward, feh 1 into an attitude of 
 abject humility at his feet, and poured forth 
 a torrent of words; entreaty, fury, scorn, 
 accusation, seemed mingled in their flow. 
 
 " Do you think she is pleading for our 
 lives ? " Bloom murmured. 
 
 (riles shook his head. He could not tell 
 him that he imagined she was asking for their
 
 232 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 death. When Winona ceased, and rose to 
 her feet, a man advanced, then another and 
 another. The young chieftain came last. 
 Each spoke rapidly and at length. Each 
 waved a hand towards their prisoners. Each 
 showed in his wrathful manner that what he 
 said boded them no good. 
 
 Finally the chief stood up. He motioned 
 to several bystanders, who came forward. 
 Giles was thrown suddenly upon his back. 
 Some one stooped at his feet, binding them to- 
 gether. Some one else pressed a hand upon 
 his forehead. His arms were tied loosely to- 
 gether over his breast. Bloom watched this 
 performance with considerable curiosity. 
 
 " Why are they doing that to you, I won- 
 der," he said, " and not to me ? " 
 
 As he spoke the chief's son stepped back 
 of him. He bore a heavy club. He had 
 been chosen to avenge the insult that this 
 white man had offered to his father. 
 
 Giles gave a warning cry. It was too late. 
 The little brave raised the murderous weapon. 
 With a lightning-like swiftness it fell and 
 crashed upon Bloom's uncovered head. He 
 dropped lifeless to the floor. 
 
 Giles waited in momentary expectation, of 
 the same fate. He said an earnest prayer.
 
 WHAT HAPPENED ON HUDSON'S RIVER 233 
 
 He thought of Jan, of Meg, and of Annemie. 
 He heard loud discussion beside him and 
 looked up. A group surrounded the chief, 
 Winona among them. As he guessed, they 
 were disputing his future, and whether it 
 should be life or death. A respite was the 
 utmost that the woman could gain. He was 
 seized by his hands and feet and carried back 
 to the wigwam. There he was thrown upon 
 the ground and left alone again. 
 
 Hours dragged by, and the sounds outside 
 all died away. The fire from the council- 
 house, which Giles watched dully through the 
 one clear opening to his hut, burned into 
 ashes, and it was dark. He began cautiously 
 to work his hands up and down in their soft 
 leather thongs. Could he free himself ? And 
 if he could, would it be of any avail ? The 
 prison was closely watched ; the woods were 
 well known to his captors, and all unknown to 
 him. 
 
 The moon rose, and a long, pale ray fell 
 athwart the entrance to the tent to the spot 
 where Giles was lying. He thought, as it 
 crept towards him, that he never should see 
 the moon rise again : this, he firmly believed, 
 was his last night on earth. Now a shadow 
 crossed the streak of light. A dark form
 
 234 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 glided noiselessly into the wigwam. A knife 
 glittered in one outstretched hand. Giles 
 shut his eyes, breathing a petition that the 
 end might be sure and speedy, and that he 
 might show no cowardice. He heard the 
 light step glide over the mats to his side. 
 He felt the pause. The gaze bent upon him 
 seemed to burn through his closed eyelids. 
 The cold touch of the knife fell against his 
 folded hands where they were tied upon his 
 breast. He thought it was directed towards 
 his heart. He waited, in the perfect still- 
 ness, for the fatal stroke. 
 
 There was a slashing movement. The 
 bands about his wrists were severed. Giles's 
 eyes flew open. The figure was kneeling by 
 his feet. The thongs there, too, were cut. 
 
 It was Winona. In her black hair, gath- 
 ered at her neck, there were copper orna- 
 ments that glittered in the moonlight. She 
 wore a long skin cloak, richly embroidered 
 in quills and fantastic color designs. Her 
 face was strained, as if listening for a sound. 
 She touched her lip lightly with one finger, 
 and then held it up before her in a warning 
 attitude. Giles could interpret the gesture 
 to mean " Caution ! " 
 
 He sprang upright. She led the way, he
 
 WHAT HAPPENED ON HUDSON'S EIVEJi 235 
 
 creeping after her. The irregular lines of 
 wigwams were bathed in the moonlight. Be- 
 fore his prison lay an Indian guard. He 
 breathed heavily as they stepped timidly past 
 him. Giles glanced questioningly at the wo- 
 man, wondering if, as seemed probable, she 
 had drugged the watcher. She flew like a 
 bird across the open space. He followed 
 more clumsily, yet with the prudent secrecy 
 learned in his adventurous boyhood. They 
 reached the quiet woods in safety. The 
 moonlight filtered through the tree-tops, show- 
 ing them dimly the path to go. Winona 
 glided on in advance, a shadow guide. She 
 knew their course where Giles saw nothing 
 to mark it. She pushed between the tree- 
 trunks, and over rotting logs. She threaded 
 her path through the stifling underbrush, 
 holding back the trailing vines that he might 
 follow her. They went on thus for hours. 
 Gray dawn was creeping over the blackness 
 in the eastern sky when Winona reached 
 back, caught Giles by the hand, and showed 
 him a little stream, over which they made a 
 flying leap together. She pulled him after 
 her down a sharp incline. They wound their 
 course through the trees. 
 
 The beach lay before them. The Half
 
 236 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 Moon swung at anchor out in the river. 
 Giles stifled an exclamation : here was safety 
 once more. Winona pointed towards the 
 boat he and poor Bloom had left there ten 
 hours before. 
 
 Then she turned back to the woods. Her 
 self-imposed duty was performed. He was 
 prepared with the means of escape to his 
 friends. Giles felt at his wits' end for a way 
 of expressing his gratitude, when they had 
 not a word in common. He ran after her, fell 
 on one knee, and, grasping the border of her 
 gay, embroidered cloak, raised it to his lips. 
 The act of homage was natural to one reared 
 in the courtly days of Elizabeth, and in the 
 Paris of Henry of Navarre : it was a revela- 
 tion to the savage woman, used to the treat- 
 ment accorded a squaw, that is, all the 
 cruelty and the drudgery which a human be- 
 ing could undergo. She looked down upon 
 the boy with a lovely expression of motherly 
 tenderness on her withered, ugly face. She 
 stooped over Giles's bent head and flung 
 something about his neck. When he stood 
 up and looked about him, she had vanished. 
 
 He took her gift in one hand to examine 
 it. It was a bit of soft stone pierced to hang 
 on a strip of leather like a cord, and carved
 
 WHAT HAPPENED ON HUDSON'S RIVER 237 
 
 in the rude semblance of a tortoise. Although 
 Giles could not guess its full significance, 
 that it was the emblem of Winona's people, 
 her totem, he foresaw its importance in 
 future intercourse with the Indians of her 
 own clan. He appreciated that the tremen- 
 dous service of his escape was crowned by 
 this act. 
 
 He pushed off in the boat, rowing rapidly 
 to the Half Moon's side. He expected, of 
 course, the watch. He had not thought the 
 first person he should see would be Jan, an- 
 swering his call, and peering down at him 
 doubtfully from the deck. 
 
 " It seems too good to be true," he cried, 
 when he held his friend by both hands, and 
 was gazing rapturously into his face. "I 
 have lurked about here all night, watching 
 the shore, and wondering what had become 
 of you. Where is Bloom ? " 
 
 Giles was soon surrounded by a group of 
 men equally curious to hear his own adven- 
 tures and to learn their comrade's fate. He 
 saw their dissatisfaction. The crew generally 
 would have cared very little had he never re- 
 turned to the ship. Bloom, on the contrary, 
 had been a leader among them. Their laments 
 for him were not only loud but also indignant.
 
 238 IN THti BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 " They think I could have saved his life as 
 well as my own," said Giles to Jan. 
 
 The latter could not deny that he had lis- 
 tened to murmurs to that effect. When the 
 shots were heard from the ship, a party had 
 been sent out by Hudson. They made a 
 thorough search for the two, without avail, 
 and were obliged to return to the Half Moon, 
 leaving the boat on a slender chance of an 
 escape which might require it to follow them. 
 There had been a sorrowful night between 
 Giles's disappearance and his return. 
 
 Nothing more was seen of the Algonquins. 
 The voyagers weighed anchor and sailed on 
 up the river. From time to time, as they 
 passed the banks dropping into the water, a 
 canoe shot out from the forest ridges, making 
 its way to the vessel. Its occupants were 
 always perplexed and excited by the white 
 men's peculiar dress, and tongue, and man- 
 ners. They exchanged a few trifling gifts, 
 but did not stop to parley with such visitors. 
 Hudson was too feverishly anxious to pursue 
 his investigations: his men saw that their 
 welfare was bound up with his. They were 
 all consumed by the one desire to hasten on 
 and learn the worst or best. 
 
 Not many miles had been passed before
 
 WHAT HAPPENED ON HUDSON' S RIVER 239 
 
 they came in upon what looked like a lake. 
 Hudson's eyes glowed. His cheeks flushed 
 with excitement. He could not restrain the 
 quiver in his tone. 
 
 " I believe we are on the right road, Juet," 
 he said to his mate. 
 
 " It looks like it," Juet answered quietly. 
 
 Truly it did, for a time. But the river 
 narrowed again, as it had widened. They 
 sailed between its evergreen banks, day by 
 day, looking, with hopes that died hard, for 
 other signs that this was Hudson's arm of the 
 sea, and not a river shallower as they as- 
 cended it. 
 
 "The anchor is going overboard," Giles 
 exclaimed, springing up at the well-known 
 rattle of the chain. " What can be the rea- 
 son ? Do you suppose that we are to make 
 land explorations ? " 
 
 " Perhaps, in one of the boats," suggested 
 Jan. " If so, I mean to apply for a place." 
 
 " And I." 
 
 "Oh, no, Giles. Stay on the ship this 
 time ! " 
 
 Giles gave a derisive laugh at the notion. 
 He understood Jan's uneasiness concerning 
 his treatment from the men. He had no in- 
 tention of giving in to it, to this extent.
 
 240 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 He found that the captain had issued 
 orders for a boat's crew to start at once upon 
 a further search. The expedition would be 
 absent several days, " as long as necessary," 
 said Hudson, looking depressed and fretted. 
 He was selecting the men. His glance fell 
 upon Giles. 
 
 " And Valentine," he added. 
 
 Jan pushed forward. "May I be of the 
 party, captain ? " he asked. 
 
 " No, lad, there is no room for more." 
 
 Jan opened his mouth to protest. Giles 
 dragged him away. 
 
 " What accusation can you bring ? " he 
 demanded. "You have nothing at all ex- 
 cept surmises, that no one would listen to. 
 We can't harass the captain. He looks as 
 if he were taking a last desperate chance." 
 
 For his part, Giles felt quite capable of 
 looking after himself. He promised Jan to 
 do nothing foolhardy, nor ever to trust him- 
 self alone with any one or two of the others, 
 for there was likely to be safety in numbers. 
 Nor would his enemies forget that they must 
 report to the captain at the end of the cruise. 
 
 They bade each other good-by, these two 
 friends, with more show of feeling than was 
 usual between them. Giles called back cheery
 
 WHAT HAPPENED ON HUDSON'S RIVER 241 
 
 last words. Jan watched the bark wistfully 
 out of sight. 
 
 It was a week later that he slid down from 
 his perch at the lookout, and saluted Henry 
 Hudson. 
 
 " The boat, sir ! " he said. 
 
 " Art sure ? " Hudson's worn face lighted. 
 The old look, as if in expectation of good 
 news, came into his eyes. " I have thought 
 so oft that I saw it, and have been sore de- 
 ceived." 
 
 Jan was sure that no one had watched for 
 that boat with such anxious gaze as his. 
 " They are our men, sir," he said positively. 
 
 Hudson stood buried in reverie. He tugged 
 at his beard, his abstracted sight fastened 
 upon the deck. Jan cast a sympathetic glance 
 at him, and climbed aloft again. The com- 
 mander was startled from his reflections by a 
 sharp cry. 
 
 " What is 't, Verrooy ? " he called. 
 
 Again Jan dropped down the mast, and 
 made his way to Hudson's side. He forgot 
 to remove his cap. He buried his face in 
 his hands. 
 
 " They are our men ? " exclaimed Hudson. 
 
 " They are our men, sir, and they are but 
 four."
 
 242 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 Five had gone out from the Half Moon. 
 
 The boat neared the ship. Its crew crowded 
 to the bow to see the approach, Jan foremost. 
 His worst fears were fulfilled. Giles was not 
 with the rest. To do Hudson justice, his first 
 query, haUooed across the water, was not of 
 what the explorers had found. He set aside 
 his fondest ambition, and he asked : 
 
 " Where is young Valentine ? " 
 
 It was one of the men who inquired, 
 "What luck, lads?" 
 
 The coxswain answered the double question 
 at once. He looked over his shoulder as they 
 grazed the ship's side, and said : 
 
 " We found shallower water and a nar- 
 rower stream. The English boy wandered 
 away from us in the forest. We searched, 
 but could find no trace of him."
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 WINONA'S TOTEM 
 
 MEANWHILE what had happened to Giles ? 
 
 He made the best of the others' surly com- 
 panionship. He thoroughly enjoyed the trip's 
 surprises and adventures day after day. They 
 rowed by turn during the shortening hours 
 of light. At night they camped upon the 
 shore, and ate and slept about the fire with 
 one of their number mounted guard. 
 
 The men kept together, appearing to scorn 
 him as an outsider thrust upon them. Often 
 they tried to provoke a quarrel by taunts in 
 regard to the death of Bloom. Much of their 
 talk Giles did not understand ; much more of 
 it he pretended not to hear ; or it was always 
 a safe method of averting an outbreak to 
 shake his head, and ask some stupid question 
 wide of the mark, taking refuge in his noto- 
 riously bad Dutch. He restrained the anger 
 it would have been childish to show when 
 so completely in the power of his enemies. 
 Their undisguised malice towards him had
 
 244 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 this good effect, that it kept Jan's warnings 
 before his mind. 
 
 Yet the boy found it a pleasant life. The 
 country was most beautiful. Now and then 
 a tree or a bush blazed out in early autumn 
 coloring. A long range of mountains against 
 the western sky had come, from a dim out- 
 line, as they ascended the stream, to assume 
 boldly impressive forms. Looking back at 
 them, the lower hills bore a fantastic resem- 
 blance to a giant lying at rest, his knees 
 drawn up, the profile of his face showing 
 sharply against the intense blue of the Amer- 
 ican heavens. Giles pointed out this Old 
 Man of the Mountains to his companions. 
 They grunted sulkily at his amusement. 
 None of them knew that the Indians in the 
 region of the Kaatskills for so the Dutch 
 afterwards called these hills had already 
 noticed and named this singular formation. 
 
 Giles wandered about by himself, at night 
 and at morning, when the boat was beached, 
 although he never strayed far from his com- 
 rades. These were delightful strolls, rich in 
 treasure trove; new birds and beasts and 
 plants surrounded bun. He seldom encoun- 
 tered a native ; but if he did, he found that 
 the owner of the soil was more alarmed than
 
 WINONA'S TOTEM 245 
 
 the intruder. He grew to love this fair, wild 
 land with a devotion which was far beyond 
 what his longing had been to visit it when 
 he had little idea what it held. He built 
 many air-castles in that time of quiet roam- 
 ing along the banks of the river, and all their 
 foundations were laid in America. 
 
 They came to tributaries which the men 
 wished to explore. Hessel, the man in com- 
 mand of the expedition, refused to aUow this, 
 saying very justly that it was growing late in 
 the season, Hudson awaited them impatiently, 
 and they must keep strictly to their errand, 
 that of learning the capacity of the stream 
 along which they came. 
 
 " It is easy to see the end," one of the others 
 remarked finally, with an evil grin. " It will 
 not require much more breaking of our backs 
 at the oar to return with the tidings that this 
 is no royal road to Asia." 
 
 " That is true," answered Hessel from his 
 seat at the rudder. "I am beginning to 
 think we might better turn about. The river 
 for river it assuredly is grows less navi- 
 gable for an ocean ship. It is useless to hope 
 for a change." 
 
 He pointed the boat towards an island of 
 no great extent lying in the stream. " We
 
 246 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 might seek a night's lodging here," he an- 
 nounced. 
 
 They made their preparations for a meal, 
 Giles roving about in dreary thought of what 
 their message would mean to Henry Hudson. 
 One of the men took his arquebuse and went 
 away into the woods in quest of game. An- 
 other was cleaning some fish, for which they 
 cast a line from the boat. To Giles's sur- 
 prise, when he came to notice it, he observed 
 that the sun was an hour high. They did not 
 usually encamp before twilight. He asked 
 permission of Hessel to walk along the island 
 and look around him. The man nodded, in 
 his boorish fashion, saying nothing. Giles 
 set out in the opposite direction from the 
 sportsman. 
 
 He stopped to examine so much that was 
 curious or delightful, he gathered so many 
 flowers and experimented upon so many fruits 
 and berries, that it was only when these last 
 failed to satisfy a hearty appetite, increased 
 by a day of hard work in the open air, that 
 he realized how long he had been away from 
 the others. 
 
 He had gone, unconsciously, inland. It 
 was only a few minutes' walk to the boat 
 upon the beach. He sought the river hur-
 
 WINONA'S TOTEM 247 
 
 riedly, incited not at all by alarm, but by the 
 pangs of hunger. He came out upon the 
 pebbly shore by the blasted oak which he 
 had noticed when he left the water, and had 
 selected for a landmark. 
 
 The boat was gone. 
 
 Giles stood, struck motionless with aston- 
 ishment, and looked in every direction. He 
 could not be mistaken in the place. Here 
 was the old tree ; there the seat that its roots 
 made, and the flat rock like a footstool. Not 
 ten yards away the boat had been drawn 
 upon the strand. Yes, he darted forward, 
 there were the scales and the heads of the 
 fish Tenbroeck had been preparing for their 
 supper. He was left alone. 
 
 He strained his eyes till the eyeballs ached. 
 Away to the southward, perhaps a mile from 
 him, not more, was the image of a boat. 
 As he became accustomed to the dim light, he 
 saw the regular rise and fall of flashing oars. 
 They were going to the Half Moon. It was 
 no error, no cheat of apprehension : that was 
 the boat, those were his comrades, and they 
 had willfully deserted him. 
 , That night in the wilderness, far from his 
 fellows, was one of the most memorable in 
 Giles's history. Yet nothing happened while
 
 248 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 he sat, hungry and stiff with fatigue, over 
 the fire he made, and heard the shrill cry of 
 a wolf in the hills across the river, or the 
 light tread of a wildcat on the island, attracted 
 by the glow and warmth, peeping out at the 
 boy from among the trees. 
 
 At daybreak Giles's ear caught another 
 sound that brought him to his feet, musket 
 in hand. It was the harsh clatter of a boat 
 drawn across the pebbles. Had the crew 
 repented? Were they returned for him? 
 Or, which was more probable, had they come 
 back with the reflection that dead men are 
 the only ones who tell no tales? Had they 
 become convinced that it was safer to take 
 his life at once than leave him even thus, 
 a prisoner on a little island, miles away from 
 Jan, Hudson, and Juet, his three friends in 
 this whole western world? 
 
 That thought recalled to his mind one 
 other friend, Winona. He pulled mechan- 
 ically at the charm about his neck. He was 
 holding it in his palm as he advanced in the 
 direction of that significant noise. A bark 
 canoe swung to and fro on the water. An 
 Indian was stepping jauntily ashore. He fell 
 back, uttering a low cry at the sight of the 
 pale-faced stranger.
 
 WINONA'S TOTEM 249 
 
 An inspiration came to Giles. He sprang 
 forward to meet the man, holding out the 
 stone. The native's glance fell on it. He 
 gave another scream. 
 
 " Winona," said Giles. 
 
 He pointed down the river. He gesticu- 
 lated rapidly, describing the squaw in her 
 dress and walk. The Indian followed his 
 movements with wide-eyed alertness. 
 
 When Giles's wordless story was told, it 
 was the other's turn. He took a step for- 
 ward, falling on his face before the boy. 
 Then he raised himself to his proud, full 
 stature, saying some sentences at which Giles 
 shook his head. The man resorted once more 
 to motions. He asked if Winona's charge 
 were hungry, and was answered decidedly 
 in pantomime. He reached into his canoe, 
 brought out a supply of jerked meat and of 
 ripe berries, and laid all on the flat rock at 
 their feet. Giles ate heartily, delighted that 
 this part of his need could be so readily sup- 
 plied. ' Yet he had been in no present danger 
 of starvation if left to himself. He was armed, 
 and the wild things of water and wood were 
 not so wonted to the fear of capture as to 
 be difficult to lure. The imperative demand 
 was for some method of arriving at the Half
 
 250 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 Moon before she should sail away. How 
 could he make this man understand his want, 
 or bring him to supply it? 
 
 In the night watches he had reflected rue- 
 fully upon his love for the wilderness, when 
 the likelihood was that the home he had 
 wished for should be his for the remainder 
 of his life. A solitary existence, thousands 
 of leagues from his kindred, with not one 
 white face to look into his own, was no ful- 
 fillment of his desire. He grew wild with 
 excitement as he thought now what false- 
 hood of his death the returning party might 
 tell ; of Hudson's sympathy with Jan's futile 
 grief; of the homeward voyage to France; 
 of Meg, of Annemie. 
 
 He ran to the canoe and waved his hand 
 to the south. He touched his breast and the 
 boat's bow, and stretched out his hand again. 
 The man indicated that he understood. Giles 
 doubted, for the Indian took a place, too, in 
 the little craft, after settling him carefully in 
 it. Perhaps it was better so, although toe had 
 small notion how it would all end, while they 
 sped on over the calm expanse of the river. 
 Certainly he could not have managed the 
 canoe himself. He marveled at the owner's 
 skill.
 
 WINONA'S TOTEM 251 
 
 They traveled throughout the day, keeping 
 to the south. At nightfall they camped upon 
 the shore in silent sociability. " If Jan could 
 only see me now ! " thought Giles. 
 
 When he awakened, another savage had 
 joined them. His first acquaintance motioned 
 for a sight of the mystic stone. He was given 
 into the care of the new-comer, who showed 
 the same awe for him when he had witnessed 
 what he wore around his neck. The follow- 
 ing morning the like ceremony was gone 
 through with by another Indian. In each 
 case his former guide left him to the last 
 man, and went back up the river alone. 
 Giles was growing faint with uncertainty as 
 he neared the familiar portion of the stream 
 where he had quitted the Half Moon. Sup- 
 pose he were too late ? He had come across 
 no trace of the ship's boat. Suppose Hudson 
 had already weighed anchor and was gone ? 
 
 He sat bent forward in the tottlish bark, 
 his eyes riveted upon the windings of the 
 river. A shout broke from his lips. His 
 conductor looked around inquisitively. Giles 
 was waving his cap above his head. He had 
 spied the sail of the Half Moon ! 
 
 A little later Hessel, walking up and down 
 the deck, stared aghast at the head of the
 
 252 J^V THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 young Englishman suddenly appearing over 
 the side ! 
 
 " There 's a rope dangling," said the boy 
 coolly, pulling himself to a sitting posture; 
 " but I want help in drawing my guide 
 aboard. How are you, officer? You see I 
 followed you." 
 
 Even Jan did not hear the full tale of that 
 week's occurrences until after they had left 
 the ship. Giles received silently the captain's 
 rebuke for carelessness in wandering away 
 from the others. He treated those who de- 
 serted him precisely as usual, and only ap- 
 peared to be desirous to reward his faithful 
 Indian, by whom he sent many little gifts to 
 the others who had assisted his flight. He 
 was none too soon in reaching the vessel. 
 Hudson was thoroughly disheartened. All he 
 asked now was to get to port before winter. 
 
 The homeward journey was sad. There 
 were many discussions of their route and of 
 other passages. 
 
 " I shall not give up yet," said the captain, 
 " for there must be at all events a way to the 
 extreme northwest. Some day I shall seek 
 that out." 
 
 " And then will you send for us ? " de- 
 manded Jan.
 
 WINONA'S TOTEM 253 
 
 " I will bear thee in mind, my lad. Mine 
 own boy has the promise of sailing with his 
 father in another twelvemonth or so. I must 
 not carry all young heads, though I grant 
 thee they have gone well wi' me this voyage." 
 
 The youths were obliged to place what 
 faith they could in this partial promise. On 
 their way up the Channel they put in at Dart- 
 mouth. Here, to the consternation of them 
 all, the vessel was seized by the authorities. 
 The act was justified solely by the jealousy 
 the English felt for the Dutch. They were 
 determined to keep the service of so eminent 
 a mariner from their neighbors. They finally 
 sent on the Half Moon to Amsterdam, but 
 forbade Hudson to accompany her. 
 
 " You will not forget us, sir ? " begged 
 Giles at their parting. 
 
 " Ay, mayhap we shall sail together again. 
 Such loyalty to a disappointed old seaman 
 should surely be recompensed." 
 
 And that was the most he would say. 
 
 The first hour at home at the nearest ap- 
 proach to a home these boys had known in 
 three years* time was the reward for what- 
 ever ill they had suffered in their journey. 
 Meg sprang into her brother's arms. Mme. 
 Chapelain was sweet and good as ever. Her
 
 254 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 husband and the old nurse were profuse in 
 wondering admiration over all they had en- 
 dured and seen. Giles told Annemie that he 
 could not tell whether she were glad to see 
 him or not. " Though you welcomed Jan 
 right heartily," he added. 
 
 Annemie drooped her pretty head over her 
 embroidery frame, shaking away her curls to 
 steal a modest glance at him. 
 
 " You are so changed," she expostulated. 
 " You have grown so tall and manly, and not 
 like the boy I used to know. I feel it afresh 
 each time I see you after a season of absence. 
 I have to begin all over again in the acquaint- 
 ance." 
 
 Giles stared reflectively at his figure in the 
 mirror opposite to him. There was indeed a 
 difference there from the little fellow who 
 long ago used to live at the Grange near 
 Richmond. He regarded his broad shoul- 
 ders, his rich wavy hair, his bright face 
 touched with the shade of manhood, his stal- 
 wart form. 
 
 " Jan is of another sort," he said ; " slight, 
 where I am big-framed, and supple and light, 
 where I, maybe, am clumsy. But he, too, 
 has changed, Annemie." 
 
 " Ah, but Jan, man or boy, is my brother."
 
 WINONA'S TOTEM 255 
 
 " Annemie," he wheeled about from his 
 contemplation of the glass, " did you like 
 the boy Giles better?" 
 
 Her head fell still lower over the work from 
 which her fingers dropped. Her voice sank 
 almost to a whisper. 
 
 " On the contrary," she said, " I think J 
 prefer the man."
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 THE VICTIM OF RAVAILLAC 
 
 " You have come to Paris at a gala time," 
 said Mme. Chapelain to the returned sailors. 
 " All is expectation of the coronation of Marie 
 upon the 13th of May." 
 
 " Why is she to be crowned ? " demanded 
 her Dutch nephew bluntly. " I can't under- 
 stand the ceremony." 
 
 His uncle smiled shrewdly. " Others than 
 you are puzzled. By most persons it is 
 deemed the weak fancy of a vain woman. 
 Yet others think she has the right of it. The 
 king was divorced to marry her. It is not 
 beyond imagination that he should try to set 
 her aside in her turn. She has the excuse 
 now that she is to act as regent during 
 Henry's expedition against Cleves. At all 
 events his Majesty makes no secret of his dis- 
 like to the whole affair." 
 . Jan was soon to witness this dislike. On 
 the following day he was sent by his uncle 
 with some unimportant message to the arsenal
 
 THE VICTIM OF RAVAILLAC 257 
 
 to the great Sully himself. M. Chapelain 
 had devised the errand ; he urged his relative 
 to give the master-general of the ordnance a 
 hint of his recent voyage and the wonders he 
 had seen. 
 
 " Such tales never do any mischief," was 
 his comment. " Sometimes they do good. 
 Of all men, Sully is in the way to advance 
 you in your career should he take an interest 
 in you. Of course before this we could not 
 presume to interfere with Prince Maurice's 
 plans for you. But now that you have once 
 sailed under the flag of Holland, as he ar- 
 ranged, I see no reason why France should 
 not send you both out to some lucrative post 
 in Acadia." 
 
 Jan secretly thought that Giles and he 
 would prefer explorations with poor, unfor- 
 tunate Hudson, to money-making under some 
 dissolute noble at a trading-post. However, 
 he said nothing, and dutifully repaired to the 
 arsenal. 
 
 After the trumped-up business was ar- 
 ranged, he lingered to answer the questions 
 asked in regard to the discoveries made in 
 America. A door opened behind them. A 
 gentleman entered unannounced. Sully sprang 
 up, and, after a deep obeisance, would have
 
 258 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 dragged forward a low chair one made ex- 
 pressly for this visitor had not Jan been too 
 quick for him. He pulled the seat into place 
 and respectfully moved back. He had often 
 seen that face in the streets of Paris since the 
 night when he first encountered it, masked, in 
 the forest of D'Entrague. The new-comer was 
 Henry of Navarre. 
 
 The monarch nodded easily to both. He 
 paid no heed to the young fellow. He evi- 
 dently thought him a secretary. He burst at 
 once into his grievance. 
 
 " Oh, my friend," he said, tapping his 
 spectacle - case with his finger tip, " I hate 
 this coronation ! I cannot put my feeling 
 into words, and yet my heart foretells some 
 disaster." 
 
 He started up and clapped his hands 
 against his sides. " I shall die in this town ! 
 I shall never leave it. They will kill me, for 
 they have no remedy save my death. That 
 coronation will be the cause ! " 
 
 " Sire, what do you mean ? " demanded 
 Sully. 
 
 In his surprise he, too, had forgotten Jan. 
 The boy did not know what to do. It seemed 
 the height of insolence to move at such a mo- 
 ment, and call attention to himself. He stood
 
 THE VICTIM OF EAVAILLAC 259 
 
 still in his corner. He could not avoid hear- 
 ing every syllable that was uttered. 
 
 " To tell you the whole truth," said Henry 
 abruptly, " I have been told that I should be 
 killed on the first grand occasion ; that I shall 
 die in a coach. This is what causes my 
 fear." 
 
 " I never heard this before," Sully an- 
 swered. " It explains what has often roused 
 my wonder : that your Majesty .would cry out 
 if forced to enter a carriage, and yet prove 
 fearless, almost to foolhardiness, among can- 
 non, pikes, and swords. Why should you 
 submit yourself to such terrors? Why not 
 leave town to-morrow ? The coronation could 
 proceed without you." 
 
 The king shook his head. " That would 
 never do," he said shortly. 
 
 " Then postpone the affair. Meanwhile, 
 for yourself, sire, you need neither reenter 
 Paris nor step into a coach. Shall I send 
 to Notre Dame and to St. Denis, and stop 
 the workmen ? I will do so if you think it 
 best." 
 
 " I should be glad," rejoined Henry. " I 
 have my doubts of the queen. Her heart is 
 set on this ceremony." 
 
 " She may say what she will," Sully replied
 
 260 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 curtly. " She cannot insist if you tell her 
 what you have just now told me." 
 
 He turned to touch the bell. He started 
 as he saw Jan, and recalled his presence with 
 a shock. Henry followed the direction of his 
 glance. Both men stepped one pace towards 
 the boy. Jan advanced and bent till the 
 plumed hat in his hand swept the floor. 
 
 " Sire, I have proven my discretion," said 
 he, " and my loyalty before this, the one 
 in a wayside tavern, the other in the D'En- 
 trague wood." 
 
 The friendly old monarch frowned, looked 
 at him closely, then laughed, with a somewhat 
 foolish side glance at Sully. " Well spoken," 
 he said. "We have met before, in one of 
 my insane pranks, when he rescued me from 
 D'Entrague, who would fain make a royal 
 capture. How comes the youngster here ? " 
 
 "He is a nephew of M. Chapelain. He 
 has been voyaging in the western world with 
 Henry Hudson, the Englishman. He brings 
 strange narratives of wild adventure." 
 
 " In which he bore an honorable part, no 
 doubt," said the king. 
 
 The servant entered and Jan was dismissed. 
 
 Apparently Marie de Medicis would not 
 listen to her husband's apprehensions of evil.
 
 THE VICTIM OF BAVAILLAC 261 
 
 The coronation took place on the appointed 
 day. Sully was too ill to appear. The cere- 
 mony was performed by the Cardinal de Joy- 
 euse, who had become a priest in his grief at 
 the death of his wife. Naturally Jan was 
 peculiarly interested in all that occurred. He 
 outdid even Giles in his recklessness and in the 
 points for sight-seeing which he managed to 
 secure. The king was particularly cheerful 
 during most of the day. It was told, how- 
 ever, from one to another that at the height 
 of the magnificent service he suddenly shiv- 
 ered and murmured to a friend who stood 
 next to him : 
 
 " How would all this appear if it were the 
 last day, and the Judge were to show him- 
 self?" 
 
 When Jan returned to his uncle's apart- 
 ment that night, he wondered if Henry could 
 be more relieved than he, that the day was 
 safely passed, and no mischief had been 
 done. 
 
 On the following morning he went back to 
 the Louvre. He hung about, listening to what 
 was said by those who came and went. He 
 was still tormented by an uncertain fear that 
 wakened with him in the morning, and he 
 wished to see the king for himself, to make
 
 262 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 sure that his predictions were not likely to be 
 fulfilled. 
 
 A carriage drove up at the foot of the 
 steps. After what he had said, could his 
 Majesty intend to enter it ? It must be so, 
 for the bystanders began to look out for him, 
 murmuring to each other that there was to be 
 a royal visit to Sully, who was still confined 
 to his room at the arsenal. 
 
 By and by Henry appeared at the head of 
 the stairs. Jan saw him look back to kiss his 
 hand to the queen, who was watching him. 
 
 " Adieu ! " he called ; " Adieu ! I shall 
 only go and come. I shall return instantly." 
 
 At the coach door he dismissed his captain 
 of the guard. " We need no one," he said. 
 
 His eyes feU upon Jan's face in the crowd. 
 Perhaps the youth's harassed expression 
 brought back to his mind that conversation 
 with the Duke of Sully. Henry smiled sadly 
 at Jan. Then he took his place in the coach. 
 
 Jan kept pace with it as it moved away. 
 By the king's side was one noble, and two 
 were opposite to him. Wings projected from 
 each door. In these sat two more gentlemen. 
 They came to the Croix du Tiroir. Jan, from 
 the roadway, heard some one ask his Majesty 
 where he wished to go.
 
 THE VICTIM OF RAVAILLAC 263 
 
 " To St. Innocent," he answered ; " near 
 the end of the Rue St. Honore." 
 
 The horses broke into a brisk trot. Jan 
 could not, by his utmost endeavor, keep up 
 with them. Presently, however, a heavy 
 wagon came in the way of the carriage. It 
 was obliged to go more slowly. Jan thus re- 
 covered his lost ground. They were passing 
 the iron-mongers' shops. They came to one 
 whose sign was a crowned heart, pierced 
 through with an arrow. From this spot a 
 man sprang out. The coach was between him 
 and Jan, who still caught a glimpse of the 
 burly form as it stepped up on the wheel. 
 
 Henry had his left arm raised. His hand 
 was on the shoulder of M. de Montbazon. 
 He was leaning against M. d'Epernon, who 
 sat beside him and to whom he was speak- 
 ing. The murderer struck twice at him with 
 the short knife he held. One blow glanced 
 away. The other went home. It pierced the 
 side of the king, who gave a cry, 
 
 " I am wounded." 
 
 There was a general exclamation. " What 
 is it, sire ? " 
 
 " Nothing," he answered. That was the 
 last word he spoke. 
 
 The coach came to a halt. Some of its
 
 264 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 occupants sprang out after the assassin. Jan 
 had already made one leap across the street. 
 He had the man tightly pinioned in his own 
 strong arms, but he was glad to turn over his 
 captive that he might follow the coach. M. 
 d'Epernon had thrown his cloak over the dy- 
 ing king. The carriage was directed towards 
 the Louvre. When the foot of the steps was 
 reached wine was poured down Henry's throat. 
 He opened his eyes, but closed them again. 
 So he was carried into the palace. 
 
 Rumors floated about the place of that 
 death-bed and its incidents. One of his coun- 
 cilors kid the cross of his order upon Henry's 
 mouth. While the physician stood by, weep- 
 ing, and the surgeons were about to examine 
 the wound, he gave a sigh, and all was over. 
 
 Those waiting outside heard that the Chan- 
 cellor Sillery ran into the presence of the 
 queen. She had been told of her husband's 
 wound. She exclaimed at sight of him, 
 
 " Alas, the king is dead ! " 
 
 To this Sillery replied, in a speech that has 
 become one of the bywords of history, 
 
 " Madame, the King of France never dies." 
 
 There was felt to be danger that this mur- 
 der might be part of a Spanish plot. Jan 
 had the forethought to hurry to Sully with-
 
 THE VICTIM OF EAVAILLAC 265 
 
 out delay. He found that old soldier stretched 
 upon a couch, but he sprang upright, his ill- 
 ness forgotten, at the awful news. 
 
 " Ring," he said to Jan, " and give my 
 orders for me. Forty horsemen at once, and 
 we will return to the Louvre." 
 
 Jan was among the band when, on their 
 return, they were met by the Duke of Guise. 
 He stopped Sully to tell him that Henry was 
 dead. 
 
 " Sir," was the answer, " if your duty you 
 vowed to the king is as strong in you as it 
 should be in all good Frenchmen, swear to 
 show the same allegiance to his son ; to shed 
 your blood to avenge this death." 
 
 "I do not need to be thus advised," said 
 Guise. " I am forcing others to take the 
 oath." 
 
 Sully was not yet certain of what was to 
 follow. He proceeded to shut himself into 
 the Bastile, collected provision from the mar- 
 ketmen, and sent word to his son-in-law to 
 bring six thousand Swiss to Paris. 
 
 Before this Jan had returned to his friends. 
 They were filled with consternation at what 
 he had to tell them. It was speedily shown 
 that the crown was in no peril. Ravaillac, 
 the assassin, had no accomplices* Homage
 
 266 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 was paid to King Louis Thirteenth, who was 
 only eight years old. Sully went to the 
 Louvre to see the child and his mother. He 
 was presented to his new sovereign by Marie, 
 under the title of one of his father's most 
 faithful servants. The following day she 
 went with her son to the Parliament, and was 
 confirmed in her regency. 
 
 So Henry Fourth died and Louis Thir- 
 teenth was king. Often after this our youths 
 saw the royal family, and noticed the pretty 
 face of the little Henrietta Maria. When 
 they were nearing middle age they sometimes 
 spoke together of those days in Paris, and of 
 the sweet little girl who seemed meant to trip 
 through life as gayly as she trod the rooms 
 of the Tuileries. Yet she was to shed many 
 tears in her time, and know poverty and dan- 
 ger and distress. She was the daughter and 
 the sister, the wife and the mother, of a king. 
 She was to live to wed the " Baby Charles " 
 of England, and troubles were to fall thickly 
 upon her there. All this was hidden in the 
 future. When it came to pass, Giles and Jan 
 were not only growing old and gray, but 
 among far other sights and surroundings than 
 those of beautiful France.
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE 
 
 " HERE is good news, Giles," said his friend 
 one morning. " A letter has arrived from 
 Captain Hudson. Our best hopes are real- 
 ized." 
 
 Giles looked up enchanted. " Is it another 
 voyage of discovery ? " 
 
 " So he says." 
 
 " And he is willing to take us with him ? " 
 
 " If we are willing to go." 
 
 There was such a protest when the letter 
 was read aloud to the Chapelain household 
 that the youths began to think they must 
 send Hudson a refusal of his offer. Mme. 
 Chapelain and the maidens were horrified at 
 the thought of an Arctic exploration, for 
 this was to be solely a search for the north- 
 west passage, and pointed out that it might 
 not end as well as the former one had done, 
 by speedy abandonment of the project in favor 
 of the quest along the lower coast. M. Chape- 
 lain, alone, stood by the young men.
 
 268 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 " They are old enough," he said. " Full- 
 grown fellows of seventeen. They want to 
 see the world. Hudson is a commander among 
 a thousand. Let them go, say I." 
 
 " I own that I am homesick for America," 
 was Giles's admission. " I long to see that 
 land again. I hope this journey will give me 
 another visit to its shores, whether we pass 
 beyond them to India, or not. And I do look 
 forward to the day when we all shall m#ke a 
 home there, on the banks of the river that 
 Hudson found." 
 
 The womankind of his party did not look 
 allured by this prospect, although Jan added 
 to it his own views for the future. "Will 
 you allow it to stand thus?" he proposed. 
 " May we go over to England, see Sir Robert 
 Carey, lay the case before him, and, if he ac- 
 cepts for Giles, be free to join the captain?" 
 
 This compromise was finally agreed upon. 
 Meg and Annemie were secretly proud of 
 their brothers' daring. They could neither 
 bear to stand in its way, nor utterly to give 
 them up to its promptings. A very sorrow- 
 ful farewell ensued. All were pretty well 
 assured that Giles's old guardian, after sur- 
 rendering him to the hands of Jan's uncle, 
 would not be likely to interfere in this present
 
 THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE 269 
 
 plan. The boys themselves understood what 
 risks they were taking. Yet neither of them, 
 could guess what was to happen, nor the length 
 of time that was to pass before they should 
 return. Nor could they know that they all 
 were never to meet on earth again. 
 
 One April day, at Portsmouth, the friends 
 were met by their old commander. He 
 greeted them cordially, taking them to his 
 lodgings, where they were introduced to his 
 wife and son. Hudson informed them that 
 there was a vexatious delay in shipping sailors 
 for the voyage. 
 
 " If ye care to linger in England for a sen- 
 night or so, 'tis no matter," he said. "I 
 should not have hastened ye from France, 
 had I any thought these mischances would 
 rise to hinder us in our start." 
 
 The boys assured him that they were glad 
 of the opportunity to make a little visit to 
 their old home. Accordingly, they set out 
 for London, after sending word to Sir Robert, 
 appointing a meeting. Both were so confi- 
 dent that the asking his permission was a 
 mere form, that they had not told Hudson of 
 their promise to their sisters. 
 
 It proved exactly as they had expected. 
 Carey was only interested in the expedition,
 
 270 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 envied them the experience, and bade them 
 Godspeed. He had a wife and babies to 
 show his ward, was happily settled down at 
 Richmond, and had only one discomfort in 
 life. He had married into a Puritan family, 
 and their complaints were as excessive against 
 the government as was Sir Robert's private 
 indignation when any one of his Roman 
 Catholic friends was deprived, because of his 
 religion, of one right and another. King 
 James was managing matters with no more 
 tact, to say the least, than that displayed in 
 the first days of his accession. 
 
 Sir Robert told them that George Earl was 
 in Scotland. " Prince Henry is another sort 
 than either of you," said the courtier, shak- 
 ing his head. " I like not his looks. He hath 
 grown tall, taller than Giles, but frail 
 and slender as a reed. England bases too 
 many hopes upon that fair lad. I doubt me 
 they may all come to naught." 
 
 After a walk to see Master Carr, and one 
 to the Grange, and a talk with the good old 
 friends who still occupied it as his tenants, 
 Giles was ready to start back to Portsmouth. 
 Jan hastened his departure. 
 
 " I shall not feel sure that we are to sail," 
 he said, " till we stand on deck and see the
 
 THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE 271 
 
 vanishing shore behind us. I feel as if we 
 were to be prevented ; there is a cloud hang- 
 ing over me." 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders as if to throw it 
 off. 
 
 " Odd ! " Giles laughed. " I never set 
 out upon anything that promised so well to 
 my fancy. I see everything through a golden 
 
 glass.' 
 
 Their captain did not share these rosy 
 hopes. He was full of trouble. There were 
 sailors in plenty at the port. Such men as he 
 desired, strong of character and of body, 
 those were not to be procured at will. 
 
 " I have shipped one old acquaintance," 
 Hudson said. " Do you remember Hessel ? " 
 
 " Yes," Giles answered, " I remember him 
 very well." 
 
 Before the month had passed they had 
 sailed away from land. At the moment that 
 they caught their last glimpse of England, 
 Giles reminded his friend of his foreboding. 
 
 " It has come to nothing, you see," he 
 added. " Although I grant you one's incli- 
 nation would not seek out such fellow-passen- 
 gers as ours. Were there ever such murderous 
 faces outside a prison ? " 
 
 " The Half Moon's crew were angels to
 
 272 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 them," Jan assented. " Hessel quite shines 
 beside the others. Yet I wish he were any- 
 where rather than here." 
 
 The ship bore steadily away to the north- 
 west. In June they approached the coast of 
 Greenland. As far as the eye could reach 
 fields office covered the ocean. The appear- 
 ance was of a multitude of white islands dot- 
 ted over the sea. There were broad lanes of 
 water zigzagging about, through which Hud- 
 son made a path. The way behind them was 
 closed at once. As far as the horizon nothing 
 could be seen save the floes, some of them 
 miles in extent. There was no landing upon 
 the eastern coast of Greenland. For leagues 
 before them the broken ice intervened. 
 
 Their course lay to the south of the island. 
 Here at the east they hoped to find a port. 
 Now icebergs came into sight. Because of 
 the ice-fields there was no keeping out of their 
 way. They were obliged to sail among them, 
 the tall, fantastically shaped peaks looming 
 over the masts, their surfaces chilling the air. 
 It was a fearful experience. Horror was 
 added to horror by rumbling sounds and re- 
 ports like those from a cannon, when a berg 
 broke into pieces and fell scattering into the 
 sea. Night and day the awful cold, the awful
 
 THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE 273 
 
 noises continued, while they slowly, carefully 
 picked their way through this frozen world. 
 
 One day a boat's crew put out, of course 
 by the captain's permission, but rather against 
 his better judgment, into one of the broader 
 water lanes, on a seal hunt. The fields here- 
 abouts were covered with these animals, some 
 of them sleeping upon the ice, some rolling 
 over and over like puppies at play, some pop- 
 ping their sleek heads above the water, then 
 diving out of sight. Jan went with the men. 
 Each was armed with a club. They scattered 
 in every direction, meaning to creep upon and 
 surprise the seals before they should take 
 fright. They sprang among a group of a 
 dozen beasts, hit right and left, knocking 
 them upon the nose, then dragged them by a 
 rope to the boat. Soon a great number had 
 been killed in this fashion. The boat was 
 obliged to make repeated trips to the ship. 
 It looked like useless slaughter, but the crew 
 understood how needful these skins would be 
 in their further Arctic journey. 
 
 After thus going to and fro a half dozen 
 times, the men returned for the last heap 
 piled upon the edge of a floating cake of 
 enormous size. Hudson warned them to be 
 particularly careful.
 
 274 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 " Keep your eyes on the ice," said he. " It 
 is moving slowly together. I fear you will 
 be caught." 
 
 From the ship they saw the men leap out 
 of the boat. Cracks began to run faster and 
 faster through the ice. The grinding of its 
 sides together, the sharp sound from the 
 splitting mountains, echoed like a bombard- 
 ment. The ship was hemmed in by enormous 
 hills. Between them the party on the field 
 were espied running back to their boat. A 
 seal suddenly peeped its head out of a crack 
 across which Jan was springing. He started, 
 tripped, and fell. The men before him looked 
 around at the noise. Those behind ran to 
 his assistance. Their loud reproaches for his 
 clumsiness, and the delay it caused, broke in 
 upon the voice of nature. The accident was 
 the means of saving their lives. The fore- 
 most had been ready to jump into the boat. 
 Now, before they could reach it, the contract- 
 ing ice took it between its jaws. There 
 was a hideous crushing movement. It was 
 smashed to atoms, like an eggshell underneath 
 a weight. 
 
 " To the ship ! to the ship ! " arose a call. 
 
 There was not an instant to be lost. The 
 hills and hummocks, bearing down upon the
 
 THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE 275 
 
 bark, not only threatened its destruction, but 
 made approach more uncertain with every 
 second. One by one the men, leaping, climb- 
 ing, sliding, came into view. They were 
 pulled on deck by their comrades there. 
 
 The ice split in front of them as swiftly as 
 it had closed in. A long lane opened out, 
 and dangerous as it was, bordered by toppling 
 bergs and advancing fields, it yet promised 
 present deliverance. They went forward with 
 the utmost caution. 
 
 Not long after this, land was seen upon the 
 east, a point of Greenland near where Hud- 
 son had heard of a settlement that existed for 
 several centuries, but was finally wiped out 
 by the plague. He was in hopes that some- 
 where in the neighborhood he might find na- 
 tives with whom they could trade, and who 
 could give them information in regard to their 
 route. They effected a landing by means of 
 the ice, that was here immovable, stretching 
 out from the coast for many yards. It was 
 a rather pleasant day, chilly but not cold, 
 with a brilliant sun shining on the rocks 
 and patches of green grass. Hudson directed 
 Giles and Jan to make a search along the 
 shore for Esquimaux. To the boys' surprise, 
 Hessel requested permission to accompany
 
 276 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 them. He walked along beside them for a 
 time without a word. Then he broke out : 
 
 " I 've looked for a chance to talk with 
 you, Valentine, ever since we left England. 
 I want to tell you that I have not forgotten 
 how you behaved to me on the Half Moon." 
 
 Giles looked puzzled ; partly because he 
 did not altogether understand the Dutchman, 
 and partly because his speech might be taken 
 in two ways. 
 
 " How did I behave ? " he asked. 
 
 " You kept your tongue between your teeth. 
 I suppose Verrooy knows all about it. I can 
 see that Hudson doesn't. You had us in 
 your power, and yet you never betrayed what 
 had happened when we left you alone on the 
 river." 
 
 " That 's all past and done with," said Giles, 
 embarrassed by the praise. 
 
 " No ; it is not done with. I may have a 
 chance some day to pay you for it. If the 
 opportunity comes, I shan't forget how you 
 stood by me then. Mark my words ! " 
 
 He spoke with solemnity. Giles quickly 
 turned the subject. 
 
 " There are huts ! " he exclaimed, hasten- 
 ing his steps. " Ah ! there are natives com- 
 ing to meet us. The captain was right."
 
 THE NOETHWEST PASSAGE 277 
 
 They broke into a run. 
 
 The dirty, forlorn hovels were constructed 
 of ice and snow. Bearskins hung at the tun- 
 nel entrance, and lay upon the floor inside. 
 The squalid people, wrapped in furs, who 
 thronged about them, carried them hospitably 
 forward, chattering ceaselessly in a language 
 of which none of them could understand a 
 word. 
 
 " It is a warm welcome, at all events," Jan 
 observed. " We can make that out from 
 their gestures and grins. They want us to 
 visit them." 
 
 One man was a sort of leader. He secured 
 all three for his prize, and walked them into 
 his wretched home. An old woman was chew- 
 ing strips of skin, which, her husband showed 
 his guests, were thus rendered soft and pliable, 
 and made into articles of clothing. 
 
 Two lamps burned dimly in the close room. 
 They were of soapstone, scooped out, lined 
 thickly with dried and powdered moss, and 
 half filled with oil. Over these were hung 
 two pots, in which wild duck was stewing. 
 It would have been a savory odor, had it not 
 mingled with the offensive smells of the filthy 
 spot. 
 
 The sailors were accustomed to making the
 
 278 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 best of things, but they were likewise used to 
 the exquisite cleanliness of shipboard. 
 
 " Let us take the man back with us to 
 Hudson," Hessel suggested. " I would rather 
 have him for guest than host." And he 
 seized the Esquimau by the arm.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 AN ARCTIC WINTER 
 
 THE native was very willing to accompany 
 them. Several of his friends, who were not 
 included in the invitation, also attached them- 
 selves to the party. Hudson was delighted 
 with the prize his explorers brought back 
 with them. 
 
 He found that there was little progress to 
 be made between them by signs. He could 
 not understand the man, nor could he be sure 
 that the man understood him. 
 
 " We shall have to depend upon making 
 our discoveries for ourselves," he finally an- 
 nounced. " If this fellow knows anything of 
 a passage to the East, we shall not find out 
 from him. I had hoped that some words of 
 a European language something that we 
 could comprehend might have been left 
 from the traditions of the old Danish colony." 
 
 Harry Hudson was not old enough to share 
 fully in his father's disappointment. He took 
 the most unfeigned pleasure in the stranger's
 
 280 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 appearance, and was good-naturedly shown the 
 breeches and boots of bearskin, the under- 
 clothing of birds' skin, the coat and hood of 
 fox, the seal mittens and stockings. While 
 he was examining and exclaiming in childish 
 curiosity, his elders watched Hudson's ex- 
 pressive face. 
 
 " Another blow, where he has had so 
 many ! " thought Jan. 
 
 They sent away the Esquimau with some 
 trifling trinkets that made him grunt for joy. 
 Without more delay, the order was issued to 
 put out again to sea. 
 
 Some days followed, of the life that was 
 beginning to grow monotonous even in its 
 endless hazards. At a snail's pace they stole 
 among towering hills and level patches of 
 glistening ice. The captain kept a man con- 
 stantly in the rudely constructed crow's-nest 
 aloft. It was muttered among the crew that 
 some sign of the long-expected passage must 
 soon come, or significantly it would be 
 too late. 
 
 " There is only one end to such an unequal 
 fight between Man and the Frost," said Hessel 
 to Jan. "And some day we shall see that 
 end." 
 
 " Well, we all sailed in this expedition with
 
 AN ARCTIC WINTER 281 
 
 our eyes wide open," was Jan's answer. 
 " We understood our leader's plans, and what 
 they involved. He has not deceived us." 
 
 Hessel shot a sidelong sly glance at him. 
 He opened his lips, as if to say something 
 more, but closed them quickly and went 
 away. 
 
 These three from the old Half Moon, with 
 the Half Moon's commander, all recalled that 
 day when the river far to the south was 
 sighted ; for, on a bright July morning, there 
 was the same hail from the lookout : 
 
 " Water on the larboard side ! " 
 
 It was not long before they ah 1 could see 
 it : a plain, broad highway, although it was 
 fringed with ice. Henry Hudson clasped his 
 hands in thanksgiving. His eyes swept the 
 vast horizon to a wide stretch of sea. Surely 
 this was the goal of his fondest dreams, 
 another path to the Indies. It grew in like- 
 lihood with each hour, while they advanced 
 through the strait into the bay, both of which 
 were to be called in coming years by his 
 name, as was the river he had found to the 
 south. These Arctic waters were to prove 
 as deceptive as the other. 
 
 In these warm months they sailed with 
 comparative freedom across the great gulf,
 
 282 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 their certainty becoming more assured, when 
 its size was seen, that it was the arm of the 
 sea to lead them through the land. 
 
 Alas ! they came finally to its borders. 
 They put about ; north and south they flew, 
 like an animal in a trap trying all its con- 
 fines. Each rocky wall proclaimed, " No 
 thoroughfare." 
 
 The short summer was going in the search. 
 The strait had led them through its icy gates, 
 but they were now closed. It was idle to 
 look for egress before another year. 
 
 " We must winter here in the north," an- 
 nounced the captain. " Our search can be 
 prosecuted in the spring." 
 
 The prospect was not bright for any one. 
 The men took it very ill. They said among 
 themselves that the entire voyage had been 
 a failure through Hudson's bungling. On 
 all occasions Giles and Jan stood up for their 
 leader. Had it not been for Hessel's rough 
 championship, they might have fared badly 
 among the crew. The most apparent effect 
 of frequent quarrels on the subject of their 
 misfortunes was that the youths kept more 
 and more with Harry and his father, and left 
 the others to themselves. 
 
 For the extremest cold the ship was aban-
 
 AN AECTIC WINTER 283 
 
 doned, it being the captain's opinion that 
 they would be safer on land than on the ves- 
 sel, when the ice closed in around it. They 
 found a peculiarly fortunate situation for 
 their temporary home. At the foot of a 
 steep hill on a small island there were massed 
 together several piles of rock, split from the 
 cliff and lying upon the stony beach. Two of 
 these pieces had fallen so as to form a very 
 crude sort of tent some twenty feet across 
 the bottom, and rising to that height at the 
 top. Heaps of stone lay against this at the 
 back. In front, it would be no difficult task 
 to lay a low tunnel entrance for protection 
 and warmth. The rocks could be mortared 
 together with moss and mud. A chimney 
 could be raised by all the hands they had at 
 leisure, during the long daylight of an Arctic 
 summer. 
 
 The glare of the sunshine on snow was 
 wearisome ; the complaining men brought it 
 forward for another grievance. Yet their 
 groans were redoubled when darkness fell. 
 There were forerunners, first, of the winter. 
 The birds began to leave them, the grass and 
 flowers died, ice formed upon the water, snow 
 squalls were common, the wind howled piti- 
 lessly, and the days grew shorter.
 
 284 IN TUE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 The men made themselves clothing of the 
 sealskins, and from the pelt of an occasional 
 fox which they shot. So far no one had seen 
 a bear. Birds were often caught. They 
 used the soft skin, covered with down, for 
 hoods. 
 
 Their supply of food was readily procured. 
 The water and land fowl were tame ; they 
 shot them in vast quantities, or hunted their 
 nests for eggs. Hudson had supplied his 
 vessel with ammunition and with provision, 
 having this emergency in view. Perhaps, if 
 the men had been in positive danger, they 
 might have clung to their chief in the devo- 
 tion that such an event excites. They had 
 nothing worse than discomfort to bear, and 
 they did not bear it well. Unfortunately, the 
 captain set all their wrath down to mariners' 
 temper, and was not on his guard against it. 
 
 They moved into their land quarters, carry- 
 ing their valuable possessions from the ship. 
 The autumn twilight fell. Then followed 
 darkness, utter and black. It was night, be- 
 yond any night they had ever known. It 
 would have been unbearable, they thought, 
 were it not that the white covering of the 
 snow served to give a dim, reflected light by 
 which they could move about. Even under
 
 AN ARCTIC WINTER 285 
 
 these conditions they were at a disadvantage ; 
 but they were not entirely prisoners. 
 
 Giles and Jan were accustomed to going 
 out upon the ice or along the shore on long 
 walks. This was partly for exercise and 
 from restlessness, partly to get out from their 
 crowded room and the companionship of the 
 crew, partly that they might enjoy each other's 
 society. Harry often begged to accompany 
 them. They could not refuse, although his 
 presence prevented some consultations they 
 would have liked to hold. 
 
 For things were not going well in the 
 camp. The men got together in groups to 
 converse in scowling whispers. They gave a 
 sullen obedience to their captain's commands. 
 They always stopped talking when he or his 
 son or either of the youths approached. 
 
 " Suppose I take Hessel away, on some 
 pretext," Giles suggested, " and try to find 
 out what they are about." 
 
 He soon discovered an excuse. Going out 
 for a can of water, he saw, as he stooped to 
 break through the ice, a track upon the snow 
 that drew his closer attention. It was differ- 
 ently marked from the light pat of a fox. It 
 looked a little like the imprint of a child's 
 naked foot. Giles dashed back to the inclo-
 
 286 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 sure. He crept through the entrance, thrust 
 back the blankets that hung across the rocky 
 doorway, and touched Jan's prostrate form. 
 
 " Do you want to go bear-hunting ? " he 
 whispered. 
 
 Light as had been his steps and low as was 
 his salutation, a half dozen shaggy heads 
 raised themselves from their slumber-bags, 
 and glared at him through the gloom. Hessel 
 was one of the awakened men. Jan sat up 
 with a joyful start. He sank back, remember- 
 ing their last conversation, when he caught 
 the Dutchman's glittering eyes. 
 
 " Take Hessel," said he. " I cut my hand 
 yesterday, you remember. I could not hold 
 a musket." 
 
 Giles was scarcely less disappointed than 
 his friend. What a memory it would be, for 
 the remainder of their lives, if they could kill 
 their first bear together ! Yet he saw what 
 Jan's thoughtfulness had grasped at once : 
 this was the opportunity, when .opportunities 
 were rare, for an appeal to their only ally 
 among the disaffected men. 
 
 Hessel was pleased to go, and was ready in 
 a twinkling. They said nothing of their 
 errand to the others, stealing out by them- 
 selves into the dark.
 
 AN ARCTIC WINTER 287 
 
 Giles led his companion to the track on the 
 snow. They followed it along the broken 
 ice on the shore to the storehouse the crew 
 had built, like a snow fort, against the rocks. 
 A shout of dismay pealed out from them 
 both. It resounded in the camp. The men 
 came pouring out of their retreat. 
 
 " What is wrong? " called Hudson. 
 
 Giles pointed in silence. He could not 
 find speech for the catastrophe. The captain 
 hurried up, the men following. The extent 
 of their disaster broke in upon them all at 
 once. 
 
 Not one bear, but several had been there 
 while they slept. 
 
 There were confused tracks wandering- 
 
 O 
 
 about the spot. Their precious hoards had 
 been dragged out from their hiding-place. 
 Blocks of snow were pitched aside. Stones 
 were rolled hither and thither. Skins were 
 torn away. The food that had been saved 
 to secure their future was eaten, trodden 
 underfoot, mangled, destroyed. There was 
 not enough left for a single day's rations for 
 all those hungry men. 
 
 There was no more thought of a secret 
 
 O 
 
 conference between Giles and Hessel. The 
 crew flew to the tent for their weapons.
 
 288 IN TIIE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 Giles and Jan, together after all, ran forward 
 with Hudson and the Dutchman. They were 
 on the track of two bears. They came to 
 an ice hillock, where the animals separated. 
 Hudson and Hessel went to the right. Giles 
 and his crippled comrade, the latter regard- 
 less of his wound, took the other direction. 
 
 " Hist ! there it is," said Jan. 
 
 " There are three ! " was the quick answer. 
 
 One was a cub ; one was half grown ; the 
 third was an immense fellow, weighing fully 
 one thousand pounds. They were worrying 
 the carcass of a fox that had been shot and 
 skinned the day before. 
 
 The boys went across the ice on tiptoe, 
 Jan holding his long knife in his maimed 
 hand. Giles aimed his musket at the largest 
 beast. Its head was turned away; its nose 
 was in the snow against the fox. Jan was 
 slightly in advance. The great bear cocked 
 its ears, wheeled clumsily about, and was on 
 him in another moment. 
 
 How it happened neither of them could 
 ever tell. Jan threw himself forward, plun- 
 ging the dirk into its neck, behind the lower 
 jaw. The blood gushed out in torrents. The 
 bear gave a roar that shook the rocks. The 
 other animals scrambled up, only to follow
 
 AN ARCTIC WINTER 289 
 
 their leader as it ambled away over the snow. 
 The boys kept hard upon them. 
 
 The stream of blood guided where it was 
 impossible to take such strides as their game. 
 The cub fell behind. Giles shot it; food had 
 become a matter of importance. He hurried 
 on, following the trail among the hillocks, 
 eager to be in at the death, or at least to gain 
 some glory by a blow at the larger young 
 one. 
 
 A cry aroused him from these thoughts. 
 It was Jan's voice. He was calling aloud for 
 help.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 MUTINY 
 
 GILES'S feet felt clogged with lead, yet he 
 ran over the uneven ice with incredible speed, 
 led by the trail of blood no less than by Jan's 
 shouts. The track of the bear became more 
 and more crooked. He could see how it was 
 wavering. He was not surprised to find it 
 presently, lying upon its side, dead. Jan was 
 not here, so Giles sped on. 
 
 He came in sight of his friend, who had 
 rashly attacked the third bear. His lame 
 hand had given out. He had wounded the 
 infuriated animal, and a fierce combat was 
 going on. Jan was in sore straits. 
 
 He had been thrown on his back. One 
 great paw, planted upon his breast, was crush- 
 ing out his life. The beast's hot breath blew 
 in his face. He could see the small angry 
 eyes, glowing like coals of fire, close to his 
 own. 
 
 The difficulty was to harm the bear without 
 also injuring the boy. Giles surveyed the
 
 MUTINY 291 
 
 two in deep perplexity, feeling that lie must 
 make an instantaneous decision. He lifted 
 the musket he happily had loaded beside the 
 cub he shot. A sharp report rang out through 
 the foggy air. The puff of smoke cleared 
 away. Giles had chosen well. The bear was 
 hit in the back, a broad target presented to 
 him while the struggle between man and beast 
 was waging. It was only a flesh wound, 
 though it served its purpose. It attracted 
 Bruin's attention, and turned it upon this 
 new adversary. 
 
 Jan scrambled to his feet. He picked up 
 his knife where it had fallen in the melee. 
 He sped nimbly towards Giles, putting their 
 foe between them. Giles rapidly reloaded. 
 He shot once more, and missed. 
 
 " Your knife ! your knife ! " screamed Jan, 
 as the brute, head down and growling sav- 
 agely, plunged awkwardly forward. 
 
 Giles pulled out the dirk. He endeavored 
 to imitate his companion's successful blow. 
 His mind was as clear as the senses often be- 
 come in such seasons of supreme peril. 
 
 " Behind the lower jaw and below the ear," 
 he reflected. " That was Jan's stroke, and it 
 was fatal." 
 
 He made a swift pass at the spot. What
 
 292 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 Jan had done by a mere chance blow he could 
 not deliberately accomplish. He inflicted a 
 deep flesh wound, without striking the artery. 
 One of those paws struck him and knocked 
 him flat upon the snow. Jan fell on the 
 bear. His knife flashed back and forth 
 through the air. His lithe, slender figure 
 moved like a shadow. Giles's sturdier bulk 
 had been overthrown, but Jan was not to be 
 again surprised, as he had been when the bear 
 first turned on him. He kept out of range 
 of those flying paws, the open scarlet mouth, 
 the wicked long white teeth. 
 
 By the time his breath came shorter, his 
 blows grew feebler, Giles was up again. 
 
 " Load and fire ! " panted the young Dutch- 
 man. " I can keep him busy a mo- 
 ment more." 
 
 Only a moment, yet it sufficed. Another 
 loud report echoed from the hills. Bruin was 
 weakened by loss of blood and by the energy 
 of these strange antagonists. Giles's shot 
 took effect. The heavy bulk trembled, and 
 lurched from one side to the other. It fell 
 prone upon the snow. A quiver ran through 
 the body. Then all was still. 
 
 The boys dragged this mass of flesh and 
 fur both needed by their party to the
 
 MUTINY 293 
 
 place where Jan's victim was found. Here 
 they met Hudson and Hessel. They had 
 been unsuccessful. The tracks they followed 
 doubled, leading them around to the store- 
 house. Evidently there were but three bears 
 in the first place. Jan and Giles had shot 
 them all. 
 
 The cub was secured, and the enormous 
 white bear was skinned and cut into pieces 
 where it lay. There was food for the present 
 provided in plenty, even for twenty-five men. 
 That number must look for more game, if 
 they were not to know before long what short 
 rations meant. 
 
 No bears appeared after this for several 
 weeks. Then one was killed by a man on 
 the watch. Occasionally some one shot a fox. 
 Ammunition was running short, now that they 
 were forced to depend entirely for food on 
 what they hunted. One day Giles and Harry 
 were strolling about on the ice, when the lat- 
 ter thrust one foot into a large opening made 
 by some animal. It was covered by a snow 
 crust, so that neither had noticed the weak 
 spot in that uncertain . light. 
 
 " It is a seal-hole," Giles said, examining 
 it more closely. " Harry, look about thee. 
 Mayhap we shall find others. If seal are
 
 294 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 plentiful, we shall not go an hungered, after 
 all." 
 
 Harry privately thought that seal meat 
 would be no delicacy. However, he was 
 eager for the sport. " I will do whate'er 
 you say, Master Valentine," he promised. 
 
 Giles reflected for an instant. " Run to 
 the camp and bring me two of the Esqui- 
 mau's spears," he said, " with a few fish- 
 lines as well." 
 
 At last some part of their barter with the 
 man in the Greenland village was to prove of 
 use. Harry was back again in an instant. 
 After considerable trouble, Giles fastened the 
 spears to one line. Then they waited beside 
 an air-hole for a seal to appear. 
 
 It was not long before they heard a puff ; 
 a little shower of spray flew up through a tiny 
 crevice in the crust. Giles plunged his spear 
 like a flash. It hit the seal's neck and drove 
 down into the flesh. 
 
 Away went the seal. The spear went with 
 him. The line played out ; the spear at its 
 other end flew wildly about the ice ; when 
 it reached the hole it lodged across it, and, 
 though jerked to and fro, could go no farther. 
 The seal pulled and strained to no avail. By 
 and by its head appeared at another hole near
 
 MUTINY 295 
 
 at hand. The line was loosened. The boys 
 began to wind it around the spear they held. 
 Whenever the entrapped animal came to the 
 surface to breathe, they were on the watch 
 for it. They drew in more and more of the 
 line, until they had the seal secure in a cer- 
 tain hole. Then the blows Giles aimed with 
 his knife took effect. At last they had cap- 
 tured their prize. 
 
 Skinning the beast was a tedious and dis- 
 agreeable piece of work that was divided 
 among the men. The blubber was removed, 
 and stored away for use in lighting and heat- 
 ing the tent. The meat was cut into strips, 
 and also stored, with infinite precautions 
 nowadays, nor did Harry disdain a hot seal 
 steak. 
 
 All this time neither Giles nor Jan had 
 found opportunity for a talk with Hessel. 
 It was obvious that the man avoided them. 
 It was no less apparent to the friends that 
 something was amiss among the men. 
 
 Light began to dawn. At first there was 
 a little flash at midday. It grew more and 
 more to the glow of an early dawn. Then, 
 the following day, the sun appeared a little 
 higher above the horizon, and a little higher 
 still. The long day had begun. The snow
 
 296 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 melted. Streams rushed down the cliffs to 
 the bay. The ice became soft and cracked, 
 and the winds carried it about in floes and 
 hills that finally drifted out to sea. 
 
 Grass grew green on the slopes. Delicate 
 small plants bloomed into lovely life. Birds 
 came back. There were ducks and geese and 
 gulls for food. The seal basked on the rocks 
 in the sunshine. They spied walruses and 
 narwhals. A white bear crossed the ice one 
 day, but too far away for an attempt at cap- 
 ture. 
 
 Hudson began his preparations for depar- 
 ture. Throughout the long winter he had 
 employed his leisure hours by many schemes. 
 A terrible obstacle faced him. The wanton 
 destruction of their storehouse in that one 
 night long ago had ruined his provisions. 
 He set the men to salting and jerking meat, 
 but it was absurd to think of laying in suffi- 
 cient to last so large a number throughout a 
 further extended voyage. Many a time he 
 bitterly reproached himself that he had re- 
 moved the stock from the ship. But it had 
 not been at all certain that the vessel, locked 
 in the ice, would ride out the winter. It had 
 appeared to be the part of prudence to take 
 everything necessary with them to land.
 
 MUTINY 297 
 
 The crew, busily employed in the bright 
 sunshine, kept their heads together, muttering 
 what, their lowering faces hinted, boded no 
 good to some one. At last the storm broke. 
 
 Hudson called all hands together on board 
 the ship. A boat was plying back and forth 
 between it and the shore, where an impromptu 
 kitchen was built. Every one hastened to 
 the deck. Their leader's views were shrewdly 
 surmised, yet he had taken no one into his 
 confidence. He looked into a semicircle of 
 scowling countenances. Jan and Giles were 
 the only two who responded cheerfully to the 
 invitation for a conference. Harry stood be- 
 side his father, whose hand rested upon the 
 boy's shoulder. 
 
 " You know already, men," the captain be- 
 gan in Dutch, " why we have come to this 
 land of desolation ; what we hope to find be- 
 fore we go back to our homes. Every other 
 consideration must give way to the one of 
 accomplishing our purpose. Now, how may 
 we set about that further exploration ? We 
 were provided with what, by strict economy, 
 might have sufficed for food. Since we have 
 lost that supply, we are laying in stores that 
 will keep a dozen men, perhaps, from starva- 
 tion for "
 
 298 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 He was interrupted by a murmur that rose 
 among the men, and swelled into a roar of 
 protest. 
 
 " A dozen men ? " repeated Hessel. 
 
 Hudson saw his mistake. He should have 
 introduced his scheme by degrees, and have 
 left the settling of its details to those chiefly 
 concerned. Jan, also, grasped the situation. 
 He stepped forward. 
 
 " Captain Hudson," he began in his clear, 
 ringing voice, " I will be the first to volun- 
 teer. I will stay behind." 
 
 Giles had been listening, with bent brows, 
 to what was half unintelligible to him in the 
 foreign tongue. He did not know at all what 
 Jan meant. He had no idea to what he 
 pledged himself. But he felt certain that 
 his friend's agreement was right and fair. 
 Wherever Jan went he should follow. He 
 strode to the side of the young Dutchman. 
 
 " And so will I," he said. 
 
 Hudson glanced at the others. Not one 
 moved. Hessel growled protestingly to the 
 lads : 
 
 " What will become of you if you do re- 
 main here ? Are you contented never to 
 quit this spot ? " 
 
 " Not at all," said Jan loudly. He assumed
 
 MUTINY 299 
 
 a confidence he did not feel. "We shall 
 make our way southward overland. We shall 
 not be unarmed entirely." For he perceived 
 that the rest were thinking, as he was then, of 
 the scanty ammunition. " There are whalers 
 along the coast. There are settlements of the 
 French " 
 
 " And the Spanish," interrupted some one, 
 with a hoarse laugh. 
 
 " Yes, and the Spanish, thousands of miles 
 away. Even though we fall in with no white 
 men, we deserve to die if we cannot find a 
 living in that fertile land that Hessel, at least, 
 remembers, no less than Valentine and I. We 
 deserve to die," his tones pealed out like a 
 trumpet, " if we are not willing to do this 
 for our captain, and for the common good." 
 
 The men looked doggedly at one another, 
 and then towards him. Hessel's features 
 worked nervously. 
 
 " I do remember that land," he said mean- 
 ingly, catching the expression of Jan's speak- 
 ing eyes. " I would be willing to cast in my 
 lot with you two younkers, but the thing is 
 impossible ! A dozen men could not live in 
 such a march without provisions, nor the 
 means of finding more. We have been 
 brought thus far by our commander. I, for
 
 300 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 one, say that it is his duty to get us out of 
 the fix he has got us into." 
 
 " How shall he do it ? " asked Jan. 
 
 Hessel was their appointed spokesman. No 
 one else said a word. He looked rather taken 
 aback by Jan's blunt query. It was easier to 
 find fault with others' arrangements than to 
 make them for one's self. 
 
 Hudson walked towards them. His head 
 was held haughtily aloft. Such plain speech, 
 such criticism of his methods, such symptoms 
 of insubordination, were abhorrent to him. 
 He had deemed it best to let them talk 
 the thing out freely. He thought now that 
 enough had been said. 
 
 " I regret," he began scornfully, " that my 
 views do not chime in with those of my crew. 
 Let it be understood that, whether it is your 
 will or no, twelve of us leave this place by 
 ship. Thirteen take the landward path. 
 Twelve go to the east, if the Lord will. 
 Thirteen are sent and God speed them 
 back to their homes. And now to your 
 work." 
 
 He gave a further rapid order in regard to 
 the labors in which they were all engaged. 
 His manner was that of finally closing the 
 matter. There was to be no appeal.
 
 MUTINY 301 
 
 Not a man stirred. 
 
 Hudson raised his eyebrows. A sneer 
 crossed his lips. He repeated his order. 
 
 Sixteen men stepped quietly out from the 
 semicircle. Four, moving like parts of a ma- 
 chine, went to their appointed places. Four 
 to one, they seized Hudson, his son, and 
 Giles and Jan. They were prisoners, gagged 
 and bound. 
 
 The crew had mutinied. Their long-brood- 
 ing grievance was ready for instant action, 
 and the action had been taken.
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 ADRIFT WITH HUDSON 
 
 THE prisoners were separated and conveyed 
 to different parts of the ship. It was impos- 
 sible for them to confer together. They 
 could not devise any concerted scheme for es- 
 cape or opposition. 
 
 It was late in the day, counting by hours, 
 not by sunshine. The men went in squads to 
 their dinner on land, leaving always a full 
 contingent to watch the vessel. Under less 
 serious circumstances, Giles and Jan would 
 have been flattered by the fear manifested 
 that they might effect something, two 
 against twenty-one. Food and water were 
 brought to them; the bandages across their 
 mouths were removed, and each was asked if 
 he would change his mind, give in to the will 
 of the majority, and abide by its decrees. 
 
 No one inquired for little Harry's opinion. 
 His father and the two youths made a firm 
 refusal. 
 
 When bedtime came, the same precautions
 
 ADRIFT WITH HUDSON 303 
 
 were adopted. Ten men slept, and ten watched 
 the ship. One patrolled the beach as usual, 
 watching their stores of food. 
 
 " Valentine ! " whispered a voice close to 
 Giles's ear. " Valentine, are you awake ? " 
 
 Giles tried to nod his head. The gag was 
 taken from his mouth. Hessel sat down beside 
 him. The other men were detailed, as in 
 this instance, two to a man. Hessel's compan- 
 ion paced back and forth several yards away. 
 
 " I want to reason with you," said the 
 Dutchman. " You see how this matter is 
 going. You can't do the captain any good." 
 
 " What is to become of him ? " 
 
 " He and his son will be set adrift in the 
 long boat." 
 
 Giles shuddered. " And Verrooy and I ? " 
 
 " You go with us, or with them." 
 
 " You keep to the ship, I suppose ? " 
 
 Yes." 
 
 Giles rolled over on his side. He could 
 not think of the Dutch equivalent, so he mur- 
 mured sleepily, " Bon voyage ! " 
 
 " Do you mean that you hold to Hudson ? " 
 
 " I mean," he raised himself on his el- 
 bow to explain, " that I ship with a captain 
 for the entire voyage. I shall go in the 
 boat."
 
 304 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 Hessel's brown cheek grew red under the 
 taunt. " What if the captain would leave 
 you behind ? " 
 
 " It is he, not I, that orders it. My part 
 of the contract is performed." 
 
 The Dutchman moved uneasily. " That is 
 what Verrooy said." 
 
 " Aha ! you have been experimenting with 
 Jan ? " 
 
 " Yes. He is as obstinate as yourself." 
 
 " So I supposed," said Giles calmly, and lay 
 down again. 
 
 Hessel lifted the bandage. He stooped 
 over the boy, holding the strip in his hand. 
 " You know what Hudson's fate will be ? " 
 
 " I know : starvation and torture from 
 thirst, slow death." 
 
 " And you choose it ? " 
 
 Giles's German was a shade worse than his 
 Dutch. However, he looked steadily into 
 Hessel's remorseful face and quoted Martin 
 Luther's declaration : 
 
 " Here I stand. I can do nothing else. 
 God help me ! " 
 
 Hessel moved away. 
 
 Another meal was brought to them. They 
 were lifted in the arms of the guard and car- 
 ried to the vessel's rail. The four met for
 
 ADRIFT WITH HUDSON 
 
 the first time since their arrest. They glanced 
 manfully at one another. Even Harry wore a 
 courageous look. His father was defiant and 
 indignant, but his high demeanor vanished at 
 sight of his champions. They were ungagged 
 and unbound. Hudson found occasion to say 
 to Jan, who stood beside him : 
 
 " Lad, thou shalt not be sacrificed, too ! 
 Save thyself." 
 
 " Nay, captain," was the serene answer. 
 " Methinks Giles and I are agreed." 
 
 " There may be a middle course." 
 
 Hudson understood what fate was prepared 
 for him. He saw the boat, its stock of dried 
 fish and its can of water, ready for its occu- 
 pants. He bore his doom like a hero, although 
 he had stooped to ask mercy for his son. It 
 was refused, and yet he tried once more for 
 these boys. 
 
 " Set Verrooy and Valentine ashore," he 
 pleaded aside with Hessel. " Give them some 
 chance for their lives. If they will not ship 
 with you, surely they need not be set adrift 
 with me." 
 
 Hessel looked ten years older in the past 
 twenty-four hours. 
 
 " I would give my right hand," he an- 
 swered, " to save Giles Valentine. I have
 
 306 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 implored the rest to let them wander south if 
 they could ; they might reach some bark or 
 a settlement, as Verrooy said. But the others 
 are afraid of that. They want no tales told 
 of what happens here. It must be either the 
 ship or the boat for them. There is no 
 alternative." 
 
 He spoke loud enough for the boys to hear. 
 He looked urgently into their faces. Giles 
 exchanged one glance with his friend. 
 
 " It is the boat," they said in a breath. 
 
 The crew approached the little group. One 
 by one they were conducted into their frail 
 refuge. Hudson seated himself in the stern. 
 Harry clambered into the bow. Giles and 
 Jan picked up their oars. From their manner 
 one might have thought they were departing 
 for a pleasure trip. The rope was cast off. 
 They were left to themselves. 
 
 Hudson steered to the northeast. It made 
 small difference in which direction they went, 
 he said. The end was inevitable. Yet me- 
 chanically the old captain strove still towards 
 the goal of his ambition, the strait that 
 should bear him to the open sea, the ocean 
 which carried on its breast the secret of 
 another road to Asia. 
 
 The boys plied their oars only to keep the
 
 ADRIFT WITH HUDSON 307 
 
 keel steady. There was no need for exertion. 
 They would require all their strength. Four 
 muskets, a few shot and a little powder lay 
 rolled in a blanket in the bottom of the boat. 
 Hudson surveyed their provision, portioning 
 it out. It might last a fortnight. 
 
 " Lads," his voice was animated, " sup- 
 pose we try the strait in earnest ? We might 
 run across a ship outside. Which shall it be ? 
 Here we have a shadow of a chance of getting 
 to land ; or there are these innumerable is- 
 lands, if we are minded to cast ourselves away 
 on one of them. On the sea we may have an 
 opportunity of sighting a sail. Choose ! " 
 
 " Do you vote for the ocean ? " asked Giles. 
 
 " Aye. I should risk it for myself and my 
 boy." 
 
 " I take the risk for myself," said Jan, after 
 a little reflection. " The landing, could we 
 make it, would mayhap only draw out our 
 sufferings. What think' st thou, Giles ? " 
 
 " The ocean, say I." 
 
 They kept on their course towards the 
 strait. They ate and drank, told Harry tales 
 to amuse him, wrapped the boy in his father's 
 cloak, and saw him sleeping peacefully as if 
 he were at home, with his head against Hud- 
 son's knee.
 
 308 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 They slept, themselves, from sheer exhaus- 
 tion, when they were utterly worn out. They 
 took turns at the oar. As the long hours went 
 by, the necessity for husbanding their strength 
 became more apparent. They watched and 
 worked, and worked and watched. Harry 
 demanded his share of the labor and respon- 
 sibility. Hudson said that they could trust 
 him absolutely. The fatal close to this haz- 
 ardous journey came from the father's faith 
 in his child. 
 
 He and his son were rowing the boat. 
 Giles and Jan were asleep. The captain was 
 giving out under the protracted strain. He 
 closed his eyelids over the motion that had 
 become a matter of habit. A wild cry from 
 the boy roused him. The sleepers started 
 up. 
 
 Harry's right arm was rigid, he was pale 
 as death. His hand pointed towards the 
 north. They were in the strait, where, even 
 at midsummer, ice is a constant menace to 
 navigation. A berg was bearing down upon 
 them. They were drifting directly in its 
 path. 
 
 Giles tore the oars from the boy's lax fingers. 
 It was hopeless to flee from the monster, and 
 yet action any action was preferable to
 
 ADRIFT WITH HUDSON 309 
 
 sitting still under its approach. Hudson bent 
 to the task. The little craft flew over the 
 water. Jan took the rudder, directing their 
 movements. Harry crawled to the bow, where 
 he crouched, calling hysterically from time to 
 time : 
 
 " Here it comes. It is on top of us. No ! 
 Yes ! We are doomed ! " 
 
 It was like the repetition of a silly song. 
 Jan fastened his eyes on the object of their 
 terror, watching the crumbling pieces that 
 fell from it with loud reports into the sea. 
 So they rode on the waves for a time that, 
 measured by seconds, was short, but, from the 
 beating of their frightened hearts, seemed to 
 stretch out into eternity. 
 
 A sound rent the air that was like the bel- 
 lowing of a hundred cannon. The boat was 
 lifted from the water, as if a volcano had 
 burst forth beneath the sea. One side of the 
 iceberg, thousands of tons in weight, had split 
 from the rest and dropped into the ocean. 
 They were carried up it seemed to the very 
 sky. They fell, boat and men, back into the 
 gulfing waves. 
 
 A tremendous sea was raised. White crests, 
 set on green slopes of water, tore after the 
 rushing mountain in its progress. The vessel
 
 310 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 was smashed, between water and ice, into in- 
 finitesimal fragments, which were hurled to 
 the winds and away. 
 
 Giles knew nothing more for a time after 
 that instant when he was propelled, like a 
 shot from a gun, out into the air. He came 
 to his senses with a feeling of intense, creep- 
 ing cold; not the drowsiness that comes from 
 freezing, but the sharp ache that precedes it. 
 He recovered his wits with a shudder. He 
 was lying upon a floe of ice. The tumult 
 was subsiding, yet the violence of the waves 
 was still such that the ice about him was 
 rocked by its force. He heard ominous cracks 
 in all directions. He sprang upright, peering 
 about him for a sight of the others. Nothing 
 was to be seen but water, ice, and sky. 
 
 He looked for a safer foothold. Another 
 floating expanse was unbroken and promised 
 comparative security. He could see the rem- 
 nants of the berg plunging about in the dis- 
 tance, its balance disturbed by the crash. 
 Masses broke from its sides : the roar of their 
 fall was carried across the waves. A mist 
 shrouded the awful view. Giles listened and 
 looked, bent double in his abstracted search 
 for sign of his comrades. 
 
 What was that to the south ?
 
 ADRIFT WITH HUDSON 311 
 
 He sprang over one fragment of ice to an- 
 other, gazing back and forth, first at that 
 uncertain southern line that he dared not 
 name, even to himself, then at his feet to 
 guard his steps. There was cause for caution. 
 The least misstep in these movements from 
 one swaying piece to another would mean 
 death by drowning or by being ground to 
 bits in the ice. 
 
 The line to the south became more and 
 more distinct. It was the rocky coast of the 
 land. Giles took another survey of his sur- 
 roundings. He felt that he could not try to 
 reach the shore until every doubt was re- 
 moved as to the others' fate. Far to his 
 right, upon another floating cake, he made 
 out faintly a black speck against the white. 
 It was not a seabird stopped to rest, for it 
 did not move. He made his tedious, difficult 
 way in its direction. The water became 
 calmer ; passage over the crevices was less dif- 
 ficult, although far from easy. The speck 
 grew to the shape of a man, and he hastened 
 on. It never stirred. Finally, Giles began 
 to call at the top of his lungs. 
 
 Were any of the three Hudson, Harry, 
 or Jan saved too, he might know by this 
 halloo that there was another survivor. .They
 
 312 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 might seek each other until they came to- 
 gether. He shrieked their names out into 
 the terrible desolation. No answering cry 
 came to him. But the figure moved. He 
 saw a man stagger to an upright position. 
 He came closer. The man shaded his eyes 
 with one hand. The sun dispersed the mist, 
 shining fully into Giles's face. For a moment 
 everything was black before him. He gave 
 a sob of thanksgiving, for he had recognized 
 Jan. 
 
 The two friends rushed together heedless 
 of the perilous path, of everything save that 
 they had found one another again. They fell 
 on their knees, with a prayer of gratitude 
 upon their lips. Neither knew anything of 
 Hudson nor of his son : from that day to 
 this their fate has been a mystery. It is 
 almost certain that they were swallowed up 
 in the waves, but no man saw them die. Jan 
 had struggled from the water to the ice only 
 to be again tossed off it by another mighty 
 wave. His head was badly cut and he must 
 have fainted, when he once more climbed up 
 on the floe. He said Giles's shout came to 
 him from out a sweet dream of home. He 
 opened his eyes to the hard realities that 
 faced them.
 
 ADRIFT WITH HUDSON 313 
 
 It was a long tramp, and they were scarcely 
 equal to it, over the broken ice to that which 
 stretched out from the shore. At length they 
 reached it, crossed slowly its glassy surface, 
 climbed along the rough scraps that were 
 piled up next the beach, then to the rocks 
 beyond, and finally came to a patch of moss 
 upon which they fell, exhausted. 
 
 They were ashore upon a barren plateau 
 between a small hill and a tall, black cliff. 
 The wind raged pitilessly across the ice. The 
 cold, dark water chilled their wet bodies to 
 the bone. Snow drifted through the ravine. 
 Yet the sun was warm, and this snow was, 
 only brought upon the tempest. It was 
 summer after all, though an Arctic summer. 
 They felt that, now they had arrived at dry 
 land and were reunited, they should not de- 
 spair whatever befell them. 
 
 " The first thing is to make a fire," ob- 
 served Giles. " And the second is to find 
 something to eat." 
 
 " I think the second comes first," suggested 
 Jan. " Cold though I am, I am hungry, too, 
 and I see a bird's nest in a fissure of the 
 rocks. What do you say to a half dozen 
 eggs ? They will give us strength to discuss 
 our further proceedings."
 
 314 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 The eggs were gathered and swallowed. 
 Then they sat down to strike a light from 
 their knives and a bit of flint. Stunted wil- 
 lows grew along the stream that found the 
 ocean here. They pulled the fluff from the 
 downy blossoms and made a little pile. Over 
 this they worked until spark after spark had 
 fallen and ignited. They fed the flash to a 
 blaze with tendrils of dry moss. At last they 
 had a fire.
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 FROM BAY TO RIVER 
 
 THEY sat by the roaring fire, drying their 
 drenched clothing and talking over the fu- 
 ture. 
 
 " We must get to the south," said Giles. 
 " And still, how are we to make the journey ? 
 We have no arms except our knives ; no food, 
 nor any method of transporting it. The days 
 will soon be shortening. Do you suppose 
 that it would be possible for us to reach a 
 settlement, either of Indians or of French 
 traders, before winter ? " 
 
 " No," answered Jan candidly. " I am 
 afraid it is out of the question. I should 
 think the best thing we could do would be to 
 build a hut here, where we have the mate- 
 rials ; to lay in provisions, and make ourselves 
 knapsacks of sealskin for next spring's march. 
 We should be able to smoke and salt some 
 food, perhaps sufficient, with what we could 
 fish and trap along the route, I take for 
 granted we would follow the stream as far as
 
 316 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 we could, to keep us from actual starvation 
 until we fell in with some human beings." 
 
 It was not a brilliant prospect, yet it was 
 distinctly the best plan that they could make. 
 Their hearts sank at the notion of at least four 
 months of total darkness, buried in this dreary 
 land. However, they said nothing- to dispirit 
 one another, and set to work diligently while 
 they had light to pursue their tasks. They 
 took a survey of their surroundings, finding 
 very little vegetation, a few small, pale 
 flowers, and patches of moss and grass, a 
 waste of jagged rocks, and the high, frown- 
 ing cliffs. The willows were of the dwarf 
 variety, the trunk not larger than a lead pen- 
 cil, the slender branches trailing upon the 
 earth. A dry-leaved plant that grew among 
 the rocks, a sort of heather, furnished them 
 with part of their fuel. Moreover, the beds 
 of dried moss were practically inexhaustible, 
 for their depth was beyond all discovering. 
 This was material for a blaze rather than a 
 steady, glowing heat. There was a dead seal 
 upon the beach, and a narwhal was cast up 
 on the ice within walking distance, not long 
 after the boys' arrival here. The blubber, no 
 less than the meat and skin, was so necessary 
 to them that they lost no time in hacking and
 
 FROM BAY TO RIVER 317 
 
 cutting it was slow, hard work the two 
 bodies into pieces for their future use. 
 
 They were bothered by foxes that hung 
 about the place, on the watch for something 
 to seize and carry off. One of the boys was 
 always on guard beside the meat until they 
 could dissever it and carry it into the stone 
 hut they built, cementing the rocks with mud 
 and moss. Against the only opening was 
 placed a slab, too heavy to be rolled away by 
 anything not gifted with hands. 
 
 They caught a number of ducks by a 
 spring trap that Jan constructed of loose 
 stones among the rocks. The narwhal and 
 the seal produced an enormous heap of blub- 
 ber. The boys were obliged to store cakes of 
 ice with it, lest it spoil before winter came. 
 They had quantities of seal meat, and many 
 birds that were laid away with the fat. They 
 saw that they need not fear for the immediate 
 future. The preparation of food for their 
 journey was the most pressing need, after both 
 storehouse and hut for themselves had been 
 erected from the rocks and stones. 
 
 Many a time the two boys remembered those 
 words of Prince Maurice : that no sort of use- 
 ful knowledge was superfluous to a pioneer. 
 The information they had gathered by their
 
 318 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 glimpses of Indian and Esquimau life, and 
 their experiences during the past winter with 
 Hudson, all came into play. They made ves- 
 sels of soapstone, and lined them with dry 
 moss, pouring oil over that. They constructed 
 a tunnel to their new home, pinning duck- 
 skins together with bits of bone to make a 
 curtain at the entrance. 
 
 There is always a pleasure in surmounting 
 difficulties. It was not the dull winter that 
 they had dreaded. They used to laugh to- 
 gether over their triumphs or their failures ; 
 they found something to do each day, and 
 they looked for spring and talked of home as 
 hopefully as if no doubt lurked in either mind 
 that the nearing expedition would prove suc- 
 cessful. 
 
 Then the sunshine appeared, growing longer 
 and stronger every day. There must be haste 
 now. The boys turned their backs upon this 
 shelter, not without some homesickness for 
 the safety it afforded. Their equipment was 
 crude. They carried skin bags, filled with 
 strips of preserved meats, on their shoulders. 
 They had bows and arrows of flexible bone 
 strung with sinews of the narwhal, fish-lines 
 and hooks of the same manufacture ; they 
 owned their knives, and Giles, the narwhal's
 
 FROM BAY TO RIVER 319 
 
 horn, Jan, a sort of spear they had fashioned 
 by lashing bits of bone together. 
 
 They kept along the river bank, sleeping 
 wherever their strength gave out, and they 
 found they could make no further progress 
 for the time. But they pushed endurance to 
 its utmost limits. If they were overtaken by 
 the winter night, they knew that this would 
 be the last sun they should ever see. They 
 caught some fish. They shot a few birds 
 with their improvised arrows ; and sometimes 
 the trap, which they invariably set before they 
 went to sleep, was found to contain a captive 
 when they woke. The long march was not so 
 terrible to face as it had been in anticipation. 
 Water never failed them in that region of lakes 
 and rivers. They were guided by the sound, 
 and kept strictly to the course of some stream. 
 
 One day an arrow whistled past their ears 
 as they were skirting a thickly wooded island 
 out in the river that now led them south. 
 They stood still to hearken. The splash of 
 a distant paddle was heard. They saw no- 
 thing ; there was no further sound. 
 
 " We are getting into the region of human 
 life," said Jan. " I should think it might 
 welcome us more kindly. We must be on the 
 lookout henceforth, Giles, for Indian foes."
 
 320 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 " Or friends," was the comment. " If we 
 should fall in with any Algonquins like those 
 on the river Hudson discovered, I should ex- 
 pect Winona's totem to help us. But it is not 
 agreeable, is it, to walk in constant fear of an 
 arrow better aimed than by yonder archer." 
 
 They were not molested again in any man- 
 ner during that day nor the next. Then 
 they entered a great forest, the first they had 
 encountered, although trees had become more 
 abundant for some time past. There was a 
 well-defined path to lead them. The pines 
 sighed through the waving branches. The 
 day was overcast. The clouded sun did not 
 affect the solemn shadows of this vast wood. 
 
 A long-drawn, unearthly wail broke the 
 stillness. It was like nothing human. It 
 seemed the cry of a lost soul. 
 
 " That was no wild beast ! " said Giles. 
 
 " Hush ! I hear footsteps." 
 
 They drew aside into the underbrush. A 
 thicket hid them from sight. They could now 
 see a long line of men advancing. The pro- 
 cession bore litters, on which motionless forms 
 were stretched under coverings of fur. Some 
 of them carried bundles swung over their 
 backs. At intervals the same long, low cry 
 they had heard before was uttered.
 
 FROM 13 AY TO RIVER 321 
 
 " Shall we join them ? " muttered Giles. 
 
 Jan's face indicated indecision. It ap- 
 peared to be safest to keep out of sight and 
 let them pass without parley. The following 
 morning they met another such party, and 
 another that afternoon. When it lost its first 
 weirdness, they grew bolder. Stepping out 
 from their hiding-place, they addressed the 
 foremost men by propitiatory gestures. 
 
 The Indians looked surprised, although not 
 so shocked as those whom the Half Moon had 
 found. These were accustomed to white men 
 from traditions of the fishing-boats along the 
 coast, while some of them had seen the traders 
 at their posts. They consulted together, point- 
 ing to the two youths, gesticulating wildly, 
 though whether in friendship or enmity the 
 boys could not decide. Finally one of them 
 approached the strangers, his companions on 
 the alert for any sign of bad faith. He spoke 
 to them in French. 
 
 Jan's face glowed with pleasure. They 
 could assuredly prove their innocent inten- 
 tions if they could make themselves under- 
 stood. He told their story rapidly. The 
 Indian shook his head. He was no adept in 
 the foreign tongue. Jan repeated his state- 
 ment very slowly, using only a few and simple
 
 322 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 words. The man smiled, wheeled about, and 
 retailed what he had heard. There was a 
 further discussion. 
 
 Then the interpreter announced their deci- 
 sion. The white men could accompany them ; 
 afterwards they would be carried back to the 
 great river the St. Lawrence and sent to 
 the fort that Champlain had established near 
 what is now Quebec. This they would do if, 
 for their part, Jan and Giles would turn over 
 to them their knives and bows and spears. 
 They were to be quite unarmed. 
 
 It was an appalling risk, yet there appeared 
 to be no alternative. They consulted to- 
 gether. These were Hurons, perhaps at war 
 with Winona's people. It might harm their 
 interests, rather than advance them, to show 
 the Algonquin's stone. They were placing 
 their lives absolutely in the Indians' power. 
 Still, after all, they were at their mercy, with 
 no fighting strength, if they kept their wea- 
 pons. So they surrendered what they car- 
 ried, and took their place beside the interpre- 
 ter in the ranks. 
 
 The procession moved on, while he told its 
 purpose to the boys. The dead of the four 
 nations, after a funeral service, were laid 
 upon a scaffold, or, occasionally, in a tempo-
 
 FROM BAY TO RIVER 323 
 
 rary grave. Every ten or twelve years the 
 bodies were gathered together and conveyed 
 to a common sepulchre. They were upon 
 their way to the meeting place, Ossossane, the 
 chief village of the Hurons. 
 
 Finally they emerged upon the spot, a 
 clearing of several acres in the pine forest that 
 swept to the borders of Nottawassaga Bay. 
 The town lay at a little distance on the bank 
 of the water. It consisted of a number of 
 bark houses, well constructed, and now filled 
 with visitors. Fires gleamed through the 
 trees. Maidens and youths were shooting at 
 a target for prizes the mourners offered in 
 the name of the dead. 
 
 The bags of bones or the bodies which had 
 been borne on the litters were suspended 
 from the rafters in the houses. Some of them 
 were done up in rolls, decorated with beads 
 and feathers. These were taken down when 
 the day of burial came, and were lamented 
 over by the women, the awful screams sup- 
 posed to imitate the farewell of the departing 
 soul resounding through the woods. 
 
 Processions were re-formed. Each carried 
 its own dead to a place appointed for it on 
 the outskirts of the clearing. The bodies 
 were placed upon the ground. Funeral gifts,
 
 824 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 many of them the richest furs, were spread 
 out to be examined and admired. Fires were 
 lighted, and food was cooked. It was the 
 most uncanny of festivals. As the sun de- 
 clined, the gifts were rolled into packages, the 
 bodies were lifted to the bearers' shoulders. 
 
 A chief gave a signal. The throng pressed 
 forward from every side to a scaffolding in 
 the midst of the clearing. On this were fas- 
 tened many upright and cross poles. Under- 
 neath it yawned a wide, deep grave. The 
 Indians swarmed up the ladders to the plat- 
 form. Chiefs standing on it called to the 
 crowd praises of the dead, and of the gifts 
 now being busily hung upon the poles. Men 
 were lining the pit with beaver skins. A num- 
 ber of large copper kettles were set on these. 
 A hideous scene ensued. 
 
 There were a dozen Indians standing in 
 this long grave. The bodies were thrown in 
 to them, while they arranged them in orderly 
 rows by the assistance of long poles. Those 
 on the brink cast them down out of their 
 fur wrappings in showers of rattling bones. 
 Horrible cries attended the ceremony; and 
 around immense fires danced the wild red 
 figures like demons in a nightmare.
 
 CHAPTER XXX 
 
 YOUNG AMERICANS 
 
 IT was hard to believe that at such a time 
 and place the two unarmed white men were 
 safe, yet they met nothing save kind usage. 
 After this disgusting orgy was over, they were 
 conducted quietly and peaceably to the river, 
 as had been agreed. 
 
 The interpreter still attended them. On 
 their journey to the St. Lawrence they were 
 present at a feast given by a village through 
 which they passed, in honor of the assem- 
 bled chiefs, dispersing after the burial ser- 
 vices. The large bark house was full of 
 guests, seated upon furs spread over the 
 ground. Each visitor as he entered gave a 
 grunt of salute ; each carried his own spoon 
 and wooden dish. The host served the feast, 
 of which it was not thought courteous for 
 him to have a share. The company thrust 
 forward their wooden dishes to be filled in 
 turn. First came boiled, pounded corn, with 
 bits of fish and flesh unsalted. Broiled meats
 
 326 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 of various kinds were next set forth, and 
 proved very palatable. The white visitors 
 were treated exactly as were the others. The 
 boys quite enjoyed the glimpse of savage hos- 
 pitality. 
 
 They found canoes at the shore of the 
 river. In these they embarked for a voyage 
 to Champlain's fort. It was an enchanting 
 trip, past forests gay with vines turning red 
 with the coming autumn, past solid walls of 
 green, over the clear blue water of the mighty 
 stream. By and by the buildings came into 
 sight that the great discoverer had raised 
 four years ago. A wooden wall, topped by 
 a gallery with loopholes for guns, ran around 
 three inner houses and a courtyard, from one 
 side of which a tall dovecot arose. The 
 whole was encompassed by a moat. Several 
 small cannon stood on the platform, pointed 
 towards the St. Lawrence. A large store- 
 house joined the fort, and a garden was laid 
 out near by, stripped of its fruits, for summer 
 was over. Champlain himself came to meet 
 his guests. He was a round-faced, stout man, 
 with the penetrating glance of one accus- 
 tomed to peril and to relying upon observa- 
 tion and quick reflection. He had made sev- 
 eral voyages to France in the past few years,
 
 YOUNG AMERICANS 327 
 
 but this season, fortunately, he had omitted 
 the excursion. 
 
 They were made heartily welcome. It ap- 
 peared that he knew M. Chapelain, and of 
 course had heard of Hudson's expedition. 
 He gave such gifts to their guide as the man 
 demanded, dismissing him well pleased. 
 
 " Now what are we to do with you ? " asked 
 the Frenchman. 
 
 " Our dearest hope," said Giles, " is to be- 
 come American colonists." 
 
 "You have not had enough of it, with 
 what you have undergone ? " 
 
 " No, sir," they cried with one voice. "We 
 only ask for another chance." 
 
 " I would not advise you to stay here with 
 me," said Cham plain, frowning, " nor at Port 
 Royal in Acadia, although I can send you 
 thither. Matters here are sadly unsettled. 
 Then, if you have friends in France, you 
 naturally would wish to return to them for a 
 season, to assure them of your welfare. I 
 should advise your return in the next vessel 
 that comes from home to the Port." 
 
 " It was our own thought, sir," said Giles. 
 " Then we can make a fresh start to some 
 one of the colonies." 
 
 " You are two gallant youths," the older
 
 328 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 man remarked, with a knowing smile. " Surely 
 it will be your own fault if you return to 
 America alone." 
 
 Giles blushed. " Jan's sister " he began. 
 
 Champlain laughed, yet his eyes were 
 moist. 
 
 " Yours is a beautiful friendship," he cried, 
 " like that of David and Jonathan. You even 
 look for a closer bond between you. I trust 
 you may be brothers, according to your 
 hope." ' 
 
 They were given over to other guides by 
 their good host, and before the winter came 
 arrived at the Acadian colony, flourishing a 
 few years before, but now reduced to a fam- 
 ished state that found it hard to greet joyfully 
 any addition to their number. Fortunately 
 the new arrivals brought food with them, but 
 the winter was long and severe. No ship 
 arrived from France with succor : they were 
 reduced to piteous straits. On a fair May 
 day the long anticipated vessel from home 
 appeared. Captain Fleury found only five 
 men at Port Royal, the rest being scattered 
 about the woods searching for roots and fish- 
 ing in the streams. He replenished the lean 
 larder, took the two priests of the settlement 
 on board with him, and invited our heroes to
 
 YOUNG AMERICANS 329 
 
 accompany him and his chief, La Saussaye, 
 on a further cruise to establish a settlement. 
 
 The boys accepted delightedly. They sailed 
 on along the coast. A fog arose, in which 
 they suffered extreme terrors, every instant 
 dreading the crash upon a deadly reef. The 
 following morning saw a bright sun shin- 
 ing upon the ship as it entered the waters 
 known as Frenchman's Bay, upon the coast of 
 Maine. 
 
 The sailors clamored for a hearing in re- 
 gard to the terms of their engagement. The 
 priests stilled the dispute by leading them all 
 ashore, where mass was celebrated and a cross 
 raised on the headland. Father Biard went 
 away to the woods to visit a great Indian 
 chief, Asticon, who sent for him. He found 
 a new spot for a settlement, and returned 
 with news of it to the others. 
 
 The ship was brought here and the colo- 
 nists were landed. They raised a cross ; 
 then they proposed building a fort. La 
 Saussaye was determined to dig ground and 
 sow crops at once. They were in the midst 
 of a quarrel, when a warning shout from the 
 beach called them away from their troubles, 
 and they flocked down to the shore. 
 
 A vessel was approaching the land at all
 
 330 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 speed. The decks were thronged with men. 
 Seven cannon projected from either side. 
 Red flags waved from masthead and stern. 
 It was an English smuggling bark, under the 
 command of Samuel Argall, lately busying 
 himself in the affairs of the Jamestown col- 
 ony. He had, this same spring, captured the 
 Indian princess Pocahontas and carried her 
 to Jamestown, where she was wooed and wed 
 by Master Rolfe. His present errand was to 
 expel the French from any settlements in the 
 limits of King James's patents. He was sent 
 out by the governor of Virginia, and led by 
 an Indian whom he had picked up in Penob- 
 scot Bay. 
 
 Everything was confusion among the set- 
 tlers. Their pilot ran away and hid among 
 the islands. La Saussaye was completely at 
 a loss for advice. Fleury, a priest, three of 
 the under officers, Giles, and Jan hurried to 
 the ship. They endeavored to cast loose her 
 cables, but Argall was too quick for them. 
 
 A volley of cannon boomed out, while 
 drums and trumpets sounded through the din. 
 " Fire ! " called the captain. 
 
 Giles sprang to one gun, Jan to another. 
 The Englishman was intercepted by that brave 
 priest, Du Thet, who was first at the muzzle
 
 YOUNG AMERICANS 331 
 
 and fired, but without taking aim. There was 
 no avail in pursuing what was not a combat, 
 but carnage. The English boarded the vessel, 
 its scanty crew every one wounded. Du Thet 
 was dead. They landed, demanded an inter- 
 view with the colony's commander, and asked 
 for his royal letters and commissions. La 
 Saussaye was not able to produce them, for 
 the best of reasons. He had fled to the woods 
 at the approach of Argall, and that crafty 
 fellow improved his absence by ransacking 
 the chests in the Frenchman's tent, removing 
 such papers as he selected. 
 
 His play at courtesy vanished when La 
 Saussaye admitted that he could not show his 
 commissions. He and fourteen others of the 
 colonists were set adrift in an open boat. In 
 the course of time, after many vicissitudes, 
 they crossed the Bay of Fundy, rounded Cape 
 Sable, and on the coast of Nova Scotia found 
 two French traders which bore them back to 
 France. 
 
 The remaining fourteen men were conveyed 
 on board Argall's ship. Father Biard said 
 something in an undertone to the captain 
 when Giles, his head bandaged, followed by 
 Jan, whose arm was in a sling, came upon 
 deck. Argall walked up to them.
 
 332 IN THE BRAVE DATS OF OLD 
 
 " Art thou an Englishman ? " he demanded. 
 
 " Yes," said Giles. " And my friend here 
 is Dutch." 
 
 Argall grew very red as he saw what he 
 had done. " How came ye in such com- 
 pany?" he questioned sullenly. 
 
 " Because they gave shelter and food to 
 two starving wayfarers," was Giles's defiant 
 answer. 
 
 " What meanst thou?" 
 
 He told the outlines of their three-years' 
 voyage. 
 
 " Hudson ! " exclaimed the smuggler. 
 " ' T was he discovered the river to the 
 southwest of us." 
 
 " Ay. We were on the Half Moon with 
 him." 
 
 " Is 't so ? There is a Dutch trading fort 
 established on the island at its mouth. 
 Knew ye aught of that?" 
 
 Giles shook his head. 
 
 "I am bound for Virginia," their captor 
 proceeded to explain. " An it please ye, we 
 can drop you there upon our way. Mayhap 
 ye would relish it rather than further voyage 
 with us." 
 
 They understood this for a shame-faced 
 attempt towards restitution for their misuse.
 
 YOUNG AMERICANS 333 
 
 They assented to the proposition ; not long 
 afterwards it was carried out. 
 
 On a lovely summer day they again entered 
 the noble bay from which their unfortunate 
 leader had looked forth upon the island of 
 a future metropolis. Four houses stood where 
 the city of New York greets the traveler to- 
 day. All trace of Winona and her wandering 
 tribe had disappeared. Yet in the future 
 Giles more than once found that the totem 
 she had given him served to make allies for 
 him among the Indians. 
 
 A ship soon came out from Holland which 
 took the two aboard. After forty-two months 
 of wandering they set foot once more upon 
 European soil. They stopped at Portsmouth 
 to give poor Mistress Hudson their sad tid- 
 ings and then hastened on to France. Public 
 and private news awaited them. Prince Henry 
 of England was dead. Giles's country was 
 unquiet as ever. Holland was struggling out 
 from under its long pressure of strife. Ger- 
 many was torn by those dissensions which 
 should culminate but shortly in the Thirty- 
 Years' War. France was suffering from that 
 disordered state that characterized the re- 
 gency. M. Chapelain, who long ago so feared 
 the plague, had fallen a victim to it in the
 
 334 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 previous autumn. His widow, Dame Tryon, 
 and the young girls greeted with rapture the 
 adventurers they had given up for lost. 
 
 The remnant of Hudson's crew, after en- 
 during untold agonies, had been taken on 
 board a fishing-vessel and brought to land. 
 The youths never sought to see any of them 
 again. 
 
 Preparations were speedily completed for 
 leaving a country that had nothing more to 
 offer to any one of them. Even Mme. Chape- 
 lain and Nurse Janet were glad to accompany 
 Meg and Jan and Giles, while Annemie be- 
 came Mistress Valentine the day before the 
 vessel sailed from port. 
 
 They had selected port Manhattan, on Hud- 
 son's River, for their future home. The ship 
 entered the harbor at sunset one fair day. 
 Giles pointed the site of their new fortunes 
 to his young wife and to his sister. 
 
 " i 'T is a goodly and a pleasant land,' " he 
 quoted Hudson's words. 
 
 " And henceforth," added Jan, " we are 
 neither English, Dutch, nor French. From 
 this hour, thank God, we may call ourselves 
 Americans."
 
 CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U. S. A. 
 
 ELECTROTYPED AND PRINTED BY 
 
 H. O. HOUGHTON AND CO.
 
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