They themselves had cleared enough space to be able to put up the camp-beds, but Saltergate and Fiona had made a complete clearance and that morning it became obvious that the water-supply to the garrison was not inside the keep itself, although it was probably not far away.
In one angle of the walls, which were sixteen feet thick (as a splayed tiny window indicated), there was the archway to the newel stair. They had climbed the stair in turn and more than once since their arrival, deeming the top of the keep an advantageous place from which to get a complete picture of the site.
Tom again climbed the winding, narrow, stone newel to the parapet. Below him, on the side nearest the hall, was the heap of stone and rubble which had been cleared out of the keep. To his jaundiced eye it looked mountainous.
‘So what did Sister Anne see?’ asked Bonamy, when Tom came down again.
‘Sister Anne saw the result of a lot of misplaced effort on the part of other members of the party. Do you know what?’ said Tom disgustedly. ‘I bet there were outbuildings to the keep and they joined it to the hall. They’ve gone now and, in the space, Saltergate and Fiona have dumped a mountain of stone and rubble. Suppose they’ve covered up one of the wells? It will take us days to clear it again.’
‘We had better not touch it at present, or somebody will wonder why, and that’s the last thing we want. We can’t afford to have people smelling rats and asking all sorts of awkward questions. Let it ride for the present and don’t worry.’
4
Little Rifts Within the Lute
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I don’t really think we need worry,’ said Bonamy again the next morning. ‘If it had been the two girls it would be a different matter, but Saltergate is an expert and dead keen on this clearance and restoration thing. He wouldn’t have missed out on anything as important as a well. There can’t have been any traces of one inside or outside the keep. We’ll have a good look at the interior of the hall before anybody begins work on it. Remember that Saltergate told us he was interested in tracing waterpipes from the source of supply up to the living-quarters? There really can’t be a well under all that rubble they threw out. He would be sure to have spotted it.’
‘I blame the landowner,’ said Saltergate to his wife, as they prepared to go down to breakfast at the Horse and Cart. ‘That’s the worst of these upstart landlords. Old Lord Ambrose would never have given permission for three sets of people, all with different objectives, to work on this one small site. I wrote to this new man as soon as I realised that we were not to have the castle to ourselves, but, so far, have received no reply, and that is uncivil, to say the least.’
‘It would be far worse if we all had the same objective,’ said Lilian pacifically. ‘As it is, our interests do not clash with those of the others. Surely that is something to be thankful for?’
‘It might be, if Veryan and Tynant were not cutting so wide a circle. By the look of things, they have marked out their ground so that they are bound to encroach, sooner or later, on my territory.’
‘Well, they certainly seem to be allowing themselves plenty of scope. We had no idea that their outer ring would be so wide. Anyway, we have lots of clearing up to do before we need make an issue of it. Indeed, I hope to goodness it will not reach that stage. Could you not have a word in Nicholas Tynant’s ear? He is far less intransigent than Veryan.’
‘I think he is very much the junior partner in their enterprise.’
‘All the same, he may be able to persuade Veryan to leave their outer trench a little bit incomplete so as to allow the foundations of our flanking-towers to remain undisturbed.’
‘He is a fanatic. Such people – well, one cannot argue with them. If the foundations of even one of my flanking-towers are dug up and destroyed, my whole project is spoilt. I think I will approach Tynant, as you suggest, and if nothing comes of that – and I’m sure nothing will – I may go up in person to the house and put my case in as forceful a way as I can to the owner.’
‘You will probably be able to speak to nobody but the bailiff. The family are sure to be away at this time of year. In their absence I doubt whether anybody will be prepared to alter arrangements already made. I think you will have to trust to the goodwill of Malpas and Nicholas and so try to avoid unpleasantness.’
‘If any goodwill existed, it vanished as soon as they found that I had an option on the site. I wonder what chance there is of my finding out which of us was first in the field? A prior claim ought to carry considerable weight.’
‘It might be better not to attempt to establish one. You might find that Veryan’s agreement was signed prior to yours.’
‘Yes, that is an embarrassing possibility, I suppose. Anyway, I will adopt your suggestion and begin by having a quiet word with Nicholas.’
‘Oh, Lord!’ said Tynant. ‘Well, I appreciate the position, of course, but Malpas and I have a point of view, too, you know. I am sure we would be only too happy to do as you wish, but, if we fail to complete our ditch so as to spare your foundations, the chances are that we should miss finding one of our secondary burials or (even worse) lose one of the satellite interments and that would spoil the whole dig.’
‘I am not so ill-informed about pre-history as Veryan may think. I have seen Paul Ashbee’s book and it seems to me that all which remains for you to find is the primary grave. All traces of burials higher up in the mound which would have covered the barrow must have been dug up and destroyed long ago, when the cairn, I feel sure, was levelled to make the outer bailey.’
‘On the other hand, you have no actual proof that the ground ever was artificially levelled. If ours was a bermed barrow, whether a disc barrow or a saucer barrow, particularly the latter, there would be very little of the actual burial mound to be seen, so that very little levelling of the ground would have been necessary.’
Malpas Veryan came up to them. He smiled.
‘To employ the opening gambit favoured by the police force, “What’s all this, then?” ’ he said genially.
Nicholas and Edward both began to speak. Nicholas gave way to the older man, so Edward said, ‘I have taken great care to tell my people to respect your dig, Malpas, and on no account to trespass on your territory, but if your trench is carried to what appears to be its logical conclusion, it seems to me that you and Nicholas will encroach quite disastrously on mine. Do you really intend to undermine the foundations of at least one of my flanking-towers? Do you really need quite so much room?’
‘Well,’ said Malpas, maintaining his easy tone, ‘at present it is hardly possible to tell, because these Bronze Age barrows varied so much in size. Owing to your Norman castle-builders and their determination to make a large jousting-yard or whatever they intended, the outer surface indications of my barrow have been lost. The thing could have been as wide in diameter as a hundred and twenty feet or as narrow as thirty feet across. In the ordinary way we should have something to guide us, but here we are at a singular disadvantage except for the very useful guideline of your defensive ditch. I am convinced that the ditch once formed part of my henge.’
‘I am left wondering what makes you think there was ever a barrow here at all. It seems to be merely guesswork on your part.’
‘Not at all. There has been a reconnaissance from the air. Your defensive ditch forms the arc of a circle, the old name for the village here was Yarlbury and the presence of barrows on neighbouring hillsides suggests the distinct possibility that there could have been one here. The sighting from the air.was pretty positive. Where one finds water, such as the little river which winds round this hillside, one expects to find an early settlement and where there were settlers there were graves. It’s as simple as that.’