‘You are not the only ones with that to fear,’ said the King. ‘Will not I myself have to leave behind many of my followers—yes, and relations too, the Princess Sophronia my aunt, the young Countess Barbara and many other ladies and gentlemen of my court that came upon this visit with me? Our best hope lies in keeping the Duke ignorant as long as may be of what has become of me and of what I mean to do. He can hardly suspect until tomorrow. And when he does, his first thought will be for his own safety, rather than taking vengeance on those we could not take with us. If my plans go well, he will, by tomorrow night, be no longer a duke. He will rather be a prisoner in my hands or a fugitive, very far from here, flying for his life. Once we are beyond the limits of his dukedom I will raise an army big enough to deal with him and all his troops. And we will be back tomorrow at his castle gates to see to it that never again shall he have a chance to betray the guests that trusted him.’
Turning from the huntsmen, the King now talked quickly with Count Godfrey. There was much to be arranged and decided on. The whole of this big party had to get across the borders of the Duke’s lands without being seen and by the shortest way. This meant finding guides who knew the trails used only by shepherds and such, and those mountain paths along which no one would be likely to be met. Strict orders were given that if the party did meet any wayfarers they were to be captured and taken along with it.
As it turned out, the Head Falconer and his men were the best guides in the whole country for such travel. Then fast messengers had to be sent ahead to the nearest points beyond the borders where the King’s troops were stationed. These messengers were to carry signed letters from His Majesty ordering the commanders to put their men under arms at once and gather at a meeting-place in readiness for the march against the Duke. Scouts had to be sent out ahead along the line of the King’s flight to keep watch for any soldiers that the Duke might have encamped in unsuspected places. And there were a lot of other arrangements that had to be attended to besides.
All these matters the King handed over to Count Godfrey. The Keeper of the Great Seal wasted no time, but went swiftly through the crowd gathered in the glade and gave short sharp orders here and there. And soon there was a big bustle and a stirring, with men mounting their horses quickly and slipping away quietly among the trees. Even the dogs, trained in keeping silence and tracking down scents, did their part. In twos and threes they went off with the huntsmen, to scent out the presence of dangerous men and protect their King in his flight.
While these things were being done, the King drew Giles aside and bade him sit down with him upon a mossy bank in a corner of the clearing. He looked at him a moment or two without speaking.
‘Boy,’ he said at length, ‘the time will likely come some day when you’re an old man and have grandchildren of your own, little youngsters about your own age now. And then you’ll be able to sit back in your big chair by the fire and tell them a wonderful story, the story of how you saved the King’s life. For you surely saved mine this day, boy—you and your whispering shell. It was a narrow escape. I heard that treacherous cousin of mine, as plain as though he were standing next me, arranging with his brother and two other villains how they would put a drug in my drink and get me down into the dungeon before I woke up again. And then—— Oh, but Heavens! Let’s not talk of that now. It makes me feel too sick at heart. In his own house, at his own table, as a guest, I was to be caught—trapped!’
As the King stopped talking, Midnight, the black mare (who seemed to follow her master about rather like a pet dog), came up and pushed her nose against his bent head.
‘But surely, Your Majesty,’ said Giles, ‘even if the Duke had thrown you into prison he wouldn’t have killed you, would he?’
The King looked up and tapped Giles upon the knee with his finger.
‘Boy,’ he said, ‘once prison doors have closed upon kings whose crowns are wanted by someone else they are very seldom ever seen again—alive. No. He wouldn’t have done it with his own hands, I suppose. But I would have disappeared, just the same. You saved me. And I will not forget—— Tell me: Is there anything you’d like—I mean, besides the money for your father—anything you’d like for yourself, as a present?’
Giles’s eyes suddenly sparkled. His chest heaved with a breathless sigh.
‘Oh, Your Majesty, could I—could I have Midnight—for my own?’
The King suddenly shook off his serious mood and laughed outright. He rose to his feet and lifted Giles into the mare’s saddle.
‘I would sooner you had asked me for half my kingdom and a princess, the way they do in the fairy-tales,’ said he. ‘But if Midnight’s what you want you shall have her. Be good to her. She’s yours, boy—your very own.’
17 The flight to the capital
From this point on, it seemed to Giles that things happened faster still. It was all very confusing and it was made more so by his soon finding that he was very weary and almost falling asleep from time to time.
The journey to the border was a long one and the greater part of it was done under cover of darkness. For a boy who was not used to long riding, such a trip was a hardship. Before night came on, the King noticed Giles’s weariness and had him shifted from the black mare to one of the horses ridden by a retainer. Here he was strapped on behind the other rider so that if he should be overcome by sleep he would not fall and hurt himself.
In spite of the difficult going, they made few halts for rest. At one of these the shell was used again. Giles was unfastened and lifted to the ground and he got it out of his pocket and gave it to the King. It was late at night now and there were not many people out of bed. The King wished to learn if the Duke had sent any soldiers in pursuit yet. But though he could hear officers giving orders about searching for him, no towns or places were mentioned, so of course he could not tell how near these searching parties were. He even heard his cousin speaking of him; but it was mostly about plans for tomorrow. And the King felt sure that even if his staying so long away had caused some surprise and worry, no one at the castle suspected as yet that he was really trying to escape.
When he had finished with the shell he was about to give it back into Giles’s keeping, but decided it would be, for the present, safer in his own. In those days pockets in fine clothes were very small, even if there were any at all. And the King looked about him for some safer place to carry the shell. Finally, he put it into a saddle-bag made of cloth-of-gold that hung upon his horse’s snow-white flank. But before he could mount into the saddle Africa suddenly reared and leapt about in the wildest way.
‘Take it out, Your Majesty,’ cried Giles. ‘Take the shell out. Someone is talking about your horse and the heat is scaring him!’
‘Good Heavens! Does it work with horses, too?’ said the King. ‘Yes, it is hot. It must be Hubert, my head groom, talking about you, Africa. The best groom we ever had, eh, my beauty? All he ever talks about is horses. There, there now, no one tried to hurt you. It wouldn’t have burned you anyhow, hot as it is. Here, boy: can I trust you with it again?’
‘Yes, indeed, Your Majesty,’ said Giles. ‘If someone will give me a pouch-string I’ll tie it in my pocket so it cannot shake out, no matter how fast we go.’
So the shell was tied tight to Giles, and Giles was tied tight to the retainer, and the retainer gripped tight to the horse and off they went once more.