The Messenger of the Black Prince

We turned. Before us stood a man so small that he might be taken for a dwarf. His head was so large that it was remarkable, and the way it rolled from side to side caused me a c...

The rest of that day passed pleasantly enough. To be sure, there were wayfarers whom I met. I remember most distinctly a few scattered soldiers with heavy beards who talked deep...

I remember the beginning of it as though it were yesterday. My brother André had sent me to the armorer’s to have some broken links mended in his gear. I was standing near the f...

It was at the break of day when we came to the inn which we had mistaken for the Inn of The Cross-Roads. It was well after ten in the morning when we were led captives to the ho...

The captain gave a start. He stared a while at the man. A slow understanding smile curled at the corners of his mouth and he said, “There is no such person as the Abbot of Chalo...

André drew back like a man taken unawares as though he would avoid a blow. He stood motionless for a moment to gather his dazed thoughts. A silence fell over us like the hollown...

It was far into the night when the scrivener returned. The first quarter of the moon was all the light we had, but even at that how he made his way through the gloom of the tree...

Of all the men I ever saw this stranger struck my fancy to the highest degree. He strode into the room with as much confidence and poise as though he were the actual master of t...

It was close on to midnight when we left the Dwarf and his cave. We headed for the south, at first over rocks and stones and through the depths of the woods; then we came upon a...

The next morning when I awoke the sun was shining big and fairly warm. The chill of the night before had yielded to a gentle breeze that blew now steadily from the south.

That was a long night. I fell asleep with my head in my arms over the table with the scrivener opposite me. De Marsac took no chances of my escape. He left four men in the room,...

I stumbled along over the uneven ground with my captor at my back. By the time we reached the road it was pitch dark. The trees grew on either side of us like a great dark wall....

We reached home in the early afternoon. It was then that I got a clearer vision of De Marsac’s duplicity and of the game that he was playing. No sooner had we laid eyes upon my...

We came to the ‘Three Crows’ about the middle of the afternoon. The place was set in somewhat from the road and like the scrivener’s house, almost surrounded by trees. It must h...

The last sentence came like the crack of doom. The four men started in their saddles. Even the horses raised their heads and snorted. Without a word De Marsac and the Abbot—or t...

The three of us turned with amazement on our faces. Before a word was spoken the scrivener bounded clear across the room. He came to a stop before the table and took the dagger...

“That makes four all together,” said the first archer. “There are four men outside against the four of us here. If we can hold out for an hour, help will be on the way.”

It was late in the afternoon when I left the armorer’s. The sky was covered with low dark clouds. A fine rain fell which cut through the skin with the keenness of a sharp knife.

That night I slept but little. The excitement of the day had been too much for me. The old Count’s death, the treachery of De Marsac, and the appearance in our parts of so great...

I was chilled to the bone. The touch of my feet on the hard earth made my going slow and cautious. Now and then I stubbed my toe on a sharp stone that made me wince. But even wi...

In another hour the inn was deserted. The scrivener and I lay huddled together on the floor. One of De Marsac’s crew remained guard over us—an ugly fellow with a face scarred wi...

I may say now that I have come to the end of my tale. I had come through as the Abbot said. But to my way of thinking it was more by blundering and good luck than by any craft o...

“To my way of thinking, Henri,” he replied, “we’re just out of it.” He munched on his bread thoughtfully for a while. With a pleased expression on his face he turned to me. “Isn...

I shall not forget that morning as long as I have life in my body. At the first sight of the three men I drew my dagger. Charles had nothing but his bare hands. But the fellows...

That day we went on as fast as our legs could carry us. We gauged our position by the sun. During the morning we kept it in our rear while in the afternoon we made sure of ourse...

My chance came three days later. During this time we had traveled a long way. When the sun was up we plodded along footsore and weary. At night we lay down wherever we were able...

He spun on his heel and went to the far end of the room. He came back with a candle in his hand which he had lit at the open fire.

“It was a meeting of the nobles of Normandy,” he interrupted. “I thought I was too old to go myself so I sent my only son. They were to make plans to protect us against the aggr...