“My lord,” cried Dick, “they are
these same outlaws that ye blame me for consorting
with.”
“Let them be what they will, they can fight,”
returned Lord Foxham. “Help me, then; and
if between us we regain the maid, upon my knightly
honour, she shall marry you!”
Dick bent his knee before his prisoner; but he, leaping
up lightly from the cross, caught the lad up and embraced
him like a son.
“Come,” he said, “an y’ are
to marry Joan, we must be early friends.”
An hour thereafter, Dick was back at the Goat and
Bagpipes, breaking his fast, and receiving the report
of his messengers and sentries. Duckworth was
still absent from Shoreby; and this was frequently
the case, for he played many parts in the world, shared
many different interests, and conducted many various
affairs. He had founded that fellowship of the
Black Arrow, as a ruined man longing for vengeance
and money; and yet among those who knew him best,
he was thought to be the agent and emissary of the
great King-maker of England, Richard, Earl of Warwick.
In his absence, at any rate, it fell upon Richard
Shelton to command affairs in Shoreby; and, as he
sat at meat, his mind was full of care, and his face
heavy with consideration. It had been determined,
between him and the Lord Foxham, to make one bold
stroke that evening, and, by brute force, to set Joanna
free. The obstacles, however, were many; and
as one after another of his scouts arrived, each brought
him more discomfortable news.
Sir Daniel was alarmed by the skirmish of the night
before. He had increased the garrison of the
house in the garden; but not content with that, he
had stationed horsemen in all the neighbouring lanes,
so that he might have instant word of any movement.
Meanwhile, in the court of his mansion, steeds stood
saddled, and the riders, armed at every point, awaited
but the signal to ride.
The adventure of the night appeared more and more
difficult of execution, till suddenly Dick’s
countenance lightened.
“Lawless!” he cried, “you that were
a shipman, can ye steal me a ship?”
“Master Dick,” replied Lawless, “if
ye would back me, I would agree to steal York Minster.”
Presently after, these two set forth and descended
to the harbour. It was a considerable basin,
lying among sand hills, and surrounded with patches
of down, ancient ruinous lumber, and tumble-down slums
of the town. Many decked ships and many open
boats either lay there at anchor, or had been drawn
up on the beach. A long duration of bad weather
had driven them from the high seas into the shelter
of the port; and the great trooping of black clouds,
and the cold squalls that followed one another, now
with a sprinkling of dry snow, now in a mere swoop
of wind, promised no improvement but rather threatened
a more serious storm in the immediate future.
