Book I Chapter 17 The Twilight of Magic by Hugh Lofting
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.
Giles’s recollections of this last part of the journey were very broken and jumbled. He remembered more than once being taken down from the horse and the noise of several men talking. Also a hazy blur of moving lanterns and the tossing shadows of horses’ heads. And, later still, he could recall that at one place a great throng of archers and men-at-arms gathered about the party and cheered loudly for the King. From this he guessed sleepily that they were now over the borders of the Duke’s lands and safe from capture. But as his weary mind kept dozing off as soon as it had taken in only the half of one idea, he could not tell a very clear or complete story of the strange happenings of that busy night.
The first time that he came fully to his senses he found himself in new and very wonderful surroundings. He was lying on a silken couch in a very magnificent room. The room, not a large one, was lighted by two candles that flickered in gold candlesticks; and through the partly drawn curtains that covered a long high window he could see that day was breaking.
He got up. Very stiff he felt. He crossed the room and looked out. Away down below he saw dimly a beautiful garden, terraces with rose trees, stone walls and parapets with places cut in them for archers to shoot through. Beyond the garden he could see a great city stretching out a long, long way. Clearly, he was in a castle, and this room was in one of its high towers. He heard the click of a latch behind him and turned. A serving-man was coming in with a tray of food. The man placed the food upon a table and then, almost in a whisper, invited him to sit down and eat. He did so with a good appetite. The man did not leave but remained politely at his elbow to serve him, uncovering one dish after another, pouring out milk for him from a silver jug and cutting his bread with a large horn-handled knife.
Giles had never been so waited on before and at first he was a little overawed by so much attention. But he was too hungry to allow anything to spoil his meal; and in a few minutes he had eaten a very hearty breakfast. Then he began asking questions and the man bade him lower his voice. The King, he said, was still asleep in the next room, and must not be wakened till the hour was come for the army to march. These rooms, it appeared, were the King’s own private apartments. This castle was the chief and most important of all the royal palaces; and this town was the capital, the greatest city in the kingdom.
As the man left by one door, another at the other end of the room opened. And there stood the King, already dressed for riding. Giles guessed that he had, like himself, just lain down for a few hours’ rest without taking off his clothes. But he seemed refreshed and in good humour. He asked how Giles had slept and then told him to go back to bed. He hoped to see him again the next day, he said. Giles was about to ask something, but just then he felt the shell burning in his jacket. He took it out to listen. The King, as he crossed the room, paused a moment, watching him.
‘It is my mother and father, Your Majesty,’ said Giles, ‘and my sister Anne. They are wondering what has become of me. A lame boy, Luke by name, who was very helpful to me in reaching you, has advised them to go into hiding lest they be questioned by the Duke. I beg Your Majesty to let me come with you. I want to see them, to take them the money that they need, and set their fears at rest.’
‘Very good,’ said the King; ‘I will be glad to have you with me, if you think you can stand the march. You shall ride with my own party, as before. But should there be fighting I may have to send you back here before we reach your home. However, I am in hopes that the Duke’s forces will surrender as soon as we lay siege to the town.’
‘Doesn’t Your Majesty want to listen to the shell again before we go?’ asked Giles. ‘You might hear something that would be useful.’
The King took it and held it to his ear, listening for a moment.
‘The noise, the confusion, are greater than ever,’ he said. ‘My own army’s talk and turmoil are now added to the Duke’s. I can make nothing out clearly and I may not wait, for there is not a moment to lose. I hope to catch the wasps in the nest before they have a chance to get out and sting. Let us be gone. Do you keep the shell. If your lame friend and others know you are with the King, it may be you’ll hear news or gossip that will give us better help, even though it be about yourself.’
The King then left the room and, with Giles close upon his heels, went clattering down a winding stone staircase that seemed almost to have no bottom. At last it led them out into a wide courtyard. Here, in the grey of daybreak, were many men and horses. The men, for the most part, were moving swiftly about—almost silently but for a sharp order here and there given in a low voice; while the horses stood waiting, the breath from their nostrils showing plainly in the damp of the early air. Giles was disappointed not to see either his own beautiful Midnight among them, or the King’s swift Africa. But instantly he knew that, of course, they would still be resting from the long march of the day and night before.
In a very few minutes they had mounted new horses, fresh and well-groomed. Giles was up behind the same sturdy retainer; and before he put his arms about the man’s waist he made sure that the shell, which was bringing him such strange fortune, was safe in his pocket.
The ride back to Giles’s native town was far less exciting than had been the journey away from it. And it did not take nearly so long; for the return was made openly by the best and shortest roads. The King had been very wise in wasting no time. The Duke had not yet had a chance to prepare for any fighting far from his own castle. And the march seemed more like a visiting tour made by the new and well-loved King than anything to do with war. He was greeted and cheered at every hamlet he went through. And if folks wondered at the great masses of archers that went ahead of him and the huge army of men-at-arms that followed him behind, they felt that he had a right to move his troops when and where he wished, and bothered their heads no further about it.
Even when the Duke’s own lands were entered, things remained very quiet. Guessing that the common people themselves had no knowledge of the plot against them, the King had given the strictest orders that the troops should hurt no one. And not so much as a duck was stolen or an apple picked from the orchards while the King’s soldiers passed. Here again no enemy troops were sighted; though Count Godfrey did persuade the King to keep his nobles massed close about him on the march, for fear of a sudden attack from some hidden quarter.
It was when they were within sight of the town, and evening was at hand, that the King at last gave orders for a general halt and called a council of war. All his oldest officers gathered round him while many of the scouts who had been sent ahead were called in.
It was now learned that the Duke and his army were by no means in agreement. His Majesty’s sudden march had entirely upset his enemy’s plans. The troops that the Duke had ordered out to stop the advance had not been as willing to take up arms against their King as had been expected. For one thing, the Duke had not had time enough to persuade his officers to take part in such rebellion and disloyalty; and for another, his soldiers, seeing this enormous army arriving at their very gates, feared that victory was hardly possible over such a force, all prepared in battle order and so near at hand. For these reasons, the scouts reported, all the Duke’s troops had remained within the town, where there was great confusion. Many had already laid down their arms and had sworn they would not fight against the King for anybody or any reward. While the rest were running about within the walls, without leaders or order, wondering what was going to happen next.
When the King heard these things, he sent off Count Godfrey with a few heralds to visit the town and demand its surrender. A full pardon and fair treatment was offered to the common soldiers and the townsfolk; but the Duke and all his relations and attendant nobles were to be put under arrest till they could be tried in the courts of law.
This message was delivered. And within the hour the heralds came back bearing the town’s answer to the King. There was a good deal of surprise when it was noticed that Count Godfrey had not returned with the others. But in his place had come the Mayor, very frightened and upset. He explained that the people had known nothing of the Duke’s treacherous plans against the royal person till this morning. They had refused to join in the rebellion. The Duke, in a furious rage, had threatened to hang them all; but had at last decided to take flight while there was still time. Count Godfrey had now gone off in pursuit of him with a picked company of fast horsemen. Order had been restored within the town; and all the Duke’s troops had taken the oath of allegiance to the King. The people were now eagerly awaiting His Majesty’s arrival that they might have a chance to do him honour and show their loyalty as obedient and loving subjects.
The only reply the King made was to nod his head thoughtfully and to ask after the safety of the Countess Barbara and the others of his party whom he had been forced to leave behind. When the Mayor had assured him that they were all well, His Majesty gave the order to march. Then the whole of the great army moved on towards the town as darkness settled down upon the land.