Part 12 (1/2)

When the best part of the band had gathered again they lit another fire fifty yards from me, and round it they talked and wrangled for a good half hour. It was plain that they were speaking about me and my fate, but I could hear little of what they said.

The leader took not much part in the talk at first, but let the rest have their say. And when they had talked themselves out, as it were, he told them his plans. I could not hear them, but the rest listened attentively enough, and at the end of his speech seemed to agree, for they laughed and shouted and made not much comment.

Then the leaders got up and came and looked at me.

”Tell him what we are going to do with him, Evan,” one said to the chief.

So Evan spoke in the worst Saxon I had ever heard, and I thought that it fitted his face well.

”No good glaring in that wise,” he said; ”if you are quiet no harm will come to you. We are going to hold you as a hostage until your Saxon master or your British father pay ransom for you, and inlaw us again. That last is a notion of my own, for I am by way of being an honest man. The rest do not care for anything but the money we shall get for you from one side or the other, or maybe from both.

By and by, when we have you in a safe place, you shall write a letter for us to use, and I will have you speak well of me in it, so that it shall be plain that you owe your life to me, and then I shall be safe. That is a matter between you and me, however. None of these knaves ken a word of Saxon.”

I suppose that I showed pretty plainly what I thought of this sort of treachery to his comrades, for one of the others laughed at me, and said:

”Speak him fair, Evan, speak him fair, else we shall have trouble with him.”

”I am just threatening him now,” the villain said in Welsh--”after that is time to give him a chance to behave himself,” and then he went on to me in Saxon: ”Now, if you will give your word to keep quiet and go with me as a friend I will trust you, but if not--well, we must take you as we can. How do you prefer to go?”

He waited for an answer, but I gave him none. I would not even seem to treat with them.

”Don't say that I did not give you a chance,” he said; ”but if you will go as a captive, that is your own fault.”

And as I said nothing he turned away, and said to the rest:

”We shall have to bind him. He will not go quietly.”

”How shall we get him on board as a captive?” one asked.

”That would be foolishness,” Evan said; ”the next thing would be that every one would know who the captive that was taken out of Watchet was. I have a better plan than that. We will tie him up like a sorely wounded man, and so get him s.h.i.+pped carefully and quietly with no questions asked.”

”Well, then, there is no time to lose. We must be at the harbour in four hours' time at the latest. Tide will serve shortly after that,” one of the others said. ”What about the sword?--shall we sell it to the Nors.e.m.e.n?”

”What! and so tell all the countryside what we have been doing?--it is too well known a weapon. No, put it into one of the bales of goods, and I can sell it safely to some prince on the other side.

No man dare wear it on this, but they will not know it there, or will not care if they do. Now get a litter made, and bring me some bandages.”

It seemed to me to be plain that they would try to get me across the channel into Wales, or maybe Ireland, and my heart sank. But after all, Owen would gladly pay ransom for me, and that was the one hope I had. And then I wondered what vessel they had ready, and all of a sudden I minded that Thorgils had spoken of a winter voyage that he was going to take on this tide, and my heart leapt.

It was likely that these men were going to sail with him, so I might have a chance of swift rescue.

Now Evan went to work on me with the help of one of his men, who seemed to know something of leech craft.

”This,” said Evan, ”is a poor friend of mine who has met with a bad fall from his horse. His thigh is broken and his shoulder is out.

Also his jaw is broken, because the horse kicked him as he lay. For the same reason he is stunned, and cannot move much. It is a bad case altogether,” and he grinned with glee at his own pleasantry.

Then they fitted a long splint to my right leg from hip to ankle, so that I was helpless as a babe in its swaddlings, and made fast the other leg to that. They did not do more than loosen the cords that bound me just enough to suffer them to pa.s.s the bandages round until the splint was on, and the other men stood in a ring and gibed at me all the time. After that they bandaged my right arm across my chest as if for a slipped shoulder, but under the bandages were cords that pinioned my elbows to one another across my back, so that I could only move my left forearm. Evan said that he would tie that also if need was, but it might pa.s.s now. I could not reach my mouth with this free hand, if I did try to take out a gag.

Next they bandaged my head and chin carefully, so that only my eyes were to be seen. I suppose that I might be thankful that they left my mouth uncovered more or less. And Evan said that he would gag me by and by.