Richard Wood and his
hungry men-at-arms had been making free with the packs so liberally
provided by Humphrey at Lincoln, and were now resting on the rushes,
with Hugo in their midst. They were in no mood to journey farther in
the dimness of the mist, and Richard Wood was putting question after
question to Hugo in the hope of eliciting some information which might
be valuable to him, while the men-at-arms listened. They were Le
Falconer's men, and they cared nothing for the fate of De Aldithely's
son.
"Where hideth away thy mother?" asked Richard Wood.
"Even in the tomb," answered Hugo, truthfully, for his mother was dead.
For a moment Richard Wood was taken aback. "I had not heard of it," he
said at length. "I knew not that thy mother was dead. The king had
hoped to capture her also. But it seemeth death hath been beforehand
with him."
And then the four servants of the canon, who had surrounded the little
group unseen, lifted their staves and struck as one man. Over rolled
Richard Wood and his three men-at-arms, stunned and unconscious.
Humphrey at once brought up Hugo's horse and Fleetfoot, and the
rescuers departed, leaving the four unconscious men to come to
themselves at their leisure.
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