Knight's Castle (14 page)

"I remembered one thing," said Ann. "I know where the red velvet train went, and part of the fur coat, too. Cedric the Saxon's got them on."

"And he's way over in Sherwood Forest," said Roger, "and the other things are in the castle, mostly."

"We'll have to separate," said Jack.

"Who'll go where?" said Ann.

"You and Jack take the castle," said Eliza, assuming command. "I'll go with Roger. Then each fair lady will have a champion to save her from worse than death, whatever that is."

"Are you nervous?" said Ann to Roger, privately.

"Yes," he admitted.

"I know," said Ann.

"So much depends on it," said Roger.

"Yes," said Ann.

"What depends on what?" said Eliza, coming up to them.

"Why, the quest depends on us," said Roger. But that wasn't what he was thinking of.

And now all clasped hands in a solemn good-bye. "Good luck," Roger said. "Watch out for Normans." And he and Eliza turned toward Sherwood.

Ann and Jack watched them out of sight; then they set off for Torquilstone.

As they drew near the castle and passed through the park with the statue of St. George Peabody, the rose trees pinkly perfumed the air.

"There's something we can start with," said Ann. "The roses from the quilt." She checked off an item on the list in her notebook, and they both started picking.

"Did you plant this many?" Jack asked after a while.

"I don't see how we could have," said Ann, wearily.

"They must have spread." They went on picking. Then suddenly a hand seized Ann by the shoulder. She turned in its grasp. A guard stood eyeing them sternly. He wore a peculiar uniform Ann had never seen before.

"Picking flowers in public parks is forbidden by the Leader," he said. "Punishable by twenty years' imprisonment. You are under arrest."

"But I put them there in the first place!" cried Ann. "I am the mighty sorceress!"

"Magic," said the guard, even more sternly, "is
specially
forbidden by the Leader. Punishable by burning at the stake, at
least.
Guards, ho!"

But before more guards could appear, Jack grabbed Ann's hand. "Come on," he said, and clutching their armfuls of roses to them, they ran. The guard gave chase, but they dodged among the shrubbery and lost him.

"What do you suppose has happened?" Ann whispered pantingly as they ran. "Who's this Leader?"

"I don't know," Jack whispered back. "Something terrible must have gone wrong."

"After we were so careful, too," said Ann. "You'd think that magic did it on purpose!" And after that she saved her breath for running.

The park was left behind now, and they were on unfamiliar ground. Then, just as Ann reached her last gasp, they saw a sort of great high-ceilinged building ahead, with black iron hangings pushed back at the sides, and they knew where they were.

Jack pulled Ann to a stop. "Lurk!" he whispered. "Maybe we can find out what's up." And they crept toward the curtained chamber, lurked behind the nearest drapery, and peered through its iron folds.

Prince John stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by more oddly-uniformed guards. He wore a peculiar-looking cap on his head, and he was in a fury.

"Answer me!" he was shouting. "Who hath stolen my throne?"

"We know not, oh Leader," said a guard, raising his arm in a peculiar salute.

"Then find out!" snapped Prince John. "What was the use of my seizing the throne in the first place if ye let the first Tom, Dick or Harry who cometh along steal it the moment my back be turned?"

Ann and Jack looked at each other. Now they knew who was Leader in England, and why England was no longer merry.

Then Jack thought of his camera. This was too good a shot to miss. He reached for it, took careful focus, and Ann heard him snap the shutter. Unfortunately Prince John heard him, too.

"A spy!" he cried. "Seize him!"

Rough hands grasped Jack and dragged him from his hiding place. Other hands seized Ann and dragged her after Jack. And at that very moment the guard who had tried to arrest them in the rose garden came puffing up behind them, just to make things worse.

"Hold them!" he cried. "They be both of them mighty sorcerers. The small one hath confessed it."

"Mayhap 'tis they who hath stolen the throne," suggested a guard.

"Their garb is strange, like to that of Roger," whispered another.

"Silence!" cried Prince John. "Hath not thy Leader forbidden that name to be mentioned? There is no Roger." He glared at Ann and Jack and saw the camera. "What be yon devil's instrument?"

"It isn't," said Jack. "It's a camera. I just took your picture. And there is too a Roger. He's my cousin."

"What a camera may be," said Prince John, "I neither know nor care. But making pictures behind this iron curtain"—and he pointed to the draperies—"is punishable by death. So is believing in Roger, let alone being related to him. To the dungeon with them. They shall be burnt at sunrise."

And Ann and Jack were dragged away.

"How did it happen? Where did all these terrible new ideas come from?" Ann said to Jack as they were hustled along. "
We
certainly didn't put them in!"

"Maybe they just sort of leaked in from the outside world," said Jack. "Goodness knows there's enough of them around!"

The dungeon, when they got to it, proved to be so full already that they could hardly squeeze in.

"No wonder," said Jack, "with practically all the pleasures of life forbidden now!"

"Exactly," said the nearest prisoner. "I could not agree with thee more!"

Ann recognized him right away. It was the Norman knight, Maurice De Bracy. "What are
you
doing in jail?" she asked. "I thought Prince John was a friend of yours!"

"No longer," said De Bracy, grimly. "Now he calleth himself Leader, he is no man's friend. He hath become the worst tyrant in history. Some of us fellows finally got up a little petition against him."

"Sure," said Jack. "I know. The Magna Charta."

"Why, yes. How didst thou guess? 'Twas no use, though. He found out about it and clapped us all in jail. We are waiting now, to be burnt at sunrise."

"Why, so are we!" said Ann.

"Practically everybody is," said De Bracy, gloomily.

"Where's Rowena?" Ann wondered. "You seemed to be awfully good friends the last time I saw you."

The Norman's face darkened. "Never speak that name," he said. " 'Twas she who betrayed me. She maketh her great eyes at the Leader now. She hopeth to be Leaderess. When the guards arrested me, she laughed."

"I'm not a bit surprised," said Ann. "She never was good enough even for you, let alone Ivanhoe. I always kind of liked you. For a villain, you weren't bad at all."

"Thanks," said De Bracy, blushing modestly. "Then perhaps in that case thou wouldst not mind rescuing me and my comrades? I have heard tell that thou art a mighty sorceress."

"Oh," said Ann, blushing now in her turn. "Well, about that." Then she broke off, staring at his luxurious curling blond whiskers. She had almost forgotten about the quest. Now she remembered. "All right," she said. "But first there's just one thing."

"Anything, anything," said De Bracy.

"First," said Ann, "I'll have to cut off your beard."

"What?" The Norman's hand flew up to cover his beautiful whiskers protectively. He stood glaring at her in mistrust.

"I need it," said Ann, "for my mighty sorcery. Besides, it will soon grow out again," she added, feeling sorry for his knightly dignity.

"Well," said De Bracy reluctantly, offering her his sword, "see that thou cuttest clean and pullest not the short hairs." And he laid his head trustfully down on the stone windowsill.

One clean sweep, and the beard was in Ann's hands. She put it carefully with the roses, and checked off another item in her notebook. For the beard was what she had made of the small giant's side-curls one day when she decided De Bracy's face needed an extra touch. Now if she could just remember about the coattails.

"Well?" said De Bracy, when a minute had gone by and nothing had happened. "When doth the mighty sorcery begin?"

"Wait," said Ann, playing for time. "I can't do it all alone. I have to wait for Roger and the witch."

Another minute passed.

"When will they be coming?" said De Bracy.

"Pretty soon," said Ann. "I hope."

"Where are they now?" said De Bracy.

Ann couldn't keep up the pretense any longer. Her lip trembled. "I wish I knew," she said.

While all this was happening, Roger and Eliza were steadily trudging over the plain toward the forest. When they came to the shrubbery at the edge of the wood, Eliza stopped and picked a few leaves.

"Here," she said, handing them to Roger. "The giants' bath mat."

And they were in Sherwood itself. But the mighty forest seemed different today. No birds sang in its trees, no deer galloped gaily down its corridors. Even Eliza's bright conversation dwindled. Suddenly she grabbed Roger's arm. "Chiggers!" she said.

Roger stopped short. Someone was watching them, from behind a tree just ahead. It was a man in Lincoln green, but his jerkin was frayed and worn and his hose had holes in the knees. He had a bow in his hand, but he seemed to lack the strength to use it. He was staring at them with cold, unfriendly eyes that burned in a face so thin and worn that they didn't recognize him at first. Then they did, and ran to him with joyful cries of "Robin!"

But Robin Hood made an effort and raised his bow threateningly. "Stop where ye are, false prophets!" he cried. "Ye have tricked us with lies and led us astray that the vile Prince—I will not call him Leader for he certainly leadeth not
me
—might pillage our noble greenwood and rob us of our livelihood!"

"No we didn't. Honest," said Roger.

"We were unavoidably detained," said Eliza.

"We couldn't help it. It was magic. It does that sometimes," said Roger.

At last Robin Hood was convinced. "Then thank Heaven ye have returned," he said. "It hath been horrible."

And he raised his horn and blew a faint but cheered-up blast, and the rest of the outlaws came out of their woodsy hiding, but so changed and weary that Roger would not have known them, and with many missing from their ranks.

Then as they sat on the ground, Robin told Roger and Eliza what De Bracy had told Ann, all about how Prince John was Leader now. And he told them how Prince John had rounded up all the deer in the forest for a collective farming experiment, so that the merry men were reduced to living on berries and tree bark. And how afterwards when they were weakened he had hunted them down with his terrible new army.

Many had been wounded and many more had deserted and fled. But the best men of the band were still loyally hoping for Roger and Ivanhoe to return and lead them to crush Prince John forever.

"Had I my trusty sword by me I shouldst have done it long ago," said the Black Knight. "Where is it?"

"Goodness," said Roger. "It must be in the Giants' Lair, still!" And he and Eliza told them about their adventure with the giants (leaving out the parts that were too magic for them to understand).

"And the mighty Jack?" said Robin Hood, "and the small sorceress?"

Eliza told about their quest, and how Ann and Jack must be somewhere in Torquilstone Castle this very minute.

"Then woe betide them!" cried Maid Marian. "The Prince hath taken it, and is burning folk at sunrise right and left!"

At this, Roger wanted to turn back and rescue Ann right away, but the others dissuaded him. "They've probably found everything and got away by this time," said Eliza. "They're probably on their way here right now. They'll probably be turning up any minute."

"Besides," said Robin Hood, "my men are in no condition to attack." So it was decided that Robin and the Black Knight should ride with Roger and Eliza to the Giants' Lair, while the others rested and consumed what rations they had, in preparation for battle.

"I hate to do this," said Eliza, after she had explained to Cedric the Saxon about needing his cloak for the quest. "Won't you be cold?"

"If 'twill aid my son," said Cedric, "what matter if back and side go bare?" And Friar Tuck said he'd lend him his extra habit, anyway.

The journey to the Lair passed quickly, and Robin and the Black Knight waited at the edge of the wood while Roger and Eliza hurried across the giants' lawn. And the door stood open for Eliza, and the three smiling giants appeared in it.

They were more civil than they had been before, and thanked the children for the return of the furniture. The mother giant was a bit sniffy about the worn condition of Cedric's cloak, but when she put the velvet next to her gown it attached itself and suddenly looked as good as new. And the bits of fur grew back into the fur coat beautifully.

The bath mat, alas, was never quite the same, and looked more like a group of leaves than a bath mat for the rest of its life, but the female giant actually smiled and said she liked it better that way. "Quite artistic."

Eliza then asked to see the prisoners, and sure enough, Ivanhoe still had his bandage on under his armor, and though it now made rather a mussy pair of kitchen curtains, the giant family agreed that it would be quite a souvenir.

As for the rest of the things, Roger explained that his sister was bringing those, but had been delayed. "Couldn't you trust us?" he asked. "Couldn't you let our friends go now, sort of on credit?" And Eliza joined her voice to his, assuring the giants that they would have their other belongings back soon.

"Why not?" said the mother giant. "I have heard of getting things on the installment plan, and this must be what it means."

"Well," said the father giant, "I pride myself on being a fair giant. Two may leave, but one must stay as hostage."

"Allow me," said Bois-Guilbert, nobly. "Let the best man win. The extra wait will give me more time to repent, anyway."

"Thanks a lot, old man," said Roger, before Ivanhoe could start being self-sacrificing, too. "That's darn nice of you."

And he and Eliza grabbed Ivanhoe and Rebecca and ran out of the house and across the lawn with them, to where Robin Hood and the Black Knight waited. And the giant let them take the Black Knight's sword with them, just to show what a fair giant he really was.