"Far be it from me, my sons, to turn my back in the hour of peril. I have grown old in wars, and my life hastens to an end. There is that in my blood which will not let me flee before danger, for never, methinks, did our forefathers so fly. But you, my sons, do you retire, lest you perish in the flower of your youth—you who are to succeed me (God grant it) and prolong our race, illustrious in the glories of war."
But not one of the young men would consent to move. They would conquer or die, fighting at their father's side beneath the banner of De Montfort.
No time was to be lost in mustering the men and putting them in battle array. The situation was a desperate one. They were hemmed in on all sides. There was but one hope, and that a forlorn one—the chance of cutting their way through Edward's ranks before those of Gloucester and Mortimer could close up.
It was but little that Leofric saw of that desperate and fatal fight at Evesham. Soon after the impact of the deadly struggle, when foe met foe in unexampled fury, Amalric received a deadly wound, and falling upon his horse's neck, would have slipped to the ground and been trampled underfoot, had not Leofric and Jack, with the energy and determination of despair, got him between them, and by fighting every inch of the way with a resolute valour which overcame all obstacles, bore him at last into the precincts of the Priory, where they were safe. Nor did Leofric omit to carry with him the precious banner, which he knew his comrade was certain to ask for if his eyes ever unclosed in this world again.
The good monks tended the dying youth with care and skill, but knew from the first that the case was hopeless. Leofric knelt beside him, striving to win one glance of recognition or one farewell word; and Jack hurried to and fro between them and the tower, bringing news of the battle, which was grimly fought, but which had been from almost the first moment a hopeless struggle.
"The traitorous Welsh are flying! They will be our undoing!" he cried. "They are fleeing away like smoke before the wind, causing confusion and dismay in our ranks!"
Amalric's eyes suddenly opened, as though something in the urgency of Jack's tones had penetrated to his senses.
"The battle—how goes it?" he faintly asked.
"I fear me badly—for us," answered Leofric gently.
"My father?" questioned Amalric, with wistful eyes.