Instead of the fierce spring that he had anticipated, the two figures stopped suddenly, exchanged a word in Welsh, and then dropped their cloaks. To Oswald's astonishment, two young women stood before him. They evidently belonged to the upper class. Both were richly dressed. They wore heavy gold chains round their necks, and bracelets of the same metal; set, as Oswald noticed by the reflection of the moon, with jewels. They had also brooches, and their girdles were held in with massive gold clasps.
By this time Roger had come up, and stood staring with astonishment.
"Take these, good fellows," the girl said in English, as she began to unfasten her necklace. "Take these, and let us go. They will make you rich."
"I am an esquire of Sir Henry Percy," Oswald said, "and I rob not women. By your appearance, I should judge you to be daughters of Glendower."
"It would be useless to deny it," one of the girls said, proudly.
"Why do you come spying here?" Oswald said. "Surely, among your father's warriors, others better suited for such work might have been found."
"We were not spying," the girl replied. "We have lain hidden all day, and were but making our escape."
"How can that be, madam? We had a guard all round the castle, and know that none can have escaped."
"Being an esquire, you are a gentleman, sir, and will not disclose what I am about to tell you; though, indeed, now that our father's house is in your hands, it boots not much whether the secret is known. There is a secret passage from the castle that opens into these bushes, and it was through that that we issued out; having been in hiding all day, in the secret chamber from which it leads.