“Squires, there—what, ho, within!” cried the Wolfe, “hath no one as yet heard aught of Sir Andrew Stewart?”
“No one, my noble Earl,” replied an esquire who waited.
“By the holy mass, then,” said the Wolfe, “but the caitiff hath taken refuge in some of my strongholds. But ’twill be [[566]]hard an we ferret him not out. Ha! knaves there, let fifty mounted lances be ready in the lawnde beyond the land-sconce ere I can wind my bugle.”
The Wolfe of Badenoch was restored to all his pristine vigour by the very thought of going on an expedition, even though it was against his own son. The court-yard rang with the bustle the Castle was thrown into, and all the boats were put in requisition to ferry the horses across. Everything was ready for them to mount at the land-sconce in an incredibly short space of time; but, however short the delay, still it was too much for his impatience; nor was his companion less restless than the Wolfe, till he found himself in saddle. When all were mounted, the monk showed, by his forward riding, that there was little risk of his being a drag upon the speed of the furious-pricking knight, and the Wolfe of Badenoch exulted to behold his horsemanship.
“By the mass,” cried he, pulling up a little, “but thou art a prince of friars; ’tis a pleasure, I vow, to have a stalwarth monk like thee as a confessor; wouldst thou be mine, thou shouldst ever ride at my elbow. Where hadst thou thy schooling, Sir Friar?”
“I have rode in the lists ere now,” replied the Franciscan; “yea, and war have I seen in all its fashions. But it doth now befit me to forget these vain carnal contentions, and to fight against mine own evil passions, the which are harder to subdue than any living foe. And in this let me be an ensample to thee, my Lord, for verily the time is but short sith that I was as violent and tempestuous as thyself; and hard it is even yet for me, frail man as I am, to keep down the raging devil that is within me. May the blessed Virgin increase our virtuous resolution!” said he, crossing himself.
To this pious ejaculation the Wolfe added a hearty “Amen;” and they again pushed on at the same rapid pace at which they had originally started.
CHAPTER LXX.
Bishop Barr at Lochyndorbe Castle—Reception by the Wolfe.