Made in the U. S. A.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE I. [The King’s Fool] 7 II. [I Am Attacked in the Woods] 22 III. [A Visitor in the Night] 31 IV. [A Trickster] 36 V. [What I Learned in the Woods] 48 VI. [We Hunt the Wild Boar] 59 VII. [The Black Prince] 69 VIII. [The Silver-Hafted Dagger] 82 IX. [A Solitary House in the Woods] 91 X. [The Highwayman of Tours] 107 XI. [I Find a Companion] 117 XII. [The Three Crows Inn] 123 XIII. [The Silver-Hafted Dagger] 133 XIV. [Pursued] 141 XV. [The Scrivener Disappears] 150 XVI. [The Scrivener Turns Traitor] 162 XVII. [On the Highway] 172 XVIII. [Escape!] 183 XIX. [On the Island] 190 XX. [No Man’s Land] 198 XXI. [The Defense of the Cave] 206 XXII. [Trapped!] 227 XXIII. [The Fight in the Inn] 239 XXIV. [Besieged] 247 XXV. [Friends and Enemies] 257 XXVI. [The Abbot of Chalonnes] 270 XXVII. [The Black Prince Again] 283 XXVIII. [Victory ... and Home] 292
ILLUSTRATIONS
[The Lance Was Almost Torn From His Grasp] Frontispiece [The Arrow Struck With a Click] 78 [They Came Into View From Among the Thick Trunks] 146 [His Countenance Was Black With Anger] 218
The Messenger of the Black Prince
CHAPTER I
THE KING’S FOOL
I remember the beginning of it as though it were yesterday. My brother André had sent me to the armorer’s to have some broken links mended in his gear. I was standing near the forge watching Le Brun send the sparks flying from his anvil and marveling with what strength and ease he was able to turn the stubborn bits of steel, when a man appeared at the door and with a smile bid us the time of day. There is nothing strange in that, to be sure. But yet the manner of his saying it struck us both, for his tone held a kind of sharpness as of mockery. I looked around quickly. Le Brun eased off the stroke as it came down. With a scowl upon his brow he leaned his weight upon the hammer. His big chest heaved as he glared towards the door.
“I agree, stranger,” he said. “It is a fair day.” He waved with his hand. “You will find the inn about half a league further down the road.”