Even though so young, Myles knew that something very serious had happened to make Sir John so pale and haggard, and he dimly remembered leaning against the knight's iron-covered knees, looking up into his gloomy face, and asking him if he was sick to look so strange. Thereupon those who had been too troubled before to notice him, bethought themselves of him, and sent him to bed, rebellious5 at having to go so early.
He remembered how the next morning, looking out of a window high up under the eaves, he saw a great troop of horsemen come riding into the courtyard beneath, where a powdering of snow had whitened everything, and of how the leader, a knight clad in black armor, dismounted and entered the great hall door-way below, followed by several of the band.
He remembered how some of the castle women were standing6 in a frightened group upon the landing of the stairs, talking together in low voices about a matter he did not understand, excepting that the armed men who had ridden into the courtyard had come for Sir John Dale. None of the women paid any attention to him; so, shunning7 their notice, he ran off down the winding8 stairs, expecting every moment to be called back again by some one of them.
A crowd of castle people, all very serious and quiet, were gathered in the hall, where a number of strange men-at-arms lounged upon the benches, while two billmen in steel caps and leathern jacks9 stood guarding the great door, the butts10 of their weapons resting upon the ground, and the staves crossed, barring the door-way.
In the anteroom was the knight in black armor whom Myles had seen from the window. He was sitting at the table, his great helmet lying upon the bench beside him, and a quart beaker of spiced wine at his elbow. A clerk sat at the other end of the same table, with inkhorn in one hand and pen in the other, and a parchment spread in front of him.
Master Robert, the castle steward11, stood before the knight, who every now and then put to him a question, which the other would answer, and the clerk write the answer down upon the parchment.
His father stood with his back to the fireplace, looking down upon the floor with his blind eyes, his brows drawn12 moodily13 together, and the scar of the great wound that he had received at the tournament at York—the wound that had made him blind—showing red across his forehead, as it always did when he was angered or troubled.
There was something about it all that frightened Myles, who crept to his father's side, and slid his little hand into the palm that hung limp and inert14. In answer to the touch, his father grasped the hand tightly, but did not seem otherwise to notice that he was there. Neither did the black knight pay any attention to him, but continued putting his questions to Master Robert.
Then, suddenly, there was a commotion15 in the hall without, loud voices, and a hurrying here and there. The black knight half arose, grasping a heavy iron mace16 that lay upon the bench beside him, and the next moment Sir John Dale himself, as pale as death, walked into the antechamber. He stopped in the very middle of the room. “I yield me to my Lord's grace and mercy,” said he to the black knight, and they were the last words he ever uttered in this world.
The black knight shouted out some words of command, and swinging up the iron mace in his hand, strode forward clanking towards Sir John, who raised his arm as though to shield himself from the blow. Two or three of those who stood in the hall without came running into the room with drawn swords and bills, and little Myles, crying out with terror, hid his face in his father's long gown.
The next instant came the sound of a heavy blow and of a groan17, then another blow and the sound of one falling upon the ground. Then the clashing of steel, and in the midst Lord Falworth crying, in a dreadful voice, “Thou traitor18! thou coward! thou murderer!”
Master Robert snatched Myles away from his father, and bore him out of the room in spite of his screams and struggles, and he remembered just one instant's sight of Sir John lying still and silent upon his face, and of the black knight standing above him, with the terrible mace in his hand stained a dreadful red.
It was the next day that Lord and Lady Falworth and little Myles, together with three of the more faithful of their people, left the castle.
His memory of past things held a picture for Myles of old Diccon Bowman standing over him in the silence of midnight with a lighted lamp in his hand, and with it a recollection of being bidden to hush19 when he would have spoken, and of being dressed by Diccon and one of the women, bewildered with sleep, shuddering20 and chattering21 with cold.
He remembered being wrapped in the sheepskin that lay at the foot of his bed, and of being carried in Diccon Bowman's arms down the silent darkness of the winding stair-way, with the great black giant shadows swaying and flickering22 upon the stone wall as the dull flame of the lamp swayed and flickered23 in the cold breathing of the night air.
Below were his father and mother and two or three others. A stranger stood warming his hands at a newly-made fire, and little Myles, as he peeped from out the warm sheepskin, saw that he was in riding-boots and was covered with mud. He did not know till long years afterwards that the stranger was a messenger sent by a friend at the King's court, bidding his father fly for safety.
They who stood there by the red blaze of the fire were all very still, talking in whispers and walking on tiptoes, and Myles's mother hugged him in her arms, sheepskin and all, kissing him, with the tears streaming down her cheeks, and whispering to him, as though he could understand their trouble, that they were about to leave their home forever.
Then Diccon Bowman carried him out into the strangeness of the winter midnight.
Outside, beyond the frozen moat, where the osiers, stood stark24 and stiff in their winter nakedness, was a group of dark figures waiting for them with horses. In the pallid25 moonlight Myles recognized the well-known face of Father Edward, the Prior of St. Mary's.
After that came a long ride through that silent night upon the saddle-bow in front of Diccon Bowman; then a deep, heavy sleep, that fell upon him in spite of the galloping26 of the horses.
When next he woke the sun was shining, and his home and his whole life were changed.
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1
knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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2
clattering
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的现在分词形式） | |
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3
smeared
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| 弄脏； 玷污； 涂抹； 擦上 | |
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4
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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5
rebellious
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| adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的 | |
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6
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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7
shunning
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| v.避开，回避，避免( shun的现在分词 ) | |
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8
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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9
jacks
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| n.抓子游戏；千斤顶( jack的名词复数 )；（电）插孔；[电子学]插座；放弃 | |
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10
butts
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| 笑柄( butt的名词复数 )； （武器或工具的）粗大的一端； 屁股； 烟蒂 | |
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11
steward
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| n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员 | |
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12
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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13
moodily
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| adv.喜怒无常地；情绪多变地；心情不稳地；易生气地 | |
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14
inert
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| adj.无活动能力的，惰性的；迟钝的 | |
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15
commotion
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| n.骚动，动乱 | |
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16
mace
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| n.狼牙棒，豆蔻干皮 | |
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17
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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18
traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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19
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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20
shuddering
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| v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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21
chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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22
flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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23
flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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24
stark
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| adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地 | |
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25
pallid
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| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
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26
galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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