as soon as it was heard that the lord and lady had returned, the vassals of villeroy came in to pay their respects, and presents of fowls, game, and provisions of all kinds poured in. the table in the banqueting-hall was bountifully spread, casks of wine broached, and all who came received entertainment. as french was still spoken a good deal at the english court and among the nobles and barons, and was considered part of the necessary education of all persons of gentle blood, guy, who had always used it in his conversation with his father, had no difficulty in performing his duty of seeing that the wants of all who came were well attended to. in a few days guests of higher degree came in, the knights and barons of that part of the province; a few of these expressed surprise at the height of the sturdy men-at-arms and archers loitering about the court-yard. sir eustace always answered any remarks made on the subject by saying, "yes, dame margaret and i thought that instead of keeping all our retainers doing nothing in our castle in england, where there is at present no use whatever for their services, we might as well bring a couple of score of them over here. i have no wish to take part in any of the troubles that seem likely to disturb france, but there is never any saying what may happen, and at any rate it costs no more to feed these men here than in england."

the english archers and men-at-arms were well satisfied with their quarters and food, and were soon on good terms with their french associates. the garrison, before their arrival, had consisted of fifty men-at-arms, and although these had no means of communicating verbally with the new arrivals, they were not long in striking up such acquaintance as could be gained by friendly gestures and the clinking of wine-cups. their quarters were beside those of the english, and the whole of the men-at-arms daily performed their exercises in the court-yard together, under the command of the castellan, while the archers marched out across the drawbridge and practised shooting at some butts pitched there. to the french men-at-arms their performances appeared astounding. the french had never taken to archery, but the cross-bow was in use among them, and half of the french men-at-arms had been trained in the use of this weapon, which was considered more valuable in the case of sieges than of warfare in the field. while they were able to send their bolts as far as the bowmen could shoot their arrows, there was no comparison whatever in point of accuracy, and the archers could discharge a score of arrows while the cross-bowmen were winding up their weapons.

"pardieu, master page," jean bouvard said one day as he stood with guy watching the shooting of the archers, "i no longer wonder at the way in which you english defeated us at cressy and poitiers. i have heard from my father, who fought at poitiers, how terrible was the rain of arrows that was poured upon our knights when they charged up the hill against the english, but i had never thought that men could shoot with such skill and strength. it was but yesterday that i set my men-at-arms to try and bend one of these english bows, and not one of them could draw an arrow anywhere near the head with all their efforts; while these men seem to do so with the greatest ease, and the speed with which they can shoot off arrow after arrow well-nigh passes belief. that tall fellow, who is their chief, but now sent twenty arrows into a space no greater than a hand's-breadth, at a hundred and twenty yards, and that so quickly that he scarce seemed to take time to aim at all, and the others are well-nigh as skilful. yesterday i put up a breastplate such as is worn by our men-at-arms and asked them to shoot at it at eighty yards. they fired a volley together at it. it was riddled like a colander; not one of the five-and-twenty arrows had failed to pierce it."

"ay, at that distance, captain, an english archer of fair skill could not miss it, and it needs milan armour, and that of the best, to keep out their arrows."

"by our lady," the captain remarked, "i should be sorry to attack a castle defended by them, and our lord has done well indeed to bring them over with him. your men-at-arms are stalwart fellows. my own men feel well-nigh abashed when they see how these men take up a stone that they themselves can with difficulty lift from the ground, and hurl it twenty yards away; and they whirl their heavy axes round their heads as if they were reeds."

"they are all picked men," guy said with a laugh. "you must not take it that all englishmen are of equal strength, though no doubt sir eustace could have gathered five hundred as strong had he wished it."

"if that be so," the captain said, "i can well believe that if france and england meet again on a field of battle france shall be beaten as she was before. however, there is one comfort, we shall not be among the defeated; for our lord, and his father and his grandfather before, him, have ever been with england, and sir eustace, having an english wife and mother, and being a vassal of the english crown for his estates in england, will assuredly take their part in case of a quarrel. of course, at present we hold ourselves to be neutrals, and though our lord's leanings towards england give some umbrage to his neighbours, their enmity finds no expression, since for years now there has been no righting to speak of between the two nations. how it will be if orleans and burgundy come to blows i know not; but if they do so, methinks our lord will have to declare for one or the other, or he may have both upon him. a man with broad estates, on which many cast covetous eyes, can scarce stand altogether aloof. however, if villeroy is attacked, methinks that with the following sir eustace has brought with him across the sea even burgundy himself will find that it would cost him so dearly to capture the castle that it were best left alone."

"how about the vassals?"

"they will fight for their lord," jean bouvard answered confidently. "you see their fathers and grandfathers fought under the black prince, and it is natural that their leanings should be on that side. then they know that there is no better lord in all artois than sir eustace, and his dame has made herself much beloved among them all. there is no fear that they will disobey our lord's orders whatever they be, and will fight as he bids them, for orleans or burgundy, england or france. he has never exercised to the full his rights of seigneur; he has never called upon them for their full quota of work; no man has even been hung on his estate for two generations save for crime committed; no vassal's daughter has ever been carried into the castle. i tell you there is not a man for over fifty miles round who does not envy the vassals of villeroy, and this would be a happy land indeed were all lords like ours. were we to hoist the flag on the keep and fire a gun, every man on the estate would muster here before sunset, and would march against the king of france himself did sir eustace order them to do so."

"in that case what force could we put on the walls, captain?"

"two hundred men besides the garrison, and we have provisions stored away in the keep sufficient for them and their women and children for a three months' siege. sir eustace gave me orders yesterday to procure wood of the kind used for arrows, and to lay in a great store of it; also to set the smiths to work to make arrow-heads. i asked him how many, and he said, 'let them go on at it until further orders. i should like a store sufficient at least for a hundred rounds for each of these english archers, and if we had double that it would be all the better. they can make their own arrows if they have suitable wood.' it seemed to me that two hundred rounds was beyond all necessity, but now when i see that these men can shoot nigh twenty rounds a minute, i can well understand that a great supply for them is needful."

the time passed very pleasantly at villeroy. sometimes guy rode with his lord and lady when they went out hawking or paid visits to neighbouring castles. regularly every day they practised for two hours in arms, and although well instructed before, guy gained much additional skill from the teaching of jean bouvard, who was a famous swordsman. the latter was surprised at finding that the page was able to draw the english bows as well as the archers, and that, although inferior to long tom and three or four of the best shots, he was quite as good a marksman as the majority. moreover, though of gentle blood he would join with the men in their bouts of quarter-staff, and took no more heed of a broken head than they did.

[image: guy has his head bound up after a bout at quarter-staff.]

"pardieu, master page," he said one day when guy came in from the court-yard to have his head, which was streaming with blood, bound up, "our french pages would marvel indeed if they saw you. they all practise in arms as you do, save with the shooting; but they would consider it would demean them sorely to join in such rough sports with their inferiors, or to run the risk of getting their beauty spoiled by a rough blow. no wonder your knights strike so mightily in battle when they are accustomed to strike so heavily in sport. i saw one of your men-at-arms yesterday bury his axe to the very head in a block of oak; he wagered a stoup of wine that no two of my men-at-arms would get the axe out, and he won fairly, for indeed it took four of the knaves at the handle to tug it out, and then indeed it needed all their strength. no armour ever forged could have withstood such a blow; it-would have cracked both the casque and the skull inside like egg-shells. it seemed to me that a thousand such men, with as many archers, could march through france from end to end, if they kept well together, and were well supplied with meat and drink by the way—they would need that, for they are as good trenchermen as they are fighters, and indeed each man amongst them eats as much as three of my fellows."

"yes, they want to be well fed," guy laughed, "and they are rarely pleased with the provision that you make for them; surely not one of them ever fed so well before."

"food does not cost much," the captain said; "we have herds of our own which run half wild on the low ground near the river, which our lords always keep in hand for their own uses, and they multiply so fast that they are all the better for thinning; we sell a few occasionally, but they are so wild that it scarce pays the trouble of driving them to the nearest market, and we are always ready to grant permission to any of the vassals, whose cattle have not done as well as usual, to go out and kill one or two for meat."

"i hear from the governor of calais," sir eustace said, when he returned from a visit to that town, "that a truce has been agreed upon between england and france for a year; it is france who asked for it, i suppose. both parties here wanted to be able to fight it out without interference. here, in artois, where the burgundians are most numerous, they will profit, as they will have no fear of england trying to regain some of her lost territory, while in the south it will leave armagnac and his friends equally free from english incursions from guienne."

"and how will it affect us, eustace?" his wife asked.

"that i have not been able fully to determine. at any rate they will have no excuse for attacking us upon the ground that we are partly english, and wholly so in feeling; but upon the other hand, if we are attacked either by burgundians or orleanists, we cannot hope, as we should have done before, for aid from calais, lying as we do some fifteen miles beyond the frontier. amiens has already declared for burgundy, in spite of the fact that a royal proclamation has been issued, and sent to every town and bailiwick through france, strictly commanding all persons whatsoever not to interfere, or in any manner to assist the dukes of orleans or burgundy in their quarrels with each other. i hear that the duke of burgundy has seized roye, nesle, and ham, and a number of other places, and that both parties are fortifying all their towns. they say, too, that there is news that the king has again been seized with one of his fits of madness. however, that matters little. he has of late been a tool in the hands of burgundy, and the royal signature has no weight one way or the other. however, now that hostilities have begun, we must lose no time, for at any moment one party or the other may make a sudden attack upon us. burgundy and orleans may quarrel, but it is not for love of one or the other that most of the nobles will join in the fray, but merely because it offers them an opportunity for pillaging and plundering, and for paying off old scores against neighbours. guy, bid john harpen come hither."

when the esquire entered, sir eustace went on:

"take two men-at-arms, john, and ride round to all the tenants. warn them that there are plundering bands about, and that either the burgundians or the orleanists may swoop down upon us any day. tell them that they had better send in here all their valuables, and at any rate the best of their cattle and horses, and to have everything prepared for bringing in their wives and families and the rest of their herds at a moment's notice. you can say that if they like they can at once send their wives and families in, with such store of grain and forage as they can transport; the more the better. if the plunderers come, so much the more is saved from destruction; if we are besieged, so much the more food have we here. those who do not send in their families would do well to keep a cart with two strong horses ready day and night, so that no time would be lost when they get the signal. we shall fire a gun, hoist the flag, and light a bonfire on the keep, so that they may see the smoke by day or the fire by night. tell jean bouvard to come to me."

"there is trouble afoot, jean, and at any moment we may be attacked. place two men-at-arms on each of the roads to st. omer, st. pol, and bethune. post them yourself at the highest points you can find near our boundary. by each have a pile of faggots, well smeared with pitch, and have another pile ready on the keep, and a watch always stationed there. he is to light it at once when he sees smoke or fire from either of the three points. let the men at the outposts be relieved every four hours. they must, of course, be mounted. let one of the two remain by the faggots, and let the other ride three or four miles in advance, and so post himself as to see a long distance down the road.

"if he sees a force advancing he must gallop back at full speed to his comrade, and light the fire. have a gun always loaded on the keep, and have a brazier burning hard by, with an iron in it, so that the piece may be fired the instant smoke is seen. it might be two or three minutes before the beacon would give out smoke enough to be noticed, and every minute may be of the greatest importance to the vassals. as soon as you return from setting the posts see that everything is in readiness here. i myself will make sure that the drawbridge works easily and the portcullis runs freely in its groove. i have already sent off john harpen to warn the tenants, and doubtless many of them will be in this afternoon. send pierre with four men, and tell them to drive up a number of the cattle from the marshes. they need not trouble to hunt them all up today. let them bring the principal herd, the others we will fetch in to-morrow, or let them range where they are until we have further news."

in a few minutes the castle resounded with the din of preparations under the superintendence of sir eustace. the men-at-arms and archers carried up stones from the great pile that had been collected in the court-yard in readiness, to the various points on the walls that would be most exposed to assault. others were employed in fixing barricades in the court-yard at the rear for the reception of the herd of half-wild cattle. the water was turned from the little rivulet running down to the somme into the moat. two or three bullocks were killed to furnish food for the fugitives who might come in, and straw was laid down thickly in the sheds that would be occupied by them. machines for casting heavy stones were taken from the storehouse and carried up to the walls, and set up there. large stone troughs placed in the court-yard were filled with water, and before nightfall everything was in readiness.

as sir eustace had anticipated, most of the vassals whose farms lay at a distance from the castle came in with their wives and families in the course of the afternoon, bringing carts laden with their household goods, and a considerable number of horses and cattle. lady margaret herself saw that they were established as comfortably as possible in the sheds, which were large enough to contain all the women and children on the estate. as for the men, no such provision was necessary, as at this time of the year they could sleep in the open air. guy was busy all day seeing that the orders of his lord were carried out, and especially watching the operations of putting the ballistas and catapults together on the walls. cannon, though now in use, had by no means superseded these machines, for they were cumbrous and clumsy, and could only be fired at considerable intervals, and their aim was by no means accurate or their range extensive, as the charge of powder that could be used in them was comparatively small, and the powder itself ill-made and defective in strength.

guy was struck with the difference of demeanour between the men-at-arms and archers, especially among the english contingent, and that of the fugitives who poured in. what was a terrible blow to the latter was the cause of a scarce concealed gratification among the former. the two months that had been spent at the castle had, to the english, been a somewhat monotonous time, and the prospect of active service and of the giving and taking of blows made their blood course more rapidly through their veins. it was the prospect of fighting rather than of pay that had attracted them to the service of sir eustace. then, as for a century previous and until quite modern days, frenchmen were regarded as the natural foes of england, and however large a force an english king wished to collect for service in france, he had never any difficulty whatever in obtaining the number he asked for, and they were ready cheerfully to give battle whatever the odds against them. the english archer's confidence in himself and his skill was indeed supreme. before the shafts of his forefathers the flower of the french chivalry had gone down like rushes before a scythe, and from being a mere accessory to a battle the english archers had become the backbone of the force. their skill, in fact, had revolutionized warfare, had broken the power of cavalry, and had added to the dignity and value of infantry, who had become, as they have ever since continued to be, the prime factor in warfare. consequently the english archers and men-at-arms went about their work of preparation with a zest and cheerfulness that showed their satisfaction in it.

"why, tom," guy said to the tall leader of the archers, "you look as pleased as if it were a feast rather than a fray for which you were preparing."

"and so i feel, master guy. for what have i been practising with the bow since i was eight years old but that i might, when the time came, send an arrow straight through the bars of a french vizor? in faith, i began to think that i should never have an opportunity of exercising my skill on anything more worthy than a target or peeled wand. since our kings have given up leading armies across the sea, there was no way but to take service with our lord when i heard that he wanted a small company of archers for the defence of his castle over here, and since we have come it has seemed to us all that we were taking pay and food under false pretences, and that we might as well have stopped at home where, at least, we can compete in all honour and good temper against men as good as ourselves, and with the certainty of winning a few silver pennies, to say nothing of plaudits from the onlookers. 'tis with our people as with the knights of old; if they win in a tournament they take the armour of the vanquished, the prize from the queen of beauty, and many a glance of admiration from bright eyes. it is the same with us; for there is not an english maid but would choose an archer who stands straight and firm, and can carry off a prize when in good company, to a hind who thinks of naught but delving the soil and tending the herd."

guy laughed. "i suppose it is the same, when you put it so, long tom; but there will be none of your english maids to watch your prowess here."

"no, master guy; but here we shall fight for our own satisfaction, and prove to ourselves that we are as good men as our fathers were. i know naught of this quarrel. had sir eustace taken us into the field to fight for one or other of these factions concerning which we know nothing, we should doubtless have done our duty and fought manfully. but we are all glad that here we are doing what we came for; we are going to defend the castle against frenchmen of some sort or other who would do ill to our lord and lady, and we shall fight right heartily and joyfully, and should still do so were it the mad king of france himself who marched against us. besides, master, we should be less than men if we did not feel for the frightened women and children who, having done no wrong, and caring naught for these factions, are forced to flee from their homes for their lives; so we shall strike in just as we should strike in were we to come upon a band of robbers ill-treating a woman at home.... think you that they will come, master?" he added eagerly.

"that i cannot say surely, tom; but sir eustace has news that the burgundians have already seized several towns and placed garrisons there, and that armed bands are traversing the country, burning and pillaging. whether they will feel strong enough to make an attack on this castle i know not, but belike they will do so, for sir eustace, belonging as he does, and as his fathers have done before him, to the english party, neither of the others will feel any good-will towards him, and some of his neighbours may well be glad to take advantage of this troubled time to endeavour to despoil him of his castle and possessions."

"they will want to have good teeth to crack this nut, master guy—good teeth and strong; and methinks that those who come to pluck the feathers may well go back without their own. we have a rare store of shafts ready, and they will find that their cross-bowmen are of little use against picked english archers, even though there be but twenty-five of us in all."

"you know very well, long tom, that you would have come over here whether there was any chance of your drawing your bow on a frenchman or not."

"that is true enough, master guy. our lady wanted some bowmen, and i, who have been born and bred on the estate, was of course bound to go with her. then you see, master guy, haven't i taught you to use the bow and the quarter-staff, and carried you on my shoulder many a score of times when you were a little lad and i was a big boy? it would not have been natural for you to have gone out with a chance of getting into a fight without my being there to draw a shaft when you needed it. why, ruth gregory, whose sworn bachelor you know i am, would have cried shame on me if i had lingered behind. i told her that if i stayed it would be for her sake, and you should have seen how she flouted me, saying that she would have no tall lout hiding behind her petticoats, and that if i stayed, it should not be as her man. and now i must be off to my supper, or i shall find that there is not a morsel left for me."

the gates of the castle were closed that night, but it was not considered necessary to lower the drawbridge. two sentries were posted at the work beyond the moat, and one above the gate, besides the watcher at the top of the keep. the next day things were got into better order. more barricades were erected for the separation of the cattle; a portion was set aside for horses. the provisions brought in from the farms were stored away in the magazines. the women and children began to settle down more comfortably in their sheds. the best of the horses and cattle were removed into the inner court-yard. the boys were set drawing water and filling the troughs, while some of the farm men were told off to carry the fodder to the animals, most of which, however, were for the time turned out to graze near the castle. many of the men who had come in had returned to their work on the farms. during the day waggons continued to arrive with stores of grain and forage; boys and girls drove in flocks of geese and turkeys and large numbers of ducks and hens, until the yard in which the sheds were was crowded with them. by nightfall every preparation was complete, and even jean bouvard himself could find nothing further to suggest.

"if they are coming," he said to sir eustace, "the sooner they come the better, my lord; we have done all that we can do, and had best get it over without more ado."

"i still hope that no one will come, bouvard, but i agree with you, that if it is to come the sooner the better. but there is no saying, it may be to-morrow, it may be months before we are disturbed. still, in a war like this, it is likely that all will try and get as much as they can as quickly as possible, for at any moment it may suit burgundy and orleans to patch up their quarrel again. burgundy is astute and cunning, and if he sees that the orleans princes with armagnac and the duke of bourbon are likely to get the best of it, he will use the king and queen to intervene and stop the fighting. seeing that this may be so, the rogues who have their eye on their neighbours' goods and possessions will, you may be sure, lose no time in stretching out their hands for them."

a week later came the news that sir clugnet de brabant, who styled himself admiral of france, had gathered two thousand men from the orleanist garrisons and, with scaling-ladders and other warlike machines, had attacked the town of rethel. the inhabitants had, however, notice of their coming, and resisted so stoutly that the orleanists had been forced to retreat, and had then divided into two parties, each of whom had scoured the country, making prisoners all whom they met, firing the villages and driving off the cattle, and then returned to the town of ham and to the various garrisons from which they had been drawn. some of the tenants had returned to their farms, but when the news spread they again took refuge in the castle. it was probable that artois, where almost all the towns were held by the burgundian party, would be the next object of attack. the orleanists remained quiet for eight days only, then the news came that they had moved out again from ham eight thousand strong, and were marching west.

two days later several fugitives from the country round arrived at the castle with news that the orleanists were advancing against bapaume, and the next morning they heard that they had, after a fierce fight, won their way to the gate of the town. the burgundian garrison had then sallied out and at first met with success, but had been obliged to retreat within the walls again. the orleanists, however, considering the place too strong to be captured without a long siege, which might be interrupted by a burgundian force from flanders, had drawn off from the place, but were still marching north burning and plundering.

"it is likely enough that they will come this way," sir eustace said as he and jean bouvard talked the matter over. "assuredly arras will be too strong for them to attempt. the straight line would take them to st. pol, but the castle there is a very strong one also. they may sack and burn avesne and auvigni, and then, avoiding both st. pol and arras, march between them to pernes, which is large enough to give them much plunder, but has no force that could resist them. as pernes is but four miles away, their next call may be here."

"but why should they attack us, sir eustace? for here, too, they might reckon upon more hard blows than plunder."

"it will depend upon whom they have with them," sir eustace replied. "they say that our neighbour hugh de fruges went south ten days ago to join the duke of bourbon; his castle is but a small place, and as most of artois is burgundian he might be afraid he might be captured. he has never borne me good-will, and might well persuade the duke that were my castle and estates in his possession he might do good service to the cause; and that, moreover, standing as we do within twelve miles of the english frontier, its possession might be very valuable to him should the orleanists ever have occasion to call in the aid of england, or to oppose their advance should the burgundians take that step."

"surely neither of these factions will do that, sir eustace."

"why not, bouvard? every time that english armies have passed into france they have done it at the invitation of french nobles who have embroiled themselves with their kings. burgundy and orleans, bourbon and brittany, each fights for his own hand, and cares little for france as a whole. they may be vassals of the valois, but they regard themselves as being nearly, if not altogether, their equals, and are always ready to league themselves with each other, or if it needs be with the english, against the throne."

at nine o'clock on the following evening sir eustace and his family were startled by the report of the gun on the keep, and, running out, saw the signal-fire beginning to blaze up.

"above there!" sir eustace shouted, "where is the alarm?"

"a fire has just blazed up on the road to st. pol," the warder replied.

"blow your horn, then, loudly and urgently."

the news that the orleanists were marching north from bapaume had caused the greater portion of the farmers to come in on the previous day, and in a short time those who were nearest to the castle, and who had consequently delayed as long as possible, began to arrive. the garrison were already under arms, and had taken the places assigned to them on the walls. all the tenants had brought their arms in with them, and were now drawn up in the court-yard, where a large bonfire, that had been for some days in readiness, was now blazing. the new-comers, after turning their horses into the inclosure with those already there, joined them. all had been acquainted with the share they were to bear should the place be besieged. they were to be divided into two parties, one of which was to be on duty on the walls with the garrison, the other to be held in reserve, and was—every six hours when matters were quiet—to relieve the party on the walls, or, when an attack took place, to be under arms and ready to hasten to any spot where its aid was required. the men were now inspected by sir eustace, additional arms were served out from the armoury to those whose equipment was insufficient, and they were then dismissed to join their wives and families until called to the walls.