The soldiers were astonished at the nimble way in which the old
creature skipped over the stones and heather, her little short steps
covering the ground as quickly as their long, steady strides. They
were almost inclined to think that she must be one of the witches about
whom the Britons told such strange stories.

The general was not far away; and soon the old woman's little greedy
eyes were looking up into his grave stern face.

'Well, my good woman,' he said, 'who is this prisoner?'

The old woman grinned, showing a few tusklike teeth. 'He is a very
great man,' she said, 'and I can only give him up for a large sum of
money.'

'Tell me first who he is,' said the general; 'we can talk about the
reward afterwards.'

There was no one that the Romans despised so much as a traitor, and the
general thought this old woman was the most mean and base person he had
ever met.

'The prisoner,' said the woman, with a still wider grin, 'is Caradoc
himself. He came to my hut after the battle; and you should have seen
how pale and weary he was! He thought I would shelter him, because he
is my son-in-law, but after he had fallen asleep I said to myself, "The
Romans are good folk, and they will be grateful to an old woman who
hands over a wicked rebel----"'

'That will do, my good woman,' said the general, cutting her short.
'Here is a bag of gold; it is your fee for delivering the British
leader into our hands. Come and show us where he is to be found; or if
you are playing us false it will be the worse for you.'

The old woman's fingers closed round the gold, and her delight at
getting so much money prevented her from feeling the contempt in the
general's voice and eyes.

Presently the tiny hut was surrounded by Roman soldiers. Bending his
tall form at the doorway, the general entered, followed by two soldiers
leading between them the old woman, whose skinny fingers were tightly
clutching the bag of gold.

Caradoc stirred in his sleep, then he sat up and looked at the Romans.

His eyes fell upon his mother-in-law; and he understood.

He had to stand up and submit to having his hands bound behind his back
by the Roman soldiers.

The old woman left the hut and disappeared with her ill-gotten gains.

For once in her life she felt ashamed of herself.

She had betrayed her country, and although she was now one of the
richest women in Britain she was never really happy again.

When the wounded chieftain joined t