age now!" said Richard. "Hold!" to the servant who
was bringing the red-hot irons in a pair of tongs.

"Hold?" exclaimed Lothaire. "No one commands here but I and my father.
Go on Charlot--where is the bird? Keep her fast, Giles."

"Osmond. You I can command--"

"Come away, my Lord," said Osmond, interrupting Richard's order, before
it was issued. "We have no right to interfere here, and cannot hinder it.
Come away from such a foul sight."

"Shame on you too, Osmond, to let such a deed be done without hindering
it!" exclaimed Richard, breaking from him, and rushing on the man who
carried the hot irons. The French servants were not very willing to
exert their strength against the Duke of Normandy, and Richard's onset,
taking the man by surprise, made him drop the tongs. Lothaire, both
afraid and enraged, caught them up as a weapon of defence, and, hardly
knowing what he did, struck full at Richard's face with the hot iron.
Happily it missed his eye, and the heat had a little abated; but, as it
touched his cheek, it burnt him sufficiently to cause considerable pain.
With a cry of passion, he flew at Lothaire, shook him with all his might,
and ended by throwing him at his length on the pavement. But this was
the last of Richard's exploits, for he was at the same moment captured by
his Squire, and borne off, struggling and kicking as if Osmond had been
his greatest foe; but the young Norman's arms were like iron round him;
and he gave over his resistance sooner, because at that moment a whirring
flapping sound was heard, and the poor hawk rose high, higher, over their
heads in ever lessening circles, far away from her enemies. The servant
who held her, had relaxed his grasp in the consternation caused by
Lothaire's fall, and she was mounting up and up, spying, it might be, her
way to her native rocks in Iceland, with the yellow eyes which Richard
had saved.

"Safe! safe!" cried Richard, joyfully, ceasing his struggles. "Oh, how
glad I am! That young villain should never have hurt her. Put me down,
Osmond, what are you doing with me?"

"Saving you from your--no, I cannot call it folly,--I would hardly have
had you stand still to see such--but let me see your face."

"It is nothing. I don't care now the hawk is safe," said Richard, though
he could hardly keep his lips in order, and was obliged to wink very hard
with his eyes to keep the tears out, now that he had leisure to feel the
smarting; but it would h