one to feed their horses."

"Thank you, my lady," said the man, with rough courtesy, as he took off
his steel cap.

"Ah, you are wounded," cried Lady Royland, with a look of horror.

"Only a scratch, my lady. My comrade here is worse than I."

"Your wounds shall be seen to at once."

"If I might speak, my lady, a place to sit down for an hour or two, and
something to eat and drink, would do us more good than a doctor. We
haven't had a good meal since we rode away from Whitehall and along the
western road a week ago."

"Eight days and a harf, comrad'," growled one of his companions.

"Is it? Well, I haven't kept count."

"See to them at once, Martlet," said Lady Royland; and the horses were
led off, while, clinging to her son's arm, the anxious wife and mother
hurried into the library, threw herself into a chair, tore open the
great letter, and began, wild-eyed and excited, to read, while Roy
walked up and down the room with his eyes fixed longingly upon the
despatch till he could bear it no longer.

"Oh, mother!" he cried, "do, do, do pray give me a little bit of the
news."

"My poor boy! yes. How selfish of me. Roy, dear, there is something
terribly wrong! Your dear father says he has been half-mad with
anxiety, for he has sent letter after letter, and has had no news from
us. So at last he determined to send his own messengers, and despatched
five men to guard this letter to us--but I saw only three."

"No," said Roy, solemnly; "the roads are in the hands of the enemy,
mother, and two of the poor fellows were killed on the way. Two of
these three are wounded."

"Yes, yes! Horrible! I could not have thought matters were so bad as
this."

"But father is quite well?"

"Yes, yes, my dear; but he says the king's state is getting desperate,
and that he will have to take the field at once. But the letters I
sent--that he sent, my boy?"

"They must have all fallen into the enemy's hands, mother. How bad
everything must be! But pray, pray, go on. What does he say?"

Lady Royland read on in silence for a few moments, and, as she read, the
pallor in her face gave way to a warm flush of excitement, while Roy, in
spite of his eagerness to hear more, could not help wondering at the
firmness and decision his mother displayed, an aspect which was
supported by her words as she turned to her son.

"Roy," she cried, "I was obliged to read first, but you shall know
everything. While we have been her