"

"Depart!" roared the King, while his nobles crowded around him,
murmuring and bending threatening looks upon the Hermit and the lad.
"Not till yonder animal is slain. Ho, have at her!"

With prick of spur he urged his horse forward. But quick as thought
the Hermit with his staff drew a circle around himself and John and the
doe, which still lay panting at his feet, wrapped in the gray mantle.

"Dare not to cross this line!" he cried. "This ground is holy. Years
ago in the Father's name I consecrated it. 'Tis holy as any cathedral,
and 'tis sanctuary for man and beast. Hear what the Lord says to you:
'They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain.'"

The Hermit raised his hand and spoke a word to the horses that were
being urged forward. With a shrill whinny they rose on their hind
legs, pawing the air, and refused to advance.

"What witchcraft is this!" cried the King, spurring his steed cruelly.
But the animal, like the dogs, obeyed the Hermit's will rather than the
King's.

"No witchcraft," said the Hermit, still guarding the deer with his
upraised staff. "It is the Lord's will. You, who have ever disobeyed
His holy word, perhaps know not how dear to Him were the birds and
beasts. His first companions. His childhood friends. And to this
day, for He Himself hath said it, not a sparrow falleth without His
knowledge and pity. O wicked man! How then can you delight to kill?"

The King gazed at the Hermit like one in a dream. "How dare you say
such things to me, your King?" he said at last.

"You are no king of mine, thank God!" said the Hermit. "I am an exile.
I am of no land. This forest is my domain, my animal kingdom. Depart,
I beg, without more bloodshed. O King, already in time past the hunt
has cost you dear. Will you not take heed lest the Lord punish you
further for your sins?"

The King turned pale. "This is certainly witchcraft!" he muttered.
"What know you of the past?" he cried, almost as if against his will.

"I know much," said the Hermit calmly. "I know that hunting cost the
life of your eldest son. Will you not heed that warning, lest more ill
befall?"

There was a stir among the nobles, and John saw the young man with whom
he had wrestled a short time before spur his horse forward to the
King's side. His face was black and angry.

"Sire--father," he said. "Will you not end this parley and slay them
all? I would have a hand in it for the sake of that you