tour, and a little time after their great chief, the Prince of
Conde, fell at Jarnac. But the small band of English gentlemen
adventurers was not at all cast down. The Huguenot cause did not mean a
great deal to them, and they speedily consoled themselves for Conde's
loss.

When they actually took the field they found the warfare a very
irregular sort of fighting, a sudden swoop down upon the Catholics in
some ill-defended town, a quick retreat at the approach of regular
troops, an occasional short skirmish in the open. Walter was sent into
Languedoc, and joined in the chase of Catholics through the hills.

The country was full of steep cliffs, and there were many caves hidden
in them. Fugitives would escape through the open country and meet in
these recesses, and the Englishmen would follow, tracking them after
the manner of hunters of wild game. Sometimes they would come to the top
of a cliff, overlooking a cave in which they had seen men hide. Then
they would lower lighted bundles of straw by iron chains until they came
opposite the mouth of the cave. In a short time the men in hiding would
be smoked out, and compelled to surrender. Often they had hidden
treasures of money or plate in the caves, and these would fall into the
captors' hands. This lure of booty added spice to the hunt.

It was rough, wild work, but it was a rough age, and men had few
scruples when it came to dealing with their enemies. Young Raleigh
proved a good fighter, fond of the hunts through the hills, and always
ready for any wild expedition. He cared little enough for the cause for
which the troop was supposed to be fighting. It was the opportunity to
advance himself that concerned him most.

When he came back from France he found that there was no place for him
at the manor-house in Devon. As a younger son he must fight his own way
in the world. He had always loved London next after the Devon coast, and
so he went there now, hoping that he might find some favor with the
court. Queen Elizabeth liked to have youths of good family and good
looks about her, and there were many of them living in London who used
her court as a sort of club.

Walter made many friends of his own age, and lived as most of them did,
mixing in all the excitements of city life. He was now rather a wild,
reckless young blade, as willing to draw his sword in a street fight as
to pay compliments to a pretty maid of honor. One day he got into a
fight at a tavern with a n