person of your birth to herd with outlaws, I must own ye are
both brave and honourable; very dangerous in battle, right courteous in
peace, a youth of excellent disposition and brave bearing. For your
estates, ye will never see them till the world shall change again; so
long as Lancaster hath the strong hand, so long shall Sir Daniel enjoy
them for his own. For my ward, it is another matter; I had promised her
before to a gentleman, a kinsman of my house, one Hamley; the promise is
old----"

"Ay, my lord, and now Sir Daniel hath promised her to my Lord Shoreby,"
interrupted Dick. "And his promise, for all it is but young, is still
the likelier to be made good."

"Tis the plain truth," returned his lordship. "And considering,
moreover, that I am your prisoner, upon no better composition than my
bare life, and over and above that, that the maiden is unhappily in
other hands, I will so far consent. Aid me with your good fellows----"

"My lord," cried Dick, "they are these same outlaws that ye blame me for
consorting with."

"Let them be what they will, they can fight," returned Lord Foxham.
"Help me, then; and if between us we regain the maid, upon my knightly
honour, she shall marry you!"

Dick bent his knee before his prisoner; but he, leaping up lightly from
the cross, caught the lad up and embraced him like a son.

"Come," he said, "an y' are to marry Joan, we must be early friends."

CHAPTER IV

THE "GOOD HOPE"

An hour thereafter, Dick was back at the "Goat and Bagpipes," breaking
his fast, and receiving the report of his messengers and sentries.
Duckworth was still absent from Shoreby; and this was frequently the
case, for he played many parts in the world, shared many different
interests, and conducted many various affairs. He had founded that
fellowship of the Black Arrow, as a ruined man longing for vengeance and
money; and yet among those who knew him best, he was thought to be the
agent and emissary of the great King-maker of England, Richard, Earl of
Warwick.

In his absence, at any rate, it fell upon Richard Shelton to command
affairs in Shoreby; and as he sat at meat his mind was full of care, and
his face heavy with consideration. It had been determined, between him
and the Lord Foxham, to make one bold stroke that evening, and, by brute
force, to set Joanna free. The obstacles, however, were many; and as one
after another of his scouts arrived, each brought him more
discomfortable news