er twenty years; but the first fruits of it turned the hearts of the
court to stone, for there beside the open postern gate lay the dead
bodies of Lady Maud and a certain officer of the Guards, but nowhere
was there a sign or trace of Prince Richard, second son of Henry III of
England, and at that time the youngest prince of the realm.

It was two days before the absence of De Vac was noted, and then it was
that one of the lords in waiting to the King reminded his majesty of
the episode of the fencing bout, and a motive for the abduction of the
King's little son became apparent.

An edict was issued requiring the examination of every child in England,
for on the left breast of the little Prince was a birthmark which
closely resembled a lily and, when after a year no child was found
bearing such a mark and no trace of De Vac uncovered, the search was
carried into France, nor was it ever wholly relinquished at any time for
more than twenty years.

The first theory, of assassination, was quickly abandoned when it was
subjected to the light of reason, for it was evident that an assassin
could have dispatched the little Prince at the same time that he killed
the Lady Maud and her lover, had such been his desire.

The most eager factor in the search for Prince Richard was Simon de
Montfort, Earl of Leicester, whose affection for his royal nephew had
always been so marked as to have been commented upon by the members of
the King's household.

Thus for a time the rupture between De Montfort and his king was
healed, and although the great nobleman was divested of his authority in
Gascony, he suffered little further oppression at the hands of his royal
master.

CHAPTER IV

As De Vac drew his sword from the heart of the Lady Maud, he winced,
for, merciless though he was, he had shrunk from this cruel task. Too
far he had gone, however, to back down now, and, had he left the Lady
Maud alive, the whole of the palace guard and all the city of London
would have been on his heels in ten minutes; there would have been no
escape.

The little Prince was now so terrified that he could but tremble and
whimper in his fright. So fearful was he of the terrible De Vac that a
threat of death easily stilled his tongue, and so the grim, old man led
him to the boat hidden deep in the dense bushes.

De Vac did not dare remain in this retreat until dark, as he had first
intended. Instead, he drew a dingy, ragged dress from the bundle