hind leg, who and what be ye?" he said,
turning to Norman of Torn.

"I be your master and ye be my men," said Norman of Torn. "Me ye shall
serve in fairer work than ye have selected for yourselves, but with
fighting a-plenty and good reward."

The sight of this gang of ruffians banded together to prey upon the
clergy had given rise to an idea in the boy's mind, which had been
revolving in a nebulous way within the innermost recesses of his
subconsciousness since his vanquishing of the three knights had brought
him, so easily, such riches in the form of horses, arms, armor and gold.
As was always his wont in his after life, to think was to act.

"With The Black Wolf dead, and may the devil pull out his eyes with red
hot tongs, we might look farther and fare worse, mates, in search of a
chief," spoke Red Shandy, eyeing his fellows, "for verily any man, be he
but a stripling, who can vanquish six such as we, be fit to command us."

"But what be the duties?" said he whom they called Peter the Hermit.

"To follow Norman of Torn where he may lead, to protect the poor and the
weak, to lay down your lives in defence of woman, and to prey upon rich
Englishmen and harass the King of England."

The last two clauses of these articles of faith appealed to the ruffians
so strongly that they would have subscribed to anything, even daily
mass, and a bath, had that been necessary to admit them to the service
of Norman of Torn.

"Aye, aye!" they cried. "We be your men, indeed."

"Wait," said Norman of Torn, "there is more. You are to obey my every
command on pain of instant death, and one-half of all your gains are to
be mine. On my side, I will clothe and feed you, furnish you with mounts
and armor and weapons and a roof to sleep under, and fight for and with
you with a sword arm which you know to be no mean protector. Are you
satisfied?"

"That we are," and "Long live Norman of Torn," and "Here's to the chief
of the Torns" signified the ready assent of the burly cut-throats.

"Then swear it as ye kiss the hilt of my sword and this token," pursued
Norman of Torn catching up a crucifix from the priest's table.

With these formalities was born the Clan Torn, which grew in a few years
to number a thousand men, and which defied a king's army and helped to
make Simon de Montfort virtual ruler of England.

Almost immediately commenced that series of outlaw acts upon neighboring
barons, and chance members of the gentry who happene