his face in his hands.

Sir Daniel was by him in two strides, and shook him fiercely by the

shoulder. At the same moment Dick's suspicions reawakened.

Nay," he said, "Sir Oliver may swear also. 'Twas him they accused."

He shall swear," said the knight.

Sir Oliver speechlessly waved his arms.

"Ay, by the mass! but ye shall swear," cried Sir Daniel, beside himself

with fury. "Here, upon this book, ye shall swear," he continued, picking

up the breviary, which had fallen to the ground. "What! Ye make me

doubt you! Swear, I say; swear!"

But the priest was still incapable of speech. His terror of Sir Daniel,

his terror of perjury, risen to about an equal height, strangled him.

And just then, through the high, stained-glass window of the hall, a

black arrow crashed, and struck, and stuck quivering, in the midst of the

long table.

Sir Oliver, with a loud scream, fell fainting on the rushes; while the

knight, followed by Dick, dashed into the court and up the nearest

corkscrew stair to the battlements. The sentries were all on the alert.

The sun shone quietly on green lawns dotted with trees, and on the wooded

The Black Arrow