And with a gesture that was not without a sort of dangerous nobility, he

waved them off.

The footmen climbed again to their seats behind the men-at-arms, and the

whole party moved slowly away and disappeared in twenty different

directions, under the cover of the forest.

The day was by this time beginning to break, and the stars to fade. The

first grey glimmer of dawn shone upon the countenances of the two young

men, who now turned once more to face each other.

Here," said the duke, "ye have seen my vengeance, which is, like my

blade, both sharp and ready. But I would not have you, for all

Christendom, suppose me thankless. You that came to my aid with a good

sword and a better courage--unless that ye recoil from my

misshapenness--come to my heart."

And so saying, the young leader held out his arms for an embrace.

In the bottom of his heart Dick already entertained a great terror and

some hatred for the man whom he had rescued; but the invitation was so

worded that it would not have been merely discourteous, but cruel, to

refuse or hesitate; and he hastened to comply.

"And now, my lord duke," he said, when he had regained his freedom, "do I

suppose aright? Are ye my Lord Duke of Gloucester?"

The Black Arrow