The Sword in the Tree (5 page)

“My son and I have had troubles, and we have nowhere to go,” said Lady Marian. “If you will keep us here for a while, we will find some way to pay you.”

“It is proud we are,” said Adam the herdsman, “to have such a fine lady and her son under our roof.”

Phebe put bread and cheese on the table. She said to the boy, “Run, Magnus, and bring fresh milk.”

Magnus picked up a jug and ran outside.

“It will be a poor meal, I fear,” said Phebe.

“It will be our best in many a day,” said Lady Marian. And she said in a low voice to Shan, “These are kind, honest people. It was good luck that led us here.”

The fall rains passed, and the winter snows came. In the home of the herdsman, Shan and his mother were safe and warm.

Shan helped care for the herd. He took hay and water to the sheep and goats. Phebe made him goatskin clothes like Magnus'.

Every day he and Magnus went hunting. With their bows and arrows they brought down rabbits and squirrels. Once they brought down a red deer.

Sometimes Adam and the two boys cut wood for the fire. They hauled it to the house in a cart. Load after load they hauled, until there was a great pile of wood outside the door.

Shan and Magnus made wooden swords. When the day's work was done, they played they were knights. They took Phebe's iron pot lids for shields and fought battles in the snow.

“Some day I'm going to be a knight,” said Shan. “I'll ride out with my sword and shield. I'll find people in trouble and help them.”

“I'll be a herdsman like my father,” said Magnus.

“Don't you want to ride out and have adventures?” asked Shan.

“You and I are not alike,” said Magnus. “You were born to be a knight or a lord. I was born to work with the herds.”

“Some day,” said Shan, “I'm going back and take Weldon Castle from my uncle. Some day when I'm a knight.”

“Eh! That's a long time to wait,” said Magnus.

“Yes,” said Shan. “A long time.”

One evening a man came to the door of the herdsman's house. At first Shan and his mother were afraid he might be one of Lionel's men. They drew back from the firelight so that he could not see their faces.

But the man was only a hunter who had lost his way.

As they sat by the fire, he sang songs and told stories. He had been in every part of the land, and he liked to tell of the places he had seen.

“Have you been to Camelot?” asked Adam.

“That I have,” said the hunter.

“Did you see King Arthur's castle?” asked Adam.

“That I did,” said the hunter. “Its towers are the highest in Camelot.”

“Did you see the king?” asked Magnus.

“No,” said the hunter, “because I was not there on one of the special days.”

“Are there special days,” asked Phebe, “when people may see the king?”

“Yes,” said the hunter. “Now that the wars are over, King Arthur has more time for the people. On two special days each month he opens his doors to them. They tell him their troubles. He listens and tries to help them.”

“But is it not true,” asked Phebe, “that only those who are rich may take their troubles to the king?”

“He listens to the rich and poor alike,” said the hunter.

Shan looked at his mother. “Did you hear?” he whispered.

She did not answer.

The next day, after the hunter had gone, Shan said to his mother, “When shall we start to Camelot?”

“It is a long way,” she said, “and I am not strong.”

“Then I will go alone,” said Shan.

“All the way to Camelot? You don't know what you are saying,” said his mother. “No, Shan, you are all I have. I want no harm to come to you.”

“What harm could come to me? I am quick and strong, and I am not afraid. I must tell the king of our troubles. I know he will help drive my uncle out of our castle.”

“You are still a boy,” she said. “Why do you think King Arthur would listen to you?”

“If he listens to rich and poor alike,” said Shan, “why should he not listen to me? Mother, will you let me go to Camelot to see the king?”

She said again, “You are still a boy.”

Every day he asked her. Every day she shook her head.

Toward the end of spring, Adam spoke up for him. He said to Lady Marian, “If Shan goes, he should be on his way before winter comes again.”

“It is a long way for a boy to go alone,” she said.

“Shall I send my son to go with yours?” asked Adam.

“That is kind of you,” she said, “but Magnus is no older than Shan.”

“True,” said Adam. “Still, they could look out for each other on the way. And here is something else that comes to mind. My neighbor, Twiggs, is loading a raft with hay. He is taking the hay down the river to Farol Castle. And Farol Castle is only two days' walk from Camelot.”

“Magnus and I can ride down the river with Twiggs,” said Shan. “Did you hear, Mother?”

“Yes, I heard,” she said.

“You won't say no again, will you?” he asked.

“I can see you have made up your mind. I can see you will never be happy until you go,” she said. “Yes, you may go.”

“Oh, thank you!” said Shan. “You won't be sorry.”

“I hope not,” she said.

“You won't be,” he said. “I promise you, Mother!”

It was early morning when Twiggs started down the river. His raft was piled high with clean, fresh hay. Shan and Magnus sat on top of the load. Twiggs stood on one side. With a long pole he pushed the raft away from the shore.

They floated slowly down the river. Sometimes Shan and Magnus lay back and looked at the sky. Sometimes they sat up and watched the woods and fields go by. Magnus had some wheat in his pocket. Now and then they chewed a little of it to keep from growing hungry.

Twiggs threw some string and two bone hooks up to them. “See if you can catch some fish for supper,” he said.

Shan and Magnus fished from the top of the load. They used bread for bait.

For a long time they caught nothing. Then they came to a pool full of fish. All the way across the pool they pulled out one fish after another.

At sundown Twiggs tied the raft to a tree, and they went ashore. Shan brought wood. Magnus built a fire. Twiggs cooked the fish in an iron pan.

After supper Magnus asked, “Are we going on now?”

“The night is too dark,” said Twiggs. “I can't see to guide my raft. We will stay here till morning.”

They made their beds in the hay. Long after Twiggs and Magnus had gone to sleep, Shan lay awake. He looked at the stars. He listened to the night sounds—the hoot of an owl, the barking of foxes, the croaking of frogs along the river.

He thought of many things. He thought of his mother and father and how happy they had been at Weldon Castle. He thought of his uncle. “He will pay for all he has done,” said Shan to himself. “The king will help me, and my uncle will pay!

The next day they came to Farol Castle. Just after sundown they tied up the raft near the walls.

A watchman called down, “Who is there?”

“Twiggs, with hay for your stables,” Twiggs called back.

“Stay until morning,” said the watchman. “The gate is closed for the night.”

Once more Twiggs, Shan, and Magnus slept on the raft. Early in the morning two men came out of Farol Castle to help Twiggs unload the hay. Shan and Magnus took the road to Camelot.

When night came, they stopped at a house in the woods. It was a poor little hut, but the man and woman there made them welcome. The woman gave them meat pie and buttermilk. The man made them a straw bed in the barn.

“This is good luck,” said Magnus.

The next day there was more good luck.

While they rested under a tree, a little gray donkey came up to them. She tried to put her nose into Magnus' pocket.

“She wants some of my wheat,” he said, and he gave her a handful.

When they started on, she followed them. They could not drive her away.

“She must be lost,” said Shan.

“Yes, and she may be a long way from home.” Magnus patted the donkey's neck. “Do you want to belong to someone? Do you want to belong to me?” He climbed up on the donkey's back.

“She might throw you off,” said Shan.

But the donkey went quietly along.

“This is better than walking,” said Magnus.

He found a long grapevine. He tied one end of it around the donkey's head and held the other end in his hand.

“Now I can guide her,” he said.

He and Shan took turns riding. The road grew steep and rough. Toward evening they looked out across a plain. Beyond was the sea.

A mist had come in from the sea. Far away were roofs and towers rising out of the mist. They shone red and gold in the evening light.

Shan stopped and pointed. “There it is, Magnus! There is Camelot!”

Late that night Shan and Magnus came to the walls of Camelot. Many others were there. Some had built cook-fires. Some had put up small tents.

A few horses and donkeys were tied outside the gate. Magnus tied his donkey with them.

A man told Shan, “We are waiting until morning. The gate will open then, and we can go into the city.”

Shan and Magnus waited with them. They listened to the people talking. Some had come to the city to find work. Some had come to beg. Others, like Shan, had come to see the king.

The night passed quickly. In the morning the gate was opened. Leading the donkey, Shan and Magnus went into the city.

“Magnus, look!” said Shan.

“Eh! I never thought it would be like this,” said Magnus.

They had not known a city could be so beautiful. The streets were of smooth stone. Beside each house was a garden of trees and flowers. In one garden they saw a peacock with a tail like a great fan.

They walked up a street and through a market place. They passed many people on the way. Children were playing beside a fountain. Men and women were going in and out of shops.

“Lords and ladies all around us!” said Magnus. “They'll not believe me when I talk of this at home.”

They came to King Arthur's castle. The walls and towers were of smooth white stone. For a long time Magnus looked up at the towers. “They look as high as the sky,” he said.

Guards walked back and forth before the castle gate. Shan spoke to one of them. “I have come to see the king.”

“On two special days each month he sees the people,” the guard told him. “You must wait for the next special day.”

“When will that be?” asked Shan.

“In six days more,” said the guard.

Shan and Magnus looked at each other.

“What shall we do while we wait?” asked Magnus.

Shan shook his head.

They walked slowly back to the fountain. They stopped there for a drink, and the donkey drank, too.