Lying out in the soft night air, I
recalled bit by bit all that I had been told--the very drawings the
old man had made to amuse me in a childish sickness, how the door
opened, and how access was had to the chamber. I knew that the
country round would be hunted for days, and that I could never
escape the malice of the Lord of Mortimer if I pursued my way to
the sea. He would overtake and kill me before I could make shift to
gain that place of refuge. But I bethought me of the secret chamber
and its story, and methought I might slip in unseen did I but watch
my opportunity, find my way up the winding stair to this room, and
so to the secret chamber beyond."
"And thou didst?"
"Ay, I did, the very next morning. I saw thee and thy brothers
sally forth a-hunting. I saw the men follow in thy train. I had
heard that the knight and his lady with their retinue were absent
at Windsor. It needed no great skill to slip in unseen and gain the
longed-for hiding place. I had some food in my wallet. I fondly
hoped it would prove enough; but the sounds of hunting day by day
all around have told me too well that I must not venture forth; and
as this room was slept in by night, I feared to sally forth after
food, lest I should be found and betrayed.
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