Broken and dispirited was the little troop of ten or a dozen men, who
first appeared in this manner after the fight; their garments torn and
bloody, some of them wounded, they yet raised a shout of joy as they saw
their trusted leader.
"Whence come ye, my comrades in arms?" said he, "and what are your news
--you look like men who have fled from battle."
"We did not fly till all was lost."
The countenance of Redwald indicated some little emotion, though it was
transient as the lightning's flash in the summer night.
"The king--is it well with him?"
"He has fled with a small troop to the south."
"Saw you aught of Elfric of Aescendune?"
"He fell in the last charge of the cavalry."
"Dead?"
"We think so."
"How is it that you have suffered yourselves to be beaten?"
"Had you been there it might have ended differently. We became the
aggressors, and attacked a superior force, while they had all the
advantage of ground."
"Come in. You must first have some food and wine; then you shall tell me
all. We may need your help here, and shall be glad of every able-bodied
man."
"More are on the road."
And so it proved, for party after party continued to fall in. The solemn
quiet, which so well befitted the house of mourning, was banished by the
presence of the soldiery in such large numbers, for early in the day
nearly a hundred and fifty were gathered together, and accommodation
threatened to fall short.
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