had now assembled a gallant army; so that from the adour to the

passes of navarre the barren valleys and wind-swept wastes were

populous with soldiers and loud with the shouting of orders and

the neighing of horses. for the banners of war had been flung to

the wind once more, and over those glistening peaks was the

highway along which honor pointed in an age when men had chosen

her as their guide.

and now all was ready for the enterprise. from dax to st. jean

pied-du-port the country was mottled with the white tents of

gascons, aquitanians and english, all eager for the advance. from

all sides the free companions had trooped in, until not less than

twelve thousand of these veteran troops were cantoned along the

frontiers of navarre. from england had arrived the prince's

brother, the duke of lancaster, with four hundred knights in his

train and a strong company of archers. above all, an heir to the

throne had been born in bordeaux, and the prince might leave his

spouse with an easy mind, for all was well with mother and with

child.

the keys of the mountain passes still lay in the hands of the

shifty and ignoble charles of navarre, who had chaffered and

bargained both with the english and with the spanish, taking

money from the one side to hold them open and from the other to

keep them sealed. the mallet hand of edward, however, had

shattered all the schemes and wiles of the plotter. neither

entreaty nor courtly remonstrance came from the english prince;

but sir hugh calverley passed silently over the border with his

company, and the blazing walls of the two cities of miranda and

puenta della reyna warned the unfaithful monarch that there were

other metals besides gold, and that he was dealing with a man to

whom it was unsafe to lie. his price was paid, his objections

silenced, and the mountain gorges lay open to the invaders. from

the feast of the epiphany there was mustering and massing, until,

in the first week of february--three days after the white company

joined the army--the word was given for a general advance through

the defile of roncesvalles. at five in the cold winter's morning

the bugles were blowing in the hamlet of st. jean pied-du-port,

and by six sir nigel's company, three hundred strong, were on

their way for the defile, pushing swiftly in the dim light up the

steep curving road; for it was the prince's order that they

should be the first to pass through, and that they should remain

on guard at the further end until the whole army had emerged from

the mountains. day was already breaking in the east, and the

summits of the great peaks had turned rosy red, while the valleys

still lay in the shadow, when they found themselves with the

cliffs on either hand and the long, rugged pass stretching away

before them.

sir nigel rode his great black war-horse at the head of his

archers, dressed in full armor, with black simon bearing his

banner behind him, while alleyne at his bridle-arm carried his

blazoned shield and his well-steeled ashen spear. a proud and

happy man was the knight, and many a time he turned in his saddle

to look at the long column of bowmen who swung swiftly along

behind him.

"by saint paul! alleyne," said he, "this pass is a very perilous

place, and i would that the king of navarre had held it against

us, for it would have been a very honorable venture had it fallen

to us to win a passage. i have heard the minstrels sing of one

sir rolane who was slain by the infidels in these very parts."

"if it please you, my fair lord," said black simon, "i know

something of these parts, for i have twice served a term with the

king of navarre. there is a hospice of monks yonder, where you

may see the roof among the trees, and there it was that sir

roland was slain. the village upon the left is orbaiceta, and i

know a house therein where the right wine of jurancon is to be

bought, if it would please you to quaff a morning cup,"

"there is smoke yonder upon the right."

"that is a village named les aldudes, and i know a hostel there

also where the wine is of the best. it is said that the inn-

keeper hath a buried treasure, and i doubt not, my fair lord,

that if you grant me leave i could prevail upon him to tell us

where he hath hid it."

"nay, nay, simon," said sir nigel curtly, "i pray you to forget

these free companion tricks. ha! edricson, i see that you stare

about you, and in good sooth these mountains must seem wondrous

indeed to one who hath but seen butser or the portsdown hill."

the broken and rugged road had wound along the crests of low

hills, with wooded ridges on either side of it over which peeped

the loftier mountains, the distant peak of the south and the vast

altabisca, which towered high above them and cast its black

shadow from left to right across the valley. from where they no