Page:Tudor Jenks--The defense of the castle.djvu/140

116 SO that he may return to defend his own, or to punish the Count.

"Edgar has offered to go, saying that he can be of more use in that way than as commander here. But we advise against it. We feel sure that his leaving the castle would be contrary to his father's wishes, and also would be disheartening to the defenders. I have offered, but I am unknown to Lord Mortimer's friends, and they might not trust me. Hugh cannot be spared, as you know. We were asking when you came in, Lady Amabel, whether there were any of the men who could be intrusted with this mission,—we had not thought of you."

"Let me go," said Amabel, eagerly.

"But you are a woman," Hugh immediately objected.

"I will go as a boy—as a minstrel, as a jester, as a beggar," she insisted, with sparkling eyes. "You need every man you have. There are scarcely enough to guard the walls—certainly not more than you need in case of an attack in force. As for me, I can be spared without loss. I have no family, and if I should lose my life in your father's service, Edgar, it would be no more than I owe him. Let me go. I should enjoy it."

"But if you should fall into the hands of the Count," Hugh objected, "he would torture you,