Page:Tudor Jenks--The defense of the castle.djvu/240

212 precautions, the dogs heard her, and began to bark loudly. She stopped and spoke to the one whose name she happened to remember:

"Hola, Hector!" she cried, "here, Hector!"

At the sound of her voice the dog ceased to bark and whined softly. She called him again, and then he came forward to be petted. Opening her scrip, she gave the dog a bit of meat, and then went fearlessly forward, and rapped on the low door of the cottage. After a slight delay, she saw a light, and then someone opened the door. It was the goodman of the farm, and he asked sharply:

"Who is there? Where are the dogs? What do you want, rousing honest folks at this hour of night?"

"Your dogs, goodman, knew me quicker than their master," she replied, pushing back the cape from her face.

He held the light up, shielding it from the wind, and said, not unkindly: "By the voice it should be a lass; but by the hose it seems a lad. Who are you?—for I cannot make out by the light of this flickering taper. Whence do you come?"

"I know not if you will believe me," Amabel replied, laughing, "but I am in truth the Lady Amabel Manners from Mortimer Castle, and I come to beg for shelter for the night. More shall