Page:Tudor Jenks--The defense of the castle.djvu/262

234 frowning at the man, who trembled before him, seeing that the Count gripped his sword-handle as if uncertain whether he would not strike the fellow down. "I hate a coward, and have half a mind to send you back to your young lord that he may hang you as you richly deserve.

"The castle is mine, and shall be taken; but, by my faith, the young Mortimer has held out bravely, and has gained my good-will by that doughty stroke of his battle-ax! But I shall take my own by force, not by the favor of a dastardly knave!"

So saying, the Count struck the deserter with the flat of his sword upon the shoulder, felling him to the ground, and turned away. But Luke, who had come up while they were speaking, raised the fallen man as the Count strode off, and set him upon his feet.

"You are but a fool," said Luke disdainfully. "If you had spoken wisely, the Count might have listened to you. Tell me your story, and you shall be cared for. The Count strikes first, and thinks after. Surely you would not have come over to us without good reason."

Thoroughly frightened, the deserter saw his only safety in gaining Luke's protection, and told his story—how he had been unjustly punished, and how he had made up his mind to desert—not