Page:Tudor Jenks--The defense of the castle.djvu/331

Rh There was no disturbance during the night, and every few hours there was heard in the darkness the cheery hail of the sentinels, "All's well!" and, waking, Edgar Mortimer shuddered to think that only by the merest chance had the last attack been met and defeated. He resolved that he would not again be caught unawares, and then slept soundly until the rosy light of morning upon the eastern landscape flushed the hills and the river.

Edgar arose at the dawn, and rousing Hugh, prepared for the expedition to the camp of the earl. Young Henry of Huntingdon was to be their guide, and they thought it wise to take with them a few soldiers. Luke the Lurdane might well have learned of the return of Lady Amabel, and it was practically certain that the Count had recognized her when he entered the hall on the night before, and they might now set a guard either along the bank of the river, or upon the other bank.

The earl's camp was about a mile northward of the river, and it would not do to risk being captured by any patrol the Count should establish. Half a dozen well-armed horsemen, however, would be able to overcome or beat off any except a very large party. They still had a few horses, which were stabled below the keep, and these were led by their riders along the passage underground.