Page:Tudor Jenks--The defense of the castle.djvu/54

30 of no way of giving them warning. But the old soldier was not long in perplexity. Drawing his knife he cut a strip of parchment from the edge of the chart, and then wrote on it these words: He wrote with all speed, then leaping from the rock ran to where his horse was tethered, put on his quiver, snatched his bow from its leather case, and returned to the rock. He wrapped the bit of parchment around the arrow shaft near its head, tied it with a thong from his laced doublet, and then took his station on the extreme edge of the rocky summit whence he could see the two parties—his enemies and his friends. Every second counted, slowly as both were riding, and Hugh did not waste a moment. When all was ready he drew to the very head the arrow bearing the message and shot it forth and upward with all his strength.

Never, even in the old days with Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest had Hugh of Cambray loosed so strong a shaft. The arrow whizzed into the sky, and at first was invisible. Then, far, far away, it could be seen dropping like a meteor, and