Page:Tudor Jenks--The defense of the castle.djvu/69

 also realized that his attempt to capture the young lord of the Castle of the Red Lion was the same as a declaration of war. He sent out emissaries in all directions to gather his forces, and succeeded in hiring several large bands of freebooters—soldiers to whom fighting was a trade, to be carried on for the benefit of any master who could offer them either payment or a fair chance of booty. The country folk who traveled by the Count's castle reported that there were many camps in the fields roundabout and that he had collected a little army of certainly more than five hundred men. The bad character of these soldiers was soon proved by the flight from their homes of all the people within a radius of several miles, and this proved fortunate for the Mortimers since some fugitives came to the country nearer to the Red Lion Castle, and drove before them their sheep, cattle, and other domestic animals, many of which were were bought from the frightened peasants and added to the resources 45