The
noise circled about them, and they could again perceive dusky forms
which glided to and fro in the faint light among the arches of the
forest.
In the midst of the turmoil Malise took off his bonnet and stood
reverently at prayer.
"Aid us, Thy true men," he cried in a loud and solemn voice, "against
all the powers of evil. In the name of God--Amen!"
The howling stopped and there fell a silence. Lord James would have
spoken.
"Hush!" said Malise, yet more solemnly.
And far off, like an echo from another world, thin and sweet and
silver clear, a cock crew.
The blue leaping flame of the wild-fire abruptly ceased. The dawn
arose red and broad in the east. The piles of dead beasts shone out
black on the grey plain of the forest glade, and on the topmost bough
of a pine tree a thrush began to sing.
CHAPTER L
THE ALTAR OF IRON
And now what of Master Laurence, lately clerk in the Abbey of Dulce
Cor, presently in service with the great Lord of Retz, Messire Gilles
de Laval, Marshal and Chamberlain of the King of France?
Laurence had been a month at Machecoul and had not yet worn out his
welcome.
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