IN THE WELSH VALLEYS.
Wulf and Beorn did not form part of the expedition which was to embark with
Harold from Bristol, and to enter Wales by one of its southern valleys. It
was necessary that the gathering of the levies at Gloucester should be
strengthened by having as a nucleus three hundred trained soldiers. The
levies were lightly armed, and accustomed to fight in the same irregular
manner as their Welsh adversaries, whom they held in considerable dread,
for the fierce hillmen had again and again proved themselves more than a
match for the peaceable natives on the English side of the border. The
addition then of three hundred housecarls was required to give them
confidence. These had indeed abandoned for the time their armour, heavy
weapons, and solid formation, but they could still were it necessary gather
in a line, behind which the levies could rally, and which would be
impregnable to the undisciplined attacks of the Welsh.
The young thanes were somewhat disappointed at finding that they were not
to accompany the earl, but, as he told them, it was a mark of his
confidence that he should post them with the force where the fighting was
likely to be more severe and the risk greater than with that he himself
led.
"I shall penetrate into the heart of Wales," he said. "I shall have
horsemen with me, a strong force of trained soldiers and the levies, and
the enemy will, I feel sure, be unable to oppose us successfully; but it is
likely enough that when the Welsh find that my force from the south and
Tostig's from the north cannot be withstood, they will pour out on their
eastern frontier, and try to light such a flame in Worcester, Hereford, and
Gloucester, that we should be obliged to abandon our work, and hurry back
to stem the tide of their invasion. It is necessary therefore that from
this side also there should be a forward movement. My brother, Gurth, will
command here. I have strongly recommended you to him. Your experience in
the Breton war will be of assistance to you, and I have told him that you
can be far better trusted than many older than yourselves in carrying out
expeditions among their hills and valleys.
"I do not anticipate there will be any pitched battles; the Welsh know that
they cannot withstand our trained soldiers. It will be a war of
skirmishes, of detached fighting, of surprises, long marches, and great
fatigues. Every valley in the country is to be harried with fire and sword.
They are to be made to feel that even in their mountains they are not safe
from us, and as they never take prisoners nor give quarter in the forays on
our side of the border, so we will hunt them down like wolves in their own
forests. The work must be done so thoroughly that for a hundred years at
least the lesson will not be forgotten."
In the last week of May Gurth moved forward, marching first to Hereford as
a more central point of attack, and then crossing the border and entering
Wales. The troops carried no heavy baggage. Meat they expected to find;
flour was carried on two hundred pack-horses. The force was about 4000
strong. The housecarls marched in a body, keeping solid order. Behind them
came the pack animals, each led separately, so that they could the more
easily make their way through forests or over broken ground. They marched
in lines, forty abreast. The light-armed levies, led by their respective
thanes, moved as they chose on the flanks of the trained troops or followed
in the rear.
When they halted on the first evening after crossing the frontier they
lighted their fires and bivouacked. Wulf and Beorn walked together through
the camp.
"In spite of the fact that they are all dressed somewhat alike in leather
jerkins, it is easy to see which are the trained soldiers," Wulf said. "The
housecarls are as merry over the food they have brought with them as if
they were going upon a march of pleasure through the hills, while the
border levies evidently regard the business as a serious one."
"That is no wonder," Beorn replied, "seeing how for years they have
suffered at the hands of the Welsh. Look at those hills, Wulf, I can count
a dozen beacons alight. Of course, they have heard of the preparations for
attack, and they are flashing the news from hill to hill of the advance of
our force. It will not be long before they gather to oppose us."
"It is like enough they may attack us to-night, Beorn. They may have had
spies at Hereford, and will have known two days ago of our coming. They may
reckon that we should anticipate no attack until farther among their hills,
and that we shall in consequence be careless, as in truth we seem to be. I
think it would be well to offer Gurth our housecarls to stand sentry
to-night."
"He might laugh at us," Beorn said doubtfully.
"Well, let him laugh; he will laugh good-humouredly anyhow, for he is of a
kindly and light-hearted disposition. At any rate there cannot be any harm
in proposing it, and after the surprise we got from the Bretons we cannot
be too cautious."
They walked to the fire where Gurth was sitting with four or five of his
friends, all of whom had furnished bodies of housecarls. The border thanes
had by his orders each remained with his own following, so that at all
times they should be in readiness to give orders and lead them in case of
surprise.
"Where have you been, young thanes?" Gurth asked. "You slipped away as soon
as our meal was finished, as if you were afraid of the wine-cup."
"We care not much for drinking," Beorn said, "and have been going through
the force to see how it was disposed. We have come to offer that our men
shall to-night furnish guards for the camp."
"There is no occasion for it," Gurth said, "the Welshmen will not attack us
until we are entangled among their hills."
"It depends upon how well they are led, my Lord Gurth," Wulf said. "If they
are well led they may attack us to-night, for they must know of our
approach, and will think it probable that we shall, being so near our own
border, be at first careless. The Bretons gave us just such a lesson, and
inflicted heavy loss upon the Norman army."
"Well, post your men as you like," Gurth said; "though it seems to me that
it would be better for them to husband their strength for to-morrow's
march."
"They shall have half a night's sleep each," Wulf said.
"If I had not known how stoutly you fought, and how your courage saved the
Norman camp, I should have said you were over-cautious," Gurth laughed.
"However I will not refuse your offer, young thanes, though methinks there
is no chance whatever of the Welsh disturbing us here."
Having obtained the permission, Beorn and Wulf returned to the fires of
their men.
"We are to have the honour of furnishing the guards to-night, Osgod. Tell
the men that Gurth relies upon our watchfulness. We don't want a
repetition of the surprise we had from the Bretons. It will be but a short
night's watch. 'Tis nine now, and by four it will be broad daylight.
Beorn's men and ours will march a hundred yards out from the camp. Half can
lie down to sleep at once, the other half we can post as sentries and
relieve them at half-past twelve. An attack if it comes will come from the
front, therefore we will post the men twenty or thirty yards apart along
there, and for some distance round the flanks. One of us will remain with
the party that lies down, so as to be in readiness to lead them at once
against any point attacked, the other will move round and round to see that
the sentries are vigilant."
"That is good news to me," Osgod said. "Methinks that affair in the Breton
wood has shaken my courage, for I have been looking at those trees in front
of us, and wondering whether the Welsh are gathering there, and thinking
how it would be with all these raw levies if they came down upon us
to-night It went hard for a bit with the Normans, tried soldiers though
they were, but I would not trust these levies to stand for a moment, for
they hold the Welsh in mighty respect."
The men cheerfully took their arms and fell in. They considered it a
compliment that they had been chosen to furnish the first guard. Beorn's
men, with a portion of Wulf's, were to furnish the first line of sentries.
The two young thanes, accompanied by Osgod, went round with them and posted
them, after giving them strict injunctions to be watchful and vigilant.
"These savages," Beorn said, "will creep up through the grass as
noiselessly as cats, so you must keep your ears as well as your eyes well
open; and if you hear but the breaking of a twig challenge at once. Then,
if they rise, shout the alarm at the top of your voice, and do the whole of
you run back to us here if the cry comes from the front, if from either
flank hurry to that spot, and we shall do the same from here; but be
careful not to rouse the camp by a false alarm, for if you do, instead of
gaining credit we shall become the jest of the whole force."
When the sentries were placed, Beorn, with the leader of his band, began to
go the rounds, while Wulf and Osgod returned to their party.
"You can sleep, master, while I watch beside you," Osgod said. "I could not
sleep if I lay down, for I have got the yells of those Bretons in my ears,
and could not close an eye."
"Very well, Osgod; in that case I may as well take a nap."
He was soon sound asleep, and remained so until Osgod touched him. He sat
up in a moment.
"By the stars it is past midnight, my lord, and it is time for us to
relieve Beorn's party." The men were at once called to their feet, and the
relief effected.
"If an attack comes," Wulf said, as with Osgod he proceeded to walk
backwards and forwards along the line of sentries, "I fancy it will be just
before daybreak. Many of them may come from long distances, and their
leader would wait until the last moment in order to gather as large a force
together as possible. Besides, men sleep heaviest at that time, and they
would reckon that hour as best for a surprise." As they walked they
frequently paused to listen intently, and though once or twice they thought
they heard distant sounds, these might be caused by the passage of a wild
animal through the bushes. The sentries were all vigilant. It was the first
time that the Sussex lads had been in face of an enemy, and the stillness
of the night, the sombre forest in front of them, and the possibility of a
savage and unknown foe lurking there, kept them thoroughly on the alert.
Once or twice Wulf and Osgod went forward to examine some bush that had
seemed to the imagination of a sentry to have moved, but in each case the
alarm was groundless.
"It must be nearly three o'clock now, Osgod," Wulf said at last. "Another
half hour will decide it. I shall be glad when the morning comes, for this
work is trying, and I keep on fancying I hear noises."
"I fancy so too," Osgod said. "It seems to me like a sort of whisper or
rustling of leaves."
"That is just what it seems to me, Osgod. Let us stay where we are. We are
just in the centre of the line now."
"There are certainly sounds, my lord. I thought it was fancy before, but I
am sure now."
"I hear something," Wulf said. "It comes from the front. Run round to the
right and bring the sentries from that flank and post them in the intervals
of those in front, while I do the same on the left."
They had but just returned, when they heard a sharp sound like the cracking
of a stick a short distance in front. A dozen of the sentries at once
challenged. In an instant a number of figures sprang to their feet at a
distance of some fifty yards in front of them. Then a wild yell was raised,
and swarms of men came rushing towards them, while a volley of arrows and
javelins whizzed through the air.
"Fall back on the others, men!" Wulf shouted at the top of his voice, and
the line of sentries rushed back to Beorn's party, who leapt to their feet
at the sound of the Welsh war-cry. They had scarce formed in line when the
enemy were upon them. They received them with a volley of javelins, and
then shield to shield they withstood the attack They were fighting in their
own way now, and numerous as the Welsh were, they were unable, as they ran
up in scattered order, to break through the line.
"Steady, men, steady!" Wulf shouted out from his post in the middle of the
line. "Our friends will soon be up. Show a stout front. Do not give way a
foot."
In vain the Welshmen, with wild yells, strove to beat back the Saxon line.
Their very numbers were a hindrance to them. Those in front pressed
forward, so that those behind were unable to use their javelins or arrows.
Many creeping between the legs of the fighters of the front rank leapt with
a cat-like spring upon the Saxons, and strove to rip them with their
knives, but the light wicker-work shields covered with leather, which had
taken the place of the solid and heavy ones generally carried by the
housecarls, stood Wulf's followers in good stead; and although many of the
shields were penetrated by the knives of the Welsh, they in most cases
effectually screened the bodies of the soldiers.
The lightly-armed Welsh, on the other hand, were hewn down by the long
swords of the Saxons in the front rank, while the javelins of those behind
them flew with terrible effect among their assailants. There was, however,
no pause in the fury of the attacks of the Welsh, until, with a great
shout, the main body of the Saxons came up, and pressed forward in line
with the little body who had hitherto borne the brunt of the battle, while
on their flank the thane's levies poured in volley after volley of darts
and arrows. The fight ceased as suddenly as it began. The sound of a
deep-toned horn rose in the air, whereupon the Welsh instantly abandoned
the struggle, and before the Saxons had time to realize that the fighting
was over, they had disappeared in the forest.
"By St. Peter, young thanes!" Earl Gurth exclaimed as he came up to Wulf's
band, who were panting from their exertions, "you have saved us from a
grievous mishap this night. I take shame unto myself that I treated your
suggestion so lightly; for, by the saints, we should have fared badly
indeed had this wild foe taken us asleep. The thanks of the whole force are
due to you, and I will take care that my brother Harold knows how narrow an
escape we have had, and in telling the tale I shall not spare either myself
or the older thanes, who were disposed to mock your proposal to keep guard
over the camp, as showing an amount of caution altogether unnecessary. The
attack has been a lesson to me that I shall not forget, and henceforth I
shall select you and your force for any special service requiring
watchfulness and valour."
In going among their men Wulf and Beorn found that but six had fallen, for
the most part under the shower of javelins with which the Welsh had
heralded their attack. Many of the others had received wounds more or less
severe, but few of them were so badly hurt as to render it necessary to
leave them behind. Gurth called the thanes at once to a council. Fresh wood
was thrown on to his fire, and some twenty of the thanes took their places
round it. Wulf and Beorn were specially asked by Gurth to attend. The
attack of the Welsh had shown that they were by no means dismayed at the
extent of the preparations for the invasion of their mountains, and that
the advance must be conducted with the greatest caution and prudence.
"It is well," Gurth said, "that in the absence of Griffith they have many
leaders, and will therefore fight without any general plan. Did their whole
force fall upon one or other of our columns it might go very hard with it;
but we may be sure that each chief will desire to keep his followers by
him, in order to defend his own valleys. Nevertheless, they have shown
to-night that they can gather rapidly and in considerable force, and we
shall have to root them out piecemeal, and shall not be able to scatter our
force too widely. I am told that the valley at whose mouth we now are
contains a large number of villages, and to this we must confine ourselves
until we have done the work there. I trust that they will oppose us
stoutly. In that case we shall have the less trouble with them when we
come to undertake the more difficult task of pursuing them among their
hills."
The next morning the advance began, and they had proceeded but a short
distance when the Welsh again poured down upon them. This time the force
was prepared for the attack, and although the Welsh fought obstinately,
they were driven back without much difficulty. As soon as the attack ceased
Gurth gave the order for pursuit, and the housecarls held their course
straight up the valley at full speed, while the levies swarmed up the
hillsides to prevent the Welsh from rallying and attacking in flank. The
troops now felt the benefit of the abandonment of their heavy armour and
weapons, and pressed so hotly upon the flying Welsh that they entered the
first village with them. For a time the natives turned and fought
desperately in defence of their homes, but they were unable to withstand
the skill and discipline of the Saxon troops, and the measure that they had
so frequently dealt out to the Saxon villagers now fell on them. No quarter
was given. Every man, woman, and child was slaughtered, and the houses
given to the flames. Village after village was captured and burnt, but the
resistance became fainter and fainter, and the last three villages at the
head of the valley were found to be entirely deserted. Then, just as the
sun set, the force bivouacked for the night, the horns calling in the
scattered levies, who gradually rejoined them.
The next morning the force was broken up into five or six columns, each
having a proportion of the regular soldiers and a body of the levies. These
penetrated side valleys and climbed the hills. In many cases they
encountered resistance, stones being rolled down upon them, and the Welsh
defending strong barricades of felled trees. But everywhere the Saxons were
successful, and day after day continued the work, until at the end of five
days they were able to move where they would without encountering any
resistance. The force now marched forward from the head of the valley,
crossed a range of hills, and descended into another valley. They had now
grown more confident in themselves, and while a third of the force
proceeded to lay waste the valley, the rest, broken up into small columns,
ascended the hills on either side, carrying fire and sword into every
hamlet they came upon.
Several of the fortalices of the Welsh chiefs, perched on almost
inaccessible eminences, gave great trouble, and were only taken after
serious loss. One day Beorn and Wulf, with their own following and two
hundred and fifty light-armed levies, were despatched by Gurth to Porthwyn,
a stronghold belonging to a powerful chief named Llewellyn ap Rhys.
"It is, from all I hear," he said, "a very strong place, and will require
all our force to capture it. Indeed it is reported to be so strong that it
may be necessary to leave it unmolested until we form a junction with
Harold, and can besiege it regularly. It would not do to make an
unsuccessful attack, for that would raise the spirits of the Welsh. All
that I wish of you is to obtain a view of the castle from all sides if
possible, to bring me back an exact account of its defences, and to give me
your opinion as to our chances of capturing it if we decide to lay siege to
it."
Porthwyn was forty miles distant, and Beorn and Wulf determined to march
some thirty of these, and then to push forward at daybreak so as to obtain
a view of the fortress in the early morning. They took with them a Welsh
boy as a guide. He had been spared in the last village captured, and had
been told that his life depended upon his guiding them faithfully. The
places of ten men who had fallen during the various fights had been filled
up by an equal number of Gurth's own housecarls. The seventy soldiers kept
with their leaders and the guide, the levies spreading out on either side.
Two of the irregulars who spoke a little Welsh accompanied the young thanes
to question the guide if necessary. The march was a heavy one. At times
they passed through thick forests in the valleys and on the lower
hillsides, at times crossed over bare hills, on whose summits the ground
was frequently so boggy that the men had to march with the greatest
caution. The guide, a sullen lad with matted hair, whose only attire was a
sheep-skin, was several times questioned sharply as to whether he was
certain of the way. He answered in monosyllables, saying that he knew every
foot of the road, and indeed he never hesitated for a moment.
"I suppose he is right," Wulf said, "although I thought it lay more to the
west than we are going, but we have wound about so among these forests and
hills that I am quite confused. There is one comfort, Beorn, if the guide
proves treacherous and we lose ourselves altogether, we have but to set our
faces to the rising sun and we shall find ourselves back on the border, for
I am sure that we could not retrace our steps to Gurth's camp."
The sun was just setting when they found themselves on a bare plateau on
the crest of a range of hills higher than any they had before crossed.
"Ask him how far we are from Porthwyn," Wulf said to the interpreter.
"He says twelve miles, my lord."
"Then when we get across this flat, which looks full two miles wide, we
will camp in the first valley we come to."
As they advanced the ground became more and more boggy, and the troops had
to move carefully, stepping from one tussock of coarse grass to another,
the intervals being filled with black slimy mud.
"Ask him if this gets deeper," Beorn said angrily, "for if it does so we
are like to be all swallowed up. I believe he must be leading us wrong."
Osgod had charge of the boy, and was walking close beside him. As the
question was put by the interpreter the boy muttered that he knew the way.
The man turned to translate his answer to Beorn, when there was a sudden
shout. At the moment that Osgod was making a long step from one tuft to
another the boy stooped and caught his foot, and with a roar of surprise
and fury Osgod fell head-foremost into the morass. At the same moment the
lad darted away with a yell of defiance, leaping from tuft to tuft with the
agility of a hare. Several of the men started after him, but unaccustomed
to the treacherous bog four or five were immersed in it to their waist
before they had gone a dozen paces.
"Shoot! shoot!" Beorn shouted, and a dozen javelins were thrown, but the
boy was almost beyond distance, and his rapid and irregular movements
rendered it well-nigh impossible to take aim with any accuracy. Most of the
javelins flew wide of him, and he was soon beyond reach. Osgod was
well-nigh smothered before he could be rescued, and some of the other men
were only hauled out with the greatest difficulty. Three or four of the
most active men were sent forward, but presently returned with the news
that the bog became worse.
"The sun has already set," Wulf said, "and if darkness catches us here our
plight will be a bad one. Let us retrace our steps at once, Beorn."
It was with great difficulty that they made their way back to firm ground.
By the time they did so darkness had fallen.
"This is a bad business altogether, Beorn," Wulf said. "In the first place
we have lost our guide; in the second place we have no idea where we are,
for we may for aught we know have been going in the wrong direction all the
time; and, besides this, the boy will raise the country against us, and in
the morning we may be attacked by an overwhelming force."
"What do you think we had better do, Wulf?"
"Well, I should say we had better, in the first place, retrace our steps to
the valley, there we will light fires and cook the meat we have brought
with us. Then I should say we had best march for some hours. It matters not
in what direction so that we get as far as possible from here."
As Beorn could suggest nothing better, Wulf's counsel was carried out.
Supper was cooked and eaten in the forest, and after two hours for rest,
for the march had been a very fatiguing one, they started. The night was
moonless, and in the shadow of the trees the darkness was intense. The
housecarls kept together, moving as closely as possible to each other. The
levies were ordered to follow them.
After proceeding for two hours, Wulf said, "Let us halt and see if we are
all together." The housecarls halted, but when he went to the rear Wulf
could see no signs of the irregulars.
"Let no man speak or move," he said, "I want to listen."
But no sound broke the stillness of the wood.
"How foolish of Oswald and Edred," he said to Beorn.
"We told them to follow with their levies close behind us, and they must
have allowed them to fall to the rear. However, they can't be far behind."
They waited for half an hour, but the silence continued unbroken.
"Do you shout, Osgod," Wulf said; "they ought to hear miles away on a still
night like this."
Osgod--who had scarcely spoken since his fall, so furious was he at having
been outwitted by a boy, and having not only allowed him to escape, but
being himself rolled in the mire--raised his voice in a tremendous shout.
All listened intently, but no answering sound came back.
"They must have gone altogether wrong," Wulf said. "You know that we
crossed a streamlet that ran into this brook soon after we started. They
must have followed that up, thinking we had done so, and have gone up some
other valley. What is to be done, Beorn?"
"We crossed that streamlet half an hour after starting," Beorn said, "and
as we have spent half an hour here they must have by this time marched up
it two-hours' journey, and if we retrace our steps to that point they will
have got an hour and a half farther away; besides, they may have gone back
when they missed us. There is no saying which way to look for them. I think
we had better go on as before. In the morning we shall be able to see the
nature of the country, but to look for people who may be miles and miles
away, when one cannot see one's own hand, would be but lost time and
labour, and methinks we shall have need to husband all our strength before
we get out of the scrape into which we have fallen. If the two thanes had
obeyed orders and kept closer this would not have happened. They have lost
us by their own carelessness, and must manage as they can. We shall have
all our work to do to look out for ourselves. Seventy men lost in the heart
of these savage hills, which by to-morrow morning will swarm with Welsh,
have but a poor chance of ever seeing the English border again."
"It is not so bad as that, Beorn. I do not say that we are not in an
unpleasant position, but at any rate we are a great deal better off than we
were when we were driving headlong on to the coast of Normandy, or when
there were but three of us in the midst of the Bretons. They have to find
us in the first place, and it will need a good many of them to overcome us
when they do. I fancy that we are very near the head of this valley, the
ground is rising rapidly. I propose that we push on now till the trees
cease, and lie down there till morning breaks, and then cross the next hill
so as to find shelter in some other valley before the sun is fairly up.
From the top of the hill we may get a general view of the country, and
shall have some idea as to the course to take. We must first of all try to
find a native who can tell us which is the direction of Porthwyn and how
far it lies away. Our orders are to reconnoitre it and that must be done
before there is any question of return. Even if I were absolutely alone, I
would carry out that order."
Beorn was silent for a minute, and then said doubtfully, "Perhaps you are
right, Wulf; but when Gurth gave us the order he gave us more than three
hundred men to carry it out, and we have now but seventy."
By this time they were on their way up the valley, followed by their men.
"The fact that two hundred and fifty men have left us really makes the
matter easier than it would otherwise have been," Wulf said. "Of course our
guide carried the news of our coming straight to Porthwyn, and it is like
enough that fires are at present blazing on the hills. The larger division
is more likely to be seen than ours, and to be attacked, and we shall have
all the more chance of getting up unobserved. I sincerely trust that the
thanes, when they discover that they have lost us, will at once lead their
men back to Gurth's camp. In that case they may escape before the Welsh can
assemble and attack them; and as it would naturally be supposed that as
soon as we had lost our guide we retreated in a body, the Welsh will
imagine that there is no occasion for further vigilance."
"You are always too full of arguments for me, Wulf," Beorn laughed; "and if
you have made up your mind to go on, it is not of the least use my saying
anything against it; so have your own way."
At last the forest became less dense, and when they reached its edge they
lay down. Wulf slept for two or three hours, and then roused himself and
waited for the first sign of dawn. It was a heavy responsibility, for
though Beorn was of equal rank with himself he always gave way to his
opinion. He thought over whether it would not be better that Beorn should
march with all speed with the force to the east, and that he himself with
Osgod and perhaps two other men should make their way to Porthwyn; already
the Welsh might be out all over the mountains, and it was the larger body
that would be likely to be discovered and attacked. The Welsh would know
that on such a dark night, and in a strange country, they could not have
got a very long distance from the bog where the guide had escaped from
them, and the valley at whose head he now was would be the first place to
be searched. However, he did not like severing himself from the men who had
marched under his banner from Steyning, and he finally determined that the
whole should stay together. It was about half-past two when he roused the
band, and they at once started up the bare hillside.
"As it gets lighter," he said, "scatter and proceed singly. We shall be
far less likely to be noticed by anyone at a distance than if we march
together in a solid body. We must travel as fast as possible, so as to get
under shelter again before the sun is really up."
The men were all by this time well accustomed to climbing and hardened by
exercise, and at a rapid pace they breasted the hill, although it was in
some places exceedingly steep. By the time they reached its crest there was
light enough to permit of a view of the country round. In all directions
hills rose around them, bare and brown, and the growing light in the sky
showed that the east lay behind them. After waiting for a minute or two to
recover breath, they proceeded at a brisk trot. They met with no bogs of
importance, and after running for a mile the ground began to slope
downwards again, and they saw below them a wooded valley, similar to that
which they had left. By this time the hilltops were all lit up by the
rising sun. The spot where they stood, however, was still in shadow, and
in scattered order they ran rapidly down the hillside until they reached
the cover of the trees.