The news of the construction of a redoubtable fortress was not long
in reaching the ears of the emperor. He was also advised that there
were others concerned in the construction besides Maugis and his four
brothers. This made Charlemagne all the more angry and vindictive. He
resolved to attack him on his own ground. He would combine the forces
of all the lords there were there present, besides all the knights
he could find, directing them in all haste to secure vengeance. He
promised to subdue Maugis, raze his fortress, and give up all the
surrounding country to fire and pillage.
Not all the lords present at the time were agreeable to this plan, but
having given their oaths of fidelity, had to submit to the consequences
of their promises. Ganelon finally proposed to pursue a middle course
in order to terminate the war without striking a blow, for Ganelon
liked not to fight. He proposed to negotiate an offer to Maugis to
yield up his three brothers and his cousin Renaud to the emperor,
hoping in his secret heart that would pave the way to the destruction
of Maugis afterward. This strange proposition seemed agreeable to
Charlemagne and he consented it should be made, charging the matter to
the Duke de Naimes, his confidant, and Oger.
These two knights, in due time, presented themselves to Maugis and
rendered their duty, though certain beforehand he would not consider
the subject a moment. They were not deceived.
Maugis received the message, but could not restrain his indignation at
the infamy of the proposal.
“What, my noble lords!” he cried, “wouldst have me deliver my brothers
and my cousin Renaud, because, however unwillingly, they have aided me.
No, a thousand times no,” he exclaimed. “It were far better to die,
sword in hand, than to purchase peace by such an act of cowardice.”
Maugis was furious, but later becoming calm, he invited the two to
visit his arsenal and view his means of defense. Said he to them
earnestly: “There is not a knight among my followers, nor an inhabitant
of this citadel, but who would prefer the most bloody death and to find
a grave under its ruins, rather than surrender Montfort to Charlemagne.”
De Naimes and Oger returned to Paris and repeated the words of Maugis
to the king, making no attempt to conceal their admiration for the
brave young man.
Charlemagne, on the contrary, flew into a violent rage and gave
orders to his army to prepare immediately for an assault on the
Château Montfort. And thus was commenced a lifetime of the most bitter
struggles, for the brave Maugis and his intrepid brothers. A doubly
bitter struggle for Maugis, from the importunity of his friends to
use his occult powers to relieve them when sore beset, but which he
conscientiously resisted because he feared it was an offense to God.
And bitterest of all was his love and longing for Yolande, from whom
such cruel fate separated him.
It was only a short time after this when the scouts of Maugis reported
the advance of the army, led by the emperor in person, and so he was
not taken off his guard when early one morning he watched from his high
position on the battlements of his fortress the glint of the sun on the
accouterments and arms of the besieging army surrounding his position
on the plain below.
He observed with interest, that to invest his château, Charlemagne
was obliged to very much spread out his forces, and resolved to take
advantage of it. Accordingly, when the time was most favorable, he
made a sortie with his soldiers from a gate invisible to the enemy and
threw himself on them with such great impetuosity that before they had
even time to resist the ground was strewn with the dead. He had become
master of the king’s camp and forthwith fired the tents, burning alike,
in the general conflagration, men and horses and all the supplies of
the king’s army.
[Illustration: CHÂTEAU MONTFORT.]
After this great success, Maugis rallied his troops and was about to
attack the army of the king, when at that very moment he came face to
face with a detachment headed by his father, the old Duke d’Aymon. To
fight his own father was impossible, therefore Maugis arrested his
movements.
On his part the duke prudently retired before the forces of his son,
but if his own life was safe, not so his soldiers. Maugis threw his
troops upon those of his father and those of the king accompanying him,
attacking them on all sides, successfully blocking all means of their
escape.
At this juncture Foulques de Morillon appeared. His presence in the
middle of the royal army reanimated the troops and they attacked
Maugis in their turn. Surprised at this sudden movement, Maugis rested
a moment in indecision. His soldiers had become massed together in
confusion. To retire was impossible. Alard, his brother, seeing the
dangerous position of Maugis from the château, took all the men that
could be spared and went to his assistance, rallied the fugitives and
joined the battalions of Maugis. These two then, at the head of their
army, attacked shoulder to shoulder, striking down all who resisted,
killing and wounding. Even before this unexpected succor came, Maugis
had charged into the _mêlée_ uttering his cry of war, which resounded
over the battlefield. Every stroke of his gigantic arm told. It was
death to be before him. Nothing could withstand the mad onward rush of
his great form.
It was but a few moments before Maugis stood behind a rampart of men
whom he had slain. In their endeavors to capture him alive the enemy
vainly tried to crush Maugis down with sheer force of numbers, but with
a rare courage and prudence he at last cut through them and rejoined
his brother, and then the two, supported by their soldiers, turned upon
the forces of the king with a renewed frenzy and wrought upon them a
fearful carnage.
The royal army becoming panic-stricken, fled through their burning
camp, and Richard, who pursued them, took a number of prisoners—the
rout was complete.
If the victory was a glorious one the pursuit must not be carried too
far, or in forgetting discretion, a few moments might lose all that had
been so dearly gained. This is why Maugis deemed it wise to stop and
rally his troops. He re-entered the château, his rear being guarded by
his three brothers.
The battle did not, however, pass without an extraordinary episode.
Of the army of the king only the old Duke d’Aymon was followed and
disturbed in his retreat. The four brothers, respecting his oath
of fidelity, followed him and sought to take him prisoner. Maugis,
finally becoming impatient at the barren result of the pursuit, placed
himself and his brother in front of the duke and sought to arrest his
progress by striking his horse over the head. But this did not stop the
escort, which came up and attacked the four brothers. They in their
turn returned the attack, and they would have been inevitably cut to
pieces had not Charlemagne, who had in the meantime come up and saw the
situation and lost in admiration of the bravery of Maugis, and with
that rare chivalry so characteristic of that great monarch, he raised
his voice and ordered the conflict to cease. Maugis stopped immediately
at the command of the king, and followed by his men and the prisoners
they had taken, retired into the fortress.
This notable victory made Maugis the master of an immense territory
over which he could roam at will and follow the chase. But Charlemagne,
infuriated by his defeat at the hands of this brave young warrior,
would not quit the place he had chosen for his camp. Maugis, who had
from time to time only a few skirmishes during the ensuing thirteen
months, spent a period, not altogether devoid of pleasure, except for
the haunting thought of the lovely face and sweet eyes of Yolande, and
chafed bitterly at the fate that kept him from her side. And what of
her? Did she ever think of him?
In the privacy of her chamber in the great palace at Paris, she shed
many bitter tears when she witnessed the departure of the army that was
going to destroy the man whom she loved above all else on earth. The
only comfort she knew was the absence of Ganelon, whose suit to her had
become persecution.
Since the day of the escape of Maugis by her aid, his attitude had
changed from odious fawning to sternness and threats. He alone knew of
the part she had played on that memorable day. He had read her secret
aright and had taunted her with it, and when goaded by his ceaseless
importunity, she had said, standing with flashing eyes, her glorious
figure drawn up: “Go, sirrah! Never darken my gaze again. I detest
thee as much as I love the man thou hatest, and I care not that thou
shouldst know it.”
“Foolish maiden! That sorcerer hath bewitched thee,” hissed Ganelon,
“but did all hell assemble to aid him, his fate is sealed. His doom is
sure. Then, obdurate maid, perchance thou wilt look upon me, who truly
loves thee.”
“Never!” cried Yolande as the villain’s form disappeared through the
door. She was yet to feel the evil that an evil man evilly disposed can
do.
As the days passed and no news came from the camp of the emperor, her
heart sank, and finally when the messenger came and the victory of
Maugis became known, her heart was lightened. Then a few days later a
travel-worn monk delivered into her hands a small packet. It contained
a ring and a slip of parchment on which was written:
“I have love for thee that will never die. Sleeping or waking
I think of thee only. Take this ring, shouldst thou ever be in
peril or need me, send it. It shall be a token for me to come that
nothing shall prevent. Pray thou to God that our separation may be
short.
+Maugis.+”
The maiden covered the token with kisses and hid it in her bosom.
Meanwhile, Charlemagne would have made another attack, but Naimes, more
prudent, advised him to await a more favorable opportunity. Then there
came to the emperor, sent by the crafty Ganelon, one who proposed that
he would agree to take the castle and the lords and soldiers therein,
provided he should be given the château and its territories as his
reward.
Charlemagne accepted the proposition and Hernier de la Seine, for that
was the man’s name, accompanied by Guyon de Bretagne, left the camp,
followed by some good soldiers. Hernier de la Seine hid Guyon and his
soldiers nearby and advanced alone to the château.
Under pretext of having quarreled with Charlemagne, whom he said had
driven him from camp, he had come to offer his sword to Maugis. This
lie, delivered with an air of candor, completely deceived Maugis, and
he freely promised him a place in the castle and that all his wants
should be satisfied.
When night came, Hernier, to reward Maugis for his good action, quietly
stole up on the sentinel guarding one of the gates and slew him, then
opened it for the entrance of Guyon and his soldiers. Quietly dividing
their forces into small detachments they advanced in good order to the
principal places. It seemed as if Maugis and his brave brothers were
lost, but the neighing of their horses in the stables awakened them and
a loud noise struck their ears without their being able to imagine the
true cause. In times of war, however, caution is paramount, and acting
on this thought all four arose and went out.
What they saw did not leave them deceived as to the gravity of their
situation. Guyon, now master of the place, guarded all the means of
exit. Other soldiers were engaged in setting fire to various places in
the fortress.
In such a lamentable position there was but one thing to do, that was
to seek to dominate events with courage and coolness.
The four brothers separated after a hasty consultation with some of
their men and each attacked the men guarding the points of issue. They
soon overcame the enemy, who were deprived of assistance from without.
In vain the traitors tried to escape. The four redoubtable brothers
opposed them irresistibly, until the gateways were encumbered with the
dead. Hernier and twelve others were all who escaped the carnage, and
were taken prisoners, and the men were hurled without pity from the
walls of the castle into the moat.
[Illustration: SURPRISE OF THE CASTLE.]