"I gave orders,
as soon as I heard who had arrived, that proper entertainment should be
given to all; yet it is but right that I should, myself, go down to
thank them for having come so far; and to welcome their captain, whose
experience will be of no small use to my own men, who have never been
engaged in border war. Some have fought in France, but under conditions
so different that their experience will aid them but little; save,
indeed, if the Welsh grow so strong and so bold that they venture to
attack this castle."
Percy's men, when the knight descended, had indeed sat down to supper
with the retainers of the castle, while Alwyn was being entertained by
the captain of his men-at-arms. All rose to their feet when Sir Edmund
entered, but he waved his hand to them, to be seated.
"Finish your meal," he said, "and afterwards, if you will muster in the
courtyard, I will inspect you, and see what stout Northumberland men
Lord Percy has sent me."
He then went up to the top of the keep with Oswald, pointed out the
distant hills, and told him what valleys and villages lay among them,
and the direction in which such roads as there were ran. By the time
they had descended, Percy's men were drawn up in the courtyard.
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