However, as it has
been sent to all the keepers of the marches this cannot be done; and I
shall, at once, send orders to the sheriffs of Shropshire, and
Hereford, to warn the militia that they may be called out at any
moment, and must hold themselves in preparedness, having every man his
arms and accoutrements in good condition, and fit for service,
according to the law. I shall also issue orders to my own tenants to be
ready to take up arms, and to drive their herds away, and bring their
wives and families into the castle, as soon as the beacon fire is
lighted on the summit of the keep."
This was said to Oswald, to whom Sir Edmund had taken a strong liking,
and to whom he spoke more freely than he might have done to his own
knights and officers, as being in Earl Percy's service, and having no
personal interest in the matters in debate.
"You yourself have heard the tales that have been brought in to me,
showing how greatly the people have been stirred by the belief in
Glendower's powers of necromancy; how blue flames have been seen to
issue from every window and loophole of his house; how red clouds, of
various strange shapes, hover over it; and mysterious sounds are heard
throughout the night.
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