Sir
Hotspur came down into the courtyard, as they rode into the castle.
"Welcome back, Oswald; and you, my trusty Alwyn!
"I thank you all, my men, for the manner in which you have borne
yourselves, and that you have shown the men of the west how stoutly we
Northumbrians can hold our own, in the day of battle. I am glad,
indeed, to find that all that went have returned home; some bearing
scars, indeed, but none disabled. I will instruct your captain to grant
all of you a month's leave, to pay a visit to your families.
"You must sup with us tonight, Alwyn, and give us a full account of
your doings, and also your frank opinion as to the state of things in
the west, and the probability of long trouble with this strange
Welshman, who has so boldly taken up arms, and defied the strength of
England."
It was nearly a year since the party had left Alnwick, and Oswald had,
in that time, greatly increased in height and strength. He was now
eighteen, and as he was nearly six feet in height, and his figure had
filled out greatly since he had left his home, he might well have
passed as three or four years older than his real age. That evening,
Alwyn gave a full account of their fray with the Welsh.
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