to prevail against coming winter. The wind was fresh
and bracing, and nature appeared bright and cheerful, on that
long-to-be-remembered morning.

Early in the morn, just after sunrise, Bernard de Torci, Gilbert
d'Aubyn, Eustace de Senville, and a large body of their retainers,
arrived at the castle. They found the men of Aescendune prepared to
receive them, and the leaders entered the council chamber of their
host.

There they perfected their plans--the forest was divided into
portions, and a district assigned to each leader to be subdivided
and thoroughly explored. All human tracks were to be followed up by
the help of the hounds, and prisoners, when taken, to be sent,
under guard, to the castle, there to be rigorously examined, if
necessary by torture.

The only part of the scheme presenting any real difficulty was the
morass in the centre of the forest, already known to our readers.
Hugo believed it impenetrable, and that no human being could live
within its area; but he sent for his chief huntsman, and examined
him before his fellow nobles.

He found that old Ralph regarded the Dismal Swamp, as they called
the morass, as utterly uninhabitable and impassable; he had never
heard any sounds of life from within; he thought the place haunted;
it abounded in quagmires, and corpse lights and baleful fires were
seen on its waters at night.

The man was dismissed, and it was decided, that the borders of the
morass should be explored, although with little hope of finding any
trace of the foe; but should such be found, it was not to be
neglected, the more especially if the search were conducted
elsewhere in vain.

The northern part of the forest fell to Hugo's share, and was
subdivided by him between his chief retainers. Every nook was to be
investigated, and signals were arranged whereby all the hunters
could be assembled together in case of need.

The work was a very arduous one, for the portion assigned to the
retainers of Aescendune alone, occupied a circuit of some fifteen
miles, bounded on the east by a stream which ran into the Avon, on
the north by a well-defined range of wooded hills.

This was the most important section of all, for what faint
indications had been gained of the whereabouts of the foe, all
pointed in this direction.

The men-at-arms were divided into five distinct bands, lightly
armed, because of the distance they had to travel, and Etienne
claimed and obtained the command of one party.