ht select. Alwyn talked the
matter over with his nephew.

"It seems to me," the former said, "that there is but a small chance of
anyone trying to leave the castle; and at any rate, if they did so, it
would scarcely be over the wall, for a splash in the moat would at once
betray them. Moreover, I love not killing in cold blood, and should any
poor fellows be stowed away somewhere, I should be willing enough to
let them go free."

"I agree with you altogether, Alwyn," Oswald, who had not heard the
talk between Grey and Talbot, concerning Glendower's daughters, replied
heartily. "I would have gladly saved the men who were killed today. It
is one thing to slay in battle, but to slaughter unresisting men goes
altogether against my grain."

"Then as we are agreed on that, Oswald, I should say that we had best
place the greater portion of our men well away from the wall. We can
leave two at the gate, and set two others to march round and round the
moat. I should say we had best plant the others, in pairs, a quarter of
a mile round the house. It is vastly more important to prevent
Glendower from recapturing his house, by surprise, than it is to take
prisoners two or three fellows making their escape."

"I agree with you, Alwyn."

Accordingly, when they filed out from the gate, four were posted as
Alwyn had suggested. The rest were disposed, in pairs, in a circle at a
distance round the house.

"I will keep watch with Roger," Oswald said. "'Tis some time since I
have had an opportunity for a talk with him. I will take the next post,
if you like. The wood comes closer to the house, there, than at any
other point; and there are patches, behind which an enemy might creep
up. My eyes and ears are both good; and as for Roger, if he lifts that
mighty voice of his in tones of alarm, it will reach the ears of all
the others, and be the signal for them to run back to the gate, at the
top of their speed."

"Very well, Oswald. I shall walk round the ground, and see that all are
vigilant. We know not where Glendower's men were lying. It may hap they
were twenty miles away, but even so he would have had plenty of time to
have brought them up, by now. I don't think there is much chance of any
of our men being surprised; most of them having, in their time, been so
used to midnight rides across moor and hill, and so accustomed to see
in the dark that, crafty as the Welshmen may be, I do not think there
is a chance of their getting wit