Hill and hollow vanished from under the feet of the chargers.
They had not ridden half the way, when they met stragglers coming off
from the field, whose appearance announced that the conflict was
begun. Two supported in their arms a third, their elder brother, who
was pierced with an arrow through the body. Halbert, who knew them to
belong to the Halidome, called them by their names, and questioned
them of the state of the affray; but just then, in spite of their
efforts to retain him in the saddle, their brother dropped from the
horse, and they dismounted in haste to receive his last breath. From
men thus engaged, no information was to be obtained. Glendinning,
therefore, pushed on with his little troop, the more anxiously, as he
perceived other stragglers, bearing Saint Andrew's cross upon their
caps and corslets, flying apparently from the field of battle. Most
of these, when they were aware of a body of horsemen approaching on
the road, held to the one hand or the other, at such a distance as
precluded coming to speech of them. Others, whose fear was more
intense, kept the onward road, galloping wildly as fast as their
horses could carry them, and when questioned, only glared without
reply on those who spoke to them, and rode on without drawing bridle.
Several of these were also known to Halbert, who had therefore no
doubt, from the circumstances in which he met them, that the men of
the Halidome were defeated.
Pages:
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608