approached him with timid, hesitating steps. At first the Hebrewdid not observe her, but, as she drew nearer, the crackling of branchesunder her light footsteps aroused him. He looked up quickly, and thewoman, running forward, stood before him with clasped hands.
"Oh! sir," she exclaimed, "have pity on me! I come to claim yourprotection."
"Such protection as you need and I can give you shall have, my daughter;but it is a strange request to make of such a man, in such a place, andat such a time. Moreover, your voice is not quite strange to me," addedthe old man with a perplexed look. "Surely I have heard it before?"
"Ay, Beniah, you know my voice and have seen my face," said the woman,suddenly removing her shawl and revealing to the astonished eyes of theold man the pretty head and face of Branwen with her wealth of curlingauburn hair.
"Child," exclaimed the Hebrew, rising and letting fall his roll, whilehe took her hand in both of his, "what folly have you been guilty of,for surely nothing but folly could move you thus to forsake the house ofyour friends?"
"Ay, father, you say truth," returned the girl, her courage returning asshe noted the kindly tone of the old man's voice. "Folly is indeed thecause of it, but it is the folly of man, not of women."
Branwen then gave him a detailed account of the duel between Bladud andGunrig, as well as of the subsequent proceedings of the latter, withregard to herself.
The face of the old man elongated as she proceeded with her narration,and as it was long by nature--the face, not the narration--itsappearance when she had concluded was solemnising in the extreme.
"Assuredly you are right, my child, for it is amazing folly in such aman as Gunrig to suppose he is a fitting mate for you,--though it is nofolly in him to wish to get you for a wife,--and it is no folly in youto flee from such an undesirable union. But how to help you in thismatter is more difficult to conceive than anything that has puzzled mybrain since the day I left Tyre."
"Can you not conceal me here till we have time to think what is best tobe done?" asked Branwen simply, "for I will die rather than wed this--this monster Gunrig!"
The Hebrew smiled pitifully, for he saw in the maiden's face and bearingevidence of a brave, resolute spirit, which would not condescend toboasting, and had no thought of using exaggerated language.
"Truly I will conceal you--for a time. But I cannot leave you herealone when I go on my wanderings. Besides, the king will send out hishunters all over the land--men who are trained to note the slightesttrack of bear, deer, and wolf, and they will find it easy work todiscover your little footprints. No doubt, near the town, and even herewhere many wanderers come and go, they will fail to pick up the trail,but if you venture into the lonely woods the footmarks will certainlybetray you, and if I go with you, my doom will be fixed, for my bigsandal is as well known to the king's hunters as the big nose on myface, or the white beard on my chin."
Poor Branwen became, and looked, very miserable on hearing this, for theidea of hunters and footprints had not once occurred to her.
"Oh what, then, is to be done?" she asked with a helpless yet eagerlook.
For some time the old man sat in silence, with closed eyes as if inmeditation. Then he said, with a sad smile, that he supposed there wasnothing for it but to reveal one of his secrets to her.
"I have not many secrets, Branwen," he said, "but the one which I amabout to reveal to you is important. To make it known would be the ruinof me. Yet I feel that I may trust you, for surely you are a goodgirl."
"No, I'm _not_," cried Branwen, with a look of firmness, yet oftransparent honesty, that amused her companion greatly; "at least," shecontinued in a quieter tone, "I don't _feel_ good, and the queen oftentells me that I am _very_ naughty, though I sometimes think she doesn'tmean it. But when I think of that--that monster and his insult to mydear Hafrydda, and his impudence in wanting me. Oh! I could tear himlimb from limb, and put the bits in the fire so that they could nevercome together again!"
"My dear child," returned Beniah remonstratively, while she paused withflashing eyes and parted lips, as though she had not yet given vent tohalf her wrath, "whatever other folk may say or think of you, you aregood enough in my esteem, but it is wrong to give way thus to wrath.Come, I will reveal my little secret, and it behoves us to be quick, forthey will soon miss you and send the hunters on your track."
As he spoke the Hebrew led the refugee through his hut and into the cavebeyond, the darkness at the further end of which was so great, that itwould have been impossible to see but for a stone lamp which stood in arecess in the wall. This revealed the fact that the place was used as akitchen.
"That is my chimney," said Beniah, taking up the lamp and holding it sothat a large natural hole or crack could be seen overhead, it formed anoutlet to the forest above--though the opening was beyond the reach ofvision. The same crack extended below in the form of a yawning chasm,five or six feet wide. There seemed to be nothing on the other side ofthis chasm except the wall of the cliffs; but on closer inspection, anarrow ledge was seen with a small recess beyond. Across the chasm laya plank which rested on the ledge.
"This is my secret--at least part of it," said the Hebrew, pointing tothe plank which bridged the chasm. "Give me your hand; we must crossit."
Branwen possessed a steady as well as a pretty head. Placing her handunhesitatingly in that of her guide, she quickly stood on the ledge,close to a short narrow passage, by which they reached a smaller cave ornatural chamber in the solid rock. Here, to the girl's intensesurprise, she found herself surrounded by objects, many of which she hadnever seen before, while others were familiar enough. Against the wallwere piled webs of cloth of brilliant colours, and garments of variouskinds. In one corner was a heap of bronze and iron weapons, shields andother pieces of Eastern armour, while in a recess lay piled in aconfused heap many Phoenician ornaments of gold, silver, and bronze,similar to those which were worn by the warriors and chief men of KingHudibras' court. It was, in fact, the stock in trade of the Hebrew--thefount at which he replenished his travelling pack; a pack which was agreat mystery to most of his friends, for, however much they mightpurchase out of it, there seemed to be no end to its inexhaustible powerof reproduction.
"Here," said Beniah, amused at the girl's gaze of astonishment, "ye willbe safe from all your foes till a Higher Power directs us what shall bedone with you, for, to say truth, at this moment my mind is a blank.However, our present duty is not action but concealment. Water anddried fruit you will find in this corner. Keep quiet. Let notcuriosity tempt you to examine these things--they might fall and causenoise that would betray us. When danger is past, I will come again.Meanwhile, observe now what I am about to do, and try to imitate me."
He returned to the entrance, and, taking up the plank-bridge, drew itinto the passage, guiding its outer end on a slight branch, which seemedto have fallen across the chasm accidentally, but which in reality hadbeen placed there for this purpose. Then, sliding it out again, herefixed it in position.
"Is that too hard for you? Try."
Branwen obeyed, and succeeded so well, that old Beniah commended her onher aptitude to learn.
"Now be careful," he added, when about to re-cross the bridge. "Yourlife may depend on your attention to my instructions."
"But what if I should let the plank slip?" said she in sudden anxiety.
"There is another in the cave on the floor. Besides, I have two orthree planks in the forest ready against such a mishap. Fear not, butcommit yourself to the All-seeing One."
He crossed over alone, leaving the girl on the other side, and waitedtill she had withdrawn the bridge, when he returned to the mouth of theouter cave, and sat down to continue the perusal of his roll. Branwenmeanwhile returned to the inner cave, or store, and sat down to meditateon thoughts which had been awakened by the Hebrew's reference to theAll-seeing One. She wondered if there was an All-seeing One at all,and, if there was, did He see all the wickedness that was done by men--ay, and even by women! and d
id He see the thoughts of her mind and thefeelings of her heart?
It will be gathered from this, that the maiden was considerably inadvance of the uncivilised age in which she lived, for the ancientinhabitants of Albion were not addicted to the study of theology, eithernatural or speculative.
"If I but knew of such an All-seeing One," she murmured, "I would askHim to help me."
Raising her eyes as she spoke, she observed the goods piled round thewalls, and the light of the lamp--which had been left with her--glittered on the trinkets opposite. This was too much for her. It mustbe remembered that, besides living in a barbarous age, she was anuntutored maiden, and possessed of a large share of that love for"pretty things," which