CHAPTER V.

The news of the construction of a redoubtable fortress was not long in reaching the ears of the emperor. He was also advised that there were others concerned in the construction besides Maugis and his four brothers. This made Charlemagne all the more angry and vindictive. He resolved to attack him on his own ground. He would combine the forces of all the lords there were there present, besides all the knights he could find, directing them in all haste to secure vengeance. He promised to subdue Maugis, raze his fortress, and give up all the surrounding country to fire and pillage.

Not all the lords present at the time were agreeable to this plan, but having given their oaths of fidelity, had to submit to the consequences of their promises. Ganelon finally proposed to pursue a middle course in order to terminate the war without striking a blow, for Ganelon liked not to fight. He proposed to negotiate an offer to Maugis to yield up his three brothers and his cousin Renaud to the emperor, hoping in his secret heart that would pave the way to the destruction of Maugis afterward. This strange proposition seemed agreeable to Charlemagne and he consented it should be made, charging the matter to the Duke de Naimes, his confidant, and Oger.

These two knights, in due time, presented themselves to Maugis and rendered their duty, though certain beforehand he would not consider the subject a moment. They were not deceived.

Maugis received the message, but could not restrain his indignation at the infamy of the proposal.

“What, my noble lords!” he cried, “wouldst have me deliver my brothers and my cousin Renaud, because, however unwillingly, they have aided me. No, a thousand times no,” he exclaimed. “It were far better to die, sword in hand, than to purchase peace by such an act of cowardice.” Maugis was furious, but later becoming calm, he invited the two to visit his arsenal and view his means of defense. Said he to them earnestly: “There is not a knight among my followers, nor an inhabitant of this citadel, but who would prefer the most bloody death and to find a grave under its ruins, rather than surrender Montfort to Charlemagne.”

De Naimes and Oger returned to Paris and repeated the words of Maugis to the king, making no attempt to conceal their admiration for the brave young man.

Charlemagne, on the contrary, flew into a violent rage and gave orders to his army to prepare immediately for an assault on the Château Montfort. And thus was commenced a lifetime of the most bitter struggles, for the brave Maugis and his intrepid brothers. A doubly bitter struggle for Maugis, from the importunity of his friends to use his occult powers to relieve them when sore beset, but which he conscientiously resisted because he feared it was an offense to God. And bitterest of all was his love and longing for Yolande, from whom such cruel fate separated him.

It was only a short time after this when the scouts of Maugis reported the advance of the army, led by the emperor in person, and so he was not taken off his guard when early one morning he watched from his high position on the battlements of his fortress the glint of the sun on the accouterments and arms of the besieging army surrounding his position on the plain below.

He observed with interest, that to invest his château, Charlemagne was obliged to very much spread out his forces, and resolved to take advantage of it. Accordingly, when the time was most favorable, he made a sortie with his soldiers from a gate invisible to the enemy and threw himself on them with such great impetuosity that before they had even time to resist the ground was strewn with the dead. He had become master of the king’s camp and forthwith fired the tents, burning alike, in the general conflagration, men and horses and all the supplies of the king’s army.

[Illustration: CHÂTEAU MONTFORT.]

After this great success, Maugis rallied his troops and was about to attack the army of the king, when at that very moment he came face to face with a detachment headed by his father, the old Duke d’Aymon. To fight his own father was impossible, therefore Maugis arrested his movements.

On his part the duke prudently retired before the forces of his son, but if his own life was safe, not so his soldiers. Maugis threw his troops upon those of his father and those of the king accompanying him, attacking them on all sides, successfully blocking all means of their escape.

At this juncture Foulques de Morillon appeared. His presence in the middle of the royal army reanimated the troops and they attacked Maugis in their turn. Surprised at this sudden movement, Maugis rested a moment in indecision. His soldiers had become massed together in confusion. To retire was impossible. Alard, his brother, seeing the dangerous position of Maugis from the château, took all the men that could be spared and went to his assistance, rallied the fugitives and joined the battalions of Maugis. These two then, at the head of their army, attacked shoulder to shoulder, striking down all who resisted, killing and wounding. Even before this unexpected succor came, Maugis had charged into the _mêlée_ uttering his cry of war, which resounded over the battlefield. Every stroke of his gigantic arm told. It was death to be before him. Nothing could withstand the mad onward rush of his great form.

It was but a few moments before Maugis stood behind a rampart of men whom he had slain. In their endeavors to capture him alive the enemy vainly tried to crush Maugis down with sheer force of numbers, but with a rare courage and prudence he at last cut through them and rejoined his brother, and then the two, supported by their soldiers, turned upon the forces of the king with a renewed frenzy and wrought upon them a fearful carnage.

The royal army becoming panic-stricken, fled through their burning camp, and Richard, who pursued them, took a number of prisoners—the rout was complete.

If the victory was a glorious one the pursuit must not be carried too far, or in forgetting discretion, a few moments might lose all that had been so dearly gained. This is why Maugis deemed it wise to stop and rally his troops. He re-entered the château, his rear being guarded by his three brothers.

The battle did not, however, pass without an extraordinary episode. Of the army of the king only the old Duke d’Aymon was followed and disturbed in his retreat. The four brothers, respecting his oath of fidelity, followed him and sought to take him prisoner. Maugis, finally becoming impatient at the barren result of the pursuit, placed himself and his brother in front of the duke and sought to arrest his progress by striking his horse over the head. But this did not stop the escort, which came up and attacked the four brothers. They in their turn returned the attack, and they would have been inevitably cut to pieces had not Charlemagne, who had in the meantime come up and saw the situation and lost in admiration of the bravery of Maugis, and with that rare chivalry so characteristic of that great monarch, he raised his voice and ordered the conflict to cease. Maugis stopped immediately at the command of the king, and followed by his men and the prisoners they had taken, retired into the fortress.

This notable victory made Maugis the master of an immense territory over which he could roam at will and follow the chase. But Charlemagne, infuriated by his defeat at the hands of this brave young warrior, would not quit the place he had chosen for his camp. Maugis, who had from time to time only a few skirmishes during the ensuing thirteen months, spent a period, not altogether devoid of pleasure, except for the haunting thought of the lovely face and sweet eyes of Yolande, and chafed bitterly at the fate that kept him from her side. And what of her? Did she ever think of him?

In the privacy of her chamber in the great palace at Paris, she shed many bitter tears when she witnessed the departure of the army that was going to destroy the man whom she loved above all else on earth. The only comfort she knew was the absence of Ganelon, whose suit to her had become persecution.

Since the day of the escape of Maugis by her aid, his attitude had changed from odious fawning to sternness and threats. He alone knew of the part she had played on that memorable day. He had read her secret aright and had taunted her with it, and when goaded by his ceaseless importunity, she had said, standing with flashing eyes, her glorious figure drawn up: “Go, sirrah! Never darken my gaze again. I detest thee as much as I love the man thou hatest, and I care not that thou shouldst know it.”

“Foolish maiden! That sorcerer hath bewitched thee,” hissed Ganelon, “but did all hell assemble to aid him, his fate is sealed. His doom is sure. Then, obdurate maid, perchance thou wilt look upon me, who truly loves thee.”

“Never!” cried Yolande as the villain’s form disappeared through the door. She was yet to feel the evil that an evil man evilly disposed can do.

As the days passed and no news came from the camp of the emperor, her heart sank, and finally when the messenger came and the victory of Maugis became known, her heart was lightened. Then a few days later a travel-worn monk delivered into her hands a small packet. It contained a ring and a slip of parchment on which was written:

“I have love for thee that will never die. Sleeping or waking I think of thee only. Take this ring, shouldst thou ever be in peril or need me, send it. It shall be a token for me to come that nothing shall prevent. Pray thou to God that our separation may be short.

+Maugis.+”

The maiden covered the token with kisses and hid it in her bosom.

Meanwhile, Charlemagne would have made another attack, but Naimes, more prudent, advised him to await a more favorable opportunity. Then there came to the emperor, sent by the crafty Ganelon, one who proposed that he would agree to take the castle and the lords and soldiers therein, provided he should be given the château and its territories as his reward.

Charlemagne accepted the proposition and Hernier de la Seine, for that was the man’s name, accompanied by Guyon de Bretagne, left the camp, followed by some good soldiers. Hernier de la Seine hid Guyon and his soldiers nearby and advanced alone to the château.

Under pretext of having quarreled with Charlemagne, whom he said had driven him from camp, he had come to offer his sword to Maugis. This lie, delivered with an air of candor, completely deceived Maugis, and he freely promised him a place in the castle and that all his wants should be satisfied.

When night came, Hernier, to reward Maugis for his good action, quietly stole up on the sentinel guarding one of the gates and slew him, then opened it for the entrance of Guyon and his soldiers. Quietly dividing their forces into small detachments they advanced in good order to the principal places. It seemed as if Maugis and his brave brothers were lost, but the neighing of their horses in the stables awakened them and a loud noise struck their ears without their being able to imagine the true cause. In times of war, however, caution is paramount, and acting on this thought all four arose and went out.

What they saw did not leave them deceived as to the gravity of their situation. Guyon, now master of the place, guarded all the means of exit. Other soldiers were engaged in setting fire to various places in the fortress.

In such a lamentable position there was but one thing to do, that was to seek to dominate events with courage and coolness.

The four brothers separated after a hasty consultation with some of their men and each attacked the men guarding the points of issue. They soon overcame the enemy, who were deprived of assistance from without. In vain the traitors tried to escape. The four redoubtable brothers opposed them irresistibly, until the gateways were encumbered with the dead. Hernier and twelve others were all who escaped the carnage, and were taken prisoners, and the men were hurled without pity from the walls of the castle into the moat.

[Illustration: SURPRISE OF THE CASTLE.]