populace.

Lady Mar, whose secret hopes had been stirred afresh by the death of her
husband, heard with consternation of Wallace's departure. But he went
away without a thought of her; his mission was the rescue of Helen, to
which he had pledged himself by the death-bed of Lord Mar. Helen had
been kidnapped by De Valence, and carried off by him to his castle in
Guienne.

Wallace disguised himself as a minstrel, and travelled to Durham, where
King Edward held his court, and where young Bruce, taken captive, was
now confined. By making himself known to the Earl of Gloucester, Wallace
was able to gain access to Bruce, whose father was now dead, and to lay
his plans before him. These were that Bruce should escape from Durham,
that the two should travel to Guienne and rescue Helen, and that they
should then, as unknown strangers, offer their services to Scotland.

The plans were fulfilled. Bruce escaped, De Valence was once more
deprived of his prey--he did not suspect the identity of the two knights
until after Helen had been delivered from his clutches--and the pair
fought as Frenchmen in the wars of Scotland. To few was the truth
revealed, and only one discovered it--a knight wearing a green plume,
who refused to divulge his name until Wallace proclaimed his own on the
day of victory.

But the secret could not be kept for ever, and it was Wallace himself
who cast off the disguise. At the battle of Rosslyn the day seemed lost;
an overwhelming mass of English bore down the Scots; men were turning to
fly. The fate of Wallace's country hung on an instant. Taking off his
helmet, he waved it in the air with a shout, and, having thus drawn all