Through the village we went, and then came to the walls of the
ancient stronghold, and they seemed as if they were but lately
raised, so strong were they and high. The gates were in their
places, and at them was a guard, and through them, for they stood
open, I could see the white walls and flat roof of the house, or
rather palace, which was either that of the Roman governor of the
place, or else had been rebuilt or restored from time to time in
exactly the same wise, so that it stood fair and lordly and fit for
a king's dwelling even yet. Maybe the wattled hovels of the thralls
that clustered round it inside the great earthworks were not what
would have been suffered in the days of those terrible men who made
the fortress, but I doubt not that they stood on the foundations of
the quarters of the soldiers who had held it for Rome.

The guard turned out in orderly wise as we came to the gates, and
they wore the Roman helm and corselet, and bore the heavy Roman
spear and short heavy sword. But that war gear I had seen before on
the other Welsh border, and I had a scar, moreover, that would tell
that I had been within reach of one weapon or the other. I knew
their tongue, too, almost as well as my own, for Owen had taught it
me, saying that I might need it at some time. It had already been
of use to the king in the frontier troubles, for I could interpret
for him, but I think that Owen had in his mind the coming of some
such day as this.

Now, Owen would have me speak to the guard and tell them our
errand, and I rode forward and did so. The short day was almost
over by this time; and the captain who came to meet me did not seem
to notice my Saxon arms in the shadow of the high rampart. Hearing
that we bore a message for the king, he sent a man to ask for