summons all to break their fast at dawn: thou mayst sleep meanwhile
as securely as in thine own castle."

And the outlaws rose with a courtesy one would hardly have expected
from these wild sons of the forest; while Kynewulf showed the
guests to their sleeping quarters, through the still fast-falling
snow.

The hut was snug as Grimbeard (for such was the chieftain's
appropriate name) had boasted, and tolerably wind proof, although
in such a storm snow will always force its way through the tiniest
crevices. It was built of wattle work, cunningly daubed with clay,
even as the early Britons built their lodges.

And here slept the great earl, whose name was known through the
civilised world, the brother-in-law of the king, the mightiest
warrior of his time, and, amongst the laity, the most devout
churchman known to fame.

______________________________________________________________


In the dead hour of the night, when the darkness is deepest and
sleep the soundest, they were both awakened by the opening of the
door, and the cold blast of wind it produced. The earl and his
squire started up and sat upright on their couches.

A woman stood in the doorway, who held a boy by the hand; the eyes
of both were red with weeping.