castle, hoping they might once more encounter the wild huntsman. Nor
were they disappointed. As they crossed a glen, a noble stag darted
by. Close at its heels came the two black hounds, and after them the
riders hurrying forward at a furious pace, their steeds appearing to
breathe forth flame and smoke.

In an instant the huntsmen and hounds were gone, and the trampling of
the horses died away in the distance. Soon afterwards a low sound,
like the winding of a horn, broke upon the ear, and the listeners had no
doubt that the buck was brought down. They hurried in the direction of
the sound, but though the view was wholly unobstructed for a
considerable distance, they could see nothing either of horsemen,
hounds, or deer.



VI. How the Fair Geraldine bestowed a Relic upon her Lover--How
Surrey and Richmond rode in the Forest at Midnight--And where they
found the Body of Mark Fytton, the Butcher.


Surrey and Richmond agreed to say nothing for the present of their
mysterious adventure in the forest; but their haggard looks, as they
presented themselves to the Lady Anne Boleyn in the reception-
chamber on the following morning, proclaimed that something had
happened, and they had to undergo much questioning from the Fair
Geraldine and the Lady Mary Howard.

"I never saw you so out of spirits, my lord," remarked the Fair Geraldine
to Surrey; "you must have spent the whole night in study--or what is