E-text prepared by the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the lovely original illustrations in color. See 59406-h.htm or 59406-h.zip: (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/59406/59406-h/59406-h.htm) or (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/59406/59406-h.zip) Images of the original pages are available through Internet Archive. See https://archive.org/details/kingpendascaptai00macbrich KING PENDA’S CAPTAIN All rights reserved [Illustration: Feargus stepped to the side of Edwy and drew his sword, shouting, “I am your captain: stand back, Mercians!”] KING PENDA’S CAPTAIN A Romance of Fighting in the Days of the Anglo-Saxons by MAC KENZIE MAC BRIDE [Illustration] With Coloured Illustrations by John Duncan London J. M. Dent & Company 29 Bedford Street, Strand MCMVIII CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. OF FEARGUS AND KING PENDA 1 II. OF FEARGUS AND TORFRIDA 6 III. THE BATTLE BY TRENT WATER 18 IV. THE FLIGHT 29 V. THE PARTING OF FEARGUS AND TORFRIDA 41 VI. THE FALL OF FEARGUS 47 VII. OF THE MEETING OF FEARGUS AND OSBERT 55 VIII. THE DEAD HERO OF THE WINWIDFIELD 63 IX. OF THE FATE OF FEARGUS 74 X. OF THE WOODSMAN OF SHERWOOD 81 XI. OF OSBERT AND TORFRIDA 85 XII. THE OUTLAWS OF SHERWOOD 93 XIII. AWAKE! 99 XIV. THE MEETING IN THE FOREST 101 XV. OF THE VILLAINY OF OSBERT 107 XVI. OF THE BURNING OF THE HALL OF EDMUND 119 XVII. THE WAY TO ALBAN 127 XVIII. HOW THEY LOST THEIR WAY IN THE GREENWOOD 138 XIX. THEIR ADVENTURES AMONG THE NORTH ENGLISH 149 XX. HOW FEARGUS FELL AMONG THIEVES 157 XXI. HOW THEY FARED IN THE WILD COUNTRY 164 XXII. HOW THEY FELL AMONG FOES 174 XXIII. HOW TORFRIDA WAS STOLEN 186 XXIV. OF THE CASTLE IN THE PENTLANDS 199 XXV. OF THE FEAST IN SIEGFRIED’S HALL 206 XXVI. THE RESCUE 220 XXVII. THE FIGHT IN FENLAND 227 XXVIII. THE HISTORY COMETH TO AN END 236 ENGLAND IN PENDA’S DAY 237 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS