Sir Richard was more than contented, for he knew then that the way led to Castle Yewe and Lord Douglas, into whose hands he intended soon to deliver the duplicate of the parchment that had been pilfered from out of his wallet. CHAPTER VIII OF A QUARREL AND A CHALLENGE The road through the forest wound steadily upward, and when they had left behind them the red moors and braes, the heaving, shimmering sea, they gained no view of the open, and but scant glimpses of the sky, so thickly interwoven were the leafy branches above their heads, till they had emerged upon a furzed and brambled down that commanded an uninterrupted prospect for many miles around. The scene then spread before them was one of superb grandeur, and well repaid them for their march of five hours up the long and tedious slope, of which the point where they were now come marked the extreme summit. The sea had disappeared out of the range of their vision, and in every direction the land dipped away in a myriad of mounds and hills, with splotches of golden gorse dotting their tops and sides, till the last of them was lost in a purple haze that hung above the indefinite, circular rim of the horizon; a fleecy wrack of clouds tossed before the light wind across the deep blue dome of the sky. These, speeding between sun and earth, sent patches of light and shadow in a swift pursuit of each other up and down over the breast of the sweet landscape as though they were playing at some pretty game. Here, word passed among the men that they might dismount to bait themselves and their horses and enjoy a brief period of rest before resuming the march. Amidst resounding talk and laughter they clambered out of their saddles, tethered their steeds where the grass grew most abundantly, and proceeded to make themselves comfortable, after the campaigner's fashion, by sprawling at full length upon the velvety turf in the agreeable warmth of the sun. Meanwhile, serving-men were addressing themselves to the work of gathering armfuls of dried hemlock twigs, building fires over which to warm the pastys, and broaching casks of stum. A bright-faced youth, who had evidently been appointed equerry to Sir Richard, approached and signified his readiness to take charge of the young knight's horse. Sir Richard dismounted, gave the reins into the youth's hands, and joined Lord Kennedy, who was leaning against a curiously stunted cedar that grew from the brink of a steep declivity near at hand. Within his mind, Sir Richard had applied the nickname of "Taciturnitus" to his silent companion of the morning, and he was surprised to observe the grim warrior-churchman drinking in the glorious scene with a keen zest of which he had deemed him altogether incapable. For quite a space they stood side by side, silently contemplating the diversified beauties of the landscape that unrolled before them from the sky-line to the base of the cliff.