determination, and every post wellmanned-all these things alarmed him. But the soldier demanded battle; all things they cried were to be surmounted by courage; and the praefects and tribunes, by expressing similar sentiments, inflamed the ardor of the army. Ostorius, seizing the auspicious moment, having carefully surveyed the situation, where inaccessible, and where to be passed, led them on excited, and without much difficulty cleared the river. When he approached the bulwark, while the conflict was carried on by means of missiles, there were more of our men wounded, and many began to fall; but after they had formed themselves into the military shell, demolished the rude and shapeless structure of stones, and encountered

hand to hand upon an equality, the barbarians betook themselves to the ridges of the mountains; and thither also our soldiers forced their way, both the light and heavy armed— the former assailing them with dart, the latter fighting foot to foot; while the ranks of the Britons on the other hand were broken, as they had no covering of breastplates or helmets, and if they resisted the auxiliaries, they were slaughtered by the swords. and javelins of the heavy-armed, and by the sabres and spears of the auxiliaries, when they faced the heavyarmed. Glorious was the victory gained on that day: the wife of Caractacus was taken prisoner, his brothers also surrendered at discretion."

quiry. "You have forgotten to tell us your business."

"By my confession to heaven, if it is not the prince!" cried another voice. "And there is Cadwallader too!"

"Make way there, ye confounded idiots, or else I'll trample you to death," said Trahaiarn, urging his horse off the draw-bridge into the court-yard in a fit of impatience, and waiting not for the guards to recover their senses sufficiently to make the desired reply. A moment later, leaving his horse in charge of his squire, he hastened towards the king's hall, into which he entered in time to find Gryffydd and Magnus still standing in the bitterness of disappointment. Unwashed and unkempt with a thick growth of black beard covering the greater part of a face whose only hairy ornament heretofore had been a heavy moustache, the prince created an impression as strange as that which he received from the condition of things in the hall; and before he had time to recover from his embarassment at what he saw, Gryffydd, mistaking him for a bearer of evil tidings said in an irritated voice.

"Speak man. Why dost thou stand there like a mute? If there are more evils to come upon me let me hear them. Tell me that she has found a grave in the Clwyd. Speak I say."

"Heavens! is my betroti.ed dead?" cried Trahaiarn completely bewildered. "Tell me that she is dead rather than that she is married to an alien!"

"Who art thou?" inquired Gryff

ydd fixing a searching look on Trahaiarn's face. "Are we all bewitched? Is the dead come to life? Art thou Trahaiarn or his ghost?"

"I am all there is left of thy vassal, O king," replied the prince scarcely knowing what he said by reason of his extreme anxiety to learn what had transpired.

And now followed a scene of excitement such as was never witnessed in the castle before. Gryffydd forgetting for the moment his disappointment at the disappearance of his daughter embraced the prince in the most fatherly manner, then relinquished him to the brotherly demonstrations of the princes Meredith and Ithel, while the Welsh guests in their joy at Trahaiarn's return rent the air with shouts of gladness. All this seemed very strange to Magnus' men, who saw in the newcomer only a dirty looking adventurer. Magnus, however, was not so slow in learning who he was, having surmised that it was the missing prince before he was posi-. tively informed that it was he. Nor had he any reason or inclination to remain longer under Gryffydd's roof. Indeed Nest's disappearance together with Trahaiarn's unexpected return made an early departure extremely desirable. Accordingly he and his men left for Conway early in the afternoon escorted by Prince Meredith with a number of the Welsh courtiers, and before sunset he sailed for Norway.

In the meantime Trahaiarn having received and given all desired explanations hastened to remove such

traces of his long imprisonment as his inclination and toilet made possible, and in due time returned to the hall looking much like his former self, except that he was thinner, and had an older look. Having learned that the princess and her maid had secretly left her room the night before, leaving no clue to indicate her place of concealment, it was natural that he should be very anxious to go in search of her. He also had a strong desire to punish his captors for the suffering they had caused him. Wavering at first between these two desires he finally decided that as the search for the princess would occupy several days, if not weeks, and the chastisement of the outlaws demanded immediate action, he would set out as soon as practicable against the latter. Accordingly with Gryffydd's consent he chose a large force of men from the army still encamped a short distance from the castle, and forming two divisions he found Meredith willing to take command of one, while he took charge of the other. As soon as Meredith returned from Conway, therefore, they started on their mission of revenge, the prince royal going in the direction of Cefn, and Trahaiarn proceeding towards the scene of his imprisonment, reaching a point east of Ruthin before daybreak. Here the prince divided his

played the part of a scout. The object of this precaution was that the approach of one division from the south and the other from the north might make it more difficult for the outlaws to make their escape should they attempt to leave the cavern. While the two bands pursued their respective courses the grey dawn appeared and gradually expanded into twilight, enabling them to see their way more clearly. But the faint light that aided their advance also enabled such of the outlaws as were on the watch for enemies to see them approaching and to disappear unseen into the cavern. So that when the two divisions arrived near the robber's den shortly after, it was without catching a single glimpse of the enemy. Was it possible after all that Hoel had sought another refuge? Had he been so indiscreet as to seek safety in the caves at Cefn, a thing that Trahaiarn had not thought likely, although he had sent Meredith there? While the prince revolved these thoughts in his mind, Cadwallader ventured a short distance into the cavern and saw that the curtain was gone. He listened but could hear no sound, and sniffed the air but could smell no smoke. Yet he was loth to believe that the place was deserted. He peered into the gloom again, but although it was now broad daylight outside, there was scarcely light enough in the cavern to enable him to discern objects far beyond where he stood. Trahaiarn spoke to him, and he was about to reply, when he was startled by a faint groan as if of a man in

pain not many feet away. This was enough. He was sure now that the cavern was not so deserted as it seemed, and turning to the prince he said,

"The arrow which sped from your bow the other night did but wound the accursed hermit, I fear; for it must be he that I heard groan just now."

"Art thou sure that thou hearest a groan?" asked the prince.

"As sure as I am talking to you." "Then the old villain is not alone! Nor is he far from death, or else he would not let even a groan betray his friends."

"It is time that he should do us a good turn."

"Ay, and if his friends do not aid his exit from this life before I get to him I shall reward him for his kindness by making good the intention which I but poorly carried out the other night."

The prince now stationing the greater part of his men on each side of the cavern by way of precaution in case the outlaws should rush out of their hiding place, commanded the rest to bring all the withered branches and dry logs that could be found. in the vicinity and pile up inside the

piling the wood. This display of hostility, however, did little other than give Trahaiarn evidence of the presence of the outlaws inside, and stimulate the men detailed for the work into greater activity. Nor were subsequent attempts to hinder the work more successful. This made the robbers desperate, and choosing to run the risk of being overwhelmed by superior numbers rather than wait to be smothered to death where they were, they made a simultaneous rush for the opening, some climbing over the logs only to fall to the ground pierced to the heart with arrows, others with the fury of madmen advancing into the midst of their enemies and engaging in a hand to hand fight. Among the latter was Hoel, who, clad in the armor which Trahaiarn had on when he was captured made straight for the prince, striking right and left with a Danish axe. The prince, however, receiving on his shield the blow aimed at his head sprang upon his assailant with the quickness thought, and grappling with him fell to the ground, succeeding after a hard struggle in wresting the axe from his hand, but not before receiving a slight wound from one of Hoel's men, who immediately after fell dead to the ground. But though Trahaiarn had his enemy in his power Cadwallader deprived him of the pleasure of dispatching him by seizing the axe and burying it in the robber's head. The last outlaw was now dead, and the prince rising to his feet saw the ground strewn with the slain. He had had his revenge,

of

and had rid the country of its worst enemies.

Curious to know what the cavern still contained he now entered it accompanied by Cadwallader and a dozen others, and striking a flint he lighted a torch and advanced to the spot where he had so long sat as a prisoner and a prey to gloomy thoughts. A shiver passed through him as he thought of the sufferings he had undergone, and his voice trembled as he said,

"But for thy devotion and ingenuity, Cadwallader, I would still be crouching there a miserable and hopeless wretch."

"Ah! what have we here?" said the squire pretending not to hear, and bending over a human form a few feet beyond the prince. "Be kind enough to bring the light here, somebody."

The prince who still held the torch took a few steps forward followed by the rest, and looking down upon a face upon whom the marks of death were visible he exclaimed,

"The sacred toe of St. David! if it is not the traitor Einion ap Howel!" "Then Einion ap Howel and the hermit are one and the same person, for has he not on the hermit's garb?" said Cadwallader.

The man whom they all thought dead now uttered a deep groan, and opening his eyes he gazed bewildering at the prince. Then in a voice scarcely above a whisper, he said,

"Where is Hoel? Tell him to come to me."

"Hoel is where thou wilt soon be,

and where all traitors ought to be," said Trahaiarn.

A look of malinity came into the dying man's eyes, and summoning all his strength he said,

"Friends of tyrants, thy doom is settled! Einion ap Howel curses thee; Howel the hermit consigns thee to perdition."

He said no more; death had sealed his lips forever.

Leaving him where he was the prince and his men now searched the cavern for plunder which they surmised must be there; and their search was presently rewarded with much booty. This they carried outside, and after burying the slain in the cavern the whole force left for Rhuddlan, where Meredith had already arrived.

In the evening Emrys, one of the king's guard, desired and obtained. an interview with Trahaiarn in the latter's room in the castle.

"You know that the Norwegian king returned to his kingdom without his bride," said Emrys.

"I would have been dull indeed not to know it, since I have heard scarcely anything else since my return," replied Trahaiarn.

"Little would he have thanked me had he known who aided the princess to escape. Indeed I fear king Gryffydd himself would make up the loss of a royal son-in-law by divorcing my head from my body had he known my secret."

"Didst thou then aid the princess to leave the castle? If so, where is she now?"