"Why, first of all, this," said Myles, clinching his fists, as hehad a habit of doing when anything stirred him deeply, "that weset those vile bachelors to their right place; and that is, thatthey be no longer our masters, but our fellows."Gascoyne shook his head. He hated clashing and conflict above allthings, and was for peace. Why should they thus rush to thrustthemselves into trouble? Let matters abide as they were a littlelonger; surely life was pleasant enough without turning it alltopsy-turvy. Then, with a sort of indignation, why should Myles,who had only come among them a month, take such service more toheart than they who had endured it for years? And, finally, withthe hopefulness of so many of the rest of us, he advised Myles tolet matters alone, and they would right themselves in time.
But Myles's mind was determined; his active spirit could notbrook resting passively under a wrong; he would endure no longer,and now or never they must make their stand.
"But look thee, Myles Falworth," said Gascoyne, "all this is notto be done withouten fighting shrewdly. Wilt thou take thatfighting upon thine own self? As for me, I tell thee I love itnot.""Why, aye," said Myles; "I ask no man to do what I will not domyself."Gascoyne shrugged his shoulders. "So be it," said he. "An thouhast appetite to run thy head against hard knocks, do it i'
mercy's name! I for one will stand thee back while thou arttaking thy raps."There was a spirit of drollery in Gascoyne's speech that rubbedagainst Myles's earnestness.
"Out upon it!" cried he, his patience giving way. "Seest not thatI am in serious earnest? Why then dost thou still jest like MadNoll, my Lord's fool? An thou wilt not lend me thine aid in thismatter, say so and ha' done with it, and I will bethink me ofsomewhere else to turn."Then Gascoyne yielded at once, as he always did when his friendlost his temper, and having once assented to it, entered into thescheme heart and soul. Three other lads--one of them that tallthin squire Edmund Wilkes, before spoken of-- were sounded uponthe subject. They also entered into the plan of the secretorganization with an enthusiasm which might perhaps not have beenquite so glowing had they realized how very soon Myles designedembarking upon active practical operations. One day Myles andGascoyne showed them the strange things that they had discoveredin the old tower--the inner staircases, the winding passage-ways,the queer niches and cupboard, and the black shaft of a well thatpierced down into the solid wall, and whence, perhaps, the oldcastle folk had one time drawn their supply of water in time ofsiege, and with every new wonder of the marvellous place theenthusiasm of the three recruits rose higher and higher. Theyrummaged through the lumber pile in the great circular room asMyles and Gascoyne had done, and at last, tired out, theyascended to the airy chapel, and there sat cooling themselves inthe rustling freshness of the breeze that came blowing briskly inthrough the arched windows.
It was then and there that the five discussed and finallydetermined upon the detailed plans of their organization,canvassing the names of the squirehood, and selecting from it asufficient number of bold and daring spirits to make up a roll oftwenty names in all.
Gascoyne had, as I said, entered into the matter with spirit, andperhaps it was owing more to him than to any other that theproject caught its delightful flavor of romance.
"Perchance," said he, as the five lads lay in the rustlingstillness through which sounded the monotonous and ceaselesscooing of the pigeons-- "perchance there may be dwarfs and giantsand dragons and enchanters and evil knights and what not evennowadays. And who knows but that if we Knights of the Rose holdtogether we may go forth into the world, and do battle with them,and save beautiful ladies, and have tales and gestes writtenabout us as they are writ about the Seven Champions and Arthurhis Round-table."Perhaps Myles, who lay silently listening to all that was said,was the only one who looked upon the scheme at all in the lightof real utility, but I think that even with him the fun of thematter outweighed the serious part of the business.
So it was that the Sacred Order of the Twenty Knights of the Rosecame to be initiated. They appointed a code of secret passwordsand countersigns which were very difficult to remember, and whichwere only used when they might excite the curiosity of the otherand uninitiated boys by their mysterious sound. They electedMyles as their Grand High Commander, and held secret meetings inthe ancient tower, where many mysteries were soberly enacted.
Of course in a day or two all the body of squires knew nearlyeverything concerning the Knights of the Rose, and of theirsecret meetings in the old tower. The lucky twenty were theobjects of envy of all not so fortunate as to be included in thisnumber, and there was a marked air of secrecy about everythingthey did that appealed to every romantic notion of the youngsterslooking on. What was the stormy outcome of it all is nowpresently to be told.
