A Lion to Guard Us (8 page)

Amanda hardly heard. She was saying over and over to herself, Let Father be safe, let him be well . . .

They came in sight of Jamestown.

“It's on an island,” said Master Rolfe.

“
Almost
an island,” said the captain.

The town was inside a wall made of tall tree trunks. A few gray rooftops rose above the wall.

Captain Newport shouted through a horn, “Halloo!”

Only an echo came back.

A party of men landed just down the river from Jamestown. Amanda watched them make their way along the shore.

“What are they doing?” she asked a sailor.

“They are making sure it is safe for us to land,” he answered.

Soon the men were in the town, looking out over the wall. They were making signs to let the captain know there was no danger.

“The river is deep here,” said the captain. “We can bring the ships all the way to shore.”

The ships came up almost under the wall. Admiral Somers and Captain Newport crossed the plank from their ship to the shore. Ladies and gentlemen began to cross after them.

Amanda and Jemmy and Meg waited their turn. Someone made way for them, and they walked across the plank.

On shore, they followed the others to a gate in the wall. It was open, and they went through. They saw a square of log houses, a church, and a long shed that might have been a storehouse. The roof was off the shed. The church door was broken.

There was an open yard in the middle of the town. A few thin, wild-looking men were there. They had gathered about the admiral and the captain.

Amanda looked quickly at their faces and turned away. She looked into houses, one after another. All were empty.

Halfway around the square she went, looking, looking—

She pushed open the door of a house and drew back. A man was there.

He lay on the floor. His clothes were in rags, and he was so thin the bones of his face stood out.

He was changed. He was so terribly changed, yet she knew him.

“Father,” she said.

He turned toward her. His eyes were staring, and he said something that sounded like, “They've gone away!”

“Father, it's Amanda,” she said.

Still his eyes stared. He didn't know her. She wanted to cry out, Look at me! Remember me!

Jemmy and Meg were in the doorway. They came slowly inside.

“Is it Father?” whispered Meg.

“Is it, Amanda?” asked Jemmy.

“Yes, but he doesn't—he doesn't—” She knelt and tried again. “It's Amanda and Jemmy and Meg.”

Jemmy came closer. He had taken the lion's head out of his pocket. He was holding it up for Father to see.

And Father saw it! He was
looking
—first at the lion's head, then at their faces. He spoke their names. “Amanda. Jemmy. Meg.”

Amanda dried her eyes on her sleeve. She said to Jemmy and Meg, “Go to the admiral, go to the captain. Ask them to come here, and then you go to the ship. Bring food—anything you can find. Bring water.”

They started off.

“Run!” she said.

She took Father's head in her lap. He reached up a hand to her, and she held it. She had thought it might be cold, but it was warm.

She was not afraid now. They were here to care for him—she and Jemmy and Meg—and help was on the way.

He was looking toward the door. She looked to see what he had seen. Above the door latch was a peg, and Jemmy had hung the knocker there. The lion's head had caught the light and made a brightness in the room.

On June 2, 1609, the
Sea Adventure
, with eight other ships, sailed from Plymouth, England. The small fleet was bound for Virginia, then an English colony in the New World. Two years before, settlers had founded the village of Jamestown there. Now many were ill, they faced starvation, and they were at war with the natives.

The ships from England were bringing help and supplies. For weeks they sailed together, but on July 23 a storm drove them apart. Three days later the
Sea Adventure
was wrecked off an island in the Bermudas, about six hundred miles from Virginia.

There were men, women, and children on board. All landed safely. In the nine months they lived there, they built two ships, and in May, 1610, they sailed to Virginia. They brought food from the friendly island—salt fish and pork, palm cabbage, cactus pears, and the pickled eggs of wild birds.

They found Jamestown almost deserted. After the winter of 1609-10, known as the Starving Time, only a few settlers were left. The colonists from Bermuda fed and cared for them. Before the food was gone, three ships came from England with more supplies and new settlers, and Jamestown was saved.

Stories of the
Sea Adventure
were published in England. Some of them were read by a man who wrote plays for the London theater, and he wrote a play about a storm at sea and a shipwreck on an enchanted island. The play was
The Tempest
. The man was William Shakespeare.

 

The boy sat up in bed. A sound in the night had wakened him.

His room was so dark he could see nothing, but he could hear steps outside his door. He held his breath and listened.

“Shan!” said a voice.

He let his breath go. It was his mother, calling his name.

“Yes?” he said. “What is it?”

Lady Marian came into the room. She had a candle in her hand, and the light moved over the stone walls.

“Shan, I'm glad to find you here,” she said. “I was afraid you had gone with your father.”

“Where has my father gone?” asked Shan.

“One of the servants just wakened him and they went away together,” she said. “I heard them speak of a wounded knight.”

“A
wounded
knight?” said Shan.

“Yes,” said Lady Marian. “Shan, what does it mean? Is someone making war on us? Are there enemy soldiers outside?”

“Don't be afraid, Mother,” said Shan. “Our good King Arthur has beaten all our enemies. And even if there
were
enemies, we would be safe here. There is no stronger castle in England than ours.”

He went to the window. A light was moving in the courtyard below.

“Mother, I'm going down there,” he said.

“I don't think you should go,” said Lady Marian.

“No one is fighting,” he said. “There's nothing to be afraid of.”

He put on his clothes. He ran down the stairs and into the courtyard. There was a light near the castle gate. He went toward it.

At the gate he found his father. Some of the servants were there, too. One of them had a lighted torch in his hand.

“Father—” Shan stopped. On the stones at his father's feet lay a man. A long, black beard hid his face. Two of the servants were taking off his armor.

“Who is he?” asked Shan.

“No one knows,” said his father. “He beat on the gate. We let him in, and he fell in a faint.”

“My lord, I have found his wound,” said one of the servants.

Shan's father looked at the wound in the man's side. “Bring him into the castle at once,” he said.

The servants lifted the wounded man. They carried him into a bedroom in the castle.

“Has he lost much blood?” asked Shan.

“I think so,” said his father. “The wound is deep.”

“Shall I bring Nappus?” asked Shan.

“Nappus?”

“Yes. Nappus is a man of magic. He can make the knight well.”

“Poor Nappus.” Shan's father shook his head. “He knows no magic. But he was once the best of doctors.”

“He is still the best of doctors,” said Shan. “Remember how he took the fishbone from your throat? Remember how he bound up my arm when it was broken?”

“Yes, yes,” said his father. “Go and bring him if you wish.”

Shan took a lighted torch from one of the servants and ran out across the courtyard. He opened a door in the castle wall. It was the door to Nappus' room.

Nappus was sleeping, with his cloak over his head. Shan touched him. Nappus looked out from under the cloak.

He was a small man. His hair was white. He could neither hear nor speak, but his eyes were keen and bright.

“There is a wounded knight in the castle,” said Shan. “Come and dress his wound.”

Nappus watched Shan's lips, reading the words. He nodded to show that he understood. From a box in a corner he took some jars and bottles. He tied them up in a cloth.

Shan led the way to the castle. Nappus knelt by the wounded man. He washed the wound and dressed it. He opened the man's mouth and poured a little red wine down his throat.

The man moved. His eyes opened, and he looked at Nappus. “Lord Weldon!” he said in a whisper. “Where is Lord Weldon?”

Shan's father came forward. “I am Lord Weldon. You are safe in Weldon Castle.”

The wounded man tried to lift himself. “Brother—!” he said. Then he fell back and was still.

Shan's father bent over the man and looked into his face. He cried out, “Lionel!” His voice shook with excitement. He said to Shan, “This knight is my brother. I am sure of it. Shan, this is your Uncle Lionel. After these many years, your Uncle Lionel has come home!”

CLYDE ROBERT BULLA
is one of America's best-known writers for young people. The broad scope of his interests led him to write more than fifty distinguished books on a variety of subjects, including travel, history, science, and music. He received a number of awards for his contributions to the field of children's books, including, for
Shoeshine Girl
, awards in three states—Oklahoma, Arkansas, and South Carolina—the winners of which were voted upon by school children.

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By Clyde Robert Bulla

THE BEAST OF LOR
•
BENITO