"Ay, there are such traitors!"
"Name them to me!" said the king, trembling with passionate
impatience. "Name them to me, that my arm may crush them and my
avenging justice overtake the heads of the guilty."
"It is superfluous to mention them, for you, King Henry, the wise
and all-knowing--you know their names."
And bending down closer to the king's ear, Earl Douglas continued:
"King Henry, I certainly have a right to call myself your most
faithful and devoted servant, for I have read your thoughts. I have
understood the noble grief that disturbs your heart, and banishes
sleep from your eyes and peace from your soul. You saw the foe that
was creeping in the dark; you heard the low hiss of the serpent that
was darting his venomous sting at your heel. But you were so much
the noble and intrepid king, that you would not yourself become the
accuser--nay, you would not once draw back the foot menaced by the
serpent. Great and merciful, like God Himself, you smiled upon him
whom you knew to be your enemy. But I, my king--I have other duties.
I am like the faithful dog, that has eyes only for the safety of his
master, and falls upon every one that comes to menace him. I have
seen the serpent that would kill you, and I will bruise his head!"
"And what is the name of this serpent of which you speak?" asked the
king; and his heart beat so boisterously that he felt it on his
trembling lips.
"It is called," said Earl Douglas, earnestly and solemnly--"it is
called Howard!"
The king uttered a cry, and, forgetting his gout and his pains,
arose from his chair.
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