THE CHILD WHO CAME BY NIGHT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 21, 25 January 1930, Page 3 (Supplement)

THE CHILD WHO CAME BY NIGHT.

Twilight was falling on the dense, jswampy forest around Verulam, and, Seeing this, the tired Roman legionaries formed a camp for the night in a deserted British hill-fort. As they were busy roasting some of the cattle cap.tilred after fhe great battle at Walton-. * ©a-Thames the scouting .party returned, headed by Conan, the young British chief from Colchester, who had thrown in his lot with the invaders. Conan's eyes flashed with anger when he eaw the Romans were preparing to remain in-the fdrt for the night. . "He Will escape me! He Will escape me!" he exclaimed. ''What slow, sleepy gluttons these Romans 'are!" He spoke wildly , in his native language. The Soldiers of Rome looked at the handsome young barbarian with amused eyes. Had they >kiiown that he was c&lliilg them names they; might have ill-treated him, for they were proud, fierce men, these warlike Roman farmers, who had conquered Gaul and .were now driving the tribes of Britain before them. -•'What a triumph we shall be able to , give "Caius Julius.; Caesar on returning With him to Rome!" said one of them as he gazed at Conan. "When we cap/ture Caswallon we'll have a procession of a hundred of these British chiefs, and Won't slaved be cheap!" / "No -more', wars for "me then," said another legionary. "I shall buy a British gill to wait on my wife and about ten sturdy Britons to work my farm; I*l I s6on. whip them into shape, and then I shall live like„.a patrician. . Conan understood Latin, and he stared ' at the speakers in silent bitterness. Then, turning , 6n his heel, he strode toward a man in bright armour who was pacing round the camp and carefully studying the position of the earthworks. "Caesar," said the young chief, "don't let your men stand idling hefe! If you do not push on and attack Caswallon at once, he will take to the woods, and you will never get him. It is only an .hour's march now to his village." "How you Britons love one another!" eaid the great Roman captain. And his bold, thoughtful eyed lighted up with a strange, ironic smile. •. Then, changing his. tone, he caught the young British chief ■by the shoulder arid said in a stern voice: "You mad, foolish young savage! jWhat would happen to my army , if CaiWallon, your, father-in-law," caught us marching in single fde in these woods p,t night? By Jupiter, if I thought you meant to betrayme as you betrayed him fit Walton I would-—- J " , He stopped, for JheTe came a look into Conan's face that made even the conqueror df the worid pause. It was not often that Juliui Caesar was fretful, and ill-tempered,,, but' a ten hours' match through steaming- swamp and brambly forest had wearied him, and he was beginning to sec clearly that he .could not . conquer Britain as easily as he had coriiquered Gaul: V:' • Conan strode moodily down the hill and entered the wood stretching away in the.darkness td Verulam, as the Hertford, town of St.-Albans was then called. He hated the Romans, for he knew that they were his real enemies; he hated himself, for he knew that he was a traitor to his; country; but above Everything "else he hated Caswallon, the chiel of Verulam and the leader of the united tribes of Britain. Seven years before Caswallon had given his daughter in marriage to Conan. Four vears after tliat Conan's father, the King "of Colchester, had made war on Caswallon. Caswallon stormed Col-

Chester, and among tie captives he made were Ms own daughter and granddaughter. In vain had' the young chieftain hegged that his wife and baby Should be returned to him. "They are my child and grandchild-," Caswallon had said, "and they shall live ' with me until your father acknowledges me as his overlord." This was a very high-handed way .of bringing about a lasting peace, and it did not succeed. Maddened by the wrong done to him, Conan went over . to the invading Romans, and induced his ■ father to make an alliance with Caesar. ' "I will lead your army safely to Caswallon's stronghold," he said to the great conqueror, ,"if, instead Of taking him in triumph to Rome, you will leave him in my hands." And to ' this Caesar had agreed. <: In spite of the insulting way in .which the Romali had now spoken to him, Coiian was still bent on avenging himself on his father-in-law. For Some ■time he foamed in the' dark forest, brooding over his injuries. Then, lighting on a path, he moved warily- pn

toward Verulam to see if the way was clear fdr the advance of the Roman army next morning. ~ ■ . Drawing his tartan closely around him, so that it should not catch in the brushwood, he went forward as softly as a Red Indian. Though born by the seaShore, he had as much knowledge of woodcraft as the people who dwelt in the inland forests. Even in the darkness he could tell, from the behaviour of the wild creatures around him, if arty jnan besides himself Was about. Time after time he stopped for a minute to listen, and, hearing nothing, crept onwards t , Verulam.. He was about two miles from the British stronghold when a strange sound startled him. He put his ear to the ground. . "It is a child crying," he said, as he arose. "Lostji ho doubt. If it comes fiom Verulam it dould tell me more than I could find out myself." Very cautiously he made his way to the spot. It was too dark to see clearly, -but he could just distinguish a tiny figure! sitting beneath a tree. ■ "What is the matter, little one?",he aSked gently. . "I came out to look for my father, and I can't find the path back to Verulam-" \ "And Who is your father?" inquired the young chief.

"Conan of Colchester," replied the child. It was a rash thing to do in Caswallon's country, but Conan sat down With the child on his knee, and took out flint and tinder and made a torch of dry wood, and stared at the waif. It was a girl, fair-haired and blue : eyed, and charging to look upon. She was certainly the child of a great chief, for, instead of being clad in skins, she wore a gown of fine red linen, and round her neck was a necklace of precious amber. "Why do you want to find your father, Mora?" exclaimed Conan, now strangely moved, for he saw that she was indeed his own daughter who had been taken away from him . two' years before. ' - . , i Mora recognised him in turn. Throwing her little arms about his neck, she snuggled up to him, half crying and half laughing, and said: "Oh, daddy, daddy! I am glad I found you. Mummy is crying because tney want to hurt you.!' "Who want to hurt jne?" said Conan. "Grandfather and his chiefs,!' said Mora. "But mummy won't let them, and I won't let them. Why, daddy, you are crying too!" The torcl? Conan had lighted went out, and he sat in the dark, wild forest hugging his child in his arms, while his tears fell-upon her head. Now that "he knew that his wife had not forgotten him, and that his child, too, still loved and remembered him, his bitter feelings against his father-in-law disappeared. He w&3 ashamed of himself, and his one thought was to save his country and repair the harm that he had done by helping the invaders. Taking his daughter in his arms, he entered Verulam. before daybreak , and faced the terrible auger of his father-in-law. "Kill me if you like!" cried Conan. "I deserve it. But hear me first. You must take to the woods. You don't know how strong the .Roman is, but I do. He will storm Verulam in an hour, but he cannot fight in the forest." Caswallon would not pay any attention to his son-in : law/s words. "I will beat off Caesar," he exclaimed, "and then I will give you to the Druids to be dealt with as a traitor!". Eafly in the morning the Romans arrived, and after driving in the war chariots of the Britons,. they formed a "tortoise." • Each legionary raised his mighty shield above his head in such a manner as to overlap the shield of the soldier in front. of him. The Roman army, thus became a vast, strange, crawling creature, protected by strong, brazen scales against the javelins and arrows vainly hurled down by the besieged Britons. In a short time Verulam was taken by storm at two points, and the legionaries then lowered their shields and rushed into the town— and found it empty. For Caswallon had at the last mofticnt followed the advice of Conan and fled with all his people to the trackless forest. There the Romans dared not f dlldw him. A feW days after Conan brought his brave father-in-law on a friendly visit to Julius Caesar, and a peace was made between the Britons and the Romans which lasted for nearly eighty 'years. .