“Half a dozen will better serve his turn,” suggested Sir Hugh, who had ridden up, a moment before, to take a passing glance at the proceedings.

The King was seized.  He did not even struggle, so paralysed was he with the mere thought of the monstrous outrage that was proposed to be inflicted upon his sacred person.  History was already defiled with the record of the scourging of an English king with whips—­it was an intolerable reflection that he must furnish a duplicate of that shameful page.  He was in the toils, there was no help for him; he must either take this punishment or beg for its remission.  Hard conditions; he would take the stripes—­a king might do that, but a king could not beg.

But meantime, Miles Hendon was resolving the difficulty.  “Let the child go,” said he; “ye heartless dogs, do ye not see how young and frail he is?  Let him go—­I will take his lashes.”

“Marry, a good thought—­and thanks for it,” said Sir Hugh, his face lighting with a sardonic satisfaction.  “Let the little beggar go, and give this fellow a dozen in his place—­an honest dozen, well laid on.”  The King was in the act of entering a fierce protest, but Sir Hugh silenced him with the potent remark, “Yes, speak up, do, and free thy mind—­only, mark ye, that for each word you utter he shall get six strokes the more.”

Hendon was removed from the stocks, and his back laid bare; and whilst the lash was applied the poor little King turned away his face and allowed unroyal tears to channel his cheeks unchecked.  “Ah, brave good heart,” he said to himself, “this loyal deed shall never perish out of my memory.  I will not forget it—­and neither shall they!” he added, with passion.  Whilst he mused, his appreciation of Hendon’s magnanimous conduct grew to greater and still greater dimensions in his mind, and so also did his gratefulness for it.  Presently he said to himself, “Who saves his prince from wounds and possible death—­and this he did for me —­performs high service; but it is little—­it is nothing—­oh, less than nothing!—­when ’tis weighed against the act of him who saves his prince from shame!”

Hendon made no outcry under the scourge, but bore the heavy blows with soldierly fortitude.  This, together with his redeeming the boy by taking his stripes for him, compelled the respect of even that forlorn and degraded mob that was gathered there; and its gibes and hootings died away, and no sound remained but the sound of the falling blows.  The stillness that pervaded the place, when Hendon found himself once more in the stocks, was in strong contrast with the insulting clamour which had prevailed there so little a while before.  The King came softly to Hendon’s side, and whispered in his ear—­

“Kings cannot ennoble thee, thou good, great soul, for One who is higher than kings hath done that for thee; but a king can confirm thy nobility to men.”  He picked up the scourge from the ground, touched Hendon’s bleeding shoulders lightly with it, and whispered, “Edward of England dubs thee Earl!”