The Strange Tale of the Snake Ring by John Holroyd Read Free Book Online Page B

hire someone to live in the house with us for just a few weeks. If Thomas has not returned by Easter Day, I will marry Robert.”

Chapter 11
    A Shock for the Peculiar Prince

    Thomas had been journeying on, making good progress towards home. When he stayed the night at an inn, he always asked for news of the messenger.
    â€œHas a horseman passed this way, wearing the badge of the King of the Shining Kingdom?” he would ask.
    Many times he had the reply, “Yes, he travelled to the south some weeks ago, but he has not returned.”
    He must be staying a while at the farm
, thought Thomas.
I expect they will not let him leave until he has told them all he knows about me, and about the kingdom
. All the same, he did wonder why the messenger was staying so long, as the king and the Lord Chancellor would be awaiting his early return.
    It was late in the afternoon, when Thomas was thinking about finding lodgings for the night, that he saw a familiar castle on a hill in the distance. Thomas recognised it as the castle of the Prince of Schwarzberg, the one whom he had called the ‘Peculiar Prince’. He remembered that this was the man who spied on his subjects and who had thrown him into the dungeons. He smiled to himself as he thought what he would do. He fixed on his shoulder the badge that the king had given him, which showed him to be prince of the Shining Kingdom, and higher in rank than any other prince.
    I shall ride up to the castle
, he thought to himself,
and demand a special banquet to be prepared. I shall sleep in the best bed in the castle, even if it means turning that sly prince out of his own chamber.
But as it happened, things turned out rather differently, and the Peculiar Prince was made even more uncomfortable than Thomas had planned.
    The soldier at the city gate made no attempt to stop Thomas entering. He did not even shout “Halt!” but opened the gate wide and bowed his head as Thomas passed inside. Once inside the city, he dismounted, and as his horse had travelled many miles that day, led him slowly up the steep, cobbled street.
    I wonder whether the beggar is still here
, thought Thomas.
If he is, I shall reward him with a piece of gold, as he warned me about the Prince when I was a poor traveller.
    But as he approached the place where the beggar had been sitting, he stopped and looked very hard. Yes, there was a beggar sitting in the same place as before, but it was not the same one. Thomas looked at him even more carefully, and this time he was sure: it was the prince in disguise.
    I’ll teach him a lesson
, thought Thomas. Then he drew his sword, and, approaching the beggar, held the point of the sword to his chest, and called out in a loud voice, “Call out the guard! Call out the guard!”
    Three soldiers appeared almost immediately.
    â€œArrest this man!” ordered Thomas, “and take him to the castle dungeons.”
    â€œExcuse me, Your Highness,” said the sergeant of the guard, “but begging is allowed in this city.”
    â€œThat may be so, sergeant,” said Thomas sternly, “but only for those who are so poor that they need to beg. This man is cheating the townspeople: he has more money than you have.”
    By now a small crowd had gathered, curious to see what was happening.
    â€œTake off his shirt!” ordered Thomas. The sergeant pulled it off, and showed that underneath the shirt, the so-called beggar was wearing a richly embroidered silk undergarment.
    There were angry sounds from the crowd, and cries of “Off to prison with him!”
    By now the Peculiar Prince had recovered from his surprise.
    â€œStop all this at once, sergeant,” he cried. “I am the Prince of Schwarzberg!”
    At this there were roars of laughter from the crowd.
    â€œYes, of course you are,” replied the sergeant, “and I am the Angel Gabriel, and you and I are going to take a short walk up to the castle.” Still