While Norman of Torn and his thousand fighting men marched slowly south onthe road toward Dover, the army of Simon de Montfort was preparing for itsadvance upon Lewes, where King Henry, with his son Prince Edward, and hisbrother, Prince Richard, King of the Romans, together with the latter'sson, were entrenched with their forces, sixty thousand strong.

Before sunrise on a May morning in the year 1264, the barons' army set outfrom its camp at Fletching, nine miles from Lewes and, marching throughdense forests, reached a point two miles from the city, unobserved.

From here, they ascended the great ridge of the hills up the valley Combe,the projecting shoulder of the Downs covering their march from the town.The King's party, however, had no suspicion that an attack was imminentand, in direct contrast to the methods of the baronial troops, had spentthe preceding night in drunken revelry, so that they were quite taken bysurprise.

It is true that Henry had stationed an outpost upon the summit of the hillin advance of Lewes, but so lax was discipline in his army that thesoldiers, growing tired of the duty, had abandoned the post toward morning,and returned to town, leaving but a single man on watch. He, left alone,had promptly fallen asleep, and thus De Montfort's men found and capturedhim within sight of the bell-tower of the Priory of Lewes, where the Kingand his royal allies lay peacefully asleep, after their night of wine anddancing and song.

Had it not been for an incident which now befell, the baronial army woulddoubtless have reached the city without being detected, but it happenedthat, the evening before, Henry had ordered a foraging party to ride forthat daybreak, as provisions for both men and beasts were low.

This party had scarcely left the city behind them ere they fell into thehands of the baronial troops. Though some few were killed or captured,those who escaped were sufficient to arouse the sleeping army of theroyalists to the close proximity and gravity of their danger.

By this time, the four divisions of De Montfort's army were in full view ofthe town. On the left were the Londoners under Nicholas de Segrave; in thecenter rode De Clare, with John Fitz-John and William de Monchensy, at thehead of a large division which occupied that branch of the hill whichdescended a gentle, unbroken slope to the town. The right wing wascommanded by Henry de Montfort, the oldest son of Simon de Montfort, andwith him was the third son, Guy, as well as John de Burgh and Humphrey deBohun. The reserves were under Simon de Montfort himself.

Thus was the flower of English chivalry pitted against the King and hisparty, which included many nobles whose kinsmen were with De Montfort; sothat brother faced brother, and father fought against son, on that bloodyWednesday, before the old town of Lewes.

Prince Edward was the first of the royal party to take the field and, as heissued from the castle with his gallant company, banners and pennonsstreaming in the breeze and burnished armor and flashing bladescintillating in the morning sunlight, he made a gorgeous and impressivespectacle as he hurled himself upon the Londoners, whom he had selected forattack because of the affront they had put upon his mother that day atLondon on the preceding July.

So vicious was his onslaught that the poorly armed and unprotectedburghers, unused to the stern game of war, fell like sheep before the ironmen on their iron shod horses. The long lances, the heavy maces, thesix-bladed battle axes, and the well-tempered swords of the knights playedhavoc among them, so that the rout was complete; but, not content withvictory, Prince Edward must glut his vengeance, and so he pursued thecitizens for miles, butchering great numbers of them, while many more weredrowned in attempting to escape across the Ouse.

The left wing of the royalist army, under the King of the Romans and hisgallant son, was not so fortunate, for they met a determined resistance atthe hands of Henry de Montfort.

The central divisions of the two armies seemed well matched also, and thusthe battle continued throughout the day, the greatest advantage appearingto lie with the King's troops. Had Edward not gone so far afield inpursuit of the Londoners, the victory might easily have been on the side ofthe royalists early in the day, but by thus eliminating his division afterdefeating a part of De Montfort's army, it was as though neither of thesetwo forces had been engaged.

The wily Simon de Montfort had attempted a little ruse which centered thefighting for a time upon the crest of one of the hills. He had caused hiscar to be placed there, with the tents and luggage of many of his leaders,under a small guard, so that the banners there displayed, together with thecar, led the King of the Romans to believe that the Earl himself lay there,for Simon de Montfort had but a month or so before suffered an injury tohis hip when his horse fell with him, and the royalists were not aware thathe had recovered sufficiently to again mount a horse.

And so it was that the forces under the King of the Romans pushed back themen of Henry de Montfort, and ever and ever closer to the car came theroyalists until they were able to fall upon it, crying out insults againstthe old Earl and commanding him to come forth. And when they had killedthe occupants of the car, they found that Simon de Montfort was not amongthem, but instead he had fastened there three important citizens of London,old men and influential, who had opposed him, and aided and abetted theKing.

So great was the wrath of Prince Richard, King of the Romans, that he fellupon the baronial troops with renewed vigor, and slowly but steadily beatthem back from the town.

This sight, together with the routing of the enemy's left wing by PrinceEdward, so cheered and inspired the royalists that the two remainingdivisions took up the attack with refreshed spirits so that, what a momentbefore had hung in the balance, now seemed an assured victory for KingHenry.

Both De Montfort and the King had thrown themselves into the melee with alltheir reserves. No longer was there semblance of organization. Divisionwas inextricably bemingled with division; friend and foe formed a jumbledconfusion of fighting, cursing chaos, over which whipped the angry pennonsand banners of England's noblest houses.

That the mass seemed moving ever away from Lewes indicated that the King'sarms were winning toward victory, and so it might have been had not a newelement been infused into the battle; for now upon the brow of the hill tothe north of them appeared a great horde of armored knights, and as theycame into position where they could view the battle, the leader raised hissword on high, and, as one man, the thousand broke into a mad charge.

Both De Montfort and the King ceased fighting as they gazed upon this bodyof fresh, well armored, well mounted reinforcements. Whom might they be ?To which side owned they allegiance ? And, then, as the black falcon wingon the banners of the advancing horsemen became distinguishable, they sawthat it was the Outlaw of Torn.

Now he was close upon them, and had there been any doubt before, the wildbattle cry which rang from a thousand fierce throats turned the hopes ofthe royalists cold within their breasts.

"For De Montfort ! For De Montfort !" and "Down with Henry !" rang loudand clear above the din of battle.

Instantly the tide turned, and it was by only the barest chance that theKing himself escaped capture, and regained the temporary safety of Lewes.

The King of the Romans took refuge within an old mill, and here it was thatNorman of Torn found him barricaded. When the door was broken down, theoutlaw entered and dragged the monarch forth with his own hand to the feetof De Montfort, and would have put him to death had not the Earlintervened.

"I have yet to see my mark upon the forehead of a King," said Norman ofTorn, "and the temptation be great; but, an you ask it, My Lord Earl, hislife shall be yours to do with as you see fit."

"You have fought well this day, Norman of Torn," replied De Montfort."Verily do I believe we owe our victory to you alone; so do not mar therecord of a noble deed by wanton acts of atrocity."

"It is but what they had done to me, were I the prisoner instead," retortedthe outlaw.

And Simon de Montfort could not answer that, for it was but the simpletruth.

"How comes it, Norman of Torn," asked De Montfort as they rode togethertoward Lewes, "that you threw the weight of your sword upon the side of thebarons ? Be it because you hate the King more ?"

"I do not know that I hate either, My Lord Earl," replied the outlaw. "Ihave been taught since birth to hate you all, but why I should hate wasnever told me. Possibly it be but a bad habit that will yield to mymaturer years.

"As for why I fought as I did today," he continued, "it be because theheart of Lady Bertrade, your daughter, be upon your side. Had it been withthe King, her uncle, Norman of Torn had fought otherwise than he has thisday. So you see, My Lord Earl, you owe me no gratitude. Tomorrow I may bepillaging your friends as of yore."

Simon de Montfort turned to look at him, but the blank wall of his loweredvisor gave no sign of the thoughts that passed beneath.

"You do much for a mere friendship, Norman of Torn," said the Earl coldly,"and I doubt me not but that my daughter has already forgot you. AnEnglish noblewoman, preparing to become a princess of France, does not havemuch thought to waste upon highwaymen." His tone, as well as his words werestudiously arrogant and insulting, for it had stung the pride of thishaughty noble to think that a low-born knave boasted the friendship of hisdaughter.

Norman of Torn made no reply, and could the Earl of Leicester have seen hisface, he had been surprised to note that instead of grim hatred andresentment, the features of the Outlaw of Torn were drawn in lines of painand sorrow; for he read in the attitude of the father what he might expectto receive at the hands of the daughter.