A Lion to Guard Us Read online

  Excerpt from The Sword in the Tree

  WELDON CASTLE

  1

  The boy sat up in bed. A sound in the night had wakened him.

  His room was so dark he could see nothing, but he could hear steps outside his door. He held his breath and listened.

  “Shan!” said a voice.

  He let his breath go. It was his mother, calling his name.

  “Yes?” he said. “What is it?”

  Lady Marian came into the room. She had a candle in her hand, and the light moved over the stone walls.

  “Shan, I’m glad to find you here,” she said. “I was afraid you had gone with your father.”

  “Where has my father gone?” asked Shan.

  “One of the servants just wakened him and they went away together,” she said. “I heard them speak of a wounded knight.”

  “A wounded knight?” said Shan.

  “Yes,” said Lady Marian. “Shan, what does it mean? Is someone making war on us? Are there enemy soldiers outside?”

  “Don’t be afraid, Mother,” said Shan. “Our good King Arthur has beaten all our enemies. And even if there were enemies, we would be safe here. There is no stronger castle in England than ours.”

  He went to the window. A light was moving in the courtyard below.

  “Mother, I’m going down there,” he said.

  “I don’t think you should go,” said Lady Marian.

  “No one is fighting,” he said. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

  He put on his clothes. He ran down the stairs and into the courtyard. There was a light near the castle gate. He went toward it.

  At the gate he found his father. Some of the servants were there, too. One of them had a lighted torch in his hand.

  “Father—” Shan stopped. On the stones at his father’s feet lay a man. A long, black beard hid his face. Two of the servants were taking off his armor.

  “Who is he?” asked Shan.

  “No one knows,” said his father. “He beat on the gate. We let him in, and he fell in a faint.”

  “My lord, I have found his wound,” said one of the servants.

  Shan’s father looked at the wound in the man’s side. “Bring him into the castle at once,” he said.

  The servants lifted the wounded man. They carried him into a bedroom in the castle.

  “Has he lost much blood?” asked Shan.

  “I think so,” said his father. “The wound is deep.”

  “Shall I bring Nappus?” asked Shan.

  “Nappus?”

  “Yes. Nappus is a man of magic. He can make the knight well.”

  “Poor Nappus.” Shan’s father shook his head. “He knows no magic. But he was once the best of doctors.”

  “He is still the best of doctors,” said Shan. “Remember how he took the fishbone from your throat? Remember how he bound up my arm when it was broken?”

  “Yes, yes,” said his father. “Go and bring him if you wish.”

  Shan took a lighted torch from one of the servants and ran out across the courtyard. He opened a door in the castle wall. It was the door to Nappus’ room.

  Nappus was sleeping, with his cloak over his head. Shan touched him. Nappus looked out from under the cloak.

  He was a small man. His hair was white. He could neither hear nor speak, but his eyes were keen and bright.

  “There is a wounded knight in the castle,” said Shan. “Come and dress his wound.”

  Nappus watched Shan’s lips, reading the words. He nodded to show that he understood. From a box in a corner he took some jars and bottles. He tied them up in a cloth.

  Shan led the way to the castle. Nappus knelt by the wounded man. He washed the wound and dressed it. He opened the man’s mouth and poured a little red wine down his throat.

  The man moved. His eyes opened, and he looked at Nappus. “Lord Weldon!” he said in a whisper. “Where is Lord Weldon?”

  Shan’s father came forward. “I am Lord Weldon. You are safe in Weldon Castle.”

  The wounded man tried to lift himself. “Brother—!” he said. Then he fell back and was still.

  Shan’s father bent over the man and looked into his face. He cried out, “Lionel!” His voice shook with excitement. He said to Shan, “This knight is my brother. I am sure of it. Shan, this is your Uncle Lionel. After these many years, your Uncle Lionel has come home!”

  About the Author

  CLYDE ROBERT BULLA is one of America’s best-known writers for young people. The broad scope of his interests led him to write more than fifty distinguished books on a variety of subjects, including travel, history, science, and music. He received a number of awards for his contributions to the field of children’s books, including, for Shoeshine Girl, awards in three states—Oklahoma, Arkansas, and South Carolina—the winners of which were voted upon by school children.

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  By Clyde Robert Bulla

  THE BEAST OF LOR • BENITO

  CONQUISTA! (WITH MICHAEL ROBERT SYSON)

  DEXTER • THE DONKEY CART

  DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI • EAGLE FEATHER

  THE GHOST OF WINDY HILL • GHOST TOWN TREASURE

  INDIAN HILL • JOHN BILLINGTON, FRIEND OF SQUANTO

  JOHNNY HONG OF CHINATOWN • LAST LOOK • MARCO MOONLIGHT

  THE MOON SINGER • MY FRIEND THE MONSTER

  OLD CHARLIE • OPEN THE DOOR AND SEE ALL THE PEOPLE

  PIRATE’S PROMISE • POCAHONTAS AND THE STRANGERS

  RIDING THE PONY EXPRESS • THE SECRET VALLEY

  SHOESHINE GIRL • SONG OF ST. FRANCIS

  SQUANTO, FRIEND OF THE PILGRIMS • STAR OF WILD HORSE CANYON

  THE SUGAR PEAR TREE • SURPRISE FOR A COWBOY

  THE SWORD IN THE TREE • VIKING ADVENTURE

  WHITE BIRD • WHITE SAILS TO CHINA • THE WISH AT THE TOP

  A LION TO GUARD US

  Copyright

  Text copyright © 1981 by Clyde Robert Bulla

  Illustrations copyright © 1981 by Michele Chessare

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

  Bulla, Clyde Robert.

  A lion to guard us.

  SUMMARY: Left on their own in London, three impoverished children draw upon all their resources to stay together and make their way to the Virginia colony in search of their father.

  I. Chessare, Michele. II. Title.

  PZ7 .B912Li 1981 [Fic] 80–2455

  ISBN 0–690–04096–2

  ISBN 0–690–04097–0 (lib. bdg.)

  EPub Edition © March 2013 ISBN 9780062290618

  8 9 10

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