"doyle, deborah - mcdonald, james d - circle of magic 02 - The Secret of The Tower" - читать интересную книгу автора (Doyle Debra)

stirrups as he rode across. On the
opposite bank he halted, looked at the ground,
and then swung down from his horse to look closer.
Then he stood, faced the others, and gestured for them
to hurry.
The other knights put spurs to their horses, and
came charging across the river. At the top of the bank,
Walter called out, "What have you got, Sir
Philip?"
"A rare mystery," the knight replied, "and a chance
for some sport." He pointed at the road. "What
do you make of those marks?"
Walter scanned the ground with a hunter's keen and
experienced eye. Randal could remember him looking
over the tracks of deer and wild boar in much the
same way during their boyhood together at Castle
Doun. "There was a fight here," he said. "Not more
than a day ago. Three riders were at tacked from
both sides by men on foot."
The young knight pointed to where the grass at the sides
of the road was broken and pressed down. "See,
there's where the attackers lay in wait. And the
tracks of the horses go this far along the road, and
no farther-but there they are again, leading off into the
woods."
Randal, listening, didn't doubt that Walter
was right. The journeyman wizard remembered the
merchants who'd ridden into the Basilisk from the
direction of Cingestoun. The merchants had trav
eled on horseback, and a man-at-arms
accompanied them to help guard the pack train.
They'd left at dawn yesterday, heading for the market
fair at
Tattinham-but it looked as if they hadn't gotten
very far.
"So what do we do now?" asked Sir Reginald.
"Ride on?"
"And turn our backs on a chance for fame and
glory?" asked Sir Philip. "Of course not!"
Sir Guillaume was more practical. "How many of
them are there?"
"No more than a dozen," said Walter. "And they're
on foot."
"Well, let's go looking," said Sir
Guillaume. "But not for too long. I'd hate
to be caught in the woods after dark."
"If the next inn is no more than two hours down
the road," said Walter, "we'll have time."
Guillaume nodded briskly. "Then let's go."
The little group of knights turned their horses'