The Door in the Wall

In the morning, John cooks bacon over the fire in the rain while Luke slices bread. John learned from a shepherd that the inn they seek is on a road some miles to the west. They should have taken the left fork. They follow a path through the woods and reach a stream, where Luke tells Robin to do his morning swim despite the chill. Reluctantly, Robin complies and finds it refreshing.

They stop for lunch at an inn and continue traveling until dusk, when they arrive at a village. Luke visits the inn and reports that it contains “ill-seeming ruffians sitting about the fire” (55). It’s their only option, though, so John stables the horses while Luke pays for the room and some ale; the people at the inn offer no food, and the ruffians stare at Luke’s money pouch.

The trio goes upstairs to bed. Robin sleeps fitfully. Around midnight, he overhears the ruffians making a somewhat drunken plan to rob them. Quietly, he slides himself across the room, wakes Luke, and whispers to him. Luke gets up and tiptoes to the door, where he wakes John mid-snore. John is used to the road and understands at once, so he continues to make snoring sounds, and then sighs as if turning over.

They tie John’s old cloak to an iron chest and use it to climb out a window. The friar descends first. Then, John passes down their belongings. Robin climbs down by holding onto the cloak with his arms. The thieves enter the room just as John exits through the window. The travelers grab their things, Luke carries Robin, and they run through the dark toward the stables. The thieves jump down and give chase. Robin reaches back with a crutch and trips the lead thief, who stumbles and brings down his partner. Thinking they’ve caught the travelers, the thieves fight each other while the others escape on horseback.

Once they are well away from the village, they find a barn, enter it, and finish their sleep. In the morning, Brother Luke leaves a farthing and a prayer for their unsuspecting host.

By the fourth day, the group reaches Oxford. The city is filled with students who always seem to be chatting. They spend the night at St. John’s College; then, they continue north through rolling hills and forests.

A town hosts a fair, and Robin talks his companions into visiting it. They mingle with the crowds of people and note the many goods for sale, including some from foreign lands: “There were silks and velvets from Italy and France, laces from Flanders” (63). Robin samples the various foods. They watch jousting, wrestling, and a Punch and Judy puppet show. John earns a few coins playing music for dancers.

The three of them spend the night at a nearby abbey. The next day, they set out again amid frost, which is replaced by rain. They enter a forest. The sun comes out, John makes a fire, and they dry themselves. The group continues past nightfall, searching for signs of a home where John once stayed and helped the owner, who had suffered an injury. Robin notices a light through the trees: It’s the home. The travelers receive a warm welcome and food, and John entertains them with music.

In the morning, they exit the forest and find hills all about, including taller ones in the distance beyond the Welsh border. They follow a road along a winding river. It’s very foggy, and other travelers appear suddenly, “as if they had appeared by magic, out of nowhere” (67). One group is Welsh; they’ve gotten lost, and the border is tense. John, whose mother was Welsh, speaks their tongue and helps point out the direction they need to take.

A breeze clears the fog, and before them stands a hillside castle, a church tower, and a town. They’ve arrived at Lindsay. From the town gate, a messenger hurries to the castle. The travelers wend up through the streets to the drawbridge, which lowers to welcome them.

They enter the great hall. Sir Peter, though he is recovering from war wounds, stands with his wife, Lady Constance, and their young children. They welcome Robin warmly and do not seem to notice his disability. Robin apologizes for his condition, but Sir Peter takes his hand and says that everyone has ways to serve. He adds that doors open to those who strive at what they can.

Robin will have a room in the castle, Luke will sleep above the chapel, and John will lodge above the town gate. In the morning, touring the castle, Robin remarks at how sturdy and safe from attack it seems. Adam the bowman points out, though, that an entire army can gather at night in the mist, and the castle can be starved out. Enemy forces include those of Lord Jocelyn in the west and Hugh Fitzhugh, a quarrelsome relative of Sir Peter, to the north.

Robin quickly learns how to use his crutches to climb up and down the many stairways in the castle. Sir Peter gives him his assignments as the new page; he’s excused from serving food. Brother Luke arranges the boy’s Latin studies and his daily swim in the chilly river, and Adam teaches him archery. John promises to show Robin how to construct a harp. In the evenings, John and his fellow minstrel Piers Nitingale sing and tell stories in the great hall.

Robin does some work in the kitchen, and he saves bones for one of the dogs, D’Ath, who quickly adopts the boy, sleeps in his room, and follows him everywhere.