Martin swung himself out over the wall. Hand under hand, gripping the rope also with his legs, he went down. He looked up, and saw Ben's anxious face growing smaller. He looked down, and saw the ledge approaching. The sea below the castle was breaking high on the cliff; he judged that it must be flood tide. His feet touched the ledge, and he found firm footing.
Then he shook the line as a signal to Ben. There was a fumbling and twitching as he held to the rope, and then it came coiling down. He pulled it back and coiled it on the ledge. Then tying a loop at its end, and making sure that the rest would run free, he stepped to the end of the ledge . . .
Martin, son of Sir Anselm of the Hollow, risks his life in more ways than one in this fast-paced story of Cornwall in the year 1200. King Richard is dead and John is King, a ruler ever ready for more money in his treasury whether it comes there honestly or not. When the Baron Eric mysteriously disappears, his young daughter Rosamund must bear the increasing burden of his absence. The moody Sir Basil, distant relation and heir, has taken over the castle—and would not be pleased if Eric should ever return. In an unguarded moment of genuine gratitude, Sir Basil invites young Martin to come to the castle as a page and squire. Martin is swiftly drawn into Rosamund's troubles and into a few of his own before the tale reaches its dramatic climax.
Did you find this review helpful?