"
"And wherein lies our wisdom, honored sir?" asked Nigel. "I also
would fain be war-wise and learn to fight with my wits as well as
with my sword."
Chandos shook his head and smiled. "It is in the forest and on
the down that you learn to fly the hawk and loose the hound," said
he. "So also it is in camp and on the field that the mystery of
war can be learned. There only has every great captain come to be
its master. To start he must have a cool head, quick to think,
soft as wax before his purpose is formed, hard as steel when once
he sees it before him. Ever alert he must be, and cautious also,
but with judgment to turn his caution into rashness where a large
gain may be put against a small stake. An eye for country also,
for the trend of the rivers, the slope of the hills, the cover of
the woods, and the light green of the bog-land."
Poor Nigel, who had trusted to his lance and to Pommers to break
his path to glory, stood aghast at this list of needs. "Alas!" he
cried. "How am I to gain all this?--I, who could scarce learn
to read or write though the good Father Matthew broke a hazel
stick a day across my shoulders?"
"You will gain it, fair son, where others have gained it before
you. You have that which is the first thing of all, a heart of
fire from which other colder hearts may catch a spark. But you
must have knowledge also of that which warfare has taught us in
olden times.
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