The Strange Tale of the Snake Ring by John Holroyd Page A

whole days longer.
He drew his sword and urged his horse onward. He would bitterly regret ignoring the ring’s warning.
    The two robbers, Zwerg and Riese, had been on the look-out for rich travellers. When they saw Thomas approaching, they knew at once that here was someone with money and rich clothing. When they were dealing with someone on foot, or someone leading his horse as the messenger had done, they jumped out on their victim from behind the trees. But when someone was riding a horse, as Thomas was, they had another plan.
    First they went ahead to a place on the forest track where the traveller would soon arrive. Zwerg climbed a tall tree that had a branch directly over the path. Riese hid behind the tree. When Zwerg heard the sounds of the horse’s hoofs approaching, he hung from the branch by his arms, and began to swing to and fro.
    Thomas walked his horse carefully along the rough forest track. He kept looking left and right for any sign of danger, but did not look upwards. He did not imagine that an attack could come down from above. He still felt a strange tingling sensation on his chest, but he thought nothing of it.
    Crash!
    Just as Thomas passed underneath him, Zwerg dropped from the branch, pulling him from his horse on to the ground. His sword flew out of his hand, and before he could recover from the fall, Riese jumped out and pinned him to the ground. When they had stripped him of his purse and most of his clothing, they left him tied to the tree, wrapped in a rough old cloak that Riese had been wearing. Then, leading his horse and carrying his belongings, they set off to return to their cave. They had intended to leave Thomas in the forest, just as they had treated the messenger.
    They had not gone very far before they were curious to know what Thomas’s saddlebag contained. Among his belongings they were amazed to find the badge of the Prince of the Shining Kingdom, which Zwerg recognised.
    â€œDo you realise who this is?” he asked his companion.
    â€œWe have captured someone really important. We must keep him safely in the cave until we can send a message to the king. We could be paid more gold than we can imagine for his release. We could retire from being robbers and live in comfort for the rest of our lives.”
    So the two robbers returned to where Thomas was tied. They unfastened his legs, blindfolded him, and led him through the forest to their cave.
    When they reached the cave, they uncovered his eyes. Thomas was amazed to look around him and see that the cave was very large, and was furnished with a table and chairs. By the light of several candles, which stood on the table in empty wine bottles, he could see all around. He noticed, at the far end of the cave, an opening, which seemed to lead to a smaller cave. He looked towards the entrance to see if there was any possibility of escape, but only saw Riese fixing a heavy wooden grille over the mouth of the cave, and fastening it with chains and locks to staples driven into the stone.
    â€œYou will not be tied while you are in the cave,” said Riese to Thomas. “You can see that it is useless to try to escape.”
    â€œYou can think yourself very lucky, sir knight, or my lord, whoever you may be,” added Zwerg. “If you had been an ordinary person, we should have left you in the forest. There you would have stayed until someone came along who was stupid enough to set you free.”
    â€œBut I might have died,” exclaimed Thomas. “I might have starved to death or been eaten by wolves.”
    â€œBad luck!” said Zwerg. “When we have robbed someone, they are no more use to us.”
    â€œSo you are murderers as well as robbers!” said Thomas angrily.
    â€œOh no, we never actually kill anyone,” replied Zwerg. “But if they die by accident, well, we can’t help that, can we?”
    Thomas was silent for a while. “In that case, why have you brought me