Bretwalda, Part 4

 

cover art by Marshall Frantz

Read/Watch 'em In Order #137

The May 13, 1939 issue of Argosy brought us the fourth Bretwalda story by Philip Ketchum. And it's another good one. We are one-third of the way through the series and so far it has been consistenly excellent.

"Paths of Conquest" brings us to the year 1066. And that makes the story interesting. The axe Bretwalda is meant to be used to save England. So far, the members of the Wilton family who have wielded it through the years have done so--saving the life of England's king or keeping a pro-English king on the throne of Norway to keep the Vikings in check. 

But now, we've reached the year William of Normandy invades England. The current owner of Bretwalda is Hugh Wilton, who is in France just before the invasion and who supports King Harold. So he is presumably meant to help save England from William.

But history is working against poor Hugh, isn't it? William will win the Battle of Hastings. Harold will die there with an arrow in his eye. We know this happens going into the tale. So how is the author going to pull a satisfying conclusion to this story out of his hat? Whoever wields Bretwalda is destined to win a great victory but also suffer a great defeat. If the defeat is the Norman victory at Hastings, what sort of victory can have any meaning?

Well, as the story opens, Hugh doesn't know what history has in store for England. He and a friend named Oliver are in France with a mission. They want to free a pro-Harold duke named Edward from William's dungeon. If Edward can get back to England in time (and there is still time at this point--Willaim's invasion fleet is still being assembled), he can rally his people and join Harold's army.

As events play out, Edward is freed but Hugh ends up in prison, where he is starved for several days before being sprung. He discovers that Edward is being "escorted" home by men who plan to kill him before he gets there. So, despite his weakened condition, Hugh takes Bretwalda and pursues Edward's party. The idea now is to take over the ship Edward will be boarding, kill the assassins, and sail home.

The main complication here is a young lady that Hugh has reason to care for--but whose father is a vassel of William and who might be in position to stop Hugh. The end result involves bringing her along on the rescue mission.

It's all great fun. As has been typical of the Bretwalda stories so far, Ketchum gives the various characters strong personalities and gives them believable motivations for their actions. There are several great action scenes, which includes the Battle of Hastings at the story's climax. And Ketchum does indeed pull a ending out of his hat that is both dramatically and emotionally satisfying.

You can read the story online HERE.