King John murdered his nephew at night, unseen, as he supposed, by any human eye, and yet he was at once harassed by constant fear. He did not draw an easy breath until he landed upon the English coast and stood upon soil which had not been stained by his bloody deed. Almost as soon as the King’s vessel arrived, rumor was busy, however, and hinted of the crime John had committed. Although the people submissively obeyed him, they looked upon him with suspicion, and at last accusations were made openly.  
When John assembled the lords and peers for the first time, the venerable Pembroke, their mouth-piece, asked the King this question: “Where is Arthur, son of Geoffrey, the noble scion of the Plantagenets?”
 
138
The cowardly and conscience-stricken King sought to evade a reply, but he was besieged with a storm of demands and accusations, and Pembroke reproached both himself and his friends because they had left Arthur in the cruel hands of his uncle.
 
The King at last answered in a rage: “The peers must first prove the act before they condemn me.” An instant’s silence ensued, for they could not provide the proofs; and John looked with insolent scorn at the embarrassed nobles. But before the King could follow up his opportunity, a herald entered the hall, announcing that an unknown knight, attended by squires and heralds, had brought a message for the King from Philip Augustus of France. It was an unfortunate time to receive the commission, but he did not dare to refuse audience to Philip’s ambassador.
 
Preceded by a herald carrying a roll of parchment in his hand, with the royal seal appended, a knight in full black armor entered the hall. John was greatly agitated as he saw him approaching, and was still more alarmed when the knight raised his visor and displayed the stern features of a youthful face. It seemed to him for an instant that Arthur stood there to accuse him.
 
139
The stranger bowed haughtily to the King, and with exceeding courtesy to the nobles, and then spoke: “In the name and by the authority of King Philip of France I summon you, John Plantagenet of Anjou, before the tribunal of your sovereign lord at Paris, to answer for the murder of your nephew, Duke Arthur of Brittany.”
 
John stamped his foot with rage. “This is most presumptuous,” he roared. “It will be time for Philip to sit in judgment on me when he has found some one to accuse me.”
 
“Here I stand, Knight Alan of Mordant, from Brittany, as your accuser,” said Alan. “I saw you commit the murder, and am rea............