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 Contents vii

Chapter 14 ■ Ethical Issue: Is it a material breach of contract for a hospital

to accept a donation and then refuse to honor part of its
Voluntary Consent 335 commitment? 372
Discharge by Agreement 373
Mistakes 335
Case 16.2: DWB, LLC v. D&T Pure Trust (2018) 374
■ Ethical Issue: Should a surviving member of Lynyrd Skynyrd
abide by a thirty-year-old consent decree? 337 Discharge by Operation of Law 375
Fraudulent Misrepresentation 338 Case 16.3: Hampton Road Bankshares, Inc. v. Harvard (2016) 376
■ Beyond Our Borders: Impossibility or Impracticability
Case 14.1: McCullough v. Allstate Property and Casualty
of Performance in Germany 378
Insurance Co. (2018) 339
Case 14.2: Cronkelton v. Guaranteed Construction Services, LLC (2013) 342
Chapter 17
■ Adapting the Law to the Online Environment: “Catfishing”:
Is That Online “Friend” for Real? 343 Breach and Remedies 382
Case 14.3: Fazio v. Cypress/GR Houston I, LP (2013) 344
Undue Influence and Duress 346
Damages 383
Case 17.1: Baird v. Owens Community College (2016) 384
Chapter 15 ■ Landmark in the Law: Hadley v. Baxendale (1854) 387
Spotlight on Liquidated Damages: Case 17.2:
The Statute of Frauds— Kent State University v. Ford (2015) 389
Writing Requirement 350 ■ Business Law Analysis: Enforceability of Liquidated
Damages Provisions 390
The Writing Requirement 350 Equitable Remedies 391
Case 15.1: Sloop v. Kiker (2016) 351 Case 17.3: Cipriano Square Plaza Corp. v. Munawar (2018) 391
Exceptions to the Statute of Frauds 355 Recovery Based on Quasi Contract 395
■ Beyond Our Borders: The Statute of Frauds and International Contract Provisions Limiting Remedies 396
Sales Contracts 355
■ Ethical Issue: Can contracts for mixed martial arts
Sufficiency of the Writing or Electronic Record 357 fighters limit a fighter’s right to stop fighting? 396
Case 15.2: Moore v. Bearkat Energy Partners, LLC (2018) 358
The Parol Evidence Rule 359 Chapter 18
Case 15.3: Frewil, LLC v. Price (2015) 361
Third Party Rights 402
Chapter 16 Assignments 402
Case 18.1: Bass-Fineberg Leasing, Inc. v. Modern Auto Sales, Inc. (2015) 405
Performance and Discharge 366 Delegations 407
Conditions of Performance 366 Case 18.2: Mirandette v. Nelnet, Inc. (2018) 409
Discharge by Performance 368 Third Party Beneficiaries 410
■ Business Law Analysis: Determining When a Breach Is Material 370 Case 18.3: Bozzio v. EMI Group, Ltd. (2016) 410
Case 16.1: Kohel v. Bergen Auto Enterprises, LLC (2013) 371 Unit Two: Task-Based Simulation 418

Unit 3 Commercial Transactions 419

Chapter 19 The Scope of Articles 2 and 2A 421
■ Adapting the Law to the Online Environment:
The Formation of Sales Taxing Web Purchases 423
and Lease Contracts 420 The Formation of Sales and Lease Contracts 425
■ Landmark in the Law: The Uniform Commercial Code 421 Case 19.1: Toll Processing Services, LLC v. Kastalon, Inc. (2018) 426

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 viii Contents

Case 19.2: C. Mahendra (N.Y.), LLC v. National Gold & Diamond Case 22.1: OneWest Bank, FSB v. Nunez (2016) 503
Center, Inc. (2015) 430 ■ Business Law Analysis: Deciding If an Instrument
■ Business Law Analysis: Additional Terms between Merchants 432 Is Negotiable 505
Classic Case 19.3: Jones v. Star Credit Corp. (1969) 437 Case 22.2: Charles R. Tips Family Trust v. PB Commercial, LLC (2015) 508
Contracts for the International Sale of Goods 437 Transfer of Instruments 509
Appendix to Chapter 19: An Example of a Contract for the ■ Beyond Our Borders: Severe Restrictions on Check
International Sale of Coffee 444 Indorsements in France 510
Holder in Due Course (HDC) 513
Chapter 20 Case 22.3: Jarrell v. Conerly (2018) 516
Signature and Warranty Liability 518
Title and Risk of Loss 448 Defenses, Limitations, and Discharge 523
Identification 449 ■ Landmark in the Law: Federal Trade Commission Rule 433 525
Case 20.1: BMW Group, LLC v. Castle Oil Corp. (2016) 450
Passage of Title 451 Chapter 23
■ Managerial Strategy: Commercial Use of Drones 451
Case 20.2: Louisiana Department of Revenue v. Apeck International and Space Law 532
Construction, LLC (2018) 452
International Law 532
Spotlight on Andy Warhol: Case 20.3: Lindholm v. Brant (2007) 456
■ Beyond Our Borders: Border Searches of Your
Risk of Loss 457 Electronic Devices 533
Insurable Interest 460 Case 23.1: Rubin v. Islamic Republic of Iran (2018) 537
■ Business Law Analysis: Sovereign Immunity Claims 539
Chapter 21 Doing Business Internationally 539
■ Ethical Issue: Is it ethical (and legal) to brew “imported”
Performance and Breach beer brands domestically? 539
of Sales and Lease Contracts 464 Regulation of Specific Business Activities 542
Case 23.2: Changzhou Trina Solar Energy Co., Ltd. v. International
Obligations of the Seller or Lessor 465 Trade Commission (2018) 543
Case 21.1: All the Way Towing, LLC v. Bucks County U.S. Laws in a Global Context 545
International, Inc. (2018) 467
Spotlight on International Torts: Case 23.3: Daimler AG v.
Obligations of the Buyer or Lessee 470 Bauman (2014) 546
Remedies of the Seller or Lessor 472 Space Law 548
Remedies of the Buyer or Lessee 475
■ Beyond Our Borders: The CISG’s Approach to
Revocation of Acceptance 479 Chapter 24
Spotlight on Baseball Cards: Case 21.2: Fitl v. Strek (2005) 480
Banking in the Digital Age 554
Warranties 482
Classic Case 21.3: Webster v. Blue Ship Tea Room, Inc. (1964) 485 Checks and the Bank-Customer Relationship 555
■ Business Law Analysis: Implied Warranties 487 The Bank’s Duty to Honor Checks 558
Case 24.1: Legg v. West Bank (2016) 558
Chapter 22 Case 24.2: Horton v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (2018) 561
The Bank’s Duty to Accept Deposits 564
Negotiable Instruments 496 Case 24.3: Shahin v. Delaware Federal Credit Union (2015) 565
Formation of Negotiable Instruments 497 ■ Landmark in the Law: Check Clearing for the 21st Century

■ Adapting the Law to the Online Environment: Act (Check 21) 568
Pay with Your Smartphone 499 Electronic Fund Transfers 569

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 Contents ix

Online Banking and E-Money 571 Chapter 26

■ Adapting the Law to the Online Environment:
Electronic Payment Systems and the Use of Checks 571 Bankruptcy 607
The Bankruptcy Code 607
Chapter 25 ■ Business Web Log: Online Retail Competition
Causes Yet Another Brick-and-Mortar Retailer
Security Interests and to File for Bankruptcy 608
Creditors’ Rights 577 ■ Landmark in the Law: The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention
and Consumer Protection Act 609
Creating and Perfecting a Security Interest 577 Chapter 7—Liquidation 610
Spotlight on Wedding Rings: Case 25.1: Royal Jewelers, ■ Business Law Analysis: Violations of the Automatic Stay 614
Inc. v. Light (2015) 579
Case 26.1: In re Anderson (2016) 619
■ Adapting the Law to the Online Environment:
■ Ethical Issue: Should there be more relief for student
Secured Transactions Online 581
loan defaults? 621
■ Business Law Analysis: Perfecting a Security Interest 583
Case 26.2: In re Cummings (2015) 622
Scope of a Security Interest 586
Chapter 11—Reorganization 624
Case 25.2: In re T usa–Expo Holdings, Inc. (2016) 587
■ Linking Business Law to Corporate Management:
Priorities, Rights, and Duties 590 What Can You Do to Prepare for a Chapter 11
Default 592 Reorganization? 625
Case 25.3: SunTrust Bank v. Monroe (2018) 594 Bankruptcy Relief under Chapter 13
■ Ethical Issue: How long should a secured party have to and Chapter 12 627
seek a deficiency judgment? 596 Case 26.3: In re Chamberlain (2018) 629
Other Laws Assisting Creditors 596 Unit Three: Task-Based Simulation 635

Unit 4 Agency and Employment Law 637

Chapter 27 Chapter 28
Agency Relationships in Business 638 Employment, Immigration,
Agency Law 639 and Labor Law 666
■ Ethical Issue: Is it fair to classify Uber and Lyft drivers
Employment at Will 667
as independent ­contractors? 640
Case 28.1: Caterpillar, Inc. v. Sudlow (2016) 668
Formation of an Agency 642
Wages, Hours, and Leave 669
Case 27.1: Reidel v. Akron General Health System (2018) 643
■ Ethical Issue: Are employees entitled to receive wages
Duties of Agents and Principals 644 for all the time they spend at work, including times when
Spotlight on Taser International: Case 27.2: Taser International, they are taking a personal break? 670
Inc. v. Ward (2010) 646 ■ Beyond Our Borders: Brazil Requires Employers to Pay
Agent’s Authority 649 Overtime for Use of Smartphones after Work Hours 671
Liability in Agency Relationships 651 Case 28.2: Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro (2018) 671
■ Business Law Analysis: Liability of Disclosed Principals 652 Health, Safety, Income Security, and Privacy 674
■ Landmark in the Law: The Doctrine of Respondeat Superior 655 ■ Business Law Analysis: Workers’ Compensation Claims 675
■ Beyond Our Borders: Islamic Law and Respondeat Superior 657 ■ Adapting the Law to the Online Environment:
Case 27.3: M.J. v. Wisan (2016) 657 Social Media in the Workplace Come of Age 679
Termination of an Agency 659 Immigration Law 680

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 x Contents

Labor Law 683 ■ Adapting the Law to the Online Environment:

■ Managerial Strategy: Union Organizing Using a Company’s Hiring Discrimination Based on Social Media Posts 700
E-Mail System 686 Case 29.1: Bauer v. Lynch (2016) 701
Case 28.3: Contemporary Cars, Inc. v. National Labor Case 29.2: Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc. (2015) 703
Relations Board (2016) 687 ■ Ethical Issue: Should corporations be forced
to publicize the ratio of ­CEO-to-worker pay? 704
■ Business Law Analysis: Retaliation Claims 707
Chapter 29 Case 29.3: Franchina v. City of Providence (2018) 708
■ Beyond Our Borders: Sexual Harassment in Other Nations 709
Employment Discrimination 694 Discrimination Based on Age, Disability, or Military Status 710
Defenses to Employment Discrimination 716
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act 695
■ Linking Business Law to Corporate Management: Affirmative Action 717
Human Resource Management 696 Unit Four: Task-Based Simulation 723

Unit 5 Business Organizations 725

Chapter 30 Formation and Operation 747
■ Beyond Our Borders: Doing Business with
Sole Proprietorships Foreign Partners 748
and Franchises 726 Classic Case 31.2: Meinhard v. Salmon (1928) 751
Dissociation and Termination 753
Sole Proprietorships 727
Limited Liability Partnerships 757
Case 30.1: A. Gadley Enterprises, Inc. v. Department of Labor and
Industry Office of Unemployment Compensation Limited Partnerships 758
Tax Services (2016) 727 Case 31.3: DeWine v. Valley View Enterprises, Inc. (2015) 759
■ Ethical Issue: Can the religious beliefs of a small business ■ Ethical Issue: Should an innocent general partner be
owner justify the business refusing to provide services jointly liable for fraud? 761
to members of the LGBT community? 728
■ Adapting the Law to the Online Environment:
A Sole Proprietorship, Facebook Poker, and Bankruptcy 730 Chapter 32
Franchises 730
■ Beyond Our Borders: Franchising in Foreign Nations 731 Limited Liability Companies
The Franchise Contract 734 and Special Business Forms 767
Franchise Termination 735 The Limited Liability Company 767
Case 30.2: S&P Brake Supply, Inc. v. Daimler Trucks ■ Landmark in the Law: Limited Liability Company
North America, LLC (2018) 736 (LLC) Statutes 768
Spotlight on Holiday Inns: Case 30.3: Holiday Inn Franchising, Case 32.1: Hodge v. Strong Built International, LLC (2015) 771
Inc. v. Hotel Associates, Inc. (2011) 738
■ Beyond Our Borders: Limited Liability Companies in
Other Nations 772
Chapter 31 LLC Operation and Management 773

All Forms of Partnership 743 ■ Managerial Strategy: Can a Person Who Is Not a Member
of a ­Protected Class Sue for Discrimination? 774
Basic Partnership Concepts 744 Case 32.2: Schaefer v. Orth (2018) 775
Case 31.1: Harun v. Rashid (2018) 745 Dissociation and Dissolution of an LLC 776

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 Contents xi

Case 32.3: Reese v. Newman (2016) 777 Chapter 35

■ Business Law Analysis: When Will a Court Order the ­
Dissolution of an LLC? 778 Corporate Mergers, Takeovers,
Special Business Forms 779 and Termination 826
Merger, Consolidation, and Share Exchange 826
Chapter 33 Case 35.1: In re Trulia, Inc. Stockholder Litigation (2016) 828
Corporate Formation and Financing 785 Purchase of Assets 830
Case 35.2: Heavenly Hana, LLC v. Hotel Union & Hotel Industry
Nature and Classification 785 of Hawaii Pension Plan (2018) 832
■ Adapting the Law to the Online Environment:
Takeovers 833
Programs That Predict Employee Misconduct 787
Corporate Termination 834
Case 33.1: Drake Manufacturing Co. v. Polyflow, Inc. (2015) 788
Major Business Forms Compared 836
Case 33.2: Pantano v. Newark Museum (2016) 790
Case 33.3: Greenfield v. Mandalay Shores Community
Association (2018) 793 Chapter 36
Formation and Powers 793
■ Beyond Our Borders: Does Cloud Computing Investor Protection, Insider
Have a Nationality? 797 Trading, and Corporate Governance 841
Piercing the Corporate Veil 798
Securities Act of 1933 842
■ Business Law Analysis: Piercing the Corporate Veil 799
■ Managerial Strategy: The SEC’s New Pay-Ratio
Corporate Financing 800 Disclosure Rule 844
■ Adapting the Law to the Online Environment: Investment
Chapter 34 Crowdfunding—Regulations and Restrictions 846
■ Landmark in the Law: Changes to Regulation A: “Reg A+” 847
Corporate Directors, Case 36.1: Omnicare, Inc. v. Laborers District Council Construction
Officers, and Shareholders 807 Industry Pension Fund (2015) 850
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 851
Directors and Officers 807 Classic Case 36.2: Securities and Exchange Commission v. Texas
Duties and Liabilities of Directors and Officers 810 Gulf Sulphur Co. (1968) 853
Case 34.1: Oliveira v. Sugarman (2016) 811 Case 36.3: Singer v. Reali (2018) 857
Classic Case 34.2: Guth v. Loft, Inc. (1939) 813 State Securities Laws 860
Shareholders 815 Corporate Governance 861
Rights and Duties of Shareholders 818 ■ Beyond Our Borders: Corporate Governance in Other Nations 861
Case 34.3: Hammoud v. Advent Home Medical, Inc. (2018) 820 Unit Five: Task-Based Simulation 869

Unit 6 Government Regulation 871

Chapter 37 Agency Creation and Powers 875
Case 37.1: Simmons v. Smith (2018) 877
Administrative Law 872 The Administrative Process 879
Practical Significance 872 ■ Ethical Issue: Do administrative agencies exercise
too much authority? 880
■ Linking ­Business Law to Corporate Management:
Dealing with Administrative Law 875 Case 37.2: Craker v. Drug Enforcement Administration (2013) 884

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 xii Contents

Judicial Deference to Agency Decisions 885 ■ Adapting the Law to the Online Environment:
Case 37.3: Olivares v. Transportation Security Administration (2016) 886 Regulating “Native” Ads on the Internet 922
Public Accountability 887 Case 39.2: Haywood v. Massage Envy Franchising, LLC (2018) 923
Protection of Health and Safety 927
Chapter 38 Credit Protection 929
Case 39.3: Santangelo v. Comcast Corp. (2016) 931
Antitrust Law ■ Ethical Issue: Can a company that provides background checks ­
and Promoting Competition 893 willfully violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act? 933
Protecting the Environment 934
The Sherman Antitrust Act 894
■ Beyond Our Borders: Can a River Be a Legal Person? 935
■ Business Web Log: Facebook and Google in a World
of Antitrust Law 894 Air and Water Pollution 937
■ Landmark in the Law: The Sherman Antitrust Act 895 Toxic Chemicals and Hazardous Waste 941
Section 1 of the Sherman Act 897
Section 2 of the Sherman Act 900 Chapter 40
Case 38.1: McWane, Inc. v. Federal Trade Commission (2015) 902
The Clayton Act 904
Liability of Accountants
Case 38.2: Candelore v. Tinder, Inc. (2018) 905 and Other Professionals 948
Enforcement and Exemptions 909 Potential Liability to Clients 949
Case 38.3: TransWeb, LLC v. 3M Innovative Properties Co. (2016) 910 ■ Landmark in the Law: The SEC Adopts Global
U.S. Antitrust Laws in the Global Context 911 Accounting Rules 950
■ Adapting the Law to the Online Environment: ■ Ethical Issue: What are an attorney’s responsibilities
The European Union Issues Record Fine against with respect to protecting data stored on the cloud? 952
Google in Antitrust Case 913 Potential Liability to Third Parties 954
Liability of Accountants under Other Federal Laws 956
Chapter 39 Case 40.1: Laccetti v. Securities and Exchange Commission (2018) 958
Potential Criminal Liability 962
Consumer and Environmental Law 918 Confidentiality and Privilege 963
Advertising, Marketing, Sales, and Labeling 919 Case 40.2: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Schultz (2016) 963
Case 39.1: POM Wonderful, LLC v. Federal Trade Commission (2015) 920 Unit Six: Task-Based Simulation 970

Unit 7 Property and Its Protection 971

Chapter 41 ■ Ethical Issue: Who owns the engagement ring? 975
Business Law Analysis: Effective Gift of a
Personal Property ■
Brokerage Account 976
and Bailments 972 Classic Case 41.1: In re Estate of Piper (1984) 977

Personal Property versus Real Property 972 Mislaid, Lost, and Abandoned Property 979

Acquiring Ownership of Personal Property 974 Case 41.2: State of Washington v. Preston (2018) 981
■ Adapting the Law to the Online Environment: Bailments 982
The Exploding World of Digital Property 974 Case 41.3: Zissu v. IH2 Property Illinois, L.P. (2016) 986

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 Contents xiii

Chapter 42 Case 43.1: Breeden v. Buchanan (2015) 1020

Wills 1025
Real Property and Case 43.2: In re Navarra (2018) 1029
Landlord-Tenant Law 994 ■ Adapting the Law to the Online Environment:
Social Media Estate Planning 1032
The Nature of Real Property 994
Trusts 1035
Ownership Interests and Leases 996
Case 43.3: Dowdy v. Dowdy (2016) 1036
Case 42.1: In the Matter of the Estate of Nelson (2018) 997
Unit Seven: Task-Based Simulation 1046
Transfer of Ownership 1002
Spotlight on Sales of Haunted Houses: Case 42.2:
Stambovsky v. Ackley (1991) 1003 APPENDICES
■ Business Law Analysis: When Possession of Property
Is Not “Adverse” 1006 A How to Brief Cases and Analyze Case Problems A–1
Case 42.3: Montgomery County v. Bhatt (2016) 1007 B The Constitution of the United States A–3
■ Ethical Issue: Should eminent domain be used C The Uniform Commercial Code A–3
to promote private ­development? 1009 D Answers to the Issue Spotters A–4
Landlord-Tenant Relationships 1009 E Sample Answers for Business Case Problems with
Sample Answer A–13
Chapter 43
Glossary G–1
Insurance, Wills, and Trusts 1017 Table of Cases TC–1
Insurance 1017 Index I–1

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 Preface

T he study of business law and the legal environment has universal applicability.
A student entering any field of business must have at least a passing understanding
of business law in order to function in the real world. Business Law Today: Comprehensive
Edition, provides the information in an interesting and contemporary way. The Twelfth Edition
continues its established tradition of being the most up-to-date text on the market.
Instructors have come to rely on the coverage, accuracy, and applicability of Business Law
Today: Comprehensive Edition. This best-selling text engages your students, solidifies their
understanding of legal concepts, and provides the best teaching tools available. I have spent
a great deal of effort making this edition more contemporary, exciting, and visually appealing
than ever before. Special pedagogical devices within the text focus on legal, ethical, global,
and corporate issues, while addressing core curriculum requirements.
The Twelfth Edition incorporates the latest legal developments and United States Supreme
Court decisions. It also includes more than fifty new features and sixty new cases, hundreds
of new examples and case examples, new exhibits, learning objectives, margin definitions,
and case problems.

New and Updated Features

The Twelfth Edition of Business Law Today: Comprehensive Edition is filled with exciting new
and updated features designed to cover current legal topics of high interest.
1. Entirely new Business Web Log features underscore the importance of the text material to
­real-world businesses. Each of these features discusses a major U.S. company that is engaged
in a dispute involving a topic covered in the chapter. Some examples include:
• Samsung and Forced Arbitration (Chapter 4)
• Amazon Faces Fake Products (Chapter 7)
• Facebook and Google in a World of Antitrust Law (Chapter 38)
2. Entirely new Business Law Analysis features appear in numerous chapters of the text. These fea-
tures are useful tools to help students master the legal analysis skills that they will need to answer
questions and case problems in the book, on exams, and in business situations. Subjects include:
• Deciding If a Court Would Impose a Quasi Contract (Chapter 10)
• Enforceability of Liquidated Damages Provisions (Chapter 17)
• When Will a Court Order the Dissolution of an LLC? (Chapter 32)
3. Entirely new hypotheticals in many chapter introductions provide a real-world link that generates
student interest and highlights specific legal concepts that will be discussed in the chapter. These
hypotheticals—often based on real cases or business situations—help to introduce and illustrate
legal issues facing managers, companies, and even industries.
4. Adapting the Law to the Online Environment features examine cutting-edge cyberlaw topics, such as:
• Does Everyone Have a Constitutional Right to Use Social Media? (Chapter 2)
• Using Twitter to Cause Seizures—A Crime? (Chapter 9)
• Programs That Predict Employee Misconduct (Chapter 33)

xiv

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 Preface xv

5. Ethical Issue features focus on the ethical aspects of a topic being discussed in order to emphasize
that ­ethics is an integral part of a business law course. Examples include:
• How Enforceable Are Click-on Agreements to Donate Funds to Charity? (Chapter 11)
• Is It Ethical (and Legal) to Brew “Imported” Beer Brands Domestically? (Chapter 23)
• Is It Fair to Classify Uber and Lyft Drivers as Independent Contractors? (Chapter 27)
6. Beyond Our Borders features illustrate how other nations deal with specific legal issues to give
­students a sense of the global legal environment. Topics include:
• Does Cloud Computing Have a Nationality? (Chapter 33)
• Can a River Be a Legal Person? (Chapter 39)
7. Managerial Strategy features emphasize the management aspects of business law and the legal
environment, such as:
• Marriage Equality and the Constitution (Chapter 2)
• The Criminalization of American Business (Chapter 9)
• The SEC’s New Pay-Ratio Disclosure Rule (Chapter 36)
8. Landmark in the Law features discuss a landmark case, statute, or development that has significantly
affected business law. Examples include:
• Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad Co. (Chapter 5)
• The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (Chapter 26)
• Changes to Regulation A: “Reg A+” (Chapter 36)
9. Linking Business Law to [one of the six functional fields of business] features appear in select
­chapters to underscore how the law relates to other fields of business. For instance, Chapter 7
has a feature titled Linking Business Law to Marketing: Trademarks and Service Marks, and
Chapter 37 has a feature called Linking Business Law to Corporate Management: Dealing with
Administrative Law.

New Emphasis on Making Ethical

Business Decisions—The IDDR Approach
The ability of businesspersons to reason through ethical issues is now more important than
ever. For the Twelfth Edition of Business Law Today: Comprehensive Edition, I have created
a completely new f­ramework for helping students (and businesspersons) make ethical
decisions—the IDDR approach, which is introduced in Chapter 3. This systematic approach
provides students with a clear step-by-step process to analyze the legal and ethical implica-
tions of decisions that arise in everyday business operations. The IDDR approach uses four
logical steps:
• Step 1: Inquiry
• Step 2: Discussion
• Step 3: Decision
• Step 4: Review
Students can easily remember the first letter of each step by using the phrase “I Desire to Do
Right.” A completely revised Chapter 3 (Ethics in Business) details the goals of each IDDR
step and then provides a sample scenario to show students how to apply this new approach to
ethical decision making. In addition to introducing the IDDR approach, I have made Chapter 3
more current and more practical and reduced the amount of t­ heoretical ­ethical principles it
presents. The text now focuses on real-life application of ethical principles.

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 xvi Preface

After Chapter 3, to reinforce the application of the IDDR approach, students are asked
to use its steps when answering each chapter’s A Question of Ethics problem. Each of these
problems has been updated and is based on a 2017 case. In addition, the Twelfth Edition
retains the Ethical Issue feature in most chapters, many of which have been refreshed with
timely topics involving the ever-evolving technologies and trends in business.

New Cases and Case Problems

The Twelfth Edition of Business Law Today: Comprehensive Edition has new cases and case
problems from 2018 and 2017 in every chapter. The new cases have been carefully selected
to illustrate important points of law and to be of high interest to students and instructors.
I have made it a point to find recent cases that enhance learning and are straightforward
enough for business law students to understand.
Certain cases and case problems have been carefully chosen as good teaching cases and are
designated as Spotlight Cases and Spotlight Case Problems. Some examples include Spotlight
on Apple, Spotlight on Beer Labels, Spotlight on Nike, and Spotlight on the Seattle Mariners.
Instructors will find these Spotlight decisions useful to illustrate the legal concepts under
discussion, and students will enjoy studying the cases because they involve interesting and
memorable facts. Other cases have been chosen as Classic Cases because they establish a
legal precedent in a particular area of law.
Each case concludes with a section, called Critical Thinking, that includes at least one
question. Each question is labeled Ethical, Economic, Legal Environment, Political, Social, or
What If the Facts Were Different? In addition, Classic Cases include an Impact of This Case on
Today’s Law section that clarifies how the case has affected the legal environment. Suggested
answers to all case-ending questions can be found in the Solutions Manual for this text.

Many New Highlighted and Numbered Case Examples

Many instructors use cases and examples to illustrate how the law applies to business. This
edition of Business Law Today: Comprehensive Edition offers hundreds of highlighted and con-
secutively numbered Examples and Case Examples. Examples illustrate how the law applies
in a specific situation, and Case Examples present the facts and issues of an actual case and
then describe the court’s decision and rationale.
New to this edition are Spotlight Case Examples, which deal with especially high-interest
cases, and Classic Case Examples, which discuss older, landmark decisions. The numbered
Examples and Case Examples features are integrated throughout the text to help students
better understand how courts apply legal principles in the real world.

Critical Thinking and Legal Reasoning Elements

For this edition of Business Law Today: Comprehensive Edition I have included a discussion of
legal reasoning in Chapter 1. The all-new Business Law Analysis features that can be found
throughout the text emphasize legal reasoning skills as well. Critical thinking questions
conclude most of the features and cases in this text. Also, at the end of each chapter, a Debate
This question requires students to think critically about the rationale underlying the law on
a particular topic.
The chapter-ending materials also include a separate section of questions that focus on
critical thinking and writing. This section always includes a Time-Limited Group Assignment
and may also include a Critical Legal Thinking question requiring students to think critically
about some aspect of the law discussed in the chapter or a Business Law Writing question
requiring students to compose a written response.

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 Preface xvii

Answers to all critical thinking questions, as well as to the Business Scenarios and Case
Problems at the end of every chapter, are presented in the Twelfth Edition’s Solutions Manual.
In addition, the answers to one case problem in each chapter, called the Business Case
­Problem with Sample Answer, appear in Appendix E.

Other Pedagogical Devices within Each Chapter

• Learning Objectives (questions listed at the beginning of each chapter and repeated in the margins of
the text provide a framework of main chapter concepts for the student).
• Margin definitions of each boldfaced Key Term.
• Quotations and Know This (margin features).
• Exhibits (in most chapters).
• Photographs (with critical-thinking questions) and cartoons.

Chapter-Ending Pedagogy
• Practice and Review (in every chapter).
• Debate This (a statement or question at the end of Practice and Review).
• Key Terms (with appropriate page references to their margin definitions).
• Chapter Summary (in table format).
• Issue Spotters (in every chapter with answers in Appendix D).
• Business Scenarios and Case Problems (including in every chapter, a Business Case Problem with
Sample Answer that is answered in Appendix E; in selected chapters, a Spotlight Case Problem ;
and in every chapter, a new A Question of Ethics problem—based on a 2017 case—that applies this
Twelfth Edition’s IDDR approach to business ethics).
• Critical Thinking and Writing Assignments (including a Time-Limited Group Assignment in every
chapter, and a Business Law Writing or a Critical Legal Thinking question in selected chapters).

Unit-Ending Pedagogy
Each of the seven units in the Twelfth Edition of Business Law Today: Comprehensive Edition
concludes with a Task-Based Simulation. This feature presents a hypothetical business situ-
ation and then asks a series of questions about how the law applies to various actions taken
by the firm. To answer the questions, the student must apply the laws discussed throughout
the unit. (Answers are provided in the Solutions Manual.)

Supplements
Business Law Today: Comprehensive Edition provides a substantial supplements package
designed to make the tasks of teaching and learning more enjoyable and efficient. The fol-
lowing supplements are available for instructors.

MindTap Business Law for Business Law Today:

Comprehensive Edition, Twelfth Edition
MindTap™ is a fully online, highly personalized learning experience built on authoritative
Cengage Learning content. By combining readings, multimedia, activities, and assessments
into a singular Learning Path, MindTap Business Law guides students through their course
with ease and engagement. Instructors personalize the Learning Path by customizing

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 xviii Preface

Cengage Learning resources and adding their own content via apps that integrate into the
MindTap framework seamlessly with Learning Management Systems.
The MindTap Business Law product provides a four-step Learning Path, Case Repository,
Adaptive Test Prep, and an Interactive eBook designed to meet instructors’ needs while
also allowing instructors to measure skills and outcomes with ease. Each and every item is
assignable and gradable. This gives instructors knowledge of class standings and students’
mastery of concepts that may be difficult. Additionally, students gain knowledge about where
they stand—both individually and compared to the highest performers in class.

Cengage Testing Powered by Cognero

Cengage Testing Powered by Cognero is a flexible online system that allows instructors to do
the following:
• Author, edit, and manage Test Bank content from multiple Cengage Learning solutions.
• Create multiple test versions in an instant.
• Deliver tests from their Learning Management System (LMS), classroom, or wherever they want.

Start Right Away! Cengage Testing Powered by Cognero works on any operating system
or browser.
• Use your standard browser; no special installs or downloads are needed.
• Create tests from school, home, the coffee shop—anywhere with Internet access.

What Instructors Will Find

• Simplicity at every step. A desktop-inspired interface features drop-down menus and familiar, intui-
tive tools that take instructors through content creation and management with ease.
• Full-featured test generator. Create ideal assessments with a choice of fifteen question
types—including true/false, multiple choice, opinion scale/Likert, and essay. Multi-language
support, an equation editor, and unlimited metadata help ensure instructor tests are complete
and compliant.
• Cross-compatible capability. Import and export content into other systems.

Instructor’s Companion Website

The Instructor’s Companion Website contains the following supplements:
• Instructor’s Manual. Includes sections entitled “Additional Cases Addressing This Issue” at the end of
selected case synopses.
• Solutions Manual. Provides answers to all questions presented in the text, including the Learning
Objectives, the questions in each case and feature, the Issue Spotters, the Business Scenarios
and Case Problems, Critical Thinking and Writing Assignments, and the unit-ending Task-Based
­Simulation features.
• Test Bank. A comprehensive test bank contains multiple choice, true/false, and short essay
questions.
• Case-Problem Cases.
• Case Printouts.
• PowerPoint Slides.
• Lecture Outlines.
• MindTap Integrated Syllabus.
• MindTap Answer Key.

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 Preface xix

Acknowledgments

S ince I began this project many years ago, numerous business law professors and users
of Business Law Today: Comprehensive Edition have been kind enough to help me revise
the book, including the following:

John J. Balek Peter Clapp Nancy L. Hart Susan J. Mitchell

Morton College, Illinois St. Mary’s College, California Midland College, Texas Des Moines Area Community College, Iowa
John Jay Ballantine Dale Clark Mo Hassan Jim Lee Morgan
University of Colorado, Boulder Corning Community College, New York Cabrillo College, California West Los Angeles College, California
Lorraine K. Bannai Tammy W. Cowart Andy E. Hendrick Jack K. Morton
Western Washington University University of Texas, Tyler Coastal Carolina University, South Carolina University of Montana
Marlene E. Barken Stanley J. Dabrowski Janine S. Hiller Annie Laurie I. Myers
Ithaca College, New York Hudson County Community College, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University Northampton Community College, Pennsylvania
New Jersey
Laura Barnard Karen A. Holmes Solange North
Lakeland Community College, Ohio Sandra J. Defebaugh Hudson Valley Community College, New York Fox Valley Technical Institute, Wisconsin
Eastern Michigan University
Denise A. Bartles, J.D. Fred Ittner Jamie L. O’Brien
Missouri Western State University Patricia L. DeFrain College of Alameda, California South Dakota State University
Daryl Barton Glendale College, California
Susan S. Jarvis Ruth R. O’Keefe
Eastern Michigan University Julia G. Derrick University of Texas, Pan American Jacksonville University, Florida
Merlin Bauer Brevard Community College, Florida
Jack E. Karns Robert H. Orr
Mid State Technical College, Wisconsin Joe D. Dillsaver East Carolina University, North Carolina Florida Community College at Jacksonville
Donna E. Becker Northeastern State University, Oklahoma Sarah Weiner Keidan George Otto
Frederick Community College, Maryland Claude W. Dotson Oakland Community College, Michigan Truman College, Illinois
Richard J. Bennet Northwest College, Wyoming Richard N. Kleeberg Thomas L. Palmer
Three Rivers Community College, Solano Community College, California Northern Arizona University
Connecticut
Larry R. Edwards
Tarrant County Junior College, Bradley T. Lutz David W. Pan
Dr. Anne Berre South Campus, Texas Hillsborough Community College, Florida University of Tulsa, Oklahoma
Schreiner University, Texas
Jacolin Eichelberger Diane MacDonald Victor C. Parker, Jr.
Robert C. Bird Hillsborough Community College, Florida Pacific Lutheran University, Washington North Georgia College and State University
University of Connecticut
George E. Eigsti Darlene Mallick Donald L. Petote
Bonnie S. Bolinger Kansas City, Kansas, Community College Anne Arundel Community College, Maryland Genesee Community College, New York
Ivy Tech Community College, Wabash Valley
Region, Indiana Florence E. Elliott-Howard John D. Mallonee Francis D. Polk
Stephen F. Austin State University, Texas Manatee Community College, Florida Ocean County College, New Jersey
Brad Botz
Garden City Community College, Kansas Tony Enerva Joseph D. Marcus Gregory Rabb
Lakeland Community College, Ohio Prince George’s Community College, Maryland Jamestown Community College, New York
Teresa Brady
Holy Family College, Pennsylvania Benjamin C. Fassberg Woodrow J. Maxwell Brad Reid
Prince George’s Community College, Maryland Hudson Valley Community College, New York Abilene Christian University, Texas
Dean Bredeson
University of Texas at Austin Joseph L. Flack Diane May Anne Montgomery Ricketts
Washtenaw Community College, Michigan Winona State University, Minnesota University of Findlay, Ohio
Lee B. Burgunder
California Polytechnic University, Jerry Furniss Beverly McCormick Donald A. Roark
San Luis Obispo University of Montana Morehead State University, Kentucky University of West Florida

Thomas D. Cavenagh Joan Gabel William J. McDevitt Hugh Rode

North Central College, Illinois Florida State University Saint Joseph’s University, Pennsylvania Utah Valley State College

Bradley D. Childs Elizabeth J. Guerriero John W. McGee Gerald M. Rogers

Belmont University, Tennessee Northeast Louisiana University Aims Community College, Colorado Front Range Community College, Colorado

Corey Ciocchetti Phil Harmeson James K. Miersma Dr. William J. Russell

University of Denver, Colorado University of South Dakota Milwaukee Area Technical Institute, Wisconsin Northwest Nazarene University, Idaho

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 xx Preface

William M. Rutledge Denise Smith Frederick J. Walsh Lori Whisenant

Macomb Community College, Michigan Missouri Western State College Franklin Pierce College, New Hampshire University of Houston, Texas
Martha Wright Sartoris Hugh M. Spall James E. Walsh, Jr. Kay O. Wilburn
North Hennepin Community College, Minnesota Central Washington University Tidewater Community College, Virginia The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Anne W. Schacherl Catherine A. Stevens Randy Waterman John G. Williams, J.D.
Madison Area Technical College, Wisconsin College of Southern Maryland Northwestern State University, Louisiana
Richland College, Texas
Edward F. Shafer Maurice Tonissi James L. Wittenbach
Rochester Community College, Minnesota Quinsigamond Community College, Jerry Wegman University of Notre Dame, Indiana
Massachusetts University of Idaho
Lance Shoemaker, J.D., Eric D. Yordy
M.C.P., M.A. James D. Van Tassel Edward L. Welsh, Jr. Northern Arizona University
West Valley College, California Mission College, California Phoenix College, Arizona
Joseph Zavaglia, Jr.
Lou Ann Simpson Russell A. Waldon Clark W. Wheeler Brookdale Community College,
Drake University, Iowa College of the Canyons, California Santa Fe Community College, Florida New Jersey

In addition, I give my thanks to the staff at Cengage Learning, especially Vicky True-Baker, senior
product manager; Bryan Gambrel, product director; Martha Conway, senior content manager;
Sarah Huber, learning designer; Jennifer Chinn, digital delivery lead; Lisa Elliott, subject
matter expert; and Christian Wood, product assistant. I also thank Andy Miller in marketing;
Jillian Shafer, permissions project manager; and Jennifer Bowes, permissions analyst. Addi-
tionally, I would like to thank project managers Ann Borman and Phil Scott at SPi Global,
our compositor, for accurately generating pages for the text and making it possible for me
to meet my ambitious schedule for the print and digital products.
I give special thanks to Katherine Marie Silsbee for managing the project and providing
exceptional research and ­editorial skills. I also thank William Eric Hollowell, ­co-­author of
the Solutions Manual and Test Bank, for his excellent research efforts. I am grateful for the
copyediting services of Jeanne Yost and proofreading services of Beverly Peavler. I also thank
Vickie Reierson, Roxanna Lee, and Suzanne Jasin for their many efforts on this project and
for helping to ensure an error-free text.
Roger LeRoy Miller

30301_fm_hr_i-xxii.indd 20 8/31/18 3:11 PM

 Dedication

To Darlene Young,

The memories will always be there.

The good thoughts from the past, too.
We are all richer because of them.

R.L.M.

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30301_fm_hr_i-xxii.indd 22 8/31/18 3:11 PM
 Unit 1
The Legal
­Environment of
Business

1 Law and Legal Reasoning

2 Constitutional Law
3 Ethics in Business
4 Courts and Alternative Dispute Resolution
5 Tort Law
6 Product Liability
7 Intellectual Property Rights
Michal Kalasek/Shutterstock.com

8 Internet Law, Social Media, and Privacy

9 Criminal Law and Cyber Crime

30301_ch01_hr_001-030.indd 1 8/31/18 3:08 PM

 Feverpitched/iStock/Getty Images
Learning Objectives
1 Law and Legal Reasoning
“Laws should be like In the chapter-opening quotation, Clarence Darrow
The four Learning Objectives below are clothes. They should asserts that law should be created to serve the public.
designed to help improve your under- Because you are part of that public, the law is important
standing. After reading this chapter, you be made to fit the to you. In particular, those entering the world of busi-
should be able to answer the following people they are ness will find themselves subject to numerous laws and
questions: government regulations. A basic knowledge of these laws
meant to serve.”
1. What are four primary and regulations is beneficial—if not essential—to any-
sources of law in the Clarence Darrow one contemplating a successful career in today’s business
1857–1938
United States? (American lawyer)
environment.
Although the law has various definitions, all of them are
2. What is a precedent? When
based on the general observation that law consists of enforce-
might a court depart from
able rules governing relationships among individuals and between individuals and their society.
precedent?
In some societies, these enforceable rules consist of unwritten principles of behavior.
3. What is the difference In other societies, they are set forth in ancient or contemporary law codes. In the United
between remedies at law States, our rules consist of written laws and court decisions created by modern legislative
and remedies in equity? and judicial bodies. Regardless of how such rules are created, they all have one feature in
4. What are some important common: they establish rights, duties, and privileges that are consistent with the values and
differences between civil beliefs of a society or its ruling group.
law and criminal law? In this introductory chapter, we look at how business law and the legal environment
affect business decisions. For instance, suppose that Hellix Communications, Inc., wants
to buy a competing cellular company. It also wants to offer unlimited data plans once it
has acquired this competitor. Management fears that if the company does not expand, one
Law A body of enforceable rules
governing relationships among of its bigger rivals will put it out of business. But Hellix Communications cannot simply
­individuals and between individuals buy its rivals. Nor can it just offer a low-cost cell-phone plan to its customers. It has to
and their society. follow the laws pertaining to its proposed actions. Some of these laws (or regulations)
depend on interpretations by those running various regulatory federal agencies. The rules
2

30301_ch01_hr_001-030.indd 2 8/31/18 3:08 PM

 Another Random Document on
Scribd Without Any Related Topics
 “Peace! peace!” cried Chavigni, in a sharp tone; “let me hear no more in
this strain. Who raised you to what you are? We use you as you deserve; we
pay you for your services; we despise you for your meanness; and as to
your soul,” he added with a sneer, “if you have any fears on that head—why
you shall have absolution. Are you not our dog, who worries the game for
us? We house and feed you, and you must take the lashes when it suits us to
give them. Remember, Sir, that your life is in my hand! One word
respecting the affair of Chalais mentioned to the Cardinal, brings your head
to the block! And now let us see what is this blood you speak of?”
So saying, he sprang from his horse, while Lafemas, as he had been
depicted by his companion, hung his head like a cowed hound, and in sullen
silence pointed out the blood, which had formed a little pool at the foot of
the tree, and stained the ground in several places round about.
Chavigni gazed at it with evident symptoms of displeasure and
uneasiness; for although, when he imagined that the necessities of the State
required the severest infliction on any offender, no one was more ruthless
than himself as to the punishment, no one more unhesitating as to the means
—although, at those times, no bond of amity, no tie of kindred, would have
stayed his hand, or restrained him in what he erroneously considered his
political duty; yet Chavigni was far from naturally cruel; and, as his after
life showed, even too susceptible of the strongest and deepest affections of
human nature.
In his early youth, the Cardinal de Richelieu had remarked in him a
strong and penetrating mind; but above all, an extraordinary power of
governing and even subduing the ardent passions by which he was at times
excited. As son to the Count de Bouthilliers, one of the oldest members of
the Privy Council, the road to political preferment was open to Chavigni;
and Richelieu, ever fearful of aught that might diminish his power, and
careful to strengthen it by every means, resolved to bind the young Count to
his cause by the sure ties of early habit and mutual interest. With this view
he took him entirely under his own protection, educated him in his own line
of policy, instilled into him, as principles, the deep stern maxims of his own
mighty and unshrinking mind, and having thus moulded him to his wish,
called him early to the council-table, and intrusted him with a greater share
of his power and confidence than he would have yielded to any other man.
 Chavigni repaid the Cardinal with heartfelt gratitude, with firm
adherence, and uncompromising service. In private life, he was honourable,
generous, and kind; but it was his axiom, that all must yield to State
necessity, or (as he said) in other words, to the good of his country; and
upon the strength of this maxim, which, in fact, was the cause of every stain
that rests upon his memory, he fancied himself a patriot!
Between Chavigni and the Judge Lafemas, who was the Jeffreys of his
country, and had received the name of Le Bourreau du Cardinal, existed a
sort of original antipathy; so that the Statesman, though often obliged to
make use of the less scrupulous talents of the Judge, and even occasionally
to associate with him, could never refrain for any length of time from
breaking forth into those bitter taunts which often irritated Lafemas almost
to frensy. The hatred of the Judge, on his part, was not less strong, even at
the times it did not show itself; and he still brooded over the hope of
exercising his ungentle functions upon him who was at present, in a degree,
his master.
But to return, Chavigni gazed intently on the spot to which Lafemas
pointed. “I believe it is blood, indeed,” said he, after a moment’s hesitation,
as if the uncertainty of the light had made him doubt it at first: “they shall
rue the day that they shed it contrary to my command. It is blood surely,
Lafemas: is it not?”
“Without a doubt,” said Lafemas; “and it has been shed since mid-day.”
“You are critical in these things, I know,” replied the other with a cool
sneer; “but we must hear more of this, Sir Judge, and ascertain what news is
stirring, before we go farther. Things might chance, which would render it
necessary that one or both of us should return to the Cardinal. We will
knock at this cottage and inquire.—Our story must run, that we have lost
our way in the wood, and need both rest and direction.”
So saying, he struck several sharp blows with the hilt of his sword
against the door, whose rickety and unsonorous nature returned a grumbling
indistinct sound, as if it too had shared the sleep of the peaceable
inhabitants of the cottage, and loved not to be disturbed by such nocturnal
visitations. “So ho!” cried Chavigni; “will no one hear us poor travellers,
who have lost our way in this forest!”
In a moment after, the head of Philip, the woodman, appeared at the little
casement by the side of the door, examining the strangers, on whose figures
fell the full beams of the moon, with quite sufficient light to display the
courtly form and garnishing of their apparel, and to show that they were no
dangerous guests. “What would ye, Messieurs?” demanded he, through the
open window: “it is late for travellers.”
“We have lost our way in your wood,” replied Chavigni, “and would fain
have a little rest, and some direction for our farther progress. We will pay
thee well, good man, for thy hospitality.”
“There is no need of payment, Sir,” said the Woodman, opening the door.
“Come in, I pray, Messieurs.—Charles!” he added, calling to his son, “get
up and tend these gentlemen’s horses. Get up, I say, Sir Sluggard!”
The boy crept sleepily out of the room beyond, and went to give some of
the forest-hay to the beasts which had borne the strangers thither, and which
gave but little signs of needing either rest or refreshment. In the mean
while, his father drew two large yew-tree seats to the fire-side, soon blew
the white ashes on the hearth into a flame, and having invited his guests to
sit, and lighted the old brazen lamp that hung above the chimney, he bowed
low, asking how he could serve them farther; but as he did so, his eye ran
over their persons with a half-satisfied and inquiring glance, which made
Lafemas turn away his head. But Chavigni answered promptly to his offer
of service: “Why now, good friend, if thou couldst give us a jug of wine,
‘twould be well and kindly done, for we have ridden far.”
“This is no inn, Sir,” replied Philip, “and you will find my wine but thin:
nevertheless, such as it is, most welcomely shall you taste.”
From whatever motive it proceeded, Philip’s hospitality was but
lukewarm towards the strangers; and the manner in which he rinsed out the
tankard, drew the wine from a barrique standing in one corner of the room,
half covered with a wolf-skin, and placed it on a table by the side of
Chavigni, bespoke more churlish rudeness than good-will. But the
Statesman heeded little either the quality of his reception or of his wine,
provided he could obtain the information he desired; so, carrying the
tankard to his lips, he drank, or seemed to drink, as deep a draught as if its
contents had been the produce of the best vineyard in Medoc. “It is
excellent,” said he, handing it to Lafemas, “or my thirst does wonders.
Now, good friend, if we had some venison-steaks to broil on your clear
ashes, our supper were complete.”
 “Such I have not to offer, Sir,” replied Philip, “or to that you should be
welcome too.”
“Why, I should have thought,” said Chavigni, “the hunters who ran
down a stag at your door to-day, should have left you a part, as the
woodman’s fee.”
“Do you know those hunters, Sir?” demanded Philip, with some degree
of emphasis.
“Not I, in truth,” replied Chavigni; though the colour rose in his cheek,
notwithstanding his long training to courtly wile and political intrigue, and
he thanked his stars that the lamp gave but a faint and glimmering light:
“Not I, in truth; but whoever ran him down got a good beast, for he bled
like a stag of ten. I suppose they made the curée at your door?”
“Those hunters, Sir,” replied Philip, “give no woodman’s fees; and as to
the stag, he is as fine a one as ever brushed the forest dew, but he has
escaped them this time.”
“How! did he get off with his throat cut?” demanded Chavigni, “for
there is blood enough at the foot of yon old tree, to have drained the stoutest
stag that ever was brought to bay.”
“Oh! but that is not stag’s blood!” interrupted Charles, the woodman’s
son, who had by this time not only tended the strangers’ horses, but
examined every point of the quaint furniture with which it was the fashion
of the day to adorn them. “That is not stag’s blood; that is the blood of the
young Cavalier, who was hurt by the robbers, and taken away by—”
At this moment the boy’s eye caught the impatient expression of his
father’s countenance.
“The truth is, Messieurs,” said Philip, taking up the discourse, “there was
a gentleman wounded in the forest this morning. I never saw him before,
and he was taken away in a carriage by some ladies, whose faces were
equally strange to me.”
“You have been somewhat mysterious upon this business, Sir
Woodman,” said Chavigni, his brow darkening as he spoke; “why were you
so tardy in giving us this forest news, which imports all strangers travelling
through the wood to know?”
“I hold it as a rule,” replied Philip boldly, “to mind my own business,
and never to mention any thing I see; which in this affair I shall do more
especially, as one of the robbers had furniture of Isabel and silver;” and as
he spoke he glanced his eye to the scarf of Chavigni, which was of that
peculiar mixture of colours then called Isabel, bordered by a rich silver
fringe.
“Fool!” muttered Chavigni between his teeth; “Fool! what need had he
to show himself?”
Lafemas, who had hitherto been silent, now came to the relief of his
companion: taking up the conversation in a mild and easy tone, “Have you
many of these robbing fraternity in your wood?” said he; “if so, I suppose
we peril ourselves in crossing it alone.” And, without waiting for any
answer, he proceeded, “Pray, who was the cavalier they attacked?”
“He was a stranger from St. Germain,” answered the Woodman; “and as
to the robbers, I doubt that they will show themselves again, for fear of
being taken.”
“They did not rob him then?” said the Judge. Now nothing that Philip
had said bore out this inference; but Lafemas possessed in a high degree the
talent of cross-examination, and was deeply versed in all the thousand arts
of entangling a witness, or leading a prisoner to condemn himself. But there
was a stern reserve about the Woodman which baffled the Judge’s cunning:
“I only saw the last part of the fray,” replied Philip, “and therefore know not
what went before.”
“Where was he hurt?” asked Lafemas; “for he lost much blood.”
“On the head and in the side,” answered the Woodman.
“Poor youth!” cried the Judge in a pitiful tone. “And when you opened
his coat, was the wound a deep one?”
“I cannot judge,” replied Philip, “being no surgeon.”
It was in vain that Lafemas tried all his wiles on the Woodman, and that
Chavigni, who soon joined in the conversation, questioned him more
boldly. Philip was in no communicative mood, and yielded them but little
information respecting the events of the morning.
At length, weary of this fruitless interrogation, Chavigni started up
—“Well, friend!” said he, “had there been danger in crossing the forest, we
might have stayed with thee till daybreak; but, as thou sayest there is none,
we will hence upon our way.” So saying he strode towards the door, the
flame-shaped mullets of his gilded spurs jingling over the brick-floor of
Philip’s dwelling, and calling the Woodman’s attention to the knightly rank
of his departing guest. In a few minutes all was prepared for their departure,
and having mounted their horses, the Statesman drew forth a small silk
purse tied with a loop of gold, and holding it forth to Philip, bade him
accept it for his services. The Woodman bowed, repeating that he required
no payment.
“I am not accustomed to have my bounty refused,” said Chavigni
proudly; and dropping the purse to the ground, he spurred forward his
horse.
“Now, Lafemas,” said he, when they had proceeded so far as to be
beyond the reach of Philip’s ears, “what think you of this?”
“Why, truly,” replied the Judge, “I deem that we are mighty near as wise
as we were before.”
“Not so,” said Chavigni. “It is clear enough these fellows have failed,
and De Blenau has preserved the packet: I understand it all. His Eminence
of Richelieu, against my advice, has permitted Madame de Beaumont and
her daughter Pauline to return to the Queen, after an absence of ten years.
The fact is, that when the Cardinal banished them the Court, and ordered
the Marchioness to retire to Languedoc, his views were not so extended as
they are now, and he had laid out in his own mind a match between one of
his nieces and this rich young Count de Blenau; which, out of the royal
family, was one of the best alliances in France. The boy, however, had been
promised, and even, I believe, affianced by his father, to this Pauline de
Beaumont; and accordingly his Eminence sent away the girl and her
mother, with the same sangfroid that a man drives a strange dog out of his
court-yard; at the same time he kept the youth at Court, forbidding all
communication with Languedoc: but now that the Cardinal can match his
niece to the Duke D’Enghien, De Blenau may look for a bride where he
lists, and the Marquise and her daughter have been suffered to return. To my
knowledge, they passed through Chartres yesterday morning on their way to
St. Germain.”
“But what have these to do with the present affair?” demanded Lafemas.
“Why thus has it happened,” continued Chavigni. “The youth has been
attacked. He has resisted, and been wounded. Just then, up come these
women, travelling through the forest with a troop of servants, who join with
the Count, and drive our poor friends to cover. This is what I have drawn
from the discourse of yon surly Woodman.”
“You mean, from your own knowledge of the business,” replied
Lafemas, “for he would confess nothing.”
“Confess, man!” exclaimed Chavigni.—“Why he did not know that he
was before a confessor, and still less before a Judge, though thou wouldest
fain have put him to the question. I saw your lip quivering with anxiety to
order him the torture; rack, and thumb-screw, and oubliette were in your
eye, every sullen answer he gave.”
“Were it not as well to get him out of the way?” demanded Lafemas. “He
remarked your livery, Chavigni, and may blab.”
“Short-sighted mole!” replied his companion. “The very sulkiness of
humour which has called down on him thy rage, will shield him from my
fears—which might be quite as dangerous. He that is so close in one thing,
depend upon it, will be close in another. Besides, unless he tells it to the
trees, or the jays, or the wild boars, whom should he tell it to? I would bet a
thousand crowns against the Prince de Conti’s brains, or the Archbishop
Coadjutor’s religion, or Madame de Chevreuse’s—reputation, or against
any thing else that is worth nothing, that this good Woodman sees no human
shape for the next ten years, and then all that passes between them will be,
“Good day, Woodman!’—‘Good day, Sir!’—and he mimicked the deep
voice of him of whom they spoke. But, notwithstanding this appearance of
gaiety, Chavigni was not easy; and even while he spoke, he rode on with no
small precipitation, till, turning into a narrow forest path, the light of the
moon, which had illuminated the greater part of the high road, was cut off
entirely by the trees, and the deep gloom obliged them to be more cautious
in proceeding. At length, however, they came to a little savanna, surrounded
by high oaks, where Chavigni entirely reined in his horse, and blew a single
note on his horn, which was soon answered by a similar sound at some
distance.
 CHAPTER III.
Which shows what a French forest was at night, and who inhabited it.
THOSE whom either the love of sylvan sports, or that calm meditative
charm inherent to wood scenery, has tempted to explore the deeper recesses
of the forest, must be well aware that many particular glades and coverts
will often lie secret and undiscovered, amidst the mazes of the leafy
labyrinth, even to the eyes of those long accustomed to investigate its most
intricate windings. In those countries where forest hunting is a frequent
sport, I have more than once found myself led on into scenes completely
new, when I had fancied that long experience had made me fully acquainted
with every rood of the woodland round about, and have often met with no
small trouble in retracing the spot, although I took all pains to observe the
way thither, and fix its distinctive marks in my memory.
In the heart of the forest of St. Germain, at a considerable distance from
any of the roads, or even by-paths of the wood, lay a deep dingle or dell,
which probably had been a gravel-pit many centuries before, and might
have furnished forth sand to strew the halls of Charlemagne, for aught I
know to the contrary. However, so many ages had elapsed since it had been
employed for such purpose, that many a stout oak had sprung, and
flourished, and withered round about it, and had left the ruins of their once
princely forms crumbling on its brink. At the time I speak of, a considerable
part of the dell itself was filled up with tangled brush-wood, which a long
hot season had stripped and withered; and over the edge hung a quantity of
dry shrubs and stunted trees, forming a thick screen over the wild recess
below.
One side, and one side only, was free of access, and this was by means
of a small sandy path winding down into the bottom of the dell, between
two deep banks, which assumed almost the appearance of cliffs as the road
descended. This little footway conducted, it is true, into the most profound
part of the hollow, but then immediately lost itself in the thick underwood,
through which none but a very practised eye would have discovered the
means of entering a deep lair of ground, sheltered by the steep bank and its
superincumbent trees on one side, and concealed by a screen of wood on
every other.
On the night I have mentioned, this well concealed retreat was tenanted
by a group of men, whose wild attire harmonized perfectly with the
rudeness of the scene around. The apparel of almost every class was
discernible among them, but each vesture plainly showed, that it had long
passed that epoch generally termed “better days;” and indeed, the more
costly had been their original nature, the greater was their present state of
degradation. So that what had once been the suit of some gay cavalier of the
court, and which doubtless had shone as such in the circles of the bright and
the fair, having since passed through the hands of the page, who had
perhaps used it to personate his master, and the fripier, who had tried hard
to restore it to a degree of lustre, and the poor petitioner who had bought it
and borne it second-hand to court, and lost both his labour and his money—
having passed through these, and perhaps a thousand other hands, it had
gradually acquired that sort of undefinable tint, which ought properly to be
called old-age colour, and at present served, and only served, to keep its
owner from the winds of heaven. At the same time the buff jerkin which
covered the broad shoulders of another hard by, though it had never boasted
much finery, had escaped with only a few rusty stains from its former
intimacy with a steel cuirass, and a slight greasy gloss upon the left side,
which indicated its owner’s habit of laying his hand upon his sword.
Here, too, every sort of offensive weapon was to be met with. The long
Toledo blade with its basket hilt and black scabbard tipped with steel; the
double-handed heavy sword, which during the wars of the League had often
steaded well the troops of Henry the Fourth, when attacked by the superior
cavalry of the Dukes of Guise and Mayenne, and which had been but little
used since; the poniard, the stiletto, the heavy petronel, or horse pistol, and
the smaller girdle pistol, which had been but lately introduced, were all to
be seen, either as accompaniments to the dress of some of the party, or
scattered about on the ground, where they had been placed for greater
convenience.
The accoutrements of these denizens of the forest were kept in
countenance by every other accessory circumstance of appearance; and a
torch stuck in the sand in the midst, glared upon features which Salvator
might have loved to trace. It was not alone the negligence of personal
appearance, shown in their long dishevelled hair and untrimmed beards,
which rendered them savagely picturesque, but many a furious passion had
there written deep traces of its unbounded sway, and marked them with that
wild undefinable expression, which habitual vice and lawless licence are
sure to leave behind in their course.
At the moment I speak of, wine had been circulating very freely amongst
the robbers; for such indeed they were. Some were sleeping, either with
their hands clasped over their knees and their heads drooping down to meet
them, or stretched more at their ease under the trees, snoring loud in answer
to the wind, that whistled through the branches. Some sat gazing with a
wise sententious look on the empty gourds, many of which, fashioned into
bottles, lay scattered about upon the ground: and two or three, who had
either drunk less of the potent liquor, or whose heads were better calculated
to resist its effects than the rest, sat clustered together singing and chatting
by turns, arrived exactly at that point of ebriety, where a man’s real
character shows itself, notwithstanding all his efforts to conceal it.
The buff jerkin we have spoken of, covered the shoulders of one among
this little knot of choice spirits, who still woke to revel after sleep had laid
his leaden mace upon their companions; and it may be remarked, that a pair
of broader shoulders are rarely to be seen than those so covered.
Wouvermans is said to have been very much puzzled by a figure in one
of his pictures, which, notwithstanding all his efforts, he could never keep
down (as painters express it). Whatever he did, that one figure was always
salient, and more prominent than the artist intended; nor was it till he had
half blotted it out, that he discovered its original defect was being too large.
Something like Wouvermans’ figure, the freebooter I speak of, stood
conspicuous amongst the others, from the Herculean proportion of his
limbs; but he had, in addition, other qualities to distinguish him from the
rest. His brow was broad, and of that peculiar form to which
physiognomists have attached the idea of a strong determined spirit; at the
same time, the clear sparkle of his blue Norman eye bespoke an impetuous,
but not a depraved mind.
A deep scar was apparent on his left cheek; and the wound which had
been its progenitor, was most probably the cause of a sneering turn in the
corner of his mouth, which, with a bold expression of daring confidence,
completed the mute history that his face afforded, of a life spent in arms, or
well, or ill, as circumstances prompted,—an unshrinking heart, which dared
every personal evil, and a bright but unprincipled mind, which followed no
dictates but the passions of the moment.
He was now in his gayest mood, and holding a horn in his hand, trolled
forth an old French ditty, seeming confident of pleasing, or perhaps careless
whether he pleased or not.

“Thou’rt an ass, Robin, thou’rt an ass,

To think that great men be
More gay than I that lie on the grass
Under the greenwood tree.
I tell thee no, I tell thee no,
The Great are slaves to their gilded show.

Now tell me, Robin, tell me,

Are the ceilings of gay saloons
So richly wrought as yon sky we see,
Or their glitter so bright as the moon’s?
I tell thee no, I tell thee no,
The Great are slaves to their gilded show.

Say not nay, Robin, say not nay!

There is never a heart so free,
In the vest of gold, and the palace gay,
As in buff ‘neath the forest tree.
I tell thee yea, I tell thee yea,
The Great were made for the poor man’s prey.”

So sang the owner of the buff jerkin, and his song met with more or less
applause from his companions, according to the particular humour of each.
One only amongst the freebooters seemed scarcely to participate in the
merriment. He had drunk as deeply as the rest, but he appeared neither gay,
nor stupid, nor sleepy; and while the tall Norman sang, he cast, from time to
time, a calm sneering glance upon the singer, which showed no especial
love, either for the music, or musician.
“You sing about prey,” said he, as the other concluded the last stanza of
his ditty—“You sing about prey, and yet you are no great falcon, after all; if
we may judge from to-day.”
“And why not, Monsieur Pierrepont Le Blanc?” demanded the Norman,
without displaying aught of ill-humour in his countenance: “though they
ought to have called you Monsieur Le Noir—Mr. Black, not Mr. White.—
Nay, do not frown, good comrade; I speak but of your beard, not of your
heart. What, art thou still grumbling, because we did not cut the young
Count’s throat outright?”
“Nay, not for that,” answered the other, “but because we have lost the
best man amongst us, for want of his being well seconded.”
“You lie, Parbleu!” cried the Norman, drawing his sword, and fixing his
thumb upon a stain, about three inches from the point. “Did not I lend the
youth so much of my iron toothpick? and would have sent it through him, if
his horse had not carried him away. But I know you, Master Buccaneer—
You would have had me stab him behind, while Mortagne slashed his head
before. That would have been a fit task for a Norman gentleman, and a
soldier! I whose life he saved too!”
“Did you not swear, when you joined our troop,” demanded the other,
“to forget every thing that went before?”
The Norman hesitated; he well remembered his oath, against which the
better feelings of his heart were perhaps sometimes rebellious. He felt, too,
confused at the direct appeal the other had made to it; and to pass it by, he
caught at the word forget, answering with a stave of the song—

“Forget! forget! let slaves forget

The pangs and chains they bear;
The brave remember every debt
To honour, and the fair.
For these are bonds that bind us more,
Yet leave us freer than before.

“Yes, let those that can do so, forget: but I very well remember, at the
battle at Perpignan, I had charged with the advance guard, when the fire of
the enemy’s musketeers, and a masked battery which began to enfilade our
line, soon threw our left flank into disorder, and a charge of cavalry drove
back De Coucy’s troop. Mielleraye’s standard was in the hands of the
enemy, when I and five others rallied to rescue it. A gloomy old Spaniard
fired his petronel and disabled my left arm, but still I held the standard-pole
with my right, keeping the standard before me; but my Don drew his long
Toledo, and had got the point to my breast, just going to run it through me
and standard and all, as I’ve often spitted a duck’s liver and a piece of
bacon on a skewer; when, turning round my head, to see if no help was
near, I perceived this young Count de Blenau’s banderol, coming like
lightning over the field, and driving all before it; and blue and gold were
then the best colours that ever I saw, for they gave me new heart, and
wrenching the standard-pole round—But hark, there is the horn!”
As he spoke, the clear full note of a hunting-horn came swelling from
the south-west; and in a moment after, another, much nearer to them,
seemed to answer the first. Each, after giving breath to one solitary note,
relapsed into silence; and such of the robbers as were awake, having
listened till the signal met with a reply, bestirred themselves to rouse their
sleeping companions, and to put some face of order upon the disarray which
their revels had left behind.
“Now, Sir Norman,” cried he that they distinguished by the name of Le
Blanc; “we shall see how Monseigneur rates your slackness in his cause.
Will you tell him your long story of the siege of Perpignan?”
“Pardie!” cried the other, “I care no more for him, than I do for you.
Every man that stands before me on forest ground is but a man, and I will
treat him as such.”
“Ha! ha! ha!” exclaimed his companion; “it were good to see thee bully
a privy counsellor; why, thou darest as soon take a lion by the beard.”
“I dare pass my sword through his heart, were there need,” answered the
Norman; “but here they come,—stand you aside and let me deal with him.”
Approaching steps, and a rustling sound in the thick screen of wood
already mentioned, as the long boughs were forced back by the passage of
some person along the narrow pathway, announced the arrival of those for
whom the robbers had been waiting.
“Why, it is as dark as the pit of Acheron!” cried a deep voice amongst
the trees. “Are we never to reach the light I saw from above? Oh, here it is.
—Chauvelin, hold back that bough, it has caught my cloak.” As the speaker
uttered the last words, an armed servant, in Isabel and silver, appeared at the
entrance of the path, holding back the stray branches, while Chavigni
himself advanced into the circle of robbers, who stood grouped around in
strange picturesque attitudes, some advancing boldly, as if to confront the
daring stranger that thus intruded on their haunts, some gazing with a kind
of curiosity upon the being so different from themselves, who had thus
placed himself in sudden contact with them, some lowering upon him with
bended heads, like wolves when they encounter a nobler beast of prey.
 The Statesman himself advanced in silence; and, with something of a
frown upon his brow, glanced his eye firmly over every face around, nor
was there an eye amongst them that did not sink before the stern
commanding fire of his, as it rested for a moment upon the countenance of
each, seeming calmly to construe the expression of the features, and read
into the soul beneath, as we often see a student turn over the pages of some
foreign book, and collect their meaning at a glance.
“Well, Sirs,” said he at length, “my knave tells me, that ye have failed in
executing my commands.”
The Norman we have somewhat minutely described heretofore, now
began to excuse himself and his fellows; and was proceeding to set forth
that they had done all which came within their power and province to do,
and was also engaged in stating, that no man could do more, when Chavigni
interrupted him. “Silence!” cried he, with but little apparent respect for
these lords of the forest, “I blame ye not for not doing more than ye could
do; but how dare ye, mongrel bloodhounds, to disobey my strict
commands? and when I bade ye abstain from injuring the youth, how is it
ye have mangled him like a stag torn by the wolves?”
The Norman turned with a look of subdued triumph towards him who
had previously censured his forbearance. “Speak, speak, Le Blanc!” cried
he; “answer Monseigneur.—Well,” continued he, as the other drew back,
“the truth is this, Sir Count: we were divided in opinion with respect to the
best method of fulfilling your commands, so we called a council of war—”
“A council of war!” repeated Chavigni, his lip curling into an ineffable
sneer. “Well, proceed, proceed! You are a Norman, I presume—and
braggart, I perceive.—Proceed, Sir, proceed!”
Be it remarked, that by this time the influence of Chavigni’s first
appearance had greatly worn away from the mind of the Norman. The
commanding dignity of the Statesman, though it still, in a degree,
overawed, had lost the effect of novelty; and the bold heart of the freebooter
began to reproach him for truckling to a being who was inferior to himself,
according to his estimate of human dignities—an estimate formed not alone
on personal courage, but also on personal strength.
However, as we have said, he was, in some measure, overawed; and
though he would have done much to prove his daring in the sight of his
companions, his mind was not yet sufficiently wrought up to shake off all
respect, and he answered boldly, but calmly, “Well, Sir Count, give me your
patience, and you shall hear. But my story must be told my own way, or not
at all. We called a council of war, then, where every man gave his opinion,
and my voice was for shooting Monsieur de Blenau’s horse as he rode by,
and then taking advantage of the confusion among his lackeys, to seize
upon his person, and carrying him into St. Herman’s brake, which lies
between Le Croix de bois and the river—You know where I mean,
Monseigneur?”
“No, truly,” answered the Statesman; “but, as I guess, some deep part of
the forest, where you could have searched him at your ease—The plan was
a good one. Why went it not forward?”
“You shall hear in good time,” answered the freebooter, growing
somewhat more familiar in his tone. “As you say, St. Herman’s brake is
deep enough in the forest—and if we had once housed him there, we might
have searched him from top to toe for the packet—ay, and looked in his
mouth, if we found it no where else. But the first objection was, that an
arquebuse, though a very pretty weapon, and pleasant serviceable
companion in broad brawl and battle, talks too loud for secret service, and
the noise thereof might put the Count’s people on their guard before we
secured his person. However, they say ‘a Norman cow can always get over
a stile,’ so I offered to do the business with yon arbalete;” and he pointed to
a steel cross-bow lying near, of that peculiar shape which seems to unite the
properties of the cross-bow and gun, propelling the ball or bolt by means of
the stiff arched spring and cord, by which little noise is made, while the aim
is rendered more certain by a long tube similar to the barrel of a musket,
through which the shot passes.
“When was I ever known to miss my aim?” continued the Norman.
“Why, I always shoot my stags in the eye, for fear of hurting the skin.
However, Mortagne—your old friend, Monsieur de Chavigni—who was a
sort of band captain amongst us, loved blood, as you know, like an
unreclaimed falcon; besides, he had some old grudge against the Count,
who turned him out of the Queen’s anteroom, when he was Ancient in the
Cardinal’s guard. He it was who over-ruled my proposal. He would have
shot him willingly enough, but your gentleman would not hear of that; so
we attacked the Count’s train, at the turn of the road—boldly, and in the
face. Mortagne was lucky enough to get a fair cut at his head, which slashed
through his beaver, and laid his skull bare, but went no farther, only serving
to make the youth as savage as a hurt boar; for I had only time to see his
hand laid upon his sword, when its cross was knocking against Mortagne’s
ribs before, and the point shining out between his blade-bones behind. It
was done in the twinkling of an eye.”
“He is a gallant youth,” said Chavigni; “he always was from a boy; but
where is your wounded companion?”
“Wounded!” cried the Norman. “Odds life! he’s dead. It was enough to
have killed the Devil. There he lies, poor fellow, wrapped in his cloak. Will
you please to look upon him, Sir Counsellor?” and snatching up one of the
torches, he approached the spot where the dead man lay, under a bank
covered with withered brush-wood and stunted trees.
Chavigni followed with a slow step and gloomy brow, the robbers
drawing back at his approach; for though they held high birth in but little
respect, the redoubted name and fearless bearing of the Statesman had
power over even their ungoverned spirits. He, however, who had been
called Pierrepont Le Blanc by the tall Norman, twitched his companion by
the sleeve as he lighted Chavigni on. “A cowed hound, Norman!”
whispered he—“thou hast felt the lash—a cowed hound!”
The Norman glanced on him a look of fire, but passing on in silence, he
disengaged the mantle from the corpse, and displayed the face of his dead
companion, whose calm closed eyes and unruffled features might have been
supposed to picture quiet sleep, had not the ashy paleness of his cheek, and
the drop of the under-jaw, told that the soul no longer tenanted its earthly
dwelling. The bosom of the unfortunate man remained open, in the state in
which his comrades had left it, after an ineffectual attempt to give him aid;
and in the left side appeared a small wound, where the weapon of his
opponent had found entrance, so trifling in appearance, that it seemed a
marvel how so little a thing could overthrow the prodigious strength which
those limbs announced, and rob them of that hardy spirit which animated
them some few hours before.
Chavigni gazed upon him, with his arms crossed upon his breast, and for
a moment his mind wandered far into those paths, to which such a sight
naturally directs the course of our ideas, till, his thoughts losing themselves
in the uncertainty of the void before them, by a sudden effort he recalled
them to the business in which he was immediately engaged.
 “Well, he has bitterly expiated the disobedience of my commands; but
tell me,” he said, turning to the Norman, who still continued to hold the
torch over the dead man, “how is it ye have dared to force my servant to
show himself, and my liveries, in this attack, contrary to my special order?”
“That is easily told,” answered the Norman, assuming a tone equally
bold and peremptory with that of the Statesman. “Thus it stands, Sir Count:
you men of quality often employ us nobility of the forest to do what you
either cannot, or dare not do for yourselves; then, if all goes well, you pay
us scantily for our pains; if it goes ill, you hang us for your own doings. But
we will have none of that. If we are to be falcons for your game, we will
risk the stroke of the heron’s bill, but we will not have our necks wrung
after we have struck the prey. When your lackey was present, it was your
deed. Mark ye that, Sir Counsellor?”
“Villain, thou art insolent!” cried Chavigni, forgetting, in the height of
passion, the fearful odds against him, in case of quarrel at such a moment.
“How dare you, slave, to—”
“Villain! and slave!” cried the Norman, interrupting him, and laying his
hand on his sword. “Know, proud Sir, that I dare any thing. You are now in
the green forest, not at council-board, to prate of daring.”
Chavigni’s dignity, like his prudence, became lost in his anger. “Boasting
Norman coward!” cried he, “who had not even courage, when he saw his
leader slain before his face—”
The Norman threw the torch from his hand, and drew his weapon; but
Chavigni’s sword sprang in a moment from the scabbard. He was, perhaps,
the best swordsman of his day; and before his servant (who advanced,
calling loudly to Lafemas to come forth from the wood where he had
remained from the first) could approach, or the robbers could show any
signs of taking part in the fray, the blades of the statesman and the
freebooter had crossed, and, maugre the Norman’s vast strength, his weapon
was instantly wrenched from his hand, and, flying over the heads of his
companions, struck against the bank above.
Chavigni drew back, as if to pass his sword through the body of his
opponent; but the one moment he had been thus engaged, gave time for
reflection on the imprudence of his conduct, and calmly returning his sword
to its sheath, “Thou art no coward, after all,” said he, addressing the
Norman in a softened tone of voice; “but trust me, friend, that boasting
graces but little a brave man. As for the rest, it is no disgrace to have
measured swords with Chavigni.”
The Norman was one of those men so totally unaccustomed to command
their passions, that, like slaves who have thrown off their chains, each
struggles for the mastery, obtains it for a moment, and is again deprived of
power by some one more violent still.
The dignity of the Statesman’s manner, the apparent generosity of his
conduct, and the degree of gentleness with which he spoke, acted upon the
feelings of the Norman, like the waves of the sea when they meet the waters
of the Dordogne, driving them back even to their very source with
irresistible violence. An unwonted tear trembled in his eye. “Monseigneur, I
have done foul wrong,” said he, “in thus urging you, when you trusted
yourself amongst us. But you have punished me more by your forbearance,
than if you had passed your sword through my body.”
“Ha! such thoughts in a freebooter!” cried Chavigni. “Friend, this is not
thy right trade. But what means all this smoke that gathers round us?—
Surely those bushes are on fire;—see the sparks how they rise!”
His remark called the eyes of all upon that part of the dingle, into which
the Norman had incautiously thrown his torch, on drawing his sword upon
the Statesman. Continued sparks, mingled with a thick cloud of smoke,
were rising quickly from it, showing plainly that the fire had caught some
of the dry bushes thereabout; and in a moment after a bright flame burst
forth, speedily communicating itself to the old withered oaks round the
spot, and threatening to spread destruction into the heart of the forest.
In an instant all the robbers were engaged in the most strenuous
endeavours to extinguish the fire; but the distance, to which the vast
strength of the Norman had hurled the torch among the bushes, rendered all
access extremely difficult. No water was to be procured, and the means they
employed, that of cutting down the smaller trees and bushes with their
swords and axes, instead of opposing any obstacle to the flames, seemed
rather to accelerate their progress. From bush to bush, from tree to tree, the
impetuous element spread on, till, finding themselves almost girt in by the
fire, the heat and smoke of which were becoming too intense for endurance,
the robbers abandoned their useless efforts to extinguish it, and hurried to
gather up their scattered arms and garments, before the flames reached the
spot of their late revels.
 The Norman, however, together with Chavigni and his servant, still
continued their exertions; and even Lafemas, who had come forth from his
hiding-place, gave some awkward assistance; when suddenly the Norman
stopped, put his hand to his ear, to aid his hearing amidst the cracking of the
wood and the roaring of the flames, and exclaimed, “I hear horse upon the
hill—follow me, Monseigneur. St. Patrice guide us! this is a bad business:
—follow me!” So saying, three steps brought him to the flat below, where
his companions were still engaged in gathering together all they had left on
the ground.
“Messieurs!” he cried to the robbers, “leave all useless lumber; I hear
horses coming down the hill. It must be a lieutenant of the forest, and the
gardes champétres, alarmed by the fire—Seek your horses, quick!—each
his own way. We meet at St. Herman’s brake—You, Monseigneur, follow
me, I will be your guide; but dally not, Sir, if, as I guess, you would rather
be deemed in the Rue St. Honoré, than in the Forest of St. Germain.”
So saying, he drew aside the boughs, disclosing a path somewhat to the
right of that by which Chavigni had entered their retreat, and which
apparently led to the high sand-cliff which flanked it on the north. The
Statesman, with his servant and Lafemas, followed quickly upon his steps,
only lighted by the occasional gleam of the flames, as they flashed and
flickered through the foliage of the trees.
Having to struggle every moment with the low branches of the hazel and
the tangled briars that shot across the path, it was some time ere they
reached the bank, and there the footway they had hitherto followed seemed
to end. “Here are steps,” said the Norman, in a low voice; “hold by the
boughs, Monseigneur, lest your footing fail. Here is the first step.”
The ascent was not difficult, and in a few minutes they had lost sight of
the dingle and the flames by which it was surrounded; only every now and
then, where the branches opened, a broad red light fell upon their path,
telling that the fire still raged with unabated fury. A moment or two after,
they could perceive that the track entered upon a small savanna, on which
the moon was still shining, her beams showing with a strange sickly light,
mingled as they were with the fitful gleams of the flames and the red
reflection of the sky. The whole of this small plain, however, was quite
sufficiently illuminated to allow Chavigni and his companion to distinguish
two horses fastened by their bridles to a tree hard by; and a momentary
glance convinced the Statesman, that the spot where he and Lafemas had
left their beasts, was again before him, although he had arrived there by
another and much shorter path than that by which he had been conducted to
the rendezvous.
“We have left all danger behind us, Monseigneur,” said the robber, after
having carefully examined the savanna, to ascertain that no spy lurked
amongst the trees around. “The flies are all swarming round the flames.
There stand your horses—mount, and good speed attend you! Your servant
must go with me, for our beasts are not so nigh.”
Chavigni whispered a word in the robber’s ear, who in return bowed low,
with an air of profound respect. “I will attend your Lordship—” replied he,
“—and without fear.”
“You may do so in safety,” said the Statesman, and mounting his horse,
after waiting a moment for the Judge, he took his way once more towards
the high road to St. Germain.
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