Middle School
Please help!Which text from the passage develops the element of suspense?adapted from Chapter I of The Legends of King Arthurby James KnowlesThe Prophecies of Merlin, and the Birth of Arthur King Vortigern the usurper sat upon his throne in London, when, suddenly, upon a certain day, ran in a breathless messenger, and cried aloud "Arise, Lord King, for the enemy is come. They have sworn by a great oath, Lord, to slay thee, ere this year be done. Even now they march towards thee as the north wind of winter for bitterness and haste." At those words Vortigern's face grew white as ashes. Rising in confusion and disorder, he sent for all the best craftsmen and mechanics, and commanded them to go and build him in the furthest of his lands a great and strong castle where he might fly for refuge"and, moreover," cried he, "let the work be done within a hundred days from now, or I will surely spare no life amongst you all." Then all the host of craftsmen, fearing for their lives, found out a proper site whereon to build the tower, and eagerly began to lay in the foundations. But no sooner were the walls raised up above the ground than all their work was overwhelmed and broken down by night invisibly, no man perceiving how, or by whom, or what. The king was filled with mixed rage and fear.He called for the astrologers and wizards, and took counsel with them.The wizards worked their spells, and declared that nothing but the blood of a youth born without mortal father, smeared on the foundations of the castle, could make it stand. Messengers were therefore sent through all the land to find such a child. As some of them went down a certain village street, they saw a band of lads fighting. They heard them shout at one"Avaunt, thou imp!avaunt! Son of no mortal man! Go, find thy father, and leave us in peace." At that the messengers looked steadfastly on the lad, and asked who he was. One said his name was Merlin. Another said that his birth and parentage were known by no man. A third said that the foul fiend alone was his father. Hearing the things, the officers seized Merlin, and carried him before the king by force. But no sooner was he brought to him than he asked in a loud voice, for what cause he was thus dragged there? "My magicians," answered Vortigern, "told me to seek out a man that had no human father, and to sprinkle my castle with his blood, that it may stand." "Order those magicians," said Merlin, "to come before me, and I will convict them of a lie." The king was astonished at his words, but commanded the magicians to come and sit down before him. Then said Merlin to the king "I pray, Lord, that workmen may be ordered to dig deep down into the ground till they shall come to a great pool of water." This then was done, and the pool discovered far beneath the surface of the ground. Then said Merlin to the king, "Command this pool to be drained, and at the bottom shall be found two dragons, which now are sleeping, but which at night awake and fight and tear each other." The king commanded the pool to be forthwith drained. Surely at the bottom of it did they presently discover the two dragons, fast asleep, as Merlin had declared. But Vortigern sat upon the brink of the pool till night to see what else would happen. Then those two dragons, one of which was white, the other red, rose up and began to fight. They cast forth fire with their breath. In the end the red dragon was worsted, and the white dragon disappeared. When their battle was done, the king desired Merlin to tell him what it meant. Merlin burst into tears and cried out this prophecy, which first foretold the coming of King Arthur.A. He called for the astrologers and wizards, and took counsel with them.B. "Avaunt, thou imp!avaunt! Son of no mortal man! Go, find thy father, and leave us in peace."C. "I pray, Lord, that workmen may be ordered to dig deep down into the ground till they shall come to a great pool of water."D. In the end the red dragon was worsted, and the white dragon disappeared.
