Upon this Christmas time."

The guests were now arranging themselves at one end of the room, the
fiddler was mending a string, the serpent-player was emptying his
mouthpiece, and the play began. First of those outside the Valiant
Soldier entered, in the interest of Saint George--

"Here come I, the Valiant Soldier;
Slasher is my name;"

and so on. This speech concluded with a challenge to the infidel,
at the end of which it was Eustacia's duty to enter as the Turkish
Knight. She, with the rest who were not yet on, had hitherto remained
in the moonlight which streamed under the porch. With no apparent
effort or backwardness she came in, beginning--

"Here come I, a Turkish Knight,
Who learnt in Turkish land to fight;
I'll fight this man with courage bold:
If his blood's hot I'll make it cold!"

During her declamation Eustacia held her head erect, and spoke as
roughly as she could, feeling pretty secure from observation. But
the concentration upon her part necessary to prevent discovery, the
newness of the scene, the shine of the candles, and the confusing
effect upon her vision of the ribboned visor which hid her features,
left her absolutely unable to perceive who were present as spectators.
On the further side of a table bearing candles she could faintly
discern faces, and that was all.

Meanwhile Jim Starks as the Valiant Soldier had come forward, and,
with a glare upon the Turk, replied--

"If, then, thou art that Turkish Knight,
Draw out thy sword, and let us fight!"

And fight they did; the issue of the combat being that the Valiant
Soldier was slain by a preternaturally inadequate thrust from
Eustacia, Jim, in his ardour for genuine histrionic art, coming down
like a log upon the stone floor with force enough to dislocate his
shoulder. Then, after more words from the Turkish Knight, rather too
faintly delivered, and statements that he'd fight Saint George and
all his crew, Saint George himself magnificently entered with the
well-known flourish--

"Here come I, Saint George, the valiant man,
With naked sword and spear in hand,
Who fought the dragon and brought him to the slaughter,
And by this won fair Sabra, the King of Egypt's daughter;
What mortal man would dare to stand
Before me with my sword in hand?"

This was the lad who had first recognized Eustacia; and when she now,
as the Turk, replied with suitable defianc