went with greater speed than theirs, so that by
and by he overtook the hindermost knight. And Sir Lionel beheld that the
sable knight smote the fleeing knight a great buffet with his sword, so
that that knight fell headlong from his horse and rolled over two or three
times upon the ground and then lay as though he were dead. Then the black
knight catched the second of the three, and served him as he had served his
fellow. Then the third of the three, finding that there was no escape for
him, turned as if to defend himself; but the black knight drave at him, and
smote him so terrible a blow that I believe had a thunderbolt smitten him
he would not have fallen from his horse more suddenly than he did. For,
though that combat was full three furlongs away, yet Sir Lionel heard the
sound of that blow as clearly as though it had been close by.

Then after the black knight had thus struck down those three knights he
went to each in turn and tied his hands behind his back. Then, lifting each
man with extraordinary ease, he laid him across the saddle of that horse
from which he had fallen, as though he were a sack of grain. And all this
Sir Lionel beheld with very great wonder, marvelling much at the strength
and prowess of that black knight. "Ha," quoth he to himself, "I will go and
inquire into this business, for it may haply be that yonder black knight
shall not find it to be so easy to deal with a knight of the Round Table as
with those other three knights."

So, with this, Sir Lionel loosed his horse very quietly and went his way so
softly that Sir Launcelot was not awakened. And after he had gone some way,
he mounted his steed and rode off at a fast gallop down into that valley.

[Sidenote: Sir Lionel addresses the sable knight] When Sir Lionel had come
to that place where the knight was, he found that he had just bound the
last of the three knights upon the saddle of his horse as aforetold. So Sir
Lionel spoke to the sable knight in this wise: "Sir, I pray you tell me
your name and degree and why you treat those knights in so shameful a
fashion as I behold you to do."

"Messire," said the black knight very fiercely, "this matter concerns you
not at all; yet I may tell you that those knights whom I have overthrown
are knights of King Arthur's court, and so I serve all such as come into
this place. So will I serve you, too, if you be a knight of King Arthur's."

"Well," said Sir Lionel, "that is a very ungracious thing f