se in the world. So when Sir Ector knelt
before him and said, 'You are the rightful King of England,' Arthur
opened his eyes as widely as he could and started back in amazement."

"I guess he thought it was an April-fool," laughed Mollie.

"At first he may have thought that," said the Story-teller, "but when he
remembered that great Knights like Sir Ector wouldn't play jokes of that
kind he didn't think it any more. He began to grow uneasy and unhappy,
for instead of throwing his cap into the air and crying hurrah, as Jack
would do if he were elected President of the United States to-morrow, he
gave a groan and an exclamation of dismay.

"'Alas!' he cried; 'why do my father and brother kneel before me?'

"'I am not your father, nor is Kaye your brother,' replied Sir Ector.

"'Then who am I?' cried Arthur, in great distress.

"'That I know not,' returned Sir Ector, 'save that you are our King. You
were brought to me by Merlin to care for when you were an infant, and
from that day to this you have been treated as my son. Whose child you
are I do not know, nor have I ever known--nor has any one known except
Merlin.'"

"Didn't Sir Ector know who paid his board?" asked Jack. "Who'd he send
his bill to?"

The Story-teller smiled. "I don't believe Sir Ector charged anything for
his services," he said. "He was a true Knight, and was willing to
perform a knightly service for another without charging anything for it
or asking too many questions."

"You couldn't get anybody to do that nowadays, I imagine," said Mollie,
thoughtfully. "I think very likely they'd ha' sent him to an orphan
asylum if he'd lived now."

"I am not at all sure that you are not right about that," said her
father; "but whether you are or not, the fact remains that Sir Ector
took Arthur in, and without knowing whence he came or who or what he
was, was as good to him as he was to Kaye, his own little boy; and when
Arthur learned that Ector was not his father, it pained him deeply, and
he heartily wished he had never seen the sword in the stone which had
made known the secret of his high position to the world."

[Illustration: SIR ECTOR TOOK ARTHUR TO THE ARCHBISHOP AND TOLD HIM
ALL.]

"Then Sir Ector asked Arthur to be his gracious lord when he had become
King, and to make Kaye the steward of all his lands. This Arthur
promised, for, as he said to Sir Ector, he owed more to him and his wife
than he did to all others in the world. The promise made