r Oswald Forster here,
who will take command of his troop. He will take over all the other
belongings of the knight."

The young squire bowed.

"I will hand them over to you, sir."

"You will, of course, take possession of the tent also, Sir Oswald. Sir
William was one of my knights. He was unwedded, and has no male kin;
therefore, you need have no hesitation in taking his belongings; which
indeed we should, in any case, have little chance of taking back with
us, for our waggons are but few, and will daily become fewer: for on
such roads as these, both waggons and horses break down, and it will be
as much as we can do to carry even necessities with us.

"Come to my tent at noon, it lacks but an hour of it, and I will
present you at dinner to some of my knights; among whom, for the
present, I shall rank you."

So saying, he turned away. The young squire held open the entrance of
the tent, for Oswald to enter, and followed him in.

"It seems a strange thing to be thus possessed of another man's goods,"
he said.

"It is often so," the squire said, "and sometimes even his estates go
with them, also. As the earl said, Sir William Baxter had none to whom
these things could have been given; seeing that he had, so far as I
know, only one sister, to whom armour and horses could be of no use.
She is one of the Countess of Talbot's ladies."

"And what are you going to do, yourself?"

"For the present, I know not," the squire said. "I had been with Sir
William Baxter but three years. The knight I served with, before, was
thrown from his horse and killed; and Sir William, who had been just
knighted, took me into his service."

"How long have you been a squire?"

"Six years, and I hoped that, in this campaign, I might have done
something to win my spurs."

"I am but a poor knight, Master--" and he paused.

"Henry Pemberton," the squire said.

"And being but knighted today, and having no lands to keep up my
knighthood, it may be that the earl will appoint you to another of his
knights; but should he not do so, I shall be glad if, for the rest of
this campaign, you will ride with me; and trust that you, too, may have
an opportunity of gaining knighthood, before it is over. But whether or
no, as soon as we cross the border again, I doubt not that you will be
able to find some lord under whom you may gain advancement."

"I will gladly do so, Sir Oswald. 'Tis strange that I should not have
seen your face before; for, s