ave I been to see him
aforetime as I should be now."

"Howsoever it be," saith the King, "I pray you so speed my business
that the damsel shall not be able to plain her of me."

V.

"Sir," saith Lancelot, "We will tell him and we may find him, that his
sister is gone in quest of him, and that she hath been at your court."

The two knights depart from the court to enter on the quest of the Good
Knight, and leave the castle far behind them and ride in the midst of a
high forest until they find a cross in the midst of a launde, there
where all the roads of the forest join together.

"Lancelot," saith Messire Gawain, "Choose which road soever you will,
and so let each go by himself, so that we may the sooner hear tidings
of the Good Knight, and let us meet together again at this cross at the
end of a year and let either tell other how he hath sped, for please
God in one place or another we shall hear tidings of him."

Lancelot taketh the way to the right, and Messire Gawain to the left.
Therewithal they depart and commend them one another to God.

BRANCH XIII.

TITLE I.

Here the story is silent of Lancelot, and saith that Messire Gawain
goeth a great pace riding, and prayeth God that He will so counsel him
that he may find the knight. He rideth until the day cometh to
decline, and he lay in the house of a hermit in the forest, that lodged
him well.

"Sir," saith the hermit to Messire Gawain, "Whom do you go seek?"

"Sir," saith he, "I am in quest of a knight that I would see right
gladly."

"Sir," saith the hermit, "In this neighbourhood will you find no
knight."

"Wherefore not?" saith Messire Gawain, "Be there no knights in this
country?"

"There was wont to be plenty," saith the hermit, "But now no longer are
there any, save one all alone in a castle and one all alone on the sea
that have chased away and slain all the others."

"And who is the one of the sea?" saith Messire Gawain.

"Sir," saith the hermit, "I know not who he is, save only that the sea
is hard by here, where the ship runneth oftentimes wherein the knight
is, and he repaireth to an island that is under the castle of the Queen
of the Maidens, from whence he chased an uncle of his that warred upon
the castle, and the other knights that he had chased thence and slain
were helping his uncle, so that now the castle is made sure. And the
knights that might flee from this forest and this kingdom durst not
repair thither for the kni