r, for she is a
fierce and hard woman, and now no longer young in years."

"Is it not so then," said Ralph, "that some of the ill deeds that are
told of thee are of her doing?"

"It is even so," she said, "and whiles when she has spoken the word I
may not be against her openly, therefore I use my wisdom which I have
learned, to set free luckless wights from her anger and malice. More
by token the last time I did thus was the very night of the day we
parted, after thou hadst escaped from the Burg."

"In what wise was that?" said Ralph. She said: "When I rode away from
thee on that happy day of my deliverance by thee, my heart laughed for
joy of the life thou hadst given me, and of thee the giver, and I swore
to myself that I would set free the first captive or death-doomed
creature that I came across, in honour of my pleasure and delight: now
speedily I came to Hampton and the Scaur; for it is not very far from
the want-ways of the wood: and there I heard how four of our folk had
been led away by the men of the Burg, therefore it was clear to me that
I must set these men free if I could; besides, it pleased me to think
that I could walk about the streets of the foemen safely, who had been
but just led thitherward to the slaughter. Thou knowest how I sped
therein. But when I came back again to our people, after thou hadst
ridden away from us with Roger, I heard these tidings, that there was
one new-come into our prison, a woman to wit, who had been haled before
our old Queen for a spy and doomed by her, and should be taken forth
and slain, belike, in a day or two. So I said to myself that I was not
free of my vow as yet, because those friends of mine, I should in any
case have done my best to deliver them: therefore I deemed my oath
bound me to set that woman free. So in the night-tide when all was
quiet I went to the prison and brought her forth, and led her past all
the gates and wards, which was an easy thing to me, so much as I had
learned, and came with her into the fields betwixt the thorp of Hampton
and the wood, when it was more daylight than dawn, so that I could see
her clearly, and no word as yet had we spoken to each other. But then
she said to me: 'Am I to be slain here or led to a crueller prison?'
And I said: 'Neither one thing nor the other: for lo! I have set thee
free, and I shall look to it that there shall be no pursuit of thee
till thou hast had time to get clear away.' But she said: 'Wha