tway two men sprang forward.
More than two could not attack him at once by virtue of the narrowness
of the passage. Again steel clashed on steel. Crispin--lithe as a
panther crouched low, and took one of their swords on each of his.

A disengage and a double he foiled with ease, then by a turn of the
wrist he held for a second one opponent's blade; and before the fellow
could disengage again, he had brought his right-hand sword across, and
stabbed him in the neck. Simultaneously his other opponent had rushed
in and thrust. It was a risk Crispin was forced to take, trusting to
his armour to protect him. It did him the service he hoped from it; the
trooper's sword glanced harmlessly aside, whilst the fellow himself,
overbalanced by the fury of his onslaught, staggered helplessly forward.
Ere he could recover, Crispin had spitted him from side to side betwixt
the straps that held his back and breast together.

As the two men went down, one after the other, the watching troopers set
up a shout of rage, and pressed forward in a body. But the Tavern Knight
stood his ground, and his points danced dangerously before the eyes of
the two foremost. Alarmed, they shouted to those behind to give
them room to handle their swords; but too late. Crispin had seen the
advantage, and taken it. Twice he had thrust, and another two sank
bleeding to the ground.

At that there came a pause, and somewhere in the street a knot of them
expostulated with Colonel Pride, and begged to be allowed to pick off
that murderous malignant with their pistols. But the grief-stricken
father was obdurate. He would have the Amalekite alive that he might
cause him to die a hundred deaths in one.

And so two more were sent in to try conclusions with the indomitable
Galliard. They went to work more warily. He on the left parried
Crispin's stroke, then knocking up the knight's blade, he rushed in and
seized his wrist, shouting to those behind to follow up. But even as
he did so, Crispin sent back his other antagonist, howling and writhing
with the pain of a transfixed sword-arm, and turned his full attention
upon the foe that clung to him. Not a second did he waste in thought. To
have done so would have been fatal. Instinctively he knew that whilst
he shortened his blade, others would rush in; so, turning his wrist, he
caught the man a crushing blow full in the face with the pommel of his
disengaged sword.

Fulminated by that terrific stroke, the man reeled b