or the sword was the sign of his knighthood, and a knight who
had lost it would have been considered unworthy of the honor which had
been bestowed upon him. Suddenly Arthur bethought him of the sword in
the anvil, and without much hope that he should succeed where so many
others had failed, he resolved to make the effort to loosen it anyhow,
and in case of success to carry it to Sir Kaye.

"So he rode to the church-yard, and found it as deserted as Sir Ector's
lodgings had been. The ten knights who had been left to guard the sword,
like every one else in London, had gone to the tournament. Dismounting
from his horse, Arthur strode into the yard, and grasping the handle of
the sword as firmly as he could, pulled at it fiercely, when, to his
surprise and delight, it came out of the anvil. Without stopping to
think of all that this meant for him, he remounted his steed, and rode
hastily back to Sir Kaye, to whom he handed the weapon.

"The instant Sir Kaye looked at it he knew it to be the sword of the
stone, and putting his spurs to his horse, he dashed to where his father
stood, and, showing him the glittering blade, told him that it was the
sword of the stone, and said,

"'I must be King of this land!'

"But Sir Ector was cautious, so he questioned Kaye closely as to how he
had come by the weapon, and he made him go with him and Arthur back to
the church and swear to what he said; and Sir Kaye told him the whole
story--how he had left his own sword at home and had sent Arthur back
for it; how Arthur had gone there, and not finding any one, had
bethought him of the sword in the anvil, and had taken it, though no one
had witnessed the act."

[Illustration: THE RIGHTFUL KING OF ENGLAND.]

"Whereupon Sir Ector made Arthur return the sword to the anvil, and
himself tried to pull it out, but it would not come; and then he made
Sir Kaye try it, and still it would not come; and then bidding Arthur
make an effort, the boy did so, and it came out easily, at which both
Sir Kaye and his father knelt before Arthur, and hailed him as the man
who should be rightful King of England."

[Illustration: INTERSCHOLASTIC SPORT]

With the New England Interscholastic games next Saturday the season of
track and field athletics--as far as school leagues are concerned--will
practically come to a close. The season has been a most successful one.
Records have been broken on every hand, even in events where it was
supposed that many