y dear lord, the day has come when you can have great power if you
want it. Should you like to be king of this land, instead of Arthur?"

Now Sir Accalon was a traitor at heart. He wanted very much to be king,
even if the good Arthur was to be killed; so he said:

"Yes, truly."

Then she said:

"You shall be king, and I shall be your queen. All you need to do is to
fight a great battle, which you shall win. I have been using my magic.
It was I who sent the ship of silk to you and Arthur. I had him put into
prison, and I had you brought here."

Sir Accalon wondered very much. Then she told him of the fight King
Arthur was to make against Sir Ontzlake.

"But I have caused Sir Ontzlake to fall sick," she said, "and he cannot
fight. I shall go with you to his castle and you can offer to fight for
him."

"I to fight with the king!" cried Sir Accalon. "He would surely
overthrow me."

"He cannot," said Morgan le Fay, "because you are to fight with his
sword. A little while ago he sent to me for Excalibur and the scabbard,
but I returned him a false sword which looks like Excalibur, and a false
scabbard. You shall take the true ones, and then you will surely
overcome him and rule this land."

Then Sir Accalon was glad, and he hastened with the lady to the castle
of Sir Ontzlake. They found him groaning because he was ill and because
Sir Damas had sent him a challenge to fight with a knight, and he could
not accept it. He was much relieved when Morgan le Fay told him that Sir
Accalon would fight in his place.

Early in the afternoon, King Arthur and Sir Accalon rode into the field
where the combat was to be held. Arthur did not know who Sir Accalon
was, nor did any one else, except Morgan le Fay. Two sides of the field
were full of people, who came to watch, half of whom were friends of Sir
Damas, and the other half were friends of Sir Ontzlake.

Arthur and Sir Accalon rode at each other so furiously that at the shock
of the meeting both fell off their horses. Then they began to fight
fiercely with their swords. The king could make no headway with his
false steel, but whenever Sir Accalon struck at Arthur he drew blood.

The king was much amazed. He grew weaker and weaker, but still he kept
on his feet. Those who watched him were sorry for him; they thought they
had never seen a man fight so bravely. At last Arthur's sword broke, and
fell in two pieces on the ground. When Sir Accalon saw this, he cried:

"Now, yi