foaming torrent.

The third hesitates.

And now comes the real danger for Hubert: a flight of arrows across
the stream--they rattle on his chain mail, and generally glance
harmlessly off, but one or two find weak places, and although his
vizor is down, Hubert knows that one unlucky, or, as the foe would
say "lucky," shot penetrating the eyelet might end sight and life
together. So he blows his horn, which he had scorned to do before.

He was but imperfectly clad in armour, and was soon bleeding in
divers unprotected places; but there he stood, spear in hand, and
no third person had dared to cross.

But when they heard the horn, feeling that the chance of a raid was
going, the third sprang. With one foot he attained the bank, and as
Hubert was rather dizzy from loss of blood, avoided the spear
thrust. But the young Englishman drove the dagger, which he carried
in the left hand, into his throat as he rose from the stream. The
fourth leapt. Hubert was just in time with the spear. The fifth
hesitated--the flight of arrows, intermitted for the moment, was
renewed.

Just then up came Lord Walter, the eldest son of the earl, with a
troop of lancers, and Hubert reeled to the ground from loss of
blood, while the Welsh sullenly retreated.

They bore him to the castle. A few light wounds, which had bled
profusely from the leg and arm, were all that was amiss. Hubert's
ambition was attained, for he had slain four Welshmen with his own
young hand. And those to whom "such things were a care" saw four
lifeless, ghastly corpses circling for days round and round an eddy
in the current below the castle, round and round till one got giddy
and sick in watching them, but still they gyrated, and no one
troubled to fish them out. They were a sign to friend and foe, a
monument of our Hubert's skill in slaying "wildcats."

A few days later the Lord of Hereford arrived at the castle, and
visited Hubert's sick chamber, where he brought much comfort and
joy. A fine physician was that earl; Hubert was up next day.

And what was the tonic which had given such a fillip to his system,
and hurried on his recovery? The earl purposed to confer upon him
the degree he pined for, as soon as he could bear his armour.

At first any knight could make a knight. Now, to check the too
great profusion of such flowers of chivalry, the power to confer
the accolade was commonly restricted to the greater nobles, and
later still, as now, to royalty alone.