iercely Sir Geraint spurred his horse up the slope, bidding the trolls
to stop, but they only ran with an exceeding great swiftness. But he
pursued them, and when they were within a few steps of a small door in
the hillside, the one dropped the maiden, and the three of them turned
at bay. And the damsel ran shrieking away down the hill.

The trolls had dark thin faces, with curly black hair and fierce black
eyes, and their rage was horrible to see. They were lightly clothed in
skins, and in their arms they held, one a bar of iron, another a great
club, and the third a long sharp stick.

Sir Geraint commended his soul to Heaven, for he knew he was to battle
with evil dwarfs who lived in the hollow hills, and whose strength was
greater than any man's, and whose powers of wizardry were stronger than
Merlin's.

He dashed with his lance at the one with the iron bar, but the
hill-troll slipped away, and brought the great bar with a heavy blow
upon his lance, so that it snapped in twain. Then one leaped like a
wild cat upon the arm that held the rein, but happily Sir Geraint had
drawn his sword, and with one stroke slew him. Then the two others
leaped towards him, but the blows of the bar and club he caught upon
his shield and slew the troll with the club.

Ere Sir Geraint could draw his sword back from this blow, he felt his
horse fall under him, for the dwarf with the iron bar had with one blow
broken the beast's back. Quickly avoiding the horse, Sir Geraint dashed
at the dwarf, who ran towards the hole in the hill, but ere he could
reach it Sir Geraint gave him a blow on the crown of his head, so
fierce and hard, that the skull was split to the shoulders.

So then Sir Geraint turned and walked slowly down the hill, for he was
dazed, and his old wounds had broken afresh. But he came to where Enid
stood comforting the damsel mourning over the dead knight, and when he
was there, straightway he fell down lifeless.

Enid shrieked with the anguish of the thought that he was dead, and
came and knelt beside him and undid his helm and kissed him many times.
And the sound of her wailing reached an earl named Madoc, who was
passing with a company along the road from a plundering expedition, and
he came and took up Geraint and the dead knight, and laid them in the
hollow of their shields, and with the damsels took them to his castle a
mile along the road.

Now the earl was a tyrant and a robber, and had done much evil on the
bo