In a proud rage the knight ran at him with uplifted lance, and struck
him a violent blow with the shaft between the neck and the shoulder.

'Haha! lad,' said Perceval, and laughed, 'that was as shrewd a blow as
any the trolls gave me when they taught me their staff play; but now I
will play with thee in my own way.'

Thereupon he threw one of the pointed sticks at the knight, with such
force and with such sureness of aim that it went in between the bars of
his vizor and pierced the eye, and entered into the brain of the
knight. Whereupon he fell from his horse lifeless.

And it befell that a little while after Perceval had left the court,
Sir Owen came in, and was told of the shameful wrong put upon the queen
by the unknown knight, and how Sir Kay had sent a mad boy after the
knight to slay him.

'Now, by my troth,' said Owen to Kay, 'thou wert a fool to send that
foolish lad after the strong knight. For either he will be overthrown,
and the knight will think he is truly the champion sent on behalf of
the queen, whom the knight so evilly treated, and so an eternal
disgrace will light on Arthur and all of us; or, if he is slain, the
disgrace will be the same, and the mad young man's life will be thrown
away.'

Thereupon Sir Owen made all haste, and rode swiftly to the meadow,
armed; but when he reached the place, he found a youth in a mouldy old
jerkin pulling a knight in rich armour up and down the grass.

'By'r Lady's name!' cried Sir Owen, 'what do you there, tall youth?'

'This iron coat,' said Perceval, stopping as he spoke, 'will never come
off him.'

Owen alighted marvelling, and went to the knight and found that he was
dead, and saw the manner of his death, and marvelled the more. He
unloosed the knight's armour and gave it to Perceval.

'Here, good soul,' he said, 'are horse and armour for thee. And well
hast thou merited them, since thou unarmed hast slain so powerful a
knight as this.'

He helped Perceval put on his armour, and when he was fully dressed
Owen marvelled to see how nobly he bore himself.

'Now come you with me,' he said, 'and we will go to King Arthur, and
you shall have the honour of knighthood from the good king himself.'

'Nay, that will I not,' said Perceval, and mounted the dead knight's
horse. 'But take thou this goblet to the queen, and tell the king that
wherever I be, I will be his man, to slay all oppressors, to succour
the weak and the wronged, and to aid him in whate