king, and took to fighting.
But if you think that Harald had anything to do with this, why-why-in
God's name, I wish I could think so!"

I felt a dull weight on my heart. Had our house been the devil's
servants all along? I thought we were God's servants.

The day was very still, but what little wind there was, was at our
backs. I watched Hugh's face, not being able to answer him. He was the
cleverest man at war that I have known, either before or since that
day; sharper than any hound in ear and scent, clearer sighted than any
eagle; he was listening now intently. I saw a slight smile cross his
face; heard him mutter, "Yes! I think so: verily that is better, a
great deal better." Then he stood up in his stirrups, and shouted,
"Hurrah for the Lilies! Mary rings!" "Mary rings!" I shouted, though I
did not know the reason for his exultation: my brother lifted his
head, and smiled too, grimly. Then as I listened I heard clearly the
sound of a trumpet, and enemy's trumpet too.

"After all, it was only mist, or some such thing," I said, for the
pass between the hills was clear enough now.

"Hurrah! only mist," said Amald, quite elated; "Mary rings!" and we
all began to think of fighting: for after all what joy is equal to
that?

There were five hundred of us; two hundred spears, the rest archers;
and both archers and men at arms were picked men.

"How many of them are we to expect?" said I. "Not under a thousand,
certainly, probably more, Sir Florian." (My brother Arnald, by the
way, had knighted me before we left the good town, and Hugh liked to
give me the handle to my name. How was it, by the way, that no one had
ever made him a knight?)

"Let every one look to his arms and horse, and come away from these
silly cows' sons!" shouted Arnald.

Hugh said, "They will be here in an hour, fair Sir."

So we got clear of the cattle, and dismounted, and both ourselves took
food and drink, and our horses; afterwards we tightened our
saddle-girths, shook our great pots of helmets on, except Amald, whose
rustyred hair had been his only head-piece in battle for years and
years, and stood with our spears close by our horses, leaving room for
the archers to retreat between our ranks; and they got their arrows
ready, and planted their stakes before a little peat moss: and there
we waited, and saw their pennons at last floating high above the corn
of the fertile land, then heard their many horse-hoofs ring upon the
hard-parched