t their backs along with their targes.

Now as the men of Wethermel drew up to the water's edge, a knot of the
said aliens, about a score, came to them shouting and yelling, and
there were within sight scattered about the fields some two hundreds
in all. When they reined up by the Flood-side one of them, who seemed
by the gold on his armour and weapons to be a chief, hove his spear
aloft and brandished it, and fell to crying out in what seemed to be
words; but since they knew not his Latin they gat no meaning from
them, but he spake in a masterful and threatening voice. Then by
Osberne's bidding, Stephen, who stood anigh him, drew a white clout
from his scrip, made it fast to his spear and held it aloft, to show
that they would have parley. But for all answer the chieftain and his
brake out a-laughing; and then the chieftain gat his spear by the
midmost, and made as if he would cast at them; but the Flood there was
overwide for spear-shot. Then one of his folk unslung his shortbow and
nocked a shaft, and turned to the chief as if asking leave, and the
chief nodded him yeasay. Quoth Osberne hastily: "Stephen, cover thee!
It will be thou. Then if he looses, we loose, for this is a foeman."

Even therewith the shaft flew, and Stephen turned it with his shield.
Then the Wethermelers set up a shout and bent their bows, and Osberne
loosed first, and the shaft smote the chieftain in the eye, and he
fell dead off his horse: Stephen also put a shaft into the man who had
shot at him, and three others of them fell withal at the first loose,
besides three that were hurt. And the aliens liked the Wethermel
breakfast so ill, that they turned their backs to the river at once
and scuttled away into the field out of shot, yet not before they had
lost two more men and three horses.

Osberne stayed his men there a little while to see if the foe would
bring up others to go on with the game; but the aliens were over-wily
for that, as it seemed; for they but gathered together, and turning
all their heads down-dale fared on in one body.

As yet the Dalesmen had seen nought of any onset of their neighbours
of the West, and sore troubled was Osberne when he fell to thinking
that, as the robbers were wending, they must needs chop upon Hartshaw
Knolls; so the best he could hope was that Elfhild might flee from her
house to some other, or even, it might be, hide her in the wood, which
she knew so inwardly.

Meanwhile he bade his men go quietl