me what you will."

The king looked at him long and strangely, with anger in his eyes.

"Truly," he said, "you had better have died while you were about it. It
would have saved me the need of dealing with you as you deserve."

Then he returned to the castle, and called his barons hastily to
council, sternly demanding that the penalty of death should be adjudged
against the knight. Happily for Tristram, the barons would not consent
to this, and proposed instead that the accused knight should be
banished.

So in the end the sentence was passed that Tristram should be banished
for ten years from the country of Cornwall, not to return under pain of
death. To this the knight assented, taking an oath before the king and
his barons that he would abide by the decision of the court.

Many barons accompanied him to the ship in which he was to set sail. And
as he was going, there arrived at Tintagil a knight of King Arthur's
court named Dinadan, who had been sent to seek Sir Tristram and request
him to come to Camelot.

On being shown the banished knight, he went to him and told his errand.

"You come in good season," said Tristram, "for to Camelot am I now
bound."

"Then I would go with you in fellowship."

"You are right welcome, Sir Dinadan." Then Tristram turned to the others
and said,--

[Illustration: TINTAGIL, KING ARTHUR'S CASTLE, FROM THE VALLEY.]

"Greet King Mark from me, and all my enemies as well, and tell them that
I shall come again in my own good time. I am well rewarded for all I
have done for him, but revenge has a long life, as he may yet learn."

Then he took ship and put to sea, a banished man. And with him went
Dinadan to cheer him in his woe, for, of all the knights of the Round
Table, Dinadan was the merriest soul.

BOOK VII.

HOW TRISTRAM CAME TO CAMELOT.

CHAPTER I.

TRISTRAM AND DINADAN.

And now it behooves us to follow the banished knight in his adventures,
for they were many and various, and arduous were the labors with which
he won his right to a seat at the Round Table. We have told the tale of
his love and madness, and now must relate the marvellous exploits of his
banishment.

Hardly, indeed, had Tristram and Dinadan landed in Arthur's realms when
they met two knights of his court, Hector de Maris and Bors de Ganis.
This encounter took place upon a bridge, where Hector and Dinadan
jousted, and Dinadan and hi