ephew, lives," answered
Ganelon. "There, too, is Oliver; and there are the other peers of the
realm, all of whom the king holds most dear. They alone are worth
twenty thousand men."

"I have heard much of Roland," said the Moor; "and I would fain put him
out of the way. Tell me how it can be done, and thou shalt have three
baggage-horse loads of gold, three of silver, and three of fine silk
and red wine and jewels."

Now Ganelon desired, above all things, the death of Roland; and he
eagerly made known his plans to Marsilius.

"Send to Charlemagne," said he, "great store of rich gifts, so that
every Frenchman shall wonder at your wealth. Send also hostages, and
promise him that on next Michaelmas you will be baptized at Aix and do
him homage for Spain. Pleased with your promises, he will return to
France. But his rear-guard, with Roland and Oliver, and twenty
thousand Frenchmen, will be long among the passes of the Pyrenees. A
hundred thousand Moors could well cope with them there."

Then the two traitors exchanged promises and pledges; and Ganelon,
taking with him the keys of Saragossa, and rich presents for
Charlemagne, went back to Cordova.

Right glad was Charlemagne to hear the message which the lying traitor
brought. He was tired of warring, and he longed to return in peace to
his own sweet France. The next day the trumpets sounded throughout the
camp. The tents were struck; the baggage was packed on the sumter
horses; the knights mounted their steeds; banners and pennons waved
thick in the air; the great army began its glad march homeward. Joyful
was the beginning of that march; but, ah, how sad the ending! The
French did not see the crafty Moors following them through the upper
valleys, their banners furled, their helmets closed, their lances in
rest.

That first night the king was troubled with sad dreams. He thought
that Ganelon seized his lance and shook it, and that it fell in pieces.
He thought that he hunted in the forest of Ardennes, and that both a
boar and a leopard attacked him. A thousand fearful fancies vexed him.
Mountains fell upon him and crushed him; the earth yawned and swallowed
him; perils beset him on every side: but amid them all, the face of
Ganelon was ever to be seen.

By and by the army came to the Pyrenees, and the great land of France
lay just beyond the mountains.

"To whom now," said the king to his peers, "shall we intrust our
rear-guard while we pass safely