y to the
duke and demanded that the captives should be instantly set free. Then,
followed by the duchess and Belisante, he entered the palace to gird
himself with the armour of Sir Amys.

When his helmet and sword were buckled on him, he prayed them to leave
him, as he would fain be alone for a short space before he mounted his
horse. So the two ladies embraced him and left him, wishing him
God-speed. As the door closed upon them, Sir Amyle held up his sword and
muttered a prayer before it.

'Come weal or woe, I will help my brother,' he said softly; then
mounting his horse he rode into the lists, and, kneeling, took the oath
that he was guiltless of wrong and would prove his innocence on the body
of his foe.

[Illustration: SIR AMYLE ARRIVES IN TIME TO SAVE THE LADIES]

The fight lasted but a short time; the steward's sword was keen, and he
knew how to use it, and it was not long before he had given Sir Amyle a
sharp thrust through the shoulder, and the young knight reeled in his
saddle. The steward uttered a cry of fierce joy, and raised his arm to
deal a second blow, when Sir Amyle suddenly spurred his horse to one
side and pierced his enemy to the heart. Then, all bleeding as he was,
the false Amys cut off the head of the traitor, and gave it to the
duke, proving to him and to all the court that the right had conquered.
But hardly had he done so when, faint from loss of blood, he fell
senseless on the ground, and was carried into the palace, where the
duke's best leeches were called in to attend him. In a few days the
fever left him, and he was able to receive a visit from the duke
himself.

'O Amys, my friend, how I have misjudged you!' cried the duke, falling
on his knees weeping; 'but I will let my people know that you were
always true, and you shall marry my daughter as soon as you can stand
upon your feet, and I will hold a feast, and proclaim you heir to my
duchy.'

And the wounded man gave him thanks and grace, but sent off a messenger
in all haste to Sir Amys, bidding him be by a spring in the forest, nine
days hence, which message Sir Amys obeyed, wondering what had passed.
Then the two knights changed their clothes once more, and Sir Amyle
returned to his wife and Sir Amys to his bride, and they lived happily
to the end of their lives.

[Adapted and shortened from _Early English Metrical Romances_.]

_THE TALE OF THE CID_

In the year 1025, when Canute the Dane was sitting on the throne