The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Knyght Ther Was, by Robert F. Young

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Title: A Knyght Ther Was

Author: Robert F. Young

Illustrator: Leo Summers

Release Date: January 14, 2010 [EBook #30963]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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Transcriber's Note:

This etext was produced from Analog Science Fact & Fiction July 1963.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
copyright on this publication was renewed.

A Knyght Ther Was

_But the Knyght was a little less than Perfect, and his
horse did not have a metabolism, and his "castle" was much
more mobile--timewise!--than it had any business being!_

by Robert F. Young

_Illustrated by Leo Summers_

_A Knyght ther was, and that a worthy man,
That fro the tyme that he first bigan
To ryden out, he loved chivalrye,
Trouthe and honour, fredom and curteisye_

--THE CANTERBURY TALES

* * * * *

I

Mallory, who among other things was a time-thief, re-materialized the
time-space boat _Yore_ in the eastern section of a secluded valley in
ancient Britain and typed CASTLE, EARLY SIXTH-CENTURY on the
lumillusion panel. Then he stepped over to the control-room telewindow
and studied the three-dimensional screen. The hour was 8:00 p.m.; the
season, summer; the Year 542 A.D.

Darkness was on hand, but there was a full moon rising and he could
see trees not far away--oaks and beeches, mostly. Roving the eye of
the camera, he saw more trees of the same species. The "castle of
Yore" was safely ensconced in a forest. Satisfied, he turned away.

If his calculations were correct, the castle of Carbonek stood in the
next valley to the south, and on a silver table in a chamber of the
castle stood the object of his quest.

_If_ his calculations were correct.

Mallory was not on