I need him. The post I gave
him is good for an aged soldier; it fits you better than him, old
Bertchram, go and take the place of Berthoald and his men; you shall
give him this letter from me, and as a pledge of my constant friendship,
take to him two of my best horses; besides that, take to him from me a
magnificent armor of Bordeaux. He loves fine armor and fine horses. It
will please him.' And there they are with me," added Bertchram. "The
horses are led by the bridle. They are beautiful, one is as black as a
raven, the other white as a swan. As to the armor, it is carefully
packed up in my baggage, I cannot show it to you now. It is a
masterpiece of the most famous armorer of Bordeaux. It is enriched with
gold and silver ornaments. The casque is a marvel."

"I am truly touched with this fresh proof of Charles' affection,"
answered Amael, "I shall report to him as soon as I have fulfilled his
mission."

"But he wishes you to join him immediately, as you will see by the
letter that I have carefully put away in my cuirass," said the warrior
hunting for the parchment.

"Charles will not regret to see me arrive a day or two later if I return
to him after successfully attending to the mission that he confided to
me. I shall find the horses and the armor at the abbey, where I shall
see you again, and now I shall move on with my men. But you must have
made a wide circuit, to judge by the road you are on!"

"Charles gave me the command of a large troop that he has cantonned on
the frontiers of Brittany."

"Does he expect to attack Armorica?"

"I do not know. I left the troops entrenched in two old Roman camps, one
to the right, the other to the left of a long road that winds up there."

"Is the troop large?"

"About two thousand men distributed in two camps."

"Charles can undertake nothing against Brittany with so small a number
of soldiers."

"All he expects to do is to reconnoiter the frontier of the country
until after the war with the Frisians is ended, when he will be able to
give his attention in person to the accursed Armorica. This province has
resisted our arms for more than three centuries, since the glorious
Clovis conquered Gaul. Indeed it is a shame to us!"

"Yes, the independence of Armorica is a shame to the arms of the
Franks."

"Here is Charles' letter," said Bertchram pulling from under his cuirass
a scroll of parchment that he delivered to Amael, and ordering the two
horses which his slave