y and naked in the
Least Guard-chamber: and she stood firm, and waved her hand to greet the
folk.

And lo! there was Christopher kneeling before her and kissing her hand,
and great shouts arising about her of "The Lady of Oakenrealm! The Lady
of Meadham! For the Lady! For the Lady!"

CHAPTER XXX. OF THE FIELD THAT WAS SET IN THE HOLM OF HAZELDALE.

Now thither cometh Jack o' the Tofts, and spake to Christopher: "See
thou, lad--Lord King, I should say; this looketh not like very present
battle, for they be stayed half way down the bent; and lo thou, some
half score are coming forth from the throng with a white shield raised
aloft. Do we in likewise, for they would talk with us."

"Shall we trust them, father?" said Christopher.

"Trust them we may, son," said Jack; "Gandolf is a violent man, and a
lifter of other men's goods, but I deem not so evil of him as that he
would bewray troth."

So then they let do a white cloth over a shield and hoist it on a
long spear, and straightway they gat to horse, Jack of the Tofts, and
Christopher, and Haward of Whiteacre, and Gilbert, and a half score all
told; and they rode straight down to the ford, which was just below the
tail of the eyot aforesaid, and as they went, they saw the going of the
others, who were by now hard on the waterside; and said Jack: "See now,
King Christopher, he who rides first in a surcoat of his arms is
even the Baron, the black bullet-headed one; and the next to him, the
red-head, is his squire and man, Oliver Marson, a stout man, but fierce
and grim-hearted. Lo thou, they are taking the water, but they are
making for the eyot and not our shore: son mine, this will mean a
hazeled field in the long run; but now they will look for us to come
to them therein. Yea, now they are aland and have pitched their white
shield. And hearken, that is their horn; blow we an answer: ho, noise!
set thy lips to the brass."

So then, when one horn had done its song, the other took it up, and
all men of both hosts knew well that the horns blew but for truce and
parley.

Now come the Toft-folk to the ford, and take the water, which was very
shallow on their side, and when they come up on to the eyot, they find
the Baron and his folk off their horses, and lying on the green grass,
so they also lighted down and stood and hailed the new comers. Then
uprose the Lord Gandolf, and greeted the Toft-folk, and said: "Jack of
the Tofts, thou ridest many-manned to-day."