hey kept watch
and ward more heedfully than their wont was; and King Christopher lodged
with Goldilind at the house of a good man of the thorpe.

Now when it lacked but half an hour of midnight, and Jack o' the Tofts
and Oliver Marson and the Captain of Woodwall had just left him, after
they had settled the order of the next day's journey, and Goldilind lay
abed in the inner chamber, there entered one of the men of the watch
and said: "Lord King, here is a man hereby who would see thee; he is
weaponed, and he saith that he hath a gift for thee: what shall we do
with him?"

Said Christopher: "Bring him in hither, good fellow." And the man went
back, and came in again leading a tall man, armed, but with a hood done
over his steel hat, so that his face was hidden, and he had a bag in his
hand with something therein.

Then spake the King and said: "Thou man, since thy face is hidden, this
trusty man-at-arms shall stand by thee while we talk together."

"Lord," said the man, "let there be a dozen to hear our talk I care not;
for I tell thee that I come to give thee a gift, and gift-bearers are
oftenest welcome."

Quoth the King: "Maybe, yet before thou bring it forth I would see thy
face, for meseems I have an inkling of thy voice."

So the man cast back his hood, and lo, it was Simon the squire. "Hah!"
said Christopher, "is it thou then! hast thou another knife to give me?"

"Nay," said Simon, "only the work of the knife." And therewith he set
his hand to the bag and drew out by the hair a man's head, newly hacked
off and bleeding, and said: "Hast thou seen him before, Lord? He was a
great man yesterday, though not so great as thou shalt be to-morrow."

"Once only I have seen him," said Christopher, "and then he gave me this
gift" (and he showed his father's ring on his finger): "thou hast slain
the Earl Marshal, who called himself the King of Oakenrealm: my traitor
and dastard he was but thy friend. Wherefore have I two evil deeds to
reward thee, Simon, the wounding of me and the slaying of him. Dost thou
not deem thee gallows-ripe?"

"King," said Simon, "what wouldst thou have done with him hadst thou
caught him?"

Said Christopher: "I had slain him had I met him with a weapon in his
fist; and if we had taken him I had let the folk judge him."

Said Simon: "That is to say, that either thou hadst slain him thyself,
or bidden others to slay him. Now then I ask thee, King, for which
deed wilt thou slay me, for n