and make
his choice. He can only take one at a time."

"One, forsooth," said a man from the crowd; "why, there is a load for
four men there."

"Well, then, let him pick four little ones, and give these little ones a
chance of being seen."

Now I do not think that he would have troubled with the matter any more;
but whether the men knew that this was the last load that the steward
had to send home, or whether they quarrelled, I cannot say, but in their
eagerness to raise the two great baskets they fell to struggling over
them, and the steward tried to quiet the turmoil by a free use of his
staff, and there was a danger that the bread should be scattered.

"Here will be waste of what there is none too much of just now," said
Havelok; and with that he went to the aid of the steward, picking up and
setting aside the men before him, and then brushing the struggling
rivals into a ruefully wondering heap from about the baskets, so that he
and the steward faced each other, while there fell a silence on the
little crowd that had gathered. Even the men who had been put aside
stayed their abuse as they saw what manner of man had come to the rescue
of the baskets, and Havelok and the cook began to laugh.

"Fe, fi, fo, fum!" said Berthun; "here is surely a Cornish giant among
us! Now I thank you, good Blunderbore, or whatever your name is, for
brushing off these flies."

"The folk in this place are unmannerly," said Havelok; "hut if you want
the bread carried up the hill I will do it for you."

Berthun looked him up and down in a puzzled sort of way once or twice
ere he answered, "Well, as that is your own proposal, pick your helpers
and do so; I would not have asked such a thing of you myself."

"There is not much help needed," said Havelok. "I think this may be
managed if I get a fair hold."

Now we were used to seeing him carry such loads as would try the
strength of even Raven and myself, who could lift a load for three men;
but when he took the two great baskets of bread and swung them into
place on either arm, a smothered shout went round the crowd, and more
than once I heard the old Welsh name that the marsh folk had given him
spoken.

"Let us be going," said Havelok to the steward on that. "One would think
that none of these had ever hefted a fair load in his life, to listen to
them."

So he nodded to me across the heads of the crowd, and followed Berthun,
and the idlers followed him for a little. The guard tu