his ear: "These be of the Burg, forsooth, as ye may see by their
dogs' faces; but they be not clad nor armed as those whom we have met
heretofore. Ask them whence they be, lord."

Ralph spake and said: "Whence and whither are ye, ye manslayers?" But
no man of them answered. Then said Ralph: "Pass these murderers by
the edge of the sword, Stephen; unless some one of them will save his
life and the life of his fellows by speaking."

As he spake, one of the youngest of the men hung down his head a
little, and then raised it up: "Wilt thou spare our lives if I speak?"
"Yea," said Ralph. "Wilt thou swear it by the edge of the blade?" said
the man. Ralph drew forth his sword and said: "Lo then! I swear it."
The man nodded his head, and said: "Few words are best; and whereas I
wot not if my words will avail thee aught, and since they will save our
lives, I will tell thee truly. We are men of the Burg whom these
green-coated thieves drave out of the Burg on an unlucky day. Well,
some of us, of whom I was one, fetched a compass and crossed the water
that runneth through Upmeads by the Red Bridge, and so gat us into the
Wood Debateable through the Uplands. There we struck a bargain with
the main band of strong-thieves of the wood, that we and they together
would get us a new home in Upmeads, which is a fat and pleasant land.
So we got us ready; but the Woodmen told us that the Upmeads carles,
though they be not many, are strong and dauntless, and since we now had
pleasant life before us, with good thralls to work for us, and with
plenty of fair women for our bed-mates, we deemed it best to have the
most numbers we might, so that we might over-whelm the said carles at
one blow, and get as few of ourselves slain as might be. Now we knew
that another band of us had entered the lands of the Abbot of Higham,
and had taken hold of some of his castles; wherefore the captains
considered and thought, and sent us to give bidding to our folk south
here to march at once toward us in Upmeads, that our bands might meet
there, and scatter all before us. There is our story, lord."

Ralph knitted his brow, and said: "Tell me (and thy life lieth on thy
giving true answers), do thy folk in these strongholds know of your
purpose of falling upon Upmeads?" "Nay," said the Burger. Said Ralph:
"And will they know otherwise if ye do them not to wit?" "Nay," again
said the man. Said Ralph: "Are thy folk already in Upmeads?" "Nay,"