and clasped his hands as one praying, and
said: "Now pardon me all my words, I pray thee; and let this young man
depart unhurt, whether thou madest him, or hast but led him away from
country and friends and all. Then do thou come with me, and make some
semblance of loving me, and suffer me to love thee. And then shall all
be well, for in a few days we will go back to thy people, and there
will I be their lord or thy servant, or my brother's man, or what thou
wilt. O wilt thou not let the summer days be sweet?"

But she spake, holding up her head proudly and speaking in a clear
ringing voice: "I have said it, that uncompelled I will not go with
thee at all." And therewithal she turned her face toward Ralph, as she
might do on any chance-met courteous man, and he saw her smiling, but
she said nought to him, and gave no token of knowing him. Then the
Knight of the Sun sprang to his feet, and shook his sword above his
head and ran furiously on Ralph, who leapt nimbly on one side (else had
he been slain at once) and fetched a blow at the Sun-Knight, and smote
him, and brake the mails on his left shoulder, so that the blood
sprang, and fell on fiercely enough, smiting to right and left as the
other gave back at his first onset. But all was for nought, for the
Knight of the Sun, after his giving aback under that first stroke drew
himself up stark and stiff, and pressing on through all Ralph's
strokes, though they rent his mail here and there, ran within his
sword, and smote him furiously with the sword-pommel on the side of the
head, so that the young man of Upmeads could not stand up under the
weight of the blow, but fell to the earth swooning, and the Knight of
the Sun knelt on him, and drew out an anlace, short, thick and sharp,
and cried out: "Now, Devil, let see whether thou wilt bleed black."
Therewith he raised up his hand: but the weapon was stayed or ever it
fell, for the Lady had glided up to them when she saw that Ralph was
overcome, and now she stretched out her arm and caught hold of the
Knight's hand and the anlace withal, and he groaned and cried out:
"What now! thou art strong-armed as well as white-armed;" (for she had
rent the sleeve back from her right arm) and he laughed in the
extremity of his wrath. But she was pale and her lips quivered as she
said softly and sweetly: "Wilt thou verily slay this young man?"

"And why not?" said he, "since I have just slain the best friend that I
ever had, tho