her and went his ways to his merchandize, and she
to the ordering of her house, grieved but not unhappy.

CHAPTER 4

Ralph Rideth the Downs

As for Ralph, he rode on with a merry heart, and presently came to an
end of the plain country, and the great downs rose up before him with a
white road winding up to the top of them. Just before the slopes began
to rise was a little thorp beside a stream, and thereby a fair church
and a little house of Canons: so Ralph rode toward the church to see if
therein were an altar of St. Nicholas, who was his good lord and
patron, that he might ask of him a blessing on his journey. But as he
came up to the churchyard-gate he saw a great black horse tied thereto
as if abiding some one; and as he lighted down from his saddle he saw a
man coming hastily from out the church-door and striding swiftly toward
the said gate. He was a big man, and armed; for he had a bright steel
sallet on his head, which covered his face all save the end of his
chin; and plates he had on his legs and arms. He wore a green coat
over his armour, and thereon was wrought in gold an image of a tree
leafless: he had a little steel axe about his neck, and a great sword
hung by his side. Ralph stood looking on him with his hand on the
latch of the gate, but when the man came thereto he tore it open
roughly and shoved through at once, driving Ralph back, so that he
well-nigh overset him, and so sprang to his horse and swung himself
into the saddle, just as Ralph steadied himself and ruffled up to him,
half drawing his sword from the scabbard the while. But the
man-at-arms cried out, "Put it back, put it back! If thou must needs
deal with every man that shoveth thee in his haste, thy life is like to
be but short."

He was settling himself in his saddle as he spoke, and now he shook his
rein, and rode off speedily toward the hill-road. But when he was so
far off that Ralph might but see his face but as a piece of reddish
colour, he reined up for a moment of time, and turning round in his
saddle lifted up his sallet and left his face bare, and cried out as if
to Ralph, "The first time!" And then let the head-piece fall again, and
set spurs to his horse and gallopped away.

Ralph stood looking at him as he got smaller on the long white road,
and wondering what this might mean, and how the unknown man should know
him, if he did know him. But presently he let his wonder run off him,
and went his ways into