d
out to him with two pieces of gold lying therein) "or shall this?" and
therewith he half drew his sword from his sheath.

Said Morfinn, grinning again: "Nay, I fear not the bare steel in thine
hands, Knight; for thou hast not fool written plain in thy face;
therefore thou wilt not slay thy way-leader, or even anger him over
much. And as to thy gold, the wages shall be paid at the journey's
end. I was but seeking about in my mind how best to tell thee my tale
so that thou mightest believe my word, which is true. Thus it goes: As
I left Utterbol a month ago, I saw a damsel brought in captive there,
and she seemed to me so exceeding fair that I looked hard on her, and
asked one of the men-at-arms who is my friend concerning the market
whereat she was cheapened; and he told me that she had not been bought,
but taken out of the hands of the wild men from the further mountains.
Is that aught like to your story, lord?" "Yea," said Ralph, knitting
his brows in eagerness. "Well," said Morfinn, "but there are more fair
women than one in the world, and belike this is not thy friend: so now,
as well as I may, I will tell thee what-like she was, and if thou
knowest her not, thou mayst give me those two gold pieces and go back
again. She was tall rather than short, and slim rather than bigly
made. But many women are fashioned so: and doubtless she was worn by
travel, since she has at least come from over the mountains: but that
is little to tell her by: her hands, and her feet also (for she was a
horseback and barefoot) wrought well beyond most women: yet so might
it have been with some: yet few, methinks, of women who have worked
afield, as I deem her to have done, would have hands and feet so
shapely: her face tanned with the sun, but with fair colour shining
through it; her hair brown, yet with a fair bright colour shining
therein, and very abundant: her cheeks smooth, round and well wrought
as any imager could do them: her chin round and cloven: her lips full
and red, but firm-set as if she might be both valiant and wroth. Her
eyes set wide apart, grey and deep: her whole face sweet of aspect, as
though she might be exceeding kind to one that pleased her; yet high
and proud of demeanour also, meseemed, as though she were come of great
kindred. Is this aught like to thy friend?"

He spake all this slowly and smoothly and that mocking smile came into
his face now and again. Ralph grew pale as he spoke and knitted