surely shall I slay him, or die in the pain else."

Said Ralph: "Be content, thou mayst not slay him; he was a great and
mighty man, a baron who bore a golden sun on a blue field. Thou mayst
not slay him." "Yea," said the old man, "but I will, or he me."

"Live in peace," said Ralph, "for I slew him then and there."

The old man held his peace a while, and then he said: "I know the man,
for he hath been here aforetime, and not so long ago. But if he be
dead, he hath a brother yet, an exceeding mighty man: he will be coming
here to vex us and minish us."

Said Ralph: "He will not stir from where he lies till Earth's bones be
broken, for my sword lay in his body yesterday."

The old man stood silent again, and the other carles thronged him; but
the woman stood aloof staring on Ralph. Then the elder came up to
Ralph and knelt before him and kissed his feet; then he turned and
called to him three of the others who were of the stoutest and most
stalwarth, and he spake with them awhile, and then he came to Ralph
again, and again knelt before him and said: "Lord, ye have come to us,
and found us void of comfort, since we have lost our Lady. But we see
in thee, that she hath loved thee and blessed thee, and thou hast slain
her slayer and his kindred. And we see of thee also that thou art a
good lord. O the comfort to us, therefore, if thou wouldest be our
Lord! We will serve thee truly so far as we may: yea, even if thou be
beset by foes, we will take bow and bill from the wall, and stand round
about thee and fight for thee. Only thou must not ask us to go hence
from this place: for we know naught but the Plain of Abundance, and the
edges of the wood, and the Brethren of the House of the Thorn, who are
not far hence. Now we pray thee by thy fathers not to naysay us, so
sore as thou hast made our hearts. Also we see about thy neck the
same-like pair of beads which our Lady was wont to bear, and we deem
that ye were in one tale together."

Then was Ralph silent awhile, but the Sage spake to the elder: "Old
man, how great is the loss of the Lady to you?" "Heavy loss, wise old
man," said the carle, "as thou thyself mayst know, having known her."

"And what did she for you?" said the Sage. Said the elder: "We know
that she was gracious to us; never did she lay tax or tale on us, and
whiles she would give us of her store, and that often, and abundantly.
We deem also that every time when she came to us our incr