Dan.

'A ring of Cold Iron, four fingers wide, and a thumb thick, just like a
quoit, but with a snap to it for to snap round the slave's neck. They
used to do a big trade in slave-rings at the Forge here, and ship them
to all parts of Old England, packed in oak sawdust. But, as I was
saying, there was a farmer out of the Weald who had bought a woman with
a babe in her arms, and he didn't want any encumbrances to her driving
his beasts home for him.'

'Beast himself!' said Una, and kicked her bare heel on the gate.

'So he blamed the auctioneer. "It's none o' my baby," the wench puts in.
"I took it off a woman in our gang who died on Terrible Down yesterday."
"I'll take it off to the Church then," says the farmer. "Mother
Church'll make a monk of it, and we'll step along home."

'It was dusk then. He slipped down to St. Pancras' Church, and laid the
babe at the cold chapel door. I breathed on the back of his stooping
neck--and--I've _heard_ he never could be warm at any fire afterwards. I
should have been surprised if he could! Then I whipped up the babe, and
came flying home here like a bat to his belfry.

'On the dewy break of morning of Thor's own day--just such a day as
this--I laid the babe outside the Hill here, and the People flocked up
and wondered at the sight.

'"You've brought him, then?" Sir Huon said, staring like any mortal man.

'"Yes, and he's brought his mouth with him too," I said. The babe was
crying loud for his breakfast.

'"What is he?" says Sir Huon, when the womenfolk had drawn him under to
feed him.

'"Full Moon and Morning Star may know," I says. "_I_ don't. By what I
could make out of him in the moonlight, he's without brand or blemish.
I'll answer for it that he's born on the far side of Cold Iron, for he
was born under a shaw on Terrible Down, and I've wronged neither man,
woman, nor child in taking him, for he is the son of a dead slave
woman."

'"All to the good, Robin," Sir Huon said. "He'll be the less anxious to
leave us. Oh, we'll give him a splendid fortune, and he shall act and
influence on folk in housen as we have always craved." His Lady came up
then, and drew him under to watch the babe's wonderful doings.'

'Who was his Lady?' said Dan.

'The Lady Esclairmonde. She had been a woman once, till she followed
Sir Huon across the fern, as we say. Babies are no special treat to
me--I've watched too many of them--so I stayed on the Hill. Presently I
heard hammering down a