, 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 we 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 at the Forge there.'Puck pointed
towards Hobden's cottage. 'It was too early for any workmen, but it
passed through my mind that the breaking day was Thor's own day. A slow
north-east wind blew up and set the oaks sawing and fretting in a way I
remembered; so I slipped over to see what