old, little for me, as I wander in this
desert place. I, too, will forget."

On the third day, at the hour of noon, Tristan and Gorvenal came near
a hill where an old chantry stood and close by a hermitage also; and
Tristan asked what wasted land that was, and the hermit answered:

"Lord, it is Breton land which Duke Hod holds, and once it was rich in
pasture and ploughland, but Count Riol of Nantes has wasted it. For
you must know that this Count Riol was the Duke's vassal. And the Duke
has a daughter, fair among all King's daughters, and Count Riol would
have taken her to wife; but her father refused her to a vassal, and
Count Riol would have carried her away by force. Many men have died in
that quarrel."

And Tristan asked:

"Can the Duke wage his war?"

And the hermit answered:

"Hardly, my lord; yet his last keep of Carhaix holds out still, for
the walls are strong, and strong is the heart of the Duke's son
Kaherdin, a very good knight and bold; but the enemy surrounds them on
every side and starves them. Very hardly do they hold their castle."

Then Tristan asked:

"How far is this keep of Carhaix?"

"Sir," said the hermit, "it is but two miles further on this way."

Then Tristan and Gorvenal lay down, for it was evening.

In the morning, when they had slept, and when the hermit had chanted,
and had shared his black bread with them, Tristan thanked him and rode
hard to Carhaix. And as he halted beneath the fast high walls, he saw
a little company of men behind the battlements, and he asked if the
Duke were there with his son Kaherdin. Now Hod was among them; and
when he cried "yes," Tristan called up to him and said:

"I am that Tristan, King of Lyonesse, and Mark of Cornwall is my
uncle. I have heard that your vassals do you a wrong, and I have come
to offer you my arms.

"Alas, lord Tristan, go you your way alone and God reward you, for
here within we have no more food; no wheat, or meat, or any stores but
only lentils and a little oats remaining."

But Tristan said

"For two years I dwelt in a forest, eating nothing save roots and
herbs; yet I found it a good life, so open you the door."

They welcomed him with honour, and Kaherdin showed him the wall and
the dungeon keep with all their devices, and from the battlements he
showed the plain where far away gleamed the tents of Duke Riol. And
when they were down in the castle again he said to Tristan:

"Friend, let us go to the hall where my