s.

'Now,' said the king, 'come hither to me, Bedevere, for my time goeth
fast and I remember me of a promise. Therefore,' he bade Sir Bedevere,
'do thou take Excalibur, my good sword, and go with it beyond the combe
side there where a low thorn grows, and when thou comest there, I
charge thee, throw my sword in that water, and come again and tell me
what thou seest.'

So Sir Bedevere departed with the sword, and on the way he looked at
the sword, and saw how noble was the blade and how shining, and how the
pommel and haft were full of precious stones.

'If I throw this sword into the water,' said Sir Bedevere to himself,
'how great a sin 'twould be to waste so noble a weapon.'

Therefore he hid it in the branches of the thorn and returned to the
king.

'What sawest thou?' asked the king when Bedevere returned.

'Sir,' he said, 'I saw the wind beat on the waves.'

'Ye have not done as I bid thee,' said the king. 'Now, therefore, do
thou go again and do as I bid thee; and as thou art dear to me, spare
it not, but throw it in.'

Then Sir Bedevere went back and took the sword in his hand; but again
he could not bring himself to throw away that noble sword, so again he
hid the sword and went back to the king.

'What sawest thou this time?' said the king.

'Lord,' said Bedevere, 'I saw the waters ebb and flow and the sedges
trembling.'

'Ah, traitor untrue!' said the king, deep sorrow in his voice, 'who
would have weened that thou who hast been so true and dear to me, and
who hast been named a noble knight, would betray me for the jewels on a
sword? Now go ye again, I charge thee, and as thou shalt answer for thy
sins at the last day, throw ye the sword far into the waters.'

Then in heavy mood Sir Bedevere went the third time, and took the sword
from its hiding-place, and looking away from the weapon lest its beauty
should soften him, he bound the girdle about the hilt, and then he
threw the sword with all his might far out over the water.

As he looked, inwardly lamenting, he saw the jewels flash in the low
light as the sword passed through the air. Then suddenly, when it
neared the water, he marvelled to see a great arm and hand come up
through the waves. The hand caught the weapon by the haft, shook it and
brandished it thrice, and then vanished with the sword under the waves.

With some fear in his heart Sir Bedevere went back to the king and told
him all that he had seen.

'It is well,' said the king