all his
barons together, 'you see these narrow defiles through which we must
pass? To whom shall I give the command of the rear-guard which must
protect the rest of my army?'

'To Roland, to Roland my stepson,' cried Ganelon. 'No Knight is so
brave as he, and we may trust to him the safety of our host.' Charles
listened and looked him in the face. 'You must be the devil himself,'
he said, 'for you seem as if your body was shaken by some evil
passion. If Roland goes to the rear, who then shall command the van?'

'Ogier, the Dane,' answered Ganelon. 'There is no better man.'

When Count Roland heard his name he pressed forward. 'Fair stepfather,
I owe you much love for proposing me to lead the rear-guard of the
army. Charles the King shall lose nothing through me; not a horse or a
mule shall fall till his price is paid in blows received by the
Infidels.' 'You speak well,' said Ganelon, 'and what you say is true.'

Then Roland turned to Charlemagne: 'Give me, O King, the bow which you
hold in your hand. I will promise not to let it fall, as Ganelon did
your glove.'

But the King sat silent, with his head bent, and tears ran down his
cheeks. At last Naimes drew near and spoke to him, and among them all
Charles had no more faithful friend. 'You have heard, sire, what Count
Roland said. If he is to lead the rear-guard--and there is no man that
can do it better--give him the bow that you have drawn, for which he
asks.' So the King gave it to him, and Roland took it gladly. 'Fair
nephew,' said the King, 'I wish to leave half of my army behind with
you; keep it close to you, it will be your safeguard.'

'No,' answered the Count; 'to accept the half of your army would be to
shame my race. Leave me twenty thousand Franks, and you will pass the
defiles in safety. While I live you need fear no man.' Quickly Count
Roland girded on his armour, girded on his sword Durendal, the comrade
of many fights, and mounted his horse Veillantif, whom all men knew.
'We will follow you to death,' cried the Franks as they saw him. But
Roland answered them nothing. The first to come to his side was
Oliver, his old companion, then Turpin the Archbishop, the Count
Gautier, and many more, and after that they chose twenty thousand men,
the best that Charles had with him. Some of them he sent, under Count
Gautier, to drive the Unbelievers from the hill-top, and that same day
they fought a fierce battle. And while Charles and his army entered
the p