erstood all, and the men are all ready for
him, a thousand and three hundred by tale; so he makes no delay and
leads them by ways unkenned so diligently that he breaks forth on them
before they be duly ordered, though they be all out in the fields
drawing together. Shortly to say it, his thirteen hundred men are more
by a great deal than their six thousand, and they scatter them to the
winds so that they can never come together again, and all their
munitions of war and matters for feeding and wending are destroyed.
Then turns the Red Lad and wendeth, not back again to Longshaw, but
thither whereas he wots the great battle shall be, and on the very eve
thereof he rideth into Sir Godrick's camp; and such an outcry of joy
there was when he bears in the taken banners and such spoil as was not
over-heavy to ride with, as that no man there was of Sir Godrick's but
he knew full surely that the victory would be theirs on the morrow. As
for Osberne, all men praised him, and the good Knight embraced him
before all the host and the leaders thereof, and said, "Here is one
shall lead you when I am slain."

Even so it went. Of a sooth stiff was the stour, for the Barons and
theirs were hardy men and of great prowess, and were three to Sir
Godrick's one. But they knew that they should not have the help they
looked for, for they had seen, ere the battle was joined, those taken
banners, and the others had mocked them and bade them come across to
serve under such and such a banner. So it was not long ere a many of
them fell a-thinking: What do we to perish here, when at our backs are
those so mighty castles and strengths of ours? Let us draw away little
by little and get behind our walls, and there gather force again
little by little. But soon they found that they would have no such
leave to depart but as broken men fleeing at all adventure, for their
foemen had entered too far in to them, and had cleft their array in
many places. And their banners where thrown down and their captains
unheeded, and at last there was no face of them against the foe;
nought but heaps of huddled men, who knew not where to turn or whom to
smite at: and the overthrow might be no greater, for at noon-tide
there was no host left that at matins had been as great and goodly an
host as ever was seen in those parts.

And now was the purpose of the King and the Porte broken, and they
must sit still and do nothing; nay, have got to be well content if the
Small Craf