they wondered greatly. "Now tell me," he asked, "how came you
in this direful state?"

"We are victims of an evil-hearted villain," they answered. "The lord of
this castle, Sir Damas by name, is a coward and traitor, who keeps his
younger brother, Sir Ontzlake, a valiant and worthy knight, out of his
estate. Hostility has long ruled between them, and Ontzlake proffers to
fight Damas for his livelihood, or to meet in arms any knight who may
take up his quarrel. Damas is too faint-hearted to fight himself, and is
so hated that no knight will fight for him. This is why we are here.
Finding no knight of his own land to take up his quarrel, he has lain in
wait for knights-errant, and taken prisoner every one that entered his
country. All of us preferred imprisonment to fighting for such a
scoundrel, and here we have long lain half dead with hunger while
eighteen good knights have perished in this prison; yet not a man of us
would fight in so base a quarrel."

"This is a woeful story, indeed," said Arthur. "I despise treason as
much as the best of you, but it seems to me I should rather take the
choice of combat than of years in this dungeon. God can be trusted to
aid the just cause. Moreover, I came not here like you, and have but
your words for your story. Fight I will, then, rather than perish."

As they spoke a damsel came to King Arthur, bearing a light.

"How fare you?" she asked.

"None too well," he replied.

"I am bidden to say this to you," she remarked. "If you will fight for
my lord, you shall be delivered from this prison. Otherwise you shall
stay here for life."

"It is a hard alternative," said Arthur; "I should deem only a madman
would hesitate. I should rather fight with the best knight that ever
wore armor than spend a week in such a vile place. To this, then, I
agree. If your lord will deliver all these prisoners, I will fight his
battle."

"Those are the terms he offers," said the damsel.

"Then tell him I am ready. But he must provide me with horse and armor,
and vow on his knightly honor to keep his word."

"All this he will freely do."

"It seems to me, damsel, that I have seen you before. Have you not been
at the court of King Arthur?"

"Not so," said the damsel. "I have never been there, but am the daughter
of the lord of this castle, who has always kept me at home."

In this, as the chronicles tell us, she spoke falsely, for she was one
of the damsels of Morgan le Fay, and well she kn