es
Lee burst into the pavilion. All his grim coldness was gone, and he
flung his arms around the young man's neck, hugging him heartily, and
kissing him upon either cheek.

Ere he let him go, "Mine own dear boy," he said, holding him off at
arm's-length, and winking his one keen eye rapidly, as though to wink
away a dampness of which he was ashamed--"mine own dear boy, I do tell
thee truly this is as sweet to me as though thou wert mine own son;
sweeter to me than when I first broke mine own lance in triumph, and
felt myself to be a right knight."

"Sir," answered Myles, "what thou sayest doth rejoice my very heart.
Ne'theless, it is but just to say that both his breast-piece and
over-girth were burst in the stitches before he ran his course, for so I
saw with mine own eyes."

"Burst in the stitches!" snorted Sir James. "Thinkest thou he did not
know in what condition was his horse's gearing? I tell thee he went down
because thou didst strike fair and true, and he did not so strike thee.
Had he been Guy of Warwick he had gone down all the same under such a
stroke and in such case."

CHAPTER 28

It was not until more than three weeks after the King had left Devlen
Castle that Lord George and his company of knights and archers were
ready for the expedition to France. Two weeks of that time Myles spent
at Crosbey-Dale with his father and mother. It was the first time that
he had seen them since, four years ago, he had quitted the low, narrow,
white-walled farmhouse for the castle of the great Earl of Mackworth. He
had never appreciated before how low and narrow and poor the farm-house
was. Now, with his eyes trained to the bigness of Devlen Castle,
he looked around him with wonder and pity at his father's humble
surroundings. He realized as he never else could have realized how great
was the fall in fortune that had cast the house of Falworth down from
its rightful station to such a level as that upon which it now rested.
And at the same time that he thus recognized how poor was their lot, how
dependent upon the charity of others, he also recognized how generous
was the friendship of Prior Edward, who perilled his own safety so
greatly in affording the family of the attainted Lord an asylum in its
bitter hour of need and peril.

Myles paid many visits to the gentle old priest during those two weeks'
visit, and had many long and serious talks with him. One warm bright
afternoon, as he and the old man walked toge