burst forth into redoubled noise and confusion, each lad arming
himself from a row of racks that stood along the wall, he beckoned Myles
to him.

"My Lord himself hath spoken to Sir James Lee concerning thee," said he.
"Sir James maintaineth that he will not enter thee into the body till
thou hast first practised for a while at the pels, and shown what thou
canst do at broadsword. Hast ever fought at the pel?"

"Aye," answered Myles, "and that every day of my life sin I became
esquire four years ago, saving only Sundays and holy days."

"With shield and broadsword?"

"Sometimes," said Myles, "and sometimes with the short sword."

"Sir James would have thee come to the tilt-yard this morn; he himself
will take thee in hand to try what thou canst do. Thou mayst take the
arms upon yonder rack, and use them until otherwise bidden. Thou seest
that the number painted above it on the wall is seventeen; that will be
thy number for the nonce."

So Myles armed himself from his rack as the others were doing from
theirs. The armor was rude and heavy, used to accustom the body to the
weight of the iron plates rather than for any defence. It consisted of
a cuirass, or breastplate of iron, opening at the side with hinges, and
catching with hooks and eyes; epauliers, or shoulder-plates; arm-plates
and leg-pieces; and a bascinet, or open-faced helmet. A great triangular
shield covered with leather and studded with bosses of iron, and a heavy
broadsword, pointed and dulled at the edges, completed the equipment.

The practice at the pels which Myles was bidden to attend comprised the
chief exercise of the day with the esquires of young cadet soldiers of
that time, and in it they learned not only all the strokes, cuts, and
thrusts of sword-play then in vogue, but also toughness, endurance, and
elastic quickness. The pels themselves consisted of upright posts of
ash or oak, about five feet six inches in height, and in girth somewhat
thicker than a man's thigh. They were firmly planted in the ground, and
upon them the strokes of the broadsword were directed.

At Devlen the pels stood just back of the open and covered tilting
courts and the archery ranges, and thither those lads not upon household
duty were marched every morning excepting Fridays and Sundays, and were
there exercised under the direction of Sir James Lee and two assistants.
The whole company was divided into two, sometimes into three parties,
each of which took its tur