e favored thee. For the first
of those two knights, his horse stumbled in the river and so he fell
into the water and was drowned; and thou didst strike the second knight
with thy sword ere he was well prepared for his defence and so thou wert
able to slay him."

"Lady," quoth Sir Gareth very calmly, "that which thou sayest doth not
in anywise change the circumstances of what I did. For now my work is
done and so I leave it to God His mercy to judge whether I did that
thing well or whether I did it ill." "Hah," said Lynette, "meseemeth
you speak very saucily for a kitchen knave." And Sir Gareth said, still
speaking very calmly, "Think you so, Lady?" And Lynette said, "Yea," and
she said, "I see that thou still ever forgettest my commands, for thou
art riding so nigh to me that methinks I smell the kitchen. Now I
prythee draw a little farther away." And Sir Gareth said, "Damsel, it
shall be as you command." And therewith he drew rein so as to ride at a
little greater distance, and Lynette laughed to see him do so.

Now some little while about the prime of the day they came to a certain
grassy place of considerable extent, and at that place was a black
hawthorn bush, very aged and gnarled and full of thorns that stood alone
beside the highroad, and as they drew nigh to it they perceived that
there was hung upon the thorn bush a great black shield bearing the
device of the red gryphon, and they saw that a great black spear,
bearing a black pennon with the device of a red gryphon leaned beside
the shield. And they beheld that near by the bush was a noble black
horse with trappings and housings all of black, and the horse cropped
the grass that grew at that place.

[Sidenote: _They behold the black knight at his meal._]

All this they beheld, and as they came still nearer they perceived that
upon the other side of the hawthorn bush there was a knight clad all in
black armor, and they saw that the knight sat beside a great flat stone
and ate his midday meal that lay spread out upon the stone. And the
knight was unaware of their coming but ever ate with great appetite of
the food that was spread before him.

Then Lynette drew rein while they were yet at some distance and she
laughed and pointed toward the hawthorn bush, behind which sat the
knight, and she said: "Sir Kitchen Knave, look you yonder and behold
that knight. Seest thou the device upon his shield? I know that device
very well and so I may tell thee that that k