holy sepulcher from the infidel? No,
sirs, you must lay aside your feuds, and must promise me and my good
brother here that you will keep the peace between you until this war is
over. Whose fault it was that the quarrel began I know not. It may be
that my Lord of Brabant was discourteous. It may be that the earl here
was too hot. But whichever it be, it matters not."

"The quarrel, sire," said Sir Jacquelin, "arose from a dispute between
our pages, who were nigh coming to blows in your majesty's presence. I
desired the earl to chide the insolence of his varlet, and instead of so
doing he met my remarks with scorn."

"Pooh, pooh," said King Richard, "there are plenty of grounds for
quarrel without two nobles interfering in the squabbles of boys. Let
them fight; it will harm no one. By the bye, your Majesty," he said,
turning to the King of France with a laugh, "if the masters may not
fight, there is no reason in the world why the varlets should not. We
are sorely dull for want of amusement. Let us have a list to-morrow, and
let the pages fight it out for the honor of their masters and their
nations."

"It were scarce worth while to have the lists set for two boys to
fight," said the King of France.

"Oh, we need not have regular lists," said King Richard. "Leave that
matter in my hands. I warrant you that if the cockerels are well
plucked, they will make us sport. What say you, gentlemen?"

The Brabant noble at once assented, answering that he was sure that his
page would be glad to enter the lists; and the earl gave a similar
assent, for he had not noticed how great was the discrepancy between the
size of the future combatants.

"That is agreed, then," said King Richard joyously. "I will have a piece
of ground marked out on the edge of the camp to-morrow morning. It shall
be kept by my men-at-arms, and there shall be a raised place for King
Philip and myself, who will be the judges of the conflict. Will they
fight on foot or on horse?"

"On foot, on foot," said the King of France. "It would be a pity that
knightly exercises should be brought to scorn by any failure on their
part on horseback. On foot at least it will be a fair struggle."

"What arms shall they use?" the Brabant knight asked.

"Oh, swords and battle-axes, of course," said King Richard with a laugh.

"Before you go," King Philip said, "you must shake hands, and swear to
let the quarrel between you drop, at least until after our return. If
you