gave him so much uneasiness, that he
was not sorry the responsibility of keeping him in order should be
undertaken by Geoffrey. Moreover, he could not but agree with the
argument, that the promise of the Prince of Wales offered a more
favourable opportunity for Walter to enter upon the career of arms and
so, perhaps, someday to win his way back to rank and honours than
could have been looked for. Therefore, on the following week Walter
was indentured to the armourer, and, as was usual at the time, left his
abode in Aldgate and took up his residence with his master. He threw
himself with his whole heart into the work, and by the time he was
fifteen was on the way to become a skilful craftsman. His frame and
muscles developed with labour, and he was now able to swing all save the
very heaviest hammers in the shop. He had never abated in his practice
at arms, and every day when work was over, he and his master had a
long bout together with cudgel or quarterstaff, sword or axe; Walter of
course used light weapons, but so quick was he with them that Geoffrey
Ward acknowledged that he needed to put out all his skill to hold his
own with his pupil. But it was not alone with Geoffrey that Walter had
an opportunity of learning the use of arms. Whenever a soldier, returned
from the wars, came to have a weapon repaired by the armourer, he would
be sure of an invitation to come in in the evening and take a stoup of
ale, and tell of the battles and sieges he had gone through, and in the
course of the evening would be asked to have a bout of arms with the
young apprentice, whom Geoffrey represented as being eager to learn how
to use the sword as well as how to make it.

Thus Walter became accustomed to different styles of fighting, but found
that very few, indeed, of their visitors were nearly so well skilled
with their arms as his master. Some of the soldiers were mortified at
finding themselves unable to hold their own with a boy; others would
take their reverses in good part and would come again, bringing with
them some comrade known to be particularly skilled with his weapons,
to try the temper of the armourer's apprentice. At the age of fifteen
Walter had won the prize at the sports, both for the best cudgel play
and the best sword-and-buckler play among the apprentices, to the great
disgust of many who had almost reached the age of manhood and were just
out of their time.

On Sundays Walter always spent the day with Giles Fle