no other king. He was then crowned king as
Charles VIII. There had been only one Charles before him, but somehow the
mistake was made of calling him Charles VIII., and in later years came
Charles IX., X., etc., the mistake never being rectified.

All this is in introduction to a tale we have to tell, that of a bold
champion of King Charles. For the new king had many troubles to contend
with. The king of Denmark in especial gave him much trouble, and the
southern province of West Gothland was in danger of seceding from his
rule. In this dilemma he chose his cousin, Sir Tord Bonde, a young but
daring and experienced warrior, as the captain of his forces in that
province. He could not have made a better choice, and the stirring career
of Sir Tord was so full of strange and exciting events that we must
devote this tale to his exploits.

Loedoese, a stronghold of Gothland, was still held by the Danes, and Sir
Tord's first adventure had to do with this place. On a dark, rainy, and
stormy night he led a party of shivering horsemen towards the town,
galloping onward at headlong speed over the muddy road and reaching the
place before day-dawn. Utterly unexpectant of such a coming, the Danes
were taken by surprise and all made prisoners, Sir Tord's men feeding
luxuriously on the enemy's meat and wine as some recompense for their wet
night's journey.

Master of the place without a blow, Sir Tord found there a bag of
letters, containing some that had to do with plots against the king.
These letters he sent to King Charles, but they put him upon a new
adventure of his own. One of the traitors was Ture Bjelke, master of
Axewalla Castle, and Sir Tord, fancying that the traitor would be as
welcome a present to the king as his letters, set out for the castle with
thirty men.

On arriving there Ture, not dreaming that his treason had been
discovered, admitted his visitor without hesitation. The troopers were
also permitted to enter, Sir Tord having told them to come in groups of
five or six only, so as not to excite suspicion by their numbers.

That night, while they sat at table, and just as the cabbage was being
carried in, Sir Tord sprang up and seized Ture firmly by the collar,
calling out that he arrested him as a traitor to the king. The knight's
men sprang up to defend him, but Sir Tord's men attacked them with sword
and fist, the matter ending in the men as well as their master being
taken prisoners, and the castle falling i