King Richard gave a sound of assent, but the King of France shook his head gravely.

“Do you forget,” he said, “the mission upon which you are assembled here?  Has not every knight and noble in these armies taken a solemn oath to put aside private quarrels and feuds until the holy sepulchre is taken?  Shall we at this very going off show that the oath is a mere form of words?  Shall we show before the face of Christendom that the knights of the cross are unable to avoid flying at each other’s throats, even while on their way to wrest the holy sepulchre 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 honour 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 Phillip 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 Phillip said, “you must shake hands, and swear to let the quarrel between you drop, at least until after our return.  If you still wish to shed each other’s blood, I shall offer no hindrance thereto.”