“Thou art a brave lad and a lusty,” the king said, “and hast borne thee in the fight as well as many a knight would have done.  Wert thou older, I would myself dub thee knight; and I doubt not that the occasion will yet come when thou wilt do as good deeds upon the bodies of the Saracens as thou hast upon that long-shanked opponent of thine.  Here is a gold chain; take it as a proof that the King of England holds that you have sustained well the honour of his country; and mark me, if at any time you require a boon, bring or send me that chain, and thou shall have it freely.  Sir Walter,” he said, turning to the earl, “in this lad thou hast a worthy champion, and I trust me that thou wilt give him every chance of distinguishing himself.  So soon as thou thinkst him fit for the knightly rank I myself will administer the accolade.”

CHAPTER VIII.

Revenge.

After his interview with the king, Cuthbert was led to his tent amid the hearty plaudits of the English troops.

His own comrades flocked round him; the men of the greenwood headed by Cnut, were especially jubilant over his victory.

“Who would have thought,” said the tall forester, “that the lad who but a short time ago was a child, should now have sustained the honour of the country?  We feel proud of you, Cuthbert; and trust us some day or other to follow wherever you may lead, and to do some deed which will attain for you honour and glory, and to show that the men of Evesham are as doughty as any under King Richard’s rule.”

“You must be wary, Cuthbert,” the earl said to him that evening.  “Believe me that you and I have made a foe, who, although he may not have the power, has certainly the will to injure us to the death.  I marked the eye of Count Jacquelin during the fight, and again when you were led up to the king.  There was hatred and fury in his eye.  The page too, I hear, is his own nephew, and he will be the laughing-stock of the French camp at having been conquered by one so much younger than himself.  It will be well to keep upon your guard, and not go out at night unattended.  Keep Cnut near you; he is faithful as a watch-dog, and would give his life, I am sure, for you.  I will myself be also upon my guard, for it was after all my quarrel, and the fury of this fierce knight will vent itself upon both of us if the opportunity should come.  I hear but a poor account of him among his confreres.  They say he is one of those disgraces to the name of knight who are but a mixture of robber and soldier; that he harries all the lands in his neighbourhood; and that he has now only joined the Crusade to avoid the vengeance which the cries of the oppressed people had invoked from his liege lord.  I am told indeed that the choice was given him to be outlawed, or to join the Crusades with all the strength he could raise.  Naturally he adopted the latter alternative; but he has the instincts of the robber still, and will do us an evil turn, if he have the chance.”