Then they journeyed back to Caerleon, where the knights made great joy of the return of their lord.  And presently, thither came Sir Pellinore, craving pardon of the King, who made but jest of his own misadventure.  And afterwards Sir Pellinore became of the Table Round, a knight vowed, not only to deeds of hardihood, but also to gentleness and courtesy; and faithfully he served the King, fighting ever to maintain justice and put down wrong, and to defend the weak from the oppressor.

CHAPTER IV

OF THE TREACHERY OF QUEEN MORGAN LE FAY

There was a certain Queen whose name was Morgan le Fay, and she was a powerful sorceress.  Little do men know of her save that, in her youth, she was eager for knowledge and, having learnt all human lore, turned her to magic, becoming so skilled therein that she was feared of all.  There was a time when great was her enmity towards King Arthur, so that she plotted his ruin not once only nor twice; and that is a strange thing, for it is said that she herself was the kinswoman of the King.  And truly, in the end, she repented her of her malice, for she was, of those that came to bear Arthur to the Delightful Islands from the field of his last bitter conflict; but that was long after.

Now when this enchantress learned how the Lady of the Lake had given the King a sword and scabbard of strange might, she was filled with ill-will; and all her thought was only how she might wrest the weapon from him and have it for her own, to bestow as she would.  Even while she pondered thereon, the King himself sent her the scabbard to keep for him; for Merlin never ceased to warn the King to have in safe keeping the scabbard that had power to keep him from mortal hurt; and it seemed to Arthur that none might better guard it for him, till the hour of need, than Morgan le Fay, the wise Queen that was of his own kindred.  Yet was not the Queen shamed of her treacherous intent by the trust that Arthur had in her; but all her mind was set on how she might win to the possession of the sword itself as well as of the scabbard.  At the last—­so had her desire for the sword wrought upon her—­she resolved to compass the destruction of the King that, if she gained the sword, never might she have need to fear his justice for the wrong she had done.

And her chance came soon.  For, on a day, King Arthur resolved to chase the hart in the forests near Camelot, wherefore he left behind him his sword Excalibur, and took but a hunting spear with him.  All day long, he chased a white hart and, when evening fell, he had far outstripped his attendants, save only two, Sir Accolon of Gaul and Sir Uriens, King of Gore, the husband of Queen Morgan le Fay herself.  So when the King saw that darkness had come upon them in the forest, he turned to his companions, saying:  “Sirs, we be far from Camelot and must lodge as we may this night.  Let us go forward until