keep silence.  Then said she to herself:  “Better to anger him, even to the slaying of me, than have the misery of seeing him perish.”  So she waited till Geraint drew near, and said:  “Lord, there lie in wait for thee four men fully armed, to slay and rob thee.”  Then he answered her in anger:  “Did I desire thy silence or thy warning?  Look, then, and whether thou desirest my life or my death, thou shalt see that I dread not these robbers.”  Then, as the foremost of the four rode upon him, Geraint drove upon him with his spear with such force that the weapon stood out a cubit behind him; and so he did with the second, and the third, and the fourth.  Then, dismounting from his horse, he stripped the dead felons of their armour, bound it upon their horses, and tying the bridle reins together, bade Enid drive the beasts before her.  “And,” said he, “I charge thee, at thy peril, speak no word to me.”

So they went forward; and presently Enid saw how three horsemen, well armed and well mounted, rode towards them.  And one said to the other:  “Good fortune, indeed!  Here are four horses and four suits of armour for us, and but one knight to deal with; a craven too, by the way he hangs his head.”  Then Enid thought within herself how her lord was wearied with his former combat, and resolved to warn him even at her own peril.  So she waited till he was come up with her, and said:  “Lord, there be three men riding towards us, and they promise themselves rich booty at small cost.”  Wrathfully spoke Geraint:  “Their words anger me less than thy disobedience”; and immediately rushing upon the mid-most of the three knights, he bore him from his horse; then he turned upon the other two who rode against him at the same moment, and slew them both.  As with the former caitiffs, so now Geraint stripped the three of their armour, bound it upon the horses, and bade Enid drive these forward with the other four.

Again they rode on their way, and, for all his anger, it smote Geraint to the heart to see the gentle lady labouring to drive forward the seven horses.  So he bade her stay, for they would go no farther then, but rest that night as best they might in the forest; and scarcely had they dismounted and tethered the horses before Geraint, wearied with his encounters, fell asleep; but Enid remained watching, lest harm should come to her lord while he slept.

With the first ray of light, Geraint awoke, and his anger against Enid was not passed; so, without more ado, he set her on her palfrey and bade her drive the horses on in front as before, charging her that, whatever befell, that day at least, she should keep silence.