Even therewith, and while the last word had but come toChristopher's ears, rang out the voice of Jack of the Tofts again, louder andclearer than before: and he said: "Men in this hall, I bear you tidings!The King of Oakenrealm is amongst us to-night."
Then, forsooth, was the noise and the turmoil, and cries and shouts andclatter, and fists raised in air and weapons caught down from the wall, andthe glitter of spear-points and gleam of fallow blades. For the name ofRolf, King of Oakenrealm, was to those woodmen as the name of theGreat Devil of Hell, so much was he their unfriend and their dastard. ButJack raised up his hand, and cried: "Silence ye! Blow up, horns, TheHunt's Up!"
Blared out the horns then, strong and fierce, under the hall-roof, andwhen they were done, there was more silence in the hall than in thesummer night without; only the voice of the swords could not be utterlystill, but yet tinkled and rang as hard came against hard here and there inthe hush.
Again spake Jack: "Let no man speak! Let no man move from hisplace! I SEE THE KING! Ye shall see him!"
Therewith he strode up the hall and on to the dais, and came up towhere stood Christopher holding Goldilind's hand, and she all pale andtrembling; but Jack took him by the shoulder, and turned him about towarda seat which stood before the board, so that all men in the hall could see it;then he set him down in it, and took his sword from his girdle, and kneltdown before the young man, and took his right hand, and said in a loudvoice: "I, Jack of the Tofts, a free man and a sackless, wrongfullybeguilted, am the man of King Christopher of Oakenrealm, to live and diefor him as need may be. Lo, Lord, my father's blade! Wilt thou be goodto me and gird me therewith, as thy father girt him?"
Now when Christopher heard him, at first he deemed that all this wassome sport or play done for his pastime and the pleasure of the hall-folk in all kindness and honour. But when he looked in the eyes of him, and sawhim fierce and eager and true, he knew well it was no jest; and as theshouts of men went up from the hall and beat against the roof, himseemedthat he remembered, as in a dream, folk talking a-nigh him when he wastoo little to understand, of a king and his son, and a mighty man turnedthief and betrayer. Then his brow cleared, and his eyes shone bright, andhe leaned forward to Jack and girt him with the sword, and kissed hismouth, and said: "Thou art indeed my man and my thane and my earl,and I gird thee with thy sword as my father girded thy father."
Then stood up Jack o' the Tofts and said: "Men in this hall, happy isthe hour, and happy are ye! This man is the King of Oakenrealm, and heyonder is but a thief of kings, a dastard!"
And again great was the shouting, for carle and quean, young and old,they loved Christopher well: and Jack of the Tofts was not only theirwar-duke and alderman, but their wise man also, and none had anythought of gainsaying him. But he spake again and said: "Is there hereany old man, or not so old, who hath of past days seen our King that was,King Christopher to wit, who fell in battle on our behalf? If so there be, lethim come up hither."
Then arose a greybeard from a bench nigh the high-table, and came upon to the dais; a very tall man had he been, but was now somewhat bowedby age. He now knelt before Christopher, and took his hand, and said:"I, William of Whittenham, a free man, a knight, sackless of the guiltwhich is laid on me, would be thy man, O my lord King, to serve thee inall wise; if so be that I may live to strike one stroke for my master's son,whom now I see, the very living image of the King whom I served in myyouth."
Then Christopher bent down to him and kissed him, and said: "Thouart indeed my man and my thane & my baron; and who knows but thatthou mayst have many a stroke to strike for me in the days that are nigh athand."
And again the people shouted: and then there came another andanother, and ten more squires and knights and men of estate, who werenow indeed woodmen and wolf-heads, but who, the worst of them, were sackless of aught save slaying an unfriend, or a friend's unfriend, in fairfight; and all these kneeled before him, and put their hands in his, andgave themselves unto him.
When this was done, there came thrusting through the throng of thehall a tall woman, old, yet comely as for her age; she went right up on tothe dais, and came to where sat Christopher, and without more ado cast herarms about him and kissed him, and then she held him by the shouldersand cried out: "O, have I found thee at last, my loveling, and my dear,and my nurse-chick? and thou grown so lovely and yet so big that I maynever more hold thee aloft in mine arms, as once I was wont; though highenough belike thou shalt be lifted; and I say praise be to God and to hisHallows that thou art grown so beauteous and mighty a man!"