Now thither cometh Jack o' the Tofts, and spake to Christopher:"See thou, lad--Lord King, I should say; this looketh not like very presentbattle, for they be stayed half way down the bent; and lo thou, some halfscore are coming forth from the throng with a white shield raised aloft.Do we in likewise, for they would talk with us."
"Shall we trust them, father?" said Christopher.
"Trust them we may, son," said Jack; "Gandolf is a violent man, and alifter of other men's goods, but I deem not so evil of him as that he wouldbewray troth."
So then they let do a white cloth over a shield and hoist it on a longspear, and straightway they gat to horse, Jack of the Tofts, and Christopher,and Haward of Whiteacre, and Gilbert, and a half score all told; and theyrode straight down to the ford, which was just below the tail of the eyotaforesaid, and as they went, they saw the going of the others, who were bynow hard on the waterside; and said Jack: "See now, King Christopher,he who rides first in a surcoat of his arms is even the Baron, the blackbullet-headed one; and the next to him, the red-head, is his squire and man,Oliver Marson, a stout man, but fierce and grim-hearted. Lo thou, theyare taking the water, but they are making for the eyot and not our shore:son mine, this will mean a hazeled field in the long run; but now they willlook for us to come to them therein. Yea, now they are aland and havepitched their white shield. And hearken, that is their horn; blow we ananswer: ho, noise! set thy lips to the brass."
So then, when one horn had done its song, the other took it up, and allmen of both hosts knew well that the horns blew but for truce and parley.
Now come the Toft-folk to the ford, and take the water, which wasvery shallow on their side, and when they come up on to the eyot, theyfind the Baron and his folk off their horses, and lying on the green grass,so they also lighted down and stood and hailed the new comers. Then uprose the Lord Gandolf, and greeted the Toft-folk, and said: "Jack ofthe Tofts, thou ridest many-manned to-day."
"Yea, Lord," said Jack, "and thou also. What is thine errand?"
"Nay," said the Baron, "what is thine? As for mine host here, therecame a bird to Brimside and did me to wit that I should be like to need athrong if I came thy way; and sooth was that. Come now, tell us what istoward, thou rank reiver, though I have an inkling thereof; for if this werea mere lifting, thou wouldst not sit still here amidst thy friends ofHazeldale."
"Lord," said Jack o' the Tofts, "thou shalt hear mine errand, and thengive heed to what thou wilt do. Look to the bent under the wood, and tellme, dost thou see the blazon of the banner under which be my men?"
"That can I not," said the Lord Gandolf; "but I have seen the banner ofOakenrealm, which beareth the wood-woman with loins garlanded withoak-leaves, look much like to it at such a distance."
Said Jack: "It is not ill guessed. Yonder banner is the King's banner,and beareth on it the woman of Oakenrealm ."
The Lord bent his brows on him, and said: "Forsooth, rank reiver, Iwotted not that thou hadst King Rolf for thy guest."
Quoth Jack of the Tofts: "Forsooth, Lord, no such guest as the EarlMarshal Rolf would I have alive in my poor house."