Again was there good rumour, and that from either side of thebystanders; but Jack of the Tofts stood up silent and stiff, and the Baron ofBrimside laughed, and said: "Well, swain, if thou art weary of life, so letit be, as for me; but how sayest thou, Jack of the Tofts? Art thou content togive thine head away in this fashion, whereas thou wottest that I shallpresently slay this king of thine?"
Said Jack: "The King of Oakenrealm must rule me as well as othersof his liege-men: he must fight if he will, and be slain if he will." Thensuddenly he fell a-laughing, and beat his hand on his thigh till the armourrattled again, and then he cried out: "Lord Gandolf, Lord Gandolf, havea care, I bid thee! Where wilt thou please to be buried, Lord?"
Said the other: "I wot not what thou wilt mean by thy fooling, rankreiver. But here I take up this youngling's glove; and on his head be hisfate! Now as to this battle. My will is, that we two champions be all aloneand afoot on the eyot. How say ye?"
"Even so be it," said Jack; "but I say that half a score on each side shallbe standing on their own bank to see the play, and the rest of the hostcome no nigher than now we are."
"I yea-say it," said the Baron; "and now do thou, rank reiver, go backto thy fellowship and tell them what we have areded, and do thou, OliverMarson, do so much for our folk; and bid them wot this, that if any ofthem break the troth, he shall lose nought more than his life for that same."
Therewith all went ashore to either bank, save the Baron of Brimsideand Christopher. And the Baron laid him down on the ground and fell towhistling the tune of a merry Yule dance; but as for Christopher, he lookedon his foeman, and deemed he had seldom seen so big and stalwarth a man;and withal he was of ripe age, and had seen some forty winters. Then healso cast himself down on the grass, and fell into a kind of dream, as hewatched a pair of wagtails that came chirping up from the sandy spitbelow the eyot; till suddenly great shouting broke out, first from his ownbent, and then from the foemen's, and Christopher knew that the folk on either side had just heard of the battle that was to be on the holm. TheBaron arose at the sound and looked to his own men, whence were nowcoming that half-score who were to look on the battle from the bank; butChristopher stirred not, but lay quietly amongst the flowers of the grass,till he heard the splash of horse-hoofs in the ford, and there presently wascome Jack of the Tofts bearing basnet and shield for his lord. And he gotoff his horse and spake to Christopher: "If I may not fight for thee, myson and King, yet at least it is the right of thine Earl to play the squire tothee: but a word before thy basnet is over thine ears; the man yonder iswell-nigh a giant for stature and strength; yet I think thou mayest deal withhim, and be none the sorer when thou liest down to-night. To be short,this is it: when thou hast got a stroke in upon him, and he falters, then givehim no time, but fly at him in thy wild-cat manner and show what-likethews thou hast under thy smooth skin; now thine helm, lad. So art thoudight; and something tells me thou shalt do it off in victory."