When morning was, the captains came to King Christopher to council:but while they were amidst of their talk came the word that the foe wasanigh and come close to the river-bank; whereat was none abashed; but toall it seemed wisdom to abide them on the vantage-ground. So then therewas girding of swords and doing on of helms; as for ordering of the folk, itwas already done, for all the host was ranked on the bent-side, with thebanner of Oakenrealm in the midst; on its left hand the banner of the Tofts,and on the right the banner of Brimside.
Now when Christopher was come to his place, he looked down andsaw how the foemen were pouring over the river, for it was nowhere deep,and there were four quite shallow fords: many more were they than hisfolk, but he deemed that they fared somewhat tumultuously; and when thebowmen of the Tofts began shooting, the foemen, a many of them, stayedamidst of the river to bend bow in their turn, and seemed to think that werenigh enough already; nay, some went back again to the other bank, toshoot thence the surer and the drier, and some went yet a little further backon the field. So that when their sergeants and riders were come on to thehither bank, they lacked about a fifth of all their host; and they themselves,for all they were so many, had some ado to make up their minds to goforward.
Forsooth, when they looked up to the bent and saw the three bannersof Oakenrealm and the Tofts and Brimside all waving over the same ranks,they knew not what to make of it. And Christopher's host, when theysaw them hang back, brake out into mocking whoops and shouts, andwords were heard in them: "Come and dine at Brimside, good fellows!Come up to the Tofts for supper and bed! A Christopher! A Christopher!"and so forth. Now all King Christopher's men were afoot, saving a bandof the riders of Brimside, who bestrode strong and tall horses, and borejack and sallet and spear, but no heavy armour.
So Christopher heard and saw, and the heart rose high in him, and he sent messengers to the right and the left, and bade the captains watch tillhe waved his sword aloft, and then all down the bent together; and he badethe Brimside riders edge a little outward and downward, and be ready forthe chase, and suffer not any of the foemen to gather together when oncethey fell to running; for he knew in his heart that the folk before himwould never abide their onfall. And the day was yet young, and it lackedfour hours of noon.
King Christopher abode ill he saw the foemen were come off the levelground, and were mounting the bent slowly, and not in very good order orin ranks closely serried. Then he strode forth three paces, and waved hissword high above his head, and cried out: "A Christopher! A Christopher!Forward, banner of the Realm!" And forth he went, steady and strong, anda great shout arose behind him, and none shrank or lagged, but spears andbills, and axes and swords, all came on like a wall of steel, so that to thefoemen the earth seemed alive with death, and they made no show ofabiding the onset, but all turned and ran, save Walter the White and a scoreof his knights, who forsooth were borne down in a trice, and were taken tomercy, those of them who were not slain at the first crash of weapons.