The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights by John Steinbeck Read Free Book Online Page B

they are such good knights, it is a pity they are against you.”
    The eleven lords meanwhile assembled on the field of blood and destruction and King Lot addressed them, saying, “My lords, we must find some new attack or the war will continue as it has. You see around you our fallen men. I believe that a large part of our failure can be blamed on our footmen. They move too slowly so that the mounted must wait for them or be killed trying to save them. I advise that we send the foot soldiers away in the night. The forests will conceal them and the noble King Arthur will not trouble himself with footmen. They may well save themselves. Meanwhile, we will keep the horses together and make a rule that anyone who tries to run away will be executed. It is better to kill a coward than through a coward to be slain. What do you say to this?” Lot said, “Answer me—all of you.”
    â€œYou say well,” said Sir Nentres, and the other lords agreed with him. Then they swore to stick together in life and in death. After their solemn decision they mended their harnesses and cleaned and straightened their equipment. And then they mounted and set new spears upright against their thighs and they sat their horses rigid and unmoving as rocks. When Arthur and Ban and Bors saw them sitting there, they were forced to admire them for their discipline and knightly courage.
    Then forty of King Arthur’s best knights asked permission to ride against the enemy and break up their battle line. And these forty spurred their horses to great speed, and the lords lowered their spears and met them in full course, and the deadly willful fight went on. Arthur and Ban and Bors rejoined the fight and killed men to the right and left of them. The field was littered with broken men and the horses slipped in blood and were reddened above their fetlocks. But slowly Arthur’s men were forced back by the unyielding discipline of the northerners until they recrossed the little river over which they had come.
    Now Merlin came riding in on a great black horse and he cried to King Arthur, “Will you never stop? Haven’t you done enough? Out of threescore thousand who began the battle, only fifteen thousand are left alive. It is time to call a halt to the slaughter or God will be angry with you.” And Merlin continued, “Those rebellious lords have sworn never to leave the field alive and when men are so disposed they can take many with them to their deaths. You cannot defeat them now. You can only kill them to your loss. Therefore, my lord, retire from the field as quickly as you can and let your men rest. Reward your knights with gold and silver, for they have deserved it. There are no riches too dear for them. Never have so few knights done more in honor and bravery against a greater enemy. Today your knights have matched themselves against the best fighters in the world.”
    King Ban and King Bors cried, “He speaks the truth.”
    Then Merlin bade them to go wherever they wished. “For three years, I can promise you, this enemy will not trouble you. These eleven lords have more on their hands than they know,” Merlin said. “More than forty thousand Saracens have landed on their coasts and they ravage the country and burn and kill. They have laid siege to the castle of Wandesborow and devastated the land. Therefore, you need not fear these rebels for a long time. They will be very busy at home.” And Merlin continued, “When you have gathered the spoils from the battlefield, give them to King Ban and King Bors so that they may reward their knights who fought for you. The news of this gift will go out, and when you have need of men in the future they will come to you. You can reward your own knights later.”
    King Arthur said, “Your advice is good and I will follow it.”
    Then the treasure of the bloody field was collected—armor and swords and jewels from the fallen men,