The Well at the World's End: A Tale

  CHAPTER 9

  They Come to Cheaping Knowe Once More. Of the King Thereof

  Toward evening comes Redhead, and tells Ralph how he hired him a dozenmen-at-arms to follow him well-weaponed to Cheaping Knowe: withal hecounselled him to take a good gift with him to that same town to buythe good will of the King there; who was a close-fist and a cruel lord.

  Afterwards they sat together in the court of that fair house beforegood wine, Ralph and Ursula, and Redhead and the Sage of Swevenham, andspake of many things, and were merry and kind together. But on themorrow Redhead departed from Goldburg with his men, and he loth todepart, and they gave him farewell lovingly. Thereafter Ralph's newmen came to him in the hostelry, and he feasted them and did well tothem, so that they praised him much. Then he gat him victuals andsumpter-horses for the journey, and bought good store of bows andarrows withal. Furthermore he took heed to Redhead's word and bought agoodly gift of silver vessel and fine cloth for the King of CheapingKnowe.

  The day after he and his company departed from Goldburg toward themountains, which they passed unfought and unwaylaid: partly becausethey were a band of stout men, and partly because a little before therehad been a great overthrow of the wild men of those mountains at thehands of the men of Goldburg and the Chapmen; so that now themountain-men lay close, and troubled none that rode with any force.

  On the way they failed not to pass by the place where they had erstfound Bull Nosy slain: there they saw his howe, heaped up exceedinghigh, covered in with earth, whereon the grass was now beginning togrow, and with a great standing stone on the top thereof, whereon wasgraven the image of a bull, with a sword thereunder; whereby thewayfarers wotted that this had been done in his memory by his brother,the new Lord of Utterbol.

  So they came down out of the mountains to Whiteness, where they hadgood entertainment, but tarried not save for one night, riding theirways betimes to Cheaping Knowe: and they came before the gate thereofsafe and sound on the third day; and slept in the hostelry of thechapmen. On the morrow Ralph went up to the King's Castle with butthree men unweaponed bearing the gift which he had got for the King.Albeit he sent not away his men-at-arms till he should know how theKing was minded towards him.

  As he went he saw in the streets sad tokens of the lord's crueljustice, as handless men, fettered, dragging themselves about, and folkhung up before chapmen's booths, and whipping-cheer, and the pillar,and such like. But whereas he might not help he would not heed, butcame right to the Castle-gate, and entered easily when he had told hiserrand, for gift-bearing men are not oftenest withstood.

  He was brought straightway into the great hall, where sat the King onhis throne amidst the chiefs of the Porte, and his captains andsergeants, who were, so to say, his barons, though they were not baronsof lineage, but masterful men who were wise to do his bidding.

  As he went up the hall he saw a sort of poor caytiffs, women as well asmen, led away from the high-place in chains by bailiffs and tipstaves;and he doubted not that these were for torments or maiming and death;and thought it were well might he do them some good.

  Being come to the King, he made his obeisance to him, and craved hisgood will and leave to wage men-at-arms to bring him through themountains.

  The King was a tall man, a proper man of war; long-legged, blackbearded, and fierce-eyed. Some word he had heard of Ralph's gift,therefore he was gracious to him; he spake and said: "Thou hast comeacross the mountains a long way, fair Sir; prithee on what errand?"Answered Ralph: "For no errand, lord, save to fare home to mine ownland." "Where is thine own land?" said the King, stretching out hislegs and lying back in his chair. "West-away, lord, many a mile," saidRalph. "Yea," quoth the King, "and how far didst thou go beyond themountains? As far as Utterbol?" Said Ralph: "Yet further, but not toUtterbol." "Hah!" said the King, "who goeth beyond Utterbol must have agreat errand; what was thine?"

  Ralph thought for a moment, and deemed it best to say as little as hemight concerning Ursula; so he answered, and his voice grew loud andbold: "I was minded to drink a draught of the WELL at the WORLD'S END,and even so I did." As he spake, he drew himself up, and his browswere knit a little, but his eyes sparkled from under them, and hischeeks were bright and rosy. He half drew the sword from the scabbard,and sent it back rattling, so that the sound of it went about the hall;he upreared his head and looked around him on this and that one of thewarriors of the aliens, and he sniffed the air into his nostrils as hestood alone amongst them, and set his foot down hard on the floor ofthe King's hall, and his armour rattled upon him.

  But the King sat bolt upright in his chair and stared Ralph's face; andthe warriors and lords and merchants fell back from Ralph and stood inan ordered rank on either side of him and bent their heads before him.None spoke till the King said in a hoarse voice, but lowly andwheedling: "Tell us, fair Sir, what is it that we can do to pleasurethee?"

  "King," said Ralph, "I am not here to take gifts but to give themrather: yet since thou biddest me I will crave somewhat of thee, thatthou mayst be the more content: and moreover the giving shall costthee nothing: I crave of thee to give me life and limb and freedom forthe poor folk whom I saw led down the hall by thy tipstaves, even now.Give me that or nothing." The King scowled, but he spake: "This isindeed a little gift of thee to take; yet to none else save thee had Igiven it."

  Therewith he spake to a man beside him and said: "Go thou, set themfree, and if any hurt hath befallen them thy life shall answer for it.Is it enough, fair Sir, and have we thy goodwill?" Ralph laughed forjoy of his life and his might, and he answered: "King, this is thetoken of my goodwill; fear naught of me." And he turned to his men, andbade them bright forth the gift of Goldburg and open it before theKing; and they did so. But when the King cast eyes on the wares hisface was gladdened, for he was a greedy wolf, and whoso had been closeto his mouth would have heard him mutter: "So mighty! yet so wealthy!"But he thanked Ralph aloud and in smooth words. And Ralph madeobeisance to him again, and then turned and went his ways down thehall, and was glad at heart that he had become so mighty a man, for allfell back before him and looked on him with worship. Howbeit he hadlooked on the King closely and wisely, and deemed that he was bothcruel and guileful, so that he rejoiced that he had spoken naught ofUrsula, and he was minded to keep her within gates all the while theyabode at Cheaping-Knowe.

  When he came to the hostel he called his men-at-arms together and askedthem how far they would follow him, and with one voice they said allthat they would go with him whereso he would, so that it were notbeyond reason. So they arrayed them for departure on the morrow, andwere to ride out of gates about mid-morning. So wore the day toevening; but ere the night was old came a man asking for Ralph, as onewho would have a special alms of him, a poor man by seeming, and evillyclad. But when Ralph was alone with him, the poor man did him to witthat for all his seeming wretchedness he was but disguised, and was insooth a man of worship, and one of the Porte. Quoth he: "I am of theKing's Council, and I must needs tell thee a thing of the King: thatthough he was at the first overawed and cowed by the majesty of thee, aFriend of the Well, he presently came to himself, which was but ill; sothat what for greed, what for fear even, he is minded to send men towaylay thee, some three leagues from the town, on your way to themountains, but ye shall easily escape his gin now I have had speech ofthee; for ye may take a by-road and fetch a compass of some twelvemiles, and get aback of the waylayers. Yet if ye escape this firstambush, unless ye are timely in riding early tomorrow it is not unlikethat he shall send swift riders to catch up with you ere ye come to themountains. Now I am come to warn thee hereof, partly because I wouldnot have so fair a life spilt, which should yet do so well for the sonsof Adam, and partly also because I would have a reward of thee for mywarning and my wayleading, for I shall show thee the way and the road."

  Said Ralph: "Ask and fear not; for if I may trust thee I already owethee a reward." "My name is Michael-a-dale," said the man, "and fromSwevenham I came hither, and f
ain would I go thither, and little hope Ihave thereof save I go privily in some such band as thine, whereas thetyrant holdeth me on pain, as well I know, of an evil death."

  "I grant thine asking, friend," said Ralph; "and now thou wert best goto thine house and truss what stuff thou mayst have with thee and comeback hither in the grey of the morning."

  The man shook his head and said: "Nay; here must I bide night-long,and go out of gates amongst thy men-at-arms, and clad like one of themwith iron enough about me to hide the fashion of me; it were nowisesafe for me to go back into the town; for this tyrant wages many a spy:yea, forsooth, I fear me by certain tokens that it is not all socertain that I have not been spied upon already, and that it is knownthat I have come to thee. And I will tell thee that by hook or bycrook the King already knoweth somewhat of thee and of the woman who isin thy company."

  Ralph flushed red at that word, and felt his heart bound: but eventherewith came into them the Sage; and straightway Ralph took him apartand told him on what errand the man was come, and ask him if he deemedhim trusty. Then the Sage went up to Michael and looked him hard inthe face awhile, and then said: "Yea, honest he is unless the kindredof Michael of the Hatch of Swevenham have turned thieves in the thirdgeneration."

  "Yea," said Michael, "and dost thou know the Hatch?"

  "As I know mine own fingers," said the Sage; "and even so I knew ityears and years before thou wert born." Therewith he told thenew-comer what he was, and the two men of Swevenham made joy of eachother. And Ralph was fain of them, and went into the chamber whereinsat Ursula, and told her how all things were going, and she said thatshe would be naught but glad to leave that town, which seemed to herlike to Utterbol over again.