"
Therewith he wagged his head at the spearman, who suddenly let his spear
fall into the rest, and spurred, and drave on at Ralph all he might.
There and then had the tale ended, but Ralph, who was wary,
though he were young, and had Falcon well in hand, turned his wrist
and made the horse swerve, so that the man-at-arms missed his attaint,
but could not draw rein speedily enough to stay his horse;
and as he passed by all bowed over his horse's neck, Ralph gat his
sword two-handed and rose in his stirrups and smote his mightiest;
and the sword caught the foeman on the neck betwixt sallet and jack,
and nought held before it, neither leather nor ring-mail, so that the man's
head was nigh smitten off, and he fell clattering from his saddle:
yet his stirrups held him, so that his horse went dragging him on earth
as he gallopped over rough and smooth betwixt the trees of the forest.
Then Ralph turned about to deal with his fellow, and even through
the wrath and fury of the slaying saw him clear and bright against
the trees as he sat handling his axe doubtfully, but the woman was
fallen back again somewhat.
But even as Ralph raised his sword and pricked forward, the woman sprang
as light as a leopard on to the saddle behind the foeman, and wound her arms
about him and dragged him back just as he was raising his axe to smite her,
and as Ralph rode forward she cried out to him, "Smite him, smite!
O lovely creature of God!"
Therewith was Ralph beside them, and though he were loth to slay
a man held in the arms of a woman, yet he feared lest the man
should slay her with some knife-stroke unless he made haste;
so he thrust his sword through him, and the man died at once,
and fell headlong off his horse, dragging down the woman with him.
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