Bab Bab 22 · OF THE DWARF AND THE PARDON

. OF THE DWARF AND THE PARDON

Now she began to say: "My friend, now shall I tell thee what I have done

for thee and me; and if thou have a mind to blame me, and punish me, yet

remember first, that what I have done has been for thee and our hope of

happy life. Well, I shall tell thee--"

But therewithal her speech failed her; and, springing up, she faced the

bent and pointed with her finger, and she all deadly pale, and shaking so

that she might scarce stand, and might speak no word, though a feeble

gibbering came from her mouth.

Walter leapt up and put his arm about her, and looked whitherward she

pointed, and at first saw nought; and then nought but a brown and yellow

rock rolling down the bent: and then at last he saw that it was the Evil

Thing which had met him when first he came into that land; and now it

stood upright, and he could see that it was clad in a coat of yellow

samite.

Then Walter stooped down and gat his bow into his hand, and stood before

the Maid, while he nocked an arrow. But the monster made ready his

tackle while Walter was stooping down, and or ever he could loose, his

bow-string twanged, and an arrow flew forth and grazed the Maid's arm

above the elbow, so that the blood ran, and the Dwarf gave forth a harsh

and horrible cry. Then flew Walter's shaft, and true was it aimed, so

that it smote the monster full on the breast, but fell down from him as

if he were made of stone. Then the creature set up his horrible cry

again, and loosed withal, and Walter deemed that he had smitten the Maid,

for she fell down in a heap behind him. Then waxed Walter wood-wroth,

and cast down his bow and drew his sword, and strode forward towards the

bent against the Dwarf. But he roared out again, and there were words in

his roar, and he said "Fool! thou shalt go free if thou wilt give up the

Enemy."

"And who," said Walter, "is the Enemy?"

Yelled the Dwarf: "She, the pink and white thing lying there; she is not

dead yet; she is but dying for fear of me. Yea, she hath reason! I

could have set the shaft in her heart as easily as scratching her arm;

but I need her body alive, that I may wreak me on her."

"What wilt thou do with her?" said Walter; for now he had heard that the

Maid was not slain he had waxed wary again, and stood watching his

chance.

The Dwarf yelled so at his last word, that no word came from the noise a

while, and then he said: "What will I with her? Let me at her, and stand

by and look on, and then shalt thou have a strange tale to carry off with

thee. For I will let thee go this while."

Said Walter: "But what need to wreak thee? What hath she done to thee?"

"What need! what need!" roared the Dwarf; "have I not told thee that she

is the Enemy? And thou askest of what she hath done! of what! Fool, she

is the murderer! she hath slain the Lady that was our Lady, and that made

us; she whom all we worshipped and adored. O impudent fool!"

Therewith he nocked and loosed another arrow, which would have smitten

Walter in the face, but that he lowered his head in the very nick of

time; then with a great shout he rushed up the bent, and was on the Dwarf

before he could get his sword out, and leaping aloft dealt the creature a

stroke amidmost of the crown; and so mightily be smote, that he drave the

heavy sword right through to the teeth, so that he fell dead straightway.

Walter stood over him a minute, and when be saw that he moved not, he

went slowly down to the stream, whereby the Maid yet lay cowering down

and quivering all over, and covering her face with her hands. Then he

took her by the wrist and said: "Up, Maiden, up! and tell me this tale of

the slaying."

But she shrunk away from him, and looked at him with wild eyes, and said:

"What hast thou done with him? Is he gone?"

"He is dead," said Walter; "I have slain him; there lies he with cloven

skull on the bent-side: unless, forsooth, he vanish away like the lion I

slew! or else, perchance, he will come to life again! And art thou a lie

like to the rest of them? let me hear of this slaying."

She rose up, and stood before him trembling, and said: "O, thou art angry

with me, and thine anger I cannot bear. Ah, what have I done? Thou hast

slain one, and I, maybe, the other; and never had we escaped till both

these twain were dead. Ah! thou dost not know! thou dost not know! O

me! what shall I do to appease thy wrath!"

He looked on her, and his heart rose to his mouth at the thought of

sundering from her. Still he looked on her, and her piteous friendly

face melted all his heart; he threw down his sword, and took her by the

shoulders, and kissed her face over and over, and strained her to him, so

that he felt the sweetness of her bosom. Then he lifted her up like a

child, and set her down on the green grass, and went down to the water,

and filled his hat therefrom, and came back to her; then he gave her to

drink, and bathed her face and her hands, so that the colour came aback

to the cheeks and lips of her: and she smiled on him and kissed his

hands, and said: "O now thou art kind to me."

"Yea," said he, "and true it is that if thou hast slain, I have done no

less, and if thou hast lied, even so have I; and if thou hast played the

wanton, as I deem not that thou hast, I full surely have so done. So now

thou shalt pardon me, and when thy spirit has come back to thee, thou

shalt tell me thy tale in all friendship, and in all loving-kindness will

I hearken the same."

Therewith he knelt before her and kissed her feet. But she said: "Yea,

yea; what thou willest, that will I do. But first tell me one thing.

Hast thou buried this horror and hidden him in the earth?"

He deemed that fear had bewildered her, and that she scarcely yet knew

how things had gone. But he said: "Fair sweet friend, I have not done it

as yet; but now will I go and do it, if it seem good to thee."

"Yea," she said, "but first must thou smite off his head, and lie it by

his buttocks when he is in the earth; or evil things will happen else.

This of the burying is no idle matter, I bid thee believe."

"I doubt it not," said he; "surely such malice as was in this one will be

hard to slay." And he picked up his sword, and turned to go to the field

of deed.

She said: "I must needs go with thee; terror hath so filled my soul, that

I durst not abide here without thee."

So they went both together to where the creature lay. The Maid durst not

look on the dead monster, but Walter noted that he was girt with a big

ungainly sax; so he drew it from the sheath, and there smote off the

hideous head of the fiend with his own weapon. Then they twain together

laboured the earth, she with Walter's sword, he with the ugly sax, till

they had made a grave deep and wide enough; and therein they thrust the

creature, and covered him up, weapons and all together.