The next morning all the townspeople gathered to see me put on my armor, and after that had been done I drank a quart of beer — moodily, for it was poor stuff. Then, sad of heart, I mounted my horse and rode toward the mountain. A priest strode ahead of me, singing a prayer; the old man and woman walked on either side of my horse, while the old lover hobbled behind me, urging me to guard myself well and saying repeatedly that he surely would give me the promised fifty crowns.
The old woman kept muttering, “No other man would do it. No other man.”
“Would be such a fool,” I added in a whisper. “No other man. Many of the men I have read of, such as Launcelot, Bevin, or Ulysses would have been glad to adventure thus; but only I, who have cleared my own country of such monsters, would be fool enough to do such dirty work for the cowardly men of Wales.”
The old husband, the priest and the senile lover took up the chant, “No other man would do it. No other man!” Finally we came to the edge of the wood and within a mile of the mountain, where they paused, saying they dare not go further with me, but would return home and wait, praying for my safe return.
The trees were so close together that I could not ride my charger, so I dismounted, tied him to a tree and then looked into the woods. It was dark and feyish, yet through the trees came glittering, glistening shafts of golden sunshine, and far away, I heard a thrush sing and a squirrel chatter in the treetops. Then I knew that I was in the Enchanted Forest, for here was springtime and pleasant weather. It being warm, I took a new view of the situation and I decided that I could not fight well with all my armor on; so, back to the horse and there I made myself comfortable, and, when I next wended into the woods, I was clothed in woolens only. My great sword was over my back, my shield was on one arm, a dagger in my belt and a lovely woods-flower in my right hand.
Thus, on to the rocks, and, nearing them, I heard the sound of singing, and the song was about love and roses and ladies’ tresses. I marveled at this and knew it was weird legerdemain. Further on I wandered, and suddenly I came upon the singer, whereat I was greatly frightened. For I knew now that I was in the midst of a great mystery and a most powerful magic. This evil beast who had stolen the poor girl from her parents, by his cunning and in preparation for my arrival, changed his ugly body into that of a lovely damsel, and was waiting to deceive me and, when I was unaware, to kill me with his poison and his mighty power.
I knew that it was useless to cut such a being with a sword or pierce it with a dagger, his body being so much thin air. In such a conflict, weapons of ordinary use were powerless. So I slowly discarded my shield, sword and dagger and, holding the woods-flower in my outstretched hand, I closed for the conflict.
“Though you are a mystic magician, “I cried, “I command you to give me the poor little girl you stole from her parents on Ash Wednesday. Give her to me, and if she is safe I will not harm you; but if you persist, I will match my magic against yours and overcome you.”
“Who are you?” demanded the demon. “Why are you here?”
I could tell from the way he questioned me that he was much impressed by my threat.
“I am Cecil Hubelaire, son of James, and grandson of David, and Raymond the Golden was my distant ancester. Latterly I have become Overlord of Cornwall. You may be interested to know that I killed the dragon of Thorp’s Woods and destroyed seven slithering, shimmering snakes in Ireland which Saint Patrick failed to kill, so that I finished the task he began. Alone and unaided, I made an ending of five Moors who threatened the reputation of a fair Spanish lady, after which she rewarded me in a manner that was most pleasing to each of us. In my land of Cornwall I caught twenty-three bandits, and hanged them as a warning to all evildoers.”
I paused to watch the effect of all this. There was no doubt that the fiend was considerably disturbed, so I continued. “In this country a poor girl — who, by the way, was to marry a very rich man — was ravished from her parents. They appealed to the King of Wales and he pleaded with his knights to rescue her, but all refused, claiming they were too busy. The king sent a very urgent letter to me, and for five days I rode over the worst possible roads to perform this great adventure. It would be better if you submit quietly and allow me to restore the maiden to her parents and future husband. If you refuse, I shall needs fight and will surely overcome you, irrespective of what shape you may assume.”
At this the monster started to cry. “I will never go back and marry that miserable old man. It would be better for me to die!” It was easily apparent that this was only part of the deception the horrific monster was trying to impose upon me; so I grew stern.
“She must go back,” I cried harshly, and, twirling the woods-flower in my hand to distract his attention, I advanced on him, for it was my purpose to spring forward suddenly, take him by the throat and choke him to death before he had a chance to change his form from that of a beautiful woman to his usual dragon shape or that of a six-legged scorpion.
The monster looked at me. The eyes he had assumed were blue, the face fair and smooth as a rose petal, and his mouth was a lovely red bow. It was easily seen that the body he had taken as disguise was fair, for the silken robe clung seductively to curves worthy of Aphrodite. Suddenly he cried out loudly. “No other man,” he sobbed, “would make me go back and marry that horrible old lecher!” But by that time I leaped forward and was crushing him in my arms.
Some days later I came out of the dark forest. My poor charger, having eaten all the grass within his reach, had broken loose but, true to his master, had remained near the armor. Slowly I put on the heavy pieces and, mounted the faithful animal, prepared to return to the town. So I rode away from the mountain — with the damsel in front of me.
To my surprise I was met by a great concourse of armed men. It seems that King Cadwyn, hearing that I had gone into the mountains on a desperate adventure, had gathered his knights and come to my rescue. Had I not presented myself that day, they would have searched for my bones to give them Christian burial. My sudden appearance made such a search unnecessary; so there was nothing to do but make merry over my safe return from so great a derring-do and allow feasting to replace the proposed solemn masses for my soul.
At the banquet table I requested that the damsel sit beside me, saying that there were very impressive reasons why this should be so. Then came feasting and talking, the Welsh being very brave at both such sports. King Cadwyn told how proud they all were to have the Overlord of Cornwall take part in such a glorious and valorous undertaking; the girl’s father stammered his joy and thanksgiving for her safe return; the aged gallant handed me a silken bag holding the fifty crowns he had promised me as a reward. Then he begged the monarch that the wedding take place while all the nobility of Wales were there, and promised to give fine presents to each guest.
But I rose from my seat and said, “I cannot let this man die!”
“What do you mean?” asked the King.
“To explain,” I replied, “will be a pleasure, though I cannot do so without telling of my overcoming this great Welsh monster in his mountain cave. If, in the telling, at times I seem boastful, you will pardon my pride; for, in truth, the feat was a great deed and well done. I do not wish to relate all the details, for they, in part, are so terrible that the women, listening, would swoon from fright. I will simply explain why it is impossible for this worthy man to marry the damsel, because he is a good man and I do not want him to die. dark woods heard horrible hissing and