Now，Nigel，youngandinexperienced，allNature’saidwillnothelpyouagainstthemixedcraftandstrengthofsuchawarrior。
ThedaywillcomewhenneitherMannynorevenChandoscouldsweepyoufromyoursaddle;butnow，evenhadyousomelesscumbrousarmor，yourchanceweresmall。Yourdownfallisnear;butasyouseethefamousblackchevronsonagoldengroundyourgallantheartwhichneverknewfearisonlyfilledwithjoyandamazementatthehonordoneyou。Yourdownfallisnear，andyetinyourwildestdreamsyouwouldneverguesshowstrangeyourdownfallistobe。
Againwithadullthunderofhoofsthehorsesgallopoverthesoftwater-meadow。Againwithaclashofmetalthetworidersmeet。
ItisNigelnow，takencleaninthefaceofhishelmetwiththebluntedspear，whofliesbackwardoffhishorseandfallsclangingonthegrass。
Butgoodheavens！whatisthis？，Mannyhasthrownuphishandsinhorrorandthelancehasdroppedfromhisnervelessfingers。Fromallsides，withcriesofdismay，withoathsandshoutsandejaculationstothesaints，thehorsemenridewildlyin。Waseversodreadful，sosudden，socomplete，anendtoagentlepassageatarms？，Surelytheireyesmustbeatfault？，Somewizard’strickhasbeenplayeduponthemtodeceivetheirsenses。Butno，itwasonlytooclear。Thereonthegreenswardlaythetrunkofthestrickencavalier，andthere，agooddozenyardsbeyond，layhishelmetedhead。