第82章

Ivanhoe，whohadotherwebtoweavethantostandcanvassingapalfrey’spaceswithitsowner，lentbutadeafeartothePrior’sgraveadvicesandfacetiousjests，andhavingleaptonhismare，andcommandedhissquire(forsuchGurthnowcalledhimself)tokeepclosebyhisside，hefollowedthetrackoftheBlackKnightintotheforest，whilethePriorstoodatthegateoftheconventlookingafterhim，andejaculating，——``SaintMary！howpromptandfierybethesemenofwar！IwouldI

hadnottrustedMalkintohiskeeping，for，crippledasIamwiththecoldrheum，Iamundoneifaughtbutgoodbefallsher。Andyet，’’saidhe，recollectinghimself，``asIwouldnotsparemyownoldanddisabledlimbsinthegoodcauseofOldEngland，soMalkinmuste’enrunherhazardonthesameventure；anditmaybetheywillthinkourpoorhouseworthyofsomemunificentguerdon——or，itmaybe，theywillsendtheoldPriorapacingnag。

Andiftheydononeofthese，asgreatmenwillforgetlittlemen’sservice，trulyIshallholdmewellrepaidinhavingdonethatwhichisright。Anditisnowwellnighthefittingtimetosummonthebrethrentobreakfastintherefectory——Ah！Idoubttheyobeythatcallmorecheerilythanthebellsforprimesandmatins。’’

SothePriorofSaintBotolph’shobbledbackagainintotherefectory，topresideoverthestockfishandale，whichwasjustservingoutforthefriars’breakfast。Pursyandimportant，hesathimdownatthetable，andmanyadarkwordhethrewout，ofbenefitstobeexpectedtotheconvent，andhighdeedsofservicedonebyhimself，which，atanotherseason，wouldhaveattractedobservation。

Butasthestockfishwashighlysalted，andthealereasonablypowerful，thejawsofthebrethrenweretooanxiouslyemployedtoadmitoftheirmakingmuchuseoftheirears；nordowereadofanyofthefraternity，whowastemptedtospeculateuponthemysterioushintsoftheirSuperior，exceptFatherDiggory，whowasseverelyafflictedbythetoothache，sothatbecouldonlyeatononesideofhisjaws。

Inthemeantime，theBlackChampionandhisguidewerepacingattheirleisurethroughtherecessesoftheforest；thegoodKnightwhileshummingtohimselfthelayofsomeenamouredtroubadour，sometimesencouragingbyquestionsthepratingdispositionofhisattendant，sothattheirdialogueformedawhimsicalmixtureofsongandjest，ofwhichwewouldfaingiveourreaderssomeidea。YouarethentoimaginethisKnight，suchaswehavealreadydescribedhim，strongofperson，tall，broad-shouldered，andlargeofbone，mountedonhismightyblackcharger，whichseemedmadeonpurposetobearhisweight，soeasilyhepacedforwardunderit，havingthevisorofhishelmetraised，inordertoadmitfreedomofbreath，yetkeepingthebeaver，orunderpart，closed，sothathisfeaturescouldbebutimperfectlydistinguished。

Buthisruddyembrownedcheek-bonescouldbeplainlyseen，andthelargeandbrightblueeyes，thatflashedfromunderthedarkshadeoftheraisedvisor；andthewholegestureandlookofthechampionexpressedcarelessgaietyandfearlessconfidence——

amindwhichwasunapttoapprehenddanger，andprompttodefyitwhenmostimminent——

yetwithwhomdangerwasafamiliarthought，aswithonewhosetradewaswarandadventure。

TheJesterworehisusualfantastichabit