"The king asked Lord Talbot to provide me with armour, and a horse; so we must wait until he comes this way." It was half an hour before the earl came out. "The letter was of importance," he said, "and it is well that it was brought on. "Now, Sir Oswald, let us see to your matter. Two days ago Sir William Baxter was killed, by a sudden attack of the Welsh, while he was burning a village. His men rallied, beat off the Welsh, and brought his body in; and methinks his armour will fit you, though he was shorter, by two or three inches, than yourself." He accompanied Oswald to one of a small group of tents, standing a quarter of a mile farther down the road. "Is Sir William Baxter's squire here?" A young man at once came up. "I was his esquire, my lord." "I have the king's orders," the earl said, "that his arms, armour, and horses are to be handed over, forthwith, to Sir Oswald Forster here, who will take command of his troop. He will take over all the other belongings of the knight." The young squire bowed. "I will hand them over to you, sir." "You will, of course, take possession of the tent also, Sir Oswald. Sir William was one of my knights. He was unwedded, and has no male kin; therefore, you need have no hesitation in taking his belongings; which indeed we should, in any case, have little chance of taking back with us, for our waggons are but few, and will daily become fewer: for on such roads as these, both waggons and horses break down, and it will be as much as we can do to carry even necessities with us. "Come to my tent at noon, it lacks but an hour of it, and I will present you at dinner to some of my knights; among whom, for the present, I shall rank you." So saying, he turned away. The young squire held open the entrance of the tent, for Oswald to enter, and followed him in. "It seems a strange thing to be thus possessed of another man's goods," he said. "It is often so," the squire said, "and sometimes even his estates go with them, also. As the earl said, Sir William Baxter had none to whom these things could have been given; seeing that he had, so far as I know, only one sister, to whom armour and horses could be of no use. She is one of the Countess of Talbot's ladies." "And what are you going to do, yourself?" "For the present, I know not," the squire said. "I had been with Sir William Baxter but three years. The knight I served with, before, was thrown from his horse and killed; and Sir William, who had been just knighted, took me into his service." "How long have you been a squire?" "Six years, and I hoped that, in this campaign, I might have done something to win my spurs." "I am but a poor knight, Master--" and he paused. "Henry Pemberton," the squire said.