"I have been stabbed in the back on English soil by a miscreant whose object was certainly not robbery. I was turning as he struck or I should not be here now. The man escaped, but I caught a fleeting glimpse of him, and two months later I saw talking with Sir Gervaise a man who resembled him most uncomfortably. Until now, fortunately for me, I have never been in the same quarter of the field as Sir Gervaise, but now that we are thrown together it behoves us to keep watch and ward--Hist! This is he, Edgar." Startled by the sudden change of tone, Edgar glanced quickly in the direction in which Sir John was looking and saw a tall and somewhat gaunt knight sauntering easily towards them. He was dressed in silks in the height of fashion and made a brave show, though the expression of his strongly marked features seemed to Edgar to consort but ill with his dainty attire. As he came closer, his evil expression intensified and became so ugly and insolent a scowl that Edgar saw Sir John’s hand steal involuntarily to his sword hilt. Noticing the action, Sir Gervaise’s face relaxed into a smile hardly less forbidding than his frown, as he snarled: "Never fear, thou shalt soon have opportunity an thou dost desire it." "I do desire it, De Maupas. Thine insolence alone merits chastisement, but besides and above all that there is a matter between us that can never be wiped away until thou hast bit the dust." "Thou art right, Sir John. The deeds of thy grasping forbears stand between us, and one of us, I swear, shall be humiliated before many months are past." "I speak of far viler things than those, things too of more recent date--things that, could I but prove them, would send thee hotfoot to a felon’s cell." Sir Gervaise ground his teeth as he glanced uneasily from Sir John to his esquire. "Darest thou make such shameful allegations against me openly? Darest thou speak out boldly to the earl, or must thou, like a baseborn coward, hint darkly and secretly against mine honour?" "Thou well knowest I can prove nothing, Sir Gervaise, until I prove it on thy body. Wilt meet me in single combat _à outrance_?" "I will. And I swear to punish thee. The earl purposes a tourney when he doth enter Bordeaux. Then thy chance will come unless thou hast thought better of it. Ha! Ha! Perchance when the time cometh, Sir John Chartris may not be so eager to meet Sir Gervaise de Maupas face to face and lance to lance in a fight to the death?" "Thou wilt see. At Bordeaux I will challenge thee publicly, and thou wilt be compelled to answer for thy ill deeds with lance, sword, and dagger." With a smile which seemed to Edgar one of malicious triumph, Sir Gervaise turned on his heel and sauntered slowly away. Sir John looked after him for a minute with a frowning face which showed plainly how deeply his anger had been stirred. Then he turned to Edgar and said: