Upon hearing this, one of the squires uttered some words of defiance, and advanced as if to strike the archer; but the archer, having his bow and arrow all ready, suddenly let the arrow fly, and the squire was killed on the spot. Sir Miles had already gone on toward the town. The other squire, seeing his companion dead, immediately made his escape. The two archers, leaving the man whom they had killed on the ground where he had fallen, made the best of their way home, and told their master, Sir Ralph Stafford, what they had done. Sir Ralph was extremely concerned to hear of the occurrence, and he told the archer who killed the squire that he had done very wrong. "But, my lord," said the archer, "I could not have done otherwise; for the man was coming up to us with his sword drawn in his hand, and we were obliged either to kill him or to be killed ourselves." The archers, moreover, told Sir Ralph that the squires were in the service of Sir John Holland. Now Sir John Holland was a half brother of the king, being the child of his mother, the Princess of Wales, by a former husband. When Sir Ralph heard this, he was still more alarmed than before. He told the archers who killed the squire that they must go and hide themselves somewhere until the affair could be arranged. "I will negotiate with Lord Holland for your pardon," said he, "either through my father or in some other way. But, in the mean time, you must keep yourselves closely concealed." The Earl of Stafford, Lord Ralph Stafford's father, was a nobleman of the very highest rank, and of great influence. It is a curious indication of the ideas that prevailed in those days, and of the relations that subsisted between the nobles and their dependants, that the slaughter of a man in an affray of this kind was a matter to be _arranged_ between the masters respectively of the men engaged in it. The archers went away to hide themselves until Lord Ralph could arrange the matter. In the mean time, the squire who had escaped in the fray hurried home and related the matter to Lord Holland. Lord Holland was greatly enraged. He uttered dreadful imprecations against Lord Ralph Stafford and against Sir Miles, whom he seemed to consider responsible for the death of his squire, and declared that he would not sleep until he had had his revenge. So he mounted his horse, and, taking some trusty attendants with him, rode into Beverley, and asked where Sir Miles's lodgings were. While he was going toward the place, breathing fury and death, suddenly, in a narrow lane, he came upon Lord Ralph, who was then going to find him, in order to arrange about the murder. It was now, however, late in the evening, and so dark that the parties did not at first know each other. "Who comes here?" said Lord Holland, when he saw Sir Ralph approaching. "I am Stafford," replied Sir Ralph. "You are the very man I want to see," said Lord Holland. "One of your servants has killed my squire--the one that I loved so much."