[Sidenote: “Sixty thieves attacked me last night.] +“Louerd,[88] m{er}ci,” quot he sone, “To-nicht also ros þe mone Come{n} her mo þan sixti þeues, 1956 With lokene copes, and wide sleues, Me forto robben, and to pine, And for to drepe me and mine. Mi dore he broken up ful sket, 1960 And wolde me binden hond and fet. Wan þe godeme{n} þat sawe, [Sidenote: Havelok and his friends drove them off.] Hauelok, and he þat bi þe wowe Leye, he stirte{n} up sone on-on, 1964 And su{m}me grop tre, and su{m} grop ston, And driue he{m} ut, þei he were{n} crus, So dogges ut of milne-hous. Hauelok grop þe dore-tre, 1968 And [at] a dint he slow he{m} thre. He is þe beste ma{n} at nede, Þat eu{er}e mar shal ride stede! Als helpe god, bi mine wone, 1972 [Sidenote: He is worth a thousand men.] A þhousend of me{n} his he worth one! Yif he ne were, ich were nou ded, So haue ich don Mi soule red; But it is hof him mikel sinne; 1976 He made{n} him swilke woundes þri{n}ne, Þat of þe alþer-leste wounde Were a stede brouht to grunde. [Sidenote: He has some bad wounds, more than twenty.] He haues a wunde i{n} the side, 1980 With a gleyue, ful un-ride, And he haues on þoru his arum, Þer-of is ful mikel haru{m}, [Sidenote: [Fol. 214, col. 1.]] And he haues on þoru his þhe, 1984 Þe vn-rideste þat men may se, And oþe[r] wundes haues he stro{n}ge, Mo than twenti swiþe longe. But siþen he hauede lauth þe sor 1988 Of þe wundes, was neuere bor Þat so fauth so he fauth þa{n}ne; Was non þat hauede þe hern-panne So hard, þat he ne dede alto-cruhsse, 1992 And alto-shiuere, and alto-frusshe. [Sidenote: He followed them like a dog does a hare.] He folwede he{m} so hund dos hare, Daþeyt on he wolde spare, Þat [he] ne made he{m} euerilk on 1996 Ligge stille so doth þe ston: And þer nis he nouth to frie, For oþer sholde he make hem lye Ded, or þei him hauede slawen, 2000 Or alto-hewen, or al-to-drawen. [Footnote 88: MS. Iouerd.] +Louerd, haui no more plith Of þat ich was þus greþed to-nith. Þus wolde þe theues me haue reft, 2004 But god-þank, he hauenet sure keft. [Sidenote: But I fear Havelok is all but dead.”] But it is of him mikel scaþe: I woth þat he bes ded ful raþe.” [Headnote: THE OTHERS CONFIRM BERNARD’S STORY.]