Here King Robert provides for Advantage in the Place where they should Fight.
The messinger, but mair abade,
Till his mastir his wais raide, 152
And his ansuer him tald alswith;
Than wes na neid to mak him blithe.[†]
For he thoucht, throu his mekill mycht,
Gif the King durst apeir to ficht, 156
That, throu the gret chevelry
That suld be in his cumpany,
He suld swa ourcum the Kyng,
That thar suld be na recoveryng. 160
And the Kyng, on the tothir party,
That wes ay wis and a-verty,
Raid for to se and ches the plas,
And saw [the hye-gat] lyand was 164
Apon a fair feild, evin and dry;
Bot apon athir syde thar-by
Wes a gret mos, mekill and braid,
That fra the way wes, quhar men raid, 168
A bowdraucht neir on athir syde:
And that place thocht hym all to wyde
Till abyde men that horsit war.
Tharfor [thre dykis] ourthwort he schar, 172
Fra bath the mosis to the way:
That war sa fer fra othir, that thai
War in-twyn a bow-draucht and mar.
Sa holl and hye the dykis war, 176
That men mycht nocht, but mekill pane,
Pas thaim, thouch nane war thaim agane.
Bot sloppis in the way left he,
So large, and of sic quantite, 180
That fyffe hundir mycht sammyn ryde
In at the sloppis, syde for syde.
Thar thoucht he battale for to beid,
And bargane thaim; for he na drede 184
Had at thai suld on syde assale,
Na yheit behynd gif him battale.
And befor hym thocht weill that he
Suld fra thar mycht defendit be. 188
Thre deip dykis he gert thar ma;
For gif he mycht nocht weill our-ta
To met thame at the first, that he
Suld haf the tothir at his pouste; 192
Or than the thrid, gif it war swa
At thai had passit the tothir twa.
On this wis him ordanit he,
And syne assemblit his menyhe, 196
That war sex hundreth fechtand men,
But rangald, that wes with him then,
That war als feill as thai, or ma.
With all that menyhe can he ga, 200
The evyn befor the battale suld be,
To litill Lowdoun, quhar that he
Wald abide to se thair cummyng;
Syne with the men of his leding 204
He thoucht to speid hym, swa that he
Suld at the dik befor thaim be.