“Yes,” said Sir Halewyn.
“But if thou overcome me, this shall be thy guerdon:
“Five-and-twenty bezants which are in the house of thy Lord, the noble Count of Flanders; all the accoutrement of my horse, which is of fine mail; his fair saddle of pear-wood, covered with leather, and saddle-bows richly figured with ten horsemen lustily fighting and with Our Lord driving out the devil from one possessed; furthermore my helm of fine wrought steel, and on it a crest of silver, gilt over, with spread wings, which may very well, notwithstanding thy device, stand against thy bleeding heart, thy gaping sickle, and thy miserable crow. Well, My Lord the Invincible, dost think thou shalt win invincibly the five-and-twenty bezants, the helm of my head, and the trappings of my horse?”
Then, after My Lord himself had given the signal, they ran together with a great clatter.
And the English knight was overthrown like the rest.
Then all the ladies acclaimed and applauded the Miserable, crying out: “Worship to Siewert Halewyn the noble, Siewert Halewyn the Fleming, Siewert Halewyn the Invincible.”
And on his way back to the house of My Lord, there to feast with him, he was by these ladies kissed, fondled, and made much of without stint.
And, putting on the gear of the English knight, he went off to the towns of Bruges, Lille, and Ghent, thieving and ravishing everywhere.
And came back from each expedition with much booty.