Adalo stepped forward hesitatingly.
"Here: I, Adalo, son of Adalger."
"Step to the right. Where is the defendant?"
"Here!" said a man in plain garments; he wore an old fishing net for a girdle. With head bent sorrowfully he came forward, lowering his eyes.
"What is your complaint?" asked the judge.
"Breaking the oath of military duty."
"That is a matter of life and death. Tell me the law: may Adalo, son of Adalger, make such a charge here?"
One of the two old men stepped forward again, and said:
"The assembly knows Adalo, the Adeling, as a free man of unblemished reputation: his estate is in the Linzgau: it would cover any charge of false accusation: he may make complaint in a matter of life and death."
At a sign from the judge the young noble began: