And if King Mark and his men had been surprised to find the bird flown, imagine then what must have been their thoughts when they returned and found that they could not enter their own gates. That the bird was there and was shouting defiance at them. And worse yet, that in these shouts of defiance there was laughter and taunt and jest at their expense.
"What now?" asked the cruel and crafty king.
Nor could one of his men tell him.
[CHAPTER SIXTEEN]
To The Rescue
"Methinks," said King Arthur on the fourth day of their journey into Scotland "that we will not find this Sir Tristram. What say you Gawaine?"
"Only that I cannot find it in me to do aught but agree with you," the latter made reply. "And I advise that we return, for had Tristram made his journey hitherward we should long ago have had inkling of it."
"So then, we return today, friends," Arthur announced to his knights. "We have it in us to hope that Percival and Launcelot have had better fortune than we."
And none loath, the party joyously made preparations for return. It had been an eventless search for the brave knight, Tristram, and these men hated inactivity.
"What say you, to sending someone of us to Cadoris announcing that we shall pay him a visit of not more than a day?" So queried the king.