'Oh,' cried I, 'what shall we do? It would be worse than death to fall again into the hands of Sir Claudius!'
'You never shall,' said Sir Hubert, 'whilst I live and a strong arm can prevent it.'
At that moment a solitary horseman, riding towards us from the opposite direction, stopped short, and, looking hard at us, exclaimed—
'Why, is it thou again? And still pursued by the rabble? Thou wilt be killed yet!'
'Master Jack Fish!' exclaimed I. 'You remember him, Hubert, and what a good friend he was to us when we were in that shed?'
'Oh, yes, I remember him perfectly,' and my dear one greeted him in a very friendly way, rapidly explaining the situation.
'Thou art in great danger,' said Jack Fish gravely. 'Thine enemy will stick at nothing to be revenged on thee. I caught a good glimpse of his horsemen when I was on that hill, and there are four times as many of them as there are of thee.'
'What shall we do?' I exclaimed.
Jack Fish looked at me pityingly. 'Madam,' he said, 'thou in that litter art in the position of the greatest danger. Thy litter is a target towards which all will aim. Sir Knight, is it absolutely impossible to separate the lady from her litter?'
'Well, no,' replied Sir Hubert. 'Margery'—he turned to me—'can you ride well? Could you accompany us on horseback?'