"But to plunder whom?"
"Sir John, I fear. Know'st thou if he hath brought much money or valuables with him?"
"I have not heard of it, and if I know not I see not how others can have learned it."
"Then I must be mistaken. It is doubtless some other knight they wish to rob, for that they are after something of the sort I am wellnigh certain."
Suddenly Edgar recollected what Sir John had told him of the attempt upon his life which had, he thought, been planned by Sir Gervaise. It seemed improbable that De Maupas would again make such an attempt, especially as he would so soon have ample opportunity for revenge in the encounter in the lists. Still, it would be well that no stone should be left unturned that might affect his master's safety.
"After all, Peter, keep a close watch upon these men. Though their evil designs may not be directed against us, I would still frustrate them an we can. Keep an eye upon them without being thyself seen, and find out whether they have any friends within the camp."
"I will, sir;" and Peter limped off with the air of one setting about a task especially congenial to him.
Nothing, however, occurred in any way suspicious until the very eve of the tournament. By that time everything in connection with the arrangements had been settled, and the esquires of the English army had been rendered wild with excitement at the news that the proceedings would be opened by a mêlée between seven esquires chosen from amongst their number and a like number selected from among their Gascon allies.
Originally this spectacular encounter had been intended for knights, but, fearing that the victory of either side might lead to jealousy and hinder the harmonious working of the two branches of his army, the Earl of Derby prohibited the engagement in the form proposed, and substituted for it a general mêlée in which the members of the two competing bodies were drawn promiscuously from amongst the knights of both nations.
The projectors of the original scheme, however, unwilling to abandon their proposal altogether, urged that the objections brought against it hardly applied to a contest amongst esquires. To this the earl assented, and it was finally arranged that in the esquires' mêlée the two sides should be drawn from amongst the English and Gascon troops respectively. The news was received with acclamation, and it soon became abundantly evident that, although the contest was one for esquires only, its unusual character had invested it with much more than the usual interest.