woman knight and and shall though called a queen escape we call for judgment shouted another and there were sullen murmurs throughout the hall and rude voices cried will not the king pass sentence as the law demands slowly king arthur uncovered his face and so great was his woe that he seemed now an old man borne down by grief and the weight of years and as he spoke his voice was like the cry of some lone sea bird driven far from land in a winter s storm the law shall be obeyed he said for i sit here as king to be the judge of all whether high or low and no love of mine shall shield even those dearest to me from the strict course of justice so then it was that on the morrow at the rising of the sun the queen should be burned to death outside the walls of forthwith the king sent men to summon sir and sir and sir and other stories of the king trusted knights who were still hunting in the forest and knew naught of what had happened at the court these when they were found rode with all speed homeward and paused not till they drew rein at the castle gate if we had been here said this shameful thing would not have happened is forever evil no word of his can make me believe that the queen is guilty of wrong judgment has been given and sentence is passed said king arthur and there is no help i ask it of you my friend to be present to morrow at the burning and see that all things are done as has been but sir answered boldly sir king i will not be present at the death of my dear lady the queen evil men and false witnesses have persuaded you to consent to this dreadful deed and i will have no part in it and with that he departed angry and then the king spoke to sir and young sir the brothers of sir fair he said will you not for the love which you bear your king heed this request which i make of you to morrow at the sun s rising the queen will be led to her death outside the city walls will you not attend her and see that all things are the of sir done orderly and well according to law and the customs of the land the two knights hesitated and each looked at the other and then at the king at length sir answered sir king we will obey you in this as becomes our duty but it is sorely against our will we will be present as you desire but for the honor of our we will not appear in arms when our dear queen is led to her death then they sorrowfully mounted their horses and rode out of the king s castle early in the morning as had been queen was led to a place outside the walls and there she was bound to a tall stake driven in the ground many of her ladies who had followed at a distance stood by the gates and wept at the grievous sight and the best of king arthur s knights turned their backs upon the city and with uncovered heads rode away into the forest unwilling to remain where such a deed of cruelty was being done as for and his young brother they could not bear to look at the queen in her dire distress they had come to the place without arms and they stood there silently with their faces turned away and hidden in their but all around them there was a of rude and false knights who loved such cruel sights and these filled stories of the king the air with their and shouting and no one dared do aught in of the queen lest he also should be accused of treason men and boys ran to fetch dry to heap up around the victim fire was brought soon a cloud of smoke arose and little tongues of flame began to curl upward from among the the noisy cries of the were hushed and few hearts were not melted with pity at sight of the lovely face of the queen turned as though in prayer suddenly there was a great tumult � men shouting women screaming and the sound of horses galloping wildly through the assembled crowd sir sir cried some and then there was a swift vision of the knight and his riding furiously forward and with red swords cutting down all who were in their way right towards the stake and the flames rushed sir he severed the which bound the queen he lifted her into the saddle before him then quickly he wheeled his and with his followers galloped away soon they were safe again in the of joyous many were the knights who rejoiced when they learned that sir had so gallantly rescued the of sir the queen from death and even those who had cried out against her were glad in their hearts that she had escaped but when the news was carried into the city there was great dismay because of the blood that had been shed on that morning how it with my brothers sir and sir asked sir both were slain answered the messenger oh my brothers my brothers cried how came they to be slain they were standing by the roadside with their es of the king faces covered said the messenger and sir in his furious them both that cannot be true said sir for my brothers loved sir and there was nothing they would have refused him surely he would not harm them but they are both slain and by sir answered the messenger then sir and fell to the ground and for a long time he lay speechless from sheer grief 