Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-05-12
THE
S 7 A r
BY Percy
Bre@meT

Daria sat.
The princess rose. and saluted her
eravely, wondering If at that moment
the same thought ran through both our
brains-the thought of the handker-
chief which she had given and which
even then was lying close to my heart
Then I rode back and stood beneath
the marshal's gallery.
"Heralds. sound the challenge OF the
knight of the Silver Star-once" he
cried.
The trumpets' music filed the air,
and before the echoes had died among
the hills the barrier at the opposite
side Of the lists to which 1 had enter
ed was thrown open, and Count Vasca
rode into the arena.
~ accept the challenge" he cried,
and then, approaching me. he said in
a lower voice: NO love cTeepS into
our combat. Sir Verrall. You have
wiIled that 1t shall be for honor"
For honor. Count Vasca. and for
love. too, If you will" I answered de-
family.
$50 soon a different tale, Danger
gives increasing beauty TO a fair face
likely TO be lost"
at Is rather TO challenge you to
your best. You harp on love so con-
stantly perchance honor is not enough
to strengthen your arm against me-"
A hiss of rage was his only answer.
ITO achievement, knights" cried the
herald Sound trumpetsr'
AS the blast rang out I turned my
horse. and the next moment the count
and were rushing madly at each 9th
err In that instant my mind was
blank. Action had driven out even
the thought of fear. We met. His
lance shivered against my shield. a
blow which shook me, but did not
make me reel in the saddle. Either
my aim was untrue or he avoided the
blow, for my lance only glanced along
his armor and I continued my rush
toward the opposite side Of the lists.
Perhaps there was some surprise that
I was still in the saddle. a satiSfac-
ton that the combat was not 10 be a
one sided affair. that if not all claim
ed to be / was NJ least no craven car
pet knight At any rate. a cheer rang
out. and felt encouraged.
Turning. / saw that the count had
been supplied with another lance and
was ready TO charge again. There was
q moments pause; then the trumpets
sounded, and once more we rushed
upon each other The spirit of battle
was upon me. had more confidence.
and 1 dug the spurs into my horse,
leaning forward to the charge.
l hardly knew what had happened,
brought as I was TO a sudden standstill
by blow which seemed to strike me
full in the body. l reeled backward,
but my horse. being thrown upon his
launches. saved me. and with
mighty effort I succeeded in keeping
my seat As my horse struggled up !
regai2ed my full consciousness. TO find
Vascas horse also struggling to his
feet, his rider still in the saddle, and
to see that both our lances were bro
ken short to the handle. Ny blow had
been as fierce as his Victory was
with neither of US yet.
A great roar of applause arose
around US as we passed to opposite
sides of the lists.
Both of us had to be given a fresh
lance. and probably the count, like
myself, felt the need of recovering
himself a little before again rushing
to the onslaught. / had no knowledge
Of how much of this kind of thing he
could stand without showing signs of
weakness, but l was perfectly sure
that another blow like the last would
be quite enough for me.
Even now we seemed a long time
reaching each other. and my eyes re-
fused to see my enemy clearly as he
came, yet 1 felt that he, too, wished
to end the combat: that he. too, was
bent on making desperate endeavor.
Gathering all my strength together, l
rushed to meet him, and even as / did
so 1 remembered Organs advice
Perhaps even at that late moment l
feared TO receive such a blow as the
last but whatever the motive was
that decided me acted upon the ad-
vice. l slightly checked my pace, and
as we met / Swerved a little and lev
eled my lance at Vasca's helmet. The
sudden action made me reel. and had
the counts lance struck me then l
should have been endorsed. But for
tune favored me- Vasca attempted TO
alter his course in a similar manner,
but his horse. going faster than mine,
stumbled forward His lance missed
me altogether, while mine only struck
him lightly 1t was not my blow that
unseated him, but his stumbling
charger. The count made a frantic
effort to keep his horse from falling.
but in vain. and he rolled heavily from
his saddle to the ground
Shout after shout rent the air. Who !
could tell how the count had fallen? |
The fact ram ipad fhaf WhiIa he roll 4
ed in the dust, I remained in the sad /
die. So they shouted as men will at 1
victory, satisfied and jubilant.
"Sir Verran. Sir Verrall! The /
Knight Of the Silver Starr
The count struggled to his feet.
"A stumbling steed is no knights /
dishOnor. Another horsep' he cried. /
"Or on foot, Sir YerralI, as you will"