But one man is of little avail to a traveller on a perilous road,
so if thou wilt I will give leave and license to a half score
of our sergeants to follow thee on the road; for, as thou wottest,
I may easily wage others in their place. Or else wouldst thou
ask the Queen of Goldburg to give thee a score of men-at-arms;
she looked to me the other day as one who would deny thee few
of thine askings."

Ralph blushed red, and said: "Nay, I will not ask her this."
Then he was silent; the new-comer looked from one to the other,
and said nothing. At last Ralph spake: "Look you, Clement,
my friend, I wot well how thou wouldst make my goings safe,
even if it were to thy loss, and I thank thee for it: but I deem
I shall do no better than putting myself into this man's hands,
since he has a let-pass for the lands of him of Utterbol:
and meseemeth from all that I have heard, that a half score
or a score, or for the matter of that an hundred men-at-arms would
not be enough to fight a way to Utterbol, and their gathering
together would draw folk upon them, who would not meddle
with two men journeying together, even if they had no let-pass
of this mighty man." Clement sighed and grunted, and then said:
"Well, lord, maybe thou art right."

"Yea," said the guide, "he is as right as may be:
I have not spoken before lest ye might have deemed me untrusty:
but now I tell thee this, that never should a small band
of men unknown win through the lands of the Lord of Utterbol,
or the land debatable that lieth betwixt them and Goldburg."

Ralph nodded friendly at him as he spake; but Clement looked on him sternly;