a knight may ride masked for a specified
time or until a particular purpose is
achieved, that purpose being, I wot, victory
for himself and for me a handful of
byzants from thee.''

``Now, go ahead, Budd,'' called the
Mayor again. ``Are you going crazy?''

The Hon. Sam stretched out his arms
once to loosen them for gesture, thrust
his chest out, and uplifted his chin: ``Fair
ladies, nobles of the realm, and good
knights,'' he said sonorously, and he raised
one hand to his mouth and behind it spoke
aside to me:

``How's my voice--how's my voice?''

``Great!''
His question was genuine, for the mask
of humor had dropped and the man was
transformed. I knew his inner seriousness,
his oratorical command of good English,
and I knew the habit, not uncommon
among stump-speakers in the South, of
falling, through humor, carelessness, or for
the effect of flattering comradeship, into
all the lingual sins of rural speech; but I
was hardly prepared for the soaring flight