indeed been a bitter mortification to him that he, the son of one of the
proudest of English nobles, should have been worsted by a London
apprentice, and it was a relief to him to find that his opponent was one of
knightly blood. He turned frankly to Walter and held out his hand. "I greet
you as a comrade, sir," he said, "and hope some day that in our rivalry in
the field I may do better than I have done today."

"That is well spoken," the king said. Then he rose and in a loud voice
addressed the combatants, saying, that all had borne themselves well and
bravely, and that he thanked them, not only for the rare pastime which they
had made, but for the courage and boldness which had been displayed on both
sides. So saying, he waved his hand as a token that the proceedings were
ended, and returned with the court to Westminster; while the crowd of
spectators overflowed the lists, those who had friends in the apprentice
array being anxious to know how they had fared. That evening there was a
banquet given by the lord-mayor. Walter was invited to be present, with
Giles and Geoffrey, and many complimentary things were said to him, and he
was congratulated on the prospects which awaited him. After dinner all the
'prentices who had taken part in the sports filed through the hall and were
each presented with a gold piece by the lord-mayor, in the name of the
corporation, for having so nobly sustained the renown of the city.

After the entertainment was over Walter returned with Geoffrey to the
bowyer's house, and there heard from his two friends and Bertha the details
of his mother's life from the time that she had been a child, and the story
of her arrival with him, and her death. He had still difficulty in
believing that it was all true, that Giles and Bertha, whom he had so long
regarded as father and mother, were only his kind guardians, and that he
was the scion of two noble families. Very warmly and gratefully he thanked
his three friends for the kindness which they had shown to him, and vowed