supper was served, Ranulph had a view of the scene within. Biterres, with
the fantastic formality it pleased him to use, had insisted on the
attendance of his prisoners at supper, and the meal was served with all
due ceremony. Biterres and Malemort appeared to be acting with studied
politeness. The maidens were behaving with the dignity and self-possession
which became daughters of soldiers, although they were pale and woe-
begone. The troopers at the lower table were noisy and rude enough, and
Ranulph suspected that his entertainment had been ordered partly to keep
them from getting out of hand with drinking and rioting. He had contrived
a clown's costume from some of his belongings, aided by a little flour and
paint, and a bauble made of a toasting fork stuck through an apple. When
he pranced into the hall the soldiers yelled with surprise and delight.
Behind him at a discreet distance came a small boy, also attired in antic
fashion, carrying carefully in both hands a huge pie. The cook was peeping
through the screen to see what was going to happen.

Neither Ranulph nor Peirol gave so much as a glance at the captives, who
were too much amazed to say anything at first, and quickly saw the danger
of any betraying comment. The troubadour marched up to Biterres, asked
permission to sing, and began a doggerel ballad about one Sir Orpheus and
his magic harp. The harp, as the song explained, had the power of luring
pigeons, rabbits, wild geese, lambs, sucking-pigs and even fish from the
stewponds, into its owner's dinner-pot, so that Orpheus never lacked for
good living and became very fat. The bouillabaisse of Marseilles, the
Norman ragout of eels, the roast goose of Arles, the pigs' feet of Spain,
the partridge pasty of Periguex,--all the luscious dishes of a land of
good eating were described in a way that made these old campaigners howl
with reminiscent joy. The rollicking, impudent tune, the allusions to camp
customs more notorious than honest, went straight to the heart of the
blackguard audience, and half the voices in the room promptly joined the