"Nay," said Myles, giving himself a shake; "seest thou not I bewhole, limb and bone? Nay, I have had shrewdly worse falls thanthat. Once I fell out of an oak-tree down by the river and upon aroot, and bethought me I did break a rib or more. And then onetime when I was a boy in Crosbey-Dale --that was where I livedbefore I came hither--l did catch me hold of the blade of thewindmill, thinking it was moving slowly, and that I would have aride i' th' air, and so was like to have had a fall ten thousandtimes worse than this.""Oh, tell us more of that!" said the Lady Anne, eagerly. "I didnever hear of such an adventure as that. Come, coz, and sit downhere upon the bench, and let us have him tell us all of thathappening."Now the lads upon the other side of the wall had been whistlingfurtively for some time, not knowing whether Myles had broken hisneck or had come off scot-free from his fall. "I would like rightwell to stay with ye," said he, irresolutely, "and would gladlytell ye that and more an ye would have me to do so; but hear yenot my friends call me from beyond? Mayhap they think I break myback, and are calling to see whether I be alive or no. An I mightwhistle them answer and toss me this ball to them, all would thenbe well, and they would know that I was not hurt, and so, haply,would go away.""Then answer them," said the Lady Anne, "and tell us of thatthing thou spokest of anon--how thou tookest a ride upon thewindmill. We young ladies do hear little of such matters, notbeing allowed to talk with lads. All that we hear of perils areof knights and ladies and jousting, and such like. It wouldpleasure us right well to have thee tell of thy adventures."So Myles tossed back the ball, and whistled in answer to hisfriends.
Then he told the two young ladies not only of his adventure uponthe windmill, but also of other boyish escapades, and told themwell, with a straightforward smack and vigor, for he enjoyedadventure and loved to talk of it. In a little while he hadregained his ease; his shyness and awkwardness left him, andnothing remained but the delightful fact that he was really andactually talking to two young ladies, and that with just as muchease and infinitely more pleasure than could be had in discoursewith his fellow-squires. But at last it was time for him to go.
"Marry," said he, with a half-sigh, "methinks I did never ha' sosweet and pleasant a time in all my life before. Never did I knowa real lady to talk with, saving only my mother, and I do tell yeplain methinks I would rather talk with ye than with any he inChristendom--saving, perhaps, only my friend Gascoyne. I would Imight come hither again."
The honest frankness of his speech was irresistible; the twogirls exchanged glances and then began laughing. "Truly," saidLady Anne, who, as was said before, was some three or four yearsolder than Myles, "thou art a bold lad to ask such a thing. Howwouldst thou come hither? Wouldst tumble through our clematisarbor again, as thou didst this day?""Nay," said Myles, "I would not do that again, but if ye will bidme do so, I will find the means to come hither.""Nay," said Lady Anne, "I dare not bid thee do such a foolhardything. Nevertheless, if thou hast the courage to come--""Yea," said Myles, eagerly, "I have the courage.""Then, if thou hast so, we will be here in the garden on Saturdaynext at this hour. I would like right well to hear more of thyadventures. But what didst thou say was thy name? I have forgotit again.""It is Myles Falworth."
"Then we shall yclep thee Sir Myles, for thou art a soothlyerrant-knight. And stay! Every knight must have a lady to serve.
How wouldst thou like my Cousin Alice here for thy true lady?""Aye," said Myles, eagerly, "I would like it right well." Andthen he blushed fiery red at his boldness.
