"Now," he said, "send for a second sword and fight with me."
Then Sir Accalon was afraid. Yet he thought that Arthur was so weak that he could still be overcome. So he sent for a second sword, and they began to fight again. Arthur's strength, however, had largely returned, and in a short time he gave Sir Accalon a mortal stroke.
Sir Accalon fell to the ground, and the king, leaning over him, cried:
Then Sir Accalon was filled with remorse, and he said:
"Oh, my king, I have been a traitor to you, but now I am dying, and I am sorry for what I have done. I deserve my death."
He told the king his name, and all about his treachery, and that of Morgan le Fay.
"It is very hard to be deceived in a friend," he said, "but I forgive you freely. I will try to cure your wound, and sometime I shall trust you again."
"You cannot cure me," said Sir Accalon. "I am dying. Let them carry me off the field."
So he was taken to a neighboring abbey, while the people crowded about the king to congratulate him, but Arthur said:
"I am sad at heart. My victory is no comfort to me, for to-day I have lost a friend whom I believed true."
Then he called the two brothers, Sir Damas and Sir Ontzlake, and judged their cause. He decided that their property must be divided equally between them, and that they must be friends. They promised never to quarrel again. Arthur told them that they must be kind to other knights and to all people. He said that if he heard that they were not, he would come and punish them.
After this, Sir Damas gave back to the twenty knights all their money, and they went on their way rejoicing. King Arthur mounted his horse and rode over to the abbey, where he sat by the bed of Sir Accalon till the poor knight died. Then the king went back alone to his Court at Camelot.
[Illustration] HOW ARTHUR FOUGHT WITH A GIANT
Once upon a time King Arthur and some of his knights were sailing in a ship. The king, being tired, went to sleep in his cabin, and began to dream. It seemed to him that he was sailing with his people when a great dragon flew out of the west. This dragon had a blue head and a gold back. Underneath he shone like a rainbow. Flames of fire rushed out of his mouth and covered land and sea.