got up and limped painfully away, saying he must go and look to
his horse.
At bottom he was all right and a good-hearted giant, without any
harm in him, for it is no harm to bark, if one stops there and does
not bite, and it is no harm to be an ass, if one is content to bray and
not kick. If this vast structure of brawn and muscle and vanity and
foolishness seemed to have a libelous tongue, what of it? There
was no malice behind it; and besides, the defect was not of his
own creation; it was the work of No‰l Rainguesson, who had
nurtured it, fostered it, built it up and perfected it, for the
entertainment he got out of it. His careless light heart had to have
somebody to nag and chaff and make fun of, the Paladin had only
needed development in order to meet its requirements,
consequently the development was taken in hand and diligently
attended to and looked after, gnat-and-bull fashion, for years, to
the neglect and damage of far more important concerns. The result
was an unqualified success. No‰l prized the society of the Paladin
above everybody else’s; the Paladin preferred anybody’s to No‰l’s.
The big fellow was often seen with the little fellow, but it was for
the same reason that the bull is often seen with the gnat.
With the first opportunity, I had a talk with No‰l. I welcomed him
to our expedition, and said:
“It was fine and brave of you to volunteer, No‰l.”
His eye twinkled, and he answered:
“Yes, it was rather fine, I think. Still, the credit doesn’t all belong
to me; I had help.”
“Who helped you?”
“The governor.”
“How?”
“Well, I’ll tell you the whole thing. I came up from Domremy to
see the crowds and the general show, for I hadn’t ever had any
experience of such things, of course, and this was a great
opportunity; but I hadn’t any mind to volunteer. I overtook the
Paladin on the road and let him have my company the rest of the
way, although he did not want it and said so; and while we were
gawking and blinking in the glare of the governor’s torches they
seized us and four more and added us to the escort, and that is
really how I came to volunteer. But, after all, I wasn’t sorry,
remembering how dull life would have been in the village without
the Paladin.”
“How did he feel about it? Was he satisfied?”
“I think he was glad.”
“Why?”
“Because he said he wasn’t. He was taken by surprise, you see, and
it is not likely that he could tell the truth without preparation. Not
that he would have prepared, if he had had the chance, for I do not
think he would. I am not charging him with that. In the same space
of time that he could prepare to speak the truth, he could also
prepare to lie; besides, his judgment would be cool then, and
would warn him against fooling with new methods in an
emergency. No, I am sure he was glad, because he said he wasn’t.”
“Do you think he was very glad?”
“Yes, I know he was. He begged like a slave, and bawled for his
mother. He said his health was delicate, and he didn’t know how to
ride a horse, and he knew he couldn’t outlive the first march. But
really he wasn’t looking as delicate as he was feeling. There was a
cask of wine there, a proper lift for four men. The governor’s
temper got afire, and he delivered an oath at him that knocked up
the dust where it struck the ground, and told him to shoulder that
cask or he would carve him to cutlets and send him home in a
basket. The Paladin did it, and that secured his promotion to a
privacy in the escort without any further debate.”
“Yes, you seem to make it quite plain that he was glad to join–that
is, if your premises are right that you start from. How did he stand
the march last night?”
“About as I did. If he made the more noise, it was the privilege of