Rewards and Fairies | Page 6

send him out into the world."
'"Time past is past time," says Sir Huon. "I doubt if we could do it. For
one thing, the babe would have to be taken without wronging man,
woman, or child. For another, he'd have to be born on the far side of
Cold Iron - in some house where no Cold Iron ever stood; and for yet
the third, he'd have to be kept from Cold Iron all his days till we let him
find his fortune. No, it's not easy," he said, and he rode off, thinking.
You see, Sir Huon had been a man once. 'I happened to attend Lewes
Market next Woden's Day even, and watched the slaves being sold
there - same as pigs are sold at Robertsbridge Market nowadays. Only,
the pigs have rings on their noses, and the slaves had rings round their
necks.'
'What sort of rings?' said Dan.
'A ring of Cold Iron, four fingers wide, and a thumb thick, just like a
quoit, but with a snap to it for to snap round the slave's neck. They used
to do a big trade in slave-rings at the Forge here, and ship them to all
parts of Old England, packed in oak sawdust. But, as I was saying,
there was a farmer out of the Weald who had bought a woman with a
babe in her arms, and he didn't want any encumbrances to her driving
his beasts home for him.'
'Beast himself!' said Una, and kicked her bare heel on the gate.
'So he blamed the auctioneer. "It's none o' my baby," the wench puts in.
"I took it off a woman in our gang who died on Terrible Down
yesterday." "I'll take it off to the church then," says the farmer. "Mother
Church'll make a monk of it, and we'll step along home."
'It was dusk then. He slipped down to St Pancras' Church, and laid the
babe at the cold chapel door. I breathed on the back of his stooping
neck - and - I've heard he never could be warm at any fire afterwards. I
should have been surprised if he could! Then I whipped up the babe,
and came flying home here like a bat to his belfry.
'On the dewy break of morning of Thor's own day -just such a day as
this - I laid the babe outside the Hill here, and the People flocked up
and wondered at the sight.

'"You've brought him, then?" Sir Huon said, staring like any mortal
man.
'"Yes, and he's brought his mouth with him, too," I said. The babe was
crying loud for his breakfast.
'"What is he?" says Sir Huon, when the womenfolk had drawn him
under to feed him.
'"Full Moon and Morning Star may know," I says. "I don't. By what I
could make out of him in the moonlight, he's without brand or blemish.
I'll answer for it that he's born on the far side of Cold Iron, for he was
born under a shaw on Terrible Down, and I've wronged neither man,
woman, nor child in taking him, for he is the son of a dead
slave-woman.
'"All to the good, Robin," Sir Huon said. "He'll be the less anxious to
leave us. Oh, we'll give him a splendid fortune, and we shall act and
influence on folk in housen as we have always craved." His Lady came
up then, and drew him under to watch the babe's wonderful doings.'
'Who was his Lady?'said Dan. 'The Lady Esclairmonde. She had been a
woman once, till she followed Sir Huon across the fern, as we say.
Babies are no special treat to me - I've watched too many of them - so I
stayed on the Hill. Presently I heard hammering down at the Forge
there.'Puck pointed towards Hobden's cottage. 'It was too early for any
workmen, but it passed through my mind that the breaking day was
Thor's own day. A slow north-east wind blew up and set the oaks
sawing and fretting in a way I remembered; so I slipped over to see
what I could see.'
'And what did you see?' 'A smith forging something or other out of
Cold Iron. When it was finished, he weighed it in his hand (his back
was towards me), and tossed it from him a longish quoit-throw down
the valley. I saw Cold Iron flash in the sun, but I couldn't quite make
out where it fell. That didn't trouble me. I knew it would be found
sooner or later by someone.'
'How did you know?'Dan went on.
'Because I knew the Smith that made it,' said Puck quietly.
'Wayland Smith?' Una suggested. [See 'Weland's Sword' in PUCK OF
POOK'S HILL.]
'No. I should have passed the time