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V . The Price of the Armour The five knights whom the Disinherited Knight had defeated now had to pay him a ransom , because by the rules of the tournament their horses and armour belonged to the winner . Four of them sent their squires with a hundred pieces of gold each , and the knight kept only half of it , giving the rest to the squires , the heralds and the musicians . When the Templar’s squire came , however , he refused . “ Tell your master , ” he said , “ that the fight between us is not finished . I will not take his money or his horse . I want nothing from him except his defeat . ” The knight’s squire throughout the day had been a man whose face was hidden by a dark cloak . It was Gurth . That evening his master gave him a heavy bag of gold . “ Go to Ashby , ” he said , “ and find Isaac of York . Pay him for the horse and the armour he has lent me , and thank him from me . ” Gurth found Isaac in a fine house in the town , where he was staying with a rich friend . The old man was sitting at a table covered with papers . He listened carefully while Gurth explained why he had come , and he took the money for the armour , because it belonged to his friend Kirjath Jairam in Leicester and the debt had to be paid . He counted out eighty pieces of gold slowly and wrote down the sum in his book . “ Tell your master , ” he said , “ that I wish him good fortune tomorrow . And be careful on the road . There are thieves about , and you are carrying a great deal of money . ” As Gurth was leaving the house , a young woman stepped out of a dark doorway and called him softly . To his surprise , he saw that it was the beautiful Rebecca whom he had seen at the tournament . “ How much did you pay my father ? ” she asked . “ Eighty pieces of gold , ” said Gurth . “ Take this purse , ” said Rebecca . “ It holds a hundred . My father had to pay his friend , because that is the rule of his business , and he cannot break it . But our family owes your master a debt that no money can pay . Give your master back what is his , and keep the rest for yourself . Now go quickly , and do not stop to thank me . ” Before Gurth could speak , a servant led him out through the courtyard and locked the gate behind him . “ By Saint Dunstan , ” said Gurth to himself as he hurried through the dark streets , “ that young lady is an angel from heaven . With twenty pieces of gold from her and ten from my young master , I could almost buy my freedom . ” He had to cross a lonely part of the forest to reach his master’s tent . Halfway there , four men jumped out from behind the trees and seized him . They dragged him into a dark clearing where several other men were waiting . “ What have you got in that bag ? ” asked their leader . “ Money that belongs to my master , ” said Gurth bravely . “ Thirty pieces of gold are my own , and you may take those if you must , but the rest is his . ” “ Who is your master ? ” asked the outlaw .
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