The Battle for the Castle by Elizabeth Winthrop Page A

the bumpy cobblestones at the same time.
    Sir Morlan flipped up his own visor in order to see his opponent better. “What is this?” he roared in disbelief. “Sir Simon, you have made a fool of me. You have sent me into the lists against a mere boy and abumbling one at that. He cannot even afford a horse but must ride about on the wheels of a cart.”
    The crowd burst into howls of laughter at the sight of Jason. They pointed and slapped their knees and guffawed. Sir Simon leaned against a friendly baron and wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes. Tolliver came up next to William.
    â€œWhat do you think of it?” he asked.
    â€œIt’s mean and nasty,” William said. “Everyone is making fun of Jason. And Sir Simon’s letting them do it. I’m going to tell him to stop it.”
    Tolliver grabbed his arm. “Wait. See what Jason does.”
    Jason hadn’t given up. He took his appointed position at the opposite end of the courtyard from Sir Morlan. Then he flipped up his visor. “Honorable Knight,” he shouted. “Are you ready to tilt against me or shall I declare victory by default?”
    â€œGo, Jason,” William shouted, and from somewhere in the crowd, he heard Gudrin’s voice echo the name. The name Jason spread from one person’s lips to another until the air fairly buzzed with it. The buzzing escalated to a chant. “JA-SON! JA-SON!” Sir Simon rose and lifted his hands for silence.
    â€œLet the joust begin. And may the best man win.”
    â€œMan!” thundered Sir Morlan. “There is only one man here.” Without further warning, he gave his horsea vicious kick and rode toward Jason, his lance at the ready. As the black stallion galloped the length of the courtyard, Jason once again struggled to get the bike moving on the uneven surface. He’d wobble along for a few feet, drop his foot from the pedal, push off again, and all this while the horse was bearing down on him. The crowd had gone completely silent.
    â€œMove, Jason,” William whispered to himself. “For God’s sake, move.” At the last moment, Jason ducked the parry of the lance and wobbled away in the opposite direction.
    But Sir Morlan had pushed his horse to such a headlong gallop that he had to ride across the drawbridge and down a grassy slope to get the stallion turned around again. This gave Jason the time he needed to build up to cruising speed.
    â€œDon’t stop again,” William cried as Jason drew near on his second turn. “No matter what you do, keep pedaling.”
    â€œI know,” Jason called as he swept past, his body hunched low over the handlebars. Now the lance was the problem. He couldn’t seem to get it balanced right, so half the time the back part of it was dragging on the ground. He ducked two more feints by Sir Morlan, who roared with fury every time the bicycle circled him.
    â€œStand your ground, boy,” he cried. “I cannot see where the devil you are.”
    â€œPrecisely my plan, Sir Morlan,” Jason shouted back as he leaned into a corner.
    The crowd clapped and rooted for Jason, who looked more like an irritating horsefly next to the snorting stallion than any kind of real challenger in the lists. Sir Morlan couldn’t keep his eye on Jason long enough to unseat him, and Jason’s stabs with the lance kept missing.
    Deegan appeared. “Looks as if this will go on all day,” he said with a smile. “Jason Stubbs Hardy has lived up to his name. He is both stubborn and hearty.”
    William groaned. “But will it ever end? All Sir Morlan has to do is dig his heels into that horse. Jason’s been pedaling for ages and he’s looking pretty tired to me.”
    â€œWell, then, shall we even things up a bit, Muggins?” asked Deegan with a mischievous lift of his right eyebrow. “A little funning, a little confusion, some distraction for the