Arthur, the king, called Cador, the keen;—­of Cornwall he was earl, the knight was most keen:—­“Hearken to me, Cador, thou art mine own kin.  Now is Childric flown, and awayward gone; he thinketh with safety again to come hither.  But take of my host five thousand men, and go forth-right, by day and by night, until thou come to the sea, before Childric; and all that thou mayest win, possess it with joy; and if thou mayest with evil kill there the kaiser, I will give thee all Dorset to meed.”  All as the noble king these words had said, Cador sprang to horse, as spark it doth from fire; full seven thousand followed the earl.  Cador the keen, and much of his kindred, proceeded over wealds, and over wilderness, over dales and over downs, and over deep waters.  Cador knew the way that toward his country lay, by the nearest he proceeded full surely right toward Totnes, day and night, until he came there forth-right, so that Childric never knew any manner of his coming.  Cador came to the country before Childric, and caused to advance before him all the folk of the land, churls full sagacious, with clubs exceeding great, with spears and with great staves, chosen for the purpose, and placed them all clean into the ships’ holds, and ordered them there to stoop low, that Childric were not aware of them, and when his folk came, and in would climb, to grasp their bats, and bravely on smite; with their staves and with their spears to murder Childric’s host.  The churls did all, as Cador them taught.  To the ships proceeded the valiant churls; in every ship a hundred and half.  And Cador the keen withdrew, in toward a wood high, five miles from the place where the ships stood, and hid him a while, wondrously still.  And Childric soon approached, over the weald, and would flee to the ships, and push from land.  So soon as Cador saw this, who was the earl keen, that Childric was in land, between him and the churls, then called Cador, with loud voice:  “Where be ye, knights, brave men and active?  Bethink ye what Arthur, who is our noble king, at Bath besought us, ere we went from the host.  Lo! where Childric wendeth, and will flee from the land, and thinketh to pass to Alemaine, where his ancestors are, and will obtain an army, and eft come hither, and will fare in hither; and thinketh to avenge Colgrim, and Baldulf, his brother, who rest at Bath.  But he never shall abide the day, he shall not, if we may prevent him!”

Even with the speech, that the powerful earl spake, and promptly he gan ride, that was stern in mood, the warriors most keen advanced out of the wood-shaw, and after Childric pursued, the strong and the rich Childric’s knights looked behind them; they saw over the weald the standards wind, approach over the fields five thousand shields.  Then became Childric careful in heart, and these words said the powerful kaiser:  “This is Arthur the king, who will us all kill, flee we now quickly, and into ship go, and voyage forth with the water, reck we never whither!”