Every general who intends to attack an enemy must choose a method of approach, and the crusader's plan to assail Zillenstein was now quite clear in his mind.

His decision brought him the usual relief, following the solution of a doubt, and he intended that his journey that day through the great valley should resemble somewhat a stroll of pleasure.
He whistled at times and at times he sang.

He remembered the story, of the faithful troubadour, Blondel, who sought his master, Richard of the Lion Heart, imprisoned somewhere in a castle in Austria, and who, finding him, sang under his window to let him know one loyal friend was there.

But Richard, under the light of history, had become merely a barbarous king, cruel to his enemies and unjust to his friends.

John felt that his own quest was higher and better.
Toward noon he was in the middle of a valley down which a swift little river flowed.