I bring him the only thing I have--my sword." And with a great gesture he flung it down on the ground, and knelt on one knee behind it.
There was a dead silence.
"I beg your pardon," said the King, blankly.
"You speak well, sire," said Adam Wayne, "as you ever speak, when you say that my love is not less than the love of these.

Small would it be if it were not more.

For I am the heir of your scheme--the child of the great Charter.

I stand here for the rights the Charter gave me, and I swear, by your sacred crown, that where I stand, I stand fast." [Illustration: "I BRING HOMAGE TO MY KING."] The eyes of all five men stood out of their heads.
Then Buck said, in his jolly, jarring voice: "Is the whole world mad ?" The King sprang to his feet, and his eyes blazed.
"Yes," he cried, in a voice of exultation, "the whole world is mad, but Adam Wayne and me.

It is true as death what I told you long ago, James Barker, seriousness sends men mad.