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took Dominic nearly until we were ready to go to get them out again.
    The next day when we stopped for lunch Dominic made some excuse to stand up and go over to the horses. He was gone for several minutes. When he came back, wel wrapped up in his gray cloak against the cool air, he was frowning.
    “Have you examined your sword recently, Hugo?” he asked gravely. “I just noticed it when I went to check on Whirlwind and it looked—wel, I don’t want to accuse our wizard of anything, but I would have to say it looked enchanted.”
    Hugo jumped up, and so did I. We hurried to where his horse stood grazing, a long sheath hanging from the saddle.
    But something was wrong. Instead of a hilt protruding from the top, there was what looked like a big smoked sausage. I probed with magic. That was certainly what it was.
    “My sword!” cried Hugo in dismay, reaching for it. “What’s happened to it?”
    There came a sound of a low chuckle from behind us, rough-edged as though it had not been used very often. When we spun around, Dominic tossed his cloak back to show that he held Hugo’s sword concealed beneath it.
    Hugo, incredulous, slowly drew the sausage from his sheath. Dominic was realy laughing now. The sausage, three feet long, was wrapped its entire length in pink ribbons.
    We came over a hiltop, buffeted by a damp wind. Dominic, riding in front, puled up hard.
    In the valey before us was a smal merchant caravan, half a dozen mule-drawn carts accompanied by two mounted men. But the mounted men had their hands up and were trying to control their skittish mounts with their knees, for on the hilside just above them, their backs turned to us, were four helmeted horsemen holding drawn bows.
    Hugo reacted at once. Not even taking time to pul on his helmet, he gave a yel and kicked his horse forward. Dominic and Ascelin were only a second behind him. I hadn’t seen Dominic move that fast in years.
    The startled bandits spun around, trying unsuccessfuly to maintain their seats and keep their bows steady. Before they could aim again, our party was on them.
    Hugo swung his sword in a great arc toward the bandit who seemed to be the leader. It slashed through his crimson cloak, but the steel bounced with a dul clang off the armor hidden underneath. The bandits bow flew from his hands as Ascelin grabbed the momentarily-stunned leader and wrenched him from his horse. Dominic whirled his mace, and two wel-aimed blows on two more bandits’ arms made them drop their bows in anguish.
    At this point, I had recovered from surprise enough to come forward and start putting paralysis spels on everyone. The two bandits Dominic had clubbed toppled from their horses and the leader went stil in Ascelin’s hands. But that left one more.
    I looked up and saw him \ down the valey. The other bandits’ horses ran, riderless, behind him.
    “Shal I fly after him?” I yeled to Dominic.
    “Let him go,” the prince answered with satisfaction. “They’re bound to have friends and the friends ought to hear what happens to bandits.” The king and Joachim, who had been left behind, came up with our packhorses at the same time as the mounted men from the caravan seemed to decide we weren’t a second group of bandits about to turn on them, having once despatched the first group.
    We al came together by the wagons at the bottom of the hil, a group with varied emotions. Dominic, Ascelin, and Hugo were highly pleased with themselves, I thought al out of proportion. Although there were only three of them to the four bandits, they had had the advantage of surprise as wel as Ascelin’s size, plus the assistance of a supposedly competent wizard, me. I was angry that it had taken me so long to react; Hugo would have kiled the leader if it hadn’t been for his armor, whereas I should have been able to disarm him easily with magic. The king looked excited and a little apprehensive, Joachim concerned, and the knights who were supposed to be protecting the