Stranica 25 [25]
EVON AND FINETTE
than he wished to appear. “I will not keep you back; I
have no right to do so; but you are very young, my child;
perhaps it would be better for you to stay another year
with us."
. 1 am sixteen, my father; at that age you had already
fought one of the proudest lords of the country. I have not
forgotten that our arms are a unicorn ripping up a lion,
and our motto, Onward! I do not wish the Kervers to
blush for their last child."
Yvon received his father’s blessing, shook hands with
his brothers, embraced his sisters, bid adieu to all the
weeping vassals, and set out with a light heart.
Nothing stopped him on his way. A river appeared, he
swam it; a mountain, he climbed it; a forest, he made his
way through it with the sun for a guide. ‘“‘On—the Kerver!”’
he cried, whenever he met with an obstacle, and went
straight forward in spite of everything.
For three years he had been roaming over the world in
search of adventures, sometimes conquering, sometimes con¬
quered, always bold and gay, when he received an offer to go
to fight the heathen of Norway. To kill unbelievers and
to conquer a kingdom was a double pleasure. Yvon en¬
listed twelve brave comrades, freighted a ship, and hoisted
from the mainmast a blue standard with the unicorn
and motto of the Kervers.
I'he sea was calm, the wind fair, and the night serene.
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