Page:Tales from Chaucer.djvu/112

 my head if I do not make you a merry company. Without more ado, hold up your hands if you agree to my proposal.'

Our consent was not long to seek, seeing that there was no occasion for much deliberation; we therefore granted him his terms, and bade him speak on.

'To come to the point then, my masters: each of you on his way to and from Canterbury shall relate two adventures, and whoso shall acquit himself the best,—that is, in tales of most mirth and judgment, shall have a supper here at the general expense, upon your return from Canterbury. And to contribute to your entertainment, I will myself ride with you at my own cost, and be your guide. Farthermore, let me make a condition that whoever shall call my judgment in question, he shall bear the whole cost of the journey. If you grant me my conditions, say so at once, and I will early prepare for my undertaking.'

We cheerfully bound ourselves to abide by his terms, at the same time engaging him to be our governor, to sit in judgment upon the merits of our stories, also to provide our supper