Ganelon took the staff; but his hand trembled, and the glove fell to
the ground.

"An evil omen is that," whispered the peers who saw it. "It is a sign
of no good fortune, either to him or to us."

Then Ganelon bade the king good-by, and went on his way. But he said
to himself, "This is Roland's doings, and I shall hate him all my life
long: neither shall I love Oliver his brother, nor any other of the
twelve peers."

When he reached Saragossa, Ganelon was led into the presence of
Marsilius. The Moorish king sat under a pine tree, and twenty thousand
warriors stood around him.

"What answer bring you from your liege-lord Charlemagne?" asked he.

Ganelon had studied well what he should say; and he answered, like one
long used to cunning guile, "If thou wilt be baptized and become a
Christian, Charlemagne will give thee the half of Spain to hold in
fief. If thou wilt not accept this offer, then he will besiege thee in
Saragossa, and take thee prisoner; and he will send thee bound upon the
back of a sumter horse to Aix, and there he will have thee put to
death. This is the message which Charlemagne sends thee."

Great was the anger of the Moorish king, and he raised his javelin to
strike the messenger dead. But Ganelon, no whit daunted, set his back
against the trunk of a tree, and drew his sword part way from its
scabbard.