The next afternoon the road narrowed. Great-heart stopped. A newly nailed board stood across the way: Pay for each person before passing.
A giant stepped out behind it with an iron hammer over his shoulder. His name was Maul. He had often driven lone travelers into his fields and forced them to work. Hearing that Great-heart was leading a company, he had come to wait for them.
“If you take everyone away, who will obey me?” Maul demanded. “Especially those children. Once they learn to ask questions, they’ll be harder than ever to manage!”
Christiana held her daughter close. She had often said, “Children shouldn’t ask so many questions.” Hearing the words from this enormous mouth, she suddenly saw how ugly they could be.
Great-heart asked Honest and Chris’s father to take the others back to the wider road. Then he showed his written authority, bearing the King’s seal. “They belong to the King, not to you. Their weakness does not make them yours to own.”
The giant would not look. He swung his hammer and shattered a stone beside the path. Fragments flew. Christiana sheltered her daughter behind the low wall, while Mercy crouched with Chris. A carrier immediately blew his whistle to call the nearby road guards.
Maul rushed at Great-heart, shaking the barrier with his heavy steps. Great-heart defended himself and moved toward the open road, keeping the giant from driving the company into the narrow gap. Once his shield nearly slipped. Chris’s father saw and used a long pole to turn aside the falling hammer’s handle.
When the guards arrived, they worked together to force the giant off the road. Retreating too quickly, Maul stepped into a ditch he had dug himself. The hammer rolled beyond his reach. He still roared, but he could no longer block them. Guards stayed to watch him and pulled down the board demanding payment.
Chris’s father’s arm was numb from the blow. Great-heart sat on a stone to rest. Christiana checked the children first. Then she brought a clean cloth and, following Great-heart’s directions, helped fasten his loosened armor straps.
“I was afraid,” she said at last. “I thought being on the right road meant I shouldn’t be so frightened.”
“The Bible tells us to be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power,” Great-heart replied. “Depending on him does not mean first turning yourself into someone who never fears. You sheltered the children and kept them where it was safe. You were doing the work given to you.”
That night they rested in a courtyard within sight of the guards’ lamps. Chris’s father put the pole by the door. His son felt his arm and asked whether it still hurt. Great-heart had his shield repaired. He did not hide the cracks and pretend he could never be wounded.