"Reginald," says Humphrey, without turning — he feels very strongly he must not blink first — "what does formally resolving a Goat matter require?" There is frantic rustling. Then an avalanche of parchment. "One moment," says Reginald, who has been saying 'one moment' for approximately forty minutes. He extracts a scroll of some antiquity, peers at it, then extracts a second. He compares both with the expression of a man who very much hoped they would disagree. "The Statutes of the Tournament Committee, Volume Four, Subsection C," he announces. "'In the event of a judicial symbol becoming affixed to an animal of unclear allegiance, resolution may be effected by: (a) formal challenge, (b) mutual consent of both parties, as witnessed by a herald of standing, or (c) combat.'" A pause. "'Combat,'" he adds, because someone has to, "'to be understood as between the Knight and the Animal. First blood, or voluntary relinquishment of the hat. Whichever occurs first.'" Goodwife Thripp knits. The goat takes another step forward.