CHAPTER VI KNIGHTED
At three in the morning all on board the galley were astir. A rationof bread and meat was served out to the slaves, and the boat was soonafterwards under way. The rowers of the English knight's boat had beenwarmly commended by the commander and placed in charge of the overseer,with instructions that they were to be treated as free men. As soon asthe galley slaves set to work, however, they seated themselves onthe benches and double banked some of the oars, anxious to please theknights. With the exception of those whose turn it was to be on watch,most of the knights slept until daybreak.
"At the rate we are rowing, Gervaise," Harcourt said, as they went upon to the poop together, "it will not take us very long to join ourfriends. We are going through the water at fully six miles an hour; andas we have already been two hours under way, in another three we shallbe there."
An hour and a half later they passed the island where they had landed.The two young knights pointed out to the others the valley into whichthey had descended, and the point round which they had swum. In a fewminutes they caught sight of the landing place.
"Look, Gervaise, there is something black showing just above the water."
"I see it. I think it is a line of timbers. There were certainly norocks there when we ran ashore."
"Then Santoval must have found the craft still there and burnt her," oneof the knights standing by remarked, "and the pirates are caged up. Itwill take them some time to make a raft that will carry them to the nextisland, and before they can do that we shall be back again. I shall besorry if they escape, for they are as ruthless a set of villains as sailthe seas."
The galley had traversed half the remaining distance when the sound ofa gun was faintly heard. For a moment there was an absolute hush on thepoop; then three or four shots in rapid succession were heard.
"Some more pirate ships must have come up," the commander exclaimed.Then he shouted down to the slaves, "Row, men--row for your lives!Overseer, do not spare your lash if any hang back from their work."
The galley had been travelling fast before, but her speed greatlyincreased as the slaves rowed their hardest. Fast as she was travelling,the impatience of the knights was extreme. They walked up and down thedeck, making vows of candles that should be burnt at the shrine of St.John if they arrived in time to take a share in the fight, stopping attimes to listen to the sound of artillery, which was now so frequent asto show that a severe engagement was being fought. Many of the youngerknights ran down to the waist and double banked the oars, and in ashorter time than it seemed possible the galley arrived at the mouth ofthe bay.
A desperate fight was going on. Ricord's ship lay, idle and deserted,at anchor. Five pirate crafts surrounded Santoval's galley. Two of themwere alongside of her; the others were raking her fore and aft withtheir shot. The young knights left the oars, sprang up to the poop andjoined in the shout of encouragement raised by the others, and then,resuming their helmets and armour, stood ready to leap on board an enemyas soon as they reached her. Piccolomini directed the helmsman to layhim alongside one of the ships grappling with Santoval. As they came up,their galley's cannon poured their fire into her, and a moment later theknights sprang on board.
In the din of battle their shout had been unheard. The pirates throngingthe other side of their ship were intent only on overcoming theresistance of the knights, and even the discharge of cannon had notcalled their attention to their foe, until the latter, shouting the warcry of the Order, fell suddenly upon them. A panic at once seized them.Some were cut down almost unresistingly, but the great majority, runningto the bow or stern, threw themselves overboard and swam to the otherships. The pirate ship on the other side of Santoval's galley instantlythrew off the grapnels and thrust off from her side, and, immediatelyhauling in the sheets of the big sail, began at once to draw away, whileher three consorts made for the mouth of the bay.
"Back to your galley, comrades," Piccolomini shouted, "or with thisbrisk wind they will escape us."
The knights at once crossed on to their own craft, the oars were gotout, and the chase began. A minute or two later Don Santoval followedthem, but soon gave up, as so large a number of the oars had been brokenwhen the two pirate ships ran alongside him, that it would have beenhopeless to pursue. The wind was blowing freshly, and was rapidlyincreasing in strength, so that, in spite of the efforts of the galleyslaves, the pirates gradually drew away, running straight beforethe wind, and aiding the effects of the sails with oars. Seeing thehopelessness of the chase, Piccolomini abandoned it, after rowing fortwo miles, and returned to the island. The other two galleys were lyingbeside each other, and Piccolomini had his craft steered alongside them.
"Thanks, Piccolomini, for arriving so opportunely," Santoval, who wasseated on the deck leaning against the bulwarks, said, as his fellowcommander leapt on board, and came towards him.
"Would that I had arrived sooner, Santoval, for I see that you have beengrievously wounded!"
"Ay. One of the paynims' cannonballs has carried off both my legs belowthe knee. The leech has been searing the wounds with a hot iron, andsays that he thinks I shall get over it; but if so I fear that myfighting days are past, unless, indeed, I fight seated on a chair.However, I ought not to grumble. I have lost many brave comrades, andothers are wounded more sorely than I am."
Sir Louis Ricord now joined them. He embraced Piccolomini warmly.
"I never heard a more welcome shout, Piccolomini, than that which yougave when you fell upon the Moslems, for in truth the issue of theconflict was doubtful. I was delighted when this morning at daybreakSantoval's galley rowed in. We had all kept watch during the night,thinking the pirates might obtain boats and make an attack upon us; and,with but twenty of us fit to wield a sword, our position would have beena bad one, and at any rate they might have recaptured the prizes. Weagreed that Santoval and his knights should land at once. This they did.Sir John Boswell had of course told me how his boat had been chased bya fishing craft, manned by a large number of the pirates, and that hefeared the rest might similarly have escaped, and might have gone tobring some more of Hassan Ali's ships upon us.
"As soon as Santoval landed, some of the natives came down and told himthat there was not a pirate remaining there, the rest having startedin another boat a few minutes after the one that had chased Boswell.Santoval left two of his men with orders to ascend to the highest spoton the island, and to keep watch, and then brought the rest off tohis galley. Our first step was, of course, to send all the women andchildren ashore. Then we consulted as to what had best be done if thepirates should come back in force. We hoped, at any rate, that thiswould not happen until you arrived. We expected that you would be herebefore noon; but we decided that, should they get here before you, wefrom our galley would embark on Santoval's, as it was better to fight inone strongly manned boat than to divide our forces.
"It was scarce half an hour after Santoval came down before the men lefton the lookout appeared on the beach. On fetching them off, they told usthat as soon as they reached the top of the hill they saw five vesselsapproaching with sails and oars, and that they would be here in half anhour at the outside. We at once abandoned my galley, brought the rowersand the wounded here, and prepared for the fight. As you saw, they rantheir two biggest ships alongside us, and for two hours the fight wenton. They were crowded with men, who in vain strove to get a footing onour decks. Had we only had these two to deal with, we should have hadnothing to fear, heavily manned though they were; but the other threekept sailing backwards and forwards, discharging their guns into us asthey passed, firing not only shot, but bags of bullets.
"Their gunners were skilful, and, as you see, they have completelyriddled our poop. Twenty knights have been killed, and eleven others aresorely wounded. Scarce one has escaped unscathed. You may guess, then,how welcome was your aid, which we had not expected for another threehours. We were on the point of abandoning the waist and gathering on thepoop, which we could still have defended for a considerable ti
me, when,as if dropped from the skies, you fell upon the pirates, and turned thetables. How is it that you were here so early?"
"We started at three o'clock, instead of waiting for daybreak. Itseemed, from the story of the two young knights, that it was possibleyou might be attacked early, and, crippled as your command was, and withfour prizes on your hands, I deemed it best to come on as soon as therowers had had a few hours' rest."
"It is well that you did so; it would have been a grievous affair hadtwo of our galleys been captured by the pirates. It would have been ablow to the prestige of the Order, and would have brought such strengthto Hassan Ali and other pirate leaders that nothing short of sending outa fleet would have recovered our ascendancy; and as every ducat wecan spare has to be spent on the fortifications, it would have been amisfortune indeed had we been obliged to fit out such an expedition atpresent."
"Who have fallen, Sir Louis?"
"Five more of the knights of my galley--Pierre des Vignes, Raoul deMontpelier, Ernest Schmidt, Raymond Garcia, and Albert Schenck. Here isthe list of the knights of Santoval's galley."
"'Tis a long list, and a sad one," Piccolomini said, after readingthe names. "With the seven who fell in your first fight, twenty-sevenknights have fallen, all brave comrades. Truly, we can ill spare sucha loss. It is true there are five prizes to show for it, and we havestruck Hassan Ali a blow that will resound through the Levant; but thecost is heavy."
"It is indeed," Ricord agreed. "The four vessels are well filled withrich spoil that the scoundrels had gathered, and I doubt not the one youcaptured is equally rich. Still, had they been ten times as valuable,the booty would be dearly purchased at such a price."
There was now a consultation among the leaders, and it was agreed thatsix knights should be placed in each of the captured ships, with ten ofthe galley slaves to work the sails, the others being equally dividedbetween the three galleys. They were, in the first place, to row to theisland where the pirates were imprisoned, and to slay or capture thewhole of them; afterwards they were to make direct for Rhodes; withso numerous a fleet there was no fear of their being attacked. Thearrangements took but a short time to complete. An hour later they leftthe port, the three galleys rowing ahead, while the five prizes, undereasy sail, followed them.
Sir John Boswell had been wounded, but not so seriously as to altogetherdisable him, and he was in command of one of the prizes, having SirAdam Tedbond, Harcourt, Gervaise, and a German knight, with him. SirMarmaduke Lumley, who, after the first fight was over, was found, to thesurprise and pleasure of his comrades, to be still living, was, with therest of the wounded, on board one of the galleys. Two of the pirateshad fallen dead across him, and in the ardour of their attack on theknights, he had lain there unnoticed until the return of Sir Louis andhis comrades had driven the pirates overboard. The leech was of opinionthat he might yet recover from his wound.
On arriving at the island, sixty of the knights disembarked. The woodsnear the shore were first searched, but were found untenanted. They wereabout to advance up the hill when a man appeared on the crest above themwaving a white flag. He was told to come down, and on his arrival saidthat he was sent by his companions to offer to surrender, on the promisethat their lives should be spared. The knights were well pleased to besaved the trouble of a long search through the woods, and the messengerleft at once to acquaint the pirates that their terms were accepted. Ina short time some eighty men made their way down the hill. On reachingthe beach they were disarmed, divided equally between the galleys, anddistributed among the rowers, filling up the places of those who hadbeen killed by the fire of the Moslems, and of the men drafted into theprizes. They begged for food and water before they began work, and, onbeing questioned, admitted that their surrender was due principallyto the fact that they had been unable to find food of any sort on theisland, and that after searching all over it no spring of water could bediscovered.
"In that case," Sir John Boswell said, "I have no doubt they have allsurrendered. I before thought it probable that a good many of them wouldhave remained hidden, trusting to be able to make a raft after wehad left, and so get away, believing rightly enough that we should bedisinclined to search every foot of the island for them. As it is, Idoubt not, all are here."
The little fleet anchored that night at the rendezvous, and after twomore days' rowing reached Rhodes, where the appearance of the threegalleys, followed by their five prizes, was greeted with greatacclamation. The news, however, that twenty-seven knights had fallen,and that thirteen or fourteen others were very gravely wounded, dampedthe satisfaction that every one had at first felt. D'Aubusson camedown as soon as they reached the mole, and was greatly affected when hereceived Ricord's report.
"It is an unfortunate loss indeed, Sir Louis," he said, "though it maybe that the victory is not too dearly purchased. I do not speak of thecaptured ships, nor of the spoil they contain, nor even of the slavesyou have brought us, welcome though all may be, but of the effect thatthe defeat and capture of these craft of Hassan Ali's will have. It isplain that the preparations the sultan is making, and the belief thatRhodes is doomed, have so encouraged the infidels that they are becomingreally formidable at sea. This blow will show them that the Order hasyet power to sweep the sea of pirates. Since, however, this adventurehas taught us that a single leader like Hassan sails with at least nineships under his orders, it is clear that in future our galleys must notadventure singly among the islands. It was fortunate indeed that firstSantoval, and then Piccolomini, arrived to your assistance. How was itthat they happened to come up so opportunely?"
"Sir John Boswell, with Ralph Harcourt and Gervaise Tresham; went ina boat to the rendezvous we had arranged, and reached it after anadventure, which I will leave Sir John to tell himself. I may say thatthe two young knights named had in our encounter both obtained very highcredit amongst us all for the valour with which they fought. No one borehimself more stoutly, and I am glad to take this early opportunity ofbringing their conduct before your notice. As you will learn from SirJohn, Gervaise Tresham afterwards showed a quickness of wit that was themeans of saving the lives of those with him, and I may say also of allwith me, for had they failed to reach the rendezvous we should havefallen easy victims to the five ships Hassan Ali brought against us."
Sending for Sir John Boswell, the grand prior heard from him the detailsof his adventure in the boat.
"I am right glad to hear you speak so warmly of Tresham, Sir John, for Iregard him as my special protege, and am pleased indeed to find that atthis outset of his career he has proved himself not only a brave knight,but full of resource, and quick at invention. I think, Sir John, thatthese two young knights have shown themselves well worthy of receivingthe honour of secular knighthood."
"Assuredly they have," Sir John agreed.
"Then, Sir John, will you bestow it upon them? The Order, as an Order,does not bestow the honour, but its members do not forfeit their rightas knights to bestow it individually, and none among us are more worthyof admitting them to your rank than yourself."
"I would gladly do it, Sir Peter; but the honour would come far betterfrom yourself, and would not only be more highly prized by them, butwould be of greater value in the eyes of others. I am but a simpleknight commander of the Order, and my name would scarce be known beyondits ranks. But to be knighted by one whose name is known and honouredthroughout Europe would give them a standing wherever they went, andplace them on a level with the best."
"If that is your opinion, Boswell, I will myself undertake it, andwill do it at once; it were better done here than at a conclave of theOrder--now, when they are fresh from the battle. Let the knights besummoned from the other galleys at once."
In a few minutes the whole of the knights were assembled on the poop ofthe galley.
"Friends, and brother knights," D'Aubusson said. "First, in the nameof the Order, I have to thank you all most heartily for the brave deedsthat you have performed, and for the fresh honour you have won for it.Every ma
n has, as I learn from the three commanders, borne himself asa true and valiant knight, ready to give his life in the cause of theOrder and of humanity. Two names have been specially brought before meby commander Ricord, and by the good knight Sir John Boswell; they arethose of two young companions who, though knights of our Order, have notyet received secular knighthood, and this, in the opinion of thesetwo knights, they have right worthily won. Sir Ralph Harcourt and SirGervaise Tresham, step forward."
The two young knights, colouring with pleasure at this unexpectedhonour, removed their helmets, and stood with bowed heads before thegrand prior. D'Aubusson went on, turning to the knights around him, "Iam about, comrades, to undertake the office of knighting them. SirLouis Ricord and Sir John Boswell stand as their sponsors. But before Iproceed I would ask you all whether you, too, approve, and hold that SirRalph Harcourt and Sir Gervaise Tresham have proved themselves worthy ofthe honour of secular knighthood at my hands?"
There was a general reply in the affirmative, the answer of thesurvivors of Ricord's crew being specially emphatic. The grand priordrew his sword, and the two young knights knelt before him, theirsponsors standing beside them.
"Sir Ralph Harcourt, you have now been four years a knight of thisOrder, but hitherto you have had no opportunity of drawing sword againstthe infidels. Now that the chance has come, you have proved yourself atrue and valiant brother of the Order, and well worthy of the secularaccolade. It is in that capacity that I now knight you. It is not thegrand prior of Auvergne, but Sir Peter D'Aubusson, of the grand cross ofSt. Louis, who now bestows upon you the honour of secular knighthood."He touched him lightly with the sword. He then turned to Gervaise.
"You, Sir Gervaise Tresham, are young indeed to receive the honour ofsecular knighthood; but valour is of no age, and in the opinion ofyour commanders, and in that of your comrades, you have proved yourselfworthy of the honour. You have shown too, that, as Sir John Boswell hasrelated to me, you are not only brave in action, but able, in the momentof danger, to plan and to execute. You were, he tells me, the means ofsaving his life and that of your comrade, and, by thus enabling him tobear to the place of rendezvous the news of Sir Louis's danger, werealso the means of saving the lives of Sir Louis and his companions,and of bringing home in safety the prizes he had taken. With such abeginning it is easy to foresee that you will win for yourself some daya distinguished position in the ranks of the Order, and are most worthyof the honour I now bestow upon you." And he touched him with his sword.
The two young knights rose to their feet, bowed deeply to D'Aubusson,and then retired, with their sponsors. They were at once surrounded bythe knights, who shook them by the hand, and warmly congratulatedthem upon the honour that had befallen them, receiving equally warmcongratulations on their arrival at the auberge of the langue.
The five prizes turned out, when their cargoes were landed, to be muchmore valuable than the cursory examination made by the knights hadwarranted them in expecting. They contained, indeed, an accumulation ofthe most valuable contents of the prizes taken by the pirates for a longtime previously; and as these desperadoes preyed upon Turkishcommerce as well as Christian, the goods consisted largely of Easternmanufactures of all kinds. Costly robes, delicate embroidery, superbcarpets, shawls, goldsmiths' work, and no small amount of jewels, wereamong the spoil collected, and the bulk of the merchandise captured was,two days later, despatched in galleys to Genoa and Marseilles, to besold for the benefit of the Order.
D'Aubusson without hesitation carried out Sir John Boswell's promise tothe slaves who had rowed his boat. They were not only set at liberty,but were each presented with a sum of money, and were placed on board agalley, and landed on the mainland.
The English knights were all proud of the honour that had been won bytheir young countrymen, the only exception being Robert Rivers, who wasdevoured with jealousy at their advancement. He did not openly displayhis feelings, for the reports not only of Sir John Boswell, but of theother two English knights, were so strong that he dared not expresshis discontent. He himself had twice been engaged with pirates, buthad gained no particular credit, and indeed had, in the opinion of hiscomrades, been somewhat slack in the fray. He was no favourite in theauberge, though he spared no pains to ingratiate himself with the seniorknights, and had a short time before been very severely reprimanded bythe bailiff for striking one of the servants.
"I have more than once had to reprove you for your manners to theservants," the bailiff said. "You will now be punished by the septaine;you will fast for seven days, on Wednesday and Friday you will receivebread and water only, and will be confined to the auberge for thatperiod. The next time that I have reason to complain of you, I shallbring the matter before the grand master, and represent to him that itwere best to send you home, since you cannot comport yourself to theservants of the auberge as befits a knight of the Order. We have alwaysborne the reputation of being specially kind to our servants, and itis intolerable that one, who has been but a short time only a professedknight, should behave with a hauteur and insolence that not even theoldest among us would permit himself. There is not one of the servantshere who was not in his own country of a rank and station equal, if notsuperior, to your own; and though misfortune has fallen upon them, theyare to be pitied rather than condemned for it. In future, you are togive no order whatever to the servants, nor to address them, save whenat meals you require anything. If you have any complaints to make oftheir conduct to you, you will make them to me, and I will inquire intothe matter; and if I find they have failed in their duty they will bepunished. I shall keep my eye upon you in the future. There are otherfaults that I have observed in you. More than once I have heard youaddress Sir Gervaise Tresham in a manner which, were not duellingforbidden by our rules, might bring about bloodshed; and from what Ihave seen when I have been watching the exercises, he is as much yoursuperior in arms as he is in manner and disposition."
This reproof had greatly subdued Robert Rivers; and as he felt thatany display of his jealousy of Gervaise would be resented by theother knights, and might result in serious consequences to himself, heabstained from any exhibition of it when they returned to the auberge,although he could not bring himself to join in the congratulationsoffered to them. The next day, however, when he was talking to RalphHarcourt, he remarked, "From what I hear, Harcourt, D'Aubusson praisedyoung Tresham very highly. It seems to me that there was nothing at allout of the way in what he did, and it was very unfair that he should beselected for higher praise than yourself."
"It was not unfair at all," Ralph said warmly, for he was of a generousnature, and incapable of the base feeling of envy. "Tresham did a greatdeal more than I did. When we saw the pirate boat gaining so fast uponus, it seemed to Sir John Boswell, as well as to myself, that there wasscarce a chance of escape, and that all we could do was to choose a spoton which to make a stand, and then to sell our lives as dearly as wecould. I could see that Sir John was scanning the hill for a spot wherewe could best defend ourselves. As to hiding on so small an island, witha hundred men eager for our blood searching for us, it was well nighimpossible. It was Tresham's suggestion alone that saved our lives andenabled us to fetch succour to Sir Louis. Sir John, who is an old andtried soldier, said that for quickness and merit of conception, theoldest knight in the Order could not have done better; and he is notone to praise unduly. I am four years older than Gervaise Tresham, butI tell you that were he named tomorrow commander of a galley, I wouldwillingly serve under him."
"Well, well, you need not be angry, Harcourt, I have nothing to sayagainst Tresham. No doubt he had a happy thought, which turned out well;but I cannot see that there was anything wonderful in it, and it seemedto me unfair that one who is a mere boy should receive higher praisethan yourself, who, as I heard Sir John and Sir Adam Tedbond say lastnight at the refectory, bore yourself right gallantly."
"I did my best," Ralph said shortly; "but there was small credit in thatwhen we were fighting for our lives. The most cowardly beast wil
l fightunder such circumstances. When you see a Moslem rushing at you, scimitarin hand, and know that if you do not cut him down he will cut you down,you naturally strike as hard and as quickly as you can. You have neverliked Gervaise, Rivers. I am sure I don't know why, but you always speakin a contemptuous sort of tone about him. True, it does him no harm,but it certainly does you no good. For what reason should you feel acontempt for him? Although so much younger, he is a better swordsman anda better rider than you are. He is liked by every one in the auberge,which is more than can be said of yourself; he is always good tempered,and is quiet and unassuming. What on earth do you always set yourselfagainst him for?"
"I do not know that I do set myself against him," Rivers said sullenly."I own to having no great liking for him, which is natural enough,seeing that his father was a Lancastrian, while we are Yorkists; but itis not pleasant to see so much made of a boy, merely because D'Aubussonhas favoured him."
"I am certain," Harcourt said hotly, "that such an idea has neveroccurred to any one but yourself. Sir Peter is a great man and will soonbe our grand master, but at present he is but grand prior of the langueof Auvergne, and whether he favours Tresham or not is a matter thatconcerns none of us. Gervaise is liked by us for his own good qualities.He bears himself, as a young knight should do, respectfully towards hisseniors, and is ever ready to do a service to any one. No one hasever seen him out of temper; he is always kind and considerate to theservants, and when in command of parties of slaves at the public worksnever says a harsh word to them, but treats them as if they were humanbeings, and not brute beasts. Besides, though he is more skilful thanany of us with his sword, or indeed at any of the military exercises, heis unassuming, and has no particle of pride or arrogance. It is forall these things that he is liked, and the friendship of D'Aubussonhas naught whatever to do with it. It is not only D'Aubusson who hasprophesied that he will rise to a distinguished rank in the Order.Boswell and Ricord both said the same, and I for one thoroughly believeit. Is there one among us under the age of twenty--and I might gofarther--who has already won such credit for himself? One who when butsixteen can make his mark in an Order like ours is certain to rise tohigh office, and you and I may, before many years are over, be proud toserve under him."
"That I will never do," Rivers said fiercely. "I would rather go andbury myself for life in the smallest commandery in England."
"That may be," Harcourt retorted, his temper also roused, "But possiblyyou might prefer that to fighting under any other leader."
"That is a reflection on my courage, Sir Ralph Harcourt, I shall laythis matter before the bailiff."
"You can do as you like," Harcourt said disdainfully, "But I don't thinkyou will benefit by your pains."
When his temper cooled down Rivers acknowledged to himself the truth ofwhat Harcourt said. He was not in the favour of the bailiff, while bothHarcourt and Tresham stood at the present moment high in his estimation.Any complaint would lead to an inquiry into the matter that had ledto the former's words, and even if Harcourt were reprimanded for usingthem, he himself would assuredly not gain in the estimation of theknights. Harcourt himself thought no more of the matter, though helaughingly told Gervaise that Rivers was by no means gratified at theirboth attaining the honour of secular knighthood, which virtually placedthem over his head.
"He is not a nice fellow," Gervaise said. "But naturally it must begalling to him, and to a good many others who have not yet had thechance of distinguishing themselves. I think it is very good of themthat they are all so kind and cordial. Of course it is otherwise withyou, who are as old as most of the other professed knights serving here;but with me it is quite different, and as Rivers, somehow, has neverbeen very friendly with me, of course it is doubly galling to him. Ihope he will soon get an opportunity of winning his spurs too."
"That is just like you, Tresham. If I were in your place, I shouldhave no good wishes for a fellow who has never lost an opportunity ofannoying me, and that without the smallest cause of offence on my part."
"I am sure you would not wish him ill, Harcourt. You would makeallowance for him just as I do, and feel that if he had had the sameopportunities he would have obtained the same credit and honours."