A Knight of the White Cross: A Tale of the Siege of Rhodes

by G. A. Henty

  CHAPTER XXI THE FORT OF ST. NICHOLAS

  "Well, you have proved indeed," Caretto said, when Gervaise finished hisstory, "that you are worthy of the bestowal of a gage by a fair damsel.I do not think that many knights, however true they might be to thedonor, would have suffered months of slavery in order to regain a token,lost by no fault or carelessness of their own; and no lady could haveblamed or held them in any way dishonoured by the loss."

  "I had a message by the Viscount De Monteuil from Lady Claudia the otherday, saying that she trusted I had kept her gage. I can assure you thatthe six months of slavery were cheaply purchased by the pleasure I feltthat I still possessed it; and I was glad, too, to learn that I had notbeen forgotten by her."

  "Of that you may well assure yourself, Tresham; my commandery is not farfrom Genoa, and I was frequently with her, but never without her drawingme aside and asking me if I had heard any news of you, and talking overwith me the chances there might be of your escape. I can tell you thatthere are not a few young nobles of Genoa who would give much to beallowed as you are to carry her gage, or wear her colours. You shouldsee her now; you would scarce know her again, so altered and improved isshe; there is no fairer face in all Italy."

  "I hope some day to meet her again," Gervaise replied; "although I ownto knowing it were better that I should not do so. Until she gave me hergage I had scarcely noticed her. I have, as you know, no experience ofwomen, and had so much on my mind at the time, what with the fuss theywere making about us, and the question of getting the prizes here, thatin truth I paid but slight attention to the fair faces of the dames ofGenoa. But the gracious and earnest way in which, though scarce morethan a child, she gave me her gage, and vowed that no other knightshould possess one so long as I lived, struck me so greatly that I ownI gave the matter much more thought than was right or becoming in oneof our Order. The incident was much more gratifying to me than allthe honour paid me by the Republic, and during the long months ofmy captivity it has recurred to me so frequently that I have in vainendeavoured to chase it from my thoughts, as sinful thus to allow myselfconstantly to think of any woman. Do not mistake me, Sir Fabricius. Iam speaking to you as to a confessor, and just as I have kept her amulethidden from all, so is the thought of her a secret I would not part withfor my life. I do not for a moment deceive myself with the thought that,beyond the fact that her gift has made her feel an interest in me and myfate, she has any sentiment in the matter: probably, indeed, she looksback upon the gift as a foolish act of girlish enthusiasm that led herinto making a promise that she now cannot but find unpleasantly binding;for it is but natural that among the young nobles of her own rank andcountry there must be some whom she would see with pleasure wearing hercolours."

  Caretto looked at him with some amusement.

  "Were you not bound by your vows as a knight of the Order, how would youfeel in the matter?"

  "I should feel worse," Gervaise said, without hesitation. "I haveoftentimes thought that over, and I see that it is good for me I am sobound. It does not decrease my chances, for, as I know, there are nochances; but it renders it more easy for me to know that it is so."

  "But why should you say that you have no chances, Tresham?"

  "Because it is easy to see that it is so. I am, save for my commanderyand prospects in the Order, a penniless young knight, without home orestate, without even a place in my country, and that country not hers. Iknow that it is not only sinful, but mad, for me to think so frequentlyof her, but at least I am not mad enough to think that I can either winthe heart or aspire to the hand of one who is, you say, so beautiful,and who is, moreover, as I know, the heiress to wide estates."

  "'There was a squire of low degree, Loved the king's daughter ofHungarie,'" Caretto sang, with a laugh. "You are not of low degree,but of noble family, Gervaise. You are not a squire, but a knight, andalready a very distinguished one; nor is the young lady, though she be arich heiress, a king's daughter."

  "At any rate, the squire was not vowed to celibacy. No, no, SirFabricius, it is a dream, and a pleasant one; but I know perfectly wellthat it is but a dream, and one that will do me no harm so long as Iever bear in mind that it is so. Many a knight of the Order before mehas borne a lady's gage, and carried it valiantly in many a fight, andhas been no less true to his vows for doing so."

  "Upon the contrary, he has been all the better a knight, Gervaise; itis always good for a knight, whether he belongs to the Order or not, toprize one woman above all others, and to try to make himself worthy ofhis ideal. As to the vow of celibacy, you know that ere now knights havebeen absolved from their vows, and methinks that, after the serviceyou have rendered to Italy by ridding the sea of those corsairs, hisHoliness would make no difficulty in granting any request that you mightmake him in that or any other direction. I don't know whether you areaware that, after you sailed from here, letters came from Rome as wellas from Pisa, Florence, and Naples, expressive of the gratitude feltfor the services that you had rendered, and of their admiration for thesplendid exploit that you had performed."

  "No; the grand master has had his hands so full of other matters thatdoubtless an affair so old escaped his memory. Indeed, he may haveforgotten that I sailed before the letters arrived."

  "Do not forget to jog his memory on the subject, for I can tell you thatthe letters did not come alone, but were each accompanied by presentsworthy of the service you rendered. But as to the vows?"

  "As to the vows, I feel as I said just now, that I would not free myselfof them if I could, for, being bound by them, I can the more easily andpleasantly enjoy my dream. Besides, what should I do if I left the Orderwithout home, country, or means, and with naught to do but to sell mysword to some warlike monarch? Besides, Caretto, I love the Order,and deem it the highest privilege to fight against the Moslems, and touphold the banner of the Cross."

  "As to that, you could, like De Monteuil and many other knights here,always come out to aid the Order in time of need. As to the vows, I amnot foolish enough to suppose that you would ask to be relieved fromthem, until you had assured yourself that Claudia was also desirous thatyou should be free."

  "It is absurd," Gervaise said, almost impatiently. "Do not let us talkany more about it, Caretto, or it will end by turning my head and makingme presumptuous enough to imagine that the Lady Claudia, who only sawme for three or four days, and that while she was still but a girl, hasbeen thinking of me seriously since."

  "I do not know Claudia's thoughts," Caretto remarked drily, "but Ido know that last year she refused to listen to at least a score ofexcellent offers for her hand, including one from a son of the dogehimself, and that without any reasonable cause assigned by her, to thegreat wonderment of all, seeing that she does not appear to have anyleaning whatever towards a life in a nunnery. At any rate, if at somefuture time you should pluck up heart of grace to tell her you love her,and she refuses you, you will at least have the consolation of knowingthat you are not the only one, by a long way, whose suit has beenrejected. And now as to our affairs here. Methinks that tomorrow thatbattery will open fire upon us. It seems completed."

  "Yes, I think they are nearly ready," Gervaise said, turning his mindresolutely from the subject they had been discussing. "From the palacewall I saw, before I came down here, large numbers of men rolling hugestones down towards the church. Our guns were firing steadily; but couldthey load them ten times as fast as they do, they would hardly be ableto stop the work, so numerous are those engaged upon it."

  "Yes we shall soon learn something of the quality of their artillery.The tower is strong enough to resist ordinary guns, but it will sooncrumble under the blows of such enormous missiles. Never have I seen orheard in Europe of cannon of such size; but indeed, in this matter theTurks are far ahead of us, and have, ever since cannon were first cast,made them of much larger size than we in Europe have done. However,there is one comfort; they may destroy this fort, but they have stillto cross the water, and this under the fire of the guns on the palacewalls;
when they once land, their great battery must cease firing, andwe shall be able to meet them on equal terms in the breach. Fightas hard as they may, I think we can hold our own, especially asreinforcements can come down to us more quickly than they can be broughtacross the water."

  The next morning, at daybreak, the deep boom of a gun announced to thecity that the great battering cannon had begun their work. In the fortthe sleeping knights sprang to their feet at the concussion that seemedto shake it to its centre. They would have rushed to the walls, butCaretto at once issued orders that no one should show himself on thebattlements unless under special orders.

  "There is nothing whatever to be done until the Turks have breached thewall, and are ready to advance to attack us. Every sword will be neededwhen that hour comes, and each man owes it to the Order to run nouseless risk, until the hour when he is required to do his share of thefighting."

  The time required to reload the great cannon was considerable, but atregular intervals they hurled their heavy missiles against the wall,the distance being so short that every ball struck it. After some twentyshots had been fired, Caretto, accompanied by Gervaise, went out by asmall gate on the eastern side of the tower, and made their way roundby the foot of the wall to see what effect the shots had produced on thesolid masonry.

  Caretto shook his head.

  "It is as I feared," he said. "No stones ever quarried by man could longresist such tremendous blows. In some places, you see, the stones arestarred and cracked, in others the shock seems to have pulverised thespot where it struck; but, worse, still, the whole face of the wallis shaken. There are cracks between the stones, and some of these arepartly bulged out and partly driven in. It may take some time beforea breach is effected, but sooner or later the wall will surely bedemolished."

  "I will go up and make my report to the grand master."

  "Do so, Gervaise. I almost wonder that he has not himself come down tosee how the wall is resisting."

  Gervaise, on reaching the palace, heard that D'Aubusson was at presentengaged in examining no less a person than Maitre Georges, the righthand of Paleologus, who had soon after daybreak presented himself beforethe wall on the other side of the town, declaring that he had left theTurkish service, and craving to be admitted. News had been sent at onceto D'Aubusson, who despatched two of the senior knights, with orders toadmit him and receive him with all honour. This had been done, andthe grand master, with some of his council, were now closeted withthe newcomer. Several of the knights were gathered in the courtyard,discussing the event. There was no question that if the renegade came ingood faith, his defection would be a serious blow to the assailants,and that his well known skill and experience would greatly benefit thedefenders.

  "For my part," Sir John Boswell, who formed one of the detachment whichthe English langue, as well as all the others, contributed to form thegarrison of the palace said, "I would have hung the fellow up by theneck over the gateway, and he should never have set foot within thewalls. Think you that a man who has denied his faith and taken servicewith his enemies is to be trusted, whatever oaths he may take?"

  "You must remember, Boswell," another said, "that hitherto Georges hasnot fought against Christians, but has served Mahomet in his wars withother infidels. I am not saying a word in defence of his having become arenegade; yet even a renegade may have some sort of heart, and now thathe has been called upon to fight against Christians he may well haverepented of his faults, and determined to sacrifice his position andprospects rather than aid in the attack on the city."

  "We shall see. As for me, I regard a renegade as the most contemptibleof wretches, and have no belief that they have either a heart orconscience."

  When Maitre Georges came out from the palace, laughing and talking withthe two knights who had entered with him, it was evident that he waswell pleased with his reception by the grand master, who had assignedto him a suite of apartments in the guest house. In reality, however,D'Aubusson had no doubt that his object was a treacherous one, and that,like Demetrius, who had come under the pretence of bringing about atruce, his object was to find out the weak points and to supply theTurks with information. Georges had, in his conversation with him, laidgreat stress on the strength of the Turkish army, the excellent qualityof the troops, and the enormous battering train that had been prepared.But every word he spoke but added to the grand master's suspicions; forif the man considered that the capture of the city was morally certain,it would be simply throwing away his life to enter it as a deserter.

  The grand master was, however, too politic to betray any doubt ofGeorges' sincerity. Were he treated as a traitor, Paleologus mightfind another agent to do the work. It was, therefore, better to feigna belief in his story, to obtain all the information possible from him,and at the same time to prevent his gaining any knowledge of affairsthat would be of the slightest use to the Turks. Instructions weretherefore given to the two knights that, while Georges was to be treatedwith all courtesy, he was to be strictly watched, though in such amanner that he should be in ignorance of it, and that, whenever heturned his steps in the direction of those parts of the defences wherefresh works had been recently added and preparations made of which itwas desirable the Turks should be kept in ignorance, he was to be met,as if by accident, by one of the knights told off for the purpose, andhis steps diverted in another direction.

  Georges soon made himself popular among many of the knights, who had nosuspicions of his real character. He was a man of exceptional figure,tall, strong, splendidly proportioned, with a handsome face and gallantbearing. He was extremely well informed on all subjects, had travelledwidely, had seen many adventures, was full of anecdote, and amongthe younger knights, therefore, he was soon regarded as a charmingcompanion. His very popularity among them aided D'Aubusson's plans, asGeorges was generally the centre of a group of listeners, and so had butfew opportunities of getting away quietly to obtain the information hesought. Gervaise delivered his report to the grand master.

  "I am free now," D'Aubusson said, "and will accompany you to St.Nicholas. I have been detained by the coming of this man Georges. Heis a clever knave, and, I doubt not, has come as a spy. However, I havetaken measures that he shall learn nothing that can harm us. No liveshave been lost at the tower, I hope?"

  "No, sir; Caretto has forbidden any to show themselves on the walls."

  "He has done well. This is no time for rash exposure, and where there isnaught to be gained, it is a grave fault to run risks."

  On arriving at the end of the mole, D'Aubusson, accompanied by Caretto,made an investigation of the effect of the Turks' fire.

  "'Tis worse than I expected," he said. "When we laid out ourfortifications the thought that such guns as these would be used againstthem never entered our minds. Against ordinary artillery the walls wouldstand a long battering; but it is clear that we shall have to dependmore upon our swords than upon our walls for our defence. Fortunately,although the Turks have indeed chosen the spot where our walls are mostopen to the assaults of their battery, they have to cross the water toattack the breach when it is made, and will have to fight under heavydisadvantage."

  "Tresham was last night saying to me, that it seemed to him it would notbe a difficult matter for one who spoke Turkish well, to issue at nighton the other side of the town, and to make his way round to the battery,disguised of course as a Turkish soldier, and then, mixing with theartillery men, to drive a spike into one of the touch holes. He saidthat he would gladly volunteer for the task."

  D'Aubusson shook his head decidedly. "It would be too dangerous; andeven were a spike driven in, the Turks would have no great difficultyin extracting it, for the tubes are so big that a man might crawl in anddrive the spike up from the inside. Moreover, could one or more of theguns be disabled permanently, others would be brought down and set intheir place, so that nothing would be gained but a very short delay,which would be of no advantage to us, and certainly would in no wayjustify the risking of the life of so distinguished a young kni
ght."

  The bombardment of St. Nicholas continued for some days. A breach wasfast forming in the wall, and a slope composed of the fallen rubbishextended from the front of the breach to the water's edge. The grandmaster was frequently on the spot, and as this was at present the soleobject of attack, the garrison was strengthened by as many knights ascould be sheltered within its walls. At night the shattered masonrythat had fallen inside was carried out, and with it a new work thrownup across the mole, to strengthen the defence on that side, should theenemy land between the town and the fort. Small batteries were plantedwherever they could sweep the approaches to the breach, and planksstudded with nails were sunk in the shallow water of the harbour, toimpede the progress of those who might attempt to swim or wade across.For the time, therefore, the functions of Gervaise were in abeyance, andhe laboured with the rest of the garrison at the defences.

  At daybreak on the 9th of June, a great number of vessels and boats,crowded with soldiers, bore down on St. Nicholas. As they approached,every gun on the fortifications that could be brought to bear upon themopened fire; but in a dense mass they advanced. Some made their way tothe rocks and landed the soldiers there; others got alongside the mole;but the majority grounded in the shallow water of the harbour, andthe troops, leaping out, waded to the foot of the breach. On its crestD'Aubusson himself had taken up his station. Beside him stood Caretto,and around them the most distinguished knights of the Order. With wildshouts the Turks rushed up the breach, and swarmed thickly up the ruinedmasonry until, at its summit, they encountered the steel clad line ofthe defenders. For hours the terrible struggle continued. As fast as thehead of the Turkish column broke and melted away against the obstaclethey tried in vain to penetrate, fresh reinforcements took the placeof those who had fallen, and in point of valour and devotion the Moslemshowed himself a worthy antagonist of the Christian. It was not onlyat the breach that the conflict raged. At other points the Turks, wellprovided with ladders, fixed them against the walls, and desperatelystrove to obtain a footing there. From the breach clouds of dust rosefrom under the feet of the combatants, mingling with the smoke ofthe cannon on the ramparts, the fort, and Turkish ships, and at timesentirely hid from the sight of the anxious spectators on the walls ofthe town and fortress, and of the still more numerous throng of Turkson St. Stephen's Hill, the terrible struggle that continued without amoment's intermission.

  The combatants now fought in comparative silence. The knights, exhaustedand worn out by their long efforts beneath the blazing sun, still showedan unbroken front; but it was only occasionally that the battle cry ofthe Order rose in the air, as a fresh body of assailants climbed up thecorpse strewn breach. The yell of the Moslems rose less frequently;they sacrificed their lives as freely and devotedly as those who led thefirst onset had done; but as the hours wore on, the assurance of victorydied out, and a doubt as to whether it was possible to break through theline of their terrible foes gained ground. D'Aubusson himself, although,in spite of the remonstrances of the knights, always in the thickestof the fray, was yet ever watchful, and quickly perceived where thedefenders were hotly pressed, and where support was most needed.Gervaise fought by his side, so that, when necessary, he could carry hisorders to a little body of knights, drawn up in reserve, and despatchthem to any point where aid was needed. The cannon still continued theirfire on both sides. A fragment of one of the stone balls from a basiliskstruck off D'Aubusson's helmet. He selected another from among thefallen knights, and resumed his place in the line. Still the contestshowed no signs of terminating. The Turkish galleys ever brought upreinforcements, while the defenders grew fewer, and more exhausted.During a momentary pause, while a fresh body of Turks were landing,Gervaise said to the grand master,

  "If you will give me leave, sir, I will go out at the watergate, swimup the inner harbour, and in a very short time turn a few of the craftlying there into fire ships, and tow them out with a couple of galleys.At any rate, we can fire all these craft that have grounded, and createa panic among the others."

  "Well thought of, Gervaise! I will write an order on one of my tablets.Do you take my place for a minute." Withdrawing behind the line, thegrand master sat down on a fragment of stone, and, drawing a tabletfrom a pouch in his girdle, he wrote on it, "In all things carry outthe instructions of Sir Gervaise Tresham: he is acting by my orders andauthority, and has full power in all respects."

  He handed the slip of parchment to Gervaise, who hurried to the watergate in the inner harbour, threw off his helmet and armour, issued outat the gate, and plunged into the sea. He swam out some distance, inorder to avoid the missiles of the Turks, who were trying to scale thewall from the mole, and then directed his course to St. Michael's, whichguarded the inner entrance to the fort. He had fastened the parchmentin his hair, and as some of the garrison of the tower, noticing hisapproach, came down to assist him, he handed it to them and was at oncetaken to the commander of St. Michael, answering as he went the anxiousquestions as to how matters stood at the breach.

  "Aid is sorely needed. The Turks have gained no foot of ground asyet, but many of the knights are killed and most of the others utterlyexhausted with heat and labour. Unless aid reaches them speedily, thetower, with all its defenders, will be lost."

  The instant the commander knew what was required, he bade six of theknights embark with Gervaise in a boat moored behind the tower, and rowup the harbour to the spot where the shipping was all massed together,protected by the high ground of the fortress from the Turkish fire.Gervaise waved his hand, as he neared the end of the harbour, to theofficer on the walls, and while the six knights who were with him ranoff to tell the master of the galleys to prepare two of them to leavethe port instantly, Gervaise explained to the officer in charge of thewall at that point the plan that he was charged to carry out, and askedfor twenty knights to assist him.

  "It will leave us very weak along here," the officer said. "Then let mehave ten, and send for another ten from other parts of the wall. Here isthe grand master's order, giving me full power and authority, and it isall important that no single moment shall be wasted."

  "You shall have twenty of mine," the officer said, "and I will draw tenfrom the langue next to us to fill their places."

  In a few minutes the quay was a scene of bustle and activity. Gervaisepicked out ten of the smallest vessels; the knights went among the otherships, seized all goods and stores that would be useful as combustibles,and compelled the crews to carry them on board the craft chosen as fireships. Then barrels were broken open, old sails and faggots saturatedwith oil and pitch, and in little more than a quarter of an hour afterhis arrival, Gervaise had the satisfaction of seeing that the ten boatswere all filled with combustibles, and ready to be set on fire. He nowcalled for volunteers from the sailors, and a number of them at oncecame forward, including many of the captains. He placed one of these incommand of each fire ship, and gave him four of the sailors.

  "The galleys will tow you out," he said, "and take you close to theenemy's ships. We shall range you five abreast, and when I give theword, the one at the end of the line will steer for the nearest Turk,and, with oars and poles, get alongside. The captain will then light thetrain of powder in the hold, throw the torch among the straw, and seethat, if possible, the men fasten her to the Turk; but if this cannotbe done, it is not essential, for in the confusion the enemy will notbe able to get out of the way of the fire ship as it drives down againsther. At the last moment you will take to your boats and row back here.We will protect you from the assaults of any of the Turkish ships."

  Having made sure that all the captains understood the orders, Gervaisetook command of one of the galleys, the senior knight going on boardthe other. The ten fire ships were now poled out until five were rangedabreast behind each craft; Gervaise requested the commander of the othergalley to lie off the point of St. Nicholas until he had got rid of hisfive fire ships, then to advance and launch his craft against the Turks.The smoke of the guns lay so heavy on the water, and the co
mbatants wereso intent upon the struggle at the breach, that Gervaise steered hisgalley into the midst of the Turkish vessels laden with troops readyto disembark, without attracting any notice; then, standing upon thetaffrail, he signalled to the two outside boats to throw off their ropesand make for the Turkish ship nearest to them. This they did, and it wasnot until a sheet of flame rose alongside, that the enemy awoke to thesense of danger.

  The other three fire ships were almost immediately cast off. Two of themwere equally successful, but the Turks managed to thrust off the third.She drifted, however, through the shipping, and presently broughtup alongside one of the vessels fast aground. With but ten knights,Gervaise could not attack one of the larger vessels, crowded withtroops; but there were many fishing boats that had been pressed into theservice, and against one of these Gervaise ordered the men to steer thegalley. A shout to the rowers made them redouble their efforts. A yellof dismay arose from the Turkish troops as they saw the galley bearingdown upon them, and frantic efforts were made to row out of her way.These were in vain, for her sharp prow struck them amidships, cuttingthe boat almost in two, and she sank like a stone, the galley, without apause, making for another boat.

  Looking back, Gervaise saw that his consort was already in the midst ofthe Turks, among whom the wildest confusion prevailed, each ship tryingto extricate herself from the mass, upon which the batteries of thefortress now concentrated their efforts. Two fresh columns of flamehad already shot up, and satisfied that all was going well, Gervaisecontinued his attack upon the smaller craft, six of whom were overtakenand sunk. Three or four of the larger vessels endeavoured to laythemselves alongside the galley, but her speed was so superior to theirsthat she easily evaded the attempts, and, sweeping round, rejoinedthe other galley which had just issued from among the Turks, who werealready in full retreat. The defenders of St. Nicholas, reanimated bythe sight of the discomfiture of the Turkish fleet, with a loud shoutrushed down from the spot which they had held for so many hours, drovetheir assailants before them, and flung themselves upon the crowdassembled at the foot of the breach.

  These had already suffered terribly from the fire of the batteries.Again and again they had striven to storm the mound of rubbish, and hadeach time been repulsed, with the loss of their bravest leaders. Seeingthemselves abandoned by the ships, a panic seized them, and as theknights rushed down upon them they relinquished all thoughts ofresistance, and dashed into the shallow water. Many were drowned in theattempt to swim across the deep channel in the middle, some succeeded,while others made their escape in the boats in which they had beenbrought ashore from the ships.

  The struggle was over. The two galleys made for the breach, and theknights leapt out as soon as the boats grounded, and, wading ashore,joined the group that had so long and gallantly sustained the unequalfight. Fatigue, exhaustion, and wounds, were forgotten in the triumphof the moment, and they crowded round the grand master and Caretto, towhose joint exertions the success of the defence was so largely due.

  "Do not thank me, comrades," D'Aubusson said. "No man has today foughtbetter than the rest. Every knight has shown himself worthy of the fameof our Order. The meed of praise for our success is first due to SirGervaise Tresham. At the moment when I began to doubt whether we couldmuch longer withstand the swarms of fresh foes who continued to pouragainst us, while we were overcome by heat and labour, Sir Gervaise, whohad throughout been fighting at my side, offered to swim into the port,to fit out a dozen of the merchant craft there as fire ships, and to towthem round into the midst of the Turkish vessels behind the two galleysthat were lying ready for service. I remembered how he had beforedestroyed the corsair fleet at Sardinia with fire ships, and theproposal seemed to me as an inspiration sent from Heaven, at this momentof our great peril. I wrote him an order, giving him full authority toact in my name, and in a time that seemed to me incredibly short I sawhim round the point with the fire ships in tow. You saw, as well asI did, how completely the plan was carried out. Ten or twelve of theTurkish ships are a mass of flames, and besides these I noted thatthe galley ran down and destroyed several smaller craft filled withsoldiers. The panic in the ships spread to the troops on shore, andrendered the last part of our task an easy one. I say it from my heartthat I consider it is to Sir Gervaise Tresham that we owe our success,and that, had it not been for his happy thought, the sun would have gonedown on our dead bodies lying on the summit of the breach, and on theTurkish flag waving over the fort of St. Nicholas."

  Until now none of the defenders of the breach had known how what seemedto them an almost miraculous change in the fortune of the fight had comeabout, and they thronged round Gervaise, shaking his hand, and many ofthem warmly embracing him, according to the custom of the time.

  "It was but natural that the idea should occur to me," he said, "havingbefore successfully encountered them with fire ships; and as all onshore, and especially these knights, aided me with all their power, ittook but a brief time to get the boats in readiness for burning. Muchcredit, too, is due to the merchant captains and sailors who volunteeredto take charge of the fire ships and to manoeuver them alongside theTurks."

  The grand master and the knights who had borne the brunt of the battlenow retired along the mole to the town, bearing with them their mostseriously wounded comrades, and assisting those whose wounds were lesssevere. The twenty knights who had manned the two galleys remained inthe fort. Caretto continued in command, as, although he had sufferedseveral wounds, he refused to relinquish his post. Gervaise, whohad,--thanks partly to his skill with his weapons, but still more tothe temper of the splendid suit of armour presented to him byGenoa,--escaped without a scratch, volunteered to remain with him untilnext morning, his principal motive for making the request being hisdesire to escape from further congratulations and praise for the successof his plan. After Caretto's wounds had been dressed by the knights, andhe and Gervaise had partaken of some food and wine, which they greatlyneeded, Caretto was persuaded to lie down for a time, the knightspromising to bring him word at once if they perceived any movementwhatever on the part of the enemy. Gervaise remained with him, feeling,now the excitement was over, that he sorely needed rest after hisexertions in the full heat of the summer sun.

  "It has been a great day, Gervaise," Caretto said, "and I only hope thatwhen again I go into battle with the infidel, I shall have you at handto come forward at the critical moment with some master stroke to securevictory. Claudia will be pleased indeed when she hears how the knightwho bears her gage has again distinguished himself. She will look on thegay and idle young fops of Genoa with greater disdain than ever. Now youneed not say anything in protest, the more so as I feel grievously weak,and disposed for sleep."