CHAPTER XVI.
A FIGHT OF HEROES.
The horse was a good and spirited one, and when he had once descended tothe plains, Cuthbert rode gayly along, exulting in his freedom, and inonce again possessing arms to defend himself should it be needed. Hisappearance was so exactly that of the horsemen who were continuallypassing and repassing that no observation whatever was attracted by it.Through villages, and even through camps, Cuthbert rode fearlessly, andarrived, without having once been accosted, near the main camp of theSaracens, which extended for miles parallel to the sea. But at adistance of some three leagues beyond could be seen the white tents ofthe Christian host, and Cuthbert felt that the time of trial was now athand.
He dismounted for an hour to allow his steed to rest itself, fed it withdates from his wallet, and gave it a drink of water at the stream. Then,when he felt that it had thoroughly recovered its strength andfreshness, he remounted, and rode briskly on as before. He passedunchallenged, attracting no more notice than a person nowadays would doin walking along a crowded street. Without hesitation he passed throughthe tents and started across the open country. Bands of horsemen wereseen here and there, some going, and some coming from the direction ofthe Christian camp. As it was doubtless supposed that he was on his wayto join some band that had gone on in advance, the passage of thesolitary horseman excited no comment until he approached within abouttwo miles of the Christian camp. There were now, so far as he could see,no enemies between him and the point he so longed to gain. But at thisminute a group of Arab horsemen, gathered, apparently on the lookoutagainst any movement of the Christians, shouted to him "Halt!" demandingwhither he was going.
Up to this point Cuthbert had ridden at a gentle canter; but at thechallenge he put spurs into his steed and made across the plain at fullspeed. With a wild yell the Arabs started in pursuit. They lay at firstsome two hundred yards on his right, and he had therefore a considerablestart of them. His horse was fairly fresh, for the journey that he hadmade had only been about fifteen miles--an inconsiderable distance to anArab steed. For half a mile he did not think that his pursuers gainedmuch upon him, riding as they had done sideways. They had now gatheredin his rear, and the nearest was some one hundred and fifty yards behindhim. A quarter of a mile further he again looked around, and found thattwo of the Arabs, far better mounted than the others, had come withinhalf the distance which separated them from him when he last glancedback. His horse was straining to the utmost, and he felt that it coulddo no more; he therefore prepared himself for a desperate fight shouldhis pursuers overtake him. In another quarter of a mile they were but ashort distance behind, and an arrow whizzing by Cuthbert's ear told himthey had betaken themselves to their bows.
Half a mile ahead he saw riding toward him a group of Christian knights;but he felt that it was too late for him to hope to reach them, and thathis only chance now was to boldly encounter his pursuers. The main bodyof the Arabs was fully two hundred yards behind--a short distance whengoing at a gallop--which left him but little time to shake off thepursuit of the two immediately behind him.
A sharp stinging pain in his leg told him that it was time to make hiseffort; and checking his horse, he wheeled suddenly round. The two Arabswith a yell rode at him with pointed lance. With his right hand Cuthbertgrasped the short heavy mace which hung at his saddlebow, and being wellpracticed in the hurling of this weapon--which formed part of theeducation of a good knight--he cast it with all his force at the chestof the Arab approaching on that side. The point of the spear was withina few yards of his breast as he flung the mace; but his aim was true,for it smote the Saracen full on the chest, and hurled him from hishorse as if struck with a thunderbolt. At the same instant Cuthbertthrew himself flat on the neck of his steed and the lance of the Arabwho came up on the other side passed harmlessly between his shoulders,tearing his clothes as it went. In an instant Cuthbert had wheeled hishorse, and before the Arab could turn his steed Cuthbert, coming up frombehind, had run him through the body.
Short as the delay had been, the main body of the pursuers were scarcelyfifty yards away; but Cuthbert now continued his flight toward theknights, who were galloping forward at full speed; and a momentafterward glancing back, he saw that his pursuers had turned and were infull flight.
With a shout of joy he rode forward to the party who had viewed withastonishment this conflict between what appeared to be three of theinfidels. Even louder than his first shout of exultation was the cry ofjoy which he raised at seeing among the party to whom he rode up theEarl of Evesham, who reined in his horse in astonishment, and drew hissword as the supposed enemy galloped toward him.
"My lord, my lord!" Cuthbert said. "Thank Heaven I am safe with youagain."
The earl lowered his sword in astonishment.
"Am I mad," he said, "or dreaming, or is this really Sir Cuthbert?"
"It is I, sure enough," Cuthbert exclaimed, "although truly I look morelike a Bedouin soldier than a Christian knight."
"My dear boy!" exclaimed the earl, galloping forward and throwing hisarms around Cuthbert's neck, "we thought you were dead. But by whatwonderful fortune have you succeeded in escaping?"
In a few words Cuthbert related the principal incidents of hisadventures, and he was heartily congratulated by the assembled knights.
There was, however, no time for long explanations. Large bodies of theSaracen horse were already sweeping down to capture, if possible, thissmall band of knights who had ventured so far from the camp; and as KingRichard's orders were that none should venture upon conflicts except byhis orders, the party reluctantly turned their horses and galloped backto the camp.
Great as had been the earl's joy, it was, if possible, exceeded by thatof Cnut on discovering in the Arab chief who rode up alongside the earlthe lad he loved so well. Loud and hearty were the cheers which rang outfrom the earl's camp as the news spread, and Cuthbert was compelled toshake hands with the whole party before entering the earl's tent, torefresh himself and give the narrative of what had happened.
Cuthbert, retiring to his tent with the Earl of Evesham, inquired of himwhat had taken place during his absence.
"For," he said, "although but a short three days' march from here, Ihave been as one of the dead, and have heard nothing whatever of whathas taken place."
"Nothing could have gone worse," the earl said. "We have had nothing butdissensions and quarrels. First, the king fell out with the Archduke ofAustria."
"On what ground did this happen?" Cuthbert asked.
"For once," the earl said, "the king our master was wholly in the wrong,which is not generally the case. We had just taken Ascalon, and werehard at work fortifying the place. King Richard with his usual zeal, inorder to encourage the army, seized heavy stones and himself bore theminto their place. The archduke stood near with some of his knights: andit may be that the haughty Austrian looked somewhat superciliously atour king thus laboring.
"'Why do you not make a show of helping?' King Richard said, going up tohim. 'It would encourage the men, and show that the labor upon which weare engaged can be undertaken by all without derogation.'
"To this the archduke replied:
"'I am not the son of a mason!'
"Whereupon Richard, whose blood no doubt had been excited by the air ofthe Austrian, struck him with his hand a fierce blow across the face. Wenearly betook ourselves to our swords on both sides; but King Richardhimself could have scattered half the Austrians, and these, knowing thatagainst his impetuous valor they could do nothing, simply withdrew fromour camp, and sailed the next day for home. Then the king, in order toconciliate some at least of his allies, conferred the crown of Jerusalemupon Conrad of Montferat. No sooner had he done this than Conrad wasmysteriously wounded. By whom it was done none knew. Some say that itwas by emissaries of the Old Man of the Mountain. Others affirm that itwas the jealousy of some of the knights of the holy orders. But be thatas it may, he died. Some of the French, ever jealous of the valor of ourking, ascribed it to h
is orders. This monstrous accusation coming to theears of King Richard, he had hot words with the Duke of Burgundy. Inthis I blame him not, for it is beyond all reason that a man like theking, whose faults, such as they are, arise from too much openness, andfrom the want of concealment of such dislikes as he may have, shouldresort to poison to free himself of a man whom he himself had but a dayor two before appointed King of Jerusalem. However it be, theconsequences were most unfortunate, for the result of the quarrel wasthat the Duke of Burgundy and his Frenchmen followed the example of theAustrians, and we were left alone. Before this we had marched uponJerusalem. But the weather had been so bad, and our train was soinsufficient to carry the engines of war, that we had been forced tofall back again. King Richard again advanced, and with much toil we wentas far as the village of Bethany."
"Why," Cuthbert exclaimed, "I passed through that village, and it is butthree miles from the holy city."
"That is so," the earl said; "and many of us, ascending the hill infront, saw Jerusalem. But even then it was certain that we must againretrace our steps; and when we asked King Richard to come to the crestof the hill to see the holy city, he refused to do so, saying, 'No;those who are not worthy of conquering Jerusalem should not look at it!'This was but a short time since, and we are now retracing our steps toAcre, and are treating with Saladin for a peace."
"Then," Cuthbert said sadly, "all our hopes and efforts are thrown away;all this blood has been shed for nothing; and after the three greatpowers of Europe have engaged themselves solemnly in the war, we arebaffled, and have to fall back before the hordes of the infidels."
"Partly before them," the earl said, "partly as the result of our ownjealousies and passions. Had King Richard been a lesser man than he is,we might have conquered Jerusalem. But he is so extraordinary a warriorthat his glory throws all others into the shade. He is a good general,perhaps the best in Europe; and had he done nothing but lead, assuredlywe should have carried out our purpose. See how ably he maneuvered thearmy at the fight of Azotus. Never was a more complete defeat than thatwhich he inflicted there upon the Saracens; and although the fact thathis generalship achieved this, might have caused some jealousy to theother commanders, this might have died away could he between the battleshave been a general, and nothing more. But, alas! he is in addition aknight-errant--and such a knight-errant as Europe has never seen before.Wherever there is danger, Richard will plunge into the midst. There arebrave men in all the three armies; but the strongest and bravest are aschildren to King Richard. Alone he can dart into ranks of the infidels,and cut a lane for himself by the strength of his right arm. More thanthis, when danger has threatened he has snatched up his battle-ax anddashed into the fray without helm or cuirass, performing such prodigiesof valor and strength that it has been to his prowess alone that victorywas to be ascribed. Hence he is the idol of all the soldiers, whatevertheir nationality; for he is as ready to rush to the rescue of a Frenchor Austrian knight when pressed as to that of his own men. But thedevotion which the whole army felt for him was as gall and wormwood tothe haughty Austrian and the indolent Frenchman; and the retirement ofthe King of France, which left Richard in supreme command, was in everyway unfortunate."
Upon the following day the army again marched, and Cuthbert could notbut notice the difference, not only in number but in demeanor, from thesplendid array which had left Acre a few months before. There was littlenow of the glory of pennon and banner; the bright helms and cuirasseswere rusted and dinted, and none seemed to care aught for bravery ofshow. The knights and men-at-arms were sunburnt and thin, and seemed buthalf the weight that they had been when they landed. Fatigue, hardship,and the heat had done their work; disease had swept off vast numbers.But the remains of the army were so formidable in their fighting powersthat the Saracens, although following them at a distance in vastnumbers, did not venture an attack upon them.
A few days after their arrival at Acre, the king gave orders for theembarkation of the troops. Just as they were preparing to enter theships a small vessel was seen entering the harbor. It drew up to theshore, and a knight leaped from it, and, inquiring where King Richardwas to be found, made his way to the king, who was standingsuperintending the embarkation of some of the horses.
"The Saracens, sire!" he exclaimed. "The Saracens are besieging Jaffa,and the place must be lost unless assistance arrives in a day or two."
The king leaped on board the nearest ship, shouted to his leadingofficers to follow him, and gave orders to others to bring down thetroops with all possible speed, to waste not a moment, and to see thatall was done, and then, in five minutes after the receipt of the news hestarted for Jaffa. The Earl of Evesham and Cuthbert had been standingnear the king when the order was given, and followed him at once onboard the bark which he had chosen.
"Ah, my gallant young knight," the king exclaimed, "I am right glad tosee you with me. We shall have more fighting before we have done, and Iknow that that suits your mood as well as my own."
The king's vessel was far in advance of any of the others, when earlythe following morning it arrived at Jaffa.
"Your eyes are better than mine," the king said to Cuthbert. "Tell mewhat is that flag flying on the top of the town."
Cuthbert looked at it earnestly.
"I fear, sire, that it is the crescent. We have arrived too late."
"By the holy cross," said King Richard, "that shall not be so; for ifthe place be taken, we will retake it."
As the vessel neared the shore a monk ran out into the water up to hisshoulders, and said to the king that the citadel still held out, andthat even now the Saracens might be driven back. Without delay the kingleaped into the water, followed by the knights and men-at-arms, andentering the gate, threw himself upon the infidels within, who, busyplundering, had not noticed the arrival of the ship.
The war cry of "St. George! St. George!" which the king always shoutedin battle, struck panic among the infidels; and although the king wasfollowed but by five knights and a few men-at-arms, the Saracens, to thenumber of three thousand, fled before him, and all who tarried weresmitten down. The king followed them out upon the plain, driving thembefore him as a lion would drive a flock of sheep, and then returnedtriumphant into the city.
The next day, some more ships having arrived, King Richard found that inall, including the garrison, he could muster two thousand combatants.The enemy renewed the attack in great numbers, and the assaults uponthe walls were continuous and desperate. King Richard, who lovedfighting in the plain rather than behind walls, was impatient at this,and at one time so fierce was the attack that he resolved to sally out.Only ten horses remained in the town, and King Richard, mounting one,called upon nine of the knights to mount and sally out with him. Thelittle band of ten warriors charged down upon the host of the Saracensand swept them before them. It was a marvelous sight indeed to see sosmall a group of horsemen dashing through a crowd of Saracen warriors.These, although at first beaten back, yet rallied, and the ten knightshad great difficulty in fighting their way back to the town. When nearthe walls the Christians again made a stand, and a few knights salliedout from the town on foot and joined them. Among these was Cuthbert, theEarl of Evesham having accompanied King Richard in his charge. In all,seventeen knights were now rallied round the king. So fierce was thecharge of the Saracens that the king ordered those on horseback todismount, and with their horses in the center, the little body kneltwith their lances opposed to the Saracens. Again and again the wildcavalry swept down upon this little force, but in vain did they attemptto break their ranks. The scene was indeed an extraordinary one. At lastthe king, seeing that the enemy were losing heart, again ordered theknights to mount, and these dashing among the enemy, completed theirdefeat.
While this had been going on news came to the king that the Saracensfrom another side had made their way into Jaffa, and were massacring theChristians. Without, an instant's delay he flew to their succor,followed only by two knights and a few archers, the rest being so wornby their
exertions as to be unable to move. The Mamelukes, the chosenguard of Saladin, had headed the attack; but even these were driven outfrom the town, and Richard dashed out from the city in their pursuit.One Saracen emir, distinguished for his stature and strength, venturedto match himself against the king, and rode boldly at him. But with oneblow Richard severed his head, and his right shoulder and arm, from hisbody. Then having, by his single arm, put to rout the Saracens at thispoint, he dashed through them to the aid of the little band of knightswho had remained on the defensive when he left them at the alarm of thecity being entered. These were almost sinking with fatigue and wounds;but King Richard opened a way around them by slaying numbers of theenemy, and then charged again alone into the midst of the Mussulmanhost, and was lost to the sight of his companions. All thought that theywould never see him again. But he soon reappeared, his horse coveredwith blood, but himself unwounded; and the attack of the enemy ceased.
From the hour of daybreak, it is said, Richard had not ceased for amoment to deal out his blows, and the skin of his hand adhered to thehandle of his battle-ax. This narration would appear almost fabulous,were it not that it is attested in the chronicles of severaleye-witnesses, and for centuries afterward the Saracen women hushedtheir babes when fractious by threatening them with Malek-Rik, the namewhich they gave to King Richard.
Glorious as was the success, it was a sad one, for several of the mostdevoted of the followers of King Richard were wounded badly, some few todeath. Among these last, to the terrible grief of Cuthbert, was hisfriend and patron, the Earl of Evesham. The king, on taking off hisarmor, hurried to his tent.
"The glory of this day is marred indeed," he said to the wounded knight,"if I am to lose you, Sir Walter."
"I fear that it must even be so, my lord," the dying earl said. "I amglad that I have seen this day, for never did I think to witness suchfeats as those which your majesty has performed; and though the Crusadehas failed, and the holy city remains in the hands of the infidel, yetassuredly no shadow of disgrace has fallen upon the English arms, and,indeed, great glory has accrued to us. Whatever may be said of the GreatCrusade, it will at least be allowed by all men, and for all time, thathad the princes and soldiers of other nations done as your majesty andyour followers have done, the holy city would have fallen into our handswithin a month of our putting foot upon the soil. Your majesty, I have aboon to ask."
"You have but to name it, Sir Walter, and it is yours."
"Sir Cuthbert, here," he said, pointing to the young knight, who wassorrowfully kneeling by his bedside, "is as a son to me. Therelationship by blood is but slight, but by affection it is as close asthough he were mine own. I have, as your majesty knows, no male heirs,and my daughter is but young, and will now be a royal ward. I beseechyour majesty to bestow her in marriage, when the time comes, upon SirCuthbert. They have known each other as children, and the union willbring happiness, methinks, to both, as well as strength and protectionto her; and further, if it might be, I would fain that you should bestowupon him my title and dignity."
"It shall be so," the king said. "When your eyes are closed, Sir Walter,Sir Cuthbert shall be Earl of Evesham, and, when the time comes, thehusband of your daughter."
Cuthbert was too overwhelmed with grief to feel a shadow of exaltationat the gracious intimation of the king; although, even then, a thoughtof future happiness in the care of the fair young lady Marguerite passedbefore his mind. For the last time the king gave his hand to hisfaithful servant, who pressed it to his lips, and a few minutesafterward breathed his last.