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

by G. A. Henty

  CHAPTER XV A SPLENDID EXPLOIT

  Gervaise was up again at dawn. He was amused at the wonder of theknights, as they came up one by one, at the sight of the little fleetanchored outside them. As soon as it was fairly daylight, he sent off tothe three prizes to request all the knights to come on board the galley.When all were assembled there he said, "You are all aware, comrades,that Sir Fabricius Caretto has brought news that the galleys at Genoaare all laid up, and that it will be a fortnight before they can put tosea. Long before that, the corsairs will assuredly be ravaging all thevillages and small towns along the coast of Italy, unless we can preventtheir doing so. It would be simple madness to try to attack them at sea;of that I feel sure you are all conscious. It would be only throwingaway our lives and our galley."

  There was a murmur of assent among the knights. They were ready for anyencounter in which there was a chance, however faint, of success; butall saw that for a single galley to attack one of the largest corsairfleets that had ever set out, would be nothing short of insanity. Theirleader's words, however, seemed to show that he had some plan in hismind by which he hoped to strike a blow at the enemy, and all listenedeagerly for what was coming.

  "We have heard from our comrade Fosco that their ships lie moored in twolines, side by side in a narrow inlet. He has returned this morning withthe news that they are still there. He thinks that three or four morehave arrived during the last two days, and it is probable they arewaiting for the three we captured to join them. Tonight it is myintention to attack them, but not by rowing in and boarding them, forthat would be hopeless. Yesterday Sir Ralph Harcourt went, as you areaware, to fetch provisions. But this was a part only of the object ofhis trip. He has, as you see, brought back eleven craft with him; these,I may tell you, are laden with combustibles--pitch, oil, straw, andfaggots. They will be rowed and towed to the inlet tonight, set on fire,and launched against the pirates."

  An enthusiastic cheer broke from the knights. They saw at once that,lying as the corsairs were, side by side, the destruction of many ofthem was certain.

  "He has also brought fishermen," Gervaise went on, "two or three of whomwill go in each fire ship, having a boat towing behind, in which theywill escape as soon as the craft are alongside the galleys. The galleyand the three prizes will take their post at the mouth of the inlet.The fire of our guns will add to the confusion among the pirates, and weshall endeavour to fall upon any galleys that may extricate themselvesfrom the mass, and try to make their escape. Sir Ralph has brought backmaterials for making ninety mantles of the Order, for the Christians onboard the three prizes, and thirty fishermen to bring the crew of ourgalley up to its full strength. The light of the flames will sufficeto show the pirates that, as they will believe, four vessels, mannedby knights of the Order, are barring the entrance. Many will, we maycalculate, jump overboard and swim ashore rather than face us, and weshall be able, at any rate, to capture three or four of their craft,for, as they come out, one by one, we can all close round them; and withnearly fifty knights, ninety released captives, burning for vengeance,and some fifty or sixty fishermen, for those from the fire ships will,of course, join us--we shall make short work of them, and may even hopeto entirely destroy their fleet."

  Again a joyous shout rose from the knights. This would indeed be anexploit that all might be proud to share in, and, breaking the ranks inwhich they had stood while Gervaise addressed them, they crowded roundhim with exclamations of enthusiasm and devotion.

  "Now," he said, as soon as silence was a little restored, "the knightsof the langues on board the prizes will send at once to the coaster onthe left of the other two. Sir Ralph will go there now, and supply eachwith materials for making the mantles for the Christians; he has broughtthread, and fish bone needles. You will see that the stuff is cut upinto suitable lengths, and handed over to your crews, and that each manmakes up his mantle. There can be but little sewing required for thesesleeveless gowns, nor need it be carefully done. The great thing is thatthe white crosses shall be conspicuous. As soon as you have set themto work, you will examine the state of the arms, see how many more areneeded to complete the list, and then send off to Sir Ralph, who willfurnish as many as are required: the fishermen have brought theirown weapons. See that the slaves are all well fed today, and, beforeevening, inspect well their fetters, so that you may be free from allanxiety as to an attempt by them to escape during the conflict.

  "The rest of you will go on board these native craft, and see thatthe combustibles are fairly distributed among them, the wood and strawsoaked with pitch and oil, as also the sails and ropes, and that thedecks are well coated; this is a most important duty. Get some torchesmade also, so that there shall be two on board each craft; these are tobe lighted the last thing before we get to the point, and will be throwndown into the straw and faggots in the hold, by the fishermen when theyget close to the corsairs. All this can be prepared before our morningmeal, and when you assemble here I hope to receive your reports thateverything is in readiness. One of the other coasters has some bullockson board. Sir Ralph will send one to each of the prizes, and one to us.They had better be killed and cut up at once, in order that the crewsmay have two good meals today of fresh meat. See that the galley slaveshave their share."

  No time was lost in carrying out the orders. Ralph, as soon as thecloth, arms, and meat were distributed, went round in a boat to see thatthe combustibles were properly laid for firing, and everything done toinsure that the flames should spread rapidly. The Sards shared inthe work, and rations and wine were distributed to them; and when theknights sat down to their meal on board the galley, they were able toreport that everything was in perfect readiness, and that the work ofsewing the mantles was making good progress.

  The day passed slowly to the young knights, all of whom were burningwith excitement at the thought of the coming fray. The releasedChristians were no less exultant at the prospect of taking vengeance forthe sufferings they had so long endured, and the scene on board all fourships was most animated.

  After talking it over with Ralph, Gervaise told off three more of theknights to each of the prizes, so that there should be ten on boardeach. This reduced the strength on board the galley to seventeen; but asthey would have the assistance of a strong band of Sards they consideredthis to be ample, under the circumstances. It was arranged that thegalley, with one of the prizes, should close with the first corsair thatcame out, and that the other two prizes should attack the second. Aftercapturing these, they were to assist each other as circumstances mightdictate. Gervaise strongly impressed upon the knights in command of eachprize that they were not, single handed, to attack a corsair unless oneof their consorts was near, and free to give assistance.

  "We must run no risk of a reverse," he said. "We are certain ofdestroying many of their vessels and of breaking up their fleet, and itis far better that a few should escape than that we should run the riskof losing ten of our number, to say nothing of those we have rescuedfrom captivity. In the excitement of the fight this order must bestrictly borne in mind. Our victory must be marred by no misfortunebrought on by headstrong rashness. The corsairs are bound to be verystrongly manned, and ten knights, even aided by such assistance asthey may get from the Christians, might find themselves altogether overmatched against a crowd of desperate men."

  As soon as it was dusk the anchors were drawn up, and the fleet gotunder way. They proceeded but slowly, for the wind was light, and thefishing boats moved heavily through the water. There was, however, nooccasion for speed, for Gervaise did not wish to commence the attackuntil past midnight. The guns had all been loaded before starting, and apile of ammunition was placed near each. Presently the wind nearly diedout, and the galley and prizes then took the coasters and fishing craftin tow. It was nearly one o'clock when they got within half a mile ofthe inlet. The tow ropes were then thrown off, the fishermen got outsweeps, and the galley led the way, the fire ships followed in a body,and the three prizes brought up the rear. The oars had all bee
n muffled,and slowly they made their way, until Fosco, who was standing next toGervaise on board the galley, said that the point just ahead marked theentrance to the inlet. They then stopped rowing until the fire shipswere all close up.

  These were, as had previously been arranged, in two lines. Five fishingboats, each manned by four men and having its small boat in tow behindit, formed the first line; the three coasters, each with six men at theoars, and the three other fishing boats, formed the second. The torcheswere now lighted. Ralph took his place in the centre boat of the firstline; Gervaise went on board one of the coasters, and the order wasgiven to the men to row. What wind there was was favourable, blowingfrom the northwest, and therefore right into the inlet. Scarcely had thefirst boats reached the entrance when a shout was heard.

  "Row, men, your hardest now!" Ralph shouted; the Sards bent to theiroars, and the five boats advanced rapidly towards the corsairs. As theydid so, a babel of shouts and cries rose from the dark mass of ships,which swelled into a tumult of alarm as on Ralph's order, "Throw yourtorches into the straw!" a flash of flame leapt up from each boat. Fivemore strokes, and they were alongside the two outside ships. As theycrashed heavily into them, the men leapt from their seats and sprangover into the small boats, threw off the painters, and rowed astern,opening on either hand to allow the second line of fire ships to pass.These, by Gervaise's directions, divided, and three bore along on eitherside of the corsairs, and then ran in among them, throwing grapnels tofasten the fire ships alongside. Then, as the flames sprang up from theholds, the crews betook themselves to their boats, and rowed out of theinlet.

  By the time they reached the galley and prizes, the eleven fire shipswere a mass of flame, which was spreading to the corsairs. Lying packedtogether as these were, the confusion was terrible. Numbers of menendeavoured to push off the fire ships, but it was too late; otherstried to extricate their galleys from the mass, throwing off thehawsers, and striving with hand and oar to push their vessels out of theline. As soon as the boats were alongside the galley, the guns of thefour vessels opened fire with grape into the crowded ships, now lit upby the flames as clearly as at noontide, while the battle cry of theOrder sounded high above the din.

  "Nothing can save the ships near this end of the line," Ralph said, "butsome of those behind may make their way out between the others and therocks. I can see that some of them there are lowering their yards andsails to prevent their catching fire as they pass."

  The knights distributed among the guns worked them incessantly,directing their fire chiefly against the outside ships, so as to hinderthe crews in their endeavours to arrest the progress of the flames; butthey were soon able to fire impartially into the mass. As the heat ofthe flames drove the pirates back, scores of men leapt overboard, andmade for the shore. Presently, two or three ships were seen making theirway along the narrow line of water on either side of the flaming groupin front. As the first advanced, the galley and one of the prizes roweda short distance forward to meet it. Its deck was crowded with men,among whom a discharge of the cannon from both ships created terribleslaughter.

  A moment afterwards they closed with it, one on either side, and theknights, the released captives, and the Sards, sprang down on to itsdeck. The fight lasted but a minute. Appalled by the disaster that hadbefallen them, by the terrible effect of the broadsides, poured in at afew yards' distance, and by the sight of so many of the dreaded warriorsof the Cross, some of the corsairs threw down their arms and flungthemselves on the deck or into the hold, crying for quarter; those whoresisted fell either under the swords of the knights, the vengeful axesof the late captives, or the pikes of the Sards; but the great bulk,leaping from the bow or stern, swam ashore.

  "Back to your ships!" Gervaise shouted, the moment resistance ceased."Leave her floating here; she will help to block the way."

  Six vessels alone managed to make their escape from the blazing mass ofships, and all of these were captured almost as easily as the first hadbeen. As soon as it seemed that all the remainder were involved inthe flames, boats were lowered and sent on board the prizes to takepossession. Save for the wounded on the decks, they were entirelydeserted by their crews, as those who had run below, as soon as theyfound that their captors had left the vessels, dropped into the water,and made their way, either by swimming or with the assistance of oars,to the shore. There remained only the slaves, chained to their benches.A few of these had been killed by the broadsides; but the guns had beenaimed at the poops and forecastles, where the corsairs were clusteredtogether, and consequently the number of galley slaves who had fallenwas comparatively small.

  In none of the galleys was the proportion of Christians anything like solarge as that in the three prizes first taken, the greater portion beingmen of inland tribes who had been captured in warfare, or malefactorswho, instead of being executed, had been sold to the corsairs.Nevertheless, in the six galleys some seventy Christians were found,and at once freed. It was terrible to think that in the galleys that hadbeen destroyed a large number of Christians must have perished in theflames, and Gervaise expressed bitter regret that he had not consideredthat his attack by fire ships must necessarily involve the loss of somany Christian lives.

  "It can't be helped," Ralph said, as Gervaise poured out his feelings tohim. "To very many of them death must have been welcome, and if we hadnot attacked them as we did, and they had sailed for Italy, hundreds,if not thousands, of Christians would have been killed, and as many morecarried away into captivity; so, you see, the balance is all in favourof the course we adopted."

  Gervaise admitted this, but nevertheless his regret at the fate ofso many unfortunate captives quite overpowered for the time hissatisfaction at the complete success that had been achieved. The victoryhad been almost a bloodless one on the part of the assailants. A few ofthe knights had received wounds. Two among the Christian crews had beenkilled, and four Sards; while two score had received wounds more or lessserious, as, unlike the knights, they had no defensive armour. Whilewaiting for daylight to appear, all their wounds were dressed andbandaged by the knights.

  In the morning the captured galleys were towed out, and anchored a shortdistance away, and then Gervaise rowed up to the head of the inlet,followed by the other three ships. They found that eleven of thecorsairs had been burnt, and to their satisfaction, they discovered fouruninjured galleys lying there, deserted, save by the slaves.

  Seeing the fate of their comrades who had first issued out, thecommanders had, instead of trying to escape, rowed quietly to the headof the inlet, the movement being covered by the flame and smoke, and hadthere landed, having laden themselves with stores for their support onshore. This was a great satisfaction to the knights, for not only didit swell the list of prizes, but it reduced by over thirty the number ofChristian slaves who had perished in the flames. Taking the galleysin tow, they rowed out of the inlet, whose banks were strewn with halfcharred timbers, oars, and relics of the fight.

  As soon as they had anchored by the side of their first prizes, acouncil was held on board the Santa Barbara. It was clearly impossibleto take thirteen prizes to Rhodes, for there would be but three or fourknights to each, and were they to fall in with but one Moorish pirate,they might suffer great disaster, while, should they meet with a storm,they would fare badly indeed, as they could not depend upon the rescuedChristians for the management of the sails and oars in heavy weather. Atthe same time, all were most anxious that the prizes should be carriedto Rhodes. Never, save as the result of some great battle, had such afleet of captured galleys been brought in, and the knights were preparedto endure all dangers rather than part with one of them. Finally, aftermuch discussion, it was determined that they should make for Genoa. Fromthence the rescued captives would be able to find their way to theirhomes. The great majority were Italians and Spaniards; the former couldproceed by land or sea to their respective homes, while the Spaniardswould have no long time to wait before a vessel of their own nationalityentered the port, even if one were not lyi
ng there when they arrived.Moreover, in any case it would be necessary to despatch a vessel toGenoa, in order that it might be known that the danger was averted, andthat there was no longer any necessity for getting the galleys ready forsea.

  The chief ostensible reason, however, for going to Genoa was that therewould be no difficulty in engaging as many sailors as might be necessaryto take the prizes to Rhodes. Underlying all the arguments was anotherreason which Ralph laughingly stated.

  "It is all very well to bring forward one argument after another, butnot one of you has the courage to say what I am sure all of you haveat the bottom of your hearts. You know very well that you want to go toGenoa to enjoy a triumph. The Rhodians are all very well, but there arevery many more fair faces at Genoa. Fie, Sir Knights! Such a spirit islittle in accordance with the vows of the Order. Are we not bound tohumility? And here you are all longing for the plaudits of the noblesand ladies of Genoa!"

  Some of the young knights laughed, others coloured hotly.

  "They need not be ashamed of the feeling," Caretto said. "Is it not theardent desire of all true knights to do gallant deeds, and do they notvalue above all things the guerdon of applause from the fair eyes ofladies. Your comrades have performed the gallant deeds, and well deservethe reward. Now, Sir Gervaise, if not for this reason, at any rate forthe others that have been brought forward, I suppose we are all agreedthat we sail for Genoa. For our part we are heartily glad that suchis your decision. We, and the young knights of our langue, have manyfriends there, and in their name I am sure I can promise you a receptionas hearty and sincere as that which we shall ourselves receive."

  It was settled that the rescued captives should be divided equallyamong the thirteen prizes, and that three knights should go in each. TheMoorish captives were also divided equally among them, to aid with thesails, and to row a few oars, in case of a dead calm setting in. Thecommands were distributed according to seniority, the three rescuedItalian knights remaining on board the Santa Barbara with Gervaise.

  The Sards were anxious to return to their villages, in order to carrythe news that several hundreds of Moorish pirates had landed.

  "We shall have great trouble with them," one of the young fishermen,who spoke a little Italian, said to Gervaise. "There are always a greatnumber of swine, and herds of goats, up among the forests on the hills.We must send up and drive in as many of these as possible, and of coursewe shall send messengers to Tempe; but it will need a very large forceto combat these pirates, who will be able to come down and plunderand destroy, and then retire to the hills, whence it will be hard todislodge them."

  "I am sorry indeed that such trouble should have been caused to you,"Gervaise replied; "but I am afraid that I can give you no assistance."

  "We shall hunt them down in time," the Sard said confidently.

  "There are many villages scattered about Tempe, and what with usfishermen, and the woodmen and charcoal burners, we shall soon get astrong body together. Besides, we know the mountains, and they do not."

  "I should say that you had best avoid a pitched battle with them, butkeep on harassing them by night and day, cutting off all who separatethemselves from the main body, until at last they are completely wornout."

  "We shall deal with them, Sir Knight. We are all hunters, for there arewild boars and stags in the forest, and wolves too, and wild sheep onthe higher mountains. Every man among us can use his bow skillfully, andwield pike and hatchet. The hunt will not be unprofitable, either, forwe can get a good price for all we take alive, to work in the mines."

  An hour later one of the galleys started with the Sards for theirvillages in the bay of Tempe. After landing them, she was to rejoin therest of the fleet at their former anchorage at Madalena. By nightfallall were gathered there, and the next morning they set out for Genoa.The wind was light; but in their anxiety to return home as soon aspossible the released captives all volunteered to take their formerplaces on the benches, and the vessels were kept going at a fair rateof speed. Two days' rowing took them to Bastia, where their approachcreated unbounded excitement until the banner of the Order was seenfloating from the stern of the Santa Barbara, while smaller flags, thathad been hastily manufactured, flew from the mastheads of the thirteenprizes. Even then the inhabitants feared to put out, believing thatthe flags were but a ruse, and numbers of them fled at once, with theirfamilies and valuables, to the mountains. It was not until a boat waslowered, and Ralph, accompanied by three or four other knights, rowedashore, that the panic was allayed.

  As soon as it was understood that the galley of the knights had not onlycaptured the thirteen corsairs, but had destroyed eleven others, and hadthus annihilated a fleet that was intended to prey upon the commerceof Italy, and ravage the western coast, the alarm was succeeded by thewildest enthusiasm. By the time Ralph had obtained the fresh meat andstores he came ashore to purchase, the greater part of the populationwere gathered on the shore, and a flotilla of boats put out with him,filled with picturesquely dressed men and women. Some carried flags,others green boughs, while the ladies had bouquets and baskets of fruit.The galley was the first attraction, and, mounting her sides, the ladiespresented their offerings of fruit, while the men cheered, and wavedtheir hats; many musicians came out in the boats, and these played onbagpipes and three-reeded flutes a succession of airs peculiar to theisland.

  Gervaise received his visitors on the poop. These were at firstaltogether incredulous when told that it was the lad before them whohad commanded the galley, had performed such a remarkable feat, and hadfreed them from a terrible danger. The youth of the knights of the Orderno less surprised them, and had not Gervaise assured them that it wasaltogether contrary to the rules of the Order for a knight to allowhimself to be embraced, many of the ladies would have taken this formof showing their enthusiasm and gratitude. The next morning the fleetstarted for Genoa. The wind was much stronger than it had been on theprevious day, and it was therefore unnecessary for the oars to be putout, except, indeed, on board the galley. There, at nightfall, theChristians relieved the slaves for some hours at their benches, and thenext morning the circle of hills round Genoa, with the city nestling attheir feet on the water's edge, and climbing for some distance up theirslopes, was in view. Caretto at once suggested that it would be well tosignal to the fleet to lie to.

  "If we do not do so," he said, "they will assuredly think that it is thecorsair fleet advancing to attack and burn the vessels in port, and youmay be saluted as you approach by a shower of cannonballs. If you willpermit me, Sir Gervaise, I will go forward in one of the prizes andexplain matters, and will return here in a short time."

  "Thank you, Sir Fabricius. As such mischance as you mention might indeedvery well occur, we will lower sail and lie here until you return."

  While Caretto was away, the knights and crews breakfasted, and theformer put on their armour and gayest attire, in readiness for thelanding. Gervaise, although with much inward vexation, considered itnecessary to do the same.

  "I do wish," he said to Ralph, who was smiling at his rueful face, "thatyou could for today take my place, and let me pass as lieutenant."

  "I should not mind at all, Gervaise. But you must put up with thedisagreeables as well as the advantages of being commander, and mustsubmit to be honoured and feted here, as well as getting no end ofcredit at Rhodes. You will have the satisfaction of well deserving it,for I am sure the plan of attacking them with fire ships would neverhave occurred to any one else, and if it had not been for that, weshould have had the mortification of seeing them sail off without beingable to move a finger to interfere with them."

  "If one were fighting for fame and honour, all that would be trueenough; but members of an Order, whose sole object is to defendChristendom from the Moslems, should strive only to do their duty, andcare nothing for such things as honour and glory."

  "Human nature is human nature, and I don't see any reason why one shoulddespise honour and glory when they come to one in the course of duty.I fancy you will
think so too, Gervaise, in course of time. I am quitesure that among the fifty knights, there is not one who does not feelwell content that he has not only done his duty to the Order, but hasgained a share in the credit and honour that will certainly be given toall who have taken a part in so crushing a defeat of the corsairs. Asfor myself, I do not for a moment pretend that I am not sensible of thefact that, as second in command of the galley, my chances of obtainingpromotion in the Order are very greatly improved."

  It was nearly two hours before Caretto returned.

  "It was well indeed that I went in," he said to Gervaise, "for I foundthe city in an uproar. The alarm bells of the churches were calling allcitizens to arms, and troops were being hurried down to the forts andbatteries. Rumour had of course exaggerated the strength of the fleet,and half the population believed that the safety of the city itself wasmenaced by the approach of a mighty squadron. As soon as my news wasbruited abroad, and they learned that the fleet consisted solely ofprizes captured from the Moors by a galley of the Order, alarm quicklychanged into delight, the sharp, angry clang of the bells was succeededby peals of gladness, and the joy of the citizens at being relieved fromthe cloud of anxiety that had hung over the city since my last visit,was unbounded. I went at once to the council chamber, where I found manyof the leading citizens already assembled, having been summoned in hothaste as soon as our approach was made out. At first they were almostincredulous when I told them that every ship of the pirate fleet hadbeen either destroyed or captured, and that the fleet in the offingconsisted entirely of your galley and the thirteen corsairs she hadcaptured. As soon as they really grasped the fact, they sent offmessengers to the churches to order the joy bells to be rung, and to thedockyard to arrest all work upon the galleys. Then I had to give them ashort account of the surprise and destruction of the corsair fleet, andfinally they begged me to ask you to delay your entry to the port fora couple of hours, in order that they might have time to prepare asuitable reception for you."

  "I suppose there is no help for it," Gervaise said. "Is there anythingthat we ought to do?"

  "I should decorate the galley with all the flags on board: should setevery one to work to make great flags with the cross of the Order tohoist to the masthead of the prizes, instead of the little things thatare now flying; and under them we will hoist the flags of the corsairs,among which are those of Tripoli, Tunis, and Algiers. I do not know thatthere is aught else we can do."