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

by G. A. Henty

  CHAPTER XVIII A KIND MASTER

  When the boat reached the shore the Arab handed a long bernouse toGervaise, signed to him to pull the hood well over his head, and thenled the way through the streets until he stopped at a large house,standing in a quiet quarter of the town. He struck on the door with hishand, and it was at once opened by a black slave.

  "Call Muley," the Arab said.

  The slave hurried away, and returned in a minute with a man somewhatpast middle age, and dressed in a style that indicated that he was atrusted servant.

  "Muley," his master said, "I have bought this Christian who has beenbrought in by Hassan the corsair. He is one of the knights who are theterrors of our coasts, but is, from what I hear, of a kind and humanedisposition. I am told that he was a commander of one of their galleys,and though I should not have believed it had I only Hassan's word, Ihave heard from others that it was so. My wife has long desired to havea Christian slave, and as Allah has blessed my efforts it was but rightthat I should gratify her, though in truth I do not know what work Ishall set him to do at present. Let him first have a bath, and see thathe is clad decently, then let him have a good meal. I doubt if he hashad one since he was captured. He has been sorely beaten by the corsair,and from no fault of his own, but only because he opposed the man'sbrutality to a child slave. If any of his wounds need ointment, see thathe has it. When all is ready, bring him to the door of my apartments, inorder that I may show to my wife that I have gratified her whim."

  Then he motioned to Gervaise to follow Muley, who was the head of hishousehold. Gervaise resisted the impulse to thank his new master, andfollowed in silence.

  He was first taken to a bathroom, furnished with an abundance of hot andcold water. Muley uttered an exclamation as, on Gervaise throwing offhis bernouse, he saw that his flesh was a mass of bruises. After fillingthe bath with hot water, he motioned to Gervaise to get in, and liethere until he returned. It was some time before he came back, bringinga pot of ointment and some bandages. It was only on the body that thewounds needed dressing, for here the blows had fallen on the naked skin.When he had dressed them, Muley went out and returned with some Turkishgarments, consisting of a pair of baggy trousers of yellow cotton, awhite shirt of the same material, and a sleeveless jacket of blue clothembroidered with yellow trimming; a pair of yellow slippers completedthe costume. Muley now took him into another room, where he set beforehim a dish of rice with a meat gravy, a large piece of bread, and awooden spoon.

  Gervaise ate the food with a deep feeling of thankfulness for the fatethat had thrown him into such good hands. Then, after taking a longdraught of water, he rose to his feet and followed Muley into theentrance hall. The latter stopped at a door on the opposite side,knocked at it, and then motioned to Gervaise to take off his slippers.The door was opened by the Arab himself.

  "Enter," he said courteously, and led Gervaise into an apartment wherea lady and two girls were sitting on a divan. They were slightly veiled;but, as Gervaise afterwards learnt, Ben Ibyn was not a Moor, but aBerber, a people who do not keep their women in close confinement asdo the Moors, but allow them to go abroad freely without being entirelymuffled up.

  "Khadja," the merchant said, "this is the Christian slave I purchasedtoday. You have for a long time desired one, but not until now have Ifound one who would, I thought, satisfy your expectations. What thinkyou of him?"

  "He is a noble looking youth truly, Isaac, with his fair, wavy hair, hisgrey eyes, and white skin; truly, all my neighbours will envy me sucha possession. I have often seen Christian slaves before, but they havealways been broken down and dejected looking creatures; this one bearshimself like a warrior rather than a slave."

  "He is a warrior; he is one of those terrible knights of Rhodes whosevery name is a terror to the Turks, and whose galleys are feared evenby our boldest corsairs. He must be of approved valour, for he wascommander of one of these galleys."

  The girls looked with amazement at Gervaise. They had often heard talesof the capture of ships that had sailed from Tripoli, by the galleysof the Christian knights, and had pictured those fierce warriors as ofalmost supernatural strength and valour. That this youth, whose upperlip was but shaded with a slight moustache, should be one of them,struck them as being almost incredible.

  "He does not look ferocious, father," one of them said. "He lookspleasant and good tempered, as if he could injure no one."

  "And yet this morning, daughter, he braved, unarmed, the anger of Hassanthe corsair, on the deck of his own ship; and when the pirate calledupon his men to seize him he threw one overboard, struck two more on tothe deck, and it needed eight men to overpower him."

  "I hope he won't get angry with us!" the younger girl exclaimed.Gervaise could not suppress a laugh, and then, turning to the merchant,said in Turkish, "I must ask your pardon for having concealed from youmy knowledge of your tongue. I kept the secret from all on board thecorsair, and meant to have done the same here, deeming that if none knewthat I spoke the language it would greatly aid me should I ever seean opportunity of making my escape; but, Ben Ibyn, you have behaved sokindly to me that I feel it would not be honourable to keep it a secretfrom you, and to allow you and the ladies to talk freely before me,thinking that I was altogether ignorant of what you were saying."

  "You have acted well and honourably," Ben Ibyn said, putting a hand onhis shoulder kindly. "We have heard much of the character of the Order,and that though valiant in battle, your knights are courteous andchivalrous, deeming a deceitful action to be unworthy of them, andbinding themselves by their vows to succour the distressed and to bepitiful to the weak. We have heard that our wounded are tended bythem in your hospitals with as much care as men of their own race andreligion, and that in many things the knights were to be admired even bythose who were their foes. I see now that these reports were true, andthat although, as you say, it might be of advantage to you that noneshould know you speak Arabic, yet it is from a spirit of honourablecourtesy you have now told us that you do so.

  "I did not tell you, wife," he went on, turning to her, "that the reasonwhy he bearded Hassan today was because the corsair brutally struck alittle female captive; thus, you see, he, at the risk of his life, andwhen himself a captive, carried out his vows to protect the defenceless.And now, wife, there is one thing you must know. For some time, at anyrate, you must abandon the idea of exciting the envy of your friends byexhibiting your Christian captive to them. As you are aware, the sultanhas the choice of any one slave he may select from each batch broughtin, and assuredly he would choose this one, did it come to his ears,or to the ears of one of his officers, that a Christian knight had beenlanded. For this reason Hassan sold him to me for a less sum thanhe would otherwise have demanded, and we must for some time keep hispresence here a secret. My idea is that he shall remain indoors untilwe move next week into our country house, where he will be comparativelyfree from observation."

  "Certainly, Isaac. I would not on any account that he should be handedover to the sultan, for he would either be put into the galleys or haveto labour in the streets."

  "I will tell Muley to order the other slaves to say nothing outsideof the fresh arrival, so for the present there is no fear of its beingtalked about in the town. Hassan will, for his own sake, keep silenton the matter. I have not yet asked your name," he went on, turning toGervaise.

  "My name is Gervaise Tresham; but it will be easier for you to call meby my first name only."

  "Then, Gervaise, it were well that you retired to rest at once, for I amsure that you sorely need it." He touched a bell on the table, and toldMuley, when he appeared, to conduct Gervaise to the place where he wasto sleep, which was, he had already ordered, apart from the quarters ofthe other slaves.

  "The young fellow is a mass of bruises," Ben Ibyn said to his wife, whenthe door closed behind Gervaise. "Hassan beat him so savagely, afterthey had overpowered and bound him, that he well nigh killed him."

  An exclamation of indignation burst from the wife
and daughters.

  "Muley has seen to his wounds," he went on, "and he will doubtless becured in a few days. And now, wife, that your wish is gratified, and Ihave purchased a Christian slave for you, may I ask what you are goingto do with him?"

  "I am sure I do not know," she said in a tone of perplexity. "I hadthought of having him to hand round coffee when my friends call, andperhaps to work in the garden, but I did not think that he would beanything like this."

  "That is no reason why he should not do so," Ben Ibyn said. "TheseChristians, I hear, treat their women as if they were superior beings,and feel it no dishonour to wait upon them; I think you cannot do betterthan carry out your plan. It is certain there is no sort of work thathe would prefer to it; therefore, let it be understood that he is to beyour own personal attendant, and that when you have no occasion for hisservices, he will work in the garden. Only do not for the present letany of your friends see him; they would spread the news like wildfire,and in a week every soul in the town would know that you had a goodlooking Christian slave, and the sultan's officer would be sending forme to ask how I obtained him. We must put a turban on him. Any one whocaught a glimpse of that hair of his, however far distant, would knowthat he was a Frank."

  "We might stain his face and hands with walnut juice," Khadja said, "hewould pass as a Nubian. Some of them are tall and strong."

  "A very good thought, wife; it would be an excellent disguise. So shallit be." He touched the bell again. "Tell Muley I would speak with him.Muley," he went on, when the steward appeared, "have you said aught toany of the servants touching the Christian?"

  "No, my lord; you gave me no instructions about it, and I thought itbetter to wait until the morning, when I could ask you."

  "You did well. We have determined to stain his skin, and at present hewill pass as a Nubian. This will avoid all questions and talk."

  "But, my lord, they will wonder that he cannot speak their tongue."

  "He must pass among them as a mute; but indeed he speaks Arabic as wellas we do, Muley."

  The man uttered an exclamation of surprise.

  "He had intended to conceal his knowledge," Ben Ibyn went on, "whichwould have been politic; but when he found that my intentions were kind,he told us that he knew our tongue, and now revealed his knowledge, ashe thought it would be dishonourable to listen to our talk, leaving usunder the impression that he could not understand us."

  "Truly these Christians are strange men," Muley said. "This youth, whohas not yet grown the hair on his face, is nevertheless commander of awar galley. He is ready to risk his life on behalf of a slave, and canstrike down men with his unarmed hand; he is as gentle in his manner asa woman; and now it seems he can talk Arabic, and although it was in hispower to keep this secret he tells it rather than overhear words thatare not meant for his ear. Truly they are strange people, the Franks.I will prepare some stain in the morning, my lord, and complete hisdisguise before any of the others see him."

  The next morning Muley told Gervaise that his master thought that itwould be safer and more convenient for him to pass as a dumb Nubianslave. Gervaise thought the plan an excellent one; and he was soontransformed, Muley shaving that part of the hair that would have shownbelow the turban, and then staining him a deep brownish black, from thewaist upwards, together with his feet and his legs up to his knee, anddarkening his eyebrows, eyelashes, and moustache.

  "Save that your lips lack the thickness, and your nose is straighterthan those of Nubians, no one would doubt but that you were one of thatrace; and this is of little consequence, as many of them are of mixedblood, and, though retaining their dark colour, have features that intheir outline resemble those of the Arabs. Now I will take you to BenIbyn, so that he may judge whether any further change is required beforethe servants and slaves see you."

  "That is excellent," the merchant said, when he had carefully inspectedGervaise, "I should pass you myself without recognizing you. Now you cantake him into the servants' quarters, Muley, and tell them that he is anew slave whom I have purchased, and that henceforth it will be hisduty to wait upon my wife, to whom I have presented him as her specialattendant, and that he will accompany her and my daughters when they goabroad to make their purchases or visit their friends. Give some reason,if you can think of one, why you have bestowed him in a chamber separatefrom the rest."

  Gervaise at once took up his new duties, and an hour later, carrying abasket, followed them into the town. It was strange to him thus to bewalking among the fanatical Moors, who, had they known the damage thathe had inflicted upon their galleys, would have torn him in pieces.None gave him, however, more than a passing look. Nubian slaves wereno uncommon sight in the town, and in wealthy Moorish families werecommonly employed in places of trust, and especially as attendants inthe harems. The ladies were now as closely veiled as the Moorish women,it being only in the house that they followed the Berber customs.Gervaise had learnt from Muley that Ben Ibyn was one of therichest merchants in Tripoli, trading direct with Egypt, Syria, andConstantinople, besides carrying on a large trade with the Berbertribes in the interior. He returned to the house with his basket fullof provisions, and having handed these over to the cook, he went to theprivate apartments, as Khadja had requested him to do. Here she andher daughters asked him innumerable questions as to his country and itscustoms, and then about Rhodes and the Order to which he belonged.Their surprise was great when they heard that the knights were bound tocelibacy.

  "But why should they not marry if they like? Why should they not havewives, children, and homes like other people?" Khadja asked.

  "It is that they may devote their whole lives to their work. Their homeis the convent at Rhodes, or at one of the commanderies scattered overEurope, where they take charge of the estates of the Order."

  "But why should they not marry then, Gervaise? At Rhodes there might bedanger for women and children, but when they return to Europe to takecharge of the estates, surely they would do their duty no worse forhaving wives?"

  Gervaise smiled.

  "I did not make the rules of the Order, lady, but I have thought myselfthat although, so long as they are doing military work at the convent,it is well that they should not marry, yet there is no good reason why,when established in commanderies at home, they should not, like otherknights and nobles, marry if it so pleases them."

  In the evening the merchant returned from his stores, which weresituated down by the port. Soon after he came in he sent for Gervaise."There is a question I had intended to ask you last night," he said,"but it escaped me. More than two months since there sailed from thisport and others many vessels--not the ships of the State, but corsairs.In all, more than twenty ships started, with the intention of making agreat raid upon the coast of Italy. No word has since been received ofthem, and their friends here are becoming very uneasy, the more so as wehear that neither at Tunis nor Algiers has any news been received. Haveyou heard at Rhodes of a Moorish fleet having been ravaging the coast ofItaly?"

  "Have you any friends on board the ships that sailed from here, or anyinterest in the venture, Ben Ibyn?"

  The merchant shook his head. "We Berbers," he said, "are not like theMoors, and have but little to do with the sea, save by the way of trade.For myself, I regret that these corsair ships are constantly puttingout. Were it not for them and their doings we might trade with the portsof France, of Spain, and Italy, and be on good terms with all. There isno reason why, because our faiths are different, we should be constantlyfighting. It is true that the Turks threaten Europe, and are even nowpreparing to capture Rhodes; but this is no question of religion. TheTurks are warlike and ambitious; they have conquered Syria, and war withEgypt and Persia; but the Moorish states are small, they have no thoughtof conquest, and might live peaceably with Europe were it not for thehatred excited against them by the corsairs."

  "In that case I can tell you the truth. Thirteen of those ships weretaken into Rhodes as prizes; the other eleven were burnt. Not one of thefleet escaped."
>
  Exclamations of surprise broke from Ben Ibyn, his wife, and daughters.

  "I am astonished, indeed," the merchant said. "It was reported here thatthe Genoese galleys were all laid up, and it was thought that they wouldbe able to sweep the seas without opposition, and to bring home vastspoil and many captives, both from the ships they took and from many ofthe villages and small towns of the coast. How came such a misfortune tohappen to them? It will create consternation here when it is known, foralthough it was not a state enterprise, the sultan himself and almostall the rich Moors embarked money in the fitting out of the ships, andwere to have shares in the spoil taken. How happened it that so strong afleet was all taken or destroyed, without even one vessel being able toget away to carry home the news of the disaster?"

  "Fortune was against them," Gervaise said. "Three ships on their wayup were captured by a galley of our Order, and her commander havingobtained news of the whereabouts of the spot where the corsairs were torendezvous, found them all lying together in a small inlet, and launchedagainst them a number of fishing boats fitted out as fire ships. Thecorsairs, packed closely together, were unable to avoid them, and, asI told you, eleven of their ships were burnt, four were run ashore toavoid the flames, while six, trying to make their way out, were capturedby the galley, aided by the three prizes that were taken and which theknights had caused to be manned by Sards."

  "The ways of Allah the All Seeing are wonderful," the merchant said."It was indeed a marvellous feat for one galley thus to destroy a greatfleet."

  "It was the result of good fortune rather than skill and valour,"Gervaise said.

  "Nay, nay; let praise be given where it is due. It was a marvellousfeat; and although there is good or bad fortune in every event, such adeed could not have been performed, and would not even have been thoughtof, save by a great commander. Who was the knight who thus with onegalley alone destroyed a strongly manned fleet, from which great thingshad been looked for?"

  Gervaise hesitated. "It was a young knight," he said, "of but littlestanding in the Order, and whose name is entirely unknown outside itsranks."

  "By this time it must be well known," Ben Ibyn said; "and it will soonbe known throughout Christendom, and will be dreaded by every Moor. Whatwas it?"

  Gervaise again hesitated.

  "I would not have told you the story at all, Ben Ibyn, had I supposedyou would have cared to inquire into the matter. Of course, I will tellyou the name if you insist upon it, but I would much rather you did notask."

  "But why?" the merchant asked, in surprise. "If I hear it not from you,I shall assuredly hear it ere long from others, for it will be broughtby traders who are in communication with Italy. I cannot understand whyyou should thus hesitate about telling me the name of this commander.When known it will doubtless be cursed by thousands of Moorish wives andmothers; but we Berbers are another race. None of our friends or kindredwere on board the fleet; and we traders have rather reason to rejoice,for, in the first place, so severe a lesson will keep the corsairs intheir ports for a long time; and in the second, had the fleet succeededaccording to general expectation, so great a store of European goodswould have been brought home that the market would have been glutted,and the goods in our storehouses would have lost all their value. Whatreason, then, can you possibly have in refusing to tell me the name ofthe commander who has won for himself such credit and glory?"

  Gervaise saw that Ben Ibyn was seriously annoyed at what he deemed hisunaccountable obstinacy.

  "I will tell you, Ben Ibyn, rather than excite your displeasure, thoughI would much have preferred not to do so, for you speak so much morehighly of the affair than it merits. I had myself the honour of being incommand of that galley."

  The ladies broke into exclamations of surprise, while the merchantregarded him with grave displeasure.

  "I had thought you truthful," he said; "but this passes all belief. Dosttell me that a beardless youth could with one galley overcome a greatfleet, commanded by the most noted captains on our coast?"

  "I thought that you would not believe me," Gervaise said quietly; "and,therefore, would have much preferred to keep silence, knowing that I hadno means of supporting my claim. That was not the only reason; the otherwas, that already a great deal too much has been said about an affairin which, as I have told you, I owed everything to good fortune, and amheartily sick of receiving what I consider altogether undue praise. Ah!"he exclaimed suddenly, "the thought has just occurred to me of a way bywhich you can obtain confirmation of my story; and, as I value your goodopinion and would not be regarded as a boaster and a liar, I entreat youto take it. I heard you tell the eight men who were rowers in my boatwhen I was captured, to call upon you today, that you might do somethingfor them."

  "They came this morning to my store," the merchant said. "They toldme their wishes. I promised them that I would make inquiry about shipssailing East; and they are to come to me again tomorrow."

  "Then, sir, I beseech you to suffer me to go down with you to yourstores and meet them there. The galley of which I was in command at thetime I was captured is the same as that in which a few weeks before Ifought the corsairs, and these eight men were with me at that time.I begged them for my sake to maintain an absolute silence as to thataffair, and I have no doubt that they have done so, for in the furythe news would excite, they might fall victims to the first outburst,though, of course, wholly innocent of any share in the misfortune.Did you question them without my being present, they might still keepsilent, fearing to injure me. But if, before you begin to do so, I tellthem that they can speak the truth with reference to me, they will, I amsure, confirm my story, incredible as it may now appear to you."

  "That is a fair offer," the merchant said gravely, "and I accept it,for it may be that I have been too hasty, and I trust it may prove so. Iwould rather find myself to be in fault than that the esteem with whichyou have inspired me should prove to be misplaced. We will speak nofurther on the subject now. I have not yet asked you how it is that youcome to speak our language so well."

  Gervaise related how he had studied with Suleiman Ali, and had escortedhim to Syria and received his ransom.

  "I had hoped," he said, "that the corsair would have taken me to Syria,for there I could have communicated with Suleiman, who would, I am sure,have given me such shelter and aid as he was able, in the event of mymaking my escape from slavery and finding myself unable to leave bysea."

  The next day Gervaise went with Ben Ibyn to his stores. The eightmen arrived shortly afterwards, and the merchant, in the presenceof Gervaise, questioned them as to whether they knew anything of amisfortune that was said to have befallen some ships that had sailedfor the coast of Italy. The men, surprised at the question, glanced atGervaise, who said, "Tell Ben Ibyn the truth; it will do neither you norme any harm, and will be mentioned by him to no one else."

  Accordingly the story was told. Ben Ibyn listened gravely.

  "It was the will of Allah," he said, when it was concluded. "I havewronged you, Gervaise, but your tale seemed too marvellous to be true.

  "Do not speak of this to others;" he went on to the eight men. "Now asto yourselves. For the four of you who desire to return to Syria I havetaken passage in a trader that sails tomorrow and will touch at Joppaand Acre. Here is money to provide yourselves with garments and to carryyou to your homes. For you," he said to two who were natives of thetown, "I can myself find employment here, and if your conduct is good,you will have no reason to regret taking service with me. The two ofyou who desire to go to Smyrna I will give passage there in a ship whichwill sail next week; in the meantime, here is money for your presentwants."

  Two days later the merchant's family moved to his house two milesoutside the town, and here Gervaise remained for six months. His lifewas not an unpleasant one; he was treated with great kindness by themerchant and his wife, his duties were but slight, and he had no morelabour to perform in the garden than he cared to do. Nevertheless, hefelt that he would rather have fallen into
the hands of a less kindmaster, for it seemed to him that it would be an act almost of treacheryto escape from those who treated him as a friend; moreover, at thecountry house he was not in a position to frame any plans for escape,had he decided upon attempting it, nor could he have found out whenHassan made one of his occasional visits to the port.

  One evening the merchant returned from the town accompanied by one ofthe sultan's officers and four soldiers. Ben Ibyn was evidently muchdepressed and disturbed; he told Muley as he entered, to fetch Gervaise.When the latter, in obedience to the order, came in from the garden, theofficer said in Italian, "It having come to the ears of the sultan mymaster that the merchant Ben Ibyn has ventured, contrary to the law,to purchase a Christian slave brought secretly into the town, he hasdeclared the slave to be forfeited and I am commanded to take him atonce to the slaves' quarter."

  "I am at the sultan's orders," Gervaise said, bowing his head. "Mymaster has been a kind one, and I am grateful to him for his treatmentof me."

  Gervaise, although taken aback by this sudden change in his fortunes,was not so cast down as he might otherwise have been; he would now befree to carry out any plan for escape that he might devise, and by hisbeing addressed in Italian it was evident to him that his knowledgeof Turkish was unsuspected. When among the other slaves he had alwaysmaintained his character of a mute; and it was only when alone in hismaster's family that he had spoken at all. He had no doubt that hisbetrayal was due to one of the gardeners, who had several times shownhim signs of ill will, being doubtless jealous of the immunity heenjoyed from hard labour, and who must, he thought, have crept up andoverheard some conversation; but in that case it was singular thatthe fact of his knowledge of Turkish had not been mentioned. Gervaiseafterwards learned that Ben Ibyn had been fined a heavy sum for hisbreach of the regulations.

  He was now placed between the soldiers, and marched down to the town,without being allowed to exchange a word with the merchant. On hisarrival there he was taken to the slaves' quarter; here his clothes werestripped from him, and he was given in their place a ragged shirt andtrousers, and then turned into a room where some fifty slaves werelying. Of these about half were Europeans, the rest malefactors who hadbeen condemned to labour.

  The appearance of all was miserable in the extreme; they were clothed inrags, and the faces of the Europeans had a dull, hopeless look that toldalike of their misery and of their despair of any escape from it. Theylooked up listlessly as he entered, and then an Italian said, "Cospetto,comrade; but I know not whether your place is with us, or with theMoslems across there. As far as colour goes I should put you down as aNubian; but your hair is of a hue that consorts but badly with that ofyour flesh."

  "I am an Englishman," Gervaise replied; "but I have been passing under adisguise which has unfortunately been detected, so you see here I am."

  The mystery explained, his questioner had no further interest in thematter, and Gervaise, picking out a vacant place on the stone floor, satdown and looked round him. The room, although large, was roughly built,and had doubtless been erected with a view to its present purpose. Therewere only a few windows; and these were small, strongly barred, andtwelve feet above the floor.

  "Not easy to get out of them," Gervaise said to himself "at least, noteasy without aid; and with these Moslems here it is clear that nothingcan be done."

  They were roused at daybreak next morning, and were taken out to theirwork under the guard of six armed Moors, two overseers, provided withlong whips, accompanied them. The work consisted of cleaning the streetsand working on the roads, and at times of carrying stones for the use ofthe masons employed in building an addition to the palace of the sultan.This was the work to which the gang was set that morning, and it was notlong before the vigour with which Gervaise worked, and the strength hedisplayed in moving the heavy stones, attracted the attention of theoverseers and of the head of the masons.

  "That is a rare good fellow you have got there, that black with thecurious hair," the latter said. "What is the man? I never saw one likehim."

  "He is a Christian," one of the overseers said. "He was smuggled intothe town and sold to Ben Ibyn the Berber, who, to conceal the matter,dyed him black; but it got to the ears of the sultan, and he had himtaken from the Berber, and brought here; I have no doubt the merchanthas been squeezed rarely."

  "Well, that is a good fellow to work," the other said. "He has justmoved a stone, single handed, that it would have taken half a dozen ofthe others to lift. I wish you would put him regularly on this job; anyone will do to sweep the streets; but a fellow like that will be of realuse here, especially when the wall rises a bit higher."

  "It makes no difference to me," the overseer said. "I will give orderswhen I go down that he shall be always sent up with whichever gang comeshere."

  The head mason, who was the chief official of the work, soon saw thatGervaise not only possessed strength, but knowledge of the manner inwhich the work should be done.

  Accustomed as he had been to direct the slaves at work on thefortifications at Rhodes, he had learned the best methods of movingmassive stones, and setting them in the places that they were to occupy.At the end of the day the head mason told one of the slaves who spokeItalian to inquire of Gervaise whether he had ever been employed onsuch work before. Gervaise replied that he had been engaged in theconstruction of large buildings.

  "I thought so," the officer said to the overseer; "the way he uses hislever shows that he knows what he is doing. Most of the slaves are worthnothing; but I can see that this fellow will prove a treasure to us."

  Gervaise returned to the prison well satisfied with his day's work. Thelabour, hard though it was, was an absolute pleasure to him. There was,moreover, nothing degrading in it, and while the overseers had pliedtheir whips freely on the backs of many of his companions, he had notonly escaped, but had, he felt, succeeded in pleasing his masters. Thenext morning when the gangs were drawn up in the yard before startingfor work, he was surprised at being ordered to leave the one to whichhe belonged and to fall in with another, and was greatly pleased when hefound that this took its way to the spot at which they were at work onthe previous day.

  At the end of the week, when the work of the day was finished, the headmason came down to the prison and spoke to the governor; a few minutesafterwards Gervaise was called out. The governor was standing in thecourtyard with an interpreter.

  "This officer tells me that you are skilled in masonry," the governorsaid, "and has desired that you shall be appointed overseer of the gangwhose duty it is to move the stones, saying he is sure that with halfthe slaves now employed you would get as much work done as at present.Have you anything to say?"

  "I thank you, my lord, and this officer," Gervaise replied. "I will domy best; but I would submit to you that it would be better if I couldhave the same slaves always with me, instead of their being changedevery day; I could then instruct them in their work. I would also submitthat it were well to pick men with some strength for this labour, formany are so weak that they are well nigh useless in the moving of heavyweights; and lastly, I would humbly submit to you that if men are todo good work they must be fed. This work is as heavy as that in thegalleys, and the men there employed receive extra rations to strengthenthem; and I could assuredly obtain far better results if the gangemployed upon this labour were to receive a somewhat larger supply offood."

  "The fellow speaks boldly," the governor said to the head mason, whenthe reply was translated.

  "There is reason in what he says, my lord. Many of the slaves, thoughfit for the light labour of cleaning the streets, are of very little useto us, and even the whip of the drivers cannot get more than a momentaryeffort from them. If you can save twenty-five men's labour for otherwork, it will pay to give more food to the other twenty-five. I shouldlet this man pick out his gang. He has worked in turn with all of them,and must know what each can do; besides, it is necessary that he shouldhave men who can understand his orders."

  Gervaise acco
rdingly was allowed to pick out his gang; and he chosethose whom he had observed to be the strongest and most handy at thework.

  "You will be responsible," the governor said to him, "for the masonsbeing supplied with stone, and if you fail you will be punished and putto other labour."

  So far from there being any falling off in the work, the head masonfound that, even though the walls began to rise and the labour oftransporting the stones into their positions became greater, the masonswere never kept standing. The men, finding their position improved,both in the matter of food and in the immunity they enjoyed from blows,worked cheerfully and well. Gervaise did not content himself withgiving orders, but worked at the heaviest jobs, and, little by little,introduced many of the appliances used by the skilled masons of Rhodesin transporting and lifting heavy stones. Gradually his own positionimproved: he was treated as an overseer, and was permitted to sleepunder an arcade that ran along one side of the yard, instead of beingconfined in the close and stifling cell. His dye had long since wornoff.

  One day as he was going up with his gang under charge of the usualguards to the building, he saw Hassan, who grinned maliciously.

  "Ah, ah, Christian dog!" he said; "you threatened me, and I have notforgotten it. The last time I was here I made it known to an officer ofthe sultan that Ben Ibyn had a Christian slave who had been smuggledin; and here you are. I hope you like the change. Look, I have still gotyour amulet, and it has brought me better luck than it did you. I havebeen fortunate ever since, and no money could buy it from me."

  He had been walking close to Gervaise as he spoke, and one of the guardspushed him roughly aside.

  Time passed on. One day on his return from work a well dressed Moor methim as the gang broke up in the courtyard.

  "I have permission to speak to you," he said to Gervaise, and drew himaside. "Know, O Christian, that I have received a letter from SuleimanAli, of Syria. He tells me that he has heard from Ben Ibyn, the Berber,that you are a slave, and has asked me to inquire of the sultan theprice that he will take for your ransom, expressing his willingness topay whatever may be demanded, and charging me to defray the sum and tomake arrangements by which you may return to Europe. This I am willingto do, knowing Suleiman Ali by report as a wealthy man and an honourableone. I saw the sultan yesterday. He told me that I should have an answerthis morning as to the ransom that he would take. When I went to himagain today, he said that he had learnt from the governor of the prisonand from the head mason that you were almost beyond price, that you hadbeen raised to the position of superintendent of the slaves employed inthe building of his palace, and that you were a man of such skill thathe would not part with you at any price until the work was finished.After that he would sell you; but he named a price threefold that atwhich the very best white slave in Tripoli would be valued. However,from the way in which Suleiman Ali wrote, I doubt not that he would payit, great as it is, for he speaks of you in terms of affection, and Iwould pay the money could you be released at once. As it is, however,I shall write to him, and there will be ample time for an answer to bereceived from him before the building is finished."

  "Truly I am deeply thankful to my good friend, Suleiman Ali; but forreasons of my own I am not desirous of being ransomed at present,especially at such a cost, which I should feel bound in honour to repayto him; therefore, I pray you to write to him, saying that while I thankhim from my heart for his kindness, I am not able to avail myself of it.In the first place, I am well treated here, and my position is not anunpleasant one; secondly, the sum required for ransom is altogetherpreposterous; thirdly, I am not without hopes that I may some day findother means of freeing myself without so great a sacrifice; and lastly,that I have a reason which I cannot mention, why, at present, I wouldnot quit Tripoli, even were I free tomorrow. You can tell him that thisis the reason which, most of all, weighs with me. Do not, however, Ipray you, let the sultan know that I have refused to be ransomed, forhe might think I was meditating an escape, and would order extraprecautions to be taken to prevent my doing so. Will you also see BenIbyn, and thank him from me for having written to Suleiman Ali on mybehalf?"