little worse off than our serfs at home; they build our
castles and till our land."

"It may be so, sir; but with us in England men are free, and it was,
when I first came, strange to me to see them working under the fear of
the whip. It is necessary, I know, that such work should be done, but I
own that I shall be glad to be away from the sight of the poor wretches,
pirates and enemies of the faith though they be."

"I can understand your feelings, and I too felt somewhat the same when
I first came here. Nevertheless, there is work that must be done if the
Order is not to be crushed by the infidels. Here are captives, for the
most part malefactors, who have to be fed; and there is no injustice in
their having, like all men, to give work for food. I have learnt to see
this and recognise the necessity, though I would that the work could
be obtained without the use of harshness and severity. We ourselves are
prepared at any moment to sacrifice our lives for the good of the Order
and for the great cause, and it would be wrong, nay, sinful, not to use
the means that have been placed ready to our hand. Now, Sir Gervaise, I
wish you a pleasant voyage. You will find the life somewhat hard, after
your three years' residence at the palace, but this I know you will
not mind. I have specially commended you to Ricord as one in whom I am
personally interested, and from whom I hope great things in the future.
Be brave; be resolute. From what you have said I need not say--be
merciful. Fulfill all orders promptly and without question; bear
yourself courteously to all; above all things, remember that you are a
soldier, not only of the Order, but of the Cross."

The next day Gervaise embarked with his companions on board the galley.
It was a long, low boat, similar to those in use by the Venetians and
Genoese. It was rowed by fifty slaves, who slept at night on or beneath
the benches they sat on by day. The knights occupied the great cabins
in the poop. There were two tiers of these; the upper one contained the
little cabin of the commander, while the rest of the space on this deck,
and that below it, was used by the knights in common. In the upper cabin
they took their meals, and a third of their number slept there, the
remainder in the cabin below. A fourth of their number were, however,
always on guard, lest any attempt at a rising or escape should be made
by the galley slaves.

On leaving the harbour the galley, with its two cons