of your capture, and in calling upon
him to interfere in your favour. In that case, the worst that could
befall you would be a temporary detention, unless, indeed, the pirates
should take you to Egypt. As that country is friendly with us at
present, since Egypt dreads the ever increasing power of the Turks, it
will be but a question of ransom, for I have secret agents there who
will inform me without delay of the arrival of a Christian captive."

"I understand, sir, and will do my best in the matter. If I am captured
I trust that an opportunity of escape will soon present itself, for I
should, if taken, conceal from my captors the fact that I understand
their language, and should thus, if I could evade my guard, have every
chance of escaping, as in a native dress I could meet and converse with
those hunting for me, without their having a suspicion of my being the
white slave for whom they were in search."

"Once at Acre you will be safe. But do not land unless it is absolutely
necessary, for you might fall a victim to the fanaticism of its
inhabitants, and no knight has ever set foot on shore there since the
ill fated day when the Moslems wrested it from us, bathed the ruined
walls with the best blood of our Order and the Templars', and destroyed
the last hope of our ever recovering the Holy Sepulchre."

The next morning at daybreak Gervaise and Suleiman Ali went on board the
Egyptian trader, and sailed for Acre. The current of opinion had changed
at the auberge when the knights came to think over the mission on which
Gervaise was about to start, and the slight feeling of jealousy with
which the younger knights had received the news was entirely dissipated.
While it did not seem to them that there was any chance of his
distinguishing himself, they perceived, as they thought it over, the
considerable danger there was of capture by pirates, and Ralph and some
of his companions came down to the mole to see him off, with feelings in
which envy bore no part whatever.

"I see now, Gervaise, that it is truly no holiday excursion on which you
are starting. I should envy you greatly were you going in command of an
armed galley, prepared to beat off any craft that might try to overhaul
you; but, going alone as you are, it is a very different thing. Should
pirates meet you, you could offer no resistance, and your position would
be a perilous one indeed. However, I think you are born to good luck,
and am confident that your patr