Page 167 - A Knight of the White Cross

mission is, of course, already known in the auberges of Auvergne and
England. No concealment of the facts is therefore possible. It is the most

serious attempt at a revolt of the slaves that has ever taken place, and will
be a warning to us that more vigilance must be exercised. As it is, we have

only been saved from the loss of our galleys and slaves by the acuteness of
one of the youngest of our knights, who, in the first place, noted a
suspicious occurrence which would have been passed by without attracting

a moment's thought by ninety-nine out of a hundred men. He laid the matter
before his bailiff, Sir John Kendall, who accepted his offer to disguise

himself as a slave, to enter the prison under circumstances that would excite
no suspicions among the others, and to live and work among them in order
to ascertain whether there was any plot on hand. This task -- a painful one,

as you may imagine -- he carried out, and for two weeks he rowed as a
galley slave. His lot was as hard as that of the others, for, as he had reason

to believe that some of the officials were concerned in the plot, it was
necessary that all should be kept in ignorance that he was other than he
seemed to be. Thanks to his perfect knowledge of Turkish, he was able to

carry his mission through with complete success, and to obtain full
particulars of the plot we have tonight crushed. The knight who has

performed this inestimable service is Sir Gervaise Tresham, of the English
langue. The action he has performed will be noted in the annals of the
Order as an example of intelligence and of the extreme of self sacrifice, as

well as of courage; for his life would have been assuredly forfeited had the
slaves entertained the slightest suspicion of his real character."

There was a murmur of acclamation among the knights. Not one of them
but would have freely risked his life in the service of the Order, but there

were few who would not have shrunk from the idea of living as a slave
among the slaves, sharing their tasks, and subject to the orders of men of

inferior rank and often brutal manners.

The knights now returned to their auberges. It was past midnight, but at the

English house the lamps and flambeaux were lighted in the great hall. The
servitors were called up, wine placed on the table, and the knights

discussed the incidents of the evening.