Page 258 - A Knight of the White Cross

CHAPTER XVII

CAPTURED

Upon the following day the doge requested Gervaise to accompany him to
a meeting of the council. Upon entering the grand hall he found not only

the members of the council assembled in their robes of office, but a large
gathering of the nobles and principal citizens of Genoa, together with the

knights of the galley whom, under Ralph Harcourt's orders, Gervaise found,
to his surprise, drawn up in order across the Hall. Here, in the name of the
Republic, Battista Fragoso announced to him that, by the unanimous

decision of the council, he had been elected a noble of Genoa; an honour,
he added, on only one or two previous occasions in the history of the

Republic bestowed upon any but of princely rank, but which he had nobly
earned by the great service he had rendered to the State. His name was then
inscribed in the book containing the names and titles of the nobles of

Genoa. Next, Battista Fragoso presented him with a superb suit of Milanese
armour, as his own personal gift, and then with a casket of very valuable

jewels, as the gift of the city of Genoa. Each presentation was accompanied
by the plaudits of the assembly, and by the no less warm acclamations of
the knights. Ralph was then called forward, and presented with a suit of

armour but little inferior to that given to Gervaise, and each knight received
a heavy gold chain of the finest workmanship of Genoa.

Two days later the preparations for departure were complete, and a
sufficient number of men were engaged to man the prizes. This charge,

also, Genoa took upon itself, and put on board much stronger crews than
Gervaise deemed necessary for the navigation of the ships. The weather

was fine and the wind favourable, and a quick passage was made to
Rhodes. When the harbour was in sight, the ships were ordered to proceed
in single file, the galley leading the way with a huge banner of the Order

floating from her stern, and smaller flags on staffs at each side. It was not
until they passed by the two forts guarding the entrance that the flags

fluttering at the mastheads of the prizes afforded to those on shore an
intimation of the event that had taken place, and even then none supposed
that this fleet of prizes had been taken by the one galley that headed them.