Page 266 - A Knight of the White Cross

night came on they anchored in a little bay on the coast of the Morea. The
sails being furled, the sailors made a division of the booty they had

captured on the island, and of the portable property found on board the
wreck. A gourd full of water was placed to Gervaise's lips by one of the

men of a kinder disposition than the rest. He drank it thankfully, for he was
parched with thirst excited by the pain caused by the tightness with which
he had been bound.

He slept where he sat. All night four men remained on guard, although

from what he heard they had no fear whatever of being overtaken. In the
morning his arms were unbound, and they stripped off his tunic and shirt.
They had evidently respect for his strength, for before loosing his arms they

tightly fastened his ankles together. The removal of his shirt exposed
Claudia's gift to view.

"Take that from him and give it to me," the captain said. As the two men
approached, Gervaise seized one in each hand, dashed them against each

other, and hurled them on the deck. But the exertion upset his equilibrium,
and after making a vain effort to recover it, he fell heavily across them. The

captain stooped over him, and, before he could recover himself, snatched
the chain from his neck.

"You are a stout fellow," he said, laughing, "and will make a fine slave.
What have you got here that you are ready to risk your life for?" He looked

at the little chain and its pendant with an air of disappointment. "'Tis worth
but little," he said, showing it to his mate. "I would not give five ducats for
it in the market. It must be a charm, or a knight would never carry it about

with him and prize it so highly. It may be to things like this the Christians
owe their luck."

"It has not brought him luck this time," the mate observed with a laugh.

"Even a charm cannot always bring good luck, but at any rate I will try it; "
and he put it round his neck just as Gervaise had worn it. The latter was

now unbound, and permitted to move about the deck. The strength he had
shown in the struggle on shore, and the manner in which he had hurled,