Page 327 - A Knight of the White Cross

Claudia again, I should feel disgraced indeed, if, when she asked whether I
still bore her gage, I had to confess that it was lost."

"But lost from no fault of your own," Caretto put in.

"The losing was not indeed from any fault of my own, and had the pirate
thrown it into the sea I should have held myself free from disgrace; but as it

was still in existence, and I knew its possessor, I was bound in honour to
recover it. At the time Suleiman Ali's messenger arrived the corsair was

away, and there was no saying when his ship would return; therefore, I
decided at once not to accept the offer of freedom. Had it not been for that,
I own that I should have done so, for I knew that I could repay Suleiman

from the revenues of my commandery, which would have accumulated in
my absence; but if I had had to wait ten years longer to regain the gage, I

felt that I was in honour bound to do so. It was, in fact, some six months
before the corsair put into that port again. The moment he did so I carried
out the plans I had long before determined upon. I obtained a disguise from

Ben Tbyn, and by a ruse succeeded in inducing the pirate to meet me
outside the town, believing that I was an Arab chief who wished to dispose

of some valuable slave girls he had brought in. I had with me one of my old
galley slaves, who had been taken into Ben Tbyn's employment; and when
the pirate came up with two of his crew, and furiously attacked me as soon

as I threw off my disguise, it would have gone hard with me had he not
stood by me, and killed one of them who was about to attack me in the rear.

I slew the other and Hassan, and the gage is in its place again."