d

this ship, master hawtayne?"

"no, my fair lord."

"well, well, it is no great matter for my company, for they were

all houseled and shriven ere we left twynham castle; and father

christopher of the priory gave me his word that they were as fit

to march to heaven as to gascony. but my mind misdoubts me as to

these winchester men who have come with sir oliver, for they

appear to be a very ungodly crew. pass the word that the men

kneel, and that the under-officers repeat to them the pater, the

ave, and the credo."

with a clank of arms, the rough archers and seamen took to their

knees, with bent heads and crossed hands, listening to the hoarse

mutter from the file-leaders. it was strange to mark the hush;

so that the lapping of the water, the straining of the sail, and

the creaking of the timbers grew louder of a sudden upon the ear.

many of the bowmen had drawn amulets and relics from their

bosoms, while he who possessed some more than usually sanctified

treasure passed it down the line of his comrades, that all might

kiss and reap the virtue.

the yellow cog had now shot out from the narrow waters of the

solent, and was plunging and rolling on the long heave of the

open channel. the wind blew freshly from the east, with a very

keen edge to it; and the great sail bellied roundly out, laying

the vessel over until the water hissed beneath her lee bulwarks.

broad and ungainly, she floundered from wave to wave, dipping her

round bows deeply into the blue rollers, and sending the white

flakes of foam in a spatter over her decks. on her larboard

quarter lay the two dark galleys, which had already hoisted sail,

and were shooting out from freshwater bay in swift pursuit, their

double line of oars giving them a vantage which could not fail to

bring them up with any vessel which trusted to sails alone. high

and bluff the english cog; long, black and swift the pirate

galleys, like two fierce lean wolves which have seen a lordly

and unsuspecting stag walk past their forest lair.

"shall we turn, my fair lord, or shall we carry on?" asked the

master-shipman, looking behind him with anxious eyes.

"nay, we must carry on and play the part of the helpless

merchant."

"but your pennons? they will see that we have two knights with

us."

"yet it would not be to a knight's honor or good name to lower

his pennon. let them be, and they will think that we are a wine-

ship for gascony, or that we bear the wool-bales of some mercer

of the staple. ma foi, but they are very swift! they swoop upon

us like two goshawks on a heron. is there not some symbol or

device upon their sails?"

"that on the right," said edricson, "appears to have the head of

an ethiop upon it."

" 'tis the badge of tete-noire, the norman," cried a seaman-

mariner. "i have seen it before, when he harried us at

winchelsea. he is a wondrous large and strong man, with no ruth

for man, woman, or beast. they say that he hath the strength of

six; and, certes, he hath the crimes of six upon his soul. see,

now, to the poor souls who swing at either end of his yard-arm!"

at each end of the yard there did indeed hang the dark figure of

a man, jolting and lurching with hideous jerkings of its limbs at

every plunge and swoop of the galley.

"by st. paul!" said sir nigel, "and by the help of st. george and

our lady, it will be a very strange thing if our black-headed

friend does not himself swing thence ere he be many hours older.

but what is that upon the other galley?"

"it is the red cross of genoa. this spade-beard is a very noted

captain, and it is his boast that there are no seamen and no

archers in the world who can compare with those who serve the

doge boccanegra."

"that we shall prove," said goodwin hawtayne; "but it would be

well, ere they close with us, to raise up the mantlets and

pavises as a screen against their bolts." he shouted a hoarse

order, and his seamen worked swiftly and silently, heightening

the bulwarks and strengthening them. the three ship's anchors

were at sir nigel's command carried into the waist, and tied to

the mast, with twenty feet of cable between, each under the care

of four seamen. eight others were stationed with leather water-

bags to quench any fire-arrows which might come aboard, while

others were sent up the mast, to lie along the yard and drop

stones or shoot arrows as the occasion served.

"let them be supplied with all that is heavy and weighty in the

ship," said sir nigel.

"then we must send them up sir oliver buttesthorn," quoth ford.

the knight looked at him with a face which struck the smile from

his lips. "no squire of mine," he said, "shall ever make jest of

a belted knight. and yet," he added, his eyes softening, "i know

that it is but a boy's mirth, with no sting in it. yet i should

ill do my part t