he desperate
attacks of their assailants.

Several of these were cut down, but so furious was the attack of the
maddened peasants that the defenders were borne down by the weight of
numbers, and one by one beaten to the ground. Then the peasants rained
blows upon them as if they had been obnoxious wild beasts, and in spite
of their armour would speedily have slain them had not the Genoese,
with a great effort, pulled from his breast a cross, which was
suspended there by a silken cord, and held it up, shouting, "We are
Christians, we are Italians, and no Danes."

So surprised were the peasants at the sight that they recoiled from
their victims. The Dane was already insensible. Edmund had just
strength to draw his dagger and hold up the cross hilt and repeat the
words, "We are Christians." It was the sight of the cross rather than
the words which had arrested the attacks of the peasants. Indeed, the
words of the Genoese were scarce understood by them, so widely did
their own patois differ from the language of polished Italy.

The fact, however, that these Danes were Christians seemed so
extraordinary to them that they desisted from their attack. The Danes,
they knew, were pagans and bitterly hostile to Christianity, the
monasteries and priests being special objects of their hostility. The
suggestion of one of the peasants, that the cross had no doubt been
taken from the body of some man murdered by the Danes, revived the
passion of the rest and nearly cost the prisoners their lives; but an
older man who seemed to have a certain authority over the others said
that the matter must be inquired into, especially as the man who had
the cross, and who continued to address them in Italian, clearly spoke
some language approaching their own. He would have questioned him
further, but the Genoese was now rapidly losing consciousness from the
pain of his wounds and the loss of blood.

The three prisoners were therefore bound, and being placed on rough
litters constructed of boughs, were carried off by the peasants. The
strength and excellence of Edmund's armour had enabled him to withstand
the blows better than his companions, and he retained his consciousness
of what was passing. For three hours their journey continued. At the
end of that time they entered a wood high up on the hillside. There was
a great clamour of voices round, and he judged that his conductors had
met another party and that they were at the end of their journe