d.

THE KNIGHT OF THE EXPLOITS.

The dull monotony of sieges, of which there were many during the war with
Granada, was little to the taste of the valorous Spanish cavaliers. They
burned for adventure, and were ever ready for daring exploits, the more
welcome the more dangerous they promised to be. One day during the siege
of Baza, a strong city in El Zagal's dominions, two of these spirited
young cavaliers, Francisco de Bazan and Antonio de Cueva, were seated on
the ramparts of the siege works, bewailing the dull life to which they
were confined. They were overheard by a veteran scout, who was familiar
with the surrounding country.

"Senors," he said, "if you pine for peril and profit and are eager to
pluck the beard of the fiery old Moorish king, I can lead you where you
will have a fine opportunity to prove your valor. There are certain
hamlets not far from the walls of El Zagal's city of Guadix where rich
booty awaits the daring raider. I can lead you there by a way that will
enable you to take them by surprise; and if you are as cool in the head as
you are hot in the spur you may bear off spoils from under the very eyes
of the king of the Moors."

He had struck the right vein. The youths were at once hot for the
enterprise. To win booty from the very gates of Guadix was a stirring
scheme, and they quickly found others of their age as eager as themselves
for the daring adventure. In a short time they had enrolled a body of
nearly three hundred horse and two hundred foot, well armed and equipped,
and every man of them ready for the road.

The force obtained, the raiders left the camp early one evening, keeping
their destination secret, and made their way by starlight through the
mountain passes, led by the _adalid_, or guide. Pressing rapidly onward by
day and night, they reached the hamlets one morning just before daybreak,
and fell on them suddenly, making prisoners of the inhabitants, sacking
the houses, and sweeping the fields of their grazing herds. Then, without
taking a moment to rest, they set out with all speed for the mountains,
which they hoped to reach before the country could be roused.

Several of the herdsmen had escaped and fled to Guadix, where they told El
Zagal of the daring ravage. Wild with rage at the insult, the old king at
once sent out six hundred of his choicest horse and foot, with orders for
swift pursuit, bidding them to recover the booty and bring him as
prisoners the ins