ith rage, and called upon all their fellow-soldiers to join them and
revenge their wrongs. A great riot was created, and bands of furious
men, hastily collected together, advanced toward the city, brandishing
their arms and uttering furious cries, determined to break through the
gates and kill every body that they could find. Richard heard of the
danger just in time to mount his horse and ride to the gates of the
city, and there to head off the soldiers and drive them back; but they
were so furious that, for a time, they would not hear him, but still
pressed on. He was obliged to ride in among them, and actually beat
them back with his truncheon, before he could compel them to give up
their design.

The next day a meeting of the chief officers in the two armies, with
the chief magistrates and some of the principal citizens of Messina,
was held, to consider what to do to settle this dispute, and to
prevent future outbreaks of this character. But the state of
excitement between the two parties was too great to be settled yet in
any amicable manner. While the conference was proceeding, a great
crowd of people from the town collected on a rising ground just above
the place where the conference was sitting. They said they only came
as spectators. Richard alleged, on the other hand, that they were
preparing to attack the conference. At any rate, they were excited and
angry, and assumed a very threatening attitude. Some Normans who
approached them got into an altercation with them, and at length one
of the Normans was killed, and the rest cried out, "To arms!" The
conference broke up in confusion. Richard rushed to the camp and
called out his men. He was in a state of fury. Philip did all in his
power to allay the storm and to prevent a combat, and when he found
that Richard would not listen to him, he declared that he had a great
mind to join with the Sicilians and fight him. This, however, he did
not do, but contented himself with doing all he could to calm the
excitement of his angry ally. But Richard was not to be controlled. He
rushed on, at the head of his troops, up the hill to the ground where
the Sicilians were assembled. He attacked them furiously. They were,
to some extent, armed, but they were not organized, and, of course,
they could not stand against the charge of the soldiers. They fled in
confusion toward the city. Richard and his troops followed them,
killing as many of them as they could in the pursuit. The S