charge. They fought like madmen, but they
were slowly being forced back.

The Master of the Hospitallers rode to the rear, to the King's standard,
which hardly moved in the still desert air, now that the column had
stopped moving.

The voice of the Duke of Burgundy came to Sir Robert's ears.

"Stand fast. The King bids you all to stand fast," said the duke, his
voice fading as he rode on up the column toward the knights of Poitou
and the Knights Templars.

The Master of the Hospitallers was speaking in a low, urgent voice to
the King: "My lord, we are pressed on by the enemy and in danger of
eternal infamy. We are losing our horses, one after the other!"

"Good Master," said Richard, "it is you who must sustain their attack.
No one can be everywhere at once."

The Master of the Hospitallers nodded curtly and charged back into the
fray.

The King turned to Sir Baldwin de Carreo, who sat ahorse nearby, and
pointed toward the eastern hills. "They will come from there, hitting us
in the flank; we cannot afford to amass a rearward charge. To do so
would be to fall directly into the hands of the Saracen."

A voice very close to Sir Robert said: "Richard is right. If we go to
the aid of the Hospitallers, we will expose the column to a flank
attack." It was Sir Gaeton.

"My lord the King," Sir Robert heard his voice say, "is right in all but
one thing. If we allow the Egyptians to take us from the rear, there
will be no need for Saladin and his Turks to come down on our flank. And
the Hospitallers cannot hold for long at this rate. A charge at full
gallop would break the Egyptian line and give the Hospitallers breathing
time. Are you with me?"

"Against the orders of the King?"

"The King cannot see everything! There are times when a man must use his
own judgment! You said you were afraid of no man. Are you with me?"

After a moment's hesitation, Sir Gaeton couched his lance. "I'm with
you, sir knight! Live or die, I follow! Strike and strike hard!"

"Forward then!" Sir Robert heard himself shouting. "Forward for St.
George and for England!"

"St. George and England!" the Gascon echoed.

* * * * *

Two great war horses began to move ponderously forward toward the battle
lines, gaining momentum as they went. Moving in unison, the two knights,
their horses now at a fast trot, lowered their lances, picking their
Saracen targets with care. Larger and larger loomed the Egyptian
ca