of my sword; and I
panted to defy him to mortal combat on the spot.'

'My lord,' replied Walter, gravely and cautiously, 'I perceived that,
albeit striving to be calm, you felt your ancestral blood boiling in
your veins. And, in truth, I marvel not that such should have been the
case; and yet----

'And yet----Well, speak freely. I listen.'

'Well, my lord,' continued Walter, 'I was about to say that it seemed to
me the part of a wise man, and one so renowned in arms, not to deign to
answer a fool according to his folly.'

'Doubtless you are right,' replied the earl. 'And sinful, I feel, and
calculated to provoke God's vengeance, would it be to draw the sword
against one marked with the Cross, and engaged, like ourselves, in this
holy war. Nevertheless, my patience may come to an end, as the patience
of better men has done in such cases. However, a truce to such talk for
the present; and see that, at daybreak, this renegade is ready to guide
us on our expedition after the caravan; for I am weary of inactivity,
and eager for change of scene.'

Accordingly, preparations for the expedition were made; and, next
morning, Salisbury and his knights dashed away from Damietta to
intercept the caravan that was reported to be on its way to Alexandria.
For a time they waited patiently at a place where it was expected to
pass. But this mode of spending time was not much to the taste of men
whose spirits were raised by the novelty of everything around. Panting
for action, Longsword left Walter Espec with a band of horse and Beltran
the renegade to keep watch, and, at the head of his knights, went off in
quest of adventure.

[Illustration: "I cannot but think," said Walter, "our post is one of
danger, if the guards of this caravan are so numerous as reported.
Nevertheless, it shall never be told that, for fear of odds, I retreated
from a post which I had been entrusted to maintain."--p. 99.]

Hours passed; evening fell and deepened into night; and still neither
the caravan nor the warriors who had determined to capture it made
their appearance; and Walter and the renegade, for different reasons,
began to entertain considerable alarm. As morning approached, however,
one point was explained. In fact, a spy employed by Beltran reached the
rendezvous, with intelligence that the Earl's intention to attack the
caravan having been suspected, had caused the delay; but that, being
aware that he was out of the way, its guards were prepar