... AFTER A FEW WORDS ...-2
573 Words
SIR ROBERT RODE ON in silence, feeling the movement of the horse beneath him.
There was a sudden sound to the rear. Like a wash of the tide from the sea came the sound of Saracen war cries and the clash of steel on steel mingled with the sounds of horses in agony and anger.
Sir Robert turned his horse to look.
The n***o troops of Saladin’s Egyptian contingent were thundering down upon the rear! They clashed with the Hospitallers, slamming in like a rain of heavy stones, too close in for the use of bows. There was only the sword against armor, like the sound of a thousand hammers against a thousand anvils.
“Stand fast! Stand fast! Hold them off!” It was the voice of King Richard, sounding like a clarion over the din of battle.
Sir Robert felt his horse move, as though it were urging him on toward the battle, but his hand held to the reins, keeping the great charger in check. The King had said “Stand fast!” and this was no time to disobey the orders of Richard.
The Saracen troops were coming in from the rear, and the Hospitallers were taking the brunt of the 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.
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- Writer
