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Cuthbert; then he was mounted on a bare-backed steed, and with four

Bedouins, with their long lances, riding beside him, started for

Jerusalem. After a day of long and rapid riding, the Arabs stopped

suddenly, on the crest of a hill, with a shout of joy, and throwing

themselves from their horses, bent with their foreheads to the earth at

the sight of their holy city. Cuthbert, as he gazed at the stately walls

of Jerusalem, and the noble buildings within, felt bitterly that it was

not thus that he had hoped to see the holy city. He had dreamt of

arriving before it with his comrades, proud and delighted at their

success so far, and confident in their power soon to wrest the town

before them from the hands of the Moslems. Instead of this he was a

slave--a slave to the infidel, perhaps never more to see a white face,

save that of some other unfortunate like himself.

Even now in its fallen state no city is so impressive at first sight as

Jerusalem; the walls, magnificent in height and strength, and picturesque

in their deep embattlements, rising on the edge of a deep valley. Every

building has its name and history. Here is the church built by the first

crusaders; there the mighty mosque of Suleiman on the site of the Temple;

far away on a projecting ridge the great building known as the Tomb of

Moses; on the right beyond the houses rise the towers on the Roman walls;

the Pool of Bethsaida lies in the hollow; in the centre are the cupolas

of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Among all the fairest cities of the

world, there are none which can compare in stately beauty with Jerusalem.

Doubtless it was a fairer city in those days, for long centuries of

Turkish possession have reduced many of the former stately palaces to

ruins. Then, as now, the banner of the Prophet floated over the high

places; but whereas at present the population is poor and squalid, the

city in those days contained a far large number of inhabitants,

irrespective of the great garrison collected for its defence.

The place from which Cuthbert had his first sight of Jerusalem is that

from which the best view is to be obtained--the crest of the Mount of

Olives. After a minute or two spent in looking at the city, the Arabs

with a shout continued their way down into the valley. Crossing this

they ascended the steep road to the walls, brandishing their lances and

giving yells of triumph; then riding two upon each side of their

prisoner, to protect him from any fanatic who might lay a hand upon him,

they passed under the gate known as the Gate of Suleiman into the city.

The populace thronged the streets; and the news brought by the horsemen

that a considerable portion of the Christian host had been defeated and

slain, passed from mouth to mouth, and was received with yells of

exultation. Execrations were heaped upon Cuthbert, who rode along with an

air as quiet and composed as if he were the centre of an ovation instead

of that of an outburst of hatred.

He would, indeed, speedily have been torn from his guards, had not these

shouted that he was placed in their hands by Saladin himself for conduct

to the governor. As the emir was as sharp and as ruthless with his own

people as with the prisoners who fell into his hands, the name acted as a

talisman, and Cuthbert and his escort rode forward without molestation

until they reached the entrance to the palace.

Dismounting, Cuthbert was now led before the governor himself, a stern

and grave-looking man, sitting cross-legged on a divan surrounded by

officers and attendants. He heard in silence the account given him by the

escort, bowed his head at the commands of Suleiman, and, without

addressing a word to Cuthbert, indicated to two attendants that he was to

be removed into the interior of the house. Here the young knight was led

to a small dungeon-like room; bread and dates with a cruse of water were

placed before him; the door was then closed and locked without, and he

found himself alone with his thoughts.

No one came near him that night, and he slept as soundly as he would have

done in his tent in the midst of the Christian host. He was resolved to

give no cause for ill-treatment or complaint to his captors, to work as

willingly, as cheerfully, as was in his power, and to seize the first

opportunity to make his escape, regardless of any risk of his life which

he might incur in doing so.

In the morning the door opened, and a black slave led him into the

garden, which was surrounded by a very high and lofty wall. It was large,

and full of trees and flowers, and far more beautiful than any garden

that Cuthbert had seen in his native land. There were various other

slaves at work; and an Arab, who appeared to be the head of the

gardeners, at once appointed to Cuthbert the work assigned to him. A

guard of Arabs with bow and spear watched the doings of the slaves.

With one glance round, Cuthbert was assured that escape from this garden,

at least, was not to be thought of, and that for the present, patience

alone was possible. Dismissing all ideas of that kind from his mind, he

set to work with a steady attention to his task. He was very fond of

flowers, and soon he became so absorbed in his work as almost to forget

that he was a slave. It was not laborious--digging, planting, pruning and

training the flowers, and giving them copious draughts of water from a

large fountain in the centre of the garden.

The slaves were not permitted to exchange a word with each other. At the

end of the day's work they were marched off to separate chambers, or, as

they might be called, dungeons. Their food consisted of water, dried

dates, and bread, and they had little to complain of in this respect;

indeed, the slaves in the gardens of the governor's house at Jerusalem

enjoyed an exceptionally favoured existence. The governor himself was

absorbed in the cares of the city. The head gardener happened to be a man

of unusual humanity, and it was really in his hands that the comfort of

the prisoners was placed.

Sometimes in the course of the day, veiled ladies would issue in groups

from the palace, attended by black slaves with drawn scimitars. They

passed without unveiling across the point where the slaves were at work,

and all were forbidden on pain of death to look up, or even to approach

the konak or pavilion, where the ladies threw aside their veils, and

enjoyed the scent and sight of the flowers, the splash of murmuring

waters, and the strains of music touched by skilful hands.

Although Cuthbert wondered in his heart what these strange wrapped-up

figures might look like when the veils were thrown back, he certainly did

not care enough about the matter to run any risk of drawing the anger of

his guards upon himself by raising his eyes towards them; nor did he ever

glance up at the palace, which was also interdicted to the slaves. From

the lattice casements during the day the strains of music and merry

laughter often came down to the captives; but this, if anything, only

added to the bitterness of their position, by reminding them that they

were shut off for life from ever hearing the laughter of the loved ones

they had left behind.

For upwards of a month Cuthbert remained steadily at work, and during

that time no possible plan of escape had occurred to him, and he had

indeed resigned himself to wait, either until, as he hoped, the city

would be taken by the Christians, or until he himself might be removed

from his present post and sent into the country, where, although his

lot would doubtless be far harder, some chance of escape might open

before him.

One night, long after slumber had fallen upon the city, Cuthbert was

startled by hearing his door open. Rising to his feet, he saw a black

slave, and an old woman beside him. The latter spoke first in the

lingua-franca,--

"My mistress, the wife of the governor, has sent me to ask your story.

How is it that, although but a youth, you are already a knight? How is it

that you come to be a slave to our people? The sultan himself sent you to

her lord. She would fain hear through me how it has happened. She is the

kindest of ladies, and the sight of your youth has touched her heart."

With thanks to the unknown lady who had felt an interest in him, Cuthbert

briefly related the events which had led to his captivity. The old woman

placed on the ground a basket containing some choice fruit and white

bread, and then departed with the negro as quietly as she had come,

leaving Cuthbert greatly pleased at what had taken place.

"Doubtless," he said to himself, "I shall hear again; and it may be that

through the pity of this lady some means of escape may open to me."

Although for some little time no such prospect appeared, yet the visits

of the old woman, which were frequently repeated, were of interest to

him, and seemed to form a link between him and the world.

After coming regularly every night for a week, she bade the young knight

follow her, holding her finger to her lips in sign that caution must be

observed. Passing through several passages, he was at length led into a

room where a lady of some forty years of age, surrounded by several

slaves and younger women, was sitting. Cuthbert felt no scruple in making

a deep obeisance to her; the respect shown to women in the days of

chivalry was very great, and Cuthbert in bowing almost to the ground

before the lady who was really his mistress, did not feel that he was

humiliating himself.

"Young slave," she said, "your story has interested us. We have

frequently watched from the windows, and have seen how willingly and

patiently you have worked; and it seems strange indeed that one so young

should have performed such feats of bravery as to win the honour of

knighthood from the hand of that greatest of warriors, Richard of

England. What is it, we would fain learn from your lips, that stirs up

the heart of the Christian world that they should launch their armies

against us, who wish but to be left alone, and who have no grudge against

them? This city is as holy to us as it is to you; and as we live around

it, and all the country for thousands of miles is ours, is it likely that

we should allow it to be wrested from us by strangers from a distance?"

This was spoken in some Eastern language of which Cuthbert understood no

word, but its purport was translated to him by the old woman who had

hitherto acted as his mistress's messenger.

Cuthbert reported the circumstances of the fight at Azotus and

endeavoured to explain the feelings which had given rise to the Crusade.

He then, at the orders of the lady, related the incidents of his voyage

out, and something of his life at home, which was more interesting even

than the tale of his adventures to his hearers, as to them the home-life

of these fierce Christian warriors was entirely unknown.

After an audience of two hours Cuthbert was conducted back to his cell,

his mistress assuring him of her good-will, and promising to do all in

her power to make his captivity as light as possible.

CHAPTER XIV.

AN EFFORT FOR FREEDOM.

Two or three nights afterwards the old woman again came to Cuthbert, and

asked him, in her mistress's name, if in any way he could suggest a

method of lightening his captivity, as his extreme youth, and bravery of

demeanour, had greatly pleased her.

Cuthbert replied that nothing but freedom could satisfy his longings;

that he was comfortable and not overworked, but that he pined to be back

again with his friends.

The old woman brought him on the following night a message to the

effect that his mistress would willingly grant him his liberty, but as

he was sent to her husband by the sultan, it would be impossible to

free him openly.

"From what she said," the old woman continued, "if you could see some

plan of making your escape, she would in no way throw difficulties in

your path; but it must not be known that the harem in any way connived at

your escape, for my lord's wrath would be terrible, and he is not a man

to be trifled with."

Looking round at the high walls that surrounded the garden, Cuthbert said

that he could think of no plan whatever for escaping from such a place;

that he had often thought it over, but that it appeared to him to be

hopeless. Even should he manage to scale these walls, he would only find

himself in the town beyond, and his escape from that would be altogether

hopeless. "Only," he said, "if I were transported to some country palace

of the governor could I ever hope to make my escape." The next night the

messenger brought him the news that his mistress was disposed to favour

his escape in the way he had pointed out, and that she would in two or

three days ask the governor for permission to pay a visit to their palace

beyond the walls, and that with her she would take a number of

gardeners--among them Cuthbert--to beautify the place. Cuthbert returned

the most lively and hearty thanks to his patroness for her kind

intentions, and hope began to rise rapidly in his heart.

It is probable, however, that the black guards of the harem heard

something of the intentions of their mistress, and that they feared the

anger of the governor should Cuthbert make his escape, and should it be

discovered that this was the result of her connivance. Either through

this or through some other source the governor obtained an inkling that

the white slave sent by the sultan was receiving unusual kindness from

the ladies of the harem.

Two nights after Cuthbert had begun to entertain bright hopes of his

liberty, the door of the cell was softly opened. He was seized by four

slaves, gagged, tied hand and foot, covered with a thick burnous, and

carried out from his cell. By the sound of their feet he heard that they

were passing into the open air, and guessed that he was being carried

through the garden; then a door opened and was closed after them; he was

flung across a horse like a bale of goods, a rope or two were placed

around him to keep him in that position, and then he felt the animal put

in motion, and heard by the trampling of feet that a considerable number