CHAPTER XII

Sir Jehan de Valx

FOR the remaining distance up to the chief gate of the city the land was given over to cultivation, enclosed cornfields, reminding the lads of their own country, predominating. Each plot or field was comparatively small in extent, and in each enclosure was a large pile of fuel.

"That is one of our means of defence," said Garth, in answer to the correspondent's question. "Each field is tended by two husbandmen. Should the signal be given that our enemies are approaching, the corn is to be cut and carried into the city. Should the time be insufficient, those stacks of fuel are to be fired and cast amongst the standing wheat, so that it may be consumed."

So well were the preparations for defence carried out that no trees were permitted to be grown within a mile of the walls, and all uneven ground that would afford a shelter to a lurking foe had been carefully levelled. Soon the great drawbridge spanning a deep moat was crossed, and, passing beneath the lofty rounded archway, Reeves and his companions found themselves within the capital of Croixilia. The streets, narrow but well maintained, were crowded with people. They took the greatest interest in the strangers who, though dressed in Arab clothing, were not Moslems but members of a great white race that none of the citizens had ever before seen.

All the houses were built in the modified Eastern style, the walls being of considerable thickness, the windows narrow, and the roofs flat. In every case the parapet was machicolated, thus turning the houses into a series of fortifications, and at the same time bearing silent testimony to the dangers to which this nation in arms was exposed.

At length Garth halted his men in front of the palace on the Mound of Pharamond, over which floated a white flag with a red cross--exactly the same as the banner of St. George. Then, bidding the Englishmen accompany him, their guide knocked upon the great brazen knocker.

Immediately the door was flung open, and the three comrades found themselves in the courtyard of the palace, where the green turf--so utterly unexpected in the heart of Africa--again reminded them of the shady lawns of the ancestral homes of England. Within the courtyard were men of all conditions--some armed, others having the appearance of merchants; for it was the Audience Day, and Sir Jehan denied admission to no one who desired to speak with his overlord.

Most of the persons present wore the copper cross, a few more wore the T-shaped device, while others sported a red cross with an additional bar above the horizontal line.

"Here is the guest chamber, where you can refresh yourselves. Water, also, and clean raiment are at your service," said Garth. "Afterwards Sir Jehan will be pleased to receive you."

Having bathed and clothed themselves in white robes, somewhat after the style of those of the superior Arab class, the Englishmen set to with a will upon tempting viands.

When they had eaten to their hearts' content, they waited till Garth again appeared.

"I have already announced your arrival, and the general audience is postponed," he informed them. "The overlord of Croixilia will see you at once. But be pleased to bring your arms with you."

Passing through a broad hall and up a wide flight of stairs, the Croixilian paused outside a lofty door, which was covered with rich hangings. Here two men, tall in comparison with their fellows, stood on guard, being completely equipped in chain armour and carrying enormous axes; while another, clad in black velvet, with a cap of maintenance on his head and a golden chain flung round his neck, demanded the names and style of the three strangers.

"Style!" remarked Reeves to his young companions, after he had given the official their names. "The nearest approach to style that I could boast of was my stylo. pen, and those rascally Arabs sneaked that. Now," he continued, dropping his banter, "keep your eye on Garth, and do what he does--unless he makes too great a fool of himself before this big pot."

The next instant the Englishmen found themselves in a spacious hall built of white stone and surrounded by aisles, which were separated from the main building by massive rounded arches springing from plain rounded pillars.

In the middle of the tiled floor was a fountain, out of which the water splashed melodiously into a fern-grown pond. Here and there were heavy wooden benches, which formed the only furniture of the hall. At the farthermost end was a dais, approached by seven stone steps; and on it, in a massive wooden chair, resembling the letter X, sat the overlord of Croixilia.

Sir Jehan de Valx was a burly man of middle height, dark-complexioned, and wearing a closely-trimmed beard, after the fashion of the majority of the men of Croixilia. He was dressed in a kirtle of dark blue, edged with ermine, while over his shoulders was a cloak of white samite, marked with a triple crown in red. He was unarmed, but held a short ivory rod in his right hand. Ranged on either side of him were about twenty men of rank, all wearing double-lined crosses similar to those Reeves had observed in the courtyard.

Marching with head erect up to the foot of the dais, Garth saluted, the movement resembling a military salute performed by both hands at the same time. Reeves and the lads did likewise, after setting their flintlocks on the floor.

"These, then, are the men from England?" exclaimed Sir Jehan in a deep voice. "Welcome!"

For nearly two hours Reeves kept the ruler of Croixilia engrossed with the story of their adventures in the desert and the wonders of Europe, particularly of Great Britain. Sir Jehan, Reeves noticed, used a language that corresponded with the Anglo-Norman tongue, subject to slight variations for which the lapse of time was responsible. (The lads were already making vast strides in the study of the Croixilian tongue, thanks to their fair knowledge of French and their interest in the works of Geoffrey Chaucer.)

Sir Jehan was deeply interested in the weapons of the strangers, especially in Reeves's automatic pistol. The correspondent begged to be excused the pleasure of giving Sir Jehan a practical exhibition of the pistol, on the reasonable grounds that the ammunition, if used, could not be replaced; but, on the other hand, he fired several rounds from the flintlocks at a number of stout planks, which were brought into the hall for the purpose.

"By St. Michael, if we had those weapons we should be more than a match for the Moslems!" exclaimed the knight. "Of what is that black powder composed?"

Reeves hastened to explain the nature of the ingredients, upon which Sir Jehan (after considerable difficulty, owing to the strange names) elicited from his councillors that similar minerals were to be found in the mountains of Kadir.

But when the correspondent proceeded to tell Sir Jehan of railways, steamships, telephones, and aeroplanes, the Croixilian's face showed unmistakable signs of disbelief, till one of the attendants reminded, him of a prophecy uttered centuries before by a certain Peter de Calvador, that when men should fly and fiery carriages pass over the earth without being drawn by horses, the deliverance of Croixilia would be at hand.

At length the audience came to an end, Sir Jehan desiring Garth to regard the Englishmen as his honoured guests, and to provide everything requisite for their comfort; and, having taken leave of the head of the State, Reeves and his companions withdrew.

Before the day was done the Englishmen learned the history of this derelict European colony. The Croixilians were, as Reeves had anticipated, the descendants of Crusaders. Just before the capture of Jerusalem by Saladin, several English knights, with their wives, families, and followers, succeeded in stealing through one of the gates, contrived to pass with little loss through the weakest part of the besiegers' lines, and escaped southwards into Egypt. Here, finding that their retreat to the shores of the Mediterranean was cut off, they crossed the Isthmus of Suez, and took forcible possession of six large galleys. Even in the twelfth century the possibility of coasting around Africa was deemed an accepted fact, and that sorry remnant of the Crusaders ventured upon this dangerous enterprise.

But the voyage ended disastrously, all the ships being wrecked on the western shore of the Red Sea. For a long time the devoted band remained in the professedly Christian country of Abyssinia, till, influenced by a monk, they set out on a march to the interior, with the object of regaining the sea at the Pillar of Hercules.

After many privations the adventurers found themselves on the plateau of Khir. There, according to a vision that appeared to Peter the Monk, the march came to an end, until the signs at which Sir Jehan's attendant had hinted appeared.

Fairly accurate records had been kept of the history of the State of Croixilia, and according to the manuscripts there was an almost constant warfare between the Moslems and the Christians from the middle of the fourteenth century down to the present date. Nevertheless, the city of Charleton--named after its founder, Sir Charles de Wyke--was built and put into a good state of defence.

The Croixilians were divided into three classes: the knights--the direct descendants of the three leaders of the expedition--whose distinctive mark was the double-lined cross; the commoners, comprised of tradesmen, farmers, and artisans, all trained to the use of arms, their badge being the simple cross; and the serfs, who wore the letter T. This latter class was formed of persons who by sloth or by crime against individuals in the State had forfeited their rights of free citizenship. Knights and commoners found guilty after a fair trial by their peers were relegated to this class, and on them the menial work of the State devolved. Once a serf, there was no chance of being restored to the former classes, unless through some valiant deed of arms. The outward sign of the serfs signified that a portion of the cross, representing honourable citizenship, had been taken away from them, leaving only the T-shaped device. A few crimes against the State--such as treason and rebellion--were punishable by death, as well as wilful murder, apostasy, and blasphemy. With these exceptions there was but one punishment for civil offences--a lifelong serfdom.

Thrice it was recorded that the Arabs succeeded in entering the town, and that on each occasion they met with a severe reverse in the streets between the battlemented houses, the last being in 1617. But since the use of firearms by the Arabs the scale was slowly turning in their favour. The Croixilians found that armour and personal courage were alike hopeless in an encounter in the open, and only the massive walls of the city prevented the extermination of the State at the hands of the Mohammedans.

Curiously enough, Croixilia made little progress compared with her parent nation. This was, as Reeves had suggested, owing to a lack of intercourse with other peoples. Firearms the men could not understand, printing was unknown, the domestic arts and crafts were still mediaeval. In short, the State was almost exactly in the same position as England was in the twelfth century--steeped in superstition and prejudice.

Yet it was kept fully alive by its military organization. Every man could use some weapon. The knights relied upon lance, sword, and mace; the commoners were expert in the use of the crossbow, longbow, and sword; while the serfs were armed with spears and short swords.

A few weeks prior to the Englishmen's arrival, a powerful combination of the Arab tribes lying to the east and west of Croixilia had threatened the city, and outposts were formed on all sides. The north side was fairly secure from assault, owing to the natural defences afforded by the river and the "plain of pitfalls", but in order to be warned of a possible junction of the enemy on that side, the Croixilian outposts had been advanced well into the desert; and it was at this station that the English fugitives had fallen in with Garth and his comrades.

For the next week or two Reeves and the two lads were received in daily audience by Sir Jehan, who began to realize that their knowledge of the modern science of war was an asset that would be of immense value to him in the threatened invasion.

For his part, Reeves readily consented to do his best for his entertainer. He realized that, with the Arabs holding the western plains, any attempt to follow the river would be hopeless; and until the way was clear it would be well to remain in comparative security in Charleton, rather than risk a tedious journey through an unknown and hostile country.

One of his first acts was to establish a powder factory, sulphur and saltpetre being found in the hills lying to the south of the city. Under direct supervision the serfs proved excellent and intelligent workmen, and soon Reeves had the satisfaction of knowing that there was a sufficient quantity of explosives to last throughout a protracted siege.

His next thought was to provide firearms. Up to the present the total number available amounted to four--the three flintlocks and the automatic pistol. For the latter only thirty-five cartridges remained, and, failing a proper capping machine, the correspondent realized that a further supply of ammunition was unobtainable.

He therefore directed his attention to the manufacture of flintlock guns; but here he was foiled. Although he took to pieces one of the weapons, and carefully explained the working parts, the artisans replied that the work was beyond them. Flints, too, were unobtainable, so Reeves decided to construct a number of small cannons, and mount them at convenient positions upon the wall.

This was accordingly done, for the Croixilians were fairly expert in bell-founding, and were able to construct moulds to the plans that Reeves drew for their guidance. Day and night the great wood-fed forges were kept constantly at work, till forty pieces of muzzle-loading, smooth-bore, firing a six-pound ball, were ready for use.

Still not satisfied, the indefatigable Englishman directed his attention to the manufacture of cast-iron shells, which were filled with a rough-and-ready fuse composed of thin folds of damp cotton sprinkled with powder.

The first experimental shot turned out disastrously, the shell bursting almost as soon as it left the muzzle. Three men were seriously wounded by the flying fragments, while those who served the gun were thrown into such a state of consternation that they could not be induced to come within twenty yards of the weapon.

"Well, Hugh," exclaimed the newly-appointed director of ordnance, "it can't be said that our shells are ineffective. I think I see what's wrong: the exploding of the charge in the gun drives the fuse into the bursting charge of the shell. I'll make allowances for that."

Next day, in the presence of Sir Jehan and his knights and most of the principal inhabitants, one of the guns was again brought out for trial. This time Reeves and the two lads were obliged to do the work of loading and firing; but, dreading a repetition of the previous failure, even the correspondent felt "jumpy" when he applied the linstock.

There was a blinding flash and a deafening roar as the gun leapt backwards with the recoil. Anxiously Reeves watched the flight of the projectile, till at a distance of over a mile it burst with a loud detonation.

"'Tis full five arrow flights!" exclaimed Sir Jehan in utter astonishment. "The Moslems will fare badly if they appear before our walls."

"I hope to do better than that," replied Reeves; "but, since I cannot serve forty pieces of cannon, I must have assistance from your men."

"Assistance you must have," agreed Sir Jehan, and straightway he ordered some of the archers to man the guns. The fellows obeyed quickly, yet in evident anticipation of going to their doom; but after a few shots, finding that they were still unharmed, they warmed to their work, and soon showed great promise.

Still there was a lot to be done. The right amount of powder required to give the best results had to be determined, and sights to each gun fitted according to its peculiarities, some firing with less trajectory than others.

At length the warlike preparations were justified, when shortly after daybreak one morning the outposts on the eastern side of the Croixilian territory rode in with the intelligence that a vast horde of Arabs was approaching.