AN ADVENTURE.
IT was not the good fortune of all the warriors who had taken the Cross
to escape the perils of the deep, and reach Cyprus in safety.
About a month after Guy Muschamp and Walter Espec had reached Limisso, a
tall ship bearing a Crusader of noble name, who had left Constantinople
to combat the Saracens under the banner of St. Denis, was sailing
gallantly towards Cyprus, when a violent storm arose, and threatened her
with destruction. The wind blew fiercely; the sea ran mountains high;
and, though the ship for a time struggled sturdily with the elements,
she could not resist her fate. Her cordage creaked, and her timbers
groaned dismally; and, as she was by turns borne aloft on the waves
crested with foam and precipitated headlong into the gulphs that yawned
between, great was the terror, loud the wailing, and frightful the
turmoil. In vain the mariners exerted their strength and skill. No
efforts on their part could enable the vessel to resist the fury of the
tempest.
Every minute matters became more desperate. The sea, recently calm,
seemed to boil from its very depths; and the ship, incessantly tossed to
and fro by the roaring billows, appeared, every moment, on the point of
being engulphed. The skipper was lost in consternation; the Crusaders
gave way to despair; and with death staring them in the face they ceased
to hope for safety, and, kneeling, confessed to each other, and prayed
aloud that their sins might be forgiven. At length, in spite of the
efforts made by the mariners to resist the winds and waves, the ship,
driven on the rocks near the island, filled with water, went to pieces,
leaving those on board to struggle as they best might to escape a watery
grave. The struggle was vain. Many, indeed, caught hold of the vessel's
timbers with a vague hope of reaching the shore; but, unable to contend
with the elements, they, one after another, disappeared and sank to rise
no more.
Now this terrible shipwreck was not without witnesses. On that part of
the coast of Cyprus where it occurred was a rude hamlet chiefly tenanted
by fishermen; and men, women, and children crowded the beach, uttering
loud cries, and highly excited, but unable to render any assistance. It
seemed that no boat could live in such a sea; and the fishermen could
only gaze mournfully on the heartrending scene, as the waves sprang up
and rapaciously claimed their prey.
It was while the sea, agitated by the gale, was still running high;
while the waves were leaping, and tearing, and dashing against the
rocks; and while flocks of sea birds wheeled and screamed over the
troubled waters, that a knight and two squires, who, having been caught
in the storm, while riding towards Limisso, reined up, and not without
difficulty learned from the natives, whose language they scarcely
comprehended, the nature and extent of the disaster. The knight was an
English Crusader, named Bisset, who had taken service with King Louis;
the squires were Walter Espec and Guy Muschamp. All three, as they
became aware of what had happened, crossed themselves and breathed a
prayer for the souls of those who had gone to their account.
'We may as well ride on,'said Guy Muschamp, who, like his companions,
was very much affected; 'all of them have perished, and are now beyond
the reach of human aid.'
'Not all of them,' exclaimed Walter Espec, suddenly, as he sprang from
his horse, and, with out-stretched arm, pointed to a white object which
was carried hither and thither by the waves.
'By the might of Henry, sir squire, you are right,' cried the English
knight, highly excited; 'it is a woman, as I live, and she is clinging
to one of the ship's timbers.'
'And she may yet be saved,' said Walter, calmly; 'and by the Holy Cross
the attempt must be made, if we are to escape the reproach of inhumanity
and cowardice.'
And now the men, women, and children on the beach became much excited,
and shouted loudly. No one, however, volunteered to go to the rescue. In
fact, the aspect of the sea was so menacing and terrible, that the
boldest and hardiest of the seafaring men felt that an attempt could
only end in the destruction of those making it, and shook their heads
with a significance there was no misunderstanding.
'It seems,' said the knight, mournfully, 'that the business is
desperate; and yet----'
'And yet,' said Walter, taking up the word as the knight hesitated and
paused, 'it shall never be told that a woman perished before my eyes,
and that I stood looking on, without making an effort to save her.'
'He is mad,' muttered the fishermen, as they first eyed the English
squire, and then exchanged glances with each other, and shrugged their
shoulders.
But Walter Espec did not ponder or pause. Throwing his bridle-rein to
Guy Muschamp, whose countenance expressed grave alarm, he quickly
divested himself of his mantle and the belt bearing his sword, committed
himself to the protection of Holy Katherine, the patron saint of his
house, plunged into the water, and next moment was battling manfully
with the waves. But everything was against him, even the tide; and, in
spite of his skill as a swimmer, his efforts were at first abortive. But
it was not his nature to yield easily; and, as he put forth all his
strength, and made a desperate struggle, the affair began to wear
another face.
'Good Walter,' murmured Guy, who stood, pale as death, watching the
swimmer. 'Brave Walter!'
'Now, may our lady, the Virgin, aid and prosper him,' exclaimed the
knight. 'Never have I witnessed a bolder attempt.'
As the knight spoke, a loud cheer burst from the crowd; and then there
was silence. Walter drew nearer and nearer to the woman, for whose life
he was freely venturing his own. In another minute he clutched her with
one hand, turned towards the shore, and, favoured by the tide, came
sailing towards the spot which the crowd occupied.
A dozen of the men dashed knee-deep into the water to relieve Walter of
his burden; and as they did so, a dozen of the women stretched out their
hands, and received the still unconscious form of her who had been
rescued; meanwhile the knight and Guy Muschamp caught hold of Walter,
who, fatigued and overcome with his almost superhuman exertions, would
otherwise have fallen to the ground. However they laid him down
carefully to rest; and, while Guy stood watching over him, Bisset went
to look to the safety of the damsel who had been rescued.
'Sir squire,' said he, with enthusiasm, as he returned, 'you have done
as noble a deed as it has ever been my fate to witness, and the King of
France shall hear of it, as I am a living man; and,' continued he, in a
whisper, 'hearken! you may at the same time congratulate yourself on
having had the good luck to save a woman well worth saving.'
'What mean you, sir knight,' asked Walter, faintly.
'Simply this--that she is young, fair to behold, and evidently of high
lineage.'