“Well, well, you need not be angry, Harcourt, I have nothing to say against Tresham.  No doubt he had a happy thought, which turned out well; but I cannot see that there was anything wonderful in it, and it seemed to me unfair that one who is a mere boy should receive higher praise than yourself, who, as I heard Sir John and Sir Adam Tedbond say last night at the refectory, bore yourself right gallantly.”

“I did my best,” Ralph said shortly; “but there was small credit in that when we were fighting for our lives.  The most cowardly beast will fight under such circumstances.  When you see a Moslem rushing at you, scimitar in hand, and know that if you do not cut him down he will cut you down, you naturally strike as hard and as quickly as you can.  You have never liked Gervaise, Rivers.  I am sure I don’t know why, but you always speak in a contemptuous sort of tone about him.  True, it does him no harm, but it certainly does you no good.  For what reason should you feel a contempt for him?  Although so much younger, he is a better swordsman and a better rider than you are.  He is liked by every one in the auberge, which is more than can be said of yourself; he is always good tempered, and is quiet and unassuming.  What on earth do you always set yourself against him for?”

“I do not know that I do set myself against him,” Rivers said sullenly.  “I own to having no great liking for him, which is natural enough, seeing that his father was a Lancastrian, while we are Yorkists; but it is not pleasant to see so much made of a boy, merely because D’Aubusson has favoured him.”

“I am certain,” Harcourt said hotly, “that such an idea has never occurred to any one but yourself.  Sir Peter is a great man and will soon be our grand master, but at present he is but grand prior of the langue of Auvergne, and whether he favours Tresham or not is a matter that concerns none of us.  Gervaise is liked by us for his own good qualities.  He bears himself, as a young knight should do, respectfully towards his seniors, and is ever ready to do a service to any one.  No one has ever seen him out of temper; he is always kind and considerate to the servants, and when in command of parties of slaves at the public works never says a harsh word to them, but treats them as if they were human beings, and not brute beasts.  Besides, though he is more skilful than any of us with his sword, or indeed at any of the military exercises, he is unassuming, and has no particle of pride or arrogance.  It is for all these things that he is liked, and the friendship of D’Aubusson has naught whatever to do with it.  It is not only D’Aubusson who has prophesied that he will rise to a distinguished rank in the Order.  Boswell and Ricord both said the same, and I for one thoroughly believe it.  Is there one among us under the age of twenty —­ and I might go farther —­ who has already won such credit for himself?  One who when but sixteen can make his mark in an Order like ours is certain to rise to high office, and you and I may, before many years are over, be proud to serve under him.”