72 THE BOY CRUSADERS.

wil be prudent to await our comrades who have
been separated from us by the tempest.’ |

It soon appeared that among the chiefs there was
a general wish to await the coming of their missing
comrades; but the king was young, and the drums
and horns of the Saracens had so chafed his pride
that ke would not hear of delay.

‘We have not come hither,’ said he, excitedly, ‘ to
listen to the insults of our enemies; nor have we
any port in which to shelter from the wind. A
second tempest may disperse what remains of our
fleet. To-day God offers us a victory; another day
He may punish us for having neglected to conquer.’

‘Sire, be it as you will,’ replied the assembled
chiefs, not caring to debate the point with their
king.

And so, with much less deliberation than was
necessary under the circumstances, and without duly
considering the resources of the enemy whom they had
to combat, King Louis and the chief Crusaders re-
solved to disembark on the morrow and give battle.
Meantime a strict. watch was maintained, and several
swift vessels were despatched towards the mouth of
the Nile to observe the motions of the Saracens.

It happened that the Saracens, in spite of their
dauntless show, were by no means in the best mood
to make an obstinate resistance, nor were they in
any sanguine mood as to the result of their prepa-
rations. At such a crisis, the presence of the sultan
was necessary to sustain their spirits, and stimulate
their fanaticism. |

Now at that time Melikul Salih was Sultan of