166 THE BOY CRUSADERS,

constantly, and with deadly effect, on the retiring and
dispirited rear of the Crusaders.

Of course, the plight of Louis and his comrades
every hour became more deplorable. They fell into
disorder; they ran against and impeded each other;
and eries of anger and despair were mingled with
the neighing of horses, and the clash of arms.
Earnestly they prayed for day, that they might, at
least, ascertain their real position; but, when day
came, it brought no comfort. In fact, when the
rising sun revealed their diminished and diminishing
numbers, and the formidable force of enemies who
surrounded them—here a handful of men—there a
host—the very boldest of the Crusaders gave them-
selves up for lost, and a simultaneous cry of terror
and dismay bade from their scanty ranks. |

‘Gentlemen,’ said Louis, calm in the midst of peal
‘droop not. At the great battle of Antioch, Godfrey
of Eouillon, and his companions, had worse odds
than we.’

‘And they conquered,’ said Walter de Chatillon,
striving to banish apprehension, ‘and we may
conquer.’

‘Yes,’ replied Louis, ‘they had faith in God's
protection, and confidence in the holiness of their
cause; and it seemed to them that while the strugele
was well-nigh hopeless, the blessed martyrs—George,
Demetrius, and Theodore, came to aid them, and
assure them of victory.’

‘Ha,’ said Bisset, the English knight, as if speak-
ing to himself, ‘I have heard that some saw St.
George in tre air, with an army of white horses; but