Swords From the Desert by Harold Lamb Page A

Tatar at my side, "this hay will be cut by those reapers. There is loot on the other side of the city."
    He made off, and others followed, sparing not the mob in their way. In another moment thousands of men were trying to run out of the square and the flame of fear took hold on their souls.
    "Wo!" cried a soldier, beating about with his sword. "We are surrounded."
    The worst of all fears is that of peril, unseen, at a man's back. The multitude of slaves and common men became a tide, rushing and swirling, seeking its way from the forum. And to escape the clutch of this tide, I leaped to the pedestal of the statue.
    Eh, the scum of the city ebbed away from the man they had acclaimed emperor, disappearing down every alley and stair until only the red-cloaked spearmen and the mounted Greeks stood between Menas and the fury of the Franks. The mailed riders plunged into the confused ranks of Menas's followers as strong men leap through surf, and though they were few, their weight and the terror of their swords opened a way for them. I touched the girl Irene on the knee.
    "We can abide no longer. Come!"
    But, standing on the thigh of Hercules, she was staring eagerly at the combat, and when I urged again she shook her head angrily. Go she would not.
    Nor did I go from the place. Verily it is written that a man's grave is dug in one spot, and in that grave shall he lie at the appointed time. It had come into my mind that I had sworn to my lord Menas to stand at his back and defend him if his life was assailed.
    Though his followers had set upon me, he himself was not proven forsworn. Though a man flee from peril, he may not rid himself of the stain of a broken oath. I climbed down from the stone and made toward him.
    A little while ago there had been two thousand Greeks about Menas. Between them and twice a hundred Franks, the struggle had been doubtful. Now the French and Flemish archers were coming out on the balconies-from the houses they had entered to loot-and had put aside plundering to send their shafts into the close-packed spearmen.
    Nay, they picked out the knights on horses, and emptied saddles swiftly. The Lord of Ships rose high in his stirrups with two arrows through his throat, and the Greeks gave back toward the statue of Hercules. More of the Franks trotted into the forum and charged with their battle shout. I reached the Domastikos and took his rein.
    "My lord," I cried, "there is a way to safety down those stairs. Dismount and take with thee the servants of thy household. Give me fifty chosen men, and I will hold the steps."
    His cheeks were bloodless, and his fingers fumbled with the chain at his throat. He was as if stunned by a blow on the head, without voice or will. Then his eyes lifted and gleamed with purpose.
    My lord Menas had recognized the barbarian girl. And in that moment of calamity he caught at two of his riders, crying out to them to take the Frankish maid and carry her down the steps.
    They went with misgiving and backward glances.
    "My lord," I cried again, "thy men give way. Is this a time to think of women?"
    Yet his eyes were fixed on her, and he was voiceless, a shackled slave. He nodded at me and smiled.
    "Nay, Khalil, thou hast led her to me."
    Then he groaned as if feeling the sting of a wound. His two nobles were near the statue, but before them now was a Frank. And surely the horse this warrior bestrode was Khutb.
    I cursed the Bokharian who had without doubt offered the gray horse to the first knight of the invaders, for protection. This knight rode as one accustomed, with mailed knees gripping tight and a loose rein. Eh, the horse responded to his touch.
    He reined between the two Greek nobles, and took the sword stroke of one upon his long shield, slaying the other with a sweep of his straight blade. Wheeling Khutb in a whirl of dust, he parried the heavy blow of the surviving Greek and swung up his sword. The Greek flinched aside and fled.
    The men who had pressed around me were gone.