Captain John Smith

by C. H. Forbes-Lindsay

Once more the walls were lined with the fair dames of Regall and in their shadow assembled the garrison, more subdued than on the former occasion but buoyed by hopes of better fortune. The Christians, on their part, lined up, exultant and strong in the expectation of another victory for their champion.

Grualgo entered the lists almost as splendidly mounted and equipped as the pasha had been. Captain Smith wore the same plain but serviceable suit of armor and rode his trusty Norman charger. He had again exercised his right as the challenged to name the lance as the principal weapon of the combat.

At the trumpet signal, the combatants spurred forward at full speed, each with his weapon well and firmly aimed at his opponent’s breast. They met in mid-career with a crash that resounded over the field. The lances flew into pieces. The horses fell back upon their haunches. Both riders reeled under the shock but each contrived to keep his seat. Casting aside the splintered spears, they drew their pistols from the saddle pockets. Smith was the first to fire, but at the instant of the discharge the Turk’s horse swerved and the bullet hummed harmlessly by his master’s head. Grualgo had reserved his shot and now took careful aim. The Norman, in response to the pressure of his rider’s legs, was gathering himself for a spring out of the line of fire when the report of the Turk’s pistol rang out. The ball struck John’s headpiece fair in the centre of the forehead but failed to penetrate the steel. Our hero was stunned and sight suddenly forsook him. The bridle dropped from his nerveless fingers and he swayed in his seat. He gave himself up for lost as he felt his senses deserting him. Then came the thought that he was the champion of the Christian army, that they were watching him, depending upon him to secure victory for them. Exerting all the will at his command, he set his teeth together and fought back the inclination to swoon.

Grualgo seeing his enemy at his mercy, smiled with grim satisfaction as he drew his second pistol, intending to dispatch the Christian youth with deliberate and sure aim. But the trusty Norman had not been trained to battle for nothing. The loose seat in the saddle and the relaxed grip of the bridle told him that his master was in distress and depended upon him to save his life. With quick but easy action, so as not to unseat the rider, the intelligent beast strode out of range. The Turk wheeled and galloped after him. His was the swifter steed and he had no difficulty in overtaking Smith’s charger, but each time as he levelled his weapon to fire, the Norman darted away at an angle. In this manner the gallant animal contrived to prolong the combat for many minutes. Meanwhile Smith’s senses and his strength were fast reviving. It gladdened the noble steed to feel the returning firmness of seat and grasp of the bridle, and his master, as his sight cleared, began to lend his guidance to the clever tactics of the animal.

When Captain Smith fully realized the situation, he made up his mind that success could be secured only by bold and daring action. In his weakened state he could not hope to overcome the Turk in a prolonged fight. He must rely upon surprising the other and bringing the affair to an issue by a sudden attack. Grualgo would not risk his last shot until he could make sure of his aim. He probably believed our hero to be sorely wounded and had no thought of his reviving or resuming the offensive.

In one of his horse’s evasive rushes, Smith bent forward upon the animal’s neck as though overcome by sudden pain, but the movement was made to enable him to stealthily draw his loaded pistol from the holster. Holding it concealed behind the high pommel of his saddle, he braced his nerves for the final effort. Once more Grualgo approached his foe but this time, instead of allowing his horse to spring aside, John urged him forward, straight at the astonished Turk. Before the latter could recover his presence of mind sufficiently to use his weapon, the Englishman’s pistol was discharged full in his face, and he fell to the ground in a dying state. Smith dismounted and gave the Turk his coup de grace, or finishing stroke, and then cut off his head.

This proceeding must strike us as being cold-blooded and merciless, but it was strictly in accordance with the terms of the combat and the character of the age in which our hero lived. Our forefathers of the seventeenth century were as rough as they were brave. They lived amid scenes of strife and bloodshed, and men who hazarded their own lives daily naturally held those of their enemies cheap.

This second defeat was a severe blow to the defenders of Regall. Their two foremost champions had been vanquished and by a beardless boy, for Captain Smith at this time had barely passed his twenty-first year. There were no more challenges from the disheartened garrison. They lost all desire to afford pastime for the ladies and they ceased to find the Christians subjects for contemptuous jests as they had done in the early days of the siege. Their sallies were now of rare occurrence and were easily repelled, so that the work of preparation for the final assault upon the city went forward with little interruption.