"Yonder lies Charleton," exclaimed Garth proudly, pointing to the collection of battle-merited walls and towers. "Have you ever seen the like?"
"I have seen larger, but none so fair," replied Reeves, with a gallantry of which he had hitherto thought himself incapable.
"Yonder is the Mound of Pharamond, on which is built the palace of our overlord, Sir Jehan. To the left are the twin towers of St. George and St. Michael, which were all but overthrown when last the vile followers of the false prophet surged against our walls. Faith! I trust such times will not occur again, though it seems as if we may soon be called upon to defend our gates once more."
CHAPTER XII
Sir Jehan de Valx
FOR the remaining distance up to the chief gate of the city the land was given over to cultivation, enclosed cornfields, reminding the lads of their own country, predominating. Each plot or field was comparatively small in extent, and in each enclosure was a large pile of fuel.
"That is one of our means of defence," said Garth, in answer to the correspondent's question. "Each field is tended by two husbandmen. Should the signal be given that our enemies are approaching, the corn is to be cut and carried into the city. Should the time be insufficient, those stacks of fuel are to be fired and cast amongst the standing wheat, so that it may be consumed."
So well were the preparations for defence carried out that no trees were permitted to be grown within a mile of the walls, and all uneven ground that would afford a shelter to a lurking foe had been carefully levelled. Soon the great drawbridge spanning a deep moat was crossed, and, passing beneath the lofty rounded archway, Reeves and his companions found themselves within the capital of Croixilia. The streets, narrow but well maintained, were crowded with people. They took the greatest interest in the strangers who, though dressed in Arab clothing, were not Moslems but members of a great white race that none of the citizens had ever before seen.
All the houses were built in the modified Eastern style, the walls being of considerable thickness, the windows narrow, and the roofs flat. In every case the parapet was machicolated, thus turning the houses into a series of fortifications, and at the same time bearing silent testimony to the dangers to which this nation in arms was exposed.
At length Garth halted his men in front of the palace on the Mound of Pharamond, over which floated a white flag with a red cross—exactly the same as the banner of St. George. Then, bidding the Englishmen accompany him, their guide knocked upon the great brazen knocker.