A spear's length in the rear rode Arnold Gripwell with a grim look of expectancy on his rugged features, as he bore the banner of the turbot and the three stars of Warblington. A close observer would have noticed a wavy black line running athwart the banner from corner to corner, signifying that the knight whose device it was was absent or prevented from taking personal command.
Behind Gripwell rode the fourteen men-at-arms, wearing steel caps and quilted coats, additionally protected by iron plates, while at the side of each hung a two-handled heavy-bladed sword.
The archers were on foot, each man clad in leather jacket, over which was a white surcoat with the cross of St. George, loose hose, and caps of either stiff leather or wicker-work stiffened with bars of iron. They were armed with the world-renowned bows of English yew, a well-filled quiver of arrows hanging from the right-hand side of their belts, while as a supplementary weapon every man carried a short axe or a dagger.
In the rear were the sumpter horses and baggage, attended by a number of the tenantry of Warblington, who were to accompany the troops only as far as the port of embarkation.
The first day's march was an easy one. That night the men of Warblington joined those of Portchester, and quickly the two companies fraternized, since they had much in common and little cause for dissension.
As the combined forces were about to leave the Castle of Portchester, Sir Thomas Carberry turned to his newly-appointed squire.
"It is in my mind," quoth he, "that I should bestow upon the Prior of Southampton this purse of gold for the entertainment of the poor and needy during our absence overseas. Therefore I pray thee take Oswald and ride across the hill to Southwick. Thou knowest the Priory?"
"I have heard of it only, sir."
"'Tis easy to find, though the road thither be rough. Present my compliments to the worthy Prior and give him this. Thence thou canst make thy way through the villages of Wickham and Botley and rejoin us at the camp at Bitterne, hard by the town of Southampton. Have I made mine orders clear?"
"Yea, Sir Thomas."