He motioned them all back with his hand, and went into the gloom of the
chamber alone. Not one among them followed.
When he came forth again the reckless and riotous soldiers of France
turned silently and reverentially away, so that they should not look
upon his face. For it was well known throughout the army that no common
tie had bound together the exiles of England, and the fealty of comrade
to comrade was sacred in their sight.
The fresh animal, saddled, was held ready outside the gates. He crossed
the court, moving still like a man without sense of what he did; he
had the instinct to carry out the mission trusted to him, instantly and
accurately, but he had no distinct perception or memory of aught else,
save of those long-familiar features of which, ere he could return, the
cruel sun of Africa would not have spared one trace.
He passed under the shadow of the gateway arch--a shadow black and
intense against the golden light which, with the ceasing of the storm,
flooded the land in the full morning. There were movement, noise,
changes, haste in the entrance. Besides the arrival of the detachment
of the line and a string of northward-bound camels, the retinue of some
travelers of rank was preparing for departure, and the resources of the
humble caravanserai were taxed beyond their powers. The name that some
of the hurrying grooms shouted loudly in their impatience broke through
his stupor and reached him.
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