He had struck his mother, whose cap and long streams remained
nailed to the wall.

Julian fled from home and never returned.




CHAPTER II

THE CRIME


He joined a horde of adventurers who were passing through the
place.

He learned what it was to suffer hunger, thirst, sickness and
filth. He grew accustomed to the din of battles and to the sight
of dying men. The wind tanned his skin. His limbs became hardened
through contact with armour, and as he was very strong and brave,
temperate and of good counsel, he easily obtained command of a
company.

At the outset of a battle, he would electrify his soldiers by a
motion of his sword. He would climb the walls of a citadel with a
knotted rope, at night, rocked by the storm, while sparks of fire
clung to his cuirass, and molten lead and boiling tar poured from
the battlements.

Often a stone would break his shield. Bridges crowded with men