in no mind to let the reward slip through his fingers; and within an
hour Gaston and Raymond led before the King the peasant varlet who held
the key of the position in his hands.

Every hour was bringing fresh messages of warning. The French King was
in pursuit of his flying foe (as he chose to consider him), and though
he felt so certain of having him in a trap that he did not hasten as he
might have done, there was no knowing when the van of the French army
would be upon them; and the moment that the King heard of this ford, and
was assured by the peasant that at certain states of the tide twelve men
abreast could ford it, the water reaching only to the knee, he broke up
his camp at an hour's notice, and with Gobin Agace at his side proceeded
in person to the water's edge, the flower of his army crowding to the
spot beside him, whilst the mass of his troops formed in rank behind,
ready to press forward the moment the water should be fordable.

Night had fallen before the trumpets had sounded, warning the soldiers
of the breaking up of the camp. All night long they had been working,
and then marching to the fordable spot: but now the tide was rolling in
again; and worse than that, the English saw upon the opposite shore a
compact band of twelve hundred men -- Genoese archers and picked cavalry
-- posted there by the now vigilant Philip, ready to oppose their
passage if they should chance upon the ford.

"Knights and gentlemen," said the King, as he sat his fine charger and
looked round upon the gallant muster around him, "shall we be daunted by
the opposing foe? They are but a handful, and we know the coward temper
of yon Italian crossbowmen. Who will be the first to lead the charge,
and ride on to victory?"