Gervaise, overwhelmed by the unlooked for honours thus bestowed upon him, bowed deeply to the grand master and the members of the council, and then retired from the chamber.  He passed out of the palace by a side door, so as to avoid being accosted by the knights in the great hall, and took his way out on to the ramparts, where he walked up and down for a considerable time before returning to the auberge.  He felt no hilarity at his promotion.  He had never entertained any ambition for rising to high office in the Order, but had hoped only to perform his duty as a true knight, to fight against the infidels, and some day, if need be, to die for the Order.  The commandery was, he knew, a rich one, and as its chief he would draw a considerable revenue from the estate.  This afforded him no pleasure whatever, except inasmuch as it would enable him, in his new command of the galley, to keep a handsome table, and to entertain well the knights who served under him.

It seemed to him, however, that the reward and honours were so far beyond his deserts that he felt almost humiliated by their bestowal.  The responsibility, too, was great.  Would these young knights, the youngest of whom could be but a year his junior, serve willingly under his orders?  And, above all, would they be able to emulate the deeds of experienced warriors, and would the galley worthily maintain the fame of the Order?

At the end of two hours he was joined by Ralph Harcourt.

“I have been looking for you everywhere, Gervaise.  You seemed to have disappeared mysteriously.  None had marked you leave the council chamber, or knew where you had gone; and after searching everywhere I remembered your fondness for walks upon the walls, so I climbed to the top of St. John’s tower and thence espied you.  Well, I congratulate you most heartily on the honours that have fallen to your share, especially that of the command of a new galley.”

“It is too much altogether, Ralph.  I feel ashamed at being thus thrust into a post that ought to be given to a knight of age and experience.  How can I expect a number of young knights, of whom well nigh all must be my seniors in age, to obey me as they would an older man?”

“What has age to do with it?” Ralph said.  “You have shown that you have a head to think, and, as you before proved, you have an arm to strike.  Why, every young knight in the Order must feel proud that one of their own age has gained such honour.  It raises them all in their own esteem, and you will see that you will get the pick among all the professed knights, and of a good many who have finished their profession, and are serving here in the hope of some day getting promotion to a commandery.  Not such an one as you have got; that, in the ordinary course of things, does not fall to a knight until he is well on in years, and has served in many commanderies of smaller value.  I can tell you, directly Sir John Kendall came back and told us that you had been appointed commander of the new galley, and that it was to be manned wholly by young knights, there was not one of those serving their profession in the auberge who did not beg Sir John to put down his name for it; and ten or twelve others, myself among them, who have obtained full knighthood also.”