A.D. 1192. THE SPIES KETDHN TO THE KING OF ENGLAND. 267 wherewithal to pay, delivered to the king Carakois, the Saracen, in full satisfaction of the debt. After this, the king returned to Ascalon ; and, while he was staying there, two of the servants of the king of the Accini, or Assassins, who had for a long time served at the court of the marquis Conrad, and had been members of his household, slew the said Conrad, in his city of Tyre ; on which, they were immediately arrested by the bystanders. This took place on the fifth day before the calends of May. On being interrogated, they said that they had done this by command of the king of the Accini, their master ; upon which, one of them was immediately put to death, while the other was flayed alive. The Franks, however, averred that this was entirely done by the suggestion of the king of England. After the assassination of Conrad, his wife married Henry, count of Champagne, the nephew of the king of England and the king of France ; immediately on which, by the choice of the whole army, the said Henry was elected king of the land of Jerusalem. The king of England also gave to king Guido the island of Tyre, in exchange, to hold the same for life. After the capture of Damn, that is to say, on the same Friday on which the king of England had taken it, the Franks returned to Ascalon, and placed themselves at the mercy of the king of England : on which, the king came there to meet them, and afterwards, with the consent of the whole army, marched forward to lay siege to Jerusalem. "When they had come as far as Bethonople, the king rode on with some of them to view Jerusalem ; and then proceeded to the chapel of Saint Elias, which is three leagues distant from Jerusalem. Here he found a certain cross of wood, said to be made of the wood of that of our Lord, sealed up within the walls of a chapel, which was called the Cross of the Syrians ; upon which, he carried it away, and returned to his army. In the meantime, his spies returned to the king of England, and informed him that a caravan of Saladin was coming from Babylon to Jerusalem, for the purpose of supplying it with provisions and arms : the king, accordingly, believed them, and, taking with him five thousand picked men, went to meet the caravan, which was escorted by eleven thousand pagans. The king met them on the vigil of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, at about the first hour of the day, and, engaging with them, gained a victory, and slew nearly the whole of them, taking possession