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CHARLES J. ROSEBAULT.
Saladin. Prince of Chivalry
page 206
foreboded the fate that was in store for the Count, but nothing happened immediately. Saladin ordered the other tents and standards to be erected, then went off on his horse, presumably to cool off and reflect. When he returned the King and Reginald were again brought to his tent. The King was seated at the entrance, while the Lord of Kerak remained standing. After reminding the latter of the occasion when he had scoffed at the power of the Prophet, Saladin said grimly :
" Behold, I will support Mahomet against thee! "
The reporters do not agree as to what followed. One says the Sultan struck him on the neck and that the servants thereupon dragged him out and despatched him. Another says Saladin drew his sword and struck Reginald a blow on the shoulder, severing his arm, and it was after this he was beheaded by the attendants. Whichever it was, the end was the same; and King Guy, fearing his turn would come next, shrank back in his chair overcome with terror. But Saladin, once more the pink of courtesy, hastened to reassure him. Drawing him within the tent, he said:
" It is not the wont of kings to kill kings, but that man had transgressed all bounds. His evil conduct, the worst of any, his treachery, the like of which thou canst not conceive, and his shamelessness have plunged him into destruction."
Gerard was sent to Damascus in chains, but the other Templars, and all the Hospitallers felt the full measure of the Sultan's wrath, and were all executed.
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