lems and dropped further bartering for peace. Finally the Sultan came to an arrangement with the Lord of Sidon. It looked as though Richard would find himself between two fires, but that danger disappeared with the assassination of the Marquess. The killing was done by two emissaries of the Assassins, and the reason for their act was said to be Conrad's seizure of a ship belonging to the Old Man of the Mountains. For some unexplained reason the crime was charged to the Sultan, whose interests were certainly not favored by the disappearance of the Marquess at this time. A more plausible suggestion was that it had been inspired by Richard, who saw his efforts to win Conrad back frustrated by the agreement.with the Sultan. About this time Richard started for Jerusalem, as the Sultan had foreseen he would, but this confirmation of his fears lessened these not a whit. When a large caravan from Egypt fell into Richard's hands, wita many prisoners and a booty of several thousand camels, many horses and rich supplies, the situation was greatly aggravated. Not only was the capture of Jerusalem possible, but the transport to Egypt, always an ambition of Richard's, was now supplied by his opponents. Ill, and overwhelmed with anxiety, Saladin wavered in a manner quite unlike his former self. Should he stay in Jerusalem and expose himself and his army to the danger of capture, which would mean the end of Moslem resistance to Christian aggression?