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Page 395
showed signs of fight, hoping to escape with the help of the offshore wind. In these cases, Geoffrey joyfully unlimbered the great Welsh longbow he carried and picked off any exposed member of the crew while small boats ran up alongside and sent English knights and men-at-arms aboard.
The second ship put up a fierce resistance. The surprise caused by this fiery defense nearly accomplished its purpose. The ship had been cut free from its anchor line and turned to catch the wind by the sailors while the men-at-arms fought off those attempting to board before Geoffrey at last spotted the guiding spirita man in the mail of a belted knightand pinned him to the deck with a we'll-placed arrow. Even wounded, the knight called on his men to keep fighting, but a rain of crossbow bolts drove the sailors from their tasks and the havoc wrought by the superior accuracy of the unfamiliar weapon Geoffrey wielded soon doused the remaining flickers of resistance. Geoffrey called out to spare the life of the ardent fighter and see to his hurts and then turned his attention to more important matters.
Having slaughtered and thrown into the sea the crews of the ships that were afloat, the English sent strong landing parties to take the ships that had been beached. The ferocity with which the mariners had been treated had its effect. Those set to guard the beached ships and supplies fled in haste, as did most of the residents of the town, leaving the conquerors a clear field. The remainder of the men-at-arms and the horses were taken ashore to be organized into guard parties. Some would be sent out to be sure the French did not return and attack them by surprise; the others were set to stripping the beached ships of everything of value they had carried.
By virtue of the agreement he had made with his father, Geoffrey was condemned to be in charge of collecting and transporting the booty. To his utter delight, it soon became apparent that most of Philip's upper nobility had come with the fleet, carrying the elegant clothing and jewels that were necessary to a King's entourage even when on active service. There would be many a new ring and necklet to bedeck

 
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