About an hour before noon
We felt very snug where we were , and fit to stand a siege for just so long as our victuals and water held out . Then , if the pirates remained upon the island , famine would compel us to a sortie in the hope of clearing them from the woods , an adventure in which our chances of success seemed to kick the balance . But it did not come to that . About an hour before noon those of us who were at the loopholes saw the shine of a scarlet coat among the trees on the nearest slope , but before there was time to aim a musket something white fluttered above it . It was , as it proved , but a handkerchief tied to a ramrod , but it was a flag of truce for all that , and a flag of truce is respected by gentlemen of honour , whoever carries it . When the white flag had fluttered long enough for him who held it to make sure that it must have been seen by us , the bearer came out from the cover of the wood and walked boldly down the slope . For all the distance the sharp-sighted among us knew him at once for Cornelys Jensen , and it came into my mind that perhaps Lancelot might refuse to accept him as an emissary .