A Knight of the White Cross: A Tale of the Siege of Rhodes

by G. A. Henty

  CHAPTER XIV THE CORSAIR FLEET

  An hour later all was ready for a start. The knights of the langues ofFrance, Germany, and Spain went on board their respective ships, as didthe three parties of released captives, with the knights who were tocommand them, while the rowers took their seats on the benches, shackledwith the chains that had recently held the Christians. The wind was fromthe south, and with sails and oars the prizes were able to keep fairlyabreast of the galley. With a few short intervals of rest, the slavescontinued their work all night, until, shortly before daybreak, land wasseen ahead, and the pilot at once pronounced it to be Cape Carbonara.

  "A good landfall, Gervaise," Ralph said. "The pilot has done right well.I suppose you mean to anchor when you get there?"

  "Certainly, Ralph. The slaves will have rowed nearly eighteen hours,with only two hours' rest. They must have some hours, at least, of sleepbefore we go on. As you and I have been up all night, we will turn inalso. We will send a boat ashore to try and find out from the nativesthey may come across whether any vessels, bearing the appearance ofMoorish corsairs, have been seen passing up the coast, and also to findout what bays and inlets there are where they would be likely to anchor.Some of the Italian knights had best go with the boat, for though Ibelieve these people speak a different dialect to those of the mainland,they would have more chance of understanding them than any of theothers."

  The sun had risen when the little fleet came to an anchor close to thecape. A boat was at once prepared to go ashore, and Gervaise beggedFabricius Caretto, the senior of the rescued Italian knights, toendeavour to find out whether a swift sailing craft of some kind couldbe hired. If so, he was to secure her on any terms, and come off in herat once to the galley.

  Gervaise had already talked the matter over with Ralph, and they agreedthat a strongly manned craft of this kind would go faster than any ofthose they had taken, and that, moreover, it would be a pity to weakentheir force by sending one of the prizes away. Having seen them off,Gervaise retired to the cabin and threw himself down for a short sleep,leaving the knights who had been off watch during the night, to seethat all went well. In two hours he was roused. A native craft had comealongside with Sir Fabricius Caretto.

  "I think she is just the craft for us," the knight said, as Gervaisecame on deck. "She belongs to a large fishing village just round thepoint to the left. There were several boats there, but the villagers allsaid that this was the speediest vessel anywhere along the coast. Shebelongs to two brothers, who, with four men, constitute her regularcrew; but I have arranged for twelve others to go in her, in order thatthey may row her along at a good pace if the wind falls light."

  "Are your companions come off yet?"

  "No; but we can hoist a flag for their recall."

  "Do so. I shall be greatly obliged if you will undertake this mission tothe seaports. It needs one of name and rank to speak with the nobles andofficials authoritatively."

  "I will gladly do so, Sir Gervaise. Give me your instructions, and youcan rely upon my carrying them out."

  "I thank you greatly, Sir Fabricius, and shall be glad if you will takewith you any two of the knights you may select. I have to write lettersfor you to deliver to the authorities at Naples, Pisa, and Genoa. Ishall write but briefly, and leave you to explain matters more fully. Ishall merely say that I have intelligence of the arrival here of a fleetof Moorish corsairs, of whose strength I am ignorant, but that assuredlytheir intention is to make a raid on the commerce of the coast, andperhaps to land at unprotected places. At Ostia, after warning theauthorities to send orders along the coast for the inhabitants to be ontheir guard, pray them to carry word at once to Rome, and request hisHoliness the Pope to order some armed galleys to put to sea as soonas possible. Beg them at Naples and Pisa to do the same thing. But ofcourse it is from Genoa that we must hope for the most assistance.

  "In each place you will, if possible, see the syndic himself, and suchof his council as can be got quickly together. The moment you have doneall you can at Genoa sail for the Island of Madalena, which lies off thenortheastern point of the island. There you will either find us, or aboat with a message where to direct your course. I think perhaps it willbe best to omit Naples--it will save you fully a day, if not two, to doso. Pray them at Ostia to send off news down the coast, or to requestthe papal authorities to despatch mounted messengers. 'Tis likely that,at first, at any rate, the corsairs will try the narrower waters to thenorth. From here to Ostia is nigh two hundred miles, and if the wind isbrisk you may arrive there tomorrow afternoon, and start again at night,arriving at Pisa before noon on the following day; while, allowing forfour or five hours to ascend the river there, you may be at Genoa nextmorning.

  "Three hours should suffice to gather from the authorities what forcethey can despatch, and as soon as you have learned this, embark againand sail south. You may reach Madalena in two days. Thus, at theearliest, it must be from six to seven days before you can bring us thenews there; if you meet with calms or foul winds you may be well nighdouble that time. If at Ostia you can get a faster craft than this, hireit, or take a relay of fresh rowers. I will furnish you with means whenI give you the letters."

  In less than half an hour Gervaise was on deck again. The boat hadreturned with the other Italian knights. An ample store of provisionshad been placed on board the Sperondra, both for the crew and for thethree knights, and, without a minute's delay, these took their places onboard, the great sails were hoisted, and the craft glided rapidly away.

  "The villagers spoke truly as to her speed," Ralph said, as they lookedafter her. "Even with this light wind, she is running fully six miles anhour, and as, by the look of the sky, there will be more of it soon, shewill make the run to Ostia well within the time we calculated."

  Gervaise now questioned the other Italian knights as to what informationthey had gained.

  They said the peasants had told them that several strange craft, usingboth oars and sails, had been noticed passing northwards, and that sostrong was the opinion that these were either Algerines or Tunisiansthat, for the last three or four days, none of the fishing craft hadventured to put to sea. They were able to tell but little as to thebays along the coastline, which they described as very rugged andprecipitous. Five or six little streams ran, they knew, down fromthe mountains. They thought the most likely places for corsairs torendezvous would be in a deep indentation north of Cape Bellavista, orbehind Cape Comino. If not at these places, they might meet in the greatbay at whose entrance stands Tavolara Island, and that beyond, therewere several deep inlets on the northeastern coast of the Island.Gervaise had a consultation with Ralph.

  "The first thing is to find out where these corsairs have their meetingplace, Ralph; and this must be done without their catching sight of thegalley or of the prizes, which some of them would be sure to recognise."

  Ralph nodded.

  "It is a difficult question, Gervaise. Of course, if we had a boatspeedy enough to row away from the corsairs it would be easy enough; butwith wind and oars they go so fast that no boat could escape them."

  "That is quite certain, Ralph; and therefore, if it is done by a boat,it must be by one so small and insignificant that they would pay butlittle attention to it if they caught sight of it. My idea is that weshould take our own little boat, which is a fast one, paint it black, togive it the appearance of a fisherman's boat, and hire a couple of goodrowers from the village. This, with one knight dressed as a fisherman,should go ahead of us, and explore every inlet where ships could besheltered. We would follow ten miles behind. When we get near the placeswhere the natives think the fleet is likely to be, the boat must go onat night, while we anchor. In that way they ought to be able to discoverthe corsairs, while themselves unseen, and to gain some idea of theirnumbers and the position in which they are anchored, and bring us backnews."

  "Shall I go myself, Gervaise?"

  "I could not spare you, Ralph. The risk of capture does not seem to meto be great, but there certainly i
s a risk, and I dare not part withyou. It had better be an Italian, because there will doubtless be anopportunity of landing at villages and questioning the inhabitants,therefore we will send Fosco. If there are some eight or ten corsairsgathered in any of these bays the news is sure to travel along theshore, and we may get some tidings in that way. The first thing is tosend off to the village again to fetch two young fishermen; they mustbe active fellows, strong, and possessed of some courage. I will ask daVinci to go himself and select them. While he is away we will paint ourboat black, and make ready for her to start at once; the sooner she isoff the better."

  The Italian knight at once undertook the mission, and started for theshore. Fosco, who had been chosen principally because he was light offrame, as well as very shrewd and intelligent, was then called up, andhis mission explained to him. He was delighted at having been selected.Gervaise took him down to the cabin, and they consulted the maps withwhich the galley was furnished.

  "You will row on to Muravera; it is some twenty miles from here. Yousee, the village lies at the mouth of a river. As soon as you arrivethere, you will land and find out whether there is any report ofMoorish pirates having been seen along the coast. We shall be there thisevening, and you will come on board and report. Next day you will get toLunasei, which is about five miles on this side of Cape Bellavista, andthey will certainly know there if the pirates are lying behind the cape.If they are so, you will row back to meet us; if they are not, you willremain there until we come up in the evening. Remember that, should youon either day be seen and chased, and you find they are overtaking you,you will make for the shore, land, and conceal yourselves. We shall keepalong near the coast, and as we pass you can come down to the water'sedge and signal to us to take you off. Now you had better disguiseyourself, so as to be in readiness to start as soon as da Vincicomes off with the men. You will only need to take a small stock ofprovisions, as each night you can replenish them here."

  An hour later da Vinci came off with two stalwart young fishermen. Thelittle boat had already been painted, and it was lowered at once; Foscostepped into it, and started.

  Two hours later the prizes got up sail, and, accompanied by the galley,coasted quietly along the shore, arriving, late in the afternoon, atMuravera. Fosco at once came on board.

  "There is no news here beyond that which we gained this morning, SirGervaise," he said. "Strange ships have certainly been seen sailingnorth, but they did not approach the coast."

  A similar report was given at Lunasei; there were certainly no corsairslying behind Cape Bellavista, or news would assuredly have reached thevillage. At Orosei, next day, the report was the same; there were nostrange ships at Cape Comino. They had been warned overnight thatthe coast beyond the cape was so precipitous, that there would be novillages at which to make inquiries, and arranged with Fosco that theships should anchor north of the cape, and that he should go on at onceto inspect the next bay. If he found ships there, he was to return atonce; if not, he was, at daybreak, to land at one of the villages in thebay, and to make inquiries.

  No news was brought in by him during the night.

  "It is evident the pirates are not in the bay, Gervaise," Ralph said, asthey came on deck at daybreak.

  "Yes; and I am glad of it. It is a large bay, and if the Genoese sendhalf a dozen galleys, some of the pirates might still escape, while thenext bays are deeper and narrower, and it would be more easy to entrapthem all. I have all along thought it most probable that they wouldrendezvous there. The maps show no villages for many miles round, andthey might lie there for weeks without so much as a shepherd gettingsight of them from the cliffs. Moreover, it is the nearest point forcutting off ships coming down between Corsica and the mainland, and theycan, besides, snap up those proceeding from the south to Marseilles, asthese, for the most part, pass between Sardinia and Corsica."

  At eight o'clock the boat was seen coming round the point.

  "Any news, Fosco?" Gervaise asked, as it approached the galley.

  "None, Sir Gervaise. They have heard nothing of pirates, nor seenanything of them."

  Exclamations of disappointment broke from the knights.

  "That makes it all the more likely," Gervaise said, "that they arelying in one of the inlets to the north. You see, lower down they keptcomparatively close to the shore, being careless who might notice them;but as they approached their rendezvous, they would be more careful, andmight either pass along at night, or keep far out. If they had not beenanxious to conceal their near presence, they would have been likely toput into this bay in search of plunder and captives; for Tempe, one ofthe largest of the Sardinian towns, lies but a short distance away, andthere must be a considerable amount of traffic."

  "There are four or five small craft lying there," Fosco, who had by thistime stepped on board, put in, "and a considerable number of fishingboats. When I came upon the ships in the dark, I thought at first thatI had lighted on the pirates, but on letting the boat drift closely bythem I soon saw they were not corsair galleys."

  "Shall we get up anchor and go into the bay?" Ralph asked.

  "It were safer not to do so, Ralph. Possibly one of the craft lyingthere might be presently captured by them, and they might learn from hercrew of the presence of a galley of the Order there. Therefore I thinkit best to remain where we are till nightfall, and then to proceed andanchor on the north side of the Island of Madalena, if we can find asheltered cove where we could not be seen either from the land or bypassing ships."

  During the day there was a good deal of discussion among the knightsas to whether the corsairs might not already have sailed away. It wasevident that if all their ships had arrived, there would be no motivefor delay. Three ships they knew would never join them, and others mighthave been detained, from some cause or another. There could be no doubtthat the pirates had already ample force for capturing as many merchantvessels as they might come across. But it might be intended to carry outsome more daring project--to sack and burn towns along the coast, carryoff the leading people for ransom, and fill the vessels with slaves--theattack being made simultaneously on several unprotected towns. A vastamount of plunder could thus be reaped, together with captives of evengreater money value. Were this their plan, they would doubtless delayuntil all those who had promised to join in the expedition had arrived.The balance of opinion, then, was that the corsairs were still inhiding.

  By daybreak next morning they were moored in a sheltered little bay tothe north of Madalena, the galley lying inside the prizes, so as to beconcealed as much as possible from view of any craft that might happento pass the mouth of the bay. Fosco started as soon as darkness fell inthe evening, and returned early in the morning.

  "They are there," he shouted, as he neared the galley, "hidden in a deepinlet that runs into one of the narrow bays."

  "How many are there of them?"

  "Seventeen or eighteen, I could not say which. They are all moored sideby side."

  By this time Fosco's boat had reached the galley.

  "You have done well indeed," Gervaise said, as the young knight ascendedto the poop. "Now give us a full account of what you have seen."

  "As you know, Sir Gervaise, the bay opposite this island splits up intotwo, running a long way inland, like the fangs of a great tooth. I had,of course, no difficulty in finding the entrance to the bay itself, asit is but a short distance across the strait. I steered first for theleft hand shore, and kept close along under the shadow of the cliffs,which, in many cases, rise almost straight out from the water. We rowedvery quietly, fearing to run against a rock; for although it was lightenough to see across the water, and to make out any craft that might beanchored there, it was very dark along the foot of the cliffs. There wasno need for haste, as I knew I had plenty of time to explore both armsof the bay, and to be back here before day began to break.

  "We rowed up to the end of the inlet, and then, having assured ourselvesthat it was empty, came down the other side, and turned up the westernarm. We had got s
ome distance along when I fancied I heard voices,and so let the boat drift along, only dipping the oars in the wateroccasionally. I could make out no signs whatever of the corsairs, whensuddenly we came upon a break in the cliffs. It was only some fiftyyards across, and here a creek came in at right angles to the shore.I could have given a shout of pleasure as I looked up it, for there ascore of lights were burning above a dark mass, and we could hear thesound of talking and laughter. It was but a glimpse I caught, for themen at once backed water, and we were soon round the corner again.

  "Up till then the fishermen had been ready enough to go where I wanted,but the sight of that clump of galleys regularly scared them, and theywanted to row straight away; but of course I pointed out to them thatthey had taken pay to do this thing, and that they had to do it. Theysaid that if caught they would be either killed or made slaves of, andI could not contradict them, but said that, in the first place, as I wasready to run the risk, there was no reason why they shouldn't do so, andin the second, there was no chance whatever of their being taken, as,if discovered, we should get so long a start that we could either escapethem altogether or run the boat ashore at some point where the treescame down to the water's edge, carry the boat up and hide it, and thenmove up into the hills until the corsairs had gone.

  "We waited there three or four hours, looking round the pointoccasionally. At the end of that time all was quiet. Two or three ofthe lanterns still burned, but there was no sign of life or movement ontheir decks. After waiting another half hour to ensure the crews beingasleep, we rowed quietly up the creek, keeping within an oar's length ofthe rocks. There was not much to see; the galleys lay two abreast, andas there was no space between them, I supposed the whole were lashedtogether. There were eight of them on the side we went along, but Ithink there were only seven on the other side. As I thought it did notmuch matter whether there were fifteen or sixteen, and as the men werein a state of horrible fright, we turned and went back again, and I ownI felt very glad myself when we got round the point without an alarmbeing given. We came quietly out, and it was fortunate we did so, for wehad not gone a quarter of a mile when we heard the sound of oars, and,lying silently under the cliff, we saw two large galleys row past us."

  "It is a strong force, Gervaise," Ralph said, as they paced up and downthe poop together. "Probably in each of those galleys are eighty or ahundred men, in addition to the rowers. It is evident that unless Genoasends us help we shall not be able to interfere with their plans."

  "I don't know, Ralph. I think we may injure them sorely, though we mightnot be able to defeat them altogether. I want you tonight to take one ofthe prizes, and row round to the bay we passed, and there to buy threecoasting vessels and six or eight fishing boats. Get as much pitch,oil, and other combustibles, as you can purchase in the villages onthe shore. If you can engage a score of fishermen to man them, all thebetter. My idea is that if Caretto returns with news that the Genoesehave no galleys ready for sea, we must do what we can to injure thesecorsairs. If we smear these craft you are going to fetch with pitch andoil, and fill the holds with combustibles, and so turn them into fireships, we may at least do the pirates a tremendous lot of harm. When weget to the mouth of this inlet, we could have the fire ships rowed in bythree or four men in each, they having a boat behind in which to escapeas soon as the boats are lighted. The sight of a dozen craft comingdown on them in flames would cause a terrific panic, for, moored closelytogether, as they are, if one took fire there would be little chanceof the others escaping. Of course, we should add to the confusion byopening a fire with all our guns, and could hope to capture some atleast of them as they tried to make their way out."

  "It is a grand idea, Gervaise; a splendid idea! It would be a terrificblow to the Moors, and would make the sea safe from them for a longtime."

  "When you buy the other things, Ralph, get a quantity of black cloth--itmatters not how coarse, or of what material; and also some white. Assoon as you come back with it, all hands shall set to work to make thestuff up into mantles of the Order, with the white cross. We will putthese on to the Christians in the prizes, and the Moors will supposethat they are attacked by four of the galleys of the Order. If you canget some more arms and some iron headpieces, all the better."

  "I will do what I can, Gervaise; the arms will certainly be wanted,for those we found on the decks were sufficient only to arm half theChristians. As to the steel caps, that will not matter so much, as inthe darkness and confusion the sight of the mantles will be quite enoughto convince the corsairs that we are all knights of the Order. By theway, Gervaise, we have not yet looked into the holds of the prizes."

  "That is so, Ralph; we knew, of course, that as the ships had butjust started we should find nothing in them save the cargo of thatunfortunate craft they captured."

  On searching they found, as they had expected, that the cargo of thecaptured ship had been of no great value. It consisted of wine, oliveoil, and grain. These were all useful, for the number of mouths to befed was considerable, and heavy inroads had already been made on thestores of the galley. The rowers of the four vessels were at once set towork to crush the grain between flat stones brought from the shore, andan ample supply of coarse flour for their use for at least a fortnightwas obtained before sunset.

  As soon as darkness fell, Ralph and two of the French knights startedin one of the prizes. Late on the following afternoon a sail was seencoming from the north, and before the sun set they were able to makeher out to be the craft in which Caretto had sailed. The anchor ofthe galley was at once got up, and she rowed out to meet the boat andconduct her into the little bay. It was almost dark when they camewithin hailing distance.

  "What news do you bring, Sir Fabricius?"

  "Bad news, I regret to say. I do not think that Genoa will be able tosend out any galleys for at least a fortnight. There have been civildissensions, and fighting between rival factions, and in consequence herships are all dismantled and laid up. Crews will have to be collectedfor them, repairs executed, and officers chosen; a fortnight will be theearliest time in which they can be here. Pisa has no war galleys, andunless the Pope sends some out directly he gets the news, the corsairswill have it their own way. Have you discovered them?"

  "Yes; they lie but a few miles from here. There were fifteen or sixteenof them two days ago, and two others joined them that night. You havelost no time indeed. We had scarce begun to expect you, Sir Fabricius,"he added, as the knight and his two comrades stepped on board.

  "I have done my best," the knight said angrily. "But I am in a rage withmy ill success. All I have accomplished is that no merchant vessels willput to sea at present. At Ostia they would only send off a message toRome, to ask for orders. At Pisa the authorities at first treated mystory as a fiction, and, I believe, took me for an impostor; but on thenews spreading, some knights came forward and recognised me. Then we hada meeting of the council. All talked, wrangled, and protested. They saidthat it was absurd to suppose that they could, at a moment's notice, fitout ships to cope with a fleet of corsairs; and their sole idea was toman the forts, and to repel an attack. However, mounted messengerswere sent off at once, up and down the coast, to give warning to theinhabitants of the towns to put themselves into a posture of defence,and to the villagers to fly with their wives and families into theinterior as soon as they saw galleys of doubtful appearance approaching.I was there but four hours, and then started for Genoa."

  "There was almost a panic there too, as the members of the council weremostly merchants, and were filled with dismay for the safety of theirships and goods at sea. Of course, there was no thought that thecorsairs, however strong, would venture an attack upon Genoa itself.I told them that you had captured three of the corsairs with a singlegalley, and that if they could send you ten others you would probably beable to make head against the pirates; but, as I have told you, Genoais at peace with all the world; her war galleys are laid up, and most ofthem would need repair and recaulking before they would be fit to sendto sea.
Although they maintained that no more than a week should elapsebefore they would be ready to sail I am right sure that it will bedouble that time before they are fitted out.

  "Of course, in Genoa I was well known, though my family estates lie nearMantua, and my acquaintances flocked round me and urged me to stay untilthe galleys were ready for sea. This I would not hear of, and, six hoursafter my arrival, started again. We made the voyage to Corsica at a goodspeed, but since then we have had the oars constantly out to help thesails. The men have well earned their pay, I can assure you. It isenough to make one mad with rage to think that these pirates will beable to harry the coast of Italy at their pleasure; for there canbe little chance that they will abide quiet much longer at thisrendezvous."

  "It is annoying, indeed," Gervaise agreed; and a murmur ofdisappointment ran round the assembled knights. "However, we have theconsolation that we have done all we could, and I am sure that we shalldo so in the future."

  Gervaise had charged Ralph to say nothing about the object of hismission, and the general supposition was that he had sailed to endeavourto purchase some bullocks, as the supply of meat was nearly exhausted.Ralph himself had let drop a few words to this effect, and had indeedbeen charged by Gervaise to bring off a few oxen if they could beobtained without loss of time. Gervaise was on deck at midnight, andsoon afterwards the beat of oars was heard. It was a still night,and one of the knights on watch remarked to him, "It seems to me, SirGervaise, that the sound is a confused one, and that there must beseveral vessels rowing. Shall I call up our companions? It may be thatit is the pirate fleet coming out."

  "You need not do that," Gervaise replied. "I am expecting Sir Ralph tobring back with him some fishing boats, for which I think I can find ause. We should have heard before this if the corsairs had been puttingout. Fosco is in his boat watching the mouth of the inlet, and wouldhave started with the news had there been any stir on board theirgalleys."

  It was a quarter of an hour before a number of dark objects entered thelittle bay. As soon as they did so, they ceased rowing, and the splashesof the anchors as they fell into the water were heard. Then came thesound of a boat's oars, and Ralph was soon alongside.

  "I see that you have succeeded, Ralph."

  "There is no fear of failing when one is ready to pay the full value ofwhat one wants to get. I have bought three coasters and eight fishingboats, and have a sufficient store of pitch and oil, with plenty ofstraw and faggots. There was no difficulty in getting men to come withme. As soon as they heard that a fleet of eighteen Moorish galleys wasin the next bay, they were ready enough to aid in any plan for theirdestruction, for they knew well enough that some of them would be sureto make raids all along the coast, sacking and burning, and carrying offmen, women, and children, as slaves. I said I only wanted two men foreach craft, but so many were willing to come that I have some thirtymore than the number I asked for, and we can divide these among us. Theyare strong, active looking fellows."

  "We will keep them here then, Ralph. You see, there are one-and-twentyof our knights in the three prizes, and as we lost two in thecapture, and four others are not fit to put on armour, we have butsix-and-twenty, and the addition will be very welcome. What are theyarmed with?"

  "They have bows and arrows, and long pikes and axes."

  "Good. Have you managed to collect any more arms?"

  "Yes. The people are all charcoal burners and woodmen in winter, andI was therefore able to get together some thirty or forty axes andhatchets, which will be ample, with the arms we took from the Moors, toequip the ninety Christians."

  "I think we can depend upon these for fighting, Ralph."

  "I don't think there is any doubt about that. A few of them are prettywell worn out with labour and suffering, but all have gained strengthand spirits greatly in the past week, and you may be sure that theywill fight to the death rather than run the risk of another turn in thegalleys."

  "And have you got the stuff to make the mantles?"

  "Yes. There was plenty of the coarse black cloth which they wear insummer--in winter, of course, they are clad in sheepskins; and I havesufficient white cotton cloth to make the crosses."

  "We have only one thing to wish for now, Ralph, and that is, that thecorsairs may not take it into their heads to sail tomorrow. Fosco willbring me news at daybreak, and we will at once send another boat off towatch the mouth of the bay when he leaves it. If they sail, we cannotventure to attack them as long as they keep together, the odds are fartoo heavy, and our only plan will be to follow them at a distance, whenwe can just keep their upper sails in sight, and then to attack anydetachment that may separate from the main body."

  "I hope it will not come to that, Gervaise. It would be hard indeed,when you have devised such a splendid plan, and we have got everythingready to carry it out, if they were to give us the slip. Do the othersknow anything about it yet?"

  "No. I thought it better to keep silence till tomorrow. No doubt some ofthe galley slaves understand enough of one or other of our languagesto gather what is on foot. Besides, their late captives might, in theirsatisfaction at the thought of revenge, say enough to them to let themknow that an attack on their fleet was intended, and one of them might,in some way, free himself from his irons and swim ashore. We know thereis a small fishing village across the island, and there would be nodifficulty in stealing a boat and making off with the news. I do not saythat the risk is great; still, it were better not to throw away evena chance. The knights have all turned in in a very gloomy mood, forCaretto has returned with news that there is no hope of assistance fromGenoa for a fortnight, and it seemed, therefore, that all our pains hadbeen thrown away. And now we may as well turn in until daylight."