Algiers, Tripoli, Tunis, and the town ofSalee, and other places on the north coast of Africa, their crewscomposed of robbers, murderers, and malefactors of every description,chiefly the refuse of the Levant, and of every nation under the sun,though calling themselves Turks. Their hands were against every man,and every man's hand was against them; they revelled in blood andslaughter, and mercy or any tender feelings of our nature was a strangerto their hearts. As they seldom fought, except in the hopes of booty,they were feared by all the mercantile navies in the world (for theirdepredations extended far beyond the straits of Gibraltar); and all theEuropean governments succumbed, in the most extraordinary way, to theirtyrannical power, actually paying tribute to be free from theirimpositions.
All hands on board regarded anxiously the approaching pirate, thoughwith less apprehension now that they knew with whom they had to contend.
"I knew all along that the devil had something to do with that vessel,"cried the old Pilot, in rather an exulting tone. "If ever demonsinhabit human forms, they dwell in those wretches who compose her crew;and let us thank the saints that we have a good ship and plenty of gunsto defend ourselves, or we should not see another day."
"He thinks that we are no Portuguese, but one of the cruisers of Naples,or perhaps of his holiness the Pope," said the first Lieutenant, "or hewould not show so daring a front to us."
"No, no!" answered Captain Pinto, with some bitterness in his tone; "heknows well enough that this is a Portuguese ship; but he does not knowthat old Joze Pinto commands her, or perhaps he would moderate thatflaunting air. Once on a time no nation dared insult the flag ofPortugal on the high seas; but that time has long passed away, and nowall think they may venture to do so with impunity: however, my friends,let us show that we still retain the spirit of our fathers. Give them ashot, to convince the picarooning villains that we are awake from ourmorning nap. Do you, Senhor Albuquerque," he said, turning to a youngofficer who was standing near him, "exercise your skill in gunnery onyonder pirate: a young eye and eager hand may throw a shot when a morepractised man may miss his aim." The young officer flew eagerly to obeyhis chief, and scarcely had the match been applied to the touch-holebefore the effect of the shot was seen, as some white splinters wereobserved to glance from the bulwarks of their adversary.
"Viva!" was shouted by all the crew in chorus.
"A few more shots like that would curb the vile infidel's pride," criedthe old Pilot; but he had scarce finished his sentence, when a brightflame issued from the side of the stranger, and a crashing shower ofshot passed over them, slightly wounding some of the smaller spars; one,however, swept the deck, killing one and severely injuring another ofthe crew.
"Chance more than skill directed those shots," cried the Captain, toencourage the crew, whose rage was immediately excited by the death oftheir comrade. "Ah! see they show their true character, and aresheering off to avoid the punishment they know is their due. Let themfeel we are not to be insulted with impunity. Fire!"
At the word, the guns of the corvette were discharged with considerableeffect on the very hull of the rover, who was evidently, for the time,satisfied with fighting, as he immediately put his helm to port, and atgreat risk, the seas breaking over his sides, sheered off from hisdetermined opponent. We have already explained the various dangersincurred while fighting the guns in that heavy sea, it being much to thecredit of the crew that they could do so at all; and it was thus sometime before they could again discharge them, when the enemy had gained aconsiderable distance, the shot falling harmlessly into the water. Intruth, at such a time, it was the object of neither ship to engage, asvictory could have been of no advantage to either; for it was utterlyimpossible to have boarded the prize by means of boats; and if the twoships had run alongside of each other, it was probable, if not certain,that both would have sunk in the deadly embrace: a prolonged combatwould also have proved the destruction of both. They therefore, bymutual consent, again kept on their course, eyeing each other withhatred and suspicion.
The crew of the corvette were again ordered to secure their guns, whenthey set about performing the ordinary duties of the ship; the look-outmen in the tops keeping a watchful eye on every movement of the corsair,whose very disregard of them seemed to betoken treachery; the onlysignal her crew made that they were conscious of the presence of ahostile bark being that their pirate banner yet blew out to the blast asa defiance. Thus for the whole day did the Portuguese ship and her foedrive before the furious and unrelaxing gale, the officers and crew inwatches throwing themselves beneath the shelter of the poop-deck tosnatch a few minutes' repose, no one being willing to go below even foran instant.
The Moor appeared to carry as many guns, if not more than the corvette,being perhaps also of greater tonnage; and the probabilities were, thatshe had by far the strongest crew, as it was the custom of the Saleerovers to crowd their decks with men, their usual mode of fighting beingto run their enemy on board, when, rushing like a host of furies on thedevoted ship, their numbers generally carried the day; however, underthe present circumstances, that mode could be of no avail, and hetherefore very wisely avoided coming to closer quarters.
Sleep visited not the eyes of Don Luis, and scarcely would he allowhimself time to snatch a mouthful of food, so excited had he become bythe late skirmish, and the wild scene of confusion round him, no onemore earnestly eyeing the enemy, as he prayed for the abatement of thegale, to have some chance of punishing the daring pirate for hispresumption in thus insulting the flag of his country. "Though theproud days of chivalry have passed away," he exclaimed to himself, "Iwill prove that I am no carpet knight, but worthy of the gallantwarriors from whom I am descended, whose lances were ever foremost infight and tourney. Here is an unlooked-for opportunity ofdistinguishing myself, which will not, I trust, be torn from me; and Iwill seize some trophy from yonder lawless stranger to lay at the feetof my beloved Theresa, when how proudly will she welcome me, as I returnamong a band of warriors, after a hard won victory, instead of from avoyage without danger, and from a land of peace and security, as sheexpects!"
Such thoughts very naturally passed through a young and enthusiasticmind, but which, uttered aloud, would, to the generality of people, haveappeared to arise from Quixotic folly; and it must be confessed, thathis servant Pedro did not in the least participate in his master'sromantic feelings, though ever ready to share his fortunes. He, all thetime, most earnestly prayed that the devil would run away with thestranger, or that he would go to the bottom before he had time to sendany more cannon balls on board the corvette. As for bearing a trophy tohis lady loves--for Pedro owned to two, one in his native village, andanother in Lisbon--it never entered his head; for he well knew theywould much prefer a piece of gay coloured calico to a bit of bunting,which they could not convert into a petticoat. Pedro was certainly nota romantic lover. It was curious, yet so it was, that the warnings ofhis friend, Captain Pinto, never once occurred to Don Luis; nor did therecollection for a moment cross his mind, that, instead of victory and aspeedy return to his native land, a long painful slavery, or a suddendeath, might be his lot.
Not a gleam of sunshine broke through the thick mass of clouds duringthe whole course of the day, which passed on without any variation tillthe fast increasing gloom announced the return of night with all itshorrors; for, in the southern latitudes, in which they were, the sunscarcely sinks, before darkness overspreads the world; and thus in ashort time they again lost sight of the enemy in a dense curtain ofmist, which added to the obscurity. The captain, therefore, called acouncil of war to consider the best plan to pursue, being unwilling tomiss the foe, and anxious at the same time not to run farther out oftheir course than they could help, should the gale subside, as it hadlately given some promise of doing.
The officers were collected round their commander, the old pilotstrenuously giving it as his opinion, that, as soon as the galemoderated, they should haul their wind, and leave their phantom opponentto pursue, uninterrupted, her demon-direc
ted course; persisting that shewould lead them through stormy seas and tempests half round the worldbefore she disappeared. The greater number, also, were of opinion thatthey ought to haul their wind, or lay the ship to, when theirdeliberations on the subject were quickly settled by a warning cry fromthe men in the tops; and, at the moment when most considered the enemyyet at some distance, he was perceived on their starboard quarter,looming through the obscurity. The crew needed no order to fly to theirguns, or the officers to their respective posts; and scarcely had herlofty masts appeared ranging up alongside, before a broad sheet of flameissued from her ports, and a shower of shot passed over them.
"Fire, my men! fire low!" shouted the gallant Commander; and the shotseemed to tell well upon the hull of the stranger. The guns were againhauled in, loaded and fired with great rapidity, before
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