Those who were unwounded unbuckled the armour and bandaged the
wounds. Others fetched wine and water from the galley. The chains of the
galley slaves were removed, and these were set to clear the decks of the
Moslem corpses. The anchors were dropped, for what little wind there
was drifted them towards the shore. They had learned from a dying pirate
that the vessels were part of the fleet of Hassan Ali, a fact that added
to the satisfaction felt by the knights at their capture, as this man
was one of the most dreaded pirates of the Levant. They learnt that he
himself had not been present, the expedition being under the command of
one of his lieutenants, who had fallen in the fight.

"Now, comrades, let us in the first place take food; we have not broken
our fast this morning. Then let us consider what had best be done, for
indeed we have got as much in our hands as we can manage; but let us
leave that till we eat and drink, for we are faint from want of food
and from our exertions. But we shall have to eat what comes to hand, and
that without cooking, for our servants all joined the pirates when they
boarded us, and are either dead or are ashore there."

A meal was made of bread and fruit, and this with wine sufficed to
recruit their energies.

"It seems to me, comrades," Sir Louis said, when all had finished, "that
the first thing is to search the holds of these vessels and see what
valuables are stored there. These may be all carried on board one ship,
and the others must be burnt, for it is clear that, as there are four of
them, we cannot take them to Rhodes; and even with one and our galley
we should fare but ill, if we fell in with two or three more of Hassan's
ships."

"But how about the pirates on shore, Sir Louis?" a knight asked. "There
were very many who could not get off to their ships during the fight,
and scores must have swum ashore. I should say that there must be full
two hundred, and it will be a grievous thing for the islanders if we
leave them there."

"It is certain," the commander said, "that we are not strong enough
to attack them, for were we to land, a party would have to be left on
board, or the pirates might elude our search, seize some fishing boats,
and regain possession. Certainly, we are in no position to divide our
forces."

"Methinks," Sir John Boswell said, "that the best plan would be to send
a boat, manned with ten galley slaves, taking two or three of us to the
rendezvous, to f