s at which to make inquiries, and arranged with Fosco that the
ships should anchor north of the cape, and that he should go on at once
to inspect the next bay. If he found ships there, he was to return at
once; if not, he was, at daybreak, to land at one of the villages in the
bay, 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, as
they came on deck at daybreak.

"Yes; and I am glad of it. It is a large bay, and if the Genoese send
half a dozen galleys, some of the pirates might still escape, while the
next bays are deeper and narrower, and it would be more easy to entrap
them all. I have all along thought it most probable that they would
rendezvous there. The maps show no villages for many miles round, and
they might lie there for weeks without so much as a shepherd getting
sight of them from the cliffs. Moreover, it is the nearest point for
cutting off ships coming down between Corsica and the mainland, and they
can, besides, snap up those proceeding from the south to Marseilles, as
these, 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 seen
anything of them."

Exclamations of disappointment broke from the knights.

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

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

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

"It were safer