here. Pisa has no war galleys, and
unless the Pope sends some out directly he gets the news, the corsairs
will have it their own way. Have you discovered them?"

"Yes; they lie but a few miles from here. There were fifteen or sixteen
of them two days ago, and two others joined them that night. You have
lost 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 with
my ill success. All I have accomplished is that no merchant vessels will
put to sea at present. At Ostia they would only send off a message to
Rome, to ask for orders. At Pisa the authorities at first treated my
story as a fiction, and, I believe, took me for an impostor; but on the
news spreading, some knights came forward and recognised me. Then we had
a meeting of the council. All talked, wrangled, and protested. They said
that it was absurd to suppose that they could, at a moment's notice, fit
out ships to cope with a fleet of corsairs; and their sole idea was to
man the forts, and to repel an attack. However, mounted messengers
were sent off at once, up and down the coast, to give warning to the
inhabitants of the towns to put themselves into a posture of defence,
and to the villagers to fly with their wives and families into the
interior 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 were
mostly merchants, and were filled with dismay for the safety of their
ships and goods at sea. Of course, there was no thought that the
corsairs, however strong, would venture an attack upon Genoa itself.
I told them that you had captured three of the corsairs with a single
galley, and that if they could send you ten others you would probably be
able to make head against the pirates; but, as I have told you, Genoa
is at peace with all the world; her war galleys are laid up, and most of
them would need repair and recaulking before they would be fit to send
to sea. Although they maintained that no more than a week should elapse
before they would be ready to sail I am right sure that it will be
double that time before they are fitted out.

"Of course, in Genoa I was well known, though my family estates lie near
Mantua, and my acquaintances flocked round me and urged me to stay until
the