" the corsair said,
as he threw down the stick, panting with his exertions; and then,
without waiting to see if his order was obeyed, he took his place in the
boat, and was rowed ashore.

As soon as he had left, three or four of the ex galley slaves carried
Gervaise into the shade of the sail. The sailors, several of whom
bore signs of the late struggle, looked on sullenly, but offered no
opposition when the men took off the ropes and raised him into a sitting
posture against the mast. He had not entirely lost consciousness, and
was now fast recovering himself.

"Is there anything we can do for you?" one of the men asked in Italian.

"No I shall soon be all right again, although I am bruised all over, and
shall be stiff for a day or two. You had best leave me now, or you will
incur the enmity of these fellows."

Gervaise was indeed bruised from his neck to his heels. Even in
his passion the pirate had avoided striking him on the head, as a
disfiguring mark on the face would diminish his value. Sitting there, he
congratulated himself that he had been beaten with a stick and not
with a whip; a stick is a weapon, and he did not feel the same sense of
dishonour that he would have experienced had he been beaten with a
whip. That such might be his lot in slavery he recognised. The backs of
Caretto and his two companions were seamed with the marks inflicted
by the gang master's whip, and he could scarce hope to escape the same
treatment; but at present he hardly felt a slave. There was another
reflection that to some extent mitigated the pain of his bruises;
the pirate captain held his treasured gage, and it was his fixed
determination to recover it. The man had at first in a rough way treated
him fairly, and had allowed him more liberty than the other captives,
and he would have felt reluctant to take extreme measure against him to
recover the gage. Now he was not only free from any sense of obligation,
but had a heavy score to settle with him.

After a time he got up and walked stiffly and painfully up and down
the deck, knowing that this was the best plan to prevent the limbs
from stiffening. The corsair did not return until night set in; he was
accompanied by an Arab, whose dress and appearance showed that he was
a person of importance. The other slaves had all been sent below, but
Gervaise still remained on deck, as the mate had not cared to risk
another conflict by giving him orders in the absence of the captain. As