any Moorish pirates would be so daring as to come up into Venetian
waters."

"I should not have thought so either, signor; but it may be that,
knowing there is war between Venice and Genoa, and that the state
galleys of the republics, instead of being scattered over the seas, are
now collected in fleets, and thinking only of fighting each other, they
might consider it a good opportunity for picking prizes."

"It is a good opportunity, certainly," Francis said; "but they would
know that Venice would, sooner or later, reckon with them; and would
demand a four-fold indemnity for any losses her merchants may have
suffered.

"However, I will not detain you longer. Will you tell Signor Polani
that you met us, and that we were making good progress, and hoped to
reach Corfu some time tomorrow?"

"This is a curious thing about this galley," the captain of the boat
said to Francis, as the men again dipped their oars into the water, and
the boat once more proceeded on the way.

"It is much more likely to be a Genoese pirate than a Moor," Francis
said. "They may have purposely altered their rig a little, in order to
deceive vessels who may sight them. It is very many years since any
Moorish craft have been bold enough to commit acts of piracy on this
side of Sicily. However, we must hope that we shall not fall in with
her, and if we see anything answering to her description we will give
it a wide berth. Besides, it is hardly likely they would interfere with
so small a craft as ours, for they would be sure we should be carrying
no cargo of any great value."

"Twenty Christian slaves would fetch money among the Moors," the
captain said. "Let us hope we shall see nothing of them; for we should
have no chance of resistance against such a craft, and she would go two
feet to our one."

The next morning Francis was aroused by a hurried summons from the
captain. Half awake, and wondering what could be the cause of the call,
for the boat lay motionless on the water, he hurried out from the
little cabin. Day had just broken, the sky was aglow with ruddy light
in the east.

"Look there, signor!" the captain said, pointing to the south. "The
watch made them out a quarter of an hour since, but, thinking nothing
of it, they did not call me. What do you think of that?"

Two vessels were lying in close proximity to each other, at a distance
of about two miles from the boat. One of them was a large trader, the
other was a long galley ri