may omit."

Francis then briefly related the events which had led to the capture of
the four galleys. He explained that by the death of the captain he, as
second officer, succeeded to the command of the Pluto, and that
afterwards being captured by the Genoese, Signor Parucchi, the sole
other surviving officer, and ten gentlemen belonging to noble families
and serving as volunteers on board the Pluto, were confined in one hold
of that ship on her voyage as a prize to Genoa, the crew being shut up
in the other; that by working at night they had effected a junction
with the crew, and choosing a stormy night, when any noise that might
be made would not be heard on board the ship, they made their way up to
the deck above, through a hole they had cut in the planks, and
overpowered the Genoese almost without resistance; that they had then,
in the darkness, ran alongside another of the ships and captured her
with equal ease; and Parucchi, with a portion of the crew of the Pluto,
and the Venetian prisoners on board that ship, had retaken a third;
while the Pluto had captured a fourth.

"It may seem to you, signors," Francis concluded, "that we might, in
the same way, have recaptured the rest of our ships, and it was a
bitter disappointment to me that we failed to do so; but the storm was
so high, and the sea so rough, that it was only with the greatest
danger and difficulty that ships could lie alongside each other. The
bulwarks of all four vessels were greatly damaged, and the Pluto lost
her foremast while alongside the last ship we captured, and as the
storm was increasing, rather than abating, we were, to our great
chagrin, obliged to let the rest escape, since in striving for more we
might have lost, not only our lives, but the vessels we had taken."

"This is indeed a most notable achievement, Messer Hammond, and the
restoration of four ships and their crews, at the present moment, is of
great importance to the republic, threatened as she is with invasion by
land and sea.

"Now, Messer Polani, if you will give us the full details of which you
spoke, we shall be glad."

Polani then related to the council the full story of the means by which
the crew of the Pluto had gained their liberty, showing how the
recapture was entirely due to the initiative of Francis, and to the
ingenuity with which he overcame all difficulties. He ended by saying:

"My kinsman, Matteo, said that should you doubt whether this account is
not t