e yataghan which had fallen from his
grasp in the struggle, the pirate captain was about to rush again into
the fight, but, perceiving that although one or two of the schooner's
crew still showed resistance, his men were almost everywhere in
possession of the deck, he desisted, and turned with a look of surprise
to the man who had freed him from his antagonist.

"_You_ here, Bacri!" he said. "Truly my fate is a hard one when it
condemns me to be rescued by a dog of a Jew."

"It might have been harder, Sidi Hassan, if it had condemned you to be
slain by the hand of a Christian," replied the Jew, with an air of
humility that scarcely harmonised with his towering height and his
breadth of shoulder.

Hassan uttered a short laugh, and was about to reply when a shout from
his men caused him to run to the forward part of the vessel, where
Francisco, Lucien, and the warlike negro already referred to were still
fighting desperately, surrounded by pirates, many of whom were badly
wounded. It was well for the three heroes that their foes had
discharged all their pistols at the first rush. Some of them, now
rendered furious by the unexpectedly successful opposition made by the
dauntless three, as well as by the smarting of their wounds, were
hastily re-loading their weapons, when their captain came forward. It
was obvious that mercy or forbearance had been driven from their
breasts, and that a few seconds more would put a bloody end to the
unequal contest.

"Spare them, Sidi Hassan," said the Jew in a deeply earnest tone.

"Why should I spare them?" returned the captain quietly; "they deserve
to die, and such men would prove to be but troublesome slaves."

The Jew bent towards Hassan's ear and whispered.

"Ha! sayest thou so?" exclaimed the pirate, with a piercing glance at
his companion. "May I trust thee, Jew?"

"You may trust me," replied the Jew, apparently quite unmoved by the
insolent tones of the other.

"Stand back, men!" cried Hassan, springing between the combatants;
"death by sword or pistol is too good for these Christian dogs; we shall
reserve them for something better." Then, turning to Francisco, "Lay
down your arms."

"We will lay down our arms," answered the bluff merchant, who was not at
all sorry to obtain this brief period of breathing-time, "when we have
laid you and a few more of your ruffians on the deck."

Hassan turned to his men and gave them an order in the Turkish language.

Several