are others than pirates in the nest,
and some of these are even honest men."

"Ha!" exclaimed the padrone, quickly and with bitterness; "is one of
these said honest men a Jew of stalwart frame, and does his connexion
with the piratical nest free him from the bonds to which I and my sons
are doomed?"

"To both questions I answer yes," replied the Jew.

"Then a fig for your honesty, Master Bacri!" said Francisco, with a toss
of his head, in lieu of a snap of his fingers, which in the
circumstances was impossible, "for I now believe that you knocked
Mariano down simply to save the life of your comrade Sidi Hassan, and
that you will pocket your own share of my ship and cargo."

"I have not the power to alter your belief," said the Jew quietly, as he
turned away and left the unfortunate captive to his meditations.

As the night advanced the wind continued to abate, and when morning
broke, the broad breast of the Mediterranean undulated like a sheet of
clear glass, on which was gradually revealed the form of a strange
vessel becalmed not far from the prize.

As soon as it was sufficiently light to permit of objects being clearly
seen, Sidi Hassan fired a gun and showed the Algerine flag.

"Our luck has changed," he said to his first officer, with an air of
satisfaction. "Get the boats ready; we will board at once."

"She shows British colours," said the mate, regarding the vessel in
question intently through his glass.

"So she does," returned the captain, "but that device won't go down with
me. Board her at once, while I bring our broadside to bear."

The mate, with two boats full of armed men, soon pulled alongside the
strange sail, and the pirate-vessel was brought round with her broadside
to bear by means of long oars or sweeps. In a short time the boats
returned with the mortifying intelligence that the papers were all
right, and that the vessel, being in truth a British merchantman, was
not a legitimate prize. The corsair therefore sailed away under the
influence of a light breeze which had arisen.

At the time of which we write, (about sixty years ago), Algiers was
under the dominion of Turkey, but exercised all the rights of an
independent state. It may be described as a monstrous blot of barbarism
hanging on the skirts of civilisation. It was an anomaly too, for it
claimed to be an orthodox power, and was recognised as such by the
nations of Europe, while in reality its chief power consisted in
con