squall had dismasted the grab and shattered her bulkhead; she was
continually shipping water, and, as the sahib saw, was at the point of
sinking when the English ship came up.

Such was the Maratha's story, as by and by it became common property on
board the Good Intent. Of all the crew Desmond was perhaps the most
interested. To the others there was nothing novel in the sight of the
Indians; but to him they stood for romance, the embodiment of all the
tales he had heard and all the dreams he had dreamed of this wonderful
country in the East. He was now assured that he was actually within reach
of his desired haven; and he hoped shortly to see an end of the
disappointments and hardships, the toils and distresses, of the past
seven months.

He was eager to learn more of these Marathas, and their fortress, and the
circumstances of the recent fight. Bulger was willing to tell all he
knew; but his information was not very exact, and Desmond did not hear
the full story till long after.

The Malabar coast had long been the haunt of Maratha pirates, who
interfered greatly with the native trade between India and Arabia and
Persia. In defense of the interests of his Mohammedan subjects the Mogul
emperor at length, in the early part of the eighteenth century, fitted
out a fleet, under the command of an admiral known as the Sidi. But there
happened to be among the Marathas at that time a warrior of great daring
and resource, one Kunaji Angria. This man first defeated the Sidi, then,
in the insolence of victory, revolted against his own sovereign, and set
up as an independent ruler.

By means of a well-equipped fleet of grabs and gallivats he made himself
master of place after place along the coast, including the Maratha
fortress at Suwarndrug and the Portuguese fort of Gheria. His successors,
who adopted in turn the dynastic name of Angria, followed up Kunaji's
conquest, until by the year 1750 the ruling Angria was in possession of a
strip of territory on the mainland a hundred and eighty miles long and
about forty broad, together with many small adjacent islands.

For the defense of this little piratical state Angria's Marathas
constructed a number of forts, choosing admirable positions and
displaying no small measure of engineering skill. From these strongholds
they made depredations by sea and land, not only upon their native
neighbors, but also upon the European traders, English, Dutch, and
Portuguese; s