," was Clive's reply. "I have my eye on the
youngster."

And with that the merchant, knowing his friend, was very well content;
but he kept his own counsel.

At length, one day in the first week of February, 1756, Desmond received
a summons to visit the admiral. His interview was brief. He was directed
to place himself under the orders of Captain Latham on the Tyger; the
fleet was about to sail.

It was a bright, cool February morning; cool, that is, for Bombay, when
the vessels weighed anchor and sailed slowly out of the harbor. All
Bombay lined the shores: natives of every hue and every mode of attire;
English merchants; ladies fluttering white handkerchiefs. Such an
expedition had never been undertaken against the noted Pirate before, and
the report of Commodore James, confirming the information brought by
Desmond, had given the authorities good hope that this pest of the
Malabar coast was at last to be destroyed.

It was an inspiriting sight as the vessels, rounding the point, made
under full sail to the south. There were six line-of-battle ships, six
Company's vessels, five bomb ketches, four Maratha grabs--one of them
Angria's own grab, the Tremukji, on which Desmond had escaped--and forty
gallivats. The Tyger led the van. Admiral Watson's flag was hoisted on
the Kent, Admiral Pocock's on the Cumberland. On board the fleet were two
hundred European soldiers, three hundred Sepoys, and three hundred
Topasses--mainly half-caste Portuguese in the service of the Company,
owing their name to the topi {hat} they wore. To cooperate with this
force a land army of twelve thousand Marathas, horse and foot, under the
command of Ramaji Punt, one of the Peshwa's generals, had been for some
time investing the town of Gheria.

At this time of year the winds were so slight and variable that it was
nearly a week before the fleet arrived off Gheria. When the bastions of
the fort hove into sight Desmond could not help contrasting his feelings
with those of two months before.

"Like the look of your cage, Mr. Burke?" asked Captain Latham at his
elbow.

"I was just thinking of it, sir," said Desmond. "It makes a very great
difference when you're outside the bars."

"And we'll break those bars before we're much older, or I'm a Dutchman."

But at this moment the signal to heave-to was seen flying at the masthead
of the Kent. Before the vessels had anchored one of the grabs left the
main fleet and ran into the harbor. I