he sea, and watched day after day, earnestly in hopes that they
might see the advanced ships of Richard's fleet coming into view in
the offing.

In the mean time, Richard, having sailed from Cyprus, was coming on,
though he was delayed on his way by an occurrence which he greatly
gloried in, deeming it doubtless a very brilliant exploit. The case
was this:

In sailing along with his squadron between Cyprus and the main land,
he suddenly fell in with a ship of very large size. At first Richard
and his men wondered what ship it could be. It was soon evident that,
whatever she was, she was endeavoring to escape. Richard ordered his
galleys to press on, and he soon found that the strange ship was full
of Saracens. He immediately ordered his men to advance and board her,
and he declared to his seamen that if they allowed her to escape he
would crucify them.

The Saracens, seeing that there was no possibility of escape, and
having no hope of mercy if they fell into Richard's hands, determined
to scuttle the ship, and to sink themselves and the vessel together.
They accordingly cut holes through the bottom as well as they could
with hatchets, and the water began to pour in. In the mean time,
Richard's galleys had surrounded the vessel, and a dreadful combat
ensued. Both parties fought like tigers. The Crusaders were furious to
get on board before the ship should go down, and the Saracens, though
they had no expectation of finally defending themselves against their
enemies, still hoped to keep them back until it should be too late for
them to obtain any advantage from their victory.

For a time they were quite successful in their resistance, chiefly by
means of what was called Greek fire. This Greek fire was a celebrated
means of warfare in those days, and was very terrible in its nature
and effects. It is not known precisely what it was, or how it was
made. It was an exceedingly combustible substance, and was to be
thrown, on fire, at the enemy; and such was its nature, that when once
in flames nothing could extinguish it; and, besides the heat and
burning that it produced, it threw out great volumes of poisonous and
stifling vapors, which suffocated all that came near. The men threw it
sometimes in balls, sometimes on the ends of darts and arrows, where
it was enveloped in flax or tow to keep it in its place. It burned
fiercely and furiously wherever it fell. Even water did not extinguish
it, and it was said that in this