d so near was I to the vessels, that every instant I expected that the
alarm would be given, and that a shot would be sent right into the boat.
Fortunately, no one saw me, and it was indeed a pleasant moment to me,
when finding the chain lowered, I rounded the west side of the harbour,
and pulled fairly out to sea. I had not hitherto been perceived; but
still it was necessary to be very cautious, for, of course, I thought
the pirates would be keeping a lookout, lest any of our boats might
again attempt to approach the harbour, so I pulled on as hard as I
could, for I no longer feared making a noise, till my arms ached so much
that I could pull no longer. I then laid in my oars, and though I
fancied I could still hear the voice of the people on shore, I was so
far to westward that I did not think the light would be reflected on the
sail, even were I to set it. I therefore stepped the mast, not without
some difficulty--fortunately, the sea was smooth, or I could not have
done it at all--and got the sail ready for hoisting. Before doing so, I
stooped down to examine how the captain was going on, and tried to place
him in a somewhat more comfortable position. His heart seemed to beat
regularly, and though he was still unconscious, from the wound in his
head, he did not seem to have any fever about him. This raised my
spirits, and I began to hope for the best. I did not much like to give
him any of Signor Paolo's doctor stuff, for at the best I have not much
faith in it, and I have heard that those Italian chaps are much given to
poisonous practices, so I hove it overboard, to be out of the way, and
then hoisted my sail, and went aft to the helm. The breeze was still
from the eastward, and I thought by keeping dead before it, I should
make the island, where I expected to find you brought up. I considered
that the boat was going about three knots an hour through the water; and
when I had been out, as I calculated, about that time, I heard three
guns fired, somewhere from the island, or near it. This did not give me
any concern, and I steered steadily on, wishing for daylight, that I
might see the island or you, in case you were off here, till at last,
just as it came, and I was looking astern to see it, the first streaks
had appeared in the sky, I beheld, to my dismay, a sail, which I was
certain must be one of the pirate misticoes, running right down for me.
Well, thought I to myself, it's all up with the captain and