re
told that if they had been courteous enough to reply to the question
shouted from the corsair as to what port they were bound for, their
own vessel would still have been intact. The covetous crew stripped
them of all their valuable belongings, the pearls and jewels, money
and adornments of Zoraida. The chest of gold, however, the renegade
stealthily lowered into the sea without any one seeing it.

The next day when the Spanish coast was sighted the captain put them
all in a skiff, gave them some bread and water for their voyage, and
set out to sea. Before letting them depart, moved by some strange
impulse, he gave Zoraida forty crowns; and he had not robbed her of
her beautiful gown. They steered their skiff towards the shore, where
they landed soon after midnight. Immediately they left the shore,
eager to know where they were. They climbed the mountain--for the
shore was a rocky one--and there they rested until dawn, then went on
into the country.

Soon they met a young shepherd; but when he saw their strange garbs,
he ran away from them like a frightened lamb, crying that the Moors
had invaded the country. And not so long after that they encountered
fifty mounted men of the coast guard, but as soon as these saw their
Moorish costumes and had heard the captive's explanation, they
realized that the boy's vivid imagination had disturbed them
needlessly. And when one of the Christian captives recognized in one
of the guards an uncle of his, these men could not do enough for the
returned slaves. They gave them their horses, some of them went to
rescue the skiff for them, and when they arrived at the nearby city
they were welcomed by all the inhabitants.

At once they went to the church to return thanks to the Lord for their
marvelous escape, and Zoraida was impressed beyond expression with the
hosts of praying worshippers. She, the renegade, and the captive
stayed at the house of the returned Christian, and the rest were
quartered throughout the town. After six days the renegade departed
for Granada to restore himself to the Church through the means of the
Holy Inquisition. One by one the other captives left for their own
homes, and finally only Zoraida and he himself remained. He then
decided to go in search of his father, whom he had not seen for so
many years, and he did not know whether he was alive or not. His
journey had brought him to this inn, and it was here that his story
came to an end.

CHAPTER X