m his fright more by the corsair's action than his
words, for a pointed pistol has a wonderfully persuasive way of its own;
and, with hesitating feet, he slowly descended the ratlins and placed
himself beside the captain, who looked at him first contemptuously, and
then turned his back, muttering between his teeth--

"If I had had a man in charge of the watch, or even one of these boys,
we would never have been put in this position."

"You are wrong there," said the corsair, "for we would have attacked you
all the same."

"Never mind," retorted the captain bravely. "But we would not have been
unprepared, and you would have had a tussle to get on board, instead of
things being made easy for you."

"Have your own way in that," replied the other, shrugging his shoulders,
as he gave some unintelligible order to his men, ten of whom slipped
forward, placing themselves on either side of the captain and the two
lads, and the other Englishmen, with the exception of the chief mate--
two Greeks to each of them. "I'm sorry, captain," continued the
corsair, "but I am compelled to put you and your countrymen to some
little inconvenience, lest you should be tempted to escape, when it
would be the worse for you."

And, at another word of command, all the hands of the whole party were
securely lashed behind their backs.

"As for you," said the corsair, speaking more harshly than he had yet
done, as he turned to Tompkins, "if you dare move without my permission,
you are a dead man! Stop there, and if any vessel hails you as we pass
into the archipelago, mind you answer correctly as if you were still
pursuing your original voyage, for we are going for a time in the same
course. I shall hear you, so beware!"

And he waved his sharp yataghan before the first mate's eyes in a way
which he did not at all relish, although he took the hint as it was
intended.

The corsair now gave the man whom he had sent to the helm after the
parley was over, some directions as to the steering of the _Muscadine_,
which was then entering the channel between Rhodes and Scarpanto, nearly
about the very time that poor Captain Harding had expected, although
under strangely different circumstances; after which, he motioned the
captain to precede him down the companion, while he told the others to
remain where they were on deck until he returned, enforcing his order by
placing a guard over them.

"We'll now go below, captain, and overhaul the ship's p