very desperation of his hope, perhaps, that
his energies became at once equally well-ordered and intense. He
prompted to their utmost the energies of others. He impelled all his
agencies to their best exertions. Oar and sail were busy without
intermission, and soon the efforts of the pursuers were rewarded. A
gondola, bearing a single man, drifted along their path. He was a
fugitive from Olivolo, who gave them the first definite idea of the
foray of the pirates. His tidings, rendered imperfect by his terrors,
were still enough to goad the pursuers to new exertions. Fortune
favored the pursuit. In their haste the pirate galleys had become
entangled in the lagune. The keen eye of Giovanni was the first to
discover them. First one bark, and then another, hove in sight, and
soon the whole piratical fleet were made out, as they urged their
embarrassed progress through the intricacies of the shallow waters.

"Courage, bold hearts!" cried Giovanni to his people; "they are ours!
We shall soon be upon them. They cannot now escape us!"

The eye of the youthful leader brightened with the expectation of the
struggle. His exulting, eager voice declared the strength and
confidence of his soul, and cheered the souls of all around him. The
sturdy oarsmen "gave way" with renewed efforts. The knights prepared
their weapons for the conflict. Giovanni _signaled_ the other galleys
by which his own was followed.

"I am for the red flag of Pietro Barbaro himself. I know his banner.
Let your galleys grapple with the rest. Cross their path--prevent
their flight, and bear down upon the strongest. Do your parts, and
fear not but we shall do ours."

With these brief instructions, our captain led the way with the
Venetian galleys. The conflict was at hand. It came. They drew nigh
and hailed the enemy. The parley was a brief one. The pirates could
hope no mercy, and they asked none. But few words, accordingly, were
exchanged between the parties, and these were not words of peace.

"Yield thee to the mercy of St. Mark!" was the stern summons of
Giovanni, to the pirate-chief.

"St. Mark's mercy has too many teeth!" was the scornful reply of the
pirate. "The worthy saint must strike well before Barbaro of Istria
sues to him for mercy.

With the answer the galleys grappled. The Venetians leapt on board of
the pirates, with a fury that was little short of madness. Their wrath
was terrible. Under the guidance of the fierce Giovanni, they smote
w