th a
clean, honest, straightforward pirate, instead of the measly Turkish swab
he was--that something might occur before the first stroke of six bells.
Well, something has occurred, and for him and all his crew that six bells
will never sound. So the Lord fights for the Cross against the Crescent!
Bismillah. Amen!" He said this in a manifestly formal way, as though
declaiming a ritual. The next instant he went on in the thoroughly
practical conventional way which was usual to him:

"May I ask a favour, Mr. Sent Leger?"

"A thousand, my dear Rooke," I said. "You can't ask me anything which I
shall not freely grant. And I speak within my brief from the National
Council. You have saved Ilsin this day, and the Council will thank you
for it in due time."

"Me, sir?" he said, with a look of surprise on his face which seemed
quite genuine. "If you think that, I am well out of it. I was afraid,
when I woke, that you might court-martial me!"

"Court-martial you! What for?" I asked, surprised in my turn.

"For going to sleep on duty, sir! And the fact is, I was worn out in the
attack on the Silent Tower last night, and when you had your interview
with the pirate--all good pirates forgive me for the blasphemy!
Amen!--and I knew that everything was going smoothly, I went into the
wheel-house and took forty winks." He said all this without moving so
much as an eyelid, from which I gathered that he wished absolute silence
to be observed on my part. Whilst I was revolving this in my mind he
went on:

"Touching that request, sir. When I have left you and the Voivode--and
the Voivodin, of course--at Vissarion, together with such others as you
may choose to bring there with you, may I bring the yacht back here for a
spell? I rather think that there is a good deal of cleaning up to be
done, and the crew of _The Lady_ with myself are the men to do it. We
shall be back by nightfall at the creek."

"Do as you think best, Admiral Rooke," I said.

"Admiral?"

"Yes, Admiral. At present I can only say that tentatively, but by
to-morrow I am sure the National Council will have confirmed it. I am
afraid, old friend, that your squadron will be only your flagship for the
present; but later we may do better."

"So long as I am Admiral, your honour, I shall have no other flagship
than _The Lady_. I am not a young man, but, young or old, my pennon
shall float over no other deck. Now, one other favour, Mr. Sent Leger?
It