ish heart of her
tormenter felt no mercy, his lust of cruelty was aroused, and the colt
was raised a third time to strike.

But the blow never fell Bob was the nearest to the pirate when he made
his unexpected attack upon May, and though the occurrence was too sudden
to admit of his interfering in time to prevent the first two blows, he
was on hand by the time that the third was ready to fall. With a yell
of rage more like that of a wild beast than of a man he sprang upon
Ralli, dealing him with his clenched left hand so terrific a blow under
the chin that the pirate's lower jaw was shattered, and his tongue cut
almost in two. Then, quick as a flash of light he released poor May
from the villain's grasp, wrenched the colt out of his hand, and, whilst
the wretch still writhed in agony upon the ground where he had fallen
under the force of Bob's first fearful blow, thrashed him with it until
the clothes were cut from his back, and his shoulders barred with a
close network of livid and bloody weals. The miserable cowardly wretch
screamed at first more piercingly even than poor May had done; but Bob
commanded silence so imperatively and with such frightful threats that
Ralli was fairly cowed into submitting to the rest of his fearful
punishment in silence, save for such low moans as he was utterly unable
to suppress.

As may well be supposed, this startlingly sudden scene of violence was
productive of the utmost confusion in the room where it originated. The
ladies, hastily seizing poor little moaning May in their arms, beat a
precipitate retreat, while the men sprang to their feet and tried--for
some time in vain--to drag Bob away from his victim. But the lad was
now a tall, stalwart, broad-shouldered fellow; his anger was thoroughly
roused by the Greek's cruel and cowardly conduct; and it was not until
he had pretty well exhausted himself in the infliction of a well-
deserved punishment that he suffered himself to be dragged away. And it
was now too, in the desperate emergency with which our friends found
themselves in a moment brought face to face, that Bob showed the
sterling stuff of which he was made. Cutting short the horrified
remonstrances of his friends he took the reins of affairs in his own
hands, issuing his instructions as coolly as though he had been a leader
all the days of his life.

"_The time has come_," said he. "Mr Bowles, get a piece of rope, lash
that fellow hands and heels together, and ga