at home and have things shipshape before
we begin to get lively."

"She does not look as if she would ever get lively," Francis said,
looking at the heavy vessel.

"She is lively enough in a storm, I can tell you," the captain said,
laughing. "When she once begins to roll she does it in earnest, but she
is a fine sea boat, and I have no fear of gales. I wish I could say as
much of pirates. However, she has always been fortunate, and as we
carry a stout crew she could give a good account of herself against any
of the small piratical vessels that swarm among the islands, although,
of course, if she fell in with two or three of them together it would
be awkward."

"How many men do you carry altogether, captain?"

"Just seventy. You see she rows thirty oars, and in case of need we put
two men to each oar, and though she doesn't look fast she can get along
at a fine rate when the oars are double banked. We have shown them our
heels many a time. Our orders are strict. We are never to fight if we
can get away by running."

"But I suppose you have to fight sometimes?" Francis asked.

"Yes, I have been in some tough fights several times, though not in the
Bonito, which was only built last year. Once in the Lion we were
attacked by three pirates. We were at anchor in a bay, and the wind was
blowing on the shore, when they suddenly came round the headland, so
there was no chance of running, and we had to fight it out. We fought
for five hours before they sheered off, pretty well crippled, and one
of them in flames, for we carried Greek fire.

"Three or four times they nearly got a footing on deck, but we managed
to beat them off somehow. We lost a third of our crew. I don't think
there was a man escaped without a wound. I was laid up for three
months, after I got home, with a slash on the shoulder, which pretty
nigh took off my left arm. However, we saved the ship and the cargo,
which was a valuable one, and Messer Polani saw that no one was the
worse for his share in the business. There's no more liberal-hearted
man in the trade than he is, and whatever may be the scarcity of hands
in the port, there is never any difficulty in getting a good crew
together for his vessels.

"Of course there are the roughs with the smooths. Some years ago I was
in prison for six months, with all my crew, in Azoff. It was the work
of those rascally Genoese, who are always doing us a bad turn when they
have the chance, even when we are at