for all his company,
assuring him that I would give the preference to his rival, if he should
ask me too much.

"Sir," he answered, "we are twenty, and shall require six rooms with ten
beds, one sitting-room for all of us, and thirty Neapolitan ducats a day,
all travelling expenses paid. Here is my stock of plays, and we will
perform those that you may choose."

Thinking of poor Marina who would have to remain in the lazaretto before
she could reappear on the stage at Otranto, I told Fastidio to get the
contract ready, as I wanted to go away immediately.

I had scarcely pronounced these words than war broke out again between
the manager-elect and his unfortunate competitor. Battipaglia, in his
rage, called Marina a harlot, and said that she had arranged beforehand
with Fastidio to violate the rules of the lazaretto in order to compel me
to choose their troupe. Petronio, taking his sister's part, joined
Fastidio, and the unlucky Battipaglia was dragged outside and treated to
a generous dose of blows and fisticuffs, which was not exactly the thing
to console him for a lost engagement.

Soon afterwards, Petronio brought me Therese's letter. She was ruining
the duke, getting rich accordingly, and waiting for me in Naples.

Everything being ready towards evening, I left Otranto with twenty
actors, and six large trunks containing their complete wardrobes. A light
breeze which was blowing from the south might have carried us to Corfu in
ten hours, but when we had sailed about one hour my cayabouchiri informed
me that he could see by the moonlight a ship which might prove to be a
corsair, and get hold of us. I was unwilling to risk anything, so I
ordered them to lower the sails and return to Otranto. At day-break we
sailed again with a good westerly wind, which would also have taken us to
Corfu; but after we had gone two or three hours, the captain pointed out
to me a brigantine, evidently a pirate, for she was shaping her course so
as to get to windward of us. I told him to change the course, and to go
by starboard, to see if the brigantine would follow us, but she
immediately imitated our manoeuvre. I could not go back to Otranto, and I
had no wish to go to Africa, so I ordered the men to shape our course, so
as to land on the coast of Calabria, by hard rowing and at the nearest
point. The sailors, who were frightened to death, communicated their
fears to my comedians, and soon I heard nothing but weeping and sobbing.
E