me fellow who commanded his father's second ship and had
won a certain degree of renown by many a bold deed, sought the hand
of his oldest daughter, he did not refuse him, and only imposed the
condition that when he had gained riches enough and made Ledscha his
wife, he would cease his piratical pursuits and, in partnership with
him, take goods and slaves from Pontus to the Syrian and Egyptian
harbours, and grain and textiles from the Nile to the coasts of the
Black Sea.

Young Abus had yielded to this demand, since his grandmother on the
Owl's Nest thought it wise to delay for a time the girl's marriage to
him, the best beloved of her grandsons; she was then scarcely beyond
childhood.

Yet Ledscha had felt a strong affection for the young pirate, in
whom she saw the embodiment of heroic manhood. She accompanied him
in imagination through all his perilous expeditions; but she had been
permitted to enjoy his society only after long intervals for a few days.

Once he remained absent longer than usual, and this very voyage was to
have been his last on a pirate craft--the peaceful seafaring life was to
begin, after his landing, with the marriage.

Ledscha had expected her lover's return with eager longing, but week
after week elapsed, yet nothing was seen or heard of the ships owned by
the Owl's Nest family; then a rumour spread that this time the corsairs
were defeated in a battle with the Syrian war-galleys.

The first person who received sure tidings was old Tabus. Her grandson
Hanno, who escaped with his life, at the bidding of his father Satabus,
who revered his mother, had made his way to her amid great perils to
convey the sorrowful news. Two of the best ships in the family had
been sunk, and on one the brave Abus, Ledscha's betrothed husband, who
commanded it, had lost his life; on the other the aged dame's oldest son
and three of her grandchildren.

Tabus fell as if struck by lightning when she heard the tidings, and
since that time her tongue had lost its power of fluent speech, her ear
its sharpness; but Ledscha did not leave her side, and saved her life by
tireless, faithful nursing.

Neither Satabus, the old woman's second son, who now commanded the
little pirate fleet, nor his sons, Hanno and Labaja, had been seen in
the neighbourhood of Tennis since the disaster, but after Tabus had
recovered sufficiently to provide for herself, Ledscha returned to
Tennis to manage her father's great household and sup