, taking a malicious
pleasure in the continuance of their terror. He tittered again and
suddenly found himself out of patience with them.

"Come, get up--get up! The danger's all over long ago."

He received no answer and put out his hand towards the nearest.
It was the Turk--a fellow who had been a janizary, and had the
reputation of not knowing what fear was.

"Hullo, Ysouf! Get up, for shame--get up, man! And you--that we
called so brave!"

Ysouf lay still. Tristram bent forward and took his hand.

The hand came away from the body. It was icy cold.

Still holding it, Tristram leant back and stared; and as he stared
a pettish anger took him. He tossed the hand back on the body.
And now for the first time he began to hear; and as this lost sense
crept back to him he knew that the place was full of moaning, and
that somewhere close feet were trampling to and fro. The noise
caused him agony, and he put his two hands to his ears.

He was sitting in this posture when he felt something warm and moist
trickle down his body, which was naked to the waist. He took a hand
from his ear and put it to his breast. It was all wet, but in the
darkness nothing could be distinguished. Suspecting, however, that
it must be blood from some wound, and following the smear with his
fingers, he found that his shoulder, near the clavicle was pierced
right through. There was no pain.

Then he began to feel himself all over, and found another gash in the
left leg, below the knee. He searched no more, feeling that it was
useless, as he was bound to die in a little while. The men before
him and behind him were dead. Of eighteen men on the three benches
he--who had been blown the full length of the coursier--was the only
one left; and all owing to the explosion of one cannon only.
But such was the manner of grape-shot: after the cartouche of powder,
a long tin box of musket-balls rammed in; and as the box breaks,
destruction right and left.

As he sat, waiting listlessly for death, the sense of pain came
suddenly upon Tristram; and then he swooned away.

_VI--The Frigate._

As soon as the galleys saw M. de la Pailletine's signal and turned
reluctantly back from their chase, the capture of the _Merry Maid_
became but a question of time. _La Merveille_ was the first to come
up, and, striking fairly at her stern, riddled her windows with a
gust of artillery and prepared to board: a feat that was thrice
prevented by Ca