p their minds it is their fate to be taken and
thrown overboard. The difficulty, on the contrary, with these English,
is ever to persuade them that they are beaten; and, as they don't care
for the Saints, and don't fear the devil--heretics that they are--they
trust to their own right arm, their cutlasses, and big guns; and by
Achilles, if you do manage to throw them overboard, they will swim about
in the hopes of getting a cut at you. Now, where we cannot succeed by
force, we must employ stratagem; and I intend to go on board and to
inform them that the _Sea Hawk_ is an Austrian ship-of-war, anxious to
protect merchantmen from the attacks of the corsair Zappa, and to
revenge herself on him for his capture of one of their brigs of war, of
which they will have heard. If I find them unprepared and unsuspicious
of us, we will at once run alongside and take possession; and, as I am
anxious not to be under the necessity of throwing the crew overboard, we
will stow them all away in the hold of the vessel, and make the padrone
carry them with him to Sicily. If he murder them on the voyage that
will be no fault of ours; and if he lands them, they can be no evidence
against us at any time, for they have not seen our brig, and Signor
Sandro will not dare to give any correct information, though, of course,
he will tell a number of lies to exonerate himself; but for that we are
not to blame. Now we will heave to, to windward of our friend, and see
the boat clear for launching, to carry me and Paolo on board her."

Having concluded his observations, the chief and Paolo went below, and
soon returned so completely disguised in the costume of Sicilian
boatmen, as I have described, that the Greeks at first scarcely knew
them.

As they passed the brig, they hailed her, and then hove to. The pirate,
for there is little use concealing the character of the pretended
prince, with his young companion, whom he had instructed how to act,
stepped into the boat, manned by two stout hands, and pulled alongside
the brig. He was somewhat startled and disappointed on discovering the
preparations which were made to receive him, should he appear as an
enemy; and, seeing Colonel Gauntlett at the gangway, with whom he had
held so much conversation on the previous day, it occurred to him at
once that it might be dangerous to trust his own voice, and he therefore
resolved to make Paolo the spokesman. His greatest trial, however, was
to come, when,