ot. They
took the oxen on board and let the great sails down, and like a lover
coming from over sea, long dreamed of, long expected, like a lost
friend seen again after many years, the North wind came into the
pirates' sails. And before Shard could stop it a ringing English cheer
went away to the wondering Arabs.

They started off at three knots and soon they might have done four but
Shard would not risk it at night. All night the wind held good, and
doing three knots from ten to four they were far out of sight of the
Arabs when daylight came. And then Shard hoisted more sail and they
did four knots and by eight bells they were doing four and a half. The
spirits of those volatile men rose high, and discipline became
perfect. So long as there was wind in the sails and water in the tanks
Captain Shard felt safe at least from mutiny. Great men can only be
overthrown while their fortunes are at their lowest. Having failed to
depose Shard when his plans were open to criticism and he himself
scarce knew what to do next it was hardly likely they could do it now;
and whatever we think of his past and his way of living we cannot deny
that Shard was among the great men of the world.

Of defeat by the Arabs he did not feel so sure. It was useless to try
to cover his tracks even if he had had time, the Arab cavalry could
have picked them up anywhere. And he was afraid of their camels with
those light guns on board, he had heard they could do seven knots and
keep it up most of the day and if as much as one shot struck the
mainmast... and Shard taking his mind off useless fears worked out on
his chart when the Arabs were likely to overtake them. He told his men
that the wind would hold good for a week, and, gipsy or no, he
certainly knew as much about the wind as is good for a sailor to know.

Alone in his chart-room he worked it out like this, mark two hours to
the good for surprise and finding the tracks and delay in starting,
say three hours if the guns were mounted in their epaulments, then the
Arabs should start at seven. Supposing the camels go twelve hours a
day at seven knots they would do eighty-four knots a day, while Shard
doing three knots from ten to four, and four knots the rest of the
time, was doing ninety and actually gaining. But when it came to it he
wouldn't risk more than two knots at night while the enemy were out of
sight, for he rightly regarded anything more than that as dangerous
when sailing on land at n