to swoop down upon her
trade. So she had to maintain a great war-fleet. In addition to this
danger, the Mediterranean was then the home of roving pirates, ready to
seize any vessel, without regard to its flag, which promised to yield
them booty.

The life of a Genoese boy in those days was packed full of adventures.
Most of the boys went to sea as soon as they were old enough to hold an
oar or to pull a rope, and they had to be ready at any moment to drop
the oar or rope and seize a sword or a pike to repel pirates or other
enemies. There was always the chance of a sudden chase or a secret
attack on a Christian boat by savage Mussulmen, and so bitter was the
endless war of the two religions that in such cases the victors rarely
spared the lives of the vanquished, or, if they did, sold them in port
as slaves. Moreover the ships were frail, and the Mediterranean storms
severe, and many barks that contrived to escape the pirates fell victims
to the fury of head winds. The life of a Genoese sailor was about as
dangerous a life as could well be imagined.

On this June morning a large privateer was to set sail from the port,
and the families of the men and boys who were outward bound had come
down to say good-bye. The centre of one little group was a boy about
fifteen, strong and broad for his years, though not very tall, with warm
olive skin, bright black eyes, and fair hair that fell to his ears. His
name was Christopher Colombo, and he was going to sail with a relative
called Colombo the Younger who commanded a ship in the service of Genoa.

The young Christopher had always loved to be upon the sea. Among the
first sights that he remembered were glimpses of the Mediterranean in
fair and stormy weather, the first tales he had heard were stories of
strange adventures that had befallen sailors. His home had sprung from
the waves, its glory had been drawn from the inland sea, the great chain
of high mountains at its back cut it off from the land and the pursuits
of other cities. Christopher thought of the sea by day, and dreamed of
it by night, and was already planning when he grew up to go in search of
some of those strange adventures the old bronzed mariners were so fond
of describing.

The boy's mother and father kissed him good-bye, and his younger
brothers and sister looked at him enviously as he left them with a wave
of his hand and went on board the ship. The latter was very clumsy,
according to our ideas. She rode