“Africa” was the goal of the desires of Dragut-Reis:  once in possession of this, by far the strongest city on the littoral of Northern Africa, he thought that he might abide secure against the attacks of Charles and of Andrea Doria.  He had seen the enormous expedition of 1541 against Algiers come to naught on account of the wholesale wrecking of the fleet in which it had sailed by a tempest of unexampled violence.  But he was too level-headed a man to think that a miracle like this would be likely to come to pass a second time for his own special behoof, and preferred to act the part of the strong man armed who keepeth his goods in peace.  He had, however, first to gain over the inhabitants of “Africa” to his views, and they proved anything but anxious to listen to his blandishments.  The more he tried to ingratiate himself the less inclined did these people seem to listen.

“My ambition,” said the silver-tongued corsair, “is to become a citizen of your great and beautiful city.  If you will admit me to its privileges it shall be my business to render you the richest people in the whole Mediterranean, and your city the most dreaded place in the world.”

The “Africans,” however, were obdurate; they knew a pirate when they saw him quite as well as any one else, and they were quite aware that, should they open their gates to Dragut, sooner or later they would have to stand a siege from the Christian forces, which was a thing they by no means desired.

But Dragut was not yet at the end of his resources; he was rich, and he spent money freely in order to gain over to his side those men of importance by whom such a question as this was bound to be decided.  By rich presents and other blandishments he succeeded in securing the friendship of one Ibrahim Amburac, who was not only a leader among the inhabitants, but also governor of one of the towers by which the city was surrounded.  Through him he approached the Council by which the town was ruled, only to receive a very decided negative:  the Council observed the outward forms of politeness to this formidable person who was speaking them so fair:  in reality, they hated and feared the corsairs only one degree less than they did Andrea Doria and his Christians.  To admit the one was to bring upon themselves the vengeance of the other; therefore if they could keep them both out they intended so to do.  The ill-omened courtesy of the corsair filled their hearts with apprehension, and they viewed his immediate departure, after the refusal of the council had been conveyed to him, with undisguised relief.  Had they but known their man a little better, their uneasiness would have been far greater than their joy at his temporary absence.  Those things desired by Dragut which he could not obtain by fair means he usually seized by the strong hand; and when he left so hurriedly, and at the same time so unostentatiously, he had already entered into a plot with Ibrahim Amburac.  This leader, furious at the rebuff which he had received at the hands of his fellow councillors on the subject of the admittance of Dragut to the citizenship of “Africa,” was now ready to deliver that city into the hands of the corsairs by treachery.