“Ah,” said Captain Shard.

One ray of hope Shard had; the flags on the cutter fluttered.  For the first time for five weeks a light breeze blew from the North, very light, you hardly felt it.  Spanish Dick rode in and anchored his horse to starboard and the cavalry came on slowly from the port.

Not till the afternoon did they come in sight, and all the while that little breeze was blowing.

“One knot,” said Shard at noon.  “Two knots,” he said at six bells and still it grew and the Arabs trotted nearer.  By five o’clock the merry men of the bad ship Desperate Lark could make out twelve long old-fashioned guns on low wheeled carts dragged by horses and what looked like lighter guns carried on camels.  The wind was blowing a little stronger now.  “Shall we hoist sail, sir?” said Bill.

“Not yet,” said Shard.

By six o’clock the Arabs were just outside the range of cannon and there they halted.  Then followed an anxious hour or so, but the Arabs came no nearer.  They evidently meant to wait till dark to bring their guns up.  Probably they intended to dig a gun epaulment from which they could safely pound away at the ship.

“We could do three knots,” said Shard half to himself as he was walking up and down his quarter-deck with very fast short paces.  And then the sun set and they heard the Arabs praying and Shard’s merry men cursed at the top of their voices to show that they were as good men as they.

The Arabs had come no nearer, waiting for night.  They did not know how Shard was longing for it too, he was gritting his teeth and sighing for it, he even would have prayed, but that he feared that it might remind Heaven of him and his merry men.

Night came and the stars.  “Hoist sail,” said Shard.  The men sprang to their places, they had had enough of that silent lonely spot.  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.