“Be not so sure, Polani.  Perhaps it is your time that has come.”

The two engaged with fury.  Polani was still strong and vigorous.  His opponent had the advantage of youth and activity.  But Polani’s weight and strength told, and he was forcing his opponent back, when his foot slipped on the bloodstained deck.  He fell forward; and in another moment Ruggiero would have run him through the body; had not the weapon been knocked up by Francis, who, watching every movement of the fight, sprang forward when he saw the merchant slip.

“This time, Ruggiero, my hands are free.  How about your vengeance now?”

Ruggiero gave a cry of astonishment, at seeing the lad whom he believed to be lying in chains, five hundred miles away, facing him.  For a moment he recoiled, and then with the cry, “I will take it now,” sprang forward.  But this time he had met an opponent as active and as capable as himself.

For a minute or two they fought on even terms, and then Ruggiero fell suddenly backwards, a crossbow bolt, from one of the Venetians on the poop of the vessel, having struck him full in the forehead.

Without their leader, the spirit of the pirates had fled.  They still fought, steadily and desperately, but it was only to sell their lives as dearly as possible; and in five minutes after the fall of Ruggiero the last man was cut down, for no quarter was given to pirates.

Just as the combat concluded, the sound of oars was heard, and the other two galleys came up to the assistance of their consort.  They arrived too late to take part in the conflict, but cheered lustily when they heard that the pirate captain, and all his crew, had been killed.  Upon learning that the commander of the galley was killed, the captain next in seniority assumed the command.

In a few minutes, the bodies of the pirates were thrown overboard, the wounded were carried below to have their wounds attended to, while the bodies of those who had fallen—­thirteen in number—­were laid together on the deck, for burial on shore.

“Thanks to you, Francisco, that I am not lying there beside them,” the merchant said.  “I did not know that you were so close at hand, and as I slipped I felt that my end had come.”

“You were getting the better of him up to that point,” Francis said.  “I was close at hand, in readiness to strike in should I see that my aid was wanted, but up to the moment you slipped, I believed that you would have avenged your wrongs yourself.”

“It is well that he fell as he did.  It would have been dreadful, indeed, had he been carried to Venice, to bring shame and disgrace upon a noble family.  Thank God, his power for mischief is at an end!  I have had no peace of mind since the day when you first thwarted his attempt to carry off the girls; nor should I have ever had, until I obtained sure tidings that he was dead.  The perseverance with which he has followed his resolve, to make my daughter his wife, is almost beyond belief.  Had his mind been turned to other matters, he was capable of attaining greatness, for no obstacle would have barred his way.