“Row, men, your hardest now!” Ralph shouted; the Sards bent to their oars, and the five boats advanced rapidly towards the corsairs.  As they did so, a babel of shouts and cries rose from the dark mass of ships, which swelled into a tumult of alarm as on Ralph’s order, “Throw your torches into the straw!” a flash of flame leapt up from each boat.  Five more strokes, and they were alongside the two outside ships.  As they crashed heavily into them, the men leapt from their seats and sprang over into the small boats, threw off the painters, and rowed astern, opening on either hand to allow the second line of fire ships to pass.  These, by Gervaise’s directions, divided, and three bore along on either side of the corsairs, and then ran in among them, throwing grapnels to fasten the fire ships alongside.  Then, as the flames sprang up from the holds, the crews betook themselves to their boats, and rowed out of the inlet.

By the time they reached the galley and prizes, the eleven fire ships were a mass of flame, which was spreading to the corsairs.  Lying packed together as these were, the confusion was terrible.  Numbers of men endeavoured to push off the fire ships, but it was too late; others tried to extricate their galleys from the mass, throwing off the hawsers, and striving with hand and oar to push their vessels out of the line.  As soon as the boats were alongside the galley, the guns of the four vessels opened fire with grape into the crowded ships, now lit up by the flames as clearly as at noontide, while the battle cry of the Order sounded high above the din.

“Nothing can save the ships near this end of the line,” Ralph said, “but some of those behind may make their way out between the others and the rocks.  I can see that some of them there are lowering their yards and sails to prevent their catching fire as they pass.”

The knights distributed among the guns worked them incessantly, directing their fire chiefly against the outside ships, so as to hinder the crews in their endeavours to arrest the progress of the flames; but they were soon able to fire impartially into the mass.  As the heat of the flames drove the pirates back, scores of men leapt overboard, and made for the shore.  Presently, two or three ships were seen making their way along the narrow line of water on either side of the flaming group in front.  As the first advanced, the galley and one of the prizes rowed a short distance forward to meet it.  Its deck was crowded with men, among whom a discharge of the cannon from both ships created terrible slaughter.

A moment afterwards they closed with it, one on either side, and the knights, the released captives, and the Sards, sprang down on to its deck.  The fight lasted but a minute.  Appalled by the disaster that had befallen them, by the terrible effect of the broadsides, poured in at a few yards’ distance, and by the sight of so many of the dreaded warriors of the Cross, some of the corsairs threw down their arms and flung themselves on the deck or into the hold, crying for quarter; those who resisted fell either under the swords of the knights, the vengeful axes of the late captives, or the pikes of the Sards; but the great bulk, leaping from the bow or stern, swam ashore.