The captain was silent for a minute when this was interpreted to him; he had at the time noticed and wondered at the youth of the four knights, and the explanation seemed to him a reasonable one.

“I wish I had known it,” he said after a pause; “for had I done so, I would have fought and captured her yesterday; I have half a mind to go back and seek her now.”

He called up one of the ex slaves who was a native of Tripoli, and who had now taken his place as a member of the crew, and asked him a number of questions.  Gervaise felt uncomfortable while the man was answering.  Fortunately, his rowers had agreed to say nothing whatever of the destruction of the corsair fleet, of which no word had as yet reached the pirates, deeming that, in their anger at the news, the pirates might turn upon them for the part that they had, however involuntarily, borne in it.

As soon as he perceived that the captain entertained the idea of returning to engage the galley, the man felt that if he were to avoid a return into captivity he must deter him from taking such a step.  He therefore, in answer to his questions as to the strength of the crew of the galley and the fighting powers of the knights, reported the capture of the three vessels.  The captain listened almost incredulously to his statement, and, calling up another two of the men, questioned them also as to the occurrence.  Having heard them, he turned away and paced the deck, in evident anger; however, he gave no instructions for a change of course, and, to the great satisfaction of the eight rescued slaves, the vessel continued her course southward.

As they neared the African coast, Gervaise kept an eager lookout, in hopes that Visconti’s galley might appear in sight.  The captain’s temper had not recovered from the effect of the news of the capture of three Moorish vessels by the galley commanded by Gervaise, and the latter, seeing the mood he was in, kept forward so as to avoid coming in contact with him.  He had early taken the opportunity of saying to one of the released galley slaves, “I pray you, if you have any feeling of kindness towards me for the efforts I made to alleviate your condition, say no word of my knowledge of Turkish, and ask the others also to remain silent on this point.”

The man had nodded, and the request was observed by them all.

The captain’s irritation showed itself in his treatment of the other captives.  These were brought up every day from the hold, and kept on deck until dark, as the price they would fetch in the slave market in Tripoli would depend greatly upon their health and appearance; but when the captain came near them he several times struck them brutally, if they happened to be in his way.  Gervaise had the greatest difficulty in restraining his indignation, and, indeed, only did so because he felt that his interference would but make things worse for them.  When at last the ship cast anchor off Tripoli, the captain ordered the boats to be lowered.  As he walked towards the gangway, he happened to push against one of the captives, a Greek girl of some ten years of age.  With an angry exclamation he struck her to the deck.  Gervaise sprang forward.