Spice and the Devil's Cave by Agnes Danforth Hewes Page B

me.”
    The Girl’s hands clasped and unclasped on her lap. “You said something else, too” she reminded him, in a low voice: “that nothing should harm me.”
    â€œDid I?” he asked, brusquely. “Well, by this time ‘twas agreed that this was the ship they’d missed at Tripoli,, and on her way to Malaga.”
    At mention of Malaga, Nicolo folded his arms across his chest, and leaned forward, as if to lose no word.
    â€œWe crowded sail and ranged alongside. Our long boats were lowered and manned, and then, from port and starboard at the same time, the crews closed in – and there she was, caught between our jaws! I hung back, thinking that in the scuffle I’d get the girl away, when, all of a sudden, there was Abdul, talking low and fast in my ear:
    â€œâ€™What’ll you take, pilot,’ says he, ‘to keep everyone – friend or foe – out of the cage?’ Of course, I knew he meant Slaiman. Before I could speak, he put a sword in my hands. ‘A double share of the spoils, pilot,’ says he, ‘but if anything happens to her, I’ll spit you through like a roasting capon! ‘It flashed through my mind that he’d guessed my thoughts, but, with his sword and my own knife, I was ready to take chances.
    â€œBy that time, men from the long boats were hanging to the San Marco’s forechains, knives between teeth, waiting for orders to board. Then, both crews were fighting like cats, and the passengers were hiding in corners, and scrambling into the rigging. A shot or two plopped down on our deck, and I heard a blade sing past, but it was mostly slashing right and left with cutlasses. I managed to keep my eye on both the mate and the captain. Here was my chance, plain enough, to clear out with the girl. But where to? If the San Marco’d had a ghost of a show, I could have got aboard her, but she was having the worst of it, and I saw that, presently, we’d be towing her back to some pirate nest. The Sultana’s men had pinned some of the crew clear through to the rail with pikes. They’d bound one poor devil to the mast and knocked his teeth out – so’s he couldn’t untie knots, I figured.”
    â€œHeavens, man,” Gama exploded, with a grimace, “leave a little paint out of your picture!”
    â€œâ€™Twas a mess, sure enough,” the other impartially conceded. “But just like that,” striking his palms together, “something happened. In the thick of the fight, and before anyone saw her coming, right down on us bore a big merchantman, the Venezia!”
    In the absorbed interest of the room, no one noticed that Nicolo’s eyes flashed, and his fingers tightened on his folded arms.
    â€œâ€™Twas a surprise all around.” Scander’s burnt gimlet holes twinkled. “The Venezia swept up, grappled the Sultana , and on to our deck burst her whole crew. When I saw those grappling irons, I knew my chance had come. I ran below, snatched a pair of breeches, and climbed back with them to the girl. It took about two shoves to pry loose the cage bars, and then, with my coat over her head, and my arm around her, we were ducking through a shrieking hell to the rail where the fighting had slowed up.” He paused to draw a long breath. “Saint Vincent, but ‘twas a hell!”
    â€œI was figuring,” he went on, “that we’d both jump overboard and then find some way of boarding the Venezia . All of a sudden, something made me look back, and there –”
    â€œIt was so horrible!” the Girl shuddered out. “That long knife, up to its very hilt …”
    Scander assented. “We were just in time to see Abdul bury his knife in Slaiman’s back. I didn’t wait for more. We sprang for the rail, and were all but clear of it, when there was a yell from behind: ‘You’d take her from me would you, you – ’ and there