"The last one I named. This gale has not been heavy enough to wreck any vessel of ordinary strength, so that I cannot believe she has foundered. Captain Mazagan is working for his little twenty thousand dollars' reward; and if he has followed us up here with the intention of picking you up on the cruise, I don't believe he would retire from the field without making a bigger effort than he has put forth so far."
"Don't we know that he is? Not one of the 'Big Four' is so indifferent and careless about the matter as you are yourself, Louis," replied the captain with a good deal of energy. "I still think you ought not to have come with us on this perilous cruise; and I wonder with all my might that Captain Ringgold did not keep you on board of the Guardian-Mother."
"He desired to do so; but I would not stand it. I have not the slightest fear of the Pacha and all his blackguards and pirates," protested Louis.
"Not since Mazagan got his paw upon you, and you slipped out of it only by a lucky chance?" demanded the captain, more as an argument than as a question to be answered. "You got off by the skin of your teeth; and you may thank your stars that you are not shut up at this moment in some dungeon in Mogadore, where they don't ask hard questions as to what has become of troublesome Christians. If the shop had not been invaded by creditors, you would have been conveyed to Rosetta, and taken away on board the pirate. The rest of the party would not have known what had become of you; for we could not find you when we searched for you in Cairo."
"That is all very nice, Captain Scott," replied Louis, laughing out loud. "I would not have given two cents to have the guard of sailors who made things so sad for the Arabs at Gizeh in the cellar with me. Make as much fuss as you may over my danger at this time, I was master of the situation all the while," answered Louis very decidedly.
"Master of the situation!" exclaimed the captain. "You might as well call the trout the master of the situation after he has the hook in his gills. I don't see it in that light."
"I had fired one shot from my revolver, and wounded Mazagan's assistant in the outrage; and I had five balls more in the weapon. I think the pirate counted upon the custom-house officers to deprive me of the pistol, or he would not have gone to work just as he did. My shot demoralized the wounded man, and scared his brother the shopkeeper out of his wits. My next shot was for Mazagan; and if he had taken another step in his programme he would not have been in command of that steamer just now."