THE ENGAGEMENTS OF KHAIR-AD-DIN.
During the winter the warrior again went to sea, and became exceedingly rich, having taken in one month three thousand eight hundred prisoners and twenty ships. The captives he retained for himself, but all the booty he divided among his men. In the spring he again took the command of seven private vessels, and went to sea. On this occasion he attacked a town on the infidel coast, and having taken about one thousand eight hundred prisoners, he sold them for two thousand florins, and returned. Whilst his vessels were dispersed in search of plunder, one night after he had lighted his lantern, he was followed by four barges, which he did not observe till the next morning, when he turned upon them and took all the four. These were laden with cloth; and when he carried them to Tunis, he took out of them eight thousand pastas and bales of cloth. Previously to this, on the same night, he had given chase to another barge, which however contrived to escape from him, but it was taken by the other ships, and being a French vessel, and fully laden, he entrusted it to his nephew, Mohi-ad-din Reis, and sent it with presents to the Porte; in return for which, the Porte sent him two galleys and a robe of honour. After this no ship could venture to withstand Khair-ad-din.