A consultation was held between those in the two boats of the Benares.
It was determined to press on.
Anything they had to encounter could not be worse than returning to the steamer.
The boats met one another.
From the appearance of the bearded men, they were taken for desperate characters.
In reality they were the pirates of the Red Sea.
Koosh headed them and he was assisted by Kassala.
The pirates made no attempt to molest the shipwrecked.
They rowed on to the Benares with a steady sweep.
“I never saw a more ruffianly set of brutes in all my life,” observed Mole.