"'Four hours after I escaped from the hold we were within sight of the port of Mora, where I landed safe and sound.'
"Our readers will, we are sure, feel grateful to us," added the Journal of the Empire, "for having given them this extract from the brave privateer's letter. Thanks be to God, Captain l'Endurci, by his coolness and courage, succeeded in escaping this most infamous conspiracy against him. Let us hope that his name will long remain a terror to the enemies of France."
The article concluded, Onésime laid the paper on the table.
"What a wonderful man this corsair must be!" exclaimed the housekeeper, admiringly. "Alone, bound and gagged, he nevertheless found a way to escape his imminent danger."
"But what a quantity of blood he had to shed!" exclaimed the girl, shuddering. "And not a single word of regret or of pity for his victims. With what cruel indifference he speaks of the men he killed in cold blood; for thus taken by surprise, the poor creatures could offer no resistance."
"That is true," murmured Onésime.
But his aunt did not even hear him, for, turning to the girl, she exclaimed, warmly:
"It is very easy to talk, my child, but in such a position one certainly has a right—"
"Ah, yes, my dear, you are probably going to say that this man was the victim of the vilest treachery,—that he had an undoubted right to recover his liberty at any cost, and that his ferocious disregard of the lives of others is what people call courage and heroism. All this is very possible. I am a poor judge, perhaps. I only tell you how it impresses me. This account of his exploits excites only horror and aversion in me."
"But a corsair is a corsair, my child. You certainly don't expect him to be a saint. Each man according to his trade."