CHAPTER XXXIX. PREPARATIONS FOR THE COMBAT
The wind was favourable for the black galley and the polacre, and after having passed the island of Lerol the two vessels slackened their speed.
Luquin Trinquetaille touched at the different harbours along the coast, without meeting the pirate ships, which he was to announce to the commander by a shot from his swivel-gun.
Toward evening, just as the sun was sinking below the horizon, the black galley and the polacre arrived in sight of the isles of Ste. Marguerite, at the moment, as we have just said, when the chebec of Hadji issued from the road, in quest of the Christian galleys, in obedience to the commands of Pog.
Captain Trinquetaille signalled the chebec, and set every sail to join it. The Bohemian slackened his speed and waited for him. The betrothed of Stephanette, by the aid of his telescope, recognised Hadji, who was commanding the little craft. The worthy captain of the Holy Terror to the Moors boiled with rage at this encounter, and had need of all his self-control not to attack the author of Stephanette’s abduction, but, faithful to the orders of the commander, he doubled the point of Lerol, and soon perceived the Red Galleon and the galley of Trimalcyon anchored in the bay, very near each other.
Thus having obtained an exact knowledge of the position of the pirates, he stood toward the black galley in order to announce this discovery to Pierre des Anbiez, while the chebec of Hadji was entering the bay under full sail.
When he arrived near the stem of the black galley and gave this information to the pilot, the latter, in obedience to the commander, ordered him to set back the sails of the polacre, and come on board.
Luquin obeyed, but was in despair to see that the chebec of Hadji, whom he was burning to fight, had escaped him.
The chevaliers had assembled on the deck of the galley, and, according to the methods of warfare of that time, had cleared the deck for action.
The rambades, which formed a sort of forecastle at the prow, where the five pieces of artillery belonging to the galley were in battery, were already covered with coarse oakum cloth, several inches in thickness. This heavy covering was designed to deaden the effect of the enemy’s projectiles.