This
manoeuvre for the moment disconcerted us, for in our large and
heavily loaded boat we could not hope to catch them with the oars.
But our prisoner came unexpectedly to our aid. His black eyes were
flashing eagerly, and his face was flushed with suppressed
excitement, as he dropped the centre-board, sprang forward with a
single leap, and put up the sail.
"I've always heard that Greeks don't like Italians," Charley
laughed, as he ran aft to the tiller.
And never in my experience have I seen a man so anxious for the
capture of another as was our prisoner in the chase that followed.
His eyes fairly snapped, and his nostrils quivered and dilated in a
most extraordinary way. Charley steered while he tended the sheet;
and though Charley was as quick and alert as a cat, the Greek could
hardly control his impatience.
The Italians were cut off from the shore, which was fully a mile
away at its nearest point. Did they attempt to make it, we could
haul after them with the wind abeam, and overtake them before they
had covered an eighth of the distance.
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