Page:The Song of the Sirens.djvu/263



He laughed again, heartily.

"They had you trapped of course," he said, "and what happened then?"

The commodore's face darkened.

"They yelled again and came at us. They swarmed up the oars, up the sides of the ships, over the bulwarks, like rats, like ants. I had a moment's glimpse of the other ships, each like a bear at bay buried under a pack of dogs. After that one glance I had no eyes except for my own ship, and soon I could see nothing beyond my own sword's length, as long as I could see anything."

"The Ripustians respected you, I gathered," the Emperor remarked.

"They never hinted it to me," Bassus replied with a wry face.

"I inferred," likewise the Emperor pursued, "that they did not treat you any too well."

"Shackles riveted on my ankles," Bassus told him. "Cross bar, between them; chains a plenty. I was about as comfortable as an animal in a cage, no cleaner, and not much better fed."

"You've no love for the Ripustians, that's plain," the Emperor drawled, still smiling.

"Not a bit," said Bassus fervently.

"You'd like to get even with them, I presume?" the Emperor asked.

"Just wouldn't I," Bassus ejaculated.