"Give us your orders, monseigneur, we are prepared to die for you." "Let us wait," said Aramis.
"How--let us wait ?" "Yes; do you not see, as you just now said, that if we endeavor to fly, they will sink us ?" "But, perhaps," the patron ventured to say, "perhaps under cover of night, we could escape them." "Oh!" said Aramis, "they have, no doubt, Greek fire with which to lighten their own course and ours likewise." At the same moment, as if the vessel was responsive to the appeal of Aramis, a second cloud of smoke mounted slowly to the heavens, and from the bosom of that cloud sparkled an arrow of flame, which described a parabola like a rainbow, and fell into the sea, where it continued to burn, illuminating a space of a quarter of a league in diameter.
The Bretons looked at each other in terror.

"You see plainly," said Aramis, "it will be better to wait for them." The oars dropped from the hands of the sailors, and the bark, ceasing to make way, rocked motionless upon the summits of the waves.

Night came on, but still the ship drew nearer.

It might be imagined it redoubled its speed with darkness.

From time to time, as a vulture rears its head out of its nest, the formidable Greek fire darted from its sides, and cast its flame upon the ocean like an incandescent snowfall.