A few fishing boats lay on the shore, but there were no signs of life, as no doubt the people would, long since, have taken alarm and sought shelter in the woods.

There was a sharp point just before they reached the southeastern extremity of the island, and as the galley shot past this, a shout of exultation rose from the knights, for, near the mouth of an inlet that now opened to their view, there lay four long, low vessels, above each of which floated the Moslem flag.

A number of men were gathered on the shore near the ships, and heavily laden boats were passing to and fro.
A yell of rage and alarm rose from the ships as the galley came into view.

There was a stir and movement on the shore, and numbers of men leapt into the boats there, and started for the ships.

These were some quarter of a mile away when first seen, and half that distance had been traversed when a puff of smoke shot out from the side of one of them, followed almost immediately by a general discharge of their cannon.