More water!" Gervaise knelt to pour some water between his lips, when he gave a sudden cry, a shudder ran through his frame, and he was dead.
"Let us return on board, gentlemen," Gervaise said, rising to his feet.
"We can do nothing here." As soon as he regained the deck of the galley, he signed to Ralph to follow him below.
"Now, Ralph," he said, "this is one of those cases in which we have to decide whether we ought or ought not to be prudent.

From what that poor fellow said, the pirates have about five hours' start of us, and as they can have no idea that they are pursued, we can doubtless overtake them before they reach Sardinia.

The question is, ought we to pursue them at once, or ought we to coast along until we find Visconti's galley?
Three of these Tripoli pirates, crowded as they always are with men, would prove serious opponents, yet we might engage them with a fair hope of victory.

But we may be seriously disabled in the fight, and should be, perhaps, unable to carry the news to Genoa that there are many pirate ships gathering on the coast of Sardinia to prey upon their commerce." "We might be days, or even weeks, before we light upon Visconti's galley, Gervaise, and even when we found it, he might not consider himself justified in leaving the coast where he is stationed.

Besides, while we are spending our time looking for him, the pirates will be committing terrible depredations.