Such was the tale that Greville told. Years later I learned that both Captain Lewis and Red Peter returned to England and were received by His Majesty, who, with the same generosity as he showed towards Captain Morgan, Colonel Blood, and other cutthroats of like nature, restored to Lewis his commission; while Red Peter, under his real name of Peter Tregaskis, became a red-hot Tory squire in his native Cornwall. However, to resume my story, Captain Poynings rejoined the _Gannet_ without delay, and after a year or so of comparatively uneventful sojourning in the Caribbean Sea, we received orders to proceed again to the Mediterranean. CHAPTER VIII--Of an Encounter with an Algerine Corsair The _Gannet_ was bowling along under easy sail some fifty miles south of Majorca. Three years of seatime had made a great difference in her appearance. Her speed was retarded by the presence of a thick vegetable growth on her bottom, her sails had lost their pristine beauty, while her sides, though often repainted, bore signs of the effect of torrid heat and the buffeting of the waves. Her crew, too, had undergone considerable changes; wounds and disease had reduced the number of her gallant men, while those who were left were now well-seasoned and disciplined. Of the ship’s officers only three had gone to their last account--the master, who had fallen a victim to the dreaded "yellow jack", and two of the midshipmen. Thus, including myself, there were but five midshipmen on board, all of whom were as efficient as Captain Poynings could desire. I was now nearly seventeen years of age--bronzed, hardy, and well-grown--and would easily have passed for twenty. On this particular day it was about noon when the lookout reported a sail hull down on our starboard bow. In less than an hour she had apparently sighted us, for she altered her course so as to make straight for us. Now this was an unusual occurrence, as the stranger must either be a hostile craft or else a ship in distress and wishing to communicate. Her speed was too great to justify the assumption that she was requiring assistance, so all hands were piped to quarters. After months of inaction the prospect of a fight acted like magic. The officers held a consultation, and as it was well known that a Barbary corsair had been committing several acts of exceptional violence, hopes were entertained that the stranger would prove to be that particular vessel.