to catch and steal the ships or the things that belonged to the sailors
or the storekeepers of another country. This is what we call piracy, and
a pirate, you know, is thought to be a very wicked man.

But when Columbus lived, men did not think it was so very wicked to be
a sort of half-way pirate, although they did know that they would
be killed if they were caught. So almost every sailor was about half
pirate. Every boy who lived near the seashore and saw the ships and the
sailors, felt as though he would like to sail away to far-off lands and
see all the strange sights and do all the brave things that the sailors
told about. Many of them even said they would like to be pirates and
fight with other sailors, and show how strong and brave and plucky they
could be.

Columbus was one of these. He was what is called an adventurous boy. He
did not like to stay quietly at home with his father and comb out the
tangled wool. He thought it would be much nicer to sail away to sea and
be a brave captain or a rich merchant.

When he was about fourteen years old he really did go to sea. There was
a captain of a sailing vessel that sometimes came to Genoa who had the
same last name--Columbus. He was no relation, but the little Christopher
somehow got acquainted with him among the wharves of Genoa. Perhaps he
had run on errands for him, or helped him with some of the sea-charts he
knew so well how to draw. At any rate he sailed away with this Captain
Columbus as his cabin boy, and went to the wars with him and had quite
an exciting life for a boy.

Sailors are very fond of telling big stories about their own adventures
or about far-off lands and countries. Columbus, listened to many of