At last, nearly an hour after starting, the boys made out a great
deserted tower just ahead. Then Antonino stopped pulling, unshipped his
oars one after the other and muffled them just where the strap works on
the thole-pin, by binding bits of sailcloth round them. He produced the
canvas and the rope-yarn from his pockets, and the boys watched his
quick, workmanlike movements without understanding what he was doing.
When he began to pull again the oars made no noise against the tholes,
and he dipped the blades gently into the water, as he pulled past the
tower into the sheltered bay beyond.

Then a vessel loomed up suddenly under the great cliffs, and a moment
later he was under her side, tapping softly against the planking. The
boys held their breath and watched him. Presently a dark head appeared
above the bulwarks and remained stationary for a while. Antonino stood
up in his boat so as to lessen the distance and make himself more easily
recognisable. Then a hand appeared beside the head and made a gesture,
then dived down and came up again with the end of a rope, lowering it
down into the boat. Antonino gave the line to Ruggiero and then stepped
off upon the great hook on the martingane's side to which the chain
links for beaching, got hold of the after shroud and swung himself on
board.

Now it may be as well to say here what a martingane is. She is a
good-sized, decked vessel, generally between five-and-twenty and a
hundred tons, with good beam and full bows, narrow at the stern and
rather high out of water unless very heavily laden. She has one stout
mast, cross-trees, and a light topmast. She has an enormous yard, much
longer than herself, on which is bent the high peaked mainsail. She
carries a gaff-top-sail, fore-staysail, jib and flying-jib, and can rig
out all sorts of light sails when she is before the wind. She is a good