CHAPTER VIII
An American Frigate becomes a
Corsair's Cattleship
When I felt the deck of the George Washington beneath my feet, I felt a different thrill than that which had run through me when I stepped aboard The Rose of Egypt. I was a navy lad now, and my own quest for treasure, that had absorbed all of my attentions, dwindled before the fact that it was now my duty to consider the interests of my country more than my own selfish aims.
Moreover I was to meet men, and find adventures, that made my treasure hunt for the time being a secondary interest. I intended before I quitted the Barbary coast to make the search; meanwhile I was content to take what experiences navy life brought me, awaiting my opportunity to enter the desert in search of the riches. The Egyptian, I had reason to
