We have no record or list
of the dead and wounded in this battle, but among the latter was Uruj, who
was severely hurt. Not so Kheyr-ed-Din, who escaped scatheless and took
command now that his brother was incapacitated. The dead were flung
overboard with scant ceremony, and the wounded patched up as best might be,
and then _The Galley of Naples_ was taken in tow, and the corsairs returned
in triumph to Tunis. Faithful to their treaty, so far, they laid one-fifth
of their spoils at the feet of the Sultan.
A great procession was formed of Christian captives marching two and two.
Four young Christian girls were mounted on mules, and two ladies of noble
birth followed on Arab horses sumptuously caparisoned. These unfortunates
were destined for the harems of their captors. The Sultan was greatly
pleased at the spectacle, and as the mournful procession defiled before him
cried out, "See how heaven recompenses the brave!" Jurien de la Graviere
remarks: "Such was the fortune of war in the sixteenth century. A man
leaving Naples to go to Spain might end his days in a Moorish bagnio and
see his wife and daughters fall a prey to miscreants of the worse
description."
It was not till the following spring that Uruj was fit once more to pursue
his chosen calling, so severe had been his wounds; but once he was whole
and sound again he put to sea accompanied by Kheyr-ed-Din, and this time he
had conceived a singularly bold and desperate enterprise.
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