By his side was his faithful lieutenant Venalcadi. In a breathless melee
Christian sword and Moslem sabre clashed and rang. His turban gone, his
great curved scimitar red to the hilt, the undaunted corsair fought his
last fight as became the terror of his name. Almost had he succeeded in
breaking through the ring of his foes when Garzia de Tineo, _alferez_ (or
lieutenant) to Captain Diego de Andrade, wounded him severely with a pike.
Uruj stumbled, was struck on the head with another weapon; he reeled and
fell. The fight was over, and one of the Barbarossas bit the dust. Garzia
de Tineo leaped upon the fallen man and cut off his head. It is recorded
that Garzia de Tineo was wounded in the finger by Uruj in the course of the
combat, and that for the rest of his life he proudly exhibited the scar as
a sign that it was none other than he who had killed the famous corsair.
Uruj Barbarossa was undoubtedly a remarkable man. At a time when the
Mediterranean swarmed with warriors none was more feared, none was more
redoubtable than he. By sheer valour and tenacity he had fought his way to
the front, and the son of the obscure renegado of Mitylene died a king. It
is true that his sovereignty was precarious, that it was maintained at the
edge of the sword; none the less, in that welter of anarchy in which he
lived he had forced himself to the summit, and, pirate, sea-wolf, and
robber as he was, we cannot withhold from him a meed of the most hearty
admiration.
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