But as the hour came the spirit of the corsair rose to answer the
challenge: it was one thing to get Dragut-Reis into a trap, it was quite
another to keep him there. Accordingly, he assembled all his troops,
dragged cannon to the mouth of the harbour, and opened so brisk a foe on
the Christian ships as to compel them to haul out of range. These tactics
left Doria unaffected; there was but one way out of the harbour, and he
felt quite convinced that when Dragut had had enough of starvation he would
either surrender or else fight a hopeless action. The admiral surveyed his
anchored fleet with a contented mind; his enemy had been delivered into his
hand, he had nothing to do now but wait for that final triumph of appearing
before his master the Emperor with the famous corsair as his prisoner. He
saw a great fort rising before his very eyes at the mouth of the harbour,
and merely smiled serenely; he sent off to Sicily and Naples for
reinforcements in order that when the psychological moment should arise he
might crush the corsair stronghold so thoroughly that it should never rise
again. In the despatches which he sent he said "the fox is trapped"--"which
news rejoiced all parts of Christendom, and most powerful succours came
daily flocking to the seaports from every quarter; so eager were the
sufferers to revenge themselves on this so much dreaded corsair."
The history of what now happened is given by Don Luys de Marmol Caravajal
in his "Descripcion general de Affrica," which was printed in Granada, "en
casa de Rene Rabat impresor de libros ano de 1573," or only some twenty
years or so after these occurrences; it is set forth in his chapter
entitled "Como Andrea Doria fue en buscar de these occurrences; it is set
forth in his chapter Dragut Arraez.
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