FIRST SAILOR

By a ruse, the pirate Ward takes prisoner two French merchants, Ferdinand and Albert. He attacks the ship taking Alizia to her bridegroom, Young Raymond, and kills her brother; she escapes by disguising herself as a ship-boy, Fidelio. Another pirate, Francisco, challenges him for the spoils; they engage in single combat, and ultimately agree to share the booty. During the fight, Ward’s men Gismund and Gallop mutiny and steal a ship, and make for Tunis, taking the disguised Alizia with them. Ward swears vengeance, seizes further prisoners, among them Alizia’s fiancé, and sells them into slavery in Tunis. Gallop makes his peace with Ward by pretending he was abducted, like ‘Fidelio’. The Turkish authorities in Tunis attempt to convert Ward to Islam. He is initially reluctant, but agrees when Voada offers herself as his wife; even so, he evades circumcision by putting an ape’s tail under the knife instead of his penis. He marries Voada as planned and gives her ‘Fidelio’ as her page; but in fact ‘Fidelio’ has been the object of her affections all along, and she has no sexual interest in Ward. ‘Fidelio’ agrees to sleep with her if she arranges for a particular slave to escape, claiming him to be a brother (though of course it is really Young Raymond). To evade the sexual part of the bargain, ‘Fidelio’ then makes an alternative arrangement with Ward, who agrees to help her, but then double-crosses her by telling his wife. Voada kills Raymond, thinking he is trying to rob her of ‘Fidelio’, then Alizia kills herself. Seeking revenge, Voada tries to attack Ward; she is slightly wounded when he defends himself, but exaggerates the injury in order to get him arrested. (The Tunisian authorities are uninterested in the murder of the two Christians.) Ward stabs himself, and dies cursing Turkish treachery. In the other plot, Gallop makes a date for sex with Agar. Her jealous husband Benwash allows the tryst to go ahead, since he needs definite proof of adultery if he is to end the marriage. Meanwhile, the reformed pirate Dansiker has been offered a pardon by the French King, but wishes to do something positive to redeem his past crimes, rather than passively accept forgiveness; so he plans to rid Tunis of its pirates by blowing up the town. Gallop keeps his date with Agar, but thieves steal his clothes and rope ladder while he is busy enjoying himself. The couple are disturbed by Dansiker’s explosion, which sets the house on fire, and Gallop has to escape in a state of…