Hassan ben Sahid, the leader of the Corsairs, goes alongside the Ship and takes command of the coffin Ships. An adventure began, the outcome of which no one could have ever imagined at the time.'īarely has Lord Richard Northburgh spotted the Coffin ships sailing through the storm with the children aboard when Corsair ships suddenly appear. Until finally a small Fleet was able to set off in pursuit. He drove everyone into action, exhorting them to move with the utmost haste. Lord Northburgh harboured a terrible suspicion. The sails of the ramshackle rustbuckets with their cargoes of children had not long disappeared over the horizon. Introduction 'The Seamen scramble around the rigging and the Sailors haul the Provisions aboard.