e was one of the
ringleaders in the prankish tricks of the Shrewsbury Mohocks. Then
all at once he fell sober again.

"But what's the good," he said. "We can clear the deck, 'tis true;
but be never a whit the nearer to capturing the vessel."

"I don't know that," said I. "If we clear the deck they go down
below; if they go down below they will not be able to keep so good
a lookout upon us; and while the niggers are stoning the deck we
may get a chance to creep up and be among 'em before they know it."

"But they would see us from the portholes," he persisted.

"True, if we are fools enough to approach 'em broadside," I said.
"The bow is pointing shorewards; if we make for a point exactly
opposite and go in single file in a line with the vessel's keel,
they will not see us unless they put their heads clean out of the
portholes and look down and aslant, and they will not do that with
the chance of getting a broken skull."

"Smite my timbers," cries Joe, "'tis a pretty ploy, and would
tickle my captain mightily. We'll do it, sir, and all I wish is
that the niggers can aim straight."

We lost no time in putting things in trim for the venture, and
indeed 'twould not be long before the tide washed the brig and
rendered the attack I proposed impossible. Gathering the negroes,
we set them to collect stones of a fair size (but not too big, for
I did not wish to break holes in the deck with jeopardy to Mistress
Lucy), and pile them up so as to be handy. And since I have ever
believed that folk, whether black or white, work more willingly if
they see the aim and purpose of their toil, I told them as they set
about the task what our intent was. It pleased them, and they
worked with a will, being indeed childishly eager to begin the
bombardment before the time was ripe.

When a sufficiency of missiles had been collected, I ranged the
negroes along the cliff so that, while they could see the brig,
they could scarcely be seen from it. They were stupid enough to be
sure; from what I saw of negroes then and since I cannot but think
they are no better than children in intelligence; and in their
eagerness to begin this merry sport, as they regarded it, they went
a deal too near the edge of the cliff and exposed too large a
portion of their bodies.

There was nothing for it but to place them in position ourselves,
which I did, Cludde and Joe assisting (the latter with some
roughness of handling and of speech), and we marked out