se who sailed the
Spanish Main. For, putting about, the brigantine scudded through a
narrow channel, known only to her skipper (for no one else could have
followed without grounding upon a sand-spit), and was soon running
away upon the opposite side of a low-lying island, now flaunting the
pirate-flag from her halyards.

"She's gone!" sadly remarked the gallant Captain Walker, "but we can
capture the gun-battery. Make ready to go ashore, if needed!"

Steering for the coast, the guns of the _Duke William_ opened upon the
sandy barricade, and shot after shot was soon making the dirt and
gravel fly in every direction:

_Poom! Poom! Cu-poom!_

The cannon in the earth-work next began to speak, and, it was
apparent, from the strange noises which some of them made, that they
were full of rust.

_Cu-Poom! Cu-Pow! Chuck-chuck-cu-swash!_ they roared, and a few balls
began to whistle about the spars of the _Duke William_.

There were some accurate marksmen upon the deck of the British vessel,
and, as she lay broadside to the fortification, one well-aimed shot
struck a cannon and dismounted it; while another shattered the
flag-pole and brought down the flag with a crash.

"Hurrah!" shouted the men from Charleston. "Now we'll even up with
these cursed pirates for all the damage that they've done us. Now,
we'll teach them not to ravage our coasts and catch our merchant
ships!"

_Cu-whow!_ barked the rust-caked guns of the barricade. "_Go-slow!
Go-back! Go-home!_"

To this a full broadside roared, and the balls tore the top of the
earth-work to shreds.

"Now let thirty men take to the boats!" commanded Captain Walker.
"Steer for the beach and rush the barricade with pistols and
cutlasses. I don't believe that there are more than a dozen men inside
the earth-work."

"Huzzah!" was the cheerful answer to this order, and, in a few
moments, several boats were racing for the beach, each eager to be the
first ashore.

As they approached, the antiquated guns on the sand-spit became
strangely silent, and, as the eager raiders rushed valiantly upon the
pirate fortress, no shots were fired at them to impede their progress.
With a wild yell they leaped over the side of the barricade, only to
find it deserted; for whatever had been the force that had fired these
cannon, it had taken to the brush as the English seamen drew near.
Only a few charges of ammunition were there, so it was plainly evident
that the pirates (whatever their