ce of the two men he had called, to put down any
insubordination that might have been manifested by the ship's company of
the prize. He would have been willing to admit, if he had given the
matter any attention at that moment, that it was the natural right of
the captured captain and his men to regain possession of their persons
and property by force and violence; but he was determined to make it
dangerous for them to do so.

"On the forecastle, sir!" exclaimed Landers, the wheelman.

Christy had put his hand upon the door of the pilot-house to open it as
the two men were moving aft; but he looked out the window at the
exclamation of the wheelman. The cotton bales seemed to have become
alive all at once, for half a dozen of them rolled over like a spaniel
just out of the water, and four men leaped out from under them, or from
apertures which had been formed beneath them.

[Illustration:
"His assailant put his arms around him and hugged him like a bear."
Page 339.]

Bench and Kingman seemed to be bewildered, and both of them were thrown
down by the movement of the bales. The four men who had so suddenly
appeared sprang upon them, and almost in the twinkling of an eye had
tied their hands behind them. Christy drew one of the revolvers from his
belt; but he did not fire, for he was as likely to hit his own men as
their assailants. The victors in the struggle dragged the two men into
the forecastle, and disappeared themselves.

Christy was almost confounded by the suddenness of the attack; but he
did not give up the battle, for he had at least six men in the after
part of the steamer. Bidding Landers draw his cutlass and follow him, he
rushed out at the door he had before opened. He could not see anything
aft but the walls of cotton bales, with a narrow passage between them
and the bulwarks. He moved aft with his eyes wide open; but he had not
gone ten feet before a man dropped down upon him from the top of the
deck-load with so much force as to carry him down to the planks.

His assailant put his arms around him and hugged him like a bear, so
that he could neither use his cutlass nor his revolvers. At the same
moment another man dropped down on Landers in like manner. It was
impossible to resist an attack made from overhead, where it was least
expected, and when they were taken by surprise. Christy was a prisoner,
and his hands were bound behind him.

At this moment Captain Stopfoot presented himself before t