to overhaul you and judge for myself
what you are," answered the officer in command of the cutter. "Let go
your sheet, skipper!"

Instead of obeying the order, the boatman hauled in his sheet, and the
sloop began to fill away. Mr. Pennant could form no idea of what the
party were. It was possible that they were private citizens, and
non-combatants; if they were, they had only to prove they were such by
submitting to a further inquiry.

"Stand by, my men! Give way together, lively!" shouted the lieutenant as
though he intended that those on board of the sloop should hear him as
well as his own crew.

The cutter darted ahead; but she had not advanced half the distance
before the men on board of the sloop fired a volley with muskets at the
approaching boat. Mr. Pennant dropped his left arm very suddenly, and
the stroke oarsman went down into the bottom of the boat.

"Come aft, Kingston!" called the third lieutenant to the nearest man in
the bow, and the one indicated crawled aft with all the haste he could
make. "Take Hilton's oar!" added Mr. Pennant, as with his right arm he
drew the wounded man back into the stern sheets.

The progress of the boat was hardly interrupted by the volley, and in
less than a minute after the discharge of the muskets, her stem struck
the bow of the sloop, though not till the lieutenant had checked her
headway, and ordered the men to stand by to board the rebellious craft.
The quartermaster made fast to the sloop, and then grasped his cutlass.

"Lay her aboard!" shouted Mr. Pennant; and Vincent led the way, leaping
directly into the midst of the eight men in the standing room.

"Do you surrender?" asked the lieutenant of the principal man on the
forecastle as he came alongside of him.

"I don't see that we can help ourselves," replied the spokesman in
a surly tone; for the prospect before him was not very pleasant,
especially as a volley had been fired from the sloop, presumably by his
order, for he was the one who had made the threat in the first place.

"Don't strike, my men; they have surrendered," continued Mr. Pennant
with a gesture to his men.

"This is an outrage," said the man on the forecastle, who could not help
seeing that the whole party were in a fair way to be annihilated if they
made any further resistance.

"I dare say it is, my friend," replied Mr. Pennant blandly, for he had
been in the navy long enough to adopt the characteristic politeness
which distinguishes it