at the notion of one of the crew of his schooner having been
so treated by contemptible niggers. "Away, lads, and pick up that man."

"It's of no use," remonstrated Scraggs; "he's done for by this time."

"I know it," said Manton, with a fierce oath; "bring him in, dead or
alive. If the sharks leave an inch of him, bring it to me. I'll make the
black villains eat it raw."

This ferocious threat was interlarded with and followed by a series of
terrible oaths, which we think it inadvisable to repeat.

"Starboard!" he shouted to the man at the helm, as soon as the boat shot
away on its mission of mercy.

"Starboard it is."

"Steady!"

While he gave these orders, Manton sighted the brass gun carefully, and,
just as the schooner's head came up to the wind, he applied the match.

Instantly a cloud of smoke obscured the center of the little vessel, as
if her powder magazine had blown up, and a deafening roar went ringing
and reverberating from cliff to cliff as two of the great iron shot were
sent groaning through the air and pitched right into the heart of the
village.

It was this tremendous shot from Long Tom, followed almost
instantaneously by the broadside of the Talisman, that saved the life of
Alice,--possibly the lives of her young companions also; that struck
terror to the hearts of the savages, causing them to converge towards
their defenseless homes from all directions, and that apprised Ole
Thorwald and Henry Stuart that the assault on the village had commenced
in earnest.

CHAPTER XIV.

GREATER MYSTERIES THAN EVER--A BOLD MOVE AND A NARROW ESCAPE.

We return now to the Talisman.

The instant the broadside of the cruiser burst with such violence, and
in such close proximity, on Manton's ears, he felt that he had run into
the very jaws of the lion; and that escape was almost impossible. The
bold heart of the pirate quailed at the thought of his impending fate,
but the fear caused by conscious guilt was momentary; his constitutional
courage returned so violently as to render him reckless.

It was too late to put about and avoid being seen; for, before the shot
was fired, the schooner had already almost run into the narrow channel
between the island and the shore. A few seconds later, she sailed
gracefully into view of the amazed Montague, who at once recognized the
pirate vessel from Gascoyne's faithful description of her, and hurriedly
gave orders to load with ball and grape, while a boat w