on her while the boats were so
near. He slipped the cable, however, and made instant sail on the ship;
and when he saw the large boat and the gig drop astern of the schooner,
the former in a disabled condition, he commenced firing as fast as he
could load; not doubting that his captain was in his own boat.

At such short range the shot flew around the pirate schooner like hail;
but she appeared to bear a charmed existence; for, although they
whistled between her spars and struck the sea all around her, very few
indeed did her serious damage. The shots from Long Tom, on the other
hand, were well aimed, and told with terrible effect on the hull and
rigging of the frigate. Gascoyne himself pointed the gun, and his
bright eye flashed, and a grim smile played on his lips as the shots
whistled round his head.

The pirate captain seemed to be possessed by a spirit of fierce and
reckless joviality that day. His usual calm, self-possessed demeanor
quite forsook him. He issued his orders in a voice of thunder and with
an air of what, for want of a better expression, we may term ferocious
heartiness. He generally executed these orders himself, hurling the men
violently out of his way as if he were indignant at their tardiness,
although they sprang to obey as actively as usual; indeed, more so, for
they were overawed and somewhat alarmed by this unwonted conduct on the
part of their captain.

The fact was, that Gascoyne had for a long time past desired to give up
his course of life and amend his ways; but he discovered, as all wicked
men discover sooner or later, that, while it is easy to plunge into evil
courses, it is by no means easy--on the contrary it is extremely
difficult--to give them up. He had formed his resolution and had laid
his plans; but all had miscarried. Being a man of high temper, he had
been driven almost to desperation, and sought relief to his feelings in
physical exertion.

Of all the men in the Avenger, however, no one was so much alarmed by
the captain's conduct as the first mate, between whom and Gascoyne there
had been a bitter feeling for some time past; and Manton knew (at least
he believed) that it would be certain death to him if he should chance
to thwart his superior in the mood in which he then was.

"That was a good shot, Manton," said Gascoyne, with a wild laugh, as the
fore-topsail yard of the Talisman came rattling down on the deck,
having been cut away by a shot from Long Tom.

"It was