rding-pikes, stood a tall,
gaunt, soldier officer, eyeing us very sternly, and tugging hard to get
a sword out of a long scabbard, while he kept screaming to his men, as I
understood, to annihilate the dogs of Englishmen, and to kick them into
the sea. But though he kept shouting louder and louder, till his cries
resembled the rabid howls of a wild beast, his soldiers found that
though it might be easy to order them to kick five stout British seamen
overboard, and two rather precocious midshipmen, it was not quite as
easy for them to obey. I saw, too, that our only chance of success was
to push on without further delay. Had Mr Johnson been with us I should
have felt less doubt as to the result of our exploit.

"On, my lads!" I shouted, "we must drive these Frenchmen off the deck."

Grey echoed my words, as did another faint voice, and I found that Toby
Bluff, in spite of his wound, had climbed on board the schooner, and was
ready to do battle by my side. On we all pushed. A sturdy French
seaman, on my left, raised his cutlass, while I was engaged with another
on my right. I could just see, out of the corner of my left eye, his
weapon descending, and fully believed that my last moment had come, for
it was impossible to ward it off. Before, however, the cutlass reached
my head, there was the report of a pistol close to my ear, and my enemy
tumbled over dead on the deck. Toby had saved my life, just as I had
before saved the boatswain's. We continued cutting and slashing away so
furiously, that the Frenchmen no longer attempted to contend against us.
Jumping aside like a troop of monkeys, as we got among them, they
tumbled over each other down the hatchways, the old officer with them;
whether he went of his own accord, or could not help it, I was unable to
tell. All I know is, that he disappeared with most of his army, the
remainder of whom lay sprawling on deck, or clinging to the bowsprit,
while some of the crew had run up the rigging, and others had tumbled
into the hold with the soldiers. Over these latter we took the liberty
of clapping the hatches, while Billy Wise did the wisest thing he had
been guilty of for a long time; he pointed his musket at the men aloft,
and intimated that he would shoot the first who attempted to descend.
Some of them had pistols, but they had fortunately already fired them at
us, and they were afraid of throwing them at our heads, lest Billy
should put his threat into execution