neither vessel seems to have been seriously injured, and although there
were a good many men killed on both sides, the combat was kept up with
great determination and fury. At one time it seemed almost certain that
Bonnet would get the better of Mr. Rhett, and he ordered his black flag
waved contemptuously in the air while his men shouted to the South
Carolinians to come over and call upon them, but the South Carolina boys
answered these taunts with cheers and fired away more furiously than
ever.

The tide was now coming in, and everybody on board the two fighting
vessels knew very well that the first one of them which should float
would have a great advantage over the other, and would probably be the
conqueror. In came the tide, and still the cannons roared and the
muskets cracked, while the hearts of the pirates and the South
Carolinians almost stood still as they each watched the other vessel to
see if she showed any signs of floating.

At last such signs were seen; the _Henry_ was further from the shore
than the _Royal James_, and she first felt the influence of the rising
waters. Her masts began to straighten, and at last her deck was level,
and she floated clear of the bottom while her antagonist still lay
careened over on her side. Now the pirates saw there was no chance for
them; in a very short time the other Carolina sloop would be afloat, and
then the two vessels would bear down upon them and utterly destroy both
them and their vessel. Consequently upon the _Royal James_ there was a
general disposition to surrender and to make the best terms they could,
for it would be a great deal better to submit and run the chance of a
trial than to keep up the fight against enemies so much superior both in
numbers and ships, who would soon be upon them.

But Bonnet would not listen to one word of surrender. Rather than give
up the fight he declared he would set fire to the powder magazine of
the _Royal James_ and blow himself, his ship, and his men high up into
the air. Although he had not a sailor's skill, he possessed a soldier's
soul, and in spite of his being a dastardly and cruel pirate he was a
brave man. But Bonnet was only one, and his crew numbered dozens, and
notwithstanding his furiously dissenting voice it was determined to
surrender, and when Mr. Rhett sailed up to the _Royal James_, intending
to board her if the pirates still showed resistance, he found them ready
to submit to terms and to yield themselv