of
the ensign staff on the mainmast, and over it the after-part of the
rain-awning was spread, being loosely gathered back towards the mast.

When the boat was quite close to the dhow, a man, supposed to be the
captain of her, stood up aft with a bundle or roll of papers in his
hand, and said something as he unfolded them, and pointed to the French
flag. What he exactly said is unknown.

There were then visible on board the dhow four men, two aft and two
forward, all armed with the usual Arab swords and creeses. The
forecastle sun-awning was spread at the time from the foremast to a
stanchion shipped abaft the stern-piece, and under it were two
bluejackets and the writer, the leading stoker was at the engines,
whilst the two stokers appear to have been sitting on the inside of the
gunnel of the well, i.e. the space for boilers and engines.

As the coxswain was standing on the stem of the boat, in the act of
making fast with the hook rope, he caught sight of some eight or ten men
crouched in the bottom of the boat with guns at the "ready" position.
He sang out to the captain aft, when they rose up and fired; he flung
the hook at them, and closed with one, both falling overboard together.

The Arabs, the number of whom is variously estimated at from fifteen to
twenty-five, then jumped into the pinnace with drawn swords and clubbed
guns. As their first fire killed one man (a stoker) outright, mortally
wounded another, and severely wounded two others of the boat's crew, the
Arabs found but little difficulty in driving the rest, unarmed as they
were, overboard.

Captain Brownrigg and his steward were the only two left, and both were
in the after-part of the boat. He seized a rifle, and at the first shot
knocked an Arab over; but before he could reload three or four of them
rushed aft to attack him, getting on the top of the canopy and at the
sides, but he, clubbing his rifle, kept them at bay, fighting with a
determination that filled the survivors, who were then in the water
unable to get on board, with the greatest admiration, they describing
him as "fighting like a lion."

He knocked two of his assailants over, but was unable to get at them
properly, owing to the awning overhead, whilst they were above him on
the canopy cutting at him with their long swords, but fearing to jump
down and close with him. As he knocked one over, another took his
place.

The first wound that seems to have hampered him in the gal