ck, friends, all get on board the brig
as fast as you can," he sang out.

Murray and the rest of the prisoners were ready enough to follow his
advice. Seizing what weapons they could lay hands on, they cut down or
knocked over all the pirates who opposed them, and soon gained the deck
of the brig. The boarders in the meantime cleared the junk, the greater
number of her crew who escaped their cutlasses jumping overboard and
perishing in the sea. The seamen then hove overboard all the guns of
the junk, and returned to the brig. They would have set her on fire,
but had they done so, they would very likely have got burnt themselves.

"That's one enemy less, my lads," cried Captain Hemming in a cheerful
tone, though he felt anything but cheerful. "We must treat the rest in
the same way."

The pirates on board the other junks, discovering what had occurred,
took very good care to keep out of the way of the brig.

Captain Hemming, therefore, spent the whole night in trying in vain to
get alongside some more junks, and when morning dawned they appeared
formed in a close circle round her as on the previous day. Those on
board the _Blenny_ had passed an anxious and harassing night; the
prospect for the following day was gloomy indeed. The second
lieutenant, a midshipman, and eight men had been killed, and twenty were
wounded, many of them put out of fighting trim. Jack and his companions
afforded, therefore, a very welcome addition to their strength. With
daylight the pirates began to fire away as on the previous day.

Rogers and Murray, however, now felt very differently to what they had
done on the previous day. Then all the shots they saw fired were
against their friends; now the few Captain Hemming ventured to let fly
were against their enemies. At length only three rounds remained on
board. The brig ceased firing. The pirates thought that the time for
boarding her simultaneously had arrived, and gliding up closed their
circle round her.

In vain all on board looked out for the sign of a breeze. Not a cloud
was in the sky--the sea was like glass. The sweeps were therefore again
manned, and she advanced as fast as they could urge her towards the
approaching line. The pirates came on, thinking that she would fall an
easy prey into their hands.

"Reserve your fire, my lads, till we are close to them," cried the
captain. "Now give it them." The broadsides of the brig were poured
into the junks, which had