they made a stand, which nothing but the most determined courage could
have overcome. Again and again the midshipmen and their followers
charged them. At last the chief, with most of his officers, was killed,
and the rest began to give way. The remainder finding this, and knowing
that there was no chance of escape, began getting rid of their lives in
the way which has been already described, the process being considerably
aided by their conquerors, till the last gang of them, with terrific
shrieks, went overboard together. As to the English seamen attempting
to save the lives of any of them, that was impossible, for they
themselves even would not allow it.

"Hillo!" cried Jack, as the last party of them disappeared, and left the
deck clear of all but the dead or dying, "where are we?" Well might he
ask the question, for the junk had been driving away before the wind,
and had by this time got nearly a couple of miles away from the brig.
"At all events, we have got an independent command," he continued, when
he had ascertained the state of affairs; "and, Alick, I vote we take a
cruise by ourselves, and capture some more of the enemy. You and I look
like Chinamen already, and we can easily rig out our men in some of the
clothes of these fellows, and so I have no doubt we shall be able to get
alongside without their suspecting us."

Murray thought the notion not a bad one, and the men were delighted with
it, very soon transforming themselves into fierce-looking pirates,
pigtails and all, for they very rapidly cut off the latter appendages
from their conquered foes.

Their next business was to throw the dead men overboard, and to bind up
the wounds of those who still lived; but those who had strength tore off
the bandages as fast as they were put on, and were evidently intent on
quitting the world. The midshipmen did all they could to prevent them
by keeping all weapons out of their reach; but one fellow got hold of a
knife and stabbed himself to the heart, another blew out his brains with
the pistol which he drew out of his comrade's pocket, and a third, after
his wounds had been bound up, and he had a little recovered his
strength, took the opportunity of scrambling overboard. If Jack and
Alick would have allowed it, the seamen, on observing this, would have
thrown the rest of the prisoners after them.

"What's the use of coopering up these chaps, if that's the way they goes
for to behave to themselves?" exclai