gave a great laugh and rejoined
Cathbarr. A quick glance around showed him that Nuala was slowly winning
her grappled decks, while Shaun the Little was hanging off and sending
his cannon crashing into the third pirate ship. The two disabled craft
were slowly drawing together with the tide, which was forcing all eight
into the bay, and were pounding away with their guns as they came.

Now the combat resolved itself into a desperate struggle for possession
of the quarterdeck, which Brian and Cathbarr held. The Dark Master's men
swarmed up at them bravely enough, but the ax and sword flashed up and
down, and time after time the Millhaven men fell back, unable to win a
footing. Twice the Dark Master himself led them, snarling with baffled
rage, but the first time a pikeman thrust him down and the second time
Cathbarr's ax glanced from his helm.

O'Donnell reeled back and was lost to sight for a time.

"That was a poor blow," grunted the giant in disgust. "'Ware, brother!
Stand aside!"

Brian leaped away as the men behind him ran out a falcon and sent its
blast into the crowd below in the waist. A dozen men went down under
that storm of death, but almost at the same moment a grenade burst
behind the falcon, and with that Brian was driven back as a keg of
powder tore out half the quarterdeck in a bursting wall of flame and
smoke.

Barely had the shattering roar died out when Brian's reeling senses
caught a wild yell of dismay from his men.

"Fire! The ship is afire forward!"

Brian saw that the grenades had indeed fired the ship forward, while the
explosion had sent the quarterdeck into a burst of fire also, and the
lowered but unfurled sails were roaring up in flame.

Up poured the O'Malleys, and Brian staggered back to the poop. He had a
vision of the great form of Cathbarr heaving up through the smoke,
blackened and bleeding, but with the ax whirling like a leaf and smiting
down men; then Brian gained the poop, helped the giant up, and with the
few men left they turned to drive down the pirates, who were striving
desperately to win the ship before it was too late.

As he stood with Cathbarr at the narrow break of the poop, beating down
man after man, Brian knew that it was only a question of time now, for
the whole ship was breaking into flame forward. Suddenly he felt a tug
at his buff coat, and looked down to see his belt fall away, sundered at
his side by a bullet. He thought little of it, for he had half a do