ho stood were cut down
like sheep, and paid the full penalty of their treason. Basil
endeavoured to single out Raleigh, and Father Jerome did the same; but
one cloaked man is very like another at midnight, and there were tall
fellows amongst the Newnham lads that could stand shoulder to shoulder
with the famous knight. Windybank hoped to get a thrust at Morgan; and
now that his blood was up, and he had resolved to sell his life dearly,
he was chagrined to find no sign of the hated foe. He did not suspect
that Johnnie was with the admiral on the river.

Meanwhile there was a fiercer struggle on the _Luath_. The crew and
the men stowed in hiding beneath the hatches were either Irish or
Spanish, all friends of the Pope and King Philip, and inveterate foes
of England's Queen and faith. Moreover, they were well armed and could
fight stoutly. The ship's decks were soon slippery with blood and
cumbered with dead and wounded. Twice the admiral was beaten back to
the bulwarks and almost over the side. His force was hardly great
enough for the task that confronted it; indeed, the astute seaman had,
for once, underestimated both the numbers and the courage of his foe.
He cheered his little company with voice and example.

"Foot to foot with me, lads!" he cried. "The honour of England is at
stake. Shall Dons and Irish beat us on our own rivers? Well thrust,
Master Morgan! Now, a rush together, boys! Ha! they give; the dogs
give!"

So, under the pall of night on the swirling waters, the fight went on.
Now the gallant captain of the _Luath_ was exultant, the next moment
the admiral had the advantage; backwards and forwards swung the balance
of conflict. A loud "hurrah!" from the shore, a great shout of
"victory," cries of "Drive them into the river!" showed how matters had
gone between Raleigh and Father Jerome. The news heartened the admiral
and demoralized the conspirators on the ship. The vessel itself,
rocking to and fro, refusing to obey the helmsman, lurched from the
quiet backwater into the swirl of the racing current. She swung half
round, pitched and rolled dangerously, and then went up-stream like a
drunken thing, swaying, turning, threatening to rush for cliff or
sandbank, and endangering the life of every soul on board. The valiant
skipper saw and felt the imminent peril, and, sailor-like, sprang
himself to the helm and headed the staunch little ship along the safe
channel. Then he gave her over to t