now suddenly threw open his ports, and
without attempting the mockery of hoisting an ensign of any kind, poured
into us the whole contents of his double-shotted starboard broadside,
aiming high, however, with the evident hope of knocking away some of our
more important spars. Our lower canvas was immediately riddled and a
few unimportant ropes were cut; but beyond this we fortunately sustained
no damage.

By way of reply to this, Smellie, without removing his eyes from the
chase, waved his hand gently to the helmsman; the wheel was put a half a
dozen spokes or so over to port, and the _Virginia_ slewed slightly more
toward her antagonist.

"Now, steady men," cautioned the skipper. "Do not fire until I give the
word, then pour your broadside in upon her decks--not a shot below the
sheer-strake for your lives." I well knew of whom he was thinking when
he said this; Antonia was doubtless in the cabin, and it was her safety
for which he was thus careful. "And as soon as you have fired your
broadside," he continued, "draw your cutlasses and stand by to board.
Are the grappling-irons all ready?"

"All ready, sir," came the reply from the tars who were standing by to
throw them, and then there ensued a few breathless moments of intense
silence.

Gradually the two brigs neared each other, until the lap and swirl of
the water along our antagonists' sides could be distinctly heard. At
that moment a rattling volley of small-arms was discharged from the
_Black Venus_, and I saw Smellie start and reel on his elevated perch.
The next instant, however, he had recovered himself, and once more
waving to the helmsman, he gave the word:

"_Fire_!"

Prompt at the command, our broadside rattled out, and amid the crashing
of timber and the shrieks of the wounded I felt the jar of collision
between the two vessels.

"Heave!" shouted Smellie. "Boarders away!" And with a simultaneous
spring fore and aft, away we went over the bulwarks and down on to the
crowded decks of the _Black Venus_.

The fight was short but stubborn. Our antagonists fought with the
desperate bravery of men who already felt the halters settling round
their necks; but whoever heard of British tars yielding an enemy's deck
when once their feet were firmly planted upon it? Besides, almost every
individual man among us felt that we had a long score of disappointments
and floutings to wipe out, and steadily but irresistibly we drove the
pirates into the wai