of as many swords.

There was a dead silence below, for Hilary and his men were taken by
surprise, and though the hatch was now open there was such a terrible
display of weapons in the opening that an attempt to rush up seemed
madness.

"Below there!" cried a harsh voice; "surrender, or we fire."

"Is Hilary Leigh there?" cried another voice, one which made the young
man start as he recognised that of Sir Harry Norland.

"Yes, sir, I am here," he said after a moment's pause.

"Tell your men to surrender quietly, Mr Leigh, and if they give their
word not to attempt rescue or escape they will have two of the cutter's
boats given to them, and they can row ashore."

"And what about the cutter, Sir Henry?" said Hilary quietly.

"She is our lawful prize," was the reply.

"And no mistake," said the rough, harsh voice, which Hilary recognised
now as that of the apparently stupid skipper of the _chasse maree_.

"Come up first, Mr Leigh," said Sir Henry; "but leave your arms below.
I give you my word that you shall not be hurt."

"I cannot give you my word that you will not be hurt, Sir Henry, if you
do not keep out of danger," cried Hilary. "We are all coming on deck,
cutlass in one hand, pistol in the other. Now, my lads! Forward!"

Madness or no madness he made a dash, and at the same moment Tom Tully
struck upwards with his iron bar, sweeping aside the presented muskets,
half of which were fired with the effect that their bullets were buried
in the woodwork round the hatch.

What took place during those next few moments Hilary did not know, only
that he made a spring to mount the cabin-ladder and got nearly out at
the hatch, but as Tom Tully and another man sprang forward at the same
moment they hindered one another, when there was a few moments' interval
of fierce struggling, the sound of oaths and blows, a few shots were
fired by the marines through the cabin skylight, and then Hilary found
himself lying on the lower deck under Tom Tully, listening to the
banging down of the cabin-hatch.

"Are you much hurt, sir?" said one of the men.

"Don't know yet," said Hilary, as Tully was dragged off him. "Confound
the brutes! I'll serve them out for this. Is any one killed?"

"I ain't," growled Tom Tully, with his hand to the back of his head.
"But that there slash went half through my tail, and I've got one on the
cheek."

Tom Tully's wound on the cheek proved to be quite a slight cut, and the
other man wa