etter share it with you.

"Now I must go up and finish with the Phantom at once. Do not be
afraid, I shall take them by surprise, and there will be very
little fighting."

And without waiting for remonstrance he hurried on deck.

"Are the men armed, Hawkins?"

"That they are, sir. We have been expecting an attack every minute.
There have been three or four shore boats going off to the
brigantine within the last quarter of an hour."

"I am going to be beforehand with them, Hawkins."

"They've got both those guns pointing this way, sir."

"I am not coming from this way to attack them, Hawkins. I am going
to put all hands in that native craft I came in, row off a little
distance from this side, then make a circuit, and come down on the
other side of them. I will leave George Lechmere here with four
men, with three muskets apiece, so that if they should start before
we get there they can keep them off until we arrive. If I can get a
few of the boatmen to enlist I will do so."

He spoke to Dominique, who went to the side and asked:

"If any of you are disposed to stop here to guard the craft for a
quarter of an hour, in case she is attacked, the gentleman here
will pay twenty dollars a man; but remember that you may have to
fight."

The whole crew rose. Twenty dollars was a fortune to them.

"Come on board, then," Dominique said.

"I don't know whether these fellows are to be trusted, George, but
I hope you won't be attacked. Keep these fifteen muskets for
yourselves. Put four apiece by the bulwarks and station yourselves
by them. Keep your eyes on these boatmen, put the oars of the boat
handy for them, and let them arm themselves with them. If you are
attacked an oar is not a bad weapon for repelling boarders."

"All right, Major. I will station two of them between each of us."

By this time the captain had picked out the four men that were to
remain, and had the rest drawn up in readiness to get into the
boat.

"Get in quietly, lads," Frank said. "Ten of you man the oars. We
will put an end to the Phantom's wanderings tonight."

"That we will, sir," was the hearty rejoinder of the men.

Frank took the tiller, and they rowed straight away from the Osprey
for a hundred yards, when Frank steered towards the right bank,
where there were no torches, and where all was quiet. The
brigantine could be seen plainly, standing up against the glare of
the torches on the other side. They rowed three or four hundred