ers,' the captain said. 'In the morning I will have
you put in irons.'

"Purvis, giving a short laugh, turned on his heel. 'My lads,' he said,
'you have heard the sound of the oars, and know as well as I do that we
shall shortly be attacked, and shall have to fight hard for our lives. The
captain is of opinion that we are all mistaken, and wants us to turn in
again. What do you say?! Will you have your throats cut or not?'

"There was an angry growl from the sailors.

"'Very well, then, set to work and load the guns--ball at first, but keep
your grape handy, we shall want it before we have done. Do it quietly; it
is as well these fellows on shore should not know what we are up to. As
soon as you have loaded, rig up the boarding-nettings.'

"In a moment all was bustle. There was no need to run the guns in, for
that was already done, the captain insisting upon our always having the
ports closed, in order, as he said, that the natives might see that our
intentions were perfectly friendly. Consequently, the men were enabled to
load the guns without noise, moving about the deck on their naked feet
like shadows. Then the boarding-nettings were triced up, arms distributed
amongst the men, each having a boarding-pike, a cutlass, and a brace of
pistols. By the time that this was done, we judged by the sound of the
sweeps that the pirates were not more than a mile away. Lanterns were got
up on deck and placed in readiness to be lighted and run up to the
yard-arm, so as to throw some light down on the water.

"'Now, we will call the old man again. Obstinate as he is he can't help
hearing the oars now, and I know that he is plucky enough, and will fight
the ship well as soon as he is once convinced that there is danger.'

"We went together to the skipper's.

"'Captain,' Purvis said in a loud voice, 'Pinder and I have come to tell
you that the proas are within a mile of us, and to ask you to take the
command and fight the ship.'

"We heard the skipper tumble out of his bunk again with an angry
exclamation. He opened the door without a word and went straight up on to
the poop. He listened a moment, and then ran down again.

"'I beg your pardon, Mr. Purvis,' he said hastily, 'but I have been wrong,
and there is no doubt we are going to be attacked. I am heartily sorry for
what I have said, and I thank you for your watchfulness.'

"'Say no more about it, captain. We are ready to begin as soon as you give
the orders.'

"'I w