.

"Are you ready?" says Rupert quickly. And before I had time to answer
he brought down his cutlass with such force that unless I had guarded
it the blade would have split open my head.

It was now that I had reason to be thankful for the lessons I had
received at the hands of the boatswain, for Rupert's blows came so
thick and fast that I had all I could do to parry them. I bore his
last caution to me in mind, and soon found the importance of it, for
though my cousin made many feints at my shoulder and other parts of my
body, yet the only blow into which he put his real force was the
upper-cut at my head.

I kept my eyes fixed upon his, as I had been taught, and soon saw a
savage light arising therein when he found he made so little
impression on me. Indeed, if we had fought on firm ground I believe
that, as the boatswain said, I should have been his match, but the
rocking of the boat gave him an advantage, and presently he pursued a
feint further than I expected, and gave me a gash of about three
inches long in my left thigh.

The first smart of the wound made me gasp for breath, but the next
moment it had so raised my fury that I left off the defensive and fell
upon my enemy with all my might, hitting and slashing so desperately
that, do what he would, I broke down his guard and laid open his
forehead over his right eye, and the blood began to trickle down his
face.

This transformed his own anger into a tempest, and now, indeed, we
went at it more like two savages than Christian men. For the cutlass,
by the very reason that it is not so deadly an instrument as the
small-sword, is capable of inflicting a very great many wounds before
any fatal effect takes place. And so, becoming less heedful of our
guard as we warmed to it, we wounded each other all over the body in a
most desperate manner, till my cousin seemed to me to be covered with
blood from head to foot, and I can have been little better, for I felt
the blood running from me at above a dozen places.

My enemy was the first to see the folly of this, for he began to
change his tactics, drawing back from my assault and keeping on the
defensive till he should lure me on to give him an advantage. And in
this at length he had nearly succeeded, but happening to forget the
seat which lay behind him in the bows of the boat, he overbalanced
himself against it and fell backwards, still gripping his weapon in
his hand.

I scorned to take advantage of this acci