ill be in command."

"Why don't ye take the boat an' go clear? Dalton, here, will give ye the
provisions, an' you can get to the north'ard and make port. There ain't
no room for both of us aboard here now, even if we gave up, which we
ain't got no idea o' doin' unless you come out square an' fair."

"Yes," said Jenks, "you men don't want to make a Kilkenny cat go out of
this ship. Do the square an' fair thing, an' git out. You know, Tommy,"
he went on, addressing a sailor, "I don't want to hurt you; but you
know me. You boys can't make no show agin an old man-o'-war's man like
me, as has been up to his waist in blood many a time, an' never ware
the worse for it."

The sailor addressed spoke to me.

"Don't you think it a good way, sir? They are good for us if they try
hard, for England can whip any three of us, an' I, for one, don't want to
run against him if it can be helped. We have a boat."

"Nonsense," said Chips. "We must take 'em."

I thought a moment. There was a young girl below. Probably she was even
now frightened nearly to death. If anything did go wrong with us,--and it
certainly looked as if it would, when I sized up that crowd,--she would
be worse than dead. There were seven of us left against six, although
Andrews was too badly hurt to fear, but they were much better men
physically. After they had once started to do for us, they were not the
kind who would stick at anything. I was much exhausted, myself, and while
I thought the matter over, it seemed as though to go were the better way
out of the trouble.

Chips, however, insisted on closing with the men.

It took me some minutes to convince him that the young fellows with us
were not of the kind to depend on in such a fracas, and that he would be
in a bad way should he tackle England alone. Journegan, Jenks, and Dalton
were all powerful men, armed with sheath-knives sharper and better than
our own, for they had evidently prepared for just such an emergency.

"Let Dalton provision the whale-boat, and you men get out," said Mr. Bell
after I had finished whispering my views to Chips.

"Yes," said the steward; "you men stay where you are, and I'll put the
stuff aboard for you, and then you can get out."

"All right," I answered; "go ahead."

Some of us sat about the after-skylight, while Andrews and his gang
disposed themselves, as comfortably as they might, around the mizzen.
Dalton went down over the poop, and entered the cabin from forward, an