great black, bar in hand,
his eyes flashing, his teeth gleaming, and all eager to join in any fray
on behalf of those who had saved his life.

"Wish my cutlash had come down heavy on the hand as fired that shot,"
muttered Tom Fillot.

"Put out the light," said Mark sharply.

Tom Fillot drew his jacket over the lantern, and they all stood round
ready for the next order.

"Haul back the chain," said Mark, in a low voice. "Fillot, stand by,
ready to cut at the first hand which thrusts out a pistol." Then going
close to the ventilator, he shouted down, "Below there you heard my
orders. We shall show no mercy now."

A shout of defiance came up, followed by another shot, as the chain
began to clink and chink while being hauled back and piled round and
round from the edge toward the centre.

"Stop!" cried Mark, as a thought struck him. Then in a whisper, "I'll
have an anchor laid on instead of the cable, and then I'll have that run
back into the tier. No: better still. Get up the biggest water cask we
have."

"Ay, ay, sir," cried Tom; and, with all the alacrity of man-o'-war's
men, he and his fellows went off with the lantern, and before long had a
cask on deck and rolled it up to the hatchway.

"But what for I dunno," muttered Tom, "unless it's for a sentry box."

He soon learned.

"Buckets," said Mark, laconically; and as soon as these were obtained,
though in full expectation of shots being fired through the wooden cover
at them, he gave his orders and the chain was rapidly hauled to the
deck.

But no shot was fired from below, the Americans evidently expecting that
they would be attacked, and reserving their fire for the moment when the
chain was all off, and the hatch thrown open.

But as the last link fell off upon the deck two men who were standing
ready lifted and banged the empty cask down heavily upon the hatch, a
couple of buckets of water were splashed in directly, and then as
rapidly as they could be drawn from over the side, others followed and
were poured in.

Those below were so puzzled that for a time they remained utterly
without movement. Then as the water poured in there was a low
whispering, and soon after a heaving up of the hatch a little way, but a
man held on to the top of the cask on either side, and their weight
proved to be too much for those who tried to heave up the hatch. Ten
minutes after, the addition of many buckets of water turned the cask
into a ponderous object bey