our men, Tom Hardy, most bravely threw himself before
them, they gained the deck, and cut him down before any further
opposition could be offered. Others followed them, and gaining the
whole centre part of the vessel, our crew were completely divided. We
had lost two men. Thus the captain, Mr Gale, and one man held the deck
aft; while Peter, another man, and I still stood at our post forward.
But what could we hope to do against the crowd of ruffians who swarmed
on board? At the same moment they pressed towards us and the captain,
and would have carried us overboard had we not sung out, and asked for
quarter. The bravery which the captain and the rest had displayed
seemed to have won their admiration and respect; for instead of cutting
us down and throwing us into the sea, they instantly granted us the
quarter we asked. Our arms were taken from us, and we were ordered to
go on board the felucca, while the pirates proceeded to rifle the
schooner. Except the hogsheads of sugar, which would not have been of
much use to them, they found very little, I suspect, to repay them for
the heavy cost of our capture. The vessel, however, would probably have
been of some value to them, as she was a fine little craft.

The schooner having a crew put on board her, the two vessels stood away
to the westward. Peter told me that he suspected we were bound to one
of the numerous small islands--keys they are called--which are found in
great numbers off the south coast of Cuba. We were allowed to walk
about the deck without molestation; but our position was far from a
pleasant one, for any moment our captors might take it into their heads
to make us walk the plank, or to get rid of us by some other means. I
had never seen a person made to walk the plank, but I had heard it
described as a favourite method employed by pirates to get rid of their
prisoners. A long plank is run out over the side, and the victim,
blindfolded, is made to walk along it. When he gets to the outer end,
the inner part is tilted up, and he is slid into the sea. I earnestly
prayed that such might not be our fate, and yet I could not see what
better we could expect. We had evidently fallen into the hands of
desperate outlaws, not likely to be influenced by any of the dictates of
humanity. At all events, we were likely to be kept prisoners, and
probably made to work as slaves for these villains, without a chance of
escaping. The captain seemed most cast do