ready down,
and whose lives were being trampled out of them in the press and stress
of the strife. And, oh! the sickening odour of blood which tainted the
hot, still atmosphere, and assailed our nostrils with every gasping
breath we drew! The deck planking was slippery with the sanguinary
flood, the bulwarks were splashed with it, our hands, faces, and
clothing were bespattered with it, the scuppers were flowing with it,
for a time it almost seemed to be _raining_ blood! Faugh! the very
memory of that dreadful scene is sickening; let us say no more about it
but pass on. At length our lads--that is to say the launches and
quarter-boat's crews--managed to get the pirates fairly jammed in
between them, and then the very numbers of our foes were in our favour,
for, huddled together as they were in the waist, not half of them could
find room enough to strike an effective blow. Moreover, it became
pretty evident that they had had enough of it, and were beginning to
lose heart; instead of pressing eagerly to the front to meet us, as at
first, each man now seemed anxious only to retire into the centre of the
crowd, leaving to somebody else the glory of carrying on the defence.
Seeing this, I rallied the launches, and with them made a final and
desperate charge into the thickest of the enemy, when the rout of the
latter at once became complete, some of them flinging away their weapons
and leaping overboard, whilst others tore up the hatches and sprang
headlong into the hold. Example of this kind is always contagious; if
one gives way, another does the same, and is immediately imitated by a
third, and so it was in the present case; the panic instantly spread,
and before we well knew what was happening the two boats' crews had
joined forces, our enemies had vanished, and victory was ours.

The cheer raised by the victors was immediately responded to from the
second of the small feluccas, which we now had time to notice had, like
the first, been boarded and carried by Courtenay and his gallant little
band. My dashing shipmate had, it seemed, on capturing his first prize,
promptly clapped her crew under hatches, after which he immediately cut
her cables, loosed her canvas, and ran her on board her consort, by
which piece of skilful generalship he was enabled to board his enemy
upon equal terms, instead of having to clamber in over her bulwarks from
the boat. He was just securing his second batch of prisoners,
preparatory to