mself from aft, while I was instructed to head the
other party from our forecastle, the idea being to pin the slaver's crew
between the two parties, thus attacking them simultaneously in front and
rear as it might be.

Ryan himself conned the schooner alongside; and when we were within some
ten yards of the barque, our guns having previously been trained well
forward, the whole of our small broadside was poured in upon her deck,
with terribly destructive effect it would seem from the outburst of
shrieks and groans and curses that immediately arose on board her. Our
fire was instantly returned, but in such a partial irregular way as only
tended to confirm the impression that the slaver's crew had suffered
severely, yet it gave us a tolerably clear idea of what would have been
the result to us had we withheld our fire for just a second or two
longer. Then, while both craft were still enveloped in the motionless
smoke-wreaths, we felt the schooner's sides rasping against those of the
barque; and, with a shout to my little party to follow, I sprang upon
our own bulwarks, from thence to those of the barque, and so down on the
slaver's deck--for a slaver she was, as our olfactory nerves now assured
us beyond dispute.

It was by this time quite dark, or at least as dark as it was likely to
be at all that night; but the sky was cloudless, the atmosphere was
clear, and the stars were shining with a lustre quite unknown in our
more temperate clime; we therefore had but little difficulty in seeing
what we were about, or in distinguishing friend from foe; still, I must
confess that I felt a little awkward, and, having commenced by
discharging both my pistols into the thickest of the crowd that I found
opposed to me, confined myself pretty much to a random system of
slashing right and left with my cutlass, my principle--if I had one--
being to strike the blows, leaving to others the task of warding them if
they could. The fight that now ensued was brief, but sharp; the slavers
disputing every inch of their deck with us; but our fellows were not to
be resisted; there was a brief space of time during which the air seemed
full of the sound of clashing steel, popping pistols, shouts, shrieks,
groans, and execrations, and the barque was ours, her crew throwing away
their weapons and crying loudly for quarter, which of course was granted
to them.

The fight being over I at once made my way aft, and was greatly shocked
to find that d