s two officers, who, regardless of the
weapons held by the crew, rushed at them with doubled fists.

There were shouts and yells of defiance, and directly after _thud, thud,
thud_, the dull heavy sounds of well-delivered blows, for the captain
was a very truthful man: he said he hit hard, and he did, while his two
officers showed that they were worthy pupils; and with such an example
before them in the wild excitement of the combat, the three passengers
followed their fists again and again, science helping them, so that
their adversaries went down or fell back struggling.

As previously intimated, the crew had six guns among them, but not a
shot was fired. In fact, they were presented merely as a menace and
under the vain belief that the sight of the weapons would be sufficient
to make the captain's party yield at once to any arrangements the men
proposed respecting the gold. Consequently, in the confusion of the
attack, first one piece and then another was thrown down and trampled
under foot, those who had held them taking to their natural weapons of
defence, and faring very badly.

At the end of a minute, instead of the enemy being two to one, and all
picked, big muscular fellows, the numbers were even, six not wounded but
half-stunned sailors lying or sitting upon the earth.

One was holding his jaw, literally, and not in the metaphorical fashion
of keeping silence; another was carefully rubbing his forehead as if to
get rid of a lump; another had made a compress of his left hand to hold
over his left eye; again another was upon all-fours like a dog, gazing
ruefully at the earth and shaking his head slowly, not because he was
sorry, but to rid himself of a strange dizzy sensation, while the
nearest man to him was sitting down contemplating something white which
lay glistening in his hand and looking wonderfully like a fine front
tooth.

Just at that moment the captain shouted a warning, for the second half
of the crew suddenly gave way and made a rush for the boats.

"Quick!" roared the captain; "cut them off!"

Wild with excitement now, Brace bounded forward, running faster than he
had ever run before, reaching one of the men, who proved to be Jem, and
planting a blow on his ear just as the fellow was stooping to raise the
grapnel from where a couple of its flukes were driven firmly into the
earth.

The result of this was that Jem went over side-wise just in front of
another fugitive, who tripped over him