cloud, its pale light revealing the schooner just where I expected her
to be. A cheer burst from the lips of many of the anxious watchers.

"Now or never is the time to knock some of her spars away!" I thought,
"Shall we give her another shot, sir?" I asked of the captain.

"Yes; you may give her a broadside, Mr Rawson, and slap it into the
fellow's hull. He deserves no mercy at our hands. But stay; we might
run the chance of killing some of the unfortunate blacks who may be
below."

Going round to the guns, I elevated them as much as possible, and told
the captains to try and hit her masts. The order was given to fire as
each gun could be brought to bear. No easy task, let me observe, for so
much did the brig heel over, that the men in the waist were up to their
knees nearly all the time in water. It was a night to try the mettle of
fellows, and none could behave better than did outs. The wind howled
and whistled as it rushed through the rigging, the waves roared and
splashed as we dashed through them, and threw their white crests over
us, the masts seemed to bend, and the hull to utter unusual groans of
complaint as we tasked her powers to the utmost. Darkness was around
us, an enemy at hand, and a dangerous short, under our lee; but all
hands laughed and joked with the most perfect unconcern. Again the moon
was obscured, and on we tore through the foaming waters. There was no
use in firing, for no aim could then be taken. Once more the clouds
cleared away, and the moonbeams shone on the hull and sails of the
schooner with all her canvas set, just about to cross our fore foot.

"Now's your time, my men!" I sang out, as I sprung forward, luffing up
at the same time, so as to get our broadside to bear on her.

The foremost gun was the first fired, followed by the others in
succession. Nothing daunted, the fellow was holding on, his
jib-halyards alone having been carried away, and the jib was slashing
about under his bows.

"By Jupiter! he'll weather on us now, if we don't take care and slip
away in the wind's eye," I exclaimed.

The captain thought so too; and again ordering me to fire right at her
hull, a yaw was given, and gun after gun as they were brought to bear
was poured into the slaver. The effects of the shot made her fly up
into the wind. Several of her braces and halyards were cut away, and,
she now nearly a wreck, we in a few minutes were close aboard her.
"Hands, shorten sail." In t