brought out from
their hiding places, while still more stood by to furnish their
comrades with cannon balls and powder. Amos became so excited he
leaned too far forward, and, nothing learned from his nightly
difficulties with his hammock, fell out of the tree onto the heads and
shoulders of the men below, causing astonishment and swallowed
laughter before he was hoisted back up again.

"Bless my cap and buttons!" Ned Cilley cried, "there's to be a fight
for sartin. I can see the flash of light on the swords and axes!"

[Illustration]

Quicker than it would take to tell, the _Vulture_, black sails spread,
moved forward to head off the merchantman evidently homeward bound
from China.

The pirate ship sailed down the coast, turned, and forced the oncoming
vessel to stop. Then, as well as the watchers could guess, a parley
ensued, but if the pirates thought the prey would be an easy one they
were mistaken, for the merchantman came forward suddenly, all sails
set, in an effort to ram the _Vulture_. But the rich cargo vessel was
hopelessly at a disadvantage. The pirate guns opened fire, ropes were
thrown over to the peaceful ship, and with yells of triumph that
carried even above the tumult of the fighting, the pirate crew leapt
on board. Tiny figures could be seen falling into the water from the
merchantman, and in a bitter hour or so the sound of fighting died out
altogether.

The men watching from the shore had been kept there only by the
obedience the Captain was able to extract from them, for rage was in
the heart of every man at the sight they were forced to see, but were
powerless to prevent. Even among such hard-bitten old salts as they
all were, more than one could be seen mumbling a prayer for the
unfortunate men who had put up such a gallant fight.

[Illustration]

"Come, lads," Captain Blizzard said to them at last. "We have seen
what we had to see, and many is the witness now against Claggett Chew
and all his company!"

"Aye! Aye! That we are! We'll bear witness to such villainy--they
should all hang for it!" the voices cried.

"Then let us go back to our own ship, for the dreaded _Vulture_ is not
yet gone, and unarmed as we too are, what chance have we against
cannon balls and armed men?"

The men turned about and trouped back to the dinghies, while Captain
Blizzard stayed behind a moment to speak to Chris.

"My boy," he said, his hand on Chris's shoulder, as in front of them
in the late afterno