ou have one object that is my
own! _En garde!_" he cried, whisking out the rapier.

As he did so--such is the force and training of habit--his left hand
automatically came up in the first position of the fencer and the
duelist, and as it came up and the fingers slackened about the
parakeet, the long whip lashed out and curled around Osterbridge
Hawsey's hand. The parakeet ducked into encircling fingers,
Osterbridge Hawsey let out a piercing scream, more of rage than of
pain, and opened his hand. The parakeet, liberated, flew straight into
the face of the man with the whip, pecking at it with its sharp beak,
scratching at it with his pin-like claws, and beating its wings in
such confusing fury that the pirate bobbed his head. At the same time
the big man stepped backward, throwing up his left arm in an attempt
either to catch the bird or drive it off.

But the bird's attack lasted for only a moment. Then, as Claggett
Chew's fingers grasped at it, the parakeet was off over his shoulder
and lost in the din and obscurity of the battle. Behind it it heard
the cries of hatred and rage as the pirate and Osterbridge Hawsey
faced one another in the cabin to fight with whip and sword amid the
crash of overturned tables and chairs and the splintering crack of the
lamp and the windowpanes.

CHAPTER 34

Safe on the _Mirabelle_, Chris, exhausted and increasingly conscious
of the pain of the whiplash, took his own shape with sighs of
thankfulness and looked about him. A wind was rising, rocking the
interlocked ships, and he could plainly see that the crew of the
_Mirabelle_ had done enormous damage to the _Vulture_ and its
attacking men. Cannon shots from the opening sally, and at such close
range, had broken two of its three masts, and the decks of the
_Vulture_ were a clutter and tangle of lines, sails and splintered
spars. The fact that the men of the _Mirabelle_ were in better
physical shape than the pirates stood them in good stead, for their
agility and strength had carried them through the battle even against
the wilier and more murderous knowledge of Claggett Chew's men. The
pirates, Chris could see, were turning back, and those who still
fought were one and all wounded or grazed, and losing ground with
every passing moment.

[Illustration]

Chris had been so terrified and panicstricken by his own personal
danger and fight for life that it took him a few minutes to catch his
breath and grasp the situation from