Part 4 (1/2)
”Now,them--”Captain, I have your permission to take the command?”
”Certainly, sir,” said Captain Morton ”You're ht under a braver!”
”Well then, men,” resumed the lieutenant, ”we all here, _Albatrosses_ and _Hankow Lins_ alike, fight under one flag, the Union Jack of Old England! Stop, don't cheer, men, or those pirate scoundrels will hear us too soon, and we don't want 'em to hear us till they feel us! Men, I want you to be cool--I know you are brave--and wait er That pirate scoundrel is plucky enough, and will take soh if you only obey orders Captain Morton, will you take charge of the guns, please, with Mr Scuppers? Boatswain, you with that brave black fellow, and two other hands, willup while we are attacking theig, to clear her away, and get her ready to lower to leeward, when the pirate coood sweeping discharge, and cleared their deck, captain, I shall, after reloading, drop into the gig, and board her on her weather-side, so that'll take them between two fires Now, men, quick to your posts! Boatswain, to the forecastle with three others; gig's men step out, four blue-jackets and four _Hankow Lins_; the others of uns”
”May I come with you, sir?” said Mr Sprott anxiously ”I have no special duty here, and I'd like to pay out that cut across my jib on some of them piratical scoundrels!”
”Aye, you can colad I'll be to have such a brave felloith , and the falls all slack for lowering?”
”Aye, aye, sir,” said the coxswain ”Right as a trivet”
”Well, then, see to your suns The surprise will favour us at first, but we shall have to fight hard afterwards, as they'll muster pretty numerous if the account I have received be true”
All these preparations being co thein his proper station, they awaited with the courage and caution of brave ave them more time to prepare, the breeze had quite died away, and a dead calm had fallen on the surface of the deep, while yet the schooner had scarcely decreased her distance, and they had been lassy sea heaved up and down under the burning sun, which was now high in the heavens, with a sort of heavy, waveless throb, as if co with the motion to and fro
The pirates were not asleep, however As soon as the breeze failed they rigged out long oars fro nearer and nearer to the _Hankow Lin_ with every pulse of the sea
They must have heard the reports of the rifles and revolvers, as well as seen the ses, and heard the yells of the Malays as they fought hand to hand with the blue-jackets, for the air was as clear as could be; but the stillness now, and the absence of any attempt to triht that their fellow-conspirators on board had gained the day, or that the slaughter had been so great on both sides that there was no longer anybody capable of resistance; for after a short pause, when they were a cable's-length distant, the sweeps again set to work, and the low black hull of the schooner was urged forwards again towards the _Hankow Lin_, until those on the watch between the ports could see down on to her deck, which was croith yellow Malays like those hoht; besides numbers of Chinese, souese desperadoes, and such ferocious-looking ruffians as herd together in Eastern seas
”Be ready, uns,” said the lieutenant, with finger uplifted to iive the word to fire She'll coive her the benefit of all four at once!”
Up crept the pirate, the oh, as the breeze had dropped, it hung down limp from the mast; and they could hear the chatter of voices on board her quite distinctly Nearer and nearer she carouped on her flush deck
There seeether, looking over the side of their vessel at their expected prey
Nearer and nearer she still continued to glide--until the schooner was alside the _Hankow Lin_, and not ten yards off It looked as if the pirate was going to run theain to the expectant Englishuns, be ready to run theuns!
Fire!”
The concussion shook the shi+p to her centre, and a perfect hail of grape-shot was poured on the deck of the schooner, h the ranks of the pirate's crew, as if they had been ain, ive theht,” as a wild yell rose again from the crowded pirate ”Now, Captain Morton, one more round and then I shall board her on the weather-side Load again as quickly as you can Fire!”
The terrific shot-shower again swept into the schooner, which had re broken the sweeps and killed thethem; and before the pirates could recover fro of the _Hankow Lin_, with Lieutenant Meredith and his chosen crew, not forgetting Mr Sprott, had dashed out from the shi+p and boarded the schooner on her other side, where they least of all expected a foe, and the smoke concealed the boat's movements
At the instant that the naval lieutenant jue of the Aruns swept her decks, and the schooner, i surfaces approach each other on the water, ranged up alongside the tea-shi+p At this moment, sobll dropped from the forecastle of the _Hankow Lin_ into the bows of the schooner, followed by Jem Backstay and half-a-dozen others
assailed thus on all sides--the lieutenant and his crew clearing all before them with a valiant cheer, which sobll re-echoed with a terrific shout like an Indian war-cry, perhaps from some intuitive recollections of his native wilds on the banks of the Congo, in which the words ”golly, take dat now!” could, however, be plainly distinguished--the attack proved a trifle too hot for the rel lot of scoundrels whoave way instanter So to the last; solish cold steel; and the remainder, sorape frouns and the keen cutlasses of the blue-jackets, thren their arms and surrendered, when they were driven into the hold, and the hatches battened down over the to end had not lasted ten minutes; and the pirate shi+p was captured in alinal Malay gang on board the _Hankow Lin_
”Hoist the Union Jack, sobll,” said the lieutenant to the darky, who had done soin his hand, and apparently itching to haul it up ”Hoist away, darky, and let us have honest colours over that dirty black rag! Now, lads, three cheers!”
”Lord bless you!” as Bill the boatswain said to his hen telling her the story of the pirate's repulse when he got home some tihter have just heard the shout that then went up from our throats to heaven! It sounded a'most like thunder; it were louder nor the report of the Aruns as peppered the varmint!”