and down from my bare feet to
my unkempt head.

"I, monsieur," said I steadily, though my heart was thumping at a
furious rate--"I, monsieur, am one of the English dogs--at your
service."

This announcement was sufficiently startling to account for the
temporary paralysis that seemed to have fallen on the party. They
stared at me, speechless. During that moment I had thrown a rapid
glance to my left. The three deserters were lying against the wall;
between them and me were the stacked muskets of the soldiers.

While the men were still fixed in their astonishment, I sprang
three paces to the left, caught up the muskets in both arms, and
dashed towards the door. That released them from the spell; the men
jumped to their feet and rushed after me. What happened to the
captain I learned afterwards from Joe. He suddenly found himself
heaved up into the air: four brawny arms had shoved up the trap
door on which he was lying, my dash for the door having been the
signal I had communicated to them through Runnles. When the officer
came sprawling down on the straw again, some feet away from his
former position, he was pounced on by Joe and the bosun, who made
short work of tying him up with his own sword strap.

Meanwhile the rest of my comrades had run out of the cellar door,
and joined me just in time to receive the charge of the six
Frenchmen who had followed me from the house. Fortunately for us,
what with surprise and haste, the Frenchmen had not drawn their
swords, so that the fight that ensued beneath the ruined wall of
the farm was waged on fairly even terms. And when it comes to a
contest in which nature's weapons are employed, I never yet met
combatants to match sturdy English tars. There were six Frenchmen,
and my comrades (Joe and the bosun being busy with the captain)
numbered seven, but of these Dilly was old and Runnles was small,
and, coming up in the rear of the rest, they two had no part in the
fight. Nor had I, for when they engaged my arms were full of the
muskets; and when I had laid these on the ground I saw that one of
the Frenchmen, evidently foreseeing how the matter must end, left
his fellows and ran fleetly towards the horse, which was looking
with serene indifference at the scene. I sprinted after him; he had
only a few yards' start, and knew that he was pursued, for he
swerved out of the direction in which he was running, seeing, no
doubt, that he would not have time to untether the horse before