the mother now mingled with those of the
child as he put out his little arms to shield his black protector. The
ruffian, foiled in his purpose, with baffled rage evaded the negro by
stepping to one side; and as he did so, he hurled the helpless child
with great force from him. The large cabin windows at the stern were
open to let in the breeze; and as the brig sank slowly down with her
counter to the following waves, and gurgled up as the sea eddied and
surged around the rudder, the faint, plaintive cry of the little boy
arose above the seething waters--a light splash followed--and the mother
had lost her child!

"Oh, monster!" cried the heart-broken woman. "Oh, my boy! my boy! May
Heaven curse you forever!" as she sank down senseless on the deck.

The awful howl of vengeance which burst from the deep lungs of Banou
came simultaneously with the report of the pirate's pistol, the bullet
from which struck the black hard in the left shoulder; but putting out
for the third time his sinewy arms, and this time with an iron grip that
only left the ruffian time to yell with a stifled curse for help, he was
hurled headlong, smashing through the latticed cabin door, and fell
stunned upon the outer deck. In an instant half a dozen pistol balls
whistled around the negro's head, and the knives of the pirates flashed
from their sashes as they rushed forward to bury the blades in his body;
but leaping to one side, and while two more bullets were driven into
him, he seized an iron-shod pump brake from the bulwarks, and, with a
mighty bound, whirled it once with the rapidity of thought high above
his head, and brought it down on the leg of his prostrate foe. Such was
the force of the blow that it smashed both bones, and drove the white
splinters through the brute's trowsers, where they gleamed out red and
bloody by the light of the binnacle lamp. Even then, wounded, and the
blood flowing from several places, and though almost encircled in the
grasp of the scoundrels, Banou made good his retreat to the cabin, and
planted his powerful body firmly against the door.

With a volley of polyglot curses and yells in all languages, two or
three of the pirates stopped to raise their fallen leader, while the
others, leaving the wheel and vessel to herself, rushed in pursuit of
the black. Scarcely, however, had they made a step, when their ears were
saluted by a stunning crash from a heavy cannon, and the peculiar
humming sound of a round shot as