ip of us and
held on like a shark what grabs you by the legs. But pistols and pikes
had been sarved out, and when they came bundlin' over into the foc'sle,
we bundled 'em back into the Hugli, and you may be sure they wasn't
exactly seaworthy when they got there. They was a mixed lot; that we soon
found out by their manner o' swearin' as they slipped by the board, for
although there was Moors among 'em, most of 'em was Frenchies or
Dutchmen, and considerin' they wasn't Englishmen they made a good fight
of it. But over they went, until only a few was left; and we was just
about to finish 'em off, when another country ship dropped alongside, and
before we knew where we was a score of yellin' ruffians was into the
waist and rushin' us in the stern sheets, as you might say. We had to
fight then, by thunder! we did.

"The odds was against us now, and we was catchin' it from two sides. But
our blood was up, and we knew what to expect if they beat us. 'Twas the
Hugli for every man Jack of us, and no mistake. There was no orders,
every man for himself, with just enough room and no more to see the
mounseers in front of him. Some of us--I was one of 'em--fixed the flints
of the pirates for'ard, while the rest faced round and kept the others
off. Then we went at 'em, and as they couldn't all get at us at the same
time, owing to the deck being narrow, the odds was not so bad arter all.
'Twas now hand to hand, fist to fist, one for you and one for me; you
found a Frenchman and stuck to him till you finished him off, or he
finished you, as the case might be, in a manner of speakin'. Well, I
found one lanky chap--he was number four that night--and all in ten
minutes, as it were, I jabbed a pike at him, and missed, for it was hard
to keep footin' on the wet deck, though the wet was not Hugli water;
thick as it is, this was thicker--and he fired a pistol at me by way of
thank you. I saw his figurehead in the flash, and I shan't forget it
either, for he left me this to remember him by, though I didn't know it
at the time."

Here Bulger held up the iron hook that did duty for his left forearm.
Then glancing cautiously around, he added in a whisper:

"'Twas Diggle--or I'm a Dutchman. That was my fust meetin' with him. Of
course, I'm in a way helpless now, being on the ship's books, and he in a
manner of speakin' an orficer; but one of these days there'll be a
reckonin', or my name en't Bulger."

The boatswain brought down his fist