had
passed through the sleeve of his coat.

"That was a narrow shave," observed the captain, as Mr Lukyn stooped
down and picked up his hat. Had the men been standing up, great
numbers, probably, would have been killed or wounded. The enemy after
this hauled up on the larboard tack, and was about to pour her starboard
broadside into us, when, our crew springing to their feet, our sails
were thrown back, and the French frigate's larboard bow came directly on
to our starboard quarter. As she did so, the boatswain with his mates
sprang aft, and in a moment it seemed that the enemy's bowsprit, or
rather jib-boom, was lashed to our mizen-rigging, in spite of a heavy
rattling fire of musketry, kept up on them by the French marines on
their forecastle. A body of our marines came aft to reply to them, and
numbers were dropping on both sides. While this was going forward, I
saw a French officer walking along the bowsprit with a musket in his
hand. He rested it on the stay, and was taking a deliberate aim at
Captain Collyer, who stood, not observing this, encouraging the men to
work the after guns. At that instant a marine who had just loaded his
musket was shot dead. I seized it as he fell, and in the impulse of the
moment, dropping on my knee, raised it to my shoulder and fired at the
Frenchman on the bowsprit who at the same time fired. A ball passed
through the captain's hat--he turned his head and observed that I had
just fired, and saw also the Frenchman falling headlong into the water.

"Thank you, Mr Merry, you have saved my life," he said, turning a look
of approval on me; but there was no time for more. Everything I have
described passed like a flash of lightning. All was now smoke and
noise, the men straining at the gun-tackles, sponging and loading; the
marines firing and stooping down, as they had been ordered, to load, to
avoid the bullets of the French marines who were so much above them.
Meantime the French had been mustering on deck, and suddenly appearing
on their forecastle, they rushed along the bowsprit, and were leaping
down on our hammock nettings, the headmost reaching the deck.

"Boarders, repel boarders!" shouted Mr Bryan; and he with one or two
mates, followed by Jonathan Johnson, with his doughty cutlass, hurried
aft to meet them. What had become of the captain and Mr Lukyn I could
not tell. Fierce was the encounter, for the French seamen fought
desperately, and their marines kept blazi