the weapon, and a
well-known voice said in his ear: "Pull, Roger, lad, pull, and out
she'll come." And out she did come; and Roger faced round right into
the arms of his friend Harry.

"What, Harry," said he joyfully, "you here! So you were the man whom I
was lucky enough to rescue from that black-bearded rascal just now. How
on earth did you get here?"

"Yes, lad," replied Harry; "you have saved my life again, and I am once
more in your debt. And as for how I got here, why, how otherwise than
over the bulwarks from my ship? I might rather ask how you came here.
But we must leave our experiences until a more convenient season, or we
shall not live to see the end of this good fight."

The pirates were fighting now with the fury of desperation, and,
encouraged by the bull voice of Jose Leirya--who seemed to bear a
charmed life,--they prepared to form up into line and attempt with one
furious charge to sweep the English from the decks of their beloved
schooner.

The Englishmen, however, who were more or less separated and scattered
about the decks, each engaging his own antagonist, saw the move, and
themselves retreated to their own main body in order to strengthen it
for the threatened rally of the pirates.

At this moment Harry and Roger found themselves isolated from their own
countrymen, and in great danger, as the whole surviving pirate crew was
between them and their friends.

Luckily for them, however, only four of the enemy turned their attention
to the two friends, the others being too busy preparing to attack the
English main body to think about them. Yet, even as it was, the odds
were quite unequal enough--four stalwart men in the very prime of life,
and hardened by years of toil and activity on the seas, against two
youngsters who were but little more than boys!

Harry and Roger knew, of course, that they were fighting for their
lives, and as both had their long swords as against the shorter weapon
of the pirates, they contrived to keep them at a safe distance for some
time.

Meanwhile the pirates had massed together, and the whole body of them,
even to such of the wounded as could stand, and excepting only the four
men who were attacking the two chums, had charged the Englishmen with
irresistible fury, driving them along the deck as chaff is swept before
the wind. After the first rush, however, the Englishmen rallied again,
and were now slowly but surely driving the pirates back along their ow