board of you as sure as heaven."

"Push off the bow there!" called the boatswain at the wheel. "Look
alive! Why don't you push off the bow?"

"She's hard aground!" answered the gunner. "We can't budge her an inch."

"If they was to fire into us now," said the sailing master, "they'd
smash us to pieces."

"They won't fire into us," said the lieutenant. "They won't dare to."
He jumped down from the cabin deckhouse as he spoke, and went forward to
urge the men in pushing off the boat. It was already beginning to move.

At that moment the sailing master suddenly called out, "Mr. Maynard! Mr.
Maynard! they're going to give us a broadside!"

Almost before the words were out of his mouth, before Lieutenant Maynard
could turn, there came a loud and deafening crash, and then instantly
another, and a third, and almost as instantly a crackling and rending of
broken wood. There were clean yellow splinters flying everywhere. A man
fell violently against the lieutenant, nearly overturning him, but he
caught at the stays and so saved himself. For one tense moment he stood
holding his breath. Then all about him arose a sudden outcry of groans
and shouts and oaths. The man who had fallen against him was lying face
down upon the deck. His thighs were quivering, and a pool of blood was
spreading and running out from under him. There were other men down, all
about the deck. Some were rising; some were trying to rise; some only
moved.

There was a distant sound of yelling and cheering and shouting. It was
from the pirate sloop. The pirates were rushing about upon her decks.
They had pulled the cannon back, and, through the grunting sound of
the groans about him, the lieutenant could distinctly hear the thud and
punch of the rammers, and he knew they were going to shoot again.

The low rail afforded almost no shelter against such a broadside, and
there was nothing for it but to order all hands below for the time
being.

"Get below!" roared out the lieutenant. "All hands get below and lie
snug for further orders!" In obedience the men ran scrambling below into
the hold, and in a little while the decks were nearly clear except
for the three dead men and some three or four wounded. The boatswain,
crouching down close to the wheel, and the lieutenant himself were the
only others upon deck. Everywhere there were smears and sprinkles of
blood. "Where's Brookes?" the lieutenant called out.

"He's hurt in the arm, sir, and he's gone below