s repel
boarders!" And then again, "All hands repel boarders!"

Whether hurt by the table edge or not, the fallen pirate struggled as
though possessed of forty devils, and in a moment or two Mainwaring saw
the shine of a long, keen knife that he had drawn from somewhere about
his person. The lieutenant caught him by the wrist, but the other's
muscles were as though made of steel. They both fought in despairing
silence, the one to carry out his frustrated purposes to kill, the other
to save his life. Again and again Mainwaring felt that the knife had
been thrust against him, piercing once his arm, once his shoulder, and
again his neck. He felt the warm blood streaming down his arm and body
and looked about him in despair. The pistol lay near upon the deck of
the cabin. Still holding the other by the wrist as he could, Mainwaring
snatched up the empty weapon and struck once and again at the bald,
narrow forehead beneath him. A third blow he delivered with all the
force he could command, and then with a violent and convulsive throe the
straining muscles beneath him relaxed and grew limp and the fight was
won.

Through all the struggle he had been aware of the shouts of voices, of
trampling of feet and discharge of firearms, and the thought came to
him, even through his own danger, that the Yankee was being assaulted
by the pirates. As he felt the struggling form beneath him loosen and
dissolve into quietude, he leaped up, and snatching his cutlass, which
still lay upon the table, rushed out upon the deck, leaving the stricken
form lying twitching upon the floor behind him.

It was a fortunate thing that he had set double watches and prepared
himself for some attack from the pirates, otherwise the Yankee would
certainly have been lost. As it was, the surprise was so overwhelming
that the pirates, who had been concealed in the large whaleboat that had
come alongside, were not only able to gain a foothold upon the deck,
but for a time it seemed as though they would drive the crew of the brig
below the hatches.

But as Mainwaring, streaming with blood, rushed out upon the deck, the
pirates became immediately aware that their own captain must have
been overpowered, and in an instant their desperate energy began to
evaporate. One or two jumped overboard; one, who seemed to be the mate,
fell dead from a pistol shot, and then, in the turn of a hand, there was
a rush of a retreat and a vision of leaping forms in the dusky light