ing frantically, the gunners quickly loaded the piece on the
Atlamalcan craft and swung it around to bear on the other.

"Look out for the Major!" called Captain Winton; "he is standing at
the front."

While the native gunners were awaiting the critical second, there was
a white puff, a red belch of flame, and a thunderous report rolled
over the river and against the shores. A smashing sound, the
splintering of wood and a number of yells followed, the ball having
torn its way through the cabin and splashed into the river beyond.

In this crisis, General Yozarro displayed unexpected coolness. General
Bambos hurriedly sagged down behind the pile of wood at the front, as
if mortally hurt, but he was merely taking precautions against
becoming so.

"Quick!" roared General Yozarro; "sink their boat!"

The haste was unwise, for the gunners were not wholly lacking in
skill, but they were flustered by the furious orders of their brutal
chief, and fired sooner than they intended. It would have seemed
that with so brief a distance separating the combatants a miss was
impossible; but the heavy missile only grazed the foremast, dropping
somewhere among the trees on the southern shore.

"Hurrah!" shouted the delighted Major, swinging his hat; "let the good
work go on! Keep it up! The Stars and Stripes forever!"

Colonel Del Valle had recovered from the fierce blow that sent him
spinning across the cabin and was aflame with anger. He, too, had a
revolver, and, heedless of the wild turmoil and confusion, in which a
half dozen were injured by the flying splinters, he sneaked forward
toward the hurrahing American. He raised his hand tremulous with fury,
and sighting as well as he could through his watery, bloody eyes, let
fly.

The crack of the weapon amid the tumult caused Major Starland to turn
like a flash. He saw he had forgotten himself, and that in all
probability he had a fight on his hands.

"I don't want to kill you, Colonel, but you need a lesson."

The officer was backing away, when at the flash of the other weapon,
he uttered a howl and skurried into the cabin with his right arm
dangling useless. The American saw his pistol fall, and darting
forward, picked it up. He now had two revolvers, and with only a
single empty chamber in each. He backed against the pile of wood, to
prevent any one getting behind him, and confronted the mob. Moreover,
it was necessary that his friends should see where he was in order to
av