ds between us; nor was there
time for hesitation; so, quickly ducking my head, I sprang upon him like
lightning, and seized him by both wrists at the very instant that his
pistol exploded; the bullet grazing the left side of my head, and neatly
clipping off a lock of my hair. The fellow was as lithe as an eel in my
hands, and made the most desperate efforts to stab me with his long,
murderous-looking knife; but I had him fast in so powerful a grip that,
after a furious struggle of a few seconds, he dropped both his weapons
with a gasp of pain, my clutch having, as it presently appeared, forced
both his wrists from their sockets. To snatch the remaining pistol from
his belt with my right hand, while I shifted the grip of my left to his
throat, was the work of but a single instant; and I then turned to see
how Hardy was faring with his antagonist. He had apparently been less
fortunate than myself, for his cheek was laid open by a long gash from
the chief mate's knife, which, even as I turned my head, again descended
and buried itself in Hardy's shoulder. The smart of this second wound
seemed to fairly rouse my shipmate, and before I could do anything to
help him his ponderous fist darted out with the force of a six-pound
shot, catching the miserable Corsican fair in the centre of the face and
dashing him backwards, with a shriek of pain, across the table. This
blow settled the affair; there was no more fight left in either of the
brothers--indeed I had unconsciously gripped my prisoner's throat so
tightly, while watching the termination of the struggle between the
other two, that his tongue and eyeballs were protruding, and he was
already going black in the face. So we securely pinioned the precious
pair, lashing their arms and legs together, and, bundling each into his
own cabin, locked the doors, the keys of which I slipped into my pocket.
This done, I helped myself, from the trophy upon the after-bulkhead of
the cabin, to weapons enough for our entire party; found Gaspar, the
steward, in his pantry, where I lashed him fast and locked him in; and
then the four of us hastened on deck to ascertain what effect, if any,
had been produced by the pistol-shot fired in the cabin upon the small
residue of the crew who had not yet utterly succumbed to the stupefying
influence of their immoderate potations.

CHAPTER NINETEEN.

THE FATE OF THE SANTA THERESA.

Upon rejoining Dumaresq, I learned from him that the pistol-s