im, and you can't do
that in the dark--it's only waste of powder. Now, then, are you ready?"

"Ay, ay," was whispered back in the midst of the ominous silence that
prevailed.

"Then look here," cried the gunner, "I shall go in at 'em roosh; and if
they downs me, don't you mind, lads, but keep on; go over me at once and
board the place."

"Lookye here," growled Tom Tully, "I'm 'bout as hard as iron; they won't
hurt me. Let me go fust, capten."

As he spoke the great fellow spat in his hand before taking a tighter
grip of his weapon, and making a step forward.

"Just you keep aft, will yer, Tom Tully, and obey orders?" said the
gunner, seizing the great fellow by the tail and dragging him back.
"I'm skipper here, and I'm going to lead. Now, lads, are you all
ready?"

"Ay, ay," was the reply.

"Then I ar'n't," said the gunner. "That crack pretty nigh split my
shoulder. Now I am. Close up, and hit hard. We're all right, my lads;
they're smugglers, and they hit us fust."

The gunner made a dash forward, and, as they had expected, a concealed
enemy struck a tremendous blow at him; but Billy Waters was a sailor,
and accustomed to rapid action. By quickness of movement and ready wit
he avoided the blow, which, robbed of a good deal of its force, struck
Tom Tully full in the chest, stopping him for a moment, but only serving
to infuriate him, as, recovering himself, he dashed on after the gunner.

A sharp fight ensued, for now, as the sailors forced their way on, they
found plenty of antagonists. Most of them seemed to be armed with stout
clubs like capstan-bars, with which they struck blow after blow of the
most formidable character from where they kept guard at various turns of
the narrow passage, while the sailors could not reach them with their
short cutlasses.

It was sharp work, and with all their native stubbornness the little
party fought their way on, attacking and carrying yard after yard of the
passage, forcing the smugglers to retreat from vantage ground to vantage
ground, and always higher and higher up the rocks.

The attacking party were at a terrible disadvantage, for the place was
to them like a maze, while the smugglers kept taking them in the rear,
and striking at them from the most unexpected positions, till the
sailors were hot with a rage that grew fiercer with every blow.

At the end of ten minutes two of the men were down, and the gunner and
Tom Tully panting and breathless with th