plintering wood and a long, intermittent roar came over the water.
The brig had taken advantage of her falling off the wind to deliver a
broadside in her own turn. Stede Bonnet's voice, cool as ever, gave the
order and four guns answered the brig's discharge. The crew of the
middle cannon lay on the deck in a pitiable state, two killed outright
and the gunner bleeding from a great splinter wound in the head. A shot
had entered to one side of the port, tearing the planking to bits and
after striking down the two gun-servers, had passed into the fo'c's'le.
Jeremy jumped forward with his blanket in time to stamp out a blaze
where the firing-match had been dropped, and with the help of one of the
pirates dragged the wounded man to his berth. Almost every shot of the
last volley had done damage aboard the brig. Her freeboard, twice as
high as that of the sloop, had offered a target which for expert gunners
was hard to miss. Jagged openings showed all along her side, and as she
rose on a swell, Job shouted, "See there! She's leakin' now. 'Twas my
last shot did that--right on her waterline!"

"All hands on deck to board her!" came a shout, almost at the same
instant. Jeremy hurrying up with the rest found the sloop bearing down
straight before the wind, and only a dozen boat's lengths from the
enemy.

A wild whoop went up among the pirates. Every man had seized on a musket
and was crouching behind the rail. Bonnet alone stood on the open deck,
his buff coat blowing open and his hand resting lightly on his sword. An
occasional cannon shot screamed overhead or splashed away astern.
Apparently the brig's batteries were too greatly damaged and her crew
too badly shot up to offer an effective bombardment. She was drifting
helplessly under tattered ribbons of canvas and the _Royal James_, whose
sails had suffered far less, bore down upon her opponent with the swoop
of a hawk.

As she drew close aboard a scattered fusillade of small arms broke out
from the brig's poop, wounding one man, a Portuguese, but for the most
part striking harmlessly against the bulwark. The buccaneers held their
fire till they were scarce a boat's length distant. Then at the order
they swept the ship with a withering musket volley. The brig was down by
the head and lay almost bow on so that her deck was exposed to Bonnet's
marksmen. Herriot brought his sloop about like a flash and almost before
Jeremy realized what was toward, the ships had bumped together