gave up all as lost. My men,
disheartened at this accession to the number of their foes, began to
give way, whilst the Spanish crew fought with renewed courage.
Moreover, we found that we were now fighting not for glory, but for
life itself; for, on looking round, we saw to our horror that the
grapnels had been loosened, and thus all retreat cut off. Our vessel
was no longer lying alongside of the brig, but across its bows, so
that the bowsprit of the latter crossed its deck. We could not,
therefore, reach it, since the Spaniards had possession of the
forecastle of their own vessel. At this critical moment we received
unexpected aid in the shape of a shower of grape shot from our
schooner, which swept away many of the negroes, besides wounding a
large number of them, whilst at the same time a new party of
combatants sprang on deck to our rescue.

V.

When we boarded the slaver, we left on board our vessel the helmsman
Peter Mangrave, the black quarter-master Pearl, five negroes who were
on board as passengers, little Reefpoint, who was wounded, and Bangs,
Gelid, and Wagtail. At the moment when I had given up all as lost,
honest Pearl sprang on deck, his cutlass in his hand, accompanied by
the five blacks and Peter Mangrave, whilst behind him came no less a
person than Aaron Bangs, with the three negro servants, whom he had
armed with pikes.

"Now Pearl, my beauty," cried Bangs, waving his cutlass, "give them a
touch of their own lingo."

Immediately the black quarter-master called out:

"Coramantee Sheik Cowloo kokemoni pepulorum fir."

Which I afterwards found out meant, "See the Sultan Cowloo, the great
ostrich, with a feather on his back as big as a palm leaf; fight for
him, you dogs."

Immediately the blacks joined Bangs' party, and commenced so fierce an
attack on their former masters, that they soon drove them down the
hatchway, leaving half their number on the bloody deck, dead or
dangerously wounded. But, driven to desperation, they still resisted,
firing up the hatchway, and paying no attention to my repeated demands
to them to surrender.

"God in Heaven!" cried Jigmaree, "that is the sound of hammers; they
are freeing the blacks."

"If you unchain the negroes," cried I, in the Spanish language, "by
the Heaven above us, I will blow you into the air, if I have to go
with you. Stop, Spanairds! think madmen, what you are doing."

"Cover the hatches," cried Tailtackle.

But the covers must have b