ng over like ninepins every man that happened to be
standing in their way. The man on the rail jumped down off his perch as
nimbly as if he was scalded, and I heard him shout `Car-r-r-r-amba!' or
something like it, as he waved his hand to the man at the wheel. At the
same moment the brigantine delivered her broadside, and before the smoke
had time to clear away I heard and felt the crash of her as she dropped
alongside us fair in the waist. The next second--so it seemed to me--
our rail was alive with the dirty, garlic-smelling blackguards, who came
swarming over upon our decks until it seemed that there was no room for
more. Well, I had a pair of pistols and a sword, and each of our lads
had his cutlass, and for three or four minutes there was as pretty a
fight as you'd wish to see going on aboard the old _Wyvern_. Then,
while I was doing my best to hold my own against four of the rascals who
came crowding round me, I got a knock on the head from behind that made
me see about a million stars before I dropped senseless to the deck."

CHAPTER SIX.

WE FIND THE LAUNCH.

How long I remained unconscious I don't know, but it must have been at
least half an hour, I should say; for when at length I came round I
found myself lying, bound hand and foot, on the deck, along with such of
my crew as had not been killed in the defence of the ship, while the
_Wyvern_ was hove-to under topsails, with her hatches off, and a regular
mob of the dirty, greasy Spaniards swarming round the main hatchway and
hoisting out the cargo that another gang was breaking out down below.
They had hoisted out all our boats, too, I soon found, and were using
them to transfer such goods as they required to the brigantine--all,
that is to say, except the long-boat, which, for some reason that I did
not then understand, was lying unused in the starboard gangway. They
took their time over the job of picking and choosing from among the
stuff that we carried, but I noticed that all the while they had a hand
aloft on the main-royal yard keeping a lookout. They kept at it until
it was too dark to see what they were about, and then they left us, one
boat remaining alongside for fully twenty minutes after the rest had
gone, while some of her people were busy down below. At length,
however, they shoved off as well, leaving me and my people lying on the
deck trussed up like so many chickens. Two or three minutes later I
heard some orders given, immedia