t the stream-anchor
into her with a hawser bent on to it, and run it away astern; be smart,
my lads; we must get afloat again before that felucca reaches us."

These orders were obeyed with that smartness and promptitude which
distinguishes the disciplined man-of-war's-man; but the operation of
laying out the anchor astern necessarily occupied some little time. The
boat had only just dropped the anchor overboard, and the men on board
the schooner were gathering in the slack of the hawser preparatory to
taking it to the capstan, when the felucca came foaming down upon us,
and a hasty turn had to be taken with it, and the men at once sent back
to their guns, as the manoeuvres of our antagonist seemed to threaten
that she was about to turn the tables upon us by laying us aboard, as we
had contemplated doing with her.

"Boarders prepare to repel boarders!" exclaimed O'Flaherty, drawing his
sword. I whipped out my toasting iron, and at the same moment down came
Courtenay on deck by way of the back-stays. "Give me a musket,
somebody," exclaimed he, as he alighted on the rail and sprang nimbly
from thence to the deck.

"Here you are, sir, all ready primed and loaded," responded the captain
of one of the guns, promptly thrusting the required weapon into my
chum's hands.

The felucca was within one hundred feet of us, foaming along at the rate
of about seven knots, and apparently aiming to strike us stem on
directly amidships, when Courtenay sprang on the rail again, and,
steadying his body against the fore-topmast back-stay, raised the musket
steadily to his shoulder.

"Stand by, men, to fire, but wait until I give the word, and then fire
only when you are certain of your shot taking effect!" exclaimed
O'Flaherty. "Mr Courtenay, the helmsman is your mark, if you can--"

_Crack_! went Courtenay's musket, interrupting O'Flaherty's speech; a
cry was heard on board the felucca, and her bows began to fly into the
wind as Courtenay jumped down off the rail again, and, requisitioning a
cartridge, began to hastily reload his piece.

"Now, men--now is your time to rake her! Fire!" exclaimed O'Flaherty,
and our broadside of three six-pounders rang sharply out, followed by
the crashing and rending sound of timber as the shot entered through the
felucca's starboard bow, and a hideous outburst of shrieks, groans,
yells, and shouts of defiance as the grape tore obliquely along her deck
almost fore and aft. In another moment, st