d us so gallantly over the
side, far in advance, brave-hearted old sea dog that he was, bounded
across the intervening bulwarks, and were the next instant engaged in
all the maddening excitement of a hand-to-hand tussle with the black
villains, pistol shot, sword cut and pike thrust coming in turn into
play, amid a babel of hoarse shouts of rage and cheers and savage
yells--mingled with the swish of blows from capstan bars, the loud
reports of revolvers fired off at close range and the heavy thud of
falling bodies as they tumbled headlong on the deck ever and anon,
accompanied by some cry of agony or groan of pain too deep for
utterance.

Aye, it was a discord of devilry that must have appeared a veritable
pandemonium to the spirits of the air, were any such looking down on the
wrathful, sanguinary scene from the clear blue heavens above, all
radiant now with a golden glow that came from the west, where the
declining sun was just beginning to sink below the horizon!

"Fuaghaballah, may the divvle take the hindmost!" cried Garry O'Neil,
leaping after the skipper on to the poop of the _Saint Pierre_, a
revolver in his right fist and a cutlass in his left, laying about him
with a will amongst the mass of infuriated negroes who tried to resist
his rush, clutching at his legs and arms in vain, for he seemed
bewitched. "Come on wid ye, me darlints, an' let us make mincemate of
'em, faith!"

I followed in his wake, but a crowd of our men, some of whom had served
in the navy and were accustomed to the work, pushed me on one side,
going into the thick of the fight themselves, and all was such a jumble
of confusion that I hardly knew where I was until "a pretty tidy tap on
the top of my head," as Garry would have said, brought back my
recollection in a very effective manner, when I found myself right in
front of an extremely ugly-looking negro, whose appearance was not
improved by a slice having been taken off the side of his face, and from
which blood was streaming down all over his black body, and that
destitute of clothing.

I noticed that this gentleman had a long piece of wood like a boat
stretcher in his hands, with which he had evidently given me the gentle
reminder I have mentioned, being brought to this conclusion by the fact
that the rascal had it raised ready to deal another blow.

Putting up my arm instinctively to ward off the impending stroke that I
saw coming, I cocked and levelled my revolver at him in an i