ife, and, ascending the
companion-ladder at the same time as Garry and myself, I heard him
muttering to himself as he went along and just caught the following
words: "To think--brave men--lose--valuable--save such--theirs--too
dreadful. She frivolous--he--a--damned coward!" laying a rather strong
emphasis on the last words.

We afterwards went down again, Garry and I, and managed between us to
bring up little Mr Johnson, the brave fellow having picked up
wonderfully after the attention we had given him, and the knife-thrust
he had received from the negro was found to have only grazed his ribs,
and he was anxious for fresh air, after his long imprisonment below, and
to see and judge for himself how things were looking on deck after our
scrimmage.

Here the light was waning and there was a good deal to be done.

"I think, Fosset," said the skipper to our worthy first mate, who had
been ordering matters forward while the former had come aft, "we had
better muster the hands first so as to know who's missing. I'm afraid
several of our poor fellows have lost the number of their mess in the
fight."

"Aye, sir, they have," replied Mr Fosset. "Poor Stoddart's gone, for
one!"

"Poor fellow, I am sorry," exclaimed the captain with much feeling. "We
couldn't have lost a better man, for he was about the best we had on
board, poor fellow--a good engineer, a good mess-mate, and good at
everything he handled, besides being the finest fellow that ever wore
shoe leather. How did it happen?"

"He was knifed by one of those black devils, sir, as he led the boarders
forrad!"

"Poor Stoddart! I am sorry to lose you! Well, there's no use crying
over spilt milk, and all my words will never bring him back again. Mr
O'Neil, just muster the men in the waist and let us know the worst at
once!"

"Faith, ye're roight, sor; we'd betther count noses an' have the job
over," returned Garry, _sotto voce_, singing out in a louder key to the
survivors of the fray, who were grouped in the waist about the mainmast,
where the remaining Haytians who had not been killed outright were tied
up feet to the wrists, as the skipper had told Colonel Vereker when he
came up. "Now all you _Star of the Norths_ that are still alive, come
over here to starboard; the chaps that are d'id, sure, can shtop where
they are!"

The hands laughed at this Hibernian way of putting the matter to them,
and answered their names readily on Garry proceeding to read o