said Captain Gillespie, "as ye've let off all your gas, let
me see what ye can do in action. Bosun, serve out the cutlasses and
distribute the rest of the guns."

This being done and all of the men armed in one way or another, the
deficiencies of the captain's armoury being made good by the aid of
handspikes which Mr Mackay had thoughtfully ordered to be brought aft
while we were taking up the rifles and other things from the cabin.
Even Billy, the ship's boy, got hold of an old bayonet, which he
brandished about near Pedro Carvalho the steward, who had come out of
his pantry to see what all the noise was about, which gesture on his
part almost frightening the Portuguese, who, as I've related before, was
an innate coward, into a fit. At all events, it made him turn of a
yellowish pallor that did not improve his complexion.

"Carramba!" he exclaimed, as he retreated back within his pantry.
"Fora, maldito!"

When offered a weapon, Ching Wang only smiled that innocent bland smile
of his, producing his own long knife, that had a blade like an American
bowie, being over a foot long and with a double edge.

"Me one piecee in tyfong tummee tummee, chop chop, pijjin!" he said,
brandishing the awful blade in a way that I'm sure the "kyfongs," the
Chinese term for pirates, would not relish, especially in such friendly
relation with their "tummee tummees."

All the crew being now armed, the captain and Mr Mackay disposed them
in parties about the deck and forecastle to windward, so as best to
oppose the pirates' attack; while the men provided with the Enfield
rifles were placed in the tops, with the bullets and powder for
ammunition when their cartridges ran short. Tim Rooney took his station
with Mr Mackay on the poop, from which the advancing pirates could best
be picked off, and where also were gathered the captain, as a matter of
course; Mr Saunders, who carried an old single-barrel pistol with a
heavy lock, which the second mate intended to make more use of as a club
than to shoot with; and Tom Jerrold and Sam Weeks, as well as myself--
Sam being sadly jealous of Tom and I from the fact of our having
revolvers, while he, coming too late after they'd all been distributed,
had to be contented with a marlin-spike--poor Sammy!

It was thus that we all awaited the attack, every man Jack of us being
at his specially appointed post and on the alert; when the pirates--
after pounding away at us a long time at a distance, wi