ek, and went right over the boat into the
sea. At the same moment a Malay seized the pirate by an ear, another
grasped him by an arm, and he was quickly hauled inboard and bound.
"Here, Joe Baldwin," cried Rooney to his comrade, who pulled an oar near
the stern of the boat, "for anny favour lind a hand to fix on the pint
o' my poor nose. It was niver purty, but och! It's ruinated now past
redimption."

"Not a bit, man," said Joe, as he bound up the injured member by the
simple process of tying a kerchief right round his friend's face and
head; "it'll be handsomer than ever. There was always too much of it.
You can afford to have it reduced."

Rooney did not quite seem to appreciate this comforting remark; however,
after his nose was bound he and the rest of the boat's crew continued
their work, and soon returned on board the gun-boat with a mixed lot of
pirates and captives. Of course the rescuers were more careful in
approaching the swimmers after Rooney's misfortune, but in spite of this
many of them were wounded by the pirates slashing at them with their
swords and knives, or flinging these weapons violently into the boats.

In a short time all were saved who yet remained above water. Then the
boats were hauled up and the steamer gave chase to the prow in charge of
the pirate captain, which was by that time far away on the horizon.

CHAPTER TWENTY.

THE FIGHT CONCLUDED.

The nautical proverb saith that "A stern chase is a long one;" but that
proverb, to make it perfect and universally applicable, should have been
prefaced by the words "All things being equal."

In the present case all things were not equal. The gun-boat was a fast
steamer; the chase was a slow row-boat, insufficiently manned by tired
and wounded men. But many of them were desperate men. Their leader was
an arch-fiend of resolution and ferocity. He knew that escape, in the
circumstances, was impossible. He was well aware of the fate that
awaited him if taken. He therefore made up his mind to give his enemies
as much trouble as possible, to delay their triumph and cause it to cost
them dear, and, in every practicable way that might occur, to thwart and
worry them to the end.

Animated by such a spirit, he managed to encourage his men, and to
terrify and lash his slaves to almost superhuman exertions, so that
before being overtaken they approached considerably nearer to the shore
than would otherwise have been the case. This, a