s in testimony of its too
terribly truthful aim. Frantic cheers and shouts of exultation burst
from the lips of the slaver's crew, in the midst of which Mendouca's
voice rang out--

"Now, stand by, men! here they come; but there is only one boat-load of
them, and half their number must be killed or wounded. Stand by with
your pikes, pistols, and cutlasses, and let not one of them show his
head above the rail. Give them a volley from your pistols as they range
alongside, and then trust to cold steel for the rest. _Now_ is your
time! Fire!"

And at the word there followed a tremendous popping of pistols, mingled
with the yells of the men on deck, a British cheer that sent the blood
tingling through my veins and made me anathematise my helpless
condition, the sharp, ringing clash of steel upon steel, and a furious
trampling of bare feet upon the planks overhead.

The scuffle continued for fully three minutes, and must have been very
hot while it lasted, for all through the hubbub the cries and groans of
the freshly-wounded were continuous. I could hear the dull crunching
sound of the sharp cutlasses shearing through bone and muscle, the
shrill scream of agony, the heavy thud of bodies falling to the deck,
oaths and execrations both in Spanish and in English, shouts of mutual
encouragement, yells of deadly hatred, the ceaseless trampling of feet,
and all the indescribable medley of sounds that accompany a sharp and
stubbornly-contested hand-to-hand conflict; and in my feverish anxiety
to share in the struggle I forgot all about Mendouca's warning, and
dashed myself frantically against the stout cabin-door in an effort to
burst my way out. Before, however, I could succeed the hurly-burly
suddenly ceased, to be almost instantly followed by a yell of exultation
from the crowd overhead as the hasty rattle and splash of oars
proclaimed that the attacking party had been driven off.

"Now, men, to your guns again, quick! Load smartly and give them
another broadside before they get out of range!" shouted Mendouca.
"Sweep them off the face of the water, if you can; let not one of them
escape to tell the tale!"

A loud shout of exulting assent to this brutal exhortation pealed forth;
and I heard the rumbling of the wheels on the deck as the guns were run
in. This was more than I could endure; and again hurling myself
furiously against the cabin-door, I at length succeeded in bursting it
off its hinges. To emerge from