n't the pleasure of knowin' a sartain Robert
Trunnion,' says I, `if you supposes as you're going to carcumvent him
that a-way.' So I lets 'em come well up with me, and the nearer they
got, the louder they yells, and the harder they paddles; and you might
ha' thought by the row that all hell had broke loose, as perhaps it had,
or them devils wouldn't ha' been there. Well, I'd got the main-
halliards led aft to where I was sittin', and as they closed, I gently
sways the sail up, a few inches at a time, and keeps grad'lly away,
until we was all spinnin' away dead to the south'ard, they paddlin' like
fury, and I just keepin' far enough ahead to be out of range of their
harrers. We'd run, I s'pose, a matter of four knots, when I sees that
the reef sinks lower and lower below the water; and by the time that we
had gone another couple of miles, there was unbroken water all over it.
So I edges easily away to the west'ard, they following, till we'd got an
offing of about four miles from the shore, and there was a tidyish jump
of a sea for 'em to paddle ag'in, though I know'd 'twould make no matter
of difference to the boat; and then I gives the tiller to the little
lady, who'd come round ag'in, goes for'ard and h'ists the sail full up,
and then hauls sharp up and goes about, keeping as straight away for the
bay ag'in as I dared for the reef. The devils set up another yell at
this, and round they goes like tops, heading about east, to cut me off;
but I soon see'd as they was pretty well done up--for I'd kept 'em
paddlin' all they knowed, in the hopes of coming up with me--and I felt
satisfied as I'd be able to get back in time to get your body and be off
ag'in afore they could overhaul me. Well, you knows that part of the
story too; so it needs no telling. Directly you was in your cot, I
rouses the gun out of the cutter into the boat, takes a goodish lot of
cartridges, shot and shell with me, and out I goes ag'in, fallin' in
with the rascals just off the nor'-western end of the cliffs. They was
hugging the shore pretty close, and I was dreadful afraid as they knowed
the cove, and was bound in there. So as I'd loaded the gun afore
starting, I just gives 'em a shell, right into the thick of 'em, and
that seemed to sicken 'em all at once; for they ups helm, and away they
goes faster even than they'd come, and I a'ter 'em. The first thing I
did was to get between them and the land; and as soon as they see'd that
there warn't n