and toggled. The mates were allowed the preference of their rank, and placed to windward, the warrant officers being consigned to the other or starboard side-the ship facing the Alcibiades-which, with all the wish, was powerless to save them. A few hurried minutes were now allowed to the poor fellows to prepare themselves for the last awful change; but, in the present case, this seemed only sufficient to enable them to look the king of horrors more plainly in the face. At the very moment that the Alcibiades opened her fire, she unconsciously gave the death signal for those whom she was striving her utmost to protect. A shrill whistle was heard amid the dull reverberations of her cannon, and the sharper whizzing of her shot. A heavy tramp followed on the decks of the frigate, and the four human bodies, rising swiftly through the air, soared to their several death stations. A momentary check was seen on all four points, as the various toggles came in contact with the block sheaves-the frail ropeyarns simultaneously gave way-each body fell heavily some eight feet towards the sea, and was then as suddenly rehoisted. The calls of the boatswain's mates piped belay, and the deed of death was done. A few faint muscular struggles ensued with the strongest, and they then swung pendulous to the surging gale, that seemed to mourn their dreadful and untimely fate, as it moaned and swept around them. In this terrific manner, with the four strangled bodies of her junior officers hanging at their yardarms, did the mutineers now rush into action. VOL. I.-M CHAPTER XXIV. Hard is the fight by slaughter only won, "MUSTAPHA," said Herbert, "go you down on the maindeck, and see if our lee-guns are so far clear of the water as to bear working. I fear that in this gale, to leeward though she be, the frigate yonder has somewhat the advantage of us, by being able to work her weather broadside well enough, whatever may become of our lee one. Corporal!!-where's the corporal gone, Cresswell?" 66 66 Why, there he stands." Ay, so he does. Corporal, my boy, right about facehere what shall we do with those officers below? If they should rise on us in the heat of action, perhaps when we may be beating back any attempt of the Alcibiades to board us, we may not find it quite so easy a matter to deal with them as those fellows yonder," (pointing, as he spoke, to the pendent bodies of the dead.) The sword is drawn -it's no use now hugging the scabbard. We ought to take sure steps to guard against such an evil, and quickly, for the fire of that craft to leeward begins to grow a little hot, and we must tackle him in earnest." 66 'Right in all that, I grant, Herbert; but still let us not be harsher than necessary. All the end we want to obtain may be gained by lashing the lieutenants' hands, locking them into their cabins, and taking the keys into our own keeping. All the oldest and strongest of the midshipmen are killed. The poor boys who are left can do nothing without a leader. The gunner will be busy in the magazine." "Not he he refuses to do any duty but under the first lieutenant's orders." "Well, perhaps he's right; but if he didn't choose to risk his neck before his brother warrants were hung, I don't think he's likely to do so now; but, to make all sure, lash him hands and feet too, and nail him up in his cabin." 66 Cresswell, my hearty!" said Herbert, turning to Cresswell-" do you hear about these matters? jump below with a few hands, and see it attended to. Ah! here comes old Mustapha, to report what use our maindeck guns will be to us. 66 99 Mighty little, I premise you; I have had a try at the one furthest aft in the cabin. But there, bless ye, more than half the time the muzzle of the gun's under water; and it's only when the ship pitches down into the trough of the wave that we can get anything like a steady aim and chance to fire." "I'm sorry to hear that, Mustapha, for such work requires plenty of time, and a precious good gunner." "You may say that!-On an even keel we might fight the ship well enough, heavy as it blows, and might still do so bravely, were our enemy to windward; but my advice is, if ye want to give that thief with the long name something to stop her jaw, you'll stand no further nonsense, but put your helm up, and either run her slap on board amidships, and take the chance of her going down all standing, or else cross her hawse a pistol-shot ahead, round to under her starboard bow, and engage her within ten yards to leeward; we should then understand of her a little; but as for pottering away out here, wasting good powder and shot, we might as well, for all the world, be wagging our gib at Julyus Cæsar." "Bold work that, old Kalip! - Corporal, what say you?" "Why, I think it's good advice, as well as bold; and, perhaps or I should rather say without a doubt-it's just what the Alcibiades wants to do by us if we would let her! only, having given up the weather-gage herself, she finds it no easy matter to get it back again. She'll annoy us before long where she is, for her shot are beginning to fall truer, d'ye see, as her men find out their range; and if she could, as Mustapha proposes that we should do by her, get within pistol-shot to leeward of us, our lee-guns would be silenced, and her weather broadside play the very devil. As long, however, as we choose to hug the wind, that she can't do, for if we haven't the heels of her, she certainly has no advantage in that way over us." "Well, then, shall we up helm and do it ?" "Ay, to be sure-a short battle and a merry one should always be a mutineer's choice. The wind has been drawing gradually aft for the last twelve hours, and once settle the hash of that Trojan to leeward, we may make Mr. Ramsay's island in no time, and start a privateering at once," "Not so fast, old Harrem Alraskid. If we bear down, it's very true we shall have a good chance of ending this plaguy unlucky business sooner. That I admit, as well as you and Herbert; but remember, if we once come to close quarters, few will be left alive, when the business is done, in either ship, whether for privateering or anything else. "We've all been in actions before now, over and over again, and seen no baby's play in them either. But, remember, I warn you solemnly, those who live through this night will have seen one of the most bloody frigate actions that ever was fought upon the seas. This will be no ordinary turn-to-no English bull-dog against a French cock—when, as soon as the latter has had an honourable trimming he falls back upon his 'fortune of war' and hands over his sword. No; this is bull-dog to bull-dog. Men fighting with halters round their necks, against men who would think it ten times worse than death to be beaten by a crew of mutineers. If we "We have the advantage of the weather-gage. give it up lightly, we shall never repent the act, 'tis true, for we shall never live to do that, but we shall foolishly put the victory into our enemy's hands. As it is, we possess the power of bringing the matter to the last issue at any moment; and my advice to you is, that we try, first of all, how far fortune will favour the brave, by keeping as far to windward as possible, and so firing at the Alcibiades' spars, try if we cannot first disable, and then give her the slip. "By doing this we shall save the lives of our men, and the efficiency of our ship; the two most valuable properties of a privateer; and shall be ready to commence at once, as old Mustaphy observes, that cruising on our own account for which he is so anxious. Were we, on the other hand, to follow his plan, Herbert, though I admit it to be a bold and seamanlike proposal, yet, as you know very well, we must lose half our crew in attempting it; and even if ultimately successful, our ship would be so riddled as to remain scarcely in a condition to swim, much less to start on a cruise." 66 Well, Mustapha, what do you say now to that advice of the corporal's?" Why, Captain Herbert, I must admit that the corporal seems in this matter still to have the longest head amongst us, and he's said some most conwincing things. Julyus Cæsar himself and he, you know, was the most dashing marine as ever I heard tell of-even he could not have argufied the matter in a more ship-shape style; so, as in duty bound, I give in; though I must say I hav'n't got that affection for a long running fight, that I have for a good stand up muzzle-to-muzzle action.” "Why no, Mustapha, neither have I; but then, as the corporal says, 'tis likely to be a much more winning game for us." "And not only that, Herbert; but consider-the men on board that frigate are, after all, Britons like ourselves, and they are but doing their duty, and know not what provocations we have continually had to goad us into this madness for the last two years; so if we can avoid taking more lives than are strictly necessary to our own selfdefence, we ought to do so; for there's both truth and kindness, after all, in the old Scotch saying— Hawks shouldn't pike out hawks' een."" “Well, I think there's truth in that too, corporal; but how are we to manage with our lee guus, which, you hear, are nearly useless to match our enemy, who has a whole broadside to work us with." "Never yet was an evil, man could not remedy in some degree, if he tried. What's to hinder us from hoisting up from the weather side of the maindeck one or two of the long eighteens, and using them in the place of these carronades? It is not so much the number of shots that a ship fires by which the battle's won, but the aim and certainty she sends them with." "Ay, man alive, it's all very well talking; but think of the difficulty, in such a sea and gale as this, of moving about a pack of lumbering long guns, as if they were so many pocket pistols. Think of that, corporal." 66 Aye, think of it, for I have done so already, Herbert; and the greater the difficulties to be overcome, the greater the credit for doing so. The matter needs but determination to accomplish. Give me but twenty hands on the maindeck, while you Herbert remain to assist me here, and I engage, in less than half an hour, that we have a battery of four long-pounders to open from the quarterdeck, if not more. You, Mustapha, as the best helmsman amongst us, attend to the conn. Cresswell's a good shot; as soon as he comes up from the lower deck, let him attend to answering the Alcibiades' fire as well as he can in the meanwhile, and so no time will be lost. Is that agreed, Herbert ?" M* |