The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1846-02-28
!. THE PIRATES ATTACK.

"Ihere they are!' exclaimed the cap
tain, whose eye had taken the direction
of mine; ''the rascals have rowed clear
ofus, land are coming on from ST. Do
mingo side. Stand to your arms, boys! !!
the rogues are upon u.s." In an in,
slant every man was at his post, and
on the alert. "Stand in the shadow Of
the spars and rigging to be out of sight,"
continued the captain, ''and not man
Of you fire till ] give the word"
SAY, ay. sir," responded the crew,
with nautical precision.
Sand now," says the captain, who
really went to work in business-like
style, "let us get this gun on the other
tack, Mr.. Brae, to be ready for the
gentlemen" .a
The muzzle of the piece was accord
ingly thrust through the opposite port,
keeping a dead aim at the boat. which
was now little more than a quarter of
a mile distant from US.
"Strange,' said ], ''that The fellows
should choose to row against the moon,
when, by so doing. they must know we
should see the glitter Of their oars"
81 suspect" replied the captain ''that
they had no choice about il. You for
get that we have more or less wind off
the land since sunset. and are at least
six miles from where we were then.
The probability is that The rogues lost
i,s after nlgh,tail; but it seems that they
have found us at last"
-sIhe bOat was now very near US, still
not a sound came from her. The clos
estand most painful attention could not
hear the dip of hel oars. which rose
and fell, like pieces Of mechanism. gilt
terIng in the moonlight like blades of
silver. ea.
"Boat, ahoy ~ cried the voice of Cap
tain B illrop, in its most startling tones.
No answer was returned to this sum-
mons, and the oars were piled more
lively. keep off! you rascals," again
shouted our commander,--"of! or I'll
blow you out of the water!"
This threat and the fire brand which
l fourished with great 6erceness SEEM
ed to make the pirates hesitate. The
mo ton of the boat was arrested. Cap
tam Botrop thought the victory alrea-
dy achieved, and he again raised his
voice in tones oil NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
your arms overheard and come along
side."-
A volley Of musketry was the reply |
to this summons--a iozen bullets wbis-
tied ,and the captains hat flew across
the deck. A deep imprecation burst
from his lips. The next instant broad
stream of fame issued from the quar-
terdeck, and the explosion OF the piece
broke upon the dead stiffness of the
elements with a noise like thunder.-
A distant crash. o heavy splashing ia
the water, above which orv ofamor-
tal agony was terribly distinct, had
arisen in the direction Of The foe be-
fore the smoke dispersed sufficiently to
enable Us TO see the effect of ourshot.
No boat was then 10 be seen, nor any
trace ofhererew; we had in #ll proba-
bility sent everv soul INTO eternity. a r
.By Georgem cried the captain, with
something like compunctionin his tone,
and rubbing bis head with his handker-
Chief u would rather have taken the
rascals and had them decently hanged.
than sent them to the bottom 10 this
off-hand manner. You couldn't have
made better shot, Mr. Brae, if--p
"A horrid sell, rising apparently from
lhe very depths beneath the ship, stop
ped him in thepmiddle ofhis speech.
A boat glided out Of the smoke, and
under our bows, d dozen dark
forms were seen sprnging from it to
The side Of the ship. But our precau.