The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1872-11-28

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able depth At last | let 90, and rising
swan to the boat. | did not mind the
ducking, but the water was horribly muddy
and black. Forester helped me in
laughing at the fish having nearly caught
me instead of my catching the fish
Meanwhile Moore had dexteriously
stopped the part of the line which was
still inboard from running quite out. and
now with another man was steadily haul
ing in.
''If it's shark he will be smashing the
boat with his tail" said and directed a
man to stand by in readiness with a board
ing-spike. In another ten minutes Il young
shark, five feet long, came to the top,
struggling turiously and lashing the water
all over US. A clever thrust with the pike
prevented his doing any mischief, and
then the men despatched the creature with
their cutlasscs, the black water being red
dened with his blood.
Sailors always look upon sharks Us mer-
ciless enemies, to whom is TO be shOwN nc
mercy. Not To be wandered at perhaps
under the circumstances OF their lives.
After one has been killed, there is alwayS
great curiosity to know what he has got
inside him In this instance the invest
cation disclosed the hand OF II young
negro child. Before his discovery thrr,
had been solao talk OF eating the more
delicate portions OF the shark. but now il
disgust ii was allowed to float away with
the tide.
At length thc long, hot afternoon hours
passed away Nimht came on suddenly,
as it ever does in the tropics, and we be-
gan to prepare for the coming fight, OF
surprise without IL lght-therc was ne
knowing which of the two it would turn
out. The weather suited our purpose
There We're no clouds in the sky, and al
though mist was creeping over the wa
ter, yet a young moon gave sufficient light
to enable us to see anything coming down
the river. We got the boats anchors mp,
and pulled to the entrance of the creek
where keeping still under the shadow o
the trees. we rested on our oars.
Two hours were spent without anything
happening TO relieve the tedium OF our
watch, when Forrester's ''Hush!' silenced
the whispering Of the boats crews. We
listened. Yes. There was the unmisak-
able tar-off sound OF voices A few more
minutes, and we heard the creakinG O
masts and cordage. Then the dim out
lines OF sails were visible through the
mist, over low neck of land two hun
dred yards up the river. And at last,
rounding the point, Il large schooner came
in view, shadowY and ghost-like in the
dim light.
"Never mind your muskets men, /" sale
Forester, as he saw them lingering and
| cooking their arms. "Have your cutiaSSe>
ready, and the moment we touch her side
i,,,,,, an Inar.J AJnr,,a, 1-,>,, will ,ofro ,ro
on the starboard side, and | on the port =
The SLAYER was nearly abreast of rs
now, the sound Of voices onboard had
ceased. Noiseless as a phantom ship, the
current bore her swiftly toward the sea
CHOW men, are your ready ?'
"All ready, sir"
Then give way" he shouted, " ano
hurrah for the old Planet p
The twelve oars OF the two boats drop
ped into the water at the word. One good
cheer, and in :. few minutes we Were
alongside. 9 An easy victory this"
thought, as the hoW-oar struck his boat
hook in the main chains, and held on
without opposition. Mach was | mis-
taken. On jumping up, sword in hand
on the schOoner's @unwale, Moore and my
| boats crew following, we found all llu-
| gress barred by a boarding netting, which,
triced up to the yard arms. interpUSrd be
| tween us and the deck, While stru9gln .
with this unexpected obstacle, a cheer
rose from the Slayer's decks, and the scene
was lit up by the flashes of Il dozen musk
cts. The sudden glare disclosed the forms
Of our opponents. who, until then, had
been concealed behind the bulwarks, and
showed Forester and his men ON tn,
other side Of the ship slaShing away nj ihe
netting-which went quite round the yes
sel--with their cutasses,
The discharge did some evil work two
of our poor fellows fell heavily into the
boat Only Moore and two men stood by
my side. | could see no chance OF cutting
our way through this horrid network be
fore the enemy would be ready with an
other volley, which would about finish us
Already the rafting of ramrods showed
they were reloading, 50 | called out
"Back into your boat, and bring ~
your muskets."
They sprung down, leaving me alone,
holding on by the rigging, and gradually
cutting "a hole through the netting.
AT this moment, happening to look for
ward, | made out the figure Of n man who
had stealthily crept over the side, and
axe in hand, was in the very act of lifting
it in order to cnt off the head OF the boat
hook. Ii he succeeded, and the boat
with its crew, were east adriit, we Were
ruined. ] drew ont my pistol, yet I'M
used, fired, and--mssed! The white
spinters flew from a spot close by the fcl
lows head. | could see the faint glimmel
of LIGHT on the axe rs he started. Ther
the weapon was raised again, but ere Ii
could descend, a boarding pike thrown
iaveln-wise by Moore hurled past an,
buried itself in the poor Wretch's side
With n shrek which for the time silcncet
all other sounds, he loosened his hold
cutched vainly at the vessels side us hi
fell and was swallowed up in the depth,
of the muddy waters,
The cry and appalling fate of this miscr
able being for the moment unnerved his
comrades. There was n pause. Before
they could recover themselves 10 give :
second volley, the three men were agan
bv my side and firing right in their faces
| Forrester's party also blazing away ut the
same time. The group on the deck seemer
to waver-only n shot or two was re-
turned.
And now at length by cutting and tear
ing | had made Il tolerable hole through
the boarding netting. We forced ON
way through and leaped on the quarter
deck Just as a cheer from the opposite side
told us our friends had done the same
AS my feet touched the deck saw facing
me tall fellow with his musket clubhed
the butt-end lifted up and about to fall tc
my head. Had it thus fallen, my career
in Her Majesty's navy had been then ant
there ended, and this story had never been
told. But had time to jump on one side
and the weapon grazed my shoulder harm
less. Before it could be raised again my
sword was through the mans arm. Dis
engaging 1t, | looked round
Our opponents were crying "Miseri
corde" throwing down their arms and
running forward to conceal themselves
One figure only was to be seen. standing
by the tiller-evidently the captain. For
roster, giving me a warm grasp by the
hand, walked aft, saying
"You surrender, Senor ?''
The answer was a pistol shot. My
poor friend stopped short, staggered, and
would have fallen; but | caught him il