The Dickinson press., 1896-09-05
fired. and sent one of them hurlIng to

fired. and sent one of them hurllng te
the deck below.
"Bravo! Well donew cried, pattin.
her ON the shoulder. "Here, Ton, aEi
Joe, do you the saire to every steers
man they send to their wheels"
Having given this order, ran to the
forrcastlc gun and trained 1t upon the
foremost of our enemies. Waiting pa
tiently until she was within about 1G(
yards. lot drive. The double charge
OF grape and cannister rakcd her fore
and aft, and by the cries end confusion
that ensued, must have created terri
BILE havoc.
Then, leaving the gun to the crew tc
reload. rushed aft to the long eight
cen, and as the Marte's sails filled and
she came around. blazed away al
war junk No. 2, which was making fol
our quarter.
Now came the MsTerialists' turn, and
as they brought their ti-mungs broad
side, In order to rake us. made all
nands lie hat OH deck to avoid the com
ing flr. Presently their two ten-guu
Droadsides roared almost simultane.
ousiy: out, being poorly aimed, their
shot flew mostly over our heads. whist
ling through the ropes and tore huge
rertSln cur sails
Scarcely had the last shot wh,zzed
and hurtlcd through our rigging whe,
my men were on their feet. and with a
loud shout of defiance, we let drive our
port Droadside. Then. spinning our
vessel around, we poured the contents
of our starboard guns into the other
war Junk. The effect must have been
HTnnffnI Vr,o
cut among the numbers crowling their
decks, while the splinters few from the
bulworks In clouds.
Inc gallant little Marie was now
gathering Roadway, and although the
breeze was light. she promised soon to
take us out of close quarters with our
pursters. Her handsome maneuver-
ing must be credited to A-choong, who,
throughout the enemy's fire, had stood
courageously at the wheel.
One great advantage we had over
our assailants was the fact that our
guns. were movable, while theirs were
lashed as fixtures to the bulwarks. By
picking off their stecrsmen, therefore,
we could prevent them from getting
into the position they required to train
upon us their full batteries. Conse-
quently, we poured three broadsides to
their one.
We were now drawing rapidly away
from the ti-mungS and speeding down
the river. AS soon as we had gained
half mile. our pu :snerS gave up the
chase. Little did I suspect the cum
ming course they We're about to pur-
sue.
At 10 O'Clock, feeling that might
safely trust the lorclla to the hands of
my Yankee mate, turned in for a
short nap. How long l had been Sleep
Ing l cannot tell, but suddenly I was
aroused by a violeLt shock, followed
by volley Of firearms, the tramping
of many feet overhead, and the hide
GUS yelling Of Chinese warfare. Snatch.
ing up my revolver, rushed OH deck,
followed by my p:ucky little wife.
one glance was enough. saw at
once that we were Mt the mercy of the
imperialists. The decks were swarm-
ing with them, but still they poured
upon our deck from the cocked-up ends
of a couple Of big trading junks that
We're hanging fast to US, one on each
side.
We were lying at anchor off the
coast, and knew in an instant how
our capture hal taken place, for had
narrowly escaped the same trap be-
fore, but had, somehow, forgotten it.
You see, our enemies, instead of con-
tinuing the stern chase in their heavy
ti-mungs, had transferred their men to
trading junlis, leisurely sailed after us.
and passed ahead when we cleared the
river, without exciting my mates sus-
piciOn. This done, their course was
easy. They had simply waited until
the flood tide made us anchor, had
moved right ahead, and, connecting
themselves together by strong rope,
had dropped silently down with the
current until the rope caught across
our cable, when, of course, the strong
tide instantly sheered them alogside.
When I reached the top step of the
companion ladder the glare of the Ian
terms and torches carried by the
swarming foarders showed me my two
mates in a desperate hand-to-hand en-
counter with the enemy. They were
fighting furiously and endeavoring to
cut their way aft. AS I looked, q tall
figure crept up behind Hawkins and
raised his sword to cut the mate down.
Immediately recognized the nlalic-
ious and vengeful countenance. 1t was
that Of the Chinanian whom Tom had
helped over the side. His uniform
showed him to be an officer high in
Command. I raised my revolver and
fired, but my shot went wide of the
mark, and the blow fell, bearing poor
Tom, fearfully wounded, to the deck,
where the mandarin stood over him
and drove his sword into the poor fell
lows heart
The Frenchman, Joe, fought like a
tiger. l saw four Cinnamon fall be-
fore his whirling cutlass, but the odds
were too great. and he, too, fell, and
was quickly dispatched.
Six or eight of my crew Law dead
upon the deck, but A-choong and the
remainder Of the men were not to be
seen. supposed that they had been
killed and thrown overheard.
Presently the ugly mandarin with q
number of his followers came running
Mt to where I stood. I lifted my re-
volver, determined to shoot the wretch.
come what might, when Se-she
snltched the weapon from my hand
and hastily concealed it under her loose
jacket.
'Do not fight now," she whispered, ut
is too late! Our OILY Glance is to SUBJ
init quietly and tlen watch our oppor-
tunity to escape. Perhaps they will
not kill us at once!"
The scoundrels rushed upon u.s. and
few minutes latcs we were lying in
the cabin, bound hand and foot. We
had hidden each other a last farewell,
expecting every moment to be slaugh-
tered, but it seemed that our hideous
captor had cthe: plars.
Over us stood the mandarin and
three Of his officers.
"Sar?" (cut) said one Of the latter,
Significantly saving the air sideways
with his hand
"No! replied the mandarin. eve
will take them alive to his excellency
Yeh. The foreign devil we shall be
2llc to naSs off as IN offlc.r and sn OH.