The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1901-02-26
CHAPTER XVII.

Dack at tllS unexpected meeting. by
all the wickedness in Spain, Don Mi
guel del Cassamoro in the f1esh!'
''As you'll soon find to your cost, sea
robber. You've overshot your mark
this time Senior Captain Ireland"
Perhaps so,'' said Alec unconcerned-
ly. But pardon my surprise, senior. |
hoped you were ghost long ago. Too
wicked to be drowned, ehY''
The Spaniard whipped out venom
GUS oath and yelled to his men to fire
again. A broadside crashed over our
deck, too high fortunately to do much
injury to the low lying hull, but our
long gun was dismantled and our bow
spirit snapped off short just outside the
gammoning.
Then indeed for awhile the battle
ragged in grim, red earnest. With the
nothing but lie head to wind parallel
to our antagonist until a fresh headsail
was rugged. Had it been blowing fresh
we might have had her round before
the wind and SO run to distance to re-
fit. But the firing had fattened down
the light breeze almost to a dead calm,
SO we had perforce to stay where we
were.
In a strait like this we had counted
upon being able to row the Scourge out
of danger, as we had already rowed
her up alongside prize in a calm, but
now, as fortune would have it, an un-
, lucky round shot entering in at an open
port had hit the six sweeps as they lay
dashed on the deck and had broken ev-
cry one of them into two. And SO, with
the decks becoming more of a shambles
every minute, we stood our ground and
fought the guns like furies,' and though
our pieces We're Outnumbered by more
than two to one we hoped by serving
them twice as quickly to return as good
or even better than we got. Besides.
every shot OF ours found billet some
where in the Spaniard's hull, while
many of his. through the greater eleva
ton of his Guns. few harlnlessly over
the little Seourge. Had it been other
wise we could never have hoped to
keep her afioat.
= While we We're still i cables length
from the enemy's stern strange thing
happened. A sailor ran on to the poop,
leaped overheard and swan as though
for his life toward us. Spanish shot
pitted the water round him like thun-
der drops in pond, but as he held up
his hand as If appealing to us for as
Sistance we engaged his aSsailants and
made them think rather of their own
skins.
mi m orr nJNyh 4
alongside and, getting his fingers into
the main chains, scrambled on board.
Though vastly changed by the hard
ships of warfare and captivity, we rec
Qgnized him as Saul Dickory, one of
the Bristol Merchants crew, and hot
though the fight ragged around US we
snatched moment to press the hand
of comrade of the old days.
He had, so he said, been serving in
Spanish ships ever since his capture at
the mountain ravine, leading dogs
life, while doing two mems work, and
until now had never seen chance OF
escape. Further, he had an offer tc
make us. Give him a light line, and
he'd jump overheard again and make il
fast to a ringbolt on the don's stern
and then we might warp ourselves VI
and board through the cabin window.
but for the love O. heaven" he i'm
plored us, keep the Spanish sharp
shooters busy while l swim. 1 car
hear the splash O. their bullets roun(
my ears now"
Alec, however, refused to allow hin
to make this attempt for fear of thu
sharks, observing that we should b.
able to do as much for ourselves will
the graphing iron In half an hour
time at our present rate of drifting
But" he added, 81 am afraid tina
Don Miguel has still too many mel TO
my small handful to tackle"
AYE, captain" replied Dickory, tina
he has. There are higher 800 than 20
aboard yon galleon who can still hit
good heavy blow, though there's nea
as many besides wi their toes turne'
up. But once get inside the big cabin
an you can clear it an hold it ag'in tn
lot O. 'em."
''Rut ! want the whole ship, sirrah."
Saul Dickory shook his head. "Yo
can't do it, captain he declared dt
clueuly. All IL you tfy tHe DlS wave
will be rolling over every man O. u
tomorrow. But you do what's as goo
rs you can lay your. hands on the stor
o. dollars"
without taking the ship?, How?"
"The hatch O the treasury is in TIL
cabin floor an you can strike out til
cargo into this queer craft of your
without blessed don O. 'em bein
able to stop YOU"
And this in the end was what W
did. The mermen, or Neptune, or til
current, or whatever agency ha
charge of our heels, swept the two ve
sells nearer and nearer together till
last couple of cleverly thrown graz
pies caught hold and our bulwar
ground against the galleon's squal
stern.
Her crew had no intention of lettiu
us set foot in their stronghold witho,
q tussle and did what they could wit
freballs and grenadoes, cold shot an