The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1903-10-09

when All gle the word All feckon
they'll jist aboot sweep the decks. Ye
medina mind the ane on the fock'sle
We might want it later on. Moo, mind
ye, Am no sayin' we'll beat them, but
Am thinkin' it's jist death onyway, an
it's mair becomin' tae dee, if we maun
dee, fechtin' than seekin' mercy frae
wheen thrown deevils like yon.'
The men were beginning to cheer
but he held up his hand to stop them.
"Na, ma, lauds," he said. keep yer
5raeth till ye need it, an that III no be
lang. Dinna let them guess we're gaun
tae fecht till we Gamma help it."
There was a dead silence, and the
men looked at one another. 1 glanced
along the line of weather beaten faces
and noticed that some of them seemed
uncertain what to do next.
Look here, my men," 1 said. "Keep
steady. See that your guns are all
ready. Stand well back on this side
of the deck and be ready to fire when
l give you the word-not a moment
sooner-and then fire low"
"Aye, aye, sir; that's RIGHT. Mind,
men, an whan we've fired yell jist oot
cutlasses an follow me. Am comm
doom whan she comes alangside, but
no till then. They micht want tae
speak till us, though All dinna expec'
that muckle manners frae them"
Silence fell ON the deck again when
he stopped, and some of the men
looked at the caps on their muskets to
see that all was ready. There was
hardly SQUAD except the occasional
tapping of sail or the crisp dash Of
wave against the ship. The light
was fading rapidly, and the horizon
was closing in, gray and misty, and as
1 listened l fancied 1 could hear the
splash Of water, as if thrown off from
a vessels bows close at hand, and once
or twice confused noise as if of many
voices.
1t was the mates voice that broke
the oppressive silence,
MOO Mr.. Jarvis, be ready wi the
cannons an staun' by tae rim back the
ports. Div We hear her the moo? She'll
be alangside in meenute or two.
Losh me; they steer her weel. Please
the Lord we'll gle some O. them their
fairins, lauds."
We could see nothing of the enemy
as yet from where we stood on the
main deck, concealed by the high bull
warks, but in another minute l saw
the shadow of mast and square
topped sail creep past, and then Sec
ond. Then hoarse order was shouted
in what l took to be Spanish. Then
there was sound of hauling ropes and
creaking yards, and l could hear the
rush and splash Of water close along
side as the schooner forged slowly
ahead to windward, drifting down up
on us as she lost way. Then there was
another shout, pistol was fired, and
next moment Menzies leaped from the
poop to the main deck with the ex-
clamation:
"Eh mon, All thocht as much! If
the thrawn deevil didna try tae pit
bullet in me. Moo, then, Mr.. Jarvis,
are ye a ready WI the cannons? Weel,
then, ava wi the ports. an fire"
There was low, fierce ring in his
voice, and next moment the sailors
who stood by the movable parts of the
bulwark on the windward side dragged
them away. The four cannon were
fired almost simultaneously at a range
of certainly not more than a dozen feet
on to the deck of the drifting schooner,
and through the sudden roar of the
reports came fierce, inarticulate
howl more like that of beasts than
Tho tbi0ly white Snonlyn in
a dense cloud, shutting off the shad-
owy masts and sails that a moment
before had seemed almost to touch our
shrouds and make even the figures
of our own men look dim and shadowy
in the failing light. 1t was only fora
minute or two Then several of the
schooner's cannon We're fired into our
hull, and next moment, with wild
yell, the pirates boarded.
I could see the men nearest me pull
themselves together at the sound, and
l had only time to shout, "Now, men,
steady mind, and aim low!'' when the
first gray figures surged up through
the smoke and showed above our bull
warks. 1 waited just another instant
to allow the wild looking figures to
reach the deck, and then l shouted
"Fire" l dare say the aim was far
from deadly, but old soldiers couldn't
have obeyed the order more promptly,
and the report of our muskets rang out
sharp and sudden. 1t was followed by
a second howl, if possible less human
than the first. 1t was still in the air
when MenZies' voice broke in upon it
in tone but little less fierce than its
own:
moo, lauds, cutlasses, an nae quar-
ter! Follow me?'
The sailors threw down their guns
and, with a shout, followed the tall
figure of the mate into the smoke
which hung darkly over the deck.
There were wild chorus of shouting
and yells in the darkness, the clash of
swords and the sound of falling bodies;
but, though followed MenZies closely,
1 met with no opposition. We had
stopped by the bulwark at the moment
when a sudden gust of wind drove the
smoke before it, and | could see the
deck of the schooner below me. At
the same instant MenZies' figure
loomed out large as he stood for a mo-
ment on the bulwark, his cutlass way
ing over his head.
"Come on, lauds" he shouted fierce
ly. "The sword O. the Lord an O.
Geedionw Then he leaped, and every
man of us followed him as best we