Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1903-08-25

InCu JOIOUCu tHC lutt VyHIC W utS H~tec'
OF certainly not more lnan dozen rect
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
men. The thick white smoke rose In
a dense cloud, shutting or the shad-
owy masts and sails that 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 for
minute or two. Then several OF the
schooner's cannon were fired into our
hull. and next moment. with a wild
yell, the pirates boarded.
I could see the men nearest me pull
themselves together at the sound. and
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 ! shouted
"Firew 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, II possible less human
than the first. 1t was still in the air
when MenzIes' voice broke In upon 1t
in tone but little less fierce than Its
own:
"Noo, 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.
I met with no opposition. We had
cleared the deck. My advance was
stopped by the bulwark at the moment
when sudden gust Of wind drove the
smoke before 1t, and could see the
deck of the schooner below me. AT
the same instant MenZies' figure
loomed out large as he stood for mo-
ment on the bulwark, his cutlass wav.
ing over his head.
"Come on, laudsp he shouted fierce.
". "The sword O. the Lord an o
GeedIonw Then he leaped, and every
man of us followed him as best we
could. don't know how I got there,
but in another moment I found my.
self on the schooners deck. cutting and
slashing furiously ut confused mass
of woolly heads and dark. savage faces,
tossing arms and cleaning weapons.
from which there came yells and
howls in every tone Of savage pain and
anger. was conscious only Of the i'm.
preston that the enemy far exceeded
us In numbers. and somewhere behind
that was the conviction that 1t couldn't
last long. / have no idea how long II
did last, for had no time to think, but
1t could hardly have been more than
ten minutes before we had been driven
back by pure force Of numbers and
those Of us who could had scrambled
from the schOoner's bulwark to our
own, closely pursued by the yelling
and now victorious pirates. How any
Of the men got back don't know, but
some few of them, besides Menzies
and myself, actually did so. Most OF
them were more or less wounded, but
they fought desperately and only fell
back foot by foot toward the forecastle
Step by step. however, we were driven
back. was desperately defending the
top of the ladder that led from the
main deck to the forecastle against
half dozen pirates, while below me
on the deck there seemed to be fifty
more at least, and the thought had
Just passed my mind that 1t couldn't
last much longer when I was almost
deafened by the sudden roar Of one OF
the two forecastle 'cannonades.
What It had been loaded with
didn't know, but I couldn't have be-
lieved that SO small a cannon could
have done such execution. For Q mo.
ment 1t seemed to me that It had abso'
lutely swept the main deck, and 1t Ger.
tainly created such panic that what
were left Of the pirates ran like sheep
don't know what madness 1t was that
possessed me, but for the moment the
sight of the flying pirates seemed tc
deprive me of every thought but the
mere savage desire for vengeance. and