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And now, with Glossin's cursed contrivance, my crew have been cut off, my boats destroyed, and I daresay the lugger's taken; there were not men enough left on board to work her, far less to fight her a dredge-boat might have taken her. And what will the owners say? Hagel and sturm! I shall never dare go back again to Flushing. 'You'll never need, said the gipsy.
The brig was now sailing somewhat across the lugger's bows, so that her broadside guns trained as far as possible aft could all play upon her; and a steady fire was kept up, to which she only replied by her two bow chasers One of the men had been knocked down, and wounded, by a splinter from the bulwark; but no serious damage had so far been inflicted, while the sails of the lugger were spotted with shot holes.
In sweeping down the shore in this manner, the intention was to pick up any boat that might happen to be in the lugger's track; for, while Raoul was disposed to let his prisoner go, he had a strong desire to seize any other officers of the frigate that might fall in his way.
Here some fifteen or twenty feet of water separated the ships, and even the helmsmen had left the wheel to join in the fight. About half of the lugger's crew had made their way on to the deck of the schooner, but the Jersey men were still fighting stoutly.
At first this fire was returned, but the opposition soon ceased; and when le Feu-Follet ranged up past her adversary, a few yards to windward, it was seen that the English had deserted her to a man, carrying off their wounded. The boats were pulling through the smoke toward the bay, taking a direction opposite to that in which the lugger's head was laid.
He had no doubts, however, when the young man stated that he had been carried off some time before from his home by the lugger's crew, and kept a prisoner on board ever since, being compelled to do duty when at sea, but being shut down in the hold whenever she was in port or might have an opportunity of making his escape.
"Now lads, we will drive these Frenchmen below, as we promised them. All of you follow me!" and, led by the lieutenant and Dick, the English crew threw themselves on the lugger's deck, trusting rather to their cutlasses and stout arms than to any other weapons. Voules, with those who had remained on the cutter's forecastle, now gained a footing on the fore part of the lugger's deck.
Look here, my men," he said, turning to the prisoners, "fifty pounds and a free pardon to the man who will act as guide and show us the way to the place where the lugger's cargo has been placed." There was no answer. "Do you hear there, my men? Don't be afraid to speak. Fifty pounds, liberty, and my protection to the man who will act as guide." Still no answer.
"Him at the tiller, sir moon on his face. He's seen us. 'Tothers ain't not yet." The Tremendous crashed into a sea. The aftmost man on the lugger's gunwale turned. He saw the Avenger towering over him, dark wings spread, snow-drifts spurting before her. An awful horror convulsed his face. "King's ship!" came a ghastly-screaming treble. "Put back, Diamond!" The man at the tiller never stirred.
Her shadowy outline was visible, though drawn against the land, moving slowly athwart the lugger's hawse, perhaps half a mile in-shore of her. As there was a current setting out of the river, and all the vessels rode with their heads to the island, Ithuel occasionally turned his head to watch her progress, which was so slow, however, as to produce very little change.
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