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On board of this vessel the Spanish part of the crew commenced their depredations as pirates, although Captain Orgamar and Nickola protested against it, and refused any participation; but they persisted, and like so many ferocious blood-hounds, boarded the brig, plundered the cabin, stores, furniture, captain's trunk, &c., took a hogshead of rum, one twelve pound carronade, some rigging and sails.
Shortly afterwards he staggered to a carronade slide, and dropped down on it, and very soon was in a state of insensibility. The carnage had been dreadful, and the bulwarks of the vessel had been shattered to pieces. The scene was almost as had as the Stella's decks before she was blown up by the negro captain. Several of the guns were dismounted and two of them had burst.
The shot came in our third aftermost port on the starboard side, and dismounted the carronade, smashing the slide and wounding three men.
"Stop, sir," cried Swinburne, "we'll have a bit of revenge;" so saying, he hauled-to the launch, and wending her bow to the privateer, directed her carronade which they had no idea that we had on board, as we had not fired it to where the Frenchmen were crowded the thickest. "Stop one moment, Swinburne; put another dose of cannister in."
It meant that the most blood-thirsty pirate of these Eastern seas was attacking some ship behind that veil of fog. And what ship? This was the thought that came to Brandon. Could it by any possibility be the one which passed by him when he strove so earnestly to gain her attention! "Out with the long-boat! Load the carronade! Man the boat! Hurry up, lads, for God's sake!"
The troops immediately landed on both banks and were advancing when the sixty-eight pounder carronade in the foremost boat was disabled, and it was necessary to bring the twenty-four pounder in the stern of the boat to bear upon the enemy.
Although the men of the West-Indiaman fought with desperate courage, they could not stand before the increasing numbers of pirates, who now crowded the forepart of the ship in a dense mass. Gradually they were beaten back, and at length were brought to bay on the quarter-deck. "Help, Father!" cried Fred, pushing through the struggling crowd, "here's the carronade ready loaded."
There was nothing moving about the decks. The lookouts, aft, and at the gangways, sat or stood like statues half bronze, half alabaster. The old quartermaster, who was cunning the ship, and had perched himself on a carronade, with his arm leaning on the weather nettings, was equally motionless.
They had been thrown overboard, or put out of the way, they could nowhere be seen. The firing from below continued. "Cast loose that carronade there; clap in a canister of grape, so now run it forward, and fire down the hatchway." It was done, and taking effect amongst the pent up slaves, such a yell arose oh God! oh God! I never can forget it. Still the maniacs continued firing up the hatchway.
When within twenty yards of them Tom delivered the contents of his carronade; and an immediate outburst of groans, yells, and shrieks bore testimony to the accuracy of his aim. Before the smoke had fairly cleared away the cutter was upon them. The big canoe nearest us had been torn nearly in halves by the discharge of the carronade, and we swept over her almost without feeling it.
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