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"Why, you've been and activally gone and triced the poor beggar up with a bit of spunyarn. No wonder he come down all standing on his cocoanut!"
Triced up to the jib stay was the long harpoon with its head, known as the 'lily-iron. The schooner, having the wind abeam, danced smartly over the waves toward the long lithe fin, gliding swiftly through the water. The captain, standing like a statue, waited until the craft was within ten feet of the unconscious swordfish, then thrust downward with all his might.
His cabin measured not more than four feet three inches in breadth on the floor; and though, from the oblique direction of the beams of the beacon, it widened towards the top, yet it did not admit of the full extension of his arms when he stood on the floor; while its length was little more than sufficient for suspending a cot-bed during the night, calculated for being triced up to the roof through the day, which left free room for the admission of occasional visitants.
The first, second, and third midshipmen were aloft to superintend the work, and when the studding-sail booms had been triced up, they gave the order to lay out, and take two reefs.
The sun was just about to sink in the waves as the boats came within range of the stranger's guns, but she allowed them to pull on without molestation, and as they got still nearer, they saw that she had no boarding nettings triced up, though, through the open ports, the crew were seen at their quarters, and the guns were run out ready for action.
As the boats approached, the deck of the pirate was seen crowded with men, and boarding nettings triced up. Three-quarters of an hour had the British seamen been exposed to her fire, as well as to that from the men on shore, when Captain Walcott issued the order to dash alongside.
Nothing, however, happened to hinder our progress over the glass-smooth surface of the water, and in the course of about twenty minutes we reached the opening between the two headlands, and found ourselves in the mouth of a small, practically land-locked cove of some twenty acres in area, with our friend the brigantine in the very centre of it, with four anchors down two ahead and two astern with boarding nettings triced up, ports open, guns run out eight long 12-pounders in each battery and her starboard broadside bearing full upon the entrance!
"And by the same token he also has the key of the main cabin and of Misther Marshall's stateroom, your honour's honour," he added. "Which of those two men is Jack Hampton?" demanded Leslie. "It's the fellah that's triced up so nately to the port rail, sor," answered Dolan. "Then go you and take the keys out of his pocket," commanded Dick. "I have no doubt you know which they are."
However, as there was no alternative, we made up our minds to bear it, and reached her after a fatiguing four hours’ pull. I found her a rakish-looking vessel with her boarding netting triced up.
Then he gave the order: "Prepare the ship for action, men; clear the decks; get the hammocks rolled up and triced along the bulwarks; open the powder-magazine and get powder and shot on deck, and see that the captain of every gun has a plentiful supply of each.
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