At this moment Black Davis, spying round to see where he could find trouble, caught sight of Jack, Broncho, and Studpoker Bob all on the lee main lower-topsail yardarm, at work putting in rovings—at least, Jack and Broncho were at work, but the gambler on the inside was loafing as usual; and thinking that the old man and mate were too busy watching the other ship to notice him, whilst the bosun was forward with his back turned, he had calmly lit up a pipe, a most heinous offence during work hours at sea.
This was too much for the bucko mate altogether. For a second he glared at the delinquent as if mesmerised, for the man was out of reach of his terrible boot or even a well-aimed belaying-pin; then, with a roar of fury, he pulled out his ever-ready six-shooter and fired.
The shot narrowly missed the gambler and cut the lanyard of a marlin-spike, which he had slung round his neck.
The heavy spike dropped, and hitting Black Davis, who was standing just underneath, on the shoulder, felled him to the deck.
The incident, seen from the poop, looked as if Studpoker Bob had deliberately dropped the spike with intent to hit the mate, and such the old man believed to be the case.
Without a second's hesitation he brought his Winchester to the shoulder and fired at the card-sharper, who, hit clean through the back and lungs, threw up his hands and dropped forward over the yard; then, as the vessel pitched, he fell headlong to the deck.
The whole affair was so sudden and unlooked-for that it took Jack and Broncho, who were carelessly working with both hands, completely by surprise; and the jerk, caused by the sudden release of the gambler's weight on the footrope, upset their balance before they could catch a hold. At the same time the ship gave a heavy roll to leeward, and they both fell into the sea.
Immediately all was confusion. Whilst the old man thundered out orders from the poop, the bosun bellowed for all hands, and Jim rushed wildly to the stern, and, cutting loose the three life-buoys, sprang over with them into the swirling wake; and so quick was the boy, that Jack and Broncho, both good swimmers, came to the surface close to him.
The three scrambled into the life-buoys, and even in that short space of time the Higgins was nearly half a mile away.
Meanwhile on board of her there was trouble. As the port watch rushed wildly aft at the bosun's call, the first thing they saw was the broken body of Studpoker Bob, which, with crushed-in head, was lying crumpled up in a pool of blood, within a few feet of the senseless form of Black Davis.