"Mr. Templeton, make a short detour to the right," he commanded. "Take them from the flank." He motioned to Edwards, who was steering the boat next to his own. Edwards approached. "Climb in there and take command, Frank," said Lord Hastings.
Frank did so quickly.
"Now make a detour to the left," Lord Hastings commanded. "I'll try and hold them off here until you reach a proper position. Then we can bear down on them from all sides."
The first shot of the battle came from the pirates and was fired by Davis himself. A man in the bow of Lord Hastings' boat muttered an imprecation and wrung his hand. The bullet had struck his left little finger and carried the tip of it away.
"Hurt much, Price?" asked Lord Hastings.
"Not much, sir," was the quiet response. "May interfere with my shooting a little though, sir."
"Fire when ready," Lord Hastings commanded his men.
He threw his rifle to his shoulder and it cracked viciously. A man in the foremost pirate boat threw up his arms, sprang to his feet and pitched into the sea head first.
"One less," Lord Hastings muttered to himself.
In the meantime, while Lord Hastings engaged the enemy, Frank and Jack were nearing their respective positions. Jack came into action first, sweeping down upon the enemy from the right.