The forces were about evenly divided, three boats to a side, but it appeared that in men the pirates slightly outnumbered the British.
A man dropped in Jack's boat now, fatally wounded. The others did not even pause, but returned the fire steadily. Another man in Jack's boat dropped his rifle and fell back gasping. A pirate bullet found two victims in Frank's boat and Lord Hastings now suffered the loss of another.
But the enemy was paying for these victims. In the center pirate boat three men were no longer able to handle a rifle, while in the craft to the right two had been wounded. The boat to the left also had suffered.
And all this time the boats had been nearing each other and the crack of the rifles mingled with the hoarse shouting of the German sailors. The British, for the most part, fought coolly and silently, only the groans of the wounded breaking the stillness from their part of the water.
Frank, now that the boats were close enough together not to call for instructions to his men, left them to do their own fighting and opened with his revolver.
Now Frank was a crack shot, as he had proved on more than one occasion, and this time his aim was deadly. He found himself opposite the boat in which Davis stood erect and he picked off the men about the British traitor with ease.
At last there remained but Davis. Frank trained his weapon on him carefully, but at the moment he would have pulled the trigger a bullet struck one of the British sailors in Frank's boat a mortal wound. The man jumped and fell sidewise. The boat tipped over and Frank was flung into the water.
Frank's mouth was open as he went under, and when he came up gasping there was no boat near him. Ahead he could see Davis still standing erect. The latter discovered the lad at the same time, levelled his revolver, took careful aim, and pulled the trigger.
But there was no report. The chamber of the weapon was empty.