Kneeling up, with a swift motion, and realising that he had no time to get to his feet, he lunged forward sharply with his right fist, met something solid and sent it flying. Indeed, he heard the man stagger across the alley-way, and crash against a bulkhead two yards from him. Then, long before the fellow could pounce upon him, David was on his feet.
'Hist!' he heard at his elbow, then there was the scrape of a match against the roughened paper on the box. A flame suddenly illuminated the 'tween decks, showing our hero, dishevelled and somewhat breathless, close to the foot of the ladder, Ho Hung beside him, and the Chinaman advancing again with upraised weapon. More than that, it showed faces filling the dark square of the hatchway, and a man already half-way down the ladder.
"A FLAME SUDDENLY ILLUMINATED THE 'TWEEN DECKS
'On to him,' shouted David. 'I'll see to the other.'
His hand dipped into his pocket swiftly, and reappeared with his magazine pistol. Before the flame had quite died out, or the Chinaman could reach him, he pressed the trigger, and caught a glimpse of the fellow as he doubled up like a rabbit, and crashed to the boards. A second later he was swept from his feet by Ho Hung and the Chinaman, who had by now reached the foot of the ladder.
If ever there were a time when David felt inclined to lose his head and act in an aimless manner, it was at this very moment, when he was swept from his feet by the fall of Hung and the villain who had grappled with him. Tumbled on the deck with a crash, he stretched out his hands to help himself to rise, and, instead of feeling his fingers fall upon the boards, realised at once that they had come in contact with a man. He pounced on the fellow, and after gripping his arms, he shifted his fingers to the neck. A growl of vexation escaped him.