“No,” Fitz heard the chief officer growl angrily. “Their blood’s up, and they are too stupid, I suppose.”
“Cease firing!” shouted the skipper. “Here they come!” The order came too late to check six of the men, who in their excitement finished off their regular shots with a ragged volley directed at the foremost boat, and with such terrible effect that in the midst of a scene of confusion the oars were dropped and the boat swung round broadside to the stream, which carried it on to the next boat, fouling it so that the two hung together and confusion became worse confounded as they crashed on to the third boat, putting a stop to the firing as well as the rowing. The commands of the officer in the last boat were of no effect, and the defenders of the schooner, who had sprung to their positions where their efforts would have been of most avail, burst forth with a wild cheer, and then turned to the skipper for orders to fire again.
But these orders did not come, for their captain had turned to the mate with—
“Why, Burgess, that’s done it! I believe we’ve given them enough.” Then heartily, “Well done, boys! Give ’em another cheer.”
In their wild excitement and delight the schooner’s crew gave two; and they had good cause for their exultation, for the firing from the boats had quite ceased, the efforts of their commanders being directed towards disentangling themselves from their sorry plight, many minutes elapsing before the boats were clear and the men able to row, while by this time several hundred yards had been placed between them and the object of their attack.
Then the Spanish officers gave their orders to advance almost simultaneously; but they were not obeyed.
They raged and roared at their men, but in vain—the boats were still drifting down stream towards the bend, and as the darkness was giving its first sign of closing in, the last one disappeared, the skipper saying quietly—
“Thank you, my lads. It was bravely done.”
A murmur rose from among the men, only one speaking out loudly; and that was the carpenter, who, as he took off his cap and wiped his streaming forehead, gave Fitz a comic look and said—
“Well, yes; I think we made a neat job of that.”