I thought he was killed, and the men ceased rowing.
But Jarette was up again directly.
“Pull, you beasts!” he cried. “You jerked me off my feet. You, there,” he roared to the men in the second boat, “round to the starboard side and board there. No—”
He leaned over the side and said something behind his hand to the men in the other boat, which we could not hear, but we did hear him say—“We must have her. It’s too far to row.”
Those last words enlightened us, telling as they did that the boats had made very little progress, but had drifted with the current just as the ship had, and they could never have been very far away. They must too have supposed the vessel had sunk till they saw the fire renewed, when feeling that they had been premature in forsaking her, they came back, and were no doubt a good deal taken aback by finding us there ready to defy them.
“Now!” shouted Jarette. “Ready? Off!”
The boats came on in spite of two or three shots fired from the deck, and then, with Jarette rapidly returning our fire, they were soon close up and sheltered to a great extent.
Jarette’s boat came right alongside at once in the most plucky manner, urged on as the men were by their leader, who seemed utterly devoid of fear. But the other boat rowed right round by the stern, and its occupants were damped on finding that unless they could mount by the fore or mizzen-chains, there was apparently no means of reaching the deck. They ceased rowing in each of these places, but there were a couple of defenders ready at each halt, and they made no further attempt, but lay on their oars in a half-hearted way, as if waiting for an opportunity to occur.
But meanwhile the fight had begun by the main-chains on the port side, where, with Jarette to cover them with his revolver, the men made a desperate effort to gain the deck, but only to be beaten back each time they showed their heads above the bulwarks, and after five minutes they sat down sullenly and refused to stir.
“You cowards!” snarled Jarette, savagely. “Do you want to stop afloat in open boats and starve? Now then, once more. Up with you!”