“Kneel down!” I cried to the score.
They dropped as one man, and the enemy, thinking we were begging quarter, whooped in derision.
“Fire!” I shouted, and I could see, when the smoke had cleared, that the enemy had halted in confusion. About half of them had fired in return, but we had killed eight of them, while only two of our men died. I looked around, and saw that but a few men remained on the rock. Cory’s sloop, receiving its load, had passed from beneath. The other vessel came up quickly to perform the same office.
Casting aside the discharged guns the recruits leaped to their feet, and ran toward the rock. But the enemy had again rallied, and came on with a rush. Once more my band knelt down and delivered the last volley at short range, as they stood on the rock. The sloop was now beneath. One by one the men, taking advantage of the confusion in the enemy’s ranks, dropped to the deck.
“Jump, Captain!” called out several.
“I go last,” I answered, drawing my sword.
There was one huge, and fiercely painted, Indian in the lead, having outstripped his fellows. Only two of my men were left on the rock now. The Indian halted when a few feet away, and fired point blank at me. I felt a sudden sting as the bullet went through the flesh of my left arm. Then, uttering his whoop, the savage cast aside his now useless gun, and, shaking his uplifted tomahawk, rushed at me.
“Jump, Captain,” called one of my men. “We are all off now.”
The Indian raised his sharp little weapon, and it glittered in the air above me. While he hesitated only for an instant to concentrate all of his force into the blow with a quick motion I passed my sword through his body under his upraised arm.
The savage fell forward, dragging the sword from my grasp. I was in no mind to lose my bit of steel, so, placing a foot on the Indian’s still quivering breast, I managed, with some use of force, to draw out the blade. Then I turned, the bullets singing all about me, and leaped from the rock, landing square on the sloop’s deck.