One-half the crew of the schooner fell either killed or seriously wounded, and, quick to take advantage of the confusion created, Seth dashed alongside; and, followed by his men, sprang over the bulwarks of the vessel.
He was not, however, to have everything his own way at once. Bewildered and appalled as the Frenchmen were, they rallied surprisingly when their assailants reached the deck, and fought desperately in self-defence.
Fortunately for the Rangers it was a hand-to-hand conflict in which fire-arms could not be used, and the sturdy provincials were more at home in such rough-and-tumble fighting as the contracted space permitted than were their opponents.
Seth instinctively sought out the captain that he might make him his prisoner, and threw himself upon him with such impetuosity as to hurl him backward to the deck.
But the man was agile and muscular, and had no idea of yielding without a struggle. He wound his arms about Seth, and put forth so tremendous an effort to reverse their position that Seth suddenly realized he had a mighty antagonist to deal with.
Now had he reason to be glad of his skill in wrestling gained at the cost of many a hard fall. Summoning all his strength, and resorting to his most artful devices, he was able to offset the other's greater muscular power as they struggled breathlessly for the mastery.
Being thus evenly matched, it looked like a question of endurance with the chances in favor of the older man; but before it could be thus fought out, the other members of the crew had either submitted, or leaped overboard; and their captain becoming aware of this, thought it best to surrender at discretion. And Seth to his great delight found himself in possession of the schooner and of several prisoners.
Having secured the latter, the Rangers, not one of whom had suffered a serious hurt, proceeded to examine their prize. She proved to be laden with flour, wine, and brandy, intended of course for the comfort of the force at Crown Point; and Seth decided that nothing should be done with this valuable cargo until Major Rogers had given directions concerning its disposition.
He accordingly returned with his good news, and had a warm reception from his chief, who was highly gratified at the capture, and made haste to see it for himself.
"If we could only take the whole thing down to Fort William Henry," he said regretfully, as he surveyed the tempting stuff, "we could make good use of it there. But that's out of the question. We'll just have to destroy it; and the easiest way to do that is by sinking the schooner where she is."