And now 'twas very plain that 'twas for this channel the desperadoes were making. With our perspective glasses we could see--as we passed the before-mentioned isles--that they were heading straight for that inlet; we could indeed perceive them get to its mouth, haul down all but their trysail, and so into the river, which was broad enough to let in a bigger ship than theirs.
"After them we go," I exclaimed, "though they have all the best of it. Yet"--with a moment's reflection--"it may not be so, neither. If they get ashore, maybe they cannot take their cannon; if they stay on board, we are as good as they. How is our powder?"
The men answered the powder was very well. They had carefully kept it all dry, so that we should not lack that. Therefore I gave them orders to carefully prime and load our pieces: namely, the four little guns and the swivel, and also the muskets. And so we, too, stood for the channel.
As we neared it we could very well see up it somewhat, and did notice that the Etoyle had come to a halt. She was not anchored, but had drifted a little down again towards the mouth of the inlet, and thus she was as we passed in, the woods growing thick on either side. And now was the time when we saw the finery in which Alderly had arrayed himself. He, as we ran in, was standing by the bows of his ship, and had in his hand a glass of liquor, and, as we drew close, he shouted--
"Trapped! Trapped, by God! You will never get out of this! You cannot escape!"
"You beastly pirate!" I called back; "there is no thought of getting out. We are only most thankful to have got in. Now, will you haul down those vile rags at your peak, and give up the stolen goods and surrender, or----"
"Surrender!" shouts he. "Yes, I will surrender! Like this!" and stooping down behind his bows for a moment, he picks up what was a new-fangled sort of grenadoe--being a case bottle filled with powder and pieces of lead, iron slugs and shot, with a quick match in the mouth of it--and flings it aboard us. But in a minute one of my men, a lusty youth from North Berwick, named Fernon, stoops down, seizes on it, and flings it back into Alderly's ship, where it exploded amidst their yells and curses.
"Now," said I, as at this moment our crafts touched, so that the whole channel was blocked, "over their bows, under the smoke, and among 'em. Pistols and cutlashes, my lads, will do the business."
So over we did go, and soon found that we had a tough job before us. For though the men of the Etoyle did only outnumber us by five--namely, four men and Alderly--we discovered ere long on what a dreadful mine we were standing.
As I cut down one man, giving him a wound in the neck that nearly sever'd his throat as clean as if he had cut it with a razor, Cromby whispered in my ear--