“Look out, my men,” shouted out Captain Morton, who was as keenly alive to the urgency of their situation as the naval lieutenant,—“we’ve all our work cut out for us!”
In truth they had; still, although only just out of one fight, in which some two or three had already lost their lives, and several were severely wounded, the blue-jackets under their gallant officer, who had already won the Victoria Cross for his bravery, ably seconded by Captain Morton and Mr Scuppers, and the crew of the Hankow Lin set to work to prepare for a fresh struggle with all the alacrity and glee of schoolboys going out for an unexpected holiday.
The conquered Lascars were tightly bound, and then tumbled below, the hatch being secured over them; and all then set to work to unload the heavy hogsheads which had caused the tar such uneasiness on account of their cumbering his decks, when they had first been shipped on board at Canton, some ten days before.
“There, Jem!” said the boatswain, as the staves of the first cask were knocked to pieces, and a nine-pounder Armstrong gun disclosed in all its ship-shape nicety. “There, didn’t I tell you that the skipper had his head screwed on straight?”
“Aye, aye, bo, right you were,” answered the brawny foretopman as he knocked in the head of another hogshead. “I’ll never doubt him again, you be sure.”
There were four guns altogether, and the two other casks contained their ammunition, and spare rifles for the Hankow Lin’s crew.
These cannon the lieutenant now caused to be loaded heavily with grape-shot, and placed at the midship ports to windward, on the side that the pirate was approaching; the ports still kept closed, but everything ready for raising them, and running out the guns to command the schooner’s deck when she got alongside.
The hands were then mustered. Captain Morton, Mr Scuppers, the lieutenant, and Jack Harper had escaped without a scratch on the part of the officers; but Mr Sprott, the second mate, had a cut across his face from a Malay crease, which caused him considerable pain, and undoubtedly spoiled his beauty; although the brave fellow refused to be put on the list of the non-fighters. Amongst the men, two blue-jackets were killed outright, as well as Phillips, the ship’s carpenter of the Hankow Lin; while one blue-jacket was wounded severely, and two slightly, as well as another of the ship’s regular hands.
Altogether, their defensive force consisted now, therefore, of the lieutenant, captain, and three other officers—for Sprott would fight, and Jack Harper was quite as good with a revolver as any of his seniors—and fifteen men, counting in Snowball, who was as good as two others any day, besides Jem Backstay, who was a regular giant.
“Now, men,” said the lieutenant addressing them—“Captain, I have your permission to take the command?”