“Now then, one good dash, men!” he roared, springing to his feet, “and we’ll be alongside!”
But at that instant, another iron came whizzing from the ship, and the ’midship oarsman fell back with a low groan, as the barbed instrument entered his body.
The horror and confusion resulting from this calamity was such that the exertions of the crew at the oars were entirely suspended for some moments; and it was not until the dying sailor had been carefully placed in the stern-sheets, that any thing like order could be restored.
Then the men again took to their oars, although they were now so far astern of the ship that she was nearly out of sight in the thick fog.
“Never mind, lads!” cried the dauntless second mate. “We’ll be up with ’em yet, for if I ain’t mistaken there’ll be a calm before many hours. The breeze has already fallen away a little.”
And so the men, anxious to avenge their shipmate whose dead face and glazed eyes in the stern-sheets, confronted them, tugged and strained at the oars with redoubled energy.
The breeze, as Mr. Spooner had declared, was gradually dying away, and Captain Lark deemed it necessary to set the top-gallant sails, which he now had an opportunity of doing, as the boat was too far astern at present to give any trouble.
The additional canvas, when the yards had been hoisted, and the sails sheeted home, increased the speed of the ship to such a degree that her pursuers could do but little more than keep her in sight; and when an hour had passed with no better result, the oarsmen became so fatigued by their almost frantic exertions, that the breath came from their lips in short, rapid gasps, while the perspiration rolled in big drops from their foreheads.
It was at this juncture that Lark—who stood upon the round-house rubbing his hands with great glee, and mentally predicting the entire discomfiture of Spooner and his crew—was startled by an exclamation from one of the islanders in the waist. He turned quickly, and was still more startled by the sudden apparition of another boat a few fathoms off the lee beam, and rapidly approaching the ship!
“Ship ahoy!” thundered the voice of Captain Howard; “isn’t that the Montpelier?”