Hence, I had no other feeling for them save contempt; they might have aroused my respect could I have believed them influenced by any patriotic motive, but hired assassins deserved no mercy at my hands.
And I was grimly resolved that, having enlisted for the war, I was not to be deterred from doing my duty, with a precious cargo on board and a haven in sight.
Let them come on; there would be more blood than mine to flow, for no man should put a foot inside this old tub while I had a shot left or could wield a boathook.
Straining my eyes, I could see two boats coming up; the other had fallen behind, being like our own, a poor makeshift.
They were overhauling us fast enough, and unless some miracle offered, we must take our chances with them.
As near as I could make out in the starlight, there were about four men in each boat; the odds were certainly overwhelming, but true Anglo-Saxon hearts do not quail when the difficulties mount upward.
I believed I could materially lessen their number ere they came alongside, and perhaps create something of consternation in their ranks.
Nearer still, until I could see the figure in each bow, waiting to grapple with us; nearer, while Robbins strained every muscle, pulling as man never pulled before; then came a shout of joy from our pursuers, the meaning of which I realized only too well, for I had heard one of the oars snap in my comrade’s fearful grip, and knew we were at last helpless on the water.
CHAPTER XIII.
LIVELY WHILE IT LASTED.