"No, by thunder! Never!"
"Then at them to the death!" cried Clif, leading them on. "In the name of humanity and the sailors of the Maine!"
The blood-curdling atrocity had made demons of them all, and with a hoarse shout they sprang to the charge.
CHAPTER XXVI.
A GAME OF BLUFF.
Clif urged his little band of avengers forward with no thought of danger or of the consequences. The inhuman scene he had witnessed drove from his mind all thoughts of the flagship or the important papers he carried upon his person.
Such barbarity called for vengeance, and that brave American handful of American tars meant to wreak it on their treacherous foes, or die in the attempt.
"Come on!" shouted Clif, wildly. "Give it to 'em! Don't let a man escape!"