602 NIGHTS IN THE GALLEY. 



this time they had only got twelve men left. ' You'd better go back, 

 Sir/ says my father. ' No, that I never will alive/ says Watts, 

 ( without I go in the schooner. What do you say, lads/ says he, 

 ' shall we all die together ?' The men couldn't refuse, you know, 

 of course, tho' they thought it wasn't much use ; but where officers 

 will lead, I have heard my father say, men will follow." 



" And that's true," says Will Gibbon ; " I never heard all the war 

 time of men refusing to follow their officers." 



" No, and quite right. So on they went, giving way with all their 

 might, while the schooner was peppering away as hard as she could. 

 This did not stop young Watts, who continued to cheer the men up 

 till they got alongside. Now came the struggle ; to get on board was 

 the thing. They were now on the schooner's starboard ; both her 

 hammock nettings were full of men, Two more men had been killed 

 in the cutter. They had now only seven left. To attempt to board 

 her with that number would have been madness. ' I believe we must 

 make off, and try to save our lives, if we can, Short/ says Watts. 

 ' Ay, Sir/ says my father, ' that's the only way we have left now, 

 worse luck to it ; and you must be ready for a swim, for I expect 

 they'll sink us.' ' Let them, Short, let them/ says Watts. ' I'd 

 rather go to the bottom than go on board, and say we were beaten.' 

 By this time they had shoved off, and were pulling right a head of 

 her, to keep out of the way of their great guns/ ' Hallo, Sir/ says 

 my father, { what's that listen. I hear the sound of oars just round 

 the point. Depend upon it it's one of our boats. '' Very likely. 

 Then starboard the helm, and pull for the point. They were out of 

 musket-shot now, and the night was so dark the schooner could not 

 see them well, and so they kept firing at random, but not a shot came 

 near her. When they got close to the point, they saw a large boat 

 coming into the bay. ' Seringapatam ! a hqy !' ' Hallo !' answered 

 the launch, for it was the frigate's launch came in to look after them. 

 They pulled up alongside, and young Watts told the first-luff, who 

 commanded her, what had happened. ' But now you've come/ says 

 he, ' I hope we'll be able to pay them off. 5 ' We'll try, at any rate/ 

 says Mr. Willmott (that was the first-luff's name) ; 'do you take 

 five of my men to make up your boat's crew, and you shall com- 

 mand her yet, my fine fellow/ Dashaway they went alongside, 

 through a shower of musketry there it was/ 'Throw your grapnels 

 into her forechains/ Up they jumped in spite of the boarding pikes 

 that were bristling through the ports. The first-luff was in the fore- 

 chains first, and in he jumped through the ports. Directly he got 

 inside he was pinned to the deck, by a boarding pike, from the ham- 

 mock nettings. Young Watts followed, and received a cut on his 

 left arm with a tomahawk. ' Never mind that/ says he ; ' you should 

 have hit my right arm if you want to save the schooner/ The 

 men followed him gallantly, in spite of the Devil and Brussel's 

 Gazette. When they were on deck the struggle began, hand to hand, 

 cut for cut, and d n all favours, they disputed every inch of ground. 

 Their captain was a fine fellow, and fought like the devil ; he had a 

 tremendous broadsword in his hand nearly as big as himself, with 

 which he kept cutting the fellows down most terribly, and he was 



