A Lad of Grit: A Story of Adventure on Land and Sea in Restoration Times

bullets as the pirates kept up a hot fire on my perilous position.

uare, but the lubber's holes reduced the standing room by nearly a quarter. The after side of th

rosstrees, the foremast itself protecting me from any shots from for'ard. The planking of the top also was stout enough to

hat they were doing too much damage to their own sails and rigging, the fore-top

delayed my desperate plan much longer the top would have been filled with men. I examined the muskets and the pistols and found them already loaded. I next turned my attention to the deck of the pirate ship. The guns' crews

gro was hauled out, a knife was thrust into his hand, and by shouts

led about in an agony of fright. Behind and below him were the knives and pistols of the pirates, above h

he futtock shrouds. Here he stopped, and in a low, agonized voice he whispered: "

d. He then climbed up hurriedly, till his head and shoulders were through the lubber's hole. Then with a yell

that I had. Seizing another pistol in my

or a brief space his body hung suspended on the inside of the futtock shrouds, then it sl

mained in perfect safety. The only chance they had of bringing me down was by training a piece of ordnance on the top; but either they did not posses

thrust its muzzle over the edge and aimed at my particular enemy, the scarred-faced pirate and smuggler. I fired, and though I missed him, the bullet struck the pirate

n the crew, and in a few moments the whole of the

g thick planks of wood over their heads. Under these rude mantlets they made preparati

utting through shrouds, slings, braces, and halyards, everything th

continued my work of destruction I could see the head sails coming down, while,

pirate ship flew up into the wind, her maintopsail wa

t coming down on the Friend of the Sea, the s

tes came for'ard, dragging with them my four men. While the chase lasted they had, so I afterwards learned, suspended their prisoners over th

men were marched to the entry port and pushed into the sea in sight of the

e Gannet whistling through the pirate's rigging

the Sea fought bravely, and from my elevated position I could see th

evoted all her attention to the hull of her foe, at

nd din of the fight, the master standing by the wheel, his head bound with a blood-stained scarf, several men, still in death, encumber

ew yards of each other, and I heard

under the shelter of the bulwarks, each man armed with pistol and cutlass. T

over the hammock nettings and gained their enemy's deck. Every inch was grimly contested, several of the Gan

ht without fear of being made a mark by the pirates, who were too hard pressed to heed me. The sight held me spellbound, till I observed one of the pirates covering o

ough the villain's head. Almost at the same time Captain Poynings ran his opponent th

The magazine! the magazine!" and immediately t

ained the foreyard of the Gannet, and thence made for her foretop. Once there I lost no time in descending to the deck, h

ily engaged in trying to free herself from the pirate's embr

oom still entangled in the pirate's bowsprit shrouds. Suddenly there was a blinding

nearly all her ammunition, so that the explosion, th

beneath the waves, taking our flying jibboom and part of the jibboom with her, while a heavy p

o tell. I was faint, weary, and hungry; my clothes were in rags, my hands blistere

o I went towards his cabin. As I passed underneath the brea

terror, till, realizing that I was flesh and blood, and not a phantom

me by the arm and led me below. "

ort to me

not the

b towards the cockpit hatch, where the grim

med. "Is Captain

all the other officers. In me you see the senior unwoun

ts were all either killed or dangerously wounded; the master, though he remained at his post during the engagement, had fallen through

With an undermanned, severely damaged ship, it was a question whether we should eve

garments, and eaten a hearty me

tid stench filled the gloomy region like a cloud. Stretched upon rough wooden trestles, or huddled in rows

the lad's side was his father, whose leg had just been removed, the pitch with which the stump had been smeared still smoking. In spite of the pain

to share with his gallant crew the horrors of the cockpit, and lay, with his head and s

d mallets as they drove plugs into the shot holes betwixt wind and water, w

rake, I was put in charge of the starboard watch, and had to take my sh

urs of anxiety and arduous labour, and when the Gannet dropped anch

us assistance in refitting. This request was readily and courteously granted, and during our

his great fortress; so when, forty-one years later, it was captured by a coup de main by Admiral

was well enough to take command, and on the tenth day of