It was now daylight.  After this whispering with Bramble, I went aft with a handspike in my hand; and I had not been there more than two minutes when one of the privateer’s men turned the canvas on one side, and looked up.  The handspike came down upon his head, and he dropped senseless; but the noise roused up the other, and I dealt him a blow more severe than the first.  I then threw down my weapon, and, perceiving the deep-sea lead-line coiled up on the reel, I cut off sufficient, and in a short time had bound them both by the hands and feet.  They groaned heavily, and I was afraid that I had killed them; but there was no help for it.

“They are safe,” said I, returning to Bramble.

“I thought I heard you, but I did not look round at the time.  Half an hour more, Tom, and, even with this wind, we shall be safe—­and, Tom, our fortune’s made.  If they wake below, we must fight hard for it, for we’ve a right to salvage, my boy—­one-eighth of the whole cargo—­that’s worth fighting for.  Depend upon it, they’ll be stirring soon; so, Tom, go aft, and drag the trysail here, and put it on the hatchway grating—­its weight will prevent their lifting it up in a hurry.  If we can only hold our own for twenty minutes longer she is ours, and all right.”

As soon as I had stowed the trysail on the hatchway grating, I looked about to see what else I could put on the skylight, which they might also attempt to force up.  I could find nothing but the coils of rope, which I piled on; but, while I was so doing, a pistol was fired at me from below, and the ball passed through the calf of my leg; it was, however, not a wound to disable me, and I bound it up with my handkerchief.

“They’re all alive now, Tom, so you must keep your eyes open.  However, we’re pretty safe—­the light vessel is not a mile off.  Keep away from the skylight—­you had better stand upon the trysail, Tom—­you will help to keep the hatchway down, for they are working at it.”

Another pistol was now fired at Bramble, which missed him.

“Tom, see if there’s no bunting aft, and, if so, just throw some over this part of the skylight, it will blind them, at all events; otherwise I’m just a capital mark for them.”

I ran aft, and gathered some flags, which I brought and laid over the skylight, so as to intercept their view of Bramble; but while I was so doing another pistol-shot was fired—­it passed me, but hit Bramble, taking off one of his fingers.

“That’s no miss, but we’ve got through the worst of it, Tom—­I don’t think they can see me now—­don’t put that English ensign on, but hoist it Union downward.  I shall round-to now; there’s the men-of-war in the Medway.  Why don’t the fools look out, and they will see that they can’t escape?”

“They’ve only the stern windows to look out of:  the quarter-galleries are boarded up.”

“Then, Tom, just look if they have not beat them out, for you know they may climb on deck by them.”