One cry arose from the crew.

The old passenger—­who until this moment had stood motionless—­sprang forward more swiftly than all those mad swirls.  He had seized a bale of the false assignats, and at the risk of being crushed succeeded in throwing it between the wheels of the carronade.  This decisive and perilous manoeuvre could not have been executed with more precision and adroitness by an adept in all the exercises given in the work of Durosel’s “Manual of Naval Gunnery.”

The bale had the effect of a plug.  A pebble may block a log; a branch sometimes changes the course of an avalanche.  The carronade stumbled, and the gunner, availing himself of the perilous opportunity, thrust his iron bar between the spokes of the back wheels.  Pitching forward, the cannon stopped; and the man, using his bar for a lever, rocked it backward and forward.  The heavy mass upset, with the resonant sound of a bell that crashes in its fall.  The man, reeking with perspiration, threw himself upon it, and passed the slip-noose of the tiller-rope around the neck of the defeated monster.

The combat was ended.  The man had conquered.  The ant had overcome the mastodon; the pygmy had imprisoned the thunderbolt.

The soldiers and sailors applauded.

The crew rushed forward with chains and cables, and in an instant the cannon was secured.

Saluting the passenger, the gunner exclaimed,—­

“Sir, you have saved my life!”

The old man had resumed his impassible attitude, and made no reply.

* * * * * *

The man had conquered; but it might be affirmed that the cannon also had gained a victory.  Immediate shipwreck was averted; but the corvette was still in danger.  The injuries the ship had sustained seemed irreparable.  There were five breaches in the sides, one of them—­a very large one—­in the bow, and twenty carronades out of thirty lay shattered in their frames.  The recaptured gun, which had been secured by a chain, was itself disabled.  The screw of the breech-button being wrenched, it would consequently be impossible to level the cannon.  The battery was reduced to nine guns; there was a leakage in the hold.  All these damages must be repaired without loss of time, and the pumps set in operation.  Now that the gun-deck had become visible, it was frightful to look upon.  The interior of a mad elephant’s cage could not have been more thoroughly devastated.  However important it might be for the corvette to avoid observation, the care for its immediate safety was still more imperative.  They were obliged to light the deck with lanterns placed at intervals along the sides.