As soon as Silver disappeared, the captain, who had been closelywatching him, turned toward the interior of the house, and found not aman of us at his post but Gray. It was the first time we had ever seenhim angry.

"Quarters!" he roared. And then, as we slunk back to our places, "Gray,"he said, "I'll put your name in the log; you've stood by your duty likea seaman. Mr. Trelawney, I'm surprised at you, sir. Doctor, I thoughtyou had worn the king's coat! If that was how you served at Fontenoy,sir, you'd have been better in your berth."

The doctor's watch were all back at their loopholes, the rest were busyloading the spare muskets, and everyone with a red face, you may becertain, and a flea in his ear, as the saying is.

The captain looked on for a while in silence. Then he spoke.

"My lads," he said, "I've given Silver a broadside. I pitched it inred-hot on purpose; and before the hour's out, as he said, we shall beboarded. We're outnumbered, I needn't tell you that, but we fight inshelter; and, a minute ago, I should have said we fought withdiscipline. I've no manner of doubt that we can drub them, if youchoose."

Then he went the rounds, and saw, as he said, that all was clear.

On the two short sides of the house, east and west, there were only twoloopholes; on the south side where the porch was, two again; and on thenorth side, five. There was a round score of muskets for the seven ofus; the firewood had been built into four piles--tables, you mightsay--one about the middle of each side, and on each of these tables someammunition and four loaded muskets were laid ready to the hand of thedefenders. In the middle, the cutlasses lay ranged.

"Toss out the fire," said the captain; "the chill is past, and wemustn't have smoke in our eyes."

The iron fire basket was carried bodily out by Mr. Trelawney, and theembers smothered among sand.

"Hawkins hasn't had his breakfast. Hawkins, help yourself, and back toyour post to eat it," continued Captain Smollett. "Lively, now, my lad;you'll want it before you've done. Hunter, serve out a round of brandyto all hands."

And while this was going on the captain completed, in his own mind, theplan of the defense.

"Doctor, you will take the door," he resumed. "See and don't exposeyourself; keep within, and fire through the porch. Hunter, take the eastside, there. Joyce, you stand by the west, my man. Mr. Trelawney, youare the best shot--you and Gray will take this long north side, with thefive loopholes; it's there the danger is. If they can get up to it, andfire in upon us through our own ports, things would begin to look dirty.Hawkins, neither you nor I are much account at the shooting; we'll standby to load and bear a hand."

As the captain had said, the chill was past. As soon as the sun hadclimbed above our girdle of trees, it fell with all its force upon theclearing, and drank up the vapors at a draught. Soon the sand wasbaking, and the resin melting in the logs of the blockhouse. Jackets andcoats were flung aside; shirts were thrown open at the neck, and rolledup to the shoulders; and we stood there, each at his post, in a fever ofheat and anxiety.

An hour passed away.

"Hang them!" said the captain. "This is as dull as the doldrums. Gray,whistle for a wind."

And just at that moment came the first news of the attack.

"If you please, sir," said Joyce, "if I see anyone, am I to fire?"

"I told you so!" cried the captain.

"Thank you, sir," returned Joyce, with the same quiet civility.

Nothing followed for a time, but the remark had set us all on the alert,straining ears and eyes--the musketeers with their pieces balanced intheir hands, the captain out in the middle of the blockhouse, with hismouth very tight and a frown on his face.

So some seconds passed, till suddenly Joyce whipped up his musket andfired. The report had scarcely died away ere it was repeated andrepeated from without in a scattering volley, shot behind shot, like astring of geese, from every side of the inclosure. Several bulletsstruck the log-house, but not one entered; and, as the smoke clearedaway and vanished, the stockade and the woods around it looked as quietand empty as before. Not a bough waved, not the gleam of a musket-barrelbetrayed the presence of our foes.

"Did you hit your man?" asked the captain.

"No, sir," replied Joyce. "I believe not, sir."

"Next best thing to tell the truth," muttered Captain Smollett. "Loadhis gun, Hawkins. How many should you say there were on your side,doctor?"

"I know precisely," said Doctor Livesey. "Three shots were fired on thisside. I saw the three flashes--two close together--one farther to thewest."

"Three!" repeated the captain. "And how many on yours, Mr. Trelawney?"

But this was not so easily answered. There had come many from thenorth--seven, by the squire's computation; eight or nine, according toGray. From the east and west only a single shot had been fired. It wasplain, therefore, that the attack would be developed from the north, andthat on the other three sides we were only to be annoyed by a show ofhostilities. But Captain Smollett made no change in his arrangements. Ifthe mutineers succeeded in crossing the stockade, he argued, they wouldtake possession of any unprotected loophole, and shoot us down like ratsin our own stronghold.

Nor had we much time left to us for thought. Suddenly, with a loudhuzza, a little cloud of pirates leaped from the woods on the northside, and ran straight on the stockade. At the same moment, the fire wasonce more opened from the woods, and a rifle-ball sang through thedoorway, and knocked the doctor's musket into bits.

The boarders swarmed over the fence, like monkeys. Squire and Gray firedagain and yet again; three men fell, one forward into the inclosure, twoback on the outside. But of these, one was evidently more frightenedthan hurt, for he was on his feet again in a crack, and instantlydisappeared among the trees.

Two had bit the dust, one had fled, four had made good their footinginside our defenses; while from the shelter of the woods seven or eightmen, each evidently supplied with several muskets, kept up a hot thoughuseless fire on the log-house.

[Illustration: _In a moment the four pirates had swarmed up the moundand were upon us_ (Page 153)]

The four who had boarded made straight before them for the building,shouting as they ran, and the men among the trees shouted back toencourage them. Several shots were fired, but such was the hurry of themarksmen, that not one appeared to have taken effect. In a moment thefour pirates had swarmed up the mound and were upon us.

The head of Job Anderson, the boatswain, appeared at the middleloophole.

"At 'em, all hands--all hands!" he roared, in a voice of thunder.

At the same moment another pirate grasped Hunter's musket by the muzzle,wrenched it from his hands, plucked it through the loophole, and, withone stunning blow, laid the poor fellow senseless on the floor.Meanwhile a third, running unharmed all round the house, appearedsuddenly in the doorway, and fell with his cutlass on the doctor.

Our position was utterly reversed. A moment since we were firing, undercover, at an exposed enemy; now it was we who lay uncovered, and couldnot return a blow.

The log-house was full of smoke, to which we owed our comparativesafety. Cries and confusion, the flashes and reports of pistol-shots,and one loud groan, rang in my ears.

"Out, lads, out and fight 'em in the open! Cutlasses!" cried thecaptain.

I snatched a cutlass from the pile, and someone, at the same timesnatching another, gave me a cut across the knuckles which I hardlyfelt. I dashed out of the door into the clear sunlight. Someone wasclose behind, I knew not whom. Right in front, the doctor was pursuinghis assailant down the hill, and, just as my eyes fell upon him, beatdown his guard, and sent him sprawling on his back, with a great slashacross his face.

"Round the house, lads! round the house!" cried the captain, and even inthe hurly-burly I perceived a change in his voice.

Mechanically I obeyed, turned eastward, and, with my cutlass raised, ranround the corner of the house. Next moment I was face to face withAnderson. He roared aloud, and his hanger went up above his head,flashing in the sunlight. I had not time to be afraid, but, as the blowstill hung impending, leaped in a trice upon one side, and missing myfooting in the soft sand, rolled headlong down the slope.

When I had first sallied from the door, the other mutineers had beenalready swarming up the palisade to make an end of us. One man, in a rednightcap, with his cutlass in his mouth, had even got upon the top andthrown a leg across. Well, so short had been the interval, that when Ifound my feet again all was in the same posture, the fellow with the rednightcap still halfway over, another still just showing his head abovethe top of the stockade. And yet, in this breath of time, the fight wasover, and the victory ours.

Gray, following close behind me, had cut down the big boatswain ere hehad time to recover from his lost blow. Another had been shot at aloophole in the very act of firing into the house, and now lay in agony,the pistol still smoking in his hand. A third, as I had seen, the doctorhad disposed of at a blow. Of the four who had scaled the palisade, oneonly remained unaccounted for, and he, having left his cutlass on thefield, was now clambering out again with the fear of death upon him.

"Fire--fire from the house!" cried the doctor. "And you, lads, back intocover."

But his words were unheeded, no shot was fired, and the last boardermade good his escape and disappeared with the rest into the wood. Inthree seconds nothing remained of the attacking party but the five whohad fallen, four on the inside and one on the outside of the palisade.

The doctor and Gray and I ran full speed for shelter. The survivorswould soon be back where they had left their muskets, and at any momentthe fire might recommence.

The house was by this time somewhat cleared of smoke, and we saw at aglance the price we had paid for victory. Hunter lay beside hisloophole, stunned; Joyce by his, shot through the head, never to moveagain; while right in the center the squire was supporting the captain,one as pale as the other.

"The captain's wounded," said Mr. Trelawney.

"Have they run?" asked Mr. Smollett.

"All that could, you may be bound," returned the doctor; "but there'sfive of them will never run again."

"Five!" cried the captain. "Come, that's better. Five against threeleaves us four to nine. That's better odds than we had at starting. Wewere seven to nineteen then, or thought we were, and that's as bad tobear."[1]

[1] The mutineers were soon only eight in number, for the man shot by Mr. Trelawney on board the schooner died that same evening of his wound. But this was, of course, not known till after by the faithful party.