alongside; and on looking farther I caught a glimpse of her through one of the open ports, lying about a couple of cables’ lengths distant.

I called Markham’s attention to this; at the same time mentioning what I had thought about the grape.

“A capital notion, young-un!” he replied. “Your infantile intellect is really developing with marvellous rapidity. Clewline can’t be communicated with, however, where he is; so we must just do the best we can for ourselves. And look here! here is a six-pounder cast loose and all ready to our hands; watch the roll of the ship, and we can run it right inboard—here you, Peters,”—to one of the seamen, “lend a hand here to run in this gun and slew it round with its muzzle forward. So! that’s just right; now then for a charge; do you see a—? Oh, here’s a cartridge; in with it; ram it well down, Peters; and you, Chester, see if you can find anything to put in on top of the powder;—marline-spikes; tenpenny nails; empty bottles; blue pills and black draughts; the cook’s tormentors; or the skipper’s best china tea service—anything will do that is obnoxious to the interior of the human system—”

“Will this do?” I inquired, fishing out from the scuppers a heavy object of cylindrical shape, over which I had stumbled two or three times.

“Bless your dear little innocent heart! yes,” answered Markham, “it will do berry nicey nicey. Why, it’s the very thing, greeny; it’s cannister; in with it; if this does not wake them up, call me a Dutchman, that’s all. Now we’re all ready. You let the skipper know what we’re going to do, Chester; and I’ll stand by to fire directly he gives the word.”

It was no very easy matter to secure the skipper’s attention and make him understand what we proposed to do; but I managed to accomplish it at last. As soon as he understood me, he hailed in a voice which rose clear and high above the din, “Is Mr Sennitt there?”

“Ay ay, sir,” came back in the well-known tones of the “first.”

“We are going to try the effect of a charge of cannister,” hailed the skipper; “be good enough therefore to send your party into the fore rigging; and you, my lads,” to his own division, “stand by to rush aft behind the gun. Now!”

The first lieutenant’s division sprang like cats into the fore rigging, and scuttled away for their lives half-way up to the top; while our party at the same instant made a dash aft and formed again in the rear of 

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