"It's all over," I thought to myself; "they'll take the ship and send us
adrift now;" but all the same I knew that the defence would be desperate
as soon as Mr Brymer gave the word.
I could see the faces of Jarette and his men now clearly enough in the
one boat, while in the other I picked out five men, among whom was the
cook, who would have been, I should have thought, the very last to join
in so desperate a game, one which certainly meant penal servitude for
all, and possibly a worse punishment for the leaders, as death might
very probably ensue in the desperate attack upon the ship. But I had no
more time for such thoughts. Jarette just then rose up in the stern of
the boat he was in, and hailed us.
"Ahoy, there! Open that gangway," he shouted, "and let down the roped
steps."
Mr Brymer stepped to the bulwarks just opposite the boat.
"Throw up your oars there," he cried, and the men obeyed, so used were
they to his orders.
"Row, you idiots, row!" roared Jarette, and the oars splashed again.
"Stop there, you in the boats," cried Mr Brymer, "or I give the order
to fire."
"Bah! don't be a fool, Brymer," he shouted. "Pull away, my lads; they
won't fire. Hi! there, the rest of you, don't take any notice of the
mate. We saw you were on fire and in danger. We saw the fire and smoke
in the night, and came to save you."
"In the same way as you deserted the ship when you thought she would
sink," said Mr Brymer, tauntingly.
"Pull, my lads, and get aboard," cried Jarette, so that the men in the
other boat could hear; "he doesn't know what he's talking about. We'll
put the fire out, and then talk to him."
Bang! went Mr Brymer's revolver, fired over the heads of the men in
Jarette's boat, and the Frenchman fell backward into the stern-sheets.