. On fighting decks in 1812 . ns, and this nowcame near costing us dear. All at once, above apoint well along the port quarter bulwarks, suddenlyappeared two swarthy faces. There were activebodies under them, for, in a twinkling, both poppedup, and with a bound two brown-skinned, Arab-look-ing desperadoes stood on the deck. Almost with the slap of the second mans barefeet on the planks I recovered my wits and pulledthe trigger of my other pistol. It flashed in thepan. In an instant he was upon me, and I had barelytime to step back and level my pike. For the nextfew moments I lost track of all
. On fighting decks in 1812 . ns, and this nowcame near costing us dear. All at once, above apoint well along the port quarter bulwarks, suddenlyappeared two swarthy faces. There were activebodies under them, for, in a twinkling, both poppedup, and with a bound two brown-skinned, Arab-look-ing desperadoes stood on the deck. Almost with the slap of the second mans barefeet on the planks I recovered my wits and pulledthe trigger of my other pistol. It flashed in thepan. In an instant he was upon me, and I had barelytime to step back and level my pike. For the nextfew moments I lost track of all but my own part ofthe fight. The man opposed to me seemed to havelost or laid aside his firearms, but in one hand hecarried a short sword and there were two daggers inhis scarf-like girdle. I was keyed up to desperation, and yet somehowkept my head. The man suddenly made a feint withhis sword and stooped, as though for a rush, but Imerely stiffened my grip on my pike. He lookedat me with his big, almost solemn black eyes, and. 1 JABBED THE SHARP HEAD INTO HIS HAIRY CHEST, THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR, LENOX TILD£N OUR DESPERATE FIGHT. 255 straightened up again, but I continued to stand likea statue. He hesitated and I thought seemed alittle undecided, but the next moment he took a kindof gliding step forward. I was afraid of some subtletrick, and fell a pace back, but with that he duckedand made a head-on-tilt rush. He was as lithe as apanther and almost as quick, and it was by a merehair that he did not get in past my guard. But Iwas active, also, and had a springy, compact kind ofstrength that was not so very inferior to his had several feet to pass before he could reach me,and in that time I jerked back my pike, and as heturned his sword and made a drawing cut at myneck, I jabbed the sharp head its full length into hishairy chest. He gave a deep groan, bowed down and fell on hisface. There was no time to make sure of him, but I hadfew doubts on that point, and I
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