The long-boat immediately after touched the side of the ship. Brandon
grasped a rope with his left hand, and, holding his revolver in his
right, leaped upward. A Malay with uplifted knife struck at him. Bang!
went the revolver and the Malay fell dead. The next instant Brandon was
on board, followed by all the sailors who sprang upward and clambered
into the vessel before the Malays could rally from the first shock of
surprise.
But the panic was arrested by a man who bounded upon deck through the
hatchway. Roused by the noise of the gun, he had hurried up and reached
the deck just as the sailors arrived. In fierce, stern words he shouted
to his men, and the Malays gathered new courage from his words. There
were about fifty of these, and not more than thirty English sailors; but
the former had carelessly dropped their arms about, and most of their
pieces were unloaded; the latter, therefore, had it all their own way.
The first thing that they did was to pour a volley into the crowd of
Malays, as they stood trying to face their new enemy. The next moment
the sailors rushed upon them, some with cutlasses, some with pistols,
and some with clubbed muskets.
The Malays resisted desperately. Some fought with their creeses, others
snatched up muskets and used them vigorously, others, unarmed, flung
themselves upon their assailants, biting and tearing like wild beasts.
In the midst of the scene stood the chief, wielding a clubbed musket. He
was a man of short stature, broad chest, and great muscular power. Three
or four of the sailors had already been knocked down beneath his blows.
“Down with him,” yelled the Captain. “It’s Zangorri!”
A venomous smile passed over the dark face of the Malay. Then he shouted
to his men and in an instant they rushed to the quarter-deck and took
up a position there. A few of them obtained some more muskets that lay
about.
The Captain shouted to his men, who were pursuing the Malays, to load
once more. They did so, poured in a volley, and then rushed to the
quarter-deck. Now a fiercer fight took place. The Captain with his
pistol shot one man dead the next instant he was knocked down. The
boatswain was grappled by two powerful men. The rest of the sailors were
driving all before them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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