"Upon the quarter deck of the _Shark_ paced the figure of Captain Broome, with his long, swinging gorilla-like arms. Suddenly he stopped, put his hand to his mouth and shouted an order to the men in the bow of the ship. Then came the quick move of one of the men. A flash leaped from the mouth of the forward gun, a dull detonation, and a white cloud of smoke curled back over the bow of the _Shark_, while the shell plunged into the water directly in front of our prow. "'That's for us to heave to,' cried John; 'give him our answer, Comanche, and give it to him hard!' "Comanche obeyed with belligerent willingness, and with an accuracy of aim that was utterly surprising to old Bill Broome, for the round shot struck his boat amidship, and it fell back into the water. The distance was too great to do execution, but a yell of triumph went up from the boys on the deck of the _Storm King_. "'Just a little higher next time,' cried Jack Singleton; 'sweep the rascal's decks for him.' "It was good advice and now the fight was on, and it was like a real naval engagement, with the constant bark of the guns, the heavy clouds of white sulphurous smoke rolling over the quiet sea between the combatants, and the thrusting flames from the mouths of the guns flashing into the smoke. But the fire of the enemy was becoming more accurate and deadly, and it was a question of only a few minutes before a well-directed shot would completely disable us. "'Pull down our flag, Captain,' yelled John Singleton; 'let him come alongside.' "It seemed to me the only thing to do, and in a couple of minutes the long gray _Shark_ had slipped through the smoke on our portside. Old Bill could not resist the temptation to make some remarks before he boarded us. "'I'd like to know, Cap'n, what you, and your parcel of kids mean by attacking me on the high seas, me going along peaceable, just enjoying a fishin' cruise for my health. I'll take it out of yer blasted hide for making me this trouble, and I'll baste them pretty boys of your'n to a finish, or my name ain't Bill Broome!' "'Which it ain't,' I says, and I proceeded to hand him out a line of talk that kept him eager to say something else about my character. "You see I noticed that John and Comanche had disappeared just as the _Shark_ hove alongside, and I intended to give them all the time I could, and I could of yelled when I see'd John creeping up behind the Cap'n; and the next second he had felled him with the butt of his rifle, and Comanche had done the same for two of the men who were standing in the waist of the ship, joining in our previous conversation. "Well, it wasn't ten seconds before I was aboard with four of my crew and it was no time before we had possession of that ship. Now you see the purpose of John Singleton in lowering the boat when he did. He had used it to slip around the stern of the _Shark_ and to slip up on Bill Broome and his crew."