At length the proa that had initiated the attack upon us closed to within a hundred yards, steering for our port quarter, with the evident intention of sheering alongside us somewhere about our mizzen-rigging. They were working ten sweeps on board her--five of a side--and calculating that each sweep required at least four men to handle it (for they were very long and heavy), I concluded that she would have, all told, at least sixty men on her deck, a formidable number to oppose with our small force on board the barque. I was not much afraid of them so long as we could keep a few fathoms of water between them and ourselves, but should they once succeed in gaining a footing upon our decks, a very few casualties on our side would suffice to determine the issue against us. It was, accordingly, to prevent this that I had set my wits to work in conjunction with those of the mate, when we had first seen reason to anticipate an attack, my plan being to utilise our fire engine as a means of defence, and I had given instructions to have it prepared in a manner that I hoped would convert it into a really formidable weapon. The time had now arrived, or at least was close at hand, when an opportunity would be afforded us to test its efficacy; I therefore ordered it to be run aft as far as the capstan, and cautioned the two men, who had been told off to work it, to stand by the brake-handles. I had already fully explained my idea to the mate, and he now took in his hand the long brass nozzle--the tow attachment round the jet of which was by this time thoroughly saturated with oil--and prepared to act as circumstances might demand. Meanwhile the pirates had ceased to fire their brass gun, and the fusillade from their _gingals_ had slackened considerably, thanks, no doubt, to the indefatigable manner in which the baronet and I had plied our rifles upon them. The craft was now so near that, by the continuous flashing of the lightning, we could distinguish every detail, even to the most minute, of her hull and rigging, and we could see, too, that her deck was crowded with men, many of whom appeared to have tailed on, as extra hands, to the sweeps, which were now being worked with furious energy; for they lashed the water into a perfect swirl of luminous, phosphorescent foam, while quite a respectable little curl of luminous froth buzzed away on each side from her sharp bows. It was clear that they were giving her "way" enough to shoot alongside, prior to laying in the sweeps, in order that every man they had might be available for boarding purposes. "Now, Sir Edgar," I exclaimed, "we will give her one more shot apiece; and then we must stand by with our cutlasses in case our fire engine fails." "There is a tall fellow standing at the helm who offers a very decent mark; shall I see whether I can pick him off?" inquired the baronet.