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"This is no ti," Iskierka said "Get up and help o take those ships without us"

"I a up yawning "Lily and Maximus would not--"

"Not them," Iskierka said impatiently "Granby and Laurence!"

Midship the time; the sound did not reach the stern where Laurence sat, and the oars dipped silent into the water and rose out again s only a few drops over the waves in their swift arcs before they dived again Lieutenant Creed sat in the stern of the boat immediately to port, his thin face just visible by its pallor of excite made post for this, of course, if they succeeded: a boy of twenty, to take into charge a transport; the sort of leap of fortune loomily observed on their e all the lanced to starboard: Granby’s boat there, rather a tub, which had been acquired from a fisherman down the coast and laden with a heap of chainesture at trying to dissuade her co aboard every last man down to those who could only dubiously lay clainal-rocket intently--and she scornfully disdained the attempt When he turned away subsequently, Roland’s eye had ht; so there he had not even tried, but contented hie of the second of the boats assigned to lay on the chainmail: at least she would not be on deck until the end

Their flotilla in miniature creptbulk of the transports: the Polonaise and the Maréchal For illuht above and the bonfire in the city behind thehtly conclave: its noise carried louder over the water than the noise of the other boats, and the glare, Laurence hoped, would dazzle the eyes of the look-outs

As they drew nearer, Lieutenant Creed looked over at Laurence and nodded, and his boat split away towards the Maréchal, drawing half-a-dozen of the others along in its train They had drawn alongside the Polonaise, and Laurence opened up his glass and looked: the officer of the watch was down near the stern beside the wheel, the hands on deckhumps amid the cannon on the quarterdeck, and the lookout in the near crow’s nest yawned against his arm: a ship in harbor, at peace

Laurence nodded to Sea ed against the rail as it seized on, and they all held still, waiting; not a breath misted the air

The alarm was not called Ewyll swarmed up the knotted rope, another five tied at his waist, and he flung them down quickly to the other boats: by the time Laurence made the deck, there were two dozenlow beside bales and casks, and the seven French on the deck were trussed like roasts with rags stuffed into theirafter the suspended bags of the caltrops, with Captain Little and Captain Chenery gone directly after the ons

Laurence leaned over the side: Granby waved up fro sent off half her men noay around the other side of the Polonaise, where she faced the Maréchal, and began the critical work: they flung up ropes to an to draw up the chaine, to lie over the portholes of her guns Laurence turned away, and leading the asseondeck halted near the stairs leading to thewet and thickly beneath the slackly open

Mayhew looked at him; Laurence nodded; Mayhew and another sailor, Todd, slipped barefoot down to the main deck and around back of the stairs, and Mayhew stopped the snoringhi through the steps, could see the Frenchainst Mayhew’s broad hand; Todd lashed his arms to his body with rope and tied him at ankles and knees, swiftly, and they shoved him behind a stanchion and cleared the way

Laurence crept down to the lad of the thin battered wreck of his boots He counted off eight of the men for the fore ladderway, now almost directly before them and unattended They seized one of the water-barrels and wrestled it on top to block the way, and hovered by it with their pistols and their knives and their cutlasses, whatever weapons they had contrived to conceal about their bodies

The open deck now stretched away, and the watch-officer, an unlucky young lieutenant, was turning fro towards the prow along the leeward side Laurence waited, and waited; he wished to give theas he could, and the ht have invaluable worth in the present circumstances The watch-officer pausedthe hull, which Laurence had noted in cli up was indeed badly barnacled: she would have benefited froain and ca with an occasional stifled slide towards whistling He stopped again, squinting out to sea--he was looking at the Maréchal, which stood between them and the shore, so that the bonfire in the city illu across her deck

"Britain!" Laurence bellowed out, at the top of his lungs; the young French officer ju his sword, but three of the sailors were on him; he went down at once Laurence could not look to see anytowards the aft ladderith another eight men behind hi just as faces appeared below, staring up alarmed

"Alar, and the hands on deck were starting up out of their sleep: starting up andswords and knives, many of the six and a half feet with ar cutlass of the Allegiance sailor who stood in his way, snatched up with both hands a cannonball fro smashed the British sailor doith it The cannonball rolled away, leaving a trail of blood and brains, and the Frenchman had the cutlass in his hand: he threw hi cannon and cut down another man

Laurence had the water-barrel at his back, which shivered with the rhyth from below as theat him across the deck He fired both his pistols: onethe arm; then it ork and aard in close quarters: he planted his boot-heel in one man’s belly and thrust hirappling at his sword-arm Blood spurted hot from the man’s cheek onto his coat sleeve, and Laurence smashed him across the face with his fist, clenched around the blade-hilt

Theit doith hiing Laurence struggled to wrench loose his ar overhand stroke of the cutlass descending The blade ca of rust like black pits on the surface, and Laurence put up his arm to meet it sacrificially to keep it off his skull; then the Frenchht