Page:Doctor Syn - A Smuggler Tale of the Romney Marsh.djvu/226

 head, and that was when Hellspite lowered his blunderbuss and produced a clay pipe which he lit. The bo'sun saw a chance, spat in his hand, grasped his cutlass, and clambered from the dyke. But instantaneously came the ominous noise of cocking pistols, and the old seadog grabbed the bo'sun's leg and pulled him back swearing into the mud. Hellspite chuckled and smoked his pipe, the horsemen covered every man in the ditch with cocked weapons, and so another hour passed over the curious group. Suddenly from over the Marsh came the cry of a curlew, weird and repeated seven times. Hellspite put up his pipe and muttered an order to the two devils by the donkey, and then he addressed the sailors:

"Now, good sailors, we will trouble you for your arms. Pass them up to good Job Mallet and he shall stretch his legs and lay them at my feet."

But again Job Mallet lost his head. He arose in the ditch and sang out bravely: "You and the rest of you are damned cowards in silencing the mouth of our captain. Had he his voice you know what he'd say—'Shoot and be damned to you!' and well you know it. Why don't you meet us in fair fight, you damned cowards, instead of using such devil's tricks?"

"'Cos we ain't so bloody-minded as the good King's bo'sun," answered Hellspite in a piping voice, which drew forth a great laugh from the devils.

One of the seamen, considering that all eyes were now