"Boarders!--" the first lieutenant shouted at a sign from the captain;
but before he could complete the order, Pawcett, for we may now call him
by his right name, leaped on the bulwarks of the Bronx.
"This is a United States"--he began to say, but he was allowed to
proceed no farther, for the first lieutenant raised the revolver he
carried in his left hand, doubtless for this very purpose, and fired.
Pawcett did not utter another word, but fell back upon the deck of the
Bronx; where no one took any further notice of him.
"Boarders, away!" shouted the first lieutenant.
This time the sentence was finished, and the order was promptly
executed. Hardly a half minute had been lost by the attempt of Pawcett
to prepare the officers of the Scotian to do their duty; but he had said
enough to enable the ship's company to understand what he would have
said if he had finished his announcement. The officers and seamen were
both surprised, and there was a panic among the latter, though the
former rallied them in a moment. But they had lost all their chances,
and after an insignificant struggle, the deck of the steamer was in
possession of the boarders.
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