Or look here, sir! how would it be to bring 'em a bit amidships, and let us begin right astarn, and build up a sort o' bulwark o' bales?
They could fire from behind it when we'd done." "Yes, capital!" I cried, once more annoyed with myself because I, a mere boy, had not the foresight of an experienced man.
"No, no," I cried the next moment.

"How could we get at the tiller ?" "You won't want no tiller, sir; we can row aboard easy enough, once we get out o' this fiddling little drain." "You are right, Saunders," I said.

"Go on." All the while the men astern were keeping up a steady fire, which certainly had one effect, that of checking the enemy's advance.

And now Saunders came aft with a bale on his head, keeping his balance wonderfully as he stepped over the thwarts.
"Mind yer eye, Pigtail," he cried.
"Keep back! Where are you coming ?" growled a man who was loading.
"Here, matey," cried Saunders; and he plumped the bale down right across the stern.
"Hooroar!" cried Tom Jecks, stepping behind it, and resting his rifle on the top.
No more was said, the men easing off out of the way as bale after bale was brought and planted in threes, so that when six had been placed there was a fine breast-work, which formed a splendid protection for those in the stern, and this was added to, until we were fairly safe from enemies behind.

But once more we could hear them creeping nearer through the bushes on our right; the firing grew more dangerous, and there was nothing for it, I felt, but to order every man in the two boats to take his piece, shelter himself behind the bales, and help to beat the enemy back.
It was a sad necessity, for I knew that the tide was falling very fast, and that before long we should be immovable; but to have kept on shifting the load and allow the enemy to get close in over our heads on the densely-clothed sides of the stream would, I knew, be madness; and the men showed how they appreciated the common-sense of the order by getting at once under cover, and then the sharp rattle of our fire was more than doubled.
But, enraged by their defeat, and doubly mortified to find that we had discovered their treasure, the pirates seemed now to have cast aside their cowardice, and were creeping in nearer and nearer, yelling to each other by way of encouragement; and, in addition to keeping up an irregular fire, they strove, I suppose, to intimidate us by beating and making a deafening noise on gongs.
"They will be too much for us," I thought, when we seemed to have been keeping up the struggle for hours, though minutes would have been a more correct definition; and, with the longing for help and counsel growing more and more intense, I was about to kneel down and speak to Mr Reardon, and ask him to try and save himself.
But I started to my feet, for there was a louder yelling than ever, and the pirates made quite a rush, which brought them abreast of us.
"Cutlasses!" I cried; and there was the rattle made in fixing them, bayonet fashion, on the rifles, when--_boom_!--_thud_!--came the roar of a heavy gun; there was a whistling shrieking in the air, and then somewhere overhead an ear-splitting crash, followed by the breaking of bushes and trampling down of grass and bamboo.
Then perfect silence, followed by a cheer from our men.
"Well done, _Teaser_!" shouted Tom Jecks.
It was a diversion which, I believe, saved us, for the enemy fled for some distance, and gave us time to go on lightening the foremost boat.
But before we had been at work many minutes there was a cheer from close at hand, and upon our answering it, another and another, with splashing of oars, and the next minute I heard Mr Brooke's voice from beyond the first boat..