Do not luff so near me; some accident may happen."
"Vat you call '_accident_?' Can nevair hear, eh? I will come
_tout pres_."
"Give us a wider berth, I tell you! Here is your jib boom nearly foul
of my mizen-rigging."
"Vat mean zat, bert' vidair? eh! _Allons, mes enfants, c'est le
moment_!"
"Luff a little, and keep his spar clear," cried our captain. "Squirt
away, Neb, and let us see what you can do!"
The engine made a movement, just as the French began to run out on
their bowsprit, and, by the time six or eight were on the heel of the
jib-boom, they were met by the hissing hot stream, which took them
_en echelon_, as it might be, fairly raking the whole line. The
effect was instantaneous. Physical nature cannot stand excessive heat,
unless particularly well supplied with skin; and the three leading
Frenchmen, finding retreat impossible, dropped incontinently into the
sea, preferring cold water to hot--the chances of drowning, to the
certainty of being scalded. I believe all three were saved by their
companions in-board, but I will not vouch for the fact. The remainder
of the intended boarders, having the bowsprit before them, scrambled
back upon the brig's forecastle as well as they could, betraying, by
the random way in which their hands flew about, that they had a
perfect consciousness how much they left their rear exposed on the
retreat.
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