Lady Eureka (Vol. 1 of 3) or, The Mystery : A Prophecy of the Future One day, when the captain, and about half his band, had gone out shooting wild hogs in the adjacent woods, the rest of the pirates, with their prisoners, were mingled together, talking and joking, and amusing themselves among the trees at the back of the house, and Hearty was looking anxiously every now and then as if he was waiting for some one to join his party. His companions also shared in the laugh, and in the sport which was proceeding, but it seemed as if their thoughts were otherwise employed. They were evidently inattentive to what was going on around them. They evinced a restlessness—an anxiety—an impatience not characteristic of men engaged in amusement; and now and then looks passed between them in which there appeared more meaning than was visible to the others. But the pirates heeded not these things. They thought only of the sport in which they were occupied; and being well armed, and[273] much out-numbering their prisoners, who were without weapons, they had not the slightest fear or expectation of their attempting an escape. At last the boy Loop was observed turning the corner of the house, carrying a heavy bundle on his head. As soon as he was seen, Hearty and his companions hastily put their right arms into the upper part of their vests, each produced a pistol, and in an instant eight or ten of the pirates fell dead or wounded at their feet. With a shout, the sailors rushed towards the boy Loop, whose bundle, containing weapons, was soon appropriated, and then, amid yells and imprecations, cheers and shouts, there commenced a war of extermination between the two parties. The pirates were taken quite by surprise, and were put in confusion by the fierceness and suddenness of the attack. They still outnumbered their opponents, but while they gathered together, and were seeking to revenge their fallen comrades, a discharge of fire-arms in their rear from Oriel Porphyry, Zabra, Doctor Tourniquet, and the professor, still more diminished their numbers, and still more distracted their attention. They were not allowed a moment of inaction. At once from both sides came the attack. Pistols were only discharged, when it was almost impossible to miss; but the chief weapon was the sword, and with this Hearty, Boggle, Climberkin, and Ardent, well backed by their companions, and Oriel Porphyry, closely followed by Zabra, Fortyfolios, and the doctor, cut down all who opposed them. The conflict was fierce. Oriel Porphyry displayed an energy that nothing could resist. He hewed his way through the thickest of his foes, and they fell like reeds before his sword; while a stern scorn was breathing from his handsome features, and his fine manly figure seemed to dilate with the pride of conscious power. Close to his side came Zabra, whose exertions were not so effective; but his object seemed more to be to defend Oriel than to attack the pirates. Several times the arm that threatened the destruction of the young merchant was rendered powerless by the ready interference of his youthful friend, and the pistol levelled at his head dropped harmless to the ground. It soon became a struggle of[275] man to man. Each singled out his opponent, and when he was disposed of, looked out for another. In a few minutes the state of the parties had changed exceedingly. A great number of the pirates had fallen, and the rest, unable to withstand the fierceness of the encounter, appeared desirous of making their escape. They were pressed so closely, that only three out of the whole band got away, and each of these was severely wounded.