"Lend a hand, Tom, now or never, and kick up the dark man there;" but he
sat still as a statue. We laid our shoulders to the end wall, and heaved
at it with all our might; when we were nearly at the last gasp it gave
way, and we rushed headlong into the middle of the party, followed by
Sneezer with his shaggy coat, that was full of clots of tar, blazing like
a torch. He unceremoniously seized par le queue, the soldier who had
throttled me, setting fire to the skirts of his coat, and blowing up his
cartouche box. I believe, under Providence, that the ludicrousness of
this attack saved us from being bayoneted on the spot. It gave time for
Mr Splinter to recover his breath, when, being a powerful man, he shook
off the two soldiers who had seized him, and dashed into the burning hut
again. I thought he was mad, especially when I saw him return with his
clothes and hair on fire, dragging out the body of the Captain. He
unfolded the sail it was wrapped in, and pointing to the remains of the
naval uniform in which the mutilated and putrefying corpse was dressed, he
said sternly to the officer--"We are in your power, and you may murder us
if you will; but that was my Captain four days ago, and you see, he at
least was a British officer--satisfy yourself." The person he addressed, a
handsome young Spaniard, with a clear olive complexion, oval face, small
brown mustaches, and large black eyes, shuddered at the horrible
spectacle, but did as he was requested.
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