“I couldn’t see his face, but I could feel that he was chuckling as the fellows below us swung up the gun and fixed it in position and handed up the round shot.  But when they followed up with two kegs of powder and dumped ’em on to the platform, my dear master’s hand went up and he rubbed the back of his head in pure delight.  After that—­ as I thought, for nothing but frolic—­he even let ’em load and train the gun for us, and only lifted his musket when the gunner—­a dark-faced fellow with a red cap on his head—­was act’lly walking up with the match alight in his linstock.

“’I don’t want to hurt that man afore ‘tis necessary,’ says Sir John; and with that he takes aim and lets fly, and shears the linstock clean in two, right in the fellow’s hand.  I saw the end of it—­match and all—­fly halfway across the platform, and popped back my head as the dozen Genoese there turned their faces up at us.  The pity was, we hadn’t time for a look at ’em!

“Sir John had warned me to hold my fire.  But neither he nor I were prepared for what happened next.  For first one of them let out a yell, and right on top of it half a dozen were screaming ’Imboscata!  Imboscata!”—­and with that we heard a rush of feet and, looking over, saw the last two or three scrambling for dear life off the edge of the platform and down the rocks to their boat.

“‘Quick, Billy—­quick!  Damme, but we’ll risk it!’ cried Sir John, snatching up his spare gun.  ‘If we make a mess of it,’ says he, ‘plug a bullet into one of the powder kegs!  Understand?’ says he.

“‘Sakes alive, master!’ says I.  ’You bain’t a-going to clamber down that gizzy-dizzy place sure ‘nuff!’

“‘Why, o’ course I be,’ says he, and already he had his legs over and was lowering himself.  ’Turn on your back, stick out your heels, and hold your gun wide of you, so,’ says he; ’and you’ll come to no harm.’

“Well, as it happened, I didn’t.  Not for a hundred pound would I go down that cliff again in cold blood, and my stomach turns wambly in bed o’ nights when I dream of it.  But down it I went on the flat of my back with my heels out, as Sir John recommended, and with my eyes shut, about which he’d said nothing.  I felt my jacket go rip from tail to collar—­you can see the rent in it for yourselves—­and my shirt likewise; and what happened to the seat of my breeches ’twould be a scandal to mention.  But in two shakes or less we were at the bottom of the cliff together, safe and sound, and not a moment too soon, neither:  for as I picked myself up I saw Sir John lurch across and catch up the burning fuse that lay close alongside one of the powder kegs.  Whereby, although the danger was no sooner seen than over, I pretty near turned sick on the spot.

“But Sir John gave me no time.  ‘Hooray!’ he sings out.  ’Help me to slew this blessed gun round, and we’ll sink boat and all for ’em unless she slips her moorings quick!’